They arrived in the throne room and Sarah grimaced visibly at being back in the castle once more. There were a few goblins milling about oblivious to the fact that their king had a visitor.

“May I have your attention,” Jareth stated. All movement in the room stopped. “Some of you may or may not remember Miss Sarah Williams, but she is my honored quest. Taker her to her room and have her needs attended to” Two goblins hurried forward to do as asked “Sarah,” Jareth said turning. “I will expect you for dinner in two hours. Be prompt” he met her cold stare

“And if I refuse?”

“There will be…” he paused “consequences.” He let that sink in then added, “Remember it is I who is in control. Now we play by my rules.” The goblins led Sarah away and Jareth frowned. She was being stubborn again. That part of her hadn’t changed. He sighed and looked around at the goblins in discontent. They had gone back to their previous chores, except for the two accompanying Sarah. How was he going to win her if he didn’t know where to start? She had change so much in so short of time, not just her figure, but she was educated and well aware of the games he could play. He no longer had the element of fear on his side ether. And she obviously still hated him.

“Get out!” he snarled at the few goblins in the room. They ran. “Oh Sarah. What have I done to deserve your rejection.” he sighed. He would make it up to her. Somehow he would. His survival depended on it.

Sarah was confused. Take her to her room? He had a room for me just waiting? She thought. Or maybe it was a nice way to tell them to take her to the dungeons. She was wrong in that. Shortly after the goblins lead her into a large room, there was a beautiful glass door that lead out onto a balcony in front of her. The fading light seemed to catch the panes in the glass and create images on the floor. There were two mirrors, a large full length one opposite a bed and a smaller one above a dresser. The bed had a feather mattress and blue and cream bedding. There was a washroom off to one side next to a door that presumably was a closet. There were also pictures of herself and of Jareth. The paintings made her nervous. It was like he was watching here.

A high-pitched voice brought Sarah out of her trance. “There is a bath a’ waitin for ye. Will ye be needin anythin else?” Sarah looked down at the goblin

“No, thank you very much” The goblin looked shocked at being addressed by her and bowed quickly and left. Sarah made her way around the room, examining the dresser, mirrors and closet. She noticed another door next to her bed, partially covered by a tapestry. Frowning she walked over to it and gave the door a tug. It wouldn’t open. Frowning again she pulled harder, it still didn’t budge. Sarah sighed and went to take her bath. It felt good to be clean and warm. Once the water cooled Sarah removed herself from the bath and put on a white bathrobe. She dried her hair then went to look in the closet. The closet was full of the most extraordinary clothes she had ever seen. Gorgeous gowns in all colors, each decorated by gold or lace or gems. Sarah removed a lavender one that was embroidered in a deep purple along with amethyst stones. The neckline was low and the sleeves off the shoulder. The sleeves were short, maybe two or three inches. Everything considered the dress was stunning. Sarah let her dark hair hang down her back. Looking herself over in the mirror she decided her throat was too bare, so she went back to the dresser to see if she could find anything she could use. Lying on top was a silver chain that held one single tear shaped amethyst drop. Exactly what Sarah had been looking for, exactly.

“Where did this come from?” she wondered “Jareth? No, it’s not his style, but where? Did I…” she stopped. “No I can’t have created it, could I have?” It was too much to ponder. A small knock came from the door.

“Just a minute she called.” Locking the necklace around her neck she went to answer the door. “Yes?” Sarah asked the goblin standing before her

“His highness, the Goblin King wishes me te bring ye to the dinin room. Come along.”

Jareth stood in the dining room ready for Sarah. He had wanted to look in on her in her quarters, but it wouldn’t have been… morally correct. He smiled at the thought. Had it been anyone else he would not have hesitated to take a peep in, but this was Sarah. He had to do things moral and correct. The Goblin King looked elegant in his black boots, tight gray pants, gray poet’s shirt and black jacket. An amulet in the shape of an owl hung from his neck. Where was she? He was getting impatient. She had better be coming. If she wasn’t… The sound of feet brought his train of thought to a halt and he gazed intently at the door as Sarah made her way into the room. Her purple dress set off her white skin wonderfully. She was stunning. Looking innocent and unsure. He walked towards her and offered her his arm.

“Shall we?” he asked and before waiting for a response led her to the table. Jareth helped her sit then seated himself directly across from her. The smell of food sent a start through her. How long had it bees since she had eaten? She couldn’t remember. Sarah devoured her food when it came, not even noticing what it was she was eating. Jareth watcher her with amusement.

“So” he said like they had been friends for years, not rivals “how did you get here?” Sarah kept chewing until she was able to speak.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” She replied
“Oh, I most certainly would.”
“Well, if you insist on knowing, I fell in a river and then got sucked down a whirlpool. When I woke up I was here.”

“Really now,” he sounded amused, almost “What were you doing at the time? What were you thinking?”

“I stopped on a bridge to watch the birds. It broke.”
“And you thoughts were of…”
“Faeries, the labyrinth, you…” Damn, she had let that slip out. Sarah wondered why she was telling him all this.

“Me?”

“You” she replied “No more questions please, I… I can’t concentrate.”

“Of course you can’t.”

“What?”

“Nothing important. I have to ask you one more question. What do you want of me?”

“I… to go home and…” she stopped not wanting to finish, fighting the dreariness that was making her say all these things”

“And…” he prompted

“And, and…” Sarah fell over onto the table. The King quickly go up and rushed to her side. It had been cruel to trick her into eating the food, but he had needed to know where to start his wooing of her and even now he still didn’t have any answers, only more questions. He picked Sarah up in his arms and stood there gazing at the wondrous creature he was holding. It felt so right. His heart went out to her as he began to carry her back to her room.

The land was barren except for the distant cliffs and the gorges in the ground. Sarah and Jareth stood facing each other. The wind making their hair fly and the red dust at their feet rise up. The dust began to form a wall or shadow the blocked Jareth from Sarah’s view. She could feel him going away, fading. She struggled in the dust trying to find him, but not being able to see. When she opened her lids the whirling dust stung her eyes, when closed she was helpless. She kept struggling, searching for him. She was loosing her connection. He was being taken away. She wanted to kill the thing that separated her from Jareth. Her mind raced. What could she do? She couldn’t fight a thing she couldn’t see. It was like she was being split in two. It was all she could take.

“JARETH!” she screamed

The night had not gone well. He had risked her health to help himself. How could he have been so self centered, so stupid? The room was empty, every sound echoed.

“JARETH!” a sound broke the night and the silence was cut. Jareth was not ready for an outburst like this. Accompanied by the sound was a vast amount of energy. It shook the castle. Tables fell over, mirrors broke, stone crumbled and Jareth found himself being transported to Sarah’s room, but not by his own will.

Jareth appeared by Sarah to see that she was trembling. She jerked from side to side as if she was in pain. He reached to her, trying to stop her wild thrashing, but pulled his hand back immediately after making contact with her skin. She was radiating magic! It hurt to touch her. His heart wrung as he stood by her side helpless.

“Shhh. Sarah. I’m here” It was all he could say. “You’re safe, don’t worry. Calm down.” In response to his words her fit slowed. “That’s it, just relax.” Sarah stopped trembling and began to breath evenly. Slowly he reached his hand towards her face, but hesitated, hoping she was not giving off anymore magic. Her face was much cooler now. Tenderly he brushed her hair out of her face and lovingly he bent down and kissed her forehead. There were too many questions now, too many that needed to be answered.

He couldn’t leave her alone so he conjured a chair beside her bed where he could sit and think. The first issue was the one of her power. The magic she was radiating only moments before seemed more powerful then even his own. It appears to stop and start in random bursts of fate. Apparently she had it in an endless supply, but could not control it. Her magic ran with her emotions and tonight was proof enough of it. This also answered the question of how she came to be in the Underground.

“She had been thinking about the labyrinth so her magic took her here” He mused But where did this vast amount of magic come from? It would have been understandable for her to have a small amount, but this was too much. Long into the night he sat pondering this one question. It was nearly dawn when he came to a conclusion.

Faeries, the labyrinth and you… Him. That was the answer. Her magic was a mirror image of his own. It had been in those fatal seconds seven years ago when he had almost won. She had transferred an equal amount of his power to her. This, with the magic she already had in possession accounted for most of what had happened. Her high emotions also added to her power that ran through the night. You have no power over me. It was true. That’s when the transfer had taken place. It all made sense. For her to have been able to escape him she needed more power then he had, so unconsciously she had tapped into his power supply and gotten a copy of his magic as to fulfill the prophecy.

Sarah stirred in her sleep. Jareth could not tell her that she had so much magic, no that would not be wise because if he did Sarah could leave the labyrinth… and him… forever. Her ignorance was saving him.