Sarah walked around the woods for a long time, pondering what had just happened between the Goblin King and herself. After hours of thought she came upon a conclusion. She had to get away. She was afraid of what her feelings for him might be and scared of the love she saw in his eyes. She couldn’t return to the mortal world, but she had to try.

Sarah found a clearing in the forest and sat down, legs crossed and palms facing up on her knees. She closed her eyes and began a controlled breathing. Breathing in for six counts, holding her breath for six counts, releasing for a count of six and pausing for another count of six. Once Sarah got into the rhythm of breathing she began to focus on her home, her dad and Karen, her room and everything in it. Drawing together a picture of her life and trying to return to it. After all this was the Labyrinth and anything was possible. She was so caught up in her meditation that she didn’t feel the vines begin to wrap around her body.

Six in, six hold, six out, six hold, six in… It was becoming harder to breath. Six hold, six out… Sarah’s ever jerked open as he inhaled to fill her lungs, but only got a small intake of oxygen. Frightened now, she found that the vines, which had just looked like ordinary vines, were wrapped about her limbs and torso, anchoring her to the ground and one thin vine, bare of leaves was snaked around her throat, slowly contracting. Sarah’s first reaction was to scream and call out but there was not enough air in her lungs to do so. Her breath was coming in short gasps now and her vision began to blacken. So she was dying and she never was able to figure out her feelings for the man who had once been her enemy.

A flash of white burst through the trees and suddenly Sarah could breath. Another flash of light and the vines withered away from her, retreating to the dark of the trees. Two strong arms picked Sarah up and held her close while she breathed in deep breaths her body shaking and coughing. Looking up into the eyes of her rescuer she found two different colored orbs.

“Jareth?” she managed, and fainted.

Jareth looked at the woman he held in his arms and cursed. Any later and she would have been a snack for the viper vines that grew in this particular part of the Labyrinth. Instantly they appeared in Sarah’s room where he lay her down on the bed, covered her with her sheets and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Then Jareth sat down on a chair next to her bed, not wanting to leave Sarah alone.

The red dust swirled above the chasm in which Sarah stood. She wanted to get away from it, wanted it to leave her alone. Far away a figure stood. Jareth, she knew it was him, could feel that it was him. She took a step forward, and another, and another until she was running at full speed down in the gully towards the figure. Behind her the red dust began to swirl and slowly come to Sarah. The faster she ran the faster the dust raced like a title wave that crashed along the valley floor. She was almost there, could almost reach Jareth, just a few more steps. The dust overtook Sarah pulling her apart for the now silhouetted shape. “JARETH!”

Again Sarah’s cry broke through the night destroying objects as it went. In no time at all Jareth was beside her, stroking her hair and whispering sweet nothings into her ear, but she wouldn’t calm down. She clutched onto Jareth as if her life depended on it. Gently Jareth slipped into the bed with Sarah wrapping his arms around her slender body. Only then did her tremors subside.

For most of the night Jareth lay awake with Sarah, his precious Sarah. Finally drifted off into a deep sleep, exhausted for the day’s happenings.

Sarah woke with the sensation of a warm body next to hers. Just lying there was so warm she didn’t want to move. Memories of the previous encounter with the viper vine came flooding back up to her rescue by the Goblin King. The Goblin King! Cautiously Sarah clanked over her shoulder to see the sleeping figure of the Goblin King in bed with her. Stunned, Sarah got up smoothly as to not disturb Jareth from his sleep and ran down the hall and out the castle doors.
He had the nerve to sleep in the same bed as her! Still, she had to admit, it was nice to have someone to share her bed, just as a husband would. Sarah blushed at her own thoughts and continued running, not knowing or caring where she was going. With only her feet to guide her, her mind wondered off on other things. Jareth had rescued her the day before, yet she had never even had time to say her thanks, he had stayed with her through the night to make sure she was okay. Maybe she had the wrong impression of him, maybe he was telling the truth about playing a part in her imagination story. She was so caught up in her thoughts that Sarah did not see the cliff that appeared before her feet and Sarah plummeted to the floor below.

Falling. Sarah knew that this was it, no Jareth to save her. She was going to die and she could newer tell Jareth that she loved him. Sarah felt funny. She wasn’t falling fast now, not really falling at all, she was drifting. She beat her arms once and rose up six feet. Looking to her right she saw not and arm and hand, but a wing, a wing with black feathers. Beating her wings again Sarah rose up above the trees flying higher and higher then swooping down. She was a bird. Not only that, Sarah realizes, she was an owl. An owl like Jareth she thought. She could leave now. She could fly until she reached her home. But did she want to leave? That meant leaving Jareth, the man she knew she now loved, had always loved, the man she wanted to marry and have children with. She couldn’t leave. Her mind made up she soured back to the balcony that was a part of her bedroom.

Jareth stood on the balcony. He had just woken and found Sarah gone. He could sense her outside, somewhere close by and had walked to the balcony to try and get a view of her. What he saw made his heart stop. Flying towards him was a black owl. Not an owl though. It was Sarah. His Sarah. The owl landed on the balcony and transformed back into the woman he knew and loved.

“Well” Jareth began “You found your power.” He shuddered and continued “you… you can leave, but Sarah” she put her hand to his lips.

“Jareth, I’m not leaving.” His eyebrows went up “I want to stay here…with you.”

“You want to stay?” she nodded “Why?”

“I love you.” She said it. That simple, three-word statement made all the difference. Jareth picked up Sarah and spun her around, laughing. Then he claimed her lips with his. He knew there would be no more nightmares, no more screaming in the night for he would always be there be by her side forever.

Arthan worked in his garden when two feathers fell from the sky, one white, one black. Guessing what had happened he looked up and taw two owls twirling about themselves racing towards the sky.