Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This story is completely written so I won't leave you hanging. Are you up for some games? Just follow the rules.

  Sarah looked out of the window from her little one-bedroom apartment, overlooking the skyline of downtown New York City. The rain was pouring down and had been for the past day and a half. She was getting sick of the dreary weather. It did nothing to improve her mood and only made her feel more alone and lost.

  Work as a freelance photographer was overwhelming her, and sometimes she wondered why she even chose this field of work after she had graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s in fine arts. The money was excellent, as long as she had work, and she did, and it gave her the freedom to see other places.

  At first, she had fully enjoyed being able to travel to foreign exotic destinations and take pictures of the landscapes, the architecture, and the diverse people. It gave her a sense of freedom and allowed her to not put down roots in any place, as she never stayed longer than only a few months.

  As much as she had enjoyed this carefree life, it had also come with a high price. Everything good in life always came with a price tag attached. In this case, the cost was her personal and social life, or lack thereof. Her lifestyle didn’t leave much room for a serious relationship, and she flittered from person to person in the same way she changed her assignment locations.

  Italy for three months with Mathew, a transplanted Irish guy from Dublin. Switzerland with George, another Brit, who had made Geneva his new home, for nearly four months.

  Then there was Lebanon for nearly half a year, and David, a fellow photographer from London, who had done his best to make her stay in this strange and alluring land comfortable and enjoyable. He had helped her pass the time in such fun ways that still made her blush thinking about it.

  As much as she yearned for a stable, long-term relationship, she never managed to find it. Every love affair was always fleeting and ephemeral. And love was never part of the equation, as all her relationships were usually based on physical need and lust alone, a carnal pleasure for the moment, a want for temporary companionship to pass the time, but nothing more.

  Her ‘out of a suitcase’ lifestyle also gave her little time to visit her parents and Toby. She hadn’t seen them in nearly five years, and if she had to be honest with herself, she did not miss them as much as she thought she would. Somewhere, and somehow after college, they had grown apart from each other.

  Her father had not agreed with her career choice, as he had wanted her to follow into his footsteps. Problem was that Sarah could never be happy with a life behind a desk.

  After she had finished high school, all she wanted to do was travel and see new places, explore new countries, and be adventurous. Being a freelance photographer gave her that opportunity.

  “I’m chasing magic with my camera, and one day, I will capture it”, she had always told people when they had wondered why she had chosen such a highly male dominated field.

  But now, she was going on thirty and lately was reconsidering her entire life. Her career, her lifestyle, her choice of men, or lack thereof. It had been two years since she had a relationship that lasted longer than a week, and over a year since she even had a date.

  It wasn’t because she wasn’t attractive enough, just the opposite. Sarah was a beautiful woman with dark brown, long flowing hair, and bright green sparkling eyes any man would love to get lost in. She was witty and charming, intelligent, and kind-hearted. She stood up for what was right and fought for it.

  The problem was that she turned every man down before he even had a chance. One look in his eyes told her if he was worth the pursuit. Most weren’t, and the lucky ones who managed to get a date out of her never called back. So, she gave up looking for the one who would never come and didn’t exist.

  She sighed and turned her face away from the rain drenched window that prohibited a clear view out onto the street. The light from the streetlamps below, mixed with the water running down her windowpane, made everything look as if the world outside was under water.

  Sarah tilted her head and took a couple of snapshots of the light and reflection before she discarded of her camera unceremoniously onto her bed. She would delete them by the morning as she always did. She blamed it on the-spur-of-the-moment impulses. Those same impulses, which had let to poor decisions in the past and prevented her from finding true happiness.

  With a fresh glass of wine in her hand, she made herself at home on her lounging chair in front of the television, feet pulled up close to her, and shoes thrown carelessly across the floor.

  “Here’s to another fucked up and lonely evening in a city of a million eligible bachelors, and I am sitting here alone with only my pity for company. Nice going, Sarah Williams; at this rate, you’ll be married in like ‘never going to ever happen time’.

  She let out a frustrated grunt and turned on her stereo with the remote. Instantly, soft music started playing to help her relax and let her mind wander. The voice of the singer, and the style of music, always transcended her into another world, another realm that was imaginary and ineffable, but yet seemed so real that she could almost touch its landscape, breathe its air, and smell its scent.

  One scent always stood out. The peach and leathery scent of a particular inhabitant of this imaginary world of hers. Her land of enchantment where anything was possible, and nothing seemed the way it was.

  His long blonde hair waving in the wind, along with his dark cape, his mismatched steely eyes of blue, the inscrutable countenance on his finely chiselled face. There was a cruel and wicked smile curled around his invitingly kissable lips; a smile that teased her in a way she perfectly understood as a mature woman.

  His deep baritone voice created pleasurable vibrations deep within her body. Vibrations that had a way of traveling down her entire body and settling into her loins, stirring a fire, she never knew existed. His gloved hands, she imagined touching her across erogenous zones of her body, were teasing shivers of divine pleasure out of her.

  As the twilight in her room was chased away by the dark of the oncoming night, she sat and listened to the music and the fallen rain and reminisced. She was no longer sitting in her small apartment; she was running a huge maze of some sort, running towards a tall castle. A castle that housed him, the man in her fantasies, in her dreams, the king of this world. Her king. Her Goblin King.

  “Jareth, I wish you’d come to me” she whispered ever so inaudible in her trance and nearly dropped her now empty glass of wine onto the floor.

  A crack of thunder jolted her out of her visions and back into her own cruel and harsh world. She looked around in panic and then relaxed when she realized she was still sitting in her lounging chair, and the music had quit playing at the end of the cd.

  “Damn, I forgot to load the player.”

  With a frustrated sigh, she heaved herself out of her comfortable chair and made her way across towards her stereo. Scanning through her collection with her fingers, she tried to decide on a new Bowie album.

  “Hm, the Best of David Bowie. That’ll do.”

  She quickly inserted her new choice into her player and pushed play to be instantly rewarded with ’Sorrow’. As the song kept playing, she made her way into the kitchen and refilled her glass, emptying out the bottle.

  “God damn shit, out of wine again”, she grumbled and nearly dropped the bottle and glass to the floor when she heard a deep booming laugh behind her.

  “Such foul language for such a lovely young woman. What a pity.”

  Sarah spun around with wide-open eyes, holding the empty wine bottle now by its neck, ready to beat whoever had intruded into her apartment over the head with it.

  “Who are you, and how did you get in here?” she hissed assertively and took a step back when the dark figure stepped out of the shadows.

  She gasped at his sight and dropped the bottle to the floor with her hands coming up to cover her mouth in shock. He was ethereal looking in his tight grey pants, the white poet shirt, and his flowing feathery cape.

  His long, uneven blonde hair framed his finely chiselled face and brought out his intense mismatched eyes that held such a deep mesmerizing effect on her. His upsweeping eyebrows and light bluish skin pigmentation of his upper eyelids made him appear otherworldly.

  “You don’t exist”, she whispered in a panicked voice, trying to retreat from him but was blocked by her kitchen isle as he felt its impact on her lower back.

  “Excuse me, but I am quite real”, the figure retorted with a light chuckle.

  “No, you are not. You are a figment of my imagination”, she tried to convince herself and stood perfectly still while the ethereal being still approached her with a sauntering but steady pace.

  He stopped in front of her and tilted his head, scoffing lightly with dislike.

  “I am no such thing. I am quite real and not some silly figment of your imagination.”

  He took hold of her chin with his gloved hand and forced her to look up at him while he brought his face so close to hers she could feel and smell his sweet, peach-scented breath.

  “Hello Sarah, I thought you would never call on me. I’ve been waiting for so long and had almost given up hope.”

  “I didn’t call you”, Sarah insisted and tried to shake her head but was unable to due to his grip.

  “Of course, you did, you silly woman. You spoke my name. In matter of fact, you wished me here. How did you phrase it, oh yeah, ‘Jareth, I wish you’d come to me’. Since I have to obey all your wishes pertaining to me, I came as soon as I could. Luckily, you caught me at a good time. Goblin court had just ended, and I had time before dinner.”

  He smirked and let go of her chin but did not retreat to give her room to move. Sarah held on to her counter with her hands behind her back, and her upper body leaned backwards as far as it was comfortably possible.

  “You’re Jareth”, she whispered as if she had suffered from a painful epiphany. “You’re the Goblin King”, she stated her follow up, a bit more certain of it all.

  “The very same, and I am here because of your wish. Now what is it you would like from me, my dear? I am getting a bit hungry, as I have not eaten since breakfast, and goblin court always takes it out on me. There is only so much anyone can handle with these imbeciles.”

  “Huh?” Sarah only replied with her mouth hanging open, still trying to make sense of this new situation, and debating whether she was envisioning everything.

  “I must be hallucinating”, she stated again.

  “How many times do I have to say that I am not imaginary? It is getting quite bothersome and exhausting, trying to explain this to you.”

  “Will you just shut up for a minute?” Sarah sibilated at the Goblin King, who stepped back in utter surprise at her sudden rough tone.

  She shoved him carelessly aside, took her glass in her hand, and moved to her lounge seat, in which she plopped herself in frustration with a loud groan. Jareth followed her impatiently, his brows furled over her incredulous and denying behaviour of his existence.

  “Sarah? Are you going to tell me why you wished me here?” he asked now in a softer voice.

  “I.... I didn’t, I mean, I did, but it was a mistake. Never mind, sorry about the inconvenience”, she muttered and stared at him as if she was still trying to decide on whether he was really there.

  Jareth huffed with discontent and sat himself down right beside her, making her scoot over, as the seat was not meant for two.

  “Do you mind?” she growled at his invasion of her private space.

  “Not at all, my pet”, he smirked and laid his arm across the backrest of the chair with his hand lightly touching her shoulder.

  At first, Sarah flinched at the touch but then relaxed into it involuntarily, her body betraying her mind. She felt confused and at an utter loss of the situation. For years, she had dreamed of this man and fantasized about him and now he sat next to her, no, almost on top of her, in her lounging chair with his arm laid across her shoulders.

  She nervously started to sip her wine and gave him an occasional wary glance out of the corners of her eyes.

  “Sarah, Love, please tell me what it is you want from me, so I can go on and get me something to eat.”

  “You’re hungry?” she asked befuddled, and Jareth nodded while pinching the bridge of his nose.

  “Yes”, he hissed quietly. “How many times do I have to repeat myself with you? Has something gone wrong with your hearing since I last saw you?”

  “Last saw me? You mean the run....the maze....all that stuff was real? I thought it was only a vivid dream.”

  “Don’t call my Labyrinth a maze, Dear”, Jareth sighed with frustration.

  Sarah stared at him and nearly forgot she had her wineglass in her hand. With one quick swoop of his hand, Jareth saved it from crashing onto her floor and spilling its contents.

  “Please be more careful, Love”, he chastised her and placed the glass on the table, only to return to his intimate little position immediately afterwards.

  “Now for the last time, what is it you need of me?”

  Sarah gave him a blank stare and shrugged her shoulders.

  “I don’t know. Nothing, I guess. Like I said, you can go, it was a mistake. I never meant to call you. Bye, bye. You can go now.”

  She waved her hand as if shoeing away a dog, which didn’t sit well with Jareth, and he gave her a reprimanding look with furrowed brows. In the end, he decided to not retort and instead to ignore it. The poor thing was obviously in shock over his presence.

  “Ah, see, my pet, that’s where you are wrong. There is always a reason to call or wish for me. Nothing is done without a reason or a purpose. What’s said is said. I’m here, and I will not, nor can I, leave until you tell me what you want from me, and the wish is completed.”

  Jareth leaned forward and removed his cape, his gloves, and pulled his boots off his feet, carefully placing them under the table and slinging his cape and gloves across the back of the settee next to the chair. He then put his feet onto the small coffee table in front of the chair and leaned back into the seat again.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Sarah asked bewildered.

  “Getting comfortable, since I’m going to be here for some time, it looks like.”

  “Wa.... what?” she screeched and tried to jump up, only to be held down by Jareth’s hand grabbing her arm and keeping her seated close to him.

  “I’m beginning to like this close intimate little sit together, Love”, he purred into her ear and grinned from ear to ear as his arm crept slowly around her back again.

  “I’m not your pet nor your love, and do let me go”, she complained, sounding whinier than she had intended to, and she immediately hated herself for it.

  She was nearly thirty years old for crying out loud. A mature adult woman, not some whiny bratty teenage girl. Her fifteen yearlong fantasy man was sitting next to her, oozing with sexual sensuality, and she was complaining?

  Her body’s libido screamed with glorious excitement, praising every god in the heavens that ever existed, and her mouth ordered her dream man to take a blistering hike. What was wrong with her?

  “Ah, but you are”, came his subtle response with the same erotic purr as before. “I’m the embodiment of your dreams, the man of your subconscious desires, and the sooner you realize this and admit to it, the sooner we can move forward, or more precisely move into my castle and into our bedroom.”

  He leaned into her with a licentious smirk on his face as he cooed into her ears with such a salacious hum, it created more shivers of desire to run down her spine, only to settle deep within her loins. It took every ounce of her willpower to withdraw herself from the sensation and recover her senses.

  “Move into your castle? Say, what? Your, our bedroom? Have you lost your damn mind?” she now yelled and tried to push herself away from him to no avail.

  “Now, now Sarah, no need to become violent and hysteric”, he replied calmly.

  “I. Am. Not. Hysteric”, she growled through gritted teeth and balled her fist in an unsuccessful attempt to connect it with his forearm.

  “Such a little wildcat”, Jareth chuckled and held on tight to her wrists. “I think a little taming of the shrew is in order.”

  “Taming of the wa....?” Sarah tried to argue back but was not able to, as his mouth pressed firmly against hers in an urgent kiss.

  His lips felt warm and soft against hers, and she involuntarily gave a blissful moan while she parted her lips to let him gain entrance with his tongue.

  Jareth kept holding on to her wrists, but his grip had softened, and Sarah was no longer struggling. Her libido yelled seven hallelujahs towards the heavens, and her reasoning mind was cursing her for such quick surrender.

  His kiss was skilled, erotic, and oh so damn sensual that Sarah nearly melted under it. She closed her eyes and slowly began to wrap her now lose arms around his neck.

  Jareth halted his progress for only an instance, stunned at her surrender and eagerness to participate in the osculation, but continued as soon as he had regained his composure, smugly smiling into the kiss.

  His tongue penetrated her mouth through her parted lips, which tasted like sweet red wine and peach scented lip gloss. He couldn’t help but to stifle a moan into her mouth as his arms wrapped ever so tightly around her back.

  The fire in his loins began to kindle, and he could feel his erection getting harder with each second that passed. He was well aware, by Sarah’s body language and the smell of her pheromones she exuded, that she was more than turned on herself.

  “Oh, my god”, Sarah whispered confounded when he finally broke the kiss very slowly and looked deeply into her eyes with his mismatched ones, she found so alluring and enthralling.

  “That was.... get the hell off of me, you pervert”, she suddenly yelled and yanked herself away from him as she jumped off the chair and now stood angrily in front of him.

  Her tone had changed midsentence, and Jareth was utterly taken aback by her complete change in demeanour. One second, she was melted butter in his hands, and the next, she tried to scratch his eyes out while she hissed obscenities his way.

  “You are one mystifying creature, Sarah Williams”, he muttered with disappointment and hurt in his voice.

  Immediately, Sarah felt bad for her violent outburst and bit her bottom lip with remorse. The kiss had been the best she had ever had, or ever will have, unless she was going to get more from this god of a....what on Earth was he? He most certainly was not human, and he definitely was not a goblin.

  She looked at him with critical eyes and scanned over his face like a crime investigator, trying to find subtle clues at a murder scene that would point to the perpetrator.

  “You surely are not a goblin nor a human. What are you, Jareth?” she asked quietly, trying to smooth over the waves she had inadvertently created.

  His eyes had looked so sad for an instance when she had yelled at him for kissing her. Now they were cold and harsh and his countenance stoic without any trace of the warmth and tenderness from only a minute ago.

  “Mercurial creature”, she thought. “But oh, so damn sexy.”

  “I am a fae. We are immortal and close enough to humans in physiology. I possess magic, and I can travel between mine and your world. It is my duty to take care of the wished-away children.”

  “You mean, you steal babies like you did with Toby?” Sarah countered and immediately regretted her choice of words, as the eyes of the Goblin King darkened and turned nearly black.

  His entire demeanour stiffened as his body became rigid and his jaws were tightly clenched shut. His breathing through flared nostrils had deepened and his lips twitched as if to decide whether to bare his teeth or remain tight-lipped.

  “How dare you, you obtuse little wench. I do not steal children. I have never once in my entire existence stolen a child nor ever will I. To accuse me of such is to accuse me of the worst crime of my kingdom. I took Toby, because you wished him away; you did this, not I. I only followed your wish because that is my duty. I am the caretaker of unwanted children, not a babysitter for spoiled, selfish, and impetuous teenage brats.”

  If his words had been knives, they could not have been any sharper, as they cut away at Sarah and left her raw and bleeding with embarrassment and guilt while tears started to fill her eyes. But the Goblin King was not done with her, and his rage, she herself had kindled with her ill thought spoken words.

  “I am sorry, I didn’t....” she stuttered, but he paid her no attention as he stood up and strode slowly towards her in a menacing manner.

  “You wished him away, and I took him. I let you run my Labyrinth to get him back, which you nearly destroyed. I gave you more chances than any other runner in history by allowing three of my subjects to help you. Do you think, they were there by chance or out of the goodness of their hearts? They were there by my orders.”

  Jareth took a deep breath as he closed the distance between them with an angry face and a few quick strides of his long legs.

 “You think my goblins are so ill-trained and ill-equipped that they cannot defend my castle against a whiny little girl? Do you think me of such a fool? I ordered them to let you through and to act as if they were putting up a fight. They put on a nice little show for you, and you believed it all.”

  Jareth face was now so close that his nose nearly touched hers, and she could feel his hot breath and his anger exuding with each word he spoke, creating chills of fear to run down her trembling spine.

  “I let you win, I let you come to me in my castle. I did all this for you. I.Let.You.Win. I gave Toby back before you even put one foot on my castle’s doorsteps. I was more than generous for you.”

  “And how did you thank me? You refused every offer I made to you, every single dream, and every single promise. All of it. You couldn’t see past your own nose in spite of it. I offered you my heart, my soul. I offered myself to you as your slave, and all you could say was that I had no power over you.”

  He stepped back and stood still for a moment, his eyes regaining his usual blue colour, but his face was blanketed with an incredible sadness as his body lost its tenseness, and he released the fists of his hands.

  “All I wanted from you was to love me, fear me, and do as I say, and I would have been your slave for eternity. You cut me out of your life, Sarah, with those cruel six words. I could not come to you unless you called or wished for me.”

  “I have waited fifteen years, fifteen agonizing years for you to call on me. Watching you in silence, not being able to do anything about it. Watching others enjoy with you what I yearned for....”

  His voice failed him as he crumbled back into her chair and buried his face into his hands. Sarah stood in shock, unable to respond. He had just poured his entire heart out to her, laid it at her feet, including his soul. In a sense, it had been the most romantic declaration of love anyone had ever given her, and she was confused over all of it.

  “Jareth”, Sarah whispered quietly as she crouched before him and gingerly took his gloved hands into hers. “I had no idea. I am so, so, so incredibly sorry over all of this. I had no idea. I was much too young to understand.”

  She shifted uneasily in front of him but kept holding on to this hand as she glanced up to him, trying to catch a glimpse of his face, which was half covered by his long hair.

  “I did not know what you meant by this entire slave speech. I was only fifteen. Too ignorant of such adult things. Jareth, please, believe me, I didn’t know, or I would never have hurt you like this. I wish I could take those six words back.”

  “What’s said is said, Sarah. Words have meaning in my world. They are powerful and cannot be taken back”, Jareth replied with a solemn tone in his now quiet voice. “I do accept your apology though if that means we can start over again, on the right foot, as you mortals like to call it.”

  “Yes, maybe we can”, Sarah answered, unsure of what he meant by it.

  Would he be in her world and in her life? Is that what she wanted? Why did she had wished for him? Would he leave now or stay for an undetermined time?

  “Jareth, I release you from my wish earlier this evening. You can go home”, she added and was surprised to see a smirk form around his lips when he lifted his head to look at her.

  “It is not that easy, Love”, he answered, having fully regained his usual haughtiness and self-confidence.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, releasing his hands and taking a few steps back to get some distance between him and her as he stood up and now loomed over her once more.

  “You wished me here, and I cannot leave until you let me fulfil the wish.”

  “What the bloody hell”, Sarah mumbled and started pacing around the room, trying hard to find a solution, all the while glancing at him every now and then with a wary expression on her still distrustful countenance.

  Jareth stood silent and motionless in the middle of the room, watching her with intense eyes as she kept walking the room like a panther in a cage. He was half amused by her constant mumbling and scrunched up look on her face.

  “Sarah’, he interrupted her thoughts and contemplations. “It is quite obvious that you made this wish without your direct knowledge, so I shall give you a way out of this. Another deal, so to speak.”

  “Another deal? What kind of deal?” she asked with growing suspicion.

  She remembered his trickiness from her run, the way he loved to play games and his half-baked truth in the way he twisted words around.

  “How would you like to play a little game? We both know what we want, well, I know what I want, you however, don’t seem to have a clue. So, let me help you discover what it really is you desire.”

  “A game?” Sarah squinted her eyes at him, not trusting his offer. “What kind of game and what are the rules?”

  “Ah, so suspicious, aren’t we?” he grinned and started to juggle a crystal ball on his hand, which she followed with mesmerized eyes.

  “What is this?” she inquired, tilting her head to the side to gain a better look at the spinning crystal.

  “It’s a crystal, nothing more, nothing less. It contains the rules of our little game. Rules are important, I agree, so, let’s go over them.” 

  Jareth pointed towards the table and sat himself cross-legged on the floor beside it. Sarah followed suit on the opposite side. Jareth set the clear crystal in the middle of the table.

  “Here is our game. We will play thirteen....”

  “Thirteen? Have you lost your mind?” Sarah interjected with a screechy voice.

  Jareth flinched with obvious pain and pinched the bridge of his nose again while he screwed his eyes shut.

  “Stop this infernal noise at once”, he demanded. “You may not be a harpy, but you sure sound like one.”

  Immediately, Sarah shut her mouth while her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. It had been at least ten years since someone had ordered her to shut up in such a demeaning fashion.

  “So impetuous and assuming. I can’t believe you are thirty in a week”, he rolled his eyes and gave her a condescending look.

  “How do you know this?” she gasped.

  “Unimportant, but I do know much more about you than you realize”, he smirked. “Now quit interrupting me”, he knitted his brows at her.

  Sarah bit her bottom lip and looked away. She felt like a little schoolgirl, being scolded by him like this for her unruly behaviour. Worst of all, he was right in doing so. She definitely needed to keep her temper in check. It truly was unbecoming of a woman her age.

  “As I said”, he started off again, “we will play thirteen games of my choosing. Easy little Aboveground party games you know. They can be done right here in your little apartment. Each game will be played for a different prize, or penalty.”

  “Penalty?” Sarah interjected again but immediately shut her mouth, seeing his disapproving expression on his face. “Sorry”, she mumbled as he continued.

  “.... different penalties and prizes which will be determined prior to each game. The person winning the most games in the end is the overall winner and will get their main wish.”

  Jareth paused briefly and gave her a soft smile, which she returned, not even knowing why. She found him so incredibly handsome and alluring, she found it hard to resist his charm.

  “Go on and fall into his wonderful strong arms and let him ravish you. Go on, do it. Do it now”, her out of control sexual urge tried to persuade her.

  Immediately, her reasoning mind took over her libido, and she turned her head with a frown, looking away, causing his smile to falter, as well as his face returning to its stoic, emotionless expression.

  “There will be no magic used in this game, so, we’ll be on equal footing. Should you win the majority of games in the end, I will return to my world and never bother you again. You won’t hear from me ever again and are free to live your life.”

  Sarah snapped her head and stared at his face. Is that what she had wished for? For him to disappear forever? She wasn’t so sure. Her mind screamed hooray at the thought, but her libido was in mourning and started to wail and sing a lament at the thought of him leaving her. Why was she so damn conflicted?

  “Should I win, you will come with me to my world and stay by my side, forever, as my queen.”

  Jareth waited for her to make a counterpoint, and he didn’t have long to wait.

  “Are you nuts? I can’t agree to those rules and terms. They are way too high. What if I lose? I can’t just forget about everything here, pack up my stuff, and move in with you for eternity. I don’t even know you. What if you are a psychopath? What if you turn me into a goblin when you tire of me?”

  She scoffed and gave him an incredulous face, which he laughed at and her ridiculous outburst. Why on Earth would he want to turn his wife into a goblin? And he surely would never tire of her.

  “I was afraid the terms might be too tough for you. And here I thought you were my champion, the one who bested me in my own Labyrinth. Where is your spirit, Sarah? Your sense for adventure?” he taunted her across the table as he leaned forward with his wicked smile curled around his oh so kissable lips.

  “I hate you”, she mumbled under her breath, avoiding his gaze.

  “I know you don’t, far from it, Love”, he answered with a low growl, causing her to involuntarily shiver with desire.

  “If you can’t agree to those terms, then I am afraid, I will have to remain here until you figure out why you wished for me and what it is you want. I have forever, time doesn’t matter to me. How about you?”

  He gave her a devious grin with a cocked head as he wiggled his eyebrows, which caused her to wrinkle her nose in disgust. Her choices here were quite limited. No matter which way she chose, she felt she was getting the short end of the stick. It looked as if the odds were stacked against her.

  “Fine”, she finally agreed to and gave him a not so happy look. Jareth on the other hand beamed from ear to ear.

  “Splendid. What’s said is said. We start tomorrow....”

  “Wait, does that mean you will be staying here during the entire time?”

  Sarah wasn’t quite sure where and how she would accommodate a thirteen day stay from the Goblin King, but he only laughed and shook his head with overt amusement.

  “No, Love, I will be returning to my castle. I do have a lot of work to do. After all, I am a king. I will come here each evening for the next thirteen nights. Shall we say about six o’clock your time?”

  Sarah contemplated over it for a few minutes. It all sounded good to her, but she was sure he had a few tricks up his sleeves, and she wanted to make sure all her bases were covered.

  “Just to reemphasize, the rules for each day will be gone over prior to the game in regards to award and penalty, and how the game is handled, correct?”

  “That is correct”, Jareth confirmed.

  “Ok, then I agree”, she sighed, still feeling uneasy over this entire deal.

  “Not that it matters, but you had already agreed to the terms. Now shall we seal the deal?”

  “Seal the deal?” she asked and instantly regretted asking.

  Jareth pulled her quickly into a tight embrace, and she found his lips pressing eagerly against hers. She wanted to resist, but her body would not let her as she willingly opened her mouth to once again allow his tongue to enter and seek out her own.

  “Traitor”, her mind hissed.

  “I know, but isn’t it wonderful?” her libido replied, shooting off several bottle rockets.

  His hand moved to the back of her head, and his fingers started to entangle themselves into her long hair while his other hand pressed against the small of her back. He moaned with desire as he deepened the kiss. Sarah couldn’t help but to immensely enjoy his second kiss of the night.

  Again, she felt the heat deep within her lower body as it started to reach a dangerous boiling point. She forced herself to pull back out of his embrace and break the kiss.

  “Perv”, she panted with glazed over eyes and swollen lips while Jareth let out a loud laughter full of mirth.

  For some reason, Sarah enjoyed hearing him laugh like this, and it made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

  “You need to leave”, she urged him on before her body could betray her again in front of him.

  “Indeed, I do”, he groaned painfully, “or I may have to do something that you may not approve of quite yet”, he added salaciously and pushed the palm of his hand against his very large erection straining against his tight pants.

  Sarah’s gaze followed his hand and instantly averted her eyes when she, too, noticed the immense bulge and gulped with a sudden internal jolt.

  “Holly smoke, what a package”, her libido jubilated in celebration at the sight of him, while Sarah’s face turned deep red.

  “Yeah, I think you should go now”, she quietly second his motion, causing him to give her a lecherous and shameless grin.

 “I’ll leave, but be assured, Love, I shall be back at six tomorrow evening. Keep dinner light for me, Precious”, he chuckled and disappeared in a cloud of glitter before she had a chance to retort.

  “Dinner? What? That wasn’t part of the deal to feed the Goblin King”, she grumbled and went to get her dustbin to sweep up the glitter residue on her floor.

  “We haven’t even started yet, and he is already cheating. Dinner. Pfft. Who does he think he is?” she complained under her breath, but a licentious smile had already worked its way onto her lips, betraying her obstinate mind once more.

**************************************************

  With a cracking sound, Jareth re-appeared in his throne room, cape billowing, and the air condensing with his powerful magic aura. All goblins instantly ceased their chattering and laughing and stared at the looming figure, seating himself upon the goblin throne.

  He sat motionless, one leg slung languidly over the armrest while the other rested on the floor, his chin cradled by the fingers of his hand as a riding crop tapped out a steady drumbeat against his grounded leg.

  A wicked smile curled around his thinly pressed lips, and a flair of haughtiness appeared on his countenance. He conjured a crystal ball on the tips of his fingers and stared into it intently.

  Slowly, the goblins encroached on him with quizzical faces as they steadily filed up the stairs to his throne and surrounded him to equally take a look into the crystal that seemed to have their king spellbound.

  Inside, they saw the young dark-haired woman crouching on the floor of her apartment, sweeping up what seemed to be glitter into a dustbin, mouthing unintelligible words to herself. It was the faint impish grin around her lips that gave her away, and the Goblin King let out an amused bellowed laugh.

  “Oh, Precious, how long I have waited for this moment; for you to call upon me, and now you finally have.”

  The goblins began to cackle with mirth as soon as they heard their king’s loud laughter and statement. The throne room erupted in a roar of cheers and chortles.

  The king was in a good mood for the first time in fifteen years. His usual sourness had evaporated into the thin night air of the Underground and had been replaced with something new, a feeling of hope. They dared to believe it could be so.

  More and more of the goblins gathered around him as they were drawn to their king like moths to a fire. The crystal began to spin rapidly on his fingertips and then lifted into the air and burst.

  “I have located my queen, and this time, I will make sure she won’t escape. Ready this castle at once, for I will be bringing home my queen.”

  “When, My Liege?” a gleeful goblin asked with a choking voice.

  “Soon. Very soon”, Jareth answered coolly.

  The statement hung in the air for only a split moment before the goblins let out a deafening cheer and raced into all directions with eager faces to begin the chores that had been assigned to them. The queen was coming, and the castle had to be spotless.

  “Mary, I’ll be in my chambers and expect to have dinner served there”, he commanded, and a small goblin woman eagerly bopped her head with a toothy grin before she scurried off to retrieve the king’s evening meal and have it brought to him.

  Jareth swiftly lifted himself off his throne and casually descended the stairs, pleased to see all of his goblin subjects busying themselves with their duties. He wore a smug grin and let out a quiet chuckle before he left the room and walked down the dimly lit hallway to his chambers with long steady strides that spoke of an urgency and mission.

  He could have transported himself directly, but he found solace and direction when he walked, and he could allow himself to enter a pensive state to contemplate over his next plan.

  Once he reached his ostentatious chambers and had entered, he removed his cape, gloves, and boots, and plopped himself into his favourite chair by the fireplace, conjuring another crystal.

  He reclined himself into the backrest and wistfully smiled into the crystal. The dark-haired beauty laid in her bed, scantily clad with only a pair of black lacy panties and a tank top made of a thin material that did barely hide her perfectly rounded breasts underneath.

  “Sarah, my Sarah. How you have turned my world once again”, he whispered with a longing in his voice that betrayed his outwardly indifferent appearance.

  His dinner stayed untouched for the rest of the night as he sat motionless, gazing into his crystal to watch the woman sleep and toss in her dreams.

  After what seemed an eternity, he dissolved the crystal and transformed into an owl, spreading his wings, and taking flight over the Labyrinth towards the Aboveground.

  The night was still and quiet, except for the whispers emanating from the castle.

  “The queen is coming home.”

Chapter Text

  Sarah looked at her clock. It was fifteen minutes before six. The Goblin King would be arriving any minute now, and she involuntarily became anxious. Why did this man, or fae, rile her so much?

  It had taken her hours to fall asleep last night, and she had been quite groggy all day from the lack of sleep. She had tossed and turned, and every time she had attempted to close her eyes, she had seen his two mismatched and oh so enthralling eyes in front of her.

  She envisioned that wicked smirk of his, the way he had cocked his head, the sadness in his eyes when she had pushed him away, his low rumbling voice, and the way his kisses had felt. Oh, those kisses. Why did he have to be such a phenomenal kisser? She hated him for that.

  She had thought over and over about the way he had laid his heart and soul at her feet and had basically proclaimed his love for her. How sincere and hurt he had sounded. It nearly had broken her own heart listening to him.

  Had it been all a ploy to convince her of his innocent little ways, so he could trick her into this game? She knew he liked to play, and he liked to cheat and trick people. The Goblin King did not like to lose. She definitely had to be on her toes tonight.

  She checked the pizza in the oven one more time and hoped that it would hold up to his royal standards in regard to dinner. And why was she even worried what he would think about her choice for dinner?

  “Get a fucking grip on yourself”, Sarah scolded herself as she adjusted the temperature to a few degrees lower. “He gets what I serve him.”

  As she waited on the pizza to finish baking, she set the table and even placed a small vase with a few dried flowers in the centre of the dining table and lit a candle. She stood back and a frown developed across her face.

  “Oh, hell no, what are you thinking Sarah?” she yelled out and hastily removed the vase and the candle, which she quickly blew out. “This is not a fucking Valentine’s date. It’s the Goblin King for crying out loud. Your nemesis.”

 She stomped back to her cupboard and threw the two offensive items into it, slamming the door shut.

  “Are you always talking to yourself?” an amused baritone voice came from the doorway of her kitchen.

  Startled, Sarah spun around and nearly dropped the tray she was holding to place the pizza one.

  “What the fuck....” she gasped, clutching her hand to her heart as she hung on to the kitchen counter for support. “Are you trying to kill me before we have a chance to start our game?” she huffed angrily.

  “Such language. Really Sarah, I need to enrol you in etiquette classes as soon as we are done with all these silly games.”

  He cast her a denigratory glance as he stepped into the room.

  “Talking about etiquette. Can’t you knock and enter like a normal person?” she hissed.

  “I am not a normal person”, he retorted haughtily, cocking his head with a sly grin.

  “You can say that again”, she mumbled under her breath and turned off the oven.

  Jareth sat down at the table, not waiting on her to offer him to take his seat.

  “So much for etiquette. Looks like he needs some lessons himself”, she thought to herself but refrained from remarking on his pretentious behaviour.

  She opened the oven door and pulled out the piping hot pizza, whose aroma wafted through her small apartment. Jareth took a whiff, and his eyes dilated slightly when he took in the delicious scent.

  “Pizza, one of my favourite Aboveground dishes”, he remarked with a coy smile that made Sarah feel all woozy inside again.

  “I’m surprised you are familiar with human dishes like pizza. Isn’t that a bit beneath your royal highness standards?”

  If she had tried to come over as facetious and mocking, it hadn’t made any impact on the Goblin King, who now leaned back in his chair and casually took in his surroundings.

  “I have visited your world on occasions besides for duty”, he smirked at her. “There’s more interesting things to be had besides retrieving unwanted children”, he added, wiggling his eyebrows.

  “Spare me your stories of conquest”, Sarah replied with annoyance.

  “Now why would you think that was the reason? Are you jealous, Love?” he asked with a smug grin, his amusement clearly visible in his eyes.

  “Oh, please, not even”, Sarah retorted and slammed the pizza on the table.

  “Why do I feel pissed off, thinking about him dating other mortal women? I don’t give a shit what or whom he does when he’s up here.”

  “Sorry, it slipped. The tray is quite hot”, Sarah explained with a blushed face and quickly turned away from Jareth to retrieve the pizza slicer from a drawer.

  Jareth chuckled inwardly with ever increasing merriment. His dear sweet Sarah was jealous; it was quite obvious. The only one refusing to acknowledge this fact was her. He would make sure to exploit this emotion of hers and use it for his advantage.

  “Help yourself, this is not a fancy royal dinner affair”, Sarah snarked and started to eat her slice with her hands, once again drawing Jareth’s annoyed look.

  “Only snooty uppity jerks eat pizza with a knife and fork”, she commented at his countenance of unease and obvious desire for silverware.

  After watching her devour her first slice in such an uncivilized manner, he shrugged his shoulders in defeat and dug in himself. He found it actually quite entertaining and relaxing to eat in this fashion, and he had to admit, he quite enjoyed it himself.

  Several times, he glanced across the table and met Sarah’s eyes as they exchanged a brief smile or two. She had blushed both times, which had made his heart jump with joy, as hope crept back into it.

  Hope, he hadn’t felt in so many years. It nearly had turned him cold and hard in his feelings for her, but now, he once again warmed up to his idea, and this time, he would see to it that he was successful.

  “I must admit, eating this way is actually quite liberating”, Jareth stated at the end of their dinner, and Sarah couldn’t help but to giggle.

  “Leave it up to me, and I’ll turn you into a regular guy in no time”, she jested.

  “Is that a promise, Love?” he asked seductively and caused her to blush once more.

  “Well, are you ready to begin?” she asked quickly to change the subject, having drawn out the unavoidable for long enough and not wanting to get caught in his web of seduction.

  “Ready when you are”, Jareth replied quickly and wiped his mouth and hands with his napkin.

  “If you would like to wash up before we begin, the bathroom is right off the hallway.”

  She gestured towards the door at the end of the living room by the front door.

  “I think I may. Pizza is a greasy business”, he laughed and disappeared into the small lavatory.

  Sarah used the time to clean up the table and put the dishes into her dishwasher. After she had washed her own hands, she sat down and waited patiently on his majesty to join her, which didn’t take long.

  “So, what game are we playing tonight?” she asked nervously while biting her bottom lip.

  This was the prankish Goblin King, and she expected just about anything from him, no matter how obnoxious.

  “Two truths and a lie”, he replied dryly and scanned her face for any reaction.

  “How do you know of this game?” she asked perplexed.

  “I told you; I am here for other things besides business. More enjoyable things if I do must say”, he replied with a quiet laughter.

  “Playing games? I see”, she sounded snarky and definitely not pleased.

  “I’m playing a game with you right now, am I not?” he kept egging her on.

  “Good to know you are skilled in that”, she replied flippantly.

  “Highly skilled”, he corrected her with an impish grin and a lecherous look in his eyes.

  “Spare me”, she mumbled under her breath with a now grumpy disposition on her face.

  Jareth smirked with delight. He had his little minx right where he wanted her. Full of jealous emotions and assumptions of his activities in her world. This would be quite entertaining tonight; he was sure of it. He had no intentions of correcting her wrong suppositions of him. In matter of fact, he planned on exploiting them further.

  “Two truths and one lie. I would assume you know the rules”, Jareth continued and disregarded Sarah’s little outburst.

  “How will I know that you tell me the truth with your answers?”

  She gave him a suspicious look and put her hands on her hips for emphasis.

  “You are a well-known cheat”, she added with a frown.

  “I have never cheated in a game, my dear”, he argued.

  “I beg to differ. You stole three hours from me in the Labyrinth. What do you call that? That’s cheating in any sense of fairness.”

  “Oh, Precious, you and your fairness. I only upped the ante upon your request. After all, never insult someone’s game while you are playing it, and I would advise you not to do so now either.”

  His tone held a definite warning, and Sarah bit her tongue to not aggravate him further.

  “But to answer your questions, we will put a truth crystal in the middle of the table. If one of us lies, it will turn red. If you tell the truth, it will turn green. Is that acceptable to you?”

  He implored her with his eyes, and Sarah knitted her eyebrows yet again. She still didn’t trust him and needed further assurances.

  ”How do I know it is not rigged?”

  She crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave him a challenging look. Jareth pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved a deep sigh with closed eyes. He needed to gain her trust, but she made it nearly impossible for him to do so with her constant obstination. They definitely needed to work on this.

  “Always so suspicious. You must learn to trust people more.”

  “Trust you? Yeah right”, she piped off with a scowl.

  “Fine. Let’s do a test. I am going to tell you a blatant lie, and you can see for yourself.”

  Jareth looked at her expectantly as if waiting for her approval. Sarah motioned for him to go ahead.

  “I am not the Goblin King”, he said, and immediately, the crystal turned bright red. “In my view, I am extremely handsome and irresistible”, he added, and the crystal turned green.

  “Oh, for crying out loud. How vain can one be”, Sarah spat in exasperation, causing Jareth to chuckle with unrestrained mirth.

  “Your turn”, he motioned.

  “Ok. I am a freelance photographer”, she claimed, and the crystal turned green. “I hate pizza”, she added, and the crystal glowed in bright red.

  “Happy now?” Jareth snarked and gave her a scolding look.

  “I hate you”, she mumbled under her breath, and the crystal instantly flashed bright red.

  Jareth did not hide his amusement, as he broke out in a loud laughter and holding the crystal right under her nose. Sarah gave out a growl and threw her hands up in the air. Arrogant jerk just had to rub it in too.

  “I think someone just lied”, he smirked while Sarah turned beet red and bit her bottom lip.

  “You tricked me”, she grumbled.

  “Enough chit chat. Let’s begin”, Jareth ordered impatiently, placing the truth crystal back in the middle of the table.

  “Whoa, wait one minute, Your Majesty. We have not discussed the awards and penalties for winning or losing”, Sarah piped up and held out her arm.

  “You made me lose concentration and track of thoughts with your constant suspicions”, he gravelled. “Now for the rules, if at any point you shall lie instead of telling the truth, I get a kiss on the lips. At any time, you get the answer wrong, I shall give you a kiss as well.”

  He gave her a salacious grin as Sarah wrinkled her nose but did not object.

  “Perv. You and your kisses. Fine, but no tongue, and no longer than five seconds”, she insisted, earning herself another eye roll from Jareth.

  “Agreed”, he answered exhausted and waved his hand. “We have not even started yet, and you are already wearing me out”, he muttered with annoyance.

  “I’m not letting you trick me like you did in the Labyrinth”, she snapped back.

  “I did not trick.... never mind, let’s move on. What do you want if you catch me lying or missing an answer? Which you won’t, but just for the god forsaken sanity of the rules.”

  “Hm, I want you to knock on my front door and ask for permission to enter my apartment like any normal person”, she decided with a victorious smirk.

  “Agreed. For each round I miss, I shall knock on your door the next day”, Jareth replied hastily. “First round, ladies first.”

  “What do you mean for each round? I want you to knock every damn time you show up”, she hissed perturbed at the way he already twisted her words.

  “Then you better win every round”, he stated matter-of-factly.

  She tossed him a death glare across the table and opened her mouth for a rebuttal, but he held up his hand with slight aggravation.

  “First round, let’s begin or we’ll be here all night discussing what you want.”

  “Two knocks, and I can chose the rest if I win more rounds”, she snarled at him with chagrin.

  Jareth pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved a deep sigh. She was always so complicated. Why couldn’t she just follow the damn rules?

  “Fine. It’s the first game, so I will be generous tonight”, he conceited snidely and waved her on. 

  “I have visited China. I have visited Lebanon. I have visited Switzerland”, Sarah stated quickly with a confident smile around her lips.

  “Hm,” Jareth put his finger on his lips and gave her a deep look. “That’s too easy, Love. You have never been to China.”

  “Damn”, Sarah grunted. Of course, he would know, he had scried on her with his crystals. That was not fair at all.

  “I guess that is a kiss for me”, Jareth grinned, leaned over, and placed a gentle chaste kiss onto her lips. “I think I will like this game”, he whispered after he withdrew.

  “Don’t be so sure, Goblin King”, Sarah sneered with pretend disdain while her libido was doing a victory dance, screaming for more of the same. “Your turn.”

  “I have been king for three-hundred years. I have never broken a law. I have fae servants.”

  He tilted his head and waited for her answer while she threw him a look of disgust.

  “That’s not fair. I don’t know anything about your personal life.”

  “Tah, tah, tah, Sarah. That is not my fault, and it is irrelevant.”

  He waved his finger mockingly in front of her eyes, and she felt like grabbing it and breaking and ripping it off his hand.

  “Fine, I’m sure you broke a law or two in your time. Cheater”, she hissed. The crystal turned bright red as Sarah gasped.

  “I have been king for four-hundred years, my dear. I believe you owe me another kiss.”

  This time, he held the kiss a tad longer and slightly deepened it. Sarah wanted to object, but her body didn’t allow it as she melted like ice cream under the hot July sun.

  “That’s two for me. You better ante up your game, Love”, he teased her as Sarah got up and grabbed a bottle of wine out of the fridge.

  “We’re going to need this”, she declared and poured two glasses to the brim. “Ok, two truths, one lie. I have never run a red light. I have never gotten a ticket. I have never flipped off a cop. There, get that one right; I dare you.”

  “Hm”, Jareth contemplated for a minute with scrunched eyebrows before a smile lit up his face. “You have flipped off a cop and gotten a ticket for it, but you never ran a red light.”

  “What the? How the hell did you....? You’re cheating somehow”, she hissed.

  “I swear to you; I am not cheating. I am only better at games than you due to experience. Plus, I know your temper. It is obvious you would flip of a cop in an anger fit.”

  “We’ll see about that before the night is over”, she sneered back while Jareth collected the third kiss of the night.

  “I love screaming children. I love men in tight pants. I love the rain on a cold winter’s night.”

  Sarah blinked her eyes twice at this one. All three sounded like lies to her. She knew he loved children, but screaming ones? She knew he loved tight pants, but other men in them? And who would love rain on a cold winter’s night?

  “Agh” she sighed with growing frustration and took a giant swallow of her wine, nearly emptying her glass in one gulp.

  “Give up?” he taunted her with a sneer over the brim of his own glass, which he sipped slowly. One of them would be keeping their faculties tonight, and he would make sure it was him.

  “Unlikely, give me a minute”, she snarled back, taking another sip. “I got it; you do not love rain on a cold winter’s night.”

  Jareth face fell with disappointment, and Sarah was close to celebrating her first victory.

  “Why on Earth would I love men in tight pants? The only man I love in tight pants is myself. And here I thought you knew me better than that. Such a pity.”

  “What? Oh no, no, no, that’s just wrong. What is the right answer then?” Sarah was beyond herself for having lost four rounds in a row. She looked at the truth crystal for help, but it shined on in bright green.

  Jareth leaned across the table, pulled her head gently to his and gave her an ardent kiss that outdid his previous three, yet still adhered to the rules. Sarah felt herself sinking into the deep hole of surrender. Surrender of her body to his kisses.

  Her libido was celebrating the fourth of July while her mind was cursing like a New Yorker during five o’clock traffic. This was so wrong.

  “Damn him and damn his kisses”, her mind screamed at her with outrage.

  “I love rain on a cold winter’s night, because it gives me the chance to cuddle up with my love naked in front of a roaring fireplace. I love children unconditionally, whether they behave or not”, he answered with a soft voice after he finished his fourth kiss for the night.

  Sarah could only stare at him. She had never taken him for a romantic, and that he loved children unconditionally, tugged on her very heartstrings. Had she misjudged him that badly?

  “So, you do have a girlfriend or wife even?” she asked, not really wanting a reply as her heartbeat sped up a few beats into a higher gear, and she had to take another sip of her wine, refilling her glass once again.

  “Not yet, but I’m working on it”, he whispered, looking deeply into her eyes, and causing her heart to flutter wildly as her face blushed a deep red. “That’s four for me and zero for you. Your turn”, he interrupted her thoughts as he jolted her back to the game at hand.

  “Fine”, she replied, not being happy with herself at that moment. “I have never been in love. I have never cheated on my boyfriend. I have never made love with someone I don’t care about.”

  Jareth furrowed his brows.

  “Did we get extremely personal all the sudden?”

  “I only upped the ante”, she replied smartly.

  Jareth took his time to think about the three options presented to him, and he emptied an entire glass of wine, while Sarah’s eyes rested intently on him.

  “I.... I’m not sure. Precious, why have you never been in love?” he asked with a stunned undertone. It was more of a genuine concerned question than an answer to the game.

  Sarah sat back with her mouth open. This wasn’t happening. How could he have possibly guessed this? How could he know her most inner feelings? She almost felt numb when he collected his fifth kiss of the night, even though it was gentle and felt wonderful. She refused to answer his question and urged him on to continue with his statements.

  “I have never had sex with a mortal woman. I have never driven a car. I have never danced in a nightclub.”

  Sarah knitted her brows and thought hard.

  “You have never driven a car before because you don’t need to. But I’m sure you shagged a few mortal women, considering your tight pants and overinflated libido clearly on display.”

  “Congratulation, Love; you won this one”, he smiled with a lecherous grin, taking her answer as a compliment of his prowess.

  “Good. Tomorrow you knock before you enter and wait for me to open the damn door”, Sarah replied with a chuffed smirk.

  “As my lady wishes”, he jested. “And for the two women you so nicely described as being shagged, it was a very long time ago, a couple of centuries, but enjoyable nevertheless.”

  For a split moment Sarah’s heart contracted with a sharp sudden pain, as if a needle had been stuck into it. She flinched ever so lightly from the sensation before she turned back to Jareth.

  “Round seven. Your move”, she commanded coldly.

  She wasn’t sure if Jareth had noticed her flinch, but if he did, he gave no indication of it.

  “I have never eaten a dragon’s liver. I have never eaten a Twinkie bar. I have never eaten hamburger.”

  “Strange choice of food items, but then again, you are strange too”, Sarah remarked while contemplating over her answer.

  Two normal foods and one magic world one. She was sure he had eaten dragon; they probably did exist in his fairy tale world. A hamburger seemed a regular food item, even the Underground would serve. A Twinkie bar?

  “You’ve never eaten a hamburger”, she stated, and Jareth bowed his head to her. “Well done, Champion. How did you come to the conclusion?”

  “You would not know about a Twinkie bar unless you would have eaten one before, that’s how. And I’m sure there are dragons in your world. I can’t believe with all your Aboveground experience you have not eaten an ordinary staple such as a hamburger.”

  “I had other so called Aboveground staples that were much tastier”, he smirked with a licentious grin.

  Sarah looked away. She found his lewd ways obnoxious and not at all funny. They only created a feeling of anger and sorrow inside of her, and she disliked this even more. Apparently Jareth noticed her cooled disposition.

  “It’s not what you are thinking, Sarah. You really need to get your mind out of the gutter. If you need a good lay let me know. It helps tremendously for stress relief, and I would be more than happy to oblige.”

  “You owe me two knocks, nothing else”, she replied with a cold shoulder.

  Jareth only bowed his head slightly and motioned her to continue.

  “I have had sex in a public bathroom. I have had sex in a sauna. I have had sex in a nightclub”, she hastily continued and completely ignored his generous offer for stress relief, highly disappointing her briefly excited libido.

  She stared him down with frigid eyes and an inscrutable countenance on her face. Two could play his little smutty and vulgar game. Jareth smirk was wiped off his face in an instant.

  The mere thought of Sarah having sex with another man repulsed him to no avail, and now he had to guess where she didn’t have sex? He found it outrageous. How dare her to torment him in such a manner.

  Sarah noticed the shift in him immediately and inwardly cheered. Finally, she had gotten to him.

  “The sauna. It’s too hot in a sauna”, Jareth guessed, not looking too pleased.

  “Wrong”, Sarah proclaimed with joy. “The bathroom. Unlike someone else I know, I have standards where I fuck someone”, she hissed.

  Jareth winced briefly at her harsh words, which cut like ice shards into his already wounded heart.

  “You know nothing of me but your assumptions”, he spat at her enraged and looked away, refusing to let her see his pained eyes.

  “And a sauna is better than a bathroom? It’s every bit as filthy as....as your mouth, my dear. I really do have to sign you up for etiquette lessons. You need to be taught some proper decorum.”

  He sounded disgusted, and his voice had a hint of bitterness that seeped right through her laughing ego and worked itself all the way down to her conscience and her closed off heart. Suddenly, she didn’t quite feel that great anymore. She had hurt him.

  “That’s what he gets for acting like a god damn pervert. Always implying smutty stuff he’s doing like he’s some sex god. Arrogant asshole”, her mind screamed at her.

  “But he is a sex god, and you want him”, her libido retorted vehemently.

  “What is it you want me to do?” Jareth asked with an icy voice, jolting her out of her inner dialogue.

  “I want you to clean the table tomorrow after dinner”, Sarah replied instantly and had to giggle at his repulsed face.

  “I’m a king, not a commis waiter”, he objected with a raised voice but was instantly reminded by her that those were the rules, and he had no choice but to comply.

  “Fine”, he growled and gave her a disgruntled look.

  “Round nine. I have had a threesome. I have had group sex. I have been celibate for longer than a year.”

  He bore his now ice-cold eyes into hers, making it impossible for her to read his inscrutable countenance. Sarah held her breath. This game had become definitely a gutter match now.

  Did she really wanted to know the answer to this? For some reason, she almost felt like crying thinking about him doing all these sexual things with other partners.

  “Remember, you don’t give a shit about what he does in bed with those sluts. You are not interested in him, he’s perverted. He doesn’t know how to be monogamous or faithful. He’s not a fairy king, he’s a fairy douche.”

  “That’s easy enough. Someone perverted like you could never go without meaningless sex for longer than a few days. So, you were never celibate for longer than a year. You probably can’t stay celibate for longer than a day”, she spat and stuck her tongue out at him, quaffing her entire glass immediately afterwards and giving him the stink eye.

  “Interesting train of thought you have there. You don’t find me capable of having morals, feelings, or self-control. I’m truly deeply hurt.”

  His eyes rested on hers as they held each other’s gaze for a moment before Sarah withdrew and refilled her wine with a huff of discontent.

  “I have been celibate for fifteen years, Love, but I have never had group sex. Yes, even I have standards. And the threesome was a onetime thing in a drunken stupor three-hundred years ago. Thank you for holding me in such high regards.”

  There was a sadness and honesty in his answer that made Sarah flinch. She did it again, she had hurt him. She had made it clear what she thought of him. That in her eyes, he was no more than a crazy, sex-deranged maniac, who liked to cheat and disregard others.

  “You have not had sex in fifteen years? But why for so long?”

  She bit her bottom lip and looked truly remorseful in that instant. She felt like a total douche herself at this moment for thinking that low of him and displaying her thoughts in such a cruel way. She truly was three for three in her accusative ways of his moral values.

  “I let you figure that one out”, he answered barely audible and waved her on to start her statement.

  “I owe you a kiss”, she reminded him every bit as quietly, and he nodded as if he didn’t care whether he got his reward or not.

  This time, the kiss was quick and lacked any and all feelings unlike the others before it. Sarah’s heart and libido fell down into a chasm so deep there was no end to the bottom.

  She almost felt like forfeiting the game, but she knew he would use it to gloat and poke fun at her for giving up so easily. That joy, she would withhold from him. For all she knew, he may be playing her right now with pretend hurt feelings.

  “What round is this?” she asked, having lost count.

  “Round ten. You know you can no longer win this game. Why not give up and spare you some humiliation“, Jareth replied coldly.

  “What? And give up the change to get a few more chores out of you? Never”, she replied equally cold, earning a sly smirk from him.

  “Now that’s my champion, fighting until the bitter end. By all means continue.” 

  “I have never worn a corset. I have never worn high heels. I have never worn a girdle.”

  Jareth raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes as he tried to picture Sarah in all three of those items. A quite pleasurable image appeared before his mind, and he couldn’t help but to smirk with now soft eyes again, much to Sarah’s relief.

  “How interesting of a line up. To be quite frank, I’m having a hard time with this one.”

  “Give up, Goblin King?” Sarah jested over the rim of her wine glass.

  “Now why would I do such a thing? Giving up would admit defeat, and the Goblin King does not accept defeat.”

  “You did when I defeated the Labyrinth”, she retorted with a smirk.

  “Ah, not really. You may have defeated the Labyrinth itself, but not me. After all, we are sitting here playing this game.”

  “But this is an entirely new and different game”, Sarah protested.

  “Is it, Love, or is it just a continuation of our previous one?” he asked, leaning towards her, purring in his seductive voice that sent erotic chills down her back.

  “Answer the damn statement”, she redirected him back to the task at hand.

  “Quite right. Let me see. I would say you never wore a....corset.”

  He felt quite confident in his choice until he saw her victorious grin plastered all over her face.

  “High heels. I have never worn high heels in my life. They hurt my feet, and I don’t know how to walk in them.”

  “Really?” Jareth gasped. “I would have never guessed. Another thing we’ll have to remedy after we’re done playing. I’ll include it in the etiquette class.”

  He gave her a content smirk as Sarah rolled her eyes. What was it with him and those damn etiquette classes? Why would she attend etiquette classes and for what reason?

  “Washing dishes”, she demanded, jolting Jareth out of his deep thoughts as he still pictured Sarah in a tiny corset with her bosom spilling out on top and garters to match the outfit.

  He found it quit arousing, and he had to get a grip on himself. Luckily, they were sitting down, and she could not see his growing bulge underneath the table.

  “What about the dishes, Dear?” he asked absentmindedly.

  “I want you to do my dishes tomorrow after dinner. Right after you cleaned off the table.”

  Jareth furrowed his brows and gave her a look of utter discontent.

  “Why do you insist on emasculating your king to the status of a cleaning maid?” he sneered, now sounding dejected.

  “You’re not my king”, she argued back flippantly.

  “I could be if you would only allow it”, he apprised her.

  She decided to ignore his request and motioned him to make his statements.

  “Lots of guys do house chores here. Get over yourself. This is settled. You will clean the dishes tomorrow night, and now you’re up, Your Majesty.”

  “You affront me with your trivial chores”, Jareth growled under his breath, but Sarah ignored him.

  “Round eleven, Your Majesty”, she urged him on and pointed at her wristwatch. “Some of us have to get up early in the morning to get some work done.”

  “And what makes you think I sleep in and do nothing all day?” he snarked back, becoming more and more agitated by her obtuse behaviour.

  “You don’t have to get up early to kick a few goblins around”, she remarked curtly with an eye roll, drawing a low growl from him.

  “I have always risen before sunrise unless sick or injured. I have always been fair to my subjects. I have always been generous.”

  He glared at her with once again harsh and cold eyes, but this time Sarah did not back down. She started to figure him out and would no longer be manipulated by those fake and pretend feelings of his.

  “You have not always been generous”, she shouted out and clapped her hands together as Jareth hung his head.

  “Touché, my champion. You might want to remember that little tid bit of information. I can be generous, but I don’t' have to be", he snarled with dangerous eyes.

  Sarah swallowed, clearly understanding his hidden warning to her.

  “What menial chore will you have me do this time?” he asked with exasperation.

  “I want you to bring dinner tomorrow”, she replied, throwing him a faint smile as he looked up at her in surprise.

  “You mean no mopping floors or washing windows?” he asked with derision in his voice.

  “Keep it up, and I’ll change it to that. My floors could use a good scrub, Your Majesty.”

  Judging by her tone, she was in no mood to joke around at the moment, and he knew she would make good on her threat. He decided to keep his mouth shut, this time.

  “How generous of you. Dinner will be provided by moi tomorrow. Just let me know what you want me to bring along.”

  “Chinese take-out from that little Tai place around the corner. I’ll write down my order for you before you leave”, she replied.

  “I know it well’, he answered and bowed his head to her with a sly smirk.

  “Round twelve, Goblin King. Make it a good one”, she proclaimed and leaned back with a devious grin on her lips, wine glass in hand.

  “I have control over the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth has control over me. We both have control over a runner.”

  Jareth sat back and studied her face as she feverishly tried to find an answer. He loved the way her brow knitted when she was in deep thoughts and her lips slightly parted, not realizing her tongue gently wetting them with occasional flicks.

  Jareth felt himself turned on and couldn’t tear his eyes off her lips. Those kissable lips, he would soon claim as his own if everything worked out according to his plan. Soon, she would be begging him to kiss her over and over. He relished in this thought.

  “That one is tricky, Jareth”, she mumbled, not realizing she had used his name instead of referring to his title.

  “Take your time. I rather enjoy your company, and there is no one waiting for me at the castle”, he replied softly, drawing a smile of hers his way.

  “I always wondered how your Labyrinth worked. I didn’t get much of a chance to see it last time or think about it.”

  “I can show it all to you. My entire kingdom. You only have to wish for it, and I shall make it true”, he said warmly.

  “You would do that?” she exclaimed with raised eyebrows.

  “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” he replied with a smirk.

  She went back to her pensive state to figure out the answer. In a way, it was pointless, since she had already lost the game for the night, but she refused to go down without another good fight. She did need someone to mop her floors, after all.

  “Um, you have no control over a runner”, she answered and heard the faint clapping of his hands as the sound intensified.

  “Well, done. And how did you come to this conclusion?”

  “You didn’t seem to have control over me making friends with Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus. You didn’t seem to have much control over me destroying half of Goblin City, and you didn’t seem to have control over me telling you....”

  She stopped herself right there, because she did not want to bring up the painful memory of those cruel six words, as he had called them. Not this late in the game and evening. They had been civil enough to each other, and she did not want the evening to end on a sour note.

  “It wasn’t that hard of a riddle really. You could’ve given me a much harder one. Why didn’t you?” she asked.

  “No need for that. You said you need someone to mop the floors for you, didn’t you?” he replied with a smirk around his lips.

  His eyes were soft and sparkled, and his smile seemed warm and more genuine than it had the entire evening. She found herself lost in his mesmerizing eyes, and her heart felt a slight pinch as she gazed into them.

  “I’m not going to have you mop my floors. Not this time. I’ll safe it for a time when you piss me off”, she grinned.

  “How generous of you”, he replied with a coy smile, causing her to blush again. “So, what is it you do want me to do?”

  “Not that”, she instantly clarified as she saw his lustful eyes and salacious grin on his face.

  “Pity”, he murmured.

  “I want you to.... take the trash out tonight before you leave.”

  His mouth gaped wide open as he sat speechless before her. The first time ever he had been left without a comeback, a retort of his own.

  “You want me to do what?” he whispered aghast, the horror of it clearly plastered across his entire face.

  “Take the trash out before you leave. There’s a dumpster downstairs. Just dump it in. Takes less than a minute,” she described the details of his chore for him with a sated grin.

  Jareth hung his head and slumped his shoulders. The mighty Goblin King had been reduced to a garbage collector. If word of this would get out, he would have to leave his kingdom due to the humiliation. His subjects would never let him live this down.

  “Under one condition’, he snarled under his breath.

  “Name it”, Sarah replied with renewed confidence. She had him by the balls, almost literally.

  “You will never ever, for all of eternity, speak of this to anyone, nor human nor fae, nor any other sentient being. Am I making myself clear?”

  She almost felt the urge to string him along and tease him for a few more minutes until she saw the seriousness and desperation in his eyes. He was wholeheartedly worried about this, and she felt he deserved some leniency. She wanted to beat him in the game but not humiliate him.

  “I promise you that this will never ever leave my lips for as long as I live. This will be our very own secret. Good enough?”

  “Thank you”, he replied with a deep sigh.

  She could see the relief wash over his face, and a frolicking gleam came back into his eyes as he cocked his head.

  “Last round, Champion. What will it be?”

  “Um, let me see”, she pondered with her finger tapping against his lips, which he found quite amusing as she subconsciously imitated his own way of being in deep thoughts.

  “How about.... I know how to speak French. I know how to speak Italian. I know how to speak German”.

  She tilted her head and raised her glass at him with a confident smile. Since he couldn’t hear her in his scrying crystals, there was no way he would know this.

  Jareth mimicked her movement from earlier, tapping his own finger against his lips now. Slowly, a devious grin moved across his face, and Sarah’s confident went into the basement, back down from level ten to level zero.

  “German, the answer is: you do not speak German.”

  “How did you guess?” she asked with a wide-open mouth.

  “You forget, I am a king for four-hundred years. I know a lot about tactics and how to apply logical solutions to a situation. Judging by the countries you have visited, and the languages you presented me with, it was only logical to have German as the answer.”

  “Yeah, but I was in Switzerland where they speak German”, she retorted weakly.

  “You were in the French speaking part of Switzerland from what I scried in the crystal,” came his resolute reply, and Sarah sunk back into her seat.

  “Ok, I guess another kiss for you then”, she sighed with defeat and looked straight into his amused face as he leaned forward and gave her another chaste kiss on her lips.

  Sarah was almost disappointed at the elusiveness and shortness of the kiss. She had hoped for something with a little more fire, but then again, he only followed the rules she herself had installed.

  “That’s what you get for being so prude and closed up”, her libido shouted at her angrily.

  She heard Jareth getting up from the table and left her libido’s angry outburst to itself.

  “I better get going. But before I go and take your miserable garbage, of which we shall never speak off, I want you to have this”, he spoke softly and handed her a clear crystal.

  “What does it do?” she asked astounded and gazed intently into it.

  “You speak into it, and it allows you to call upon me. And a hint, if you should win another game, you can always ask for a crystal to call upon your three friends as well.”

  He gave her a playful wink after divulging this important information.

  “Why, Jareth? Why are you giving me that and telling me about the other crystal? I didn’t earn it.”

  “Let’s just say, I feel.... generous”, he grinned and cocked his head as he stood up and took hold of her rubbish bag, she had set out for him.

  Sarah stared at him in disbelief. He now showed her a completely different side than the one she had painted him throughout the entire evening. Gone was the selfish, conceited, and impetuous Goblin King, and in his place stood a kind-hearted, gentle, and caring fae male, who was beyond alluring with his handsomeness and sex appeal.

  “Reward him with a kiss”, screamed both, her mind and libido.

  “Thank you, Jareth”, she whispered and leaned into him, pressing her lips softly against his as her hands laid flat against his chest.

  She could feel the heat radiating from his body and the strength of his muscles beneath her palms. His free hand came around her waist as he pulled her gently closer to him. She did not even object when his tongue probed her lips to open, and she willingly let him enter.

  The kiss was soft, it was erotic, and sensual, and Sarah couldn’t help but moan into his mouth with obvious arousal. She could hear him moan as well, and she felt his desire for her through the way his lips and tongue worked against hers.

  Very reluctantly, he pulled away from the kiss, his eyes glazed over and dark as he looked motionless into her eyes. Sarah swallowed hard. She had seen this exact look in the ballroom when they had danced together. She turned her head to break the enchantment of their gaze.

  “What a surprise, Sarah”, Jareth whispered into her ear. “What brought that on?”

  “Just a little token of appreciation for the crystal. I too can be generous”, she replied.

  “Until tomorrow evening at six”, he breathed softly and dissolved in front of her, leaving not the slightest hint of glitter behind.

  “Until tomorrow, Goblin King”, Sarah answered and went to clean up her kitchen, all the while thinking about the last kiss they had shared only moments ago.

**************************************************

  This time, Jareth teleported himself directly into his chambers, as he did not want to have the goblins observe his highly aroused state Sarah had gotten him in with that last kiss.

  He had almost lost all hope halfway through the game with her nasty and aggressive disposition, her unjust accusations, and her painting of him as a sex driven villain, who apparently went around with nothing more on his mind than to seduce mortal women.

  One thing, however, had come out noticeably clear. His Sarah was jealous. Every time he had brought up the subject of other females or the hint of having sexual conquests, her eyes had dilated, her nostrils had flared, and her pheromones had screamed bloody murder.

  She didn’t know he was able to pick up on all those subtle details as a fae male, especially her pheromone driven scent, which could convey any information to him about her psychological state.

  For each emotion, there was a different scent: fear, anger, lust, arousal, hate; he could smell it all. The scent most prevalent tonight had been jealousy and lust.

  A chuffed smile appeared on his lips when he thought about her last kiss. It had completely taken him by surprise and nearly derailed him. Luckily, he had been quick to compose himself again and had been able to take advantage of her weakened state.

  He concluded that this first night had gone rather well. He had twelve more chances to convince her and make her see what she so desperately refused to see herself: her own heart.

  “Oh, Sarah, we both know what you want. Don’t be so damn stubborn,” he sighed and conjured a crystal ball.

  She was sitting at the table, slowly finishing up her wine and appearing as if she was far away in thoughts. Her eyes were still glazed over, and her lips were slightly parted.

  A faint smile occupied the corners of her mouth, and she took one deep breath before she shook herself out of her musings and made her way into the bedroom.

  “What are you thinking, Love? What goes on in that pretty yet mulish head of yours?” he wondered with a smirk.

  He was a gentleman, and as much as he was tempted to watch her undress and take a shower, he did not want to give in to those urges and proof her right in being a perv, as she called him. No, he would not scoop that low.

  He twisted his wrist and the crystal disappeared as he made his way over to his bed and divested himself of his clothes. He gave his large bed a long look over before he crawled in and made himself comfortable under the silk sheet.

  With a bit of luck, he would not be sleeping by himself much longer, and with those hopeful thoughts, he closed his eyes and was soon sound asleep. 

Chapter Text

Jareth had a cryptic grin on his face as he lounged on his throne, listening to the complaints of his subjects. Luckily, today was a light day, and he didn't have to be bothered for much longer. After all, he had somewhere to go tonight.

  He about had enough, hearing of egg thieves, throwing flaming chickens onto neighbours’ roofs, and setting off glitter bombs in the bakery. And he sure could have done without the fight over whether scrambled eggs or sunny side eggs should be served at the next goblin harvest festival.

  He was close to suggesting serving fried chicken, but he knew that would not have gone over too well, and a possible goblin revolt and storming of the castle could have ensued. Best not to stir those crentinous ingrates up too much.

  His mind drifted back once more to last night, and the way Sarah had felt in his embrace and during his kisses. The way her lips had tasted. Such sweet lips, such a lovely mouth, when it wasn’t spewing obscenities all over the place.

  He knew she had yearned to take it further; he had smelled it by way of her pheromones she had exuded, but he needed to pace himself. Sarah was fickle and stubborn, and she had to be convinced of her own desires and wishes. He needed to guide her there slowly and carefully.

  “Higgle”, he bellowed and watched the dwarf hurry across the stone floor on his two stubby short legs, scrambling up the stairs to his throne.

  “It’s Hoggle, Yer Majesty”, the dwarf spoke through gritted teeth as he bowed with a disgruntled face and a glare in his eyes that, if they had held magic, would have disintegrated Jareth on the spot.

  “Now Higwart, what’s with the long face?” Jareth jested, barely hiding his amusement.

  “It’s Hoggle”, the dwarf corrected him again with a disdained expression.

  “Whatever, Higgle, I don’t have time for this”, Jareth replied dismissively. “I have a mission for you.”

  Hoggle looked at the stone floor and grunted with disapproval while shaking his oversized head. A mission directed by Jareth always meant mischief in the working, and it probably involved his best friend Sarah in one way or another.

  He did not approve of the way he was working his way back into the life of her after so many years. He didn’t think any good would come from it, and he was not shy letting that rat of a king know how he felt.

  That he had not been bogged was a miracle, and he contributed that fact to Jareth not wanting to reap the wrath of Sarah if she would find out about it.

  “What kind of mission?” Hoggle asked with big eyes and an innocent expression.

  “It is my understanding that the thirtieth birthday of Lady Sarah is in less than a week. I want to surprise her with something nice. Flowers.”

  “Flowers? Yer?” Hoggle gasped.

  He didn’t take the rat as a romantic or even being able of caring enough for someone else to the point of giving them flowers. He surely was up to something, and Hoggle needed to find out, so he could warn his friend.

  “Exactly, flowers. Why are you so surprised, Hogsbreath? Is it not tradition to give flowers to a dear one’s birthday?”

  Jareth watched Hoggle with squinted eyes and tapped him on the shoulder with his riding crop as a reminder to not step out of line too much. He may not bog him, but there were other means of punishment available to him.

  “Yes, yes, of course, Yer Majesty”, Hoggle stumbled over himself, trying not to make waves. “What do yer have in mind in regards ter te flowers?”

  “You know that spot outside the Eastern Forest that grows those beautiful magenta lilacs?”

  Hoggle nodded, knowing damn well what Jareth was getting at.

  “I want you to get twelve of them plus one lavender crystal rose from the Queen’s Garden and arrange them into a beautiful bouquet, ensconced within a clear crystal.”

  Hoggle’s mouth dropped open with surprise.

  “Yer Majesty wants me ter pick a crystal lavender rose from ter Queen’s Garden?” he repeated the order to make sure he had heard right.

  Nobody had been allowed to enter the hidden parts of the Queen’s Garden, not even he, the gardener. And now Jareth not only wanted him to enter the hidden part but also pick one of the sacred roses?

  Jareth must have had it bad for Sarah. Not once in all his existence did he ever pick flowers, especially a crystal rose, for any woman.

  “Are you hard of hearing, Huggle? Get the flowers like I told you and arrange them into a bouquet”, Jareth teased in his own cruel ways and pushed the riding crop impatiently into Hoggle’s chest.

  “Of course, Yer Majesty, but might I ask what yer intentions are in regards ter Sarah. She is my friend, an’ I will not have yer hurt her.”

  Hoggle took a defiant stance and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Jareth rolled his eyes and leaned back his head in frustration.

  “Not that again. How many times do I have to assure you that I am not going to hurt Sarah? Why on Earth would I want to hurt Sarah? I love her. I intend to make her my queen, my wife.”

  “Yer love her? Yer don’ know anythin’ about love. Yer only wants her because she bested yer an’ yer Labyrinth. Yer wants her ter be a prisoner here out of revenge.”

  “Higsbane, sometimes I wonder about your imagination. How do you come up with all these non-existent schemes and plots? Do you really think of me as such an evil ruler? Have I not shown mercy to you? Have I not been generous to you?”

  Hoggle lowered his head and uncrossed his arms. The rat had done it again, making him feel guilty and ungrateful towards the king.

  “Yer’ve been very generous an’ magnanimous”, Hoggle mumbled under his breath, “I go an’ get ter flowers, but don’ yer even thinks about hurtin’ Sarah, or....”

  “Or what, Hoggle?”

  At the use of his real name, Hoggle stood up straight and started to feel weak in his knees. The rat only used his real name when he was getting pissed off and irritated with him.

  “Eh, nothin’, Yer Majesty. Jus’ don’ hurt her is all I’m sayin’.”

  “I promise you that I have absolutely no intentions of hurting Sarah”, Jareth replied, still highly aggravated at the obtuse dwarf’s lack of respect and etiquette.

  “Sometimes our best intentions are not good enough”, Hoggle grumbled before he sped away when he saw the crystal ball approaching him out of the corner of his eye.

  With a loud sounding boom, it exploded to the left of Hoggle’s disappearing form, leaving a large soot covered black dent in the stonewall. Jareth let out a loud laughter and dismissed the rest of his court. He had more important things on his mind. He needed to get ready for his second game night with Sarah.

  On his way to his chambers, he waved his hand across the hole in the wall and watched it disappear within seconds.

  “Good as new”, he cheered and started to whistle a tune while he marched blithely towards his rooms to prepare himself for his meeting with Sarah.

**************************************************

  Sarah heard the knock on her front door exactly two minutes prior to six o’ clock and was impressed by his adherence to the rules of the game and his punctuality.

  When she opened the door, she was surprised to see him standing there glamoured up as a mortal man with a big bag of Tai take-out food in his hand and a big grin plastered on his face.

  He wore a pair of tight black jeans with his high-top boots and a light blue dress shirt that was left partially open to show off his bare chest and amulet, he always wore underneath.

  His golden-blonde hair, albeit shorter, was still an unruly mess, which gave him a wonderfully, smouldering sexual appearance with those mismatched blue eyes.

  Sarah was dumbstruck for a second and could only stare at him with parted mouth and wide eyes. She licked her lips and swallowed down the lump that had formed in her throat.

  “Holly flying cow and then some. What a piece of fine meat that one is. Jump him”, her libido trumpeted at her with all its might.

  Sarah tried her best to shove a muffling cone down the bell of her libido’s horn.

  “Wow, punctual and incredibly handsome”, she spouted out before she could help it.

  “Why, thank you, Love”, Jareth replied cheerfully and entered into her kitchen, setting the food bag on the table, which had already been set.

  “Lovely”, Jareth mumbled, seeing the two plates and sets of silverware along with the wine glasses. It almost looked like a private little romantic dinner was about to happen.

  “I took the liberty to bring along another bottle of wine as well”, he said and handed it to Sarah. “It’s a special harvest from the Labyrinth. Be careful with it, it’s quite a bit stronger than the wines you are used to up here.”

  He gave her a mischievous grin and flashed his eyes at her, which caused her to blush lightly.

  “No worries, Goblin King, I can handle it. But thanks for the warning, I guess.”

  Jareth quirked his eyebrows at her newfound defiance and self-confidence. He was sure he could break down that icy wall and have her wincing at the end of the night.

  Sarah kept looking back at him every so often. She had never seen Jareth in human disguise and found him incredibly sexy and irresistible.

  “He did this on purpose that cheating little fae shit. Trying to seduce me, I guess, but it won’t work, Mister.”

  Sarah vowed she would retain control of her mind at all times today and would not let him get to her like the night before, no matter how many kisses he may earn himself tonight.

  “Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Missy”, her libido piped up.

  “Let’s eat”, Jareth declared after he had emptied the bag and placed the food containers in the middle of the table.

  Dinner proceeded well, and Jareth had no problem eating his food with chopsticks. Sarah didn’t even want to know how he had learned this skill. After four-hundred years, of course, he would have learned a few more abilities than she had, it was only natural and expected.

  “Five-hundred-and-fifty”, Jareth commented unexpectedly.

  “What?” Sarah asked confused.

  “My age, I’m five-hundred-and-fifty. I’ve only been ruling for four-hundred years. You were wondering about it.”

  He smiled at her with amusement over her bewildered face.

  “How did you know? You know what, I don’t even wanna know. Let’s just eat so we can get started on this next game”, she declared, and they finished up in relative silence.

  “Why do you look like this today?” she couldn’t help herself asking, waving her hand across his body in the air.

  “You didn’t expect me to pick up Tai food looking like the mighty Goblin King, now did you?” Jareth smirked.

  “I guess not”, she admitted. “It looks good on you”, she added with a light blush and refocused her efforts onto the food in front of her.

  “Thank you, Love” Jareth whispered across the table, leaning slightly forward. “You look lovely yourself if I may add.”

  She gave him a quick smile and immediately averted her gaze while Jareth made no efforts to hold back his own sated grin. He was already getting to her, and he loved it. Oh, they would have so much fun tonight.

  “What are we going to play tonight?” Sarah asked, chewing on her cashew chicken.

  “Truth or dare“, Jareth stated with an impish grin as he stood up and put his plate into the sink, starting to run the hot water.

  “Isn’t that what we kind of played last night?” Sarah asked confused while he removed her empty plate and began to wash it.

  “Not exactly. Consider this the next level.”

  Sarah did not like the way Jareth smirked when he mentioned the next level. Knowing him he was up to something absolutely no good, and she would make sure to be on her toes once again.

  When she glanced over to the sink she watched him wash the dishes in a very meticulous and detailed manner and almost found him endearing. He looked so normal, like any other sexy, hot, steamy, mortal guy, who happened to be in her apartment washing dishes by hand.

  She carefully observed his hands. They were fairly large with long slender fingers and manicured fingernails, and his skin was absolutely flawless and ivory hued with a touch of shimmering glitter.

  “Piano hands”, she thought and made her way over to the sink.

  “Let him tickle your keys”, her libido piped up, but Sarah ignored it.

  Without giving it a thought, she grabbed her dishtowel and began to dry the dishes, putting them back into the cupboard as she went. Jareth gave her a surprised look, but then only smiled and continued his chore without a word. His eyes and soft smile said more than any words he could have spoken. He was content and comfortable.

  “Maybe he could be my boyfriend”, Sarah thought and inwardly did a cartwheel thinking of the possibilities.

  “You didn’t need to help”, Jareth spoke softly as he put away his wash rag.

  “We need to get started on the game. Just helping to speed things along”, she replied.

  “Sure, you did’, Jareth joked, knowing exactly that was not her reason for helping him.

  “Let’s get comfortable for this one”, Jareth suggested and pulled Sarah down next to him on the settee.

  “But”, she started to complain, and he placed his finger gently against her lips.

  “Unless you want me to keep you next to me in your much cosier lounging chair be quiet and let’s play the game.”

  She only nodded as the heat radiated off his finely muscled body, and the peach scent escaping from him dazed her nearly enough to forget herself and take hold of him in a passionate kiss.

  She was almost disappointed when he removed his finger and pulled back.

  “Rules: we play as many rounds of truth or dare as it takes before one person lies or forfeits. If a dare is undertaken, it will be inside this apartment. Those are the boundaries. The winner at the end of the game will receive their award. If either party refuses to perform a dare the game is forfeited and considered lost for said party. If a party lies about the answer, a dare will follow that cannot be denied or the game will be forfeited. Like yesterday, we will have the truth crystal in front of us to keep this game fair. Do you agree, Love?”

  Jareth looked at her with expecting eyes, and Sarah nodded quietly. It seemed all simple and straight forward this time. No kissing demands after each round. She was relieved and disappointed at the same time.

  “No reward after each game? How is that upping the level?” Sarah asked with a mocking smirk.

  “You’ll see, Pet”, Jareth replied with a mysterious grin of his own, and Sarah began to wonder if she should have opposed the rules. 

  “Name your award now, Dear”, he whispered into her ear and jolted her out of her deep musings.

  “Oh, okay. Um, I want that crystal you told me about yesterday. The one I can contact my friends with.”

  “Agreed”, Jareth smiled. “If I win, I want to kiss you for five minutes, tongue and all. No restrictions.”

  Sarah gave him a scolding face and furrowed her brows to think about his demand. Five minutes seemed a long time, but at the same time, the way he kissed it would be five minutes of sheer heaven and bliss, and her libido was already getting ready for the huge celebration.

  “Agh, okay, fine, agreed”, she winced and emptied half her glass of wine already.

  “Careful”, Jareth warned with a smirk, “this is fae wine. Be easy on it.”

  “I’m not a child, Jareth, but thanks for the warning anyway”, she mouthed back and crossed her arms in front of her chest, not paying any attention to his deep baritone laugh, which had her lower body in turmoil from the vibrations.

  “Let’s do this”, she demanded and looked straight at Jareth. “You go first today in questioning.”

  “Alright then, round one. Truth or dare, Sarah. When you sleep, Sarah, Pet, do you drool and snore?”

  Sarah gave him a look of complete disdain. How dare of him to ask her such a personal question. This was an invasion into her sleeping habit she was not going to share with anyone.

  “What? Oh, come on, Jareth, you can’t be serious”, she argued vehemently.

  “I’m dead serious, Love. If we are going to share a bed together in the future, I need to be prepared. So, are you, or are you not?”

  “Sharing a bed together? What is he talking about?”

  Sarah sat with her mouth open as she looked at his bemused smiling face.

  “If you don’t want to answer then let’s do the dare”, he suggested with growing enjoyment.

  “No, I’ll answer”, she groaned and threw him a look that was capable of slaying him where he sat. “Yes, and yes a little”, she winced with squinted eyes and wrinkled nose.

  “Yes, and yes a little, what? Be more specific, Dear.”

  Sarah groaned again, louder this time and rolled her eyes. He was milking this for all he could, and she hated him for it.

  “Yes, I snore, and yes, I drool a little, but only if I had too much to drink the night before”, she added as if that was going to lessen the mockery and resulting embarrassment that was sure to follow.

  “Now see, that wasn’t all that hard, now was it?” Jareth grinned with mirth.

  Sarah only gave him a sneer and stuck her tongue out at him, mumbling ‘jerk’ under her breath as she sipped more of her wine.

  “I heard that“, Jareth frowned. “You’re up.”

  “Have you ever gotten so shitfaced drunk that you forgot what happened, only to wake up with some naked chick in your bed, and you had no idea who she was?”

  Sarah gulped and gave Jareth a big-eyed gaze as he stared at her with a look of disbelief. She could see his mind working, trying to make sense of what she had just rambled at him.

  “Come again? Chick? I do not take chickens to bed with me, no matter how drunk I get”, Jareth retorted with an insulted huff.

  Sarah muffled a chortle into her hands.

  “Not chicken, chick, as in woman, girl”, she corrected him.

  “Oh, thank the gods, Sarah”, he answered with a huge sigh of relief. “For a moment, I thought you were asking me if I was committing bestiality.”

  Sarah snorted into her wine glass and laughed out loud. She completely forgot about Jareth not being familiar with mortal sayings and cliché words. She found it highly amusing picturing a naked Jareth with a chicken in his bed and waking up with a hangover.

  The more she evoked the mental image of a naked Jareth, the more something else woke up between her legs she needed to put back to sleep immediately.

  “Dead puppies, dead puppies”, she told herself and drank more of the wine.

  “What’s your damn answer?” she hissed glaring at him from over her glass.

  “Of course, I did. Especially in my wild younger days. I awoke on several occasions with some, chick as you call it, in my bed. Quite enjoyable actually. Definitely spices up the morning and often helps to cure a hangover if you know what I mean? Two chicks are even better than one.”

  “What the fuck, Jareth? Do you have to be so vulgar?” Sarah yelled and punched him in the arm.

  “The only one vulgar is you with your filthy mouth. I only spoke the truth. Jealous by any chance? It sure sounds like it”, he snapped back with a devious look in his eyes.

  “You wish”, Sarah grumbled and averted her eyes, emptying her glass and refilling it instantly.

  “Be careful with that wine”, Jareth warned her again, but Sarah only gave him a death glare and waved him off.

  Jareth watched her take another big gulp of the freshly poured wine and internally prepared himself for the fallout. There was no way any mortal was able to drink too much of this wine and not be affected.

  If she was going to be an obstinate brat and not listen to him, she would pay the price, and he would relish in the fun that would come out of it.

  “Next round”, Jareth declared and prepped himself for the question. “Sarah, have you ever fantasized having sex with two men at the same time?”

  “What the fucking hell are you getting at?” she screeched and nearly threw her glass at him.

  “Oooh, did I hit a nerve there, Love?” he asked innocently, enjoying himself tremendously on the inside.

  “What kind of questions are those? That is not fair, you damn pervert”, she cried out in anger and gave him another death glare.

  “And here we go again with the fairness deal and insults. You never told me certain questions were off limit. It was you who started it, asking me about having women in my bed. I’m simply curious about your fantasies and what I can expect from you in the future for our sex life.”

  “Our sex life? Have you completely lost your mind? There will not be an ‘our’ sex life future for us at all. I should throw you out right now.”

  Her face had turned red with anger, and she tossed back the rest of her wine in her glass. Jareth watched her carefully, having moved back a little from her just in case she became physical in a violent way. He could see the wine starting to have an effect, as her eyes crossed briefly.

  “If you toss me out now and forfeit this game, I will have to stay with you twenty-four-seven until you decide what your initial wish was about. Those are the rules. This could mean a long time together, Love”, he hissed into her ear as he grabbed her by her arms and pulled her into him.

  “I hate you, Jareth”, she replied weakly, and instantly the truth crystal flashed bright red again.

  She sighed and put her head against his chest while Jareth wrapped his arms around her body, patting her back and silently laughed. He had her right where he wanted her. Now he needed to make sure she was not going to have any more of that wine or his plan would fall dead into the literal wine barrel.

  “We have already established that this is not the truth. You don’t hate me, Love”, he whispered tenderly into her ear.

  “But I hate this damn truth crystal”, she groaned, and the crystal immediately changed over to green.

  “So, tell me, truth or dare, Love?”

  Jareth looked deeply into her eyes, and she took a deep breath.

  “Dare”, she whispered so low, making Jareth strain to hear her admission.

  “You know if you go for a dare that is just about the same as an admission to my question.”

  “No, it’s not, Jareth”, Sarah denied this vehemently. “I just don’t want to talk about it because it is a confusing subject. It’s complicated as we like to say in our mortal world.”

  “All right, accepted, Precious”, he grinned. “Now for the dare, oh, what shall I have you do?”

  “Why do I get the feeling I jumped right back into the fire?” she asked with scared eyes as Jareth gave a sinister laugh.

  “A lap dance would do”, he finally decided, and Sarah gulped as if she tried to rid herself of a massive lump in her throat.

  “You can keep your clothes on, Love. I am not that much of a pervert”, he chuckled with much merriment after seeing the horrified look on her face.

  “I.... I can do that.... I think”, she replied, not sounding very sure of herself.

  Jareth had her stand in front of him and waved his hand to start the music. He nodded approvingly at her, and the cd from her stereo started playing ‘Carousel’. Jareth leaned himself back into the seat and crossed his arms behind his neck. He would definitely enjoy this little show.

  Sarah stood somewhat confused and slightly self-aware in front of him, unsure of how to begin. Jareth stood up and took her hands into his, starting to sway his hips slowly back and forth, having her follow his moves. He placed his hands on her hips and slightly applied pressure to have her intensify her hip movements.

  “That’s it, Precious, just like that. Now work it and then do this while sitting on my lap. Let me see how erotic you can be.”

  His baritone whisper of seduction into her ear was all the incentive she needed, and she playfully pushed him back down into the seat, causing his eyes to go dark with lust. Having imbibed on two glasses of fae wine also helped the cause.

  She swayed her hips back and forth and used her arms and hands to caress her body in ways that left little doubt of what the intended goal was. Little by little, she approached Jareth, who didn’t dare to blink in fear he would miss one second of her seductive performance.

  She slowly lowered herself down onto his lap after she had straddled him standing for a moment. The wine started to have an impact on her faculties, and she felt slightly lightheaded and totally relaxed. Oh, yeah, she would be able to do this all night. Jareth would lose tonight.

  She fully seated herself on his hips and wrapped her arms around his neck, caressing his head, his face, running her fingers through his long hair and mussing it with increasing fervour as her entire body rocked back and forth, a groan emanating from her lips.

  “Gosh, Precious, you are making me hard”, Jareth moaned into her neck as she moved forward and buried his face into her chest.

  “I want you hard”, she seductively whispered back and increased her grinding movements against his now very stiff erection. She could feel him, she could see his bulge through his tight jeans, and she rubbed her hips across it over and over.

  She felt herself becoming wet and hot with desire. No, no, no, she could not let him win. She had to get control of herself. While her libido fired off an entire fireworks stand, the limited functions of her reasoning mind tried to sound the alarm, a much-muffled alarm.

  “That wine is strong. He wasn’t kidding.”

  She slightly stood up and had her breasts closer to his face now while her hands explored his chest, working their way underneath his shirt. She played with his hardened nipples and elicited a deep groan from him. She could tell he was close to falling over the edge.

 She seductively ran her hand over his bulge, as if in a mistake and lowered herself again onto his lap, grinding her hips against him. His hands gripped around her hips and helped her increase the pressure.

  “Come for me, Jareth”, she moaned, and Jareth did not have the strength to answer as he tried his best to retain his faculties and sane mind, which became nearly impossible with each movement Sarah conducted on his lap.

  She took hold of his hands, arched her back and threw up her head, guiding his hands against her breasts. He was so close to touching them over her shirt when the song ended, and Sarah stood up and removed herself from him with a smirk.

  “Okay, my turn,” she cheered with a devilish grin and sat herself back down on the settee next to him, while Jareth winced with pain from his strained erection.

  “That looks a bit painful there. Sorry, I can’t help you with that”, she cooed into his ear and gave a chilling laugh.

  “You devil of a woman, so cruel”, Jareth panted and palmed the front of his crotch to flatten his bulge.

  It took several minutes before Jareth was able to concentrate on the game again. He looked at her eyes and could see the haze over them.

  Despite of her cruel ending, she had been every bit aroused as he had, and he could tell she had enjoyed it as well. Things were definitely moving into the right direction for him despite his temporary discomfort.

  “My turn to ask”, Sarah interrupted his train of thoughts and had him refocus on his task at hand.

  “Certainly, Love, ask away”, he grinned and emptied his glass of wine, eagerly refilling it.

  “Did you ever come during a lap dance?” Sarah asked with a grin, still revelling in the fact he almost did for her only moments ago.

  “Come, as in reaching my climax? No, Love, never. The one from you was the closest I have ever come to”, he answered with a serious face.

  Sarah gave him an incredulous face and looked at the truth crystal. It shone bright green. Before she could respond, he blurted out his next question.

  “And what about you, my little vixen. Have you ever reached your climax watching a guy give you a lap dance or strip for you?”

  “Nope, none at all”, she replied with an overly confident expression and smirk on her face. “Guys just don’t have that effect on me”, she declared haughtily.

  “Oh, is that so?” he smiled, looking at her with those mischievous eyes.

  “Arrogant, self-assured fae bastard. Thinks he is so hot. I’ll teach him”, her mind shouted at her while her libido warned of imminent danger and raised the ‘just shut your mouth and keep it shut’ alarm. It was not heeded.

  “Tell me, sexy, self-assured Goblin King, did you ever have sex and were unable to achieve orgasm no matter how hard you tried? Did it just go limb?”

  Her voice had oozed with derision and sarcasm. Jareth swallowed hard and felt as if a crystal dragon had just doused him with a ton of ice and snow. His heart stopped, and he sucked in his breath. She did not just ask this question, did she?

  He evocatively remembered the time he was young and inexperienced, his very first time. He had been so intimidated that he could not get himself to become hard. It had been the most humiliating event in his life, and he never forgot the shame he had felt.

  He could just tell her and be done with it, risking her mocking him for it for the rest of eternity, or he could risk taking a dare and have her make him mop his floors.

  “Dare”, he squeaked out and closed his eyes as he heard her contemptuous laughter.

  “Oh, no, the woman conquering Goblin King is taking a dare. What does that say about his answer? Hm, I wonder.”

  Jareth gave her an empty stare, and Sarah thought she saw a faint glint in his eyes. A tear? No, that could not be it. The Goblin King had no such feelings. In an instant, it was gone again, and his eyes looked ice cold and harsh.

  “Name your dare, Sarah”, he urged her on.

  Not so sure of herself again now, she contemplated over the dare. Should she smite his arrogant ass with utter humiliation, or should she show him mercy? There was no need to instil any actual hard feelings. Suddenly, an evil little grin washed over her face as her eyes locked with his.

  “Strip for me Jareth, right down to your underwear. Make me want you. Put your money where your mouth is”, she requested as she licked her lips and gave him a seductive look.

  Jareth eyes grew large and dark. This, he had not expected, but he also knew she was heavily under the influence of the fae wine without her knowledge. He waited for Sarah to relax into her seat and then waved his hand to restart the stereo.

  “Under pressure, pushing down on me, pushing down you....”

  Bowie and Queen were crooning as Jareth took his place and began to flirtatiously move his hips to the rhythm of the music, sliding his hands invitingly down the front of his shirt and letting them come to rest on his belt buckle. He gave a couple of hard thrusts with his pelvic and rubbed one hand over his package.

  Sarah watched in fascination as the Goblin King started to put on his show and began to open his buckle and slowly removed his belt, swinging it through the air like a whip, all the while shaking and rolling his hips.

  He grabbed his belt and provocatively let it slide in between his legs as he moved it back and forth with a hip thrust following each forward movement.

  He dropped the belt and opened the button to his pants, slowly opening his zipper all the way down. He abandoned his ministrations on his jeans after he pulled his fly open and began to unbutton his shirt, moving closer to Sarah.

  He leaned forward, enticing her to participate in unbuttoning his shirt by grabbing her hands and moving them invitingly over the front of his shirt.

  Sarah obliged more eagerly than she probably should have and opened the top button while he assisted her, quickly opening his shirt all the way.

  He took her hands into his and let them slide down his bare chest all the way to his pelvic area where his underwear blocked her way. He bent in his knees and moved his hips in erotic circles while straightening his legs again.

  His gyrating motion and bare chest so close in front of her started to have an effect, and Sarah began to feel a familiar heat build between her loins, which made her gasp with desire and lust.

  “Oh, my god, he is a fucking god, and I am so fucking hot for him”, her libido screamed while her mind told her he is still only the Goblin King and a pervert.

  “I don’t care what or who he is, I want him now, I want his body on me, in me”, her libido revolted and made her nearly buckle over from the sensation in the centre of her thighs.

  “You should have never had all that wine. He tricked you again with the fae stuff. I bet he brought it over for this very reason,” her mind shouted but was drowned out by her now ticker-tape-parade-celebrating libido.

  Jareth grinned at her seductively. He could feel her arousal and took his act to the next level.

  “Pushing down on me, pushing down on you, under pressure....”

  The singer kept going, and Jareth started to provocatively slip his jeans down and over his hips, exposing his lower abs and his extreme tight underwear he actually wore, much to Sarah’s surprise, and disappointment.

  He pulled his jeans down as far as he seductively could before he leaned back against the table and held out one leg to her, enticing her to pull first his boot and then his pant leg off him.

  Sarah obliged with a big grin while she nearly emptied Jareth’s glass of wine. Once she had freed one leg, he let her pull his boot and jeans off the other leg.

  He took his jeans and swung them over his head, letting them fall into her lap. Sarah blushed and let out a little excited shriek as she held up the Goblin King’s pants in her hands.

  “Go Jareth”, she yelled and lifted the wine glass up, motioning him to take a sip.

  Jareth moved close and leaned over her with his hips dangerously close to her face while he lowered himself down to his knees and let her bring the glass to his lips and tip it, so he could drink some of the liquid.

  Some of the wine ran down his chin, and he wiped it with his finger, seductively sucking the wine off it as he inserted it in his mouth.

  Sarah stared at him with a drooling face. She had been to male strip joints before with some college friends but never seen a show like the one that was unfolding in her apartment.

  Jareth took hold of her hand, made her stick one finger into the wine, and put it in his mouth, sucking on it and letting his tongue caress it with little flicks and licks.

  Sarah’s eyes rolled back into her head at the wet feel of his tongue and heat of his mouth on her finger. His moist tongue now rivalled her own moisture between her thighs.

  She felt herself a lost cause as the pulsating feeling between her legs intensified, and her juices started to build up. Why did she have to ask him to perform a striptease dance? Damn, she should have known better.

  “Oh, my god, I cannot hold off much longer. I want his tongue down there, not on my finger.”

  Jareth slid his shirt off his shoulders and tossed it over her head while he gave a seductive laugh. ‘Under pressure’ he sang along and rolled his hips, showing off his once again hard erection under his much too tight and thin boxers, which were little more than a second skin.

  Sarah was mesmerized by the chiselled muscles of his chest, shoulders, and arms, and she was unable to tear her eyes from his growing bulge between his lithe legs.

  “A fucking Adonis, that’s what he is, a fucking Adonis”, she murmured quietly to herself as he pulled her up to him and rotated his hips against hers, making her feel how hard he was.

  He moved his face along her neck, millimetres away from her skin, and breathed against it, causing waves of arousal to flood down her spine.

  He lifted one of her legs and wrapped it around his hips as he continued his gyrations, while her hands slit up and down his bare chest, and her nose breathed in the fresh scent of peaches and leather.

  “Damn you”, she murmured at him while he looked down at her with flared nostrils and nearly black eyes, full of lust and desire for her.

 Her hand started to moved down the front of his chest towards his hardened member, and her face closed the distance to his, her lips nearly brushing against his when the music stopped.

  “Thank you, Love, I believe that’s it”, he announced, quit his dancing, and left her standing while he went to pick up his clothes and meticulously started to dress himself again.

  It was Sarah’s turn to feel like she had just received an ice water shower, and she slowly returned to her senses and retook her seat on the settee with a blushed face and the agonizing pain of unfulfilled desires.

  “I believe it is my turn”, Jareth declared as if nothing had ever happened.

  “That bastard just paid me back”, she grumbled under her breath, too low for Jareth to decipher her words.

  “Tell me, Sarah, have you ever faked an orgasm while having sex with a guy?”

  The way Jareth had blurted it out took her off guard, but she quickly recuperated. The amount of red wine she had consumed had her feeling quite relaxed and uninhibited by now. Her shame and pride had gone the way of the dodo bird.

  “Several times”, she admitted with a deviant grin. “I’m quite good at it. Want to hear me moan?”

  Jareth threw back his head and gave out a bellowing laugh.

  “If you would ever give me a chance you would scream my name while writhing beneath me with the feeling of a real one. There would never be any more faking, Love. I would make you feel satisfied beyond your wildest and raunchiest dreams.”

  “Well, too bad, I shall never know”, she snarked back and shook her head while the heat between her legs once more was fanned by his promise of sexual bliss.

  “My turn. Have you ever fucked a guy?” she asked pointedly with an unwavering glare into his taken aback eyes.

  “Sarah, that is a bit rough and lewd of a question, don’t you think?” he replied and gave her a scolding eye. “But since you asked so eloquently, the answer is only once, during my experimenting phase as a young male when I still learned about sex and myself. I realized early on I liked females a lot more.”

  Sarah was sobered by his honest and calm answer and felt ashamed having asked in such a crude way. He was right, she had been awfully lewd.

  “Sorry, Jareth, for asking so crudely.”

  “It’s quite all right. I know it is the wine talking, Love. I told you to be careful”.

  Jareth gave her a warm smile and a chaste kiss on her forehead, making Sarah feel even worse with his forgiveness and tenderness.

  “Let’s see”, Jareth placed his finger to his lips. “Are you currently, or have you ever been in love, Sarah, and I mean real true love, not just some infatuation.”

  She gave him a blank stare, and he could see the indecision in her eyes whether to answer or take a dare. Hadn’t that come up last night already? Why would he asked her again? She suddenly realized, this time, he had added the word currently to his question.

  He could feel the intense inner war raging within herself. He had her exactly where he wanted her. Now it would be up to her whether she wanted to be finally honest with herself or continue this charade.

  “No”, she finally answered with a shaky voice, and the truth crystal immediately flashed in screaming red.

  Both, Jareth’s and Sarah’s, heads snapped at the sight of the bright red glaring orb, their eyes growing large.

  “Your crystal is defective”, Sarah cried out.

  “It is working perfectly fine. You didn’t tell the truth, Sarah”, Jareth replied calmly.

  “Do not tell me I am lying. I told the truth; you are using a false crystal. It is defective. Did you rig it?” she yelled out and pointed her finger at him.

  Jareth inspected his crystal and turned it between his fingers but found nothing wrong with it.

  “It’s not the crystal. It’s you”, he repeated himself and stared at Sarah, who now glared at him with murderous eyes, breathing heavily and slightly swaying from the wine.

  “You cheated”, she hissed and slammed her glass on the table, breaking it in hundreds of tiny shards.

  “Ouch”, she yelled out as the sharp glass cut along her pinkie finger.

  “Let me see”, Jareth offered and tried to inspect her finger, but she yanked her hand away from him.

  “Don’t touch me, you damn cheater.”

  Jareth eyes turned dark again as his face flushed with blood and a vein became visible across his forehead.

  “You just can’t quit accusing me of being a cheat. What is your problem with me?” he yelled, now on the verge of losing control himself.

  “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?” she yelled back, equally as loud.

  “You know what, Sarah? Maybe I should just leave you alone. You are not being reasonable.”

  “Oh, go and kiss my ass, Jareth”, she huffed and sucked on her bleeding finger.

  “Is that a dare or a request, Precious?” he growled with rage. “I gladly oblige as soon as you’ll kiss my ass.”

  “Oh, yeah? You want me to kiss your ass? Fine, I’ll kiss your god damn ass when hell freezes over”, she screamed and pointed her finger at him. “You have no po....”

  Before she could finish, his lips crashed against her mouth and stifled any other words she had wanted to yell. He forced his lips against hers, and his tongue pressured her to open her mouth. The kiss was rough and harsh, yet both moaned with irrefutable pleasure against each other.

  His hands moved down her hips as he suddenly yanked her jeans down and left her standing in nothing but her panties. Sarah pushed him away with aghast.

  “What are you doing?” she breathed with fright, nearly tumbling to the floor from the lowered pants around her knees.

  Jareth didn’t reply but spun her around and held her tight around her waist.

  “I’m going to kiss your ass as you requested, because one of us has to act like an adult”, he answered aggravated, and the next thing she felt were his warm soft lips pressed tightly against her butt cheek.

  He lingered for a while as his tongue gently swiped across her soft flesh and his lips sucked on her skin, his teeth lightly biting down.

  Sarah never thought a kiss on a butt cheek could be considered erotic, but she stood corrected as the heat in her loins once again started to fire up and made her wet with desire.

  She had quit struggling as soon as his lips had made contact and a relaxed, peaceful feeling swept over her. All her anger was gone, and she felt almost pleasant, pleasant and aroused.

  Jareth gently caressed her other butt cheek with his hand giving it a light squeeze. When he finally released her behind and withdrew, Sarah could only exhale a deep sigh of bliss. He carefully pulled her pants back up and let her button and zip them.

  He got off his knees and both looked at each other in silence. Sarah tried to focus with her eyes but was not able to, as she lightly swayed back and forth, now feeling the full impact of the fae wine.

  “I know your crystal is not broken, and you are not a cheat, Jareth”, Sarah spoke quietly. “I cannot give you an answer yet as I am still sorting things out for myself. That’s all I can tell you for now. I am sorry for accusing you, I did not mean it.”

  Her eyes pleaded with him as his countenance remained inscrutable and unreadable for her. She nervously bit her bottom lip, waiting on a reaction from him. Right now, she would have preferred him yelling at her in a raging fit over this eerie silence of his.

  “I best be going”, he finally answered. “You forfeited the game. I guess that makes it two for me and zero for you.”

  He had expected her to break out into another anger fit, but Sarah remained quiet and motionless. Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued to stare at him in silence.

  “I am so sorry, Jareth. Please don’t go”, she finally whispered so quiet, he could barely hear her.

  Jareth stopped and turned around to face her. His eyes were soft and warm. He walked back to her and placed his hand gently against her cheek, caressing her skin with his thumb. Before another word was said he leaned over and kissed her.

  It was a gentle kiss full of unsaid emotions. Sarah parted her lips and mouth and invited him in as her tongue tenderly sought out his. When they touched, it felt like two lovers exchanging their feelings with each other in a most sensual game of hide and seek.

  Jareth’s hands moved to the back of her head, and he tangled his fingers into her long hair. Sarah still stood motionless and had her eyes closed. Slowly, her hand moved up his back and came to rest behind his neck. Step by step, they carefully worked each other into a full embrace and deepened the kiss.

  How long they kissed, neither one could tell, but when it ended, they both looked at each other with glossed over eyes. All anger and rage had dissipated and had been replaced by something else, something that was still nascent but tangible enough to be realized by both as something they were willing to nurture and grow together.

  Sarah leaned against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist. They were satisfied to stay like this for some time, neither saying a word. The world around them became still, waiting patiently for a signal to resume its activity.

  “Apology accepted, Love”, Jareth finally responded with a soft voice as his hand gently stroked her hair. “I can’t stay mad at you and neither do I want to.”

  He looked at her with warm eyes and cupped her face before he kissed her again with a mind melting kiss that made Sarah forget everything. Did she have feelings for him? She yearned for his touch and his kisses, but did that mean she loved him or was it only lust? She didn’t know.

  But something had been stirred into action that had not been there before. A new feeling that started to grow like a tiny seed of a flower that germinated to become a long stemmed beautiful rose in time.

  Jareth pulled back from the kiss and led her back to the lounging chair, pulling her close to him.

  “I think this chair is fast becoming my favourite one”, he chuckled, drawing a smile from Sarah’s lips.

  “Yes”, Jareth suddenly answered into the silence, making Sarah look at him with a puzzled look.

  “Yes, what?” she asked.

  “To your question if I ever failed to get it up during sex. The answer is yes”, he told her quietly, looking deep into her astound eyes.

  “Jareth, you already did the dare for this question, you don’t have to answer it.”

  “But I do”, he insisted calmly. “I was just barely out of my teenage years, a young, inexperienced fae male discovering life, women, men, for the first time. I knew nothing about such things, only from what I had heard from others or read in books.”

  He stopped and gingerly took hold of her hand, concentrating his gaze on her finger with the cut.

  “In fae culture, young men are taught by older experienced women how to learn the pleasures of the flesh, because a male fae who is incapable of pleasing a woman is considered a failure. It was one of my first classes, and I was so nervous and scared and overwhelmed I could not get hard.”

  He gently kissed the cut on her finger and tenderly licked his tongue along the injury.

  “What are you doing?” Sarah inquired but did not try to jerk back her hand.

  “I’m healing your cut, Love”, he replied with a soft smile before he continued with his explanation.

  “No matter what the older female tried, and trust me she tried it all on me, it didn’t work”, Jareth continued with his story, “I was too tense, wound much too tight to be able to enjoy it. I stayed limb the entire time. She laughed at me when the session was over, and I felt so ashamed about it, I never forgot that feeling. A feeling of complete humiliation, shame, and failure.”

  Jareth swallowed hard, as if he tried to push down a bitter memory deep into the depth of his stomach. Sarah listened quietly and began to feel incredibly sorry for him. Her heart hurt over the pain and humiliation he had endured over something that should have been enjoyable.

  “How horrible of her to do that. I can only imagine what something like that would do to me”, she answered with shock.

  “It happened over four-hundred years ago. Enough time has passed to get over it, Love, or so I thought, until your question. I guess some demons stay with us forever, no matter how much we like to believe they are gone. Maybe that is the reason, I tend to bolster about my sexual prowess. I am really not the pervert or womanizer you may think of me.”

  “Thank you for sharing this with me. I know that meant a lot to you, and it was hard to tell me. You have my promise that I will keep it a secret between the two of us.”

  She leaned and gave him an ardent kiss, closing her eyes to fully enjoy the sensation of his lips on hers, his tongue gently touching hers. Maybe there was a chance to make this strange relationship between them turn into something much more substantial and eternal.

  “And thank you for healing my finger”, she added after the kiss.

  “It was nothing”, Jareth smiled and worked himself out of the lounging chair, much to Sarah’s dismay.

  She had started to enjoy his closeness, the warmth and strength of his body.

  “I must get going. It is quite late, and we have another game to play tomorrow.”

  He gave her a once again mischievous grin as he winked his eye.

  “Here, call upon your friends. They are expecting your summons.”

  Jareth tossed her a crystal, which she skilfully caught from the air and held close to her in surprise. Before she could ask him about it or thank him, he was gone, leaving an empty space where he had stood only seconds earlier. All the sudden, Sarah felt lonely and sad.

  She looked at the crystal and saw Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus appear. Sarah gasped with excitement as a handwritten note on a piece of parchment paper tumbled out of the crystal.

  She quickly picked it up and unfolded it.

  As a token of goodwill. You can call upon your friends with it. They have been asking for you. I can be generous, Love. J

  Sarah looked up and smiled.

  “You are more than generous, Jareth, and I love you for it”, she whispered as quietly as she could and pressed her lips against the orb in a kiss that was filled with a certain wish for a certain Goblin King of hers.

**************************************************

  Jareth watched her place the kiss onto the crystal he had given her, and a wistful smile appeared in the corners of his lips. Bringing the fae wine had been a good idea, after all, and he needed to make sure to thank his personal goblin Trouble for the suggestion.

  The words she had muttered without realizing had caused his heart to flutter with renewed hope. Now he needed to get her to say those words to him and finally admit it to herself.

  “Soon”, he murmured with a devious grin and tossed his crystal into the air as it burst, and Jareth elicited a loud joyous laugh that rang throughout the castle.    

Chapter Text

  Sarah awoke the next morning with the worst headache and inwardly cursed herself for not listening to Jareth. It was her own fault for suffering from a hangover. Why did she always have to fight him and be so contrary to everything he was telling her?

  "Agh, I think I’m dying", she groaned and worked herself out of bed, only to be greeted by a roiling stomach that made her scramble into the bathroom and bent over the toilet in a very non-dignified manner.

  It took her nearly ten minutes to clean herself, and her toilet, off from this mess.

  “Oh, that is so gross. That is so not how I wanted to start my day”, she whined more to herself than the world around her and stumbled towards the kitchen for a cup of piping hot coffee.

  It was mornings like these she was thankful for having invested in a timed coffee maker. Her coffee was already waiting for her, and all she had to do was pour it into her cup.

  “Hooray for technology. The only thing that could beat this is a magic one”, she murmured and staggered back to her bedroom. “I wonder if they have a magic one in the Labyrinth”, she mumbled to herself as she crawled into her bed and leaned against three pillows stacked on top of each other behind her back.

  Sitting propped up with her pillows behind her back and a steaming hot cup of coffee in her hand had her feeling better in no time. Enough so, for her to start reminiscing about the previous night with her Goblin King.

  Slowly, the bits and pieces of memory came flooding back into her mind, until the entire deluge descended on it and overwhelmed her with the full spectrum of human emotions, ranging from desire, anger, rage, and guilt, to shame and remorse, and something else she refused to acknowledge at this certain point in time.

  She would revisit it at a proper time of her choosing. For now, it would be better if she would file it deep inside her dusty file cabinet somewhere in the basement.

  “Did I really give Jareth a lap dance? Seriously? And did he strip for me? Strip? The Goblin King stripped for me?”

  The evocative images that came to her mind had her wide-eyed and flushing red with either desire or shame, most likely both. The internal fire between her loins had already reared its ugly head and reminded her in no uncertain terms that it was still burning and had no intentions of being extinguished anytime soon.

  Sarah sighed with frustration and squeezed her legs together. What type of frustration she was suffering from, even she was not certain. Sexual frustration? Frustration over mixed feelings, she could not decide on what they meant? Frustration over having to deal with Jareth? Frustration over her own unwillingness to admit to certain feelings, which in itself were frustrating? In the end, she found the entirety of it all very frustrating. 

  “Yeah, that’s not how I wanted this day to start”, she growled into her coffee mug and briefly closed her eyes, deeply inhaling the aroma of the coffee beans, which always helped her clear her mind.

  She scanned the room, and her eyes came to rest on the clear crystal that sat on her nightstand. A smile appeared around her lips as she gazed upon it and thought about the way Jareth had given it to her. He had been generous, more than generous.

  She leaned over and took hold of the crystal, balancing it carefully perched between her fingers.

  “I should call them”, she mumbled and lifted it up to her face.

  “I want to talk to Hoggle”, she called out, and the crystal began to swirl and then clear again, showing the mud-stained face of a dwarf.

  “Hoggle”, Sarah called out, and Hoggle looked up in surprise, seeing a crystal floating in front of him with Sarah’s embedded image.

  “Sarah?” he replied with a surprised but happy yelp.

  “You are all dirty, Hoggle. What are you doing?” she laughed merrily at his mud-smeared face.

  “Well, I am ter head gardener an’ gardenin’ is often dirty work with ter mud an’ all.”

  “You’re the head gardener? Did Jareth promote you?”

  “Jareth? Oh, that rat of a king? Yeah, he promoted me. I’m sure he has his reasons,” Hoggle mumbled under his breath, not looking too happy about his new title. “How have yer been, kiddo? Haven’ seen yer in years.”

  “I have been doing really well. I’m sorry I never called on you, but I always thought it to be a dream only. Jareth explained it all to me, and he gave me this crystal last night, so I can talk to you.”

  Sarah smiled happily, and Hoggle gave out a surprised gasp.

  “Jareth gave yer ter crystal?” he asked perplexed.

  “Yes, he did”, Sarah nodded eagerly, her smile growing wider.

  “So, I take it yer an’ ter rat are getting’ along better now?” his voice clearly dripped with suspicion.

  “Quite a bit. We still have our issues, but yes, we get along. He’s actually a pretty nice guy if you overlook a few faults.”

  Hoggle grumbled with disapproval and gave a sneer of discontent.

  “Jus’ watch out fer that rat. He can’t be trusted. Don’ let yer guard down around him. He is always up ter no good.”

  Sarah rolled her eyes but nodded in agreement to keep her peace with Hoggle. He had always been so pessimistic about Jareth. He and Jareth apparently were never going to see eye to eye, and Hoggle would always see the Goblin King as nothing more than a rat.

  “I would love an’ chat with yer a bit longer, but I have a mission ter finish for ter rat, I mean Jareth.”

  “Jareth has you on a mission? What kind of mission?” Sarah inquired now highly interested.

  “Can’t tell yer. He’ll bog me if I do”, Hoggle responded and waved his arms for emphasis.

 “Oh, he would not”, Sarah laughed. “I guess I’ll let you go. Maybe next time, we can talk for longer. Maybe, I can even come and visit, or vice versa, if I ask Jareth nice enough”, she suggested.

  “He doesn’ deserve ter be asked nicely, if yer ask me. Like I said, watch yer back with that rat. See yer later.”

  Hoggle had disappeared, and she was left with an empty crystal. She had forgotten about the rough and scruffy exterior of the dwarf. He had always been so negative when it came to Jareth, but his accusations had never panned out as truths.

  “I’m not getting between those two. They can work it out themselves”, she mumbled and thought about whom to call next.

  “Sir Didymus”, she called out, and the image of the fox knight came into sharp focus.

  He appeared much taller and intimidating than she had remembered him. Gone was the fuzzy, cute little fox knight, and in its place stood a thickly furred nearly two-metre-tall menacing canine, who looked rather wolfish.

  “Sir Didymus, is that you?” she asked, wondering if she had called on the wrong knight.

  “Verily, Lady Sarah, Milady. Forsooth, it is I, and I am at thy services.”

  He bowed deeply to her and gave her a toothy grin with wolf like teeth, throwing Sarah off her game once more.

  “You look so different”, she replied with knitted brows and brought her face closer to the crystal.

  “But of course, I do”, he replied with a chuckle. “I was a childlike representation of thou imagination last time, so thou would not be scared. Now that thou art an adult, there is no need to glamour me into something fluffy and cute.”

  Sarah raised her eyebrows. Jareth had mentioned something similar about his goblins not being the idiotic cretins she had seen in Goblin City, and them being much more capable of defending his kingdom. It all would make sense.

  “The Labyrinth lets one see what one expects, Milady, and thou expected little fluffy things last time. Thou should see a real goblin. Nothing like the ones the lady has seen, trust me, unless they are still children.”

  “Children, like the stolen children Jareth takes?” Sarah asked, feeling anger building up inside of her again at the thought of Jareth taking away children.

  “Oh, good heavens, no,” Sir Didymus replied aghast. “Where did thou ever cometh up with such a ghastly idea? Goblins have their own offspring, of course. His Majesty taketh the wished-aways and has them adopted out to other fae couples, who art unable to bear any of their own.”

  “The wished-away children art being taken care of in the utmost gentle manner. They most verily are pampered and cuddled. After all, they are the most priced treasures in the Underground and to be cherished by all. In time, they are being turned into fae themselves and live happy, long lives, making their contributions to fae society.”

  Sarah’s mouth gaped open at Sir Didymus’ explanation. Jareth had said something similar, but for some reason she had not believed him. That alone made her feel guilty again for not taking Jareth’s word at face value. He truly had never lied to her.

  “What kind of fae is Jareth? I mean, is he a good guy or should I be worried?” she asked carefully, not trying to give away her true reason for asking. “Hoggle always talks so negatively about him and told me he is a rat and to be careful around him.”

  Sir Didymus gave a barking laugh and waved his lance through the air as if he found her question quite amusing.

  “Thou must not worry. Most verily, Hoggle is only bitter at the heart. He’s jealous.”

  “Jealous?” Sarah spat in surprise. “Jealous of whom?”

  “Of King Jareth, of course.”

  “Why the hell would he be jealous of Jareth? Does Hoggle want to be king?”

  Again, Sir Didymus laughed with a loud howl and gave several entertained barks this time. He found her questions quite comical and jocular, and Sarah grew increasingly frustrated.

  “Beshrew me, Hoggle being king. That’s hilarious, and it would be catastrophic if it were so. No, Milady, Hoggle is envious of King Jareth because he knows the king is in love with the lady and has started courting thee. Hoggle feels betrayed as he wants thou for him.”

  “What? Say what again?” Sarah yelled at this new information. “Are you saying, both Jareth and Hoggle are in love with me, and Hoggle is jealous of Jareth and therefore always talks bad about him to me?”

  “Precisely, Milady.” Sir Didymus replied with a grin. “And now that the king is courting thou....”

  “Whoa there, hold your horses for one minute. King Jareth is doing what to me?” she gasped.

  “He is courting the Lady Sarah, and that would be thou.”

  “But why?” Sarah asked perplexed and tried to collect her thoughts.

  “Why would he not? He loves thee, Milady. He hath been besotted with thee since thou challenged his Labyrinth, and ever since, he hath made it a mission to bring thee back to us.”

  Sarah was dumbfounded. She knew that Jareth had proclaimed his love for her, and she knew he had given hints of bringing her to his chambers, but courting? He was courting her?

  “When the hell did that sneaky bastard weasel that part in?” her reasoning mind cried out in opposition of such a deceit.

  “Oh, isn’t it wonderful”, her libido chimed in. “Sex every day with this symbol of erotic seduction. Let’s go wedding dress shopping.”

  Sarah took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind and muzzle her insufferably infuriating libido.

  “I think the King and I will have to have a talk about this very soon”, she murmured to herself.

  “Dost the lady not fancy our king?” Sir Didymus asked, feeling bewildered himself now.

  “No, that’s not it”, Sarah mumbled into the crystal, “It’s just. It’s too complicated right now.”

  “Ah, I see. Complicated matters of the heart. Know this, Milady, the love of a fae is not given easily. For King Jareth to have given thee his heart is a once in a lifetime choice of his. If thou reject, he will never be able to love again. Fae only genuinely love once.”

  Sarah’s mouth gaped wide open at this revelation and left her momentarily speechless.

  “But why? Why can’t they love more than once? That’s not fair.”

  “Fair or not, it is the way it is”, Sir Didymus replied.

  “Thank you, Sir Didymus, you have given me a lot to think about. I have one more question before I leave you.”

  “Verily, ask away, Milady. I am at thy service.”

  Sir Didymus bowed again, and Sarah couldn’t help but to chuckle at his eagerness to serve her. He was such a romantic. Like a left-over piece from the Middle Ages. Chivalry and decorum meant everything to him.

  “Where can I find Ludo? I was hoping he would be with one of you, but....”

  “Oh, he hath returned home to his realm. See, when thou hadst found him in the Labyrinth, he hadst been kidnapped by a few blaggard and knave goblins, who hadst gone against the orders of our king. After thou left, King Jareth hadst him returned to his home, the realm of the rockcallers, so he could be rejoined with his own kind again.”

  “Jareth did that?” Sarah asked quietly and felt a ping in her heart, followed by a warm fuzzy feeling she tried to ignore for the moment.

  “He most verily did and hadst the responsible goblins bogged for a fortnight. He also promoted Hoggle in his position, and he bestowed onto me a brand-new guard under my command. I am now a Commendatore, the highest-ranking knight in the kingdom. All of the king’s personal guards have to answer to me first.”

  Sir Didymus stood up straight and stuck his snout up in the air as he closed his eyes and looked quite stately. Sarah had to smile at this and again felt a warm feeling surrounding her heart.

  There was so much she needed to work out. Her faulty assumptions of Jareth’s character, his intentions, and his feelings for her. And then there were her own confused feelings she needed to sort through as well.

  “Agh, what a mess this is all becoming. I have my work cut out, but I have eleven more days left to make a decision and find out how I really feel about him.”

  With this resolve of her mind, she felt slightly better and more at ease. Who said procrastinating was bad?

  “Thank you, Sir Didymus for the visit. I have to get going now. I hope I get to see you soon.”

  “Fare ye well, my fair maiden. We shall cross our paths much sooner than thou might think.”

  Before Sarah could respond to his cryptic message, he was gone, and the crystal was once again clear. With a sigh, she placed it back onto the nightstand and went to pour her second cup of coffee. She had one more call to make before she would get ready to meet the day.

  “Jareth”, she called hesitantly into the crystal he had given her specifically to call upon him.

  “What if he is in an important meeting with his counsellors and advisors? Or in the middle of his goblin court, or working on important documents? Or....?”

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the familiar drawled out vernacular of his deep soothing voice, which always made her tingle all over and caused her heart to skip a beat. Much to her chagrin, it also activated her libido and had it ready for action at defcon two level.

  “Sarah?” she heard the cheerful baritone voice and saw the brightly smiling face of the Goblin King staring at her. “What a pleasant surprise”, he added.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything of importance”, she replied with an uncertain voice.

  “Nothing that can wait ‘till later, Love”, he replied with a smirk.

  As the crystal panned out she could see he had only a towel loosely wrapped around his hips, and his mussed hair were still dripping with water as he held another towel in his hands.

  “Am I interrupting your morning shower? I am so sorry”, Sarah croaked and blushed brightly, instantly averting her eyes from his bare chest and hips as his towel had slipped dangerously low.

  “Eyes back on the prize”, her libido demanded, but she managed to ignore it.

  “Not at all, Love“, he laughed with mirth, seeing her reaction to his nearly naked body.

  Two high pitched female voices could be heard in the background, and they sounded cheerful and frolic. She saw Jareth turn towards them and waving his hand and giving them a big smile as he said something to them she could not make out. She thought she heard the word ‘pets’.

  She knitted her eyebrows, and a feeling of jealousy worked its way into her heart. Did he have two women in his bedroom? Would he really be doing this after what he had told her the other night, that he hadn’t been with another female for the past fifteen years, and he wasn’t that kind of guy?

  “Who’s that with you?” she asked carefully, trying not to sound too nosy or irritated.

  “My two chamber maids”, he remarked casually and kept drying his hair as if he had no care in his world.

  All the while his towel kept slipping even lower, and Sarah did her best to not stare at this very enticing part of his anatomy.

  “Lower, come on, slip lower”, her libido begged drooling and dragged its tongue on the ground in anticipation of a falling towel.

  “Focus on the issue at hand. Two women in his room”, her mind interjected successfully and managed to save her from a mental gutterfest.

  “You have two women in your room while you are practically naked? Is that normal for you?” she scolded, causing him to stop in his ministrations of drying his hair.

  He looked at her with a confounded expression before realization crossed his face and was turned into a giant impish smirk.

  “Do I detect a hint of jealousy in your voice, Love?” he asked with heightened amusement.

  “You do what you want”, Sarah remarked snidely, giving him a pouting look, which made him grin even harder. Apparently he enjoyed himself tremendously.

  “Oh, Precious, those are not women”, he chimed in and turned his crystal slightly to the side.

  Sarah saw two goblin females hopping around Jareth’s bed while straightening out the sheets and fluffing up his pillows.

  “Meet Mary and Ginny, Love”, he chuckled and both goblin maids looked into the crystal, smiling, and waving at Sarah with their not very pleasing toothy faces of blackish green.

  Sarah returned a weak smile and waved back at them while Jareth was barely able to keep from laughing out loud. He finally motioned them to leave the room and returned his attention back to Sarah.

  “I am deeply wounded and hurt that you would think I have females of the mating kind in my chambers after I already told you I haven’t had any sort of relations in fifteen years. Seriously, Sarah. You still don’t trust me.”

  Sarah was speechless and sat stunned with her crystal in front of her face. Jareth on the other hand milked her remorse for all it was worth, and he relished in the fact she was squirming, trying to find a way out of her predicament.

  “What did you need from me?” he finally asked while tightening the towel around his hips, which was about to fall off.

  Sarah’s libido went from celebrating at the bar Coyote Ugly style to having a mournful wake all dressed in black, while her logical reasoning centre lowered its alert from defcon one level back down to five.

  “I wanted to thank you for the crystal from last night”, she answered coyly.

  “Nothing to it, Love. You deserved it”, he replied with a sly smirk.

  “Well, it was very.... generous of you, and for that, I thank you. I already talked to them, and I also want to let you know how much I appreciate you returning Ludo to his home world and promoting Hoggle and Sir Didymus. I sorely misjudged you.”

  Jareth tilted his head and gave her a warm smile.

  “You are very welcome, Sarah. I would love to talk to you more, but I have to get dressed for court. Unless you want to watch me naked and pull on my pants and shirt, I would suggest we end the conversation for now.”

  “It’s a tempting offer Goblin King, but no, I’ll pass. See you tonight”, Sarah replied with a grin, while her libido called her an ingrate and drank itself into drunken oblivion to forget.

  “Suit yourself, but you are missing a good show”, he teased her with a deep laughter before the crystal went clear again.

  Sarah took a deep breath and returned the crystal to her nightstand drawer before she grabbed a new set of clothes and went into the bathroom to greet the day in a more appropriate fashion than an hour ago, all the while wondering what the evening had in store for her.

**************************************************

  As always, Jareth was punctual and in his human guise since Sarah had started making him use the front door.

  Sarah about lost her tongue to the floor when she opened the door and he leisurely leaned against the frame with his arms crossed in front of his chest and one of his legs cocked at the knee.

  “I still don’t see the purpose of knocking on the door. You know I am coming over; it is not like a big surprise”, he bellyached as he entered, wearing a pair of super tight black leather pants this time and a deep red dress shirt. His black leather boots and black leather jacket complimented his outfit.

  “It’s called showing courtesy”, Sarah replied with a smile and shut the door behind him, gasping for air and hoping he didn’t notice her blushed face and lustfully staring eyes.

  He walked into the kitchen and placed a small bag on the counter while Sarah was close behind him. He noticed the set table and cocked his head.

  “We hadn’t even discussed dinner last night. I didn’t expect you to provide again.”

  “Does that mean you are not hungry?” Sarah smirked and motioned him to sit down.

  “I never turn away free nourishment. To do so would be foolish indeed”, he replied cheerfully. “I brought you desert though”, he added slyly.

  Sarah’s eyes popped opened at the word ‘desert’. Now that, she could do with.

  “What is it?” she inquired with great interest.

  “Peach cobbler, made with peaches from my orchard”, he grinned impishly.

  “Hm, nothing enchanted or drugged this time, I hope”, she teased him and laughed out loud when he looked offended.

  “I have something for you too”, she added quietly and gave him a cryptic look.

  She opened a big white Styrofoam box and pulled out two big juicy hamburgers with an order of French fries for each.

  “You said you never had a hamburger. Well, tonight, you will.”

  A big happy smile washed over Jareth’s face at her gesture, and he immediately dug in once she urged him to start eating. This time, he did not ask for silverware, nor did he seem to care that the juice was running down his elbows, and he had to roll up his sleeves to keep them from becoming greasy.

  Sarah thought he looked amazingly normal and could barely keep her eyes off him. How much he had changed in only a little over three nights. She really began to like this new Goblin King of hers, the one who did not look down on her and ridiculed her for being a little spoiled brat, who had wished her baby brother away.

  “This is wonderfully delicious”, he groaned as he took another big bite and chewed it with closed eyes.

  “I have not lived until now”, he moaned with bliss after he had finished off his burger and fries, causing Sarah to laugh out loud.

  “You know you have a very sexy laugh”, he mentioned to her with half-closed eyes as he leaned back into his chair, sipping on his soda with a straw. “And this invention of straws is absolutely ingenious,” he added for good measures.

  “Thank you for the compliment”, Sarah replied with a warm smile. “Ready for desert?”

  “Always”, Jareth responded and jumped up to set the peach cobbler on the table with two more forks and a knife.

  They both dug in and nearly finished off the entire cobbler between the two of them. After Jareth had helped Sarah clean off the table and wash the dishes, of which there were few, they retired to her settee and leaned back into its seat for the moment. Neither wanted to move, as they too much enjoyed the company and the atmosphere that had developed around them.

  Sarah had to shake herself out of her state of bliss and force herself to focus on the task ahead. Jareth was here for a purpose, and it was to play a game. He was not here to see her or be on a date with her; it was solely to play and win a game. Nothing more.

  Sarah felt slightly deflated, like a balloon that had lost most of its helium, as she forced herself to come back down to Earth.

  “Ok, what is the game of the night?” she asked and gave him a questioning look.

  “Quarters”, he grinned from ear to ear as Sarah’s eyes grew big with horror.

  “Come again? That’s a drinking game”, she squeaked. “I already drank too much last night, and I had a horrible hangover most of the day.”

  “I told you yesterday to take it easy on the wine. You didn’t want to listen and had to act recalcitrant. Next time, listen to me.”

  He gave her a reproachful look, and Sarah furrowed her brows with irritated disapproval of her own.

  “And what will be the drink of the night?” she asked irritated. “I don’t have anything appropriate for this in my apartment.”

  “No worries, I brought it along”, he replied and pulled a big bottle of Everclear out of thin air.

  “You’re joking, right?” she cringed. “Three shots of that, and I am history. That stuff is gross.”

  “Then, I would suggest you don’t miss the glass”, Jareth replied with a smirk, cocking his head at her, and holding up the bottle to her face.

  “I hate you”, she murmured, and the crystal flashed red.

  “Why did you bring that damn thing along?” she spat with vexation.

  “For the sheer fun of it”, he laughed and got up to retrieve three shot glasses from the kitchen and a quarter from her little dish she had on a shelf in her small hallway.

  “Rules are simple for this one, and it shouldn’t take too long either. Thirteen rounds per person; as always, miss the cup, take a shot. Winner at the end gets a prize. What do you want, Precious?”

  He looked at her with a face that appeared way too happy in her opinion, and she growled at him with a sneer. He gave her a dismissive glare and kept setting up the game on her coffee table while he lowered himself into a seated position with bent knees on the floor.

  “I want you to rub and massage my feet for five minutes each and then kiss them”, she smirked at him with a devious look in her deep green eyes that sparkled with a certain cruelty.

  “A foot fetish, I don’t know about? I should have asked about that last night. How interesting.”

  Jareth laughed at her mocking expression and poured two glasses of Everclear.

  “To warm up we can do a few practice rounds without drinking to get the hang of the coin”, Jareth suggested drawing a startled look from Sarah.

  “How generous of His Majesty”, she kept taunting.

  Jareth leaned into her and kept his face so close to hers that she could feel his hot breath on her lips. His hand came up to the side of her face and tenderly caressed the side of her cheek.

  “I so want to show you how generous I can really be if you only let me”, he whispered with such intense sensuality, she nearly melted and had to keep from pulling his mouth onto hers.

  “What do you want, Goblin King, if you win?” she asked and had him retreat back to his side of the table with a sigh.

  “For you to start calling me Jareth every time and never using the term Goblin King again unless we are in a public setting at my kingdom.”

  Sarah gave him a bewildered look. Did it really bother him that much that she kept calling him by his title? He had sounded slightly irritated and frustrated when he had made his wish.

  And why did she call him by his title instead of his name? Was she just trying to hide her confused feelings for him by refusing to call him by his name, which she found every bit alluring as the name holder himself?    

  “That is agreeable”, Sarah drawled her reply. “Jareth”, she tagged on with a wicked sneer, causing Jareth to quirk an eyebrow at her.

  They both practiced a few times to shoot the quarter into the little shot glass and both seemed to be even matched.

  “Let’s do this”, Sarah demanded. “I don’t want a late night like yesterday, and you’ll be busy kissing my feet for some time afterwards.”

  “Sounds like I will not lose tonight, regardless of the outcome”, he retorted quickly with a sardonic laugh.

  Jareth focused on the little shot glass and aimed perfectly with the quarter landing inside the glass.

  Sarah gave him the evil eye and focused herself on the glass. She aimed, and she hit.

  “Well done, Champion”, Jareth grinned.

  “Let’s have some music while we are doing this. It loosens things up”, Sarah suggested, jumped up, and selected a few cds from her collection.

  “That’ll hold us over for hours”, she grinned as she returned, and the music began to play easy listening soft rock.

  “I agree. Music always lightens the mood. I believe it is my turn.”

  Jareth aimed carefully but slipped his hand right before he touched the coin and missed the shot glass while Sarah cheered.

  “Drink up”, she laughed and watched him down the Everclear in one gulp.

  Her joy did not last long as she, too, had a miss, and it was Jareth’s turn to cheer on her drinking abilities.

  “Still even though”, she declared, slamming the empty glass on the table, and having Jareth fill both of them up again.

  “Round three, coming up”, he announced and carefully placed his quarter on the edge of the table.

  His fierce stare at the coin made Sarah hold her breath. She looked up and briefly held his gaze as he gave her one more intense look before he re-concentrated on the coin.

  Staring into his mismatched eyes had Sarah’s inside once more in a whirl. How they could mesmerize her, and she wanted to lose herself in them.

  A joyous yell shook her out of her daydream and back to the game, realizing Jareth had hit dead centre on his glass. She scrunched her eyebrows and now held her own intense gaze.

  She flipped the coin up, and it bounced off the rim of the glass as both sets of eyes followed it flip in mid-air and coming back down once again, skimming the rim of the glass and finally coming to rest inside.

  “Ah ha, did you see that?” she celebrated, clapping her hands and leaning forward into Jareth, pulling him in for a quick peck on his lips before she released him and continued laughing.

  For a minute, she was completely oblivious to what she had just done until she caught the gaze of Jareth’s eyes. A sated smile had curled around his lips, and his eyes sparkled like two bright blue sapphires.

  She bit her lip and returned a sheepish smile to him.

  “Sorry about that. I was just excited.”

  “I’m not sorry”, he replied smoothly and turned his focus back to the coin.

  Before he could fire his coin, he heard her yell stop and hold out her hand.

  “Want to raise the stakes?” she asked with a lecherous grin, licking her lips.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “Every time you miss, you have to bring dinner, every time I miss, you are allowed to kiss me, tongue and all.”

  Jareth gave her a contemplating look and suddenly reached over, pulling her into him and placing an ardent kiss against her lips, urging her to open her mouth, so he could enter his tongue, which, much to her chagrined mind, she willingly did.

  “What the hell was that for?” she asked perturbed as he let go of her.

  “I’m collecting my dues for round two. I also owe you one dinner.”

  “Round four”, she announced with an irritated expression while Jareth sat back down, grinning like the cat who just had all of its cream in one setting.

  Jareth aligned himself with the coin and flipped, but missed badly, earning a joyous sneer from Sarah, who held up two fingers for two dinners he now owed her. He stared at her and held her gaze as he poured back his drink.

  Sarah loosened up her shoulders and shook her head.

  “Ok, do not fail me’, she whispered and flipped her coin, which unfortunately decided to make a detour right across the table and hit Jareth in the face.

  “That ought to be a penalty”, he growled with pretend anger. “Assaulting the king with a deadly metal disk.”

  “Damn it”, Sarah hissed and gulped her Everclear, followed by a shudder from her body. “Damn this stuff is nasty”, she winced.

  “It’s not supposed to be good tasting. That’s the entire point. Nasty and strong”, he reiterated. “Pay up”, he demanded with a smirk, and Sarah leaned over to let him kiss her.

  His tongue gently caressed her bottom lip and after tangling with her tongue for a moment withdrew and flicked across her upper lip as he began to kiss the corners of her mouth and slowly moved up her cheek to her eye where he placed a most tender kiss.

  Sarah held perfectly still and closed her eyes to take in all of his sensual kissing. Her libido once again was screaming at her with a megaphone to release the drawbridge that kept him out of her castle of willpower.

  After he finished she sat dazed and with glazed over eyes.   

  “Round five. Watch and be amazed”, he crooned, bringing Sarah back to reality and the game as the coin flipped through the air but barely missed its intended target.

  “Hah, that’s three dinners“, Sarah cheered and bounced on her knees. “This is going to be an expensive game for you this time....Jareth”, she added and gave him a wink.

  Jareth heart skipped a beat and settled as a blissful smile formed around his lips.

  “Ok, please go in, please go in”, Sarah begged and concentrated with the tip of her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth.

  “I don’t think the coin can hear you, Love”, Jareth whispered amused.

  “Hush, you are breaking my mojo”, she hissed and waved him off.

  Jareth stifled his laughter and watched her closely, working her so called magic. Apparently, her mojo had failed her, as the coin came up short and laid itself down before it even reached the glass.

  Sarah stared at it as if it was a sentient being that was supposed to fulfil an important mission and had failed miserably.

  “Drink up, Champion”, Jareth demanded and held the glass up for her. “You were saying what about dinner?” he taunted her and conquered her mouth with one quick move, leaving her once more dazed and hazed.

  “Ok, round six and we are still tight. What happens if we are tight after all rounds?” Sarah began to worry.

  “We start over”, Jareth jested, and Sarah looked as if she wanted to cry.

  “I’ll die of alcohol poisoning”, she whined and waved her hands aimlessly through the air while Jareth chuckled into his fist and re-situated the coin on the table.

  Jareth quickly flipped his coin, and it landed snugly inside his shot glass. Sarah heaved a big sigh and locked her eyes with his.

  “You know this means war, right?” she threatened and took the coin away from his hand, slamming it on her side of the table. “Now, no more messing with my mojo, Goblin King”, she ordered him with a pointed finger and began to concentrate.

  Jareth could tell her focus was beginning to waver as she blinked several times and shook her head as if to clear her vision. She flipped up the coin, and it hit her in the face, bounced off the table, and landed inside the glass.

  “What the hell?” Jareth exclaimed and stared at the coin inside her shot glass. “How did you do this?”

  “Magic”, Sarah slurred and broke out in laughter. ”That’s four dinners now. I hope you have a fat bank account.”

  At that point, Jareth was more upset about the lost kiss than his bank account, which basically was endless with all the precious gem mines he owned, and the trade he did with them in the mortal world. He could take Sarah on a thousand dinners, and it wouldn’t put a dent in it.

  “Round seven”, he snarked and grabbed the coin.

  For this round, he wasted no time and tossed the coin straight into the glass, causing Sarah to wonder if he cheated. She looked at the truth crystal, but it hummed in bright green.

  “Hm”, she murmured and gave him a warning look.

  She carefully positioned her coin and flipped it, but it flew past Jareth’s head and rolled onto the floor right underneath her stereo.

  “Damn it”, she scowled, downed her Everclear and crawled on her hands and knees towards her stereo to retrieve the quarter while Jareth enjoyed himself, watching her shapely butt scoot passed him.

  After some struggle, she managed to recover it from its hiding place with a gleeful smile and held it up as she stood up and instantly fell back again on her behind.

  “Ouch that hurt”, she grumbled and sat on the floor, looking confused.

  “Do you need help, Love?” Jareth asked with honeysweet like flakiness as he stood over her.

  “I’m fine”, she spat and slowly stood up, wiping the dust off her pants. “I still need you to mop my floors”, she reminded him flippantly.

  “I believe you owe me a kiss first.”

  Sarah rolled her eyes and let him take his reward, which he savoured with all he had. This time, his hands were holding on to her lower back as he pulled her tight against his hips. Sarah could feel the heat emanating from his body and smelled his intoxicating scent of leather.

  “Loose a few more games and maybe you get laid tonight”, her libido suggested, and even her mind didn’t have much of an objection this time.

  “Jareth”, she whispered quietly after he broke from the kiss and stumbled back to her seat on her side of the table.

  “What is it?” Jareth asked, cocking his head, and looking into her now glazed over eyes.

  “Um, nothing”, she replied absentmindedly and waved her hand in front of his face. “Ready for round eight?”

  Jareth nodded quietly and positioned his coin carefully. He glanced over to Sarah and hit the edge of the quarter as it flew through the air and landed in her glass.

  “Well, that’s a new one”, she remarked, staring at the coin in her glass.

  Jareth scratched his head and pondered over the situation for a while.

  “The crystal is still glowing green that must mean my hit counts. It does not stipulate anywhere that I have to hit the glass in the middle.”

  “But the glass in the middle is the intended target”, Sarah argued back. “You can’t just switch targets in the middle of the game.”

  “Point taken”, Jareth replied. “Re-toss?” he asked.

  “Nope”, Sarah refused curtly. “Drink up, Your Majesty.”

  Jareth heaved a deep sigh and slammed back his drink. For only a split second, his eyes crossed before they returned to normal. Sarah was right, this stuff was the drink from hell. He re-situated himself back on the floor and looked expectantly at her as she started to sway slightly back and forth.

  “Sarah, are you okay?” he asked concerned but was waved off by her hand once again.

  “Peaschy”, she stated with a slight garble, took the coin, and flipped it without even trying.

  Kerplung, the sound drew both participants attention as they gleamed the coin inside the middle glass.

  “How did you do that?” Jareth asked perplexed

  “I nots know”, she slurred in grammatically incorrect English and shrugged her shoulders. “Five dinners, Tschared babe.”

  Jareth cringed at the use of such a horrible pet name for him.

  “Don’t call me a babe, Love. I’m a stud, not a baby. Call me what I am.”

  Sarah broke out in uncontrolled laughter at his complaint and began to roll on the floor, wrapping her arms tightly around her stomach.

  “You are absolutely adorable when you are miffed”, she squeaked with tears running down her cheeks. “My studly king, I shall never call you just a babe ever again.”

  Jareth looked at her with incense. He only hoped she wouldn’t miss too many more shots, or he would have to help her get into bed. The thought alone about this had him perked up again in no time.

  “Well done, Love. Let’s continue”, he purred.

  “Wait, I need to switch out the music”, she insisted and lingered by her music collection to choose a few more soft rock albums.

  Jareth crouched down beside her and looked over her neatly lined up and alphabetically sorted record collection.

  “How about this one?” he asked, pulling out ‘Station to Station’ by David Bowie.

  “You got it”, Sarah replied with a coy smile, which caused Jareth to feel butterflies in his stomach.

  She added the album to her line up and soon the music started up again with ‘Wild is the wind’. Jareth grabbed Sarah’s hand and gently pulled his arm around her waist as he began to dance with her, holding her tight against his body.

  Sarah didn’t refuse and let her body move along with his in perfect unison and rhythm. She leaned her head against his shoulders as he tightened his grip around her waist.

  “That feels nice”, she whispered. “Why are we dancing instead of playing? We have five more rounds to go.”

  “You need a break, Love. I don’t want you to pass out from that awful spirit water. You were right, that stuff is horrendous.”

  “Aw, you are concerned about my well-being?” she cooed and looked him briefly in his eyes.

  “I’m always concerned about your well-being, Love,” he answered and kept up the dancing.

  For three songs, he had her dance with him, and she never fought him or complained. For the first time, they almost felt like an ordinary couple on a date, and both of them cherished the opportunity and the time they had with each other. No challenges, no need to win, no fears of losing, and no consequences.

  “I think we better return to the game, or I’ll be here ‘till midnight”, Jareth whispered, unwilling to let her escape from his arms.

  “Would that be such a bad thing?” she asked softly, having him look deeply into her emerald-green eyes.

  “No, not really, Love”, he answered as he watched her draw her face closer to his.

  “Let’s continue”, her jerked her out of her wonderful trance and led her back to the table.

  Immediately, the mood was broken, and harsh reality had set back in. A game needed to be played, finished, and won. Nothing else mattered, no other reason existed for him to be here. It was all about the game. Sarah all the sudden felt empty inside and refused. Mr. Seducer had refused her, and it stung.

  “You’re right, let’s finish this, so you can go back home.”

  Her voice had turned back to cold and emotionless, and her countenance was one of wanting to win and not to swoon over a mercurial fairy king, who held no feelings for her, no needs or wants.

  “I believe it is your turn. Round nine.”

  Jareth felt her now icy demeanour, and he cursed himself for being so indifferent and reserved. He blew his chance to woo her and now it was too late again. All he could do was flip the coin and get this game over with.

  “Ahhhhh, came the long, drawn-out disappointed sigh of Sarah as she watched his coin enter the glass.”

  This time, Jareth didn’t even care that he had hit the target. His real intended target remained as elusive as ever, even so she sat only a metre away from him.

  “Woo hoo”, he heard next as she cheered her own success in landing the coin where she wanted it, inside her shot glass.

  “I guess we are still tight”, she sighed.

  “We won’t be by the end”, he smiled confidentially.

  “No cheating”, she hissed at him under her breath.

  He briefly glanced at her emerald-green eyes that could hold so much cruelty and at the same time could be warm and loving if she allowed it.

  “No worries, I never cheat.”

  He flipped the coin and missed, downing his drink quickly. His eyes never left her, and she slightly blushed under his intense gaze.

  “I wonder what’s going on behind those enthralling blue eyes”, Sarah’s mind pondered but was quickly jolted away by his impatient tapping of his fingers against the table.

  “If I wouldn’t know better, I would say you are trying to speed everything up tonight. Tired of being here and entertaining a mortal with silly little games?” Sarah spat, feeling hurt by his obvious desire to finish up with the game.

  Jareth didn’t give her the pleasure of an answer, and Sarah flipped her coin, not caring where it landed. To her surprise, she had tossed it into the glass again.

  “Are you helping me win?” she glared at him.

  “Now why would I want to do that?” he barked back. “So, I can dote over your feet and be your slave?”

  “You offered yourself up as a slave before, so what’s the difference?”

  “How you love to be cruel, Precious”, he replied flippantly.

  Sarah was hurt by his callousness. She could not figure out how he could go from being so incredibly charming while they were dancing to such a dick right now.

  “Round eleven”, she whispered, avoiding his eyes.

  Jareth twirled the quarter in his fingers and seemed to sink into a pensive state before Sarah’s demand to get going jolted him out of it. He carefully placed the coin in position and flipped it. It was a perfect shot, and he gave her a perfect victory smirk. Sarah knitted her brow and tossed the coin. Another hit.

  “Looks like the battle lines are drawn, Precious”, Jareth remarked and was rewarded with an insolent sneer, which started to vex him for no apparent reason at all.

  He needed to turn this evening around into his favour, and he needed to do it fast. When he tossed the coin, it landed beside his glass. Sarah raised her eyebrows and motioned to his full glass. He quaffed it with a sinister smile on his lips.

  “Let’s see you do better”, he mocked and tilted his head to the side, causing her to lose concentration.

  How she love-hated this look on his face. It reminded her of the time in the tunnels when she had wanted nothing more than to kiss this damn conceited expression off his beautiful face, and she didn’t’ need to be reminded about it tonight. Her coin landed at her feet while she hit her hand against the side of the table.

  “Ouch, that didn’t go well”, she winced.

  Jareth pointed at her full glass, and she gave him another death glare as she chucked her drink.

  “Round twelve.”

  Jareth wasted no time and completely forgot to collect on his kiss. Sarah had noticed, but she kept quiet, feeling rejected once again on the inside.

  This time, his coin flipped high into the air and landed with a thud on the carpet. He closed his eyes and shook his head. She was getting to him. He had expected her to gloat over his miss, but she remained silent. He could see the determination on her face. She was out to win this.

  When he downed his drink, he grimaced from the nasty taste, which was now thick on his tongue.

  “I hope we still have some peach cobbler left” he whimpered with obvious disgust, finally drawing a giggle out of Sarah.

  “If we ever play quarters again, I’ll bring the drink”, she promised and gave him a compassionate smile, which he gladly reciprocated.

  “Does that mean you are up for another game of this?” he purred seductively.

  “Not likely very soon”, she laughed and tossed her coin, which flew back over her head and landed on her bookshelf.

  “Too bad, Precious. Hold your nose. It doesn’t taste as bad if you hold your nose.”

  “Oh, now he’s telling me”, she groaned as she poured the liquid down her throat. “Look at that, it worked”, she declared with a relieved smile.

  He leaned forward and collected his kiss, his tongue tasting the Everclear on her tongue as he closed his eyes, gently resting his hand against her cheek. When he pulled back, she gave him a smile with glazed over eyes.  

  “Lasssht call, lasssht roun’, barssender, shet ‘em upf”, she demanded with a now highly slurred speech pattern, causing Jareth to laugh out loud.

  “And thank the gods for that, Love. You are getting more than your fill.”

  “I can hold more, Gob....Tschared,” she replied and scooted the coin towards him.

  It hadn’t slipped passed Jared how she had corrected herself from preventing to call him by his title.

  “Last flip”, Jareth whispered, and the coin twirled in the air, barely missing the glass.

  “I’m sho shorry, Tschared”, she whispered and took the coin into her own hand. “Drink upf.”

  Jareth nearly choked on the last shot, as he barely could keep from giggling over her funny speech pattern. He’s seen her inebriated last night from the wine, but it had not affected her in such ways.

  Tonight, was quite different. The Everclear had finally hit her system. Maybe it would lessen her aggressiveness towards him.

  “This is your chance, Love. Make me proud”, Jareth whispered and earned a gleaming, cross-eyed smile from his beloved, who sat with a flushed face while biting her bottom lip.

  “I will”, she replied to him with drunken determination and hit the coin.

  The next thing she knew, she was being lifted off the ground by his arms and held tightly to his body. Two strong arms ensconced her in a warm embrace, and she flung her own arms around his waist.

  “What did I do?” she whispered, not understanding the situation and his sudden embrace, but also not shying away from it.

  “You won, Precious”, Jareth replied and placed a gentle kiss against her forehead.

  “Oh, good, now you can kisch my feetsh” she slurred with blissful happiness and looked at him with wide, shiny eyes as if he was the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus all wrapped up in one.

  Jareth broke out in loud laughter and squeezed her even tighter, making her gasp for air.

  “I’ll kiss your feet, Love. I’ll kiss any part of your body. All you have to do is ask for it”, he chuckled with mirth.

  “Tshank you”, she replied and wormed herself out of his embrace to down her own glass of Everclear before Jareth had a chance to stop her, leaving him speechless.

  “Precious, what are you doing?” he berated her and wrestled the glass away from her. “You’re not supposed to drink this now. You’re done drinking for the night.”

  “Shpoilshport, I’m shelebraitin”, she mumbled as he gently sat her down sideways on the settee while he positioned himself by her feet.

  He gingerly slipped her socks off her feet and gently took one foot into his hands as he began massaging it with his skilled fingers, applying just the right pressure in the right places.

  “What are you doin’, Tschared?” she asked as she began to blissfully moan from the sensations caused by his ministrations to her foot.

  “Holding up my deal of the bargain. You won, I massage and kiss your feet.”

  “You are a good fae, no matter what Hoshle shaysh”, she murmured and smiled at him with foggy eyes.

  “Who is Hoshle?” Jareth inquired, temporarily halting his massage.

  “Your gahrdner, that blashted dwarf”, she snickered like a little schoolgirl, holding her hand in front of her mouth to stifle her giggles.

  Jareth chortled with mirth as he continued massaging her foot, drawing little moans of pleasures from her, especially when he hit a particular spot on the bottom of her arch.

  “Oh, him. Well, I’m glad you are not listening to him.”

  “I shink you are naiish”, Sarah continued with her incoherent rambling.

  “Naiish? Oh, you mean nice. Thank you, Love, I think you are nice too”, he replied with a grin and kissed the tip of her big toe.

  While Jareth meticulously massaged her foot and all five of her digits, Sarah leaned her head back and moaned each time he switched to a new toe and gently worked his magic.

  He ran his hands up and down the entirety of her foot, massaging each inch and placing small tender kisses on top of its bridge and on the tip of each toe.

  Despite Sarah’s drunken stupor, her libido was celebrating Cinco de Mayo and Mardi Gras all in one, while doing the shimmy underneath a torrent of glitter raining down on it.

  “Oh, my god, Tschared”, she moaned and writhed her body when he hit a particular spot. “I’m sho hot for you.”

  Jareth sat up straight and looked at her with owled eyes. Did she just admit she felt something for him, even if just a physical desire?

  “Say it again, Love”, he urged her on.

  “I’m sho hot for you. I thsink I luwe you, but I’m not shure yet, sho I’m not telling yet until I know for shure. Don’t tell him, ok?”

  Jareth had listened to her maundering with heightened amusement. She had just admitted to everything he had hope she would tell him in a sober state. It was a start.

  He glanced at the truth crystal, and it was still shining green. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and relished in her drunken confession to him.

  “I won’t tell him, promise”, he replied with another kiss to her foot.

  He gently put down her foot and took her other foot into his hand, applying the same ministrations to it. He kept eliciting little moans from her as she kept telling him how nice he was and how much she really liked him, no, loved him. His heart was doing all sorts of joyous dancing and made him feel fuzzy inside his brain.

  “So, all it took was to get you drunk sweet Sarah to finally hear the truth out of you. If I can get you to tell me all this while you are sober, we can live our happily ever after, my beloved”, he whispered as he placed kisses on top of her other foot.

  He found himself lost in his foot massage as his thoughts kept wandering to the future, in which he imagined Sarah walking into his ballroom in a beautiful royal blue dress, holding his hand and telling him the words he so desperately wanted to hear her say, ‘yes, I do’.

  He was jolted out of his musings when he heard a faint snore emanating from the other end of the settee. His sweet Sarah had fallen asleep. Jareth tapped her gently on the shoulder, but she didn’t budge.

  “Well, off to bed you go, Love.”

  He picked her up with the utmost care and carried her into her bedroom, willing on the lights while he placed her carefully onto her bed. He pulled back her sheets and began to undress her.

  “Only the jeans and shirt”, he told himself.

  He even averted his eyes when he pulled her clothes off her and immediately covered her up with the blanket. She looked so innocent and peaceful as she lay curled up under her sheets with only her head visible. Her eyes were shut tight and her lips slightly parted.

  How he wished he could have her wake up next to him every single morning for eternity. He was more than ever convinced now, he had to have her, and he would not rest until she would say yes to his offer. He had ten more days to change her mind and make her accept her own true feelings.

  “Ten more days, Love. Please, don’t disappoint me and break my heart all over again. It would kill me for sure this time.”

  He gently caressed her face with the back of his hand and placed a tender kiss upon her lips. He only lingered for a little while before he pulled back. As soon as he had removed himself from her, he felt the pull of a summons and sighed.

  “I wish the Goblin King would come and take you away right now.”

  He gave her one more glance with wistful eyes before he instantly changed into his full battle regalia.

  “Good night, Precious. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He turned to leave and was about to metamorphose into his owl form when he heard the chilling sound of gut-wrenching convulsions and spun back around.

I based Sarah's drunken state of her seven shots of Everclear on my own personal experience years ago at a party. To this day I have no clue how I got home, but I woke up in the pasture with the cows staring down at me. So, there you have it, the stuff is lethal. As always please leave a token in my now sober scribe jar. Thank you and have a wonderful Memorial Weekend. See y'all next weekend.

Chapter Text

  Sarah was woken up to a high-pitched female voice that seemed to screech into her ear without mercy, making her head want to split in two from the grating noise.

  "Lady must wake up. Lady wake up. Kingy sent me to check on you."

  “Go away”, Sarah groaned into her pillow and buried her head with another one she managed to grab beside her.

  Her bed felt so wonderfully soft and warm, and the sheets were like lavender and peach induced silk against her nearly naked body. She wanted to forget the world and somehow make this shrill unpleasant voice in her head go away.

  “Wait what?”

  Sarah opened her eyes in a silent stare with the feeling of impending doom starting to wash over her like a slow-moving tsunami approaching a beach before it rose to a giant destructive wave.

  “This doesn’t feel like my sheets. Mine are nowhere near as soft and fresh smelling. And the bed....Oh, my god.”

  Sarah turned her head with a sudden jerk of her body and stared into the eyes of a goblin, Mary the goblin maid to be exact. Her face was only centimetres from hers, and Sarah gave out a blood curdling scream, causing the goblin maid to jump up in fright, screaming equally as loud and horrified.

  “What the fuck? Where am I?” Sarah yelled and sat up, pressing the sheets against her body like a shield that could protect her from any attack.

  Her face stayed contorted while her panicky eyes quickly scanned the room. Nothing was familiar. She was definitely not in her apartment.

  “Where am I?” she repeated herself with a panicky voice, still confused, as her gaze fell back onto the goblin maid, who had stopped her screaming and stood motionless in front of Sarah, staring at her with big black eyes.

  “You’re at the castle. Majesty brought you last night. Lady sick”, she answered nervously.

  “Oh, my god, I’m in Jareth’s bed?” Sarah gasped, not even wanting to think about what may have happened between the two last night.

  “Of course not, you are in the Quee....”

  “You are in my guest room”, came the interjection from a calm baritone voice at the now open door from across the chamber. “Mary, you may leave now.”

  Jareth cocked his head towards the entry, and the little goblin maid scrambled out the door, bowing to her king on her way out.

  “Your Kingyness, lady woke up, screaming. I think lady angry”, Mary whispered to Jareth before she scuttled down the hall with speedy steps, trying to get as much distance between her and this banshee like screaming mortal in the Queen’s chamber.

  Jareth closed the door with an amused smirk on his face and made his way over to Sarah, who still sat mortified on the bed, the sheets wrapped tightly around her entire body and only leaving her neck and head exposed.

  “Did you kidnap me last night?” she hissed with askance and gave him a dangerous look before a grimace overtook her attempted intimidating expression, and she pressed a hand over her eyes.

  “Headache, Love?” Jareth asked with a warm concerned tone in his voice and quickly rushed to bring her a glass of water with a pill in his hand.

  “Here take this, it’ll help.”

  Sarah gave him a suspicious look, eyeing the pill in his hands and then eyeing him, only to return her eyes back to the pill.

 “I’m not here to poison or drug you, Sarah. It’s nothing more than an herb-based aspirin type pill to take care of your headache, I assume you are suffering from”, he exclaimed with exasperation as he rolled his eyes. “You still don’t trust me, do you? You really need to quit being so suspicious of every little thing I am doing. It is quite tiring.”

  “I’m sorry, Jareth. I was just taken by surprise that’s all”, she whispered ruefully and took his proffered pill and water.

  Jareth heaved a deep sigh and gave her a comforting smile while he sat himself at the edge of the bed next to her, wiping a lose hair strand out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.

  Instead of flinching back, as he might have expected, Sarah briefly closed her eyes and seemed to enjoy his gentle touch. He was extremely relieved internally at her reaction.

  “Sarah, I wish you would realize that there is nothing I can do to you that you don’t really want me to do. I cannot just take you to my world without your consent, whether it is giving consciously or subconsciously. Everything that is happening is because you somehow wished for it.”

  “What? I subconsciously wished to be here?” she murmured more as a question to herself than him.

  “Yes”, he answered her softly. “Remember the ‘you have no power over me’ thing?” he flinched briefly at those words. “Like I told you before, words have meaning. I cannot do anything unless you give me that power, and that means consent from you. Remember that when you end up in my bed, enjoying yourself.”

  He smirked lecherously, earning himself a frown and a sneer from her. His libidinous innuendos were truly grating on her, and she immediately stomped her foot onto her libido’s mouth before it could add its redundant wisdom to the discussion.

  “Highly unlikely to happen”, she retorted, but somehow her words did not seem to sound very convincing.

  Jareth only quirked an eyebrow but chose to remain silent as a knowing smile spread across his lips.

  “So, why did you bring me here, Jareth?” she asked, returning the now empty glass of water back to his waiting hand.

  “I didn’t mean to, but you were in no condition to be by yourself last night. How much do you remember?”

  “Something about you kissing my feet”, she grinned with a slight glee in her eyes and blush on her face.

  “Ah, the important part then”, Jareth jested and re-situated himself slightly on her bed, bringing one leg up and bending it at the knee as it fell to the side, giving her a nice view of his package beneath those ever so tight pants.

  Sarah tore her eyes away from this particular part of his anatomy and refocused on his face, which was covered with a big smug grin of his. Apparently, he had noticed her stare and relished in the fact that he had caused her to briefly lose her composure.

  “Damn you, Jareth, you did this on purpose. It won’t work.”

  “You still haven’t told me why you brought me here”, she redirected his attention back to his explanation of him kidnapping her.

  “Well, my dear, while I was administering your foot massage, which incidentally I found to be quite enjoying. You have such lovely feet”, he cooed.

  “Stay on point, Jareth”, she interjected assertively.

  “Quite right. You fell asleep, and I took you to your bedroom, removed your jeans and shirt, and no I was not peeking....” he immediately told her as she tried to object to his undressing of her. “....and I was about to leave, as I had received a summons for a wished-away, when you started to convulse in quite a bad way.”

  Jareth looked warmly at her and caressed her cheek with the back of his gloved hand.

 “I couldn’t leave you by yourself, since you were passed out, but I also had to leave. So, I did the next best thing and brought you here to be placed under the care of my healer.”

  “Oh”, was all Sarah managed to reply with, as she suddenly felt quite embarrassed and vulnerable.

  “He took the time to bring me here first before he took care of the summons?”

  Her mind was baffled and tried to digest this information.

  “See how sweet he is? Now let me speak up again and get your mind straight”, her libido muffled under her foot.

  She slightly blushed and pulled her sheets even tighter around her.

  “I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble”, she murmured with contrite, avoiding his gaze as she fiddled with the corner of one sheet she found to be of particular interest.

  “No trouble at all, Love. I am quite fond of knowing that you spent the night in the....my guest room”, he answered softly and leaned over to place a chaste kiss on her forehead.

  Sarah looked up with relief and surprise.

  “You are not mad?” she asked confused and grateful.

  “Now why would I be mad? There’s nothing you did wrong, and I am too much of a gentleman to leave a damsel in distress behind by herself.”

  He winked at her with a warm smile as his hand kept caressing her cheek. She didn’t object and again subconsciously leaned into his touch. She may not have noticed her subtle reaction, but he had, and his eyes grew just a tad wider and darker.

  His thoughts trailed off as he envisioned himself, and two, or maybe three, laughing children in the arms of Sarah, joyously strolling across a flowery meadow towards a huge oak tree for a family picnic.

  “I hate being a damsel in distress. That means I’m weak, and I hate being weak”, she pouted and knitted her brows.

  Her voice had caused him to be torn away from his picture-perfect family outing dream. He replied to her statement with a quiet chuckle.

  “You are definitely not weak, Sarah, and everybody is allowed to be a damsel in distress at least once in their life.”

  “Why are you being so damn nice to me, Gob....Jareth?” she asked with the hint of a smile curled around the corner of her lips and a look of mild confusion.

  “You really have to ask, Love?” he replied with a cocked head and cryptic smirk.

  “Are you hungry?” he added quickly before she could answer and withdrew himself from her bed, making his way to another room she hadn’t noticed before.

  “A little”, she admitted, only now feeling the revolting growling of her empty stomach. “I shouldn’t be, considering I should be suffering from a nasty hangover after what you told me, but I am actually quite hungry.”

  She placed her hand over her angry belly and craned her neck to see where Jareth had disappeared to. In short time, he returned, holding a robe in his hand and she also heard the sound of rushing water in the adjacent room.

  “My healer gave you a potion last night that basically cured all your alcohol induced ills. It has saved me on several occasions”, he smirked with a wink.

  “Remind me to thank you healer”, Sarah replied with a weak smile of her own, and Jareth nodded lightly.

  “Come on, get up”, he demanded in a gentle voice. “I have a bath running for you. Why don’t you clean up, and I’ll come back for you in about forty-five minutes?”

  He placed the robe on the edge of the bed and looked caringly down at her. Sarah bit her bottom lip and nodded. He was exceptionally nice to her this morning, and she was thoroughly thrown by his positive attitude about the entire situation.

  He could have mocked and ridiculed her for passing out and being shit-faced drunk. He could have left her alone in her bedroom, choking on her vomit and dignity, yet he brought her here and had her watched over by his own personal healer of all things.

  And now he was so sweet and gentle with her. She expected a big bell to ring and a guy to jump out of a closet, telling her it was all but one big set up and joke, but nothing of the sort happened. Jareth still stood in front of her, with a warm smile on his lips and a genuinely worried look on his face as he waited for her answer.

  “Thank you, Jareth. That’s so swee....kind of you. I’ll be ready then.”

  Jareth nodded, waved his hand to stop the water in the ensuite and turned to step out of the room. As soon as he had shut the door, Sarah slipped out from underneath the covers and quickly wrapped the robe around her. It was made out of the finest silk and felt wonderfully soft against her skin.

  She closed her eyes and smelled the same intoxicating scent on the robe as she had smelled on the bed sheets.

  “Gosh, everything smells so damn fantastic here, including him”, she murmured and disappeared into the bathroom, fully remembering his scent as he had sat beside her on the bed, and especially as he had leaned over to kiss her forehead.

  Her libido had managed to remove her foot and was already starting to beat a steady drumbeat again while Sarah growled with annoyance.

  “Not now, it’s too damn early in the morning, and I want to eat without you in my way.”

  Her foot was firmly back in place over her libido’s mouth.

  She was greeted by a lavishly decorated bathroom that was spacious and elegant. A huge white marble sink with gold strings weaving through it, overlooked by a large double faucet in gleaming bronze. The bathtub complimented the sink in its design and was spacious enough to hold three adults easily.

  Sarah scrunched her nose, wondering why he would need such a big tub for unless he liked to have a ménage a trois during his baths.

  “Get your mind out of the damn gutter Sarah Williams and focus. There are other reasons for big tubs. And he has already told you several times about how abstinent he has been for fifteen years. Plus, it’s a guest room, and they can do whatever they want.”

  At least her mind still seemed to work properly.

  She felt as if in heaven when she sunk herself into the warm soothing water covered with lavender scented soap bubbles. Out of nowhere, soft music started to play a nice easy listening concert piece, she was not sure of what it was called, but she had heard it before.

  Sarah closed her eyes and indulged herself in her bath, enjoying the way the water and the bubbles felt against her skin as the aroma of the lavender toyed with her senses. She could have fallen asleep and spent all day in the tub had she not been rudely interrupted by the little goblin maid again.

  “Lady must get ready. Kingy is waiting”, she urged Sarah to get out of her little slice of heaven and dry off to get dressed.

  “Oh shit, I don’t have any clothes”, she realized with a gasp and desperately looked around the spacious room.

  “Nonsense”, Mary interrupted her and showed her to a large armoire on the other side of the room.

  When the little goblin maid opened the doors, Sarah let her mouth hang wide open as she stared at the content of the wardrobe. Dresses upon dresses hung from a rod, and on shelves off to the side several riding pants were neatly folded along with shirts of various colours to match the pants.

  Underneath all of this were several types of boots and high heeled shoes as well as flat comfortable slippers. Most astounding of it all, everything seemed to be in her size and an exact match to what she needed.

  “How is this possible?” she asked Mary with excitement as she started to rummage through the dresser.

  “It’s been waiting for you for a long time”, Mary responded casually and took out a lightweight sleeveless dress in a beautiful dark-green colour with golden embroidery.

  “This one would be more than appropriate for breakfast with His Kingyness. It’s considered a semi-formal housedress. Doesn’t require a corset either.”

  Speechless, Sarah watched her remove the beautiful, floor-length dress along with the slippers and set it on the settee next to her.

  “The clothes had been waiting for her. Say what? And for a long time? Come again?”

  Before she could ask Mary to explain her statement, she was interrupted by her high-pitched voice, which still pierced Sarah’s skull every time she started talking.

  “Underwear is in this drawer. All simple, nothing complicated. Designed for your needs”, the goblin maid stated dryly and gave Sarah an austere look over.

  “Designed for my needs? What the fuck?”

  “Hurry, kingy is waiting. Don’t let kingy wait. That’s rude”, she informed Sarah coldly, jolting her out of her pondering state over the underwear, and bolted out of the room.

  “Wait, does that mean I have to meet him somewhere? I thought he’s picking me up”, Sarah shouted after the maid, her voice trailing off, as Mary had already gone and there was no answer to her question.

  “Just wonderful”, Sarah sighed deeply and began to dress herself.

  Luckily for her, all her undergarments seemed to be quite informal and much like the panties she was used to from home.

  “I guess being Aboveground for so many years, he learned his way around women’s underwear.”

  She internally growled at that explanation but refused to let it get to her. She was only glad she didn’t have to wear a medieval corset and garter. She definitely would have drawn the line on that.

  When she looked herself over in the mirror, she was happily surprised. The dress fit her perfectly, and so did the slippers. The snug bodice, which was tight with laces in the front, and the flowing skirt accentuated her figure and curves and was displaying just enough cleavage that was sure to drive a certain fae male mad with want.

  “Perfect”, she mumbled with a sated grin. “Eat your heart out Gob....Jareth”, she quickly corrected herself again.

  No, she would no longer call him Goblin King. He was just Jareth now. That’s what he had wanted would he have won the game last night. And even though he had lost, she wanted to extent the same generosity towards him as he had extended towards her the night before by giving her the crystal to call upon her friends.

  Before she could ponder over whether to wait on Jareth or leave the room and go in search of the elusive Goblin King, she heard a soft knock on her door.

  “Enter”, she called out louder than anticipated.

  Jareth stuck his head through the crack of the door and gave her a big smile until he noticed the dress on her, and his eyes grew wide and started to gleam with a lustful look.

  “You look stunning, Precious”, he said hoarsely and opened the door all the way to fully step into the room.

  Sarah bit her bottom lip and gave him the brightest biggest smile with two emerald-green sparkling eyes as she performed a quick twirl in front of him to show herself off. Jareth’s heart skipped another beat, and he had to swallow down the lump that had formed in his throat.

  “Shall we go then?” he croaked and had to clear his throat before continuing. “We shall have our breakfast in the dining hall. This way I can show you some of the castle on our way.”

  He proffered her his arm, and Sarah gratefully accepted it, interlocking hers with his while he gently placed his other gloved hand on top of hers.

  “Jareth, may I ask you a question?” Sarah asked timidly.

  “Anything, Love”, he looked warmly at her.

  “Why do you wear gloves here? I know you wear them at my apartment when you show up but then you take them off. I was just wondering. You have pretty hands and....”

  Jareth laughed with mirth and patted her hand again.

  “It’s not for hiding the look of my hands, and thank you for the compliment of them, it’s to protect others from my magic. It is also fae tradition to wear gloves when in public and around strangers. I take them off around you, because we are.... friends, are we not?” he finished with the question, giving her a deep look.

  “Yes, we are friends, Jareth. Good friends, I may add.”

  She smirked and found it hard to hide her amusement at seeing his face light up after calling him a good friend and not just any friend. Again, his heart skipped a few beats and raised his hopes to another level.

  “I’m working on much more”, he whispered barely audible and drew a questioning look from Sarah before her attention was redirected towards the paintings that studded a carpeted hallway on both sides.

  Sarah gazed at the lifelike paintings in amazement. Not only was the quality superb, but they were also exceptionally large, and so vivid, one could lose themselves in them.

  Besides hunting scenes and landscapes, paintings of festivities and social gatherings, there were many portraits of fae, who looked eerily similar to Jareth.

  “My ancestors”, he whispered and stopped in front of a couple of larger paintings, depicting a family with a baby in one portrait, and one of a dashing young boy, standing over a slayed creature of some sort.

  “That is my family. My grandparents King Arthos and Queen Eleonora. My father Olaf, and his wife Alia, my mother. She is holding me on her lap. I must have been no more than a year at the time. The young boy beside her is my older brother Jeremiah.”

  “Where are they now?” Sarah inquired with genuine interest.

  “My grandparents have both passed on and have gone to the Summerlands. My parents are the current high king and high queen. They reside at their castle in the Northern District. My brother Jeremiah is king of the southern seaports in the South Ocean Kingdom and next in line for the high king throne.”

  Sarah was fascinated by all this news from Jareth’s family. It had never even occurred to her that he may have a family, or that there were other kingdoms besides his, and here he was giving her a tour and history lesson of his ancestors and his realm.

  “Wait, your grandparents are dead? I thought you were immortal?” she squinted her eyes as she looked at him for an explanation.

  “We are immortal but not invincible. We are exceedingly long-lived but we can still die, and once we live for a long time, some chose to cross the veil willingly, as did my grandparents.”

  “Oh”, was all she managed. “So, you can die?”

  “Yes, Love, I can die should I become seriously ill or injured. Otherwise, I’ll live for several more centuries or even millennia”, he replied with a musing expression on his face.

  All the sudden, Sarah felt much more comfortable with him, and she slightly pulled herself closer into him as they walked and gently squeezed the hand that was still holding hers.

  “Well, don’t get sick or injured, I wouldn’t want you to die on me”, she mentioned with a coy smile, lightly squeezing his arm.

  She saw the corners of his lips twitch and his eyes become soft and warm as she looked up at him with a smile. For a moment, she thought she detected a deep sadness within them, but she was unable to ponder over it for long as they had reached the large dining hall.

  It was brimming with goblins and elves, dwarves and imps, and other creatures she couldn’t quite put a name to. Her mouth dropped open when she laid eyes on the utter mayhem before her.

  “It’s like messhall at summer camp”, she giggled and held her hand in front of her mouth to prevent herself from laughing out loud.

  Jareth’s pained look of disdain on his grimaced face didn’t help much to suppress her urge to laugh. He squinted his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Now you know why I find the Aboveground so appealing and love to be around you. No cretins bouncing all over the place, creating a racket I suffer from with a splitting migraine for days. They are insufferable.”

  “My poor king”, she cooed mockingly into his ears, earning her a disgruntled look from Jareth.

  “This is not how I wanted you to see my kingdom. They should all have been gone by now to do their chores. Why are they still all here?” he asked worriedly.

  It was her turn now to assuage his disquiet.

  “I find it rather charming, Jareth, and entertaining. I want to see the real kingdom, and I know it comes with mayhem and chaos. It won’t change my mind about you or your kingdom.”

  “You find it charming?” he asked incredulous. “You never cease to surprise me, but I am glad you don’t hold this rebellion against me.”

  “Not at all”, she giggled with her hand in front of her mouth and shook her head.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Jareth bellowed as soon as they stepped through the door, and the cacophony and mayhem suddenly stopped, as each head was turned in their direction.

  Sarah did her best to bite her lip to keep from laughing as her grip on Jareth’s arm tightened. She could feel his body stiffen and vibrate from the sound of his rumbling voice.

  “God, he is such a turn on with this authoritative behaviour. I love a man who knows how to be in charge. Take charge of my body you mighty hunk of a sexy king. Punish me for my rebellious way, most preferably on top of your bed in your chambers. All night may suffice, two would be better.”

  Her libido had been jolted into overdrive by Jareth’s handling of his subjects. His deep vibrating baritone voice echoed off the stone walls, and Sarah began to fidget to whip it back into submission and put it back to sleep.

  “Shut up”, she hissed under her breath, drawing Jareth’s curious look.

  “Pardon me?” he asked confused, and Sarah gave him a sheepish grin.

  “Sorry, not talking to you”, she replied, followed by an immediate clearing of her throat and a visual inspection of the magnificent artwork in the wooden doorframe beside her.

  “Why on Earth is everybody still in here? Shouldn’t you all be out doing your chores?” Jareth continued to holler.

  “We heard the lady is here for visit. We wanted to see lady,” a tiny voice piped up from the middle of the room and was followed by a chorus of agreeing murmurs and nods of every head in the room.

  Jareth let out a deep sigh of exasperation, causing Sarah to give him a worried look.

  “They are here to see you, Love”, he finally answered and swept his hand across the crowd of creatures, who stared silently at the couple.

  “Me? But why?” she asked with genuine befuddlement.

  “Because you are the Lady Sarah, Champion of the Labyrinth, my dear”, he grinned sheepishly and made her purse her lips.

  “Oooh, thaaaat”, she replied slowly, drawling out each word.

  “Everyone, this is the Lady Sarah”, Jareth addressed the crowd with a calm and honey sweet voice. “She and I are going to have a very nice and quiet breakfast together”, he continued with the same calmness. “Which means, everybody out of here now, or I’ll bog the lot of you.”

  He bellowed now with such authority, that the goblins, elves, dwarves, and other creatures practically tumbled over each other, knocking over chairs and tables, to get out of the way of the king’s wrath and out of the room.

  Sarah watched the spectacle with wide eyes and finally busted out laughing, bending over, and holding her stomach with her free hand while Jareth looked on with utter frustration in his eyes.

  Within a couple of minutes, the room was completely cleared of anyone besides Jareth and Sarah and the hand full of kitchen staff members.

  “Shall we?”, Jareth asked as if nothing had happened and guided Sarah to a long table in the middle of the room, which had been prepared with two sets of plates and silverware.

  Jareth held out the chair for Sarah and pushed it gently in as she took her seat. She slightly blushed at the amount of attention he was giving her. She could safely say he had given her more attention and respect than any other man she had ever met or dated. His attentiveness made her heart feel warm and fuzzy and question her feelings and opinion for him once more.

  As soon as they had taken their seats, several goblins scrambled over to them and placed a huge tray in the middle of the table, as well as several carafes of different liquids. Jareth waved them away with a smile and refocused his entire attention on Sarah.

  He lifted the top of the large tray, and the aroma from eggs, potatoes, vegetables, bacon, and sausage assaulted her senses as she gaped at the variety of food items on the tray.

  “Wow”, was all she could mutter.

  “Dig in, Love”, he grinned as he helped himself to a healthy helping of each of the entire assemble.

  Sarah followed suit, and they both ate until they had their fill, washing down the delicious food with coffee, peach juice, and milk.

  “I can honestly say, this was the best breakfast I had in my entire life”, Sarah proclaimed and a clear crystal that was seated on the table glowed in bright green.

  Sarah stared at it for a second and then punched Jareth playfully in the arm with a huge grin on her face.

  “Jerk”, she whispered, casting him a playful smile from the corner of her eyes.

  “Sorry, I couldn’t resist, Love”, Jareth replied with a laugh. “Let me show you the gardens”, he offered, and Sarah jumped up with excitement.

  “Jareth? How long will I have to be here today? Don’t I have to get back soon to get ready for our game night?”

  Jareth wrapped her arm around his and interlocked their hands as they made their way outside to the royal gardens.

  “Let’s consider today and tomorrow a time out. You are in no condition to drink anymore alcohol for a couple of days.”

  “But I thought the games had to be played in thirteen days”, Sarah retorted.

  “It didn’t say they had to be consecutive days. It only said it had to be one game per day.”

  “Loophole?’ Sarah grinned.

  “Loophole”, Jareth repeated with a wink, causing Sarah to roll her eyes.

  “So, does that mean I have to stay here for the next two days?” she suddenly gasped and jerked back a little from his touch as the realization of his words sank in.

  “I was hoping you would, but only if you want to. I can’t force you, as you well know, and if you wish to return to your apartment, I will not stand in your way.”

  His eyes had a hint of sadness in them again as he stopped their walk, and he faced her while they stood outside in the garden. Sarah looked around and saw the beauty of the flowers and ornamental bushes that grew around them, with small benches interspersed in intervals next to the walkways.

  “Sarah?”

  His soft voice pulled her back to the presence as she gazed into his eyes.

  “I.... I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting this”, she replied with complete honesty.

  “What about our game?” she asked again, and she could see him take a deep breath as his face lost some of its brightness from earlier.

  “We can resume it in two days once I am assured by my healer that you have no ill effects from your imbibing last night. However, I can return you now if you want me to.”

  Sarah’s head snapped at his words, and she gave him a surprised look. His beautiful, mismatched eyes seemed to plead with her to stay. She had seen this expression on his face when he had asked her to stay last time.

  Would she break his heart if she were to ask him to take her back? But why would she want to go back? Back to what? An empty apartment? She didn’t have to report to work for the next few weeks, months if she chose to do so. She was a freelancer, after all. There was no reason to go back so soon.

  “No, Jareth, I don’t want to go back, well, not so soon. I would love to stay a couple of days with you if that is all right with you. You are the king, and I know you have duties to fulfil and work to do and....”

  She was unable to finish her rambling as Jareth gently cupped her face into his hands and pulled it close to his while looking deeply into her eyes.

  “Sarah, Love, do not worry about me. It has been my dream for fifteen years to have you here again. My duties can wait. There is nothing so urgent that would prevent me from having you near me, here, in my world. There is so much for me to show you. Sarah, I lov.... I want.... I....”

  It was him this time who could not finish his maundering as Sarah leaned forward and placed her lips gently against his in a most ardent kiss. At first, he was too surprised to reciprocate but quickly recovered his senses and deepened his kiss while his hands moved from her face to the back of her head.

  With one hand cradling her head and the other hand gently moving down her back, coming to rest around her waist, he inhaled her scent, becoming lost in savouring her sweet lips, her warm mouth, and the way she tasted, as he moaned blissfully with closed eyes.

  Sarah likewise closed her eyes and found herself lost in his embrace, the warmth and strength of his body and the scent of leather mixed with peaches and every other fragrance exuded from the flowers around them.

  “I think I’m in love with this.... with Jareth”, her mind chimed in, and this time, she did not even try to argue or reason with it. She let it happen. How much damage could a couple days of fun and letting go cause?

  Soon, they would be back to their games, and it would all be about win or lose. At least for the moment, there were no such obstacles. It was only them and for once, she planned to take full advantage of it.

  When they finally pulled back from the kiss and let go of the embrace, they were still entranced in each other’s gaze until a scruff voice broke them out of their dreamlike stupor.

  “Eh, excuse me.”

  Sarah and Jareth both turned their heads slowly towards the voice and saw the dirty little dwarf standing there with a potted plant in each hand and a death glare directed at Jareth.

  “Hoggle”, Sarah screamed with excitement.

  “Higgle”, Jareth sighed with growing annoyance.

  “Sarah”, Hoggle croaked with surprise. “Jareth”, he added with a spiteful tone.

  “Well, now that we are all sufficiently re-introduced, Higsberth, I brought Sarah out in the gardens, so you can have a little visit this morning. I know she has been wanting to visit with you, and it would be my pleasure to fulfil this wish of hers.”

  Jareth looked deep into Sarah’s eyes as he spoke those words, and she rewarded him with a bright smile and a quick kiss against his lips, earning her a low growl from Hoggle.

  “Jareth, you did this for me?” she breathed and put her hand against her heart. “You are the sweetest, kindest, I love you for that.... I mean.... thank you so much for that. You don’t know how much that means to me”, she instantly corrected herself, hoping deep down he hadn’t caught her slip up, which of course he had.

  “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you, my love”, Jareth mewled back and leaned forward until his lips met her ear, creating pleasurable shivers of desire running down her back.

  “Sir Didymus should be here momentarily”, he added and then withdrew with a coy smile while smoke was coming out of Hoggle’s ears, watching the display of affection between the two.

  “Sir Didymus is coming too? Oh, Jareth.”

  She clasped his hands and bit her bottom lip. How she wanted to reward him with a passionate kiss right now, but not in front of Hoggle’s angry gleaming eyes. Luckily, the awkward situation was remedied by the arrival of the fox knight and all attention was redirected upon him.

  “I guess, I’ll excuse myself now and conduct court. Stay as long as you want, Dear. I know you’ll be in good hands with the knight. He’ll protect you with his life.”

  Jareth leaned forward and kissed Sarah gently on her lips before he pulled back and addressed the fox knight.

  “Have her returned to me safely before dark.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty. Thou can count on me returning the lady safely into thy care before then.”

  Sir Didymus bowed deeply to Jareth while Hoggle waved the entire charade off with his hands and rolled his eyes in disgust. Sarah couldn’t decide whether to be in awe over the knight’s loyalty to his king or giggle over Hoggle’s obstinate behaviour towards his king.

  Jareth disappeared in a cloud of glitter while Hoggle growled ‘rat’ under his breath and Sir Didymus gave Sarah a big hug, which was followed by a hug from Hoggle, who did not want to be left out on this. He may play second fiddle to Jareth, but he would not let that misguided fox knight move in on his friend, his girl.

  “Oh my god, so how have you guys been?” Sarah asked with enthusiasm as she sat down in the grass.

  Sir Didymus planted himself right next to her, and Hoggle begrudgingly sat on her other side, which didn’t allow him to be as close to her as he wanted, since a shrub blocked his way.

  “We have been doing quite splendid”, Sir Didymus replied with his usual chipper attitude.

  “Speak fer yerself. Yer ain’ be diggin’ around dirt all day”, Hoggle retorted, wiping the dirt of his hands on his already mud-stained pants.

  “Yes, but you are the head gardener now. Isn’t that wonderful?” Sarah asked him with bright gleaming eyes and a big smile on her face.

  “Everything I always wanted”, he replied mockingly, causing Sarah to quirk an eyebrow.

  “Bad day?” she asked him, and he gave her a disgruntled look.

  “What’s with yer an’ ter rat?” he asked with a grumpy voice. “Kissin’ on that rat like he is some nice guy. I thought yer were smarter than that.”

  Sarah sat with her mouth gaped open, and even Didymus’ head snapped back.

  “Excuse me? What is your problem?’ she asked slightly perturbed at his tone and insult.

  “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with yer? I thought I warned yer about that rat an’ there yer go kissin’ on him like that. Nothin’ good will come out of that.”

  “Now wait just one minute”, Sarah retorted but was interjected by the fox knight.

  “Beshrew me, Brother Hoggle. We all knoweth King Jareth is courting the Lady Sarah. Why would they not be familiar in such a manner?”

  “Courted? What’s this about courting all the time?” Sarah asked with heightened annoyance.

  “Ter rat doesn’ know anything about love”, Hoggle chimed in.

  “And I assume thou dost?” Didymus scoffed at Hoggle.

  “More than that rat.”

  “Quit calling him a rat.”

  “I believeth thou art merely jealous of thy king.”

  “Jealous of a rat? Hardly.”

  “It is pointless, His Majesty is courting the Lady Sarah either way.”

  “Why do you insist he’s courting me?”

  “Ter rat isn’ courting, he’s up ter no good.”

  Before long, all three spoke over each other in a shouting match until Sarah had enough and decided to put a stop to it. This was getting ridiculous.

  “SHUT UP, both of you”, she yelled and instantly Hoggle and Didymus kept their mouth shut and stared at her with disbelief through round eyes.

  “I do not want to spend my time visiting with you discussing my love life, real or imagined, with the ra.... Jareth.... Damn you, Hoggle”, she cursed him under her breath for nearly making her call Jareth a rat herself.

 “Hoggle, you apparently have a problem with Jareth. Well, I don’t, so work it out with him yourself. Didymus, I am not courting Jareth. We are only friends, and he has never asked me to court him. I think, at least not for now. It’s complicated, so quit talking about it”, she finally demanded sternly.

  “Verily so, Milady. My deepest apology. I shan’t be bringing up His Majesty’s romantic feelings for thou any longer. I am confident the king will ask thou when the time cometh”, Didymus replied with a slight bow, making Sarah giggle into her hand.

  Hoggle in the meantime sat with crossed arms and a pouting face in the grass, grumbling to himself about the rat trying to lure Sarah into a trap. Sarah finally had enough and completely ignored him, which in itself didn’t sit well with him, as he wanted her attention. He finally decided to drop his unpleasant demeanour and lighten up.

  Despite the rough start of their visit, and sensitive subject of their conversation, the morning and early afternoon progressed quite nicely, and they parted before sunset with hugs and laughter and the promise to meet again soon.

  “Bye, Hoggle. I hope to see you soon again. And don’t worry about me and Jareth. He has been really good to me, and we are doing great”, she tried to assuage his ill feelings.

  “Do yer have feelins fer that ra.... him?” Hoggle inquired timidly.

  “I do”, she replied without hesitation in a quiet voice. “I just don’t know how much, and I have to get it sorted out, but yes, I have feelings for Jareth. I’m sorry, Hoggle, I know you don’t like it, but it is what it is.”

  “Jus’ watch yerself is all I’m sayin’“, he replied with concerned eyes. He would never trust that rat, no matter what.

**************************************************

  Inside the castle, Jareth was bored to tears with goblin court, and he decided to make a short day of it. He had for the most part resisted the temptation of scrying on Sarah and her two friends with a crystal.

  He had seen and heard parts of the shouting match early on and had caught a few snippets of her saying she had feelings for him and that she waited on Jareth to ask her to court her.

  “Hm, looks like I probably should do this right and come out and ask her”, he murmured to himself while tapping the riding crop pensively against his leg.

  “Sire, Sire”, a goblin shouted as he came storming into the throne room, completely out of breath, “you have a visitor.”

  He bowed deeply and nearly bumped his nose on the stone floor.

  “Whom?” Jareth asked without the slightest interest of who it may be.

  “It’s Her Majesty, High Queen Alia.”

  As if he had been stung by a thousand scorpions, Jareth leaped out of his throne with a yelp.

  “My mother?” he gasped and gave the messenger a horrified look. “What in all the seven hells does she want?”

  “I did not dare to ask, My Liege”, came the honest answer.

  Jareth snarled with aggravation. His mother being here only meant, she either had heard of Sarah being here and wanted to see what her ‘future daughter in law’ was like, or more likely, she tried to pawn him off on some dolt of a demure woman herself.

  “Eh, Your Majesty“, the messenger made himself heard again. “She is not alone.”

  Jareth snapped his head and spun around to grab his messenger by the front of his shirt lapels.

  “Not alone? Who is with her?” he growled balefully.

  “The Princess Céline from the Wood Elf Kingdom.”

  The messenger winced, and Jareth released him from his grip with the courier removing himself hastily from the throne room while Jareth winced in agony, wanting to disappear into a deep chasm at this very moment.

  “Céline. Good gods, not her, and not now”, he sighed in horror.

  Céline had been after him for hundreds of years, and Jareth had always turned a cold shoulder to her. She was as dim-witted as they came. Big busted and no brains.

  In his youth, he had enjoyed entertaining her a few times in his bedchamber, but after a few romps, he became tired of her. A nice body was one thing, an empty brain and complete lack of morals was another. He no longer cared even being in the same dimension with her much less in the same castle, no, same room.

  “I’m a dead fae”, he groaned. “I can’t have her meet Sarah”, he whispered with a feeling of impending doom.

  With a terrible uneasy feeling in his stomach, he made his way down the hall to his study to greet his mother and the woman from hell, all the while thinking of a way to explain Céline to Sarah

  “Mother, how wonderful to see you”, he crooned with the most honeyed fakeness he could muster and gave the high queen a fond embrace.

  “My dear Jareth”, she replied and gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek. “You look wonderful my boy.”

  She trotted over to the other woman, who had been standing by patiently and laid a gentle hand upon her shoulder.

  “I am sure you remember Princess Céline?”

  “How could I forget”, he snarled under his breath as he bowed to her and brushed his lips over her knuckles. “What a pleasure to see you again, my dear.”

  Céline gave an overly sweet giggle behind her fan and blinked her eyes at him suggestively. Jareth decided to ignore her and turned his attention back to the high queen.

  “So, what brings you here, Mother?” Jareth inquired with a death stare.

  “Does a mother have a reason to see her son?” she counter-asked instead with batted eyes.

  “This one does”, Jareth replied coolly.

  “Always so observant. That’s why you are the Goblin King. Nothing gets by you.”

  Queen Alia gave him a sly smile and inquisitive eyes. Something seemed off with her younger son, and she was going to find out what it was that was concerning him lately, as he had been very evasive these past few days.

  “Cut the crap, Mother”, Jareth hissed, “we all know you have a particular purpose for being here.”

  “How perceptive. I have brought Céline here to spend some time with you. I would very much like it if you would consider courting her.”

  Jareth sucked in his breath and wished he could dissolve into a big blob of nothingness at this very same moment.

  “I’m sorry, Mother, but you are a bit late. I already am courting someone”, he replied with a sour smile.

  Both women’s cheerful demeanours instantly dropped and were replaced by one frown and pout, and one intrigued raise of the eyebrow and wicked grin.

  “Who is that lucky lady if I may ask? I definitely would like to meet her”, Queen Alia replied with a sly smirk, looking deeply into her son’s eyes.

  “The Lady Sarah”, Jareth replied coolly and maintained his inscrutable countenance.

  “What? The girl who bested your Labyrinth fifteen years ago? That Sarah? You can’t be serious. Did you bang her over the head, or did you drug her again to agree to this?” Alia asked with exaggerated sarcasm, causing Céline to break out into a hysterical high-pitched cackle that nearly tore Jareth’s eardrums to shreds.

  “Neither, she came willingly, and we are making great strides forward in our relationship.”

  Queen Alia stopped her mockery and gave him a suspicious look. Her son had never been interested in a single female for longer than a few days. His obsession with this mortal girl had been going on for fifteen years now. She needed to meet this woman who held such power over her son.

  “Where is she now?” Alia whispered into her son’s ear, but Jareth gave her a blank stare.

  “Darling, Céline, would you please leave us alone for a few minutes?” she purred, and the princess nodded with a disappointed smile and hastily left the room.”

  “Jareth, tell me what’s going on. And I need to know all of it”, Alia demanded of her son and sat herself down on the sofa with crossed over ankles to emphasize her point. She would not move until he would give her an explanation.

  Jareth took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly.

  “Mother, I cannot, nor will I court Céline. I love Sarah. I cannot risk anyone coming between her and me and ruining my chance to win her heart. She is my chosen one. She always has been. I want her as my queen, my loving wife, the mother of my children. She is my eternal love.”

  “Oh, my dear son”, Alia cried out. “You genuinely love this girl. How does she feel about you?”

  “She is.... conflicted, but I am working myself into her heart.”

  “So, you haven’t won her heart yet?” Alia asked with piqued interest.

  “Not officially yet. She is refusing to accept her own feelings”, Jareth sighed and slumped into the seat next to his mother.

  “I see”, Alia said with a sense of understanding in her voice. “Maybe, we need to help the girl along in realizing what she wants.”

  Jareth gave his mother a questioning look and then started to wave his arms around in ever-increasing agitation.

  “Oh no, no, no. You cannot interfere and you cannot start playing little games with her. Speaking of games, I already am playing games to make her realize her wish.”

  “Now isn’t that interesting. Please do tell me”, his mother cooed.

  Jareth groaned and wanted to kick himself from here to blasted hell for opening his mouth and letting his mother in on his plan to sway Sarah’s heart.

  “Fine, I shall tell you, but you cannot interfere in my plan of making Sarah mine”, he insisted.

  “I will not interfere, Son, but I surely can help”, she retorted and gave him a light chuckle. “Now tell me exactly what sort of games you are playing.”

**************************************************

  Sir Didymus had made sure to return Sarah safely to the inside of the castle long before sundown. She had gone by the throne room and had found it empty and deserted. Not even a drunk goblin or a straggling chicken was to be found. It also looked much cleaner than she had remembered it from her last time.

  “He must have hired some cleaning personnel or it was part of the kiddie show he put on for me”, she contemplated and continued her walk down the hallway.

  Sarah once again walked down the corridor with the paintings and took her time, taking a closer look at several of them. She felt as if she was in a huge gallery, and she almost lost track of time, staring at all the paintings and portraits of Jareth’s kinfolk.

  “Fae truly are a beautiful specie”, she thought to herself as she kinked her head, looking at them from various angles.

  Nearly towards the end, close by her door, she saw one portrait she had missed earlier. Upon closer inspection, she noticed it depicted Jareth sitting leisurely on his throne in a pensive pose, one leg slung over the armrest, the other on the ground.

  One hand was holding the riding crop and rested it on his lap. The other hand was placed underneath his chin. His eyes seemed to stare into empty space. He wore his grey pants, black boots, and white poet’s shirt.

  “You are so beautiful and magnificent”, she whispered. “Why can’t I shake my doubts about you and just accept what my heart is trying to tell me?”

  “Are you always talking to paintings, Love?”

  Sarah spun around with a terrified look in her eyes. Had he heard what she had whispered? She prayed to all the gods above he hadn’t. The last thing she wanted was him making fun of her and growing an even bigger ego than he already had.

  “Not usually, but then again, this is not a usual place either,” she replied with a smile and blush.

  “Indeed, it is not.”

  He proffered his arm and led her the short walk towards her room.

  “I would like for you to join us for dinner”, he said quietly.

  “Us?” Sarah asked confused. “Who else is coming?”

  Jareth heaved a deep sigh and slightly rolled his eyes. If he wanted to make strides in their relationship and get her to trust him, he needed to tell her the whole truth, even if he rather gouged out his eyes and jumped headfirst into the bog.

  “That is something we have to talk about right now”, he reluctantly replied and guided Sarah into the room while he shut the door behind them.

**************************************************

  “And you are really fine with this?’ Jareth asked for the umpteenth time, still owl-eyed over Sarah’s calm acceptance over the presence of a former lover and possible future contender as his wife.

  “Why wouldn’t I? It’s not like we are officially dating, and she had come a long way to see you. It would be rude to send her away”, Sarah replied, laying all her points on the table.

  Internally, she was seething with rage. She wanted the other woman to be dropped into the bog and drowned or be tormented by drunk goblins and their chickens in an oubliette.

  Her dark imagination had her visualizing this other woman having the cleaners sent after her in a dark narrow tunnel with her screaming and running away. But she would not give Jareth the satisfaction of seeing her miserable over having to share his attention with another female.

  “I sure wouldn’t be if I would have to share dinner with one of your ex-boyfriends”, he pouted and plopped himself into the settee, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

  “Look, Jareth, this is not your fault. You didn’t know your mother was going to hook you up and bring her along with her, not letting you know ahead of time. I get it. Mothers can be quite.... suffocating at times. Karen did this with me a couple of times until I told her to stop, or I would start dating women exclusively and bring them home for every holiday.”

  Sarah gave Jareth a devious smirk as he quirked an eyebrow at her.

  “And that worked for you?” he asked with amusement.

  “Instantly,” Sarah grinned and plopped herself next to Jareth.

  They sat for a while in silence, each deep in their own thoughts. Jareth contemplated on how to rid himself of Céline and ask Sarah to let him court her, and Sarah was going over different ways on how to get rid of Celine and wondering if Jareth would ever ask her to date him.

  “Sarah?” Jareth broke the quiet after what seemed an eternity.

  “Yes, Jareth?” Sarah responded.

  “If I would ask you, would you let me court you?”

  He had asked quietly and calmly, not looking at her but staring straight ahead. Sarah looked briefly at him and then stared straight ahead herself. Both leaned back into the settee, arms crossed in front of them, feet planted firmly on the ground.

  “You mean, dating me as in going exclusively or still being able to see others?”

  “I am not sharing you with anyone, woman. If we court, date, whatever you want to call it, then you are mine and mine only”, he growled with agitation.

  “Possessive, aren’t’ we?” she replied with a hidden smirk.

  “Immensely”, he answered factually.

  “Well, I wouldn’t share you either then. So, you would have to forget about having all those women coming over to spend the night with you in your enormous bathtubs and bed. No more wild parties with a bunch of girls except for me”, she demanded calmly.

  “You drive a hard bargain, but I don’t think that would be an issue. You alone are more than I can handle already,” he replied with hidden mirth.

  “So, are you asking me?” she inquired, trying hard not to giggle.

  “Asking you what?” he acted as if he didn’t know.

  “If you can court me”, she replied, finding it hard not to laugh.

  “I am”, he said, never diverting his eyes from the dirt speck on the wall he had just now noticed.

  “Then do it right”, she demanded with a grin.

  “Damn woman”, Jareth complained through gritted teeth.

  “That’s the way it must be done”, Sarah informed him matter-of-factly.

  “Sarah?”

  “Yes, Jareth?”

  “Would you allow me to court you? Would you like for us to date, officially and exclusively with the prospect of something more serious down the line?”

  “Yes, Jareth I would”, she answered with a big grin as her inner libido did a victory dance and decided to throw a huge St. Patrick’s Day parade in anticipation of all the fun that was surely to happen.

Chapter Text

  Jareth turned his head and gave Sarah an intense look with his mismatched eyes that held the power to enthral and enchant. His expression was warm and full of love for the woman he gazed upon.

  The woman, who now leaned into him with parted lips and claimed his mouth as her own, confidently using her tongue to breach his defences, destroying his fortification, only to enter eagerly into his territory and to make him beg for her mercy.

  Jareth didn’t beg for mercy, but he was ready to lay down his heart in the fight for the woman he now claimed as his own as well. As his tongue slipped into her mouth, he succeeded in melting her resistance and become one with her in a beautiful dance of dominance.

  When they finally broke the kiss, neither one was defeated, neither one was victorious. They would continue this battle over and over for as long as it took, for each of their wills were as strong as the others. And that is exactly how they liked it.

  “Ready to do this?” Jareth asked and cocked his head, trying to gauge her comfort meter.

  “Does it matter? It has to be done”, she murmured with forced equanimity.

  Jareth cupped her face and smiled tenderly into her eyes.

  “Not really, Love. Just think of this as another game, with me as the prize.”

  “Oh, hallelujah”, Sarah shouted out sarcastically and mockingly rolled her eyes, causing Jareth to frown temporarily before he, too, broke out into a mirthful chuckle.

  They casually walked down the hallway towards the dining hall. Sarah had changed into a more formal fitting dress with high heels, since she was going to have dinner with the high queen and some slutty princess named Céline.

  The dress had made Jareth drool, as it had required a corset and made Sarah’s bosom quell out even more at the top, much to her dismay. She was not used to exposing that much of her assets to the world, and that included Jareth for the moment.

  He had placed a comfort spell on her shoes to make them feel enjoyable and agreeable for her, since she was not used to walking around in high heels and had informed him during their game her feet hurt in those type of shoes.

  Jareth had instructed her on some critical etiquette points the best he could in the short time he had available, but Sarah had promised him she would not embarrass him, and she would do her best.

  He had utmost confidence in her abilities. After all, she was his champion. She had bested him and his Labyrinth, she would best his mother and Céline, the unmeasurable painful thorn in his side.

  “You look stunning in this dress, Love. I’m glad I chose it for you”, he exclaimed and beamed with haughty pride for his choice of gown. It surely would impress his mother and lay Céline flat out cold. Sarah had her own suspicions for why he chose this dress but held her tongue.

  “So vain and conceited. Like, I couldn’t have chosen myself”, Sarah retorted with slight irritation.

  They had argued over the gown, back and forth, and in the end, she had let him have his way, as they had run out of time to get ready. She called it a concession; he called it a win. Even the truth crystal had refused to become involved in their squabble and had remained a glowing green for either side.

  When they arrived, Queen Alia and Princess Celine were already waiting on them. A handful of advisors, counsellors, and ladies in waiting for each of the women had accompanied the party of royals as well.

  Sarah had not expected that many people for dinner, and she had a hard time not to show her surprise and shock. She truly had thought it would only be the four of them for dinner, not nearly twenty.

  “I told you, Love. I know a thing about royal dinners. It is never a small affair. Be glad my father is not here, or we would be entertaining close to fifty snobby fae”, Jareth whispered gleefully into her ear.

  “Good gods”, Sarah gasped aghast under her breath while Jareth gently guided her into the room and introduced her to his mother.

  Sarah performed her curtsy the way Jareth had shown her. She had done a bunch of curtsies for her theatre class productions, but apparently, they were never quite accurate, according to him. And who would know better than a king himself?

  She took his word for it, but in the back of her mind she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling he only wanted to see more of her ‘assets’, of which he had a perfect view during their curtsy rehearsal.

  “And just like that we have entered etiquette classes, exactly like he had mentioned it a few nights ago”, her mind taunted her.

  “Yeah but look what a turn on it was to see him drooling and getting hard over our cleavage”, her libido added to the conversation and made Sarah groan internally. 

  “Your Majesty”, Sarah said in a low voice, ignoring both her mind and libido, and performed her curtsy with utter perfection.

  “My child, I am so excited to finally meet the girl who has bested my son. He’s been pining over you ever since you won and left him. I’m glad things are finally working out for you two.”

  Queen Alia gave her a warm smile as her glacier-blue eyes pierced deep into her soul, trying to peel back each layer Sarah had placed around her heart.

  “And I love the dress you are wearing. It looks absolutely perfect on you. What a great choice”, she added, and Sarah wanted to murder Jareth when she noticed his gloating smug look.

  “It’ll be years, centuries, before he’ll let me live this one down, if ever”, Sarah thought to herself and wanted to kick herself, and mostly Jareth.

  “Let me introduce Princess Céline to you. She is a long-time friend of Jareth and had every intention of being more than just a friend to him. After all, they’ve been going back a long way. I guess we’ll just have to see where it all goes.”

  Sarah knitted her brows at the queen’s words but kept her regal composure. Had Jareth not warned her about the possible choice of words by his mother, Sarah probably would have stomped out of the room at this moment, right after having slugged said queen over her lack of obeisance.

  “Yes, indeed, let’s see where this goes”, Sarah repeated the queen’s words under her breath with a devious smile around her lips as she carefully eyeballed Céline. She reluctantly performed a perfunctory curtsy for the sake of etiquette.

  “That’s all you’re getting bitch. Be glad my fist is not already in your ugly visage.”

  If eyes could be weapons, then the two women would have been throwing daggers at each other in a most bloody duel. Céline gave Sarah a derogative sneer while Sarah glowered at her with a death glare ten times worth than she had ever given Jareth.

  He slightly recoiled at the look in her eyes and almost felt sorry for Céline. The poor girl had no idea what was awaiting her. Deep inside, he cheered on his champion and couldn’t wait to see where this was going.

  “Hm, so you are the girl who beat this maze, Labyrinth, whatever. And I’m supposed to be impressed, why?” Céline asked with obvious boredom and even mocked a yawn as she put her hand in front of her mouth.

  “Unlike yours, my qualities lay where they are needed with a man, his bedroom. Go play in your little maze, I rather play with a king”, she added salaciously and gave Sarah another derogative glance.

  Jareth’s mouth, as well as Sarah’s, dropped open at this insult and glaring challenge. It took Sarah a few seconds to recuperate as she shook her head in disbelief. And that vile creature was a princess? They must have low standards in the Underground for such titles.

  “Too bad for you, he realized your qualities were not up to par to his standards centuries ago. His skill level has gone up dramatically since then and so has his taste for women who can handle such a level. There is a reason he calls me his champion, and it definitely has nothing to do with my run in the Labyrinth.”

  Sarah licked her lips as lecherously as she could and quirked both her eyebrows to underscore her words even more. Céline’s face flushed with anger and started to rival a ripe tomato as she stood speechless.

  Jareth swallowed hard when he heard Sarah’s ginsu-knife-sharp words, and he wanted to kiss her senseless right there and then and ravish her body until sunrise. He would definitely question her about her reply later, but right now, he needed to control his own bodily reactions to her seductive words.

  “Well played, champion of mine, well played”, his mind was applauding her.

  “Let’s take our seats and start dinner, shall we?” Queen Alia suggested to deescalate the molasses-thick tension that had developed around the two women.

  “That girl definitely has fight in her and a quick tongue. My son chose well.”

  They reluctantly broke their death stare as Jareth gently placed his hand over Sarah’s arm and reminded her to keep her temper in check and follow him. She took her seat next to Jareth while Céline and Alia were seated across from them, close to the head of the table.

  Due to various etiquette rules, dinner itself was a rather dull and tedious affair and went by without any incidences. Sarah enjoyed the five-course meal tremendously, especially the desert, which consisted of a peach pudding and peach cobbler.

  Having food in one’s mouth also kept the sharp tongues in check, and all Céline could do was trying to kill Sarah with her murdering glances across the table. To her dismay, Sarah did not fall off her chair and keeled over dead.

  “You and your peaches”, she whispered jovially into Jareth’s ear. “And just because you served me a five-course meal doesn’t mean you still don’t owe me five more dinners. This one counts as one. A deal is a deal.”

  He broke out in joyous laughter at her declaration with everyone staring at them, wondering what was so amusing to have the king forget about his decorum and laugh so wholeheartedly and freely during a royal dinner. Sarah only smirked while she continued to savour her peach pudding. Céline furrowed a brow and did not look pleased.

  After dinner, the conversations became livelier, and the strict propriety went the way of the wind, right out the window. Céline had worked her way next to Jareth, who was now sandwiched between his beloved Sarah and the princess from hell, who insisted on salaciously placing her hand on his upper inner thigh, very close to his precious package.

  Every time he courteously moved her hand further down his leg, she immediately slit it right back to the top, making him wince silently with agony and discomfort.

  Sarah noticed the placement of Céline’s hand and internally wanted to cut this offending limb right off the nasty person it belonged to.

  “Why don’t you play us something on the piano, Jareth”, Sarah suggested to get him to move away from the invading paws of this harlot.

  “Splendid idea, Love”, he replied instantly and shot out of his seat like a speedy cannonball.

  Céline was not happy and shot Sarah another death glare.

  For the next sixty minutes, Sarah kept requesting encores as he entertained his guests with a variety of Aboveground rock songs and classic concerto pieces, which were played so beautifully, even Sarah was in love with them when he was done playing them, and Sarah was not much of a classical music fan.

  “That was most beautiful, my son”, Alia cried and wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

  “She always gets so dramatic when I play the piano”, Jareth whispered to Sarah, who giggled quietly. “Remember that next time you claim I have no effect on women. My hands are magic, Love.”

  This time, it was Sarah who broke out in loud laughter and even slapped her leg, again causing Céline to scowl and the rest to look puzzled with slight amusement.

  The king and his mortal girl had way too much fun, and Sarah could see the smiles appear on a few fae faces over their mirth. Apparently, they approved of her company.

  “Do you like games, Céline?“ Jareth cooed into her ears after he had seen her give Sarah a dirty look behind her back.

  “What kind of games?” she asked seductively and ran her finger down his cheek, over his clavicle and down his chest before he grabbed her hand and stopped her on her downward journey.

  “Fun games, where the winner gets me as a prize”, he replied with a licentious sneer.

  “My favourite”, she replied and licked her lips as she drew close to him.

  Jareth kept a wary eye out for Sarah, who stood next to his mother and was deeply involved in conversation with her and his advisor Corrigan. A smirk formed around his lips as he seductively ran his hand down Céline’s back and drew his face close to her ear.

  “Why don’t you meet us tomorrow afternoon for a nice game of fun and teach the mortal girl how a fae woman wins a king?”

  Céline gave him a wide-eyed look and another prurient smile.

  “But my king, I thought you like this little tart over there.”

  “Oh, I do, but you know me, I like variety, and I just remembered how nice of a variety and distraction you can provide.”

  He gave her a slow look over with lustful eyes, and Céline hissed at him through gritted teeth and parted lips.

  “I can’t wait. You won’t be sorry, and how wonderful it would be to relive a few erotic memories.”

  “Four in the afternoon by the fountain in the King’s Garden”, he whispered seductively before he walked off and joined Sarah, who was still talking to his mother and advisor.

**************************************************

  “Did she agree?” Sarah asked tiredly when they arrived in front of her chamber door.

  “She melted like butter on a hot stove”, Jareth smirked, quirking his eyebrows.

  “Of course, she did”, Sarah mumbled and turned to open her door but was held back by Jareth, holding fast to the door handle.

  “Come stay with me tonight”, he whispered and moved his hand over her hair and down her neck. “Would it be so wrong?”

  His face descended into the crook of her neck as his lips began to gently kiss up and down her neckline, slow and meticulously, leaving a trail of hot kisses and causing Sarah to lean back her head with ever-increasing pleasure.

  “Just because I agreed to date you doesn’t mean I immediately jump into bed with you and have sex. I want to take this slow, and I still have to work out some things. Jareth, I don’t want to ruin anything.”

  Jareth stropped his ministrations to her neck and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his gloved hand.

  “Then just stay with me, let me hold you. I even wear a shirt and pants. I just want to be close to you for the night”, he kept pleading.

  His heart felt as if an iron fist was squeezing the life out of it, he craved her so badly, and Sarah saw the want in his eyes, the love, and the desire for her. It was a sincere look that only asked for company, not a lusting, sex-requiring gaze.

  “All right”, she finally whispered. “But we both wear our night clothes and there will be no hanky panky”, she warned him with a stern look.

  “You have my word, Love.”

  As the iron fist released his heart, which immediately jumped with joy, he gently took her hand and led her to the next door and opened it with the wave of his hand.

  “You are right next door to me?” she gasped.

  He only gave her a playful smirk with a tilted head and had her enter his room. If she thought her room was spacious and lavish, she had to rethink the meaning of lavish and spacious.

  His bed was enormous, big enough for five people, covered in deep blue silk and satin sheets with several throw pillows in dark silver.

  The main blanket was a dark grey, bordered by the same dark blue as the sheets. The wood was a deep rich walnut and tanned animal hides covered the darkened hardwood floor around it.

  A settee, a low table, and two chairs in front of the huge fireplace took up the centre of the room while a large walnut armoire sat against the wall by the bed. There were more paintings on the walls, decorative carvings, and vases with flowers she had never seen before.

  The room was definitely fit for a king, and she gave him a look of utter astonishment when she had finished looking around.

  “And I thought my room was ostentatious and spectacular. Geez, Jareth, this is absolutely gorgeous.”

  “It is much more gorgeous with you in it”, he replied softly and took her hand to show her the adjacent room, which was a huge study and library. Another room attached to it was a sitting room for holding tea parties and small intimate visits. A door from there led to another room he didn’t care about showing her.

  He took her back into the bedroom where another door let to the overly sized bathroom with a huge marble tub, much larger than hers, a double sink vanity, a raised toilet, and an extensive linen closet.

  Across from the foot of the bed were double French doors that opened up to a huge balcony, which overlooked the Labyrinth and Goblin City.

  “May I?” Sarah asked, and Jareth nodded quietly with a sated smile, perfectly happy seeing her so excited about his chambers, which he hoped would soon be their shared chambers.

  Sarah opened the door to the balcony and stepped out into the cool fresh breeze. The stars were shining bright, and a full crystal moon hung over the castle, sending down its silvery light beams and bathing the surrounding landscape in a soft glow.

  “Breath-taking”, Sarah remarked as she looked over the balcony wall out into the Labyrinth and the city below.

  “Yes, you are”, Jareth whispered as he had come up close behind her and wrapped both of his arms around her waist, holding her tight against his chest, her back leaning into him in a gentle caress.

  He kissed the top of her head and held her tight, sighing deeply with complete content.

  “I wish this moment would never end”, he spoke softly, and Sarah closed her eyes as he placed a kiss against her neck.

  Her hands were placed on top of his now ungloved ones, and she held on tight to them, as if she, too, never wanted to let him go. They stood for nearly half an hour, enjoying each other’s company in quietude, admiring the beauty of the land below and the sky above.

  “Let’s go to sleep, Love”, Jareth whispered into her ear, and they retreated back into the bedroom.

  True to his word, Jareth put on his silk sleeping pants and a soft silk shirt, which matched his pants. Sarah had briefly gone back to her room and found a beautiful matching deep-blue, sleeveless silk night gown that stopped right above her knees.

  As they both made themselves comfortable, Jareth gently wrapped his arm around Sarah’s waist. She did not protest and even moved her body closer to his, much to his surprise and enjoyment.

  “Good night, Jareth”, she yawned and closed her eyes.

  “Good night, Precious”, he responded and snuggled his head into the crook of her neck.

**************************************************

  Jareth had woken up early but had not moved as he did not want to wake Sarah, who was still cuddled into his arms, sound asleep. Her head rested on his chest and one of her legs was flung across his hips, with one arm wrapped across his chest. Every time he moved, she tightened her grip on him and sighed deeply.

  Jareth couldn’t help but to chuckle at this and sigh with deep content. His Sarah, in his bed, out of her own will, and no tricks by him. He wrapped his arm around her back and shoulder and closed his eyes again. He wanted to savour this moment for as long as he could.

  He was woken up again when he felt her stir, and upon opening his eyes, he stared into two sparkling emeralds gazing down at him with a big smile.

  “Top of the morning, Precious”, he murmured and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose.

  She smiled and turned onto her back.

  “Morning, Jareth. I slept wonderful. Best sleep I had in I don’t know how many years. Maybe, I’ll sleep in your bed every night from now on”, she teased, but soon found out that Jareth was more than willing to share his bed with her on a nightly basis.

  She gave him a quick chaste kiss on the lips and hurried to his bathroom. Within minutes, she stepped back out and went to the main door.

  “And where do you think you are going, Love?” Jareth asked amused, clearly seeing the confusion in her eyes.

  “My room, to take a shower and get fresh clothes”, she replied.

  “Not through the hallway you don’t, especially not like this”, he objected with a growl and motioned at her thin nightgown.

  “Well, then how?” she asked, slightly put off, and crossed her arms over her chest.

  Jareth rolled himself out of bed and motioned her to follow him. He let her through the study and the sitting room right up to the double doors he neglected to show her last night.

  “Your room lies behind these doors”, he mentioned calmly.

  Sarah’s eyebrows furrowed as her mind was going over what he had just told her.

  “But if my room connects with your chambers that means....”

  He could see the realization sink into her brain as her mouth dropped open and her eyes grew wide.

  “The Queen’s chambers, yes, my dear”, Jareth finished her thought.

  “You put me up in the Queen’s chambers? But isn’t that reserved for the queen?” she asked aghast.

  “A fitting room for you. And where else would I put you up? I told you about my intentions from the beginning, so don’t be so surprised.”

  He turned away with a mischievous smirk on his lips as he waved his hand and the double doors cracked opened. Sarah stood motionless for a moment, watching him walk away before she shook herself over. Once again, she had not paid any attention to what he had been telling her for days now.

  “Thank you, Jareth”, she smiled and disappeared through them into her room, the Queen’s chambers.

**************************************************

  Jareth and Sarah had decided to have their breakfast in the private sitting room of his chambers, and Sarah was glad to avoid the company of Céline. She probably would have slugged the woman so early in the morning, especially prior to having coffee. Luckily, Jareth had coffee for her, or she would have held that aggressive grudge into the rest of the day.

  After breakfast, Jareth went to speak to his mother and take her and Céline on a tour through Goblin City. Sarah had graciously declined to attend and decided to see Hoggle and Sir Didymus instead. With the fox knight now stationed close to the castle, it was easy to see him more often.

  Since Jareth had told her he would be gone most of the day, she had decided to pack a picnic lunch to take to her friends, and they had made another full day out of it.

  This time, Hoggle was in a much better mood and not as dirty either. Apparently, his mission in the royal garden had been completed and whatever it had been, he had been tight-lipped about it.

  He also didn’t give Sarah any more grieve about Jareth, and the subject of him was mostly avoided, as Sarah did not want to have a repeat from the shouting match of the previous day.

  Before she realized, she had to return to the castle to get ready for the game and have it all set up. Sir Didymus had offered to be the judge and three goblins had been assigned to be the assistants.

  Hoggle had decided he needed to get more gardening work done, and he also was not in the mood to see the rat either. Sarah let it go and didn’t argue with him over it.

  “Now what is it thou call this game?” Sir Didymus asked quite interested as he needed to understand the rules, being the official judge of the game, which he took incredibly seriously.

  “Beer Hunter”, Sarah giggled. “It’s a lot of fun.”

  “Beer Hunter?” he drawled out.

  The fox knight tilted his head with a puzzled look in his eyes as he tried to comprehend a game about going hunting for beer. Sarah could only chuckle at his confusion and quickly explained before he could go on a lengthy tirade about the difference between hunting game and drinking beer.

  “Each player has thirteen beer cans all set up in a row in front of them. Three cans have been shaken up, but the player does not know which one. Each player has to open a can, one at a time. The first player to open all three shaken up cans loses.

  “Where have thou acquired the cans of beer?” Didymus asked intrigued, as he had never seen beer in a can before.

  He intensely studied the metallic contraption and plucked carefully at the lid with his claw. Sarah chuckled with mirth and took the can from him, placing it back onto the board.

  “Jareth was so kind to procure it from my world. It is the common way of drinking beer in the Aboveground. In cans or glass bottles.”

  Didymus gave her a look of incredulity over this newly revealed fact and shook his head with hesitant acceptance, as if it were a sacrilege to serve beer in such a manner.

  “What results when thou open a shaken beer can?” the fox knight inquired.

  “You get sprayed with the content and then the goblins will drop a box of glitter on you too”, Sarah giggled with mirth. “The glitter is a little something I thought of last night and added to it for fun.”

  “Ah, I see. Like upping the ante, raising the stakes”, Didymus replied with an impish wink and a sneer curled around his muzzle, giving him a wolfish appearance.

  “Exactly” Sarah laughed, still feeling slightly thrown off by his more menacing and intimidating looks.

  “Geez, he went from cuddly Yorki to giant Timberwolf. That’s going to take some time to get used to.”

  She quickly shook herself over and returned to the task at hand, with Didymus watching her intently.

  She had all three boards set up parallel from each other, and it would be each goblins task to line up the cans and shake up three random cans and hide them throughout each board. Sarah had extensively explained the rules to the goblins and hoped they would understand and follow them.

  “So, what are your names?” she asked the three goblins, who had volunteered for the job.

  All three looked quite intimidating and gruff, standing at about a metre and a half tall, but their demeanour was light-hearted and quite funny. She had learned over the past day and a half that one had to dig beneath the surface of the goblins’ gruff exterior to see their true nature.

  Outwardly, they looked downright scary, but on the inside, they were more like children: prankish, tricky, and eager to please, but also a bit dim-witted and in some instances downright devious. She would never try and cross one of them.

  They were also fiercely loyal to their king and did anything to protect him and give him the advantage in a game or battle. For whatever reason, they loved to be yelled at and kicked around. To them it was more of a game than a punishment. The only thing that truly scared them was the bog.

  Sarah had nearly died laughing when Jareth had first told her, but goblins liked to smell good. He had found out about this peculiar habit very early on as their king, and Jareth had created the Bog of Eternal Stench as a means to keep them in line, keep them fearful of him, and gain their respect without having to resort to more torturous means of punishment.

  This had worked perfectly for four-hundred years, and she had to give Jareth a lot of kudos for taming this wild bunch of creatures and turning them into such loyal subjects.

  They also genuinely loved him, which in itself was quite astonishing. And they also seemed to have taken a liking to her as well, which was perfectly fine with her.

  “My name is Scratch”, the tall goblin answered while scratching his head as if he was not quite sure that was the correct answer.

  “I’m Juggle”, the second replied with a grin and tossed five stones up into the air in an ill-fated attempt to juggle them as they all came falling back down, hitting him in the head.

  Sarah had to keep from laughing aloud and hid her amusement behind a fist pressed tightly against her lips.

  “Keep trying, Juggle, it’ll come to you”, she encouraged him with a sincere smile.

  “He’s been at it for three-hundred years. There ain’t nothin’ comin’ to him anytime soon”, the third goblin piped up and was instantly hit by one of the rocks in Juggle’s hands.

  “Here’s somethin’ comin’ to ya”, Juggle replied and tossed the remaining rocks at the offensive goblin, who picked them up and threw them right back.

  “What’s your name?” Sarah asked him while dodging the flying rocks.

  “Eh, Trouble”, Trouble replied with a proud grin as he lopped another rock through the air, which accidentally hit Scratch.

  “I should have known”, Sarah sighed and looked at Scratch, who stood motionless with a rock in his hands, looking perplexed and scratching his head.

  “Oh, geez, this is going to be a long afternoon”, she groaned inwardly.

  While the rocks kept zooming around her head, having her to duck down every now and then, she kept setting up the game. A small crowd of goblins had already assembled on the lawn and made itself at home. Apparently, they had come to watch the game.

  Some even had brought their chickens with them and let them run around, adding to the ruckus atmosphere with their squawking and flapping wings. Sarah closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose.

  On top of all the goblin and chicken noises, there was the loud voice of Sir Didymus, giving everybody a rundown of the conduct and behaviour rules.

  “Yep, it’s going to be a long afternoon indeed”, she sighed with closed eyes.

  Right at four o’clock, an excited High Queen Alia, a gleeful looking Jareth, and a frowning Céline came sauntering across the lawn. Jareth had a huge mischievous grin on his face, and Sarah could tell he was more than eager to get this game started and teach Céline a lesson in messing with the wrong girl.

  After seeing the now huge crowd of goblin spectators assembled around the game table with agitated chickens flapping their wings, Jareth gave out a booming laugh, and Céline gasped with horror. She was not fond of goblins and having them so close by made her skin crawl.

  Queen Alia seemed to take it all in stride and had no objection to taking a seat on a nice plush chair in the middle of the goblin crowd, who threw her looks of admiration and affection, which she kindly reciprocated. Céline, however, was not privy to such tender gazes and earned vicious sneers and growls instead.

  “Even the goblins know who’s a nice person, just like dogs,” Sarah giggled to herself.

  “Now that all of our contestants have arrived, here are the rules of the game. Each contestant must open thirteen beer cans, of which three will explode....”

  Upon mentioning exploding beer cans, the goblin crowd erupted into cheers and the chickens squawked loudly in panic from the sudden commotion. Sir Didymus sent scolding looks into the crowds and barked for everyone to be silent.

  “.... as I hast stated, three cans will.... open with a fizzing sound. First person to be sprayeth by all three cans will be out of the game first. The next person sprayeth by all three will be out next, which will leave our winner. It is up to the ultimate winner to declareth what he or she wants from the other two losers....’’

  At the word ‘losers’, the goblin crowd burst into loud and uncontrolled laughter and could hardly contain their amusement. Bets were eagerly exchanged on who the winner would be, as well as for the first and second loser.

  “.... as I hast stated”, a slightly agitated Sir Didymus continued with a low growl, “the winner receiveth a choice for an award. Now contestants taketh thy places and let the game begin.”

  A little goblin stepped forward with a bugle and started playing ‘Taps’.

  “Wrong song, dumbass”, a goblin shouted from the spectator crowd as everyone started laughing again and blowing gravel and chicken-poop spit balls.

  Céline started to roll her eyes with distaste over all this mayhem while Jareth looked proud and haughty, and Sarah could barely conceal her giggles with her face turning red from the lack of oxygen.

  After the cacophony once again had settled down, the little goblin played ‘First Call’ on his severely banged up and indented bugle and left the field proudly after having missed only half the notes this time. A torrent of spit balls followed him from out of the centre.

  Scratch, Juggle, and Trouble had set up the beer cans in a row for each contestant as they stood facing the first can.

  “Open thy first can”, Didymus shouted with a flair or authority on top of his lungs, and a quietness fell over the crowd as every goblin leaned forward with hushed anticipation to watch the match unfold.

  As each can snapped open, a cumulative sigh of disappointment was heard. Not one can had exploded.

  “Open thy second can,” Didymus called out immediately and waved his lance through the air.

  Again, complete silence fell onto the field. Not even the birds were singing.

  “Aaaaaaah”, the crowd exclaimed, as once again, no can exploded.

  “I think this game is rigged”, one goblin croaked with accusation, and the crowd agreed with angered murmur.

  “Pardon me, but nothing hath been rigged here”, Didymus objected vehemently with raised hackles. “Open thy third can”, he barked out immediately to silence the antagonists.

  A fizz sound was heard, followed by a scream and a gurgling noise as the crowd erupted in euphoric cheers and threw the chickens way up in the air. A box of glitter descended onto the person and mixed with the feathers from the wildly flapping chickens.

  Céline stood with a beer soaked décolleté, spitting out glitter and feathers, which covered her hair and dress from head to toe. Queen Alia placed her hand in front of her mouth to hide her big mirthful smile. Jareth cocked his head and gave Sarah a questioning glance with one raised eyebrow.

  “Just something to up the ante”, she murmured with a guilty yet devious grin.

  “You cruel thing, you”, Jareth laughed under his breath and deeply admired the green-eyed mortal woman in front of him.

  She truly was his match. And his heart filled with pride. Before Céline could complain about the beer, glitter, and the feathers stuck to her, Sir Didymus announced the fourth round.

  Another collective cheer went through the crowd as Jareth got sprayed with beer, but no glitter descended upon him.

  “Why is he not getting glittered?” Céline complained with a loud whine, pointing her finger accusatively at the king and glaring defiantly at Didymus.

  “Kingy already glittery enough”, a goblin responded with a yell and the crowd broke out in once again uncontrolled laughing while Céline filed an official complaint with Judge Didymus.

  “There is no rule about the glitter”, Sir Didymus responded. “Complaint dismissed.”

  “How can there not be a rule for the glitter if it is part of the game?” Céline hissed back with a snarl of her own.

  “Eh, oversight?” Didymus replied sheepishly.

  “I want a ruling on the damn glitter”, Céline yelled and Didymus initiated a time out for the game to discuss this with his three helpers.

  After five minutes of furious debate and arm waving, he delivered his decision to the contestants and the crowd.

  “After further review, the glitter will be suspended and only unloaded upon the ultimate loser, which is the first person out of the game. Ruling stands.”

  The crowd booed with agitation, Céline still bitched and waved her arms as she wanted justice, and Sarah nearly rolled on the floor with a chortling attack, all the while Jareth stood quietly with his arms crossed in front of his chest and a conceited smirk on his face.

  “Open thy sixth can”, Didymus ordered, and no sound was heard, as no can exploded.

  “Open thy seventh can.”

  It was followed by another screech from hell as Céline once again was soaked with beer. The can had sprayed her full in the face, causing her make-up to run like rivers down her cheeks. As the goblins roared with laughter, Sarah bit her bottom lip to keep from losing it, and Jareth huffed with delight.

  “If I wouldn’t know better, Precious, I say you rigged this game”, he leaned over and whispered into her ear with merriment.

  “Really, Jareth? Do you take me for a cheater? I had nothing to do with shaking up the beer.”

  She gave him an innocent look and turned away from him, re-taking her inscrutable position in front of the cans.

  “Open thy eighth can”, Didymus proclaimed.

  Fizz came the sound, and Sarah’s head snapped back as she was doused with the bubbly liquid over her bodice, causing Jareth’s eyes to widen and darken as he saw a faint outline of her breasts with hardened nipples shining through the thin, wet material.

  Sarah was too busy wiping her face to notice his salacious look. Céline, who wanted to cheer that Sarah was finally doused herself, found herself stewing with anger after seeing Jareth’s wanton gaze for Sarah. He had laughed at her for being doused, but he lusted after that mortal git? Céline was furious while she continued to spit errand glitter bits out of her mouth.

  “Open can nine”, came Didymus’ command.

  Again, not one can exploded, and the goblin crowd went into near mourning over the absence of an exploding beer can. Trouble tried to help Céline remove some feathers from her dress and his hands tried to touch her bodice as she kept slapping them away in disgust.

  “Trouble help lady”, he insisted, but she had none of it.

  “Keep your damn goblin paws off me, you ingrate”, she screeched and stomped back to her board with the cans.

  “Open can ten.”

  A hush fell over the crowd and the backrow goblins careened their necks to have a better view. All three players opened their cans at the same time. For a few second, the silence held, before the crowd erupted into a cacophony of cheers, hoots, squawking chickens, and off pitch bugle calls.

  Céline gave out a gasp of horror and turned green in her face as a gigantic box of glitter descended onto her and showered her completely in such a dense glitter tornado, she temporarily disappeared from view.

  A peculiar smell wafted across the field, and Sarah stood with her eyes wide open, not sure whether to laugh or gasp, while Jareth strode quickly over towards Céline, taking a sniff of the can.

  “Bog water?” he bellowed and looked at Trouble, who innocently shrugged his shoulders.

  “Only a few spoon....maybe handful, could be a bit more”, he grinned. “Make lady smell good”, he added hastily and turned to run.

  It wasn’t his fault that his olfactory glands never worked correctly, and he considered bog water to smell quite refreshing. Besides Sir Didymus, who had no sense of smell at all, Trouble never quite understood the horrid reactions of the others towards the bog.

  The goblin crowd now exploded and ran all over the field, some away from the smell and others closer to see its full effect as Céline held her throat and gagged, spitting as much of the bog water out of her mouth as she could.

  Jareth stood in the middle of the mayhem, with the facial expression of a lost puppy, shrugging his shoulders at Sarah, who slowly started to break out into her own laughing fit. Queen Alia kept her handkerchief pressed close to her nose, all the while grinning and trying to hide her mirth.

  Sir Didymus was stunned, as he did not understand what the commotion was all about. He couldn’t smell a thing.

  “I declare order on the field”, he barked authoritatively and banged his lance onto the table with such enthusiasm that it nearly broke in half.

  Slowly, the crowd returned back to their seats, and even the goblins who had fled entirely, stuck their heads back out of the bushes they had fled into to make sure the stinking princess was not going to become violent.

  Céline sat in the grass, covered from head to toe in glitter and chicken feathers, fuming with rage and balling her hands into fists. Her murderous eyes fell onto Sarah, who was bent over with laughter. As their gazes met, Sarah quit her laughing and stood up straight, returning to her board with the slightest of guilt feelings in her stomach.

  “Quit your balling and whining, Céline”, Jareth scolded the stinking princess. “Nothing a little tomato bath won’t fix later.”

  “Whining? You accuse me of whining? It was one of your god forsaken goblins, who did this to me, or that nasty mortal bitch over there”, Céline hissed viciously while pointing at Sarah.

  Disregarding the foul door of the bog water, Jareth stepped close towards Céline and leaned his head as close as his nose allowed.

  “Do not ever call Sarah a bitch, or any other insulting and degrading names. This will be your only warning, and I advise you to heed it unless you want to meet the bog head on.”

  His eyes glared dangerously, and Céline pressed her lips into a thin line, distorting her face with restrained anger.

  “As you command, Your Majesty”, she hissed through gritted teeth and stood up to gather her skirt and leave.

  “Thou cannot leave”, Sir Didymus called out to her.

  “And why the bloody hell not?” she snarked back.

  “It is against the rules for any contestant to leave prior to the official finish of the game. King Jareth and Lady Sarah are still contesting.”

  “Oh, for the bloody hell of it all”, she exclaimed and sat herself back down again with a pout, crossing her arms in front of her smelly chest.

  Queen Alia had watched all of this unfold from the side-lines and had found it all rather amusing and interesting.

  “So, the goblins seem to like Sarah and hate Céline. How interesting. I wonder whose idea the bog water and the glitter box really was.”

  “Order on the field”, Sir Didymus barked again, and slowly, quietude descended upon the field once more. “Open can eleven.”

  This time, both cans exploded, and the hard-fought order on the field was once again erased with the goblin crowd cheering wildly and celebrating. Jareth’s eyes darkened instantly at seeing Sarah’s hard nipples protruding from under the fabric of her soaked dress, and a low rumbling growl emanated from his chest. Céline howled with anger at his reaction but was not paid any attention.

  “That maketh two sprays per contestant. King Jareth and Lady Sarah, thou art tied, with two cans each remaining”, Didymus declared, and another hush fell over the crowd. “Contestants, art thou ready?”

  “Ready”, Sarah proclaimed with self-confident.

  “Ready”, Jareth responded equally self-assured.

  They picked up their respective cans and looked at each other with determination, holding their gaze for several seconds before they opened their cans in unison, and a loud fizzing sound was heard, followed by a sharp intake of air.

  This time, the goblins stormed the field as glitter seemed to appear everywhere like magic, giving the entire area a light dusting. As the glitter rain descended onto Sarah’s hair, she looked over at Jareth, who wiped the beer off his face with his hand, a chuffed smirk on his wet face.

  “Well done, Love”, he laughed, toasting her with the can and tipping his beer back to empty it with one gulp. “Someone bring me a bloody towel”, he growled afterwards at the closest goblin, who quickly procured a clean handkerchief for his majesty.

  Sarah felt herself being lifted off the ground and onto the shoulders of the two biggest goblins in attendance, which were nearly as tall as she was but much stouter.

  Like the champion she was, she was carried around the field in a goblin and chicken parade as the bugle tried to play ‘We are the champions’, by Queen.

  Sir Didymus rhythmically clapped his paws together and gave a foxy grin with his canines. He couldn’t remember last time he had enjoyed this much merriment, and in all actuality, neither could Jareth, nor any of the goblins.

 “Tis most verily pleasant to have back thy Lady Sarah”, Didymus mentioned, and Jareth nodded quietly with wholehearted agreement.

  “If I can only keep her here”, he sighed as they both watched the victory parade made its way around the grassy field.

  “You better make sure you find a way and convince that girl to stay. She is made for you, and I cannot think of a better candidate for your wife”, Queen Alia chimed in, who had come up behind Jareth.

  “It’s not for lack of trying, Mother”, he argued with frustration, grabbing the last unopened can of his board and chucking the beer with one giant quaff.

  “Then try harder. Since when are you the one who gives up on something you want? Don’t disappoint me, Son.”

  Before Jareth could reply to his mother’s vehement demand, the victory parade had Sarah delivered back to Sir Didymus and Jareth and put her gently back on her feet.

  “Since thou art the winner, what is it thee require from the other contestants, Lady Sarah?”

  The fox knight looked expectantly at Sarah, as did the rest of the assembled crowd, including Jareth and Céline, who still sat in her same spot, with Trouble standing right behind her, wearing a big toothy grin on his face.

  “Hm, let me think”, she replied with her finger tapping her lips as she contemplated over her reward.

  Jareth found it beyond amusing that she had adopted his signature move as her own. Whether she realized it or not, she became increasingly like him by the day, and he relished in that very fact.

  “Since Princess Céline had such bad luck, I would love for her to be treated like a real princess deserves to be treated. I think she ought to receive a big kiss from a knight as a consolation for all her troubles”, she declared and Jareth’s eyes and mouth fell open.

  Céline let a bloodcurdling screech escape her glitter invaded throat.

  “Are there any knights present, who would love to kiss the princess?” Sarah shouted into the crowd and immediately two hands went up.

  “Sir Didymus of course, and....Trouble?” Sarah asked with a bewildered look.

  “Trouble is knight, low ranking knight, still knight.”

  “True?” Sarah asked and turned to Jareth, who confirmed with a nod and a green blinking truth crystal that suddenly appeared behind him.

  “Very well, then. I think she deserves a kiss from the both of you”, Sarah decided with a sardonic grin and nodded her head curtly to underscore her decision.

  Céline scrambled off the ground with a horrified look and hastily picked up her skirt to run away. Trouble quickly caught up with her and kept holding her back as he bounced up and down trying to reach her lips with his.

  “Get away from me, you nasty thing. I will never kiss a damn goblin. Are you all insane?”

  “Wait for me, Princess Céline”, Sir Didymus called out as the princess put it in overdrive and ran down the field with elven speed, followed closely by Trouble and Sir Didymus and the jeering of the goblin crowd.

  “Oh, was that necessary?” Queen Alia sighed with rolling eyes while Jareth let out a booming laugh, in which the rest of his goblins joined in.

  “I told you she was perfect for me”, he whispered with merriment, so only his mother could hear him.

  “Now as for Jareth”, Sarah spoke and turned back towards her Goblin King while another hush fell over the assembled crowd. “What do I want from you?”

  “I could think of a few things”, Jareth tried to influence her decision with a licentious smirk, but she shrugged him off with sarcastic laughter.

  “Oh, I bet you could”, she replied with squinted eyes.

  “Another foot massage? Dinner? Washing dishes? Moping the floor?” he suggested with a cringe, so only Sarah could hear him.

  “I want us to play the next game here, in my chambers, tonight right after midnight.”

  “But?” Jareth tried to argue. He had not expected that answer.

  “We need to finish our games, and after midnight qualifies as another day. My chamber, and don’t be late. It won’t be a drinking game, even though you may want to bring something for yourself”, she suggested with a hint of seduction that had Jareth’s heart stop beating for a few seconds.

  “As my lady wishes”, he finally replied with a slight bow and a confused look in his eyes, wondering nervously what wicked thoughts were coursing through that beautiful head of hers.

  “Good. Now you can come and get me for dinner in an hour. After that you still owe me four.”

  Sarah nodded approvingly and walked off, back towards the castle and her room, all the while grinning from ear to ear and leaving behind a very disquiet Goblin King.

  “Oh, I like her”, Queen Alia whispered into Jareth’s ear and hurriedly followed Sarah back to the castle.

**************************************************

  Sarah twirled in front of the mirror and was incredibly pleased with her looks. Mary and Ginny had helped her getting ready after the beer hunt game. It had taken two hours to get rid of all the glitter that had settled into her hair, and seemingly every crevice of her body.

  If it had taken that long for her, she could only imagine what Céline must be going through as she received the brunt of the glitter tornado, twice, plus chicken feathers and a healthy dose of bog water.

  Sarah still cringed at the thought of the bog water splashing all over her face and chest.

  “That gives a whole new meaning to the term stink face. Serves that bitch right, treating me like I’m dirt and trying to steal my Jareth from me”, she murmured under her breath as she kept preening over her dress.

  “Oh, so now he’s your Jareth all the sudden, but when he wanted to show you some love last night you wouldn’t even let him fondle you a little. Hypocrite”, her libido piped up and was wholeheartedly joined in force by her traitorous mind.

  Sarah took a deep breath. Her inner voices were right. She should not have been so strict with Jareth last night. He loved her for crying out loud, and she kept treating him like he only wanted a quickie and then send her on her way.

  And if her heart was any indication of how she felt about him, then she was already a lost cause. No man ever had made her heart sputter the way Jareth did or throw her mind into an utter mess incapable of a coherent thought when he was around. 

  “Why is falling in love always so complicated, especially when it involves a magical being like the Goblin King? And why does he have to be so damn good looking and oozing with so much sexuality?”

  “Nothing is as it seems”, she kept murmuring and let out a big laugh.

  Hadn’t she been told that very same fact when she ran the Labyrinth fifteen years ago? That truth still held true. Before she could continue contemplating over her torn feelings for Jareth and how to move forward in their relationship, she heard the knock on the door and saw his blonde mane peeking through the crack.

  “Come in”, she smiled and turned away from the mirror.

  “Are you trying to kill me?” he whispered as he took in her stunning dress and the way it hugged her body and showed off her cleavage with its plunging neckline.

  “Only a little”, she replied sultry and put her arms around his neck.

  Not one for missing a change for a kiss, he quickly wrapped his arms around her waist when she moved into him and pulled her close to him. His face only centimetres from hers, she gazed into his mismatched eyes of blue and felt herself getting enchanted by their intense stare.

  She drunk in every little detail of his face, those upsweeping eyebrows that made his eyes look so surreal, and the pigmentations above them that changed colours and shades according to his mood. Judging by the extreme light blue hues, he was currently in a relaxed and content mood.

  His wild blonde hair was cascading over his forehead and down the side of his face, with streaks of blue, and sometimes golden highlights, crisscrossing his strands.

  His looks, combined with his deep baritone voice that sent shivers of delight through her body, reminded her of a sexy and erotic rock star. His glossy and slightly red lips yearned to be kissed. And the feel of his strong and pliable tongue made her melt in his mouth.

  “Kiss me”, Sarah requested with the hush of a whisper, and Jareth hungrily complied without hesitation.

  His lips were soft and warm and so eager to please here. His tongue gently wrapped itself around hers and played an erotic game of tug and war within each other’s mouth. He very much wanted to entangle his hand into her hair but didn’t dare to muss them before dinner.

  Perhaps a situation would present itself afterwards. For now, he was only too happy to have her in his arms, her lips against his, and her warm bosom pressing tightly into his chest. How he wished he was wearing a low cut and open shirt of his own that would expose his chest, and he could feel her warm skin against his.

  “We better get going or the high queen will come looking for us. And believe me, she will”, Jareth jested as he reluctantly withdrew from the osculation.

  He proffered his arm and leisurely led her to the dining hall, with Sarah holding on tight to him and leaning her head against his shoulder for the entire walk. Jareth eyes sparkled in the dim light with pure happiness.

  “Jareth? Why do you walk and dress and do things like that the normal mundane way if you have magic available that can do it instantly for you?”

  “It takes too much energy, and just because we have magic available doesn’t mean we have to use it for every little chore. That would be considered abuse. Plus, it is so much more fun walking arm in arm with you down a deserted corridor where I can steal a kiss or two from you instead of transporting instantly to the dining room. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  When Sarah nodded, he leaned forward and did just that, steal a kiss. Sarah did not object.

  “Ah, there you are. I was about to come search for you”, Queen Alia remarked as they entered the dining room, and Jareth tossed Sarah a look of ‘I told you so’.

  Dinner was pretty much the same affair as the previous night with one exception. Neither Princess Céline nor her ladies in waiting were present and her absence had been noted. Queen Alia inquired with one of her advisors and pursed her lips when he whispered into her ears, before giggling into her hand.

  “It looks like Céline won’t be joining us for dinner. She is currently sitting in a tomato juice bath to remove the stench from the bog water, and then she will take her dinner in her guest room with her ladies.”

  Jareth didn’t even try to hide his amusement, and Sarah bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud and causing a scene.

  “You know”, he leaned over towards his mother, “you could have easily magicked the smell away. Why didn’t you?”

  “And miss all the fun?” she countered with a naughty smirk of her own.

  Jareth broke out into a merry laughter and turned to Sarah with sparkling eyes.

  “Now you know where I got my mischievous streak from”, he declared and felt himself instantly vindicated.

  The after-dinner entertainment lasted for a good three hours before Jareth managed to pull Sarah to the side and made them disappear in a cloud of glitter. Alia had noticed their disappearance and rolled her eyes with a sated grin.

  “By the gods, let him be successful soon”, she murmured into her glass of wine and turned back towards the conversation she was having with her and Jareth’s advisor Corrigan.

  Jareth reappeared with Sarah in her arms right inside her bedchamber.

  “I thought that is using too much energy”, she scolded him lightly with a grin.

  “I’m only trying to keep our timetable according to your wishes from earlier. A game at midnight you requested?” he justified his use of magic.

  “That’s correct. How many pieces of clothing are you wearing including your boots?”

  Jareth raised one eyebrow and gave her a curious look for her question while he was conducting a mental count.

  “Six, counting my boots”, he replied with a tilted head and a bewildered expression.

  “Six?” Sarah asked perplexed and did a mental count of herself.

  “Underwear, Dear”, he smirked with mirth. “I know you’re not used to it, but you requested it for some insane reason, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah, that’s right. Perfect”, Sarah replied with a slight blush. “Now help me get out of this dress and corset, so I can change clothes.”

  She turned her back to Jareth for him to open the lacing on the back of her dress. Without hesitation, he eagerly went to work and made sure to amply touch her skin with his ungloved hands as he worked his way down her dress.

  The touch of his hands on her bare back created shivers of pleasure down Sarah’s spine, shivers that once again sent her libido into overdrive like a five-alarm fire she needed to douse quickly.

  “It’s too early for that, simmer down”, she reprimanded it in her mind.

  Once Jareth had loosened the laces enough for Sarah to slip out of the dress herself, she quickly let it fall to the floor and had him open her corset. Jareth took in a big gulp of air as he took in the amount of skin she showed, standing in only her corset and a pair of long underwear with a garter underneath it all.

  “You love to torture me, don’t you?” he hissed into her ear as he leaned over her, causing more ripples of desirable sensations to course through her body.

  She turned her head and looked back at him over her shoulder with a devious grin.

  “And here I thought you love torture”, she replied with a raunchy voice that caused his hands to tremble as he tried to untie the laces on her corset.

  “Not that I am complaining, far from it, but may I ask why I am undressing you?” he asked with a crack in his voice.

  “Not yet, you’ll see in a minute, but it won’t be the only time tonight you’ll be undressing me”, she smirked back, held on to her loosened corset and disappeared behind the dressing screen, leaving behind a gaping and stunned Jareth.      

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Chapter Text

  When Sarah stepped out from behind the dressing screen, Jareth was highly disappointed and didn’t try to hide it either. His despondency was clearly written all over his face, which made Sarah chuckle.

  “What’s with the sour face all the sudden?” she asked as innocently as possible and ignored his scoff of disapproval.

  “This”, he whined in a high-pitched voice and waved his hands frantically over her body as she stood in front of him with crossed arms, dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved mundane sweatshirt.

  “What about it?” she asked again, immensely enjoying her torment of his.

  “The clothes”, he stuttered with increasing contempt.

  “What about the clothes?” she asked emptily, as if not understanding his objection.

  “Sarah”, he drawled with a growl and brought his face right up to her nose, nearly touching it as he narrowed his eyes. “Don’t affront me.”

  “Simmer down, Jareth, it is all part of the game”, she laughed and placed a quick kiss on top of his nose before she walked over to the small fur rug that had been thrown on the floor in front of the fireplace, situated across from her bed.

  She sat down with crossed legs and motioned him to join her by patting the empty space in front. Jareth gave her a suspicious look but followed her invite and sat down across from her, equally crossing his legs.

 Sarah dug around in her jeans pocket and held up a coin, which she placed gingerly in the middle between them. Jareth’s eyes followed her movement, held his gaze on the coin, and then travelled to her face with a curious look and cocked head.

  “What kind of game are we playing?” he asked with heightened interest.

  He never played a game involving nothing more than a coin. Not even alcohol or other devices were required. What sort of demure game was she planning?

  “Oh, you’ll like it. I bet you right now, you will like it.”

  “Ah, a bet on top of a win?” he perked up instantly at her nod and placed his finger on his lips as his eyes grew dark and lusting. “What kind of bet?”

  “Anything. What do you want to wager?” she smiled wickedly.

  “If I win I want you to give me....”

  “Nothing perverted”, Sarah interjected his contemplation with a giggle, drawing an instant disappointment on his face.

  “Fine”, he murmured with furrowed brows. “All these restrictions and expectations of yours are tiring me out.”

  The next thing he knew, he felt Sarah’s fist deep inside his upper arm as she landed a perfect punch.

  “Ouch, what on Earth, you infernal wench. You are assaulting the king. That is at least twenty lashes with the whip and one month in the oubliette, or in your case, maybe I shall be magnanimous and sentence you to one week in my bed to do my bidding. And I mean all of my bidding”, he added with wiggling eyebrows, earning him another punch.

  “Place the damn bet, Jareth, and get your mind out of the prurient gutter”, she demanded with a scoff.”

  “Fine, then. Whoever loses the bet will have to be a slave for a day, to do anything the other person wants as long as it is legal, publicly non-humiliating, within the person’s power, and with consent.”

  Sarah gave him a suspicious look, mentally went over his stipulations to make sure he didn’t try to trick her, and finally after lengthy contemplation accepted.

  “Ok, let’s shake on it and seal the bet”, she agreed and stuck out her hand.

  Jareth took her hand and pulled it into him, causing her upper body to crash against his as he took command of her lips in a fiery kiss.

  “That’s not what I meant by shake on it and seal it”, she panted after the let go of her, but her libido proclaimed otherwise as it started to slowly beat the drum between her legs.

  “But it’s a lot more entertaining and every bit as effective”, he smirked. “Now that the bet is sealed, tell me what we are playing.”

  “Flip, kiss, and strip”, she stated, and instantly, a huge grin washed over Jareth’s face. Two of his favourite words were included in the name, kiss, and strip. He certainly liked the sound of it already. If that meant he would lose his bet, so be it.

 “It’s very simple”, Sarah continued, completely ignoring his licentious grin. “Call heads or tail, flip the coin. Whoever guesses wrong has to kiss the other person or strip a piece of clothing. It alternates between rounds. One reason, I asked you to wear six pieces for you tonight. In the name of fairness, we need to wear the same amount of clothing.”

  Jareth licked his lips, and Sarah was afraid his lecherous smirk and lustful eyes would remain plastered on his face permanently. She only rolled her eyes at his typical male behaviour and picked up the coin.

  “We play thirteen rounds each, and the overall winner also gets an award of their choosing. What do you choose, Jareth?”

  Sarah had chosen tonight’s game for a very specific reason. Her birthday had started right after midnight, and she had already decided to declare her love for him. She turned thirty years old and had never told a man she loved him, or even felt love for any man. This game would make it easier on her to take this final leap of faith.

  Jareth wondered why she had chosen this particular game tonight. He knew her birthday had started after midnight and wondered if it had anything to do with it.

  He had a full day planned out for them, not that he had filled Sarah in on his intentions yet. It was all supposed to be a surprise. He definitely did not object to starting off her special day in such a way.

  “If I win overall, I want you to spend the next three nights in my bed in the same state you were in at the end of the game”, he smirked with a sated grin and trained his intense eyes on hers.

  Sarah quirked her eyebrows and took a deep breath. She halfway expected something like this from him, but for the first time, she didn’t mind and actually felt she could enjoy this herself.

  “If I win, I want you to take me to the fairy circle inside the Labyrinth and show me what is going on there. I want to see it.”

  Jareth nearly choked at her request, and it took him some time to get over his coughing fit.

  “You do know what you are asking for, don’t you?”

  Sarah gave him a concerned look and gently bit her bottom lip before she nodded her head.

  “I’ve already danced with you and ate the damn peach and other food here. Not much more that can happen to me”, she stated calmly under Jareth’s stoic gaze.

  “All right”, he finally agreed reluctantly. “But you do exactly what I tell you to or it’s a no deal. And you will never leave my side”, he demanded firmly.

  “But”, Sarah tried to retort.

  “No but. You either agree or you will have to choose another award. A fairy circle is nothing to be trifled with. I will have to protect you at all times.”

  The tone of his voice and the seriousness now displayed on his face made her almost second guess her choice, but in the end, she agreed to his demand.

  “So, it is done. What’s said is said”, he declared and motioned her to flip the coin while he waved his other hand and eighty’s rock music started to play out of nowhere.

  “Music to go with the show’, he whispered seductively.

  “Very smooth, Your Majesty”, Sarah grinned and flipped her coin after calling heads.

  “Tail”, Jareth grinned and leaned in for his kiss, which he made sure lasted extra-long.

  “Hm, and here I thought you would go for the strip”, she laughed after he finished.

  “That’s coming next”, he smirked, called heads as well, and flipped.

  “Well, what do you know, it is heads”, he grinned from ear to ear, and Sarah rolled her eyes.

  This was not starting out good for her. She leaned back, stretched out a leg and pulled off one sock.

  “Here, you can have this”, she tossed him her sock, which landed smackdab in his face as he squinted his eyes.

  “Piece by piece I shall get you there”, he retorted and packed away the sock behind his back.

  “Ok, that was round one and you won both flips, Jareth. Now we are back to kiss for the first part of round two.”

  Jared nodded, starting to understand how the game was played.

  “Tail”, Sarah declared and flipped her coin as hard as she could.

  It bounced onto the fur and landed on tails, causing her to raise her arms in victory as she gave Jareth a tender kiss on the lips. When she tried to pull back he held her fast in place and lengthened the kiss.

  “You can’t do that. That’s against the rules”, she accused him and firmly pulled away from him.

  “It didn’t say that in the rules” he argued back with vehemence.

  “Well, it does now”, she shouted at him and put the coin in his hand. “Your turn”, she hissed with an accusing glare while he looked quite smug.

  “Heads”, Jareth shouted and once again the coin displayed heads, causing Sarah to inspect the coin and accuse him once more of some sort of interference and trickery.

  “Other sock please”, he demanded with an outstretched hand, but it hit him once again in the face.

  “Take the sock and cram it up you....”

  “Tah, tah, tah, no insults here. It makes you appear a sore loser”, he responded dryly.

  Sarah let out a low growl and stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Seriously, Sarah, how old are you?” he chided and tossed the coin back to her. “I believe this was the end of round two, three points for me and one for you.”

  He marked their progress, or lack thereof, carefully on a tablet with his quill, causing Sarah to emanate another groan for being so anal.

  “My turn, I believe. Tail”, he shouted, and the coin flipped several times in the air before it came to rest, clearly showing tail.

  Sarah was beside herself and again inspected the coin for any sort of manipulation. Jareth only gave her a scoff and pulled her in for a kiss. She ripped the coin out of his hand before he was even finished with his osculation. He found it to be very rude of her.

  “Give me that. Heads”, she shouted and tossed the coin high into the air.

  “Ha, ha, ha”, she laughed out elated and waved her hands. “Hand it over, Your Majesty.”

  Jareth tittered and handed her one of his boots, since he did not wear any socks. Sarah took it as if it were a trophy of some sort and clutched it close to her like a symbol of victory.

  “Round four coming up”, she snickered and called tails and tails it was.

  She placed another gentle kiss onto Jareth’s lips and made sure he didn’t keep her from breaking away. He still managed to slip in his tongue, earning him another reprimand. He could live with that.

  “I’m calling tail”, he declared, drawing a giggle from her. “Do I hear an objection to that?” he asked with one raised eyebrow, giving her a questioning look.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t dare”, she answered with oozing sarcasm.

  “Good then, because I want your jeans next.”

  He gave her a haughty sneer and tossed his coin. Sarah’s eyes followed it all the way up and all the way down again. When it landed, she had to brush a few long hairs from the fur away to see how it rested. Before she even looked up at Jareth, he already sat with his hand stretched out, asking for her pants.

  “That’s not fair”, she whined and immediately slapped her hand in front of her mouth.

  “Just for that comment, I want you to give me a little dance along with those pants. Nice and easy, wiggle it with the music”, he demanded.

  “That’s not according to the rules”, she complained with a huff.

  “Show me where it says I cannot demand a little show to go with our striptease. Where is the tease in strip if you don’t dance for me?”

  “What?” she asked bewildered.

  “Strip T.E.A.S.E”, he enunciated with a drawl. ”The tease is implied in the word, which means you have to give me a tease while you strip”, he insisted with a serious look and crossed his arms in front of his chest to underscore his highly valid points.

  Sarah sat with her mouth wide open, wondering how to respond to such logic, and she found to her horror that she didn’t have a response.

  “You want a show? Fine, I’ll give you a show”, she barked and stood up.

  Inwardly, Jareth patted himself on his back for such a brilliant argument and leaned himself back on his hands with a very content and conceited expression on his face. He snapped his fingers and ‘Girls just wanna have fun’ started to play, earning him a stink look from Sarah.

  “Really? That song? Do I look like I’m having fun?” she groaned.

  “Oh, Pet, I don’t know about you, but I sure am”, he chortled with mirth.

  Sarah heaved one more sigh, and then began to wiggle her hips, swaying them seductively back and forth and sideways, not unlike the time she had to give him a lap dance.

  Jareth increased the volume on the music as Sarah’s hand began to move across her upper body, briefly caressing her breasts and stomach before moving down to her hips and thighs.

  Jareth had conjured himself a glass of brandy and started sipping it while she danced for him and slowly opened the button and zipper on her jeans. She hooked her thumbs into the waistband and slowly started to pull them down, wiggling her hips along to the rhythm.

  Jareth’s eyes started to darken as her jeans ever so slightly lowered themselves over her hipbone down her upper thighs. She had moved close to him and stood now nearly on top of him giving him an extra special view.

  She wiggled down, bending her knees until her butt nearly touched Jareth’s outstretched leg. He swallowed hard at the inviting woman in front of him. His breathing became shallower, and his nostrils started to flare. Sarah knew that look in his eyes, lust, and desire and.... admiration for her.

  She smiled seductively and licked her lips as she gazed deeply into his eyes and held their stare, boring deeply into each other’s soul until they nearly melted together.

  Jareth swallowed hard again as her jeans slid down to her knees and exposed her small lace panties she was wearing. She had chosen them very meticulously, knowing exactly the kind of effect they would have on him.

  If she was going to declare her love for this fae later on, she might as well give him the show of a lifetime beforehand. She remembered how Jareth had her pull the pants of his legs, and she implored the same manoeuvre on him now.

  He eagerly took one foot into his hands and pulled on the pant leg, slowly pulling it off her leg. Before the let go, he took the liberty of placing a gentle kiss onto her foot. Sarah giggled and repeated the same motion with her other leg as he eagerly placed a kiss onto that foot as well.

  He victoriously held up her pants and laid on his back, panting heavy and sighing in bliss while Sarah retook her seat on the fur rug.

  “That, my love, was quite amazing. Now you have me all hot and bothered, in a good way”, he added, making sure to show off his growing erection she had caused him.

  Sarah could only smirk with satisfaction.

  “Did I awake the sleeping dragon?” she cooed, and Jareth sat back up, running his free hand through his hair.

  “Sleeping dragon, I like it.” he replied with a laugh. “Dragon implies big, which of course it is. Noticeably big if I may add.”

  “Oh, my god, seriously?” she groaned and rolled her eyes at him.

  “Ok, what round is it? And what is the score?” he inquired, looking at his scoreboard. “You nearly made me lose count. I’m glad I’m keeping track with this.”

  He carefully skimmed over his entries with a concentrated look and appeared to be quite pleased with himself. Sarah kept rolling her eyes.

  “Round five coming up, and it is five points for me and three points for you.”

  She picked up the coin, called tails, and tossed it, nearly having it land on Jareth’s head as he was still looking at his scoreboard and didn’t notice the coin aiming for him. It barely skimmed his head and landed in his lap.

  “Tails”, he exclaimed with a displeasing look. “This was assisted, it shouldn’t count.”

  “And it says that where exactly?” she mocked him, earning herself a scolding look, but he did not argue over it.

  “Fine, it stands.”

  He figured either way he was winning by getting a kiss. This time, the kiss was much deeper, and it was obvious even Sarah was getting into their kiss exchanges. It did not feel like losing anymore, no matter what.

  “Maybe that’s the whole point of the game. Just have fun, enjoy it as a couple, and get to you know each other better”, her libido and mind suggested in unison.

  “My turn”, Jareth croaked after she let go of him and tossed the coin without calling it first.

  “You forgot to call this one. You lose”, Sarah laughed with epicaricacy.

  “No, that means I get a re-throw“, he argued.

  “Absolutely not. You forgot to call it, that’s on you. Hand over your other boot.”

  “You made me forget”, he pouted but pulled his boot off and handed it to her, nevertheless.

  “Looks like we are even all the sudden”, she grinned with Schadenfreude while he was still sulking over her ruling on his toss.

  “We wouldn’t be if you hadn’t bewitched me”, he still whined and pouted.

  “How can I bewitch you?” she argued his point. “I don’t have any magic.”

  “You used your beguiling mouth and tongue. You tricked me and knew it”, he held steadfast in his accusations while Sarah rolled on the rug in a laughing fit.

  “Get over it. I won. Next round. Number six, I believe, and we are tight. Your turn.”

  Jareth still grumbled but called tails and tossed his coin. They both watched in suspense at it landed on the fur and clearly displayed tails.

  “Here, let me show you a legal kiss”, he sneered and took control of her mouth before she had time to argue. His tongue slipped in so quick, she had barely time to register as he continued a rather hurried yet deep and passionate kiss that left her quite breathless.

  “I believe you are up”, he declared, and Sarah picked up the coin with a slight sneer around her lips.

  “Heads”, she called out and threw it straight up this time.

  She did not want to hear any more arguments over illegal assists or unlawful assaults of the king from Jareth.

  “Heads”, she cried out with glee and leaned back on her elbows. “I know it’s only your vest, but please, Your Majesty, if you wouldn’t mind giving me a show. And make it good.”

  Jareth stood up with a haughty smile. Seduction of females was his forte and he would give her an enticing performance.

  “Ah we need to choose a good song”, she insisted before he began. ”Oh, I know. ‘Macho Man’”, she shouted out with exuberance.

  “You must be joking”, Jareth snarled with disgust and looked at her in horror.

  “Not at all. Just think at the part ’macho, macho man, I wanna be a macho man’. So sexy”, she crooned and nearly died laughing while Jareth rolled his eyes and sneered.

  “Of all the songs to pick”, he grumbled and took his position.

  As the song got underway, he started conducting his erotic pelvic movements that had Sarah turned on during his last striptease he had performed for her. She could get used to those types of shows. Her libido was fully awake now and started to dance and move along while it was sipping on double margaritas.

  Jareth seductively shook his chest at her, bending towards her, rolling his hips, and shaking his shoulders. She could see his chest underneath his half open shirt, and she was looking forward to winning another strip round to have him lose it as well.

  Ever so slowly, Jareth started to open his buttons on his vest, giving Sarah a lick of his tongue over his lips and a slight growl. She could only stare with fascination.

  “It’s only a vest over a shirt, and I am drooling. What is wrong with me?”

  Once Jareth had all buttons open, he let his vest ever so languidly slide down the back of his shoulder, moving his hips and buttock in small gyrations as he got down on his knees and was oh so dangerously close to her face with his package.

  Sarah’s eyes grew wide, and her face turned red as he was only centimetres away from touching her. She forgot all about the vest as her eyes seemed to be glued to one particular part of his anatomy only. Dark spots appeared on her irises as her pupils dilated from the desire she could no longer control.

  The end of the song was her saving grace, as she could feel the pulsing sensation between her legs and moisture that had started to build up in her panties.

  For emphasis, and to underscore his successful performance, he tossed his vest over her head before he went to take his seat again on the fur rug, juggling the coin over his knuckles until Sarah came back to reality and the game at hand.

  “Are you still with me, Love?” he cooed into her ear and jolted her out of her delirium.

  “Why wouldn’t I?” she grumbled and averted her eyes. “Your turn, round seven and still tight, six to six.”

  “Heads”, Jareth shouted and tossed the coin with a grin.

  “Heads”, Sarah gasped and was overtaken by his mouth and tongue before she could take another breath.

  Her libido was still doing the Macarena from the striptease performance and now went straight into the Moonwalk with the kiss. Maybe a drinking game would have been wiser. At least, she wouldn’t remember half of it, but then again, did she really want to forget his searing kisses and sexy hip rotations?

  “If I wouldn’t know, Precious, I’d say you are starting to enjoy this game much more than I had ever hoped.”

  He teased her with a salacious grin and handed the coin to her with a smug look on his face.

  “Tail.”

  She decided to ignore his sexual innuendos. It was better this way if she wanted to maintain any healthy level of sanity.

  “Oh, so sad, I guess it’s off with the shirt”, Jareth exclaimed with the sultriest voice he could muster.

  Sarah closed her eyes briefly and shook her head. How could he be so damn lucky? She would definitely bring that coin to Sir Didymus for inspection tomorrow.

  “And for the music”, Jareth purred and snapped his fingers as ‘Material Girl’ instantly started to play.

  “Agh”, Sarah winced and threw back her head. “You have the worst song choices”, she complained and threw him an accusatory look.

  “I beg to differ, Love. I think my choices are superb”, he defended himself and moved his finger in a circle, motioning her to get going with the show.

  One more dirty look from her, and she began to do her thing, fully aware she now only had her panties on below her waist.

  “He wants a show, I’ll give him his damn show”, she vowed and grabbed the chair from the makeup desk.

  Jareth’s eyes grew dark again as she straddled herself in the chair, facing him and placing her hands against the backrest. Her legs now spread open, she began to slowly raise herself out of the chair, pushing her hips forward as her back arched, and she dropped her head all the way back, holding on tight to the chair with her hand, so she would not fall backwards.

  Once she was standing, she moved her hips rapidly from side to side and emphasized sticking out her butt. She turned, sat herself down again on the chair and lifted one leg seductively over her head and then brought it back down to the floor, keeping it straight as it slid around the back of the chair causing her hips to rotate and come back to standing.

  She now faced Jareth with her hands behind her back against the backrest of the chair and kept moving in waves down towards the floor, only to come back up again in one fluid motion.

  Slowly, she began to caress her upper body, moving her hands seductively over her breasts and licking her lips. Her eyes focused solely on his and began to have a predatory look in them. Jareth’s nostrils flared as he took in the scent of her pheromones now clearly lingering in the air for him.

  No longer were her jeans obstructing their scent, and it drove him wild, as they screamed desire, lust, want, and passion. Her eyes told him more, so much more than what her mouth had ever told him. He could see her love for him in them. If he could only get her to say it and openly admit to it.

  He didn’t want to linger on this, he only wanted to enjoy the show as she danced solely for him, seductively, erotically, making him come undone with desire for her. Her pelvis was rotating in an inviting manner, her hands slowly dragging her sweatshirt up her body towards her breasts and her shoulder.

  She took hold of the edge of her shirt and with one quick pull removed it over her head. Once freed, she shook her head and tossed it towards Jareth, keeping up her alluring and tempting movements as her hands cupped the underside of both her breasts.

  She wore a matching black lace bra to her black lace panties, and he could see a faint outline of her pubic hair and her nipples, which seemed to be hard and erect. He had to deal with his own erection problems, and he was actually relieved when the song stopped.

  This one was too close for comfort as he palmed his hard member to ease up on the strain inside his pants.

  “By the gods, Sarah”, he moaned with pleasure and quickly emptied his brandy, immediately refilling his glass and chucking it as well.

  Sarah walked over to him, crouched down before him and gave him a close up look of her cleavage before she withdrew and sat herself back down on the rug. He could still smell her pheromones and closed his eyes, growling.

  The night had just gone to another level, he had not anticipated it would reach. He did not care that he lost his bet and would have to be her slave for a day, he absolutely loved this game, and he wanted more, much more.

  “Round eight, and it’s eight for you and six for me”, Sarah proclaimed and tore him away from his wistful, dreamlike state.

  “I’m calling tails this time”, she decided and flipped the coin.

  “Sorry, Love but it is heads”, Jareth whispered with a predatory grin.

  He took his time with the kiss and worked her lips slowly as he teased her with short pecks before he lengthened the kiss, withdrew himself and then slightly parted her mouth with his tongue. He quickly darted in as she opened for him and darted back out, sucking gently on her bottom lip before breaking the kiss.

  “That was different”, Sarah stated with a glazed-over look.

  “It keeps things from getting bored”, he whispered softly. “I have so much more to show you”, he seductively added with a low rumble in his voice, nearly causing her to come undone.

  “Good god, a couple more rounds of this, and I’ll be the one throwing him on the bed. Oh, screw the bed, right here on this fur rug will do.”

  “Ok”, Sarah sighed, out of breath, and tried to refocus.

  What were they doing? Oh, yeah, flipping a coin. And whose turn was it now? She couldn’t remember.

  “It’s your turn, Precious”, Jareth whispered with an amused smirk.

  “Heads?” she more asked it in the form of a question than a statement, but it would do.

  “Well, would you look at this? It is heads”, Jareth said with surprised. “What song does the lady request?”

  “Hey Mickey”, Sarah replied with a little devilish grin.

  Jareth furrowed his brows. He was not familiar with it, but it didn’t matter. He would wing it.

  “Sit back, enjoy the show, and be totally amazed”, he instructed Sarah before he began.

  She had a hard time containing her mirth and giggled behind her hand.

  “Whatever Your Majesty wants”, she mocked him and licked her lips.

  As the music began, Jareth did his best to swoon her the way he had done before. This time, it was his shirt, he would be showing off his skin and bare chest. He only hoped she could handle it.

  He started to rub his hands seductively across his pecs and his abs, toying with the waistband of his pants as if he couldn’t decide what to take off this time.

  He hooked his thumbs into them and slightly pulled them down to nearly his pubic bone level before he let go and waved his finger in front of Sarah’s face, who had become wide-eyed.

  “Tease”, she hissed under her breath and smiled, her eyes not leaving his body.

  Jareth refocused on his shirt, constantly rocking his hips to the rhythm of the music, even touching his crotch while he erotically thrust his pelvis forward and towards Sarah’s face, who herself had forgotten to breath.

  “Holy shit, I need some paper towels to wipe, I’m gushing”, her mind and libido yelled at her, but she was stuck on the rug, watching Jareth in awe as he performed his most erotic dance to date.

  He opened the laces of his shirt, kneeling in front of her, gyrating his pelvis and arching his back as he grabbed her hands again and rubbed them down his bare chest and his stomach as his shirt became undone.

  He briefly let her hands rest on his lower abs before he moved them closer and let her nearly brush over his hard manhood, hidden behind fabric yet so vividly displayed.

  As soon as he had ghosted them across his crotch, he let go of them, but Sarah didn’t withdraw them. She wanted to take hold of him again. Jareth smiled over the effect he had on her.

  He took her hands again and placed them against his naked shoulders, teasing her to pull his shirt over his head, which she did. As soon as it hit the floor, he shook his upper body and arched his back again, fully displaying his complete bare upper body to her.

  Sarah was so close to his hardened nipples and had to restrain herself not to reach out and flick her tongue against them. He played with himself in the most erotic way and let out blissful moans every so often.

  When the music stopped, he seemed to be quite spent, as he was breathing hard, and his upper torso was covered with a thin sheet of glistening sweat. Sarah reached out and let her fingers run smoothly down the middle of his chest until she reached his waistband before she pulled back.

  “I see the lady approved”, Jareth huffed, still breathing hard.

  “Very much so”, Sarah replied and almost leaned in to kiss him before her senses returned to her, and she withdrew with a wicked smile.

  “Round nine coming up, and it is nine to seven. You’re in the lead, for now”, she stated, handing the coin over to Jareth.

  “What are we going to do if we run out of clothing to strip?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure. We’ll decide when and if we get there”, Sarah replied while biting her lips.

  She hadn’t even thought of that possibility and apparently neither had he.

  “Tails”, Jareth whispered, and the coin sailed through the air.

  “Not this time”, Sarah cheered and gave him an ardent kiss, cupping his cheek into her hand and closing her eyes.

  For a few moments, they forgot they were playing a game and found themselves lost in the sweetness and tenderness of the kiss. Jareth moaned lightly into her mouth as Sarah deepened it before she pulled back and released his lips ever so slowly.

  “I like this”, she said with closed eyes.

  “Me too”, Jareth responded and placed his forehead against hers.

  “We need to finish”, Sarah brought him back to reality and sat back down. “Heads”, she called, but the coin displayed tails, causing Jareth’s eyes to flicker with such intensity that Sarah thought he had burnt a circuit in his brain.

  Sarah sat motionless and stared at the coin, trying to comprehend what was going on. Was she ready to show Jareth that much of her body? Panties or bra, those were her only options. Of course, there was no option. She would not skip the bra and take off her panties, but even though, the thought of him seeing her bare breasts made her feel anxious all over again.

  She glanced over at Jareth and saw the excitement in his eyes. If Christmas, Easter, Birthday, and Halloween had all come on one day, it would nowhere be sufficient to describe the happy look on Jareth’s face. He was literally glowing.

  “What song do you want, Love?” he asked quietly, with his low rumbling sexy baritone voice.

  “Um, what?” she asked and looked at him.

  “What song do you want to dance to?” he repeated his question.

  This time his amusement shone through like the bright sun through a crystal-clear window.

  “I don’t.... I.... let me think. Um....” she stuttered, trying feverishly to come up with a suitable song that would not be too seductive and raunchy.

  “I got one”, he declared, and the decision had been made.

  “Aw shit”, Sarah thought.

  Before she could linger on his song choice, he had already helped her to stand up as he sat himself down again, leaning back onto his elbow, cocking one knee to let his arm rest on it, while he let the other leg stretch out before him.

  With the flick of his wrist the music started. Sarah held her breath as she strained to hear the first few notes of the mystery song that would decide her fate right now.

  She swallowed hard and took the first step as she heard the snapping of the fingers and the piano starting the melody ‘All that jazz’. Oh, she knew it well, one of her favourite songs. She also remembered the seductive dance scene in the movie, and she did her best to recreate it.

  She threw herself into the role of a seductress and began to roll her hips, swaying them in an erotic walk. She laid across the chair with her head tilted back and her legs straight up in the air.

  She let her arms move in a titillating manner and her hands stroked and caressed her upper body. She moved off the chair and stood up. Her lips were slightly parted and her stare intense.

  Her countenance was inscrutable as she moved ever so closer to Jareth, looking down at him like a predator while standing over him and straddling his body before she lowered herself all the while swinging her hips, only to come back to standing.

  She stepped aside, throwing herself onto the floor and crawling back towards him like a cat on a prowl, growling, hissing, and snarling at him. Her eyes focused on his, her tongue licked her lips as she turned onto her arched back, one leg up in the air, bend. All the while her hands were cupping her own breasts and squeezing them.

  Jareth’s tongue hung out of his mouth and dragged on the floor. His heart had stopped beating. Whether he was breathing, he couldn’t tell. His erection had become painful as it strained against the fabric of his pants with such strength he was about to toss them off him.

  Lucky for him, the song only lasted two minutes, and Sarah had timed it exactly right. During the last few beats, she reached around her bra, unclasped it, and lowered it down her front, her hands holding tight to it. She turned her back towards him and tossed the bra over her head and into his lap.

  He eagerly grabbed it and held it to his nose, inhaling her scent deeply into his orifice. His eyes were black and owl like, his breathing irregular and shallow, and the strain on his pants unbearable.

  Just as the music stopped, Sarah turned towards him with her hands crossed over her breasts. She stared at him as she stopped and stood motionless before him. He had returned to his seated position, the pain from his strained erection clearly on his face.

  A wicked smile washed over Sarah’s face as she noticed his predicament. She bent over him while keeping her hands in place and gave him a chaste kiss on his lips.

  “How did you like it?” she purred into his ear and flicked her tongue over his earlobe before she returned to her seat, still clutching her breasts.

  He winced in agony and panted hard. His nostrils were flared, but he did not give in so easily.

  “I want to see them”, he growled and placed his hands over Sarah’s. “That’s part of the rules. Let me see them.”

  His eyes beseeched her, and she swallowed hard, her anxiety returning, but she let him grasp her hands and did not resist when he gently moved them away from her breasts. He lowered them to her side, exposing both her well rounded breasts to his stunned gaze.

  “You are beyond beautiful”, he muttered in reverence with another wince, stood up, and disappeared into the bathroom with three long hasty strides, slamming the door behind him.

  Sarah sat confounded on the fur rug, wondering what she had done wrong. She could hear some muffled sounds coming from the bathroom and the running of water. After a few moment, a very bedraggled Goblin King reappeared with a flushed face and once again clear blue eyes.

  She could tell the bulge in his pants had considerably lessened, and she gave him a curious look.

  “I am sorry, Love, but I was a bit overtaken by your performance, and then looking upon your beauty is all I could take. I’m fine now. Nothing a little bit of ice-cold water can remedy.”

  He grinned sheepishly, and Sarah couldn’t help but to gently stroke his cheek.

  “I’m honoured to have such an effect on you. I can honestly say no other man ever reacted like you to my body, or dancing.”

  “Then they were all fools. And no other ever will besides me”, he growled and captured her lips with his in a passionate kiss.

  “You’re cheating”, she whispered softly. “The game’s not over. Do I need to impose a penalty on you?”

  Jareth frowned and sat back, retreating to his side of the fur rug.

  “You drive a hard bargain after your torture.”

  “Maybe, I feel magnanimous enough myself and let this one slide”, she teased him and took the coin in her hand.

  “Round ten, and you’re up by two only,” she grinned and tossed the coin up in the air as she shouted heads.

  “Heads it is”, Jareth declared and awaited his kiss, but Sarah sat inert, contemplating with her finger on her lips.

  “Technically you already got that kiss”, she stated matter-of-factly as Jareth’s face fell.

  “But you said....”

  “All I said was that I would not impose a penalty, not that I would not count this kiss as a loan so to speak. Sorry, Your Majesty, no kiss coming your way.”

  She gave him a smug look and handed him the coin. He tried to protest and waved his hand around, inadvertently tossing the coin up in the air and unable to call it before it came crashing down. Jareth sat with his mouth gaped open.

  “You just forfeited another toss. Off with those pants”, Sarah snickered.

  “That’s not fair”, he whined and caused Sarah to lose herself in a chortling fit.

  “What’s your basis for comparison, Jareth?” she squeaked out between laughter attacks.

  Jareth frowned and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

  “Just pick the damn song”, he pouted, and Sarah grimaced her face in concentration, trying to think of good songs for his dance.

  “It‘s raining men”, she shouted out and pointed her finger at him giggling uncontrollably.

  The only benefit Jareth got from her giggling fits was the fact she was not concerned about covering her breasts during that time, which gave him many opportunities to study them.

  “Fine, if that is your choice song”, he capitulated and stood up.

  “Play it Sam”, she giggled, and Jareth gave her another bewildered look.

  “It’s a movie, Jareth. Don’t worry about it. Start the song”, she waved him off.

  “It’s raining men, hallelujah, it’s raining men....” the music blared, and Jareth began his erotic display again.

  He rolled his hips temptingly close to Sarah’s face as she blushed slightly but was too busy covering her breasts again with her hands. Jareth went down on his knees and bent his body all the way back against the floor while he took her hands and had them brush lightly over his crotch.

  Sarah flinched from the actual touch. It was the first time she had made real contact with that area, and she bit her bottom lip with renewed anxiety as well as desire and want.

  Her libido had already exploded earlier and was sending out Code Red flares for rescue, hopefully in the form of a naked Goblin King on top of her.

  Jareth had looked right into her eyes as her hands gently swept over his package, and the flicker in her eyes and twitch of her nose told him everything he needed to know. A few more moves like this, and she would be nothing more than melted ice cream on a hot August day.

  He smirked deviously, gyrated his hip in his quite obscene pose and then slowly started to move his ever so tight pants down his hips. Sarah held her breath as his trousers inched down his pelvis and started to approach the bulgy area. Jareth shimmied himself to a kneeling position again, ever so close in front of Sarah and stood up rapidly, lifting her up with him.

  He had one arm around her waist as he pressed her against his hips, rotating and thrusting with each drumbeat of the song. With each crescendo, he intensified his hip rolls all the while holding her gaze with his intensive inscrutable stare.

  Sarah was getting quite hot and started to sweat lightly, and she knew it had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. Jareth rolled circles around her, never quite breaking the touch with her but loosening up enough to have her watch his entire body.

  He obscenely rolled his hips again and worked his pants down, little by little, until he grabbed them and tore them off in one move. Sarah’s head snapped back at the sound of ripping fabric, and she saw him standing in nothing but a small, dark-blue speedo.

  “Of course, he is wearing a god damn speedo. What happened to his boxers? That’s not fair. And his package is about to fall out of it too. Geez, I’m going to die and go straight to heaven.”

  Sarah gasped at him and tried to move back, but he took her hands again and slowly moved them over his butt cheeks.

  “Speedo my ass, it’s a freakin’ thong. And oh my god his skin is so soft.”

  He kept holding on to her hands and pressed his lower body into hers as he kept moving her hands up and down his firm arse, never breaking eye contact. Sarah could feel him growing harder with each movement and internally cursed herself.

  “Why did you have to change the game from flip, kiss, and sip to flip, kiss, and strip?” her mind scolded her.

  “Because we are finally living the la Vida loca, my friend”, her libido yelled out in exuberance and led the conga line around her imaginary party room while confetti was raining down on the participants.

  She was so engulfed in her thoughts that she hadn’t even noticed the song had come to an end, and she was standing with Jareth’s ripped pants in her hands while he had already seated himself again.

  “Round eleven, and I’m up by two, Precious,” he whispered with a dangerous glare in his eyes and a deviant little smirk around his lips.

  “Just call it and toss your coin”, Sarah demanded but was becoming quite anxious now, considering there were three rounds left with only one piece of clothing remaining.

  “Tail”, Jareth called.

  “Heads”, came Sarah’s smug answer.

  When Jareth kissed her this time her lips trembled slightly, thinking about what was to come for the next coin toss. He could feel her worries and anxiety and didn’t push it.

  “Your toss, Precious”, he whispered, and Sarah only looked at him with big eyes as she quietly took the coin into her hand.

  T... t... tail”, she stuttered and let it fall.

  She closed her eyes and bent over to see what it said and then sat up with a shock, a shock of relief.

  “Tails, it is tails”, Jareth remarked as if it were the most normal thing, and he was asked to bring in the milk. “Well, I guess here goes nothing.”

  He stood up and looked down at Sarah, who gazed up at him with her mouth open.

  “I want my necklace and your medallion to count as a piece of clothing”, she whispered, knowing that she only earned herself one short reprieve.

  Jareth cocked his head and seemed to contemplate her suggestion. He could see the anxiety in her eyes.

  “Precious, we are two mature adults. Nothing is going to happen to you. It’s not like you have not been naked in front of a man or vice versa.”

  “I know, it’s just....” she trailed off in thoughts before she finished.

  “It’s just what?” he asked with a soft smile on his lips.

  She wouldn’t answer and only sat there with an empty look in her eyes.

  “If it will put you at ease, we can count our necklaces”, he agreed quietly. “But you know it will only prolong the inevitable by one round.

  He gave her a smirk and placed the amulet unceremoniously onto the fur rug. He was right, it was kind of a buzz kill. Inwardly, she had looked forward to another raunchy edition of a Goblin King’s strip dance.

  “Ok, round twelve”, she said with a slightly more confident voice.

  “I’m still up by two, Love”, he smirked.

  “Tails”, she shouted, but tails she didn’t get.

  This time, Jareth did not hold back on his kiss, as he launched himself forward and performed a full-frontal attack on her mouth with his tongue, He even clasped the underside of her breasts, which left her in such shock, she forgot to fight back.

  “And again, you broke the rule. What was that you did with your hands? Who said anything about touching private parts?” she hit back.

  “You show me the writing of this rule, and we can discuss it. Until then, I would suggest we continue with this game”, he haughtily retorted and tossed his coin before she could argue back.

  “Heads”, he called just in time as it landed in the middle.

  “What is it?” she asked scared, barely peeking through her fingers she had placed in front of her eyes.

  “Heads”, came the whispered answer from Jareth.

  Sarah’s heart quit beating for an instance before she expelled her breath with a sigh of relief, having remembered her necklace. She placed it in the middle of the rug, and Jareth took it quietly. The next round would definitely decide who would lose it all.

  “Heads” Jareth declared with a smug grin.

  “Tail, ha, ha”, Sarah laughed and gave him a quick peck on the tip of his nose.

  “What the hell was that?” he spat.

  “A kiss in complete compliance with the rules”, she replied with the utmost calmness in her voice.

  “You want a war, Precious, you can have a war”, he hissed and tossed the coin into her lap with a devious smile. “I had just been generous with you and allowed you to use a piece of jewellery to be considered a piece of clothing for this game. No more allowances, no more generosity.”

  Sarah swallowed hard as her heartbeat sped up. He had sounded almost angry, even though his face and eyes said otherwise. Was he just messing with her mind now?

  “Fae bastard is playing a mind game now.”

  “Tails”, she shouted, holding his gaze every bit as hard.

  “Tails it is”, she heard him announce, and then she saw his deviant smirk appear on his face.

  “Oh, no, he is going to enjoy this, isn’t he?” she winced and rubbed her hands over her face in frustration.

  “Pick the song, Precious”, he sneered with a licentious grin and licked his lips.

  “Um....”

  She tried to come up with a suitable song that at least would even the odds out again at little bit. “How about ‘Pour some sugar on me’, by Def Leppard?”

  If Sarah had thought Jareth would object to this song, she was sadly mistaken. Jareth’s predatory grin widened, and his eyes flashed dangerously.

  “Perfect”, he growled so low it made every tiny hair on her back stand up straight.

  Jareth waved his hand and began.

  “Step inside, walk this way, you and me babe, hey, hey....”

  He moved his hips in a rolling motion as he had done earlier, except this time, all he had on was his speedo thong, and he turned his back to her, shaking and shimmying his arse in front of her face.

  Sarah was mesmerized and forgot everything else around her. She could hear the music screaming as Jareth had turned up the volume and only saw his naked body, glistening with the slightest hint of sweat mixed with his natural glitter on his ivory skin.

  “He is a fuckin’ god. Check out that god given ass. Take me now and sing a glory hallelujah for me.”

  Her libido was out of control, and when he took her hand and pulled her up against his chest, she was unable to resist him. He grind his hips against hers, and she could feel her juices building inside of her, dampening her panties, and making her want to grab him and force him onto the rug with her.

  “Now c’mon, take a bottle, shake it up, break the bubble, break it up....”

  He crooned the lyrics as he ever so invitingly rolled his hips and rubbed his package against her already aroused and dampened area. Still, she could not resist and moved along with his hip rotations, matching his every move.

  She felt him getting hard, she felt herself losing control and started to moan as she involuntarily leaned into him and took his face, holding it tight against her bare breasts. Where had all that come from?

  For a moment, Jareth was taken aback by her boldness but soon recovered and came back for more. He took her hands and guided them over his bare butt cheeks while his hips kept thrusting against her pelvis, growing ever so stiffer.

  He took her hand and guided her thumbs to hook into the waistband of his speedos, guiding them down towards his thighs. She eagerly complied and pulled them down over his now near full erection.

  The speedos fell to the floor, his cock sprung forward, now free of any constraints, and yet, he kept grinding on her as the chorus roared.

  “Pour some sugar on me, ooh, in the name of love, pour some sugar on me, c’mon, fire me up, pour some sugar on me, I can’t get enough....”

  He sang perfectly along in his rich baritone voice, and Sarah moaned with pleasure, tossing back her head as her hands reached for him. He kept teasing her by pulling back as soon as she got close, denying her the satisfaction of a touch, and then he pushed her down on her knees at the end of the song.

  He stood perfectly still while he had her gaze directly at his very stiff and erect member, pointing directly at her face only centimetres away. Sarah immediately fell back onto her butt and lowered her eyes while turning as red as a bushel of beets.

  “Hallelujah, did you see the size of that? Glorious days are ahead of us”, her libido celebrated as if infused with ecstasy, and her mind fully agreed that he indeed was very well endowed and worth of exploration.

  Jareth breathed hard and sunk down into a cross-legged position looking straight at Sarah.

  “I’m sorry if I shocked you. I got a bit carried away”, he admitted sheepishly, and Sarah was stunned at his apology.

  “That’s quite all right. I actually enjoyed it very much”, she admitted honestly without looking at him. “I believe it is your toss”, she added to finish whatever this had turned into up for the night.

  “Very well, heads it is”, he smirked. “In more than one meaning.”

  “Really, Jareth”, Sarah scolded him, shaking her head. “You won the kiss.”

  He leaned forward and despite the little scuffle they had earlier, he kissed her tenderly and with all the emotions he could pour into his kiss. He gently sucked her bottom lip, slightly biting down, before applying the same ministrations to her upper lip.

  Sarah moaned into his kiss, and pressed her hands against his torso, completely forgetting that he was stark naked now and still highly aroused.

  “I think we have come a long way together”, he whispered after the kiss and gently rested his forehead against hers.

  “Yes, we have”, Sarah agreed before taking the coin for the last time, hoping that she would get another full Monty show instead of having to remove the last piece of safety from her own body.

  “Tails”, she whispered and held her breath while Jareth’s eyes were fixated on the flying coin.

  He followed it all the way towards the rug and stared at it as it landed. Sarah didn’t dare to look and waited for Jareth’s reaction. His eyes had gone pitch black, and the markings around his eyes seemed to glow in the dim light before they suddenly turned dreadfully dark.

  “Jareth?” Sarah whispered with heightened concern. “What is it?”

  “Heads”, he whispered, barely audible as he grabbed underneath her arms and stood her up.

  “This can’t be happening. I am not ready for him to see all of me. I can still bolt for the door”, her mind wailed at her.

  “No, I can do this. He did it for me, so I’ll do it for him. It’ll be.... fun and erotic”, her libido tried to salvage the moment.

  Sarah looked at him with resolute eyes. There was no way of getting out of this. It was only a game. Jareth had given here the performance of a lifetime, and she could do the same. She was safe with him.

  Despite of his now extreme lustful feral look, he would never do anything she would not approve of or give her consent to. Yes, she was safe with him. It would be fun; it was all just for fun.

  Had it been any other male, she would have already dashed for the door. With Jareth, however, she wanted to give him a show the way he had done for her.

  “Sarah? Are you okay?” he asked concerned about her silence.

  “Pick a song”, she responded and then gave him a coy smile. “I’m peachy.”

  “I got a good one you’ll like. ‘You can leave your hat on’. I’ll sing it for you”, he offered in a sultry voice, and Sarah nodded.

  “You have a beautiful voice, Jareth, I like to hear you sing.”

  She was still nervous, but feeling his hands on her waist, standing oh so close to her in his current state of undress, even though he was now near flaccid, sent shivers through her body again.

  She knew she wanted him; he knew she wanted him, yet he made no move to infringe on her territory. He left it all up to her; it was her choice.

  “Start”, she directed him, and he began to gently sway her hips sideways along with his.

  He kept his distance; this was her performance; he would only guide her along.

  “Baby, take off your coat, real slow, take off your shoes, I’ll take off your shoes, baby take off you dress, yes, yes, yes....” Jareth crooned softly to the music as Sarah moved gently but still timidly to the rhythm.

  “You can leave your hat on, you can leave your hat on, sweet darling....”

  Sarah smiled at the lyrics. She should have worn a hat. Next time, she would make sure to wear one. The music seemed to be intoxicating, or was it the closeness of Jareth and his scent of leather and spices? She couldn’t be sure, but her body began to loosen up and move easier.

  She was still a bit self-conscious about being so exposed in front of him and turned her back towards him to shake her butt and sway her hips seductively from side to side before she turned back around with her hands grasping her breasts and successfully covering them up.

  Jareth didn’t mind, as it added to her sultry performance, and he felt himself growing hard again. He hoped it would lead to much more after this show. Sarah gave him a nervous smile as she pulled her arms together in front of her breasts to keep them as covered as possible while her hands moved down towards the thin waistband of her lace panties.

  Jareth leaned forward to get a closer look as he licked his lips in anticipation. His erection was becoming increasingly difficult to control. Sarah started to hook her thumbs into the top of her panties.

  “I wish the Goblin King would come and take you away right now.”

  “Bloody hell, not now. Nothing for fifteen years and now two in a bloody row. Those blasted....” Jareth yelled as his body stiffened and a breeze whirled around them.

  Sarah stopped her dancing and looked at him with bewilderment, completely forgetting to cover up her breasts as she tried to figure out what was happening. The music had stopped, and Jareth stood before her in his full battle regalia and a very pissed off face.

  “What the hell?” Sarah asked as Jareth scoffed with disdain.

  “A summons. I have to go and either talk someone out of running or tend to their run in the Labyrinth.”

  “What, now?” Sarah asked incredulous.

  “Runners never ask if it is convenient for me. I am sorry, Love, but I have to get going and take care of this. I am afraid our game for the night is over. Hopefully, I won’t have a recalcitrant wisher, who is going to be difficult.”

  He looked at her with pitiful eyes while Sarah sighed with disappointment.

  “You mean, recalcitrant like I was?” she asked with a weak smirk as her face clearly showed her disappointment.

  “You were not recalcitrant, Love. You were.... determined”, he softly responded with a cocked head and impish grin on his lips as she let out a snort.

  “I’m sorry, Precious, but I got to go.” 

  “Ok, if that’s the way it is done, then that’s the way it must be done. Come and talk to me when you are finished.”

  She stroked his face and leaned in for a tender kiss. He hungrily latched on to her lips and sought out her tongue with his, gently pressing her head against his, with his hand entwined in her hair.

  They were still attached to each other as he faded from her sight and her touch, and Sarah was left standing with his touch and taste on her lips and her tongue.

  “Talk about buzz kill’, she groaned and sat herself back down on the rug, flipping the coin through the air and wondering what she should do next.

  After a few minutes, she walked into his bedroom and laid down under the covers in his bed. At least, she would be there to greet him when he would get back, whenever that may be.

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Chapter Text

  Sarah slowly blinked open her eyes, taking in her surroundings and found herself ensconced in the arms of the Goblin King. A big smile crossed her face as she gently squeezed the hand that was attached to the arm that had wrapped itself around her body and rested close by her chest and neck.

  She placed a gentle kiss onto his hand and held it tight to her cheek. After Jareth had been called away suddenly last night to take care of a runner and wished-away, she had felt lonely and somewhat lost and had decided to slip under the covers of his bed.

  It had been his wish, after all, for her to spend the next three nights in his bed in the state of undress she was in once the game had finished, and he had won the game.

  Or at least it appeared he had. Technically, the game had not been concluded when he had received the summons. She would have to ask him about this later.

  The total lack of reaction after kissing his hand told her he was still sound asleep. She wondered when he had come back, as she had not heard nor felt him enter the bed last night. She listened to his deep even breaths and a warm feeling encroached on her heart.

  “The runner must have taken the offered dreams, or he would not have been back yet. I’m glad”, she thought to herself and briefly closed her eyes again to copiously indulge in the warmth of his body so closely pressed up against hers.

  Her mind replayed the event from last night and a slight blush appeared on her face, followed by a much more pleasant feeling between her legs. The memory of his nearly complete naked body writhing in front of her in the most erotic manner had stirred a deep feeling of arousal and soon had her libido screaming at her in uproar.

  She was surprised with how comfortable she had actually felt around him, despite the lack of clothing. Oh, how close they had come to making love that night, how close she had come to telling him how deeply she felt about him, and how she almost had declared her love for him.

  “Damn runner. That was THE worst timing.”

  A slight frown had worked its way onto her face as she stared out into the room while laying perfectly still. She wondered if she had interrupted something important when she had wished away her brother that fateful night. A slight ping went through her heart at the thought that he may have been in the middle of doing what they were about to do the night she had called on him.

  “Don’t go there, Sarah. So, what if he had. It was before he met you, and he already told you he had been abstinent for the past fifteen years. He may have been doing nothing at the time. Quit lingering in the past.”

  At times, her mind did make a lot of sense if she could only make herself listen to it.

  Fifteen years. Sarah couldn’t even imagine not having any form of sex with someone for that long, and all because he was pining over her. She wanted to cry over how much pain she had caused him. Six little words had prevented him from coming to her, and he had been utterly helpless about it until she had called on him.

  “How cruel”, she thought.

  She wondered how her life would have unfolded had he been able to come to her, or if she had called on him sooner. Would she have been his queen, his wife, for the past fifteen or ten years? He had admitted she had been too young back then, so he surely would have waited a few years with that. Would they have children by now?

  She sighed and carefully glanced over her shoulder but could only see an unruly mass of blonde hair with his face buried into the crook of her neck. She smiled.

  He looked so normal and innocent at this very moment. Nothing like the mercurial and intimidating Goblin King, the magical and otherworldly fae, who had stolen her heart.

 “You may not have stolen my brother, but you surely stole my heart”, she whispered too quiet to be heard by him, or so she thought.

  “I never steal anything, Love. It is wished to me, or I win it”, he murmured into her neck and placed a tender kiss upon it before he picked up his head and gave her a sly grin.

  “You’re awake? Did you hear what I just said?” she asked, hoping he hadn’t heard the part about her heart.

  “Something about stealing”, he mumbled back and started to place small kisses against her neck and shoulder, sending shivers of pleasure through her body.

  “I’ve heard every word you just said, Precious.”

  “Oh, good, he didn’t hear everything.”

  She heaved a sigh of relief and turned herself around in his arms to lay on her back.

  “I take it the runner gave up?” she inquired while staring at the ceiling.

  He stopped his ministrations of her neck and propped himself up on his elbow while his free hand played with a loose strand of her hair, carefully twirling it between his fingers.

  “After a couple of hours. He never even made it to the worm, or in his case, a pit viper. Some young man, who had a fight with his teenage girlfriend over the burden of raising a child.”

  “A pit viper?” Sarah gasped with horror and gave him a shocked look.

  “He is not a young teenage girl with fairy-tale imagination, Love”, Jareth grinned slyly. “The Labyrinth adjusts itself to each runner’s personal perceptions and believes.”

  “So, what is going to happen now? The child I mean.”

  “The child will be adopted by a wonderful fae couple, who has been waiting for over two-hundred years already. The little girl will have a great life. And for the mortal couple, their memories of ever having had a child has been erased and hopefully they will make wiser choices from here on out.”

  Sarah still looked up at the ceiling in silence, musing over everything Jareth had just told her. It was all in line with what Sir Didymus had told her.

  “Jareth, did we ever finish our game last night? With you being called away, I was just wondering.”

  Technically, no, but since I left before its conclusion, I basically forfeited the game, which means you won.”

  He gave her an intense look, trying to gauge her reaction. He figured she would be celebrating that she had won another game, but she didn’t, and it kind of surprised him, especially her response.

  “That doesn’t seem fair. You had no choice in the matter.”

  Jareth let go of a loud laugh and placed a lively kiss onto her forehead.

  “It may not be fair, but that’s the way it is. No need to cry over it, and I don’t mind. I surely would have loved to find you naked in my bed the next three mornings, but at least I still got one out of it, since you did so generously decide to come to my bed last night regardless.”

  He gave her a smug little smirk, and Sarah rolled her eyes at him.

  “That’s because I thought I had lost the game”, she scoffed.

  “Was that the only reason, Love?” he asked, once again kissing her neck.

  “No”, she admitted quietly without looking at him.

  When she did turn her face towards him, he pressed his lips eagerly against hers. It was not a deep tongue infused passionate kiss, and it was not a chaste kiss. It was a kiss full of feelings, full of the love he harboured in his heart for her. It was a kiss that asked her to stay with him forever.

  When he finished the kiss and pulled back, he could see tears on the verge of falling shimmering in her eyes. She hastily worked herself out of his arm and ran into the bathroom. Jareth gave a deep sigh and reclined himself back into a prone position. She still was not quite ready.

  After a few minutes, she reappeared with a shy smile on her face and his robe wrapped around her.

  “I think I should get back to my room, take a quick bath, and get dressed.”

  Jareth looked at her silently, cocking his head slightly. His countenance was soft but otherwise unreadable.

  “Sarah, I have a surprise planned for you today.”

  “A surprise?” she drawled with widened eyes and stepped closer to his bed.

  “I know it is your birthday, and I thought you may would like to go out on a date with me.”

  He studied her expression and was relieved to see a happy grin replacing the hint of uneasiness that had lingered from before.

  “What do you have in mind?” she asked eagerly, excitement now clearly visible on her face.

  Jareth pulled back his blankets and stepped out of his bed, still wearing his speedo thong from the night before. He only shrugged and grinned sheepishly when he noticed Sarah’s stunned look and then a blush creeping back into her face.

  “I know you like it”, he whispered into her ear as he passed her on his way to the bathroom.

  Her eyes followed him as he disappeared into the washroom and lingered on his tight buttock, which again stirred certain longings in her loins. It didn’t take long before he reappeared, still only in his offensively erotic underwear.

  “I could’ve taken them off last night, Precious. I usually sleep naked”, he smirked and leaned casually against his wardrobe with no intention of putting on more clothes.

  “Aren’t you going to get dressed?” she asked unsure of why he stood there motionless, staring at her.

  “I thought we were discussing our plans for today”, he smirked.

  “Oh, right”, she murmured back. “So, what is it you have planned?” she asked, having regained most of her composure.

  “I am going to give you the best date you ever had”, he replied with a haughty smile.

  “The best date ever. Isn’t that a mighty big promise?” she teased him back.

  “It is a bet, my love. I bet you that I will give you the best date you ever had.”

  “What will you give me if I win the bet?” she asked slyly. “And remember you lost your bet last night too and owe me a day as my slave boy”, she added for good measures.

  “What is it you want?” he asked back, thoroughly amused now.

  “Let me think about it while I take a bath this morning”, she replied with a sultry look in her eyes, causing Jareth to quirk both of his eyebrows.

  “I could join you and help you decide”, he offered with a playful smile.

  “Not likely”, she laughed and made her way towards the doors to her chamber before she stopped and turned back towards him. “You show me the best date ever tonight, and I shall let you take a bath with me afterwards.”

  Jareth’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull and turned dark as the feral expression returned to his face.

  “I said bath only. Nothing else, so don’t get any big ideas”, she added with a smirk on her face, which was followed by a gleeful look, all the while his own disposition fell once again into the basement.

  “Cruel wench, we’ll see about that”, he hissed under his breath and turned to take care of his own ablutions in his bathroom.

  Sarah giggled at the thought and closed her chamber door.

**************************************************

  Since Jareth had to get a few more royal duties to take care of this morning, Queen Alia had asked Sarah to join her in the garden for a stroll. Céline was still in her room with an upset stomach. Apparently, she had swallowed some bog water that hadn’t sat well with her.

  Sarah wasn’t sure whether to laugh or feel sorry for the princess when Alia had informed her of this unfortunate mishap.

  “I do hope she recovers soon and without any lasting effects”, Sarah replied as they were walking through the gardens.

  “You have a good heart, Sarah”, Alia mentioned with a smile. “Most other fae women would have wished her straight into the bog or into an oubliette.”

  “Oh, I’m not saying I’m a saint and don’t secretly wish her something like that, but I would never say it out loud to anyone. Maybe to Jareth I would, since he loves to bog folks”, she added with a laugh, and Alia joined in.

  “I can see what my son sees in you. You are honest and caring, you are loyal, and you fight for what you believe in. I can tell the goblins and other subjects of his kingdom love you. I have never seen them act like this with anyone else before. Do you love him, Sarah?”

  Queen Alia had stopped her walk and turned her gaze on Sarah. She watched the girl blush and then avert her eyes quickly, only to come back and hold her gaze as she gave her answer.

  “Wow, that woman doesn’t mince words, does she? Straight for the jugular.”

  “Yes, I do. I have loved him for years, but I only recently realized it.”

  “How is that?” Alia kept pressing.

  “I always thought he was but a mere dream, a figment of my imagination. How can you fall in love with someone who is not real? But apparently, I based all my past relationships on him. Every one of my ex-boyfriends looked similar to him. Tall, slender, blonde hair, blue eyes, British vernacular.”

  Sarah gave a faint smile, and Alia nodded in understanding.

  “Is that why you never stayed with any of them?” Alia kept asking.

  “I think so. They were close to my imaginary man, I mean to Jareth, but they never could quite live up to my expectations of him. It just wasn’t quite right, they lacked something.”

  “And what was that?” Alia smiled at her with eyes who conveyed an understanding on a much deeper level.

  “They did not love me, and I did not love them. It was a relationship of convenience. I don’t think I have ever been in love, and it scares me. The feelings I have for Jareth go way beyond normal love; I don’t quite understand it myself. It feels like I am standing on top of a cliff, and in order to get what I want, I have to jump off it, but I am afraid. What if I crash and die upon landing? What if I make it, but what I want is not there anymore? What if it is all an illusion?”

  Alia nodded as they continued on their walk.

  “I understand what your problem is, and it is completely normal to feel this way. Sarah, believe me when I tell you that Jareth is devoted to you and always will be. He also no longer has a choice in that matter.”

  “What do you mean? Don’t we all have choices in the matter of the heart?”

  “Not as a fae. We can only love one time in our entire existence. If we give our heart to someone, it is for life. If we are rejected and our love is unrequited, then we wither away and die without ever being able to love again. Jareth gave you his heart. He can never love another ever again, nor would he ever want to. He loves you more than anything else in his existence.”

  Sarah stopped and looked at Alia with a stunned expression, her heart beating wildly against her chest.

  “Are you saying, Jareth gave me his heart, and if I don’t reciprocate, he will eventually die?”

  “No, that is not what I am saying. What I am saying is, tell him how you feel about him. He’s been waiting for you to say the words. You have been holding his heart hostage for fifteen years, Sarah. Keep it and give him yours or return his. It is time to make the jump of the cliff. Jump and trust in the Fates. He will be there for you.”

  “I’ll be there for you.... as the world falls down.”

  Sarah remembered the words from his song to her in the ballroom. He had told her then he would be there to catch her, if things fall down, if she jumps, he’ll be there for her.

  “Falling.... falling in love.... as the world falls down.... makes no sense to fall.”

  “I need to tell him”, Sarah whispered. “I was planning on telling him today.”

  Alia smiled and nodded her head as she gave Sarah a warm embrace.

  “In that case, I say welcome to the family, my dear child. I know you’ll make him happy. He has some plans for you today he told me.”

  Alia gave a cryptic smile but didn’t divulge anything else.

  “Yes, he told me”, Sarah laughed. “And he already made a bet that he will give me the best date I ever had.”

  “That would be him, betting on a perfect date. Make sure he wins the bet is all I’m going to tell you”, she smiled mysteriously and walked off, leaving Sarah standing alone in the garden, pondering over the last words of Alia.

  “Why do fae always have to be so freakin’ cryptic?” she moaned and tilted her head back in frustration.

  She could see the windows of the castle and Celine standing out on her balcony glaring down at her. Maybe all subjects of Jareth loved her, but this fae woman standing up on that balcony did definitely not love her. Just the opposite.

  Sarah would have to be careful around her and watch her back. She was all too familiar about the scorn of a rejected ex-girlfriend, and this one had the ability for magic.

  “Just try it bitch, and I’ll toss you into the bog before you can twitch the tip of your nose or cross your arms and nod.”

  With that comforting thought on her mind, Sarah went to meet up with Jareth in his throne room.

**************************************************

  “Bloody damn.... blasted.... buggers”, Jareth mumbled under his breath as he tried to regain his composure. He had tripped over these godforsaken chickens for the fifth time now and had nearly fallen down the steps from his throne.

  To make matters worse, a few of the goblins had decided to roll in a barrel of sweet goblin ale to make court go by quicker, and half of the bloody barrel had spilled all over the stone floor, making it about as slippery as an owlery covered in freshly falling owlshit.

  He had defenestrated the offending barrel straight out of the largest window, which had caused the chickens to scatter in panic, flying into his face while lounging on the throne where he thrashed at them furiously. When he stood up, he lost his footing, not seeing one of the devilsend birds by his feet.

  “Trouble”, he bellowed and looked wildly around the room for the one who clearly was responsible for it all.

  “King call for Trouble?” Trouble asked, sticking his head out from behind a stone pillar.

  “Trouble, I want you to clean this mess up, get these blasted chickens out of here and dismiss all of the assembly. I am going to take the Lady Sarah out for a date. It is her birthday, and I shall be gone for the rest of the day.”

  Trouble’s eyes opened wide with mirth at hearing Sarah’s name.

  “I make king and lady proud. Trouble is in charge.”

  He beamed from ear to ear as he picked up a smaller goblin and tossed him out of the same window the barrel with the ale had been defenestrated out of only minutes earlier.

  “Trouble clean room.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of”, Jareth mumbled under his breath and glanced at the doorway where Sarah stood and watched the merry activities of the throne room with obvious enjoyment.

  He could tell she gave it her best not to laugh out loud. With a few long strides, he eagerly perambulated the room, tripping over another chicken and cursing at it under his breath.

  Sarah bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing but let a giggle escape when he reached her and wrapped her into his embrace.

  “Pray tell, you are not laughing at the king, as this would be a grievous offense against the crown”, he purred softly into her ear, making her giggle even more.

  “And what would the punishment consist of for such crimes, Your Majesty?” she asked innocently, batting her eyelashes at him while her mockery was clearly visible on her face.

  “This”, he gave his laconic one-word answer and crashed his mouth against hers, already tapping his tongue against her lips to demand entrance.

  Sarah moaned into the kiss and folded her hands behind his neck as she assisted him to deepen her punishment, which seemed so intense, neither of them noticed the entire throne room having gone still and silent.

  When they finally let go of each other with glazed over eyes, they noticed the stares they were getting from every goblin present. Even the chickens had quit their squawking and flapping and seemed to have their unblinking bird eyes focused on the osculating couple.

  “Let’s go, Love. Too many prying eyes, and I didn’t mean for your punishment to be a public display.”

  Jareth pointed his riding crop at Trouble, who gave him a crooked salute with a cheerful look in his eyes as the king and his lady left the room.

**************************************************

  “So, where are we going? What are your plans for this best date ever?” she smirked but grew ever-increasingly intrigued as they walked down the hallway and out of the main castle doors.

  “You’ll see”, he grinned cryptically when he led her down a path she had not noticed before.

  It wound past a row of quaint little white painted cottages with attached gardens. After they proceeded by a line of trees, they entered into a large open field.

  “Servant housing”, Jareth explained when Sarah gave him a questioning look about the little row houses.

  Her attention was immediately redirected onto a large impressive stable as they drew closer. She could see several horses sticking their heads out of a few stalls, and several mares with their foals were grazing in an attached pasture of undulating thickly grassed meadows.

  She sucked in her breath when they entered a long hallway, which was lined with numerous stalls on both sides. A large tack room was situated at each end with what appeared to be a small sleeping compartment for the stable hands. She saw several goblins busily sweeping and cleaning stalls and preparing the feed for the horses.

  “This is all so beautiful”, she whispered to Jareth with bated breath while her head constantly swivelled in all directions to take in all the hustle and bustle of the barn. “I didn’t know you had horses, and so many of them.”

  “Oh, you have seen nothing yet”, Jareth declared with a chuffed grin as he held on tight to her hand, steadily marching down the hallway.

  “Overall, there are roughly two-hundred-thousand horses for the goblin army spread throughout my kingdom. They are taken care of at the various installations. These here are my personal animals. Some are quite rare and unique.”

  He looked at her with pride in his eyes and on his face. It was apparent he loved his horses and was more than proud of them. Sarah gently squeezed his hand as they reached the last stall at the end of the hallway.

  “Look inside”, he motioned her and opened a small window in the upper door.

  Sarah peeked through it eagerly to see the animal inside and gasped with utter bewilderment.

  “What is that?” she asked in stunned shock and gave Jareth a wide-eyed look with a gaping mouth.

  “A dragon horse”, he replied with a chuckle, amused over her reaction.

  “A what?” she repeated and took another quick peek.

  The horse inside the stall was solid black with a shiny, thin coat. It had the body of a normal horse, but three horse like necks with three heads. A horse head for the middle neck and a dragon head with bright-red eyes for each outside neck.

  At the sound of their voices, the animal turned its heads toward the door and stared directly into Sarah’s eyes. She quickly withdrew herself from the window and pressed herself flat against the wall as if trying to hide, her breathing increasing.

  Jareth laughed at her reaction and opened the paddock door, slowly approaching the animal and talking softly to it in a language Sarah could not understand.

  “Must be fae”, she thought and kept watching him nervously from the doorway, still hiding most of her body behind the wall.

  “Come here, Precious”, Jareth motioned to her as he started to pet the middle head and spoke soft words into its ear.

  Ever so careful, Sarah charily approached until she stood right besides Jareth with a nervous look in her eyes, glancing up on the beast. The dragon horse turned its one head towards Sarah and let out a light puff of white smoke.

  “Reach up and pet him, Love. He loves to be scratched behind the ear and underneath his throat”, Jareth explained as he demonstrated with the middle head and the outside dragon head as well, which seemed to be vying for his attention.

  “They get jealous if you only pet one head. It can become quite tedious and a nearly impossible task alone”, he laughed and rolled his eyes in an overly dramatic fashion as both heads now nuzzled into his hands and chest.

  Sarah reached up and laid her hand gingerly against the head of the dragon horse and began to scratch him behind his ear. The horse gave out another little puff of smoke and started purring like a cat, causing Sarah’s eyes to open wide and a grin to envelop her mouth.

  “He has good taste, he likes you”, Jareth whispered with a coy smile directed at her.

  “What’s his name?” Sarah inquired, now moving her other hand to scratch the scaly head by its throat.

  “Ladon”, Jareth replied.

  “Ladon? Like the hundred-headed dragon, who guarded the Gardens of the Hesperides and the tree with the golden apple”, she replied.

  “Well done, you know your Greek mythology”, he smiled proudly.

  He gently moved Sarah to stand in front of all three heads now as he briefly stepped out of the stall. She was so busy administering her ministrations to all three head simultaneously that she didn’t notice his leaving.

  Within a few moments, he returned, carrying a double long saddle in his hands and slinging it carefully over the back of his steed. One head turned back towards Jareth and let out a low snort followed by a small puff of white smoke.

  “What are you doing?” Sarah asked, only now noticing him saddling up the dragon horse.

  Jareth worked speedily and meticulously as he tightened the girth straps around Ladon’s big belly.

  “What does it look like?” he grinned. “I’m saddling our ride”, he replied smartly and gave her a big smile when he saw her stunned face.

  “We are going for a ride on that?” she exclaimed with excitement and worry at the same time.

  “That? Don’t call Ladon a ‘that’. He hates that”, Jareth scolded her as he moved to attach the bridle to the middle head. “And of course, we are. Trust me, you will love it. Besides, it is the only way to show it all to you.”

  “Show me all what?” Sarah asked perplexed.

  “The entire Labyrinth, of course.”

  Jareth chuckled with mirth as he tied a big saddlebag onto its back. He took the reins into his hands and led Ladon out of the stall and out of the stable, with Sarah following close behind, but out of the reach of his large hooves just in case.

  He positioned his steed for mounting once they cleared the stable and gave Sarah a critical look over.

  “This won’t do at all”, he mumbled and waved his hand to instantly replace her long dress with a pair of tan riding pants, a pair of high-top black boots, and a flowing white poets’ shirt with a plunging neckline.

  “There, this is much better”, he congratulated himself with a smug smirk as Sarah looked herself over with amazement.

  “I look like you, with most of my boobs hanging out”, she noticed with a frown. “Does it have to be cut so low?”

  She gave him a disapproving look.

  “It’s perfect, and I want a nice view, too, while you are sitting in front of me. I’ve already seen the Labyrinth, but I have not fully explored all of your enticing assets, so to speak.”

  “Perv”, Sarah replied with a headshake and eye roll as he helped her into the saddle with a huge, sated grin on his face.

  He placed himself behind her and brought his arms around her body, holding on tight to the reins. Ladon started to walk leisurely down the gravel path as Jareth enjoyed holding on to Sarah and looking down her cleavage.

  She felt surprisingly comfortable and safe in the saddle with Jareth so close behind her, his body pressing into hers, providing support and security, amongst other things.

  She felt the warmth and the strength emanating from his body and closed her eyes briefly to take in his intoxicating scent that currently assaulted her senses. Engulfed in her enjoyment of Jareth’s body, she didn’t notice Ladon picking up speed. She felt as if she were sitting in a rocking chair, he had such a smooth trot.

  The sudden noise of a gush of air caused her to open her eyes, and she noticed they had left the ground. Alarmed, her body stiffened, and she tried to sit up but was held tightly by two strong arms.

  “Enjoy the ride, Love”, Jareth whispered into her ear as she realized Ladon now had a huge set of leathery wings attached to his sides and flapped them in a steady rhythm to gain more altitude as they gently glided higher and higher, sailing across the blue sky.

  Sarah’s body began to relax when she realized she was not going to fall, and Ladon knew exactly what he was doing. After all, he was a dragon, and dragons fly.

  “You could’ve warned me.”

  Sarah gave Jareth a quick scolding glance.

  “And take all the fun away?” he laughed and squeezed her tight as his hand travelled slightly higher to rest right below her breast.

  Sarah had noticed but did not object as she leaned herself further back into him and began to enjoy this wonderful sensation of being high up in the air on top of a dragon, with Jareth holding her close to him.

  They began to fly low smooth circles across the Labyrinth as it stretched out below them, and Sarah only now realized how gigantic it was and how many different parts there were to it.

  She had only experienced the tiniest of slivers of it all, and her mouth hung wide open as her eyes pierced the area beneath her like an eagle.

  She saw the Goblin Castle below and Goblin City. It all looked so serene and peaceful. She watched the bustling activity in the streets and the market and pointed down after seeing a herd of deer running across a meadow, looking at Jareth with a big smile.

  “Not deer, Love, maze eaters”, he laughed.

  “Maze what?” she exclaimed. “Are they dangerous?”

  “Only if you get in their way. They eat anything that crosses their path. They look like oversized pigs with horns and have a bad attitude. A really bad attitude. And they have wings too”, he explained as the dragon horse sailed higher into the atmosphere.

  “Pigs with wings that can fly?” Sarah tried to wrap her mind around that concept. “So, pigs really can fly?”

  “Down here they can”, Jareth roared a laughter and guided Ladon further across the Labyrinth.

  “Open your arms and feel the wind and freedom”, Jareth told her, and Sarah did as asked.

  At first, she was a bit timid and shy, not sure if she would lose her balance, but the saddle magically kept her perfectly seated. She opened her arms and tilted back her head as she fully took in the wind on her face and the freedom she sensed from flying and sailing along with the currents.

  Jareth followed her example, and she, with only a brief hesitation after not feeling his arms, went back to fully immersing herself in the wonderful feeling of open flight.

  She glanced to the side and saw a big, white barn owl beside her, looking at her with its big round mismatched eyes and hooting excitedly. At first, she was bewildered seeing the bird so close by, but soon realized that Jareth had disappeared from behind her, and he was the raptor flying beside them.

  If she was concerned about her safety, it soon dissipated as Ladon seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and the owl performed incredible stunts besides her, evidently enjoying itself tremendously.

  “He will always keep you safe and never put you at risk”, her reasoning mind told her, and Sarah relaxed as she laughed out loud, stretching out her arms and cheering on the owl, which flew tight circles around her and rolled in mid-air.

  Briefly, he landed in front of her saddle and tenderly caressed her hand by rubbing his head against it before taking flight again.

  The incredible mirth reflected in Sarah’s eyes and the owl’s behaviour was evident of their enjoyment. For nearly half an hour, they continued their game before Jareth reappeared again behind Sarah and carefully guided Ladon down towards a beautiful flower covered meadow with a pond.

  The landing was smooth and gentle. Ladon folded up his wings and they completely disappeared inside his body, showing no trace of them when Sarah dismounted with Jareth’s help.

  “How did you like it?” Jareth asked, slightly out of breath, and with a bright sparkle in his eyes.

  Sarah threw her arms around his neck and gave him a most passionate kiss for an answer. Jareth eagerly ensconced her in a tight embrace and kissed her back with all his passion, their tongues whirling around each other like flames in a fire.

  “This was breath-taking”, Sarah finally proclaimed after they broke the kiss.

  “Now do you understand why I love to fly in owl form? I thought we could fly together and me showing you how it truly feels to be free and unencumbered.”

  “I absolutely loved it. Thank you so much for that”, she cooed and gave him another kiss.

  “So, where are we?” she finally asked, looking around and taking in her surroundings.

  “The Meadow of Bliss”, he announced with a smirk and untied the saddlebags.

  “Hm, intriguing name”, Sarah countered. “I’m sure it’s named this for a reason”, she deduced from his answer.

  “Precisely. Nothing here is by accident. It is named after the feeling one experiences while being here. You cannot be here and not feel completely content, no matter what problems you may have at home or at work. I come here sometimes to refuel and refresh, get my thoughts back in order.”

  Jareth didn’t bother to mention that he had practically lived here over the past fifteen years to try and manage his broken heart and the pain she had caused him by leaving.

  Today was not the time to bring up such issues, and there was no use in lingering over the past. She was here with him, right now, and things were progressing nicely. Maybe, he would never have to come here without her ever again.

  His hopes were high as he let go of a big, contended sight and spread out a large soft blanket on an even patch of ground before retrieving a huge picnic basket from the saddle bags. Sarah’s eyes opened wide at the view of it. Before her lay a gourmet lunch of incredible proportions.

  “Lunch is served, Milady”, Jareth proclaimed with a sly smile and a bow, motioning her to take a seat.

  Sarah sat down and scanned the variety of food in front of her. Baked chicken, steamed vegetables, cold cuts with freshly baked rolls, and peach pudding and cobbler for dessert. Even a bottle of her favourite red wine was sitting in the middle of it all with two empty glasses beside it.

  “Jareth, this is all so amazing. All that food. I can’t even begin to....” she was left speechless by it all and gave him an elated smile with another short but tender kiss.

  Jareth grinned and conjured a crystal, which he held out for her. Sarah looked at it with heightened interest, and as Jareth twisted his wrist, it turned into a huge bouquet of twelve magenta lilacs and one lavender rose in the middle of it in his hands.

  “For you, Love”, he said softly as she took the flowers from his hand and was left speechless once more.

  With closed eyes, she deeply inhaled the intoxicating aroma that surrounded them and carefully touched the pedals of the lilacs and the rose.

  “Those are stunning”, she whispered in awe.

  “They are from the Sacred Garden of the queen and very special”, Jareth replied in a low voice as he gazed into her eyes.

  “What’s the meaning behind them, Jareth?” Sarah inquired.

  She had been here long enough to know everything had a meaning, especially gifts as these. If those flowers had come from a sacred place, their message must be even more important.

  “The magenta lilacs stand for love and passion, and the lavender rose signifies enchantment and love at first sight”, he answered softly, keeping his eyes glued on hers to watch her reaction.

  “You’ve enchanted me on your first visit, and I instantly fell in love with you. By the time of the ballroom dance, I had already falling, falling in love”, he changed his admission to singing in mid-sentence, and Sarah recognized the melody.

  She was so stunned and taken by his admission of his feelings for her that she sat motionless and quiet, looking deeply into his mismatched eyes. She felt herself falling into a deep sensation of love as she kept staring at him.

  “I love.... them, Jareth”, she whispered and diverted her eyes back onto the flowers, not noticing his slight change in his look and the hint of sadness creeping back into them.

  “I’m glad you do”, he said softly and filled the glasses with the wine as he handed one to Sarah.

  “Happy birthday, Love”, he whispered, and they clinked their glasses and took a sip.

  His eyes never left hers, and she held his gaze.

  “By all the gods, Sarah, tell him right now how much you love him. He is waiting for your words. You are torturing him, and he just gave you the most wonderful present, and I’m not talking about the flowers.”

  Sarah sat with a pensive look, holding her glass to her chest as her eyes fell back onto the flowers, thinking over the meaning of them.

  “Love at first sight, love and passion, enchantment and love at first sight.”

  Jareth began to worry about her quiet disposition as he began to shift uneasy on the blanket, contemplating on his next action. She had gone noticeably quiet, and he had not expected it.

  She finally looked up at him with a gleam in her eyes, tears, and serious expression on her face. No, not serious, peaceful, peaceful, and serene. She leaned forward and kissed him, sweet and tender, with only the slightest tongue as Jareth reciprocated.

  “Jareth, I need to tell you something”, she started with a quiet voice and cleared her throat.

  Jareth gave her an intense look and remained quiet while his heart felt as if it was being squeezed by an invisible hand and a huge lump began to form in his throat.

  “I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about us”, she briefly glanced at him before continuing.

  “You know, I have had several relationships that never lasted. It’s not that I didn’t want to settle down, it’s because I didn’t’ want to settle down with any of them. I already had someone picked out for that, except, I didn’t know it. I was searching for the one in my dreams and until you appeared to me a week ago, I thought all I had was a dream to cling to. You changed all that.”

  She took a quick swallow of her wine and motioned Jareth to remain quiet when he attempted to speak.

  “No, Jareth, no interruptions, or I won’t be able to say all I need to say to you.”

  He nodded quietly, without his troubled feelings assuaged by her.

  “As I said, you changed all that. All the sudden, what I thought was only an imagination was real, and for the first time in my life, I had to confront my true feelings for someone. I have been feeling as if I’m standing on a huge cliff looking down into the abyss, afraid to jump, but I have to in order to win the one I want, the one I truly and wholeheartedly want.”

  She looked at Jareth, who sat motionless and swallowed hard as she took his hands into hers.

  “Jareth, I love you. I have always loved you, all those years, I dreamed about you. You have always been my lover, my companion, my heart, and soul. It’s only now that I truly can admit to it. I am so sorry it has taken me so long, but I was so afraid to jump. I have never loved anyone before, and it scared me, and I knew how much you lo....”

  Jareth didn’t allow her to continue with her maundering as his mouth crashed feverishly against hers in a fiery kiss. His lips overtaking hers, his tongue wildly encircling hers, and his teeth gently scraping her bottom lip only to come back and retake her entire mouth with his.

  His arms fully engulfed her body and held her so close she could barely breathe, but she didn’t push him away. She didn’t care if she couldn’t breathe. All she cared about at this particular moment was having him close to her, his lips on her lips and his body pressed close against hers.

  The kiss was deeply passionate, at times raw and brutal, at times gentle and tender. By the time he finally pulled away from her lips, they both heavily panted with their lips swollen and red, and their eyes lit up with a fire that was going to burn from then on.

  “By the gods, Sarah, I have waited for so long, and I didn’t know if you would ever admit to it. I knew how you felt from the moment you made that wish in your apartment, but I couldn’t....I wasn’t allowed to tell you. You had to find out for yourself. Now do you know what your wish was about?” he asked urgently, breathing hard as Sarah nodded, finally assuaging his worries.

  “I wished for you to stay with me forever. To be my lover, my....husband, my king, my everything”, she answered, and Jareth face lit up with a bright smile and sparkling eyes as he lunged himself on top of her, knocking her back onto the blanket and drowned her in kisses.

  After several minutes of more heated kisses, they finally sat up, straightening up their clothes and hair. Sarah felt her stomach rumble, and Jareth gave her a mischievous grin.

  “Let’s eat before your stomach fills this entire valley with its growls and scares all the critters away, wondering if there is a maze eater on the lose.”

  He chuckled with mirth while she punched him in his arm. This time, he didn’t demand a punishment for her as they began to dig into the food and wine. They sat on the blanket most of the afternoon, talking, kissing, fondling, but never took it further than that.

  Jareth didn’t push and let her take the lead, waiting patiently for her to come to him for the ultimate prize. He was fully contented and in complete bliss over her having admitted her feelings to him after so many years. His heart finally felt free from its constraints and soared like an eagle for the first time in his existence.

  “I can see now why this is called Meadow of Bliss. I can feel it all over my body, like there is no care in the world”, Sarah sighed as they both laid on their backs with eyes closed.

  “It feels great, doesn’t it?” Jareth agreed.

  He blinked his eyes open and took in her sight, as she laid perfectly content on the blanket with her open shirt that exposed nearly all of her breasts. She had allowed him to fondle her underneath it and had not bothered to close it afterwards. He was not going to complain.

  “Love, I think we need to start heading back.”

  He reluctantly stood up and held out his hand to her. With a wave of his hand the entire picnic was packed away in the saddle bags, including Sarah’s bouquet, which was now safely ensconced in a clear crystal.

  “They will never fade, no matter how much time will go by as long as we are around. The day we fade away, they will too. Our magic binds us to them. That’s why they are considered sacred”, Jareth explained to Sarah about the flowers, which earned him another passionate kiss and fondling of her breasts.

  Once they took flight, it only took half an hour before they returned to the royal stables and the castle grounds. Jareth left Ladon in the care of the goblin staff and allowed Sarah to explore his barn a bit longer before they headed back to the castle. He had one more activity planned for her as a surprise.

**************************************************

  “Close your eyes, Love”, Jareth instructed Sarah as she held on tight to his waist.

  She felt a slight gust of wind and heard a brief rushing sound. When she opened her eyes, she was back in her apartment. Jareth stood in front of her, glamoured in his human form and dressed in a three-piece suit with a light blue dress shirt under his black vest, black pants that weren’t overly tight for once, and matching black dress shoes instead of his usual boots.

  The jacket was a bit longer and sported a bright sandy colour, which complimented his outfit perfectly. He looked absolutely stunning, and Sarah gave him a baffled look with questioning eyes.

  “I’m going to take you to dinner and dancing, Love. Go wear something sexy for me”, he instructed her, and Sarah went into her bedroom with a sultry smile on her face. Her king asked for sexy, and her king would get what he asked for.

  It didn’t take her long to choose a short, tight fitting, low cut black cocktail dress with black, low heeled, yet very elegant shoes, and a set of silver pearled earrings and necklace. She curled her hair slightly as it fell in tresses down her shoulders and applied only a hint of makeup and lip gloss.

  “Perfect”, she murmured as she looked herself over in the mirror. “Eat your heart out, my king”, she smiled with a wicked look in her eyes and stepped out of her bedroom.

  Jareth sucked in his breath seeing her in the tightfitting dress that showed off her curves and female assets to the max.

  “I said sexy, not killer dress. Now I’ll be busy all night beating other suitors off you.”

  He tried to appear frowning, but it didn’t work, as she could see his lust for her and the approval of the dress in his gaze. His eyes raked over her body and practically devoured her with his intense stare.

  They lingered on her pearl necklace and earrings. He slowly shook his head as he stepped into her and reached his hands around her neck to remove the jewellery.

  “These won’t do”, he whispered.

  Sarah gave him a puzzled look, but before she could protest, he held out a small, elongated box to her, a mischievous grin curled around his lips. Sarah cocked her head and reached out for it in a gingerly fashion. Her mouth nearly fell to the floor and her hand clasped in front of it as she let out a stifled scream.

  “Oh my god, Jareth, these are.... these are beautiful”, she gasped as she stared at an emerald studded necklace, with the centre stone circled by clear diamonds, and a matching pair of earrings.

  “Happy birthday, Love”, he whispered and took the necklace out of its box to place it around her neck. “Go put on the earrings. I want to see how they look on you.”

  Sarah could only nod in silence and rushed to her mirror to attach them. She was stunned by the beauty of the jewellery when she saw her reflection. They looked perfect with the dress, and she clasped both hands in front of her mouth as tears filled her eyes.

  She noticed Jareth had stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

  “You look like a queen. My queen”, he hushed a whisper and placed a kiss against her neck.

  Sarah turned around and flung her arms around him as she pulled him in for a blazing kiss that left him melted on the floor. When she pulled away, she looked into his darkened lusting eyes with her own glossed over ones.

  “I think we better get going, Precious, before I end up ravishing you right here in front of the mirror”, Jareth grinned.

  “Yeah, I think we better.”

  She gave him a seductive smile and let him transport them to their location, which he had kept a secret. They rematerialized in a dark corner of the dance club, which was already filled to the brim with patrons.

  “Where are we?” Sarah asked confused, hearing the live music from down the hallway.

  “We are at the Swing 46 Jazz and Supper club, my dear”, he answered with a smirk. “Best club in town”, he added with haughty self-confidence.

  “And how do you know that?” Sarah asked with squinted eyes. “Been here, picking up women on your Aboveground adventures?”

  Jareth threw her a salacious little grin as he licked his lips.

  “And what if I had been?” he asked in his low erotic voice.

  “Not cool”, Sarah complained with a pout.

  “No worries, Love. I have had business dealings with the owner for years. It’s a wonderful club for dancing, but I have never come here to pick up any females. It’s not my style”, he purred into her ears, making her feel better as she gave him a big smile.

  “Better?” he grinned.

  “Better”, she replied, giving him a quick kiss on his cheek.

  He led her out of the hallway into a wide-open space with tables, bars, and a stage where live swing music was being played. Apparently, he had connections, as they sat in a private suit, and the waiters themselves about fell over each other, trying to serve him and his special lady.

  “I’m a VIP here”, he grinned from ear to ear as he saw Sarah’s impressed expression.

  They ordered their drinks and food and had a wonderful dinner while they listened to the music and watched the dancers swinging on the dance floor.

  “Care to give it a try?” he asked Sarah and took her by her hand.

  “Now swing I can do actually. A friend in college taught me”, she laughed, and they headed out onto the dance floor. “A female friend”, she added with a loud laugh as she saw the suspicious look in his eyes.

  They danced for most of the night. Some fast, loose swing songs apart from each other, with only their hands for contact, and others slow, intimate, close-to-each-other dances, during which Jareth took the opportunity to run his hands down her back, briefly resting them on her buttock and running them back up to the middle of her back, creating ecstatic shivers of pleasure to course through her body.

  It was long past midnight before they decided to call it quits. During the last dance, Sarah had whispered into Jareth’s ear that this had been the best date ever, and he was now eager to get home and enjoy a big bathtub filled with warm water together with his lady.

  Sarah giggled at his impatience to return. As soon as they had reappeared in his chamber, he magically started the bathtub water and began to undress her with a hungry desire.

  “Easy there, boy”, she laughed and made him to slow down as he pulled down the zipper on her dress and buried his face into her neck to place kisses along her neckline.

  “I can’t wait”, he growled. “Don’t stop me, woman.”

  He continued to undress her, and she relished in the feeling of his magic hands that made her skin tingle and vibrate with intense sensations. When it came to taking off her bra and her panties, he stopped for only a second as his eyes grew dark and lustful.

  “I so wanted to do this last night”, he murmured and lowered her bra off her breasts.

  He gently cupped them both into his hands and admired them for several minutes, gently rubbing his thumbs across her nipples. After he sated his desire for her breasts, he turned his focus onto her panties. He stepped back briefly to look her over and take in her form.

  His hands slid down her waist and hooked onto the waistband of her panties. He didn’t stop, but continued his slow downward movement and gently pulled them off her hips, down to her thighs, and then let them fall onto the floor.

  With the wave of his hand, he divested himself of all clothes, drawing a frown from Sarah.

  “Hey, what about me undressing you?” she complained. “That’s not fair”, she added with a grin to emphasize her point.

  “Too time consuming. Next time”, he declared with an urgency in his voice and picked her off the floor, causing her to squeal, while carrying her in his arms into the bathroom.

  “My, my, aren’t we in a hurry, Mr. Romantic”, she laughed sarcastically as he lowered her into the tub. “It’s only a bath, nothing else”, she insisted.

  “We’ll see about that”, he growled and stepped into the tub himself, lowering his body up to their chest into the water, effectively hiding his growing erection from her.

  Sarah began to grab for a sponge to add body lotion to it. He gently took it out of her hand and began to apply his ministrations to her body. Slowly gliding the sponge over her arms and shoulders, he had her sit higher and took the utmost care with each breasts as he drew little circles around her nipples to harden them.

  Sarah moaned with each swipe of the sponge and leaned back her head as he ever so languidly began his descend across her stomach and lower abdominals. His hands never touched her as he let the sponge do its work.

  Sarah gave a deep look into his eyes and swallowed as the sponge descended below the water and moved across the centre of her thighs, slipped along her upper thighs, and worked its way to the apex between her legs. She voluntarily opened her legs to give him access.

  When the sponge touched her clit, she let out a gasp and a moan, eliciting an equal moan from him. She gave him an intense stare and grabbed another sponge off the side of the tub, lathering it with body wash and applying the same movements to his body.

  Jareth moved closer to her, his chest now touching hers, as he continued to concentrate on the area between her legs, ever so carefully and slowly replacing the sponge with his hand.

  Sarah moved her sponge across Jareth shoulders and chest, drawing her own circles around his hard nipples before she moved on to his flat stomach and ripped abs. Her eyes bore into his as they never turned their gaze away from each other.

  Their hands worked in unison now, and her sponge had worked its way to his upper thigh and to the area in between. When she reached his member, she could tell he was hard and erect. She dropped her sponge as well and took hold of his erection with her hand and crashed her mouth against his.

  Jareth let go a groan and pleasurable moan upon her touch to his cock. Her tongue invaded his mouth, and he eagerly returned her ministrations while her hand gently stroked him. His hand cupped her heated centre, and he slowly worked his finger along her folds and slit into her channel, which was wet with desire.

  “Oh, god, Jareth”, Sarah cried out when he entered her, and her hips bucked forward.

  She moved her body over onto his and straddled his cock, keeping it just outside her entrance as her hand still held on to it and kept pumping him.

  “Sarah, I can’t do this much longer. It’s been too long”, he groaned into her mouth during the kiss.

  With one quick motion, he removed her hand from his member, lifted her out of the water, and stood up. Carefully stepping over the rim of the bathtub, he cradled her close to his chest.

  “I don’t want to fuck you in the bathtub, I want to make proper love to you in our bed”, he declared and shook his head, instantly drying their bodies.

  Sarah sighed and nodded before recapturing his mouth with another passionate kiss. Her fire was lit, and it was not going to be extinguished unless he was inside of her, and they both reached their climax together.

  Her libido was throwing its own version of a massive ticker tape parade while holding a huge carnival in Rio celebration and shooting off the biggest firework her mind could conjure. She heard all the bells of St. Joseph Cathedral ringing along with a never-ending gun salute.

  Jareth impatiently kicked the bathroom door open with his foot as his mouth was held hostage by Sarah’s invading tongue and lips. His erect, turgid cock strained hard against the side of her hips while her hands kept assaulting his nipples.

  “SURPRISE”, came the noise from a ruckus chorus of at least a dozen voices, tearing Sarah away from Jareth’s mouth as Jareth’s head snapped back and they both stared with horrified eyes at the assembly of goblins in their room, surrounding a huge cake with thirty blazing candles on top and a steady rain of glitter descending on everyone in the room, including the king and his lady.

  For a second, which seemed to last all of eternity, they stared at each other in silence before Jareth quickly conjured clothes over the both of them and sat Sarah down on the floor rather hastily.

  “What in all bloody seven hells is the meaning of this?” he bellowed with a red face, some from anger, but most from embarrassment of being seen in a very compromising position with Sarah.

  “King said it is Lady Sarah’s birthday, so we baked cake and come to surprise party.”

  Trouble stepped forward with a huge grin while holding up a party flare that sparked every bit as bright as his eyes.

  Jareth and Sarah glanced around the room and noticed that everyone held a sparkler in their hand. The glitter had stopped descending, but now had covered the entire room. The cake in the centre of the crowd was enormous. At least two metres high with several tiers, and the lights on top resembled large tiki torches rather than normal candles.

  Before anyone could say another word, the entire goblin crowd broke out in a pitchy, off-key version of ‘Happy birthday to you’.

  Slowly, Jareth’s embarrassment was being replaced by a furious anger, and Sarah could see him close to losing his temper in the most awful way. She needed to act quickly if she wanted to avoid twelve goblins being bogged tonight, including the huge cake.

  “Oh, how wonderful. That is so awesome of you guys to do that”, she cried out excitedly with the best acting she could put on, all the while squeezing Jareth’s hand to nearly the breaking point.

  Every time she noticed him wanting to open his mouth, she clamped down on his hand, causing him to wince and not say a word. At one point, she even kicked him inconspicuously in the shin. He threw her a death glare as she silently begged him to remain quiet.

  He finally gave up and sat himself down in a chair with crossed arms over his chest, pouting for the rest of the night with a frown on his face. Sarah, ever so more the diplomate, played along with the goblins and even had some of the cake, which actually tasted really good.

  “Trouble put on and organized party”, Trouble proudly proclaimed, and Sarah petted him gently on the head.

  “I’m sure the king will reward you generously for this. I’ll make sure of it”, she replied and threw Jareth a dangerous look of ‘don’t even think about rewarding him with a trip to the bog’.

  The party had only lasted an hour before Jareth could absolutely no longer restrain himself and with the wave of his hand sent the entire party delegation including the cake, glitter, and party sparklers, to somewhere in the middle of the Labyrinth.

  “They’ll be fine. By morning, they will be back at the castle”, he grumbled when he saw Sarah’s worried look.

  “I’m so sorry that happened, Jareth, but wasn’t it sweet of them to do this for me?”

  “Oh, yeah, how sweet”, he mocked and buried his face into his hands while he slumped over in his seat.

  Sarah sat herself on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him tenderly on his lips, cheeks, and eyes.

  “I know the mood is ruined, and it would have been so nice.” Her thoughts trailed to what could have been. “But there is nothing that says we can’t do this tomorrow morning. We’ll lock the door, and you do whatever you can to magically prevent us from being disturbed.”

  She gave him an encouraging smile, and he looked back into her eyes with a disparaged expression.

  “I hate goblins” he sighed, and the crystal on the table hummed with a bright red light.

  “I totally forgot about the truth crystal still being here”, Sarah giggled, and even Jareth couldn’t help but to chuckle.

  “Let’s go to bed and catch some sleep”, Sarah suggested with a yawn and Jareth nodded weakly while he followed her to the bed.

  With the wave of his hand, both had been divested of their clothes as they slipped under the blankets, Jareth spooning her in a tight embrace.

  “Tomorrow morning, I will get my cookie”, Jareth proclaimed before he closed his eyes.

  “Yes, Your Majesty, you will get your cookie”, Sarah laughed quietly, giving him a quick kiss on the tip of his nose, and snuggled up to him, looking forward to a cookie filled morning.

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Chapter Text

  Sarah woke up to a tickle on her face. She tried to swipe whatever it was off of it, but after a couple of unsuccessful swipes, she opened her eyes and was greeted by the bright smile and two sparkling mismatched eyes of Jareth.

  His entire upper body was leaning over her, and his face nearly touched hers. His long hair strands hung down over his face and touched her skin, teasingly tickling her cheeks and neck.

  Upon opening her eyes his mouth immediately descended upon hers in a passionate kiss, asking impatiently with his tongue for her to grant him access, which she denied him vehemently. He pulled back with a frown and gave her a scolding look.

  “Let me kiss you“, he demanded with a whine and tried again, only to be denied and pushed back once more as Sarah was making her way out of bed with her hand clasping her mouth.

  “Not until I get rid of my morning stench. I’m mortal. I don’t have a sparkly fresh morning breath like you fae. Plus, I have to pee”, she argued back and hastily disappeared into the bathroom.

  Jareth grumbled under his breath but let her go and waited impatiently for her return with his arms folded in front of his chest, a frown cutting deep into his forehead.

  “I’m not sure if you are aware of it, Love, but you no longer have morning breath either”, he slyly informed her as she returned from rinsing out her mouth with mouthwash.

  “What?” she asked, not quite believing a word he said.

  “Call it a side effect of being in the Underground for several days. It has that effect on mortals.”

  She climbed back in bed and covered herself up with the blanket, which he immediately pulled back again from her, earning him a scolding look this time.

  “Quit covering up, I wanna see”, he complained and tossed the offending blanket off the bed completely while Sarah rolled her eyes.

  “Fine”, she capitulated, throwing her hands into the air as his esurient eyes devoured her naked body, and his hands started their eager exploration.

  He leaned his body over hers again and recaptured her mouth. This time, he was rewarded by her lips parting for him and her tongue greeting him properly. Like a hungry tiger, he growled into her mouth and slightly bit down on her lip before returning to chasing her tongue around.

  Sarah had to laugh over his enthusiasm and broke off the osculation.

  “You are fired up this morning”, she jested.

  “What do you expect?” he moaned. “I didn’t get my reward last night, and I’ve been....under pressure since.”

  Sarah started laughing at his choice of word and began to sing the song by Queen and Bowie.

  “That’s right, Precious”, he hissed. “It has been pushing down on me, and now, I will push it down inside you”, he promised with a salacious grin as he held her arms over her head with one hand and began to trail kisses all across her body.

  “I’m going to have my cookie now”, he declared with resolve, feeling quite libidinous.

  The kisses of his warm lips, and the light flicks of his slick tongue made her hot and wet for him, and she lightly writhed when he paid utmost attention to her nipples as he took one into his mouth and gently sucked on it, going back and forth between her breasts as if he couldn’t decide between the two. And he really couldn’t.

  His lower body pressed against hers, letting her know how hard he already was. This time, he made sure he warded the room against any intrusions. Nobody would be able to sneak in or hear the future queen’s screams of ecstasy escaping from Sarah. He was well prepared, and he smiled inwardly at his lascivious thoughts.

  His mouth’s activities began to have the desired effect on Sarah, as her centre grew hotter with each kiss he planted, and she could feel her juices build up inside of her. She wanted to touch him, but he kept holding her hands above her head, rendering her virtually immobile.

  “I want to touch you”, she complained in the same whiny voice he had used only minutes before, but he only shook his head while he started to trail his tongue down her belly and lingered around her navel.

  He placed his kisses upon her stomach, gently sucking on her skin with his lips and flicking his tongue along a predetermined path towards the centre of her thighs. A groan escaped Sarah, and Jareth gave a light chuckle.

  “Just relax”, he whispered and briefly looked into her eyes as he met hers. “Trust me, and I will make you come undone underneath me. Then you can touch me.”

  Sarah nodded at him, biting her bottom lip, and waited for what was to come. She could tell with those few ministrations he had already applied that he was much more skilled than any other man she had ever been with. Nobody’s mouth or tongue had ever excited her the way Jareth’s did, and she couldn’t wait to see what he would do next.

  He gently motioned her to open her legs for him as he lowered his head towards the apex of her inner thighs. He gently and meticulously kissed and licked her inner thighs, drawing moans of pleasure from her. His upper body was fully stretched out now in order to keep holding her wrists tight above her head, and his erection rubbed teasingly against her leg.

  Slowly, his kisses trailed closer to his intended target, and when his mouth finally descended on her pleasure centre, Sarah bucked her hips at the sensation and let out a gasp.

  Jareth tongue flicked lightly up and down and played with her folds and her clit. His fingers gingerly opened her up and slowly entered her, gently moving back and forth. Sarah moaned and began to work her hips along with his movements.

  “Oh my, he is finger fucking me, and his tongue on my....agh....this is heaven”, her libido sang and completely surrendered without any stipulations and demands. The white flag had been raised and it was not coming down.

  “Do as you will, I am yours, completely”, it shouted as another moan escaped Sarah.

  Jareth had inserted another finger and kept up his pumping action as the tip of his tongue kept stimulating her clit with flicks and licks. Sarah’s hips kept moving harder, and Jareth could tell she was close, but he did not let off in his services for her pleasure.

  It took but another couple of tickles with the tip of his tongue before she could feel the contractions of her inner muscles tightening around his fingers, and a wonderful wave of pleasure tore through her body, cresting between her legs and making its way up her loins and into her stomach.

  “Jareth”, she cried out and panted heavily as he kept licking her clit and then retreated to watch her finish her orgasm.

  “By the gods, you are beautiful when you come”, he breathed with a look of endearment, fully drinking in her aroused body, and slowly withdrawing his fingers, causing another ripple of pleasure coursing through her loins.

  He sat up on his knees, and unhurriedly and deliberately stroked himself as her eyes landed on him and his fully hardened cock. She licked her lips with anticipation, and he could see the hunger in her eyes.

  The size of him created butterflies in her stomach and her heartrate quickened. She had never been with a man who had been this well-endowed, even in a flaccid state, much less fully aroused.

  Then again, he was not a man but a fae, and she knew she would be in for the ride of her life. Her libido was beyond ecstasy. 

  He scooted towards her face on his knees and let her take hold of his erection while his fingers kept touching her pleasure centre. Sarah took him into her mouth and began to slowly suck him, her hand pumping him gently.

  She elicited a slight moan at the way he felt and tasted. So unlike ordinary men, and she was instantly addicted to him as she increased her ministrations.

  Jareth let out an initial hiss at her touch. The sensation of her mouth around his cock had hit him like an electric current from a socket. He leaned his head back and sighed blissfully with closed eyes.

  Fifteen years, he had waited for this very moment, and now it finally was here. He felt the fireworks going off in his brain, and his body reacted more intensely to her touch than he had ever imagined. After such a long time, he was on overload.

 Seeing her mouth on his hard member nearly had him come undone, and when she flicked her tongue across the tip of it, teasing him with her eyes and holding his gaze, he could wait not longer. Maybe next time, he could hold out longer, but not today.

  He placed his hand against the side of her face and motioned her to let go as he withdrew himself from her and positioned himself at her entry. Sarah opened her legs for him and wrapped them around his hips as he descended himself towards her centre.

  The tip of his cock was right at her entry, and he slowly pushed himself into her, gliding easily in and sheathing himself to the hilt. Sarah emanated a stunned gasp when he filled her so fully with his large rod. It was unlike any sensation she had ever experienced, and she could see in Jareth’s dark and lusting eyes, he, too, felt the same. With slow and easy thrusts, he began to fan her fire until it was burning brightly.

  Both panted and moaned as the intensity of his thrusts increased, and he finally slammed into her with full force. She lifted her hips off the bed as she tightened the grip of her legs around his hips. Her hands moved to this buttock and pushed him down with each thrust, encouraging to do her even harder.

  “Gods, Jareth, fuck me”, she groaned, and he captured her mouth with his, making her taste her own juices from earlier and inhaling her scent he carried on his face.

  She understood now why it drove him crazy. His ability of smell was much more heightened and intense than hers, and she wondered if she would ever be able to smell and sense his pheromones, and if, what would it be like.

  His hip movements and thrusts became more erratic as he approached his own climax, and he withdrew from the kiss, staring deeply into her eyes.

  “Keep your eyes on mine when we come together”, he pleaded with her. “We’ll exchange our souls this way”, he added under strain as the pleasure started to overwhelm his senses.

  Sarah held his gaze despite her vision starting to blur. She wanted to see the fire in his mismatched eyes, and the love he held for her, and she was willing to give the same to him.

  Both writhed and moaned with pleasure as they came nearly at the same time with full force. Sarah’s muscles clamped down on him and drove him over the edge, spilling himself deeply into her as her muscles kept contracting around him, causing him to be milked to the fullest.

  He relaxed his upper body onto hers, laying his head against her chest and cradling her head in his hands. Sarah had her arms wrapped tight around his body as both heaved, having achieved sexual bliss.

  “That was....”Sarah gasped and had to take a deep breath.

  “.... fantastic and out of this world”, Jareth finished for her, panting equally as hard.

  “Yes, it was”, she agreed, and he laughed with elation, sending pleasurable vibrations through her body.

  They laid together, as he was unwilling to remove himself, and Sarah was in no hurry of letting him leave her either. It felt too good.

  “Why on Earth have I waited this long to have this ma....fae in my bed?” her mind contemplated.

  “Because you wouldn’t listen to me with your perceived notions of him being a perverted villain. Next time, listen to me”, her libido shouted back at her and all she could manage in response was to smile at her inner cogitations.

  “I can come again, Love”, Jareth informed her as he already felt himself hardening again inside of her.

  Sarah felt the life come back into him as well and raised both eyebrows in pleasant surprise.

  “So, it is true what they say and write about the fae”, she giggled.

  “And what would that be, Love?” he asked amused as he started to rotate his hips again, beating the drum of ecstasy within her.

  “That you are insatiable and have much more stamina than any mortal man”, she answered.

  “Truer words have never been spoken nor written”, he replied with a smirk and looked into her eyes before he held on tight to her waist and flung them both over, with him beneath her on his back and Sarah straddling his hips.

  “Nice manoeuvre. How long did it take to learn that one?” she asked with a sly grin.

  “A gentleman never tells”, he answered with a wink and put his hands on her hips gently guiding her up and down as he began to thrust up into her.

  “Only once”, he added after a moment of silence. “I’ve only done it once during my instruction period with an older female. I have never performed it with a lover. You are the first, because I fully trust you. This position is considered too intimate to perform with just anyone, as it forces the male to give up control, and as a king, I cannot allow myself to give up control, even in the matters of the bed.”

  Sarah bent over him and brought her face close to his.

  “But you are willing to give up control for me?” she asked with a look of awe in her eyes over his unconditional trust of her.

  He only looked at her with two love filled eyes but didn’t answer. His silent expression spoke more words than his mouth could at that moment.

  “Good, then trust me my king, and I shall make you writhe beneath me”, she whispered with a promising smile, and he nodded, letting his hands play with her bouncing breasts.

  Sarah pushed her hips deep onto his pelvic and began to intensify her hip movement, riding him harder and harder. His thumb gently rubbed her clit as his other hand cupped her butt cheek.

  She bend forward and took each of his nipples into her mouth, sucking on them and letting her tongue caress them. Jareth closed his eyes and moaned with pleasure as his hips bucked forcefully upwards.

  He brought his face up to her breasts and took them hungrily into his mouth, gently licking her nipples and sucking on them while he cupped them tightly into his hands.

  Sarah sat up straighter, forcing him to release her breasts as she took his wrists and held them down over his head, the way he had done to her. He briefly looked at her with a feral look in his dark eyes, nostrils flared, and his mouth slightly parted.

  “Gosh, he looks delectable and godlike. Such a beautiful creature....fae.”

  “Relax and let me ride you. Trust me, Jareth”, she whispered again, and he nodded owl-eyed as he released all of his control into her hands. His body relaxed and sank back into the bed, turning over full control of him to her.

  She tightly held on to his outstretched arms, her breasts brushing over his nipples and moving her hips wildly back and forth, up, and down, any direction she could to draw the most pleasure out of them.

  Jareth let out a deep growl and moaned as his heartrate increased and beat in his chest like the pounding hooves of a wild horse in the race for its life. Sarah could tell he was losing control, as he started to thrash his head from side to side, gasping, and his hips bucking wildly upwards while she kept up the rhythm. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he was about to fall over the edge.

  She truly felt as if she was riding a wild stallion, matching every one of his moves, and ever so slowly increasing the sensations as the wave built towards the climax. And like a roaring tsunami, it approached.

  Jareth gasped and then screamed her name as he suddenly threw his hips up into her. The sudden thrust finally tipped Sarah over the edge, as her muscles contracted again and send Jareth into a spiralling freefall of bliss. While her muscles spasmed around his cock, he lost all of his control and came undone underneath her.

  He bucked and writhed and fought to free his hands, but Sarah pressed down on his wrists the same way he had done with her. His eyes were now wide opened as he stared into Sarah’s face with a gaping mouth, deep in the throes of his own overwhelming climax.

  It took several minutes for Jareth to quit moving and bucking his hips before he finally laid beneath her motionless and breathing heavy. Sarah let go of his arms, which he immediately flung tightly around her body, pulling her down onto his chest.

  She laid her head against his body and could feel his rapid heartbeat and the struggle of his breathing, which slowly returned to normal. He held on to her, indicating he did not want her to move. He was content to hold her in place as she finally felt him withdraw from her.

  Not until he had fully excited, that he freed her and allowed her to roll herself onto her side. He turned his head and looked at her with now bright shining blue eyes again. A soft glow seemed to engulf his face as he smiled at her with total bliss.

  “I have never ever experienced anything like this”, he groaned with a hoarse voice. “I never thought giving up control would be so, so pleasurable. I have never allowed myself to become vulnerable until you stepped into my life. You never cease to amaze me, Love.”

  He rolled over to her side and placed a soft and tender kiss onto her lips before he laid his head against her breasts and laid still. Sarah’s hand began to gently stroke his head and played with his long-tangled mess of hair. His leg was slung over her hips, and she felt him becoming soft and flaccid.

  She inwardly smiled to herself. For her, too, this was the best sex she had ever had in her life. Never had she dreamed it could be that intense and fulfilling. To see her mighty Goblin King fall so completely apart underneath her felt orgasmic in itself.

  He had trusted her fully and had willingly given up his control for her. He could’ve easily broken through her weak wrist retrains, but he hadn’t. He had allowed her to fully control him, and for Jareth that was saying a lot.

  For several minutes, they were content to just lay with each other and settle their breathing. It was a soft knock on the door that jolted them out of their postcoital bliss.

  “Who is it?” Jareth asked with a dreamy voice, having no intentions of moving off the bed yet.

  “Ginny, I’m here to clean His Kingyness’ chamber and ask what to serve for breakfast."

  “Bring the usual for two in about thirty minutes and wait on the cleaning until after breakfast”, he replied, his voice sounding more official now towards the closed door.

  A sated smile had appeared on his lips as Sarah placed a kiss on his forehead and stepped off his bed to make her way into the bathroom.

  “As His Kingyness wishes”, came the answer from behind the door and was followed by the pitter patter of hastily retreating footsteps, scuttling down the hallway.

  Jareth quickly jumped up as well and gave Sarah a playful smirk while he tilted his head and let his eyes wander over her body once more. He could not get enough of her physique and drunk her in to its fullest. She had become his new drug, and he was planning to overdose on her.

  “We have thirty minutes to waste in the bathroom”, he suggested, and Sarah quirked an eyebrow.

  “Already again?” she asked with a mischievous smirk and took his hand to lead him into the bathroom, closing the door behind them.

**************************************************

  Jareth sat on his throne, seething with an indescribable rage coursing through his body. His mood had gone from absolute heavenly bliss to utter hell in a matter of hours.

  His fist was clenched tightly around a piece of parchment, which he crumbled into a dense ball and then incinerated into a heap of ashes he let pour out of his hand onto the stone floor.

  His eyes were blackened with a fury that sent shivers of fear down the backs of every goblin in the room as they stared at him in silence with fearful expressions on their dark faces.

  His nostrils flared, taking in deep steady breaths of air to keep himself from obliterating his own throne room, and his subjects along with it.

  A dark ominous energy made its presence within the room and casted an eerie silence over its entirety. Corrigan, his long-time fae advisor and closest friend, stood before him with trembling body and shaky legs, holding his breath and waiting for the outburst that was imminent.

  For a moment, Jareth reminisced about his morning of court prior to receiving his notice and after he had left Sarah behind in his chambers.

  He barely made it to court on time and had a slight blush on his face when he ascended the steps to his throne. Leisurely, he slung his leg over the armrest and leaned himself back, keeping one foot on the ground and his riding crop loosely in his hand, lightly tapping it against his boot.

  He was still stuck in his state of postcoital bliss and barely paid any attention to the complaints of his subjects as they started to filter in one by one for the day proceedings.

  It was his own advisor, who pulled him out of his reverie with a light tap against his shoulder.

  “Your Majesty, do you want to have this goblin being reimbursed for the broken eggs by the giant cake?”

  “Corrigan, come again?” Jareth stuttered bewildered and drew an amused smile from his old friend.

  “That good, was it?” his advisor asked with a licentious smirk while Jareth stared at him with blank eyes before it dawned on him what Corrigan was referring to.

  “And then some”, Jareth added slyly with a big grin, which now covered his entire face. “Give him the damn eggs. Today, I shall be magnanimous and generous”, he declared jocularly and gave out a big laugh, in which all of the assembled goblins quickly joined in with their own cackles.

  “And for that giant cake, if there is any of it left, let’s have some. Cake for everyone”, he called out happily and instantly broke into his Magic Dance moves.

  Before long, the entire throne room was being rocked by the song and court seemed to be no longer in session.

  For nearly two hours, he had celebrated with them, not giving one care to the woes of the world when a courier hurriedly ushered into the room with an urgent message from the High Court.

  He had been summoned to appear before the court by five in the afternoon the very same day and had been ordered to bring Sarah along. Apparently, Princess Céline had filed an official petition for courting of his majesty and had filed a complaint against both, him, and Sarah.

  “Everybody get the bloody hell out. LEAVE”, Jareth bellowed so loud, some of the mortar of the arched ceiling started to crumble and rain down onto the congregation of his subjects.

  It took only a few seconds of uncontrolled mayhem and bedlam before the throne room lay deserted, aside from Jareth and an overly concerned Corrigan.

  “Who in all the bloody seven hells does this wretched, blasted, cretinous, and ingrate of a demure and dolt of a woman think she is?” Jareth screamed at no one in particular as he elicited a low dangerous growl and tried to include any insult he could think of in his outburst.

  “You forgot pernicious, vile, and duplicitous”, Corrigan added with a cautious smile, trying to lighten up the mood a degree or two.

  Jareth gave him a death glare, but then heaved a big sigh and slumped over in his throne, rubbing his temples and pinching the bridge of his nose in utter frustration.

  “Might as well add odious and barfalicious”, Jareth added with a despondent sneer. “I hate her”, he mumbled, and the truth crystal appeared in mid-air, shinning in a bright green light.

  Corrigan gave it a stunned and baffled look, but Jareth waved him off with a weak smile.

  “Don’t ask. It is a little game the Lady Sarah and I have been playing. The damn crystal doesn’t know when to quit.”

  He gave a distressed chuckle while he rubbed his forehead with his hand and cringed his face, a sharp pain searing through his skull. Corrigan immediately conjured up a glass of water with a pill to ease the migraine. Jareth took it gratefully and downed the medication.

  “Can she do this?” he asked his advisor with incredulity, a flicker of hope shining in his eyes, but Corrigan only nodded his head with a despondent look on his face.

  “I am afraid so, Jareth. She has the right to challenge her place as a suitress and according to our courting rituals there is nothing you can do about it, even if you already have chosen, since you have not made your choice public before the court.

  “Damn the entire High Court to hell.”

  Jareth let go of a long and loud groan of discontent as he wiped his hands over his face. He despised all of this High Court red tape. Who were they to decide over such personal affairs as courting and marriage? He already had decided fifteen years ago to make Sarah his wife, his queen.

  Now that he finally had gotten her to proclaim her love for him and agreed to let him court and even marry her, this evil wretch of a princess decided to throw a kingdom size wrench into everything he had so diligently worked for.

  He had to tread careful with this one or the High Court could order him to return Sarah to her world and never see her again. He could not risk this, as it would mean he would have to kill a princess, which probably would cost him his crown and kingdom, not that he cared about any of it at this point.

  “I must speak to my mother. Where is she?” Jareth declared with great urgency as he jumped out of his throne and strode down the stairs and towards the exit of the room with great haste.

  “I believe she is in the Queen’s Garden having tea with Céline and Sarah”, Corrigan cringed, biting his bottom lip.

  “By all the gods, this is an absolute disaster”, Jareth sighed with despair and disappeared in a cloud of glitter and black smoke caused by his raging anger.

**************************************************

  All three women were having tea in the Queen’s Garden when Jareth reappeared and approached the group with chary steps, carefully trying to hide his feelings of rage and anger. He wore his mask of inscrutability with perfected diplomatic skill.

  “Jareth”, Queen Alia called out as she saw her son approach, and Sarah’s face lit up with a bright smile, which at any other time, Jareth would have cherished like a rare diamond.

  Now it only added a pain to his heart at the thought of what was about to happen. How would she take all this new development? He desperately needed to talk to his mother first before he could address Sarah on this.

  “Mother, so good to see you in the company of such a lovely lady.”

  He looked lovingly at Sarah and gave Céline a hateful glare.

  “.... ladies”, he forced to correct himself, swallowing the bitter bile that had made its way up his throat and into his mouth.

  He placed a gentle kiss on the top of his mother’s hand and Sarah’s, but only ghosted the hand of Céline. No, this wretch was not worthy of his endearments. She deserved to have her hand bitten off by him, not kissed. Céline displayed a frown over his dismissal of her, but remained quiet as Jareth took a seat between his mother and Sarah.

  “So, what brings you here, Son? It definitely is not our demure conversation. Maybe the company of a certain lady?” Alia jested and gave a knowing look towards Sarah, who blushed lightly, causing Céline to frown her brows once more.

  “Most verily, I would love my lady’s congenial company, but I am actually seeking a conference with you, Mother. If you allow me to drag you away from your lovely companion and Céline for a short while, I would be grateful.”

  His official tone welled up a feeling of askance and caused Alia to quirk an eyebrow. Knowing her son as well as she did, she intuitively knew something was seriously wrong and immediately turned to Sarah and Céline to excuse herself.

  Luckily, Sarah had not noticed Alia’s worried face as she hurried after Jareth to an isolated corner of the garden. Céline, however, smiled in a wicked and conceited way as she stuck her nose into the air and continued to sip her tea in silence.

  She knew what the chat was about and inwardly congratulated herself. She would show that arrogant little mortal git how the game was really played and won.

  “Mother, did you know about the complaint and the petition Céline filed with the High Court?”

  “She did what?” Alia gasped and grabbed Jareth’s hand in a motherly gesture.

  Jareth only nodded desponded and handed her the parchment, which he had re-conjured from the pile of ashes earlier in his throne room. Queen Alia quickly unfolded it and looked it over, her eyes narrowing and her face contorting with growing vexation as she read.

  “That little, conniving harlot”, she seethed through her gritted teeth. “What is she trying to achieve with this? And considering it was me who brought her here in the first place. This is all my fault.”

  Queen Alia crumbled onto a nearby bench and clasped her mouth with her free hand while still holding on to the summons. She shook her head in frustration.

  “It is not your fault, Mother”, Jareth replied softly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You had no idea about my courtship with Sarah or how mean-spirited Céline can be. True, you could’ve asked me prior to bringing her, but I do not fault you for this. This is all Céline’s conniving. I think she is doing it to spite Sarah and me. She does not feel anything for me but resentment, it’s all one big game of revenge for her.”

  “Well then, I guess we need to play our own game if that is the game she is playing”, Alia responded with a wicked smile on her lips, which was soon joined by Jareth’s devious grin.

  “Any ideas, Mother?” Jareth asked while Alia chuckled and took his arm to return to the interrupted tea party.

  “A few”, she replied cryptically with an inscrutable countenance and sat back down at the table where Sarah and Céline were still seated in quietude.

  The imploring look in Sarah’s eyes softened Jareth’s stance, as he knew she wanted answers why he had been so reticent about his little chat with his mother.

  He bent over her to place a loving kiss against her lips, much to the dismay of Céline, who stared flaming holes into his back.

  “I shall tell you later in.... our chambers, Love”, he whispered quietly into her ear where only she could hear him.

  Sarah gave him a coy smile with bright eyes and nodded.

  “Lady Céline, please forgive me, but I have to leave. Important business has come up, and it will need to be taken care of immediately. I am sure I shall see you later.”

  He emphasized his last sentence with a stern look from ice cold eyes to let her know he did not approve of her scheme. She wanted him to court her, he would prove to be the suitor from hell and make her wish she had never pursuit this route nor him.

  Jareth bowed to all three ladies, giving one more last loving glance towards Sarah before he turned and walked away. Sarah’s eyes lingered on him until he disappeared behind a row of peach trees before she reluctantly turned her attention back to the tea party at hand.

**************************************************

  “That god damn, motherfucking bitch did what?” Sarah yelled on top of her lungs as she tore off her earrings and tossed them onto her dressing table where they bounced off and landed somewhere inside the longhaired fur rug.

  “Damn it”, she growled with overboiling frustration and went down on her hands and knees to look for them, but Jareth had already found them with his magic and conjured them back into the little bowl on top of her table.

  “Thank you”, she muttered apologetically and stood herself back up, only to glare at him with murderous eyes again.

  She was not angry at him, far from it. She was angry at the entire realm, at the High Court, and at the laws and traditions of this world, but mostly she was fuming because of Céline.

  “Why is she doing this? Tell me? What is her game?” Sarah bellowed out and waved her arms through the air like a crazed maniac. “I’m going to make that bitch pay for this.”

  Jareth gently took hold of her arms and held them down as he looked deeply into her eyes.

  “Precious, you need to calm down. This is not helping”, he tried to sooth her to no avail.

  “Calm down? CALM DOWN?” she yelled with a drawl. “I show you calming down when I toss that fucking whore into the bog headfirst, twice, no make that thrice, and leave her ass in there thirteen days after each toss.”

  Jareth couldn’t help but to smirk at the thought of Céline being tossed headfirst into the bog three times by a furious and out of control Sarah. He had an impending feeling of doom that Céline had tangled with the wrong person this time.

  Sarah would prove to be much more than Céline had ever bargained for, and he could hardly wait to see what she had in store for this insolent and infuriating princess.

  “We need to get going, Love. The council is waiting on us, and they do not take kindly to late comers.”

  His eyes beseeched hers, and she finally calmed down enough to let him finish conjuring a suitable gown on her with the appropriate jewellery for accompaniment.

  “You look beautiful, Love. I don’t care what they will have to say, my heart and soul belongs to you. They always have and always will.”

  He took her chin into his hand and tilted her head, so she could look him straight into his eyes while he placed a most ardent kiss to her lips, his tongue gently reaching out for her before they intertwined in a most erotic dance.

  “I love only you, always remember that”, he whispered with closed eyes as he withdrew his face and let go of her chin.

  “I love you too, Jareth”, she answered with renewed confidence and resolution. “Let’s go and do this.”

  Disregarding the amount of energy it would take, with the wave of his hand, Jareth transported the two of them directly to the front door of the council chamber.

**************************************************

  Sarah chewed nervously on her bottom lip as she stood next to Jareth in front of the assembled High Court. She gazed into the cold stares of thirteen high royals from every major kingdom of the Underground. Not all were fae, as some were elves, dwarves, a troll, a couple of wood nymphs, and even a centaur.

  Due to the close relations with Jareth, Queen Alia and King Olaf had recused themselves from participating in the proceedings and had turned over the leadership to the next high-ranking woman on the council. They still were present, however, and stood by as observers.

  Sarah couldn’t help but to be impressed, and her eyes lingered on each of the council members as she took in their entire appearance. Some elicited a faint smile as they noticed her interest in them, others gave a frown of discontent, and the centaur seemed completely indifferent to her gawking.

  Céline stood on the other side of Jareth with a smug smile on her haughty face, making Sarah wish she could wipe it off of her with a well-placed punch. The gallery was full of spectators, as this was a public hearing, much to the aggravation of Jareth, who did not want his personal affairs displayed in such a vulgar and repulsive manner.

  “The High Court has come to order. I am the high judge and will preside over these proceedings and you will address me as your High Honour. Our names are of no consequence to you, only our titles. Now, Princess Céline, Royal Highness to the Wood Elf Kingdom, please step forward and make your complaint heard.”

  The older fae woman glanced over at the elf princess and signalled her to begin stating her claim.

  Eagerly, the princess stepped forward with a thin smile on her tightly pressed lips and batted her eyes at the crowd. She lightly tossed her head and casted a look of disdain at Sarah before she addressed the court in person.

  Her voice rang loud and shrill through the chamber and grated at every one of Jareth’s nerves as his jaws clenched and his teeth gritted against each other.

  “Your High Honour, I request for the Goblin King to accept my courting of his. He is already courting the Lady Sarah, however, according to the laws of the Underground, since he had not publicly declared his choice of her as his chosen, it is my right to enter the contest.”

  “Hm, is that true Goblin King?” the high judge asked Jareth with a point-blank stare. “You have not publicly announced Lady Sarah as your intended?”

  “Your High Honour, I have not prior, as she only told me last night that she accepted my proposal”, Jareth admitted through tightly clenched teeth, “But, let it be known now that I have chosen her as my future wife and queen and will take no other in her place. Princess Céline’s pursuit in this matter will be without fruition and therefore pointless and a waste of time for all parties involved.”

  “And why is that so Goblin King? Why would no other suffice? Is the Lady Sarah special in any way?” a small elf man chimed in, looking at Jareth through his monocle with peculiar interest.

  Jareth swallowed and casted Sarah a cursory glance as she gently reached out and gave his hand a light squeeze. He also quickly looked over at his mother, who sat like a stone statue to the right of the council table, next to his father and below the spectators in the upper gallery.

  His mother gave him a light nod and smile of encouragement. They had intensively talked about it. His father remained stoic and passive, but a light twinkle in his eyes told Jareth he had his support, regardless of the ruling of the council.

  Jareth redirected his attention back onto the council in front of him, which sat motionless and patient to await his answer. He took one deep breath, with his heart about to jump out of his chest, and swallowed the lump in his throat as the public declaration he was about to give was unheard of for a monarch.

  “Lady Sarah is beyond special because.... because I love her. I have given her my heart and my soul.”

  A collective gasp washed over the congregation in the hall, and even some council members gave an exhale of shock. Royal marriages had long been arranged and entered into for the good of the respective kingdoms, not because of love.

  Love was considered irrelevant and trivial. Only the lowest of commoners may marry for love only, and even then it was rare. There always had to be a profit or a gain of some sort from the binding.

  To give one’s heart and soul was considered dangerous, as it left the other party vulnerable. Vulnerability was not a desirable trait for any royal. Love only factored in after marriage, as was the case even with Jareth’s parents. They dearly loved each other now, but they hadn’t when they had been forced to marry, as their marriage, too, had been arranged by their houses.

  “Love, Goblin King? You claim you love this mortal?” the high judge added to her previous question with a surprised tone in her voice.

  “I wholeheartedly do”, Jareth reiterated his point with confidence.

  “With all due respect”, Céline piped in unceremoniously, drawing a critical look from several council members over her breech of etiquette. “All this talk about so called love is irrelevant. The rules clearly state that any other suitor or suitress can enter the courtship as long as the courted person has not publicly declared his or her decision of a mate. Which is the case here.”

  Céline was proud of her little compelling speech and lifted her face with thinly lined lips and a haughty smirk surrounding them. Jareth wanted to magically suspend her by her feet over the bog right this instance.

  Sarah seethed in silence, and it took all her willpower not to rip Céline's fake blonde hair out, one by one.

  “You do have a point Princess Céline. What does the Lady Sarah have to say? How do you feel about the Goblin King?” the high judge council woman directed her impenetrable gaze at Sarah, followed by every eye present in the room.

  “I, too, love him with all my heart and soul. He is my chosen”, Sarah answered without any hesitation and held the intense stare of the high judge, who, for the first time, smiled back at her for her candid and forthright answer, albeit fleetingly.

  “Princess Céline, why do you want to pursue this courtship of a man who clearly has already given his heart to someone else?” the centaur now directed his question towards the princess.

  “I don’t look to win a heart. I know marrying the Goblin King comes with power and prestige, and a binding between his kingdom and my father’s kingdom would benefit all of us. I know King Jareth since we were children. Eventually, he will come around to me and my.... assets. He is but a male. Love is given to the one present in a man’s bed, not in his heart.”

  Céline smiled smugly and glanced around the assembly to gauge the effect of her answer. She could tell that Sarah had been affected by her mentioning the ‘present in bed part’, and she relished in the fact she was able to hurt this mortal git via hints of taking the Goblin King into her own bed.

  The centaur frowned at her answer but remained quiet. Sarah glanced over at Jareth, whose countenance remained impregnable. The only sign that Céline’s statement had affected him was a slight stiffening of his posture, so minute, only Sarah could detect it.

  How her heart ached for him, hearing Céline’s cold, harsh words as if he were an object and a prize to be won, a mere toy to play with and to discard after tiring of him.

  She wanted to cry for him. She wanted to scream for him, but she remained quiet as she forced back the tears that threatened to fall from her rheumy eyes.

  “King Jareth, what do you have to say about Her Royal Highness’ request. Will you grant it to her?” a wood nymph asked with a high-pitched voice, giving an impatient stare with big round watery eyes that seemed to be as clear as a mountain spring.

  “Absolutely not”, Jareth declared with a firm voice that dripped with venom and left no doubt that he abhorred even entertaining the thought.

  “Thank you for your honesty, Your Majesty”, the nymph replied and returned a smile of admiration to him. “For our kind, too, love is a great gift not given lightly, and it must be cherished.”

  “According to our laws and traditions, the Princess Céline has a right to fight for the hand of the Goblin King. We all admire the love the king has for his mortal chosen. Love as such is a rare treasure in the Underground, and it should be treated like the rare jewel it is, with utmost care and protection, however, even we of the council are not above the laws.”

  The high judge shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Despite her unreadable expression, it was clear she was not fond of the idea of having to force a king into courting anyone he did not wish to, especially if he had already chosen one, and the only thing that stood against was a mere technicality. But rules were rules, and she resigned herself to that fact with a deep frustrated sigh.

  “As much as we would love to rule on the Goblin King’s and the Lady Sarah’s behalf and wish them a long happy and fruitful life with many heirs, we cannot overlook the legality of Princess Céline’s request and the validity of such.”

  “Therefore, the ruling of the council is for Her Royal Highness, Princess Céline. We are granting her three months of courtship with King Jareth. The rules are clear. He must give equal time to each of his suitresses. No intimate physical contact beyond kissing and general above clothing fondling during this time with either woman. Each woman must have her own room and cannot spend the night with the king. After the month is over, King Jareth is free to choose his intended.”

  “Three months?” Jareth hissed with disapproval and was immediately given a very stern look from the high judge as she glared down at him with scolding eyes from her seat.

  “Do all parties agree to this?” she asked, and Céline immediately gave her approval.

  “I object”, Sarah called out and all eyes focused on her while Jareth’s sucked in his breath.

  In an instant, the courtroom broke out into a cacophony of voices and gasps. Refusing and even challenging the verdict of the High Court was unheard of. The high judge had to strictly enforce order in the room as she sent a silencing wave from her hand across the court chamber, which instantly stemmed the flow of any and all discussions.

  “My dear, you don’t seem to understand the ramifications of your objection. If you do not agree to the rules laid out by us, you will be banished from the Underground, and King Jareth will no longer be able to see you. Is that what you wish, or are you willing to fight for him?”

  The centaur gave Sarah a beseeching look with his grey eyes, as if to tell her to pick up a sword and slay her opponent. His words hung like a challenge over her head, and Sarah looked at him in stunned silence before she diverted her eyes from him and his steely gaze in a pensive moment.

  “You fight for your honky sexy king with all you have. Do not let him slip through your fingers and hand him over to this foul piece of a wretched witch.”

  Her libido and her mind seemed to be in full agreement with each other, and Sarah looked back at the centaur, who held his intense gaze upon her and slightly knitted his brows in anticipation of her answer.

  “What is your answer, Lady Sarah?” he asked again, more pressing this time as the entire room had fallen dead silent for her reply.

  “I.... agree”, she whispered with a blanched face and lowered her gaze towards the floor, failing to see the warm smile that had worked itself onto the centaurs’ countenance, followed by a big exhale coming from his chest.

  “Goblin King?”

  The harsh voice from the fae council woman called out for him to make his decision.

  “Objection, Your High Honour. I propose a set of games”, he instead replied with a devious smirk appearing in the corners of his lips.

  Again, a collective murmur moved through the assembled crowd of the room at this highly unusual and unconventional suggestion. It only ceased after the threat of the high judge to release another wave of magic. Instantly, the room fell silent once more.

“A list of games chosen by me and the council. If Princess Céline wins, I will give her the three months. If Lady Sarah wins, the courtship is over and null and void. Lady Sarah will be my official intended and there will be no more talk about Princess Céline interfering with us, or anyone else for that matter.”

  “This is a highly unusual proposition to bypass the rules, however, not against the laws. Then again, you have always had a penchant for the unusual”, the fae woman replied with a quirked eyebrow as a half-smile fleetingly flashed across her face.

  Again, a collective murmur erupted in the chamber as the council members and spectators alike were discussing this unexpected turn of events. Something like this had never been proposed before, but, as stated by the High Judge herself, it was not against the rules.

  Jareth knew his words had carried weight and stole a reassuring peak at his mother, noticing a wicked little smirk curled around her lips while his father looked on with a contented look of his own.

  The council debated heatedly for several minutes amongst each other before they called order to the room and re-addressed Jareth. An equally heated discussion had raged among the public observes in the upper galleries.

  “Goblin King, state three challenges or games you have for your suitresses, and the council will add its own two after viewing your list, which you will present after this meeting.”

  Jareth smirked victoriously as he stepped forward.

  “Game one: each contestant must be able to ride my dragon horse Ladon three times around the big field outside my royal stables. Game two: each contestant must be able to find their way through my tunnels in the Labyrinth. Game three: each contestant must be able to hold one hour of Goblin court without insulting my subjects and failing to pass a fair judgement.”

   Céline about lost her composure as she screeched her opposition to the three games with such fervour that the council threatened to throw her out of the proceedings and nullify her request. Sarah quietly tittered into her hand and tried not to look too pleased.

  “How have you come to the decision for these games?” the high judge asked with a now curious tone in her voice after finally having brought order to the court once more.

  “The future queen must be able to handle the beasts in my possession. She must be able to navigate the Labyrinth with confidence, and she must be able to conduct official business with my subjects in order to rule efficiently. These are the minimum requirements to be a suitable Goblin Queen”, Jareth stated matter-of-factly.

  Again, the council debated for several minutes before addressing the court to pass their decision.

  “The council finds the games suitable and will accept them as is. Three of our council members will attend as witnesses and judges and at that time present you with the games chosen from the list to be added. It is your responsibility, King Jareth, to inform the council of the time and place for each game. This meeting is closed.”

  Upon hearing the hammer hitting the table, a sigh of relief escaped Jareth as he turned to Sarah and pulled her tightly into his arms, kissing the top of her head and gently stroking her back.

  Céline screamed with fury and stomped out of the council chamber, mumbling a slew of obscenities under her breath, and causing the spectators in the gallery once more to break out in uncontrolled debates over the hearing and the unbecoming behaviour of the princess.

  In her rage, she failed to see the disapproving look of the high judge council woman as she watched her over the rim of her glasses and shook her head with an incredulous look on her face before she rose from her seat.

  “Well done, Your Majesty”, the centaur congratulated Jareth with a soft smile on his lips as he walked up behind them and gave a deep bow to Jareth and Sarah.

  “I know we usually don’t declare our names on the council, but I feel comfortable with you King Jareth. My name is Mercur and my kind is more attuned to the feelings of love. We are rooting for you and the Lady Sarah. I think a little more love would do this world, and may I add the fae culture, some good. I also will be one of your judges for the games and will also choose one of the games on the list. Our paths will soon again cross.”

  The centaur repeated his bow to the both of them, the Goblin King and Sarah, and trotted off with a sated smile on his lips. Queen Alia and King Olaf hurried towards them, and Jareth could finally introduce Sarah to his father.

  “Sarah, this is my father, High King Olaf. Father, this is the Lady Sarah, my intended and future queen of my kingdom.”

  Jareth held on to Sarah’s arm and gave a perfunctory nod to his father. Sarah lowered her gaze and gave a perfect curtsy, drawing a warm smile from the lips of the high king.

  “I have heard so much of you, Child. It is like I know you already. Let’s hope the Fates have decided for you two to be together in the end. Personally, I cannot stand this wretched Céline and had it not been for your mother’s meddling....”

  “Don’t go there, Olaf”, Alia interjected with a frown and a raised finger in warning. “We’ve chewed through this enough. What’s done is done.”

  “Fine, Dear, I won’t bring it up again, but make sure this mess gets straightened out. I have to return to my kingdom. Unfortunately, it doesn’t run itself. Sarah, I hope next time we meet it will be under more enjoyable and pleasant circumstances.”

  With the wave of his hand, King Olaf disappeared, leaving behind only a few flakes of glitter. Sarah could definitely tell where Jareth got his flair for the dramatic.

  Queen Alia and Sarah finally left the council chamber after Jareth had turned in his list and made their way back to the castle beyond the Goblin City, with Céline in tow.

  Trouble, Scratch, and Juggle greeted them upon their arrival at the castle’s front doorsteps. Jareth instructed Scratch and Juggle to bring the High Queen Alia and Princess Céline to their quarters, and they eagerly bounced down the hallway to show the guests to their usual rooms.

  Sarah turned to Jareth with a slight pout on her lips.

  “Now I’m not even allowed to stay in your chamber anymore, not even mentioning the no-sex deal, and we had just made such wonderful progress in our relationship.”

  She leaned her head against his shoulder as he fully embraced her, his heart heavy with ache for not being able to spend his nights with the love of his existence.

  “It’s only temporary. Céline is not going to win any of the games. She’ll be gone soon. Why don’t you go ahead to your room, and I’ll see you in just a little while? I have some business to take care of first.”

  He gave her a warm smile and tender kiss before she turned loose of him and headed down the hallway, still looking rather dejected, while Ginny and Mary bounced around her, trying to cheer her up.

  “Trouble”, Jareth addressed his most mischievous goblin. “I will require your assistance over the next few days. Come with me, and I shall fill you in.”

  The goblin bounced big-eyed and with a big toothy grin alongside Jareth while his king laid out the plan for him.

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Chapter Text

  The next morning, the Goblin King awoke to a cold empty bed as his hand searched the space beside him, looking for the one he longed for but who was not there.

  He envisioned her warm body snuggled tight against his, his fingers caressing her velvety soft skin, her silky peach scented hair tickling his face, and gazing into those deep green, emerald orbs while a smile surrounded her lovely kissable mouth.

  He breathed a deep sigh of discontent and his peaceful face morphed into a frown as his eyes opened, and he came to the realization that he was alone. He rolled himself onto his back and let out a loud dejected groan.

  The decisions of the High Court council from the previous day came flooding back into his consciousness. For the duration of the courtship games, Sarah was not permitted to share his bed with him or bestow any sort of intimate physical contact beyond a mere kiss and a hug.

  He slung his arm over his forehead in self-pity and cringed as his ears began to focus on a most irritating grating sound coming from outside his window. Furrowing his brows, he listened harder as he lay completely still.

  “What in the bloody seven hells?” he mumbled and rolled himself reluctantly out of bed to stumble with half-cracked eyes to the window and see what was causing this infernal racket.

  His mismatched orbs popped wide open and gave him an owl-like appearance as he took in the scene from below. The goblins had set up the entire courtyard and surrounding fields in the fashion of a medieval carnival and farmer’s market.

  Various booths with fresh produce were lined along the walkways on both sides, and he could see entertainers getting ready to take to the assortment of stages to perform their tricks and acts.

  Juggle was already doing his best in throwing and catching five flaming torches through the air, which he missed and unintentionally set the stage on fire, including his own outfit.

  He ran screaming from the stage, stark naked due to his clothes having been burnt off, while the Goblin Fire Department, which had descended onto the scene with blaring sirens, doused the fire before it could engulf the neighbouring vendor booth, selling screeching harpy chicks.

  The flames and smoke had frightened the chicks, which now elicited high pitch shrieking sounds, causing the chickens from the booth across to squawk in objection and flapping their wings wildly as they ran through a pottery booth, which as a result came down with a loud clatter as its wares crashed onto the ground.

  The screaming from the affected vendors, mixed with the off-key and pitchy performance of a lone goblin singer, attempting to perform an aria from Othello, and the grinding accordion music from a carousel, powered by a set of donkeys, who were objecting to their burden with loud braying sounds, was enough to drive the most stable of person to insanity.

  “Please, let the gods have mercy on me today”, he groaned, tearing his disconsolate gaze away from the mayhem and cacophony outside.

  With a flick of his wrist, he warded his room and the offensive outside noises faded into oblivion, leaving him at least in peace with regard to his hearing.

  “Better”, he mumbled and made his way into the bathroom to attend to his morning ablutions.

  He briefly gave the large bathtub a wistful glance, reminiscing about the bath him and Sarah had enjoyed in it only two nights earlier, before he forced himself back to his cold, loveless reality and began to get dressed for the occasion.

  He had chosen his grey, tight pants, knee-high black boots, a dark-brown vest, and a white flowing poet’s shirt, showing off his chest and family crest medallion by leaving the top buttons open.

  While he preened over his hair, he couldn’t help but to smile. It was Sarah’s favourite outfit, the one he had worn during her run through the tunnels, and he knew she found him irresistibly hot in it.

  The thought of Sarah separated from him made him sigh once again, and he gave the door that led into the Queen’s chamber a longing look. Behind those doors was his beloved, who was likely getting ready herself at this very moment.

  He wondered what she was going to wear. Knowing Sarah and the task at hand, it most likely would be something appropriate for running and climbing.

  He let out one more disheartened sigh before he made his way out of his chambers and down the corridor towards the dining hall.

**************************************************

  Sarah sat on the windowsill, staring quietly into the courtyard as she watched the goblins building and erecting a small carnival and market outside. She smiled amused at the busy activity below. Goblins were so easily entertained, and even though they looked nothing like her teenage conjured cute brownies, they were still adorable in a strange sort of way.

  Watching the sun rise over the line of trees behind the gardens gave her an anxious feeling. How many more times would she be able to sit and watch this breath-taking view of the Labyrinth? What if she failed and would be sent back Aboveground and never be allowed to return here again?

  She closed her eyes and shook her head. No, she couldn’t allow herself to think that way. Jareth had the utmost confidence in her that she would win the courtship games, and Céline would be sent home without being able to court him for the next three months.

  “It’s going to work out”, she mumbled to herself to raise her confidence level and removed herself from the window.

  It was time to get ready. Her thoughts lingered briefly on Jareth and him being alone in his big bed without her, separated only by a door. Her inner eye conjured the image of his lithe naked body wrapped up in those silky sheets, covering only the bare minimum.

  She pictured him lying prone on his back, the sheets ever so slowly slipping off his strong and finely muscled body and the bed, leaving him exposed in all of his fae glory. Even as a flaccid-state-thought, he was impressive, and Sarah’s face began to flush with heat.

  “Now is not the time for that. Concentrate on the task ahead.”

  Surprisingly, her libido had agreed with her reasoning mind on this. She needed to focus on winning the games, not on an irresistibly sexy and godlike naked Goblin King in the room next door, who turned her into a hot and wet mess with a mere mental image of him.

  “I think a cold shower would be in order this morning”, she chided herself and disappeared into the bathroom for her ablutions.

  After having cooled off efficiently, she began to get dressed in a pair of tan leggings with high-topped, dark-brown boots, and a light-blue, ruffled blouse. She had found the boots Jareth had provided her with to be exquisitely comfortable. Much more than her sneakers, which she had tossed after the first day of being here.

  Jareth had told her the boots were magical and would always be comfortable, never cause sore feet, always stay dry, even if going through water, keep her feet cool in hot weather, and toasty warm during the biggest snowstorm.

  After having dressed in her chosen outfit, she gave herself one quick look over and liked what she saw. She quickly ran her brush through her long flowing hair and wrapped a hairband around her wrist in case she would need it to keep her hair out of her eyes.

  “Let’s go face the day”, she nodded into the mirror with a look of determination and self-confidence and shut the door behind her, walking with a purpose towards the dining room.

**************************************************

  Céline awoke with a wicked smile on her lips as she stretched herself out in the comfortable yet smaller bed in her room. Her ladies in waiting were already busying themselves.

  “It is time to get ready, Your Highness”, one of her servants informed her as she walked into the bathroom to fill up the tub while the other woman prepared her dress and undergarments for her.

  Céline languidly rolled herself out of bed and eagerly stepped into the tub to relish in the warm, peach-scented water while she contemplated over her upcoming trials.

  She was sure she would have no problem beating this mortal girl. After all, Céline was part elf, and this alone would give her an advantage in anything requiring speed and agility.

  She relaxed into her tub and deviously smiled to herself. Maybe after today, if not tomorrow, she would have earned the rights to court the Goblin King and then she could deploy all of her tricks and wiles she had in store for him.

  In the game of seducing a man, she was an expert in, and she was not too proud to use a little spell and potion here and there to gain an advantage. Jareth would be melted butter in her hands and soon forget anything about this Sarah of his, even her name.

  “It’s time to get dressed.”

  She was jolted out of her reverie by her lady in waiting and quickly stood up and stepped out of the tub.

  “Is Her Highness sure in wanting to wear a dress for the day?” her servant asked with a doubtful look, glancing down at the opulent dress the princess had picked out.

  “Wouldn’t a pair of breeches or a light dress be more appropriate for the tasks ahead?” the second lady asked warily.

  Céline only shook her head vehemently with a haughty laugh.

  “I have to dress for the occasion. The only task that matters is winning the eye of the king, and I cannot do this with these appalling leggings. Good gods, how offensive and vulgar they are. This dress will do everything I need it to do. I envisage that Jareth will not be able to resist me with this low décolleté and tight bodice. He has a predilection for the female assets and is a bosom man, after all. They all are.”

  She laughed with conceited derision as her ladies began applying the layers of fabric to her body. Soon, she was decked out in her bulky ostentatious dress that made her look like she was going to attend a pompous ball rather than a competitive game in the outdoors.

  Her ladies shook their heads with disapproval and defeat as Céline waltzed out of her room and glided down the hallway towards the dining hall, with her servants following faithfully behind, exchanging doubtful glances.

**************************************************

  The dining hall was filled to capacity with the usual occupants, but now also contained a long table, which was fully seated by not only the high queen and her entourage, but also the three council members, who would act as judges, Jareth’s advisor Corrigan, Céline and her two ladies in waiting, Sarah, and, of course, Jareth himself.

  It was a rather lively group, as most everyone seemed to be in good spirits and took advantage of the more than generous helpings of a hearty breakfast laid out in front of them.

  Jareth sat next to Sarah and had given her a chaste kiss on her lips upon his entry. His lips may have been chaste, but his eyes devoured her with a wistful look, and Sarah had to avert hers quickly before she turned into a bright red beet.

  Alia had noticed the little interaction between her son and Sarah and had smiled with a sated and knowing look on her face.

  Céline, on the other hand, gave their little display of affection a frown of discontent as she stuck her fork violently into another sausage link and piled her plate high with bacon and hashed potatoes, causing Jareth to quirk his eyebrow at her.

  The way she manhandled the sausage on her plate sent a silent message to Jareth that had him wince silently and move his chair just a tad further away from hers, his free hand protectively wrapped around the front of his pants.

  Sarah, on the other hand, kept her breakfast on the light side. She had competed in many track and field events during her college years and knew that overloading her stomach was the last thing she should do right now. She could fill up this evening after the games had concluded.

  She scanned the long table and each occupant carefully as her gaze rested briefly on Mercur, the centaur, seated at the opposite end, flanked by his council members, the wood nymph, and the older fae woman.

  For only a second, her eyes and the centaurs’ met, and she thought she detected a light sparkle in them, as well as a faint smile curled around his lips. She quickly diverted her gaze and concentrated on her food again. Everything seemed too surreal today, and she needed to focus and pull her mind together.

  “I believe it is time to leave”, the older fae woman announced and stood up, followed by her council members and the rest of the table. Sarah’s eyes met Jareth’s briefly as he casted her an assured smile.

  “You’ll do great, Precious. I have all the confidence in you” he acquiesced her. “After all, I shall be your ultimate prize.”

  He threw her a slightly vain and proud smirk, cocking his head to the side as she rolled her eyes at him and shook her head in disbelief. She turned herself around and walked off to head to the field.

  Jareth followed closely behind with another smirk on his lips and Céline right by his side, trying to catch his eye with no great success.

**************************************************

  When Sarah, Jareth, and Céline arrived at the big, open field behind the royal stables, the spectator stands were already filled to the brim with hooting and cheering goblins.

  Some waved flags for the Labyrinth Kingdom with the royal signet displayed while others had loud tooting instruments that looked and sounded eerily like vuvuzelas.

  The cacophony was eardrum-splitting, and Céline immediately scrunched her face into a disapproving grimace. A sly grin curled itself around the corners of Jareth’s lips, seeing her displeasure. He would tremendously relish himself in her discomfort today.

  Glancing over to his beautiful Sarah, he noticed the confident look on her face, and upon seeing the unruly goblin crowd, she broke out into amused giggles.

  Unlike Céline, she was the perfect Goblin Queen, and he prayed to all his deities in the heavens that they would shine favourably onto his chosen mate.  He contemplated over Sarah’s perfect and very suitable outfit compared to Céline’s and couldn’t help himself but to question the princess’ intelligence.

  “How in the seven hells is she going to ride Ladon with this insult of a garment? He’ll buck her off just for wearing this monstrosity. Brilliant.”

  He internally chuckled to himself at the mental image when he approached the royal suit at the head of the field and greeted his mother, who had already seated herself on her chair, flanked by her entourage.

  The three council members, who were the judges, were situated next to them in the judge’s box along with Sir Didymus, who once again took on the role as head judge and referee.

  He bowed slightly to Jareth and waved his lance excitedly at Sarah, who waved back with the same enthusiasm.

  “My Liege, may I just say that the Lady Sarah looks spectacular today”, Didymus cried out to Jareth before he took his seat.

  He smiled back at the fox knight and nodded with appreciation.

  “Have you ever seen her when she doesn’t?” he asked him with a wink and sly smirk.

  “Never”, Didymus agreed with glee and refocused his attention to the happenings on the field.

  The goblin stable hands had brought out Ladon and were in the process of attaching the saddle and bridle on him. The dragon horse seemed calm and content as he kept chewing on some hay mixed with rolled oats.

  Trouble stood close by, overseeing the saddling efforts while Sarah and Céline approached from the side. Corrigan was accompanying them and advised each on where to stand.

  Sarah remained perfectly still with a wistful smile gracing her lips as she glanced over Ladon. Céline had an utter look of terror plastered on her face when her eyes locked onto the dragon horse.

  “Have they lost their ungodly mind?”

  With an angry flushed face, she furiously stomped over to Corrigan to file an official complaint.

  “How can you let such dangerous games go forward?” she scowled with discontent while Corrigan only shrugged his shoulders with indifference, trying his best not to pay attention to her temper tantrum.

  “Your Highness, Ladon is not dangerous. He has been ridden by little children. I am sure you will be able to handle him, but if you are scared or worried, you can always forfeit this challenge, and the point will go automatically to the Lady Sarah. It is your choice.”

  Sarah could barely contain her merriment and had to hide her mirthful smile behind her hand as Céline stomped back to stand next to her again, mumbling a few choice words under her breath.

  “Hear ye, hear ye, attention all spectators. For thou shalt hear my proclamation. We art about to open the first ever Courtship Games in the Underground’s history. Today’s first challenge will consist of the simple task of riding King Jareth’s dragon horse Ladon three times around the field on a designated path. First round on the ground, the other two rounds up in the air.”

  The crowd erupted in cheers and tossed several chickens high into the sky at hearing the challenge. A loud chorus of mismatched vuvuzelas was also heard.

  “The air? This thing flies?” came the horrified screech from Céline’s distorted face, outshouting even the loudest of goblins.

  Sir Didymus stopped his opening speech and tossed her a very scolding look for so rudely interrupting his well-rehearsed disquisition and oration, which would surely go into the annals of the Underground history for its importance.

  “Forsooth, he can taketh to the air. He is a dragon, now is he not?”

  Sir Didymus glowered Céline a very intense stare with his dark fox eyes and slightly bared his teeth in a light snarl.

  “Now alloweth my conclusion”, he added with a hiss and returned back to his historic speech without another glance at the insolent dolt of a woman.

  “The first contestant to be unseated loses. If both contestants retain a hold on his back, then the speediest finisher will taketh the victory. Lady Sarah and Princess Céline, please taketh thy places.”

  Sarah and Céline stood at the line that had been painted on the field, marking it the starting line. Ladon stood idly by, munching on the rest of his hay. He quietly snorted a little puff of white smoke and looked at Sarah with soft eyes. Sarah gave him a warm smile back.

  Corrigan stepped in front of the two women and drew a name from a small, weaved basket he held in his hands. He unfolded the paper and loudly announced the name of the first contestant.

  “Lady Sarah.”

  Another wave of cheers floated through the crowd and chants of “Sarah, Sarah”, followed by three blows of vuvuzelas could be heard from the upper bleachers where Hoggle sat with the rest of the castle goblins, including Mary and Ginny.

  Jareth turned his head towards the chorus of chants and couldn’t help but to smile cheerfully. It took all of his restraint to not stand up and lead the cheers himself.

  As much as he hated it, he had to remain neutral, and his trained inscrutable countenance immediately replaced the brief smile.

  “Lady Sarah, we are having a protective field around you should you fall off Ladon. No harm will come to you”, Corrigan assured Sarah before she stepped up towards Ladon.

  “Thank you, Corrigan, I fully trust him”, she said warmly and gave him a resolute nod.

  Trouble stood by Ladon’s middle head with a big toothy grin and held out an apple for Sarah.

  “Three heads, three pieces”, he coughed inconspicuously behind his hand, which he held in front of his mouth.

  She quickly took the proffered fruit with an inscrutable countenance, belying the fact she had heard him, and broke it in three parts, giving each head a share of the apple.

  She noticed the apple had been pre-cut for her, and she temporarily furrowed her brow but quickly dismissed her suspicious thoughts. Her hand gently rubbed the horse’s forehead and then scratched briefly behind each of the dragon heads’ ears.

  “Hey buddy, may I go for a short ride on you?” she asked in a soothing tone close to a whisper.

  Ladon’s middle head snorted and nuzzled her hand, and the two outer heads elicited small puffs of white smoke with a content grunt as they moved inward towards her. Sarah gave a sated smile and perfunctory nod before she stepped to his side. 

  While Ladon was finishing up his little morsels of an apple, Sarah mounted him with the help of Trouble and seated herself deep into the saddle while grabbing the reins.

  Her heartbeat started to increase exponentially despite having sat on his back alone before while Jareth was in owl form, flying beside her. It was still intimidating sitting by herself now, knowing Jareth was nowhere near by to support her this time. Knowing there would be a magical protective field around her relieved some of her anxiety.

  Corrigan looked at her with anticipating bright-grey eyes and a crystal timer in his hand.

  “Ready?” he asked her softly and gave an encouraging smile.

  “Ready”, Sarah nodded resigned, and the crystal started blinking.

  She instantly spurred Ladon on by clicking her tongue and pressing her heels against the side of his body as he commenced to walk and then fell into an easy trot. Sarah felt comfortable and soon found her rhythm as she clicked to him again.

  “Come on boy, we need to do this quickly, so I can win.”

  Ladon’s ears moved back towards her, and as if understanding her command, he fell into a canter, which melted into a full gallop within a few strides. Sarah sat deep into the saddle and leaned forward, gently guiding him around the curves.

  The spectators on their bleachers began to morph into one big blur, and the cacophony of voices and vuvuzelas became one unintelligible roar of white noise as Ladon picked up his speed.

  She felt his body stretch out, similar to the time Jareth had ridden him behind her. Once they were in the homestretch, she gave him another push in the ribs and turned the reins lose. She could feel his body tensing up and wings extending from his midsection underneath her.

  As she briefly glanced down, she could see the leathery skin unfolding and slowly flapping up and down. She could feel him leave the ground and within seconds, they were soaring high above the field, racing along the marked path.

  She could see the goblins tearing up the seats as they jumped up and down, tossing their chickens into the air to see whether they could fly along Ladon, which they couldn’t.

  One chicken did manage to fly into his flightpath and was immediately incinerated, falling back to the ground in a well baked state. Coming around for another turn, she could make out a dark-clad funeral procession, removing the baked chicken on a small stretcher and carrying it off to the chicken yard for burial.

  As they flew over the royal visitor box, she could see Jareth standing up with his head turned up towards the sky and watching in fascination, his mouth gaped wide open, and a big smile plastered on his face.

  Queen Alia seemed equally excited, as she held on to the arm of her son, yelling something, and hopping up and down in complete unqueenly like fashion.

  Sarah had been so distracted with the going on below her that she nearly overshot the finish line. Luckily, Ladon knew when he approached and started to fold his wings back as he performed a barrel roll in mid-air at the same time he crossed the finish line.

  Fortunately, for Sarah, it came about so quickly that she hardly felt it happening, and by the time she was flooded with feelings of anxiety about it, it was over, and Ladon had landed safely back on the ground in front of Trouble, who petted all three heads with a light snicker and mischief glinting in his black goblin eyes.

  Corrigan immediately was by her side and helped her dismount the dragon horse, since her legs felt quite shaky. She was glad he was holding her up to prevent them from buckling beneath her.

  “How are you feeling, Lady Sarah?” he asked concerned, seeing her glossed over eyes and flushed face.

  “What? Oh, I’m fine, thank you”, she replied with a hoarse voice, having been jolted out of her trance.

  Only now did the roaring sound of the out-of-control goblin crowd reach her ears, and two strong arms ensconced her in a tight embrace. She took in the scent of leather and peaches and closed her eyes as she lost herself in his embrace, equally wrapping her arms around his waist while burying her face into his strong chest.

  When she lifted up her head, she was met by two mismatched eyes that beamed down at her with bursting pride. A gigantic smile was curled around his lips, and he leaned in to capture her lips before she could mutter a single word.

  “I thought you are not allowed to do that”, she frowned at him, seeing his guilty face and mischievous smirk. “Rule breaker”, she hissed with a smirk of her own before kissing him again.

  It didn’t take long before Céline voiced her opposition again and threatened to file an official complaint for fraternization against Jareth. She was met by his ice cold gaze that chilled her down to the bone and effectively shut her mouth.

  “I must return to my seat, but I’ll be back later”, he breathed a promised whisper into Sarah’s ears as he marched back to his seat in the royal box, twirling his swagger stick in his hand as he went along.

  Sarah had a licentious smile on her lips, watching her king strut across the field with pride.

  “Mine”, both her libido and mind proclaimed in unison.

  She turned around and met Céline’s disapproving scowl, which was squarely directed at her.

  “Make no mistake, you little mortal bitch. You may have ridden his dragon horse, but I’ll be the one riding his majesty in bed when this is all over.”

  Sarah’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open at her lewdness, and so did Corrigan’s, who stood close enough to overhear the brash words of the princess.

  His gaze darkened and his brows furrowed as he stared her down. He placed a calming hand on Sarah’s arm when he noticed her mouth opening, and she immediately shut it without a snide retort.

  “You are next, Princess Céline”, he spat with disdain and pointed from her towards Ladon, who stood patiently at the starting line, shaking all three of his heads.

  Céline emanated a scoff and threw Corrigan a look of derision as she picked up the skirt of her dress and marched over to Ladon. The dragon horse moved its heads towards her and emitted small puffs of black smoke of discontent when he saw her approaching.

  Trouble held on tight to the lead line and gave Céline a big grin as he held out an apple to her.

  “Give me that”, she growled with a haughty expression.  

  She snatched it out of his hand, giving him a scornful sneer, and walked over to the middle head, shoving the apple under its nose.

  “Here, take it you beast”, she scowled.

  Ladon’s middle head flicked up and then clamped onto the apple. Céline marched around the side of the animal and without further ado mounted it herself, shoving Trouble away from her with a forceful push.

  “Stay away from me, you dirty, nasty thing, and don’t think about touching me”, she hissed at the goblin with dangerously squinted eyes and knitted brows.

  Trouble’s ears laid back against his head, and his composure took on a drooping and sad disposition. Sarah hated Céline for treating the goblin as if he were a pile of dragon dung. Why Trouble seemed to like her was beyond Sarah’s comprehension, and she felt sad in her heart for him.

  “I hope Ladon dumps you on your nasty ass”, she thought to herself.

  Before she could contemplate over Trouble’s troubles with Céline, her attention was redirected towards the princess and Ladon. She had yanked the reins from Trouble and cinched them up so tight, the dragon horse could barely move his middle head. The outside heads were becoming increasingly agitated.

  Corrigan barely bothered to ask Céline if she was ready before he turned on the crystal. Like a gun out of a barrel, Ladon shot from the starting line and tore the reins violently out of Céline’s hands.

  She yelped in pain as the leather rushed through her closed hands and tore into her skin, leaving deep, red burn marks.

  She quickly regained them and started pulling back on him, not realizing that the two outer heads had become aware of the apple in the mouth of the inner head and attempted to steal it. The middle horsehead thrashed his head back and forth to avoid the dragonhead thieves on each side.

  Céline still didn’t understand what the problem was and tried to guide Ladon down the track, kicking her sharp heels deep into his side. The sudden sharp pain in its side temporarily drew his attention away from the apple as one head turned back towards Céline with a dangerous glare in its eyes.

  While one head stared at her with disgust, the other two heads were starting to scuffle over the apple again, which was still locked tightly inside the mouth of the middle head.

  Céline yanked on the reins and sharply kicked her heels when the entire mount started to turn in circles, each head fighting with either the apple, another head, or Céline’s forceful yanks and abuse by her unrelenting heels.

  Ladon began to flap his wings, gaining altitude as he rose like a spinning helicopter and hovered over the field, turning wildly in small, tight circles. Céline began to start worrying, as her anger was replaced by sheer horror when she finally realized that all three heads were in a fight with each other over the damn apple and did not care on iota about her sitting on his back.

  The crowd on the ground had followed the unfolding spectacle with great anticipation and bated breath as a hush of silence had fallen over the entire assemblage and all heads were craned towards the sky. Quiet bets were quickly placed amongst the audience.

  Queen Alia and Jareth had risen from their seats and gazed with ever-increasing fascination at the spectacle above them. Even the council members stared in disbelief at the black-smoke-spewing dragon horse and the now screeching-in-terror elf princess, who kept kicking him in the side to get his attention.

  They kept twirling higher and higher in ever-tightening circles. It seemed that finally one head had enough of her constant abuse of its body and the grating noise emanating from her throat and mouth.

  It turned around to face her and snatched her out of the saddle with its teeth, dangling her dangerously in mid-air. An audible gasp went through the stadium, and Jareth immediately morphed into his owl form and flew speedily up towards Ladon, hovering in front of his face, screeching, and clicking his beak at him.

  With the shake of his head that held Céline dangling from its fangs, he slowly lowered himself back down to the ground. Once he had safely landed, he reluctantly released the now quietly sobbing princess.

  Jareth accompanied them to the ground and turned back into his fae form as Ladon let go of Céline. In overtly dramatic fashion, she fell into his arms and held on tight to him, pushing her bosom into his chest as high and close as possible.

  “Oh, Jareth, my love, you have saved me from certain death by this dangerous beast”, she whispered and managed to press her lips against his mouth.

  Jareth immediately flinched back but was held tight in place by her suffocating arms. He refused to open his lips as he felt her tongue demanding entrance into his mouth and worked on removing her octopus like arms from his body.

  Sarah now had her own scowl on her face from this dramatic display. How dare that harlot kissing on her fae. She yanked back Céline’s arm and threatened to file her own official complaint of fraternization against the princess.

  Sarah’s interception gave Jareth the opportunity to remove himself from her grip and put distance between her body and his as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand in disgust.

  Céline had a devious smirk on her face and made sure Sarah would see her sneer towards her.

  “Oh, for crying out loud, how petulant can one be,” Sarah groaned under her breath and turned away from her to look for Jareth, but he had already wandered back to his seat, spitting into a handkerchief.

  The crowd in the meantime had broken out into a big disappointed ‘aaaaaaw’ at seeing Céline landing safely on the ground. Céline looked quite dishevelled as her perfect hair had come undone and hung in unruly strands down her neck and shoulders.

  Her makeup had been smeared, and one of her bosoms had jumped out of her décolleté, giving the goblins, and especially Trouble, more than an eyeful.

  She quickly had her ladies in waiting help her tuck it back in, looking over her shoulder to see if Jareth paid any attention to her dilemma. Her face fell when she noticed he did not and instead was heavily engaged in a conversation with the centaur and the wood nymph from the judge’s panel.

  “How stupid of her to not break the apple into three pieces. Everybody knows you can’t just tend to one head”, Corrigan snorted under his breath with an evident glimmer of Schadenfreude in his eyes.

  Sarah tossed him a knowing eye and tried to hide a giggle again when she watched Céline fight off Trouble, who had come over to help her straighten out her dress and assist her with her bosom issues. She was not too fond of it and kept slapping his hands away to keep them from touching her bodice.

  A loud barking voice interrupted the gaily happenings on the field and in the stands.

  “Thou art cupshot. Silence everyone. Hear ye, the judges art prepared to pass a ruling on game one”, Sir Didymus proclaimed and waved his spear wildly through the air to underscore his authority.

  The cacophony finally ebbed into a quiet murmur, which eventually turned into a collective hush as it fell over the gathered crowd. Sir Didymus looked expectantly at the judges, who had come to a quick decision in this matter.

  “Game one goes to Lady Sarah. She has shown exceptional horsemanship on a dangerous beast of the Labyrinth. Well done”, the centaur Mercur announced with a sated smile, and the roar that followed his short speech was deafening, as the goblin spectators became undone.

  In celebration of Lady Sarah winning the game, chickens were launched into the air, and Juggle juggled more fiery torches, setting an entire bleacher section on fire.

  Scratch only stood close by and watched the mayhem unfold as he scratched his head in contemplation over his next move.

  Hoggle, Ginny, and Mary blew as hard as they could into their vuvuzelas, and someone shot off a glitter canon and doused Sarah from head to toe into swirling glitter in celebration of her win.

  While she doubled over from a laughing fit, Céline, who had accidentally been doused by glitter as well, had another temper tantrum and requested the offenders to be locked into an oubliette.

  Nobody paid her any attention, and the canon shooters managed to melt into the crowd unseen. They needed to reload their canon for the next game.

  “A two hour respite has been implemented prior to game two for the intake of refreshments”, Sir Didymus announced, and everyone left the stands to rush to the food vendors to fuel up for the afternoon game.

  Nobody had any idea what game would be played, as it had not been officially announced yet by the judges, who had chosen this specific one from their own list.

  Sarah and Corrigan met up with Jareth and his mother to get something to eat and relax under the shade of a big willow tree. A large picnic blanket had been spread out on the lawn and was decorated with several baskets and trays of food, ranging from various fruits to breads, cheeses, arrays of cold cuts, and an assortment of drinks.

  “Here is to Sarah, may her next game be as successful as the first”, Jareth proclaimed his toast and held up his glass while everyone joined in.

  “Hear, hear”, Corrigan added with a smile, and Alia gave out a shy giggle as she clanked her glass with him and took a rather large gulp of her fae wine.

  “Sarah, you were wonderful. How did you know you needed to break that apple into three pieces?” she asked amused.

   Sarah gave a cryptic smirk and looked mischievously at Jareth, who gave her a playful kiss on her neck.

  “Let’s just say someone with dragon horse knowledge told me”, she answered with a snicker and returned Jareth’s kiss with one of her own on his lips.

  “I see”, Alia replied dryly as she supped her wine with a humorous grin of her own.

  While everyone made sure to fill up on lunch, Sarah kept it light as well. She knew another challenge was ahead of her, and she decided to stick with some bread and cold cuts only, topped off by a hand full of grapes and strawberries.

  “I have something you can eat later that is much more....substantial”, Jareth mewled quietly into her ear, causing her to blush and rival the colour of the berry she was eating.

  “Stop it”, she hissed at him and slapped him on his hand he had wrapped around her waist and which had travelled much too close to her breast. “You know we can’t do that. The council won’t allow it.”

  “Quite frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn. The council can go and....how do you mortals phrase it? Ah, yes, go fuck themselves. I much rather do that particular activity with you”, Jareth cuttingly rejoined with a lecherous grin, causing Sarah to push him away from her with a look of feigned disgust.

  “Perv”, she muttered at his smutty suggestion. “You are incorrigible, and I have to get back.”

  She stood up and hastily walked off under the booming laugh of Jareth and the puzzled looks of everyone else, who had missed the little interaction between the two.

  Queen Alia and Corrigan were grinning behind their glasses. Nothing had escaped those two, and they had found it rather amusing. Yes, those two were definitely made for each other.

**************************************************

  Sarah bit her bottom lip with nervous and anxious anticipation. She had heard Sir Didymus announce the next game only minutes ago, and it had taken a while for it to sink in.

  ‘Retrieve the goblin horn’. It wasn’t until he had started to explain what the game curtailed, and had seen the smug grin on Celine’s face, that she had been overtaken by an uneasy feeling.

  “Are you okay, Lady Sarah?” Corrigan tapped her on her shoulder and pulled her out of her pensive state.

  She jumped at his touch and gave him a wide-eyed stare. Corrigan was a lithe and tall fae, very similar to Jareth, only with reddish-brown hair and storm-cloud-grey eyes that reflected his sincerity.

  He was beautiful and mystic in his own ways, and Sarah liked him a lot, feeling very much at ease around him. He was Jareth’s best friend and most trusted advisor, so she trusted him fully as well.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve been thinking.... about this game. It requires running and all that, and Céline being elf....” she failed to finish her sentence, as she entered her pensive state again and completely forgot about him standing in front of her.

  “Don’t worry, Sarah. Nothing is for certain here. She will have to work for it, and I know you will give her hell.”

  Corrigan smiled encouragingly at her, and Sarah replied with a smile of her own, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes, nor did her face display much confidence.

  “Here art the rules”, Sir Didymus yelled into his megaphone, effectively ripping both of them out of their cogitations. “A goblin horn shall be placed on top of a tall pole at the southern Imp Beach of Fairy Island. The contestants must maketh their way to it through the Dryad Forest and across Naiad Lake to reach it. First one to blow the horn is the victor.”

  “That doesn’t sound too bad”, Sarah tried to convince herself and gave Céline a careful glance.

  She had exchanged her heavy dress for a lighter shorter gown, still refusing to wear leggings, but much more suitable for the task at hand than her previous garment choice.

  “You are so going to lose, mortal scum”, Céline snarled under her breath. “I’m an elf, this is nothing for me.”

  She pompously waltzed to the starting line and waited with a derisive look for Sarah to join her. Corrigan rolled his eyes at her display and felt like slapping her nasty expression off her countenance but managed to restrain himself.

  “Lady Sarah, Princess Céline, are you both ready?” he asked in a neutral tone, averting his eyes onto the crystal.

  At the combined answer of “yes”, he tapped the crystal, and both were off. The stadium erupted in another rousing wave of cheers and vuvuzela choruses.

  Bets had been placed heavily in favour of Sarah, even though Céline had been considered to be the most qualified due to her elven heritage. Apparently, the goblins bet with their hearts, not with their semi-logical minds.

  Sarah soon found her pace after take-off and decided to follow Céline on her track through the forest. The path had been clearly marked with little red flags, which seemed to be completely unnecessary, since goblins lined the route, holding their chickens and waving their flags.

  The sounds of cowbells, kazoos, maracas, and horns were heard all through the forest and had caused the dryads to appear with confused expressions on their frowning faces.

  They did not take lightly to such an invasion of their peaceful existence and tried to silence the offending goblin spectators with branches of trees whipping through the crowd and launching them through the air. It only encouraged the goblins to try harder and cackling laughter joined the ruckus.

  Céline had tried to shake Sarah on several occasions by unsuccessfully trying to make her trip over logs and rocks. She had gained a nice advantage over the mortal and slowed down to a comfortable trot.

  It wouldn’t be much longer until she would reach the lake. A jovial smile started to grace her lips at the thought of Sarah losing this game.

  “Halt! Stop right here”, a deep voice sounded firmly in front of her and forced her to look up and cease her forward progress.

  A small druse dressed in green, leafy leggings and shirt stood menacingly over her on a tree stump, glaring down at the princess with a suspicious and aggravated look on his face.

  “What are you doing in my forest and causing such an infernal ruckus?” he bellowed, clearly agitated over all the commotion.

  Céline gave him a surprised look as the surrounding goblin spectators quit their cheering and horn blowing and stood silently on the side-lines, waiting for something to happen.

  “Get out of my way, you empty-headed, turnip-brained creature”, Céline sneered with a scrunched-up nose.

  The eyes of the druse shot open at the insult, and the goblins let out a collected gasp. All eyes were on the druse, and the silence appeared nearly deafening.

  “How dare you insult me, the king of all dryads, in my own forest? I should punish you for this, you insolent elf wretch”, he expostulated with a roar and the trees around him quaked and trembled their leaves.

  The goblins stuck their heads between their shoulders and moved their glances towards Céline for her reaction.

  “Oh, shut up, you useless, overinflated bag of chlorophyll”, she barked back, highly agitated herself now and attempted to step around him.

  In an instance, the druse had morphed back into a slender aspen tree, and its flexible branches whipped back and flung Céline through the air as they whipped forward. The branch hit her squarely in the face, and Céline lay on her back, knocked out cold on the forest floor.

  The goblins stared at her motionless form on the ground and gave out a collective ‘ooooooooh’. One blew its horn in celebration of her demise and another branch hit him on the head, causing him to crumble to the ground with his tongue sticking out. The horn was unceremoniously catapulted into the dense woods.

  Before they could contemplate on what to do with their unconscious buddy, Sarah came trotting down the trail and wondered about the sudden silence and the group of goblins surrounding one of their own, including a very motionless Céline laying supine on the ground.

  She carefully stepped around the princess and tried to keep moving down the trail when the druse appeared again in front of her.

  “In order to pass, you have to give me a token of goodwill”, he demanded with hubris.

  Sarah gave the comical creature in front of her a puzzled look and looked back at the goblins and Céline. She tried to figure out who that creature was in front of her when she remembered the Greek stories of the dryads, protectors of the forest.

  “Show nature and trees respect, that’s all they ask for.”

  “Are you a dryad?” she asked carefully as not to offend him in case she was wrong.

  “Do I look like a dryad?” he asked with an offended huff.

  “Kind off”, Sarah replied shyly.

  “You are close, but I am a druse”, he stated with an air of haughtiness as he placed his fisted hands against his hips and stuck his face into the air, reminding her very vividly of a certain Goblin King with his demeanour.

  “What’s the difference?” Sarah inquired with a baffled face.

  “Isn’t this obvious?” he replied with a smug face and slightly moved his small branch of leaves from the front of his lower body, exposing his well-endowed physique.

  “Oh, ooooooooh”, Sarah exclaimed with a flustered face and pursed lips, quickly averting her eyes from his stately manhood.

  “Now that we have that cleared up’, he grinned mischievously, “there is still the matter of the goodwill token.”

  Sarah desperately tried to think of a token she could give the druse that would appease him enough to let her pass.

  “Respect for the trees”, she thought to herself.

  “I have this water canteen here I can give you. It is small, but it could provide some relief to a thirsty bush or sapling.”

  Sarah charily held out her hand with the canteen, and the druse quickly took it with an appeased smile.

  “Well done, mortal child. You may pass.”

  He stepped aside and let Sarah continue on her way. The goblins had watched the entire scenario unfold with stunned silence. One ran off speedily to inform King Jareth of the happenings as the others just stared in awe and watched their future queen disappear into the foliage.

  In the meantime, Céline had started to come around and sat up with a groan, holding her face with both hands.

  “What did you do to me, you twisted piece of mouldy firewood”, she yelled with growing chagrin.

  “Keep it up elf, and I’ll turn you into a carrion flower.”

  His disgruntled voice and angry face made it clear that this flower would not be a pleasant one to be turned into. Céline quickly changed her attitude and angrily handed her own water canteen to the druse.

  “Take it and let me go. I have a game to win”, she scowled and stood up, wiping the dirt off her dress.

  “You may pass”, the druse replied wryly and stepped aside.

  Céline threw him another disgruntled look but hurried past him with haste and started to gallop after Sarah and towards the lake.

  Sarah had barely reached the banks of Naiad Lake when she heard the huffing of the princess behind her. Not wanting to lose her advantage, she quickly took off her boots, leggings, and poet’s shirt and plunged herself into the water, wearing only her bra and panties.

  It would only be a one-hundred-metre swim before they would reach the island, and Sarah was a decent swimmer. She didn’t think elves held any special natural skills in swimming. She was glad she had taken swimming as an elective in college and had learned proper breathing and stroke techniques.

  As soon as she had taken a couple of strokes, she heard Céline jump into the water with a splash and follow her closely behind. They both were neck on neck after the first fifty metres before Sarah slowly pulled away, gaining on Celine, whose dress started to weigh her down.

  Sarah was glad she had divested herself of her clothes. Swimming in her bra and panties was not much different from a bikini in her opinion, and there was nobody out here to witness her stripping down.

  As they reached the beach, Sarah was the first to stumble out of the water while Céline was pulled under, fighting a small whirlpool caused by angry naiads that had taken a hold of her.

  Upon stepping on land, Sarah immediately sunk calf deep into a dark wet muck that seemed to grab hold of her leg and try to pull her down. When she looked down, the mud represented claws coming out of the ground and taking hold of her legs.

  “What the hell is that?” she murmured and tried to pull her leg out of the quagmire.

  It was hard and tedious going as the mud claws kept pulling her down, but she slowly worked her way across the beach. With each step she took, she sunk deeper and deeper into the mud.

  She had almost made it across and was oh so close to the pole on which top she saw the horn hanging and swaying lightly in the breeze.

  Her hands were reaching out for the pole when she heard Céline come up from behind in a rapid motion, laughing hysterically. She turned her head to see the reason she was laughing, and her face distorted with anguish.

  Céline’s legs were barely sinking into the soft mud, and it appeared as if she was gliding over the swampy surface. She carried such speed that she stepped on top of Sarah’s head and used it to launch herself up the pole.

  Sarah was pushed underneath the mud and had to use all of her remaining energy to work herself free and lift her head up in order to breathe.

  She wiped the thick caked dirt out of her eyes and blinked them open carefully, only to see Céline way up on top of the pole. As a growl of defeat escaped Sarah’s throat when she heard the victory call of the goblin horn being blown by the princess.

  “Bitch”, Sarah grumbled under her breath and struggled to free herself from the clinging muck. “Imp Beach on Fairy Island, now I know why it is called that”, she hissed angrily. “Full of trickery.”

  Within seconds of the call, they both found themselves back in the stadium in front of the judge’s box. Céline had a smug expression on her face as she gleefully handed the horn over to the centaur, who took it with a disappointed look on his face.

  Sarah still crawled around on the ground, caked in a thick mud layer, spitting dried dirt out of her mouth, and trying to blink her eyes open. Corrigan quickly came to her aid and handed her a glass of water and a towel.

  Jareth lowered his head with a frustrated look and waved his hand inconspicuously. Instantly, Sarah was clean as if she had taken a shower and her clothes were back on her body.

  As much as he had enjoyed seeing her nearly naked form, looking as if she had just finished a mud wrestling contest, it was a look that he didn’t feel like sharing with anyone but his own eyes.

  It had given him the idea though of a one-on-one mud wrestling game for another time. He smugly smiled at this idea and found it to be ingenious and quite arousing.

  Sarah in the meantime didn’t look so happy about herself but was thankful for Jareth to rescue her from her current state of embarrassment. She blew him a kiss when she met his eyes and saw the love he held for her in them.

  “Hear ye, it appeareth we hast a victor of game two”, Sire Didymus announced with a voice full of disappointment. “By my fay, it is Princess Céline. Hark on that.”

  His announcement was instantly followed by a chorus of boos from the bleachers and a canon shot of chicken feathers, which descended like a blizzard onto Céline. She elicited a growl of displeasure and sneered at the spectators, who waved their flags and blew on their vuvuzelas, shouting Sarah chants again.

  “This concludes the activities of the day. Two games shalt be conducted on the morrow, and one additional on the third day if required. The carnival will be open until midnight. Chicken tossing contests are strictly forbidden for the safety of all revellers”, Sir Didymus concluded the day’s games and stepped off his podium.

  “May I extend my sympathies to the Lady Sarah. It is most verily difficult to defeat an elf in their element, and their element is running and defying gravity.”

  He tried to console Sarah and gave her a quick hug, followed by a bow. She returned a gentle smile and bid her farewell to him. In an instant, Jareth was on her and held her in a tight embrace.

  “It is all right, Love. I really hadn’t expected you to win this game. Personally, I did not consider it to be a fair game, considering her being half elf.”

  Sarah couldn’t help but to chuckle.

  “Not fair? How do you know? Do you have a base of comparison for this?” she jested, but he laid claim to her lips in a tender kiss instead of answering her question.

  “You know, I won’t give up on you, and I still have the utmost confidence in you winning the challenge at the end.”

  He held her tightly in his arms, which did not sit well with Céline, judging by the death glare she shot at Sarah.

  “I also loved the way you handled the old druse in the forest. Céline got what she deserved. My goblins gave me a detailed report, plus, we saw it all unfold in a huge crystal in the middle of the field”, he added with mirth when Sarah gave him a bewildered look.

  “So, like a big screen during a football game?” she asked with astound. She never thought crystals could be that large.

  “Kind of”, Jareth replied with blithe. “Although I had to blur the view some when you started your little striptease routine by the lakeshore, Precious”, he added with a possessive hiss.

  Sarah gave him a confounded look as he pulled her even tighter into him and his mouth brushed over her ear, causing her to tremble with excitement.

  “Some things, I won’t share with anyone, and you taking your clothes off down to your erotic lacy underwear is one of those things.”

  “Oooops”, she replied with an impish grin and blushed face. “I didn’t realize I was being watched.”

  “For all it was worth, the judges were very impressed by your quick thinking”, he smirked, withdrawing himself and looking straight into her eyes.

  She flashed a jovial smile, gave him a tender kiss, and leaned her head against his shoulders. Slowly, the excited crowd made its way out of the field and moseyed on down towards the carnival and market below the castle, including Queen Alia and her entourage.

  “You did exceptionally well, Lady Sarah”, came the deep sounding voice of the centaur.

  Sarah lifted her head off Jareth’s shoulder and instantly removed herself from him and stood straight with a slightly blushed face.

  “It is quite all right”, the centaur laughed at her self-consciousness. “There are no rules to hug or even kiss the king.”

  He smirked at her with amusement as the fae woman and wood nymph giggled.

  “Best of luck to you tomorrow. May the blessings of the gods be shining down on you tomorrow”, the wood nymph chimed in before all three judges took their leave with a bow towards Jareth and joined the rest of the attendees at the fairground.

  “Looks like we are all alone all the sudden”, Jareth whispered softly into her ear.

  He gave her a roguish grin and pulled her close to his body, pressing his hips suggestively into hers and rotating them in a seductive motion. Sarah could feel him hardening immediately upon contact and sighed.

  “We can’t do anything”, she breathed dejectedly and laid her head against the crook of his neck while closing her eyes.

  She heard a whooshing sound accompanied by a light breeze and found herself in her chambers, ensconced in Jareth’s arms.

  “I know”, he whispered softly. “And I plan to abide by the rules. That doesn’t mean I can’t dream and fantasize about it.”

  He trailed soft, hot kisses down the side of her neck and across her cleavage as his hands cupped her butt cheeks over her leggings.

  “You looked so incredibly sexy when you were nearly naked all caked in the mud”, he moaned between kisses. “I wanted to ravish you more than anything at that moment. As soon as we get the green light again, I shall take you to the central swamps for a little game of mud wrestling.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a salacious look. Sarah replied by pressing her lips against his in a deep kiss, gently inserting her tongue into his mouth and performing a slow dance with him. A tender push and pull of their tongues, a sucking of their lips. Each took and each gave.

  Jareth finally pulled himself away with a pained countenance.

  “I cannot continue this kiss, or I shall lose control”, he groaned.

  He took her hand and guided it down to his crotch, showing her what impact her kiss had made on his now very hard member.

  “I think we need a distraction. Why don’t we join your mother and my friends, Hoggle and Didymus, for a fun filled night at the fair?” she suggested with a coy smile and reluctantly removed her hand from her favourite part of his anatomy.

  “It may be just what the healer ordered”, Jareth concurred.

  He proffered her his arm, and they both exited the chamber to join up with the rest of their group to enjoy their evening with carnival rides, dancing, and food. Anything to get their minds of what they really wanted from each other. It unfortunately had to wait for another day or two.

Please leave a kudos❤️ or comment, bookmark and subscribe. I live for your responses, and it keeps my muse fed as I am currently finishing up writing my next story, and I also have a continuation planned for this story with a collection of one shots and shorter multi-chapter segments. The series will be called 'The Games We Still Play'. Your support means the world to me. Thank you all.

Chapter Text

  Sarah stood on the balcony of the queen’s chamber, overlooking the vastness of the Labyrinth spread out below, which was cast in a soft golden glow by the setting sun.

  She could see colourful birds in the distance, performing aerial dances in mid-air as they tried to catch a few of the evening’s sprites that were out and about for their nightly flights.

  She adored this view and the peace it brought with it, and she internally hoped with all of her heart she would never have to leave it behind. The warm evening breeze played gently with her hair, and she closed her eyes to feel the breathy draft cool her flushed face as her mind was suddenly filled with certain evocative images of her Goblin King.

  “Hm, Jareth”, she hushed a soft whisper and leaned her head back with a wistful smile as his name rolled off her tongue like the sultry lyrics of an old bluesy love song. 

  “Precious.”

  The deep baritone voice from behind her was sensual and erotic and oozed with irresistible seductiveness. It sent a delightful quiver down her spinal column, and Sarah turned around languidly to gaze into a pair of mischievous mismatched eyes, which bore deep into her soul while a sly grin worked itself around his inviting lips.

  “Jareth, what are you doing here? You know you are not supposed to be here”, Sarah replied with a mocked scolding tone, but her eyes told him otherwise.

  “And why is that?” he asked innocently, giving her a brief Cheshire cat grin.

  “Because the council forbade it”, she replied slightly flustered.

  Jareth cocked his head as if he was studying her and approached slowly, all the while holding his intensive gaze on her eyes. Sarah stood still and watched him with bated breath, her lips slightly parted, and her heartbeat quickening. His whole demeanour reminded her of the Escher Room.

  He wore his tight grey pants with a flowing white poet’s shirt that was left open to his mid chest, exposing his pale and shimmering skin beneath, his amulet lightly swaying with his movements.

  His overly tight pants were hiding truly little of his bulge behind the thin fabric, which was evident by his arousal. The feathery light cape fluttered in the breeze and gave him a slightly menacing yet alluring appearance.

  “Is that so?” he whispered as he came to a halt right before her, so close that his chest was touching hers, and she could smell his intoxicating scent of leather and spices.

  She closed her eyes and took in his fragrance, nearly losing herself in it.

  “You said you would abide by their rules, Jareth”, Sarah again tried weakly to reason with him but was only greeted with an amused laughter of his.

  He lifted his hand to the side of her face and gently began to caress her cheek with his gloved thumb. Sarah didn’t flinch back from the touch, but instead closed her eyes and leaned into him.

  He drew his body closer as his arm gently engulfed her waist. His face was so close to hers now, she could feel his hot breath on her cheek as he leaned forward and gently nibbled on her earlobe.

  “I am abiding by their rules, but this, Love, is only your dream, and the rules didn’t state I can’t come into your dreams. You wished me here, after all,” he purred into her ear.

  Sarah opened her eyes with astonishment and turned her head to look at him. In an instant, he captured her lips with his and darted his tongue eagerly into her mouth. She welcomed him in and reciprocated his kiss as eagerly as he was given it.

  “This is my dream?” she muttered into his kiss and felt him smile.

  “Yes, Love. It is and, we can do anything we want.”

  He withdrew from the kiss and looked deeply into her eyes with a lustful smirk as he tightened his grip around her waist and held her flush against his hips. She could feel his arousal straining against her stomach.

  “What is it you want, Precious? Tell me”, he breathed into her ear again and licentiously let his tongue glide down the side of her neck.

  A pleasurable shiver ran through her body as she licked her lips and gave him a longing look. How she had missed his closeness to her, the feel of his warm and strong body and his finely chiselled muscles beneath his shirt.

  “I don’t know”, she answered, not fully truthful with downcast eyes, drawing a chuckle of mirth from him.

  “Oh, but I think you do”, he retorted with a hush of a whisper and moved his hands slowly down her body to let them come to rest on her buttock, each gently cupping one cheek.

  “I think you know exactly what you want. That’s why neither one of us is wearing any clothes.”

  Only now did she noticed they were suddenly both naked. She stared down his unclad body and her eyes came to rest on his hard erection, pressing up so close to her centre.

  She bit her bottom lip as a yearning desire for him came welling up inside her like hot liquid magma shooting up the shaft of a volcano. 

  “I want you, Jareth. I want you to make love to me”, she replied softly with now total honesty, accompanied by a seductive smile.

  He recaptured her lips in a passionate fiery kiss and gently led her backwards towards the bed. She closed her eyes again and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, giving him all with her lips and tongue.

  At the feeling of soft pillows behind her neck and head, she opened her eyes and found herself laying on his bed with him leaning over her.

  “Do you do that often, come to helpless women and invade their dreams to ravish them?” she asked him with a sly smirk.

  “I only come to the ones who bested my Labyrinth and ask for me. And since that would only be you....”

  He didn’t get to finish his reply as she eagerly claimed his mouth and pulled him down into her.

  “Make love to me, Jareth; I want you now”, she demanded with a heavy breath.

  His hand slowly and meticulously moved down the side of her body, savouring the touch of her soft skin and the warmth of her body. He rested his hand on her hips briefly before he wandered down to her upper leg and gently massaged the inside of her thighs, moving ever so closer to her heated centre.

  Sarah moaned and slightly moved her hips to signal him how ready she was for him. He smiled with predatory satisfaction and gently glided his hand to her folds as she opened her legs for him.

  “Looks like you are already so wet and ready for me”, he sighed with bliss as he entered a finger and felt the slickness and heat of her channel.

  “Oh, god, Jareth, you have no idea”, she moaned and spread her legs further as her hips moved into his hand to encourage him to insert another.

  “Oh, but I think I do”, he groaned and recaptured her lips briefly.

  He let go of her mouth and worked his way down her body, leaving a trail of small kisses along the way as his tongue licked gently across her breasts, catching a taunt nipple in his mouth, and gently sucking on it before switching to the other one. His tongue drew small circles around her buds as Sarah moaned with pleasure.

  “Do you like this, Precious?” he whispered, and Sarah replied with another lustful groan and a wispy yes.

  He kept moving farther down and gently sucked on her soft flesh around her hips before he left kisses along the inside of her thighs. When his mouth finally laid claim to her folds, and his tongue eagerly sought out her clit, Sarah violently bucked her hips and called out his name.

  He inserted another finger into her, and his tongue slowly drew circles around her pleasure bud. His ministrations were meticulous and calculated. He knew how to elicit the most intense sensation from her. He gave out a moan of his own as he tasted her sweet juices and increased the pace of his pumping and licking.

  Sarah was at the precipice of her orgasm and lifted her pelvic towards him as she let out a cry that left his name lingering on her lips. Jareth let her ride it out before he withdrew his fingers. He looked up at her with a sated smile and their gazes met in a fiery exchange of desire, lust, and love.

  Like a fluid gentle wave, he slithered over her body and let her taste her own juices in a deep kiss.

  “What else do you want, Sarah? Tell me”, he asked her again. ”It’s a dream. I can do anything you want me to in your dream. Anything. Just tell me.”

  His lips sucked on hers, and his tongue vigorously explored her mouth, while his teeth gently bit and pulled her bottom lip.

  “I want to touch you. I want you in my mouth; I want you in my pussy. I want to dominate you”, she replied with a hoarse voice.

  He grinned and gave her a lecherous look as he let her take the lead. She gently pushed him off her and rolled him onto his back. Her hand took hold of his hard member and stroked him slowly a few times before she took him into her mouth and began to suck him.

  She wanted all of him and let him thrust carefully into her as she applied her ministrations. Jareth closed his eyes and moaned. His arms were stretched out above his head, with his hands clasped together as if they were being held down by an invisible rope. When she gave him a stunned look, he only grinned.

  “It is your dream, Love, your fantasy, as well as mine. As much as you want to dominate, I want to be dominated by you.”

  With a devious little smile, she returned to her ministrations of his cock, swirling her tongue around his tip, sucking it before taking him full into her once more.

  “By the gods, Sarah, that feels so.... Don’t stop, whatever you are doing, just don’t stop.”

  He started to thrust harder into her as his breathing became erratic and shallow. The sensations of inexplicable pleasure were soaring through his loins. Sarah let go of him and straddled his lap. Jareth looked up at her with glossy eyes, his hands still tied in place by the invisible restraints.

  The smile on Sarah’s face let him know what she was planning. She would dominate him now, exactly the way he liked it after the first time she had done this to him. This was his part of the dream, a new fantasy she had awoken in him.

  She lowered herself onto his rock-hard cock and took him all the way in. Her wetness let him glide in without any friction, and she slowly started to move up and down. Her movements were slow and precise.

  She fully unseated, freeing him, only to fully sheath him again. The slow meticulous movement made him come undone as he tried to buck his hips upward and a deep animalistic groan emanated from his throat.

  “Fuck me, Sarah”, he sputtered, trying to keep his rational senses, which were slowly eluding him.

  “As my king wishes”, she jested back and increased her speed and ferocity.

  Her hands rested on his chest as she pushed him down to retain more leverage and control of her hip movements. She began to ride him as hard as she could. Jareth gasped with an open mouth, his eyes screwed shut and his head tilted back.

  She relished seeing him like this, so vulnerable and yet so powerful, writhing with ecstasy beneath her and anticipating the impending cresting of his orgasm. It was at that moment that they knew they both had immense power over each other, and they both also had the complete trust of the other.

  Jareth began to cry out Sarah’s name, and his hips thrusted forcefully against her hips. Sarah felt herself on the verge of another climax, and she pleasured her own clit with her finger to speed it up.

  The wave crashed over their bodies with the strength of a tsunami hitting a steep cliff. It towered over them and rose to heights they had previously not experienced. At the moment of impact, they looked at each other with wide-open, glazed over eyes.

  Jareth tore loose from his invisible wrist restraints and grabbed Sarah’s hips, slamming her down onto his cock as he thrust up into her. He felt her inner muscles spasm and tighten around his shaft while he spilled himself deeply inside her. Several more times, he had her come down hard and him thrust up with full force until the pulsating sensation stopped.

  Sarah lowered herself down onto his chest, and his arms immediately flung around her as they lay panting and gasping. Neither spoke for some time as they tried to catch their breath and return back to reality.

  Sarah picked up her head and looked deeply into Jareth’s eyes, which sparkled like two bright stars in the midnight sky. He gently wiped some hair strands out of her face and tucked them behind her ears.

 “That was quite amazing”, Sarah finally managed to say as she let out a light chuckle. “So, we actually did it in our dream? You and me, together, the same dream?’ she asked with incredulity.

  “Yes, we did. It’s called dream sharing. And who is more skilled at this than I, Master of Dreams”, he replied with a haughty smirk.

  “So, we are still dreaming right now?”

  Jareth nodded with a smile. “Yes, we are.”

  “I guess that’s one way of getting around rules”, she added with a giggle.

  “Loopholes. Every rule has loopholes, Love. Remember that”, he laughed with merriment.

  “Cheater”, she laughed and gave him an ardent kiss, he held with all the passion he could bring forth.

  “I never cheat”, he mumbled into her kiss with a victorious smile and slowly dissolved into nothingness, leaving Sarah laying on her stomach alone in her bed.

  “Good night, Jareth. Sweet dreams”, she mumbled to herself with a jovial smile curled around her lips as she left the shared dream behind.

**************************************************

  “Oh, my god. Did we really do it?”

  Sarah sat up with a jolt and looked around the room. The sun was shining brightly through the window, which scattered the early morning rays across the floor, displaying the elegant dance of tiny little dust flecks in mid-air.

  Sarah’s gaze fell onto a folded piece of parchment on her nightstand. She gingerly reached out for it and unfolded the note:

  I hope you had as wonderful of a dream as I did. I tremendously enjoyed our dreamy encounter. Loopholes are the best, aren’t they? Love, Jareth

  “Oh, my god, we really did do it”, she came to her realization with a gasp, followed by a wicked smile and a look on her face that clearly implicated her in scheming more naughty night-time adventures with a certain Goblin King in the not-so-distant future.

  A soft knock on the door unpleasantly ripped her out of her day reveries. Mary and Ginny were peeking their large goblin heads through the crack and entered timidly after Sarah motioned for them to come in.

  “We’re here to help lady get ready for games”, Mary grinned and walked over to Sarah’s wardrobe while Ginny scuttled into the bathroom to draw the water for a nice hot bubble bath.

  Sarah gave a warm smile and pulled on her satin robe that was lying beside her bed on a chair. While she took care of her morning ablutions in the tub, the two goblin maids made up the bed and laid out her garments she had chosen to wear.

  It was another set of dark-brown breeches with a dark-red poet’s blouse this time, and a pair of grey, high-top boots. She decided to pull her hair up today into a French braided bun.

  She was quite pleased with her appearance, and Mary and Ginny second motioned her choice with two enthusiastic goblin thumbs up in the air and big wryly grins plastered on their faces.

  Sarah had to laugh at the gesture. It had been her who had been teaching all the goblins the Aboveground hand signal, amongst a few others, which were not quite appropriate for all occasions.

  A few of those may have been a mistake, as the goblins seemed to not care and used them quite freely regardless of the appropriateness of the circumstances.

  Céline had received the middle finger on more than one occasion yesterday, including one from an entire bleacher section after game two. Luckily, she didn’t comprehend the meaning of it and thought of it as a thumbs up. Sarah had to really restrain herself from tumbling over in a chortling fit.

  “Kingy waiting for lady in his sitting chambers. Has breakfast for you”, Mary interrupted Sarah’s joyful reminiscing.

  “Oh, he does, doesn’t he?” Sarah replied with a sly smirk and made her way towards the door separating her bedroom from the sitting room.

  When she stepped through, Jareth was already waiting on her, sitting at the table and supping on a cup of hot tea. A sated smirk seemed to be permanently plastered on his lips when he turned to greet her.

  “Love, I thought we could have breakfast together in private and head out to the games together”, he suggested in a cheerful voice.

  “Is that another loophole?” Sarah inquired with a teasing grin as she sat down and leaned over to give him a chaste kiss.

  “Oh, that won’t do”, he grumbled with a frown, stood up, and took her into his arms, taking control of her lips in a deep and mind melting kiss that left her shaking in her knees.

  “And yes, Dear”, he continued as he let go of a slightly dazed Sarah. “Another loophole. I can’t stay with you at night, but it didn’t’ mention not sharing a breakfast together.”

  His eyes twinkled at her, and Sarah let out a mirthful laugh.

  “You need to be careful today”, Sarah mentioned casually as she was preparing her morning toast.

  “And why is that, Love?” he inquired with inquisitively raised eyebrows, all the while grinning like a happy idiot, who had just been told he won in Jeopardy.

  “You are glowing, Hun. If I wouldn’t know better, I would say someone got something special last night.”

  She tossed him a sideways glance and quirked the corner of her lips while Jareth replied with a booming laugh.

  “I would say the same goes for you then. You glow like an angel this morning. I didn’t realize I was that good, but then again, it is no surprise either”, he chortled with self-adulation.

  “Pompous prick”, Sarah mumbled under her breath, taking a bite out of her jellied toast.

  “Only stating facts, no need for frivolous insults”, he snarked back with additional haughtiness, but tossed her a playful smirk. “It is time to get going. My lady?”

  He stood and proffered her his arm with a slight bow. Sarah grinned at him and gave him another blistering kiss on his lips before she slit her arm into the crook of his elbow, and they were on their way to the field for whatever games would await them today.

  “May I add you look absolutely stunning today, Love? Like the true Goblin Queen, you soon will be.”

  Sarah’s bright laughter rang through the hallway as they made their way out of the castle and down towards the stadium.

**************************************************

  The crowd seemed to have swelled considerably to nearly three times the size from the day before. Overnight, three additional bleacher sections had been erected, which were already spilling over, as some goblins had their smaller sidekicks sitting on their shoulders. Some daring ones were stacked three goblins high.

  When Jareth arrived with Sarah on her arm, the crowd erupted into “hails to the Kingy and Queenie”. Jareth had to simmer them down with a forceful wave of his hand, holding his riding crop.

  Sarah tried to hide a mirthful giggle behind her hand and noticed the death glare coming from Céline, who was already milling around in front of the judge’s box with a dour disposition.

  Jareth released Sarah’s arm and bowed slightly before he turned and nodded briefly to Céline, who tried to get his attention with batted eyes and a seductive smile. Jareth’s eyes pierced like ice shards through hers, causing her to lower her gaze with gritted teeth.

  Today, the princess wore another gaudy overly pompous dress with a much too revealing décolleté more fit for a vivacious Yule ball than a competition. Sarah’s outfit was a stark contrast to hers and all three council members raised their eyebrows as their eyes raked over the contestants to take in their attires.

  “Are you planning on a dance competition, Princess Celine?” the wood nymph asked with a snarky tone in her voice, giving her a derisive glance, while the centaur had a problem not to chortle behind his fist he had clenched in front of his mouth.

  The older fae woman only shook her head in disbelief as she inspected Céline’s dress from top to bottom over her rimmed glasses. Céline gave a light giggle as if to brush off the sarcasm that had oozed out of the nymph’s mouth.

  “It is only befitting for a crown princess to look as one regardless of the circumstances. One should never walk around like a commoner or whatever this supposed to be.”

  She waved her hands dismissively over Sarah’s body with a look of disgust and cringed her face.

  “You mean like the Goblin Queen should dress?” came Jareth’s snide remark from his chair, causing the centaur and the wood nymph to lose their masks of inscrutability once more as they fought to hide their mirth.

  “Let’s begin”, the older fae woman sighed and adjusted her glasses as she picked up a parchment roll and handed it to Sir Didymus.

  He ceremoniously unrolled it and glanced over it with a sated expression on his face, making Sarah relax her body instantly.

  “Hear ye, today’s first challenge will comprise of a series of thirteen riddles. Each contestant will be given the same riddle and will write the answer on a piece of paper. Each loser is given a chance to redeem their wrong question with the next riddle. If both contestants are evenly matched after the thirteen rounds then a special question by King Jareth will be the deciding factor.

  Sarah finally let out the breath she was holding. Riddles were her forte. After all she had solved the hard riddle of the doors with the blue and red knight.

  “Piece of cake, it’s a piece of cake”, she kept telling herself but somehow could not convince herself it truly would be so.

  Elves were quite sharp and astute, but then again, so was she. She had proven it before, and she would do so again.

  Céline’s face turned into a devilish sneer at hearing the first challenge of the day was a collection of riddles. She too was confident this would be a ‘piece of cake’ for her. Jareth’s head snapped back at hearing the challenge and a sly grin worked itself around his lips.

  A collective hush fell over the unruly goblin crowd and even the blowing of the vuvuzelas and shaking of the maracas had stopped. Riddles? Now that sounded like a promising opening of the day’s games.

  The stunned silence only lasted a few seconds before the goblin crowd erupted in cheers and “hail Queen Sarah” chants, much to the displeasure of Céline. Hoggle, Mary, and Ginny sat with their loyal group up in their bleachers, holding up a huge painted sign that said, ‘Good Luck Sarah’.

  Juggle had been banned from performing with flaming objects and disheartened juggled a few eggs, which he constantly dropped and created a slick egg mess with.

  Finally, the goblin security guard took the eggs away from him and motioned for him to leave, while Scratch wondered, with a head scratch, why his buddy had been kicked out, and whether to scoop up the busted eggs and use them in an egg soufflé for lunch or let them be.

  Sarah noticed Trouble whispering into Jareth’s ear and stealing glances her way every so often. Her brows furrowed and she hoped that Jareth and Trouble were not doing anything that would interfere with the game. After all, it had been Trouble who had neglected to tell Céline about breaking the apple in three pieces.

  It also had been Trouble’s closest goblin buddies who had been assembled by the druse and had aggravated the King of the Dryads to no avail with their ruckus. She shook her head to rid herself of cogitations about foul play.

  Before she could linger on any possible mischief between Trouble and Jareth, her attention was redirected towards the podium where Didymus declared the opening of day two to the roar of the crowd.

  “My ladies, here is riddle number one: ‘Give me food, I will live, give me water I will die. What am I’?”

  Immediately, both contestants wrote their answer on the paper, and Trouble picked them up to handed them to Didymus, who read them aloud.

  “The answer is fire, and both ladies were correct.”

  The goblins erupted in half cheers for Sarah and half boos over Céline’s correct answer.

  “Riddle number two”, Didymus continued. He wanted to waste no time this morning with frivolous interruptions.

  “In marble walls as white as milk, lined with skin as soft as silk, within a fountain crystal clear, a golden apple does appear, no doors are there to this stronghold, yet thieves break in and steal the gold. What is it the thieves are stealing?”

  Silence once again fell over the crowd. This one was a tricky one, and the goblins all started to scratch their heads, but none more so than Scratch, who all the sudden stopped and grinned with wide eyes. He had gotten it.

 Sarah and Céline both hesitated and thought. Glancing over to Scratch, who stood with an ‘I got it’ face off to the side really frustrated Céline to no avail. A stinkin’ lowlife goblin found the answer before she did. She scoffed and wrote her reply down quickly after a few more seconds of contemplations.

  Sir Didymus took the answers out of Trouble’s hands and read them aloud.

  “Mark thee this, the winning point belongeth to Lady Sarah. The answer is ‘an egg’. Well done, Sarah”, Didymus tagged on with a sly fox grin.

  Céline stood with a frown as she heard the stadium erupt in a cacophony of celebratory noises. Sir Didymus had to wave his spear and shout into his megaphone to restore order, as well as wipe a pile of chicken feathers off his podium from a sacrificial chicken that had been accidentally tossed towards him and had collided with his lectern.

  Jareth and Queen Alia tried their best to keep their schooled inscrutable expressions on their faces but failed miserably.

  “Riddle number three: ‘There is a house. One enters it blind and comes out seeing.’ What is it?”

  Again, Scratch had a knowing grin on his misshapen goblin face, causing once more to irritate Céline, who was still cogitating. Sarah also twisted her nose and pursed her lips before she hastily scribbled her answer down.

  “Hear ye, both ladies succeeded in the correct answer. It is a school”, Didymus declared under a ruckus cheer after looking at the answers. “Riddle number four”, he quickly added to speed things along.

  “I talk, but I do not speak my mind. I hear words, but I do not listen to thoughts. When I wake, all see me. When I sleep, all hear me. Many heads are on my shoulders. Many hands are at my feet. The strongest steel cannot break my visage. But the softest whisper can destroy me. The quietest whimper can be heard.”

  At this, a pin drop could be heard, and even the chickens had stopped squawking. Céline let a disapproving grunt escape her, and Sarah sucked in her breath.

  She knew that one, it seemed too easy. She glanced over at Jareth, but he sat with an unreadable face like a mask and stared into the empty space past her.

  Sarah squinted her eyes. She knew that look. He was guilty of something. Trouble seemed to beam from ear to ear. She heaved a sigh, slightly shook her head, and wrote down her answer quickly while Céline had smoke coming out of her ears.

  Trouble quickly collected the answers and tossed a toothy grin at Sarah with a wink. Céline only looked away and wrinkled her nose in disgust when she handed him her paper.

  She even placed a handkerchief in front of her face to emphasize her repugnance of the goblin. Sarah only rolled her eyes at her outrageous and overacted display.

  “Mark thee this, another point for Lady Sarah. The answer is ‘an actor’”, Sir Didymus exclaimed almost a little too enthusiastically and quickly quit his celebration, as so not to appear impartial.

  Sarah took a bow towards the audience, which cheered wildly while Céline mumbled “rigged” under her breath.

  “Is that an official complaint, Princess Celine?” came the ice-cold voice from the older fae judge as she pierced with her frosty-blue eyes at the princess.

  Celine stammered and blushed, not having expected to be overheard.

  “No, no complaint”, Celine responded in defeat.

  “Then I would suggest you keep your opinions to yourself. Proceed”, the fae judge nodded at Sir Didymus while Jareth sat with his hand in front of his mouth to hide a mirthful smirk.

  “Round five. Lady Sarah currently leads the competition four to two over Her Royal Highness.”

  Shouts of “Go Sarah” were heard from the bleacher section with Hoggle as a chorus of vuvuzelas accompanied the chant. Jareth and Queen Alia both sat silent with sated smiles on their faces.

  “SILENCE”, Sir Didymus bellowed and gave the Hoggle section a scornful look.

  “Ah, shut yer fox trap”, Hoggle grumbled back but made sure not to be heard by anyone outside his immediate circle of friends.

  He didn’t need Didymus come storming up his section and give him a pedantic lecture on proper stadium etiquette. And he knew the fox knight would do so if challenged.

  “Round five: ‘The ancient giant from the east, was slain by man and slain by beast. And laid to rest upon his pyre to feed a ravenous desire. He’d swallowed a woman whole, then feeling hungry still, he tried, to swallow a horse, and thus he died.’ What is it?”

  This time, it was Céline, who beamed with a joyous glee and quickly scribbled down her answer while Sarah furrowed her brows before writing down hers.

  “Both ladies got the right answer. We are talking about the city of Troy”, Didymus read and once again the reaction was mixed with boos and cheers.

  “My, your chosen is quite the sharp one, I do must admit”, Alia whispered to Jareth, who grinned like the Cheshire cat.

  “One of her many qualifications”, he replied with a pleasurable wink.

  “Hm, I bet”, Alia responded, giving Jareth a suspicious look, which he shrugged off with a merry chuckle.

  “Riddle number six, and removeth these blasted chickens off my podium. And prithee, someone cometh and taketh away the eggs they laid on it too. Bless the mark, filthy poultry.”

  Sir Didymus was not amused and feverishly waved his lance through the air to deflect any more incoming chickens. Hastily, a group of goblins carried off the poultry and gathered up the eggs in a basket.

  Juggle said he needed some more, as he was running low on juggling them. Didymus heaved a deep sigh and retook his position at his now somewhat cleaned podium.

  “A man is trapped in a room. The room has only two possible exits, two doors. Through the first door, there is a room constructed from magnifying glasses. The blazing hot sun instantly fries anything or anyone that enters. Through the second door, there is a fire-breathing dragon. How does the man escape?”

  Again, both contestants started writing their answers immediately and handed them to Trouble. Even Jareth was surprised at the quickness of their answers.

  “Again, both ladies answered correctly. The man waits until it is night, and the sun no longer heats up the door. Well done”, came the declaration from the fox knight.

  “Round seven is a speed question and must be spoken into the ears of our line judges. Trouble and Scratch, if thou would please taketh thy positions with the challengers.

  While Trouble happily skittered over to Céline, who already rolled her eyes when she saw him approach, Scratch sauntered leisurely over to Sarah and grinned stupidly.

  “You must immediately sayeth the answer into the judge’s ear, no delay or thou forfeit”, Sir Didymus reiterated. “First, think of the colour of the clouds. Next think of the colour of the snow. Now, think of the colour of a bright full moon. Now answer quickly what do cows drink?”

  “Water”, Céline shouted.

  “Milk”, Sarah answered and immediately froze her face with a horrified expression as she heard a collective ‘aaaaaaw’ emanating from the bleachers, and a lone bugle was heard attempting to play Taps.

  Céline burst out into uncontrolled laughter and pointed her finger at Sarah while she held her side and snorted very unprincesslike in her fit of epicaricacy.

  Sarah clinched her jaws and tried her best to not stomp over to Céline and punch her in her taunting visage to rearrange a few of her features. Jareth buried his face into his hand and sighed with an audible groan.

  “Oh, Sarah, my love. So impetuous.”

  Queen Alia gently patted his hand and told him it wasn’t the end of the world.

  “These riddles are the trickiest of all. They are not hard, but most folks miss them. Céline was merely lucky, that’s all.”

  Jareth peeked out from under his hand and gave his mother a grateful smile. He quickly removed his hand from his face and tossed an assuring glance towards Sarah.

  “I believe in you.”

  Sarah smiled at his mouthed words but still felt embarrassed on the inside for missing the easiest riddle of the day. She needed to get her thoughts together and collected.

   Before she could linger on her embarrassment, Sir Didymus had called the stadium to order once more.

  “As it stands to this point, after seven rounds, the Lady Sarah leads by one over Her Royal Highness, the Princess Céline.”

  He flinched and nearly jumped into the closest rabbit hole when a glitter canon went off and with a loud boom blew glitter all over the contestants in a scintillating shower.

  Céline spat glitter out of her mouth and started to screech in protest while Trouble was trying to help her get it out of her hair and off her bodice, which she did not appreciate.

  Sarah stood with her head buried in her hands, and her entire body shaking due to a chortling fit. When the chickens flew like an out-of-control poultry flock over the scene and threw feathers on top of the glitter, she went down on her knees and punched the ground with her fists from laughing so hard.

  Jareth finally stood up and waved his arms. Instantly, the glitter stopped flying and disappeared altogether, effectively shutting up the goblin crowd, which now sat with slumped over shoulders and laid-back ears, staring at their outraged king.

  “STOP IT! ALL OF YOU!” he bellowed in exhaustion. “The next one firing off a glitter canon or setting free a flock of chickens is going to get bogged. Twice!”

  The entire stadium rumbled and shook. Once it had settled down, he sat back in his chair with a heavy breath and flushed face, trying to recompose himself. Sarah had stopped her laughing and stood silently with the rest, biting her bottom lip. Even Céline had quit her horrendously grating screeching sounds.

  “Continue”, Jareth waved to Didymus with a defeated gesture and the fox knight cleared his throat to announce the eighth riddle.

  “You measure my life in hours, and I serve you by expiring. I’m quick when I’m thin and slow when I’m fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I?”

  Sarah scrunched her face and repeated the riddle with her lips moving and her eyes scanning the ground.

  “Of course,”, she mumbled and quickly wrote down her answer.

  “Both ladies guessed right. It is a candle”, Didymus declared with a grin and cheers broke out in celebration, albeit a bit more restraint than before. Nobody wanted to risk the ire of their king so soon after the first mishap.

  “Round nine: ‘A white horse jumped over a tower and landed on a priest, who immediately disappeared from the landscape’. Where did this happen?”

  While Sarah had the look of doom on her face, Céline grinned like the Cheshire cat on steroids and hastily wrote her answer down before Sarah could even comprehend the question.

  “I know this, damn it, why does this sound so familiar?” she muttered to herself in frustration, every now glancing up at Didymus, who started to give her impatient stares.

  “I don’t know”, she whispered in horror and handed her answer back to Didymus, who read it and dropped his head with a crestfallen expression.

  “Unfortunately, this point belongeth to Princess Celine”, Didymus cried into his megaphone with sorrow and instantly got a reprimand from Céline herself for using the word ‘unfortunately’.

  “What’s the answer?” Sarah asked quietly, averting her eyes from Jareth.

  “Chess”, came Didymus’ quiet reply.

  “Oh, I never played that one before”, she admitted with guilt and shame and hung her head.

  “It is quite all right, Milady. We cannot knoweth all the games. Perchance, King Jareth would be happy to teacheth thou?”

  Didymus gave a careful cursory glance towards Jareth, who gave him a confirmative nod.

  “Time out”, he requested, and Didymus approved.

  Jareth quickly strode over to Sarah, who by now seemed quite distraught for having missed such an easy question again. Céline’s celebratory cackling did nothing to calm her nerves.

  “Precious”, Jareth whispered into her ears after he had reached her.

  He pulled her gently to the side-line and put his hand underneath her chin when she refused to look at him.

  “Love, it is all right. I have faith in you. I will teach you chess. Another game we can play. How about with each piece you lose, you’ll also lose a piece of clothing as well?”

  He wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a lecherous smirk, which made her blush slightly and earned him a perfunctory punch in his arm.

  “Careful, Precious”, he pulled her close and hovered his face against her ear. “Attacking the king in public is an offense punishable by death. But I have a much better punishment in place for you.”

  Sarah bit her bottom lip and gave him a sly grin before he drew back. He once again schooled his expression, and the lust and impishness from before was gone and had been replaced by a stoic mien with empty eyes. He turned back to his seat and signalled Didymus to start his next round.

  “Riddle number ten: ‘As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives. Each wife had seven sacks. Each sack had seven cats. Each cat had seven kits. Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, how many were there going to St. Ives’?”

  Both contestants scrunched their faces this time and mentally went over the number of creatures going to St. Ives. Time had almost run out before Sarah had a look of epiphany on her face and quickly wrote down her answer.

  She glanced over to Céline, only to be greeted with a hateful sneer. Sarah rolled her eyes with annoyance and looked straight at her fox knight friend.

  “Both ladies passed the riddle. Only one went to St. Ives. Everyone else was going the other way. Well done”, Didymus exclaimed, and the stadium was full of roaring cries again.

  Riddle number eleven: ‘I weaken all men for hours each day. I show you strange visions while you are away. I take you by night, by day take you back. None suffer to have me but do from my lack’. What am I?”

  Sarah immediately smiled and wrote down her answer while Céline gave her a disapproving scoff. After a few moments, she scribbled her answer down as well and handed it haughtily to Trouble, who snatched it up eagerly.

  “Lady Sarah wineth this round. It is sleep, not dreams as you stated, Your Royal Highness.”

  Céline let out a small growl and stomped her foot.

  “It could be dreams”, she argued. “I am filing a protest.”

  She stood with crossed arms and pouting lips while she gave the three judges a challenging sneer.

  “By the gods, this insolent wench will be the death of us all”, moaned the centaur behind Jareth and caused the monarch to chuckle jocosely behind his fist-covered mouth.

  “My dear Princess Céline, it is sleep. If you read it carefully, you will notice that is says none suffer to have me. Dreams can cause suffering if they come in the forms or nightmares, however, sleep cannot. It is all in the details, Your Royal Highness. Protest denied.”

  Mercur the centaur waved his hand and considered the matter closed. Céline was still not happy and opened her mouth to counter the argument but was instantly shut off by the older fae woman.

  “Enough. Protest denied”, she hissed and averted her eyes.

  “Denied”, the nymph emphasized gleefully and looked away as well.

  Céline balled her fists but went back to her place and mumbled a few unintelligible words under her breath, drawing a scolding look from Jareth and Alia.

  “Round twelve”, Didymus added hastily to move forward and put an end to it all. He was getting hungry and some of the free ranging chickens started to look mighty tasty.

  “Of no use to one, yet absolute bliss to two. The small boy gets it for nothing. The young man has to lie for it. The old man has to buy it. The baby’s right, the lover’s privilege. The hypocrite’s mask. To the young girl faith, to the married woman hope, and to the old maid charity.’ What am I?”

  Céline scribbled immediately, and Sarah only took a few seconds to think it over to make absolutely sure it was not a trick question again before she handed her answer to Scratch.

  “Both ladies answered correctly. It is a kiss.”

  The goblins all let out a long drawn out ‘ooooooooh’ followed by kissing sounds as they chased each other through the bleachers, trying to kiss their neighbour.

  Sarah put her hand in front of her mouth to stifle her laughter while Jareth shook his head at this childish display. He raised his hand with his riding crop and instantly the chasing and kissing sounds quit and order had been restored.

  “Round thirteen, and it is a riddle from Plato: ‘There is the story that a man, and not a man. Saw and did not see a bird, and not a bird. Perched on a branch and not a branch. And hit him and did not hit him, with a rock and not a rock’.”

  “What?” Sarah cringed with a distorted face. “It makes no sense.”

  Now she wished she would have paid more attention in literature class, but she had found the old Greek philosophers just a tad too dry for her taste.

  Céline on the other hand jumped for joy. Of course, she would know it, given her age and the teachings of mythology and old literature in the Underground.

  “Not fair”, Sarah mumbled and immediately slapped her hand in front of her mouth, hoping nobody had noticed.

  “The allowed time has passed. Sarah? Dost thou hast the answer?” Didymus sounded concerned, and Sarah gave him a blank stare.

  “Eh, yeah, hang on”, she hastily scribbled something on her paper and reluctantly handed it over to Scratch with a frown.

  She saw the questioning look on Jareth’s face and bit her bottom lip. Apparently, he was going to teach her ancient Greek philosophy on top of chess. The entire stadium fell silent, and the goblins stared at the fox knight at the podium. Would this be the end? The last round?

  “Princess Céline has answered correctly by a hair’s width. She had eunuch correct. Thou must not be too upset, Sarah. I knoweth a boy is not a man either, but it must be eunuch. The complete answer is: a eunuch, who did not see well, saw a bat perched on a reed and threw a pumice stone at him, which missed.”

  “You should be more versed in ancient philosophy, mortal chit”, Céline spat at her with disdain and a conceited grin.

  “Oh, go jump in the stinkin’ bog”, Sarah hissed back and ignored her with crossed arms and a look of disdain herself.

  The goblins didn’t know how to react to it, and the initial cheers turned to wails and sobbing and eventually into deep conversations about the deeper meaning of life and the next question.

  “The game is even between the Lady Sarah and Her Royal Highness, Princess Céline”, Didymus informed the crowd. “Tis the last riddle for the win. A personal question, King Jareth hath chosen himself. Whoever answers it correctly will win this game, regardless. ‘What dost King Jareth loveth and cherish above all’?”

  Céline squealed in opposition and requested to file an injunction to the question, while Sarah’s mouth gaped open.

  “How could we know anything so personal about the king?” Céline asked perturbed and tossed Didymus a glaring look.

  “If you are planning to court him, win his heart, and marry the king, don’t you think you should know what he likes and loves the most?” the older fae woman retorted and denied Céline’s’ injunction, which was immediately second by the wood nymph and the centaur.

  Céline was not happy and made it quite known by kicking Trouble when he came too close to console her.

  “Get away from me, you crentinous creature from hell”, she hissed, drawing a stern and angry look from Jareth.

  He rapidly strode closer to her with a sardonic smile on his otherwise unreadable countenance, which Céline mistook for sympathy. His face leaned into hers until she could feel his breath on her neck as he closed in on her ear. At first, it looked like a loving gesture between lovers, and Céline started to smirk victoriously.

  “I would advise you to never ever intimidate nor verbally or physically abuse any of my subjects. I do not take kindly to such undeserved treatment. If you insist on being disrespectful to them, I will take this as a direct affront against the crown and me. The punishment for that is the bog, headfirst.”

  He withdrew lightly and looked into her eyes with a deviant smirk as he tilted his head.

  “I think we understand each other now, don’t we?” he whispered and stepped back while Céline’s face had turned a few shades lighter, and her breathing had become shallower.

  “Don’t we?” Jareth asked again with a much more aggressive and dangerous undertone in his voice.

  “Yes, we do”, she gasped.

  “Yes, we do what?” he pressed her to specify, hissing now with a darkness in her ear that made her shiver.

  “Yes, we do, Your Majesty”, she finally muttered, and Jareth let go of her, smiling in his cheerful way and tipped his riding crop at her.

  “Now wasn’t that so hard?”

  He left her standing where she was and walked back to his seat. Sarah stood quietly and bit her bottom lip again. She almost felt bad for Céline, but only almost. The fae chit deserved every ounce of the king’s ire for treating Trouble so harshly and unfair.

  “Back to the last question. Time is a wasting”, Sir Didymus yelled into his megaphone. He was beyond ready to quit with all the tasty chickens flying around him.

  Sarah had long gotten her answer. The entire turmoil of Céline’s protest had given her the time to think about the question in more detail than she had been able without the interruption.

  She thought back to the conversation she had with Queen Alia about Jareth on the day of her birthday. What had she told her about Jareth in the garden?

  “He loves you more than anything else in his existence.”

  Sarah wrote down her answer with shaky hands and handed it to Sir Didymus, who read it silently with a big grin appearing on his fox face.

  “Princess Céline, your answer please”, he turned towards the princess, who still stood dumbfounded and didn’t know what to write. Finally, she jotted down her answer and handed it over.

  “King Jareth, would thee prithee divulge the answers of thy two ladies”, Didymus called Jareth to his lectern.

  Jareth took Céline’s answer and read it before making it public with a chuffed yet also supercilious grin.

  “Power? Why would you think the one thing I love the most would be power? Power is earned, princess. Power is to be respected and feared and yielded with the utmost care, not loved. Once you love your own power, you become a cruel and brutal ruler. Power can darken the best of hearts when embraced too tightly. Your answer is incorrect. If what you seek is power, Princess Céline, then I am not the right mate for you.”

  Céline lowered her head with a blush after listening to the ‘oooooooohs’ of the goblin crowd. Sarah held her breath when Jareth picked up her paper and unfolded it.

  Her mind began to torment her with what if scenarios. What if she was wrong? What if he would laugh at her? What if....

  “Will you quit it with the self-doubt? You know it’s the correct answer. Trust yourself.”

  He looked at her answer for several moments, and she began to feel nervous. Had she misjudged him? Misread his feelings? Why didn’t he say anything?

  Jareth looked at her, which seemed like an eternity to her, and when their gazes met, she knew. She had answered correctly. His eyes were soft and filled with the love he had for her while a jovial smile curled around his lips and cast itself across his entire face.

  “Sarah”, he read her laconic one-word answer. “What the king loves and desires most is Sarah. That is correct Lady Sarah”, he added with a sly smirk and the rest of his words were drowned out by the overwhelming roar of the goblin crowd, which now stormed onto the field with waving flags, squawking chickens, trumpeting vuvuzelas, and other noisemakers they had accumulated.

  Somewhere, someone shot off another glitter bomb, which slowly rained down onto the assembled crowd around the contestants and judges, but this time, Jareth could care less.

  The only one objecting to the scintillating glitter rain was Céline, who once again cursed like a drunken wood troll under her breath. This time, Trouble didn’t attempt to help but only stood by, along with Scratch, and watched her trying to rid herself of two tons of glitter in her hair.

  Queen Alia jumped up from her seat with a joyous smile on her face as she clapped her hands and cheered alongside the goblins. Céline’s face turned sour again. How dare this mortal stealing his heart.

  She could care less about the king’s heart; she only wanted his power as queen. Unfortunately, it looked like she may need his heart first to get the latter. But there were two games left, and she was not about to give up that easy. She had her own secret weapons in reserve if needed.

  Jareth walked over to Sarah and wrapped her in his arms as he placed a passionate kiss upon her lips.

  “That was quite the personal question to ask”, Sarah panted after he let go of her.

  “All part of the game”, he grinned. “I’m not going to give this insolent elf brat one reason to think she can court me for three month after this and have a chance at anything. All she wants is power. She does not care for me, and I am not about to hand her anything but a possible trip to the bog.”

  He took her hand and led her away from the crowd that had formed around them. Quickly, his ferocious and intimidating looking goblin body guards had surrounded him and Sarah as they met up with Queen Alia and the judges.

  “Thou shalt all breaketh for two hours and reconvene here, after said time for the next games, which will include the tunnel run of the Labyrinth and goblin court.”

  With the slap of a hammer, Sir Didymus concluded the first part of the games, and the jubilant crowd slowly dispersed to enjoy the market and carnival.

And here we are, game one for the day completed, and Sarah won. Don't miss the continuation next week. It's going to get a lot more interesting as we'll be traversing the tunnels of the Labyrinth and hold goblin court.

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Chapter Text

  Just as the day before, Jareth, Sarah, his mother, and Corrigan had lunch beneath the big old willow tree, and Sarah was leaning against the tree trunk while Jareth laid across the lawn with his head in Sarah’s lap, staring up at her with sparkling eyes and a happy smile upon his glowing face.

  Every once in a while, she dropped a grape down into his mouth and giggled when he snatched it up out of mid-air.

  “Your Majesty is getting spoiled”, she declared with a chuckle and plopped another grape into his waiting mouth as a big grin formed on his face.

  “Admit it, you like it, Love”, he whispered seductively, and her hand brushed caressingly through his wispy blonde hair.

  “I’m very content if that is what you’re talking about”, she responded with a smile of her own and bent down to meet his lips with hers.

  Queen Alia and Corrigan watched the little playful interlude of the two from their blanket a few metres away. They were still indulging on their lunch and imbibing with wine.

  “Don’t they look happy?” Corrigan mentioned over his wineglass, stealing a glance at Jareth and Sarah.

  “It’s the happiest I have seen my son in fifteen, no make that the last five-hundred years. This girl truly means the world to him and apparently, she feels the same about him.”

  Queen Alia sighed with deep content and took a sip of her wine while smiling blissfully with half-closed eyes.

  “This could have all ended so badly had she rejected him again this time”, she muttered. “I don’t think Jareth would have survived another rejection of his heart.”

  “Then let us celebrate a new beginning and maybe you will get your long wished for grandchildren soon. After all, with Sarah being mortal, she is much more fertile than any fae woman, even after her transformation.”

  Corrigan held up his glass for a cheer, but Queen Alia hesitated.

  “Yeah, about this transformation. I don’t think anyone has really talked to her about this yet. She may refuse to go through with it. If she does, then all of this could be pointless.”

  She waved her hand around the area to emphasize her point.

  “Let’s not assume the worst. She has surprised you before, she may just do it again”, Corrigan grinned, and this time Alia did answer his cheer as they clanked their glasses together.

  “And what is it you are celebrating and are all so giddy about?” came the amused baritone voice of the Goblin King, standing over them now with Sarah holding his gloved hand.

  “Oh, nothing really”, Queen Alia diverted, “just enjoying the beautiful day.”

  “Right, and discussing possible future grandchildren?” he smirked, knowing his mother and how much she had been wanting for him to settle down and produce a couple of heirs.

  Sarah gave a light chortle at the mention of children and shook her head.

  “Can we take this one step at a time? We are only courting right now, and I know there should be a wedding before having kids too.”

  “Quite right, my love”, Jareth agreed and took her gently by the arm. “I think it is time to go back. Care for a little stroll along the creek? It’ll lead us right back to where we need to be.”

  He proffered his arm, and Sarah eagerly accepted it with a smile.

  “We’ll see you two conspirators later”, he laughed as they made their way along a small trail by the creek that wound its way around the stadium, leaving behind the high queen and his advisor, who immediately stuck their heads together again for more scheming.

  “Jareth?” Sarah looked at him from the side. “May I ask you a question?”

  “Anything, Love”, he replied with a smiling glance back at her.

  “Would you really give up everything to have me? What I mean, if it were to come down to having to make a choice, your kingdom or me?”

  Jareth stopped walking and turned slightly towards her, looking deeply into her eyes.

  “If it ever would come to that choice and that choice only, yes, I would give up my kingdom to be together with you.”

  He had sounded so sincere and had answered without hesitation that tears started to well up in Sarah’s eyes.

  “And now why do you look like you are about to cry, Precious?” he smiled as he gently wiped an escapee from her cheek.

  “Nobody in my entire life had ever offered to sacrifice anything for me. It is just unfathomable to me that you would do this, and it only resolves my desire to stay here and remain in your world with you, forever.”

  Jareth stepped closer and laid his forehead against hers.

  “Precious, if you would do that, it would fulfil my biggest dream. But we agreed we would court first for a while, so you don’t feel rushed and can learn about me and my world. The three months of official courtship Céline would get are the same for you. We have three months to work everything out.”

  “That sounds perfect”, Sarah sighed, “Even though, I don’t think I need three months anymore to make up my mind.”

  She gingerly took his face into her hands and placed an ardent kiss onto his lips. They parted immediately and his mouth welcomed her tongue and greeted it with his as they tenderly touched each other and intertwined as if they were swaying to a slow dance. Neither one hurried the kiss as they savoured each other’s closeness.

  “I love you, Jareth”, she whispered and laid her head against his chest while he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

  “And I love you, Precious. Truly more than my kingdom.”

  He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes.

   “I know I am not allowed to probe you about this Labyrinth run, but I want to let you know I’m not afraid to run the tunnels again. I know you won’t let anything happen to me.”

  “No, I won’t. You’ll be safe. I promise you.”

  For a few moments, they stood with closed eyes and relished in the peace of the here and now before they had to return to the spectacle of the games.

  Games neither one wanted to play. They had another series of games they were much more interested in finishing. A series that had brought them together and was much more fun and erotic.

  “We must go, Love”, Jareth broke away reluctantly and once again proffered her his arm to return her to the stadium.

**************************************************

  “The rules are quite simple for the next two task, which will run consecutively. While one contestant will run the tunnel for an hour, the other will have to proceed over goblin court. After one hour, when the challenges are finished, we will reverse the tasks. A crystal toss will decide who will run the tunnels first.”

  At the signal of Sir Didymus, Hoggle stepped forward with a crystal that Sarah recognized as the truth crystal. She couldn’t help but to snort into her hand, drawing a look of disgust from none other than Céline over her unladylike outburst. Sarah only gave her a sneer in return and then redirected her focus onto Hoggle.

  “Red or green. One of yer picks a colour”, Hoggle instructed with a gruff voice.

  Sarah looked over at Céline and motioned her to make a choice. Céline gave her a surprised look for the noble gesture and nodded her head.

  “Red”, she declared, and Hoggle spun the crystal.

  As the crystal hovered in mid-air, all eyes were glued to it.

  “Red it is”, Hoggle shouted, and a triumphant smirk made its appearance on Céline’s face.

  “What does ter princess choose?” Hoggle asked and tugged the crystal back into his pocket.

  “I choose to run the tunnels first. A little exercise after lunch will do me good”, she declared with an air of self-importance and hubris as she picked up the skirt of her dress to get to the transport point.

  “Yer sure yer don’ wanna change clothes first?” Hoggle asked astounded, giving her pompous dress a critical look over.

  A ‘pfft’, was all she cared to respond with and nodded towards the judges to have her transported to the tunnel location. Jareth walked up to her and took her by the arm. Céline immediately gave him a warm smile, but he ignored it, and both disappeared in a cloud of glitter.

  “Sarah, yer holdin’ court.”

  Hoggle turned towards his friend and nodded to Corrigan, who immediately transported her to the throne room of the castle.

  When they materialized, Sarah found herself standing in front of the throne in a room full of curious goblins, who only stared at her in silence.

  “Have a seat”, Corrigan motioned for her to sit on the throne.

  She hesitated for a moment but then reclined herself gracefully into the throne, slowly taking in all of her surroundings. It felt strange to sit in the same chair Jareth had sat when he had taken Toby away, and long-ago memories started to flood her mind.

  “These are real subjects with real cases”, Corrigan drew her out of her daydreams. “For one hour, you will preside over their complaints and hear their grievances. You will make a ruling at the end of each case. Once the hour is over, you will be transported back, and the judges will decide at the end of the day how you did compared to Princess Céline.”

  Sarah only looked at him with big eyes and nodded. It all sounded and felt too surreal. Sleeping with Jareth in his chambers and using the dining hall was one thing, actually sitting on his throne and passing judgment over his real subjects and their real cases was a completely different situation all together.

  “Sarah, are you ready?” Corrigan placed his hand gently on her forearm, and Sarah snapped her head back to look at him.

  “Eh, yes, I’m fine. I was just.... ok, I’m ready. Let’s get this started”, she declared with newfound confidence and sat up just a tad straighter.

  “How will the judge know how I did?” she asked before they started on the first case.

  “They are watching everything through a large crystal. They can hear and see everything as if they were actually here. Don’t worry, I know you’ll do fine”, Corrigan replied with an assuring smile.

  “Where will you be?” she asked one more time before starting her court.

  “Right here beside you. Now get started.”

  He gave her a playful wink and stepped back as Sarah acquiesced in his instructions. First, she had to get control over the throne room, which at this point was nothing short of a complete and utter scene of mayhem and pandemonium.

  Agitated chickens were running around wildly, and goblins were imbibing on goblin ale that had spilled into the fire pit on the floor. The discordance was deafening, and Sarah could barely hear herself.

  She tried unsuccessfully to get their attention and began to wonder if she would ever get control over this commotion. She even had to dodge a couple of flying goblins, who were engulfed in an aerial war of egg tossing.

  It wasn’t until she yelled on top of her lungs and kicked the nearest goblin towards the door that attention was being paid to her.

  “SHUT UP”, she bellowed and distorted her face to look more like a raging fury than a beautiful young woman.

  She stomped down from the throne and kicked the goblin off the ale barrel, all the while threatening to bog the entire lot. Her hand reached up and snatched one of the flying goblins out of mid-air and held him up to her glaring face before she dropped him unceremoniously onto the stone floor.

  Immediately, the crowd became dead silent and looked at her with big, wide-open eyes. She didn’t notice any fear in them but genuine interest and intrigue.

  “I am Lady Sarah; I will hold court here under the direct orders of King Jareth for the next hour. You will listen to me and do as I say. Do. Not. Defy. Me.”

  “It’s the future Queenie”, one goblin shouted out and was soon followed by the others, who approached the throne to which Sarah had retreated herself as they stared at her with adoring faces bordering on reverence.

  “Queenie hold court today. We listen”, the goblin declared, and the others nodded with enthusiasm as they all sat down and went quiet.

  Sarah cleared her throat and glanced over the assembly, which now had more the feel of a kindergarten class than an official grievance court. She held every goblin’s attention and nodded with acceptance, trying her best to keep her countenance inscrutable, even though she felt like breaking out into a laughing fit. 

  “Fine then, let’s begin. First case, state your name and grievance”, Sarah commanded with as much of an authoritarian tone as she could muster.

  “Me name is Wiggle, and I’m here because someone stole me cart.”

  The mid-size goblin with a big hump on his bag looked suspiciously at Sarah and seemed to size her up from top to bottom with a critical eye while he wiggled nervously in front of her.

  “Where is your cart now?” Sarah inquired with interest.

  “It’s in the yard of me neighbour down the road”, Wiggle replied and wiggled his finger at the offending neighbour.

  “Step forward”, Sarah demanded and looked straight at the accused goblin. “What is your name, and did you truly steal Wiggle’s cart?”

  “I’m Red, and no, I didn’t steel Wiggle’s cart. It came into my yard all by itself.”

  Wiggle let out a big huff and gave Red a dirty look. Sarah scrunched her face and wondered.

  “Red, how can a cart just show up in your yard? Care to explain?”

  “Certainly, Your Ladyship”, he replied with a slight bow “It rolled into my yard on its own.”

  Red didn’t seem he wanted to elaborate on this, so Sarah turned back to Wiggle.

  “Wiggle, why would your cart roll into Red’s yard?”

  Wiggle looked almost offended that he would be asked such an irrelevant question.

  “Because he lives downhill from me, and he removed the brake blocks from me cart and let it roll down the hill into his yard.”

  “So, you live on top of a hill Wiggle? Is that correct?” Sarah asked for clarification, and Wiggle nodded with enthusiasm.

  “Me have one of the best views over Goblin City. Me never get flooded because of that. He stole me cart, because he is jealous and always gets flooded”, Wiggle added with an angry tone and pointed his finger at Red again, who was about to blow his fuse, judging by his intense crimson face.

  Sarah began to understand how he got the name, as he turned redder and redder and was about to clobber Wiggle with his fists.

  “You dumb, top-of-da-hill moron; why the hell would I want your old cart? It’s good for nothing. I never removed your damn brake blocks. It was Scruff who took those because he needed some for his cart. Your cart always crashes into my yard and breaks my fence.”

  Red was now on a roll as Sarah literally saw steam, or was it smoke, coming out of his ears.

  “Your Ladyship, his cart destroyed my yard fence when it crashed into my garden. And it left big ruts in the grass too. I want compensation.”

  He stood and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

  “Me want me cart back”, Wiggle replied and stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

  Sarah gave Corrigan a beseeching look. This was way more complicated than she had imagined, and stupid at the same time.

  “So, let me run through all of this to make sure I get this right, Wiggle. You claim Red stole your cart, but according to him it accidentally crashed into Red’s yard and destroyed his fence. And all because a goblin named Scruff....Where is Scruff? Is Scruff here?” she interrupted herself, looking around to see if she could find Scruff.

  “I’m here, Your Ladyship”, Scruff announced and stepped towards the throne to line up with the other two complainants.

  “Scruff, tell me, and don’t lie or I’ll bog you, did you take the brake blocks from Wiggle’s cart?”

  Sarah tossed him a stern look and tried to look as stoic and intense as she could. Scruff started to look uneasy and tried to look anywhere but at Sarah.

  “I’m waiting”, she hissed with a hint of anger.

  “Ehem, yes, I kind of, well, sort of, looks like, I probably did. But I needed them for my own cart because it keeps rolling down the hill too”, he justified his break block theft.

  Sarah let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was only in fifteen minutes of her one-hour court ordeal, and she already felt a slight headache coming on. How Jareth handled this all day for the past four-hundred years seemed like an utter miracle to her.

  “How has that man, fae, kept his sanity for so long? Oh, wait, I forgot, he’s not sane, he’s fae. That explains it. They are all nuts down here.”

  “Ok, here is what we’ll do. Scruff, you replace the break blocks on Wiggle’s cart. If I find out any more about you stealing break blocks from others, I’ll have you bogged. Do. You. Understand. Me?” she drawled to emphasize her point.

  Scruff nodded with shaking knees and big, wide eyes. This ladyship was not fooling around.

  “Red, I will make sure that you will be reimbursed for you fence and ruts in the grass.”

  Red nodded with a happy grin, and his facial colour was much less intense and had retaken its healthy, greenish-black.

  “Wiggle, I order you to attach break blocks to your cart. It is your responsibility to check they are there at all times. Also, you will park your cart on a level surface from where it won’t roll off and down the hill, even without blocks. Both, Red and Scruff, will help you build such a level surface.”

  “Why should I help this ruffian?” Red interjected and was immediately put back in place when Sarah turned on him.

  “How dare you to interrupt the quee....her ladyship when she passes judgement. Unless you want to go headfirst into the bog, I would advise you to shut your goblin trap this instant and let me finish.”

  Her eyes locked onto his with a dangerous glare in them, and Red cowered back into line with a real pallid, greenish-black face now.

  “As I was saying. You will help Wiggle build his level surface. For that, Scruff and Wiggle will help you rebuild the fence and fill in the ruts in your garden. Now all of you, get out and get started on remedying your situation. I do not want to hear another incident of rolling away carts.”

  The three goblins bowed deeply, and to Sarah’s surprise, actually had smiles on their faces.

  “Her Ladyship is very kind”, Wiggle said before they left, and Red and Scruff nodded in agreement.

  Sarah felt immense relief after this first case, which she deemed a success, and by the looks of Corrigan’s smiling face, it was. She resituated herself in the throne as it felt increasingly uncomfortable and caused her back to cramp up.

  She scooted herself sideways, leaning her upper body against the backrest and flung one of her legs over the opposite armrest.

  “Next case”, she announced as official as she could without realizing she had just assumed the exact same position Jareth usually did, and all goblin eyes were glued to her with open mouths as they, too, had noticed the resemblance.

  Standing off to the side, Corrigan began to chuckle and had to stifle a laugh behind his fisted hand, which he had cramped against his mouth. Sarah completely ignored him and called forward the next goblins.

  “What are your grievances?” she asked, trying to appear candidly interested in their plight.

  “We lost our eggs on the way to market, because this one over there rode his donkey too fast and caused our eggs to fall into the mud and splatter.”

  “What are your names?” Sarah inquired.

  “Wilfred and Wilhelm”, they answered in unison.

  “Aren’t those unusual names for goblins?” Sarah asked stunned.

  “Why would Her Ladyship think that?” Wilfred asked puzzled.

  “Well, I thought maybe you’re called Spatula and Omelette or something like that”, Sarah replied with sincere seriousness, judging by the names of all the other goblins.

  “Why on Earth would we take such ridiculous names?” Wilhelm chimed in and looked bewildered at Wilfred, who shrugged his shoulders in his own befuddlement.

  “Ok, ok, just forget I said anything“, Sarah replied slightly embarrassed and tried to recompose herself. “Where is the speeder?” she added, trying to divert attention back to the case at hand.

 “That would be Rapido”, Wilhelm replied and pointed at a young, impish grinning goblin boy.

  Sarah again pinched the bridge of her nose. Rapido was Italian for fast, and he was a speeder and, ah, never mind, it truly was not worth it.

  “Rapido, what do you have to say for yourself?” Sarah leaned forward and gave the juvenile offender a firmly restrained look.

  “He doesn’t even have a riding permit, and he took the donkey without permission”, a goblin from the backrow piped up and stepped forward when Sarah waved to him.

  “Who are you?” she asked with a subtle sigh.

  This was another case that was beginning to get complicated.

  “My name is Gazer. I’m the witness to the egg tragedy, Your Ladyship. This little shit took the donkey from his brother’s stable without asking and fed him goblin oats.”

  “Goblin oats?” Sarah wondered. “What is that?”

  “It’s a grain that makes the donkey go fast and wild”, Gazer replied.

  “I see. Is that legal?”

  “Not really”, Wilhelm chimed in.

  “Continue”, Sarah waved to Gazer, since he seemed to be a valuable witness.

  “As I was saying, Rapido took the donkey after he slipped him some goblin oat to race him with some other no goods in the trash heap alley. He lost control over his donkey because he can’t ride worth a damn and crashed him into the egg wagon.”

  “What happened after that?” Sarah asked her follow up questions.

  “He ran off”, Wilfred replied in exasperation and dramatically threw his hands in the air. “And left us with a pile of scrambled eggs on the road. How are we supposed to feed our family now, since we have no money from the loss of the eggs?”

  Sarah leaned back and put her hand under her chin while her other hand tapped absentmindedly against her leg that was on the ground. Corrigan couldn’t help but to draw similarities with Jareth once again.

  He could barely keep a straight face. Even the tone of her voice was similar to Jareth’s. Oh, if Jareth witnessed this now, he would be exuberant about his future queen, and he was sure he was scrying on her via a crystal.

  Sarah may not have noticed it, but Corrigan sure did when she almost let it slip and called herself the queen.

  “Here is my ruling. Rapido, I sentence you to two months of working for Wilhelm and Wilfred to earn back the money for the loss over the eggs. You will also attend proper treatment of animal classes and volunteer at a donkey farm for six months.”

  Sarah paused for a moment to make sure her words were sinking in. Gazer, Wilhelm, and Wilfred stood with their mouths open while Rapido started to shake.

  “In the meantime, you will earn your rider’s license and take a test at the end of the six months. You are on probation. If only one incident, and I mean one tiny barely noticeable incident of misbehaving is detected, I will personally dip you into the bog. Is. That. Clear?”

  Rapido’s eyes grew large, and his ears laid flat against his head as he stood in front of Sarah with clattering knees. Gone was the impish disrespectful grin and he only nodded and whispered an inaudible yes.

  “I will have my guards check on you once a week to make sure you adhere to the agreement. Any break from it, and it is the bog for you. Next”, she waved her hand dismissively and concentrated on the next case.

  “Corrigan, I want you to send someone over to Rapido’s house and check out the living conditions at his home. Usually with juvenile offenders their behaviour can be traced back to an unhappy or neglected home. I want to make sure the boy is not lashing out because of it.”

  “As Her Ladyship wishes”, Corrigan responded with pride filling his chest.

  She truly acted like a real queen, just and kind but with a heavy hand if necessary. The goblins obviously admired her as was evident by their cordial behaviour and attention they gave her. He couldn’t wait to fill Jareth in on all of this.

  “Next case”, Sarah called out and waved at the goblin to step forward.

  “I am Eggon and my house was bombarded with the rotten eggs my hen had laid in the neighbour’s kitchen three months ago.”

**************************************************

  Céline had been dropped into the oubliette with Jareth, and as soon as they had arrived, he had only nodded at her and advised her to find an exit and make it out of the tunnels back to the surface before the hour was over. Before Céline could respond, he had already vanished.

  “Damn you”, she cursed under her breath. “Just when I had him to myself in a dark place. What the hell is that place anyway?”

  She staggered around until her eyes adjusted to the dim light, and she could spot something dark ahead of her. She felt her way to the dark object and soon realized it was a lamp with matches. With one strike, she lit a match and turned on the lamp.

 “I’m in a damn oubliette. He dropped me into an oubliette that bastard.”

  The fact that Jareth had nothing to do with the rules of the games did not prevent her from unleashing a torrent of cuss words directed at him. If she would have known that she was going to be observed every minute of her hour-long test, and would be listened to as well, she may would have chosen different words to describe the castration technique she was planning to use on Jareth.

  For over fifteen minutes, she stumbled around in the oubliette, patting the walls and pushing against them to see if she could find an exit. It wasn’t until she tripped over a metal object on the floor beneath her feet that she found a big copper ring, which she dug out diligently.

  She tried to pull on it to see if it would open a trap door, but instead of a floor aperture, it opened a hole in the wall, just big enough for her to squeeze through.

  She struggled to get her entire puffy dress to push through the tight opening and ended up ripping most of her skirt to her dismay. It took her some time to get all of her out of the oubliette, and when she looked around, she stood in a dimly lit tunnel that allowed her to go either left or right.

  “Well, two options. I guess either one is as good as the other”, she contemplated and took the tunnel to her right.

  It was dark and moist, with spiderwebs hanging from the ceiling and walls. Every so often, a rat or other rodentlike creature ran across her feet and made her squeal in terror, lifting up her ripped skirt and dancing around in disgust to get rid of whatever the thing was that had crawled over her foot.

  Chills ran down her spine, and she wasn’t sure whether she shivered from the cool and wet temperatures or from her own fears. Most likely, it was from the disgust she felt from the filthy conditions of the tunnel.

  She felt wispy hands touching her shoulders and arms as she walked along, and she brushed them off nervously, constantly turning around and looking over her shoulders to see what or who was touching her.

  “I should have taken that lamp with me. Too late now, I’m not going back there”, she mumbled as another strange feeling ghosted her back.

  “Who’s there?” she called into the darkness and was greeted with an ominous laughter that grew louder as it lingered and seemed to echo off every wall.

  “That’s it, I’m getting out of here”, she croaked and began to run straight down the tunnel, completely ignoring any side tunnels that started to appear in front of her.

  She ran blindly until she bolted straight into a stone wall, no, not a stone wall, a stone statue. The tunnels were now illuminated with sconces on the walls, and once she had regained her vision from the impact, she saw huge stone heads in the cave, who were all calling to her.

  “Beware”, the one she had run into moaned hauntingly. ”Don’t go ahead or you’ll die.”

  “It’s a trap“, another one chimed in with the same sorrowful voice.

  “You are doomed, go back now”, the third one added.

  “What the hell are you things?” she yelled and kicked one with her foot, which afterwards she found to be a bad idea, judging by the pain of her big toe.

   “We are the false alarms”, moaned one and looked at her as if she should be aware of this fact.

  “False?” she scoffed. “If you are false then shut the hell up. You’re giving me a headache.”

  “But it is our duty to warn you.”

  Céline picked up some dirt and tossed it into the eyes of the stone face, which scowled in pain and quickly blinked its eyes shut.

  “That was unnecessary”, he cried out, but Céline ignored him as she kept walking into the next tunnel and stopped at another fork.

  “Hm, left, or right?” she contemplated and immediately jumped nearly to the ceiling when she heard the familiar voice of the Goblin King behind her.

   “I see you made it to this point. How do you like my Labyrinth so far?” he purred into her ear with a sardonic grin.

  “Oh, it’s you, Jareth”, she grinned and tried to place her hands against his chest as she licked her lips. “I think it is quite a nasty place, but if you help me out of this maybe we can do some ‘nasty things’ in a much nicer place?”

  She batted her eyes and leaned closer into him to steal a kiss, but Jareth was too quick and withdrew with a disdained look on his face.

  “So, my Labyrinth is nasty? I see, you don’t approve of it much. Well, if you can make it out of here, I’ll be glad to meet you for some ‘nasty activities’ in a much nicer place. Why don’t I help you out with that?” he purred and stepped back, conjuring a crystal in his hand, which he juggled expertly.

  Céline had a big grin on her face and bit her bottom lip in anticipation when Jareth tossed the crystal as far as he could throw it into the tunnel.

  “Nasty things need cleaning up”, he laughed sadistically and disappeared.

  Céline stood dumbfounded and looked for her Goblin King when she heard a sound coming from the darkness inside the tunnel. She pierced her eyes into the void and listened intently with her keen elf ears.

  “What the hell is that?” she hissed as she saw a metallic contraption approaching rapidly from the tunnel.

  It only took her a few seconds before she realized the contraption was not going to stop and even increased its speed the closer it drew. The menacing razor-sharp sheers in front of it, and the rotating, hugely spiked roller made her shriek in fright.

  She turned around and ran as fast as her elf legs could carry her down the other direction of the tunnel. No matter how fast she ran, the cleaner steadily gained on her, and she could start to see the end of the tunnel being a solid stone wall.

  No other side tunnels were available either. Right before she crashed into the stone wall and prepared herself for her impending death, she noticed a door to her left.

  With one quick jump, she busted down the door and jumped into the room, slamming the door shut behind her. She could hear the machine bulldozing its way past her, breaking through the stone wall, and continuing on its way. Slowly, the sound disappeared along with it.

  Céline gave a victorious smirk and looked around the small room. It was dark and looked eerily familiar. She decided she didn’t want to stay here and turned to leave out the door she had entered, only to find the door to be gone.

  “What the?” she mumbled with a frown and slammed her hands against the wall in frustration.

  After she had finished her kicking and hitting fit, which brought her nothing but sore and injured hands and feet, she noticed a small lit lamp on a stool. She was back in the oubliette, and no matter how much she searched the floor and walls, she could not find anything to help her break out of it this time.

  She didn’t know how long she had been searching before she finally resigned to her fact, she would have to wait until her hour was up and someone could come and retrieve her.

  She leaned against the stone wall and let herself sink to the floor, drawing up her knees and wrapping her arms around them.

  “I hate this damn nasty Labyrinth”, she muttered with a tone of loathing and disgust.

  At the stadium, Jareth scried into a crystal orb and laughed quietly with an evil glare in his dark eyes.

  “So, you didn’t enjoy my nasty Labyrinth too much. Well, time’s up, my little elf princess, and it looks like you didn’t quite make it. Such a pity.”

  He motioned to Scratch and Juggle, and both goblins disappeared to retrieve the dirty and distraught princess from the oubliette.

**************************************************

  Both, Sarah and Céline, appeared before the judges after the completion of the hour. Céline looked quite bedraggled in her ripped dress and tousled hair. She had an angry glare in her eyes when she glanced at Sarah, standing next to her in her spotless almost regal outfit befitting a Goblin Queen.

  She noticed Jareth’s besotted gaze towards the mortal girl and an inner fury began to boil and raise its ugly head. It was obvious, the mortal witch had beguiled the king. There was no other explanation, and Céline would make sure to have her revenge on this thorn in her side should she fail today.    

  “Both contestants have completed their first task and will now be switching places”, Sir Didymus announced, jolting Céline out of her devious daydreams.

  “For now, the result will be kept quiet until the second task is completed. Good luck to Lady Sarah and Princess Céline.”

  Sir Didymus raised his spear, and instantly, Céline found herself in the throne room with Corrigan and several dozens of unruly goblins, creating an ear-splitting racket.

  The goblin ale barrel had been retrieved and rolled back into the fire pit and the flying goblins had resumed their aerial attacks on each other by lopping chickens this time, which were not amused by the tossing and protested with violent flapping, raining feathers down onto the throne.

  Her face distorted into a horrible grimace when she witnessed the bedlam and worked her way through the unruly goblin crowd with growing distaste of the situation.

  “You got to be joking me”, she yelled at Corrigan after she finally managed to get up onto the throne, wiping off the pile of feathers and plopped herself ungraciously into it.

  “Your Majesty, this is the usual goblin court”, he retorted. “You only have to be here for an hour. As queen, you will have to split duties with the king.”

  “How often does he hold court?” Céline asked with a worried expression.

  “Thrice a week for ten hours”, Corrigan answered flatly with an unmoving expression.

  Céline’s eyes popped wide open, and she leaned herself back in the throne with a disgruntled scoff.

  “I guess we’ll just have to change that when I take the crown, now won’t we?” she replied haughtily and scoffed, not paying any attention to him quirking his eyebrows in a disapproving manner.

  Corrigan rolled his eyes behind her back, praying silently to any deity from up above, but remained quiet while Céline tried to get comfortable in the throne.

  She kept mumbling with discontent about the hard, uncomfortable chair, and that she would definitely replace it with something more suitable. After several minutes, she finally had situated herself into a semi comfortable position and glared out at the unruly assembly.

  For the next five minutes, she yelled at the partying goblins, trying to get their attention to no avail. Finally, she stomped down from the throne to the fire pit and picked up the now empty goblin barrel and smashed it over the head of Whiskey, who had tried to lap up the last drips coming out of the spick.

  In an instance, Whiskey went unconscious with his tongue hanging out and the room became eerily quiet as all eyes travelled from poor little Whiskey, laying like dead on the floor, to the furious looking princess, who had resumed her seat on the throne and glared with menacing eyes down at the crowd.

  Corrigan gave a hand motion for two goblins to take Whiskey to the infirmary for possible injuries to his head. He had a trained inscrutable expression on his face but internally he was fuming.

  How dare this impetuous wretch injuring one of the castle’s resident goblins. He would make sure King Jareth would hear about this, and most likely, he had already witnessed the incidence.

  As much as goblins loved to be kicked around and tossed through the air, it was never in mean spirit and always at a level that would not hurt them. They were tough critters and not much could hurt them, but a beer barrel smashed over the unprotected head was too much, even for a goblin.

  Apparently, Céline was oblivious to why the goblins stared at her with trepid and frightened eyes in utter silence and mistook their quietness as a sign of obeisance.

  “Good, now that I have your attention, let’s start this insanity of a court circus. First case”, she yelled and sat back with a bored face as a timid older goblin stepped forwards.

  “Your Highness, I’m Biscuit, and I’m here because my boss over there made me burn the cupcakes and now she blames me for loss of business since we had to toss them to the chickens.”

  He pointed at his goblin boss standing off to the side and elicited a deep sigh.

  “And then all the chickens, which belong to her nephew, had a stomach ailment from the cupcakes, and now they blame me for loss of egg production as well, but she told me to give them to the chickens, so I don’t feel responsible for the eggs, and it was her....”

  “Shut up”, Céline hissed as she followed the ramblings of the frightened goblin in front of her. “Why the hell should I care if you burnt some damn cupcakes? Maybe you should learn how to make them right. And I don’t give a damn about the chickens either.”

  “But Your Ladyship, Highness, what about my chickens? I had to call a chicken healer to get them to produce eggs again”, Feathers, the chicken owner, now retorted angrily.

  “And my cupcakes were a business loss. I don’t run a bakery for charity and free chicken feed”, Sandwich added with a shriek, waving his spindly goblin arms through the air.

  “Do I look like I give a flying goblin shit about your damn cupcakes?” Céline screeched and waved her hands.

  “All of you, this is too trivial of an affair to be taken before the royal court. You will work this out amongst yourselves. Dismissed. Next”, she declared and turned her gaze away from the three befuddled goblins, who stood silently with open mouths in front of her, unsure on what to do next.

  “But, Your Royal Highness, this is exactly what the king usually presides over”, Corrigan whispered inconspicuously into her ear.

  Céline turned her head and gave him a sardonic grin through thinly lips pressed tightly together.

  “Well, I guess we’ll have to change that too. No wonder it takes him ten hours thrice a week to pass judgement over such frivolous matters.”

  “These are not frivolous matter, Your Highness. These are his subjects’ grievances, and he takes them very seriously”, Corrigan added with an irritated tone in his voice.

  “Then establish a lower court to handle this bullshit”, she hissed and waved him off. “Next”, she commanded again and focused on the pair of goblins in front of her, who looked more than a bit despondent and bedraggled.

  Biscuit, Sandwich, and Feathers were still standing motionless in front of the throne, and Céline gave them a questioning look.

  “Is there anything else you need?” she asked dismissively.

  “Your judgment is not helping our situation”, Sandwich was brave enough to mutter.

  “Do I look like I care?” Céline bellowed. “I said off with you and do it, or I’ll smash you like I did this alcoholic, inebriated miscreant earlier.”

  At the threat of violence, all three bolted towards the exit with laid back ears and fear plainly visible on their faces. Even the surrounding goblins held their breaths and cowered. This lady was nothing like their king or the future queen. She was outright mean, and they did not like her at all.

  “Now what is it you want?” Céline turned her attention back to the two dishevelled and tousled goblins in front of her.

  “We are homeless and don’t have work, and we wanted to know if you would be so kind to help us out. We are starving and live with five children on the streets outside the garbage field. There is little food out there and we....”

  “Do I look like a charity organization to you?” Céline interjected harshly and cut them off. “Why would I want to just give things away to you if you can’t find it yourself?”

  “We tried, and we don’t ask for anything for ourselves, but our children....”

  “You should have thought about that before you had all those damn offspring”, she spat. “Take this to the welfare office, not the court. Dismissed.”

  With the wave of her hand, she motioned them to kindly exit the throne room, and both sauntered out with lowered heads and tears streaming down their goblin faces as the crowd watched on in horrid silence.

  No, justice would not be served during this hour, and nobody wanted to be next up to receive only scolding and mockery.

************************************************** 

  Jareth had watched Céline holding his court and his face contorted with horror when he witnessed her smashing the barrel over Whiskey’s face. He immediately made the crystal disappear and excused himself from the judges who only nodded with understanding.

  They, too, had witnessed it for themselves and understood the king’s duty to come to the aid of one of his subjects. While they continued their scrying of both contestants, Jareth disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

  “Whiskey”, Jareth ran over to the little goblin, who was still lying unconscious on the healer’s bed in the infirmary.

  His gloved hand gently stroked the goblin’s face and held his limp hand.

  “How is he?” Jareth whispered with the hint of a tear in his eyes.

  He cared deeply for his goblins, even though he would never let on to it, and Whiskey had been with him for hundreds of years. He was present when he had taken Toby from Sarah, and Whiskey had made sure he emptied the last drop out of all the goblin ale barrels that day too.

  It was the reason he was called Whiskey. Jareth himself had named him that after discovering his penchant for the hard stuff when he had broken into Jareth’s private stash of Scotch whiskey one night shortly after arriving at the castle as a wished-away.

  He had wanted to bog him over it but decided otherwise since the goblin had previously been a human child born from an alcoholic mother and had been beyond saving.

  He had been forced to turn him into a goblin to give him a life and adopted him as one of his castle goblins. His alcoholic affection was not his fault, and Jareth did not punish him for it.

  Unlike the fierce and intimidating goblins in Goblin City and the rest of his kingdom, all his castle goblins were turned mortal children, who had been beyond the ability to be saved due to their injuries and illnesses.

  They were all still children in their minds, and it was the reason they behaved the way they did in his throne room.

  He really needed to find another home for them to get his throne room back, but deep down, he actually enjoyed their antics, as they always made his day less boring.

  “How dare that wicked, wretched vile woman. Does she not realize they are only children?”

  Jareth seethed with anger and gritted his teeth as he tenderly held on to Whiskey’s hand.

  “He will be fine, Your Majesty. I had to heal his skull fracture, but he should be all right in a couple of days. They are hardy creatures. Anyone else would have been killed. I’ll make sure he stays here for the next few days under observation.”

  “Thank you, Elroy”, Jareth muttered, took one more last look at the pale looking figure on the bed and transported himself back to the stadium.

  When he returned, he quickly informed the judges and his mother of Whiskey’s condition and reapplied his inscrutable mask, not showing any of his inner tumultuous feelings to the world around him.

  Hell would have to freeze over seven times before he would allow Céline to take on the role of his queen. That honour was reserved for Sarah and no one else, regardless of the outcome of these games.

**************************************************

  Sarah found herself standing in the oubliette and breathed deeply as she gave her eyes time to adjust to the dim light. She found the lamp and lit it, carefully taking in her confined space. It was much like she had remembered from fifteen years ago. Some things just were unforgettable.

  “Yes, like the well-hung king for instance. Hubba baby, hot, hot”, her libido chimed in, and Sarah frowned.

  “Really? After such a long absence, now you have to pipe up? It’s like the most inopportune time for that”, her mind scolded.

  Sarah shook her head to clear her head and concentrated on finding the hidden door she knew had to be somewhere close by. She couldn’t find anything on the floor nor the walls. She stopped for a moment and concentrated as if to recall a memory.

  “He had given the girl certain powers. What if?”

  “I wish I would find the exit, right now”, she declared and in an instant a door appeared on the wall.

  Sarah smiled victoriously and opened it, only to find herself in a dark tunnel with two choices to go either right or left. She quickly went back into the oubliette and retrieved the lamp.

  “Much better”, she murmured as the flickering light illuminated the tunnel enough to let her see what was ahead of her, or if there were side tunnels in the dark.

  “Ok, feet, let’s go”, she sighed quietly and took the tunnel to her left.

  The light was dim but enough to let her see roughly three metres ahead, and she was able to dodge most of the big spiderwebs hanging from the ceiling. A shiver ran through her body. Where there were webs there were spiders, and she hated spiders.

  She noticed the movement on the tunnel floor and glanced down to see numerous rodentlike creatures scampering around her but didn’t pay them too much attention.

  As long as they were not spiders or scorpions, she was perfectly fine with that. The light emanating from her lamp also seemed to deter the little creatures to get too close to her, as they tried to stay out of the brightness.

  “Night creatures, they don’t like the light”, she murmured to herself and kept going, holding the lamp out from her face.

  Soon, the tunnel emptied into a more brightly lit opening with stone faces that started their wailing alarms as she approached.

  “Beware, turn back before it’s too late”, one bellowed with a haunting voice, trying to make it echo off the stone walls.

  “Danger awaits you”, a second chimed in with an equal desperate voice.

  “You will die if you don’t turn around”, a third proclaimed.

  “Guys, guys, simmer down. I heard it all before, no need to falsely alarm me”, Sarah giggled and shook her head with mirth.

  “But, how do you know?” the middle face asked astounded and wide-eyed.

  “I’ve been here before. I’m Sarah”, she answered with a smile.

  “Sarah? The Sarah? The one who bested the Labyrinth and King Jareth? That Sarah?” the first stone face exclaimed so loud the walls started to shake and mortar began to rain down from the ceiling.

  “Easy there, not too loud, but yes, it’s me. I’m that Sarah.”

  “Beware, the king will take his revenge upon you”, the third stone face lamented, and Sarah started laughing.

  “I don’t think so. Him and I, we are, well, we are, let’s just say we made up”, she stammered with a slightly blushed face and hidden smile around her lips.

  “Ow, ow, it still hurts”, the middle stone face suddenly cried out, and Sarah noticed strange stone-pebblelike tears running down his cheek from the right eye.

  She stepped closer to take a look and knitted her brows.

  “What happened to you?” she asked with a gasp. “I didn’t know you can cry.”

  “I have dirt and mud in my eye. That wicked girl that was here earlier yelled at me and threw it at me.”

  “That was not very nice of her. Let me see what I can do”, Sarah replied and searched her pockets.

  She retrieved a small handkerchief and climbed up at the face to reach his eye.

  “Um, I’m sorry, but in order to reach it, I have to step on your mouth. If you could open it, I could get high enough by climbing up on your lips.”

  The stone face obliged with a stunned look, and the other two closed their mouth and remained silent as they watched in awe. Sarah managed to work her way up to the eye as she stood on the upper lip and grabbed on to his nose.

  “Sorry about that”, she muttered and stretched her arm out to gently wipe the dirt out of his eye.

  “Aaaah”, came the blissful reply when she had managed to clean all the dirt and mud out of it and had made her way back towards the ground again.

  “Feel better?” she smirked, and the face gave her a big smile.

  “Thank you so much, Sarah. That was most kind of you. As a thank you, I want to tell you to be aware of the dangers ahead of you. Turn around before it’s too late.”

  Sarah laughed out loud and turned around to resume her journey down the tunnel. Her merriment came to a quick stop when she reached a small hall with a tunnel leading into two directions. The feeling of familiarity overwhelmed her as a memory came suddenly crashing down on her.

  “Oh, yes, yes, yes. This is the spot you always dreamed of, and the king doing his you know what to you. Ooooooooh, girl maybe?” her libido shouted exuberantly with unbridled excitement.

  Before Sarah could scold herself for the thoughts, she spun around at the sound of an oh so familiar voice.

  “How you do you enjoy my Labyrinth so far?”

  Jareth stood close behind her as he purred the words into her ear, and his hand slowly slid itself around her waist towards her breasts. A wicked smile curled itself around her lips, and Sarah turned to face him, her seductive Goblin King, who was standing there in the same outfit he wore fifteen years ago.

  She stepped back as he moved forward and pinned her against the wall. Sarah swallowed and held her gaze into those mesmerizing eyes of his. All she wanted to do was grab him, pull him into her, and kiss the life out of him while she ravished his body.

  “Tell me, how do you enjoy my Labyrinth, my dear Sarah?”

  Her libido was screaming at her with a five-thousand-watt megaphone to take him, and use him, and finally fulfil her long-time fantasy with him, but her mind told her, she had a task to fulfil, once again.

  “It’s a piece of cake”, she grinned and licked her lips in anticipation of what his reply would be.

  “Oh, is that so?” he whispered seductively, moving his head even closer to hers until he nearly touched his nose to hers before he turned and held his lips millimetres away from her ear.

  “Are you sure that is the answer you want to give me, Precious?” he hissed in such an erotic voice it made her quiver.

  “Not really, but it’s the one you are getting since we are being watched. In truth, I want you to tear off my clothes and put your hard cock deep inside of me after I have thoroughly sucked on it”, she replied defiantly with a hush of a whisper.

  “Yes, I give you seven hallelujahs. Oh, make that thirteen”, her libido cheered unabashed.

  Jareth sucked in his breath, and his body stiffened at her words. He swallowed hard as his hooded eyes grew dark, and he slowly withdrew his face from hers, staring deep into those cruel, emerald-green orbs with an unspoken lust.

  “You truly are a wicked little witch, you wench. I would love to oblige to your wishes, but unfortunately, we have a game to finish. But next time, and believe me there will be a next time, Precious, your wishes will be granted. All of them.”

  He straightened himself out, unobtrusively palming his growing erection to hide it from prying eyes and gave her his sardonic grin and arrogantly cocked head.

  “A piece of cake, is it? Well, let’s see how you deal with this little slice.”  

  He threw his crystal down the dark tunnel where it exploded and disappeared. Sarah, instinctively, put her arms in front of her face and then watched as a figure very slowly came out of the darkness with a spine-chilling hiss.

  Sarah’s eyes grew wide with horror as the figure took shape, and she realized it was a giant, ten metre long scorpion crawling out of the tunnel with pincers twice as long as she was tall.

  “No, you fae bastard. You didn’t”, she murmured and slowly backed up, all the while contemplating her next move.

  The only way away from the horrid creature was to run the opposite direction, but she had noticed a door at the end of the tunnel when the crystal exploded, and the light had faded enough to make out details for only a brief moment.

  “I have to make it past this monster, but how? It’s going to slice me into pieces.”

  The scorpion moved closer, taking its time as its pincers snapped closed and created a slashing sound in the echoing cave. Sarah kept moving backwards and soon found herself against the wall again. She either had to run back down the tunnel or try and pass the monster.

  “The tunnel is too narrow to run past it”, she cried to herself, starting to lose her composure and logic reasoning by being overcome with panic.

  She could feel the energy of magic pulsating through the creature’s body as it drew ever so close. Only a couple more steps away, and it would be right on top of her.

  “You’ll be safe. I promise you.”

  “He promised”, she murmured to herself and stared back at the creature.

  With only one thought left, she stood in the middle of the tunnel and approached the slashing monster, her heart thumbing wildly in her chest.

  “It’s not real. It’s only an illusion. Besides a spider, a scorpion is my biggest fear, and he’s using it to create a mirage. Come on feet”, she muttered to herself and began to run into the scorpion.

  As Sarah dashed forward and collided with the scorpion, the beast vanished into a cloud of billowing smoke and vapor. Instantly, the tunnel was void of any creature, and Sarah saw the small door at the end, faintly glowing at her.

  She quickly sprinted towards it and yanked it open, only to be greeted by warm sunshine and the view of a large peach orchard. She tilted back her head as she stepped through and took a deep breath before she broke out into a hysteric laughing fit. Of all things to come to, a peach orchid.

  “Peach, my dear?” came the jovial voice from off to her side.

  The Goblin King sat on a rock and juggled a peach on his fingers, tossing it to her. She quickly snatched it up and took a bite as she gave him a playful grin.

  “No drugging this time”, she warned him as he chuckled with mirth.

  “I never drugged you the first time. It was an enchantment”, he replied with quirked eyebrows as he took the peach from her and took a bite of his own.

  “Now you’re just splitting hair”, she retorted and reached for his proffered hand.

  “Well done, my champion”, he cooed and walked up to her, gently sliding his arm round her waist, and pulling her close. “Now let’s talk about this very intimate and personal wish of yours in the tunnels, my love.”

  “Oh, after that stunt you pulled with the scorpion, I think I’m going to change my wish. Maybe, I have the scorpion pinch something off of you”, she grinned sardonically as Jareth’s eyes grew as round as an owl’s.

  “You would miss it”, he retorted with a salacious smirk.

  “Not as much as you would”, she replied cheekily.

  “I would not bet on it”, he laughed, the merriment showing clearly in his eyes.

  Oh, how he loved the bantering with his beloved Sarah, his chosen mate.

  “You are so sure of yourself, aren’t you?” she taunted him back but let him pull her closer into him.

  “Damn right, woman. I always get what I want.”

  He pulled her in so tight now that his hips pressed tightly against hers and his mouth claimed hers before she could refuse or object. She wrapped her own arms around his neck and moaned into the kiss. They each tasted the peach on the others tongue and savoured its flavour.

  “I guess I should surrender to my king?” she murmured without letting go of him.

  “That would be wise”, he grinned, deepening the kiss as he held her tight.

  Reluctantly, he broke from her lips after a few moments once he regained his senses and composure.

  “Let’s go, Love, we have judges waiting on us.”

  With a sated smirk on his lips, they vanished in a swirl of glitter and dust, leaving only a half-eaten peach behind on the ground.

Chapter Text

  Sarah and Céline both stood silently before the judges’ box and were anxiously awaiting their decisions on today’s games. Everybody had received a two-hour reprieve to get cleaned up and change into more appropriate clothing for the closing ceremony, which the goblins were eagerly awaiting.

  For hours, they had raided Jareth’s ale cellar and rolled out barrel after barrel for the upcoming festivities. They were sure their preferred future queen would be crowned the winner today and had gone all out to procure a giant glitter canon to unleash on the unsuspecting winner after the official declaration.

  The stands were once again filled to the brink and were definitely violating every safety protocol if the Underground would have safety protocols for overcrowded stadiums. Hoggle and his cheering section were ready to unfurl their giant ‘Congratulation Champion Sarah’ banner, and everybody had their vuvuzelas on standby.

  Jareth watched the excitement of the going on with growing amusement. He hadn’t had such fun since the last time his goblins snug into his mother’s outdoor ladies’ luncheon in the Queen’s Garden she held with one of the women she had chosen for him to court.

  They had blasted the entire place straight into the sky with a barrel of volatile fire tea, as they tried to heat it over an open campfire to serve to the ladies. What part of ‘fire’ on the tea’s name they didn’t comprehend, nobody understood.

  After that, his goblins had been banned from leaving his kingdom and accompanying him on any more trips to his mother.

  Jareth had been happy that he didn’t have to worry about courting the poor wench any longer, as she had run back to her dad’s kingdom and never came back for another visit.

  Not even a ball invitation could entice her to come near his castle, and for Jareth that was just fine. It had been the very same night he had received the summons from Sarah, and it had been this ball he had taken her to briefly to dance with him.

  Two years it had taken him to finally restore the ballroom she had destroyed, and afterwards, he couldn’t even get himself to go in there, as the memories were too strong to bear. Not anymore. He should show it to her soon, or maybe even hold a ball in her honour.

  “Are you nervous, Jareth?” Queen Alia asked concerned when she noticed the wistful look in his eyes she recognized so well.

  It was the look he always wore when he was thinking of Sarah in the ballroom. Jareth, having been jolted out of his wistful reverie, shook his head with a yearning smile around his lips.

  “Not at all, Mother”, he assuaged his mother’s perturbations. “From everything I have seen today, there is no doubt Sarah won both challenges. There is no finer queen than her, and she thoroughly demonstrated this today.”

  “I concur”, Alia replied with a smile and nod of her own.

  “Céline has affronted my subjects and therefore my kingdom throughout the entire hour of court. I had Corrigan do a lot of damage control afterwards to right her wrong decisions. I should bog her for this.”

  “And Whiskey?” Alia asked with concern in her eyes.

  “He will live and make a full recovery”, Jareth answered through gritted teeth. “If her father weren’t a king, whose allegiance I am in need of, I would headfirst toss her into an oubliette with daily lashes from a nine-tailed cat.

  Alia let out a sigh of relief and clutched her hand to her chest. She was not too fond of the goblins blowing up her tea parties, but she accepted and understood them, and she definitely did not condone unprovoked violence against them.

  “What about the children of the starving couple?” Alia asked anxiously.

  “They are all taken care off. I had an opening for another stable hand, and the wife apparently is doing a fine job as a kitchen helper. I already moved the entire family into one of the cottages by the stables.”

  “And the cupcake case is resolved as well. Turns out the poor cupcake baker had been so distraught by the fact that his boss had forgotten to put on his pants, he burnt the cakes.”

  Alia burst out into a fleeting laughter and had to put her hand in front of her mouth to keep from making a scene. Jareth gave his mother a sated smile as she took his hand into hers.

  “You are a good king, Jareth. I am proud of you, and Sarah will make you a fine queen and wife. You know, you will have to talk to her about the transformation before too long.”

  “I have three-month, Mother”, Jareth retorted with a wince.

  “Don’t wait until the last day, Son. Trust me in this, she needs to know. The sooner she is being informed, the better for the both of you”, Alia held steadfast on her earlier demand.

  Jareth sighed and looked over at Sarah, who stood with a beaming face as she watched the on-goings in the stands and every so often waved to a goblin she recognized.

  How happy she looked, and she had told him during lunch that she was content with being here. He knew she loved him, but would it be enough for her to give up her other life? She had only been here less than two weeks.

  “I have three months”, he muttered to himself in trying to justify any procrastination on his part, and he sent her a warm coy smile when their eyes met.

  “Attention in the stadium. Hear ye, hear ye. The judges are about to make their declarations.” Sir Didymus shouted into his megaphone with overzealous gusto, and slowly, the rowdy crowd began to quiet and directed its attentiveness towards the judges’ panel.

  With a nod from Didymus, the older fae woman stood up, and along with her fellow two judges, sauntered languidly to the podium. As she took possession of the megaphone, she was flanked by the centaur and the wood nymph, who both stood with cryptic smiles behind her.

  “The judges of the High Court have come to a decision, and we are ready to declare a ruling. Over the past two days, we have witnessed two very qualified contestants battle it out in games of bravery, wits, agility, logic, and empathy to be granted the courting rights to King Jareth.”

  “Even though this court has no interest to judge over who is or is not qualified to court King Jareth, it was the stipulation of the games prior to their start that the losing party will bow out of their courting rights.”

  The older fae judge glanced intently at Sarah and Céline, who both stood perfectly still and silent with anxious faces. Sarah bit her bottom lip slightly and immediately scolded herself for it.

  She didn’t want to appear nervous in front of this High Court woman, who honestly scared her half to death with those intense blue eyes that were colder than the most frigid glaciers in the Alps.

  “Our ruling will be handed out and will be accepted by all parties without protest, and it is binding.”

  She turned back towards her two companions and was handed a small piece of paper.

  “Lady Sarah, please step forward”, she instructed, and Sarah immediately complied with a nervous step towards the judge.

  “You have surprised us, Lady Sarah, with your tenacity, your willpower, your diplomatic skills, and your high intellect. You have also displayed great empathy and care for those around you, and you put your self-interests behind their needs, as was the case with the false alarm when you used your precious time to help him clear his eye. For a mortal, you have performed exceptionally well.”

  Sarah gave a weak but genuine smile, which was returned by all three judges.

  “Princess Céline, please step forward”, the fae woman continued as Celine eagerly stepped up to where Sarah was standing.

  “You, Princess Céline, have shown that giving up is definitely not in your vocabulary. Though you have displayed great strength and resilience in the face of opposition, which is a desirable quality for any queen, you have disappointed us greatly over your complete lack of empathy and kindness towards others.”

  “You are very parsimonious when it comes to showing goodwill and compassion to your fellow subjects and peers. You are guided by strong emotions, emotions that are currently not very well controlled and make you appear spiteful, uncaring, and cruel. Whether this is due to your youthfulness, upbringings, or an inherited mean streak, remains yet to be determined.”

  Céline furrowed her brows and attempted to open her mouth with a rebuttal but was curtly cut off by the raise of the fae’s hand.

  “Our decision goes to Lady Sarah as the overall winner of the games. She showed us that she possesses courage, a strong mind, and a strong heart. We were very much impressed with the way you handled the court in particular.”

 The fae woman now addressed Sarah directly with a smile.

 “Well done, my child, well done. Princess Céline, your petition to court King Jareth has been rescinded, and King Jareth’s official proclamation of his courting the Lady Sarah has been noted. The games are officially over.”

  The crowd erupted in deafening cheers with banners being unfurled and flying all across the bleachers when a gigantic glitter bomb exploded close to where Sarah and Céline stood and hordes of skreiching chickens took to the sky.

  The booming sound of the explosion was so loud, it was sending everyone in the stands racing for their lives as a torrent of brilliantly gleaming glitter descended not only onto the two contestants but also the judges, Jareth and his mother, and the entire honourable guest section.

  The glitter storm was so thick that Jareth could barely see his hand in front of his face, much less anyone else. All he could hear was the screeching harpylike sounds of Céline, interspersed with the cackling of the goblins and the shouts of the dignitaries as everyone was clearing out of the field.

  “Sarah”, Jareth yelled and concentrated his mind on finding her.

  He quickly located her, took her hand, and transported them away from the pandemonium that had descended on the area. They reappeared in an isolated corner of the little pond by the willow tree, both covered with glitter from head to toe, and Sarah splitting her side in a laughing fit.

  She looked at Jareth all covered in piles of scintillating goodness so thick his normal hair could not even be detected and chortled with unbridled merriment.

  “Now that is another level of glitterness for His Majesty”, she snorted and put her hand in front of her mouth, eliciting a growl from Jareth, who was a bit less amused.

  “Laughing at the king at his expense, are we now?” he hissed and caused Sarah to laugh even harder.

  “You should see yourself”, she squeaked, and tears began to roll down her cheek.

  “It’s not like you look any less glittery”, he retorted with a grin and grabbed her possessively around the waist.

  “I demand you stop with this fooldiggery and quit ridiculing your king or there will be consequences”, he snarled and pulled her tight into him with a devious smirk curled around his lips.

  “Ooooooooh, what kind of consequences? Please apprise me of them”, she cooed with mockery, and before she knew it, she was laying on the ground with Jareth’s body on top, pinning her down.

  “You can’t abscond me, Precious. I’ll have my ways with you”, he smirked with a devilish expression and pressed his hips into hers as she could feel him growing hard with excitement.

  Sarah bit her bottom lip with a coquettish smile and pulled him down to her.

  “Are you all talk, My King, or is there a bite behind your promise?”

  Jareth’s eyes grew big at her daring words, and a low rumble emanated from his throat as he crashed his mouth onto hers and took her in a passionate kiss, his tongue storming in like an invader into a castle.

  His hands began to roam and started to pull up the skirt of her dress to caress the soft skin of her inner thighs.

  Sarah moaned into his kiss and opened her legs for him to sink his hips lower into her. He was getting hard, and she could feel him close to her entrance as she felt her own juices pooling between her legs.

  “Jareth”, she breathed into his mouth but was prevented from adding to it as he deepened the kiss and took all of her controls away from her.

  His hand rested against her heated centre and slipped one finger below the fabric of her panties to revel in the slickness of her folds. Sarah grabbed his erection through the fabric of his pants and stroked him with increasing urgency.

  He elicited a guttural sound from deep within his chest as his dark eyes fell onto her, holding within them a desire and lust for her that made her fluttery in her stomach. Her libido was screaming at her to pull off his clothes as she completely forgot where they were.

  Jareth finally let go of her mouth and let his kisses trail down her neck and across her cleavage before it latched on to one of her nipples after pulling her bodice off her shoulders, fully exposing her curvaceous breasts.

  “Ehem, Your Majesty”, a hoarse voice came from behind them, followed by a polite cough.

  Sarah froze with a horrified look on her face, and Jareth immediately pulled her dress back over her breasts and down her legs as he removed himself from her.

  “Corrigan, what is it?” he barked with obvious disgruntlement.

  “I want to advice you that your mother and Princess Celine are waiting on you in the castle’s study.

  “Bog them both”, Jareth replied with a grumble and redirected his attention towards Sarah, who placed a hand over his lips.

  “Jareth, we need to go”, she whispered, partly amused by the painful look on his face.

  “You know how to kill the best of moods with your impeccable timing, Corrigan”, he snarked and rose off the ground, holding out a hand for Sarah.

  “Better I am finding you in this compromising position than the princess after her castration threats of you”, Corrigan smirked and quickly made an exit before Jareth could zap him with a crystal ball.

  “In all the seven hells, let that wench be out of my life and my castle soon”, he grumbled as he palmed his erection before facing his mother and that harpy of a woman.

  He pulled Sarah in for another gentle kiss.

  “Just so we are clear, this is not over yet, Love”, he clarified in an assertive tone and transported them back to the castle’s official study.

**************************************************

  Dinner had been a tedious and boring affair, and Jareth was ready to wish Céline into the bog. He had allowed her to stay the night before leaving for home in the morning. They all had indulged in the festivities for a few hours before retiring to the castle for a more formal dinner. Jareth was eager to get the evening behind him, and Sarah into his bedchambers.

  “Sarah and I will be taking our leave now. Have a pleasant journey home Céline.”

  He gave her a perfunctory nod and brushed his lips across the knuckles of her offered hand.

  “Won’t you see us off in the morning?” Céline asked with batted eyes, giving Jareth some serious indigestion.

  “We’re going to the Aboveground tomorrow”, Sarah interjected with a curt smile and placed her hand on Jareth’s arm to signal him to play along as he tossed her a questioning look.

  “Such a pity. I’m sure you can find your way home without me, Céline. Mother.”

  He turned to Alia with a slight bow and kissed her hand with a playful smile in the corners of his mouth. She let out a deep sigh and gently stroked his cheek.

  “I shall see you next time then. It was lovely to get to know you, Sarah.”

  With that, she turned and motioned Céline to follow her. The princess gave Jareth one last pouted look before she trudged with disgruntlement behind the high queen to their rooms.

  “Aboveground?” Jareth inquired with an inquisitive quirk of his eyebrow as he turned his attention back onto Sarah.

  “I’m collecting on my bet”, Sarah replied as casually as if she had asked him for her car keys.

  “And what bet would that be?” he asked with a smirk.

  “How soon we forget, Your Kingyness”, she mocked him, knowing darn well he knew what bet she was talking about. “You lost the bet from our last game before Princess Hellbitch came storming in, trying to steal you from me.”

  Jareth gave a mirthful laughter at Sarah for calling Céline ‘Princess Hellbitch’. How fitting of a title. He needed to remember that one.

  “So, you want to collect on that bet tomorrow, Love?” he teased.

  Sarah nodded enthusiastically and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “You will be my slave boy for an entire day,” she grinned impishly, seeing his scrunched-up nose.

  “There is nothing resembling a boy anywhere on my body, woman. You may want to reassess your slave.”

  He gave her a playful hip thrust to underscore his statement.

  “Now why don’t we go back and finish what we started earlier, and I can prove to you that I am no boy but an above-average, well-endowed fae male, who definitely knows what he’s doing. You think you can handle it?”

  He nuzzled his head into the crook of her neck, placing hot kisses alongside it. Sarah closed her eyes and chuckled lightly, running her fingers through his wispy hair.

  “Yeah, about that. It’s after twenty-six o’clock and therefore after midnight, which means it is tomorrow, and you are now already my slave.”

  Jareth looked at her with suspicious eyes and a frown on his lips.

  “What is your point, Love?”

  “My point is, I am in charge from now on for the next twenty-six hours and my next call is for you to be in your speedo thong in my bed, but no hanky panky. I need you fresh and rested for tomorrow, um, today.”

  Jareth stepped back from her as if she had broken out in an incurable wood troll rash. His face was a mask of incredulity.

  “Have you gone insane, woman? We need to finish our little tryst from earlier. I have been left....unsatisfied, and that is a gross mistreatment and neglect of the king. This must be remedied immediately.”

  Sarah laughed and gave him a chaste kiss on his forehead.

  “Come on, slave boy, don’t defy me, and do as I say. If you’re good, maybe I let you even make love to me.”

  She turned with a salacious grin, which he didn’t notice, and walked out of the room, motioning him with her finger to follow her. After letting out a disgruntled and highly agitated huff, he followed behind with a mirthless face to her bedroom.

  Part of him wanted to rebel against such disrespectful behaviour, unbecoming of a king, and another part was eager to play along and see where she would take it.

  His playful nature won over his pride. A game could always be manipulated, and he was, after all, the master of manipulation.

  “Start putting on your speedos”, she demanded with a sly grin as they entered, and she stepped into the bathroom for her evening ablutions.

  When she came out, she wore nothing, nothing at all, and strutted past him to the bed, pulled back the sheets, and climbed in, making sure he got an eyeful before she covered herself up.

  “Are you going to just stand there and drool, or are you coming to bed? We need to get up early tomorrow”, she stated nonchalantly and laid down.

  “Oh, you are one cruel wench”, he scoffed and waved his hand frustratingly in front of his body, instantly changing from his clothes into the small, dark-blue speedo.

  Sarah only replied with a giggle as she lifted her head to watch him walk to the bed and climb in.

  “I think you are enjoying this way too much”, he grumbled and laid down without touching her.

  “Oh, no, slave boy. You have to hold me like you did last time”, she grinned and almost lost her composure to a laughing fit when Jareth gave her a scowl that sounded more like the screech of an outraged owl.

  “You will be the death of me, you know that”, he murmured into her ear as he pulled her close to him in the spooning position and wrapped his arm around her.

  “Maybe, but just think what a sweet death it would be”, she cooed back and had him turn off the lights.

**************************************************

  It was barely eight o’clock in the morning when they appeared in Sarah’s small apartment. She had insisted on waking him before sunrise, which usually would not present a problem in itself, as he was naturally an early riser.

  The problem started when he wanted some sexual relief to his morning wood issues, and she flat out denied him. Not only did she deny him, but she also laughed at his dilemma and told him to hurry up and get ready.

  Five minutes later, they arrived at her apartment Aboveground with Jareth only wearing his speedo thong, and Sarah holding back a giggle while dressed in a casual, floor-length housedress.

  “Sarah, what is the point of this speedo?” Jareth asked flustered, as he was getting tired of wearing something that uncomfortable for such an extended time. It crammed his style, and the thong cut in between his butt cheeks.

  “I want my slave to look sexy for me”, she answered back from her bedroom to retrieve a fresh set of jeans and a shirt.

  “This is humiliating”, he complained, giving her a frown with crossed arms as he languished against the doorframe to her bedroom.

  “Not against the rules”, she replied haughtily. “It only stipulates public humiliation, and since we are in my private apartment and it’s only the two of us, it doesn’t fall under public. Plus, I would hardly consider this humiliation. Relax, Jareth, and play along. Where is your fae sense of adventure?”

  She winked at him as she buttoned up her jeans and tapped him on his chest on her way out. He turned around to follow her with a low growl, muttering “wicked wench” under his breath.

  “So, what is going to happen now? I traipse around here naked all day?” he asked disgruntled.

  “You are going to make me breakfast”, she declared with a bright smile and waved her hand across the kitchen as a signal for him to step in and start cooking.

  “You want me, the king, to fix you breakfast?” he grumbled with a frown. “I refuse”, he declared and raised his chin, standing motionless with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “Oh, come on, my sweet, beloved fairy king. Play along with me. It is a game, after all. You don’t know where this could lead. Do you know, nothing turns a woman on more than a nearly naked man, who knows how to cook?”

  She wiggled her eyebrows at him and flashed the most innocuous look she could muster. Jareth huffed and quirked the corners of his lips. He would make sure this game would lead in the direction he wanted it to go. All he needed was a little manipulation and time.

  “Fine, I’ll do as you say”, he agreed and walked past her to the stove to begin making her breakfast.

  Sarah sat down at the table and put her feet up in another chair as she leaned back against the backrest, clasping her hands behind her head. She watched him intently as he prepared four scrambled eggs in a bowl and cooked some bacon in a skillet.

  Her eyes seemed to be glued to his tight, well-shaped glutes and the strong muscular thighs.

  “I’m not sure I last an hour much less an entire day staring at this. I’m going to slam him down and ravish him. Good lord that fae is an erotic love god.”

  Her libido was setting off the tornado sirens, and she felt herself growing hot and damp. She grabbed a seven-day old newspaper laying on the table and began reading it for the sole purpose to divert her eyes from the magnificent naked male fae in front of her.

  “How would you like your eggs?” Jareth asked, and Sarah nearly fell out of her chair at his words, as she had dived deep into a sexual fantasyland with the Goblin King being the main occupant, and he was just about to....

  “Um, scrambled like yours”, she replied with a flushed face.

  Jareth grinned at her embarrassment for having been caught ogling at him and probably having some obscenely erotic fantasies about him. She would not last the day before she would beg him to take her, ravish her, and make all those fantasies come true.

  He began setting the table while the bacon finished cooking, and the bowl with the scrambled eggs were placed in the middle.

  “Orange juice or milk?” he asked as he stood by the opened refrigerator door.

  “Both”, she requested, and Jareth poured her two glasses, one for each liquid.

  When some of it spilled on his forearm as he set the glasses on the table, he licked the drops off with the flick of his tongue and moved it in seductive small circles over his skin while looking deep into her eyes. Sarah unintentionally licked her bottom lip and left them half parted.

  “I want to lick him and then some”, her libido complained, and Sarah tore her eyes away from the erotic beguilement in front of her.

  “Um, thanks”, she mumbled with a hoarse voice and cleared her throat.

  Jareth brought two plates with bacon and a couple of slices of toast on each to the table and handed her one of them as he sat down. He began to dig in and complimented himself for such an excellent breakfast while Sarah sat motionless, gaping at him, and wondering if she could change her mind about breakfast. She was looking at something much tastier at the moment.

  “You better eat or it’s getting cold, and I am not slaving in the kitchen for you all morning to have a cold breakfast”, Jareth declared without interrupting his own consumption.

  The only outward sign given that he had noticed her staring and glossed over eyes filled with desire was a quirk in the corner of his lips. Sarah quickly picked up her fork and began to eat herself, but her libido kept raging in her head and it was hard to concentrate on the food in front of her.

  “I’m impressed. You make a surprisingly good cook”, she finally complimented him as she pushed the empty plate away from her.

  “I am glad my lady approves of my skills”, he smiled as he took her plate and put the dirty dishes in the sink, running hot water over them.

  “I can help you with that”, Sarah quickly offered but he motioned her with his hand to remain seated.

  “I got this. You sit there and admire my physique”, he grinned prankish and continued to wash the dishes.

  Once he had washed them, he picked up the dishrag and waved his hand. In seconds, Sarah’s stereo had come on and played David Bowie’s ‘Spaceboy’. Jareth grabbed the first plate and started to dance to the music as he sang along, swinging his hips and giving playful thrusts, all the while drying the plates.

  “Do you like girls or boys? It’s confusing these days, but moon dust will cover you, cover you. So, by, by love, hallo Spaceboy, hallo, hallo.....”

  Sarah’s eyes were about to bulge out of her head when he came over to the table, sat himself onto it, and spun himself around on his bare butt.

  When he had finished the spin, his legs came down to the floor in front of her, and before she realized it, he had straddled her between his legs. His barely covered manhood was on full display right at eyelevel, only centimetres from her face.

  “Hallo Spaceboy, Spaceboy, halloooo.....”

  “Is there anything else, I can do for you?” he whispered in a drawn out, deep voice, slightly out of breath, which sent shivers down her back and an electric jolt right into her heated centre.

  “Take me, take me right here on this table, and get it over with”, her libido was begging for the almighty mercy, crawling on its knees towards its salvation.

  “What?” Sarah stammered, never diverting her eyes from the enticing package in front of her.

  “Is there anything else you want from me?’ he asked again with a knowing smirk on his face.

  “Um.... well.... actually. Agh, we are going somewhere”, she finally decided on her answer, and Jareth removed himself by swinging one leg over her head and taking a few steps back.

  Sarah jumped out of the chair as if she were sitting on a bed of scolding hot coals. Jareth only smirked but remained still. Oh, how pliable she was, like putty in his hands, and he was making sure he would work her just right.

  “We’re going to the beach”, Sarah now declared with a more composed voice and demeanour. “Jareth, I want you to take us to an isolated stretch of beautiful white sandy beach by a calm ocean, sunshine, a lawn chair, drinks, lotions, the entire enchilada of beach indulgence.”

  Jareth gave out a light chuckle and slid his arm around her waist as he drew himself close to her, gazing into her eyes again with an unmovable expression and lusting eyes.

  “As my lady wishes”, he hushed into her ear, and Sarah’s apartment disappeared from her view as she quickly closed her eyes.

**************************************************

  When she opened them, they were on a beautiful white sandy beach with the bluest ocean she had ever seen, and a light purplish-orange sky interspersed with white clouds. The air was warm, but not too hot, and the waves crashing onto the shore created a soothing rushing sound.

  “Where are we?” she asked breathless and took the scenery in from all angles. “This is definitely not Cancun or Tahiti.”

  “We are on the Mystic Shores of the Eastern Sea. The only small ocean part of my kingdom. It’s actually a small island completely devoid of any intelligent lifeforce besides you and me.”

  His eyes bore into hers, and she leaned in for that kiss he had been waiting to give her. She closed her eyes in anticipation, but it never came. Confused, Sarah opened them and saw him having retreated towards a comfortable lawn chair. His attire had also changed.

  Gone was the speedo thong and had been replaced by a long deep-red loincloth made out of a silky, see-through fabric. It was barely enough to hide his crown jewels. A light sea breeze let it wave and drift away from his body in erotic teasing motions, only to fade away and covering him up once again.

  “So, now he wants to play the game. Fine, two can do this”, her mind revolted at being shunned a kiss, and she walked over to the beach chair with determined strides.

  “Slave, give me something appropriate to wear”, she commanded him in a haughty voice, and Jareth bowed his head with a sly grin as a two-piece bikini appeared on her body.

  The bottom was nothing more than a thinly veiled loincloth, matching Jareth’s, and the top barely covered her nipples with the faintest of straps tied behind her neck and back. Jareth practically devoured her with his eyes as she gazed down at her body with an open mouth.

  The material felt incredibly soft and comfortable, but it definitely did not leave much to the imagination. And every time a light sea breeze wafted across the shore, her cloth was fluttering and ever so briefly exposing her most intimate area.  

  “You did this on purpose”, she hissed into his ear.

  “I only conjured that for which your heart wished. If I am not mistaken, you wished for an erotic beach setting with a scantily clad lover, who would dote on you and worship your body.”

  He gave her a careful glance with an impish glint in his eyes and a playful smirk twitching in the corners of his mouth. Sarah bit her bottom lip and blushed slightly. That was exactly what she had conjured in her mind, but how did he know that? She knew he could enter her dreams, but could he read minds now too?

  “How did you know?” she asked intrigued.

  “I saw it in your dream last night. Your entire day, Love, and I am here to fulfil this dream today.”

  “You what? You were in my dream again last night? How come I don’t remember it?” she asked astounded and slightly irritated over the invasion of her privacy. “What was in the dream?”

  “Why ruin a perfect day by knowing its outcome ahead of time”, he smirked and motioned her to sit down in her lawn chair.

  She followed his gesture and reclined in her chair, which felt incredibly comfortable and cooling.

  “Cheat, so you already know what is going to happen today?” she bit her bottom lip.

  “Not really. I have a rough idea of what you are going for, but no, I do not know what turns the day will bring. Feeling better about that?” he added and leaned over her, smiling down at her.

  “Bring me something to drink, slave boy”, she grinned and made sure to drawl out the boy part.

  Jareth quirked his eyebrow and grunted.

  “I told you, there is nothing boyish about me. Want to check for yourself?”

  He took her hand and placed it squarely against his still flaccid member over the thin material, moving her hand slightly up and down. She could feel the heat emanating from his centre and life springing into his manhood as he began to harden under her touch.

  Sarah licked her bottom lip, trying to still her screaming libido when Jareth let go of her hand and straightened himself up again.

  “What would you like for me to get you?” he asked as if nothing had happened.

  Sarah was still in the process of gathering her thoughts, which at the moment were filled with his semi-erection she had just held in her hand.

  “Definitely something stiff. Yes, a stiff drink is what I need.”

  “A tequila sunrise”, she answered with a quirked smile.

  Jareth grinned and walked off, which took her by utter surprise, as she had expected him to conjure something. She watched him walk to a small hut, she had not noticed before, and enter it. Within minutes, he re-emerged with a tray, holding two glasses with tiny straw umbrellas, and a small bowl of mixed nuts.

  He looked like a vision out of an erotic romance novel when he strutted back towards her, and the light breeze teased with his loin cloth, exposing his finely chiselled thigh muscles, the flawless light skin of his loins and buttock, and the glistening of his chest from a light sheen of sweat that had accumulated.

  “I’m going to faint. It’s Eros in person”, her libido cried out and went unconscious.

  “Here is your drink as requested, Love.”

  Jareth placed the glass into her hand and took hold of his own identical drink. He sat down beside her in the sand with crossed legs as he sipped on his tequila. His eyes never left hers, and she thought he looked incredibly beautiful at this moment.

  His face appeared content and relaxed, with no trace of stress, unlike the past two days when there always seemed to be a deep furrow cut across his forehead.

  “You look like you are enjoying yourself”, Sarah whispered softly as she supped her drink slowly.

  “I am, Love”, he answered back with a coy smile. “I always am when I’m with you. Even if it is as your slave.”

  He tossed her a boyish grin, and Sarah stuck out her tongue at him, which caused him to let go of a playful chuckle. For several minutes, they merely enjoyed each other’s company in silence.

  Sarah closed her eyes and listened to the waves break against the shore, the distant song of birds in the nearby forest, and Jareth’s soft humming of an old familiar tune they had danced to fifteen years ago.

  “You know, I love you, Jareth”, Sarah mentioned in a soft voice with eyes closed.

  When there was no answer, she opened them and saw his face only millimetres away from hers, his mismatched sparkling eyes piercing into hers. Instead of an answer, his lips gently claimed hers, and his tongue tapped lightly against her teeth to let him in, which she granted immediately.

  The kiss was slow and sensual as their tongues stayed connected and slowly danced around each other. He closed his eyes and placed one ungloved hand against her face as he deepened the kiss even more.

  Sarah could feel the passionate love spilling out of him and into the kiss. Her libido was still unconscious as she wrapped one arm around his neck and let her hand play with his tangled hair.

  The high-pitched screech of a sea dragon jolted her out of her bliss as she opened her eyes with a startle, and her body stiffened.

  “What’s that?” she whispered anxiously.

  “Nothing to worry about. They are only sea dragons playing in the rolling waves by the beach.”

  He moved away from her as she sat up and looked out onto the ocean. Not far from them, a small group of serpentlike creatures with long necks and large heads were jumping and flipping in the breaking waves.

  It looked as if they were laughing every time they emanated one of the high-pitched noises. Sarah was fascinated by them and sat up even higher as she placed her empty glass on the small table that had conjured itself next to her chair.

  “Would you like to touch them?” Jareth asked softly and pulled her gently out of her chair by her hand.

  “What? Is that safe?” she asked with some trepidation, staring at the frolicking creatures, which had come closer to the shore upon spotting them.

  “Perfectly. Do you really think, I would let you do something if I thought it would harm you?”

  He tossed her a slightly hurt look, and Sarah lowered her rueful gaze, shaking her head with a sense of remorse. He held on tight to her hand as he guided her into the water and away from the shore towards the sea dragons.

  The water was surprisingly cool and felt unusually refreshing and exhilarating. They waded waist deep into the lightly rolling sea as the dragons swam closer to them, finally encircling them completely.

  Jareth stopped and kept holding on to Sarah’s hands. Her head kept spinning around to watch the enigmatic creatures as their colours changed underneath the surface from green to blue to red and back to green mixed with yellow.

  Finally, a head popped out of the water right in front of Jareth, and he held out his hand and gently placed it onto its snout. He motioned Sarah to follow suit, and she, too, held out her hand and willed it to touch the sea dragon by placing it next to Jareth’s.

  The sea dragon snorted softly and blinked its eyes, keeping them half-shut as if it was gazing at them from beneath its lids. Jareth’s face beamed with joy and excitement, and Sarah relaxed at seeing him in such a carefree manner.

  He briefly glanced at her and gestured her to follow him as he dove under the surface and had her swim next to him, still holding her hand.

  Deeper and deeper he took her, and Sarah began to wonder if they would run out of air when she noticed a small bubble had formed around each of their heads, providing them with the needed oxygen. She let go of her breath she had been holding and began to breathe normal.

  For the next thirty minutes, they were diving freely amongst five of the beasts, including what appeared to be a juvenile, and were even allowed a touch here and there. Their skins were constantly changing colours in an incredible show of bioluminescence.

  Sarah was amazed by the display and struck by the gentleness of the large creatures. When Jareth gestured to her that they must go back to the surface, she was almost sad to end such a wonderful visit.

  “That was amazing”, she laughed as they broke the surface and waded back to the shore. “Did you know they were going to be here?” she asked him with a slight suspicion.

  “Not really. They do wander up and down this coastline, but it is still only a strike of luck if you see them. I am glad we were lucky”, he added with a sly grin.

  Once they were back at the lawn chair, he conjured a towel for her and began to gently dry off her body. He lingered longer than necessary around her breasts and between her legs. Sarah let him indulge with a smile. It wasn’t like she didn’t enjoy the touch herself.

  “Lay down on your stomach and keep your eyes closed the entire time”, he instructed her, and Sarah gave him a questioning look. “You’ll like it, trust me”, he added.

  He knelt next to her in the sand and conjured a bottle of lotion. Once he had the right amount in his hands, he began to gently massage her back and shoulders.

  Every so often, he added more lotion as he worked up and down each arm, deepening his massage on her shoulders and upper back and placing light kisses every so often.

  Sarah moaned at the wonderful sensation of his hands and the lotion, which had a wonderful heating and then cooling effect. Slowly, he worked his way down her lower back, constantly working the lotion into her skin.

  He then began his ministrations to her left leg, massaging and kneading her thigh, then her calves, and finally the ball of her foot.

  Sarah couldn’t help but to let out moans and groans of sheer pleasure as he worked each toe, placing kisses on the back of her leg as he worked back up towards her thigh.

  He repeated his services on her right leg, and Sarah knew she was getting wet and hot between her upper thighs.

  Jareth knew it too, as he could smell her faint trail of pheromones. His eyes darkened when his nostrils took in her scent. He kept massaging her other leg until he was finished with it before he paid attention to her shapely behind.

  He gently brushed aside the cloth and took in her bareness before he applied his lotion and ever so slowly worked his fingers around her buttock.

  “Oh, my god, Jareth”, she groaned as a couple of his fingers slipped between her legs and traced along her wet folds.

  She heard him emanate a low animalistic growl and knew he was getting aroused as much as she was. He removed his fingers and motioned her to turn over.

  Laying on her back, he applied the same ministrations to her front as he had done to her back. He started off with each of her arms before moving to her neck and chest and then concentrated on her breasts.

  He poured more lotion on her as he gently massaged it into her left breast and then into her right. While he was tending to one, his mouth and tongue found the other as he gingerly pushed away the flimsy fabric, exposing her nipples to him.

  Sarah’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she slightly writhed her body as her hands held on to the side of her chair.

  “Gosh, his hands are magic. I can’t take this much longer, or I’m going to explode.”

  Once he had sated himself with her breasts, his hands slowly moved down her stomach, leaving a trail of kisses around her navel and then worked themselves down her left leg first.

  As before, he massaged her thigh, making sure he let his finger fleetingly brush against her heated centre before moving towards her calf and foot.

  Again, he lingered on her foot, giving each toe his attention, and placing his kisses, before moving to the other leg. As he worked his hands up her leg, he ever so gently pushed her legs apart by a few centimetres and made sure to give extra attention to her inner thighs.

  His fingers again found her slick folds and slowly ran over them, taking in her wetness. The entire time, he never spoke or made any noises aside from a few deep breaths. Sarah blinked her eyes open at him and noticed that he was fully hardened as the loincloth did no longer hide anything.

  She thought he looked glorious and wanted to take hold of him, but he grabbed her hand and waved his finger at her mouthing “no”. Sarah laid her head back down with a groan of frustration but soon forgot about it as he applied some more lotion to his fingertips.

  When he touched her folds, her entire body jerked upwards, and a low growl escaped her throat. What was he doing to her? The initial heat of the lotion flooded her entire body with a sensual sensation, and the coolness that followed sent shockwaves through her lower body.

  “Jareth”, she managed to sigh and tried to reach out to him again, but he grabbed both her wrists into one hand and held them over her head as he leaned over her body.

  “Enjoy the ride, Precious”, he whispered and penetrated deep inside of her with the two finger that had applied the lotion.

  Sarah elicited another guttural sound and bucked her hips upwards. His thumb started to move in small circles across her wet clit as his fingers glided easily in and out.

  In one crashing wave, Sarah reached her climax and lifted her entire lower body off the chair as he held his fingers deep inside her, feeling her muscles spasm around them.

  A predatory grin curled around his lips as he gently removed them and gave her clit one more stroke before stopping his ministrations.

  Sarah lay panting with her hands over her head, even though he had long let go of her wrists. Her eyes were still closed, and she needed a few minutes to regain her composure and bearing before she opened them and looked up at him.

  He was already standing over her, still highly aroused, evident by his stiff erection peeking out from behind his loincloth. She pushed herself up on her elbows and reached out for him, but he stepped back, causing her to furrow her brows.

  “You don’t look very satisfied”, she said and gave him a quizzical look.

  “I am a slave. I give pleasure; I cannot receive pleasure.”

  With that he picked up the two empty glasses, placed them on the tray, and turned to get her a much-needed refill.

  “Jareth?” she stopped him. “What if I order you to make love to me, to have you inside of me?”

  He turned back towards her with a devilish grin on his face.

  “You are the master, and I am the slave. Whatever you tell me to do, I’ll do.”

  Sarah gave him a long look with narrowed eyes and then an impish grin worked its way across her scheming face.

  “Just get me another drink, and then I’ll have another task for you”, she replied and laid herself back in the chair while Jareth made its way to the small hut with a smirk on his face.

  “I decided to have dinner out here and watch the sunset”, she declared when Jareth returned with her drink. “I want you to build a campfire and then go fishing.”

  Jareth cocked his head, and it was his turn to give her a quizzical look. Sarah grinned and stood up as she snaked around him and traced her hand along his bare chest, down his stomach, and stopped short of his groin.

  “I want you to catch us a couple of fish for dinner and cook them over the campfire. Procure some side dishes and a bottle of my favourite wine. After dinner, you can entertain me with a dance and a song and then....we’ll see”, she trailed off, put down her drink, and ran into the ocean to dive under the waves.

  Jareth laughed out loud as she disappeared into the water and threw his head back with mirth.

  “Oh, you little vixen. You had to cool off didn’t you? Couldn’t stand the heat any longer. No worries, tonight you’ll be burning brightly, and only I alone will be able to douse that fire.”

  He went into the nearby forest and collected several arms full of firewood for the campfire. Once he was satisfied with the fire, he conjured a fishing net and spear and waded into the shallows. Sarah watched him intently from the water but didn’t make any attempt to join him.

  As much as she hated to admit it, but she had to run into to the cool water to clear her head and still the fire between her legs. Jareth returning with those drinks and standing in front of her with his erect cock on display was all she could handle. Even though he had managed to tease one orgasm out of her, she still felt esurient for more.

  She knew he played his game, as did she, and both tried to prolong the eventual end result. Nobody wanted to lose the game, but would there even be any losers or only two winners? They would soon find out, and she would milk it for all it was worth.

  While Jareth was orchestrating his fishing endeavour, Sarah decided to walk down the beach and explore a bit. She loved seashells, and there were plenty washed up on this beach. Jareth had deemed her exploration save when she had asked him if she could wander off.

  Even during a game, she knew safety had to come first, and wandering off from Jareth without telling him first would not have been a good idea. By the time she returned from her seashell-collecting adventure, Jareth was sitting by a roaring fire and was gutting and descaling two good sized fish.

  She walked over and sat down on a round log that was now placed close by and watched him while sipping on a glass of fresh water that had appeared on a table. He briefly looked up at her and smiled without stopping his meal preparation.

  “I used to come here as a boy with my parents and brother. It was our vacation home. That small hut over there is actually not what it seems.”

  He grinned and tossed the scraps into a clay basket before washing the fish in clean water.

  “I show you later, but it expands into a nice little vacation cabin. With a large bed”, he added with raised eyebrows to see her reaction.

  “Does that mean we can spend the night here?” she asked excitedly.

  “That it does”, he smirked and speared each fish with a wooden stick, carefully placing them over the fire at the right distance.

  While the fish were cooking, he washed and cut some vegetables that looked eerily like potatoes and corn on the cop, except for the colour. She had never seen rainbow-coloured potatoes nor iridescent lilac corn before. Jareth told her it is a specialty that grows only in this part of his kingdom.

  It took him but half an hour before dinner was ready, and he had retrieved some dinnerware and forks and knives from the hut. He prepared a plate for her and then sat down on the log next to her.

  They both ate mostly in silence. Sarah thought the fish and veggies were delicious and that alone prevented her from talking, as she was busy devouring her dinner.

  After dinner, a bottle of red wine and two glasses appeared, which Jareth poured for them. Sarah took her glass with a smile, and Jareth sat back next to her.

  She heaved a sigh of content and leaned her head against his shoulder while they watched the sunset over the ocean. It was a mix of purple, green, and red slowly turning to a bright orange and then fading into the dark before the full moon appeared in its argent colour.

  “A crystal moon”, Jareth whispered and pointed at the silvery orb in the night sky.

  Sarah had to agree, the moon looked more like an oversized, beautiful crystal than a moon. She couldn’t tear her eyes from it, and it was not until Jareth turned on the music that she looked back at him.

  “You wanted me to dance”, he stated and began a seductive slow dance to a haunting fae song she had never heard.

  His movements were carefully choreographed with the music and increased in speed and force as the music crescendoed. He slowed as the music slowed from a wild allegro to a soft and flowing adagio.

  She thought he looked like an ineffable magnificent being from the heavens in his red loin cloth that fluttered in the light breeze, highlighting his perfect skin and tight muscles of his lithe body, and his golden blonde hair blowing in the flurry evening air.

  Sarah was mesmerized and knew this dance and music had a message; it held a meaning. She would have to ask him about it. Just when she thought he had ended his dance, as he collapsed onto his knees in front of her and lowered his head, the music started up again.

  He raised his gaze and took her hand as he stood up. He had her follow his steps and guided her alongside him, barely touching her body with his hands, which flowed like water over her skin yet were incredibly erotic in their movements.

  When their faces came together, they brushed a kiss onto each other’s lips like a fleeting breeze on a wave before it was over. He stood motionless and held her hands as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

  “That was breath-taking”, Sarah whispered with an astounded expression on her flustered face. “What was the dance about?”

  “A fae declaring his undying love to his mate”, Jareth whispered in response, peaking at her from under his mussed blonde strands.

  Sarah’s mouth dropped open, and she stared speechless into his eyes, which were sparkling in the moonlight like two bright sapphires and completely hypnotized her.

  “A dance for me?” she hushed the whisper and placed her hand gently against his cheek.

  Jareth leaned into her touch with closed eyes and nodded.

  “Make love to me now”, she breathed into his ear as she leaned forward and placed an ardent kiss against his ear and neck.

  Jareth shivered from the touch and squeezed her hands he was still holding. Sarah stepped into his body and pressed herself tightly against him, feeling him come to life against her hips.

  Without another word, his mouth crashed onto hers, and he picked her up into his arms as he slid one arm beneath her legs and the other around her back. Not breaking from the kiss, he walked across the sand to the hut and entered in a hurry.

  Sarah held his face in both her hands and gave as much into the kiss as he took. He gently reclined her on something soft, and only then did she let go of him and found herself in a large bed with dark-red sheets.

  With a wave of his hand, their sparse clothing was gone, and their bodies were free of sand as if they had taken a cleansing shower.

  Jareth reclaimed her lips and gently laid himself on top of her while his hand travelled down her body, caressing her breasts and stomach, her hips and thighs, and finally coming to rest at the apex between her legs. His hard erection was pressing against her entrance, but he held off from pushing in.

  He inserted two fingers and probed her for her readiness while he suckled on the hardened buds of her breasts. Sarah moaned as he released her lips and travelled slowly down her entire body to his designated goal.

  His tongue eagerly flicked out and lapped up her juices that were already present. He gently opened her legs, and Sarah placed them over his shoulders.

  Jareth applied his ministrations in a careful and deliberate manner as his tongue gently licked along her folds, drawing involuntary moans of pleasure from her.

  Her hands fisted in his hair as she held on to the back of his head. She cried out his name when she climaxed, and her hips shot upwards in one violent convulsion.

  Jareth lifted his head and moved towards her face, reclaiming the lips he had to let go to give her pleasure elsewhere. She could taste herself on his tongue and lips, and her hand reached for his hard cock, gently pumping him between her legs.

  “Do you want me to....?”

  “No time, Love”, Jareth interjected her question and placed his hand over hers to guide him into her.

  He entered slowly, savouring every centimetre as he moved further into her until he had sheathed himself to the hilt. Sarah elicited an impatient grunt when he stopped.

  “Are we in a hurry, Love?” he chuckled as he looked at her scrunched face.

  “I want you to move.... slave.... boy”, she panted with a quiet chuckle.

  “Nothing boyish about my lovemaking, Dear, and I will prove it to you”, he growled and thrust into her, making her groan with wide-opened eyes.

  “Oh, gosh Jareth, yes, that’s it.”

  After that, she could no longer talk or think coherent thoughts, as Jareth picked up the pace and thrust into her more forcefully. He took her legs and placed them above his shoulders, increasing the sensation of his penetration and his thrusts.

  Just as she was about to come, he stopped and withdrew, turning her over and holding her hips up, with one hand wrapped below her waist. He sat up on his knees, and Sarah looked back with stunned eyes. He was going to take her from behind, and he did.

  Before she could utter one syllable, he thrust himself back into her. His eyes were now nearly black from the over-dilated pupils, and his nostrils flared from the assault of pheromones. He let out another growl and increased his thrusts.

  “Tell me, you’re mine, Sarah”, he grunted and leaned over her back, placing hot kisses between her shoulder blades and trailing his tongue down alongside her spine.

  “Tell me, you’re mine”, he demanded again more urgently as his thrusts increased.

  He held one arm wrapped tightly around her hips as the other arm massaged her bouncing breasts.

  “I’m yours, Jareth, I’m yours”, Sarah panted while her face contorted with another oncoming orgasm.

  She screamed his name as she fell over the precipice. As soon as Jareth felt her inner muscles spasm around his hard shaft, he felt his own climax come on. One more violent thrust, and he exploded inside her, spilling every drop while her contracting muscles milked him empty.

  He finally collapsed onto her back and rested his head against her shoulders as he panted and tried to regain his composure. They both collapsed onto the bed, and he extracted himself from her and rolled over onto his back as he stared in a blissful stupor at the ceiling.

  “That was....” he panted, trying to come up with a suitable word for his feelings.

  “Amazing?” Sarah suggested with a grin.

  “No, it was ineffable. Indescribably wonderful.”

  He turned onto his side and rested himself on his elbow while his other hand tenderly wiped a lose hair strand out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. He leaned forward and placed a love-filled kiss onto her parted lips.

  “I love you, Precious”, he smiled into her face.

  “And I love you, Jareth. I’m yours, and I always will be”, she assuaged his worries and pulled his head down to her breasts as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

  They were contended to lay like this for a long time before Sarah had to get up to use the bathroom.

  “I guess we’re staying here for the night?” she asked before she closed the door behind her.

  “If that is what you wish. I’m still your slave for another three hours, Love”, he answered with a smirk.

  She put her finger to her lips as if she were contemplating on what to do next before she tossed him a coquettish grin.

  “That’s what I wish. Why don’t you draw us a bath for now, and then I’ll see what else I would like for you to do.”

  Jareth got up with a lecherous smirk curled around his tight lips and walked past her into the bathroom.

  “Your wish is my command, Mistress.”   

Chapter Text

   Jareth woke up to an empty bed and growled with discontent.

  "Blasted woman, where is she?" he grumbled and worked himself out from under the thin sheets to stumble to the door that led out onto the beach.

  He had a good idea where she was, and he spotted her standing close to the lapping waves against the shore, allowing the night-cooled water to pool around her ankles.

  She was clad in nothing more than the bottom of her little deep-red bikini that appeared to be dripping wet and left nearly nothing to the imagination. Her dark hair fluttered freely in the breeze that blew off the ocean.

  He languished in the doorframe for a while to take in her alluring form, before he conjured his loincloth from the previous day back onto him and started to walk down towards the evocative vision on the beach.

  Sarah stood unmoving in the sand and let the frothy waves kiss her feet after having taken a short revitalizing swim in the crisp ocean. She had wanted to watch the sunrise and was greeted to a display of frolicking sea dragons, which enjoyed the serene morning as much as she did.

  From out of the corners of her eyes, she could see him approach in his own deep-red loincloth, and her heartbeat quickened just a tad.

  Like a breath of wind, the light breeze teased with the fabric as it fluttered, and briefly exposed his most intimate parts, albeit only for a fleeting moment.

  She didn’t dare to blink when he approached her with a coy smile on his lips. His skin glowed like the finest alabaster in the first morning rays as the sun started to peek out from behind the horizon.

  She had come to watch the sunrise, but her attention had been captured by the magnificent being descending down the sandy slope, his blonde hair whipping in the wind, and his lithe body exuding an aura of erotic enticement.

  He reached her and stood in front of her, his hand tenderly caressing her cheek as he leaned forward for a most ardent kiss. She closed her eyes and let his tongue gently drift into her mouth to find hers.

  “Good morning, Precious”, he whispered into her mouth, and she wrapped her arms around his neck to draw him closer. “Why are you up so early?”

  “I wanted to see the sunrise”, she answered with a coquettish smile, never diverting her eyes from his.

  “Then you are looking in the wrong direction, Love”, he chuckled with amusement, and his hands slid down her bare back until they came to rest on her buttock, each hand moulding itself to a cheek.

  “I see something more enticing”, she replied sheepishly and kissed his neck, causing him to emit a low growl.

  Her kisses began to trail farther down to his clavicle, and Jareth tilted back his head slightly as he closed his eyes. Her lips were warm and soft but left scorching marks behind from where they had touched.

  She flicked her tongue across one of his nipples while her other hand tweaked and twisted the other one gently between her fingers, only to switch and administer the same ministrations again.

  Jareth growled, and the rumble emanating from deep within his chest sent erotic vibrations into her body, only increasing her desire for him. Her lips descended further down his well-defined stomach, kissing his strong abdominal muscles as she lowered herself onto her knees,

  Her hands glided down his waist and came to rest on each side of his hips. The thin veil of his fabric barely obstructed her view of his semi-erection, and she smiled to herself.

  “You are missing the sunrise, Love”, Jareth whispered with a noticeable pant in his voice.

  She didn’t answer but let her finger provocatively glide over the length of his hardening member. She gladly traded the view of the sunrise for the view in front of her as she watched him grow from almost flaccid to fully erect.

  Jareth hissed and placed his hands behind her head as she took him into her hand and stroked him gently.

  “I wanted to do that yesterday, but since you were my slave, I couldn’t very well kneel in front of you. One does not kneel before a slave, but one kneels before a king.”

  Her voice was sultry and low as she murmured those words and briefly looked up into his eyes, which bore down at her with such intensity, it made her shiver. His sheer presence was an aria of seduction, and she willingly allowed herself to fall into his web.

  Her mouth closed around him, and she moaned at tasting his slightly salty shaft as she felt the smoothness of his skin like creamy butter on her tongue. Jareth’s body stiffened, and his hips were thrusted forward as a reaction to her touch. Every nerve ending of his was sizzling with electricity and the sensation of sheer overload.

  She took him in further and sucked at his tip before she ran her tongue all the way down his rock-hard shaft and back up again before once more swallowing him to its fullest.

  “Sarah, we can’t....” he moaned and gritted his teeth as he clenched his jaws and tightened his ab muscles.

  His entire body went rigid at the oncoming orgasm that shuddered his body. He tried to withdraw, but she would not permit him. Her eyes held his gaze when he looked down on her, and his mouth parted slightly. His tongue licked his lips, and she tossed him a fleeting smile before resuming her ministrations.

  When he finally came, a searing fire of ecstasy engulfed his entire body. He let out a cry of her name that was carried across the waves towards the rising sun, which had freed itself from the constraints of the horizon and shone down warmly onto the two lovers on the beach.

  Sarah swallowed his spilled seed and withdrew her mouth and hand from him. He swiftly pulled her up by her shoulders and crashed his mouth onto hers, tasting his own fluids.

  “You taste like the ocean and at the same time sweet like peaches”, she whispered with a sated smile, and he could only stare at her with a half-open mouth.

  “Fae women do not do this; they don’t swallow”, he croaked with a hoarse voice and had to clear his throat.

  Sarah gave him a stunned look of incredulity.

  “You mean you never had anyone do this to you before?” she asked astounded, and Jareth shook his head with owl-like eyes.

  “No, never. Fae women are so infertile that any activity like this is considered wasting seed. Even masturbation by a male is frowned upon.”

  “I didn’t know”, Sarah replied quietly. “I’m sorry if I....”

  He wouldn’t let her finish as he broke out in mirthful laughter and held her close to his chest.

  “It was the most erotic thing I have ever witnessed, and I witnessed it on myself, with you. Oh, Precious, do not be sorry, please. I cannot even describe how wonderful it felt. I absolutely love you.”

  His mouth captured her lips once more and prevented her from replying or responding to anything he had just told her. She let him dominate the kiss and slightly moaned into it before he released her.

  Her gaze wandered out over the ocean and the sea dragons and sighed with dreamy and wistful eyes.

  “It is so beautiful here. I wish I would have my camera with me to capture all of this.”

  “We can get it next time we are in the Above”, Jareth answered quietly as he wrapped his arms around her shoulder and kissed her temple. “I hate to spoil the mood, but we need to go. I have several meetings today with Corrigan and a few ambassadors from neighbouring dukedoms, as well as the Wood Elf Kingdom.”

  “Nothing bad I hope”, Sarah replied as they walked hand in hand back towards the hut.

  “Not at all. It’s about trade agreements that will benefit both our kingdoms.”

  He smiled happily and enjoyed the intimate little stroll over the still cool sand. How much he wished he could stay here with Sarah for a few weeks and enjoy the quietude and serenity of the place, make more love to her and show her the rest of the island. He would bring her here after their wedding for the honeymoon that humans were so fond of.

  He internally smiled to himself over the thought and held her close to him before they transported back to his bedroom in the castle. He quickly divested himself of his loincloth and managed to conjure up a more suitable outfit for the official meetings.

  “I have to leave you alone for a few hours, but most certainly shall see you for dinner. Go see Hoggle and Didymus if you like or go down to the stables and ride. Didymus knows which horse you can ride. Use my library if....”

  Sarah placed a finger over his lips and hushed him with an entertained smile.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. You go and do your kingly duties, and I’ll be here when you get back for dinner.”

  Jareth emanated a light chuckle and kissed her forehead before he turned towards the door. He threw her one more besotted glance before he walked out and closed the door behind him.

  Sarah let a contented sigh escape her and walked into her room to take a shower and change her wardrobe. She would visit with Hoggle and Didymus this morning and then see where the day would take her.

**************************************************

  “Hoggle”, Sarah cried out and waved excitedly at the scruffy old dwarf while he chased a few fairies away from his newly planted rosebushes.

  “Git out of here before I spray ter lot of yer”, he grumbled at them and watched them fly off with a few giggles and a very obscene hand gesture, which suggested they most likely had been around Sarah recently.

  “Durn fairies” he added and turned around towards Sarah, who stood with her hand in front of her mouth, trying hard to hold back a mirthful laughter.

  Hoggle waved her off and went back to plant another rosebush.

  “What brings yer here, Sarah?” he asked, setting the plant into a pre-dug hole and grabbed his shovels to bury the roots. ”Where’s yer ra....king?”

  “Jareth is busy with meetings today, and I thought we could hang out a little”, she suggested and sat down on the grass close to him as she watched him work.

  “Yer can stays if yer like, but I have quite a bit of work fer myself. Ter ra.... king commissioned all these new bushes. Purple and coral-coloured roses in yer honour, he says.”

  Sarah gaped at him with her mouth open and a startled look.

  “They are for me?” she asked with incredulity.

  “Hmpf, they are certainly not fer me”, he scowled. “Somethin’ about love at first sight fer te purple ones, an’ takin’ ter relationship ter another level with te coral ones. They represent life, energy, passion, an’ excitement. If yer ask me, yer better watch out. He’s up ter somethin’.”

  Sarah couldn’t help but to snort into her hand and laugh out loud.

  “Oh, Hoggle, always so suspicious of him. And he’s right, we are taking it to another level.”

  “So, yer gonna marry that rat?” Hoggle growled with discontent but kept working on his bushes.

  “If he asks me and proposes, I won’t say no”, Sarah grinned and bit her bottom lip, drawing a disgruntled sneer from Hoggle.

  “Well, if yer think yer can live with that rat fer eternity then go fer it. At least yer’ll be much better than that other one, that nasty princess. She was somethin’ else that one was.”

  “I was wondering about this eternity thing. Will I become immortal like you guys, like him?”

  She had not given these questions a lot of thoughts, as she had been so busy with the games, but now she began to ponder what it would entail to become immortal.

  The last thing she wanted was to grow old and frail before his eyes and die, leaving him on his own after only a few decades. The thought alone nearly made her cry and constricted her heart with a painful contraction.

  “Yer will, but how it’s done, yer gonna have ter ask His Majesty. It’s not fer me ter say.”

  Sarah contemplated for a minute and then accepted his answer. She would ask Jareth when the time was right. He still had to propose first, after all, they were still only courting, and from what he had said earlier, it would be three months before any decisions would be made.

  She only hoped there would not be any more challenges from ex-girlfriends. She definitely would personally bog the next one that dared to show up.

  Sarah sat with Hoggle for another hour and even helped him by handing him the bushes as he was ready to plant them into the ground. The conversation was light and had drifted away from Jareth since he still seemed to be a raw subject for Hoggle.

  She knew Hoggle was jealous, but there was nothing she could do about it but to remain a good friend to him and overlook some of his mean comments about her future husband and his gruff exterior. He was a dwarf, after all, and they were known for their curt personalities.

  “I think I better get going. Didymus is going to meet me at the stables and let me ride Bella.”

  Sarah got up and wiped some dirt off her dress.

  “Be careful ridin’. Wouldn’t want yer ter get hurt”, he replied and continued with his gardening.

  “No worries. If I need you, I’ll....”

  “You’ll call?” Hoggle asked with big eyes and stared at her with his mouth open.

  “Yes, if I need you, I’ll call on you.”

  Huggle only shrugged his shoulders and refocused his attention at his rosebushes, trying hard to appear indifferent to her statement, but inwardly, he smiled with glee. She would call on him, not the rat, that’s what she had said. He could live with that.

  Sarah grinned and walked down the small, gravelled pathway towards the stables. She had to cut through the King’s Garden to get to the field, and she enjoyed the peaceful walk through the flowerbeds. She deeply inhaled the wonderful fragrances that wafted through the air.

  “And now whom do we have here?” came an unfamiliar male voice, drawling like thick, cloying treacle into her ears.

  Sarah tore herself away from her blissful daydream and noticed a tall and slender fae male standing in front of her with a big grin on his face and bright sparkling cerulean-blue eyes. His blond hair blew in the light breeze and reminded her of Jareth’s, as they both sported the same unruly mess of hair.

  Sarah opened her mouth, but no sound came out. The fae in front of her was drop dead gorgeous and reminded her eerily of Jareth in the way he was dressed, and in the manner he conducted himself, aside from his facial likeness.

  A flair of haughtiness surrounded him, and mischief twinkled in his stark blue eyes that seemed to pierce her very soul.

  She instinctively stepped back when she felt the magic of seduction surround her. Jareth had sort of hinted on it before and had told her that fae males were notorious for trying to seduce mortal females.

  “Who are you? And does Jar.... I mean, does his majesty know you are here?” she asked with narrowed eyes and pursed lips.

  The fae male let out a joyous laugh and pointed his riding crop right at Sarah.

  “You must be Sarah”, he declared with a chuckle. “I have heard so much about you. I apologize for my intrusion. I am Jeremiah, Jareth’s older and better-looking brother.”

  He strutted closer to her, but Sarah held her ground and observed him with suspicious eyes. Jareth had never mentioned his brother to her besides pointing him out in the painting that one night, and she wondered why.

  “Well, he never really mentioned you to me”, she snarked back and watched him circle her like a predator would circumambulate his prey. Something about this fae gave her the creeps, and she didn’t feel comfortable in his presence.

  “I’m not surprised he didn’t”, came the short answer with a sneer. “He likes to pretend I don’t exist. Maybe because he feels inferior around me, I do not know.”

  Sarah cringed at his conceited words and recoiled internally from the oozing aura of sexuality he exuded. He may be nearly as gorgeous as Jareth, but his overt haughtiness was a complete turn off.

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t know either why he would feel inferior to you. Absolutely no reason for that. If you excuse me”, she replied with sarcasm and continued on her walk.

  “Why in such a hurry? I would really love to get to know my future sister-in-law a bit better. After all, we will be family”, he cooed at her and took the liberty to grab her arm and interlock it with his elbow.

  “Agh, seriously?” Sarah moaned and tried to extract her arm from his without much success, as he only tightened his grip.

  “Ah such a little wildcat. I see why my brother is so besotted with you. You proof such a challenge. A challenge, I may just have to accept”, he laughed as he guided her down the walkway and towards the stables.

  “What the hell are you even talking about? What challenge?”

  Sarah wasn’t sure she really wanted to hear the answer to this. This was the Underground, and after the disaster with Céline, she expected anything to happen in regard to those screwed up courting rules.

  “The challenge to seduce you of course”, he remarked as if it were the most logical answer in the entire universe.

  “You can’t be serious”, Sarah huffed and looked at him with incredulous eyes.

  “Now why wouldn’t I be? It is what single fae males do. I have not seen a mark on you, and you are still single, alas being courted by my dear, clueless brother, but single nevertheless.”

  “And that means, I am open game?” she barked back at him with a scowl on her face, feeling incredibly insulted.

  She grew more and more irritated with this overinflated bag of arrogance. And she thought Jareth was a tad conceited. Good lord, he had nothing on his brother. If hauteur would consist of an odious scent, he would reek worse than the Bog of Eternal Stench.

  “Quite so, my dear”, he whispered into her ear as he stopped and drew his face closer to hers.

  A slight shiver of arousal ran down her spine, and she scolded herself for feeling this way. It was completely inappropriate and out of order.

  “I can be quite persuasive, my little pet”, he added with such a sultry tone, it made her inside melt.

  Sarah pulled herself lose from him and gave him an angry look.

  “Listen here, I am not interested in you or anyone else. I am not sure what this marking thing is all about, but I belong to Jareth whether we are officially married yet or not. You are nothing but a self-absorbed, over inflated arrogant piece of....”

  She started to erratically wave her arms through the air in front of him, as she was lost for the right words to describe him and desperately tried to find a few more appropriate names.

 “.... You are wasting your time. Good day”, she finally spat out, giving up on finding the perfect insults and walked off.

  Jeremiah didn’t follow, but stood still and watched her walk into the stables and meet up with a fox knight. He laughed quietly to himself with a cryptic smirk on his lips.

  “Oh, such a precious thing you are. My mother was right about you. You are a wildcat, and I am just the one to tame you.”

  He let out another loud and belligerent laugh and disappeared in a cloud of glitter. When Sir Didymus and Sarah looked down the path, he was nowhere to be seen.

  “Art thou certain it had been His Majesty’s brother?” Sir Didymus asked with worried eyes as he scanned the walkway for any sign of the fae.

  “That‘s what he said”, Sarah answered with irritation. “His name is Jeremiah, and he is about the most obnoxious man, fae, whatever, I have ever met.”

  Sir Didymus grinned knowingly at her comment and motioned her to follow to a stall.

  “Beshrew me, that most verily sounds like him. Alas, fear ye not; King Jareth will manage him; he always doth. Now about thee riding Bella here; she is one sweet lassie.”

**************************************************

  Jareth felt a strong familiar pull of magic in the back of his neck as he held his second meeting of the day with Corrigan and the ambassador of the Wood Elf Kingdom.

  He frowned at the sensation and rubbed his forehead with his hand as he felt a strong headache coming on. It could only mean one thing, and he dreaded it.

  “Anything the matter, Your Majesty?” Corrigan asked quietly with heightened concern.

  “You might say so. I am afraid we may have another problem on our hands”, Jareth answered with irk before he stood up and turned his attention back to the ambassador.

  “I am regretful to cut our meeting short, but something of urgency has come up that cannot wait. I apologize. Corrigan here will take over the discussions on the contract with you on my behalf. I assure you that you will be in reliable and more than capable hands.”

  Jareth didn’t wait for an answer before he gave a perfunctory bow and swiftly walked out of his office and closed the door behind him. He immediately disappeared in a cloud of glitter mixed with a little bit of black smoke, telling of his vexation about the visitor.

  He materialized on the walkway close to the stables, and the first thing his eyes met was his grinning brother, who sat leisurely on a rock, watching Sarah ride Bella in a riding arena. Jareth immediately frowned and strode over to his insolent sibling.

  “I advise you to get your lustful eyes off my intended”, he snarled with a dangerous glare in his eyes.

  “Ah, my dear brother. Jareth, how have you been? I do must say your Sarah is a delightful little piece of....”

  “Say it, and I shall have you bogged before you can finish the sentence”, Jareth growled and grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

  Jeremiah laughed at the display and put up his hands in a placating manner.

  “Easy there, Brother, no need to get rough. I am merely extending my compliments to your choice of bride.”

  “And that could not have been done via a congratulatory letter?” Jareth sneered with derision. “Why don’t you leave one with my advisor on your way out?”

  “Now is that a way to greet your only brother, who has come all the way from the far Southern Ocean Kingdom to visit and pay his respect? What would Mother think of such undignified behaviour?”

  Jareth let go of Jeremiah’s shirt and stepped back with flared nostrils and daggers in his dark and hooded eyes. Jeremiah straightened out the front of his shirt and grinned victoriously. Jareth was always too quick to please his mother on most things, unless they were in regard to her choice of suitresses.

  “Does Mother know you are here?” Jareth asked curtly as he stepped in front of him to block his view of Sarah.

  “I am sure she does now if she has spoken to Father. He sent me, after all.”

  Jeremiah laughed at the stunned expression of Jareth.

  “Come on, Brother. Do you really think Father would not want to know what kind of girl you are planning to marry? He only sent me to see if she is worthy of being a part of the family; that is all. You trust her, do you not? So, what is a little seduction going to hurt?”

  “You stay away from Sarah or by the mercy of the gods, I will have you bogged headfirst. She is only mortal and does not have the strength yet to withstand a full seduction spell.”

  Jareth’s eyes narrowed as he bared his teeth and let out a deep growl. Jeremiah held up his hand and took a step back from his furious brother.

  “I am not here to physically seduce your little mortal bride, only to see what she is like, so to speak. Either way, you are stuck with me for now. I took the liberty to see myself to my rooms earlier. See you for dinner, Brother.”

  He gave him a devious smirk and was gone, leaving behind an enraged Goblin King and a dusting of overly scintillating glitter.

  Jareth glanced warily over at Sarah, who had been oblivious to the confrontation between the two brothers and seemed to enjoy her riding lessons on Bella.

  He reluctantly transported himself away, laying all his trust into the paws of Sir Didymus to keep Jeremiah at bay. He would have loved to spend time with her, but he had more urgent business to take care of, and one of those included a much needed visit to his parents.

**************************************************

  “Why in Danu’s name did you send Jeremiah to my castle to seduce Sarah?” Jareth stormed irately into King Olaf’s throne room and completely ignored the small assembly in front of him.

  King Olaf quickly dismissed his delegation and gave his younger son a stern look.

  “Have you lost your damn mind, Son? How dare you address your high king like this in front of others?” Olaf thundered and stomped towards Jareth in three long strides before he came to a halt in front of his enraged offspring.

  Jareth’s nostrils were flared, and his eyes shot death glares at this father. His hands were balled into fists and held at his side as his breathing was shallow and rapid. Olaf noticed the unbridled rage emanating from his youngest and stepped back in utter confusion.

  “Jareth, my son, what is the matter? What has you so outraged?”

  “Did you send Jeremiah to my castle to seduce Sarah?” Jareth repeated himself, slower this time, trying hard to restrain his anger.

  Olaf quirked his eyebrows and a sense of realization crossed his face.

  “Ah, this is what this is all about. Your little mortal bride, and you are worried about Jeremiah’s seduction skills. Well, well, well.”

  King Olaf stifled a laugh and sat back down on his throne. Jareth was still standing in the middle of the hall with a stiffened body that was ready to explode at the slightest provocation.

  “What if I did? If you trust your chosen, and she is truly the one meant for you, you should not have to worry about anything, now should you?” King Olaf drawled and gave Jareth an inquisitive look.

  Jareth sucked in his breath and tried to compose himself before blurting out an answer he may regret later.

  “Father, you know quite well how Jeremiah is. He will use his magic to his advantage. Sarah is mere mortal still; she has not gone through the transformation. She cannot fight a full seduction spell, and we all know that is what Jeremiah will use on her. He does not know how to play fair or honourable.”

  “If your Sarah genuinely loves you with all her heart like you claim she does, then no spell in this world or the next will be able to sway her in her decision to be your faithful mate. Trust her, Jareth. This is the only advice I can give you. Trust the girl. If you want her to marry you and be your wife and queen, then you must learn to trust her.”

  “It is not Sarah I do not trust, it is Jeremiah”, he retorted with anger.

  “Jareth, a true heart cannot be beguiled into loving someone else, regardless of the spell used. She could be swayed temporarily if it is a strong spell, but her love for you would still be there. Trust her love for you. You know this test has to be done.”

  Jareth clenched his jaw and tightened his fists at hearing his father’s words. As much as he hated to admit it, his father was right, he needed to learn to trust Sarah with her heart. It was the only way he could make their relationship work for an eternity.

  “I allow Jeremiah two days in my kingdom. After that, I want him gone. If he lays one finger on Sarah, I swear, I will....

  “You will do nothing, Jareth”, King Olaf bellowed and threw him a warning glance. “I will not have my two sons rolling in the mud or stabbing each other with sabres like commoners over a human woman, no matter how much you think you love her. Now go home and take care of your situation.”

  King Olaf waved dismissively at Jareth, who disappeared into a cloud of black smoke. King Olaf put his face into his hand and moaned with pain. The oncoming headache held a promise of making the rest of his day miserable.

  “Did you really have to do this, Husband?” Queen Alia stepped out of the shadows and approached the seated king. “Can’t you see how much our son is in love with this girl? He is finally happy after fifteen long agonizing years of pining over her and sulking in his castle. Do you really want to risk all of this?”

  She implored him with her eyes, and Olaf looked downtrodden and remorseful. He had never been able to withstand his wife’s pleading eyes. They were his weakness, his Achilles’ heel.

  “I have utter confidence in what you told me about this woman. No other has ever held his heart like her, and if you are correct in her assessment, we have nothing to worry about. But....”

  He held up his hand at her when he noticed her wanting to give an emotional rebuttal. Quickly Alia shut her mouth and remained quiet to let her husband conclude his statement.

  “.... but I will make sure that Jeremiah will not abuse his powers and beguile the poor girl in order to get himself a little tryst out of this deal. We both know he will if he sees an opportunity.”

  Alia took a deep sigh as she took his hands into hers in a loving gesture.

  “I love both my sons, and I don’t want to lose one because of your foolishness. You know how brash Jareth can be and how possessive he is over anything he thinks belongs to him. He will fight for her to his death. That much, I am certain of.”

  Olaf quirked his eyebrows at her with growing worry and let out a frustrated sigh as his headache intensified tenfold.

  “Come Alia, let us retire to the dining hall. All we can do is watch and hope that neither one of our sons will succumb to their foolishness and impetuous nature. Trust the Fates.”

  Alia nodded reluctantly, still holding on to some discomfort, but then accepted the proffered arm of her husband and allowed him lead her to the dining hall.

  The next two days most definitely would not be boring, as a new game was being played: a game with extremely high stakes.

**************************************************

  “Do you mind walking me home?” Sarah asked Didymus after they had finished the riding, and Sarah had taken care of Bella and fed her before she closed the stall door.

  “I would be delighted, Milady”, Sir Didymus exclaimed and gave her an enigmatic sideway glance.

  “What is it? Why are you looking at me like this?” she asked him with a puzzled smile when she noticed his gaze with that sly fox grin upon her.

  “I noticed thou requested of me to accompany thee to thy home, not the castle. Dost thou mean thee consider the castle thy home now?”

  Sarah gave him a stunned look and bit her bottom lip, musing over his revelation. It had come so naturally; she hadn’t even given it any thought.

  “I guess so. The Goblin Castle is my home now, isn’t it?” she answered with a wistful look in her eyes as the realization of her own assessment set in, which was also noticed by the fox knight.

  “How wonderful. His Majesty will forsooth be elated upon hearing this”, he barked with excitement, and Sarah laughed out loud.

  The walk back was short and uneventful. Sarah was glad to have her trusty friend beside her to make sure there would not be any more run-ins with this obnoxious and unnerving fae brother of Jareth’s.

  “Thank you so much, Sir Didymus, for bringing me home”, Sarah grinned, emphasizing the ‘home’ part.

  “My pleasure, Milady. Fare ye well”, he replied with an excited yap and bowed deeply before he took his leave.

  “I’m glad you are home too, Love”, came the deep drawl from behind, and Sarah spun around to have her eyes meet the mismatched glinting orbs of her beloved Goblin King.

  She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck as he held her tight around her waist and pulled her into him. His nose touched hers in a playful manner, and his eyes sparkled like sapphires as he gently pressed his lips against hers.

  “I am beyond happy that you consider my castle your home already. You don’t know how much I had wished for this all those years. It had been my dream for so long.”

  He placed his forehead against hers and took a deep sigh with closed eyes. Sarah gently stroked his hair and gave him a kiss on his nose.

  “I have something for you”, he spoke softly and chuckled as she threw him a bright expectant expression.

  “What is it?” she beamed.

  Without a further word, he pulled her camera from out of a bag she hadn’t noticed him holding. She eagerly grabbed it and let out a squeal of joy when she pulled the items out. It was her camera bag with all of her photographic gear inside.

  “Jareth, but how?” she asked with astound.

  “I had some time this afternoon and made a quick trip to your apartment. I know you mentioned it earlier today that you wanted it. I hope you don’t mind that I went into your apartment without permission.”

  Before he could say anything more, her lips took hold of his, and her tongue had taken over his mouth in a heated kiss. He held her pressed against his body and felt her warmth and the firmness of her muscles.

  Gods, she made him melt like butter in her hands. He reluctantly broke away from her when she retreated.

  “You need no permission to enter my apartment; you have carte blanche in that regard, and thank you so much for this”, she smiled happily, her lips still hovering over his. “I’m hungry, feed me”, she demanded in a fake whiny voice, drawing a mirthful chuckle from him.

  “I definitely will, because a hungry woman is a dangerous woman”, he snickered.

  He proffered her his arm, and they both walked unhurried towards the formal dining hall.

  “Jareth”, Sarah began the conversation during their walk. “I met your brother today in the garden.”

  She gave him a careful sideway glance to gauge his reaction. Jareth’s body stiffened briefly, and his eyes flickered with a dark expression before he relaxed himself again and inhaled deeply.

  “I know, Precious”, he replied with a sigh. “I already threatened to bog him if he should lay a disrespectful hand on you.”

  “He is a pompous ass”, Sarah declared out of the blue, and Jareth stared at her owl-eyed.

  “You don’t find him charming and alluring?” he asked bewildered.

  Had his brother lost his touch or had he not even tried yet? No, his brother would have tried from the second he had made contact with her, he was sure of that.

  It had been nagging on his mind all day, and it had him nearly cost a contract with the Dukedom of the Forest Imps by being so inattentive, as his mind had been preoccupied with Sarah and his more than annoying brother.

  “Hmpf, alluring and charming does not come to mind when I think about him. More like arrogant, overinflated, conceited jackass, who thinks he’s all that”, she replied snidely as Jareth only stared her with wide open eyes and a gaping mouth.

  “I mean, he is....” she tried to find the words to not hurt Jareth’s feelings and avoided using ‘drop dead gorgeous’ as a description. “.... good looking and all, and, of course, he would be; he is your brother, so that runs in the family....”

  She gave him a playful glance and squeezed his arm as a show of support.

  “.... but that’s about where the family resemblance stops.”

  Jareth had stopped walking and cocked his head as he looked at her with now soft eyes and a hopeful smile on his lips.

  “I take it, he was not successful in seducing you. That is quite....that is wonderful”, Jareth replied as he picked up the walk again, with a renewed spring in his step and led Sarah into the dining hall where the object of their discussion was already waiting on them.

  Sarah smiled inwardly, as she felt the relief wash over him at her words. No, he would have nothing to worry about; she would make sure to alleviate all of his fears.

  “Your Majesty”, Corrigan stood up and bowed slightly before sitting down again after Jareth waved him off for being so official.

  Sarah wanted to roll her eyes in annoyance as she spotted Jeremiah lounging sedated in his chair and grinning like the Cheshire cat when Jareth and Sarah entered the room.

  “Hello, Sarah, my dear. So, we meet again. Did you like your ride?” he drawled at her in a sultry deep voice, which made Jareth’s blood boil, and Sarah recoiled with distaste at his obvious intentions of charming her right in front of his brother.

  “I enjoyed the ride more than the walk with you”, she remarked snidely, and both, Corrigan and Jareth, had to hold back their giggles as they tried to hang on to their masks of inscrutable expressions.

  Jareth failed miserably as a big, chuffed smile formed around his lips, and he cocked his head with a haughty expression plastered across his face.

  “Appears as if not everyone finds you as charming as you think, Brother. Perchance, you ought to re-evaluate your own skills and appearance.”

 Jareth held out the chair for Sarah and then seated himself next to her at the head of the table, making sure Corrigan was on the opposite side of her. Jeremiah frowned at her rejection and flippant remark, and for the first time in his self-assured existence, he found himself wavering in his confidence as he reluctantly took a seat opposite of Sarah’s with furled brows.

  He figured he could at least easily toss her enchanting glances with his irresistible eyes, and maybe even extend a foot to touch hers underneath the table. He inwardly smiled and looked forward to a little under the table hanky panky.

  Throughout dinner, Jeremiah tried his best to gain Sarah’s attention, but she avoided him like the bubonic plaque. He grew more and more irritant about her aberrant behaviour towards him.

  He was used to females throwing themselves at his feet, especially mortal women, and here he was, pulling out all his stunts, and this girl didn’t even toss him a fleeting glance. Her rejection at every turn threw him off his game.

  He watched her carefully over the rim of his wine glass and debated on moving to a different strategy. He would just have to catch her when she was unguarded by Jareth, or one of his annoying and revolting goblins.

  “I heard you rejected my brother fifteen years ago when he begged you to marry him, what changed your mind?” Jeremiah asked Sarah with a sultry low voice, which sent a sharp pain through her heart as she saw Jareth wince at the question.

  How dare this egotistical bastard asking her such a personal question in front of Jareth and Corrigan, not even to mention the goblin staff nearby. She noticed Mary’s eyes grow even wider, and the little goblin maid hurried away into the kitchen. To bring up the subject of Sarah’s rejection of the king was always a bad omen.

  “I made a mistake back then, which I have regretted for the past fifteen years. Luckily, your brother found it in his heart to be magnanimous and to forgive me, and he gave me a second chance. I finally had an opportunity to tell him how I truly feel about him.”

  She glanced carefully at Jareth to see his reaction, but he gently laid his hand over hers and squeezed it with a faint smile curled around his lips. She returned his smile and looked him straight into the eyes when she continued.

  “I love him with all my heart, and nothing will ever change that.”

  She turned her head towards Jeremiah for the first time of the night and gave him an intense gaze with warning eyes.

  “I also won’t let anyone come between us.”

  Jeremiah swallowed as he felt a knot in his stomach. This woman would require a lot more than his usual seduction techniques to break her. He lifted his glass into the air and toasted her with a predatory smile.

  “Here’s to Jareth and Sarah.”

  With one quaff, he emptied his glass and slammed it on the table, looking rather disheartened while Jareth’s heart skipped several beats in joy. Maybe his father was correct, and he needed to trust in Sarah to do the right thing.

  “Trust her Jareth. This is the only advice I can give you. Trust the girl.”

**************************************************

  “What a chutzpah your brother is”, Sarah scowled as she tossed Jareth a note across the breakfast table in their bedroom.

  Jareth picked it up and read it with a darkening expression as his eyes became hooded.

  I would love to find myself in your charming company today, so you can show me around the new gardens since my brother will be occupied with boring council meetings all day. Afterward perhaps, we could partake in a private lunch and go riding out into the pastures. Yours in thoughts, Jeremiah.

  “I’m going to bog him”, Jareth growled and looked enraged as the note burst into bright-red flames in his hands and burnt to nothing more than a pile of ashes, causing Sarah to nearly fall out of her chair.

  “Woah, easy there. Next time warn me of your upcoming pyrotechnic trick”, she mumbled with her hand clutched to her chest, a relieved smile working itself back around her lips.

  “I’m going to call Sir Didymus and have him be your escort for the day”, Jareth declared with a finality in his tone that convinced Sarah not to challenge his decision.

  She definitely didn’t mind hanging out with one of her best friends, and maybe, they could go riding again together.

  “That sounds like a plan”, she nodded in agreement, and they finished their breakfast in relative silence, as Jareth still seemed aggravated and was lost in his thoughts.

  “I shall try and find you for lunch, but if not, I shall come and get you for dinner.”

  He placed an extra tender kiss on her lips and gave her one more wary look before he left, closing the door firmly behind him. Sarah knew he was concerned of whether his brother would succeed in seducing her.

  Even though Sarah made a vow to not stray from her faithfulness for Jareth, she was nervous about Jeremiah’s eagerness on how far he would go to achieve his goal. He did not appear to be a fae who played fair in any sense of the word.

  “Sir Didymus will protect me”, she mumbled, and after she had taken a shower and changed into a pair of dark-brown riding pants with matching boots and a beige poet’s blouse, she headed out to meet her fox knight in not so shining armour.

**************************************************

  Sir Didymus continued to compliment Sarah on her riding style and the progress she was making in the saddle. Her and him had been working on horsemanship for the first couple of hours and then had gone on a nice relaxing trail ride.

  Sarah began to relax, not having seen Jeremiah anywhere, and started to let her mind wander, listening to Sir Didymus telling her stories of his youth. Every so often, she giggled at his antics and felt completely content until she heard hoof beats coming up fast behind them.

  They halted their horses and turned to see the approaching rider, and Sarah’s heart fell into her stomach.

  “Jeremiah”, she whispered in agony and scrunched her face into a disapproving grimace.

  “Well, hello there Sarah. So nice to see you out and about on this wonderful morning. I hope you had a restful night.”

  He smiled and took hold of her hand, lifting it up to his mouth to kiss it before she could object and pull it away. His lips lingered much too long on her hand, and he placed an extra kiss on her wrist when he turned it over as he looked deeply into her eyes.

  Only for a moment, she seemed to get lost in his gaze when Sir Didymus’ cough jolted her out of his enchantment, and she quickly removed her hand with a scolding frown on her face.

  “What are you doing here?” Sarah asked in a curt tone, not even trying to hide her discontent of his presence.

  “Hm, still a little wildcat with her claws out, aren’t we?” he grinned and gave her a sassy smile.

  “When it comes to you and your agenda, always”, she retorted and turned her mount around to continue on her ride.

  “Out upon thee, sirrah”, Didymus growled at him, but Jeremiah decided to completely ignore the protestation of the fox knight.

  Like a flash, Jeremiah had positioned his horse close to Sarah’s and held his position, making it unable for Didymus to squeeze between. The fox knight let out a low warning growl and decided to follow behind to keep an eye on them.

  “I missed you at breakfast”, Jeremiah spoke softly to her and gave her a longing glance.

  Sarah only shrugged her shoulders and stared straight ahead.

  “Jareth and I decided to have breakfast alone in our chambers”, she replied in a cold voice.

  “You wound me, Darling”, Jeremiah winced and clutched his chest, moving his horse even closer to hers.

  Sarah motioned Bella to veer off to get some distance between them, but Jeremiah quickly grabbed her reins. In a flash, the pasture had disappeared, and they found themselves in a brightly lit forest with tall, slender trees.

  Sarah blinked her eyes and looked around to get her bearings.

  “Where is Sir Didymus?” she asked bewildered and looked into Jeremiah’s mischievous eyes.

  “I think that daft bloke is still on the trail back there somewhere.”

  “Take me back, this instant”, Sarah requested in a stern voice, but Jeremiah only gave her a haughty grin and huffed in amusement.

  “Now why would I do such a thing when I have you finally to myself?”

  Sarah jerked the reins on Bella and spurred her on to change into a gallop, but Jeremiah still held on to her reins and wagged his finger in the air as he gave her a salacious grin.

  “Tah, tah, tah, no running off, Darling. I have something to show you.”

  “I don’t want to see anything you have to show”, Sarah spat and stared ahead of him.

  “Oh, but I bet you do when you see what it is I want to show you.”

  He pulled on her reins and had her follow him into the trees until they came to a clearing filled with beautiful red flowers, butterflies, and sprites flying from blossom to blossom, and small fairies singing a beautiful little tune as they danced in the sky, dropping the flower pedals onto the ground below.

  Sarah sat with wide open eyes in the saddle and lifted her head to watch the colourful pedals rain down on her. She couldn’t take her gaze off the little fairies as they swirled around them and sang their mesmerizing song. One of them laid a small flower ring onto Sarah’s head and tipped her nose with her finger before she flew off.

  “What is this place?” Sarah asked in utter astonishment.

  “A fairy ring”, Jeremiah grinned and dismounted his horse.

  Sarah remained motionless in the saddle and stared at the fairies. Not until she felt two strong hands around her waist that she paid him any attention. She briefly frowned at his touch, but then got off Bella and stood next to him without any objections.

  Her head began to swim as the haunting song continued and made her feel as if she had a tad too much wine. She felt relaxed and safe and let Jeremiah take her hand into his and guide her towards the middle of the clearing to where a huge willow tree was growing, which was covered in bright purple flowers.

  “I shouldn’t be here”, she argued quietly and tried to pull back from him, but he didn’t allow it.

  “Just a little further, Darling”, he whispered and pulled one arm around her waist.

  “Jareth doesn’t want me here without him. He said a fairy ring is dangerous and quit calling me Darling. I am not your darling”, she countered, feeling herself grow weak.

  “But I’m here to protect you, Darling”, Jeremiah cooed into her ear, causing involuntary shivers to run down her spine.

  “Why is this tree purple?” she asked as if in a trance when her eyes beheld the huge tree in the middle.

  “It is the enchanted binding willow”, Jeremiah answered as he pulled her closer to him. “The purple represents the union of the body and soul. I am going to make you mine.”

  He lowered his head to hers and purred sweet sounds of a foreign language into her ear. Sarah frowned and shook her head as she tried to push him off of her. This was wrong, it should not be this way.

  “You see, my pet, the red flowers represent seduction and lust, and the purple stands for enchantment.”

  “I shouldn’t be here”, she argued again, more resolved this time.

  “But you should, Darling”, Jeremiah whispered and brushed his lips over her ear, sending electric shivers down her body.

  “This is wrong. Stop it with the darling”, Sarah objected and pushed against his chest as both his arms wrapped around her now and drew her against his body.

  Jeremiah laughed and kept chanting in a language she did not understand, but which seemed to fit in with the hypnotizing song of the fairies that flittered all around them.

  “Where is Jareth?” Sarah asked and tried to look for him. “I need to find Jareth”, she whispered with the last of her strength she could muster.

  “He’s not here, and you are going to be mine now”, Jeremiah whispered again and pulled her down to the ground with him.

  “I can’t be yours. I’m already his”, she whispered with desperation setting in.

  “But you are not, my little pet”, he cloyed softly into her ear.

  Sarah tried to struggle against his pull, but he was too strong, and she felt herself grow weaker and weaker.

  “No, this is wrong”, she moaned and found herself pinned beneath his body as his eyes bore deeply into hers.

  “Everything is the way it is supposed to be, Darling. I will show you. Give yourself to me. Forget Jareth”, he purred into her ear and started to kiss her neck.

  Sarah closed her eyes briefly and saw Jareth’s pained face in her mind, the expression he had when he left her this morning, the fear he had held deep within him that he would lose her.

  “Jareth”, Sarah called out suddenly and opened her eyes as if she had woken up from a bad dream.

  She struggled against Jeremiah’s grip and kisses but was powerless to push him off her.

  “This is wrong. Get off me, you damn pervert. I belong to Jareth”, she panted.

  “You belong to me, Darling”, he insisted and crashed his lips against hers before she could deny him and call for her lover.

  Sarah shook her head violently to the side and pressed her lips together to deny him entry into her mouth as he stifled her scream. Just as she thought she would have to surrender, she felt him leave her with a sudden jerk.

  She opened her eyes and saw Jareth standing over him with the blackest eyes she had ever seen on him, and a growl emanating from his throat that sent shivers of sheer terror down her spine. The fairies had long stopped their singing, and the fairy ring had become eerily quiet.

**************************************************

  “Milady?” Sir Didymus called out and looked confused in all directions, but Sarah was gone, including her horse and Jeremiah.

  “Alas, no, beshrew me for this is not good. That blaggard took her. What hath I wrought? His Majesty is going to be most furious”, Didymus grumbled to himself and quickly turned his horse around to ride as fast as his mount could carry him back to the castle.

  Didymus jumped off his horse before it came to a complete stop and bolted into the castle, running down the hall on all four legs and into Jareth’s office without knocking.

  He stood breathless and panting in the forced-open doorway and reached one paw out to his king, who quickly jumped up and ran towards him.

  “By my fay, he took her”, Didymus managed to yap and collapsed onto his knees.

  “Where to?” Jareth asked with a tone of panic in his voice as the congregation of delegates from the Dukedom of the Mountain Dwarves grumbled disgruntled about the interruption.

  “I am not certain, My Liege”, Didymus panted, “but considering it being Jeremiah who committed such a disgraceful act, I would assume the fairy ring of the Tuatha de Danaan.”

  Jareth elicited a screeching howl and disappeared in a black cloud of smoke while the stunned congregation of dwarves was left speechless.

  Corrigan’s blanched face fell, and his hand covered his mouth as he sat himself down behind Jareth’s desk with a look of despair. He would manage to keep the meeting going, but his mind was indubitably elsewhere.

**************************************************

  Jareth appeared in the fairy ring in a swirl of dark glitter and immediately spotted Jeremiah laying on top of Sarah, ensorcelling her with an old fae love spell.

  “This is wrong. Get off me, you damn pervert. I belong to Jareth”, Sarah panted, and Jareth’s head snapped back while his eyes grew black as the night, and he bared his sharp canines.

  With two long strides, he was upon his brother and grabbed him by the collar of his leather vest to jerk him off his chosen mate. He noticed Sarah struggling against Jeremiah’s spell, and for an instance, he was left stunned at her willpower and resistance.

  Jeremiah flew several metres through the air and landed with a not so gentle thud on the ground as he saw Jareth coming at him in full rage. Sarah blinked her eyes in disbelief and saw Jareth descending on Jeremiah, his fists pommelling the fae laying on the ground, trying to shield his head from the unrelenting blows raining down on him.

  “I told you to not lay a finger on my Sarah. I told you to leave her alone and stay away from her. She is mine. MINE”, Jareth screamed at Jeremiah in such an unbridled rage, the likes he had never seen before in his brother.

  Sarah could only watch in horror and clasped her hands in front of her mouth to stifle any screams she may utter. Tears started to run down her cheeks as the enchantment began to break, and she realized what was happening.

  Jareth was in the process of killing his own brother. She needed to stop him.

  “Jareth”, she called out for him and reached her hand towards him, but he didn’t hear her in his blinding fury.

  Jeremiah cowered whimpering on the ground and could only try to protect his body against the painful blows of his younger brother, who had become completely unhinged.

  He was unable to transport himself out of the ring as that magic was being blocked. All he could do was shield himself the best he could to limit his injuries.

  “SHE IS MINE. She told you to get off her“, Jareth screamed again and landed another bone crushing blow.

  His hand was broken, but he did not care as he kept punching. He felt no pain, except for the one in his heart. How dare his own flesh and blood trying to take what was his, what finally belonged to him after so many heart-breaking years.

 “You should have marked her, Brother”, Jeremiah spat at him in defiance and was greeted with another blow to his face, effectively breaking his jaw.

  “She is MINE.”

  “JARETH.”

  At the scream of his name by his beloved, Jareth stopped and turned around to look at her. She stood behind him in tears and reached out for him with beseeching eyes and outstretched hands.

  “Please, Jareth, stop it. Don’t kill him. Stop what you are doing. I’m yours; I’m always yours.”

  She cried and took hold of his arm as his rage slowly drained out of his body, ebbing away as the colour returned to his black empty eyes. He pulled her into him and ensconced her in his arms, kissing the top of her head while his entire body shook.

  “My Sarah, my love”, he whispered barely audible and closed his eyes as he acquiesced in her request.

  Jeremiah laid motionless on the ground and watched with stunned silence as Sarah declared herself to his brother. His entire body was writhing in pain from several broken rips, a broken jaw, and multiple contusions to his face and body.

  A deafening silence had descended onto the fairy ring and all fairies had hastily departed at the onset of the fight. Even the gentle southern breeze had ceased, and everything was still.

  Jareth held Sarah as she quietly sobbed into his chest, and he ardently stroked her hair, kissing her head while tears streamed down his cheek.

  “Mine”, he whispered again, and Sarah nodded as she lifted her head to look into his tearstained eyes.

  Her hand gently touched his cheek and wiped away the last few tears with her thumb.

  “Yours”, she whispered back and placed a quick gentle kiss upon his lips.

  “We need to get you and your brother to a healer. You are both injured.”

  She looked over at Jeremiah, who remained on the ground with blood running down his face and his eyes peeled on them in stunned silence. Jareth slowly came out of his own rage induced trance and nodded in agreement as he finally felt the searing pain in his hand.

  He carefully held it up with his other hand and winced in agony. Sarah noticed his pain distorted face and glanced down at his hand, grimacing at what she saw. Yes, both definitely needed the healer immediately.

  Before Jareth could ponder on how to get Jermaine removed from the fairy ring with his broken hand, Corrigan appeared alongside Elroy the healer and immediately took charge of the scene.

  He picked up Jermaine under his arms and drug him to the edge of the clearing. Immediately the healer disappeared with him.

  “Jareth, are you all right? Lady Sarah?”

  Corrigan came rushing towards them and looked with concerned eyes at both of them.

  “We’ll be fine, Corrigan, thank you”, Sarah replied with a tired smile.

  She was still holding on to Jareth in a tight embrace and her red swollen eyes told Corrigan more than any words she may have uttered at that moment. He internally cursed himself for not being more vigilant himself about the situation.

  He looked down and noticed Jareth’s disfigured and swollen hand covered in blood and winced at the sight.

  “It’s time to get you taken care off.”

He held on to the both of them, and they vanished on the spot, leaving behind only the slightest of glitter and a swarm of confused fairies, musing over what had happened inside their beloved fairy ring.

  The two horses, feeling the absence of their riders, made their way back to the stables as they kicked up their hooves and galloped back the trail they had come in.  

Chapter Text

  Elroy carefully scanned the crystal over Jeremiah's body, and slowly, his fractures healed one by one as he laid wincing in pain on the cot in the infirmary.

  "This time, you have really done it", Elroy muttered in aggravation, not even trying to hide his chagrin and annoyance with the high prince, as he kept healing him. "You can be lucky that King Jareth did not kill you outright."

  Jeremiah sneered through gritted teeth and spat some fresh blood out of his mouth.

  "How was I supposed to know? She hasn't been marked."

  "It's not always the physical signs we see that tell the story", Elroy answered in his wisdom, which had come from centuries of being a healer. “She has been marked by him in other ways for the past fifteen years.”

   He had seen it all in his nearly two-thousand years of his existence, and the feud between the brothers was nothing new to him. The level of the violence Jareth had unleashed onto his older sibling, however, was.

  “I healed all of your broken bones. You had three cracked ribs, a broken spleen, a broken nose, and a broken jaw. The contusions on your body will go away in a few days. Not sure about the contusion to your pride. We can only hope that one will linger on.”

  Elroy made it no secret how much he despised the actions of the king’s brother. They had been at the very least dishonourable and at the worst illegal, punishable by banishment and removal of his magic. He was certain King Jareth would not show mercy this time.

  Before he could linger on his cogitations, a rush of magic announced the arrival of Sarah and Jareth. She was holding on tight to him as he swayed slightly when they appeared, and she quickly guided him to another cot away from Jeremiah.

  “Your Majesty, let me take a look at this”, Elroy offered and immediately came rushing to his king’s side.

  His face twitched upon seeing the severity of the injuries to Jareth’s hand.

  “How were you able to continue striking him with this severely broken hand?” he asked befuddled.

  Never had he seen an injury so devastating to anyone’s hand.

  “Pure adrenalin, Elroy. That and raging hate”, Jareth replied with a pained smile as his eyes searched for Jeremiah, who now sat up on his berth and stared quietly at them.

  For a brief moment, renewed anger and rage flashed in his eyes before he resumed an unreadable mask of indifference. He could not let his emotions get the best of him again. The initial fight was over, the fallout from it was only now beginning.

  “Please hold still, Your Majesty”, Elroy advised as he hovered the healing crystal over Jareth’s palm, gingerly turning his hand over and applying the same technique to the other side. He moved it towards the wrist and let it finish its mending of the fractured bones.

  “The osseous matter and tendons are healed, but it will be some time before everything will be fully workable again, and you will also experience some pain. I would suggest staying away from any kind of fights for a while.”

  Elroy threw him a frowned look and then glanced over at Jeremiah.

  “The same goes for you”, he added and returned to logging the incidence into his book with a shaking head and a glower upon his lips.

  Sarah had remained quiet, seated next to Jareth, and had supportively held his other hand the entire time. Jeremiah watched her interaction with Jareth carefully, and he tilted his head as if to examine and survey her behaviour.

  His eyes looked puzzled as he regarded her with a contemplative gaze. That mortal woman genuinely cared for his brother on a much deeper level than he had allowed himself to believe. He found it rather interesting and worthy of further perusal.

  A feeling of contrition almost made its way into his heart before he shook himself over. No, this was Jareth’s fault for not marking his property the way he should have.

  She was fair game until they were officially betrothed or marked. His brother should have been more careful, and Jeremiah leaned back with a sigh, feeling slightly redeemed in his mind. In his heart, however, he still felt a nagging feeling of guilt.

  “You and I will have a lot to talk about”, Jareth hissed at his brother, and his eyes shot daggers at him.

  He felt Sarah’s grip on his arm tightening and redirected his gaze onto hers. She gave him a weary smile and shook her head lightly.

  “Not now. Let’s go to our chambers and rest. I think you and I will need to have a talk of our own”, she pointed out quietly.

  Jareth took a deep sigh and nodded. He knew a talk was long overdue. It was time to tell her everything, but before Jareth managed to jump off the examination table, Corrigan came marching back into the infirmity with a scowl of his own on his thin-lined lips. His frustration was clearly visible on his face.

  “I am sorry to disturb you, My Liege, but we have visitors in your office.”

  “Now what?” Jareth snarled with vexation.

  He was not in the mood to entertain whoever had decided to pop up at his castle’s doorsteps at this time without an invitation. It was out of decorum, and he would not entertain such impropriety.

  “Tell them to schedule an appointment or you handle it. Either way, I don’t care”, he spat and turned to leave.

  Corrigan slightly leaned into Jareth with a concerned face.

  “It is Prince Rowan and the Princess Céline”, he whispered with a tone of urgency.

  Jareth’s eyes grew wide as he elicited a disapproving huff and placed his hand against his forehead, already feeling the presence of an oncoming migraine.

  “By the grace of all the heavens, why is that infuriating trollop back?”

  “Apparently Prince Rowan wants to reaffirm the dignity of his sister for being denied a courtship with you. He’s here to check out Lady Sarah for himself”, Corrigan sighed.

  “Reaffirm the dignity of his sister? The dignity of her?”

  Jareth’s pinched the bridge of his nose and murmured something in a foreign language Sarah could not understand, but the deeply blushed face of Corrigan told her it was not anything that would be appropriate for a king to say out loud.

  “Blasted wretch”, he finally groaned and gave Sarah an exhorted look.

  “Are you up for this, Love?” he asked with uncertainty, trying to gauge her reaction to the news.

  “Let’s get this over with. I’m so done with this fae courtship, seduction, wooing bullshit. That woman can’t take a hint any better than your bull-headed obtuse brother over there.”

  She gave a fleeting glance towards Jeremiah, who shrugged his shoulders and gave her a smug grin, causing Sarah to roll her eyes in desperation. She took hold of Jareth’s good hand and gently pulled him out of the room.

  “Jareth, what is this going to be about?” she asked with a troubled look as they were hastily ambulating down the corridor towards his office.

  “Nothing of concern”, he replied with agitation and patted her hand as he had her arm interlocked with his.

  His smile was subtle, but his eyes were empty as he looked at her. She knew he was not looking forward to whatever awaited them, but he also didn’t want her to worry about it. This alone made her innards feel queasy and uneasy.

  “Your Royal Highness”, Jareth lightly bowed as they entered his study. “Princess Céline, I see you have returned, so soon. What an unpleas.... nice surprise.”

  His derisive tone oozed disapproval and sarcasm, but Céline and Rowan either missed his innuendo or decided to disregard it. Céline flashed him a warm smile and went to embrace him as she placed a kiss on each of his cheeks.

  Jareth wanted to recoil and tell her to remove her repulsive hands and mouth, but hundreds of years of diplomatic training allowed him to retain his inscrutable countenance as he acted impervious to her little game.

  Sarah groaned and wanted to slap the grin right off her overly painted face but restrained herself as her attention was taken away from Céline’s antics by a cloying voice beside her.

  “You must be Lady Sarah”, came a slow oozing drawl from her left that flowed as easy as molasses on a cold winter’s morning.

  Prince Rowan looked at her with piercing blue eyes and a sleazy smirk as he slightly bowed and took her hand into his, gently placing a kiss upon her knuckles.

  Jareth’s hair bristled at their ends and his body stiffened slightly at the physical touch between the two. He gently, but possessively, pulled Sarah back and returned a challenging look of his own.

  “Sarah, this is Prince Rowan, the brother of Céline.”

  Jareth’s voice was cold as ice and the tension between the two fae males in the room was as thick as frozen jelly. Corrigan found it best to intervene at this precise moment with his suggestion to take a stroll through the Queen’s Gardens and have tea outside.

  Jareth gave a polite smile and motioned his hand to the door for Céline and Rowan to step through. Céline immediately took the opportunity to grab Jareth by the arm and interlocked hers with his, drawing an inaudible growl of protest from him. How dare this woman touch him without permission? He would have to remedy this as soon as possible.

  Prince Rowan, likewise, took Sarah by the arm, interlocked her hand with the crook of his elbow and started marching out of the room. Sarah threw Jareth a questioning look, but upon seeing his stoic mask, played along without objections.

  “You are a delightful creature if I may say so”, Rowan purred into Sarah’s ears on their way through the garden, and she immediately heard the low growl from Jareth behind her.

  “Thank you”, she replied politely and tossed him a fake smile.

  “My sister told me of you, but she sure didn’t mention how beautiful and delightful you are. I do must say, King Jareth has been hiding a little jewel in his castle. I’m glad I came to see for myself.”

  Sarah wanted to gag at his nauseating smoothness. This guy was every bit as obnoxious as Jeremiah, and if it hadn’t been for Jareth, she would have yanked her arm right out of his and stomped back to her chambers. She tried her best to appear as self-effacing and polite as possible.

  “Charming of you”, she replied with a monotone voice and an Oscar worthy fake-smile-with-batted-eyes performance.

  She heard another low growl from Jareth and knew he was very astute of Rowan’s intent to seduce her. She turned her head and flashed a brief assuring smile his way.

  Céline chatted the ears off Jareth during their stroll, but he heard none of the tittle-tattle she had to say. His entire attention was focused on the intrusive rival in front of him, who had his beloved on his offensive arm. If he could find a way to shake Céline, he would be able to retrieve Sarah.

  “Oh, Jareth, Darling, are you hearing what I’m saying?” Céline whined, and Jareth gave her an empty stare with blank eyes.

  “I am sorry, Dear; were you saying something? I was momentarily distracted”, he groaned and immediately let his gaze fall onto the couple in front of him again.

  “I said you should give a ball in honour of your mort....lovely Sarah there. Introduce her to the rest of fae society.”

  She flashed her eyelashes at him and gave him a smooth smile.

  “Once we are officially betrothed, I most certainly will. You will be the first to know”, he replied diplomatically, knowing damn well he could not do so until he made Sarah officially his fiancé or she would be open game to every single and unattached male of the Underground, regardless of specie.

  He was reticent about his thoughts and kept up his impervious mask. Everything about her screamed subterfuge, and he would most definitely keep a watchful eye on her actions.

  It was no accident that she had brought her brother with her. Rowan’s only purpose was to seduce Sarah and clear the way for her. Jareth was no fool when it came to the games of romance and jaded lovers.

  “A lovely flower for a lovely woman such as you”, Prince Rowan cooed and handed Sarah an orange rose from the bushes Hoggle had planted not too long ago, according to Jareth’s instructions.

  Jareth’s head snapped back at this egregious and disgraceful behaviour. Not only had he taken the liberty of clipping a rose from the Queen’s Gardens without permission, but he chose an orange rose, which symbolized passion and the request to take this non-existent relationship to the next level.

  He wanted to incinerate this ill-mannered and discourteous vermin of a prince on the spot.

  “Let’s have some tea”, Corrigan interjected hastily, noticing Jareth’s thin patience teetering at the end of his self-control.

  Prince Rowan held out the chair for Sarah and kept fussing over her while Jareth reluctantly pushed in Céline’s chair for her. Jareth had quickly chosen the seat next to Sarah before Rowan could situate himself. He frowned slightly as Jareth placed himself but obediently moved one chair over with a sly smirk on his face.

  Céline was not happy with the arrangements either, as she now sat between her brother and Sarah. Her discontent was clearly visible on her pouting face, and Sarah relished in her misery with internal epicaricacy.

  Mary and Ginny quickly brought out the tea and biscuits while Hoggle worked on his flowerbeds in the background, throwing a disdained look at Prince Rowan every so often for defiling his rosebush.

  He couldn’t care less if another contender against the rat had entered the arena of suitors, but he didn’t like anyone touching his precious flowers, and especially not the roses.

  “How long will you be staying?” Sarah asked with politeness as she sipped her tea and tried to come up with a suitable subject that could involve the four of them.

  “As long as Jareth will have us”, Céline purred nauseatingly and gave him another bright smile.

  Sarah wanted to gag, and she nearly choked on her croissant when she heard Jareth inform that tart that they were welcomed to stay as long as they liked. She would have a serious talk with him about that later. What in all the Underground was he thinking?”

  She gave him a look that should have incinerated him on the spot if she had the power of magic. Jareth took hold of her hand under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze while his eyes beseeched her with an intense look to remain calm and civil.

  The rest of tea went by without drama, and Sarah was relieved when the small party made its way back to the castle, with Céline and Prince Rowan heading to their guest quarters.

  “What the hell?” Sarah hissed as soon as they were out of earshot. “Stay as long as you want? Have you lost your damn mind, Jareth?”

  She picked up the skirt of her dress and stomped furiously down the hallway with gritted teeth while Jareth tried to keep up with her ridiculously fast pace.

  “Sarah”, he called after her and hurried to catch up with her. “Listen to me.”

  He grabbed her elbow and forced her to stop and look at him. He took her arm into his and slowed down the pace as he opened the door to her quarters for her.

  “I have to be very diplomatic in this situation. We are deep in discussions with the Wood Elf Kingdom over trade agreements. These two ingrates are the children of the Wood Elf King. The visit of them was timed perfectly and not by mistake.”

  “What do you mean?” Sarah asked with knitted brows as she entered the room with Jareth following behind.

  “This is all a game of strategy, Sarah. I would love nothing more than to toss both of them out of my castle and straight into the bog, but anything short of granting them the free use of my guest rooms is going to blow our agreements into pieces. My kingdom needs these contracts.”

  Once he had closed the door behind them, he wrapped his arms around her waist at seeing her distressed face and placed a gentle kiss onto her forehead.

  “I can’t stand that bitch”, Sarah whined. “She is so damn....clingy. The way she drooled all over you. Disgusting.”

  She turned her head, because she didn’t want Jareth to see the tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes. He placed his gloved finger under her chin and turned her face to look at him.

  “Precious, how do you think I feel about this revolting insect of Prince Rowan having his tentacles all over you, cooing sweet words into your ear, and giving you an orange rose from my own garden? I wanted to bog him right there on the spot.”

  “I was about to break his hand when he snaked it around my waist before we sat down. I’m glad you sat next to me.”

  She gave him a weak smile and folded her hands behind his neck.

  “Tell me you love me”, she whispered and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

  “Oh, I’m planning to show you how much I love you”, he answered with a smirk, taking hold of her lips in a kiss that was anything but chaste as his tongue drove deep into her mouth.

  “I bet you do”, Sarah moaned into his osculation and let him deepen it while his hands began to explore the bodice of her dress and came to rest on her breasts over the fabric.

  “You got way too much clothing on, Love”, he protested and began to unlace her dress as his mouth kept pressing against hers.

  “Same goes for you”, she replied, smiling into the kiss, and letting her hand move down the front of his body to cup his growing erection.

  She carefully worked her hand beneath his waistband and held his silky, hard cock in her hand, stroking him purposely while Jareth hitched his breath and then let go of a growl as he moved her back towards the bed.

  With the wave of his hand, he had her laces untied and the dress fell unceremoniously onto the floor beside the bed. She was not wearing a bra underneath and only a pair of the black lace panties he liked so much.

  His eyes had grown dark and were filled with a lustful desire as his pants disappeared next. His hand moved down between her legs and moved a finger beneath the fabric of her panties to feel the slickness of her folds.

  “Ah, Jareth”, Sarah moaned and tilted back her head.

  His mouth immediately latched on to the soft skin and flesh of her throat, feeling her rapidly increasing pulse. His tongue trailed down the front towards her cleavage as he cupped both her breasts into his hands.

  “I so want you beneath me right now with my cock buried deep inside you”, he groaned under the strain of Sarah’s ministrations to his hard member.

  With one quick motion, her panties laid on the floor, and he had reclined her onto her back with her legs dangling off the side of the bed. He pushed them up by her knees and spread them wide, nearly losing himself in the sight of her open sex as he stood over her with his cock in his own hand now.

  “By the gods, Sarah, you are so damn beautiful.”

  “Fuck me, Jareth”, she moaned and her hands reached for his hips.

  He carefully positioned himself at her opening when a loud knock rapped against the door and both of them froze in their activity. They stayed perfectly still with wide-open eyes and hitched breaths.

  “Jareth”, came the demanding voice of Céline. “I want you to show Rowan the stables of yours, and Ladon, your dragon horse. I’ve been telling him about it, and he wants to see them. Jareth?”

  “By all the bloody seven hells that blasted woman”, Jareth hissed through gritted teeth as quietly as he could and looked at Sarah for input on how to proceed.

  She was glorious in her nakedness underneath him, so wet and ready with the tip of his cock touching her opening. He was about to continue when Céline knocked again.

  “Jareth, open up. I know you are in there. I can hear you. Maybe you would like for me to join you? At least this way, it’ll be fun”, came her suggestive and salacious remark.

  Sarah mouthed a few Aboveground insults at the princess and rolled herself out from under Jareth with a disgusted look.

  “I’ll bog that fucking, lewd bitch myself when this is over”, she quietly snarled at him and collected her dress off the floor.

  “Thanks for the offer, you royal fucking pain in the ass, but three’s a crowd. We’ll be out in five minutes”, Sarah yelled with unbridled vexation through the closed door and marched into the bathroom with steam coming out of her ears and nose.

  “I’ll wait for you downstairs”, came the cloying response from an obvious smug Céline.

  Jareth hung his head with a despondent look on his face as he still held on to his now semi-flaccid member, hanging on to the faintest glimmer of hope that Sarah would return to him. He gave up on that idea when she stomped out of the bathroom fully dressed.

**************************************************

  The outing to the stables was a sombre affair. Jareth was in a sour mood at being left sexually unsatisfied as the erotic visions of Sarah writhing beneath him on the bed, so ready to accept him, kept replaying in his head.

  Sarah wanted to throw Céline into the bog for interrupting their little tryst, closely followed by her pain of a brother, who seemed to have grown eight arms like an octopus and made sure he used all of them on her body somewhere at any given time. On top of that, Jeremiah had joined them as he had been exercising his steed when they had walked up.

  Sarah gave a careful glance at Jareth when she noticed his brother sitting atop his mount, grinning down at them from the paddock. She could see Jareth rubbing his forehead and letting out a deep sigh. He still hadn’t had a talk with his brother about the fairy ring.

  “Well, look who has arrived. What a lively crowd this is”, Jeremiah laughed mockingly as he met up with them outside the stable.

  Céline gave him a salacious grin and diverted her attention from Jareth to him. She had never met Jareth’s brother, and she found him to be rather dashing and maybe a suitable distraction to her Jareth dilemma.

  After all, he was next in line for the high king position, and she knew he hadn’t taken on a wife or even a permanent lover yet. She batted her eyes at the magnificent statue of a fae on top of his steed and elbowed Jareth unceremoniously in the rips.

  “Introduce me”, she whispered to him under her breath.

  The sharp pain from her elbow hitting his side had jolted him out of his daydream of Sarah, and he looked up in surprise. He only now fully noticed Jeremiah, and his eyes narrowed briefly before a devious smile curled around the corners of his lips when he saw the interest of Céline in his brother.

  “Céline, this is my brother Jeremiah, His Royal Highness, and next in line to the high king throne. Jeremiah, this is Princess Céline from the Wood Elf Kingdom and her brother Crown Prince Rowan.”

  Jareth sounded intentionally bored during the introduction, but his sharp intense eyes betrayed him. He was keenly aware of his brother’s reaction to the princess. The way his pupils dilated, and his eyebrows quirked. Céline’s voice increased in pitch, and she intentionally displayed her voluptuous bosom to him.

  Prince Rowan was taken in by the exquisite horse Jeremiah was riding and didn’t pay any attention to his sister’s reaction to the crown prince, nor that he would have cared much since the rest of his attention was held captive by Sarah.

  Jeremiah tipped his fingers to his non-existent hat at the introduction, stepped off his mount, and took the hand of the princess into his before he brought it up to his lips to place a chaste kiss on it.

  He held it much longer than had been necessary, and his thumb drew small circles over her wrist, which made her purr and dilate her eyes.

  “Enchante, Milady. You look like a vison from a wonderful dream”, Jeremiah whispered seductively, causing Céline to mewl and fan herself.

  “And you leave me nearly breathless”, she whimpered back.

  Sarah looked at them dumbfounded and wanted to puke.

  “Why don’t you show the princess my stables, Brother?” Jareth suggested with a sly smirk, and Jeremiah looked like a little boy at Christmas time.

  “Perfect idea, Brother. Milady, would you do me the honour?”

  He took Céline’s hand into his, guiding it gingerly into the crook of his elbow, and led her down the gravelled pathway towards the back of the stables. Prince Rowan still hadn’t noticed, as he was too busy telling Sarah how wonderful of a horseback rider he was.

  He had her pinned between the horse and him, and his face came dangerously close to hers as he leaned forward to introduce her to the finer elements of horsemanship.

  Sarah arched her back into the steed to gain some distance between this overly amorous prince and her, and she was sure she would see him flying through the air any minute the way Jeremiah had done earlier.

  “Rowan, I hate to disrupt your attempt to seduce my intended, but your sister is not being chaperoned while she is on the arm of my lecherous brother with a certain reputation. And they are alone in a dark barn.”

  At the mention of Jeremiah and Céline, Rowan’s head snapped back with startled eyes, and he instantly removed himself from Sarah’s orbit.

  “I hate to take my leave, sweet Sarah, but I better keep an eye on my sister. A woman alone is not to be trusted with Prince Jeremiah. On that, even King Jareth and I agree.”

  He gave a perfunctory bow to Jareth before touching Sarah’s hands to his lips while his eyes bore deeply into hers and then hurried after the couple that had already disappeared on its way into the hay loft. Jareth grinned like the Cheshire cat as he watched him sprint off, and they were suddenly alone.

  “Smooth going, Your Majesty”, Sarah giggled and snaked her arm around his waist to lean her head against his chest.

  “Diplomatic skills I had the chance to fine tune over the course of several centuries. It’s something a king needs to be good at”, he replied with a kiss to the crown of her head. “Now if we only can find us a nice quiet place where we won’t be interrupted. We need to talk.”

  “I know just the one”, Sarah smiled and looked up at him. “Goblin King, take me to my apartment.”

  “Sarah?” Jareth asked bewildered and with a slight confused expression in his eyes.

  “It’s the one place they won’t interrupt us”, she grinned, and Jareth nodded with understanding.

  Within seconds only a small pile of glitter was left behind on the trail.

**************************************************

  Sarah worked herself out of his arms and gave a quick look around when they rematerialized in her living room.

  “Want some wine?” she asked him casually and made her way to the kitchen, pulled down two glasses from her cabinet, and removed two bottles of red wine from her wine rack.

  “Merlot or Shiraz?” she asked as Jareth sauntered into the room and leaned himself languidly against the kitchen counter.

  “Merlot, Love”, he drawled in his deep sexy voice, and Sarah tossed him a warm smile before she opened the bottle and handed him a glass.

  “We need to talk”, she stated matter-of-factly as she walked past him and made herself comfortable on her lounging chair, patting the empty space beside her with an inviting smirk.

  Jareth followed her and sat himself down next to her, laying his arms across the backrest and touching her shoulder with his fingers. The subtle touch sent delectable chills down her back and created goosebumps on her arms.

  “Remember, the first night you came here, and we sat exactly like this?” she asked as she leisurely supped her wine.

  “How could I forget? The moment I touched your arm I thought I would lose myself. It took all I had not to throw you onto your bed and ravish you.”

  Sarah elicited a quiet giggle into her glass.

  “I nearly came undone from the first kiss of yours. This place holds a lot of memories actually. Maybe I should keep it”, she murmured and took another sip while stealing a perusing glance at him.

  “What do you mean keep it? Why would you need it?” he growled, giving her a frowning look.

  “Oh, well, you know a girl has to live somewhere.”

  “You live with me, in my bed”, Jareth retorted assertively.

  “I can’t stay in your bed forever without a proposition. What would the neighbours think?” she replied facetiously while she kept supping her wine.

  A low growl emanated from Jareth’s chest, and she could feel the vibrations from the sound moving down her body.

  “What are you talking about, Sarah?”

  “I am talking about you and me. Even in the Underground an unmarried and unattached woman....”

  “You are attached to me”, he quipped with a high-pitched voice as his eyes grew wide.

  “.... as I was saying, an unattached woman sleeping in the same room with a king nonetheless.”

  “Wench,” he hissed into her ear as he leaned forward. “Are you trying to get me to ask you to marry me?”

  “I wouldn’t do such a thing, Your Majesty”, she jested, giving him a mischievous look.

  “Alright, Love. Would you marry me if that means I can have you in my bed for all times?”

  His eyes bore into hers as their gazes locked onto each other. For a moment, which seemed to span an eternity, it was silent.

  “I have some questions first, Goblin King”, she replied and put her glass on the table while Jareth’s mouth fell open in stunned silence.

  Hadn’t she just wanted him to propose? And when he did, she asked for more answers? Had she just turned him down? Well, she hadn’t said no, but she also hadn’t said yes.

  He took it as a good sign as he leaned back and took a quaff from his wine, recomposing himself. This woman confused him at every turn, and for some reason, he found it to be an incredible turn on that had his cock throbbing painfully inside his pants.

  “Very well, ask away”, he sighed with a waving gesture of his hand.

  “Explain to me what all this courtship means in the fae world. How can these guys just show up and try to take me away from you, knowing you and I are courting? Jeremiah mentioned something about marking. What is that? And why are you afraid of letting me see a fairy ring? And....”

  “Whoa”, Jareth motioned her to stop. “One question at a time.”

  “Ok, tell me about the courtship rules. All of them this time, and don’t you leave anything out like the first time.”

  She glared at him with a warning over the rim of her wineglass, and Jareth inhaled deeply.

  “As you know, when we hadn’t declared our courtship publicly before the court, Céline was able to apply for a courtship of her own.”

  Sarah nodded and remained quiet.

  “That is why we had to hold the games. The games were actually something I came up with to save us the three months of dual courtship. I figured you would not be pleased about me dating another woman while I was dating you.”

  He gave her a crooked smile, and Sarah huffed into her glass with a sneer curled around her wine-stained lips.

  “You can say that again”, she hissed and emptied her wineglass with one gigantic swallow.

  “Luckily, for us, you did wonderful, Precious, and won. Exactly as I had anticipated it. Now with Céline out of the way....”

  “The woman is a fucking boomerang, Jareth. She came back less than two days later”, Sarah spat and poured themselves another glass.

  Jareth heaved a sigh and nodded in agreement.

  “She is exasperating, I give you that, and she definitely doesn’t take no for an answer. You are stubborn....”

  He held up his hands in defence when she gave him a death glare.  

  “.... but that woman is beyond obtuse. She has it in her head that I love her, even though I hadn’t had a tryst with her in over a hundred years. I’ve been avoiding her like the pest ever since.”

  “That’s what you get for banging a crazy bitch, who turns into your stalker”, Sarah replied nonchalantly, staring at the depth of her wineglass.”

  “I know, I made a foolish mistake, Love”, he replied with a quiet voice.

  “It’s ok, Jareth, we all have made mistakes in our past relationships. No need to dwell on it. Luckily, you don’t have to put up with one of my ex’s stalking me.”

  Jareth gave out an affronted huff.

  “He would be already at the bottom of the bog.”

  Sarah laughed out with mirth. She could visualize each of her ex-lovers floating in the bog.

  “To get back to the courtship rules. Now that we are officially courting, no other female has the right to apply to court me. However, this does not apply to the males. Once we made it public, it kind of protected us from another female suitor, but it did open you up to the males.”

  “Come again?” Sarah croaked with popping eyes while Jareth elicited a drawn-out groan of frustration.

  “They were made aware that there is a suitable, available female amongst them, and they will try anything to change your mind with their own seductive subterfuges. It is fully expected, actually.”

  “Your courtship rules are utterly fucked up, Jareth. Are you saying I have become open game for all those Jeremiah and Rowan predators?”

  She gave him an incredulous look.

  “I am afraid so, Love”, he replied with a sad sigh.

  “So, how do we stop this?”

  “By making our engagement official”, he answered dryly. “This would ensure your safety from the predators, as you like to call them.”

  “Ok, so we’ll make it official. What about the marking? Is that part of the engagement?”

  “No, it is not”, he replied and sat quiet for several minutes.

  “Jareth? Tell me, what is the marking?”

  Sarah vehemently implored him with her eyes. She could tell he tried to sidestep the subject when he asked her for some nuts, which she grudgingly got him out of the kitchen.

  “Now tell me”, she demanded with perturbation in her voice as she shoved the bowl more forcefully than necessary in his lap.

  “Fine, you asked. The marking is when a couple decides to give their souls to each other. It means they can no longer live without the other. They will be monogamous for the rest of their lives and when one partner passes into the Summerlands, the other will follow shortly thereafter, because their lonely soul will wither away.”

  He took a break and looked at her with solemn eyes before he continued. Sarah sat with unblinking eyes and listened intently to every word he had to say.

  “It is very seldom done since most fae do not love the way humans do and try to avoid all the emotions. Sarah, most marriages here are for convenience, not love, and fae are very promiscuous and go outside their marriage. And before you say anything, unlike most fae, I do love you with all my heart, and I would never take another as a lover. I have already given you my heart and my soul. I can no longer love anyone else, even if I would try to.”

  “When you offered me my dreams the first time”, Sarah stated quietly, and Jareth nodded with a subdued expression on his face.

  She felt a deep pain shoot through her heart at the memory of that event.

  “A marking happens inside the fairy circle, and it is an unbreakable vow to each other. The reason I told you fairy rings are dangerous is because they are, for mortals like you. Fae use them to lure mortal women into them, enchant them, and drive them mad with an unrequited love for the fae who seduced them. It is cruel and vicious.”

  Jareth emptied his glass with another big gulp but kept twirling it absentmindedly between his fingers. Sarah took hold of his hand to steady him. She could tell he had problems telling her all of this. Fae usually did not divulge such detailed information to anyone, and he was, equally, reticent.

  “If a marking happens with a mortal, then the mortal becomes one of us, a, what we call halfling. Not quite full fae but no longer mortal. You would be immortal then and live as long as I. Any children we would have would be full fae.”

  “What if there is no marking?” Sarah asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Then you would remain mortal and age at a normal pace, but our children would still be fae and immortal. You could die long before they would even mature into adulthood.”

  “Is that why you haven’t asked me yet? I know you want me to be your wife and your queen. You have said so many times before.”

  “There is nothing I want more than for you to be my wife. Whether that means you become immortal or decide to remain mortal makes no difference to me. It only means we wouldn’t have all of eternity together. Our time would be....limited.”

  “What would happen if I died of old age?”

  “I could die immediately from a broken heart, which would be a blessing, or I might go on for hundreds if not thousands of years without the other half of my soul. I would steadily wither away, but it could take a long, long time. I practically would be an empty shell of my former self. So, do you still want to marry me, Sarah?”

  His eyes were now lightly watered over by tears, and he felt as if a huge boulder was crushing down on his chest. He could barely swallow the lump that had formed in his throat and time seemed to have stopped completely.

  Sarah looked at him with a pained look of her own. She could not even fathom the agony he would endure having to live alone for centuries or even millennia. There was not even a choice in her book. Her answer was clear and there was no going back.

  “I’ll marry you, Jareth”, she answered with a hoarse voice, forcing her to clear her throat. “But I want to go through the marking ceremony.”

  Jareth sucked in his breath and his body stiffened.

  “Sarah, before you agree to this, there is one more thing you need to know.”

  He sat quietly as he gave her an almost pained look.

  “What is it? It can’t be that bad”, she replied with her heart beating so loud she was sure he could hear it.

  “The transformation is extremely painful and can last days, sometimes weeks.”

  “Could I die from it?” she asked immediately, but Jareth shook his head vehemently.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You don’t think so? That means you don’t know. How could you not know?” she asked perplexed.

  “It hasn’t been done but a few times before, and every mortal has reacted differently.”

  Sarah sat pensively for some time as she stared into empty space.

  “Has anyone ever died from it before?”

  Jareth only shook his head.

  “Not to my knowledge. It does feel very much like an intensely severe flu you mortals tend to suffer from. You would have convulsions, exceedingly high fever, be incoherent, and probably be out of your faculties for quite some time until your body would have gone through the transformation.”

  Sarah sat with a ruminative expression on her face as her eyes stared at Jareth’s hands, fiddling with his still empty wineglass. When she finally raised her head and looked back into his waiting eyes, she had a determined look in hers and a warm smile around her lips.

  “I don’t care, I want to go through the marking. I gladly take a couple of weeks of misery over a short life with you, and then you are being in misery for centuries. I couldn’t bear this.”

  Jareth’s eyes grew wide, and he swallowed back the lump that had formed in his throat while his hands became still. 

  “You would do that for me, for us? You are willing to become a halfling?” he asked barely audible.

  “I will do anything for you, Jareth. Haven’t you figured that out yet? You are my soulmate, and I always have been yours. That’s why I could never find happiness until you came back into my life. We are already sharing our souls; so, we might as well complete the ceremony, so I can be with you for.... forever.”

  If Sarah thought he would whisper sweet words of nothing, or hold her gently in his arms, she was sorely mistaken. He dropped the empty glass onto the floor and magicked away her full glass before crashing his mouth onto hers and squashing her beneath his body on the lounge chair.

  He kissed her hard and with a feral urgency as he let out quiet, low rumbling growls. He lifted her off the chair, and before she realized what was happening, he had her flat on her bed, tearing off her clothes, not caring about ripping the fabric.

  “Tell me you are mine for eternity, tell me”, he demanded with a heavy breath and covered her mouth again with his, preventing her from answering until he released her to come up for air.

  “I’m yours for all of eternity”, she panted and managed to take a gulp of breath before he possessed her lips again, and his tongue filled her mouth like a heat seeking missile.

  Sarah’s hands started to pull on his clothes, and he let her remove his jacket and shirt, along with his boots, which he tossed carelessly under the bed. She yanked on the waist band of his pants, and he divested himself of the rest of their clothing with the wave of his hand.

  “You’re not in a rush, are you?” Sarah laughed into his neck as his lips left searing kisses down her throat and clavicle.

  “I am planning on having this last all night, Precious”, he growled and kept placing his kisses over her breasts as he took her nipple into his mouth and started to suck hard, making her wince with pleasure and a slight stinging pain. She arched her body and tilted back her head.

  She could feel his hard cock pressing against her pelvis, and her hand automatically took hold of him and stroked him carefully. Jareth moaned while his mouth moved farther down her body, both his hands massaging her breasts and tweaking her nipples.

  He removed her hand from his erection and positioned his head between her legs, which he laid over his shoulders before he descended onto her open sex that lay spread out before him.

  His tongue eagerly lapped up her juices that started to flow and penetrated deep into her, causing her to jerk her hips upwards and letting out a shriek.

  “Jareth”, she could barely mutter his name as the hot sensation inside her body overtook all logical reasoning in her brain and paralyzed her speech centre.

  She closed her eyes, and her hands fisted into the bedsheets, nearly ripping them into shreds as her first orgasm washed over her and left her convulsing underneath him, his hot breath still on her clit as he refused to withdraw his tongue.

  He wanted to feel her spasm around him, and the feeling of it travelled all the way from his mouth down his throat into his stomach and into his loins, hardening his cock more than he had ever experienced it with any other woman.

  He finally pulled out his tongue and rubbed his thumb over her pleasure centre before he slit up her body in one fluid motion and took hold of her mouth again, making her taste her own juices.

  She kissed him back as hard as he kissed her before he let go of her mouth and scooted his body up towards her breasts, straddling her between his thighs.

  His cock was teasingly close to her mouth, and she grabbed him, pulling him gently up until he was positioned directly over her face. Jareth lifted his buttocks off her chest and now kneeled over her.

  With one motion she took him into her mouth and began to suck him hard, releasing him and licking his entire length with her tongue, flicking it across his head before taking him in again. Jareth let out a hiss and a groan as he tilted his head back and grimaced his face.

  “Sarah”, he croaked and thrust his hips forward into her mouth, being careful not to go too rough and hurt her.

  He was nearly out of control and tried to keep a grip on his emotions and sensations that flooded his body like nothing ever had before in his entire existence. He was ravishing her now like an untamed beast, full of lust and desire, but also unbridled love.

  He extricated himself from her mouth, positioned himself at her entrance, and with one quick thrust was inside of her. He tore into her up to his hilt and stopped, pushing farther into her, and moving his hips sideways.

  Sarah cried out and her breathing began to be laboured. Her face was equally distorted from her bodily sensations as was his.

  Jareth pulled all the way back out and thrust himself forwards again. With each thrust, the sensation washed over his body and lifted him into another level of ecstasy. She was like a drug he had to have, and right now he was overdosing on her, falling into blissful oblivion with her.

  “Sarah”, he cried out as he was clinging to the precipice of his orgasm.

  Sarah let herself fall over the edge and was spasm with her second climax. Her muscles tightened around him, squeezing, and strangling his cock, forcing his seed out of him and deep into her in violent spastic convulsions.

  Jareth’s hips jerked, and his thrusts became erratic until they stopped with one last shiver running through his body like an electric current.

  He fell on top of her and cushioned the blow with his hands as he placed his head against her chest, panting and trying to catch his breath. Beads of sweat were trickling down his forehead, and Sarah ran her fingers lovingly through his wispy mane.

  “I love you, Sarah”, he managed to say before he closed his eyes and held her tight with his hands against her body, nuzzling his head into her breasts.

  “Jareth, I love you so much, I can’t even begin to tell you how much”, she panted and smiled to herself.

  He hadn’t withdrawn from her, and she held him as tight as he held her. She didn’t want him to leave. Slowly, he felt himself hardening again inside of her, and his hips gradually started to move in a circular fashion. Sarah pulled her legs up and crossed them over his glutes.

  This time, he went at an unhurried leisurely pace and sunk himself deeply into her, making each thrust count as he reached the hidden spot inside of her. He propped himself up with one leg and let his fingers find her clit, massaging it with slow circular movements.

  The second of his orgasms, and the third for her, was not as epic and mind blowing as the previous one but was much longer and drawn out. It felt like a slow tidal wave washing onto the beach and invading every crevice, moving further inland, and swallowing up the dunes and vegetation at a slow and agonizingly pleasurable pace.

  Both let out a long moan of pleasure, and Jareth’s mouth sought out hers, so their tongues could intertwine at the moment of climax. Both had their eyes open and stared deeply into each other, exchanging their souls with each heartbeat. His deep-blue mismatched eyes and her emerald-green, sparkling orbs becoming one, bound together by love.

  Jareth carefully pulled out of her and laid halfway on her chest; his arm flung across her breasts and one leg rested across her hips. Their juices were messily mixed on their thighs, but neither cared at the moment as they tried to steady their breaths once again and come down from the hormone induced high.

  For several minutes, they laid in silence, listening to each other’s heartbeat, and gently caressing their skins with the feather light touches of their fingers. When Jareth finally did lift his body off her, she felt almost cold and lonely. He gently kissed her forehead and tip of her nose as he magicked their now dried juices away.

 “Jareth?” Sarah mumbled as if she was still in a trance, far off. “Why did you insist on thirteen games when you first came to me?”

  Jareth heaved a deep sigh and started twirling one of her loose hair strands between his fingers as he looked at her with soft eyes.

  “Because I was only allowed thirteen visits to your world to make you realize your wish, which was that you were in love with me and wanted to stay with me. I came up with the idea to be able to spend as much time with you as possible. It was a desperate attempt on my part, Love,”

  He gave her an impish grin.

  “Does that mean we have to finish that streak of games?” she wondered with worry in her voice.

  “No, you have already realized your wish, which means the streak is over. Had you won and not realized your wish by the end of game thirteen, I would have had to leave you forever and never contact you again.”

  A sensation of fright washed over her heart at hearing how close she had come to never seeing him again, and she audibly sucked in her breath.

 “Maybe it was a good thing I got shitfaced drunk after our quarters game”, she sighed, resuming her breathing as she sat up to look him straight into his eyes. “Had you not brought me down to your castle, who knows how it all would have ended?”

  “It must have been the Fates deciding on our destiny that night, Love.”

  “Tonight, would have been our last game”, Sarah suddenly realized, and an impish gleam started to appear in her eyes. “Wanna play?”

  “And what do you have in mind, my pet?” he replied with a deep entertained laugh.

  “I have lots of games in mind, but they all involve losing our clothes somehow.”

  “And why am I not surprised by this? My favourite kind, but we are already naked.”

 “We can always play it in reverse”, she grinned like the Cheshire cat, and he knew she had just come up with a little devious game of her own.

  “Do you know how to play poker?” she asked inquisitively.

  “I have played it before”, he remarked smugly.

  “How about we play strip poker in reverse. If you win a round, you can put one piece of clothing back on you and win one piece of mine. The first one to gain back all their clothes wins and gets a prize. Let’s see, we have each six pieces of clothes, perfect.”

  She bit her bottom lip and looked at him with anticipation. Jareth relished in her excitement. Oh, she would make a wonderful halfling fae and mate.

  “What does the overall winner get?” Jareth asked as he juggled a crystal ball on his fingers.

  Sarah put her finger on her lips as she ciphered over what prize would be suitable, and then, her eyes lit up.

  “How about the overall loser has to be the sex slave for the rest of the evening and has to do anything the winner asks.”

  Jareth eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

  “Anything?” he asked her with a predatory grin and nearly touched her nose with his as he moved in like a tiger for a kill.

  “Anything”, Sarah emphasized and licked her lips with a lecherous look in her eyes.

  “You do have a penchant and addiction for this slave thing of yours. Should I be worried, Love?”

  He cocked his head and gave her a smug smirk.

  “You know I intend to win this one”, he growled at her with already darkening eyes, imagining her performing all sorts of acts for him.

  “Don’t be so sure of yourself, Your Majesty”, she jested and tossed a pillow at his head before jumping out of bed and grabbing the deck of cards from her end table.

  Hopping back into bed, she started shuffling them rigorously.

  “Ok, straight game, no wild card in this one”, she declared and started dealing the cards. “Since all we are playing for is a piece of clothing with each round, we don’t have to up the stakes during the rounds. It’ll go quicker this way too.”

  “Sounds like you are in a hurry to lose, Love.”

  Jareth picked up his cards and smirked while Sarah stuck her tongue out at him. He didn’t tell her that he was unbeaten in playing poker for the past seventy-five years in a row. Then again, she never asked either.

  “What are you betting, Precious?” he asked wryly.

  “My panties”, she smirked and tossed them into the middle of the bed after sliding them tauntingly over his face.

  His nostrils flared with the scent of her pheromones and sex on them and emitted a deep growl. She only giggled.

  “How many do you want?” Jareth asked calmly.

  “Two, please” she requested and laid two cards down to replace with the two he gave her from the deck.

  She twisted her nose and looked intently at her hand, giving him a glance every once in a while.

  “None for me”, he added, and Sarah’s eyebrows twitched for only a split second.

  “Want to wager another piece of clothing or leave it at that?” he asked her amused, seeing the scrunched-up face.

  “Call it”, she exclaimed and laid her cards on the bed.

  “Oh, so bad, Precious, looks like your panties are mine now. A full house beats a pair of aces.”

  He picked them up and made it a point to sniff them intently in front of her as his eyes grew dark, and he purred like a cheetah. She only gave him a sneer and shrugged her shoulders.

  The next two rounds did not go any better for her as she lost both of her socks as well.

  “Why don’t you put your clothes back on? It’s supposed to be reverse strip poker”, she wondered, staring intensely at the hand she was holding.

  “What’s the point? I’ll just have to divest of them again”, he smirked back with amused eyes to which she only shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

  “Ha, gotcha”, she cried out with glee after the fourth round. “Hand me that boot over there.”

  “I believe you are cheating”, she accused him after the fifth round. “You have an ace up your sleeve somewhere.”

  She looked him up and down with suspicious eyes as she had to hand over her bra.

  “Precious, I am completely naked. How can I have an extra card up a non-existent sleeve?”

  He shook his head and elicited a haughty chuckle. Should he tell her that he could read her face like an open book? No, he liked to keep a few things to himself, and this was too much fun to spoil.

  “Face it, I’m better than you at poker.”

  Sarah only gave him a sneer and stuck her tongue out at him as she tossed him her bra. He snatched it up with glee and placed it on the pile of her other clothes behind him.

  “We’ll see about that”, she grumbled under her breath as he shuffled the cards meticulously before dealing them out.

  The sixth round didn’t treat her any better when Jareth beat her small straight with a royal flush. She handed him her jeans and ripped the deck out of his hands.

  “I’ll be dealing from now on”, she hissed and started shuffling so energetically that all the cards flew through the air.

  She quickly scrambled around the bed and collected them, stuffing them back into the set while Jareth laid on his back, holding his side due to stitches from his laughing fit.

  She dealt the hand and lost it badly. Her cards landed in Jareth’s face, and he gave her a scolding look as he victoriously waved her shirt over his head. She sat with a frowning face and inspected the rest of the cards before dumping all of them over his head.

  “Now don’t be a sore loser, Precious”, he grabbed her wrist before she could jump from the bed and hide in the bathroom. “I believe you belong to me for the rest of the night as my sex slave.”

  He conjured a crystal ball in his hand and juggled it perfectly while Sarah’s eyes grew wide.

  “What is that?” she asked with a hush of a whisper as her voice faltered.

  “A little something for my slave girl. SEX SLAVE girl“, he added while overly enunciating the sex slave part.

  He let go of the crystal, which hovered over Sarah for a second and then burst. Instantly, a small glowing blue collar with a thin chain was attached to her neck. A pair of handcuffs were in his right hand and his riding crop appeared in his left hand.

  Jareth’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull when he saw her with the collar and the chain, and he looked down with a look of incredulity at the other devices in his hands.

  “What the hell, Jareth?” she yelled and gave him a disapproving look. “I am not into kinky, you pervert.” 

  “No need for worry, Love, neither am I. I don’t spank, I don’t wank, I only bang”, he laughed out loud. “But this is certainly interesting. I did not conjure the collar or the chains, nor cuffs and crop, Precious; you did”, he declared with a lecherous grin as Sarah’s eyes grew big.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” she growled in a not amused way.

  “The crystal was a wish crystal to see what you were expecting and wanting to happen. I never quite expected this. My, my, what a little sex demon I have as a fiancé. This is so much better than I thought it would be. Oh, the fun we’ll have tonight.”

  “How could I have possibly done this?” she remonstrated vehemently. “I don’t have powers.”

  “Oh, but you do; don’t you remember?” he teased her with a lecherous smirk.

  Her face fell when the realization of his words washed over her countenance.

  “.... and he had given the girl certain powers”, she mumbled with horrified eyes. “You mean I have the powers of.... but I didn’t wish for this.”

  “Oh, didn’t you now? Well, I sure didn’t wish for chains and whips, even though I do must admit I like the way you.... wish.”

  He let out a loud licentious laugh as he jumped off the bed and slightly pulled on her chain.

  “Before we begin let’s eat. Doing a bunch of sex slave duties on an empty stomach is half as enjoyable, don’t you think? And you will need all your strength.”

  He walked into the kitchen, and Sarah had no choice but to tag along, still frowning over the props she supposedly conjured up in her mind.

  “It’s not fair”, she grumbled and earned herself another booming laugh from his majesty.

  “You are so entertaining, Precious. I never thought we would have that much fun tonight. Thank you for suggesting a game of strip poker.”

  “Jareth?” Sarah hissed at him, “how long have you been playing poker and how good are you really?”

  “For over three-hundred years, and I have not been beaten in a game for the past seventy-five years. I gave you one game tonight, so your spirits would not be completely crushed.”

  “You withheld information”, she growled irritated and gave him a death glare that should have left him as a pile of smouldering ashes.

  “Not illegal. You should have worded your question better. You only wanted to know if I know how to play, and yes, I do.”

  “Fae bastard”, was her only reply before she sat down at the table.

  “I’m not cooking your dinner”, she made perfectly clear as she crossed her arms in front of her breasts, which immediately drew the attention of Jareth as he removed them with a scolding look.

  “Quit covering up”, he bellyached before he continued to address her refusal to cook.

  “Good heavens no, I do not want you to waste time cooking. I shall conjure us a nice dinner, wine, and even some candles, and we’ll have more time to enjoy our little game.”

  With the wave of his hand a perfectly set dinner appeared with two glasses of Merlot and a candelabra in the centre of the table with five lit candles for ambience.

  Sarah rolled her eyes but couldn’t help to grin at the same time. She knew she would enjoy this. He would not do anything she didn’t want to, and maybe, this was actually her little fantasy he helped make come true. After all, he granted wishes, didn’t he?”

  “Ok, let the games begin”, she sighed and started eating.

Chapter Text

  Jareth lay blissfully spread out on his back and let his thoughts wander back to the previous night as he looked over at Sarah, who was still sound asleep. He pleasingly grinned to himself as he replayed the events in his mind.

  That his future wife had turned out to be such a little sex minx was quite a fortunate turn of events he had never expected but fully enjoyed.

  "Take me fully", he whispered as her bright eyes looked pleasingly up at him.

  She grinned and took him all the way in, sucking and licking her tongue along the entirety if his rock-hard shaft. She flicked her tip across his balls and her fingers found a pleasure spot below them as she kept applying gentle pressure to it.

  He moaned blissfully and tilted back his head but immediately let his eyes fall back upon the dark-haired beauty on her knees in front of him, swallowing his cock. The erotic sight of it was his undoing as he exploded into her mouth with a cry of sheer ecstasy escaping his throat while her name lingered on his lips.

  She didn't stop, however, and kept pumping him, sucking him, and swallowing his seed, causing him to pulsate again in a secondary orgasm he had never felt before.

  "By the gods, Sarah, what are you doing to me? How is this even possible?"

  Her tongue worked along his entire shaft as she cleaned him up and smiled at him with a certain sass in her eyes. He motioned her to stand and pressed his lips onto hers in a soulful kiss that exchanged their juices with each other.

  She tasted herself on his tongue, and he tasted his own seeds which only fuelled their fire. Unlike any other man she had ever been with, he tasted sweet, like the peaches he loved so much.

  Jareth chuckled at the memory and licked his lips as he felt himself becoming hard again at the mere recollection of those evocative images. A light moan emanated from Sarah as she turned herself over and rested her head in the crook of his neck with her arm wrapped across his chest. He held on to her hand with his and went back to those wonderful moments from last night.

  “What are you going to do with the riding crop?” she asked worriedly as he let the tip of it slide gently across her breasts and down her stomach towards her centre, which laid spread eagle in front of him. He had handcuffed her to the bed and opened her legs wide for his viewing pleasure. And what a great pleasure it gave him.

  “I won’t hurt you, Love. I told you; I am not into spanking and hurt. No sadism and machoism for us but sheer pleasure with a slight touch. A touch so light it will have you explode; just trust me.”

  He grinned wickedly as he moved the crop between her legs and let the tip play with her clit, drawing a moan of pleasure from her lips and a writhing of her hips.

  “Something you learned in your sex classes?” she asked with panted breath.

  “Hm, yes indeed. I never did try it on anyone though, and I am glad. It is something else entirely ours, Precious.”

  “Why hadn’t you done it before if you were taught about it?” she asked again, somewhat bewildered now why he hadn’t performed this act before in all his hundreds of years of existence.

  He was such a sexual and sensual being, and she was sure he would have done anything by now that was possible. But as before, when she had dominated him in bed and had given him a blowjob on the beach, some things she considered normal, he had not considered doing. Fae sexuality never surprised to amaze her.

  “I never cared enough to give someone such enormous pleasure. I was very selfish and didn’t bother taking the time then. With you, I want to do nothing more than give you pleasure, make you come over and over and watch you unravel beneath me. I want to take my time. I don’t care how long it takes or whether my bodily needs are met. It’s called love, my pet, and I relish in it.”

  The entire time he spoke to her, he let his riding crop move across her clit and inserted it gently into her soaking channel, sliding it back out and across her slick folds while Sarah cried out with each movement as the sensations flooded her entire body.

  “You are so wet, my pet”, he purred with an erotic drawl that was her undoing.

  “Why do you have to sound so damn sexy on top of everything?” she growled to his laughter.

  “I am fae, Love. I’m seducing you right now with nothing more than sounds and visions. No magic involved, except the entirety of my natural sensual being.”

  He flicked the tip of the riding crop against her clit again, and she writhed with the oncoming orgasm that catapulted her nearly off the bed. She thought she would have flipped off the mattress had she not been held down by the restraints on her wrists.

  He relentlessly teased her with the crop, not easing up during her orgasm, and wave upon wave coursed through her lower body. Finally, he withdrew and let her ride out her last pleasure surge without his stimulations.

  Sarah stirred again and sighed into his neck as her arm around his chest tightened and her hand began to explore the bare skin of his chest. He knew she soon would open her gorgeous sparkling eyes and toss that big genuine smile at him he loved so much. But for now, he went back to the redolent visions he cherished and would never forget. 

  They stood together under the pulsating shower head, letting the warm water splash down over their heads and bodies as he slowly and meticulously thrust himself into her from behind, one foot of hers resting on the raised shower seat and allowing him to have deeper access into her.

  She groaned with each of his thrusts while his hands held on tight to her hips. One hand worked itself down her front and his fingers played teasingly with her swollen clit.

  He began to increase his thrusts as the euphoric sensations took over and were building like a tidal breaker inside his body. He felt it approaching, consuming him and her with an ever-increasing velocity and ferocity.

  He kissed the middle of her back between her shoulder blades, and his hand moved from her hips to her breast, cupping it and tweaking her nipple. She gave out a hiss at the touch of his fingers and pushed her bottom further into his thrusts.

  He thrust upwards as he bent his knees and rocked his hips forward, exploding inside of her as he felt her climaxing with her tightening inner muscles.

  How long he stayed in her, he couldn’t tell, as he became lost in time and space. Slowly, the sound and feel of the rushing water brought them both back to reality, and he languidly removed himself from her.

  He turned off the water and grabbed a towel to dry her off gently while placing kisses along her shoulder and neck. She reciprocated the gesture with a towel of her own.

  As soon as they had returned to their bed, they had snuggled up in the spooning position and were asleep within minutes, exhausted from their extensive game of sex slave.

  “Hey, you.”

  Her sparkling green eyes were boring into his, and a big, sated smile fell across her face. Jareth placed a kiss on the tip of her nose and returned her cheerful expression.

  “Good morning, Precious. How are you feeling?”

  “I don’t know yet. Sore, I think”, she sighed, followed by an embarrassed giggle as she, too, thought about the previous night’s events.

  “I would say that is to be expected”, Jareth chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

  “I can’t belief we did that much sexual activity last night. I think I will need a break today”, she moaned as Jareth let go of a rumbling laugh, which vibrated through his entire chest, making her feel tingly all over.

  “That might not be a bad idea. Even I probably could stand a small respite.”

  He kissed her quickly on her forehead and rolled himself out of bed with a big deep sigh after looking at the clock on her nightstand.

  “What’s the problem?” Sarah asked, propping herself up on her elbow and resting her head in the palm of her hand.

  “We’ll have to return to the castle within the hour. I am sure my father and mother will have already arrived in the formal throne room, and it won’t be a happy occasion this time.

  “Your parents are coming?” Sarah exclaimed shocked and grimaced her face with disgruntlement, extracting herself from under the covers and trotting into the bathroom for her ablutions.

  “They are not coming, Love, they are already there. I felt the summons earlier this morning”, Jareth replied with slight irritation in his tone as he stepped out of the bathroom door he had not bothered to close.

  “How comfortable we are already around each other. Like a long time, married couple, and it’s only been two weeks”, her mind told her as she stumbled through the open door, not bothering herself of shutting it.

  “What do they want?” Sarah mumbled with a mouthful of toothpaste.

  “Talk about Jeremiah and what happened in the fairy ring. It’s quite serious business, and it won’t be pleasant.”

  He had a look of disdain on his face while marching into the kitchen and grabbing a skillet and plate when he reached the stove. He took out several eggs from the refrigerator, poured the rancid milk down the drain and conjured a fresh bottle, as well as freshly baked bread.

  “You’re cooking breakfast?” Sarah asked astounded as she watched him from the doorframe while drying her hair with a towel. “I thought we are in a hurry.”

  “Working with my hands relaxes and destresses me. Let me fix us breakfast first, we are not in that much of a hurry. They won’t be happy having to wait, but it won’t be the end of my kingdom either.”

  He gave her a warm smile, which Sarah returned to him with all her heart as she went back into the bedroom to get dressed in a pair of jeans and a skimpy skin-clinging tank top, skipping a bra completely.

  Jareth quirked a critical eyebrow as she came strolling into the kitchen and tore of a small piece of the conjured hot, fresh bread. He slapped her hand with a scolding look.

  “As much as I appreciate what you are wearing, Love, but you cannot meet my parents in that getup.”

  His eyes raked lustfully over her body, lingering on her hard nipples beneath the thin fabric of her tight little top. Sarah only rolled her eyes at him and then smiled cheekily.

  “You can change me before we leave, since you tore my other dress to shreds last night. How soon we forget.”

  Jareth tossed her a lecherous grin and returned to flipping the omelettes and turning the sausage patties that were sizzling invitingly in a separate skillet.

  “That was fun though,” he murmured with a chuckle, and Sarah slapped him on his butt cheek.

  “Perv”, she grinned and sat down at the table to watch this ineffable beauty of a fae king cooking her breakfast in his overly tight britches that left little to the imagination, and his light blue poet’s shirt, of which he had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and was only buttoned halfway up his front, exposing most of his glistening chest and the enigmatic amulet he wore underneath.

  She heaved a sigh of total content. He looked very intense as he worked at the stove and sliced the bread to place on a separate tray. His mismatched, mesmerizing eyes focused like lasers on his task at hand.

  “Damn, I’m so lucky. A sex god is fixing me breakfast”, her libido chimed in for the first time in a while.

  “A sex god, who is also a king with his own magical kingdom”, her mind added pedantically.

  Ever since the Goblin King fulfilled all her sexual desires and wishes, she had silenced her libido as it lay in a wonderful endorphin induced coma. She really hoped it would stay that way.

  “If you would set the table, Love, we are about to eat”, Jareth declared as he removed the sausage patties from the skillet and placed one omelette on each plate.

  Sarah abode by his wishes, and in no time they both sat sated around the table, consuming the wonderful breakfast he had prepared for them.

  “Remember that first time you lost a game, and I had you wash my dishes, and how you complained about how unworthy this was of a king”, Sarah laughed out as she took a bite of her omelette.

  “It seems so long ago already”, he replied with a smirk. “And even century old kings can change their attitudes as long as there is a beautiful maiden involved, who could be persuaded to do naughty stuff with said king if he obeys her wishes”, he added with a wink.

  “Always a motive behind your actions, isn’t there?” Sarah replied amused.

  “How else would it be fun?” he retorted with mirth, enjoying their little bantering back and forth.

  They had come a long way in such a short time, and Jareth couldn’t wait to see how their relationship would blossom once they were married and bonded. He had so much to show her still, but they would have all of eternity for it then.

  The Labyrinth had already vastly improved since her return, as new flower meadows and forests had begun to sprout, and the citizens of Goblin City greatly adored her. It would take no time to have the rest of his kingdom fall in love with her as well.

  “This is soooo good”, Sarah moaned with closed eyes as she took a bite of the freshly baked bread with butter and peach jam. “If this king thing doesn’t work out, you should become a chef at a fancy restaurant”, she smirked, taking another bite of her slice.

  “I think the king thing is working out quite splendid, my dear, but I will file your suggestion in the back of my head just in case.”

  He poured them the rest of the coffee while he cleaned off the table and placed the dirty dishes in the sink, running hot water over them. Sarah stood up and helped him dry while he washed, taking a sip of coffee in between each plate.

  After they had cleaned the kitchen, they gave her place a detailed look over before his eyes came to rest on her sparsely covered breasts again.

  “Hm, I adore this view, but we really have to get going. Such a pity.”

  With one wave of his hand, her revealing tank top and tight jeans had been replaced by an elegant, light-blue sleeveless gown made of silk with a plunging lacy neckline and a pair of matching comfortable slippers.

  Tiny delicate gold threads weaved a strange pattern throughout the dress. Sarah looked down on herself and took in the gown. It was very formfitting and felt lightweight and comfortable.

  “You forgot my panties”, she complained in a whisper, and he gave her an impish grin.

  “I did not forget anything”, he whispered back with a sly smirk, and before she knew it, they were standing inside the formal throne room of his castle.

  “Father, Mother”, he spoke and rushed over to his parents, who were already waiting on him, sitting on chairs next to his throne with impatient faces.

  “Is this a way to treat a high king and queen, Son?” his father bellowed with obvious irritation.

  “I apologize, Father, but we spent the night Aboveground at Sarah’s apartment. She had to get some distance between.... the situation with my brother”, he replied as his eyes found Jeremiah languidly leaning against the stonewall by the window with crossed arms and a defiant smirk on his face.

  Jareth’s eyes narrowed and grew a shade darker but soon resumed their bright coloration when he looked at his mother and placed a gentle kiss upon her knuckles.

  “I had hoped to see you under different circumstances next time we meet, but we do have good news as well.”

  He stepped back and nodded towards his father, who still looked at him with a disapproving stern look.

  “My lovely dear, how are you?” Queen Alia cooed as she saw Sarah approaching in her blue dress.

  Her face glowed with joy as a barely recognizable cryptic smirk appeared around her lips. She had noticed the colour and design, and so had King Olaf, whose eyes, equally, shot open.

  Light-blue with golden delicate threads, the dress of engagement. Sarah performed a perfect curtsy in front of the royal couple and lowered her eyes to the ground.

  “Stand up, young lady. A curtsy in front of family in a private setting is nonsense”, Olaf chuckled and motioned her to rise.

  “I’m quite well, thank you”, Sarah replied to answer the queen’s question and situated herself into the seat next to her.

  She so wanted to disappear into the background, as she knew this would not be a joyous meeting. Jareth was liable to punch his brother out again and reinjure his hand. She truly hoped it would not come to that.

  If she was honest with herself, she wanted to kick Jeremiah in his nuts as hard as she could herself. Maybe the high queen would allow it if she asked her nice enough. The thought of it made her chuckle silently into her hand. 

  “Well, let’s not waste any time. I have received the report about Jeremiah taking the young lady into the fairy ring against her will to seduce her.”

  King Olaf tossed a harsh look with cold eyes at his oldest son, who only shrugged his shoulders as if he was bored to be there.

  “He did not just take her into the ring, he used a powerful magic seduction spell on her, Father”, Jareth interjected vehemently with a tone of disdain in his voice before Jeremiah had a chance to say anything.

  “And it didn’t work on her?” King Olaf asked astonished and bewildered.

  “No, she fought him off until I got there and took care of him”, Jareth spat out, and his eyes grew black when his gaze fell upon his brother, who still looked as if he could not care less about the entire affair.

  “Is this true, Son?” Olaf bellowed at Jeremiah, who only now released himself from the wall he had been leaning against and sauntered lazily towards the rest of the assembled family.

  “Lady Sarah is a remarkable mortal woman. It is true that I wove a love spell around her to seduce her in the fairy ring, but I was not going to act on it. I only wanted to see if she would fall for it and then release her. It did not work, no matter how strong I made it.”

  He looked at Jareth with sincere eyes and a slight smirk curled around his lips.

  “She is truly yours, Brother. You already have her soul and her heart. It is the only explanation for her immunity against my seduction. You have my word that I shall no longer interfere.”

  Jareth listened quietly to his brother, and yet his eyes were still dark, and his nostrils flared as he clenched his jaw to keep from spitting out words he may regret later. King Olaf rubbed his chin upon his son’s declaration of guilt.

  “I told you not to send him”, Queen Alia huffed with discontent and threw a dirty look at her husband, who scoffed at her with irritation.

  “You know it is expected, but I also thought my oldest son would have more brain in his head and less hormones in his pants.”

  “Really, Father? You really expected him not to take full advantage of the situation? He is one walking and raging male sex hormone factory, even for fae standards”, Jareth spat angrily and turned towards King Olaf.

  “His record is full of conquests of innocent mortal females he has seduced over the centuries, and not even mentioning the fae women he laid waste to.”

  Jareth turned away disgusted and gave his brother a dismissive hand gesture.

  “That’s only because you turned them away, Brother,” Jeremiah replied with a haughty smirk. “Instead of having fun with the pleasure of the flesh, you decided to pine over a mortal woman, who you didn’t even know was ever coming back to you. How pathetic is that?”

  “At least I had someone to pine over. You with your debauchery and depravity will never lay claim to a woman to have as your own, as a true mate.”

  Jareth’s words were hateful as they hit their target, but he was furious now and no longer cared how deep they cut.

  “Oh, like you are going to be satisfied with only her for the rest of your existence. You will grow tired and bored of her, and then what? You won’t even be able to fuck another one because you gave her your heart”, Jeremiah spat back equally enraged.

  “I will never tire of Sarah. How dare of you to speak ill like that of my intended. She is worth more than all those whores you have been sleeping with. You disgust me, Brother. Grow up already.”

  Jeremiah balled his hands into fists at Jareth’s stinging words. He knew his younger brother didn’t approve of his hedonistic lifestyle, and Jeremiah would never admit that the reason for this was his own fears of never finding the one woman, who would truly love him.

  He figured if he would deny himself the desires and feelings of love, it would be easier than being rejected by a possible mate.

  Jeremiah stepped forward and growled menacingly at Jareth, who made an attempt to grab Jeremiah by the throat and pulled his fist back to land a punch on his jaw when King Olaf stepped in between the two squabbling siblings.

  “STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU.”

  His booming voice echoed in the large chamber and shook the castle’s walls. The goblins, sleeping in the small throne room where goblin court was usually being held, only lifted their heads briefly at the sound and then resumed their morning nap after the long party they had held the night before with their king being gone.

  Olaf separated his two sons, who threw daggers at each other with their eyes.

  “Sarah is mine, and he tried to defile her. Let me kill him”, Jareth growled under his breath and tried to lunge at him again.

  “She is fair game. She is not marked nor officially betrothed to you, Brother“, Jeremiah retorted and equally tried to lunge at Jareth’s throat.

  “That means you are a rival, and I have every right under the law to kill you to protect what is mine”, Jareth spat back in rage.

  “ENOUGH”, came the thundering voice of Queen Alia, who now stood like a goblin vulgar over her two sons and husband.

  All three turned at her with stunned faces and open mouths. It was not often that the soft-spoken high queen raised her voice to such a level. Her eyes were narrowed to dangerous slits, and she bared her teeth at them as a low growl emanated from deep within her heaving chest.

  Even Sarah was taken aback by her aggressive stance and sunk herself deeper into her chair in an attempt for self-effacing. After all, she figured this entire scenario was because of her, and she wanted to disappear at this very moment and dissolve into nothingness.

  “You, Jeremiah, you are a disgrace to the royal family with your depraving and debauching lifestyle. You can be glad that we are keeping this in the family and don’t drag you to the High Court, which would likely banish you for what you have done. Jareth is correct, grow up and find yourself a permanent mate. Settle down and have heirs. You are the future high king for Danu’s sakes.”

  Jeremiah cowered at her stinging words, and an ashamed look washed over his face. She trained her raging eyes at her oldest son and stepped down from the platform towards them. Her gaze shifted and rested heavy on Jareth.

  “And you, Jareth, enough of this possessive ‘she’s mine’ crap. Sarah is her own person. She does not belong to you nor anyone. If she has given her soul and heart to you then she did it because she wanted to, not because you see her as your property.”

  “But Mother, she is mine. She....”

  Queen Alia raised her hand and cut him off with a stern look.

  “I do not blame you for defending her when she was in need, but quit growling at every male that looks at her. She is a beautiful woman, and males will look at her whether you like it or not. Trust in her. If you are afraid that one look or one sweet word will sway her from you, then you have already failed.”

  As both brothers now hung their heads and slumped over in their body stance, Queen Alia approached her husband and stopped right in front of him, locking her determined gaze into his eyes with a harshness he had not seen before in all of their eight-hundred years of marriage.

  “And you”, she hissed. “I had expected more sense out of you. To send your own son to do your dirty work and possibly ruin the only thing that allows Jareth to function normally and restore his kingdom. You should be ashamed of yourself. Leave them alone. They are made for each other, and the Fates have chosen for them to be together. I knew this fifteen years ago, and you stubborn and obtuse ass has not realized it even now.”

  She let out an angry blow through her nose and turned back towards the throne after tossing her head into the air.

  “Now if you all excuse me, Lady Sarah and I will go and have a nice talk in the Queen’s Garden. You can find us there after you have decided to end this display of male ignorance and stupidness and have regained your senses. Come on, Sarah dear.”

  Queen Alia took a stunned Sarah by the arm and escorted her out of the throne room and down the hallway into the Queen’s Garden for a nice tete a tete with tea and pastries. All three males’ eyes followed the women out of the room and stared in shocked silence.

  “Well, I guess that does it”, King Olaf grunted discomfited, not knowing for the first time in his marriage how to reply to any of it. “Jeremiah, I want you to apologize to Jareth about the fairy ring and promise him never to interfere again.”

  He looked sternly at his oldest son, who heaved a big sigh.

  “I was wrong, Brother. Sarah is a wonderful woman and deserves someone like you. I should have never attempted to seduce her, and I am terribly sorry for it.”

  Jareth looked at his brother for a moment and then nodded with a perfunctory smile.

  “I accept your apology, Brother.”

  “If it makes you feel better”, Jeremiah continued with a sly grin. “I am quite interested in that princess you have currently residing in your castle. Céline and I hit it off quite well yesterday afternoon, and after we finally got rid of her annoying brother, we decided to give this courting thing a try.”

  Both King Olaf and Jareth stared at him with open mouths and utter disbelief on their faces.

  “Are you sure about her, Son?” King Olaf asked sceptically. He did not have an extremely high opinion of Princess Céline. “She had a few dalliances with your brother, and she has not been behaving very ladylike as of late.”

  Jeremiah rolled his eyes and let out a huff of discontent.

  “It doesn’t bother me what happened between her and Jareth over a hundred years ago, and I think she could be easily trained to be more....compliant”, Jeremiah smirked in his own cryptic way, causing a knowing chuckle from Jareth.

  “If you give me your blessing, Father, I would like to court the Princess Céline of the Wood Elf Kingdom and make it official.”

  Jeremiah spoke quietly and without any of his haughtiness that usually infiltrated his speech. Olaf gave his oldest son a sudden bear hug and patted him on his shoulder with a loud laugh.

  He was only glad that his oldest was finally interested in something more than a mere fling or overnight tryst, even if it was this unbearable Princess Céline. At this point, he chose not to be picky.

  “Of course, you have my blessings, and I am sure your mother will be elated when she finds out.”

  Jareth, too, gave his brother a hug with a relieved expression on his face.

  “Congratulations, Jeremiah. You didn’t have to go and court her just to get her to leave me alone though”, Jareth smirked with his flippant remark as Jeremiah laughed with mirth.

  “Sorry, Brother, but I did not do this for you, be assured of that.”

  “What do you all say we go down to the cellar and have us a couple of those famous goblin ales?” King Olaf suggested while smacking his lips in anticipation, and with an enthusiastic nod from Jareth, they made their way down to the ale cellar to drown some of their disagreements with a mug or two.

**************************************************

  After they had a nice tea with pastries and small talk, Queen Alia took Sarah to some hidden places within the Queen’s Garden she hadn’t even known existed. She was astonished at the wondrous unfamiliar plants that bloomed and the intriguing and intoxicating fragrance that hung in the air.

  Her eyes found the bush with the crystal lavender roses, and her mouth gaped open as she took in the ineffable beauty of the plant.

  “So, that’s where he got that beautiful rose from”, she thought to herself and couldn’t help but to feel full of love for him.

  “He finally asked you, didn’t he?” Queen Alia asked softly while Sarah was in awe over a bright red flower that sang a wonderful little tune to her.

  “I’m sorry, what?” Sarah asked, being jolted out of her entrancement by the euphonious flower.

  Queen Alia only chuckled lightly and crouched down to Sarah’s level, who was still bent over the little red flowers.

  “The heart flower. It sings when it feels someone with a true and honest heart that is full of love nearby. In this case that would be you.”

  Queen Alia stood back up, and Sarah followed her lead, smiling down at the little red flower, which had concluded her canorous song.

  “He finally asked you, didn’t he?” she repeated her question and looked deeply into Sarah’s eyes.

  “How did you know?” she asked perplexed with a slight blush on her cheeks.

  “It is the dress you are wearing. Did he asked you to wear this today?”

  Queen Alia smiled in a very cryptic manner.

  “He kind of conjured it on me, since I didn’t have a suitable dress with me at my apartment”, Sarah answered slightly unsure of herself, not wanting to divulge any of the details that led to her lack of a suitable dress.

  “I see. This dress represents an engagement, a promise of marriage. He is claiming you officially, Sarah. I wonder if the incident with his brother and the arrival of Prince Rowan had anything to do with his hastiness. He was supposed to wait for three months, but as usual, he took matters into his own hands.”

  Queen Alia winked and beamed a big smile at Sarah, ensconcing her in her arms before Sarah could react to it.

  “Welcome to the family, my dear precious Sarah. We have waited long enough for you.”

  Sarah bit her bottom lip and felt a joyous skip in her heartbeat. It meant a lot to her that her future mother-in-law approved of her. It would definitely make things easier in the future to be on good terms with her powerful in-laws.

  “Come, let’s find the boys. They’ve been gone for nearly three hours, and I have a good inkling on where they may be”, Queen Alia laughed out and had Sarah follow her out of the garden and into the beer cellar.

**************************************************

  “He drank all his fill, and he drank up to his gills.

  And he fell down the cellar steps right into a dungeon.

  He looked all abreast, and then he held his drunken breath

  For goblins were bludgeoning his drunk little fae ass to death.

  Oh, goblin ale you devil drink, don’t dare, and come after me.

  I drink all my fill, right up to my gills.

  But I won’t fall down the cellar steps myself.

  I drink....”

  When Alia and Sarah arrived at the ale cellar, they heard the rambunctious off pitch and wrong key singing of the three fae males as they sat precariously on wooden stools with filled goblin ale mugs, toasting each other.

  Jareth stood up and took the lead in the song with his beautiful, mellifluous voice, before his brother and father joined him with their not so beautiful nor harmonic cacophonous backup vocals for the chorus.

  Jareth was slightly swaying as he held his mug in the air and said something unintelligible neither one of the women understood as they drew near.

  “I leave my men alone for a few hours and you are all drunk on goblin ale. Whose moronic idea was that now?” Queen Alia scolded but wore an entertained grin on her lips.

  “Fahscher”, the two younger fae slurred in unison and pointed their fingers at their father, who sat with a stupid grin on his stool, beer dripping down his chin.

  “Hello Darling”, he croaked and looked straight at Alia. “We are shelebraitin.”

  He toasted his sons and lifted his mug to his mouth before he took a big quaff. Jareth nearly toppled over after his last gulp, and he looked happily at Sarah, who tried her best not to laugh out loud.

  “Preschousch”, he called out with a grinning face and swung his nearly full mug through the air, spilling half of its content onto the stone floor and the other half over his brother’s britches, who gave him a cross-eyed look of disapproval.

  “And what is it you are celebrating?” Queen Alia asked with an amused voice.

  “Ma schons are gettin’ hisched”, Olaf stated flatly without getting into any more detail.

  “Hisched?” Sarah asked with a giggle.

  “Hitched”, Alia answered dryly.

  “Tschared is getting married. He’sch engasched to that putiful woman, whatsch her name again, Tschared?”

  Jeremiah tried his best to come up with Sarah’s name but could not for the likes of him remember it as he sat brooding over it.

  “You know that, oh look, there dar she isch, datsch her, Tschared”, he said excitedly and pointed at Sarah, who now started to chuckle behind her hand, as she no longer could restrain herself, seeing the three fae completely sloshed in front of her.

  She’s never seen an inebriated fae, and she had wondered if it was even possible, but the three-time proof stood, or rather swayed, proudly in front of her.

  “Scharah”, Jareth answered his brother’s question and ended his dilemma of not remembering the name.

  Jareth stumbled over to her and flung his arm around her waist as he pulled her in tightly and placed a wet beer kiss onto her lips. It tasted like sweet goblin ale, and Sarah had to help Jareth back onto his stool as he started to stagger when he pulled back from her.

  “Easy there, Your Majesty”, she jested and helped him to sit down.

  “I luv you, Preschousch”, Jareth cooed and looked at her with glazed over mismatched eyes and a silly grin.

  “I love you too, Jareth”, she giggled back and looked at Alia, who seemed thoroughly entertained by the entire display.

  “So, Jareth and Sarah are getting married, is that what you are celebrating?” she inquired and sat herself down on an empty stool, grabbing a mug herself and filling it to the brim straight from the barrel in the middle of the stool circle.

  “Dat, and Tscheremiah is coursching,” Olaf replied.

  “Coursching?” Sarah asked amused, looking at Alia again for help with the drunken translation.

  “Courting”, Alia translated with a smirk. “When you are married as long as I have, you will understand anything he says, no matter how drunk he is. You will get the hang of it, Dear; just give it a few years.”

  Alia patted her arm and took a swallow of her beer.

  “Scharah, schit on my lap” Jareth called to her, and Sarah gave him a big-eyed look.

  “Do what now on your lap?” she asked, hoping she had heard wrong.

  “Schit....”

  “He means sit, sit on his lap”, Alia interjected nonchalantly, and rolled her eyes as she guzzled down her goblin ale like a sailor in a bar. “This is going to be a long night”, she mumbled under her breath and went for a refill.

  “Scharah, schit on my lap. Don’t defy me wom....wom....an”, Jareth demanded now with a slurred stutter.

  “Here, have an ale, you’ll need it.”

  Alia offered her a full mug as Sarah walked over to where Jareth was sitting and gingerly sat down on his lap. She gladly took the mug, and immediately, Jareth toasted her with his while he wrapped his arm tightly around her waist with a big, chuffed grin.

  Sarah chortled with merriment and took a big sip. It tasted overly sweet and not anything like the regular beer she was used to.

  “Be careful with it. It has a real kick to it, and you are not used to the amount of alcohol. It is made by goblins. Potent stuff”, Alia warned Sarah with a jovial smirk.

  Sarah remembered the fae wine Jareth had brought to her apartment and how she had discarded his warnings. She would heed Alia’s for sure. One of them had to stay sober to make it back to their chambers.

  “I’m going to get Scheline”, Jeremiah declared suddenly and poofed himself out of the cellar, only to return with a stunned Céline on his lap a few seconds later.

  “What the....are you having a party?” she asked confused and then a smile crossed her face. “Well, hand me some of that”, she giggled, and Olaf handed her a full mug, since he was in the process of refilling his own.

  “It’sch a bedrodal party for Tschared and Scharah”, Jeremiah informed her with all his inebriated wisdom.

  “A what?” she asked confused.

  “A betrothal party for Jareth and Sarah.”

  Queen Alia performed her translation duties with marvellous perfection.

  “Letsch sching”, Jareth suggested and started up another shanty about a goblin, who professed his love to a dwarf and was eaten by a dragon.

  Apparently, it was a well-known drinking song, since everyone was soon schunkeling and swaying to the ditty and sang the chorus as loud as they could, including Queen Alia, who started to loosen up a bit herself now.

  “Where’sch dat broscher of yoursch?” Jeremiah asked Céline, and she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

  “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be here any minute now, looking for me.”

  Sarah let out a chortle and looked at Céline, who gave her a quizzical look at first but then began to laugh herself.

  “He won’t leave us alone for two minutes. So annoying”, Céline explained, and Sarah nodded in understanding.

  “You need to find a hiding place”, she suggested as she took another sip of her ale, already feeling a buzz coming on.

  “Whoa girl, take it easy, this stuff is strong. The entire room is spinning.”

  “No matter where we go, he’ll track us down like a bloody goblin scout” she whined and heaved a deep chagrined sigh.

  “You can stay at my place for a couple of days if you want to. I bet he won’t find you there”, Sarah offered, and Céline looked at her astonished with wide eyes.

  “Are you serious? We really could?” she exclaimed and jumped up, ran to Sarah, and gave her a huge hug, nearly knocking her off Jareth’s lap, who gave them only a puzzled look, not having followed their exchange.

  “No making out on the king’sch lap. Scharah is mine”, he growled but didn’t sound very intimidating in his sloshed condition.

  “Let me know when you want to go, and I am sure if I tell Jareth, he will send you to the right place.”

  “Oh Sarah, you are wonderful. I am so sorry I was such a bitch to you and Jareth. I don’t know what came over me.”

  “It’s ok Céline, we’re good”, Sarah assured her, and they toasted their mugs with a cheerful giggle.

  “I misjudged you Sarah”, Céline admitted with a guilty smirk after taking a generous gulp of her goblin ale. “I had planned on using some little spells and potions to win Jareth back, but seeing you being so sincere, and now having Jeremiah, I want to let you know I won’t try and steal him from you. You can have him.”

  Sarah gave Céline a dumbfounded look. Had she just admitted she had planned to bewitch Jareth and use potions on him to take him away from her? And now she allowed her to keep him? How preposterous. What the hell was wrong with fae and their courting rituals?

  “You had to open your stupid drunken mouth and offer her your apartment to hide out at. Have you lost your god damned mind? Are you for freaking real?” both her mind and libido yelled at her with full force.

  She groaned internally and drowned her response with a huge quaff of her own. Now there was no comeback to that statement, and she was not even going to attempt it. Jareth’s little wet kisses against her neck took all her attention away from Céline as she had to giggle over his drunken ministrations.

  “Where the hell did you go?” came the sudden disgruntled voice from the doorway, and Céline and Sarah both snapped their heads to see Prince Rowan in a bedraggled state leaning against the doorframe, trying to catch his breath.

  “Damn, he found us already”, Céline groaned, rolling her eyes in agony.

  “Wanna go now?” Sarah asked quietly, and Céline nodded eagerly.

  “Jareth, could you send Céline and Jeremiah to my apartment, so they can hide from Rowan?” Sarah whispered to him with a slight grimace.

  She felt herself in agony over having to comply with her ‘generous offer’ she now sorely regretted but was too late to rescind. Jareth inclined as his eyes wandered between Céline, Jeremiah, and Sarah and regarded them with a contemplative look and a devious smirk.

  “Why not”, he shrugged with a devilish laugh, conjuring a crystal in his hand.

  As soon as Céline took hold of Jeremiah’s arm, who had no clue about what was going to happen, the two of them disappeared and left behind a wispy cloud of glitter in mid-air, slowly descending onto the ale covered stone floor.

  Prince Rowan was not amused to see Céline disappear with Jeremiah and glared at Jareth with daggers in his eyes.

  “I demand to know where you sent my sister with that, with that....”

  His words seemed to fail him to accurately describe Jeremiah.

  “Schcoundrel?” Jareth suggested to help him out. “Letsch schust schay they are schomewhere you can’t finds tschem.”

  Jareth had slurred the words together and returned his attention to the lovely woman sitting on his lap with her arms around his neck. Prince Rowan let out an aggravated growl and balled his hands into fists as his face took on a rather pinkish colour.

  “Bring her back this instant”, he demanded, but Jareth completely ignored him as he pressed his lips against Sarah’s and had long forgotten the world around him.

  Prince Rowan huffed with disdain and excited the cellar as fast as he had entered it, resuming his search for his impressionable sister and that scoundrel Jeremiah.

**************************************************

  “Where are we? It’sch sho dark”, Jeremiah asked and held on to Céline to keep from falling over.

  “Sarah’s apartment. Let me turn on some lights”, she replied and waved her hand, only to find her magic was gone.

  “What happened to my magic?”

  She gave Jeremiah a puzzled look, but he was too drunk to even care, as he sunk himself down to the floor from where he stood and leaned himself back against the wall.

  Céline crouched down to shake him on his shoulders when she noticed the floor was covered with straw.

  “Straw? On Sarah’s apartment floor?”

  She felt her way around as a feeling of dread washed over her, and she stumbled upon a small table with a lamp on it. She struck a match from the box that laid next to the lamp and lit the oil inside.

  As she turned the knob to brighten the flame, she hitched her breath and placed her hand in front of her mouth before she let out a blood curdling scream.

  “You son of a troll bitch. I’m going to get you for this. Do you hear me? JARETH.”

  “Whatsch da matter, Darling?” Jeremiah asked with a hazy look on his face.

  “We’re in a damn oubliette. That bastard sent us to a damn oubliette”, she yelled and screamed his name again, but nobody besides Jeremiah heard her, and after a few minutes, he, too, had fallen asleep.

**************************************************

  Sarah woke up first and lifted her head off the pillow, squinting her eyes with the bright light filtering through the window. A dull headache worked its way from the back of her head to the front, and she elicited a quiet groan as she pulled back the blankets and rolled out of bed to wander into the bathroom.

  Fifteen minutes later, she reappeared, feeling slightly better after her morning ablutions. She looked at the naked male form on the bed, blankets kicked down to his calves, and laying on his stomach with one arm hanging off the side of the mattress.

  She smiled to herself and sat down beside him at the edge of the bed, taking in all of his perfectly shaped body: his strong arms, his well-defined shoulders, and his perfectly shaped glutes, which she traced lightly with her fingers along the curve of his butt cheeks.

  “Adonis”, she murmured and smiled before leaning down and placing a gentle kiss upon his temple.

  Jareth stirred lightly and grunted something she couldn’t understand, refusing to open his eyes.

  “Wake up, Sleepyhead”, she jested and flicked her tongue along his ear, which jolted him immediately awake with a feral growl.

  “If you do that to me, you better be prepared for the consequences, you wench”, he hissed and looked at her with lust in his darkened eyes.

  Sarah quirked her eyebrows and gave out a mocking laughter.

  “You look very predatory this morning, Your Majesty”, she taunted him and slapped him on his naked butt.

  Jareth spun around faster than her eyes could follow and pinned her down beneath him.

  “How did you do that?” she asked with a gaping mouth.

  “Magic, Precious”, he replied and pressed his lips onto hers, demanding entrance with his tongue as he pushed his hips into hers. “Do not ever poke a bear with a stick unless you are ready to die”, he added with a salacious smirk and again thrust his hips against hers.

  She could feel him becoming hard when he suddenly withdrew and let her go, a painful grimace on his now paled face.

  “What the bloody hell”, he gasped and held his fingers to his temples.

  Sarah quickly took the opportunity to escape from under him and hurried into the bathroom to return with a glass of water and a pill.

  “Here take this. You have a major hangover, Mr. Party King.”

  He looked at her smug face and took the offerings with a low growl.

  “I don’t think there will be any poking with any stick this morning”, she grinned amused and turned from him as he looked down his body and noticed himself back to a flaccid state.

  “Damn goblin ale”, he whined and staggered into the bathroom with a chagrined face.

  Sarah stood inspecting her wardrobe, contemplating on what to wear for the day by the mirror when Jareth stepped behind her, still au naturel, wrapping his arms around her waist.

  “Are you sure about the no-poking thing this morning?” he asked with hope in his eyes when he looked at her through the reflection in the mirror.

  “Quite so. We have to go to the High Court this morning”, she stated matter-of-factly with a sigh and decided on a similar dress from the day before.

  “What?” Jareth yelled out and let go of her. “When did that happen?” he asked disgruntled.

  “Last night. When you, in your infinite wasted wisdom, sent off a crystal ball to the High Court, requesting an official declaration of engagement for this very morning. Looks like someone was in a hurry.”

  She turned around with a sassy grin and patted his arm as she walked over to her bed and began to dress herself. She relished in his misery. Maybe that would cure him from throwing another impromptu goblin ale party in the cellar with his father and brother.

  “Better hurry, we have about one hour”, she added with a smirk.

  “Damn it”, he groaned and chose his official Goblin King attire for civil matters, which consisted of a light-blue, glitter adorned jacket, matching her dress, and a pair of overly tight, tan leggings, a white frilly poet’s shirt, and dark-brown boots.

  Sarah gave him a critical look over and nodded her head in approval.

  “Someone looks mighty dashing today”, she laughed and gave him a chaste kiss.

  Jareth returned a haughty smirk of his own.

  “How did we get back last night if I cannot remember sending off the crystal?” he wondered more to himself than stating a question.

  “I called Trouble and Juggle, and they managed to get your kingly butt into bed. I took care of your clothes. Wouldn’t want a goblin to see the precious crown jewels”, she grinned and then laughed out loud at his shocked face.

  “They assured me it wasn’t the first time they dragged you back to your chambers in such a dismal state”, she added.

  “No, it surely wasn’t”, he replied with a sigh, remembering the many times he had drowned his sorrows after losing Sarah the first time around.

  He pulled her gently into him.

  “But at least this time, it was for a wonderful reason, Love. We are getting married”, he whispered excited and took hold of her lips in a deep passionate kiss.

  “We are”, she moaned back blissfully and leaned her head against his chest.

  “Let’s go and get this over with, and then we can have a nice breakfast at a wonderful restaurant close to the High Court in Pristine City.”

  “What about your parents?” she asked and removed herself from his embrace.

  “They can meet us there, and....”he stopped in mid-sentence with a startled face as if he had forgotten something important.

  A sheepish grin worked itself around his lips when he pulled out a crystal ball and gazed into it.

  “I completely forgot about Jeremiah and Céline”, he stated and spun the crystal on his fingers.

  “You sent them to my apartment last night. I can’t believe I offered them our safe haven for their own retreat. I seriously need to lay off the goblin ale myself”, she groaned, realizing she really wasn’t all that happy having the two stay at her private residence she only wanted to have for her and Jareth.

  “No worries, Love, they are not at your apartment”, he dead-panned with a laugh and tossed her the crystal.

  When Sarah gazed into it, her eyes grew big with surprise, and slowly, the shock was replaced by a grin washing over her face, and her holding her hand in front of her mouth to stifle a laughter of her own.

  “Oh, my god, Jareth, you sent them to an oubliette. Why? You need to let them out”, she gasped and looked at him wide-eyed.

  “I overheard you and Céline last night while you thought I was too drunk to pay attention. She was planning to use spells and potions to beguile me, so I would forget about you. I had to teach a lesson to that presumptuous git.”

  He gave her a sardonic grin and cocked his head.

  “And why let them out? They are looking like they are having a splendid time fornicating in my dungeon”, he smirked with a wicked glint in his eyes.

  “Regardless. Let them out, Jareth”, she insisted with a blush on her face.

  Seeing his brother and Céline in such a compromising position was not what she wanted to have rummage through her head all morning.

  “As my lady wishes. I sent them a guide to bring them back”, he replied and tossed the crystal into the air.

  “Whom did you send?” she asked with a suspicious look when she noticed him full of epicaricacy.

  “Prince Rowan. I am sure he will be more than happy to assist. The poor bloke has been looking for his sister all night long.”

  He bellowed out his hearty laughter as he gripped Sarah around the waist and disappeared in a cloud of glitter with her.

**************************************************

  “Your Majesty, we didn’t expect to see you so soon after our courtship games. What brings you to us?”

  The older fae woman glared down at him over the rim of her glasses with a stoic expression.

  Sarah wondered if she was capable of any other expression and remembered the faint smile, she had given her once after winning the games. She also noticed the cheery smiles on the faces of Mercur, the centaur, and the wood nymph, who both nodded to them with an obvious happy disposition.

  Jareth bowed deeply before the court and took in his surroundings briefly before returning his gaze to the head of the High Court.

  “Your High Honour, things have progressed rather quickly over the course of the past few days. I want to bring my courtship with Lady Sarah to an end and proclaim my official engagement to her.”

  He held the judge’s gaze, which bore deeply into his eyes, and then wandered fleetingly to Sarah, only to return to him.

  “This is rather unusual. Why the change? What is your hurry, King Jareth? Are you afraid she will slip away from you and return to the Aboveground?”

  Her words were like ice chards on his hot soul. Initially, they stung and shocked him, but they soon melted into a pool of warm water and eventually evaporated. He sucked in his breath and tightened his grip on Sarah’s hand, he had been holding, but soon regained his composure and relaxed his body stance.

  Sarah gave him a worried look, but he only returned a soft smile with brightly gleaming blue eyes at her.

  “She has come to the decision that she wants to stay in the Underground as my wife and no longer needs the long courtship period.”

  The older fae woman turned to her other council members, and they briefly discussed the issue with rumbling voices, unintelligible for anyone outside their tight circle.

  “Lady Sarah”, she addressed Sarah with ice-cold eyes. “Do you agree to King Jareth’s proposal of making your engagement official?”

  “I do”, Sarah shouted louder than she needed to and with more haste than expected.

  A smile appeared on the faces of several council members at her obvious display of eagerness.

  “Hm, King Jareth must be quite persuasive in his methods for you to agree so willingly”, the fae woman replied with another intense look over her rimmed glasses.

  Sarah blushed unintendedly and lowered her gaze, biting her bottom lip as a haughty smirk curled itself around Jareth’s lips.

  “I can be quite persuasive indeed, as you have called it”, he answered, only deepening the blush on Sarah’s face and drawing a chuckle from the council.

  “Uh huh, spare us of the details Goblin King”, the older fae retorted with a smirk appearing around her lips, which even managed to reach her cold eyes.

  “The council has decided to grant you your official engagement and wants to extend its congratulations for your upcoming nuptials. May the Fates guide you and the gods cast a net of happiness over you. We don’t want to hear from you again Goblin King, unless it is an invite to your wedding. Council is adjourned, and this meeting is concluded.”

  With the sound of a hammer hitting the desk, the council members rose out of their seats and made their way out of the chamber. Jareth let go of the breath he had been holding the entire time and barely caught Sarah in his arms as she flung herself into his embrace.

  “We did it. We are now officially engaged, and nobody can send me back Aboveground anymore against my will”, she cried out and kissed him with all her penned-up feelings.

  “I have something for you”, Jareth whispered as he gently removed her arms from around his neck and stepped slightly back, causing her to give him a puzzled look.

  He genuflected in front of her and held out a small black box with one hand as he gazed lovingly into her eyes. This time, it was Sarah who held her breath and didn’t dare letting it go.

  “You have stolen my heart from me the first time I met you while running my Labyrinth fifteen years ago and bested me at my own game. When you left, I was shattered and thought there would be no more happiness for me in this life.”

  “When you returned to me, you not only kept my heart in your hands, but you also gave me yours in return. My happiness, my reason for living, have all returned because of it, and I can no longer exist without you and your love.”

  “Sarah Anne Williams, will you marry me? I won’t ask you to fear me or do as I say, since I no longer desire those two things. I only want you to love me, and I will be your slave forever.”

  Sarah had tears in her eyes when he finished, and her heartbeat had stopped at the onset of his declaration. The air around them had turned still, and it felt as if they were the only two people in existence. One fae and one mortal. Jareth eyes were focused on her and held all the love for her within them.

  “Oh, Jareth, you didn’t have to do that. I already told you that I’ll marry you”, she replied with both her hands in front of her mouth, looking at him stunned and rheumy-eyed.

  “I wanted to. I know this is your custom in the Above, and I wanted you to have part of your customs included as well. You have embraced my world, now let me embrace yours.”

  Sarah flung her arms around Jareth as she fell down on her knees and pressed her lips against his, knocking him off balance and crashing onto the floor in an entangled heap. Neither cared that they laid on the floor of the council chamber, tightly ensconced in a very private and sensual kiss.

  Very slowly, they came back to their senses and collected themselves off the floor, stealing weary glances to see if someone had been watching. They noticed the older fae woman standing in the back of the room, shaking her head and smirking with mirth, before she turned her back to them and left.

  They both blushed slightly, and then Jareth took the ring out of the box and gingerly put it on her finger. A yellow diamond, ringed by clear diamonds set in a design of a winged owl in flight, holding a crystal in its talon that was the crest of his kingdom, the Goblin signet.

  Sarah couldn’t divert her eyes of the beautiful design and bit her bottom lip as she gave him another happy look.

  “When did you get this?” she asked breathless, unable to tear her eyes from the ring on her finger.

  “Fifteen years ago. Let’s go and meet my parents for breakfast, and you can show them your engagement ring.”

  “What? Fifteen years ago?” she sucked in her breath at his revelation.

  Jareth gave her an impish smirk, and she knew he didn’t want to discuss the ring any further at this time. She nodded with understanding, and they left the chamber, enfolded into each other’s arms, to meet up with Jareth’s parents.

**************************************************

  Deep down in the tunnels, in an oubliette, a wooden door appeared against the wall and was opened. A tall, angry figure stood in the doorway as the couple stopped their carnal activity and blinked at the intruder into their very private moment.

  “What in all the seven hells is going on here? Céline, remove yourself from this womanizing scoundrel this instance. You are a princess for crying out loud. Such disgraceful behaviour.”

  His chagrined voice jolted the two lovers into action as they hastily reached for their clothes and dashed out the door in all their naked glory, running down the dark tunnel hand in hand, being followed immediately by a very irate Prince Rowan, who issued death threats against Jeremiah, and chastity belt warnings towards his sister.

  The two lovers stopped when they reached an open cavern, and Jeremiah took Céline’s hand into his.

  “Time to get out of here and find another hiding place. I’m going to thank my brother for this private moment, be assured of that.”

  He grinned salaciously as his lips pressed against hers, and they disappeared from the tunnels, followed closely by a chagrined prince, who went after them in a cloud of smoke to wherever they had disappeared to.

Chapter Text

  “Jareth, I need to get back to my apartment for a few days to get in touch with my publisher on some pictures and get a few things squared away if you want me to move down here permanently.”

  She sat cross-legged on their bed in her black, laced panties and tiny grey tank top while she was scanning through the images on her camera, deleting the ones she no longer cared about or had not met her high standards of a good photograph.

  When Jareth strutted into the room with only his towel wrapped around his hips, she tilted her head with a musing expression on her face and then lifted the camera up to her eye, snapping several pictures of him in rapid succession as he let the towel slip off his hips.

  She had a salacious smirk on her face as she looked at them in her view finder, and Jareth came over to catch a glimpse of himself.

  “Quite a package I have; I do must admit, it is impressive”, he proclaimed proudly, and Sarah let go of a loud laugh.

  “Yes, you are quite impressive, in more than one way”, she chortled, and he looked pleased with her answer.

  “You want to take any more pictures of me, you just let me know”, he purred into her ear, making her giggle some more.

  “Well then, come over here, Your Majesty and splay yourself across this bed. I’m going to make you famous in Playgirl”, she challenged him, and he gave her a quizzical look.

  “Playgirl?” he asked as he reclined onto the bed on his side, propping his head up with his hand.

  “It is a world-famous magazine for women that contains pictures of naked men”, she explained as she started to circle the bed, taking several pictures from different angles.

  “Work it my king”, she egged him on, and he adjusted his poses accordingly with a salacious grin on his lips.

  “I kind of like this”, he said softly. “It feels somewhat....kinky as you mortals would say.”

  “Touch yourself”, she commanded him, and he tossed her a big-eyed look but acquiesced her in her wishes, taking his semi-flaccid cock into his hand.

  “Hm, delicious”, she murmured and licked her lips as she continued to snap pictures of him holding his now hard member and laying seductively on the bed with a sultry looking expression.

  “Keep that up, and you’ll have to take another shower again”, her mind warned her.

  “Screw the shower, just screw the naked king on the bed”, her libido loudly offered up a better solution to her growing problem.

  “Are we playing a game, I am not aware of?” he asked with a smirk as he noticed her flushed face and could smell her arousal starting to exude from her at the sight of him pumping his own erection.

  “No, no game. It’s what I do, remember? I’m a freelancer; I take pictures for a living”, she replied hastily and lowered her camera to sit back on the bed and check over the photos.

  Things had gotten a little too hot too fast, and she needed to stop herself. They had decided on taking a break today in order to let her get over the soreness of the sex slave game from the other night, but the look of a naked aroused Jareth on the bed had been nearly too enticing to disregard those good intentions.

  “Taking pictures of naked men is your profession?” he asked with an irritated voice and leaned into her, stopping his own ministrations.

  “On occasion”, she replied, not looking at him.

  “And how many naked men have you photographed, my dear, if I may ask? Especially doing what I just did.”

  His voice now had a dangerous undertone as his eyes grew slightly darker and he furrowed his brows. She glanced at him with a devilish smirk in the corners of her lips but remained quiet.

  Jareth moved towards her and forced her body to lay back against the pillow as he leaned over her, pressing his still hard cock against her side.

  “How many?” he asked in a way she knew he had become jealous, thinking about her taking pictures of other men like she had just done with him.

  “Does it matter if I say you are definitely my favourite subject now and will be from now on?”

  She gave him an innocuous look, and he let out a growl as he lowered his mouth onto hers and reinforced his status as the dominant male in her life.

  She moaned into his mouth and let the camera fall beside her onto the pillow as her hand reached down his body to grasp for his hardness but was stopped by his hand.

  “As much as I would love for us to continue with this and take all sorts of inappropriate pictures, we cannot. I have to meet another delegation of the Wood Elf Kingdom for the signature of our contract, and I am already running late thanks to you and your little game with your picture device.

  “It’s called a camera, Jareth”, she corrected him, slightly amused.

  He pulled back reluctantly, and Sarah let out a sigh as she pouted her face and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

  “Not fair”, she grumbled and was rewarded with a loud laugh from Jareth, who flung his towel at her head.

  “Fair or not, it is the way it is, Precious.”

  “When will you be back to take me to my apartment?” she asked him as a reminder that she still had to go Aboveground to take care of several chores.

  “Right now if you wish, and I can meet you there once I am done with the delegation. I do not have court today.”

  He looked her up and down with esurient eyes, contemplating one more last time whether to give in to his desire to take her real quick on his bed, but he knew, things were never quick with them.

  Instead, he placed another blistering kiss on her lips, and when he pulled back and she opened her eyes, she found herself on top of her own bed, back Aboveground.

  “Remember, Precious, I shall be back in a few hours. No other models for you.”

  Sarah laughed and threw the pillow at him as he disappeared in a cloud of glitter, leaving behind a clear crystal ball on the floor where he had stood.

  She moved herself off the bed and went to take that long overdue second cold shower, feeling fairly sure he wanted to scry on her with a crystal.

  The thought of it made her smile wickedly as she picked up the bauble he had left behind and took it with her into the bathroom. She would give him a good show.

**************************************************

  “Sarah, those pictures are wonderful. You have such an excellent eye for detail, colour composition, and layout. How do you do that? Oh, don’t tell me, you were born with this gift.”

  Reynold her publisher waved his hand at her and gushed over her latest pics from the streets of New York and the everyday life of its inhabitants, from the Bronx to Manhattan.

  He feverishly worked his hands over the collection and sorted them to his liking, constantly rearranging the order they were in, and then stepping back to peruse over another possible change.

  Sarah sat in a comfortable chair in the corner, viewing the pictures she had taken of Jareth only a couple of hours earlier, completely ignoring his antics.

  Some of them had come out amazingly well, and even though the magic interfered with modern electronic and digital devices, they had not done so with her camera, aside from a little readjustment of colours and definition and giving him a mortal appearance.

  “Good gods, these look great. Should I, should I not?”

  She kept biting her lip and flipping through the frames, not noticing Reynold stepping up behind her and taking a peek of what held her interest in such an intense manner.

  When he saw the pictures, his eyes popped wide open and with catlike reflexes, he snatched the camera straight out of her hand, accompanied by a loud squeal of sheer delight.

  “Holy mother of all models. Who is that?” he exclaimed and walked away from Sarah, who tried feverishly to retake control of her camera to no avail, as Reynold was much taller than her and held it above her reach.

  “Darling, these are exquisite. Who is that God of a man?”

  He kept flipping through her images and licked his lips as he came upon the last series of shots that showed Jareth holding on to his hard erection with partially parted lips and squinted eyes while his still wet untangled blonde hair were hanging partially over his face, giving him an extra sultry and smoky appearance.

  “Oh, we must put him in Blueboy and Playgirl immediately”, Reynold declared much to Sarah’s chagrin of making the decision for her.

  “Rey, if you could please let me have back my camera?” she huffed, being tired out from chasing him around the room to retrieve her property, and with it, Jareth’s revealing pictures.

  “Oh, Honey, I’ll give it back to you once you tell me who your model is and how to get in touch with him on the release of those pictures.”

  He gave her a stern look and was all business suddenly. Sarah let out a groan of despair and plopped herself down on his chair in front of the desk. How would she even begin to explain to him that he was looking at a mystical fairy tale creature from another realm, and who was a king on top of everything.

  “He’s a friend”, she replied while biting her bottom lip and avoiding his gaze.

  The grey, concrete infused view out of the high-rise window seemed much more interesting at the moment than Rey’s beaming face.

  “Ha, a friend. Try again, and this time let me have the entire enchilada and not just the crumbs, Darling.”

  “Arrrgh”, Sarah grumbled and let her emerald-green eyes fall back onto his still happily glowing visage. “Fine, he’s more than a friend. He’s more like a....fiancé.”

  Sarah nearly hit the ceiling upon hearing Rey’s shrill squeal of excitement as he began to wave his hands in front of his face and rushed over to her to yank her out of her chair and into a big bear hug.

  “Oh, my god, Sarah, a fiancé. When on Earth did that happen?”

  Sarah tried to breathe as he squeezed as tight as he could, and she had to tap him on his shoulders to remind him to let her go, which he did with great reluctance.

  “What is his name? Is he a professional model? Did you meet him at the photoshoot? Since when are you doing nudes? I don’t ever recall you doing nudes before. Does he have a good-looking friend, or better yet, a twin brother?”

  Sarah sat dumbfounded with motionless and unblinking eyes, staring at Rey, and listening to his unending waterfall of seemingly random and unrelated questions.

  “If you ever shut up and quit your blather, I’ll tell you”, she finally hissed and straightened out her shirt he had completely crumbled up with his enthusiastic hug.

  “His name is Jareth, and he’s from....London. I did not meet him on the photoshoot. He’s a childhood friend of mine, sort of. I’ve been knowing him since I was fifteen. And those pics are private, not official”, she added with a blushed face as her eyes were seriously inspecting the ink spot on the carpet between her shoes.

  “Oh, a private photoshoot; I get it. That explains him being nude and so....aroused.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows and displayed a licentious smirk around his lips, causing Sarah to give him a sneer with a deep-red face.

  “Look, Hun, I get it, you don’t want to share this fine morsel of temptation with the public. Sorry I intruded, but these are too damn good not to be published. I tell you what, have him meet me for a drink, and we can talk about it.”

  Rey looked at her expectantly over his reading glasses, but Sarah still had a look of unease and indecision on her face as she kept biting her bottom lip.

  Jareth would either send her and Rey straight to the bog for even considering such a derogative thing, or more likely, indulge himself with such self-adulation and hubris, he would be impossible to live with from then on.

  His ego was already bigger than legally allowed, and she knew how much he prided himself of his prowess in bed and the size of his package.

  “I don’t know, Rey. We didn’t take those pics to be made public. You weren’t supposed to see them”, she retorted with weak indecision.

  “Just ask him, that’s all. If he says no, I won’t bug you about them ever again. Promise.”

  Reynold gave her a pleading look, and Sarah rolled her eyes while shaking her head with a discontented sigh.

  “Fine, I’ll ask him when he comes over later. But don’t count on anything. If he says no, I won’t pressure him.”

  Sarah held out her finger in a stern warning, and Reynold held up his hands in a defensive gesture with a chuckle.

  “I need to get back to the apartment. If you don’t hear from me, he said no.”

  She nodded resolutely and marched out of Rey’s office, wondering how she had managed to get herself into such a mess, what Jareth would say to it all, and most importantly, how she would go about asking him in the first place.

  “Damn you, Jareth. Why do you have to be so utterly perfect in every way like a fuckin’ Mary Poppins without clothes on and looking like an erotic Greek god”, her mind grumbled at her as she made her way down the elevator and out of the building.

  She hadn’t taken but a couple of steps onto the sidewalk when she spotted him leaning against a lamppost. He wore skin-tight black leather pants with a white shirt, half unbuttoned and exposing the top of his chest, a dark-brown sleeveless leather vest, and his dark-brown high-top boots while his medium-length blond hair blew seductively in the midtown breeze.

  The glance he tossed her from those mismatched eyes, and the sultry smile that quirked in the corner of his lips, caused her heart to stop and her breath to hitch momentarily.

  Apparently, she wasn’t the only female affected by his appearance, as she saw every other woman craning her neck to take a closer look at this fine specimen of a man, who only had eyes for the green-eyed brunette standing by herself on the sidewalk.

  They hated her for it. Sarah could feel their disapproving and jealous glares boring a hole through her back when Jareth gave her a big smile and pulled her into his arms.

  “Hello, Love, did you miss me?” he breathed into her ear with his seductive purr and placed a tender kiss onto the side of her neck.

  “God he smells good”, both her libido and mind agreed as she closed her eyes and took in his scent and warmth of his body.

  “Actually, we were just talking about you”, she replied with a sheepish grin.

  Jareth quirked his eyebrow and looked up the high-rise.

  “I take it by us you mean you and your publisher and not some other male model?” he asked with a facetious smirk.

  She nodded and bit her bottom lip again, noticing only then, she had been doing this quite a bit all day.

  “No”, Jareth replied quietly into her ear and cocked his head as he looked into her eyes.

  “No what?” Sarah asked utterly confused.

  “The photos. I do not want them to be published. Those are for us alone.”

  Sarah looked at him with big, wide-open eyes and a gaping mouth.

  “How did you....?”

  “Let’s just say, I keep taps on my betrothed when I’m not around, and I followed the conversation between you and your publisher.”

  “You are scrying on me?” she asked with a hint of irritation in her voice.

  “I am watching over you, Love, not scrying needlessly. You are the future queen of my kingdom, and whether you have noticed or not, there are forces out there that would love to get rid of you for nothing more than that very reason.”

  “I have you being protected ever since Jeremiah pulled his underhanded stunt. The ring you wear has a protection charm on it. So does every piece of clothing you wear. You are under the special protection of me and my kingdom.”

  Sarah gaped at him in stunned expression. He had never mentioned enemies or danger before, but it did make sense. Celebrities and important people in her world were protected as well and were often seen with security around them.

  She was only glad he hadn’t assigned a goblin security squad to her. To walk around with enchanted and warded clothes and jewellery was messed up enough.

  “I also have invisibly goblin security shadowing you every move outside your apartment since you’ve been up here, and they will continue to do so”, he stated with a serious face, and Sarah’s bottom jaw fell onto the sidewalk.

  “Goblins? Here?” she hissed. “Are you nuts?”

  She swivelled her head back and forth to see if she could detect any goblins nearby but was unable to do so.

  “I can’t see any”, she mumbled perplexed while Jareth grabbed her arm.

  “And you won’t either. Now to get back to those photos”, he skilfully redirected their conversation to the topic at hand. “I would like to talk to him.”

  Sarah’s stopped her swivelling head movement and stared at him with a tightly shut mouth as if he had soap bubbles coming out of his ears. He gave her a sly smirk, grabbed her hand, and led her back into the building. He was already pushing the elevator buttons before she pulled herself out of her pensive state.

  “Why do you want to talk to him?” she inquired with a baffled look. “I thought you don’t want the pictures published, so there’s no need. I told him if you’re not interested I wouldn’t....”

  “Ah, but see, Precious, there is”, he interjected. “I would like to at least meet the people once, who are dealing with my queen. Call it a personalized vetting.”

 She wanted to retort to his bold statement but could not come up with a good comeback and decided to remain quiet. When the elevator dinged and the doors slit open, Rey was standing in the hall, looking at them with first baffled and then wide eyes and an ear-to-ear grinning face.

  “Sarah, you brought Jareth with you. How wonderful. I did not expect this, not at all.”

  He was beaming like a million candle Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza and motioned them to step inside his office. Rey gave Jareth a very careful look over and motioned him to have a seat. Sarah could tell by the way Rey’s pupils dilated that he liked what he saw.

  “So nice that you decided to come by in person”, Rey exclaimed and offered Jareth a brandy, which he gladly accepted.

  “I was in the neighbourhood picking Sarah up and thought, since we are here, we might as well come and meet the man she has dealings with in regard to her photos.”

  “Quite so”, Rey replied with a chuckle. “I hope you approve.”

  Jareth nodded and took a sip of his brandy.

  “Excellent choice”, he said and sat the glass back on the table, but it was unclear whether he talked about the brandy or Rey.

  “Now without further ado, I only came to tell you that the pictures Sarah took of me are considered private and are not for publishing. I am honoured that you thought of me as a professional model, but I am far from it. I am quite busy running a country and therefore you will understand that I cannot allow those pictures to be published. It could tarnish my reputation and feed into the hands of my enemies.”

  Rey’s eyes opened wide at the mention of Jareth being the leader of a country, and he pursed his lips.

  “May I ask what country?”

  “Let’s just say, it is a small king.... principality you wouldn’t be familiar with, and that is all I am allowed to say about this.”

  “Completely understand”, Rey replied with a sad face as he watched Jareth rise from his seat and turn towards the door with Sarah in tow.

  “I am sure Sarah will be able to provide you with more excellent pictures of a different subject in the future. Landscapes perhaps?”

  Jareth smirked and squeezed Sarah’s arms as she gave him an astonished look.

  He guided her hastily towards the elevator, and they both waved with smiling faces at a perplexed and slightly disappointed Rey when the doors closed in front of them. Sarah gave Jareth a mystified look as she turned towards him.

  “You mean you want me to keep working in my field?” she asked with bated breath, but Jareth only nodded with a faint smile.

  “Of course, Love, why wouldn’t I? I know you love your work, and it won’t interfere with our duties. Just think of the fun we can have together seeing all those new places in your world. You can show me around.”

  He grinned at her with amusement while Sarah still stood dumbfounded with nothing to say until his words fully dawned on her, and she threw her arms around his neck and captured his lips with hers.

  “Jareth, I thought I would have to give up my live here and come live with you for good.”

  “Yes and no”, he replied while trailing little kisses down her neck. “If you would have a regular job like most mortals where you would have to report to work at a certain place every day it would not be possible, but you are an independent contractor.”

  “You work mostly from home, and you set your own hours. Nothing says you cannot have a field assignment in another country but be home to have dinner with me and sleep in my bed. After all, you’ll be able to teleport then. No worse than a regular commute actually. And if that is not possible, then I can accompany you.”

  “You really mean that?” she whispered and gave him another passionate kiss on his lips, which he intended to fully take advantage off when the elevator doors opened, and he had to reluctantly let go of her as they stepped out.

  “I do”, he answered her question from earlier and gave her a cheeky smile. “Now I won’t let you run off all the time for months on end, but one or two shorter assignments a year could be arranged. We could consider them a vacation away from the Goblin Kingdom.”

  “That would be fantastic. And you are sure, you could come with me?”, she laughed and leaned her head against his shoulder as he walked her out of the building, and they hailed a cab to take them back to her apartment.

  “If you think, I let my queen go Aboveground without me, you are sorely mistaken, my love. It is either, I come with you, and we can turn this into a very pleasurable assignment for the both of us, or I will have to send an invisible goblin security squadron along, which I’m sure you wouldn’t appreciate half as much as my accompaniment.”

  He tossed her an amused smirk, and Sarah play punched him in his arm.

  “At least the goblins wouldn’t be so pesky and demanding”, she jested with a grin, drawing a chuckle from him.

  “Oh, by the way, Precious, I loved the little peep show in the shower you were sending me earlier”, he whispered into her ear as they entered the cab, and Sarah blushed beet-red, hoping the driver hadn’t overheard Jareth, who closed the car door with an entertained laughter.

**************************************************

  “Now that we have taken care of your employment, you need to call your parents and tell them you are getting married and that we are moving to England.”

  Jareth stood over her with the phone receiver in his hand as she looked up at him with a grimaced face, sitting at the edge of her bed with her hands folded in her lap. She had been procrastinating over this phone call for two days now.

  “I haven’t talked to them in so long; I don’t even know how to begin. Hey, Dad, I’m getting married and moving to England. See ya. Bye. Agh.”

  She twisted her nose and blew air out of her mouth with pursed lips. Jareth could see the dilemma in her eyes and sat himself down beside her, placing the receiver in her lap.

  “Love, you need to talk to them. I know you have grown apart and rarely communicate and there are issues between you and your father, but they still need to know. If for nothing else but closure for yourself.”

  He placed a caring kiss on her forehead and patted her leg as he got up and walked out of the bedroom.

  “I’ll fix us something to eat while you make the call”, he spoke softly before closing the door to her bedroom.

  Sarah took a deep sigh and dialled the number of her old family home.

  “Williams’ residence”, the stern male voice declared with slight irritation after the third ring.

  “Dad?” Sarah answered back into the receiver with an unsure voice and suddenly felt like she was ten years old again.

  Ever since she and her dad had that fallout over her career choice ten years earlier, she always felt like a little schoolgirl when talking to him. He had that effect on her, and a sensitive or understanding man, he was not.

  “Sarah?” came the surprised answer, followed by an awkward silence. “We hadn’t expected your phone call. Is everything all right?”

  His tone was metered and casual without any intonations that let her believe he was happy she had called on him.

  “Yes, Dad, everything is all right. Just doing my thing here”, she stammered along, trying to find the right words to keep this conversation started on the right foot.

  It usually ended up in a disaster and that was the reason she only called on birthdays and on Christmas.

  “How are things at ho.... at your place?” she quickly corrected herself and wanted nothing more than to hang up, as she felt tears invading the corners of her eyes.

  Her dad had made it quite clear when she had left for her first assignment that her old childhood home was no longer hers to call it such. Even Toby, who had become increasingly like his father over the years, had accused her of turning her back on them, and that had stung more than anything.

  “As always, I’m busy at the office. Can’t keep a secretary, so I have to double up on a lot of things. Someone was too good to help out, but anyway....”

  Her dad’s dig at her leaving to become a freelance photographer instead of taking on the job as his secretary hurt, and she felt herself becoming angry and wanting to yell at him, but she restrained herself and instead remained quiet and listened to him ramble on.

“.... Karen is helping out some, but she is busy with her home association board and the PTA. Toby is going to be a senior next year and will graduate two years ahead.”

  “He was always a smart one”, Sarah replied, if only for the sake of saying anything.

  “Yes, he’s definitely smarter than his sister. He wants to take over the office after college, so it’s all working out.”

  “Thanks for reminding me so nicely” Sarah murmured facetiously as a tear made its way down her cheek.

  She quickly wiped it away. No, she would not let him get to her like this. Every time she called, he made her feel guilty, as if she had done something wrong and abandoned them at the side of the road.

  All she had done was follow her dreams, and she still did. It was her life to live, and she had done nothing to deserve this sort of treatment from him. He would never understand.

  “So, what is it you called for? I’m sure it is not to catch up with our lives. Haven’t heard from you since last Christmas.”

  “A phone works both ways, Dad”, she reminded him quietly.

  “I never know when you’re home or when you’re gallivanting around the globe. Always somewhere else”, he added coldly and with a hint of derision.

  “I’m not gallivanting. I’m working awfully hard as a photographer, and I’m making good money on my assignments”, she defended her career with a more assertive tone.” My last pics from the Amazon were published in National Geographic, after all.”

  “If you say so”, he replied curtly, and it was followed by another long pregnant pause on the phone.

  “I’m getting married”, she finally blurted out, finding no sense in beating around the bush any longer. “And I wanted to let you all know that we are moving to England.”

  The other end of the line went silent, and Sarah wondered after a while whether he had hung up, and she hadn’t heard the click.

  “Another one of those photographers you met on one of your gallivanting tours?” her father asked, and Sarah sucked in her breath.

  “No, he’s not, and I wasn’t gallivanting. What is your problem?” she yelled into the phone now as the tears ran down her cheek.

  How could her own father be so heartless? Why couldn’t he just congratulate her for finally finding someone worthwhile to spend her life with? Why couldn’t he be happy for her?

  “He didn’t knock you up or anything like that?” he asked with the same cold voice as before.

  Sarah was speechless for a few seconds before she recomposed herself again.

  “No, he did not, and that’s not the reason we are getting married. Even if he had, it wouldn’t change anything. I love him.”

  “As long as you are fine with him, I don’t care. So, when are you moving?” he quickly moved on from her announcement of marriage.

  “He doesn’t care. He has not even asked Jareth’s name or where we met, how long we’ve been dating, if I’m happy. Nothing a normal father would ask his daughter about her soon to be husband. He doesn’t care. He assumes I only get married because he got me pregnant, and I have no choice. As if nobody would marry me for love.”

  Sarah’s wounded mind was racing and tried to comprehend her father’s frigid reaction.

  “Tomorrow”, she stated her answer with the same cold voice now she had been receiving from her father since the beginning of the conversation.

  “Oh”, was the short reply from her father.

  “Can I talk to Toby?” she redirected the subject and heard her father yell for him.

  While she waited patiently on the line, wiping isolated tears off her face, she heard mumbling in the background and footsteps, and more mumbling before the receiver was picked up again. She could clearly hear Toby’s whispering voice and then the shutting of a door.

  “He’s on his way out to pick up his girlfriend. She’s coming over for dinner tonight. Lovely girl, so nice and obedient. Makes good grades too. She is in Toby’s advanced class, and they will graduate together. I tell him you said hi, and I have to go too. My Wall Street Journal show is coming on. ”

  “Ok, Dad, I better be going as well. Talk to you next....”

  Before she could finish her sentence, she heard the click on the other end, and she slammed the receiver down with a stifled scream. Her entire body was shaking, and she cursed herself internally to having made that call.

  It always was the same, every time, for the past ten years. Why would it have gone differently this time? It was wishful thinking, and some wishes truly did not come true, ever.

  “That god damn motherfucker didn’t even let me finish my sentence”, she seethed through gritted teeth. “And even Toby didn’t want to talk to me.”

  In her emotional distress, she hadn’t even noticed Jareth standing by the doorway, giving her a quiet and long look. His eyes were sad and his expression sullen and morose.

  He had heard most of the conversation, even though he had not intended on listening in. Her raised voice through the bedroom door had attracted his attention, and he had wanted to assure himself she was okay.

  “Love”, he called to her from the doorway, and Sarah looked up at him.

  He hadn’t expected it, but she jumped off the bed and ran to him, throwing her arms around his body and holding on so tightly as if she were afraid he would disappear on her.

  “He never even asked your name”, she sobbed and buried her face into his chest. “He never asked, not once. He only thought you had knocked me up and that’s why I’m getting married. As if nobody would marry me for any other reason.”

  Jareth gently wrapped his arms around her and placed a long kiss upon the crown of her head.

  “Then don’t cry for him. He does not deserve your tears, Love. I wish it could be different, but we cannot change the people in our lives if they refuse to be changed. Let him go. I don’t want you hurt over him. You are much too important to me to see you sad and crying because of him.”

  He tenderly stroked her hair and rested his face on top of her head, closing his eyes and quietly singing a melody she always found soothing and relaxing. A melody that always drew her out of her gloomy and sulky state.

  “I’ll be there for you.... as the world falls down.... falling.... falling....”

  “You are always here for me, Jareth. You always were from the very beginning”, she whispered as she lifted her tear-stained face and looked at him with swollen and red eyes.

  “Yes, I have, and I always will be, and that’s a promise.”

  He gently cupped her face and gave her an ardent kiss that made her feel loved and wanted, adored and cared for. Everything she had always wanted in the one man she would spend her life with, and Jareth was that man.

 “Let’s get something to eat and then we can start packing some of the things you want to bring along. I guess the furniture can stay here since we are keeping this place as our little hideaway.”

  He cocked his head and gave her a cheerful smile, which she reciprocated with one of her own, albeit still a little unsure.

  “I like the name. Our little hideaway.”

  She grinned approvingly, beginning to feel much better already as she grabbed her jacket and purse. He was correct, her dad did not deserve her tears, and the only man she needed in her life now was Jareth, and maybe a son down the road when they would have children.

  “I thought you said you were fixing us something to eat”, she gave him a questioning glance.

  “I changed my mind while listening to your phone conversation. I think both of us could use a couple of hours outside in the sunshine and relax. Maybe stroll through the park, hand in hand like an old married couple.”

  He gave her a coy smile, and she placed a tender kiss on the tip of his nose.

  “You got yourself a date”, she chuckled as he guided her out the door.

**************************************************

  Jareth had been really sweet to Sarah for dinner, and he had taken her to a wonderful small family food joint, famous for its hamburgers and milkshakes.

  Sarah had wondered how Jareth could have missed something that common like a hamburger for so many centuries, but he had only shrugged his shoulders and ordered another double cheeseburger.

 Afterwards, they had strolled hand in hand through Central Park with a huge ice cream cone they shared and had stopped by the lake, watching the ducks and swans mill around while little children tried to chase them across the lawn.

  It had highly amused Jareth, seeing happy and beloved children for a chance instead of only unwanted wished-aways.

  They had sat and talked for over three hours about their past lives. Sarah had learned a lot about Jareth’s youth and how fae society viewed the upbringing of a future king.

  He had explained to her the importance fae society put on the ability of a king, or any male noble for that matter, to perform in bed and to procure heirs, and the reason behind his ‘sex education’.

  He had told her about the mental anguish he had felt, and the pressure it had put on him in the beginning, and that he did not assent with the way this was being handled.

  They both had agreed and decided that any future sons would not have to attend unless it was their own free choice. Deep down, Sarah found it quite revolting and disgusting. In her eyes it lowered any noble to nothing more than a breeding stallion to produce offspring, and Jareth had shared her view.   

  Sarah had told Jareth about her decision to become a freelance photographer, and why she had become involved with the men she did. Every man she had been with had always resembled Jareth in one way or another.

  She told him about the dreams she had of him since her return from the Labyrinth, and how they had changed over the years as she grew up, from innocent and friendly, to passionate and sex driven.

  The way Jareth had smirked at the latter ones, she knew he probably had something to do with a few of them, but she was not angry at him when he told her it was to prepare her for him coming back for her.

  He had no other way to communicate with her and make her call for him besides visiting her in her dreams. She told him he owed her another ‘slave for a day’ at Mystic Island for it, and he more than happily accepted his punishment.

  He had asked her about her schooling and the years after the Labyrinth, but they had carefully avoided talking about her family. Toby was mentioned briefly, and Jareth felt disappointed and sad over the way her family had treated her for her decisions to be independent rather than a mere slave to her father’s business. 

  She had happily snapped a few more pictures of Jareth languidly sitting and reposing in the grass, staring down a duck that had come precariously close to him.

  His black leather pants had been clinging to every curve of his lower body, and his partially unbuttoned shirt, exposing his bare chest, still had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows giving him a ‘boy next door’ look.

  Sarah did not mention this to him as she didn’t want to get into another discussion about him not being a boy and to check again.

  His hand had been rested against his forehead trying to wipe the hair out of his two mismatched eyes, which stared intensely ahead with slightly parted lips, giving him a sexy and sultry aura. She thought he looked god given at that moment and yet so normal at the same time.

  It had been those pictures she had sent to Rey with Jareth’s blessings, and he published them in GQ, one of the men’s top fashion magazines several months later, with an article that was headlined:

  King of fashion or the man next door? The hottest chic trends from around the globe.

  A year later, Jareth hung a framed copy of his magazine cover and centrespread in his private study over his desk. He even had Sarah autograph and date it.

  It had been close to ten in the evening before they had returned to her apartment and had packed up a few more personal items she wanted to take with her.

  Most of her clothes went, since Jareth loved her little mini cocktail dresses, and some jeans she would be allowed to wear around the private parts of the castle, away from public eyes.

  Jareth had been the first to pack all her sexy lacy underwear in a box, and Sarah had laughed at his enthusiasm when his eyes shone with excitement, thinking about what games they could play involving some of the enticing panties and bras.

  She also had boxed up all her books, photographic equipment, and her laptop, which Jareth assured her she would be able to use in his realm, as he could conjure up a magic connection.

  She was proud of her collection of best photographs, and Jareth insisted on giving them an honour spot in her study, which he had prepared right next to his, so they could work side by side but still have their peace and quiet from each other.

  Everything else stayed behind since they would keep her place as a second home in the Aboveground for their visits.

  “After your transformation, we’ll have the best of both worlds, Love”, he whispered into her ear when they got ready for bed.

  Sarah smiled at him with gentle eyes and tenderly caressed his cheek with her hand as she walked past him, pulling her shirt over her head, and tossing it over a chair.

  Jareth’s gaze followed her across the room, and he watched in silence as she undressed herself and finally was left with nothing else but her panties, which she was about to pull down when she noticed his hungry eyes.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked quietly and slowly sauntered over to where she was standing.

  “A little sore still”, she replied and bit her bottom lip. “I think we overdid it just a tad the other night. Maybe, I’m not cut out to be a sex slave.”

  Jareth gave a light chuckle and began to take off his own shirt, equally tossing it carelessly across the chair. Sarah’s eyes fell on his bare chest, and she licked her lips.

  “You are more than qualified as a sex slave, Precious. The things you did were absolutely amazing, and I am sorry I got carried away and caused you to be sore.”

  She looked at him sheepishly and wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer to him.

  “There are other things we can do that would not affect my soreness”, she whispered into his ear and let her hand gently brush over the front of his tight pants.

  They briefly exchanged a knowing gaze before she lowered herself down onto her knees and began to open his belt and pulling it out from his waistband. She let it fall onto the floor beside her. Her hands began to open the button of his pants and slowly worked the zipper down all the way.

  She looked up at him when she heard him hiss slightly. His nostrils had flared, taking in her scent, and she knew he could smell her arousal. The bulge in his pants had grown significantly since she had begun to open them.

  She smiled and turned her attention back to his pants and the crotch so close in front of her face. Both her hands grabbed his waistband and pulled them down slowly, freeing his erection.

  “I see, someone was going commando today”, she chuckled and took hold of his cock with her hand as it bopped invitingly so close by her mouth.

  A sharp intake of air was heard when her hand clamped around his hardness, and she licked her lips with a wicked little smile that quirked in the corner of her mouth.

  Jareth wiggled his hips and pushed his pants off them and his thighs while Sarah held them down, so he could step out of them. She looked him over with her own hungry eyes, and her heartbeat quickened as it always did when she took in his magnificent au naturel form.

  “You are so beautiful, Jareth”, she hushed the whisper and barely brushed over his hard cock and his balls with the palms of both her hands.

  She gently took hold of him again and began to place kisses all up and down his length, flicking her tongue out and licking along the underside while she massaged his balls with her other hand. His skin began to wrinkle and tighten as they were drawn up with his ever-hardening erection.

  “Sarah, you’re getting too good at this”, he hissed and dug his fingers into her hair as she continued to apply her ministrations with her tongue and lips.

  For several minutes, she teased him with her kisses and the flicks of her tongue, never taking him into her mouth, and she could tell by his groans and his jerky hip movements that he was becoming impatient.

  “Sarah”, he warned her with dark eyes and a low growl. “Suck me.”

  “Oh, is that what you want me to do?” she asked with a sassy smirk and twirled her tongue teasingly across the tip of his cock.

  “Sarah”, he growled again, more forceful this time, and the pressure of his fingers twisting around her hair increased.

  She chuckled to herself and then opened her mouth to take him in slowly, only sucking his tip and moving her tongue in circles. Jareth let out a loud moan and tilted back his head with closed eyes.

  She briefly looked up at him and saw her ineffable god standing above her, glowing like a sun-kissed alabaster statue.

  “Fucking beautiful”, she thought and began to take him in further and increasing her ministrations.

  Her hands began to pump him harder, and her head bopped up and down as she could taste his precum on her tongue. She found his taste to be quite unique and exquisite, so unlike any human man she’d ever known.

  He was like sweet chocolate and salty pretzels rolled up in one, and it drove her crazy. She had never cared for swallowing before and had always avoided that particular part, but with Jareth, she loved it, and after the first time she had done it to him, he loved it as well.

  Seeing her sucking on his cock drove him to near insanity, and his hips began to thrust into her mouth carefully. After a few thrusts, however, he stopped and carefully removed himself from her while she gave him a puzzled look.

  “I want to pleasure you at the same time, Love”, he stated and had her stand up.

  Sarah’s eyes grew big as she realized what he was suggesting.

  “We haven’t done this particular activity yet. I bet we can climax together”, he smiled and led her towards the bed.

  “Top or bottom?” he asked her, and she bit her lip with a shrug.

  “Top”, she finally said, and Jareth laid himself down on the sheets, pulling her over his lap as she straddled him on her knees and bend over so that her face was by his cock and her behind over Jareth’s face.

  His eyes grew black at the sight of her spread sex hovering over his mouth, and he eagerly grabbed her around her hips and flicked his tongue at her folds and clit as his hands caressed her butt cheeks. Sarah involuntarily flinched at the sensation, and she let go of a loud moan.

  “Good gods, Sarah, this is such a turn on”, he breathed and began his ministrations with his tongue.

  Sarah moved closer onto his face and felt him penetrate her with his tongue as his fingers played with her clit. She emanated another groan.

  “Ah, Jareth.”

  The rising heat in her loins nearly overtook her senses, and she reapplied her focus to his erection in front of her as she closed her mouth around him and then licked him along the entire length, only to retake him again.

  She could feel Jareth probing her entrance with his finger and gently inserting it as he pumped it in and out, trying to be gentle and tender, knowing she was still sore from the day before.

  As the waves of pleasure began to build inside of Sarah, it was hard for Jareth to keep control over himself, and he wildly began to thrust his hips up into her mouth. The taste of her juices only heightened his arousal, and he let out a feral grunt as he ravished her with his tongue and finger while she sucked him with all she had.

  Several times, he held himself back by gently motioning her to let up on her attentions. He wanted them to climax together. Only when he felt her muscles starting to contract did he allow himself to turn loose.

  “Suck me hard, Sarah”, he panted at her, never interrupting his pleasuring of her.

  “Oh gods, Jareth”, she cried out and started to jerk her hips as her orgasm swept through her.

  She tightened the grip around Jareth’s cock and pumped him harder as her tongue flicked across his tip. With one loud cry and an upward thrust of his hips he exploded in a heated eruption.

  Sarah was too distracted by her own orgasm that rippled through her body that most of his seed ended on her neck and breasts.

  For a moment, they stayed motionless and frozen in their position as they both panted and tried to catch their breaths.

  “This may be called a sixty-nine but in my book it scored a perfect ten”, Sarah chuckled and removed herself from him to run into the bathroom and grab a wet washcloth.

  Jareth laid with eyes closed and laughed at her scoring system. He opened them wide when he felt her wiping his now almost flaccid member and hips with the washcloth after having wiped herself clean in the bathroom.

  “That by itself feels great, but I could have just magicked us clean”, he croaked and closed his eyes again to relish in the sensation of the warm, wet washcloth being moved gently across his crotch.

  “Now where would the fun be in that?” she smirked, using his own words against him.

  She placed a gentle kiss on the tip of his cock when she was done and tossed him a coquettish smile.

  “Not a bad idea you had there”, she jested and laid next to him, placing her head against his chest.

  He quickly wiped his face and hands with another washcloth she had handed him and then wrapped his arms around her.

  “It was fun, but I still prefer to bury my cock deep inside your pussy”, he mewled into her ear, and she let a playful laugh escape her.

  She looked at him and pressed her lips softly against his in an ardent kiss, her tongue seeking his as they tasted each other’s juices that still lingered.

  He almost felt himself become hard again, but he pushed the feeling down. He wanted to make sure she would get over her soreness after tonight, so he could have her properly the next day. If that meant for him to only have one orgasm tonight, he could live with it.

  “Why don’t we take a shower and then go to sleep? It’s already one in the morning, and we still have a lot of preparations to do at the castle for everything.”

  Sarah nodded and got off the bed to start running the shower. They both washed each other with gentle strokes and caresses, their soaped-up hands taken the place of a sponge. It almost let to another lovemaking session, but Jareth stopped before it got out of hand.

  “No more tonight, you little minx”, he laughed into her ear after he removed her hand from his already aroused member.

  “Spoilsport”, she retorted and jumped into bed after drying herself off.

  He pulled her close into his body, so her buttock would press against his crotch and his arm wrapped around her chest.

  “I’m giving you the day off because you are sore. Do not think I shall allow you to slack off in your duties to my personal needs tomorrow, Precious”, he purred into her ear, and she answered with a giggle.

  “My duties? What about yours to me?” she challenged him with a snort and flicked him a cursory glance with raised brows.

  “Fine, our duties to each other”, he settled for the compromise with his own chuckle.

  “That’s better. Good night, Jareth”, she answered back, and soon they had drifted off together.

**************************************************

  The next few weeks went by like in a dream. Both of them had been extremely busy with their own tasks, and there were days they barely saw each other besides for bedtime.

  Some days, Jareth was gone so long, he did not return until late at night after Sarah had already gone to sleep. He always detested those late returns, to find her already sleeping, instead of him being able to please her the way he wanted to.

  The arrangements for the ceremony in the fairy ring and her transformation took several visits to the High Court, and the druids, who would perform the initial ritual.

  On most of those visits, Sarah was not required to attend, so she was free to work on setting up her new study and the dark room Jareth had conjured for her right beside it.

  The day he had shown it to her was a complete surprise, and she had been so overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude, she had dropped down to the floor and sobbed like a baby.

  At first, he had been worried he had done something wrong until she grabbed him around the neck, yanked him down onto the floor with her, and began to rip his clothes off.

  He had smiled for days afterwards, thinking about the way she had ravished him on the floor in her dominating ways he loved so much.

  Seeing her ride on top of him with his hands secured over his head by a belt she had found was the most erotic thing he had seen.

  And then she had let him bend her over her new desk and take her from behind. He would never be able to look at her desk in the same way again.

  They definitely had thoroughly christened her new dark room, and Jareth had offered to conjure up a few more rooms if she needed them, but she had cordially declined with a loud laughter and a ‘perv’ uttered from her mouth.

  Finally, after nearly three month, all preparations had been in place, and the ceremony had been scheduled.

  “Jareth,” Sarah came walking up to him with a book in her hand titled ‘Ancient Rituals inside the Fairy Ring’. “I have a question, or should I say, I have a request.”

  He looked up from his paperwork he was finishing before they would retire to their chamber and gave her a questioning look over his reading glasses.

  “What is it, Love?”

  She laid the book in front of him on the desk and pointed to a section for him to read, which he did. After he finished, he cocked his head with squinted eyes.

  “This describes a very ancient ritual done by the fae, mostly the Unseelie, a long time ago when they used to go to the Aboveground, kidnap mortal women, and seduce them inside the fairy ring. What are you getting at, Love?”

  “I thought we could perform the ancient ritual, you know, kind of turn it into a little game we both would enjoy.”

  Her smile was salacious, and her eyes hungry, as he started to realize what she had asked for. A lustful smirk crossed his face as his eyes darkened, and he gave out a low growl.

  “Are you sure? It would be most exciting to perform, but it could be a little rough on you.”

  “I’m up for it. It’s what I want, Jareth. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks. We re-established our relationship with a ‘running’ game, I want us to seal our forever with one as well. I think it would be fitting, don’t you?”

  “Most certainly it would be, Precious”, he agreed wholeheartedly, licking his lips in anticipation of such an erotic game for their binding and marking ritual.

  “Then let’s do it”, she declared with a smirk and closed the book emphatically to underline her statement.

  “How you have turned my world, you precious thing”, he murmured and got up to nip at her earlobe as his hands caressed her butt cheeks over the fabric of her dress.

  “Let’s discuss the details in our chambers or more precisely in our bed.”

  With the flick of his wrist, they disappeared and left only a small amount of glitter behind in the now empty study of the king.

Chapter Text

  Sarah sat tranquilly on a small wooden bench in the park her and Jareth frequented during their Aboveground visits, watching the squirrels trying to beat the pigeons to the breadcrumbs and laughing with merriment at their cute frisky antics.

  She always enjoyed the peace and quiet of the secluded area away from other people. It brought equanimity back into her often frantic life.

  She had just finished up a meeting with Rey over the pictures of Jareth for his GQ spread and handed in his typed interview she had conducted a few days earlier.

  Rey had been extremely pleased and had gushed over her professionally written article with unbridled exuberance. Especially the photos had teased a rise out of him, as he delighted over them with his usual exultant euphoria.

  “Oh, Honey, you sure you can’t talk him into letting me publish at least one of those naughty photos you took of him naked on the bed? I cannot forget it; my mind won’t allow me. He is absolutely a dream of a model. What a shame to waste such a natural talent.”

  “No can do, Rey. I’m sure you consider it a waste, but he’s my personal model, and it’ll stay that way, at least when it comes to the nude photos.”

  Rey had heaved a deep sigh in an overly dramatic fashion and had waved his hands frantically through the air to circumvent his frustration.

  “Have it your way, Honey, but I’m telling you, he’s missing the chance of a lifetime. Inform him, if his country leading gig doesn’t work out, I’ll hire him in a nanosecond.”

  Sarah had only laughed out loud and promised she would pass the info on to Jareth before she left his office and grabbed some lunch to bring to her secluded spot in the park.

  “Hello there. Such a beautiful, beguiling woman all alone out here in this isolated spot? Don’t you think this is a bit....perilous?”

  A deep drawling voice oozed cloyingly like treacle from behind her. She spun her head around to see a stunningly beautiful blond man with mismatched eyes leaning against a tree, looking at her in a very seductive manner while literally undressing her with his intense gaze.

  His clothes appeared anachronistic, as he wore the tightest pants she had ever witnessed on a man, and which did nothing to hide his impressive bulge, a white poet’s shirt, she had only seen on stage during Shakespearean performances, and a pair of unconventional high-top boots. He looked as if he did not quite fit into her century but seemed slightly out of place.

  “I’m fine, thank you. There is nothing dangerous out here. I come here all the time”, she responded without taking her ogling eyes off the ineffably alluring creature, languishing against the tree with his leg cocked against the trunk.

  He leisurely pushed himself off with one foot and sauntered over to her with a predatory grin on his enticing lips. Once he reached the bench, he reclined himself down next to her and wrapped his arm around the back of the bench until his fingers touched her opposite shoulder. Sarah flinched lightly at the touch but did not withdraw.

  “Are you sure of that, my pet?” he purred sublimely, and she sucked in her breath as his face was only centimetres from hers.

  “Quite so”, she retorted with a somewhat shaky voice and tried to avert her furtive eyes, but his gloved hand was too quick as it grabbed her chin and forced her to keep staring at him.

  “Let me protect you, my pet”, he cooed into her ear, and she found herself getting lost in his eyes as her heartbeat quickened, and she began to lick her parched lips with an unspoken desire.

  Before she could react, he took her by the hand and began to lead her away from the bench, constantly murmuring something under his breath in a peculiar language she did not comprehend.

  She followed willingly, even though her mind warned her not to and raised the alarm. Her feet didn’t seem they wanted to obey and took on a life of their own.

  Once they had approached the tree line, he pushed her against a tree and pressed his body tightly against hers, rubbing his growing erection along her thighs and leaning in with his face to claim her mouth.

  His lips were warm and soft, even though the kiss felt hard and urgent. He demanded entry into her mouth and at first she was ready to grant it, but in the last moment, she denied him and tried to push him away.

  “I don’t know you. This is wrong”, she panted as he let go of her lips and gave her a victorious sneer.

  “There is nothing wrong, my pet. Let me show you”, he soothed her worries in his beguiling voice and leaned back to reclaim her lips again, this time, breaking her defences and laying siege to her mouth with his caressing tongue.

  She could feel the arousal building between her legs, and for a moment, it appeared as if she was capitulating to his seduction when her eyes suddenly opened, and she violently pushed him off her.

  “Get away from me”, she growled with heavy breath, but he did not let up and tried to lay claim to her mouth once again as his hands began to explore freely across her body.

  “Do not worry, my pet, I shall keep you safe from everything. Just listen to me”, he kept cooing at her and once again tried to recapture her mouth as his hands roamed dangerously close to the apex between her legs.

  She could feel herself becoming lost in his seduction. In a last ditch effort, she raised her leg and kneed him into his crotch with one quick jerk. He emanated a muffled groan and crumbled to his knees, cupping his erection as Sarah gave him a panicked look.

  She noticed his wide-open, pained eyes and surprised expression on his countenance as his mouth hung open, trying hard to stifle a tortured cry.

  “You kicked me in the....” he croaked in agony, unable to finish as his voice failed him and his vision blurred.

  “Oh, my god that was too hard. It was, wasn’t it? I’m so sorry Jar....”

  “Run, Precious, run”, he growled dangerously, and his black eyes bore deeply into hers.

  Sarah only nodded with a blanched face and terrified eyes and rapidly took off into the trees, only stopping and glancing back once to see him standing up and holding on to the tree as he regained his posture.

  His head jerked up and snapped into her direction as their eyes met briefly. Sarah sucked in her breath when she saw the darkness in them and stiffened her body.

  “Run, Precious”, she heard his low, grating voice again in her mind, tearing her out of her trance, and she sprinted off into the now dark and thick forest.

  She ran nearly blind and without purpose or sense of direction for some time through the ever-thickening trees and vegetation, not noticing the darkness that had descended over the entire forest, nor the stillness that seemed to suffocate its existence.

  Every so often, she looked back for him but saw nothing but trees and ferns. The old growth oaks and beeches were majestic and spoke of an ancient time with their twisted and knotted thick branches and trunks that must had witnessed thousands of years.

  The noise of flapping wings made her stop and look up into the canopy. She could make out the ghostly fleeting shadow of a white owl, beating its wings as it sailed amongst the treetops and then vanished into the light mist that seemed to seep into every crevice from out of nowhere.

  She picked up his ominous laughter echoing in the otherwise silent forest. His voice seemed as if it had come from the right of her, and so she turned left. A few moments later, it sounded as if it had emanated from her left, and she turned right.

  After several occurrences, she realized he was driving her towards a specific place.

  “The bastard is herding me. Where is it you want me to go?” she murmured and took a deep breath as she pressed her body flat behind a large oak tree, carefully peeking out from around its thickly barked trunk.

  Her only answer was a booming laughter tormenting her and causing flocks of birds in the trees to take flight in panic of the unseen.

  An ice-cold shiver ran down her spine as his hallow sounding laughs continued to taunt her without being visible. Exhausted, she finally slumped down behind the immense trunk of a withered beech to catch a breather.

  Her lungs felt as if they were being assaulted by a thousand tiny knives, plunging into her with each breath she took, and her leg muscles had started to tighten up and cramp.

  She sat with her legs stretched out in front of her, deliberately slowing down her breathing. Her head leaned back against the gnarly barked trunk of the tree while she tried to contemplate her next move.

  “Are you giving up so soon?” a mocking voice came from above her head.

  Before she realized he had been sitting in the tree, he had lowered himself from the branch above her in one fluid motion and plopped himself down next to her on the ground.

  She stared at him in shock and tried to scramble to her feet, only to be held down by his hand, gripping tightly around her wrists.

  “Where are you going, my pet? Are you not enjoying my company?” he snarled with a sardonic grin.

  “Let me go”, she hissed back and fought him to free her hands to no avail.

  He roughly pushed her down onto the thick, leaf covered ground and laid his entire body over hers, nearly suffocating her with his. His wicked devilish grin was plastered across his face, and his wild, dark eyes gave him a predatory and hungry look as he bared his sharp teeth at her.

  “I think you have entirely too many clothes on, my pet. I like my women with less than that, preferably nothing at all. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  In an instant, her clothes had vanished, and so had his. They were both stark naked, with him still laying on top of her. He rocked his hips into her pelvis, and she could feel his erection digging into her thighs, growing harder with each forward motion, and moving dangerously close to her entrance.

  “Are you going to rape me?” she spat at him and kept fighting against his hold.

  She could feel the arousal inside of her building, and the wetness between her thighs steadily increasing.

  “I don’t need to resort to such primitive methods, my precious pet. You will give me willingly what I want, and you will beg me for more when I bury my cock deep inside your wet and ready pussy.”

  He elicited a sardonic laugh and pressed his lips against hers as she felt her will to fight drain from her like water from an unplugged bathtub. She almost moaned into his kiss, and he let go of her wrists, caressing her bare breasts and inconspicuously opening her legs for him by pushing them open with his own.

  Her arms involuntarily wrapped themselves around his neck, and she pulled him tighter into her, devouring his tongue with hers. Her legs opened even wider and let him position his hard cock right at her entrance.

  She felt her juices pool and drip out of her as her hips invitingly pushed upwards against his, practically inviting him into her. By the gods, she wanted him so badly inside of her it was painful, and her clit throbbed with the esurient desire of his touch.

  She was so close, so close. She only needed a little more stimulation to take herself over the edge as she kept pushing her hips into his waiting turgid cock.

  His wet tongue was battling hers inside her mouth, and she felt all her defences slipping away. Every time the tip of his cock bumped against her clit, a wonderful and irresistible sensation washed over her, making her yearn for more of the same. Yes, she only needed another bump. Only one more.

  “Fight me, Precious. Do not let me seduce you that easily. RUN!”

  Jolted by the message in her mind, her eyes shot open, and she began to fight again as she punched her fists against his chest and landed one squarely on his jaw.

  He withdrew with a startled hiss and rubbed his chin with one hand while his hooded eyes glowered daggers at her. They contained a stunned look within them, and Sarah took advantage of his state of confusion.

  “Oh shit, I’m so sorry”, she mumbled her apology and began to writhe underneath him, shifting his body off her.

 She quickly rolled herself out from under him and started to run again. Despite not having shoes on her feet, the heavily littered forest floor did not hurt her soles, and she had the sensation as if she was running on a soft carpet, regardless of what the vegetation or groundcover consisted of.

  “Oh, nice, smooth going with the magic”, she thought when she realized this fact and increased her speed, not having to worry about the bottom of her feet becoming punctured and cut by the sharp pointy objects that littered the forest floor.

  She sprinted down a steep, heavily leafed slope, and had to jump several large boulders as she approached a small forest stream. She could not see him, but she heard his laughter every so often as it echoed ominously in the trees and all around her.

  “You can’t run from me forever, you precious thing”, came his mocking voice.

  She didn’t waste her time looking around from where it came. He was playing his game of hide and seek, and she knew he could become invisible to her and appear anywhere he wanted to. She was the deer, and he was the hunting wolf.

  “Why am I even running?” she murmured. “He’ll just catch up, no matter what.”

  She stopped by the side of the creek and crouched down to wash off the leaves and the mud from her earlier ground wrestling with him. She also took a few handfuls of water and drank the cool refreshing liquid as it soothed her hot dry throat and parched mouth. Splashing it against her flushed face, she closed her eyes and lingered in the cooling sensation.

  “You should not have drank the fairy water. Now you can never escape me. Don’t you know not to drink or eat anything in our world? You are mine now.”

  His taunting voice was followed by a spine-chilling laughter, which made her sit up in terror and frantically scanned her surroundings.  

  “What?” she mumbled and looked charily at the water from the stream and the small amount she held in her hand.

  She quickly let it pour back into the creek and stood up, looking around with wary eyes.

  “I will never be yours. You can’t have me. Do you hear me”, she yelled on top of her lungs and fisted her hands, but the only answer was another bellowing laughter, echoing through the dark mist covered forest.

  “You are already mine”, came the haunting answer.

  She turned around to cross the creek and spotted him comfortably leaning against a huge tree with his arms crossed in front of his bare chest, one leg propped up lazily against the trunk as his eyes raked hungrily over her naked body.

  She stood completely still, staring back at him and equally taking in his ineffably beautiful au naturel form. His feral eyes were intense as he bore with them all the way into her soul while he walked slowly her way. She could not tear her eyes off him, no matter how hard she tried.

  His lithe muscled rippled beneath his pale luminescent skin with each step he took. She could see the striation and definition of them in his abs and legs, and her eyes fell onto his large manhood, clearly displaying his state of arousal, as his cock pointed straight forward, and its head glistened red from the influx of blood flow to his turgid erection.

  She could feel the aura of magic thickening around them when he came closer, and she took a big inhale of air before she held her breath. He stopped right before her and only stared with unwavering and unblinking eyes.

  His gaze was so intense, she felt herself burning up on the inside like dry ignited cinder. She could see the lusting heat and desire for her in them.

  An overwhelming urge to lean forward and reach for him flooded her senses. She felt the need to pull him to her and kiss him, touch him, and let him touch her. Her loins were on fire, and the urge to jump him and have him inside of her nearly drove her to insanity.

  She wanted to take his large erect cock into her hand and turn it even harder for him. She wanted to please him, pleasure him. Her hand involuntary rubbed against her own pleasure centre, and a moan escaped her throat as her middle finger glided across her wet clit.

  “So that’s what it feels like when a mortal gets seduced by a fae. I can’t fight him, it’s too strong. He spellbound me.”

  “Fight me, Precious.”

  He reached out for her, and his ungloved hand touched her breast, gently caressing it as his thumb rubbed her nipple. He then let it slide down the side of her body and moved it to the centre of her thighs. A finger worked its way against her slick folds and travelled the entire length, feeling her wetness.

  All the while his darkened eyes never diverted from hers and forced her to hold his gaze. She felt mesmerized and paralyzed, unable to move a muscle as she felt his finger slowly inserting itself into her channel and his thumb rubbing her clit.

  It felt as if an out-of-control fire had been ignited. She wanted nothing more at this moment than to spread her legs wide and have him drive himself into her as she felt herself closing in on an orgasm.

  Before she climaxed, he slowly removed his finger and brought it up to his lips. She watched mesmerized as he inserted the finger that had been inside her into his mouth and began to suck and lick on it.

  Her eyes widened and her pupils dilated with lust while she licked her lips. He stopped his ministrations to his finger, a feral grin on his lips, and he again let it slide along her folds, inserting it into her once more.

  He pumped her a couple of time, making her nearly come undone before he withdrew, again leaving her unfulfilled and frustrated.

  This time, he reached for her and placed the finger against her lips as she opened her mouth and began to lick her own juices from his digit. A moan escaped her throat, and he let a light chuckle escape his. Still, his eyes were fixated on her and hers on his.

  The level of erotica and sensuality had never been higher, and Sarah felt herself falling, falling into the abyss of pleasure and euphoria, succumbing to his magic of seduction, and she didn’t even care anymore.

  She wanted him. She wanted him to have all of her, take her, use her, and do as he pleased. She needed him inside of her now. Her eyelids fluttered as his power over her grew and her stance widened, yet they still held his gaze.

  “Run, fight me. RUN! RUN AWAY!”

  His inner voice jolted her out of her trance, and she jerked back, effectively removing his finger from inside of her, which she hadn’t even noticed had been still there. She pushed him aside and ran across the small stream and uphill towards the darkness of the forest.

  Behind her, she heard his satirical laughter and saw him standing still, watching her intently as he stroked himself and salaciously licked his lips. She quickly diverted her gaze from his erotic display and ran into the thick of the trees, leaving him behind as she heard an intense moan of ecstasy emanating all around her.

  “Did he just jack off and come?”

  She didn’t dare to linger on this thought, but like a bad seed, it took root inside of her mind and festered to where she could feel nothing but jealousy at the possibility it was he who gave himself the ultimate pleasure and not her.

  She began to seethe and rage at the thought of it as her mind kept playing images of him spilling his seeds in his own hand, his facial expressions caught in the throes of ecstasy.

  “No, I’m supposed to give you euphoric pleasure. Only I, I, not you.”

  Sarah knew she had to clear her mind from his ensorcellment he had placed on her. It was those words he had muttered when he had taken her into the forest, but the more she tried, the worse it became.

  Her internal feelings raged, and her mind yelled obscenities at her for leaving him behind instead of pleasuring him like she was supposed to.

  It became harder and harder to move forward and not allow her body to turn and run back to him. His moans of pleasure became louder and louder in her mind and slowly began to drive her insane with wanton lust.

  “Sarah, look what you made me do. I have to pleasure myself now.”

  She pressed her hands against the side of her head to block out his words in her mind while a silent scream escaped her distorted mouth. A noise off to the side of her jolted her back to the moment at hand, and she swung her head around to see who was approaching.

  She halfway expected him, but it was only a few dryads, which sat underneath a tree and giggled and laughed when they spotted her. Sarah cocked her head and wanted to continue on with her walk when they called her over and waved at her excitedly.

  “Come here mortal woman and rest with us. You will be safe from the fae that chases you if you join us.”

  Sarah stopped in her step and turned to look back at them. Shrugging her shoulders, she made her way over to the small group of three dryads and sat down with them. That she was completely naked did not seem to bother her in the slightest.

  “How long has he been chasing you?” one of them asked, and Sarah shook her head.

  “I truly don’t know. I lost all sense of time when I entered this forest.”

  “That is not surprising”, replied another with a giggle. “This is the Forest of Forgetfulness. Time does no longer matter here. Soon you will forget why you are here, and why you are running. You will forget your name, and you will give in to him until he has what he wants from you.”

  “No, I won’t. I will fight him”, Sarah retorted vehemently, but was answered with a high pitch laugh by all three dryads.

  “Soon the mortal woman will see. The fae approaches as we speak. You can’t outrun him, but if you eat this mushroom, he can no longer see you or sense you. You will be safe from him.”

  Sarah furrowed her brow and inspected the mushroom they were holding out to her. It was small, round, and pure white. She reached out and took the offered mushroom and bit into it, even though her mind tried to warn her not to. Her body no longer obeyed her and belied her cogitations.

  “Thank you for your gift”, she answered them after she had finished the mushroom.

  “Oh, it wasn’t our gift to give. It was a gift from him”, all three said in unison.

  “A gift from him? Who is him?” she asked with a sinking feeling.

  “His Majesty, of course. The king of the fae. Silly mortal. It was his wedding gift to you, and you accepted his proposal. He’s coming for you, to claim you as his. We can sense his approach.”

  “You tricked me”, Sarah yelled and jumped up to run back into the thick of the trees, but her head began to spin, and she felt unsteady and weak in her legs.

  She sunk back down onto her hands and knees and tried to catch her bearing. When she lifted her head, the three dryads had disappeared and, in their place, stood the fae.

  He was dressed in a long loincloth of a see-through tulle material in royal purple while he stood looming over her with a lecherous smirk painted across his entire countenance.

  “How I love seeing you on your knees before me. The services you can provide for me in that position are too tempting and titillating to think about right now.”

  He looked down at her with a smug and victorious grin around his lips while she gazed up at him with her mouth hanging open, trying her best to focus her dithering eyes. Her head felt as if she had consumed an entire bottle of wine in one sitting.

  “Bastard, what did you do?” she spat at him and tried to stand but was unable to. “You drugged me, didn’t you?”

  He crouched down to her and took her arm into his hand as his other hand grabbed her chin and forced him to look at her.

  “Why, I only gave you a small token of our friendship. It will help me achieve my goal in a much less strenuous way. Chasing you through these woods is rather tiresome, my pet, don’t you agree? And we all know the eventual outcome, anyway, so why fight it.”

  “You drugged me....again”, she kept muttering, becoming increasingly incoherent in voicing her opposition.

  He gently reclined her onto the leafy bed of the forest floor and laid himself on top of her. Sarah voiced her opposition, but she felt herself growing too weak to resist as he faded in and out of her vision, and his voice seemed to come from far away.

  As her senses seemed to leave her, her bodily sensations were on fire. Her libido felt as if it was being blown up in a ten-ton explosion of dynamite. Sarah tried to keep her eyes focused on him and noticed him withdrawing carefully from her until his head was between her legs, which he had opened wide.

  Her mind still told her to resist, but her body no longer listened. She let her bent legs fall open as his fingers tenderly traced her folds and her clit. A moan escaped her, and she heard him laugh with victory when he buried his face deep between her legs. His tongue entered her so forcefully, it caused her hips to buck up violently.

  “Mine”, she heard him growl as his tongue licked and flicked over her clit and made her spasm with ecstasy.

  She was no longer in control of her faculties as the spellbinding had taken full hold of her faculties. There was no fight left in her, and she only could hang on to the ride he was providing for her.

  A part of her was still angry over her body betraying her in such a fashion. Was it part of the chase? Was this supposed to happen? What about the mushroom? Had it been a mistake to accept the mushroom? She couldn’t remember any of it.

  “Damn it, we went over the rules. What did he say? Always accept an offering or always deny any offering. I can’t fuckin’ remember.”

  Her mind screamed at her in frustration and panic as she searched for the answer, which eluded her while her body enjoyed the ministrations that were being handed out to her.

  Again, her hips jerked under the flick of his tongue against her clit, and this sensation unintentionally jolted her back to reality.

  She was being licked and sucked by the tongue of the fae who had been chasing her, and it nearly drove her insane. She felt her orgasm come on, the wave building like a towering inferno about to crash down in a hot pile of cinder and ashes when everything stopped.

  She no longer felt his tongue against her clit nor his fingers inside her pussy. His hot breath against her sex had disappeared, and so had his touch. Sarah was stunned and tried to regain her senses.

  When she lifted her head, she noticed he was gone. He had left her alone in the leaves with a painful, unfulfilled desire that throbbed between her legs and caused a painful sensation.

  “You bastard, come back here and finish what you started”, she screamed into the forest as loud as she could.

  A haunting mocking laugh was her answer, and she balled her hands into fists as she collected herself from the forest floor and wiped away the leaves that clung to her sweaty body. She knelt for a while and hung her head before she rose and stood tall.

  At least the dizziness and light-headedness had dissipated, and she could think clearly again. She still felt a yearning desire to have her sexual needs fulfilled, and for a split second she contemplated on fulfilling that need herself before she gave up on the idea.

  Oh, no, he would do his duties to her, and she would make sure of it now. She staggered around in circles for a while before she decided on a heading. It seemed as she was drawn down a certain path, and her feet knew exactly where to go. Her mind no longer questioned her body’s movements and followed blindly.

  Soon, she came upon a beautiful, serene lake with emerald-green water and a silvery sandy beach. Her eyes gazed upon its indescribable beauty as she drunk it all in with her esurient eyes.

  She walked towards the beach and enjoyed the sensation of the warm wet sand between her toes. It reminded her of another beach she had been on not so long ago. The breeze gently played with her hair and cooled her hot and clammy skin.

  She felt a tug in the back of her head, a tug of strong magic, and she turned to gaze into the bright shining, mismatched eyes of her Goblin King, who stood before her naked, reaching a hand out to her with a soft and guileless smile on her face.

  “We must bath now”, he spoke softly and took her hand into his, leading her into the lake.

  “Is the chase over?” Sarah asked quietly, and he nodded with a genuine smile.

  “It ended when you accepted the mushroom”, he replied with a mischievous smirk as they entered the lake and immersed themselves into its clear refreshing water.

  “And I do must say, I immensely enjoyed the ending.”

  Sarah gave him a grimace at his salacious laugh.

  “You left me unsatisfied”, she sneered. “Was I supposed to accept the mushroom? I couldn’t remember anymore.”

  “Everything went according to the way it was supposed to, Love. No worries.”

  He began to pour water over her and washed her gently with his hand, on which he had magicked a fragrant soap. The soap equally appeared in her hand, and they began to wash each other in the ritual of cleansing.

  She noticed that she now wore the same purple loincloth he wore with a small matching top. Her hair was clean and styled, and so was his.

  The markings around his eyes were now bright and of a light purple with gold to match their outfits. Sarah could see her reflection in the still water and noticed the same make-up around her eyes. She gave him a baffled look, but he only smiled and took hold of her hand again as they exited the water.

  “Magic, Love”, he whispered as his hand gently squeezed hers.

  She only now noticed a dozen immemorial old and wizened fae in long white robes standing at the beach, waiting for them. Those were the druids, who would lead them to the ceremony.

  Without a word, they gave a deep bow to Jareth and a nod towards Sarah before turning towards a path. As they led the way, Jareth and Sarah followed slowly hand in hand down a sandy trail.

  The walk was short and ended in a large clearing surrounded by swaying aspen trees, whose leaves rustled in the wind and sounded like thousands of tiny bells. The fairy swarm was already present and was singing their haunting melody.

  Upon the arrival of the king and his bride, the singing stopped, and a hush fell over the entire clearing. Many fae were standing around the circle clad in equally scantily garments similar to the groom and bride, but in colours of various shades of green, blue, and tan to represent the colours of nature.

  Sarah looked around and spotted Queen Alia and King Olaf standing amongst the participants clad in light-blue outfits, matching each other’s. Corrigan was also present with his wife, which she had never seen before but thought was very beautiful with her long golden hair and hazel eyes.

  Next to Corrigan stood Jeremiah with a big grin on his face, and Céline, who looked surprisingly contend. Prince Rowan was nowhere to be seen.

  “No wonder she’s contend. No chaperone. I wonder what happened to him.”

  Sarah’s attention was diverted by the old fae in the middle of the ring in front of the purple willow tree. Queen Alia and King Olaf took their places next to Jareth and Sarah on each side and walked towards the elder druid together in silence.

  Queen Alia managed to toss a heartfelt smile towards Sarah and her son before they arrived at the druid.

  “Who here will present this couple to the ring?” the old druid spoke in a stentorian voice.

  “We will, High King Olaf and High Queen Alia”, came the ebullient response from the two royals, who bowed and then turned around to exit the circle without another glance or word.

  Jareth and Sarah were left standing alone before the druid, who started to chant in the language of the ancient fae and was soon surrounded by the swarm of fairies, which circled him with flower wreaths in their hands.

  Upon the ending of his chant, the fairies lowered the purple flower rings onto the heads of Jareth and Sarah.

  “The fairies have blessed you with their flower crowns. Let the binding begin. King Jareth of the Goblin Kingdom and Lady Sarah, Champion of the Labyrinth, may your hearts and souls be bound together today for eternity with this unbreakable golden rope. For two hearts and two souls will now become one.”

  The old druid quickly made a small cut into each of their palms, and as their blood flowed, Jareth took Sarah’s hand into his, pressing their palms together and mixing their blood.

  The druid hovered his own hand over theirs, and a golden band slowly descended and wound itself around their wrists, slowly tightening itself around them and sinking into their skins before it disappeared completely, at the same time erasing the cut wound on their palms.

  “My wife and bound mate for eternity. For there shall never be another for as long as I walk this plane”, Jareth proclaimed, looking at Sarah.

  “My husband and bound mate for eternity. For there shall never be another for as long as I walk this plane”, Sarah proclaimed, looking at Jareth.

  Sarah watched in fascination as all of it seemed to happen quite quickly and the druid again began to chant in the old fae language, now joined by the other twelve druids as they walked thirteen tight circles around the couple.

  When they were done, they silently exited the fairy circle. For a moment everything was still, even the breeze of the wind had stopped. Sarah looked at Jareth and saw a smile around his lips and a wonderful soft glow in his eyes.

  “Just follow me like I had shown you. I already danced it for you once on the beach”, he whispered with a smile as the haunting music of the fae song started.

  The same song he had sung and danced to at the beach on Mystic Island. This time, the fairies sang along as Jareth started his dance steps while Sarah remained standing still.

  He once again danced his declaration of undying love for her and asked her to give him an answer with his dance.

  Unlike the time at the beach, this time Sarah knew her answer, and when he collapsed in front of her and took her hands, she mimicked his steps exactly.

  Soon, they danced it perfectly in unison until the end. When he looked at her, she raised her hands to his face and placed an ardent kiss onto his lips to give her answer of acceptance.

  It was the cue for the rest of the fae to join into the circle and perform their own dances as the music started up again, but this time more tumultuous and resounding.

  Soon the circle was full of fae, dancing, drinking ambrosia and wine, and singing. Sarah noticed that no one danced close to the purple willow in the centre of the ring. It was clouded in a haze, and everyone stayed far away from it.

  While they danced, several fae came up and pulled them apart to dance with others. Sarah reluctantly let go of Jareth, and her gaze followed him as she saw him surrounded by several beautiful alluring fae women. Her heart suddenly was filled with emotions of jealousy and anger.

  She, likewise, was surrounded by a group of aesthetic and seductive fae males, who vied for her attention, and she felt Jareth’s eyes upon hers with the same feelings of indignation and ire.

  “The dance of seduction”, she thought to herself.

  Jareth had told her about it. It was the most erotic of dances of the night and was a test for the new couple to withstand the seduction efforts of the others before they would enter the centre of the ring.

  He had warned her of the very intimate manner of this dance and that she had to expect personal touching. Soon, she found herself with several hands touching her breasts and her hips, and even working themselves under the thinly veiled loincloth.

  She did her best to swat them away and dance herself out of the ring of eager males. Her eyes never left Jareth’s, and his never left hers. She noticed the other females touching his chest and his crotch, trying to take hold of his still mostly flaccid cock as he ever so skilfully evaded their advances.

  Soon, with each step of the dance they took, they worked themselves nearer and nearer to each other and farther and farther away from the seducers until they were back together again, with no one else around trying to touch them in inappropriate places.

  “I felt your jealousy, Love”, Jareth whispered happily as they once again were dancing close together.

  “As I felt yours”, she grinned back and wrapped her arms around his waist to pull him close against her hips.

  She wanted to feel his bulge, his semi erection against her body. It was for her and her only, and with her erotic and sultry dance that had her grind against him and making him hard, she clearly staked her territory and let all the other females know he was hers alone, as he sent the same message to the other fae males, who were watching closely.

  “Ok, so we did the binding and the love declaration, and just now the seduction and the claiming”, her mind recollected all the steps of the ceremony.

  “Are you all right, Precious?” Jareth asked slightly worried at seeing her pensive expression.

  “Oh, I’m fine. I was just mentally going over all the dances, so I know where we are at in the ceremony.”

  Jareth gave her a licentious smirk as he bit his bottom lip and looked at her with expectant eyes.

  “Only one dance left”, he whispered and started swaying his hips, moving his hands along her hips and working them underneath her fabric.

  “The marking”, he breathed heavily into her ear.

  He danced seductively in front of her, reminding her of some of the striptease moves he had performed for her during their games of quarters and flip, kiss, or strip. She felt herself becoming incredibly aroused, and she could see it having the same effect on him.

  They worked themselves slowly towards the willow tree and disappeared into the mist, shielding them from any prying eyes. A small tray was attached to the tree with two small chalices and tiny plates. Jareth stopped his dancing and handed Sarah her chalice and plate as he took hold of his.

  He ate the small piece of cake on the plate, which was no more than a small bite full and downed the warm and sweet liquid in the chalice. Sarah followed suit and placed her cup and plate back on the tray. Her piece of cake had been much smaller than his.

  “Ambrosia and honey water”, he informed her, and Sarah nodded. “It won’t take long before you will feel its aphrodisiac effect, especially since you are mortal. That’s why your piece was much smaller. It has a much larger impact on mortals.”

  He took her hand and stood motionless, staring at her face, and then letting his yearning eyes wander down her body as he took in her entire form.

  “You are so beautiful”, he breathed and kissed her gently as his hands began to untie the back of her top.

  She let it fall to the ground, and instantly his hands moved to cup each breast, giving them a light squeeze. Sarah’s hands opened the tie of his loincloth and let it fall onto the ground as well, freeing his nearly full erection. Next was her loincloth that his hands eagerly opened and removed off her hips and her legs.

  Sarah stepped out of it, and they both were now fully naked with only the purple flower crowns in their hair. Jareth kissed her again, and his tongue moved slowly into her mouth, taking its time as it sought out hers for an intimate dance.

  Sarah moaned into the kiss and felt the heat inside of her starting to burn. The ambrosia was beginning to take effect, and for the first time, she could faintly smell the scent of Jareth’s arousal. At first, the scent took her by surprise, and she was confounded when she realized she was taking in his pheromones.

  They had a strong aroma of peaches, mixed with the scent of fresh fallen earthy rain, like after a thunderstorm. The smell assaulted her orifice and overwhelmed her logical thinking centre as it made her full of want for him.

  Her nostrils flared, and her eyes darkened, much to Jareth’s surprise, who noticed her changes immediately. He curled a lusting smile around his lips as he began to take in her pheromones as well.

  “Can you smell it?” he asked in a husky voice, flaring his nostrils to fully take in her scent.

  “Yes, I can. It’s quite amazing. You smell good”, she answered with a slight blush and a chuckle.

  A low growl emanated from deep within his chest and sent wonderful vibrations throughout Sarah’s body as she pressed herself tightly against his chest. Her hand moved down the front of their bodies and took hold of his already hard member, gently stroking him.

  With one swoop, she fell onto her knees and took him into her mouth without further ado. Her penned up sexual need overwhelmed her, and she had been left unsatisfied trice already over the past few hours.

  Jareth groaned, and his dark eyes fell onto her as she sucked him. The view made him fully hard within seconds, but he was reluctant to pull out of her as it felt too wonderful.

  He let her pleasure him some more as she, too, didn’t seem to want to let go of him. When he could take no more of her ministrations, he motioned her to stop and pulled out. He lowered himself onto his knees as well and held her for a moment in a deep embrace while kissing her with all his passion.

  With the greatest care, he reclined her onto the grassy surface during the kiss until she lay prone beneath him and his body on top of hers. They had yet to break from the kiss, but neither of them was in a hurry.

  All they had now was time. If he wanted to, he could stop it all together and they truly could have forever.

  “Jareth”, Sarah moaned quietly into the kiss with closed eyes when he finally let go of her mouth and moved his lips down the front of her throat and across her clavicles towards her breasts.

  He eagerly snatched one nipple with his teeth and carefully bit and sucked on it while his hand caressed the other one. Sarah’s hand clenched tightly around his cock and stroked him eagerly, enjoying the feeling of his hardness beneath his soft skin.

  Jareth began his ministrations of her other breast and elicited more moans from her as he smiled into his kiss of her nipple. Once he had satisfied his hunger for her breasts, he continued his downward journey slowly by tracing a trail down her stomach with the tip of his tongue, every so often sucking on her soft skin and leaving small marks along the way.

  As he worked himself down her body, he scooted further away from her, and she no longer could hold on to his now extremely hard erection. She let go with a sigh of frustration and pouted her lips.

  “Just enjoy it, Love”, he murmured at her and continued kissing the inside of her upper thighs as his hands massaged her quads.

  Just like at the beach, he worked his way all the way down one leg before he came back up towards her hip on the other leg. The ambrosia had now fully impacted Sarah, and she was no longer satisfied with kisses along her legs. She wanted him inside of her, and she grunted with frustration at his slow teasing.

  Jareth kept laughing to himself at her impatience and finally ended her exasperation by lapping his tongue along her wet folds.

  “My, my, someone is already fully ready”, he jested as he tasted her juices and closed his eyes to savour every drop.

  “Jareth, I can’t hold out much longer. I want you in me”, she begged him.

  He only responded to her plea with another feral growl and licked her again, this time even slower while he inserted two fingers into her, slowly pumping her as her hips contorted and nearly flipped her over.

  He pressed down on her pelvis to hold her steady, and she grunted in opposition of the restriction.

  “Don’t make me kick you in your jewels again”, she panted, and he chuckled at her with merriment.

  “We still have to work out a punishment for that royal assault. Actually, both of them. You also punched me in the jaw”, he grinned and kept up his ministrations of her now swollen and oversensitive clit.

  He gave her one more flick with the tip of his tongue as the first orgasm hit her like a speedboat out of nowhere and sent her flying off the ground as she let out a scream with Jareth name on it.

  Had she been in possession of all her faculties, she surely would have blushed at the thought that everyone in the fairy ring just heard her yell out in ecstasy. As it was, she gave it no such thought and could only concentrate on the overwhelming sensation flooding her body.

  Before the wave ebbed and let her come off her high, Jareth plunged himself into her and buried his cock deep within her. He elicited another cry from Sarah’s lips when another wave hit her unlike the other but was much deeper.

  Her hips lifted off the ground and met him halfway with his thrusts. She wanted to curse at him for having her wait so long. She wanted to thank him for giving her release, but she could no longer formulate any sensible words much less sentences.

  She felt hot and cold at the same time. Her skin was on fire and at the same time felt like the touch of ice. Her eyes were fully dilated, and her nostrils flared as Jareth’s pheromones flooded her senses again. She involuntarily emanated a guttural growl that had escaped her throat under its own volition.

  His thrusts inside her increased in velocity and force, and he bared his teeth as he lowered his head down to her neck. She let out a small whimper when he closed his sharp canines around her flesh and bit down hard, drawing blood from the wound and licking it up with his tongue.

  The sensation of the bite drove her over the edge, and she jerked her head up and dug her own teeth into the flesh of his shoulder. Jareth gasped at the sting and let a groan escape him as he thrust wildly into her, nearly losing control.

  He could feel blood trickle down his shoulder, and it nearly caused him to lose his faculties.

  Sarah could hear him talk to her in the fae language and she opened her eyes, realizing he was staring at her with such intensity it almost hurt, reciting the ancient words of the marking.

  His eyes were laser focused on her and seemed to be illuminated with a bright light as the blue in them was nearly iridescent.

  She couldn’t close her eyes nor blink as she kept staring at him with her own brightly lit emerald orbs. His skin appeared translucent and glowed as the light around him intensified.

  Only then did she noticed she, too, was glowing, and the light was emanating from within their own bodies, fusing together to create one large bubble.

  They both climaxed together, calling out each other’s name as their bodies convulsed and tried to merge even more. Jareth’s buried himself into her as far as he possibly could, and it still didn’t seem far enough as her hips rocketed upwards and pressed against his.

  As the tsunami of their orgasm ebbed away, he lay panting on top of her with his face buried between her breasts. Her hands held him tight against her, as they were clasped behind the back of his head.

  She gasped with open mouth and wide-open eyes that stared up at the slightly tinted purplish sky. The glow around them had dissipated and had retreated back into their bodies.

  Purple flower pedals rained down on them as the branches of the willow tree gently flowed in the breeze, like a conductor’s arms waving smoothly with the flow of the music.

  The fairies had started another song to announce the completion of the marking, and the fae kept dancing their vivacious dances as couples split off and found their own secluded places within the forest, just outside the fairy ring.

  Today, the ring was reserved for the mating of only one couple, and they were hidden behind the veil of the willow tree mist.

  Jareth was still inside of Sarah and felt himself harden again while her inner muscles still sporadically contracted and enticed his cock to spring back to life. He gently rolled his hips back and forth, and Sarah’s senses returned to her mind as she turned her head and looked into his eyes.

  She bit her bottom lip as she saw his content smile on his brightly lit face. He looked so beautiful to her at this moment, so ethereal and godlike. She let out a blissful sigh and let him capture her lips in a most ardent kiss.

  He gently licked the wound on her neck, and she felt a slight burning sensation at the touch of his tongue.

  Seeing the small trail of blood from his wound, she gave him the same treatment and gently let her tongue glide over his mark. He, too, briefly hitched his breath and closed his eyes, only to open them again and forcing her gaze upon him.

  “How are you feeling, Precious?”

  His voice was soft and tender as his hips kept rocking slowly back and force, slowly increasing the beat of the drum that he played deep within her.

  “Couldn’t be better’, she murmured and interlocked her feet behind his back, giving him greater access to her and intensifying his thrusts.

  “I want you on top. Dominate me, Precious”, he requested and flung them around.

  Sarah resituated herself slightly as he had taken her somewhat by surprise. She let her hands play with her hair and raised her arms over her head, gently arching her back and displaying her breasts to him.

  He reached out to them and took each of them into his hands, gently squeezing and caressing them as he tweaked her nipples between his fingers.

  When she lowered her body towards him, so he could take her breast into his mouth, she clasped his hands together and held them over his head. He conjured his own magic and bound himself, so he could not move them back.

  She let him take her other breast into his mouth as he increased his upwards thrusts. Having his hands bound over his head increased the erotic sensation to his cock tremendously, and he knew he would be forever grateful to Sarah for introducing him to this little game of dominance.

  He knew they would surely expand on this in the future, and the thought alone made him harden even more.

  As she got closer, she leaned herself back against her feet and arched her back, fully exposing her sex to him, and he could watch his own cock penetrating her and moving inside her with each thrust.

  He stared in fascination, and when she used her own fingers to pleasure her clit, he came undone.

  With a couple of violent thrusts, he spilled himself inside of her and caused her to tighten her muscles in her own orgasm around his cock, drawing the last drop out of him.

  She bent forward again and looked straight into his eyes with a sated grin on her lips as her hair hung messily around her face. A thin film of sweat glistened on her body and her flushed countenance. He reached up with his now freed hands and tucked a lose strand behind each of her ears.

  “That was wonderful, Love”, he breathed, feeling deeply content as his heart was close to exploding with joy.

  She was finally his, in body, heart, and soul. She had allowed him to mark her as his own, and in turn, she had marked him as hers. They were bound together for eternity now.

  Nothing and nobody could ever separate them ever again. He still felt as if he were in a dream of his own and reality had to work itself into his conscious mind. This was more than he had ever hoped for.

  He closed his eyes and pulled her gently against his chest as her legs straightened out and gently allowed him to remove himself from her.

  They laid in that pose for some time before they decided to return to the festivities, which they knew would last long into the night.

  A bowl of clear water had been provided for each of them, and they gently washed away the fluids from each other and began to dress themselves. Once they were ready, they stepped out from underneath the willow tree and rejoined the other dancers, who never even paid them any attention.

  Sarah looked around in amazement and saw the sprites in the thousands, providing natural lighting within the ring. The music was now wild and had a reggae feel to it as the drumbeats were intoxicating and hypnotizing.

  Jareth took her hand and guided her to a table outside the ring, which served various assortments of fruits, breads, cheeses and meats, as well as several alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

  It was only now that Sarah realized how hungry she truly was. She hadn’t eaten anything since lunch, and she had lost all sense of time on how long she had been in the Forest of Forgetfulness.

  “How long did you chase me?” she asked him between bites of dragon meat finger sandwiches.

  “Twelve hours”, he grinned at her with a tilted head.

  Sarah’s mouth gaped open at his revelation. It had not felt like twelve hours at all.

  “You were out from that mushroom for over five hours. Oh, the things I did to you”, he added with a mischievous smirk, and Sarah furrowed her brows upon hearing this titbit of information.

  “So, you drugged me again? Except this time, instead of a peach you used a damn mushroom”, she growled at him with accusative eyes.

  He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a sheepish grin.

  “And you still left me unsatisfied”, she exclaimed with pouting lips, much to the entertainment of Jareth, who let out a booming laugh, drawing the attention of several revellers.

  “That was the whole intent, Precious. Get you close, but only close.”

  He chuckled and helped himself to more meats and cheeses and another glass of wine.

  “I was wondering, when I ran from you and you played with yourself, did you actually jack off or was that all part of the plan? I felt so jealous when I heard your moans.”

  Jareth raised his eyebrows at her question and then grinned.

  “I have no need to pleasure myself, Love, so be assured, I did not ‘jack off’ as you stated it so eloquently. It was all part of the plan to drive you over the edge. Part of the seduction. I wanted you to feel jealous and lure you back to me.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows and tossed her a licentious smirk.

  “It almost worked, didn’t it?”   

  “Perv, you owe me”, she muttered under her breath, refusing to answer his question but tossed him a coquettish smile of her own over the rim over her glass.”

  “For that you kicked me in my literal royal jewels and then punched me in the jaw. I think we are more than even, Love”, he retorted with a slightly peeved look.

  “Yeah, sorry about that one”, she replied sheepishly. “Maybe you didn’t spellbind me enough.”

  Jareth gave out a mirthful laugh and kissed her forehead.

  “Oh, Precious, I spellbound you all I could. You are just too damn stubborn to let the magic keep a hold of you.”

  “At least you kept my feet from hurting. Thank you for that by the way.”

  “You are welcome. I did not want my wife all cut up and bruised and unable to dance with me. Plus, I also wanted her all intact and healthy for the ravishing that will recommence soon.”

  Sarah giggled with a blushed face and emptied her wineglass in one big gulp under his mirthful laugh.   

  “So, what will happen now?” she wondered with a slight look of unease. “When will I begin to enter the transformation?”

  “That depends. It could be immediately or in a few days. I shall have to keep a close eye on you when it does start. Do not worry, Love I will not leave your side when it happens. And Elroy our healer will be there too.”

  His assuring words assuaged most of her worried feelings. She knew he would keep her safe. It was the unknown, the unexpected, that worried her. Nobody really knew what to expect during her transformation or how long it actually would take, since she was the first adult mortal to undergo the transformation via a marking ritual.

  “I guess we’ll figure it out when we get there”, she sighed and let him feed her some grapes he tossed at her in a playful manner to make her forget about her worries and bring her back to the festivities at hand.

  “Tonight, we enjoy ourselves as children of nature”, he laughed and took her hand as he ran with her into the circle as if they were little kids and began a dance that was wild and crazy.

  The rhythm of the music immediately took hold of them and put them into a trance, which made them forgot all their trouble.

  Outside the fairy ring, King Olaf and Queen Alia stood toasting each other with happy faces while they watched their youngest son and his bride dance the night away, their fresh marks clearly visible on each other’s neck and shoulder.

  “I heard this whole chase and seduction game was her idea”, King Olaf stated as he filled his wine chalice, and Queen Alia let go of a chortle.

  “That it was. She came across a book on fairy ring history in Jareth’s library and suggested to play a game by recreating an authentic fae seduction and chase of a mortal woman in combination with their marking ritual. She even asked him to spellbind her for real.”

  Alia laughed and took a big gulp of her wine.

  “Can you imagine, a mortal woman asking a fae to chase, seduce, and spellbind her? She’s absolutely perfect.”

  “She is perfect for him indeed”, Olaf agreed with a loud laughter of his own. “I haven’t seen a good chase like that in over a hundred years.”

  “Here’s to grandchildren”, Alia laughed, and King Olaf followed suit as he raised his glass and chucked it all in one setting.

  “Come on, my beautiful queen, let’s join in the dancing, unless you would like to visit the dark woods one more time?”

  He salaciously wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a licentious smirk as she laughed out loud, took his hand, and dragged him into the dark forest for another little tryst.

Chapter Text

  Sarah blinked her eyes open and found herself being smothered by Jareth, who had almost half of his naked body lying on top of her. His leg was draped lazily across her hips, and his arm possessively wrapped around her waist while his face nuzzled into the trough between her breasts.

  His steady and shallow breath told her he was still sound asleep. Sarah chuckled quietly to herself and gently stroked the wild unruly mane he called a hairstyle with her hand.

  The feel of his gossamer hair reminded her of soft downy feathers under her touch. It smelled vividly like a peach orchard in the summertime with a hint of the earthen fragrance that usually lingered in the air after the passing of a thunderstorm.

  She briefly closed her eyes and took in his fresh scent, committing it to memory deep within her mind. She let a blissful sigh escape her and kissed the top of his head. With the utmost care, she diligently worked herself out from underneath him and stumbled towards the bathroom. He never budged.

  Her bladder was about to explode, and so was her head. She desperately needed to take care of both ends of the equation and bring her body back to equilibrium.

  A loud unrestricted yawn emanated from her while she performed her morning ablutions, and she hastily downed two headache pills afterwards with a glass of water.

  Despite her noisy rummaging around, Jareth still hadn’t stirred, and she went back to check on him. He usually was like a high-strung nervous cat and jumped at the slightest noise and disturbance.

  Apparently, the amount of wine he had imbibed on really had done a number on him and had him knocked out cold. Sarah smirked at the thought of how they had managed to get back to their chambers. It hadn’t been an easy feat.

  “Preschousch, it’sch time for da king to take hisch queen to da royal cham....chambah and conschummate disch marrisch properly.”

  “Jareth, we have done nothing but consummate all day and night long”, she laughed at him and gently reached out to touch the side of his face with her hand.

  “It doeschn’t count if it’sch not in our bedchambah.”

  She found his insistence endearing. Jareth’s eyes nearly crossed at his kingly declaration. He staggered towards Sarah and flung his arms around her waist, pulling her into his chest and gazing down at her with loving, and heavily glossed over eyes.

  Sarah let out a boisterous laugh and clasped her hands behind his neck, pulling him down towards her and planting a heavy kiss onto his eager lips while their tongues intertwined in a frenzied dance.

  “Then by all means, take me to your bed, My Lord”, she proclaimed overdramatically with a giggle and tried to place her empty glass back on the tray but missed it sorely, as it dropped onto the ground with a dull thud.

  “Your Majesty, I don’t think you should transport yourself and the soon to be crowned queen back to the castle on your own. Allow me to assist.”

  Corrigan’s voice sounded genuinely concerned, and he gently took hold of Jareth’s arm to aid in the transport of the two heavily inebriated royals, but Jareth only shook him off with an affronted and disgruntled look.

  “How dare you tousch da king. Remove da hand, or I shall bog you all the way down in da bog. You be schtinkin for weeksch. I can’t usch a schtinkin’ advischor.”

  “Usch?” Corrigan looked baffled at Sarah.

  “Use. He can’t use you if you smell like the damn bog”, she translated wryly with a titter.

  “Datsch right” Jareth reemphasized with a quick nod of his head that had him swaying dangerously in Sarah’s arms.

  With that royal declaration, he held on tight to Sarah, who was still giggling uncontrollably and chanted ‘bog Corrigan’, as they disappeared from the fairy ring. Corrigan shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose as he let go of an exasperated groan.

  “Good lord, no telling where they may end up”, he grunted and downed the entire glass of wine he held in his hand.

  When they reappeared, they were somewhere in the middle of a dark ancient forest. The only noise to be heard where the buzzing wings of the sprites that were flittering through the air with their little lights, illuminating the immediate area around the couple.

  “Eh, Jareth, where are we? I don’t think we are anywhere close to the castle.”

  Sarah glanced warily around the sparsely illuminated area and tried to pierce the darkness beyond with her eyes. It only caused her to go strabismal, and she immediately stopped her attempts.

  “Doeschn’t look like ahr bed fo schure”, Jareth replied as he took a look around in the dark forest. “Let’sch try again.”

  He pulled her back against him and disappeared in a glittery cloud. This time, they ended up inside the middle of the Labyrinth, only a few metres from the side of the Bog of Eternal Stench.

  Sarah immediately crinkled her nose and let out a sound of disgust at the horrid smell. Jareth shook his head while his eyes crossed, and his nostrils flared from the insulting stench of the swamp.

  “Good heavens”, he gasped, and it temporarily cleared his head and made him aware of their precarious situation, as they teetered at the edge of an unstable cliff directly over the foul water.

  “Wrong place”, he muttered and hastily teleported away from the dangerous area.

  “So, where are we now, Your Majesty?” Sarah asked with a frown and mocking voice as they were standing in a dimly lit dungeon.

  Jareth looked around and inspected the dimly burning sconces on the wall with the utmost care, as if he was contemplating on where he had seen those before. Sarah took her time looking over the implements that laid on various wooden tables.

  Chains, knives, manacles, and leg irons were hanging neatly from hooks on the walls, and Sarah carefully let her fingers glide over them, wiping several centimetres of dust off of them, after brushing away a few spiderwebs.

  “This looks like a torment room that hasn’t been used in some time”, she murmured, contemplatively.

  “The former king’s torschure schamber. Schtill not our bed”, Jareth stated the obvious and leaned himself against an iron maiden as he lost his balance, only to retreat instantly with a pained wince, staring down the iron spikes with furrowed brows.

  “Letsch go. It’sch too shpikey here to make love”, he called Sarah back to him, and they excited the dungeon in another cloud of glitter.

  Finally, they reappeared outside the gates of Goblin City, and Sarah thought it best to walk the rest instead of trying the translocation again. No telling where they would end up, and they already had a close call with the bog once.

  She tried to hold up her sloshed Goblin King the best she could while he had his arm slung around her shoulders and leaned heavily onto her, nearly toppling her over.

  “Jareth, Hun, straighten yourself out. I can’t carry your glitterbutt by myself”, she complained with a chuckle and gave him a playful push.

  “You called me a pet name, Preschousch”, he croaked with a silly smile and looked at her with unfocused eyes.

  “I did?” she asked, wondering if he referred to her calling him glitterbutt.

  “You called me Hun. Tatsch the first time ever”, he announced with a happy hiccup and leaned over to give her a passionate kiss but lost his balance and tumbled over, taking her down to the ground with him.

  As she fell onto him, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips onto hers. In one fluid motion, he rolled them over and pinned her beneath his body, not breaking the kiss as his tongue held hers hostage in a wet wine kiss.

  “Schay it again”, he demanded, after he let go of her lips and nibbled on her neck.

  Sarah gave out a throaty giggle, as his hair tickled her face.

  “Say what?” she teased him.

  “My pet name”, he demanded with a growl and another hiccup.

  “Glitterbutt”, she croaked with a laughter as he interrupted his ministrations to her neck to give her a scolding look.

  “Not that, you wensch. My butt doeschn’t glitter”, he retorted with a huff and held her hands above her head in a tight vice grip. “Schay it.”

  Sarah now snickered uncontrollably while he looked at her half-annoyed and half with a happily expecting grin.

  “Glitterbutt”, she crowed out again, and he growled at her with furrowed brows.

  “I should schrow you in da dunschon”, he slurred slightly aggravated at Sarah’s chortling fit.

  “Schay it”, he now demanded with a whiny voice, and Sarah finally let him off the hook, seeing his pleading eyes.

  “Ok, HUN. You are my lovable and annoying glitterbutt, HUN”, she cooed with a grin, and he let her go, satisfied at hearing her calling him a pet name.

  “What doesch it mean?” he asked as he started up his ministrations to her neck again, completely disregarding the fact they were laying nearly naked in the middle of the road, outside the main gate, in front of a couple of goblin security guards, who gave each other quizzical and uncomfortable looks about watching their king and soon to be crowned queen making out in the middle of the street in an inebriated state.

  “It is short for honey. It means you are sweet and smooth like honey”, she quickly added when she saw his nose wrinkle in disgust of being named after a gooey runny substance.

  After her explanation, he cocked his head with a smug grin around his lips.

  “Schweet and schmoosch. Datsch me”, he grinned, and Sarah started to scramble out from under him, drawing his complaint once again.

  “I need help getting you home”, she mumbled and wiped the dust from the road off her scanty loincloth, which at that moment was caked in mud, wine, dust, and sweat.

  “You”, she stomped over to one of the security guards and tried to look intimidating and regal. “I am your queen....well, almost. Get me Trouble, now.”

  The security guard gave her a blank look and refused to move.

  “I’m not giving you trouble, Your Majesty”, he muttered back, unsure of what she requested.

  “You are giving me trouble now by not getting Trouble for me”, she growled back, pointing her finger squarely at his chest and pushed him back for emphasis.

  “I think she means for you to bring Sir Trouble, the knight, to her”, the other guard whispered to him, trying hard not to attract her attention.

  “Oh, that Trouble”, the first guard finally realized. 

  “Don’t make me bog you”, Sarah growled again with bared teeth, and the guard immediately scampered off to retrieve Trouble for her.

  “Tell him the king needs his assistance to return to the castle”, she yelled after him with a certain authority in her tone.

  She victoriously marched back to her king, who was still laying on his back in the middle of the road with a silly grin on his face, mumbling “hun” over and over.

  Sarah plopped herself next to him and immediately was ensconced in his arms once more and held down on top of his body.

  “Let me ravisch you in my schweet and schmoosch honey way”, he slurred, and Sarah did her best to stop him in his forward progress of removing the last few shreds of their clothing.

  Luckily, Trouble had arrived at the scene within minutes and managed to summon Juggle and Scratch. All three dragged their king back into the castle and up the stairs to the royal chamber while Sarah tip toed behind them, performing dance steps, and quietly singing elven drinking songs and British shanties.

  Scratch kept scratching his head, wondering why the queen was prancing around like a little Tinkerbelle down the streets of Goblin City, all the while Juggle did his best in catching the crystal orbs Jareth kept conjuring.

  Most of them were dropped and left small black explosion marks behind, marking the trail they took to the castle.

  “Don’t worry, Trouble will get king into bed”, Trouble assured Sarah, who only nodded at him with a faraway look and kept humming her song.

  “What shall we do with a drunken kiiing, what shall we do with a drunken kiiing”, she started quavering while Scratch tried to tell her it would be best to take the drunken king to bed.

  “Take him and shake him and try to awake him....” came her off pitch rendition, much to Scratch’s opposition that shaking and waking the king would not be a good idea at the moment, when she suddenly stopped and waved her fists into the air, belting out the last few notes in a completely different key.

  Scratch took her by the hand and pulled her along while Juggle caught another crystal ball from Jareth and prevented the castle doors to be blown open.

  With heaving breath, Trouble finally slugged his king through the throne room like a ragdoll with the help of Juggle, who could only assist with one hand as his other was filled with unexploded crystal balls.

  “Party?” Jareth mumbled as he noticed the sleeping goblins on the floor.

  “Party is over, Your Kingyness”, Trouble responded and kept dragging him along.

  His Majesty only pouted and grunted something unintelligible. Finally, they had managed to drag Jareth up the stairs, prevented Sarah from tumbling backwards down the stairs, and entered the royal chambers without knocking over too many furniture.

  Once they had rolled Jareth into his bed, they had left them to their own devices, and Sarah had locked the door with a smirk. She jumped up on the bed and on top of Jareth, who let out a loud huff of air as she sat down on him.

  “Guess what? We’re alone now in our bedchamber, Hun”, she purred into his ear and started to kiss and lick his neck, eliciting a moan from deep down his throat.

  “Hm, schay it again”, he mumbled with closed eyes, laying spread eagle.

  Sarah giggled into her kisses and kept servicing his semi erection with her hand while Jareth produced a series of pleasurable moans until he remained completely quiet.

  She noticed his lack of participation and looked in his face. He was sound asleep, and his semi-hard erection had gone back to completely flaccid.

  “Ugh,” she groaned with disappointment and dismounted him. “Really? The one night you’re falling asleep on me, and it has to be tonight?”

  She took a deep breath and stood in front of him, contemplating for a moment before she walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower. After having successfully cleaned herself of all the street grime and wine, she went over to his side of the bed and carefully began to free him from his flimsy loincloth.

  “I guess a shower will have to wait until tomorrow, and I don’t have any magic yet to clean you up. Or do I?” she mumbled pensively and placed a finger against her lips while she pondered over that fact.

  “The Goblin King had given the girl certain powers. Of course,”, she thought with a sudden realization washing over her face.

  “I wish the Goblin King was cleaned up, right now”, she stated firmly and instantly the dirt and dust on his body had disappeared, even though he was not as sparkly as usual.

  “Agh, it worked. Why couldn’t I think of that when we were all over the Underground trying to teleport home? I could’ve just wished us back to our chambers. I need to remember that one.”

  She cheerfully clapped her hands together, gave a sated grin, and jumped up on the bed. He barely moved as she slipped under the covers and laid in front of him, taking hold of one of his arms and folding it over her body.

  “Good night, Hun” she murmured with a smirk and kissed the tip of his nose before she closed her own eyes.

  Sarah chuckled at the memory and sat at the edge of the bed, stroking the hair out of his face.

  “Hey, glitterbutt, wake up”, she purred into his ear with a wicked little smile.

  Jareth let out a sleepy moan and tried to roll himself over, only to be blocked by Sarah on the other side as she bent down and moved her face right in front of his, a mere few centimetres away.

  “I said good morning, Hun, oh husband of mine” she whispered again and let one of her hair strands tickle his face.

  “Say it again”, he mumbled and partially opened his eyes, gazing at her from underneath his long thick lashes.

  Sarah smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

  “Good morning, Hun”, she repeated, and he weakly shook his head with a disapproving grumble.

  “The other part” he mumbled into his pillow.

  “Oh husband of mine?” she reiterated like a question and instantly found herself on her back with his body towering over hers as he placed passionate kisses along her jawline and cheeks, only to come back to her lips and capture them in a passionate kiss.

  “That’s the one. Tell me again who I am, wife”, he smirked into his kisses.

  “My annoying, sparkly, glitterbutt husband”, she giggled, and he intensified his kisses, which he justified as punishments for her disrespectful treatment of her new husband.

  “Nothing glittery about my butt, Love. Do I need to show it to you up close?”

  He growled into her ear as his tongue flicked over her lobe and down the side of her neck, causing a tingling sensation to course through her body and pool in her loins.

  “You definitely need a shower”, she remarked when he finally pulled back with dark, glazed over eyes that clearly showed his hunger for her in them.

  “Join me”, he croaked in a hoarse voice and had to clear his throat to rid himself of the annoying frog that had set up residence overnight.

  “I already took one, you on the other hand reek like wine and dirt, even though I wished you semi-clean last night.”

  She pushed him off her with a playful laugh and slapped his bare butt.

  “Go clean up, and when you come back, I’ll be here waiting for you”, she cooed into his ears and licked her lips with a salacious grin.

  “Is that a promise?” he asked with a smirk as he quirked his eyebrow and made his way to the bathroom. “Do not go anywhere, I shall be out in five minutes.”

  Sarah licked her lips and watched him disappear into the shower while she resituated herself on the bed and laid down in the most seductive pose she could come up with.

  After a few attempts of various poses, she finally decided on laying on her side with slightly cocked legs, propped up on her elbow, and her head resting in her hand.

  When Jareth stepped out of the shower with nothing but a towel wiping his hair dry, she seductively motioned him to come to her with her finger and a predatory look on her face.

  He obediently dropped his towels to the floor and hurried to the bed with two long strides.

  “Stop”, she told him as he arrived with an eager look at the foot of the bed, and she crawled towards him like a cat on a prowl, her eyes trained on his with an intense look, as if she were hunting and stalking her prey.

  Jareth swallowed, and he felt himself harden only by the gaze into her eyes. He saw the mark he had given her the night before on the side of her neck. It still was red and inflamed but had already taken on the shape of his insignia pendant.

  His own mark was throbbing and clearly displayed on the top of his shoulder. Sarah’s eyes fell on it, and she made a beeline straight for it.

  When she reached him, she moved onto her knees and gently touched it, brushing her fingertip gingerly across it with a stunned look.

  “It’s beautiful”, she hushed the whisper and suddenly pressed her lips against his in a passionate kiss as he worked his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

  His mouth opened immediately upon her tongue caressing his already parting lips. She exhaled quiet little moans of desire, and her fingers ran feverishly through his wild, wet hair, curling into fists, and pulling his head farther down to her.

  Jareth could only brace himself for so long before her pull made him lose his balance, and he slowly reclined her back onto the bed, with him leaning over her.

  “Hm, someone is fired up this morning. And here I thought you may not be feeling up to par”, he grinned and placed a few more pecks onto her lips. “How are you feeling this morning?” he asked more serious now with a concerned mien on his face.

  “Not bad aside from a splitting headache, but I think that is more due to the insane amount of fae wine I consumed last night.”

  She bit her bottom lip with a sheepish grin on her face.

  “I am glad to see you are feeling quite all right so far. I shall be keeping a close eye on you for any sign of the transformation. None of us really knows how and when it will start, so we will have to be diligent for some time to come.”

 “Well, can you keep an eye on me while we’re doing a certain activity?” she asked cheekily and blushed slightly as she ran her finger across his collarbone and down his chest, stopping only where his amulet was dangling from the chain.

  “And what does my wife and my queen have in mind?” he asked with a big grin plastered on his face.

  He loved to hear himself speak the words he always had dreamed of using in reference to her. His heart was about to burst out of his chest seeing his mark on her neck and the want for him in her deep green eyes, which shimmered with a dazzling glow in the mid-day sunlight.

  “Well, for starters, we never got to consummate our marriage in our bed and that was your wish, after all, last night.”

  “Oh, was it now?” he smirked and recaptured her lips as he lowered his body down onto hers and let his hands begin to wander.

  Sarah was about to take hold of his erection when an urgent rap at the door interrupted their intimate moment. Jareth snarled through gritted teeth while daggers were shooting from his blackened eyes.

  “Who the bloody hell is interrupting the king’s consummating ceremony?” he roared angrily at the door, and Sarah sucked in a breath of surprise at his bold words.

  “Jareth”, she scolded him for being so brunt.

  “Your Kingyness.... Majesty”, came Trouble’s timid voice. “We have lunch party going for new queen, and she needs to blow out the torches before the kitchen catches fire.”

  Sarah furrowed her brows and threw Jareth a puzzled look.

  “What is he talking about?” she whispered while Jareth elicited an audible grunt and wiped his face with his hand in exasperation.

  “Tell the others, we will be right down”, Jareth yelled back and reluctantly, with a pitiful face, removed himself from Sarah.

  “They set the blasted cake on fire”, he answered her question and magicked suitable clothing on the both of them.

  Sarah was not too happy to see them fully dressed, as her plans had not included a dressed Goblin King nor a flaming cake, but she got off the bed and took hold of his proffered hand.

  “What cake, Jareth?” she asked with bewilderment.

  “We better see what’s going on, Love. I do not want my.... our castle to burn down into a pile of ashes.”

  In an instant, they reappeared in the dining hall. An enormous, five-metre-tall wedding cake, stood in the middle of the room with lifesize replica statues of Jareth and Sarah on top and a ring of blazing tiki torches surrounding them.

  Sarah placed her hand in front of her mouth and could barely contain her laughter after laying her eyes on this monstrosity of a cake. The flames of the torches reached a critical height and started to get close to the banners that were hanging down from the vaulted ceiling and were drifting in the warm breeze.

  All the goblins were assembled, and Trouble stood next to Juggle, Scratch, Mary, and Ginny in the front row with a big grin on his face. Hoggle stood off to the side with a frowning expression on his face and tossed Jareth a few dirty looks every now and then.

  It was obvious he did not approve of the marriage between the rat and his Sarah. Sir Didymus didn’t seem to notice as he shouted out his congratulation to the newlyweds.

  “Hail thee, hail thee”, came his loudly barked words.

  “We made big wedding cake for our new queen last night”, Trouble declared proudly.

  “And why are there torches on the top of it?” Jareth asked with a frown, as he didn’t seem quite amused over the entire affair.

  “Resembles love. Queenie played song the other day and song said, ‘light my fire of love’. So, torches resemble love. “

  “Makes sense”, Sarah butted in with a big smile while Jareth grunted into his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  In the meantime, a goblin quintet had set up behind the cake and started to play ‘happy times are here again’, using one of the vuvuzelas from the games as a replacement for the trumpet part.

  Apparently, the accordion player was in a different key than the rest of the band, but nevertheless, all goblins present started singing in not so harmonic harmony.

  “Someone, please make it stop”, Jareth whined as he felt an impending migraine coming on from the cacophonous choir Lied.

  After a couple more beats, Sarah asked the assembly to stop the music and suggested on extinguishing the fire and cutting the cake. Immediately, the torches were blown out. Just in time, as they had started to lick against the lowest banner and had already burnt the corner off one of them.

  With great eagerness, the kitchen staff goblins ran over with machetes to cut the cake into uneven slices and handed out the gigantic portions. Sarah and Jareth received the first two slices, and Sarah thanked them with a nod and a smile, while Jareth had sunk into a chair and buried his head into his hand with his elbows resting on the table.

  “Why does this feel so reminiscent of your birthday, Love?” he groaned while Sarah started to consume the cake with a giggle.

  “This is really good. Try it, Jareth”, she suggested and pointed at his plate he had yet to touch.

  He only tossed it a discontented look with a sneer. He faulted the cake for him not being able to consummate his marriage in their bed, regardless of having done so several times last night inside the fairy ring.

  In his book, it wasn’t complete until he could have her in the bed, as petulant as the thought may be.

  “Magic Dance”, the goblins started yelling and requested Jareth to perform their favourite song and dance.

  “Sing Magic Dance for Queenie, Your Majesty”, Trouble suggested.

  Hoggle only rolled his eyes while Sir Didymus waved his spear and gave out a loud bark of approval. Finally, at the urging of Sarah, Jareth stood up and waved his hands to signal the partying goblins he was about to give in to their request.

  “You remind me of the babe”, he shouted into the face of Trouble as he grabbed him by the front of his shirt and held him up to his eyes.

  “What babe?” Trouble responded.

  “The babe with the power.”

  “What power?” Scratch wondered.

  “The power of voodoo.”

  “Who do?” Juggle asked.

  “You do”, Jareth laughed.

  “Do what?” Mary and Ginny asked in unison with a giggle.

  “Remind me of the babe”, Jareth replied and winked at Sarah, blowing her a kiss before he started in on the first verse of the song.

  Sarah couldn’t help but to laugh out loud, since this was the first time she had actually witnessed this dance and song. She had been told it was the one Jareth had sung to Toby, but she had never heard it before.

  She sat back down and tapped her feet while she continued to consume her cake. The goblins began to dance around and performed their antics.

  Hoggle took a seat next to her, and she gave him a quick hug, which he shrugged off in his gruff ways. But he did give her an adoring glance when she turned her eyes back to Jareth, clapping her hands with enjoyment.

  Sir Didymus had decided to join in the dance as well and tried to snap a few flying goblins out of the air without much luck.

  Sarah laughed and chortled as two flying goblins collided with each other, and one of them fell onto the top of the cake, plunging all the way to the bottom on the inside.

  He finally did reappear by having eaten his way out of it at the lowest level. Jareth picked him up and gave him a swift kick, launching him back into the air, much to the delight of the other goblins, who cackled with approval.

  “This is so much fun”, she giggled and went to help herself to another slice of cake when a sharp pained stabbed through her head like a searing hot rod of melted steel and made her collapse back into the chair.

  “Sarah, are yer all right?” Hoggle asked with sudden concern, seeing her blanched face.

  “Yeah, I just got dizzy there for a moment. I’m fine, thank you, Hoggle”, she murmured and attempted to get up again.

  “Sarah, yer not.... JARETH”, she heard him cry out.

  She had made but three steps before the world around her started to spin with ever-increasing velocity like an out-of-control carousel, and she felt as if she was falling down into a big hole.

  Jareth’s voice seemed to fade in and out from a distance and finally became nothing more than an unintelligible white background noise. She could see his face in front of her, but it looked distorted, as if viewing it through a heavily soaked window pain.

  He was saying something to her, but she couldn’t decipher the words. She wanted to reach out to him and tell him she was all right, but no words escaped her mouth.

  And then, everything turned black, and she felt herself collapsing into a pair of strong arms, which lifted her off the ground and seemed to carry her with great urgency.

**************************************************

  “JARETH. It’s Sarah”, Hoggle yelled, and Jareth immediately stopped his singing and dancing and glanced over at Sarah, who looked horribly pale.

  Her eyes had turned back into her skull as she stood motionless in one spot and swayed dangerously back and forth with an empty expression upon her countenance.

  In a split-second, Jareth was by her side and scooped her up into his arms. He took one brief look at her face, and his eyes darkened with worries.

  “Trouble, get Elroy my healer and have him meet me at my chamber. Quick!”

  “Your Majesty, I shall taketh care of everything here”, Sir Didymus immediately declared.

  Jareth only nodded curtly before he disappeared with Sarah cradled in his arms. When he arrived at their room, he gingerly laid her onto her back and gently stroked her face.

  “Precious, can you hear me?”

  His voice sounded frightened, and his eyes were full of concern. He bent over her and placed a tender kiss onto her forehead before pressing his own forehead against her, breathing deeply.

  It had begun. How long would it last? How intense would the symptoms be? Would she make it through it? What if she didn’t survive this. Would he be able to go on? Most assuredly not.

  Before he could wallow in his cogitations, Elroy stormed into his chamber, closely followed by Hoggle, Didymus, and his most trusted goblins, Trouble, Juggle, Scratch, Mary, and Ginny.

  Elroy unceremoniously shoved Jareth aside when he reached the bed and decided to ignore his king’s angry glare with raised supercilia for the crude treatment.

  Sarah lay unresponsive and pale with fluttering eyelids, and her skin began to feel clammy and hot to the touch.

  Elroy examined her closely with a crystal, furrowing his brows every so often and making a humming noise. Jareth stood back to give his healer the space he needed.

  He nervously ran his hands through his unruly hair and breathed deeply, trying to convey the image of a composed ruler without much success, as the worry was clearly cut across his disheartened visage.

  His goblins stood next to him in complete silence and only stared with their big, black eyes at the healer as he was conducting his examination. Mary slowly reached up and intertwined her hand with Jareth’s.

  He looked down at her with surprised eyes but didn’t pull back from the gentle gesture of emotional support.

  Instead, he gave her hand a little squeeze, and they stood silent, watching the healer bent over the queen with a focused and worried expression. Hoggle started to tear up and wrung his hands quietly, while Sir Didymus laid back his ears in submission, afraid to hear the healer’s verdict.

  “Well?” Jareth snarled impatiently at Elroy after a few minutes, who sat quiet and motionless at Sarah’s bedside and held on to her hand as if he were counting the seconds and pondering over the best course of action.

  “Well, nothing, Your Majesty. She has entered her first stage of transformation.”

  Jareth quirked his eyebrow at the barking response of his healer but refrained from making a snarky retort. Elroy was his healer for a reason. He was the best the Underground had to offer, and Jareth gladly overlooked his disrespectful and uncourteous bedside manners for that very reason.

  “What can you do for her?” Jareth enquired with impatient exasperation, not letting him have such an easy way out.

  “We wait”, Elroy simply stated and put his glasses back in his jacket pocket. “And we hope and pray for the best”, he added with a deep sigh.

  As soon as the healer had removed himself from her bedside, Jareth occupied the space he had previously and took Sarah’s hand into his, gently caressing her skin with his ungloved thumb.

  “Stay with me, Precious”, he murmured softly. “I refuse to leave your side.”

  “Your Majesty”, Elroy interrupted Jareth’s vigil. “If....when she wakes up, give her this, it’ll help with the pain.”

  He handed Jareth a small bag of powder with instructions, and Jareth nodded gratefully.

  “I’ll take my leave. Call me as soon as there is a change”, Elroy advised and took his leave, fleetingly glancing back at Sarah, with Jareth holding her hand, before he closed the door behind him.

  Carefully, the goblins, including Hoggle and Sir Didymus, stepped forward and surrounded the bed. Everyone’s face clearly displayed the intense worry they held for the well-being of their queen, and in the case of Hoggle, his best friend.

  “You can all go”, Jareth spoke quietly and glanced at the small assembly of loyal goblins with a faint smile around his lips. “I shall call you when there is any news. You have my word.”

  The goblins quietly nodded their heads and slowly sauntered out of the room reluctantly, constantly stopping and peeking back over their shoulders. Once they reached the door, Trouble ushered them out, giving one more last deep sigh, and closed the door behind him.

  Jareth turned his attention back to Sarah when he noticed Hoggle and Didymus were still present.

  “We won’ leave her”, Hoggle stated in a hoarse voice. “Yer can send us away, but we won’ leave ter outside of this door.”

  He crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave Jareth a solid stare of defiance. Didymus rolled his eyes at the attitude of the dwarf and bowed to Jareth.

  “By my troth, I shall taketh my post in front of my queen’s chamber door. Nobody shall enter unless His Majesty wishes so.”

  Hoggle never diverted his eyes from Jareth, who now held his gaze with an inscrutable countenance. After what seemed hours, Jareth’s gaze fell back onto Sarah’s, and he heaved a deep sigh.

  “Hoggle” he spoke quietly, and Hoggle’s eyes opened wide at hearing his correct name. “Whenever I have to leave her side, I want you to be here and take my place. There is no one beside me, she trusts more.”

 Hoggle’s mouth fell to the floor upon hearing his king’s statement uttered in such a soft-spoken warm voice, which he had never heard from him. He was stunned and speechless, and it took him some time to recompose himself.

  “Thank yer, Yer Majesty. I’ll give my best watchin’ over her”, he finally stammered and slowly made his way towards the door to take his place outside.

  “Oh, Hoggle”, Jareth voice halted him as he laid his hand on the doorknob. “I shall let it slide this time that you called me by my name instead of addressing me properly in front of the goblins. You meant well, and it was an emergency.”

  Hoggle nodded silently and left the room, closing the door behind him as quiet as he could. Jareth never turned to look at him as his gaze was captured by the frail figure laying on the bed.

**************************************************

  The sun had set hours ago, and the crystal moon shone its argent beams through the open windows, bathing the interior of the room in a soft glow. A couple of scones lining the walls had been lit, and the dark figure sat motionless on the bed with his legs stretched out beneath him.

  His arms were wrapped tightly around the sleeping woman, whose head was cradled caringly against his chest.

  A quiet melodic hum emanated from the depth of his throat as he sang a beautiful melody to her while his hands continuously stroked through her long silky tresses of dark hair.

  Every so often, a shiver ran through her body, and a moan escaped her lips, causing him to cinch his arms tighter around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. But he never interrupted his song to her.

  A soft knock pulled him out of his tender ministrations and interrupted his humming.

  “Enter’, he ordered with a stern voice, and the door cracked open ever so carefully as Mary entered hesitantly with a tray of food.

  “Your Majesty’s dinner”, she announced softly and glanced over at the still body of the girl, wrapped in his arms.

  “How is the lady?” she inquired with big eyes.

  “The same, no change”, he replied and placed a tender kiss on the top of Sarah’s head.

  “I’ll tell the others, Your Kingyness.”

  Mary quickly curtsied and left the room as quietly and quickly as she had entered it. Hoggle had taken the opportunity of the cracked door to peek into the room and rested his distressed eyes on Sarah. With a deep sigh, he watched her disappear as the door closed on him again.

  Elroy had come by thrice during the day to check up on her, always followed by the entourage of goblins, but nothing had changed. She was still unconscious and had begun to run a fever.

  Jareth carefully let go of her body and wrapped the blankets tightly around her as he worked himself off the bed and sauntered to his table where his dinner waited on him.

  He was not hungry, nor did he have an appetite, but he knew he needed to keep his strength up for what was surely to come. Reluctantly, he sat down and started to eat slowly while his eyes were focused on Sarah instead of the food in front of him.

  He would not have been able to recount what he had eaten had he been asked. It didn’t matter, as it was nothing more than sustenance to keep up his energy. After he had finished, he pushed the tray away and briefly stepped into the bathroom for his nightly ablutions.

  He re-emerged wearing a pair of lose fitting silky night pants and shirt. He hated to sleep in clothes and preferred the touch of warm skin against his body, but he needed to remain presentable in case Elroy and the goblins would return during the night for a check-up.

  Sarah stirred, and her body shivered, as the fever had increased gradually throughout the day. She felt hot to his touch when he placed the back of his hand against her forehead, and a thin sheet of sweat covered her face and body.

  He had her dressed in a light night gown of her own, but it felt damp from the sweat that had soaked her body over the past few hours.

  She now curled herself into a tight ball, and her body convulsed in a series of palpitations as the hot flashes had been replaced by cold quivers. A flurry of groans escaped her, and she began to toss her head from side to side as she moved back into a supine pose.

  “Sarah?” Jareth whispered to her and tried to calm her by caressing her face.

  She did not respond as her entire body began to violently thrash around and once again contorted with uncontrolled seizures, the sweat pouring down her face.

  “HOGGLE”, Jareth screamed, and the dwarf immediately flung the door open. “Get Elroy and hurry.”

  Hoggle was gone, running down the corridor as fast as his short legs could carry him before Jareth had finished his sentence. The image of Jareth holding down an out-of-control, thrashing Sarah gave him the power to fly down the hallway, and within a minute had reached the healer’s office.

  No words were necessary when Elroy saw the dwarf’s flushed faced, his eyes filled with anxiety. He instantly grabbed his bag and teleported straight into the royal bedchamber, only to find Jareth in a struggle with Sarah, who seemed to be in the middle of an epileptic seizure.

  “Hold her down”, he instructed his king and ran a crystal across her face and upper body. “She’s entering the next stage”, he informed Jareth.

  “Should we not try to bring down her fever with a potion?” Jareth asked with a slight panic in his voice.

  “No, we cannot interfere. All we can do is try and make it as comfortable for her as possible. Place cool washrags against her face and neck. Keep blankets wrapped around her when she is cold. She will continue to oscillate between the two extremes.”

  Jareth only nodded and sprinted into the bathroom to retrieve a bowl with cool water and a couple of washrags, which he immediately started to apply to her forehead and neck.

  Sarah’s thrashing had started to ease up, and her body finally relaxed as it slumped down and lay still, small shivers continuously coursing through her. Elroy sat with Jareth for some time, watching her respond to his ministrations.

  Hoggle and Didymus had quietly entered the room as well and stood silently by the door, along with all five goblins. Nobody dared to break the quietness and only stared, watching their king taken the utmost care of his queen in such gentle manners they had never witnessed from him before.

  Even Hoggle felt bad for doubting the rat over his true feelings. He knew love when he saw it, and he saw it happening in front of his eyes. As much as he hated to admit it at that moment, Sarah was in the best hands with Jareth. He would always keep her safe.

  Quietly, the small band of loyalists exited the room again when Elroy approached the door to leave himself.

  “I’ll be back every other hour unless something happens, and you summon me immediately. Your Majesty.”

  Elroy bowed and left Jareth alone with Sarah once more. Her body lay still now, and he constantly applied the washrags to new places along her body as he started up his soft singing again.

  “There’s such a sad love deep in your eyes, a kind of paled jewel open and close.... I’ll be there for you, as the world falls down....”

****************************************************

  Sarah didn’t know where she was, as everything around her felt distant and foggy. She could not make out faces or voices, but she knew there were several people around her. She could feel Jareth’s strong arms and hands, and it gave her a feeling of safety.

  Briefly, she heard someone call her name, and a couple of times she saw Jareth’s mismatched eyes staring at her, so close and yet so far away.

  A strange yet familiar melody infiltrated her ears and soothed her anxiety she felt while her body shivered from incredibly cold spells, followed by unspeakable hot flashes that seemed to consume her very soul.

  She wanted to reach out for Jareth, whom she knew was close by, and talk to him, but her body felt paralyzed, and she could not even move a finger. She heard her name being called again, but it wasn’t Jareth this time. It was a woman.

  “What woman would call my name? Karen? No, can’t be. We haven’t talked in years. Alia? It doesn’t sound like her voice. I don’t recognize that voice.”

 Her mind tried to make sense of it but could not comprehend. Throughout the day, the voice seemed to grow stronger and more pronounced. The vernacular was unfamiliar to her, and she knew she had never heard that voice before. Who was calling to her?

  “Sarah, listen to me.”

  “Wo are you? Do I know you?”

  The voice sounded like a ghostly echo. Far and yet so close, unknown yet so familiar, frightening yet so soothing and reassuring. Sarah’s confounded mind tried to make sense of it all.

  “You know me as the Labyrinth, my dear”, came the answer.

  “How can the Labyrinth speak? I thought it’s only a complicated and convoluted structure.”

  She heard a quiet giggle before the voice continued.

  “I am an entity and fully sentient. I’m surprised King Jareth has not told you yet. I’m sure he will once you are awoken and fully transformed. You are now part of me, just as Jareth is. We’ll be forever interconnected. Don’t fear Sarah, you will be safe. After waiting for so long to have my champion returned to me, I will not allow for harm to come to you.”

  “I’ll be safe?” Sarah asked with a sense of relief.

  “Yes, but you must die first”, came the answer, and Sarah’s heart stopped briefly with panic.

  “Die? You just said I‘ll be safe. I can’t die. I don’t want to leave Jareth, please, no, don’t let me die and take me away from Jareth.”

  She started to thrash around and scream as the thought of her dying was overwhelming her mind. How could this be, to be safe and die at the same time?  

  “Relax, my champion. The way forward is the way back. To die is to live forever. You shall be with your king, have no fear.”

  “The way forward is the way back? Wait....that’s what the Wiseman had told me, are you....?”

  “I am he as he is me.”

  The voice left her there, and Sarah’s mind tried feverishly to comprehend everything that had been told to her, finally understanding what the Wiseman had told her so long ago. The Wiseman, who had been the Labyrinth itself.

  She was going to die and come back, so she could live forever. Sarah only hoped that Jareth would understand and realize it, for she was not able to tell him about this new revelation.

  Her oversensitive awareness once again began to dull and slip into the darkness of unconsciousness as her body went limb, and the sense of Jareth’s presence faded away.

**************************************************

  “I can’t die. I don’t want to leave Jareth, please, no, don’t let me die and take me away from Jareth”, Sarah cried out and violently flung her head side to side while Jareth did his best to hold her down, so she would not hurt herself.

  Her body felt like searing hot coals to his touch, and at the same time chilled him down to the bone like touching shards of glacial ice.

  Her nightgown and the bedsheets were dripping wet, and her eyes, which she had briefly opened, had rolled back into her head, giving her a freakish and ghoulish appearance.

  Jareth shuddered at the sight and once more had called out for Elroy in his panic.

  Hoggle, Didymus, and the five goblins stood with scared expressions on their faces at the foot of the bed while they watched Elroy and Jareth holding down Sarah the best they could.

  Her body lurched itself off the bed with violent contortions. At times, her eyes were wide open and then closed again.

  “I can’t die”, she yelled and writhed beneath the stranglehold Jareth had put on her.

  He finally, and with great trepidation, had conjured magic restraints for her arms and legs as him and Elroy could no longer hold her down safely on their own.

  “Where is she drawing this incredible strength from?” Elroy gasped as they finally were able to let go of her, being now fully restraint by magic.

  “I am afraid it is the Labyrinth itself”, Jareth murmured, drawing a shocked look from his healer.

  “The Labyrinth has been quiet for fifteen years, My Liege”, he exclaimed.

  “I know, but what better time to raise its head than when its champion goes through the transformation”, he answered through gritted teeth and with a hint of disdain in his voice.

  “If you hurt her, I shall destroy you”, his mind sent the mental warning toward the centre and was immediately answered with a growl and a piercing pain in his head.

  Jareth nearly toppled off the bead, holding on to his temples with both hands as he contorted his face in a painful grimace.

  “Your Majesty”, Elroy shouted aghast and immediately reached for his king, who was already being helped by Trouble and Didymus.

  The rest of the entourage gasped in shock over seeing their monarch coming close to being evicted from the side of the bed by painful convulsions that had him doubled over.

  “It is the Labyrinth. I guess it did not approve of my threat to demolish it if it hurts Sarah.”

  He grinned wryly and retook his seat by the side of the bed, replacing the washrag on her forehead. Elroy threw him a questioning look but decided to leave the matter alone.

  Conversations with the Labyrinth spirit were strictly between the king and the incorporeal sentient being in the centre of his maze.

  “My champion will not be harmed. I give you my word.”

  “I shall hold you to this, or I absolutely will dismantle you stone by stone until there is nothing left of you, and that is my promise to you.”

  This time, Jareth was left with no answer, and he continued to apply his ministrations to Sarah while the rest of the support group stayed in the room, holding a silent vigil.

**************************************************

  Two days had come and gone, and Sarah’s conditions had not improved. Her spells between hot and cold had increased, and only the magic restrains kept her from flinging herself off the bed and prevented her from causing harm to herself.

  Jareth had cursed the Labyrinth under his breath several times over, but it had remained quiet, as it once again had shut itself off from him. Sarah had not called out in her seizures anymore, nor had her eyes rolled back into her head, which Jareth found comforting.

  Whatever message the Labyrinth had given to Sarah, it no longer conversed with her as well, and this was more than acceptable for him. He had allowed Hoggle and the five goblins to remain in the chambers most of the time.

  They had assisted him with performing small chores such as cleaning, bringing up the food, and taking over his vigil when he had to leave for short periods of times to go over some unavoidable business with Corrigan, who held down the fort for him.

  He had sent a message to his parents, and both had arrived at his castle early in the morning and now sat with worried faces next to Sarah’s bed. Alia had forced her son to take a much-needed rest under heavy protest.

  She finally threatened him with a sleep spell if he would not lay down and try to rest on his own. He had given in begrudgingly but had refused to leave the chamber. He lay in a fitful slumber on the settee, mumbling her name every so often.

  Alia took a deep sigh as she applied the cool washrag to Sarah’s forehead. Elroy had placed a soothing spell over Sarah to ease up on her convulsions. Despite her magical restraints, he was beginning to worry about her hurting herself with the constant flopping and thrashing.

  “Oh, my child, come on, you can do this. Don’t leave him now, he’s been fighting for you for so long, and so hard.”

  Queen Alia gently stroked the hair out of her damp face and reapplied the washrags to her neck and forehead. Sarah answered with a moan but otherwise lay unresponsive.

  As the hours ticked by, Sarah’s breathing slowed and became shallower. Her pulse began to weaken. In an instant, Jareth woke up and was by her side, holding her face in his hands.

  He could feel her emotions within himself and the pain from which she was suffering. It tore him apart and distorted his face in a painful expression.

  “Sarah”, he cried out to her, and tears started to form in his eyes for the first time as he felt her lifeforce slipping through his fingers.

  “You said you will not let her be harmed”, he cried out and lifted his head as he screamed obscenities at the unseen entity. “You promised me. I shall destroy you; do you hear me? I shall destroy you, stone by stone, and if it is the last thing I am able to do before you strike me down.”

  Everyone fell silent and didn’t dare to move. Olaf, Alia, and Elroy moved away from the bed as Jareth refused to let go of her body and clung on to her nearly lifeless form as if it were a life raft.

  “Sarah, please, do not leave me. I cannot go on without you. You are my love, the love of my existence. You are my existence.”

  He laid across her body and wrapped his arms tightly around her as he let his tears stream down his face. Her breathing had stopped, and he listened to her last heartbeat as he sobbed uncontrollably.

  An eerie glow descended onto the room and enveloped the two embracing royals on the bed. Jareth didn’t notice, as his eyes were closed, and he wanted to lose himself in the warmth and softness of her body. They never even had a chance to make love to each other in their bed as husband and wife.

  “King Jareth, fear not. Trust in me.”

  The voice in his mind was soothing and comforting, and he felt as if a hand had reached out to him, gently stroking the side of his face, and wiping away his tears.

  He opened his rheumy eyes and only now noticed the bright light that had ensconced them fully.

  “Labyrinth?”    

  He lifted his head and looked around to see everyone standing perfectly still as if in a trance. His eyes fell back onto the woman beneath him, and he sucked in his breath as he watched her face beginning to glow.

  Her eyebrows lightly swept up at the outer corners while light-blue pigmentation with a hint of gold glitter made its appearance around her eyes, similar to his. Her skin looked translucent, and her lips were plumb and rosy. Even her hair had a sheen to it he had not noticed before.

  And then he felt her first breath, and her first heartbeat in her chest, as she opened her eyes and looked at him with the most intense sparkling green orbs.

  A big smile blossomed across her face as she held his gaze. The magic restraints dissolved, and one hand came up to caress his cheek. He leaned into her gentle touch, closing his eyes in a fleeting moment, and murmuring her name with reverence.

  “I’m back, my beloved glitterbutt husband, and I’m not leaving you ever again”, she whispered.

  “Sarah”, was the only word Jareth could utter before his lips crashed onto hers.

  He took hold of her in the most passionate kiss, tears of joy streaming down his cheeks, as he couldn’t decide whether to kiss her mouth or the rest of her face, and he decided to do it all.

  They were so engulfed in each other, they didn’t even notice that the room quietly emptied out, and they were left alone, only the two of them on their bed, intertwined in a loving embrace.

  Their kiss lasted for an eternity, and when they finally broke from it, Jareth laid his head against her chest as she kept holding him tight in her arms.

  “I love you so much, Sarah”, Jareth whispered barely audible with tears still trickling down his cheeks.

  “I love you.... Hun”, she replied with the faintest hint of a blissful chuckle as her fingers gently raked through his hair.

  Jareth tightened his arms around her and silently nodded his head, only letting a gasp escape his throat. Within minutes, they both had fallen into a peaceful slumber from which they would not wake for several hours.

**************************************************

  “And how is my wife doing this morning?” Jareth asked with a beaming smile, as his face hovered centimetres away from hers, two mismatched eyes full of mischief shining brightly down on her.

  “Heavenly”, came the answer with an equally bright smile.

  She pulled him down and captured his lips, savouring his taste and feel of his tongue inside her mouth as she contently moaned into the kiss. When she pulled back, he concentrated his attention to her neck and shoulder, showering her in hot kisses.

  “Hm, that feels good”, she murmured and encouraged him to continue when he briefly looked up at her.

  “We still have something we need to finish”, she declared as his mouth had worked its way towards one of her breasts, and his tongue eagerly snatched up one nipple.

  “And what is that?” he asked as he took her nipple into his mouth and sucked gently, eliciting moans of pleasure from her.

  “We never got to consummate our wedding in our bed. Don’t you think that is long overdue?”

  He let go of her nipple and looked at her with a hopeful smile only to be greeted by a mischievous look himself as she wiggled her eyebrows and licked her lips with a salacious smirk.

  “You don’t want to eat something first? It has only been three days since you have recuperated from your transformation. You need to regain some weight and get your strength back up”, he asked with a concerned voice and look on his face, but she vehemently shook her head.

  “Are you calling me weak?” she asked with a pout, and he laughed, kissing the tip of her nose.

  “Not at all, Love. You are definitely not weak after nearly tossing Elroy and me off of you during your seizures.”

  He tilted his head in a playful manner and smirked at her without releasing her body beneath him. He wanted to relish in the feel of being so close to her.

  For the past three days, he had done his best to speed up her healing and recuperation, and she had done quite well, much to the relieve of everyone. Elroy had declared her completely healed only last night.

  “I want to make love to you first”, she reiterated her request.

  “Well, then this cannot stand. Let us remedy this situation”, he declared and immediately resumed his ministrations.

  While he was busy with her breasts, switching back and forth between the two, her hand was eagerly stroking his already hard erection and savoured the feel of his body.

  His fingers expertly had travelled down to her folds and slit easily into her already wet channel.

  “Hm, if I wouldn’t know better, I would say you woke up ready, Precious”, he smiled into his kiss of her breast.

  “I want you inside of me, now”, she whispered and positioned his cock at her entrance.

  “In a hurry?” he asked amused.

  “More like penned up frustration and long overdue”, she growled back, and he entered her with one hard thrust, making her cry out with pleasure.

  She felt so incredibly tight and smooth, and he lost himself into her. Three days ago, she had died on him, and now, she was writhing beneath him in ecstasy.

  “Gods, I love you, Precious”, he groaned and increased the force of his thrust.

  She wrapped her legs around his body and lifted her hips to let him enter her even deeper. The fire inside of her began to burn wilder and wilder, the flames lapping high against her walls.

  When she finally shuddered with her orgasm and clenched her muscles tightly around his cock, she catapulted him over the precipice and had him spill himself inside of her to the last drop.

  He threw back his head and called out her name as he wildly bucked his hips back and forth. His name was still lingering on her lips when he captured them in a fervent kiss.

  He refused to pull out of her. No, he was not done, and she didn’t want him to finish quite yet. They had only begun their lovemaking.

  His tongue invaded her mouth and stole all her senses from her as her mind melted from his kiss. His cock was beginning to harden again, and his hips started to beat the rhythm in a slow and steady beat.

  He skilfully flung them over and broke his kiss, panting at her with parted lips. She smiled down at him and threw back her hair. Her pupils were dilated and her markings around her eyes had darkened with desire.

  He reached his hand up to her face and gently traced her brows and the outline of her eyes as he smiled at her.

  “You are ineffably beautiful. And you a mine”, he whispered.

  “I’m yours, forever”, she answered back and began to ride him slowly, relishing in the feeling of his cock buried deep inside of her.

  She bent forward for one more kiss before they once again lost each other in their passion. Their moans, created from their lovemaking, echoed in their room.

  Deep within the centre of the Labyrinth, the sentient force of it all smiled to itself and dissolved into in a bright, pulsating light, prophesizing of great times to come with many heirs to rule over its empire.

Chapter Text

Three weeks later:

  Sarah knelt reverently on a red velvet pillow, which had been placed on the lowest stoop of the hard stone steps leading up to the throne.

  Her head was bowed low, and her eyes cast towards the ground. Nervous hands rested anxiously against her lap and were slightly moist from her exuding perspiration, even though a damp chill silently permeated the mystic morning air.

  Every once in a while, she inconspicuously brushed them along the skirt of her long purple dress, which exposed more skin than it covered.

  It was a beautiful floor-length gown made from an exceptionally fine silky material that moved gently with the breeze of the wind. Her gossamer bodice was tight and formfitting with a plunging neckline that revealed just the right amount of cleavage.

  The double split skirt flowed with the ease of the wind and was nearly see-through, showing the contours of her shapely legs.

  A reinforced fabric layer around her hips prevented any voyeuristic eyes from ogling at intimate private parts, for which she was quite thankful as she wore nothing beneath her flowing gown.

  Her shoulders and arms were undraped, and solely the tightness of the décolleté around her bosom prevented her dress from slipping off her body.

  Her feet were bare and only a purple ankle bracelet with golden inlays adorned her left leg. No other accessories or jewelleries, besides the ring Jareth had given her, accompanied her attire as she knelt quietly before the throne.

  A huge stone ring surrounded the ceremonial centrepiece with precisely cut massive boulders stacked above her head to give the entire construction a Stonehenge appearance and feel.

  She could see the ghostly figures of the inhabitants of this realm outside the stone ring as they stood silently, watching her through the mist with big black eyes and toothy blackish-green faces that had distorted into horrid grins.

  Above them, the swarm of fairies hovered inert; all motions stilled besides the rapid flapping of their frail diaphanous wings, as if waiting for a command to resume their activities.

  The ancient wizened fae druid stood on the precipice of the stairs with the tall lithe fae king sitting regally behind him on his throne, wearing his golden crown.

  The king’s eyes bore unwaveringly down onto her yet she kept her gaze cast downward, never diverting them from the ground in front of her.

  A thinly veiled smile appeared fleetingly in the corners of his lips, only to be replaced by an immediate inscrutable mask of countenance upon hearing the chanting of the fae druid.

  Fae and goblin knights, dressed in their full battle gear, entered the ring, and aligned themselves on each side of the pathway leading up to the throne, their swords held tightly in their hands, pointing towards the heavens.

  The druid had finished his chant and silence fell over the circle. In his hand, he held a small ringlet shaped crown of pure gold, covered with inlaid purple sugilites and lilac diamonds. In the centre, the silver sigil of the Goblin Kingdom was clearly displayed.

  The king rose from his throne and languidly descended the steps until he reached the druid. His long purple cape billowed behind him. He silently took the crown out of the druid’s hands and turned towards the kneeling woman.

  “I, King Jareth of the Goblin Kingdom, crown thee, Sarah Williams, my beloved wife, and bonded mate, to be my queen regnant. To rule beside me as an equal and sovereign monarch to our shared kingdom. For her kingdom is as great as mine.”

  He gingerly placed the crown onto her head and fastened it tenderly.

  “Rise Queen Sarah of the Goblin Kingdom”, he commanded her gently and took her hand into his as she stood up and lifted her face to look him squarely into his eyes.

  Her eyes twinkled with the unshed tears that appeared in the corners of them as he gazed lovingly into those shining emerald-green orbs.

  When she stood before him, he let go of her hand and ever so tenderly fastened the necklace with his insignia around her neck. A perfect match to his own royal amulet.

  His hand rested briefly against the crook of her neck, holding the insignia in his fingers before he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss upon her lips.

  Repeating his action, he took hold of her hand and guided her up the steps to lead her to the throne of which there were now two. They turned and faced the assembly before they seated themselves onto their respective thrones.

  “All hail the new Goblin Queen, Queen Sarah, and Champion of the Labyrinth.”

  King Jareth himself shouted the proclamation, and immediately, the knights turned to face the throne and genuflected before their new monarch, reciting their oath of loyalty to her in unison while they held their swords pressed tightly against their hearts.

  A deafening roar erupted from the crowd of goblins, mixed with fae, elves, dwarves, and sprites. Even the druse, King of the Dryads was present, as well as the entire High Court.

  The fairies, hovering above the royal couple, released a shower of purple and red flower pedals that descended upon the two monarchs like wispy colourful pieces of glitter.

  Jareth beamed with pride as he looked over at Sarah and their eyes met. They descended the stairs, hand in hand, and strolled down the centre of the pathway leading out of the circle.

  They were flanked by the fae and goblin knights on each side, who now stood aligned, facing each other, and held their swords above their monarchs’ heads in an arch.

  Sarah couldn’t help but to wink at Sir Didymus when they passed him, and the fox gave a gallant nod of his head with a big toothy grin plastered on his large snout.

  Jareth displayed a sated and prideful smirk on his usually impregnable face as he led his newly-crowned queen out of the ceremonial ring and into a waiting, fully-enclosed carriage, which would transport them back to his castle and the grand ballroom.

  The carriage ride only lasted ten minutes, and the road was lined with thousands of goblins, who all waved their flags and banners and created a cacophony of clamorous noises, playing on their trumpets, vuvuzelas, and maracas.

  Combined with the goblin royal marching band in front of the carriage, the cheers and music swelled steadily into a mixed crescendo that started to give Jareth a headache, and he quickly warded the inside of the carriage with a soundproof spell.

  Sarah only giggled at his pained face behind her hand, she had placed in front of her mouth. Jareth quirked his eyebrow when he saw her laughing at him and bounced at her with the precision of a stalking predator.

  “Already making fun of the king, aren’t you, Precious?” he growled into her ear and brushed his hands over the length of her body.

  He expertly slipped one hand beneath the fabric of her split skirt and made his way towards the centre of her thighs.

  “Stop it, Jareth, we can’t do that here, and definitely not now.”

  She grabbed his invading hand and prevented his finger from finding its intended target as she gently pulled him back, much to his dismay.

  “I could stop time, you know”, he argued with a slight pout, and her thoughts briefly trailed off at his suggestion before she brought herself back to reality.

  She gave out a light chuckle and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

  “I bet you could, and as tempting it is, let’s get this over with. Maybe, we can slip away during the ball, and you can then perform your kingly duties on your queen.”

  The way she wiggled her eyebrows, an unspoken promise of the intimate joy to come, made him acquiesce her in her request as he sat himself down beside her.

  “Verily, My Queen. If we must. But, come nightfall, you are mine”, he added with a low sensual growl.

  Sarah grinned with a slight blush and waved at the goblins alongside the parade line, who now were her subjects every bit as much as Jareth’s. She quickly slipped on her pair of matching purple slippers, which had been waiting for her under her seat.

  She was glad she didn’t have to endure the rest of the day barefooted. Within minutes, they had arrived at the gates of the castle and disembarked the royal carriage.

  A small goblin with a red frock lowered the stairs for her to easily exit as he gave a deep bow, while Trouble stood by overseeing his duties.

  “Whiskey”, Sarah spoke gently and bent down to him with a smile. “I am so glad to see you doing well.”

  The little goblin answered her with a crooked grin and gleaming eyes and then eagerly folded the steps back up after the pair had exited.

  “Whiskey, if you would lead us to the ballroom, please”, Jareth added, and Whiskey beamed from ear to ear as he hastily hopped ahead and opened the door for them to enter, and then led them down the hallway towards the ballroom.

  “Thank you, Whiskey. Go join the others in the informal throne room for your festivities.”

  Jareth smiled and waved him off before the little goblin bounced away with a chuckle to indulge in a night of imbibing at the goblin party. Sarah’s eyes followed the happy creature as he disappeared around the hallway, after being joined by several of his friends.

  “I am so glad Whiskey recuperated to swiftly and fully”, Sarah sighed as her eyes fell back onto Jareth.

  “Yes, it most verily is a relief so see him so happy and well”, her replied while taking hold of her arm.

  “You know there will be a bunch of cleaning up to do tomorrow”, Sarah whispered into Jareth’s ear.

  “Oh, will there be ever”, he answered with a boisterous laugh.

  They both diverted their eyes towards the big door that separated them from the ballroom. The same ballroom Sarah had demolished a little more than fifteen years earlier.

  She tossed him a fleeting look of guilt, but he only patted her hand, which he had interlocked in his proffered arm.

  “No worries. It is all in the past, and I had it rebuilt even more grandiose. Ready, Love?”

  Sarah gave a curt nod with a smile, and they both entered with heads held high, arm in arm, being loudly announced by the herald as the entire room fell silent, and all eyes focused on them as they descended the ostentatious marble staircase.

  “I present to you King Jareth the First of the Northern District, Goblin King of the Labyrinth, Master of Dreams, and Keeper of Time, and Queen Sarah the First of the Above, Goblin Queen of the Labyrinth, and Champion of the Labyrinth.”

**************************************************

  “Easy there, Your Majesty. Do not damage your royal regnant”, Sarah giggled as Jareth impatiently opened the door to their chamber with his foot and carried her across the threshold in his arms with her hands interlocked behind his neck.

  “Most verily, My Queen”, he replied with a cheery grin and swooped her into the room while he closed the door with a kick of his foot.

  Instead of setting her down, he held her cradled in his arms and placed an ardent kiss against her lips. His tongue tenderly caressed hers after she had granted him access to her mouth.

  She pulled him as tight as she could against her face and closed her eyes to indulge in his kiss, which made her lose all rational thoughts.

  “Are you going to stand there and hold me all night?” she whispered as he finally let go of her lips.

  “I haven’t decided yet where to deposit you. Maybe I want you naked in our tub first, or maybe I want you naked in front of the fireplace on the fur rug. How about au naturel on top of our bed? We have so many choices”, he replied with a salacious smirk and another mind-blowing kiss as he felt the rising hardness inside his pants.

  Sarah tossed him a coquettish smirk and pointed to the fur rug by the fireplace, still holding her purple slippers in her hand.

  “Put me down there, and we can take each other’s clothes off slowly and then decide”, she declared with a giggle, and Jareth marched over to the hearth and gently set her down on the fur.

  They again embraced in a heated kiss as her hands finally dropped her shoes and instead eagerly sought to open his jacket and untie his shirt.

  “Why do you have to have so many damn clothes on?” she complained into the kiss as her hands worked feverishly to unbutton the front of his frock. “Oh, to hell with that”, she moaned with exasperation and moved her wrist as the frock and his shirt disappeared, leaving him standing in only his tight breeches.

  Jareth pulled back from her lips and gave himself a stunned look over with a raised eyebrow.

  “You’re getting better”, he grinned.

  “Sit down”, she commanded and pushed him down into the settee as she pulled off his boots and lowered herself onto her knees to open the front of his pants.

  Jareth’s hands found the laces to her dress and eagerly untied them while she was concentrating on his pants. As his breeches slipped down his hips, freeing his stiff erection, her dress fell to the floor, leaving her naked before him on her knees.

  He ran his hands down her bare back and smiled into her eyes.

  “You are so beautiful, Love.”

  She came up to capture his lips again in a fiery kiss as her hand took hold of his hard cock, stroking him slowly. Jareth moaned into her mouth and increased his ministrations of his tongue. His hands cupped her breasts and squeezed them tightly, rubbing his thumb over her tender nipples.

  Feeling the heat build-up in her loins, she let go of his lips and wrapped her mouth around his hard member, taking him fully, only to release him again as she looked into his eyes once more.

  “Let your queen service her king”, she whispered seductively and closed her lips around him again, while her tongue twirled circles around his tip.

  Jareth leaned his head against the backrest and closed his eyes briefly as a blissful moan escaped him, and he spread his legs open for her.

  “By all the gods in the seven heavens, what are you doing to me?”

  He slightly thrust his hips upwards and signalled her to increase her ministrations to his cock, which she abode by instantly, as her grip around him tightened, and her sucking him increased. He placed his hands to the back of her head, guiding her down onto him.

 His moans became more numerous, and he hissed through gritted teeth as a precum wave hit him. Sarah eagerly licked it up and returned to her previous services.

  “Your mouth is so warm and wet”, he groaned and thrust into her harder.

  “Do you want to come in it?” she asked without letting go of him. “Tell me.”

  “Yes, I want to come in your mouth”, he managed to exhale as he leaned back against the backrest and started to pant with the oncoming orgasm.

  Sarah increased the speed and intensity. She felt him harden and knew, he was about to reach his height. She gave him one more flick of her tongue across his tip before he erupted into her mouth like a bottled-up geyser.

  Despite him spilling himself inside of her, she kept up with her ministrations and made him ride out the wave of his climax. His hips shot forward, and he had to hold on to the settee to not lose his seat. He elicited a loud groan as he called out her name.

  She licked him clean and finally let go of his now semi-erect member as Jareth lay back into the settee, heaving and panting with an open mouth.

  “I still can’t believe you like doing this”, he croaked in between breaths.

  “Well, you taste extremely good, Your Majesty. You have a kind of peachy taste to it all”, she cooed with a sly grin as she looked up at him. “And I’m glad I found something you hadn’t done with someone else. Something that is ours alone.”

  “It is definitely something of ours alone”, he added and then leaned forward as he captured her mouth with a blazing kiss, tasting his own seeds on her tongue.

  His tongue swept across her lips and licked some lingering juices off her mouth, finding it all extremely erotic, which already lit the fire in his loins again. She was right, his juices did have a peach flavour to them.

  He grabbed her arms and lifted her off the floor to sit her into the settee as he took a kneeling position on the floor in front of her. He gently spread her legs as he lifted them up and towards her head.

  “Damn”, he muttered as he viewed her splayed sex, displayed so close in front of his face.

  His finger gently explored her folds and clit and slowly slit into her, feeling the oozing wetness as he thrusted it in and out, adding another finger to his first.

  “So wet for me”, he grinned and lowered his face onto her nether lips and began to lick her along her folds, flicking his tongue expertly across her clit.

  Sarah let out a loud gasp and ah sounding cry as he began his ministrations for her pleasure. She placed her feet against his shoulder and took hold of his long strands of hair as she grabbed the back of his head.

  She wildly ran her fingers through his unruly mane and clamped down when a wave of pleasure hit her and travelled from her loins up her spine. She let go of his hair and began to massage her breasts, holding them up to her mouth so she could lick her own nipples.

  Jareth’s eyes briefly flashed at her while she was tending to her breast and elicited a moan from him at the sight. His tongue flicked across her clit, and he carefully removed his fingers as his tongue darted inside of her.

  His fingers now concentrated their attention on her sensitive bud. Sarah threw her head back with closed eyes and a grimaced face as the wave of her orgasm washed over her like a raging monster wave approaching the beach.

  As it crashed into her loins, she writhed her body and jerked herself away from his tongue and caressing lips. He quickly inserted his fingers again and pumped her as she rode out her climax, tightening her muscles around his administering fingers.

  Before she could recuperate from her orgasm, Jareth had risen off his knees and pressed his hips against hers, gently taking hold of her legs and pushing his hard cock inside of her. The view of his hard shaft ramming into her nearly made Sarah climax again.

  Gods, he was so sexual and godlike. She nearly passed out at the sight of him with his long blond hair hanging over his eyes as he looked down at her sex being invaded by his cock, over and over.

  His moist lips that contained her juices parted as he licked them every so often and a thin film of glistening moisture began to cover his body and face.

  He thrust into her with full force, and his grip around her ankles tightened as the pleasure in his loins rose. Sarah rubbed her clit and pinched her nipple to stimulate her erogenous zones and speed up her own climax.

  She could tell when he was close, as he diverted his gaze from his ministrations to her pussy and back up at her eyes.

  “Look at me, Precious, when we come together”, he breathed heavily and increased his thrusts as they crescendoed into a wild and out of control motion.

  Sarah did her best to hold his stare as her eyes began to gloss over and her vision blurred. When they both shuddered with their second orgasm of the night, her muscles spasmed so tight around his cock, it was nearly painful. Over and over, she contracted around him and milked him completely.

  The sensation was so overwhelming for him, he screamed out her name and shut his eyes as he tore his gaze away from her with a wide gaping mouth, gasping for air.

  His hips thrust into her once more before he held the pressure against her and allowed for the overexcited nerve endings to calm down.

  Before he withdrew himself, he pressed his lips against hers and made her taste her own juices. He pulled back and briefly loomed over her with a happy smile covering his face.

  “My Queen”, he whispered coyly and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.

  He stood up and helped her to remove herself from the settee as he cleaned their bodies with the wave of his hand. Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for another passionate kiss.

  “Let’s take a nice bath”, she suggested and took hold of his hand as she walked towards the bathroom door.

  “As my queen wishes”, he replied with a grin and gently swatted her bottom, eliciting a squeal from her.

  “I think I’ll have to punish the king for this”, she teased him as she flicked her wrist and the bathtub started to fill up immediately with hot and bubbly water.

  “A punishment I am sure to enjoy”, he replied with a smirk as he felt himself growing hard at the mere thought of what punishment she may have in store for him.

**************************************************

Fifty-seven years after coronation:

  “Sarah, breathe, just breathe.”

  His voice made every attempt to sound soothing and comforting, but he was not fooling anyone, especially not her. It dripped with anxiety and the helplessness of knowing he would not be able to assist if something went wrong.

  Yet he took the lead in his role as he exuded confidence and held her hand as he wiped the sweat out of her eyes with a damp washrag.

  “Your Majesty, it is time”, Elroy stated calmly as he ran his crystal over her body one more time and nodded quietly with a sated expression.

  The little goblin midwife stood by Sarah’s spread legs and nodded to her liege.

  “Push, Your Majesty”, she said quietly, and Sarah strained to push.

  The urge to push was only interrupted by more waves of contractions. Jareth held up her upper body and supported her back, so she could lean against him as she pushed as hard as she could, her face distorting with a pained and determined grimace.

  “Do not hold your breath, keep breathing”, Jareth kept coaching, disregarding the daggers she shot at him through glaring eyes.

  “Why don’t you do this then if you know so much about it”, she barked at him but was immediately distracted by another wave and the urge to push.

  Jareth ignored her outburst against him and filed it in the back of his head. He would use it against her much later when she would be healthy again, and they were playing another game.

  Oh, yes, he would exploit it then. Now all he wanted was for his beloved, and soon to be mother, to have a successful birth and deliver a healthy heir or heiress.

  She gave it one more try and pushed as she felt the tiny body slip out of her and into the waiting arms of Matilda, the midwife. The little goblin woman expertly snatched the tiny bundle up and wrapped clean linens around its fragile little body, wiping off the blood and fluids.

  Elroy immediately guided Sarah along with the expulsion of the afterbirth, which nearly knocked Jareth out. He had completely forgotten about this part of the birthing process and nearly toppled over at the sight of it. Elroy only shook his head at his king with a smirk curled around his lips.

  His king, who had slain many mighty enemies on the battlefield and confidentially waded in ankle-deep blood to defend his subjects and citizens of his kingdom. Yet the afterbirth of his wife nearly knocked him for a loop. Funny how things were always so dependent on perspective.

  Jareth’s blanched countenance hovered over Sarah’s flushed one as he cooed sweet nothings into her ear and wiped the sweat out of her eyes, kissing her face.

  “You did it, Love.”

  She smiled weakly at his declaration and lifted her head towards the midwife, who was still occupied cleaning the little life she had delivered only minutes earlier. A weak cry was elicited, which swelled to an ear-splitting scream within seconds.

  “Congratulations, Your Majesties. You are the proud parents of a little prince.”

  The words hung in the air like a declaration of love as Sarah and Jareth stared at each other for a moment before big smiles crossed their faces, and Jareth strode hastily over to the midwife, who delicately handed him the precious little bundle.

  His mismatched eyes burst into a pair of two shining gems, one a bright sapphire-blue, and the other one a deep emerald-green, as he gawked over his new son. He gingerly sauntered back to Sarah to let her hold the addition to their family.

  He carefully handed him over into the waiting arms of his mother, and Sarah’s eyes were filled with tears of joy as she drank in all of his little body with esurient eyes.

  “He looks like you Jareth”, she declared quietly. “Just look at his little chin and the nose, and the fluffy wispy blond hair he has.”

  “I still hope he has your eyes”, Jareth replied with a smirk. “We will know for sure in a few weeks.”

  “And why don’t you want him to have your eyes?” Sarah teased as she held the little prince in her arms.

  “Because we already have our firstborn with my eyes”, he replied.

  “Yes, and he’s got my hair”, she laughed at him.

  “A perfect combination”, Jareth smirked and snatched up the small three-year-old hellion that had stormed into the room with a high-pitched giggle.

  “Weren’t you supposed to stay with Uncle Didymus and Uncle Hoggle?” he scolded with a sly grin.

  “I wanna see the baby”, he squealed as Jareth held him above his head and looked him deep into his mismatched eyes of blue and nearly black.

  “Liam, you have a brother. Come and meet Olaf.”

  Jareth took the dark-haired three-year-old prince by the hand and led him over to his mother, who still held the tiny bundle in the crook of her arm. Jareth carefully sat little Liam by the bedside as he leaned forward and placed an ardent kiss onto the forehead of his new-born brother.

  “I’ll call him Ollie”, Liam declared with authority. “And I’ll watch over him and protect him from all evil”, he added with such confidence and conviction that both Jareth and Sarah couldn’t help but to smile with pride.

  As his little family huddled together on the bed in the King’s chamber, Jareth’s mind wandered back to that blessed evening he got reacquainted with his beloved Sarah. A tear quietly rolled down his cheek at the memory, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand. When he glanced over at Sarah, he noticed she had seen it.

  She gently took his hand into hers, and he kissed the top of her head. Matilda, the goblin midwife, and Elroy disappeared into the background of their conscious minds as they held on to each other and enjoyed the closeness.

  “I love you”, she mouthed to him, and he mouthed back the same to her before his lips found hers in an ardent kiss.

  Liam didn’t pay any attention to his parents kissing, as his focus was trained solely on his new baby brother, whose head he gently petted with his little hand.

  And Jareth? He didn’t need anything else in this world or the next, as he had everything he always wanted, a loving wife and two healthy sons.

**************************************************

Sixty-seven years after coronation:

  The screaming and giggling of joyous laughter from three unruly children echoed across the meadow as two boys came running across with their wooden swords and goblin helmets on their heads, mock fighting with each other.

  A small, five-year-old, blonde-haired girl with bright-green eyes stumbled behind them, clutching a small teddy bear in her arms, and clasping a crystal rose in her hand.

  “Someone have mercy on this lonely poor maiden and her child”, she cried out with despair in her little high-pitched voice as the two goblin knight brothers ran circles around her.

  “This maiden is mine”, Liam shouted at his ten-year-old brother and swung his sword.

  “No, she belongs to me”, Ollie retorted, successfully blocking his brother’s jab.

  “Never fear my beautiful maiden, your noble fae knight has just arrive. I shall save you from this goblin scourge”, Jareth cooed into her ears from behind as he appeared, also carrying a wooden sword in his hand and a fae knight helmet on his head.

  “Fight for me, oh noble knight”, she yelled at her father, who bravely entered the fray while Liam was in the middle of slaughtering poor little Ollie with a death stab to the chest.

  “Hah, you goblin scum, yield to thee, for I am a noble fae knight, who has cometh to rescue thy fair maiden from thou clutches of green....black.”

  Jareth swung his little wooden sword and engaged both his sons into a fierce battle for the hand of the blonde maiden, who stood giggling in the middle of the meadow while Sarah came walking up behind her, smiling gently, and shaking her head at the scene in front of her.

  “Ah, you boys”, she exclaimed with a joyous laughter that rang out across the valley.

  “Oh, look, another fair maiden, who needs rescuing“, Jareth called out and was immediately cut down by his two sons for diverting his eyes from the battle.

  “Oh, how thou have slain thee, thy noble knight in cold blood”, he croaked as he laid on his back in the grass and held the wooden sword up with his arm pressed against his body.

  “Daddy”, Arlena cried out and handed him her rose as a last offering before his death. “Here is a rose for my brave knight.”

  She leaned forward and placed a final chaste kiss of farewell against his cheek.

  “Pray tell, where have you gotten this little beauty now?” Jareth quirked an eyebrow at her. “Did you wander into the forbidden parts of the Queen’s Garden?”

  “Oh, no, Daddy, Uncle Hoggle got it for me. He said I’m special and deserve a special rose.”

  Jareth grinned broadly and nodded, accepting the rose, and pressing it to his chest.

  “And how right he is. You are special.”

  “Special? Ha, thou belongeth to me then”, Liam declared and turned to Arlena, who bolted down the hill, followed by the two brothers, still stopping, and fighting each other intermittently, leaving their dying father behind in the grass to the mercy of their mother.

  “And what do you think you are doing?” Sarah asked softly as she kneeled beside Jareth and bent over his body with a smile on her beautiful face that was ringed by long dark hair, which were crowned by a multi-coloured flower circlet.

  How he loved to gaze into those beautiful emerald-green orbs that told him of her undying love for him. He nearly lost himself in their depth, as he had for the past sixty-seven years, and would continue to do so for eternity.

  “I am waiting on a beautiful maiden to rescue me from certain death with a kiss from her sweet lips”, he purred and pulled Sarah down over him as he captured her mouth with his and moaned gently into it while his tongue sought to fight its own battle with hers.

  Slowly, Sarah gave into his pull, and in no time, he had her laying below him in the grass as his pelvis pressed wantonly against hers, and they got lost in their kisses and touches of their bodies over their garments.

  “Where are the children?” Sarah asked in between his hot kisses.

  “Down by the oak tree, still slaughtering each other”, he murmured into her mouth, never breaking from his ministrations of his tongue.

  “You know we can’t make love here, Hun, no matter how much we want it”, she whispered into his ear as he began to leave a trail of searing kisses along her neck, and his hand had begun to make advances below her skirt toward her heated centre.

  He decided to ignore her and poked his hard erection into her hips while his hand finally found its intended target between her legs.

  “Jaaaareth”, came the drawled warning voice of Sarah and jolted him out of his dream.

  “I know, I know”, he whined and removed himself from her. “But do not think you can escape me after dinner when those little hellions are in bed.”

  He pressed his forehead against hers with a sigh and looked deep into her mirthful eyes.

  “Hm, maybe you have to win me first”, she laughed and gently pushed him off her. “A game of Risk tonight will decide if you can conquer me.”

  “Oh, you cruel thing you”, he argued, but his lips betrayed his eagerness and immense desire to play the game by displaying his wicked devious smile.

  “I say I’ll win this game tonight, and then I shall take my spoils and do with them what I want”, he breathed into her ear as he let go of her and stood up, handing the rose to her with a big grin plastered on his mischievous face.

  “So sure, aren’t’ we?” she replied laughingly, taking a whiff of the rose with closed eyes before recomposing herself again.

  “If you lose, you have to mop the floors in our Aboveground apartment”, she taunted him and left him standing at the crest of the hill with a gaping mouth as she skipped frolicking down the slope to meet up with her children by the oak tree.

  Her bright laughter filled his ears with mischievous merriment.

  “Let us place a bet. Up the stakes so to speak”, he yelled and quickly caught up with her, taking her hand into his and pulling her close to his side.

  “You’re on”, she smiled back wickedly as they reached the oak tree and settled down for a nice picnic as a family, being joined by Uncle Didymus and Uncle Hoggle, who immediately were attacked by two small goblin knights with wooden swords.

  Their collective laughter rang across the meadow for the rest of the afternoon and well into the early evening hours.

**************************************************

One-hundred-and-ninety years after coronation:

  Jareth stood sobbing in front of the large crystal sarcophagus where the tall handsome fae king was laying as if in a deep sleep. His face looked hauntingly peaceful with a slight smile on his face.

  Aside from his grey, dull looking skin that once had glowed like sun-kissed alabaster, he appeared as if he could wake up any moment, but Jareth knew it would not be so.

  “I am so sorry, Father, for not being able to help you. I am so sorry I was too late.”

  He genuflected before the body of his father and laid his forehead and hands against the top of the coffin. It had been a hunting expedition he, his father, and Jeremiah had attended that had turned into a tragic accident.

  The prey, a maze eater, had turned viciously against his father and had trampled him into the ground before either one of the brothers could get a clear shot off and downed it where it stood, right over the gored body of the high king.

  They had brought him back immediately to the High Castle of the Northern District, but Elroy and the other healers of the High Court could not mend his wounds.

  After a week of suffering from his injuries, he had finally succumbed and given up his soul. Queen Alia had been holding his hand to the very end and wept over his body until he had turned cold as ice.

  Jareth had been riddled with a guilt complex the entire week his father struggled on his deathbed. When Olaf had finally crossed to the Summerlands, Jareth had broken down in his queen’s arms and sobbed unabashed like a small child while Sarah held him tight against her bosom, cradling his head.

  Jeremiah had immediately ascended to the throne of high king along with his wife Céline. High Queen Alia had abdicated as queen dowager and would reside in the palace with them and their son, who would now be the next in line to inherit the crown.

  How long Jareth had remained in the mourning chamber, he was unable to say, but when he finally emerged, Sarah was waiting on him, dressed in a long flowing gown of deep-red that nearly bordered on black, the colour of mourning in his world.

  She fleetingly placed her hands over his and then ensconced him in a loving embrace as he laid his head against her shoulder and allowed himself to weep freely once more, his arms folding around her as if they were lost and tried to find salvation within her. No other was allowed to see him so distraught and defenceless, but his queen and loving wife.

  Once he had poured all his penned-up feelings upon her shoulder, she gently took his face into her hand and kissed him ardently on his lips while his pain pervaded into the room.

  To ask how he was doing would have been superfluous. He looked at her with a frowned pain around his eyes, but she only returned an assertive smile. She knew he would be fine, in time. Until then, he would lean on her, and she would be his pillar.

  Interlocking her arm with his, they languidly exited the mourning chamber, both caught in their own cogitations yet interconnected with their minds. Slowly, they made their way to the ceremonial stone circle to give the high king his proper farewell.

  Queen Alia would follow her husband into the Summerlands nearly nine-hundred years later, out of her own free will and having decided she no longer wished to be without her mate. After all, they had been married for nine-hundred-and-ninety years.

  Although she had taken on a few lovers over the past centuries to ease her physical needs and loneliness, none could ever take the place of her beloved Olaf in her heart.

  The day she passed into the Summerlands to re-join him was an equally sombre affair, and another page in their book of life that had been turned.

  Another page closer to their own ending, but they both had agreed, when that last page would be turned, they would leave this realm together, hand in hand. For now, there were plenty of pages to be had, and they planned to make full use of them all.

**************************************************

Four-hundred-and-sixty-five years after coronation:

  “Oh, do hurry up, Jareth or you’ll be late to your own daughter’s wedding”, Sarah shouted at him from the hallway while he was busy preening himself over one last time in front of the mirror before he closed the door to their chambers and headed down the hallway, locking arms with his wife.

  A deep frown was entrenched around his thinly pressed lips.

  “I still say she is way too young to get married”, he grumbled, and his face showed he was not a happy camper.

  “Jareth, she is over four-hundred years. That is old enough, and they gave us no choice either. You heard them. They would elope if we don’t agree.”

  Sarah smirked to herself and gave Jareth a sideways glance. He still looked unhappy.

  “Such bribery and blackmail. She truly is her mother’s daughter. Every bit as obstinate and impetuous”, he proclaimed as they entered the carriage that took them to the ceremonial ring.

  Sarah only smiled in her quiet ways and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, holding on to his hand during the entire ride.

  “Arlena”, Sarah called out and gave her daughter a big hug and a kiss onto her cheek before she handed her over to her father, whose features had soften as soon as he had laid eyes on his precious little girl.

  She had always been daddy’s little girl, and she had him wrapped tight around her little finger since the day she had been born. Being the youngest of their three children, and the only girl, it was easy for her to win her father’s heart in utter completeness.

  “How is my little princess?” Jareth took her into his arms and squeezed her tight. “I know I can’t talk you out of this, but just so you know, if he ever makes you cry, I shall come and castrate him.”

  “Jareth, he’s Corrigan’s son. You won’t do any such thing, or you won’t have an advisor left, and no grandchildren either for that matter.”

  Sarah slapped his arm for the comment, and Arlena gasped loudly with a mischievous grin on her face, blushing lightly.

  “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about a thing, Daddy”, she answered with a giggle and took his proffered arm.

  “Ready?” Jareth asked with a deep sigh, and Arlena nodded as she bit her bottom lip.

  “So much like your mother”, he said one more time with loving eyes and led his daughter down the pathway in the middle of the ancient stone circle to where the druid and her future husband were waiting along with Corrigan.

  “Who is giving this woman away?” the druid asked.

  “I am, King Jareth of the Goblin Kingdom.”

**************************************************

Two-thousand plus years after coronation:

  “What would you like, Sarah?” he asked gently with a soft voice as she had been reticent about her thoughts for some time.

  Maybe it had been the passing of Jareth’s parents that had driven it home that even immortals had an end to their time of existence. She had taking everything for granted for so long.

  Centuries had seemed an eternity yet over two-thousand years had already passed now, and even for them, the passing of time had become visible on their faces.

  They still looked young for human standards. She could easily pass for very early forties and him not much older. The first few fine lines had worked themselves around their eyes and lips, and Sarah had found them to be charming and endearing, much to his bemused bewilderment at her statement.

  It gave him a more regal look she had told him when he had noticed it one morning in the mirror and had frowned over the sight, trying to glamour it away with magic. A grey hair had been the cause of another episode of vain king syndrome Sarah had to smooth over.

  He finally had relented and given in to her pleas of not worrying about it. They had another three to four thousand years at least, and if she could get him to lay off the s’mores he had discovered during a camping trip in the Above a few hundred years ago, he may live to see another five or six thousand years.

  He had only scoffed at her for that but had then insisted he needed to let her know that, even if he may have a few isolated grey hair, he was still a stud in bed.

  For three hours, he had proven his point, and Sarah had been left sore in the wake of his male display of sexual virility and superiority for nearly a week. A lingering blissful smile on her face, however, had belied her true feelings as being sheer happiness.

  After two-thousand years, they were still as much in love and true to each other as they had been the day they had been bonded and marked. The fire may not be roaring quite as bright and out of control as it had the first few hundred years, but it had been moulded into a steady strong home fire that would never be extinguished.

  And during times of passion, of which there were many, it came back roaring to life as hot as ever, perchance even hotter, and fierier.

  They had their rough times with arguments and disagreements, and a few fights that shook the castle walls, but, at the end of the day, they always ended up together in the same bed, wrapped in each other’s arms.

  If Sarah had been worried whether she would elicit the same wants from him after a couple of hundred years, her fears and worries had been assuaged quickly.

  Jareth never strayed, not in his mind nor with his body or heart. There had been many temptations over the centuries and millennia for the both of them, but neither one had given in to a single one. One look into each other’s eyes was all it took to quell even the fiercest of urges or itches.

  They also had never engaged in any sharing orgies or threesomes that had been readily available to them, especially during some of the more salacious and debouched festivals.

  They were much too possessive over each other to be willing to share. There was nothing someone else could offer them they could not give to each other.

  “What would I like?” she repeated his question with a drawl and turned slowly to face him.

  He nodded quietly and held her close to him as his arms slinked around her waist. She reciprocated by wrapping her arms around his midriff and laid her head against his chest.

  “I miss the children, I miss your parents, and I miss the friends we have lost over the past two-thousand years. I would like them all back. That’s what I want, but even my wish magic is not strong enough for that and neither is your time keeping.”

  She heaved a big sigh and lifted her head to look into the soft expression of his face as he gazed down at her.

  “Love, we have lost people we love, yes, but we have also gained so much more. All our children are married with principalities of their own. We are grandparents to seven hellions, great-grandparents to three, aunt and uncle to Jeremiah’s two sons, and godparents to Sir Didymus’ and Hoggle’s children.

  He smiled warmly at her and tucked a lose hair strand behind her ear like he had done millions of times during the last two-thousand years. He never tired of it.

  “We also have a grand-nephew and a grand-niece”, he continued in his soothing voice. “And don’t forget the friends we made with Mercur and his clan of centaurs. Trouble, Juggle, Scratch, Mary, and Ginny, they are all still here and doing well with families of their own. Even Whiskey has found himself a little goblin girl.”

  “Oh, really? When did that happen?” Sarah asked with a surprised smirk as she looked at him.

  “At the last Beltane Festival. They had both passed out under the same ale barrel.”

  Jareth let out a mirthful laughter, and Sarah joined him in it.

  “I guess two like souls from the same mould found each other.”

  “Just like we did”, he whispered.

  He tossed her a warm smile and cupped her chin with his ungloved fingers as he always did when she was sullen and mulling over the past.

  “And best of all, we still have each other for another eternity. You are not going to get rid of me for another forever at least. Sorry, Love, but you are stuck with me until the end of the world. No, make that the end of the universe.”

  He cocked his head and smirked at her, knowing damn well how it affected her. When he tenderly captured her lips with his, she eagerly answered by letting his tongue enter and caress hers with the same gentleness she had come to love over the past millennia.

  “I would love to play a game tonight, Love’, he whispered seductively into her ear.

  “A game?” she smiled into the kiss. “And what does His Majesty have in mind?”

  “Monogamy”, he answered and picked up the board game that was sitting on the small table by her vanity, right next to the crystal encased bouquet of flowers he had given her for her thirtieth birthday: twelve magenta lilacs and one lavender crystal rose.

  On top of her vanity sat a framed black and white picture, depicting a naked and highly aroused Jareth laying seductively on the bed. It was the one she had refused to let Rey use in his magazine spread.

  Beside it was a photo of herself in the nude, recreating a mermaid pose, sitting on a rock on Mystic Island Beach. She had Jareth take the photo during their honeymoon. He loved the picture and had insisted on having it framed to accompany his.  

  She broke from the kiss with an impish smirk on her face while biting her bottom lip. Oh, how he loved that facial expression of hers. Her skin had become flushed with the anticipation of what lay ahead as she grabbed the game from him and invitingly sauntered over to their bed.

  “Well, then let’s play, shall we”, she whispered with a husky voice and spread the game board out on top of the bedcover.

  Jareth followed her eagerly with a bottle of fae wine and two empty glasses after having himself divested of his cape and boots. They sat cross legged across from each other, staring into each other’s eyes. Whoever would blink first would be forced to roll the first dice.

  “Let the game begin, Love”, Jareth hushed the whisper with a thin-lipped grin as he held her gaze, unwavering and unblinking.