By Princess Destiny
Sarah glanced around, feeling an eerie sense of deja vu. She'd been here, oh so many times before. And nothing had changed from what she had remembered. The candles shone as brightly, the silken cloths as delicate and bright on the costumes of the dancers. And as always, their eyes watched her. She felt their hunger acutely. But more so was the hunger of the man who was constantly eluding her. Sometimes she saw him in a reflection, eyes fixed upon her with a lazy desire. Night after night it was the same. And as she knew it would come to pass, he was suddenly in the mirror before her.

["Will he be there?"] Sarah wondered, turning with trepidation. But no, he was there. Dressed in his beautiful blue coat, blue streaks in his hair. And she knew, without looking that she was wearing the white ball gown he had chosen for her.

"You came" He murmured.

Sarah frowned. ["This isn't how it happens"] "I always do, every night. The same as you" She replied.

They began to dance, he holding her close. Sarah felt so strange, almost detached and the guilt and longing was stranger than ever. She abruptly fell to a stop, halting them both. "I know this is a dream" She took a deep breath. "But I have to tell you Jareth. I'm so sorry. I never meant to say the words"

"What's said is said, Sarah" He told her gently, releasing her and stepping back. The dancers halted all around them to watch, but both Sarah and the Goblin King ignored them.

"I know. But I regret them with all my heart!" She cried out desperately, seeing the edges of the ballroom begin to fade. It always heralded the end of the dream.

The last thing she saw was a beautiful smile spread over Jareth's lips, his eyes locked on hers. "All your heart-" He whispered, then was gone.

Sarah shot up in bed, covered in sweat. Tears were spilling openly from her eyes. "It was never like that...It was different" She gasped to herself, arms tightly around her shoulders as if to hold someone there. "almost like-he heard me and understood"

Sarah Williams stared disconsolately into the darkness of her bedroom. "Oh Jareth" She whispered broken-heartedly. "Why did I say the words? Why did I destroy you?"
Sarah watched, almost mesmerized as the sky began to turn colors. Nightfall was not far away, as the sun slowly set. The blue sky was now turning beautiful shades of red, orange, pink and grey, reminding the brunette sharply of another place. ["The sky was much prettier there though"] She thought, biting her lip. She tried to recall the shade of the sky over the Labyrinth, but it was just beyond her reach. As illusive as the rest of the place. Try as she might, Sarah was hard put to remember much at all of her time there in that magical, yet frightening land. It was as if all she had known was slowly slipping away. like mist, or a far away memory of a childhood. She knew instinctively that it was not her mind that was at fault, but something else. Perhaps the Labyrinth natural instinct for preservation. Make all those who had been there forget, but not all at once so that the person became sharply aware.

A slight smile crossed Sarah's face. She turned from her window, brown eyes seeking out her dresser. There, they slid down the white painted wood to the first draw. Inside were her various prized possessions. Her diary, the Book of the Labyrinth, some photo's of her Mother and-her story. She hadn't thought of a name for it yet. Sarah got to her feet, walking quickly over to the dresser, her bare feet sinking into the plush white carpet. She pulled open the draw with the silver handle and reached in for a small black book there. Small but thick. It had taken almost 400 pages to put her thoughts into words written in tiny black ink. In that book was all her memories of her adventure in the Labyrinth. She'd put everything there. How she'd wished Toby away, been frightened by the handsome Goblin King, fought dangers untold and finally gotten her Brother back. Easy...Right?

"Anyone would have thought so" Sarah sighed, caressing the unadorned leather cover with uncertain fingers. If only it was that easy! "It should have been that way, Sarah. Right? Get Toby back, destroy the Goblin King with 'the words' and escape back to my own world" Her tone was shaky, almost as if she were trying to convince herself.

Sarah looked up, meeting her own eyes in the mirror. She stared long and hard at her reflection. Many had said that she'd grown up to be a beautiful young woman, namely her boyfriend Mark. She personally couldn't see the difference. Her eyes were a little older, her skin smoother without that roundness of youth, her cheekbones more pronounced, lips fuller and her hair longer. But that was all. It was her eyes though, that held her. She could have looked into them for hours and the deep almost-hidden sadness would never disappear. It had been there for three years now and Sarah was very aware what had caused it. A longing for something she couldn't have. A longing for something she'd destroyed. A longing for a man she was sure hated her more than life-if he'd survived. A man she'd killed for a spoilt little brother.

"Jareth" Sarah's lips formed the name, but no sound emerged. Moments later, her eyes filled with tears, obscuring her view of herself in the mirror. She turned away, fumbling for the box of tissues on the dresser top. Sarah blew her nose and wiped at her eyes, the book clutched at her chest with the other hand. Who would have thought? Sarah Williams, falling for a supernatural being she'd killed. A being that had told her with words and beautiful songs that he'd fallen in love with her as she moved through his land. A girl that saw no further than her own wants and a need to get her brother back before she got in trouble. That was all. She threw the tissue into the waste basket and stared back at her reflection again. "I hate you" She whispered at her self, loathing in her voice.

The shrill ringing of the phone jarred her back to reality. She started violently, almost tumbling off the chair. "What?" She muttered, looking around. Blurred eyes focused on the phone on her bedside table. Sarah scrambled up hastily and ran for the white object, wrenching it from the cradle and thrusting it at her ear. "Hello?"

"I thought you weren't home for a moment, Hon" Mark's voice came teasingly from the other end.

Sarah paled, then smiled slightly. "No. I'm here" She mumbled, sinking onto her bed. She carefully placed the book on her lap, absently caressing the cover again.

"You sound a thousand miles away. Are you sure you're there?"

"Yes" She said, exasperated. "Did we-have a date?" She hesitated over the words uncertainly, not really remembering.

"Not that I know of, but if it's an odder-" He trailed off suggestively. "Are you up for dinner for two at my parents restaurant tonight?"

"I'd love to, Mark" Sarah said, tone more alive. Dinner would be perfect to take her mind off of-things. Then her eyes went wide as she remembered something. "Oh wait, I can't! I just remembered that Jennifer and the others wanted to take me out to a new nightclub tonight!" She said apologetically.

"Thrown-over for a club?" His voice was indignant.

Sarah giggled. "Yes!"

"You go there every night Sarah" Mark's voice was sober abruptly. "What-or who are you going there for?"

"No one. I just love the music" Sarah's heart skipped a beat. was she searching for something...Someone there, the music and the darkness?

"I'll live then I guess" Mark said theatrically. Sarah could picture his face, twisted into a comical grin. Mark was an actor, even though his parents were filthy rich. Her handsome blonde boyfriend with the deep blue eyes that almost reminded her of his. There had been something about Mark that reminded Sarah of Jareth...In the faintest of ways. Nothing could have compared with the Goblin King's amazing eyes. Not his hair, his body, the haughty way he bore himself, the mocking way he spoke. Sarah sighed deeply without meaning to. "Umm...Am I boring you?"

"What?" Sarah gasped. "Oh no! Really! I'm just-tired" ["More than you could know"]

"I'll say goodnight then and see you tomorrow at school" Mark said. "Goodnight Hon"

"Goodnight Mark" Her voice sounded distant to herself. She hung up the phone slowly, sinking back into her pillows. As nice as Mark was...The relationship wasn't working out. He wasn't enough like Jareth, no matter how she tried to imagine and it was cruel to pretend. But then again, wasn't she cruel? He had said so.

["You are cruel Sarah. We are well matched you and I. I need your cruelty-"]

"Just as you need mine" Sarah finished the words aloud. "I do need your cruelty. What I wouldn't do for a mocking word right now"

["I wonder what your basis for a comparison is?"]

"What?" Sarah shot up, as she heard the softly-spoken words. Her wide eyes searched the room frantically. Had she hear right or was she going mad? For a moment there, she could have sworn she heard him speak. "I'm going mad" She whispered. Maybe she was.

The nightclub, 'Underground' was crowded. Just as she'd known it would be. Sarah stared up at the neon sign, bathing the crowd below in bright orange. It reminded her always of the Labyrinth's sky. Even the name did!

"Come on, the lines moving" Jennifer said loudly, taking Sarah's arm and pulling her close as they moved along the line. Kary and her boyfriend Michael were right behind them. Sarah knew without even looking that his arms was around Kary protectively. She had always been secretly jealous of Kary, having a guy as attentive as that.

"I'll pay tonight, your turn next week" Jennifer whispered, pressing a bill into the bouncers hand. The man next to him stamped their hands and then they were in.

Sarah was hit by the music abruptly. It was like running into a brick wall. Deep music that you felt right down to your bones. She'd loved this place the moment she set eyes on it, crowded though it was. 'Underground' had been a hit ever since it opened 3 years ago. Sarah had snuck in with her friends with fake ID's, because they were only 15. But now at 18, it wasn't a problem and the place felt...Different somehow. But no less exciting.

"We'd better stay close tonight Sarah! Rumor is that the elusive owner of the club is finally going to show himself. Can you believe he's going to sing? Major cool!" Kary shouted into Sarah's ear over the noise. The place was certainly more packed than usual. The four of them were practically wading through groups of people.

"Yeah?" Sarah said with faint interest. She looked around as Kary and Michael led them towards the bar. They ordered drinks and struggled through the crowd until they found a clear table, littered with empty glasses and an overflowing cigarette tray.

"Way to destroy your lungs" Jennifer snorted, picking up the tray and unceremoniously dumping in onto the floor behind her chair.

"It's a nightclub" Michael pointed out, a laugh in his voice. "People come here to drink, smoke, dance and socialize"

"Uh huh" Jennifer rolled her eyes. "What do you think Sarah?"

"To each their own" Sarah muttered, almost unheard.

"Yeah, uh 'One mans trash is another man's treasure'" Michael agreed.

"I don't think that applies here Michael" Karry dug her elbow into his chest playfully.

Sarah sighed, staring down at her ringless fingers. She touched the index of her right hand absently, remembering.

["Leave a contribution"]

["Don't you dares! Thems mine!"]

["Well-I guess-"]

Her mother's ring, put into the wiseman's tin box. Gone for a piece of useless information. ["Young woman. The way forward, is sometimes the way back"]

"Sarah? You've GOT to see this! I think that's the owner!" Jennifer hissed, fingers digging into Sarah's arm painfully.

Sarah raised her eyes curiously, seeing a man making his way through the crowd. Strangely, he was making headway gracefully. Almost like he was sliding smoothly through water. The crowd seemed to melt away from him as he made his way to the stage.

"I have to see this guy up close!" Jennifer squealed. "He looks gorgeous" She jumped to her feet, disappearing into the crowd.

"How can she tell?" Michael asked, perplexed as he squinted at the stage far off. They WERE at the back of the club and at opposite ends.

"A woman can tell! Believe me" Karry nodded confidently, winking at Sarah. She dragged him to his feet. "However, as much as I love you darling, I have to see this guy up close too! Coming Sarah?"

"No, I think I'll stay here" Sarah murmured, looking down into her half-empty glass of coke and vodka. Not really her type of drink after all. She watched with half-closed eyes as her friends disappeared into the excited crowd also. The drummers and the guys with the guitars started a slow beat, almost an eerily beautiful tone. Haunting. Sarah listened with half an ear, mesmerized. And then...He began to sing. And she KNEW him!
He goes there, to where she is,
The club just down the street,
He's drawn there every evening,
As soon as the sun sets.

He's hidden in the shadows,
Keeping her in sight,
He knows he shouldn't be there,
But he goes there every night.
Sarah's head shot up, eyes wide with disbelief. She knew that voice. That beautiful mesmerizing...Haunting voice. She'd heard it every single night in her sleep. Over the heads of the crowd, she could see him vaguely. Sarah got to her feet, listening hard as he sang. What had the words been? He came here...Every night? Watching her from the shadows...Could it be?
And, she doesn't know the night,
She's living in the light,
He longs to show her how,
The darkness can invite.
Invite. Sarah pushed roughly past a group of people, spotting a low table over to the right of the stage. She stepped up onto the chair and then directly onto the table with her booted feet. Suddenly, she had a clear view of him...And her heart stopped completely. It WAS him! That same hair, those eyes sweeping over the crowd with a mocking intensity. He was wearing a deep red velvet top, with tight black leather pants. The top was open, revealing the crescent moon pendant. If Sarah had been doubtful up until then,the pendant confirmed it.

"But-you're dead" her lips moved, forming the words silently. As if he heard her, his head turned, looking right into her own eyes. Impossibly. Across a darkened room, full of hundreds of people and bathed in the lights of the stage, the Goblin King's eyes met Sarah's.
He watches her, from across the room,
But her eyes see right through him,
It's like she's bathed in sunlight,
As distant as the moon.
What? She'd looked through him? When was that and for how long. It was for her, the song. Sarah had no doubt about it. The Goblin King was singing for her benefit alone now. everyone else in the room had faded away, as Sarah and he locked eyes.
He longs to touch her silken hair,
And caress her velvet skin,
Sarah stared at him wide-eyed. He FELT that way about her? She'd longed for him for three years, believing him dead. But...She'd said the words! How could he be there.
All though it's love he's feeling,
Her blood calls out to him.
LOVE? Sarah almost fell off the table in shock and delight. He'd said he loved her! She swallowed, trying to keep her balance. But hadn't he said it before? She remembered his songs-

["There's such a sad love,
Deep in your eyes..."]

["I move the stars for no one-"]

"No one but me" Sarah whispered, eyes filling.
And, she doesn't know the night,
She's living in the light,
He longs to show her how,
The darkness can invite.
The darkness could invite. If that was what the Goblin King was...Then Sarah wanted-desperately-to accept. He was right, their blood called out to each other. Their souls. Right from the moment they'd met.
He's got the darkest heart,
And hers is just so pure,
Her face would shame an angel's,
It makes him long for more.
Was it a confession? She knew his heart was dark. But had he really ever showed it to her. He had been cruel, mocking, taunting her at every turn...And is my own heart so pure? Sarah looked down momentarily, breaking her gaze from his. She always longed secretly for something-dark. Something out there in the night had always beckoned to her. Was the Goblin King what she'd always secretly desired?

["It will show you your dreams"]

Had he known, all along? Had her longing more than the words that had wished away her brother, been the lure of the Goblin King.

["But what no one knew, was that the King of the Goblins was in love with the girl"]

"Where did those lines come from?" Sarah whispered, heart clenching. She looked up again at him, almost too much to bare. Why now? After three years of regret, longing and a terrible loneliness. She thought that she had killed him!
He wants her to touch his world,
If only for one day,
One chance, one kiss, one instant,
A promise for her to stay.
["WHAT?"] Sarah stared at him frantically, not sure of the lines she had heard. A slight smile curved the Goblin King's lips as he continued to watch her...Song to her. He wanted her, to come with him? To the 'Underground' and...stay? Sarah looked at him uncertainly.
And, she doesn't know the night,
She's living in the light,
He longs to show her how,
The darkness can invite.
What WAS he trying to tell her? That of she would accept his darkness and abandon her light, he could love her. If she could love the dark. Who would have thought in a million years that HE could love her? The darkness in love with the light...
A labyrinth inside her mind,
He lives within her heart,
No existence without her soul and dreams,
Thought nothing is what it ever seems,
One word, a brief moment in time...
To touch a heart of stone,
A lonely soul just like his own,
Never again to part.
She stood frozen there, eyes locked hopelessly on his. Her throat felt full. She could accept him. She loved him! She had for so long and he had known. Oh yes, he'd known and let her say the words. Though he had tried to stop her, he couldn't harm her.

["Just fear me, love me and I will be your slave"]

He'd humbled himself before her and she'd been too blind to see.
The nights won't last forever,
Though he'll wait that long for her,
The object of his dark obsession,
Dark Obsession for her...
The Goblin King's voice died away, the music still following. There was a stunned silence and then the crowd burst into thunderous applause, screaming for more.

"Perhaps later" he drawled into the microphone, looking away from Sarah finally. He whirled and was gone in an amazing display of glitter and rainbow lights. Only Sarah knew that it was magic, real magic, and not a trick. The band took over, a woman sliding in to take the Goblin King's place. Sarah looked frantically around for a minute...Then realized he was gone. Slowly, she stumbled down from the table and made her way back to the table that she'd been at earlier. Sarah sank into a seat just as Jennifer, Karry and Michael reached her.

"Oh wow!" Jennifer's eyes glowed. "He was so gorgeous! You missed out Sarah"

"Hmm, what a lucky girl" Karry muttered.

"What was that?" Jennifer said, leaning in closer to hear.

"She was referring to the girl that that guy was singing to" Michael said dryly. "Whoever she was, he was singing to her the entire song, looking at her the whole time. He probably wrote it for her"

"How romantic" Kary sighed, then threw Michael a look. "And why had I never received a song? Hmm?"

"I'm not a singer and there's no way I could come up with something as amazing as that song!" Michael protested. "He really loves that girl, whoever she is"

"I'll say" Jennifer glared at her drink enviously.

Sarah listened, totally dazed. She could still hear the Goblin King's voice, clear as if he was standing next to her. And his last words.
The nights won't last forever,
Though he'll wait that long for her...
["He'd wait for me forever?"] Sarah thought, heart thundering in her ears. And he'd said she was...An obsession? So was he. A drug, an obsession. Sarah stared at her hands sightlessly, resting on the table before her. She didn't know when or how, but she'd fallen deeply in love with the Goblin King she thought she'd killed and he'd most certainly become an obsession to her too.

"Sarah? Yoo hoo" Jennifer waved a hand in front of Sarah's face, drawing her attention. "What are you thinking about?"

"That-I'd like to dance" Sarah got to her feet abruptly, feeling an intense need to be by herself and her thoughts. She made her way through the crowds, welcoming the crush as she was moved around crazily. She felt as if she were drowning, suffocating! And so many thoughts! He'd disappeared...So, what should she do now? Did it mean she had to find him...Or wasn't he singing to her after all. Sarah was filled with a terrible doubt. This was the Goblin King. The man who had mocked her at every turn, thwarted her attempts to rescue her brother-reordered time for her, danced with her...The man she dreamed of every single night.

Suddenly, the crowd surged, throwing Sarah backwards. She stumbled against the wall, eyes wide on wall of backs towards her. There she could feel the music even in the walls, a deep beat. She half-closed her eyes to listen, even though it wasn't HIS voice.
"-Though time seems against us,
And words we cannot say,
Why? Why so sad?
We'll be together some day, "
He'd written it too. Sarah knew it deep in her heart. And even though the Goblin King wasn't singing it, she knew also that he'd written it for her. Sarah sighed, eyes on the floor. She pushed herself out from the wall, meaning to thrust her way through the crowd-when the crowd surged again and someone was pushed back hard against her. Sarah gasped, finding herself crushed between the wall and a body. Electricity exploded through her, filling her every nerve-end. She gasped again, looking up-into a pair of deep blue eyes. For a long moment, nothing was said.
"Why? Why so sad?
We'll be together some day...
And we will have forever,
I know we'll find a way"
The woman stopped singing, almost as if waiting. There was a long pause and then the music started up again, this time without words.

Sarah barely noticed, having been touched deeply by the look in his eyes and the words of the song. "Will we find a way?" She whispered. The Goblin King said nothing, but neither did he move from his position. Sarah flushed, realizing she was plastered along the entire length of the gorgeous Goblin King. "I uh-" She stammered, then her eyes went sad. "I thought you dead"

"You said the words, Sarah" He finally spoke, lips mere inches from her own. She had to tilt her head to look back at him. His expression. Which at that moment was totally indefinable. His eyes too were a mystery. "What's said is said"

"But-" Sarah gave a ghost of a smile, heart beginning to thunder at the thought of what she was going to say. "I didn't mean it"

His lips curved into a mocking smile. "Oh you didn't?" He seemed to be waiting for something, eyes intent.

"No" Sarah mumbled, wishing she could think more coherently with Jareth so close to her. "Jareth-" She began, then broke off, not sure what to say. What could she say? Did he love her or not and was she going to make a fool of herself? "Was that-those songs...For me?"

"Sarah" Jareth said slowly, eyes closing for a long moment. When they opened, the blue seemed infinitely weary. "Have you understood nothing?"

"I understand!" She protested.

"Do you. I wonder" He murmured. Jareth moved back, separating their bodies.

Sarah gasped, realizing she was about to loose him...Again. Before she could think she reached out and grabbed the Goblin King by the color of his velvet shirt and pulled him back. He came unresistingly, yet made no move to touch her as she let him go. Before she could talk some sense into herself, she threw herself at him, arms going desperately around his waist as if to hold him there. Sarah leaned back into the wall, taking him with her and just holding him close, her head under his chin. "Don't-don't leave me again" She whispered into his throat. Tears filled her eyes.

She was stunned when his arms came up, surrounding her and holding her close. The arms tightened almost suffocatingly. Sarah felt Jareth rest his cheek on top of her hair gently. "I love you Jareth" She murmured tearfully into his ear.

"I know" He murmured back. Before Sarah could blink, he'd pulled back, tilted her chin up and kissed her hard. She blinked, then her lashes fluttered shut. The kiss seared through her being, a warm desire filling her. But also a love and relief. Jareth pulled back, staring deep into her eyes. "And I love you too, by beautiful little fool"

"I know" Sarah sighed, heart full. "You told me in so many ways and I never saw"

"You're accepting my world Sarah" He warned her, eyes showing a brief cruelty. "My rules, my kingdom...My love. Are you willing to love one of the dark?"

"So very dark" Sarah said, staring deep into his eyes thoughtfully. She felt a thrill of fear and desire. This was what she'd always wanted. Always longed for.

"Did you-send me those dreams?" She asked, searching his eyes for the truth.

A faint smile crossed the Goblin King's lips. "Strangely-no. We seemed doomed to be with each other. Our minds must have bonded"

"Oh" Sarah's lips formed an astonished circle.

"Do you accept Sarah? My love, my darkness? All that I am, my heart and soul? There's no going back" Jareth said, his eyes hardened. "No going back to that-mortal boy"

"I never really wanted him" Sarah said sadly. "He was-nice. Reminding me of you in some small measure. I thought I'd killed you and it was sending me mad with regret and longing"

"I felt it" The Goblin King smiled triumphantly, eyes openly mocking. "You never could hide your feelings for me. I knew, even as we met for the first time that you were mine"

"So arrogant" Sarah smiled, moving in closer to her love, until their lips were mere millimeters away, breath mingling.

"Jareth" Sarah whispered into his ear. "Your song-"
"And she doesn't know the night,
She's living in the light,
He wants to show her how,
The darkness can invite"
Jareth sang the words to her softly, lips hovering barely a millimeter from her waiting lips. As always, his voice made her heart thunder in her ears, but now there was a new sensation, like...Electricity running all through her veins. And an overwhelming urge to hold onto the Goblin King tightly for all eternity.

"Jareth" Sarah repeated, eyes locking on his. "Invite me"
The End