A/N: Everlasting thanks for this chapter goes to StormChild for rejuvenating my muse. And to my other beta’s Dj and Angie, I know I’d be much worse off without you. The title for this chapter is a variant of a piece from Handel’s Messiah and refers to Linda.

Chapter 15: Thy Rebuke Hath Broken Her Heart

That morning, Jareth had found himself being awoken accidentally by his newly discovered father-in-law when the man had a small sneezing fit. He hadn’t realized anyone was in the living room and turned on the television for the morning news and only noticed someone was there when Jareth groaned as he sat up. He almost wasn’t able to move; the muscles in his back protested not only from the injury from his fall days before, but they ached from all the activity in the snow the previous evening. Despite this, he thought it would be beneficial to get in Robert’s good graces by offering his assistance with whatever he needed done once he shut the TV off. Jareth might not have been so willing to volunteer had he known such heavy labor was going to be involved. Robert had to leave soon for the airport and the car had to be dug out of the snow. Jareth couldn’t believe such light, tiny flakes such as snow could accumulate to be such a weighty substance, and even though it did nothing for the pain in his back, he shoveled without complaint.

Being alone with Robert gave Jareth the idea to question him for some answers about Sarah, but instead, he was the one interrogated. Not so much interrogated as asked questions any stranger would ask someone they didn’t know to get to know them better. Luckily, Robert only asked basic questions and Jareth did his best to be as illusive as possible and keep shoveling. But when it came to the subject of Jareth Johnson’s acting career, the Goblin King found a way to turn the conversation off of himself and on to a certain actress.

Robert had many opinions about his ex-wife, all of which he was very willing to share. He had no ill feelings about his wife leaving him; they had drifted apart long before she actually left him. But the way Linda left Sarah didn’t settle well in his mind. A mother should never leave their child, and Sarah didn’t see what a fake her mother was until after having a child of her own. Before Brendon, Sarah had put a fruitless faith into her mother, always believing that Linda cared for her even if she only contacted her when it was convenient. But once she saw all the responsibilities a mother had, Sarah realized she had been neglected and disowned Linda. At least that’s what Robert thought. He admitted Sarah never talked about the fight she and her mother had, but he saw the after effects. Sarah found some of Linda’s private photographs, pictures of Linda doing things any stable, healthy human being would never do, and the tabloids ate them up. Robert was surprised at how forgiving Linda was, almost as if she couldn’t blame Sarah for how she had slandered her name. But Sarah didn’t want to be forgiven, she wanted her mother to stay away.

“If it weren’t for Linda paying Brendon’s medical bills, Sarah wouldn’t have anything to do with her.” Robert said, walking Jareth back up to the house after their work was done. He tried to muffle his occasional cough into his coat sleeve, “Let’s just hope that Sarah doesn’t object too much her mother’s arrival.”

Knowing Linda was coming did not help Jareth prepare in actually meeting her again. He could only presume she would recognize him and question his presence in front of everyone, destroying any advantage with Sarah he had gained last night. He readied himself for the worst when he heard Linda had finally arrived.

*

Linda heaved her luggage into the living room, not even looking up at her daughter as she said, “Hey, Sarah. Will you give me a hand?”

Sarah didn’t move, “What are you doing here?”

Linda dragged her bags even further into the foyer, “I’m spending Christmas with you.”

“You didn’t call, didn’t let us know…”

“Yes, I did,” Linda stood up and stared straight into her daughter’s eyes, “I just didn’t talk to you. I told your father I was coming. How else would he have known to pick me up at the airport?”

“You’re not expecting to stay here, are you?”

Robert was carrying more bags into the house, using his foot to close the front door behind him, “Come on, Sarah. Where do you expect her to go with all the snow?”

“I don’t know? Back to Australia?” She chided, “We wouldn’t want the actress to catch a cold here and miss her filming deadlines.”

Robert slammed the luggage he held onto the floor, “Sarah, that’s enough. She is here now to spend time with your son. You can at least grant her that.”

Sarah abruptly turned and stormed to the kitchen, “I have to get Brendon his pill.”

Everyone seated in the dining room could hear all that was said in the other room. The boys didn’t seem to notice what was going on, but the adults couldn’t help but overhear in silence. After Sarah left, her parents mumbled to each other as they dragged Linda’s luggage upstairs. Sarah came abruptly into the dining room and laid a glass of water in front of Brendon, handing him his pill and then sitting herself down between him and Jareth.

She hated arguing in front of Jareth, the welcome guest, but she couldn’t hold off giving her opinion to her aunt, “You could have told me she was coming.”

“I didn’t because I knew you’d react exactly like this,” Irene defended. She understood closely how Sarah felt; she didn’t want Linda around either. But she had more important concerns than Sarah’s feelings to consider. Right now, she was worried about how Linda would react if she recognized the Goblin King. Irene liked Jareth and didn’t want anything to ruin him easing himself back into Sarah’s life.

Sarah idly positioned her hand over the spoon on the table in front of her and avoided all pairs of eyes staring at her, her son’s included.

Jareth watched Sarah stare into space at nothing as fury gleamed behind her eyes. He understood how she felt about her mother’s betrayal; it was similar to how he was disowned by his step-mother. At least he had the privilege of never having to see the woman again. Sarah, unfortunately, had no choice in her mother’s presence. Cautiously, he edged his hand over the table to hers and held it, letting her see he was there for her.

Sarah lowered her head and slightly smiled to herself when she saw his hand joining hers. She didn’t understand why he cared, but she was glad he did. It just helped knowing that someone was on her side since her father and aunt certainly weren’t preventing Linda from interrupting their lives. She then looked into his concerned eyes. He whispered if she was alright and she nodded, but as soon as her mother walked into the room, her smile left as though it had never been there.

Linda eyed her daughter cautiously as she took her place at the far end of the table, feeling uneasy with how much her daughter hated her; but she accepted the blame. Everything bad that had happened in Sarah’s life was indeed Linda’s fault, all because of a selfish wish made long ago. Linda would never deny it if she was asked, but she thanked the gods Sarah had never tried to ask. In her own heart, though, Linda didn’t blame herself; she blamed a little red book, a mentor, and a prophecy thrust upon Sarah.

Only after a moment of observing her stubborn daughter did Linda even glance at the other people at the table. One face she couldn’t quite place, the man who’s concerned gaze focused on Sarah as he held her hand. Linda was surprised; she hadn’t heard that Sarah had a boyfriend. Surely Robert would have prepared her on the drive from the airport, unless Sarah didn’t want her to know. The blonde man’s handsome features triggered some notion of familiarity, making her wonder if he was someone she perhaps had acted with before or just seen in the circuit. She didn’t think Sarah hung out with such crowds.

While watching him, his gaze finally met hers for a moment, and his eyes flashed with equal recognition, accept for his eyes held a distrust of her. In that moment, Linda was able to catch a clear look at the distinct difference between the irises of his eyes; only one man she had ever met had such bewildering eyes--the man who owned Sarah. Fear and confusion overcame Linda as she tried to figure out why the Goblin King was sitting at the breakfast table and no one else seemed to think it out of the ordinary.

Linda couldn’t help herself as she breathed, “Jareth, what are you doing here?”

Irene spoke up quickly, “Jareth said you had worked in the same company over in England, but you’re such a big actress, I didn’t believe him. I guess I was wrong.”

Linda didn’t know what to say. Her entire reason for coming, the Goblin King, had fooled them all into believing he was a regular person. When Irene had called asking questions about Sarah having been wished away as a child, Linda had been suspicious. No one should have known that it had happened at all. It made a fear come over her that something was happening. Linda had begged her agent to get her off the set for two weeks so she could ‘spend the holidays’ with family. All she really wanted was to ease her guilty conscious; so much for that. There he was sitting with her daughter, and Sarah was accepting him. Jareth had said Sarah would come to him when she was ready, but Linda thought Sarah would go Underground, live in a world of magic. She couldn’t fathom Jareth living on earth in the illusion of a normal man. But there he was, holding Sarah’s hand.

She thought that Sarah hated him. From the looks of how well everyone was accepting the Goblin King’s presence, Linda assumed she was the only one, save Sarah, who knew who Brendon’s father was. Yes, Linda knew, and she wasn’t proud of what she had done to Sarah to make her tell the truth. Five years ago, Linda casually threatened to cut off paying Brendon’s medical bills saying it was her right, as a grandmother, to know why she had to support an illegitimate child. She dared Sarah to get by without her. Sarah refused to beg her not to do it and tried to get by on her own but in just half a year, the bills were so high she had no choice but to give in. Sarah cursed Linda for wishing her away as a child and cursed the name of Brendon’s father, but that was all Linda needed to hear to know the confusing truth. Sarah knew it all. Out of guilt, Linda had never tried to bring up the subject again, not that Sarah would have listened if she tried. Sarah disowned her. Linda didn’t blame her, but she still wanted to know why Sarah had been without the father of her child.

Now that he was there, she didn’t know what to think. But looking around at everyone else at the table, Linda thought it best to bide her time and go along with his charade. It would make her look foolish if she confronted Jareth in front of everyone, just in case the others did not believe her.

Linda nodded slowly to Irene, plastering a fake smile on her face, “Yes, but it was quite some time ago.”

Relief washed over Jareth at hearing both women’s comments. He felt eternally indebted to Irene for that simple interjection. Sarah hadn’t shown any outward signs that she had questioned her mother’s answer, but he couldn’t trust that she took it all at face value. He just hoped that no more incidents questioning his identity would occur until after he was more established in Sarah’s mind as the man he was.

Sarah was doing her best to accept that everything was as it seemed. Linda had reacted shocked to Jareth’s presence because she hadn’t seen him since she acted on the same stage with him over in London. That wasn’t hard to believe, especially since they just agreed to the same story. But suspicion crept into Sarah’s mind; she knew her mother had wished her away. She could only conclude that her mother had experienced the same situation--the Goblin King took the child when called upon and gave his ultimatum on how to get the child back--and she was sure Linda would not have forgotten such an experience. Of course, Linda had never said anything to the fact that she had ever made the wish, even when Sarah had verbally accused her of doing it. Only the Goblin King had told Sarah it had happened. So what was she to believe? She might as well remain passive to everything until actual facts surfaced.

Sarah finished her breakfast quickly, not wanting to have to stay in the same room as her mother longer than necessary. She excused herself and went upstairs to take a shower. But with only the rushing water to listen to, her mind began to wonder why her mother had reacted so to Jareth’s presence. Jareth had to have been only in his early twenties when Linda had worked at that theater in London; she was surprised her mother could remember him at all with how busy she was. Sarah had to admit that he wouldn’t be an easy person to forget. She had really needed the simple support he gave her just by holding her hand.

When breakfast was over, and the boys had gone running upstairs to play video games in Toby and Brendon’s room, the adults, save Linda, cleared the table. Jareth again willingly positioned himself for dishes duty with Roy while Irene and Robert put the leftovers away. They all were aware that Linda leaned against the kitchen door, watching them all work. Jareth tried not to glance at her, even though he felt uneasy and knew she knew him. As long as he stayed with the others, he hoped Linda would remain silent. If only all wishes could come true.

Irene and Roy went upstairs to fix the mess they had made in the guest room and get Joey, since Robert told them the roads weren’t bad enough to keep them there. And Robert, too, didn’t want to be in his ex-wife’s presence so he fled to a place unknown leaving Jareth alone in the living room with Linda. He sat in the arm chair, she on the couch. He avoided her for as long as he could stand, wishing he had somewhere in this house to retreat, but he was forced to remain where he was. He darted his eyes about the room for anything that might give him some escape from feeling her eyes upon him when he finally saw the remote control for the television near him on the end table.

He reached for it, but as soon as he had pushed the button that activated the screen, Linda stated, “Turn it off.”

Jareth didn’t move save for his finger, which found the volume control, and he raised it to an unbearable level. Giving no _expression at all, he placed the control back on the table; if she wanted it off, she’d have to do it herself. She glared at him as she pushed herself off the couch and snatched the control violently from the table; the room went silent with the touch of a button.

“I had thought, when Iri called the other day, that it was strange for her to ask me about something NO ONE should know. It worried me. That’s why I’m here now, and it’s a damn good thing I came. You’ve got them all fooled.” Linda yapped after staring down at him.

Jareth looked up at her coolly, “How is this?”

“Don’t think I don’t remember you.” Linda hissed.

“Yes,” Jareth said, crossing his arms over his chest thoughtfully, “I believe Irene mentioned our acting association. Perhaps that’s where we’ve…”

“Bull shit. You know what I’m talking about.”

“Do I?”

Linda glared at him, “Say that you are who they think you are, a pathetic, struggling actor, then quote one line of Shakespeare.”

Jareth faltered. Shakespeare wasn’t an unknown name to him; he had heard many things about the playwright over his centuries monitoring human’s coming Underground. But to remember something specific, “I don’t see the relevance.”

“Trust me, it is.”

Once, when he was invited to a neighboring kingdom, Jareth had the privilege of viewing a play from Earth by the famous mortal playwright. As in most kingdom’s, the humans were slaves to the wills of the Fae, and on that particular visit, the host king was most proud to show off his human entertainment. One of the humans in his service had been a fallen actor with an impeccable memory who had happened to tell the story of mortals caught in the reveries of the Fae. On pain of death, the human was ordered to assign other slaves to the roles of the lovers, the kings and queens. Jareth himself was intrigued by how the play showed mortals knew nothing of the Fae though they had the sense to believe that magic could make or break lives and that even the Fae made mistakes. He had liked the play; there had to be something he remembered.

“So, you can’t, can you? Not a single line.” Linda chided.

“What fools these mortals be.” Jareth smirked at her.

Linda frowned, “Everyone knows that line. Where did the Goblin King hear Shakespeare?”

“The who?”

“Oh no.” Linda started pacing in front of him, wagging a finger at him, “You’re not fooling me one bit.” She stopped again. “Why are you here?”

“I was invited by the Carlson’s to have dinner with their family. If it weren’t for the storm, we would have retired back to their…”

“What are you doing away from the Labyrinth?” Linda strongly clarified, as though he was too dumb to understand the first time.

Jareth stood up, his full height looming over her, “Ms. Williams, you are asking things for which I cannot answer.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

Jareth grinned curtly at her, “You decide.”

“Did Sarah accept you, just like that?” Linda asked, snapping her finger in front of his face

“We only just met yesterday. It will take us time to get to know each other fully.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, it isn’t?”

Linda felt like screaming, “Be straight with me. I haven’t been able to forget what you told me for twenty years. And Sarah had your son! Are you going to take him also when you take her back with you?”

“I do not plan on returning to England.”

“God, Jareth!! I’m not talking about…”

“Grandma?” Breni stood there, looking worried that his grandma was yelling at his new friend, “Can I have my present now?”

Linda groaned inside; she had told the child she had a special pre-Christmas present for him, to get in his good graces. She smiled to him after flashing a threatening glare at Jareth, “Sure, let’s run upstairs and pull it out.”

Brendon’s grandmother moved to him and placed her hand on his shoulder to lead him, but he moved out of her grasp and towards Jareth, “Wanna come too?”

That this child cared so much about him without really knowing him amazed Jareth; he could deny his son nothing. Jareth nodded but paid no heed to Linda as they followed Brendon upstairs. The present was in Linda’s luggage in the guest room, where Roy and Irene were still picking up. They left the room silently when they saw Linda enter. Brendon rushed over to the bed and flopped down on it, sitting eagerly on the edge. He patted the area beside him, motioning for Jareth to sit with him. Brendon’s face lit up at seeing the package wrapped in metallic blue paper his grandmother handed him.

“I found these over in Australia. See what you think.”

Breni didn’t waste a second with carefully unwrapping the gift, instead ripping the paper to shreds. But once the box was opened, he looked confusedly at its contents. One object was obviously a boomerang, which Breni looked at only a moment before placing it beside him, but the other object he held up in his hand, examining it. The round object was no bigger than his two fists put together and he eyed the strange patterns painted on it. “What is this?”

“It’s an Emus egg. It has aborigine designs on it. It’s very fragile, so you’ll have to keep it somewhere safe.”

“Okay.” Breni tried not to sound disappointed, having been taught by his mother to always be thankful for what he was given, no matter what. He placed it back in the box and shut the lid.

“Hey, do you want to go visit the zoo in New York and see real Emus?” Linda asked, trying to turn the tide in her favor.

That did the trick. Breni sat up straight, “Cool! When can we go?”

“I’ll get tickets so we can go on a plane and…”

“No.” Brendon said quickly, “I don’t like flying.”

Linda frowned, “Okay, then we’ll drive, though it will take longer. But we can go next week. What do you think?”

Jareth didn’t know what an Emus or zoo where, but he could tell that Linda didn’t mean her words fully. Even if she did intend to keep her promise, her intent in offering the venture wasn’t legitimate. “I think you might want to discuss it with his mother before getting the boy’s hopes up.”

Brendon took what Jareth said to mean he didn’t want the boy to go, so he turned to him on the bed, rising on his knees to look him in the eyes, “You can come too.”

Jareth gave him a reassuring smile, scuffing the boy’s hair. “We’ll see.”

*

Sarah was discouraged as she looked down at the huge pile of laundry she had to get started on before her aunt and uncle left. Roy and Joey’s clothes had gotten muddied while playing in the snow and they would need them to travel home. And beyond their clothes, there were the clothes of her own household that had piled up all week that would take three loads to do. Sarah sighed. Laundry was the last thing she wanted to do right now, but at least she knew her mother wouldn’t burst in to help her. Sarah couldn’t remember the last time she had even seen her mother lift a finger to do any type of house work; she had a maid.

“Sarah?” Irene walked into the laundry room, Roy in tow, “There you are. We were wondering if you have plans for this evening?”

Sarah laughed, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, “I didn’t until mom got here. Why?”

“Well,” Roy started, “Iri and I were wanting to go out tonight and we need…”

Not letting him finish, Sarah reluctantly offered, “Sure, I’ll watch Joey for you.”

“Joey? No, Jareth.” Irene smiled, “I would trust him with watching Joey, of course, but the poor man’s hardly been anywhere outside our apartment since getting in town. I thought, if it’s no trouble, you could show him around. It would do well for him to be away from TV and video games.”

“You could take him to a play, or bowling or something,” Roy added.

“In other words, a date.” Sarah simply stated, trying to hide that she liked the idea.

“You could say that.” Roy nodded.

“Unless you’ve changed your mind about him,” Irene winked.

Sarah shook her head, “I’d like to spend time with him. But with mom here…”

“Don’t let her interfere with your life.” Irene growled, “You’re a grown woman now and she’s the grandma. She’s supposed to watch the kids while you go out.”

Sarah’s mind was becoming active with all the possible places she could take Jareth on a frigid Saturday night. She had no idea of what he even liked. “Does he know we’re going out?”

“Not yet,” Roy smiled as he patted her shoulder, “But you can tell him.”

“We’ll have him waiting at our place tonight and you can pick him up.” Irene added, “We’ll bring Joey over here if we can’t get a neighbor to watch him.”

*

Linda sat on the edge of the guest bed as she observed Jareth and Brendon as they examined further the aboriginal patterns on the Emus egg, deciphering what creatures were being represented. There was a closeness, a friendship and trust between the man and boy, indicating to Linda that they had spend much time together to be so compatible. It made Linda wonder if maybe Jareth was serious about his loving Sarah if he already held such love for their son, and was even living a normal life to be with them.

“Breni, you and Jareth seem to be good friends.” Linda started.

Jareth looked with narrow eyes at the actress, curious as to where her questioning would lead.

“Yeah, he’s fun.” Brendon smiled.

“What all have you done together?”

“We played in the snow yesterday, and he let me cut carrots before dinner.” Breni answered quickly.

“What about before yesterday?”

“If you must know,” Jareth answered lowly, “We only met last night.”

That did surprise Linda. Brendon did not act like he had just met this man only yesterday. The child didn’t even know he was his father, “Breni, didn’t your mother teach you to be cautious of strangers?”

“But he isn’t strange,” Brendon defended, raising to his knees on the bed so his head was level with Jareth’s, “He’s just like me. His hair is yellow, my hair is yellow. His one eye is green, his one eye is blue, like me.”

“Yes,” Linda smirked, turning her knowing eyes to Jareth, “Quite like you. Don’t you find that an uncanny coincidence?”

“Brendon, why don’t you go see what the other boys are doing, hum?” Jareth stated quickly. “Show them your presents.” He was relieved the child didn’t protest.

“I am confused, but I’m not surprised. You said you’d come, and here you are. But I didn’t think you’d be here. I was surprised when Sarah told me she’d been f*@ked by the Goblin King and just left to rot. I had a better impression of you.” Linda said in a way that didn’t let Jareth know if she was angry or not. “Brendon was born six years ago. How did Sarah even know of you then? I can only assume you’ve cast a spell over her now, ‘cause I know there is no way in hell she’d forgive you. You might as well tell me.”

“Do you like stories, Ms. Williams?” Jareth folded his arms over his chest, “Well, try this one on for size. A king, who bound himself to all sense of honor and duty, lost his mind. Not his sanity, mind you. He knew exactly who he was, but his memories were gone; although he did not yet know he had forgotten. Not knowing his surroundings, he was found and taken in by a kind couple and taught to live the way of mortals. They did not allow him to treat them as servants, and damned if they allowed him to believe he was king in this place. It was a difficult transition, but he knew he must adjust for he never may return to his own kingdom again. The couple housing him had a niece, a beautiful, alluring creature whom the king loved just by glancing at her photograph. But the king was known by the girl and hated, but no one knew why since by all his accounts, he had never before laid eyes on him. That her hatred for him could be so strong baffled the king, and he sought to discover the cause. A memory did surface for him when it became known that this girl had herself been wished to him as a child, his prophesized bride. He wouldn’t have believed it could be true had his heart not felt so strongly. So he sought to meet her. The girl was unsure if the king was truly the man she remembered, yet she allowed him to be in her presence. The king was surprised to discover the object of his fancy had a son of her own, by another man--but not by another man. Circumstances pointed that the only logical, undeniable fact was her son was his. He didn’t want to believe he could have impregnated one who was still a child in many ways. How could he, a king, a man of honor, have done such an ignoble thing? He only wished he could remember. Now, the king wants to live his life with the wife and son he never knew he had and find out why he had forgotten them.”

Linda sat in silence taking in the events that had led the Goblin King to where he was, but when he had finished, she said, “You didn’t cast a spell on her.”

“No.”

“You are right, then, you need to be with her. But I still don’t understand why you come for her when she was a teenager?”

“She met me through the same means that her own mother did, by making a wish.”

“She wished?” Linda’s eyes widened in shock.

“Yes, or so I have been told. I do not remember the event, but Joey informed me of what Sarah shared with him, that she wished Toby away and ran the Labyrinth to save him. She reached her brother…”

“And you got her pregnant?” Linda interjected.

Jareth sighed, “How Brendon came to be is still a mystery to all save Sarah. And I above all am not prepared to ask her.” Then he leaned casually towards her, a wicked glint in his eye, “We can easily presume the reasons she hates me, but I am more curious as to why she hates you.”

*

Roy, Joey and Irene were ready to go, and Sarah still hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Jareth about doing something together that evening. She didn’t know where to begin, or how to approach him since he and her mother had been talking the whole time while everyone else had been busy doing things. She supposed they were reminiscing about their theater experiences together; or so she hoped. They hadn’t left the guest room, and it was nearly 3pm.

Sarah stood in the doorway, “Mom, we’ve got to leave soon. Toby and Breni have practice at 4:30, but with the snow, I wanted to leave early.”

Linda, who appeared to be in tears, removed herself from the conversation she had been having with the Goblin King, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, “That’s fine. I can come with you.”

Sarah just nodded, not wanting to pry into what had upset her mother…not that she cared much. She then turned to Jareth, “I was wanting to talk to you before you left. Mom, could you…?”

“Sure.” Linda surprised Sarah by patting Jareth’s leg in a soothing manner before rising to leave.

With Linda gone, Sarah leaned against the door, not feeling comfortable enough to stand on her own. She didn’t waste any time thinking what she was going to say and just let it out, “Irene and Roy aren’t going to be home tonight, and Joey will be at a friends house. So you’ll be alone. But if you wouldn’t mind spending the evening with me, I heard a local church is performing the Messiah.” She let her eyes drift away from his, so it wouldn’t be as hard if he said no, “If you’d like, we could go together.”

Jareth smiled at her, “It would be my pleasure.”

Sarah closed her eyes a moment and breathed out in relief, “Great. Then I’ll be by the apartment at seven to pick you up, unless practice goes over.”

“I will try to be ready.”

*

Practice didn’t start on time, due to the cast’s excitement that they were going to be watched by a movie star. Linda ate the attention up. Sarah was glad that her mother had chosen to stay and watch the pageant practice while she went shopping. Sarah thought it would be better to leave than to sit next to her mother, who would probably try to get her to talk. Mother or not, Sarah didn’t find she had much in common with Linda. But that didn’t make her feel un-obligated to get her a Christmas present. Not that Sarah had planned to neglect giving her mother a present, but now that the woman would actually be there on Christmas morning, Sarah felt obligated to find her something worthwhile. She did get that Christmas bonus from work, might as well start putting it to use.

There was a small shopping district downtown not far from the church that had promising gift shops. Sarah walked from store to store, thankful that her gloves and coat were thick enough to protect her from the frigid air. There were plenty of appealing knickknacks in the store windows, but Sarah wanted to find something that would impress her mother, show her how well off she had been on her own merit. Linda might be wealthy and wear designer clothes, but in the area of jewelry, she was lacking. Sarah thought a fitting gift could be as simple as a necklace. But Sarah didn’t like the look of designer jewelry. She liked antiques, things of sentimental value, things with history.

There were a few jewelry shops which she window browsed that had real estate pieces, but nothing jumped out at her. Then she came to the window of a pawnshop called Murry’s. There were jewels and other valuables lining the windows to lure customers to come inside. It saddened her to see many sets of wedding bands and other valuables on display. She was blessed she had never been desperate enough to pawn off things dear to her to pay her bills. She looked down at her ring, ever on her finger; she wouldn’t be able to sell it, even if she needed to. It wasn’t just that she couldn’t get it to come off; she didn’t want to loose something so attached to the experiences of her life. If it weren’t for Linda paying for Brendon’s bills, which this year totaled nearly four thousand dollars on medication alone, Sarah didn’t know what she might have had to give up. She knew she was so lucky to have a forgiving family. So many girls in her situation would have been abandoned by their families when they had to confess they were pregnant with an illegitimate child.

But here too, nothing on display seemed to scream “buy me for Linda.” Sarah was just about to move on when something in her mind made her feel as though she needed to take a second look, that perhaps she had missed something, and her eyes latched on to it once she recognized it’s golden gleam.

Suddenly, the world didn’t make sense anymore at seeing the Goblin King’s pendant for sale in the pawnshop window. Subconsciously, Sarah’s gloved hand moved over the area on her neck with the scar, caused by the very piece of jewelry that burned her eyes. It confirmed her greatest worry that the Goblin King had indeed returned; yet with Jareth Johnson not knowing who she was, who he really was, how could she place any blame for the hardships of her life upon him? She wanted to believe he was putting on an act, but he was too different at heart than the Goblin King she remembered, and no body could be that consistent unless they were truly being the person they thought themselves to be. From all she could tell, Jareth Johnson knew nothing more than he was a man wanting a new start in life.

“Like what you see?”

Sarah jumped at the voice that seemed to appear out of nowhere. In front of her was an old black man, a teasing smile on his lips. She looked back at the pendant, but didn’t acknowledge how she felt; she didn’t know.

“Why don’t you come inside and stare at it?” He said, opening the store’s door for her. “It’d be much warmer.”

Absently, Sarah nodded and moved from the door, although her eyes remained on the golden object. The old man was jumbling a set of keys in his hands and after he let Sarah in, he went to the lock on the window’s display case and opened it, indicating to Sarah he was the shop owner, Murry.

“What were you lookin’ at, darlin’?”

Sarah walked up slowly, pointing a finger to the pendant. The owner grabbed the jewelry box containing the item and looked on the bottom of the box.

“351. Three fifty one. Well, let’s see how much this will be for you.”

Sarah nodded and followed him to the front of the counter, where he placed box 351. From behind the counter, Murry pulled out a stack of notebooks and looked for the logged information.

“Ah, here it is…looks like $600.”

Sarah immediately reached into her purse.

“Oh, but sorry, sweetie. You’ll have to wait 26 days to buy this.”

“But you just said…?” Sarah growled.

The old man shrugged, “Sorry, it was just pawned on Wednesday. Have to keep to the 30 day policy by law, although I can’t say that I’m expectin’ the guy who sold this to me to come for it by then.” He tapped on the glass counter, pointing to the contents inside, “You might want to look at these here.”

Sarah shook her head to him.

The pendant was sold to him three days ago. Joey had called three days ago, saying the Goblin King had come. Sarah reached out and touched the cool metal. There was something magical about it, something that made her fingers tingle and she knew she wasn’t wrong that this belonged to the Goblin King.

Finally she found her voice and questioned softly, “Wh…Who sold this to you?”

“Honey, that’s confidential.”

“Please, I know this pendant. If it is owned by who I think, I just want to ask him why he had to sell it.”

“Really, I can’t…”

“Please, just a description would be enough. You don’t have to name them.”

Murry groaned, but didn’t argue, “Dark brown hair, kind of receding, not so much bulky as stocky…”

That was enough for Sarah, “Roy Carlson.”

“You know him?”

Sarah nodded, “Was anyone with him?”

“Yeah. Really quiet blonde guy. In fact, I think the stuff belonged to him.”

“Thank you.” Sarah said and started to quickly walk away.

“Hey! You want to leave a number so I can call you when…”

Sarah didn’t bother to let him finish as she streamed out the door. She wouldn’t need to leave a number. She was going to have it bought back by the very person who sold it.

*

It was six o’clock and Sarah stood in front of her vanity mirror applying eyeliner. She felt a little shaky, and it wasn’t just because she hadn’t put on makeup in a while. She was still in turmoil inside by what she had found out, but there was no way in hell she would back out of this date. She would pick Jareth up in an hour as planned. Everything was already arranged. Her parents would try to bear to be in the same room together while they babysat Brendon and Toby, and her aunt and uncle were going to be out, leaving Jareth all alone. She might as well take the time to get to know this more appealing version of the father of her son.

“Are you seriously going to wear that?”

Sarah looked into the mirror to see her mother sneering at the blue sweater she had on, “What’s wrong with it?”

“If I were going out with a gorgeous guy like Jareth, I would wear something to show off why exactly he was with me.”

“Well, I’m not you.” Sarah grumbled.

Linda said softly, leaving the room. “I have something that might work, if you would like to borrow it.”

“Wait.” Sarah sighed, “I’ll take a look.”

Sarah was glad her mother had offered new apparel. Blue wasn’t Sarah’s color, but black, to quote her mother, made her look “mysteriously risqué.” Sarah of course rolled her eyes at the comment, but she didn’t disagree. The neckline scooped just above the swell of her breasts and the skirt hugged her hips, falling just above her knees. Her scar was fully exposed but she didn’t mind; she wanted Jareth to see it. The only complaint Sarah could make of the dress was that the sleeves were slightly too long, tickling her wrists uncomfortably, making her want to roll the sleeves up; too bad one couldn’t do so with velvet.

“You were right.” Sarah admitted, “Thank you.”

Linda smiled, “So, what are you going to be doing with him?”

“St. Paul’s Cathedral is doing ‘The Messiah.’ I thought he might like it.”

“Good choice. And after?”

Sarah shrugged, “We’ll see. I can’t stay out too late. The boys have to be a church by 8 and…”

“Stay out as late as you like. Your father and I can make sure the boys make it. You can sleep in.”

“I wouldn’t want to miss their performance. It means to much to Toby that he is Joseph.”

“Still, don’t rush.” Linda looked at her watch, “It’s 6:15. What time were you picking him up?”

“Oh gosh,” Sarah said, slipping on her black pumps, “I told him I’d be there at 7, but it will take at least half an hour to get there, if there isn’t traffic. I’ve got to go.”

*

Sarah hadn’t expected her aunt and uncle to still be at home, but Roy was the one who opened the door for her.

“Hey, Sar. J’s upstairs getting some ‘last minute touches’ done. You know how Irene can be a perfectionist.”

Sarah nodded and made her way to the couch, and sat. “Is Joey already at the neighbors.”

“Yep. So how did practice go?”

Sarah tried to not let her heart beat faster, “I actually went shopping and mom stayed and watched.”

“Find anything nice?”

Nice certainly wasn’t a word she would have considered using when describing her discovery. Intriguing, yes. Frightening, absolutely. And she didn’t want there to be a chance of it being sold. But why she felt she needed it; she wondered if maybe it was the key to the Goblin King. Perhaps having it back would allow him to realize all he was--though the idea scared her. She didn’t want the Goblin King back, but she needed him to know enough to accept Brendon as his son. She wanted a father for Brendon as much as he did, and Jareth Johnson had already shown he could fit the bill.

“Yeah, there was this one item I really wanted to buy at a pawn shop downtown…for mom. But I didn’t have the cash with me,” Sarah’s mouth started to get dry, “And since I don’t know if I can get it before Christmas, I was wondering if you could buy it for me on Monday.”

“Sure. Just let me know what and where.”

Sarah told him the address and box number, but didn’t describe the item at all, “I can give you the cash for it tomorrow at church.”

Jareth attempted to be patient as Irene put gel in his hair to give it some style. He could hardly sit still while she worked on him. He was nervous. This would be the first time he had ever been alone with Sarah, and he felt it in the pit of his stomach. Irene wouldn’t be there to cover for him if he didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t completely give him away. Jareth promptly asked what a church and the Messiah were, not wanting there to be any chance of tripping up on his façade of being familiar on common earthly knowledge. Irene was able to answer much and instruct him on how to behave, but the idea of being in a crowd of people already had him on edge. Performances weren’t meant for the masses; they were meant to relieve and entertain the minds of hard working royalty. More Earth customs he would have to tolerate.

There was a nock on the bathroom door, and Roy called, “She’s here.”

“We’ll be down in a minute.” Irene answered back.

“What more must you do?”

“Your cut is a bit red. I’m just going to make it less noticeable. Remind me to take a look at it when you get back.” Irene took out a stick of cover-up and dabbed some over the scar above his eye, blending it over his skin with the tip of her finger. When she was finished, she stood up straight, “Well, have a good time tonight.”

Jareth laughed nervously, “I can only hope things go well.”

“Just be yourself, and if the whole truth is revealed, don’t lie about it. That would only make things worse. If she asks, tell her what you know and what you don’t. Then, ask her what she knows. You have a right to know why your son grew up without a father.” Irene opened the bathroom door, “I would.”

Jareth sighed as he followed her out, “I’m just not ready.”

The instant he saw Sarah, a broad smile crossed Jareth’s lips. He’d never seen her with her hair down, and it made her look much younger than she was. She looked like an angel of darkness, in all black, but her innocent heart showed through the bashful smile she returned. He offered her his hand to help her rise from the couch, “I think I’m under dressed. You look beautiful.”

Her attempt to hide her blush failed as she took his hand, “Mom had me wear this. It wasn’t my first choice.”

“It’s very becoming.”

Sarah noticed Jareth was wearing the same outfit he had on during his interview the previous day, but it didn’t matter. Her mind wondered what he could possibly own on Earth if he had to sell his Underground possessions. His clothes were definitely secondary market, which wasn’t a surprise if her uncle had done the shopping.

“You two stop gawking at each other and get on the road.” Roy said, handing them each their coat.

“You’ll want to get there early to find decent seats.” Irene said, pushing them both towards the door.

Sarah looked behind her and saw that Irene was in comfortable sweats, “Wait a minute, aren’t you going out?”

Irene kept directing them out the door, “Have a good time.”

The door was shut promptly behind them. Sarah turned to the door to yell at them for lying to her, but she turned back to her car and huffed, “I can’t believe this was just a ploy for us to be alone together.”

“I don’t mind, do you?” Jareth asked, taking her hand.

Sarah saw how his hair gleamed in the glow of the porch light and smiled. He was handsome, “No. Have you eaten? We could stop off…”

“I’m fine. As your aunt said, we need decent seats.”

St. Paul’s Cathedral was only twenty minutes away from the Carlson’s, but Sarah was glad Irene had booted them out when she did. The parking lot was nearly full when Sarah pulled in. And the seats too were nearly gone. When Jareth held her hand tightly as they walked through the maze of people, Sarah looked up at him. He was looking carefully all around, trying to avoid bumping into people and he barely missed being side swiped by a woman wearing big red sweater with a huge, sparkling Christmas tree broach. He held himself as though he was apprehensive of being touched by anyone after that woman bulldozed passed him. Sarah felt responsible some how, that she should take care of this lost man. Something that had started tickling the back of her mind ever since she saw the pendant made her feel that she was the reason he was in his current state. With how many wishes she had made in anger against him, she knew she possibly could be.

Sarah quickened her pace through the crowd and found two vacant spots on the end of a pew in the middle of the sanctuary. She let Jareth sit in the isle seat, and once seated, he seemed to relax his body, but he still looked anxiously about.

Sarah had no idea of what to say to him, if he’d even want to talk to her since he hadn’t said much of anything in the car ride over. It was if he was nervous of something more than being around numerous strangers. She thought a bit of small talk might distract him.

“We got here really early, but it looks as though just in time to get a comfortable view. Is this your first time seeing the Messiah?”

Jareth hardly noticed Sarah was addressing him. With all the voices he was hearing, so many people jabbering away at once in a roar that not even his own goblins could match, he could barely pay attention to the woman who had brought him to this infested place, “No, I have never seen it performed. But I see that it is popular.”

“Even after three hundred years. That is timeless.”

This intrigued him. So, humans liked to preserve their traditions, even after many generations. It made him wish he had grown up knowing more of his human heritage, so that the Fae notions that humans only lived for ‘the now’ could be disproven. Apparently, many things on Earth remained steadfast. If only the Fae were so inclined.

When Jareth didn’t say anything else, Sarah took it as that he didn’t want to talk. He’d been open with her last night…maybe he had been turned off by her asking him out. Maybe he thought it should have been the other way around. But he had accepted gladly. There was only one way to get into his mind.

“Jareth, is something wrong?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“You haven’t said two words to me in ten minutes. I was just wondering if I was boring you, or if I did something wrong to make you ignore me.”

“No.” He smiled sheepishly, reaching for her hand, “I’m sorry. That was not my intention. I’m just not used to being around this many people.”

“Surely you would be used to an audience, being an actor and all.” Sarah teased.

“But that, love, is from the other side of the stage.” Jareth laughed.

“I think this side of the stage is just fine. All those people looking at you, judging you without even knowing you.”

“I doubt that is how your mother feels.”

“I don’t really care about how she feels.” Sarah growled, looking away.

Sarah’s stiffened composure at heedlessly mentioning her mother bothered Jareth. Linda was a self-absorbed woman who irritated him to no end, but she did love her daughter and wanted forgiveness. Jareth wanted to understand what Sarah’s view of the situation her mother was inept to explain. The woman had been so emotional when she started talking about what she had done that Jareth couldn’t make any sense out of it. Perhaps Sarah would be more forthcoming, “Would it be too soon in our relationship to ask why you loathe her so much?”

Sarah shook her head, still not looking at him, “It’s not too soon. I just prefer only she and I know what happened.” She then turned back to him, wanting to change the subject before she allowed herself unpleasant memories.

Jareth watched Sarah’s hand trace along the J shaped slash at the base of her neck, the scar he supposedly had given her. How could he have ever placed such a harsh blemish on a body of near perfection?

She hadn’t even realized that she had snuck up her hand to her scar, the subconscious habit she had developed ever since she had been given it, until she felt fingers brush over her own hand, tracing the scar with her. Sarah gasped and looked into concerned mismatched eyes.

“How did you get this?” Jareth asked softly, trying to keep the urgency he felt from showing.

Sarah’s heart raced, and the roar of the crowd surrounding them rang in her ears. He wanted to know? “Br…Brendon’s father gave it to me.”

He pulled her hand down and held it in his lap, “Why?”

That had been the question on her mind for the past six years, “I don’t know. He said I had taken something of his, but I don’t know how. I think…I think he was going to kill me, but he stopped.”

“That bastard didn’t deserve to touch you in the first place.” Jareth growled loudly, causing many wide eyes from the ‘church goers’ in the crowd to flash at him. He then whispered harshly, “Nothing is worth killing for. Not if he loved you.”

“He said he did.” Sarah breathed, tears forming in her eyes. She rolled her eyes, cursing herself for getting emotional. She had wanted to tell him the facts, just the facts as best as she could remember. She thought that somehow, if he knew, she could reach his spirit or any part of the Goblin King she knew that was left within this much gentler soul. She didn’t know if it was because that if he did reveal himself, she would do all she could to punish him or if she simply wanted him to know. Either way, nothing of the past would be changed.

Straightening herself, Sarah put on her best fake smile, “But, he left me, and I’ve gotten on with my life. So, why did you leave acting?”

So, the conversation was over when there was so much more Jareth wanted to know, but there would be other times. He quickly thought of an answer, one that he himself believed, and he chuckled, “Love, I’m simply not good at pretending to be someone I am not.”

Sarah softened her smile, “I liked that, how you call me love.”

Jareth leaned into her, latching his eyes to hers, “Then I shall call you that more often.”

Sarah blushed but stopped herself from averting her eyes. She needed to stop feeling shy around him. She was stronger than that, and he wanted to be with her.

Noticing the slight tension in Sarah as he inched closer to her, Jareth eased back and rested his elbow on the back of the pew, nonchalantly twirling a strand of Sarah’s hair in his fingers, “So you don’t like being in front of others? Your uncle said he thought you would have one day been on the stage, like your mother.”

“Oh, no. That was a fantasy, before I knew what real life would be.” Sarah frowned angrily, “Mom doesn’t live in reality.”

Jareth shook his head, realizing it was a mistake to have allowed the subject of Linda to resurface, “Let’s not speak of her.”

“Oh,” Sarah teased, “but there is so much I could say about her. Then what do you want to talk about for the next thirty minutes?”

“Did practice go well for Brendon?”

Sarah fibbed a bit, since she hadn’t been in that day’s practice. She’d been to all the others, so she improvised. She watched Jareth’s temperament, to see if he was interested in what she had to say about ‘their’ son. He laughed appropriately, responded on how he acted similarly as a boy, and his attention never wavered. Sarah had no idea she had talked for so long until the lights in the sanctuary started to dim as the choir took its place while the orchestra tuned up their instruments. She adjusted herself so she would be comfortable in the seat and couldn’t help but smile to herself as she felt Jareth’s arm wrap behind her to rest on her shoulder.

Irene had told Jareth all about music and singing as a performance art while preparing for this date. The woman had gone on about how music had different styles, and if he didn’t like what he heard, he’d ‘have to shut up about it, because Sarah enjoyed it.’ ‘Music is a way for us to express our feelings.’ He understood that. It wasn’t as though music as foreign to him; he often sang to himself in the everyday boredom ruling goblins. He just had never been exposed to how humans interpreted music, though he had his pre-judgments through the little he’d heard. The primitive holiday ditties he’d heard the past few days through the radio or Joey’s video game tunes gave Jareth the pretty good assumption that music to the human ear was very base and simple.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

*

Sarah was grateful that the heater didn’t take very long to warm up as they drove along. The moon was out causing it’s glow to shine of the snow and illuminate the dark night.

“So did you like it?”

“That was very interesting. Long, but fascinating how so many melodies can work together so harmoniously.”

“You should be glad they only did excerpts and not the entire thing.” Sarah smiled, looking at him through the corner of her eye as she drove.

“Why does everyone stand during that particular piece?” He realized that perhaps it was a foolish question, one that might expose his naivety, so he quickly added, “I’ve never understood it.”

“I used to wonder that too. It used to seem so silly until I found out the reason behind it. It was performed in front of the King of England, and he found the piece so moving, since the peace was dedicated to glorifying God, that he felt he could not sit in the presence of God. The king stood before THE King. And since no one else is supposed to sit in the presence of their ruler, everyone else had to stand also. It’s been a tradition ever since.”

“And you do not find it inappropriate, even though this country has no king to honor?”

“It’s standing before God, I guess it’s why we do it now.”

Jareth huffed but didn’t voice his thoughts. He stood before no one.

“You’re not very religious, are you?” Sarah teased.

“Do you believe in this deity?”

“My heart may know, but my mind doesn’t know how to find the words.”

“I do not concern myself with matters of heaven or hell. I’m only concerned with living.”

“It’s just nice to be able to hope in something bigger than you are, ya’ know?” Sarah shrugged, “That you can be forgiven for the things you have done.”

Jareth started to understand. Humans must not have a secure knowledge of what happens to their souls when their physical body perished. Placing a trust onto a relieved them of such worry, “Forgiveness is good. The man, before the orchestra began, said , ‘Forgive us, as we forgive those who have sinned against us.’ It is hard to let go, but sometimes it is for the best.”

There was one person who flared to Sarah’s mind who she felt she could not forgive, and it surprised her that it wasn’t who was sitting next to her, “Yeah, well, certain things cannot be forgotten.”

“No, never forget, but to forgive shows you are the stronger person.”

“Even if…” Tears struck Sarah’s eyes and she almost couldn’t see to drive, “Even if she is the one that cast you aside, you are to forgive her?”

Jareth sighed, wishing he could ease Sarah’s opinion of her mother, “She’s made mistakes but you can’t hold her to them forever. People learn, they change, and you have to let them change lest they revert back to their old ways and become worse through rejection. Don’t push her away so much that she does really cast you aside permanently. I’ve spoken with her, and like you, she will not say what happened between you, but she’s accepted it as her fault and wants to make amends.”

“Yeah, well, she hasn’t tried every hard.” Sarah hissed.

“Have you let her?”

Sarah sniffled, bringing the car to a halt, waiting for the light to turn green. She didn’t know why he was even wanting to get involved about how she felt about her mother, “Why do you even care?”

“I’ve lost both my parents. I’d hate to see you loose both yours.”

Sarah looked to him and nodded in understanding, but said, “I lost her a long time ago.”

“You haven’t. You’ve just closed your heart to her.” Jareth laughed softly, to ease the tension, “I know how selfish she can be, but when it comes to you, when it comes to your son, she doesn’t come first.” Sarah pulled forward again, keeping her eyes straight ahead to the road, giving him no indication she was listening, “All I’m saying is, she is your mother, and this being a season of forgiveness, you may want to reconcile with her. You are both hurting. Your scorn of her is breaking her heart.”

The rest of the ride back to the apartment was a silent one. Jareth felt the evening had more failures than successes. He succeeded in finding out more about Sarah, but he failed to get any closer to her. All he had done was make her upset by talking about a woman who irritated them both. They exited the car in silence.

Irene had left the porch light on, and they both stood looking at each other, waiting for the other to say goodnight. But neither of them wanted to say it.

“Thank you for going with me tonight,” Sarah finally started after getting butterflies in her stomach under his gaze. “I know it wasn’t much of a date. Had I known they weren’t even going out, you could have spent your time doing better things than…”

“Sshh.” Jareth placed his finger on her lips, “I was spending time with you. That’s enough for me.”

Sarah shivered a sigh, half from the cold, and half from wanting to have him hold her.

Seeing her body shudder, Jareth placed a concerned arm around her, “Perhaps we should go inside.”

“No,” Sarah said, wrapping her arms around him and resting her cheek on his chest, “not yet.”

Jareth folded his arms around her, smiling thankfully to himself. She was willingly giving him affection of her own accord, and he would do nothing to ruin it. Feeling her warmth and acceptance eased his mind on the doubts he had of the night being a failure.

Sarah closed her eyes and no thoughts invaded her head as his strong arms held her. All she knew in this simple moment were two things she had missed for a very long time; tranquility and love. These feelings were her hearts deepest desire, and she never would have thought she would be given them by the very personage that had stolen them away from her. He smoothed his hands slowly over her back, which she barely felt through her warm coat. She felt such love for Jareth Johnson, the man holding her, that she was willing to push aside all notions of the Goblin King being somewhere within him. The king hadn’t surfaced, and for all she knew, he never would. Wanting to just revel in this loving man’s presence, Sarah pulled her head back to look into his face.

As Jareth looked down upon her as she gazed at him, he was amazed in the change he saw. It was as though the bashful woman he had kissed the night before hadn’t existed. Confident, sure eyes now stared back at him with intense feeling backing them. Even more surprising was that, although he felt as though in that moment he had to press his lips to hers, she was the one who rose her head up to meet his. He breathed her in as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Her lips parted under his, and he deepened the kiss tentatively, unsure of what her reaction would be. He nearly groaned aloud as her tongue darted to touch his own, and his arms tightened around her instinctively. Sarah’s knees buckled, her body full of desire, but he moved with her as she stumbled back against the house. He moved his hands to her hips when her back hit against the wall and slowly let them slide up the sides of her body as he moved his lips along her neck.

Sarah leaned her head back, knocking it against the wall causing her wince, but the bump was quickly forgotten as she arched her body into his touch. She could barely feel his hands through her coat, but his tongue against her throat tickled with gentle pressure. She moved her gloved hands through his hair, wanting to feel more of him but only knowing his tongue against her bare skin. It wasn’t enough. She moved his mouth back to hers, only wanting more. Jareth was eager to oblige.

“Ahem.”

Jareth and Sarah broke apart, breathing heavily, but still held to one another as they stared at Irene, who’s arms were crossed impatiently as she leaned against the front door, “Roy and I would like to lock up. You’ll see each other tomorrow. Time to say goodnight.”

Sarah bowed her head in embarrassment and nearly jumped when she felt Jareth lift her chin. After placing a chaste kiss to her forehead, he held her body to him and whispered in her ear, a promise, “Then we shall continue this tomorrow.”

~~~~~

I want to thank those of you who have consistently reviewed my story. You really make it worthwhile to keep writing. Silver Space, Anne-Marie, Anyastazya, Redaura, Skyfire, Steahl, Janrea Ray, Winter, Gallygaskins, and the many who always brighten my spirits and give me inspiration at Marysia’s message board.

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