Dawn1: Hope you like the second chapter too!
Kateya: Sorry it took so long to update. I hope you like the twist I have going. And don't worry, no Labyrinth running is planned.
Angeloftheoperahouse: Here's more.
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Sarah smiled as she watched the sleeping form on her bed. She had let Toby sleep in her room so she could keep an eye on him.
"I'll protect you." she whispered. There was nothing she wouldn't do for her little brother. Nothing. Even if it meant facing Jareth again. "I'll never let him have you."
She settled down onto the bed beside Toby. Flopping backwards, she let out a sigh. Life could never be simple. She mentally laughed. There was a time that simple would have horrified her. She'd wanted romance and adventure. Ok, she'd admit it. She still wanted romance and adventure.
"I had my chance and I couldn't take it. I could never choose my fantasies over little Toby."
Closing her eyes she let herself remember the man she'd spent the past year trying to forget.
I'll paint you mornings of gold
I'll spin you Valentine evenings
Oh, if only he'd meant it. But it had just been part of the game to him.
Jareth sat gazing into the crystal.
"No Sarah, you couldn't choose anything over dear little Toby."
The girl's selfless act had shocked him. Humans weren't known for being selfless creatures. He banished the crystal with a flick of his wrist.
"I have a new game for us to play. And I will win this one. Have no doubt of that." he whispered with a devilish smile.
"Sire?" a gruff voice said from outside the throne room. It was obvious that the creature was horrified. All creatures were horrified of Jareth. It was just the way it was. Especially for the past year. He had been crueler than usual, which was the reason he had the throne room to himself. He liked it that way.
"What is it Higgle? And stop hiding behind the door." He called out mockingly. He loved to torture the little dwarf.
"You called for me, sire." Hoggle still hadn't entered the room. He hoped he wouldn't have to. He was a coward, and Jareth scared him. Sir Didymus had once called him valiant. He almost chuckled aloud at the thought.
"Yes, I called for you." Jareth replied. This was the first move of the game. He went first, as always. His game, his rules, his turn. "I called for you, not your voice."
Hoggle slowly came into the throne room. He had never been punished for helping Sarah and he was sure that it was now time for that. As a last act of defiance he met Jareth's gaze.
"I'm not ashamed of nothin' I did, your majesty. The little lady needed my help." he said, thrusting his chin out. He looked every bit like a rebellious child.
"It's nice to know that you have no shame. It should make things easier for you to bear." Jareth summoned a crystal.
"What're you goin' to do with me? Please, not the Bog!" Hoggle pleaded, panic creeping into his voice.
"Snap out of it, Sarah. He never loved you. He just wanted to win. And how could you love a man like that?"
"Quite easily, apparently. It didn't seem to take any effort at all. Just a few pretty crystals and a dance." Sometimes Sarah really hated her inner voice. Damn thing never shut up. It just babbled on.
"I'm not in love with him." Well, she would never admit it anyways.
"Of course you aren't."
"What the . . ." Sarah gasped as she shot up into a sitting position. She instinctively put a hand on Toby. The boy hadn't stirred. She jostled him, starting to get scared.
Jareth smirked. This certainly wasn't the same selfish girl he'd first come in contact with.
Sarah whirled on him. How dare he hurt Toby? Green sparks flashed in her eyes.
"What did you do to him? Why won't he wake up?" Sarah stalked towards Jareth. She would have struck fear into a lesser man. Stopping mere inches from him, she glared at him.
Well, she glared at his chest. Backing up a step, she adjusted her head to look him in the eye. "Make him wake up!" She shouted, shoving him backwards. "Right now!" She continued, shoving him again. She was too angry to remember that it probably wasn't a good idea to shove a Goblin King.
Suddenly, she remembered. Before she had time to think, Jareth had grabbed her wrists and pinned them in front of her. She didn't bother to struggle. She knew that between his strength and his magic, she wouldn't overpower him. She didn't look away though. She met his eyes, silently reminding him of those fateful words that she had spoken.
"Let me go." She didn't shout this time. Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Just make Toby wake up, please."
Jareth let go of her wrists. She backed away, nearly falling in her haste.
"I did not hurt the child, Sarah." He told her calmly. "I wouldn't do that." His eyes shone with sincerity. And he was sincere. It was not in his nature to harm a child. "I merely put him to sleep. He's sleeping peacefully, so that we can talk."
For a mere second, his eyes lost their cruel laughter. He looked almost vulnerable. But that was impossible. Sarah mentally shook herself. Five minutes in his presence and she was already starting her girlish fantasies up again. She looked at Toby. He was sleeping peacefully, and smiling slightly, as if he were having a good dream.
"What do we have to talk about, Jareth? The game is over. I won. You have no power over me." He flinched slightly at her words. They were the words of his nightmares.
Hoggle flinched as well. Those were the words that would definitely piss Jareth off. He was watching the scene from a crystal Jareth had left in the throne room. It turned out he hadn't been brought to the castle to be punished.
"Tell me everything about her, Holly." The king had demanded, gesturing to the image in the crystal he'd summoned. "Tell me her hopes and fears."
Hoggle had stared, speechless. The crystal showed Sarah sitting in front of her mirror, smiling dreamily. Suddenly she had straightened up and frowned. Stretching her arms above her head, she'd looked none too pleased.
Hoggle looked back to the king. It was obvious who the king wanted information about.
"Why you wantin' to know? Sarah won, fair and square. You can't do nothin' to her now." Hoggle asked.
Jareth had looked at him sharply. His eyes flamed. Hoggle involuntarily took a step back. Jareth was angry. Angry enough to be dangerous.
Jareth stood up menacingly. He began walking slowly towards Hoggle.
"Do you really think I would hurt her?" he asked incredulously. "I don't want to hurt her. I want to marry her."
"I'm proposing a new game, Sarah. One in which only I have something to lose. You will come back to my castle with me and stay for thirteen days. If, at the end of those thirteen days, I have not convinced you of my love and made you love me, you will come home and continue your life, never to see me again. If I succeed, you will marry me and become my queen."
Sarah gaped at him. He couldn't be serious. But oh, if he was . . .
"I accept."
The words left her mouth before she had time to realize she was going to say them. The last thing she saw before the world fell down, was the Goblin King's smiling face.