Two figures slowly walked a circle around each other, the only parts touching being their hands. Emerald eyes stared up into mismatched blue and brown. A smirk adorned the males features as he slowly lowered the mask on his face. The female only smiled in return, her mask staying in place. His outfit was similar to the one he wore all those years ago, though red replaced the previous blue. She was clad in a clinging emerald strapless dress, a slit up to the top of her thigh causing some of the extra fabric to trail behind her and narrowly escape her dance partners boots.

"We've danced this dance so many times. Isn't it about time we danced a new one?" He asked, already grabbing her waist as her entwined their joined hands.

"And allow you the chance to return me to your castle?" She asked in amusement, pressing close to him teasingly before twirling away from him, her skirt flaring up around her upper thighs, and back into his eager arms.

"You are an conundrum, my dear." When her eyebrow rose, he continued as they twirled around the empty ballroom. "You act like you would love nothing better than return with me, but you say otherwise."

"You know very well why I can't return." She said, reaching up to cup his cheek gently before smiling and twirling away from him entirely to catch her breath. The two stared at each other, pain showing in the gaze of the man and sincerity in hers. With a wave of his hand, he offered her a flute of champagne. She smiled as she took it, though she didn't drink. "I know not to drink or eat here."

He sighed and stepped towards her, soft lips pressing to her covered forehead. She closed her eyes as she felt the pressure through the porcelain. "Why do you hide your face from me, love?" He asked, cupping her covered cheeks gently.

"Because you wouldn't like what you see." She whispered, her face tilting up towards him. "The years have left me changed."

"Please, I beg of you. Let me see you." He begged, hands gripping the mask as he waited for her answer. Her eyes opened to search his after his plea, uncertainty there. When she finally closed her eyes once more and nodded the smallest of nods, he smiled in success and pulled the mask away.

The years certainly had changed her, her face thinner from it's childhood chubbiness, her cheekbones protruding more, and her eyebrows finely arched. But the eye-catching thing was the scars running along her otherwise clear skin. Four claw marks ran parallel to each other, carving their way down from her forehead to her chin, diagonal across her face.

He choked back a sob for her and gently traced one of the scars. "How… How did I not see these before?"

"The mask hides what would not be covered by it." She says, her voice a whisper as she smiled up at him. "It's almost time for me to go."

He kissed her desperately for a few moments, gloved hands burrowing in her hair to hold her close though it would do him no good when she did leave. "How did they happen?" He asked after a moment, staring down at her with love filled eyes.

"Hell hound of a wolf. Chased me through the woods near my house. There's more marks, but the dress is also enchanted to hide them. I think it still watches me from the woods. Now I must go, the little one is waking me up." Her image flickered and he tried to cling to her for one last moment, kissing her like a starved man before she vanished fully, tears running down her face.

She slowly shimmered into view in the ballroom, green eyes scanning for her usual dance partner. Her usual emerald dress was replaced with a similar one of sapphire blue, the only difference being it had two slits in the skirt instead of just the one. Her porcelain mask was gone, a black lace one in place instead. She bit her lower lip delicately, trying not to frown when she didn't see him.

He appeared behind her a moment later, strong arms wrapping around her slim waist. "Hello, precious." He purred in her ear as he buried his face in amongst her dark tresses. He laughed when she squeaked in surprise, twisting in his arms to stare up at him before smiling.

"And what is this evenings dance?" She asked, watching him as he noted the lack of her usual mask as this once let her scars show.

"I was thinking something… slow." He said, waving a hand to start the music. He pulled her to him gently, squeezing her hips lightly as her arms wound around his neck. The two stayed in place, simply enjoying each others closeness.

"So how is your.. family?" He asked, almost growling the words out at the idea of someone other than him touching her. Of course, she never had told him her child was adopted and she was single.

She smiled at the possessiveness in his voice, laying her head against his chest. "My daughters wonderful. Three years old and turning four next month. Her blonde hair is so light…" She trailed off, feeling his hands tighten on her again.

"And the father?"

"Oh, I suppose he's fine. I wouldn-" She stopped suddenly, pulling away from him and standing still. Her eyes were unfocused though she appeared to be studying his shoulder in quiet pondering.

"Sarah?"

"I.. I have to go. I think someone's in the house." She leaned up and kissed him quickly, pulling away and smiling though it didn't quite meet her eyes. "I'll try to return here later, Jareth, and we'll dance once more." Her voice was soft, already fading away.

And so Jareth woke up with a sigh, his hands rubbing at his face before he frowned at the ceiling. Another night, another dream. But the sudden end of this one had him concerned. He always thought of his dreams as just that, dreams. But whenever she left, it was like she was trying to get him to realize it wasn't a dream. Especially this one. Someone in her house? But whom?

He shook his head and removed himself from the bed, walking over to the large fireplace and staring into the dancing flames.

"Oh how you haunt me, Sarah." He whispered, tilting his head back from the fire to instead stare at the dark ceiling once more. For him, it had been years since her winning. Since she left and broke his heart. An entire century to be exact. But for her, by how she appeared, it couldn't have been more than a decade.

Jareth.

He flinched at the sound of his name, bringing his gaze level once more but his eyebrows were drawn together. Was that her voice? Was she know haunting him even in the waking world?

Jareth!

The pitch was rising, a piercing pain enflaming in his chest. He stumbled forwards, clutching the back of one of his wingback leather chairs. With a gasp, he sat heavily in it though he leaned forward.

JARETH!

The voice screamed, wrenching him from both his castle and his world. He stumbled when he landed, falling forward to land on his knees. He clutched at his chest still, heaving slightly at the unexpected teleportation. When he opened his eyes, he was staring at a hardwood floor. But something was off. Slowly he realized that spotting the floor were spots of blood. Mismatched eyes followed the slowly widening trail, leading to a pool of blood. Terror replaced the pain in his chest when he realized that someone was struggling in the puddle.

Please don't be Sarah.

Sobs wrenched the air, whimpers from somewhere else nearby almost pulling his attention away from the figure. He crawled forward, not trusting his feet. A growl made him pause and the figure of a large, larger than normal wolf was looming over the woman, for he could see now that's what it was. Amber eyes watched him closely, lips curled back over sharp canines.

"Lyall… Leave her be." Jareth growled, slowly standing up to his full height well over six-feet tall. The she-wolf growled back, lifting a paw to rest on the woman's side before rolling her over onto her back. The air left Jareth's lungs when he realized his fears had been correct. "Leave, Lyall. She is under protection of my Kingdom." He finally managed, voice coming out as a snarl.

Sarah, by the appearance of things, had passed out from the pain she had endured. The whimpering sound still permeated the air and Jareth felt his insides freeze when he realized that it came from a small child cowering in the corner behind the wolf. He took a moment to survey the room he was in. It was a homey living room, the furniture mismatched and scattered around a fireplace and TV. The child was hidden between a fish tank that had been overturned and a large book case, books scattered around in the water.

The wolf let out a snarl, still hovering over Sarah's unconscious body. "LEAVE, LYALL." He now yelled at the wolf, flinching when it instead decided to drag it's claws over the soft skin of Sarah's stomach. Fresh blood bloomed from the wound, trickling down the expand the puddle that was already too large. "What has she done to condon this attack?"

Child. Took my child. A voice whispered though all the wolf did was growl once more. His gaze switched to the child. He strode towards the girl, crouching in front of it's cowering form.

"Shhh, little one." He whispered when she started crying, wide eyes staring up at him. He studied her amethyst eyes before standing and turning to the wolf once more. "While this child is indeed fae, it is no more your child than it is yours. It's history presents it as having been abandoned, willingly I might add, at the tender age of one. And not by you, Lyall."

But… Her scent. It is clearly mine.

He breathed in deeply in response, eyes closing briefly. "Wrong. The child's scent is that of Mesi and Sarah. Sarah's because she has raised her. This is not your child, now I recommend you leave here now before I gut you like the beast you are and string you up for all of fae to see." He spoke quietly, his voice dangerously level.

With one last final snarl, the animal vanished and Jareth fell down beside Sarah. Her blood soaked through his sleeping pants as he clutched her to him. He desperately seeked a pulse, a faint fluttering against his fingers giving him a small bit of hope.

"Child, come here. I am taking you two elsewhere." He reached a hand in the girl's direction, the sound of her scrambling forward the only tell that she had listened. When he felt the small childs arms wrap around his arm, he felt a small tug of a smile on his worried face.

The next moment he was in his throne room, the child still clinging to his arm and his other wrapped around Sarah tightly. He removed himself from the girl, trying to stop the bleeding from Sarah in a futile attempt.

"Healer!" He screamed desperately, struggling to remain intact as he felt Sarah's heartbeat slowly going away. "HEALER!" He screamed louder, focused on Sarah as a maid appeared and gasped before ushering the little girl from the room.

"Sarah, please hold on. Please, I beg of you. One more dance, one more dream." Tears were falling down his cheeks as he lowered his forehead to press it onto hers. "Don't leave me now." He whispered, kissing her scarred face in an attempt to wake her. "You promised me another dance."

The black headstone stood out amongst the stark white of the others, a crumpled figure on the ground before it. Rain pelted the ground and person, causing usually feathery blond hair to become plastered to a pale face. The rest of the funeral goers, meaning a small child of four, an old healer, the wise man, and three beasts, had long since gone back to the castle.

"Goodbye, my love, my queen." He whispered softly, pulling himself up from the mud to stare at the portrait of Sarah imbedded in the stone. It showed her as she was, scars running across her face though a bright smile lit up her inanimate features. "You still owe me a dance." He whispered, turning away from the headstone.

Sarah Williams

Goblin Queen by Rite

Loving Mother and Lover