Sarah showed her party invitation to the bouncer at the door of the club. She was more than two hours late, but that didn't seem to matter.

"Welcome to Belle Epoque," he smiled at her and opened the door, gesturing invitingly inside. "Take the stairs on the right to the second floor for the party."

"Thank you," she said and went through the door.

When she took in the elegant space of the club she was glad she had gone with her red cocktail dress. If there was one useful thing her stepmother had instilled in her was that it was better to be overdressed than undressed. She had thought she might be overdressed for this party, but she was heartened to see that there was at least one club in the New York City whose dress code hadn't fallen into modern casualness. There was not a pair of jeans, even designer ones, in sight. Beautiful Age indeed. The décor was definitely inspired by Art Nouveau, but was very modern at the same time. She stood and listened to the band playing on a stage at the far end of the room. They were very good and she wished she could have stayed and listened to them rather than go to the birthday party for a friend of her boyfriend, Mark.

She sighed and made her way up the stairs and followed the signs pointing to the private party. She walked into the party room, scanning the crowd for Mark's sandy colored hair. She didn't know most of these people. They were Mark's crowd, but she greeted a couple of people she was acquainted with. One of them was Mark's best friend, Ben.

Although, Ben looked like he had seen a ghost when he spotted her. "Sarah, what are you doing here? I thought you were in Seattle."

"I caught an earlier flight. I wanted to surprise Mark."

"Oh, he'll certainly be surprised. Wait right here and let me see if I can find him for you."

There was something in Ben's tone that set her instincts tingling. So she followed him to the corner where Mark was sitting with a woman on his lap and attached to his face. Ben was frantically trying to pull them apart. Finally, he got them detached and Mark's gaze fell directly on Sarah.

"This isn't what it looks like," he protested immediately.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it? Then please entertain me and tell me what it is like."

He just gaped at her drunkenly and the woman smirked at Sarah with smeared lipstick.

She smiled bitterly. "That's what I thought. Goodbye, Mark." With that she turned on her heel and strode to the door, people automatically moving out of her way when they saw the thunderous expression on her face.

Mark caught up with her in the hallway and grabbed her arm just as she was about to descend the stairs. "Wait! You can't just leave like this!"

"Yes, I can. Take you hands off of me."

Heads peeked out into the hallway to see what the raised voices were about. Mark tugged her through a door across the hall and into what looked like another smaller event space that was empty and mostly dark.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, Mark, let's hear it then. Tell me why I shouldn't be upset my boyfriend was making out with another woman."

"You're a self righteous bitch, aren't you, Sarah?" he asked angrily. "You've been waiting for something like this so you'll be justified in breaking up with me. So it will be my fault. You in your ivory tower too good to walk among us mere mortals. They warned me you were frigid, but I didn't believe them. Guess I was wrong."

"I wish you'd just go to Hell!" She clenched her fists, fighting the urge to smack his smug face. "Go anywhere where I never have to see you again!"

"Hell would be a nice change of pace after being frozen out by the Ice Queen," Mark sneered. "Maybe I'll be able to thaw out there!" He stomped out the door and slammed it behind him.

"Bastard," Sarah growled, staring at the closed door. She took a deep breath, forcing back tears. She wasn't really sorry to see him go, but it wasn't the first time she had been accused of being frigid or self righteous. Maybe they were right. Maybe she wasn't cut out to be in a relationship. Maybe it was finally time to get a couple more cats and become an official spinster cat lady.

"One would think you would have stopped wishing people away after your previous experience, Sarah. But I suppose some people never learn."

A shiver ran down her spine at the sound of that rich, melodic voice. A voice she never expected to hear again. A voice she often wondered if she had imagined. She slowly, almost reluctantly turned around to see a man sitting at the piano in the far corner. She had thought the room had been empty when they came in, but that corner was so dark that she might not have seen him. All she could really make out of him was his white shirt and silvery blonde hair.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, I think you heard me well enough." She saw a pale hand reach out for the cigarette in a cut glass ashtray on the piano. The end flared to life as he took a drag.

Sarah's blood froze in her veins. She took a step forward when she knew she should be running out the door. "Goblin King?"

"Formerly."

She didn't know what that meant and ignored it for now. "I didn't summon you."

"No, you didn't. I'm not the Lord of Hell, so I couldn't oblige you anyway."

She took another step toward him. "Then what are you doing here?"

She almost jumped when he trailed his hand down the keys of the piano in a loud glissando. "Playing the piano. Or I was until I was so rudely interrupted by a lover's quarrel." With the cigarette hanging out of his mouth, he began playing a pretty sounding waltz.

She took another step forward reaching a lamp set on a table and flicked it on. The soft glow lit up his face. There was the Goblin King, somewhat different, but undeniably the same. His hair was cut short, but artfully disarrayed as it fell across his forehead almost covering one eye. The elaborate markings were gone from around his eyes. However, he still had the same unnerving ice blue eyes with one pupil blown out wide. He looked distinctly human, but still inhumanly beautiful. His white shirt was very crisp and modern, the sleeves were rolled up exposing his forearms. His shirt was opened almost to the top button of his midnight blue velvet vest.

He didn't comment as she looked her fill, but his lips were twisted into a mocking smirk as he continued to play.

"It is you." She sighed and sat on the edge of the end table, her legs not able to support her anymore, "All that therapy for nothing."

He looked up then, his smirk turning into a grin, but no less mocking. "Did you think it all a dream?"

"Sometimes. Other times I was so sure it was real despite how absurd it sounded. Why are you here if I didn't summon you?"

"Selfish Sarah, do you really still think the world revolves around you?"

Her cheeks flush hotly, even more embarrassed because he had heard what Mark accused her of. "No. But you have to admit this isn't your natural habitat."

"Quite true."

"On vacation from the Underground?"

"A somewhat extended one you could say."

She scowled as his evasiveness, though she didn't really know why she had expected a straight answer from him. He had never given her one before."I don't understand. You're a king. Don't you have responsibilities? Somehow I doubt that the Goblin Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy."

He looked genuinely amused at that. "Perish the thought. The parliament would all be full of chickens, though I daresay they would likely more rational than the goblins that voted them into office." He stopped playing and took one last drag from his cigarette before mashing it out. "Alas, my dear Sarah, I was exiled Above."

"What did you do?"

He sighed dramatically "I suppose if we must go through that whole tedious business, we should have a drink." He got up and walked toward the small bar along one wall. "What would you like?"

"You seem awfully at home here," she observed as she stood and went over to the bar.

"I am. I own this establishment." He held up a bottle. "Peach schnapps?" She made a disgusted face and he laughed. "Perhaps not."

"Bourbon. Neat," she told him sitting down on a stool. She watched him closely as he retrieved two crystal tumblers and poured some very expensive bourbon.

He came around the bar and sat on the stool next to her's. She held up her glass. "Cheers," she said taking a long sip. It burned deliciously down her throat.

He leaned against the bar and studied her while she drained her glass and then poured her more. "You surprise me," he told her. "I wouldn't have thought you would consume anything I gave you."

Sarah shrugged. She almost didn't care if he did drug her. She didn't want to think about the current reality of her life."I'm not sure I have anything to lose. A creepy Cinderella dream would be an improvement on this night so far. I'd really like to get ridiculously drunk."

He gestured to the bottle between them. "By all means, be my guest."

She took another sip and watched as he reached into his vest and pulled out a gold cigarette case. He pulled one out and lit it with a zippo before tucking the case back into his vest pocket. Sarah was entranced by the graceful movements of his long fingered hands. He had always worn gloves in the Labyrinth, but they were now bare he wore a heavy gold ring set with what looked like a large opal on his right hand. She wondered idly if it was magical.

"So," he said breaking her out of her revery and giving her a knowing look. "Are you going to tell me what instigated that entertaining argument I witnessed?"

"I will if you tell me why you were exiled," she challenged him.

"Very well." He took a long sip of his own drink and then met her gaze directly. "It's because I let you go."

"But I won, why shouldn't you have let me go?"

"A maiden that had been able to defeat the Labyrinth would have made a suitable Goblin Queen," he stated matter of factly.

"You wanted to marry me?" she asked shocked.

He gave a derisive laugh. "I didn't, no. A petulant 15 year old human girl is not my ideal bride."

"Gee, thanks."

"You were certainly lovely to look at then, but still terribly immature. Besides, virgins are so boring, especially the human kind, far too prudish. I suppose debauching them could be fun, but it would be a lot of work. And you, my shining innocent heroine, struck me as far too stubborn to fall easily into debauchery."

"I'm not sure if I should feel insulted or not."

His smile was condescending. "Tell me, were you ready to bed a man then? Let alone marry before you had a chance to grow up and experience life on your own? Or take on the burden of ruling?"

"No." She didn't even have to think about. She would not have been ready for any of that then. She had still been very much a child when she ran the Labyrinth.

"I thought not. Thus my half-hearted proposal. I didn't want to marry a little girl, but I was obligated to make the offer."

"Just fear me. Love me. Do as I ask and I will be your slave," she murmured, repeating his words. She hadn't even realized what they had meant at that time other than that she had instinctively wanted no part of what he was offering.

"Not a very enticing proposal, was it?"

"No, not at all. Is that why you didn't have a queen, because no one had defeated the Labyrinth before?" She was far too curious about him and what had really been going on back then than was probably safe. He seemed to be speaking honestly, but she still didn't trust him.

"Defeating the Labyrinth isn't required. I could have married at any time, but I never found anyone I liked well enough with which to spend eternity. If I would have been already wed, your winning would not have required me to set my wife aside."

"So you broke the rules for me?"

He shrugged eloquently. "For both of us."

"Right. Virgins are boring."

He ignored her snark. "There really is not hard rule that said the Goblin King must marry the Champion, merely that should he be unwed that he must offer his hand to her. My exile was rather a bit of High Court maneuvering and a grab for power by some of my enemies. I have no doubt that the High King will call me back at some point to clean up the mess. The Labyrinth and the goblins are fickle, not just anyone can rule them."

She imagined that was true. Being in charge of that lot seemed more trouble than it was worth. "How long have you been exiled?"

"About twenty five years now."

His enemies must have acted very quickly after her run."And you still expect to be called back?"

"Oh, yes. When you're immortal time doesn't mean quite the same. And the meanwhile, I will enjoy myself Above."

"By running a nightclub?" she asked skeptically. He didn't seem terribly upset at being stuck in the mundane human wondered what he did to 'enjoy himself' here, but she was probably better off not knowing.

"Drunks are actually easier to deal with than goblins. Besides I like coming Above a couple times a century to see how things have changed."

"And how do you find us poor mortals now?"

"It's a fascinating time. Technology is progressing so quickly. Though the world itself seems to be in a sorry state."

"That's true." She picked up the bottle and poured herself more bourbon. The information he had imparted including the very fact that the Goblin King was real and owned a nightclub in New York was a lot to take in.

"Your turn," he smiled charmingly at her and nudged her foot with his to prompt her.