Sarah concentrates on the feel of the cool water on her skin and the sound of the waterfall spilling into the pond above her. She relaxes into the sensations, letting herself drift with the slight current of the water. It's only been a few hours since her confrontation with Warrin, and she knows it's hopeless to try to focus on anything else, but the water calms and centers her, and allows her to process her emotions. By her own hand, Warrin is dead. She turns it over and over in her head, expecting to feel some pang of regret or remorse, but for now, she feels nothing. For now there is only the gentle push of the current, and the relief of knowing neither Warrin nor Elga control her.

Sarah finds herself captivated with the control she now has over herself. She briefly considers restarting her reproductive system, just because she can, but quickly rejects the idea. Two hundred years without a period and she still doesn't miss them. Aging on the other hand… Yes, she thinks she'd quite like to be a little older, physically.

Elga had been true to her word, in the end. "A seat of tremendous power," she had promised, and she had definitely delivered. But Sarah can't help but feel a little bitter that the seat Elga had apparently intended was power over several dying kingdoms.

Cautiously, she reaches for one of the tethers, mentally focusing on the way it ties her to the foreign land. The Dwarf Kingdom is not as dark as the Troll Kingdom, but it is just as desolate. There are people there, and she can feel their desperation, their fear, and their hunger. Why hadn't they come to the Labyrinth?

Shuddering, she turns her attention away from the fallen kingdoms. She'll need to do something about them, the sooner the better, but she needs time to think and to plan. For now, she focuses on her new attachment to the Labyrinth. It's brilliant in comparison to the others, vibrant and happy. But it feels wrong to keep it to herself. She may be queen here, but if the kingdom belongs to anybody, it should be Jareth. He had built it with his bare hands from nothing.

He'd been weak when she'd transported them from Warrin and Elga's throne room. He'd assured her again and again that it was to be expected after the dream walk and his struggle with Warrin. No permanent harm done. But Sarah couldn't help worrying. Not when she'd come so close to losing him.

She'd joined him in their bed when they'd arrived back at the castle, but her nervous energy had rendered her unable to be still. After an hour of restlessness, Jareth had finally convinced her to go to her pond in order to relax - and allow him to sleep. She blushes at the memory, wondering if she's been gone long enough to justify rejoining him.

She swims to the surface intent on returning to the castle, if only to sit next to the bed while he sleeps. The eastern horizon is just beginning to lighten as she breaks the surface of the water and pulls herself onto the flat rock by the pond. She stands to find Jareth resting against the trunk of a tree, his long legs stretched out in front of him, eyes closed, and she can't stop the smile that spreads across her face. He's beautiful, and she takes a moment to truly appreciate her view.

Walking softly and quietly, she approaches and kneels beside him. Leaning in, she ghosts a kiss across his lips, hoping not to wake him. She is only mildly surprised when his arms surround her and hold her gently against him as he deepens the kiss. He doesn't seem to mind the water dripping from her hair and skin into his pale clothing as he holds her close and she runs her fingers through his wild hair.

"You're supposed to be sleeping," she scolds gently when he moves from her mouth to kiss along her jaw.

"I made a grave miscalculation," he says. Sarah feels her pulse quicken with anxiety, but it is stifled when Jareth licks behind her ear.

"Oh?" she asks, puzzled.

"I sent you away," he says, moving to the other side of her neck and placing a line of kisses from her shoulder to her jaw. "A terrible, terrible mistake."

Sarah grins, leaning her head to the side to allow him easier access.

"Did the Goblin King just admit he made a mistake? We'll need to declare a holiday to commemorate the event."

He growls and pulls her tighter against him. "I intend to rectify the situation immediately," he says as he drops a hand down to her thigh, encouraging her to straddle him.

"What happened to resting?" she asks as she settles onto his lap, scratching the nape of his neck gently with her nails.

"I've had all the rest I need. There are now other needs to which I must attend."

"I see," she says, her voice breathy as she rotates her hips ever so slightly to feel his hard length through the fabric of his ever-so-snug trousers.

She runs her fingers from the back of his neck down over the front of his shirt, feeling the beating of his heart under the pale blue silk. He's wearing a feathered cloak in shades of gray and white that reminds her of the one he wore so long ago when he'd offered her everything and she'd denied him. She won't deny him anymore.

"Always so overdressed," she whispers as she pushes the cloak off of his shoulders.

"I intend to rectify that situation immediately as well." His silk and leather disappear and she closes her eyes and sighs as she rocks against him.

He holds her close, tangling one hand in her hair while the other holds her hip, encouraging her slow, sensual movements. Kissing her slowly, he runs his tongue along her lip and nibbles gently.

Sarah tries not to think of the past twenty-four hours and throw herself solely into this moment with Jareth, but can't push away the residual anxiety over nearly losing him.

He seems to sense her disquiet and pulls away. "I made things more difficult for you," he says, resting his forehead against hers.

"What do you mean?" she asks, genuinely puzzled.

"I never admitted how I felt. Not to him-" she's thankful he refuses to use the name "-and not to you. It made it easy for him to plant doubt in your mind. To make you think that returning back to the moment you were taken would be the best course of action."

"No," Sarah says gently. "I never doubted. Not really." She smiles and pulls away so she can look him in the eye. "The way you treat me. All of the things you've done for me. You don't do that for someone you don't love. It didn't need to be said."

"Oh, you precious thing," he says solemnly, his gaze intense. "It always needs to be said.

"Sarah Williams, I make this vow to you: I will not only show you that I love you. I will say it to you. I will say it every day. There will never be a moment when you need doubt I love you."

Overwhelmed, Sarah kisses him. She throws her entire being into her kiss trying to show him how much she loves him back. And then she grins and pulls away for just a moment.

"I love you, too," she says.

He pulls her back to him, kissing her fervently. She meets his enthusiasm with her own, relishing the way he tastes and the way he feels. She can't seem to get close enough to him, though she is pressed tightly against him.

She lifts her hips and lowers herself onto him, gasping as he fills her. When she has settled on his lap, she stills, allowing herself to adjust to the feel of him.

Jareth moves his lips to her neck, licking and nibbling his way from one ear, under her chin, and to the other.

"Jareth, look at me," she says. He pulls away and looks at her and she studies him as she begins to move.

She sets a slow pace, taking him deeply before rising until she is nearly empty. She watches him closely as she lowers herself once more, watches how his right eye dilates to match the left and the way his lips part as his breath begins to come faster. She strokes the sides of his face, feeling the softness of the skin under his ears and the sharp, nearly imperceptible stubble on his chin.

He keeps his hands on her hips, encouraging her movements, but allowing her to keep the pace, giving her free reign to do whatever she may like.

"I love you," she murmurs again and again, beginning to move faster, needing the friction.

Each time, he responds, "I love you. I love you." His words are soft, meant only for her ears, and she can't help the smile that spreads across her face every time he says it.

His eyes never leave hers as they move in tandem, and she can sense he's close.

"Touch me," she says.

"Yes," he replies, as he moves a hand from her hip and uses his thumb to circle her clit. It's more than she can stand, and she closes her eyes, unable to keep them open.

"Stay with me, Sarah," he says, and it grounds her, brings her back to him. She meets his gaze again.

"Always," she breathes, and then she breaks, shattering apart and she can feel him break as well. They fly together, as they were meant to, and when they return to earth, they remain in each other's arms as the sun peeks over the horizon and a new day begins.

They return to the castle when the day brightens and the Labyrinth wakes, but they remain in their bedchamber as the sun continues its arc across the sky, touching and tasting one another, each expressing their relief and gratitude for the presence of the other. They occasionally doze, catching brief snippets of sleep before one wakes the other to begin again. The sun is just kissing the Western horizon when Sarah wakes to the sound of breaking crystal.

"Jareth?" Sarah says, groggily, reaching out to him and finding his side of the bed cold and empty, but before she begins to worry, the bed dips and he is beside her.

He's smiling at her, and there is a mischievous glint in his eye that immediately puts her on her guard. He's dressed, she notices, in a deep red silk shirt and grey trousers, shiny black boots on his feet.

"What is it?" she asks.

"I've brought you a gift," he says, his smile falling away. Sarah realizes his expression matches the one he wore the first time he said that sentence to her. However, he holds no crystal out to her.

She sits up and looks around the room. It takes a moment for her to realize that it has been changed: there is a new stairwell on the far wall.

"What is it?" she asks, giving him a puzzled look, and his only reply is a gesture for her to investigate.

She approaches the top of the stairs and looks down. They're narrow where she stands, but gradually widen as they lead downward into an enormous space. She begins to descend and sees that the room is at least two stories high and must take up half the width of the castle. Wide windows reach from close to the floor almost to the ceiling, letting in plenty of golden evening light. Dozens of desks and chairs line the center of the room while small groupings of comfortable armchairs are tucked away into quiet corners. Most importantly, the walls are lined with dozens, possibly hundreds of enormous bookshelves.

Sarah finds herself turning circles in the enormous space, trying to take it all in.

"No castle needs to contain the 'the world's most depressing office building,' but it should contain a good library," Jareth says, stepping down the stairs behind her.

Sarah blushes, remembering her flippant comment about the rows and rows of bland, empty offices.

"It's not a library yet," she says gesturing at the empty shelves.

"It's a project we can work on together. Travel the world Above and bring home books we find."

She looks at him apprehensively, remembering the devastation of the land where her childhood home used to stand. "Do you think they still have many books Above?" Jenna had only had a copy of The Labyrinth in her room, and Sarah wonders how common books might be now.

He wraps his arms around her snugly, comforting her. "Humanity exists, so stories exist. We may also find some histories and discover what happened to your home." He thinks for a moment before adding, "To my home as well."

It's thoughtful, she thinks. It's more than thoughtful. Collecting humanity's stories, fictional and non, is a beautiful idea and a worthy goal, but the thought of relaxing, enjoying good food and comfort, and visiting exciting new places feels wrong. She can't do it while she knows people are suffering in the kingdoms she is now responsible for. She needs to tell him. About the Labyrinth if nothing else.

Her reaction isn't what he was expecting, and she can see the concern in his eyes.

"Sarah, are you alright?"

"Yes," she replies. "And no, I guess," she adds after a brief hesitation. "How is your memory of yesterday?"

"Vivid," he says, his expression turning dark. She knows what it's like to be controlled by someone else and understands his anger.

"You know I don't blame you. Not for any of it."

He doesn't respond.

"Do you know why Elga made me kill him? Why she couldn't do it herself?"

"She didn't want to get her hands dirty."

Sarah shakes her head. "No, I think if she could have killed him, she would have. There's something about the magic of this place that held him here."

"What kind of magic?" he asks.

"I'm not sure yet, I'm still trying to understand it." She pauses, considering telling him about the fallen kingdoms. He'd been through so much for so long, working so hard to give everyone in the Labyrinth a decent life. She can't lay the knowledge of these fallen kingdoms on him just yet. He should have some kind of a break to enjoy his new-found freedom before taking on even more responsibility.

She continues, "He was tied to the Labyrinth and it anchored him here. The magic demands a master, and as long as he was attached to it, he couldn't die. It just wouldn't let him. Elga could have taken that tie from him, taken responsibility for the magic, but then she wouldn't have been able to fade. I think that's what she wanted, really. She just wanted to fade."

"So she found someone to take the responsibility for her."

"Yeah," Sarah answers.

"You."

"Yeah." She looks at her toes on the stone floor, ashamed that she couldn't tell him about the people in the other kingdoms who need their help. Ashamed that she controls what should rightfully be Jareth's.

"But that's wonderful," he says.

Sarah looks up at him in surprise. She'd expected him to be angry.

"You are the Goblin Queen, Sarah. The power over the Labyrinth should always have been with its monarch."

"The Labyrinth is yours, Jareth. It's always been yours. It's not right that I should have control of the magic."

"The Labyrinth is ours, Sarah. It has been since before you accepted your crown."

"It feels wrong that I have all of the control over it."

"Can the responsibility be shared?" It's a practical question, and it catches her off-guard.

"Can it…?" she whispers, more to herself than anyone else. She pulls on the light tether, testing its strength. She concentrates, mentally pushing the tether to Jareth while she says, "The Labyrinth is ours."

Jareth nods. "It's ours."

It is a gift, willingly given. As soon as words of acceptance leave his mouth, she feels the tether split in two, one half remaining with her and the other half finding Jareth. She cannot see it attach itself to him, but she can see his reaction: the shock of the power as it settles around him. She grins.

"Well, how do you like that?" she says, testing the tether. It does not feel weaker, despite being split. In fact, it feels more grounded and stable.

His eyes, dark and excited, flash as he pulls her close to him. "Let's see what we can do with this," he says. "Would you like to come with me to the throne room?"

Sarah nods and steps back from him a step before conjuring a crystal and letting it drop to her feet. The clothing she conjures is a simple A-line dress in emerald green with an unembellished tank bodice and a skirt that hits her mid-thigh.

"Beautiful," Jareth says, looking only into her eyes, as he wraps one arm around her waist and transports them to the throne room.

The goblins are in a rare mood, more rowdy than normal. They cheer their monarchs' arrival with raucous abandon as the sound of drums and guitar fill the air.

A tiny goblin finds Sarah immediately and hugs her ankle. Sarah recognizes the little thing and lifts it into her arms. It clutches her bicep as if it never wants to let go and Sarah strokes its back, comforting it.

Jareth stirs the other goblins into a frenzy, singing and dancing as they desperately try to keep up with him. Sarah quickly gets a feel for the music and begins adding her own touches, a string bass and a jazz piano accompaniment. She spins around with the little goblin, dancing with it until it begins to laugh and relax. Sarah studies it for a moment and then sees it, plain as day: the magic that will transform it back into a human girl.

She doesn't hesitate, doesn't even stop to think, and the little goblin begins to grow, taking on the features of its former self. The little goblin, startled, releases Sarah's arm, and in just seconds, she's Jenna once again.

Jenna looks down at herself, around at the singing goblins, and then at Sarah. Her eyes are shocked, her mouth open in an "O" of surprise. And then her face cracks into an enormous grin and she begins to laugh. She grabs Sarah and hugs her tightly. Sarah hugs her back and meets Jareth's eyes.

He sees them, and his own eyes light up. He continues singing and dancing, but as he looks at his goblins, each one of them begins to change, to grow our shrink depending on what they had looked like when they arrived in the Underground.

Jenna leaves Sarah's side to play with some of the children while Sarah quickly extends her magic into the room, clearing away the debris and detritus of the goblins. Most of them are toddlers, Sarah realizes, and all of them are having the time of their lives. An infant sitting on a ledge above the throne, bouncing to the music, loses her balance and tumbles before being neatly caught by Jareth and set into the depression in the floor. A few older children begin to chase each other around the room and Sarah laughs. Apparently there isn't a whole lot of difference between goblins and children where their behavior is concerned. But she can feel their potential again and her heart feels full.

Without missing a beat, Jareth conjures a crystal and throws it at the single throne on its small dias. Sarah watches with wonder as the dais and the throne begin to expand until the throne is wide enough to accommodate two. Jareth turns back to Sarah and offers her his hand.

"A loveseat?" Sarah asks, grinning. "Pretty strange for a throne."

Jareth returns her smile. "This is our kingdom. We decide what that means."

She takes his offered hand, and together they ascend to the throne. They settle themselves, Jareth lounging in the crook of the curved backrest and Sarah leaning into Jareth, her legs tucked underneath her.

"We'll need to find some nursemaids," he says, watching the children dance and play.

"I have three in mind already," she replies, laughing at the thought of Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo watching over the unruly crowd of children. "Seriously, though… how are we going to take care of them all? Make sure they're not hurt?" she asks.

Jareth looks down at her and raises an eyebrow. "They're under our protection, are they not?"

"I mean, physically. They might still fall, hit their heads, break an arm, or worse. This place isn't exactly child-proof."

"They're our subjects, Sarah. I know each of them by name and I've ensured that all but our newest-" he nods to Jenna, the only subject he has not yet met, "-are protected from any serious injury. They can bounce off the walls as they please and come to no harm."

Sarah watches as Jenna, clearly the oldest of the group, checks on the babies one at a time, spending just a moment to laugh or make silly faces at them before moving on to the next. She can't help but study Jenna's vitals as she moves around the room.

"Will they be able to control themselves like we do?" she asks, curious.

"No," he replies. "They're human; they won't have that kind of power."

So Jenna will grow and age, but Sarah ensures that the girl is immune to most injuries and illnesses, providing her with a lifetime of good health. When she is older, Sarah will give her the option to stop aging and stay Underground as long as she likes.

She looks up at Jareth. "What are we, then? If we're not human?"

He looks back at her, his expression haughty. "Isn't it obvious, Sarah?" he asks, his voice low and smooth. His eyes drop to her chest as he reaches out and runs a finger over her pendant. When he glances back at her, there is a glint of mischief in his eyes. "We're goblins."

She watches him trace the design of her necklace, then places her hand on the one Jareth wears. "Goblins," she agrees, grinning.

In this moment, she can allow herself to push away thoughts of the fallen kingdoms and the people that need her help. Warrin's absence can only be an improvement for them. She'll devise a plan to bring them relief and help them build up their lands once more. But for now, she'll take this moment with Jareth for herself. A single moment of peace, contentment, and happiness. Her reward.

As the music continues around them, Jareth pulls her closer and she kisses him.

Far away, in the cold, dark recesses of the tallest mountain of the Troll Kingdom, the King of the Trolls opens his eyes. He tests his bonds, pulling one arm and then another, meeting the resistance of the iron chains wrapped around his wrists. But he can sense a shift in power. Something has changed. He pulls harder on each arm, feeling the bolts that have been driven deep into the rock begin to give. Finally, one snaps. He turns and grasps the remaining chain with both hands and pulls with all his considerable might. The bolt breaks, and he falls to the rough, rocky floor of the cave. He breathes deeply, then begins to laugh.

It's time.

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fan fiction. The author makes no money from this story.

Notes on this chapter:

Jareth's line, "We decide what that means," is paraphrased from the xkcd comic "Grownups," which I am, unfortunately, unable to link on this website.

Also, Jareth's line, "It always needs to be said," is a nod to Doctor Who. Because it damn well does need saying, Doctor.

Ahem...

Credits and Acknowledgments:

Labyrinth is the property of Henson Associates, Inc., Lucasfilm Ltd., and TriStar Pictures.

This work was originally inspired by Challenge #26 at the LiveJournal Labyfic Community. The challenge was to write a fic that included a pier of some kind. Bonus points awarded if the author put Sarah in a red dress. My pier was written out of the story pretty quickly, but the red dress remained.

M's help was crucial in the development this story. In fact, Warrin was basically her idea. The fic needed a villain and I knew it wouldn't be Jareth, so Warrin was created. He is not based on any one person. Rather, he is a mix of the nastier traits of some of the worst people I've ever known. His physical appearance is mostly based on Hans Holbein the Younger's portrait of King Henry VIII.

Fleshing out the plot of the story took several months, but it wasn't until I happened to listen to Gary Jules' cover of the Tears for Fears song "Mad World" that things really began to move. This fic is heavily inspired by the mood and lyrics of that song.

I met Aurora Kemanche when I was searching for a beta for He Who Trespassed Against Us. She responded to my post, and I will be forever grateful that she did. She's an amazing beta and I feel so lucky to have met her. Thank you, Aurora. Really. :)

Exulansis was instrumental in the writing process for Mad World. I reached out to her last year for help plotting an entirely different (and, as yet, unwritten) fic. Through our conversations, I mentioned the idea for this story and where I saw it going, and suddenly, I had to write it. It was compulsory. She guided me through tricky plot ideas and has been so extremely supportive of me for the last several months. She alpha'd and beta'd these last three chapters and is the reason the climax of the story is as well-developed as it is. If you enjoyed this story, it is probably because of Exulansis' influence. Hell, this fic wouldn't even exist without her! So thank you, E. Thank you so much!

I began working on this fic on November 7, 2015. It was completed on April 28, 2017.

Playlist:

"Mad World" by Gary Jules (Tears for Fears)

"Cruel Summer" by Bananarama

"The Mysteries" by David Bowie

"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears

"Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears

"Heroes" by David Bowie

"The 2nd Law: Isolated System" by Muse

"Doomsday" by Murray Head and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

"Smoke" by Ben Folds Five

"Evaporated" by Ben Folds Five

"Silent Lucidity" by Queensrÿche

"The Light Before We Land" by The Delgados

"The Bitter End" by Placebo

"Underground" by Ben Folds Five

I found a lot of inspiration in books by Brian Froud, especially Good Fairies, Bad Fairies. I also found The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer helpful when writing Jareth's backstory.

Below are quotes that heavily inspired the direction of this fic:

"You know when you're a kid, they tell you it's all 'Grow up, get a job, get married, get a house, have a kid' and that's it. Nah. The truth is the world is so much stranger than that. It's so much darker. And so much madder. And so much better." - Doctor Who, "Love and Monsters"

"Bottom line is, even if you see them coming, you're not ready for the big moments... The big moments are gonna come, you can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that count. That's when you find out who you are." - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Becoming, Part I"

"Life beats you up, Titus. It doesn't matter if you got tooken by a cult or you've been rejected over and over again at auditions. You can either curl up in a ball and die… or you can stand up and say we're different. We're the strong ones, and you can't break us." - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, "Kimmy Goes Outside!"

But mostly, I wanted to take my most beloved fanon tropes, turn them upside-down, and see if I could write an entertaining story. This was my first novel-length fic, and I learned a lot. I think if I were to go back and do it again, I'd do some things differently, but I loved every moment of the experience and I'm looking forward to working on a new project.

Thank you so much for sticking with me through the process.