Sarah walked back to the castle, almost dragging her feet in an effort to delay her return. It was nearly dinner time and she knew that all too soon she would be sharing a bed with Jareth. How would they keep their hands off each other? And having sex would not make their troubled relationship any better.

All the time she had been spending without him had highlighted one detail: they really didn't know each other! Oh, they had deep feelings for each other and desire for each other, true enough. But, they didn't know much about their backgrounds, beliefs and thoughts. So, if she was going to be forced to share their bed, maybe she could discover more about him and reveal things about herself. At least she would try. How could she hope to get him to open up about himself? If only they could have dated they would know more about each other and then she might understand him. And he might gain some understanding about her as well.

As Sarah headed in the direction of their private dining room, Loildee came towards her, waving her hands vigorously. Sarah met her in front of the door to that room.

"Majesty, I am relieved to have found you before the king has." She wrung her hands together, clearly in distress.

"Is something wrong?" Sarah tried to calm the agitated goblin by placing a hand tenderly on her shoulder.

"I just wish to help heal the rift between you. You should know how much the king truly loves you. He has spent the years, since you returned Above, watching you through his crystals." She looked at her with pleading eyes.

"I know. I know he watched me. It's creepy but kind of sweet, in a stalking sort of way. I realize he had no other way to stay in contact with me." She tried to smile but it came off weak.

"No, my Queen, you do not understand. He LOVES you. It is so much more when a Fae falls in love and gives their heart. It's forever. You must understand that there is more at stake than your hurt feelings or wounded pride." Loildee suddenly fell silent. "I apologize, Highness. I should learn to be quiet."

Sarah understood something for the first time: she was being entirely too selfish! Everyone had been trying to tell her but she couldn't see past her own pride. "Loildee, it is alright. I understand. I am going to do my best to reconcile with the king and I will try to make him happy." Tears she didn't know had been held back, flowed freely.

Loildee looked upon the new queen with compassion and love. "Do not cry, my Queen. The king truly does love you. He chose to give you his heart. He knew the risk. But, please, do not rob this kingdom of the finest monarch it has ever known." With that said, she spun around and hurried back down the corridor.

Sarah turned to stare at the door to the dining room, knowing that it was now or never and that it was more than just herself on the line.

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Jareth paced in the dining room, his cloak twisted and twirled around his ankles as he moved. He had dressed with extra care, wearing all black silk and leather, his favorite blue-lined cloak giving him some measure of confidence. He was nervous and he hated the feeling. He knew Sarah was going to be in this room shortly and he would need to control his raging desire for her.

It had been a week since the last time he had even touched her hand with his own bare one. Only gloved contact had occurred. No touching, no kissing and certainly no intercourse or any other kind of sexual contact. It was hell, being so close to her and not being allowed to have her in his arms. He stopped at the mantle and brought his fist down hard upon it. Damn her! What more could she want? He loved her; he had told her, shown her, married her! By the Gods, isn't that what every mortal woman wanted? And it was at this that he realized the gravest mistake he was guilty of: assuming he knew what she wanted. He didn't know her at all. He loved her, desired her and wanted to be with her for all time, but he had never tried to understand her or ask her about her thoughts, her opinions or her dreams. What a fool he was! He needed to remedy this situation immediately. But how?

He heard the door open and kept his back to it. He needed to prepare himself for seeing her. It was ever fresh torture to look upon her face, peruse her luscious curves and not touch her. He steeled himself and turned slowly. It hadn't worked. By the Gods, she was stunning. She looked so pure and ethereal in a pale aquamarine silk gown. Her curves on perfect display but in a alluring way, not like Myantha's obvious and vulgar style. He felt his body react and his manhood grew painfully hard, in spite of his resolve to control his passions.

"Good evening, my beloved." Where had that come from? He usually called her Sarah or precious or my queen. He was behaving like a besotted fool. "Please, join me. Loildee arranged a wonderful dinner for us." He watched as she took the seat opposite him and looked down at her lap. He took his seat and deliberately removed his leather gloves, one at a time as he spoke. "Sarah, look at me."

Sarah shook her head, not wishing for him to see how much she wanted him. Just sitting this close to him had caused her body to respond to his very presence. Her nipples had grown hard under her gown and chemise and her satin panties grew damp as her sex prepared itself for his hard member. When he repeated the request in a faint whisper, she couldn't deny him. She raised her eyes up to gaze upon his beautiful face.

He gasped as he saw the naked longing in her eyes; the need for him as strong as his for her. He reached across the small table and touched her hand. "Sarah." He tenderly stroked her hand. "I will share our bed with you, but you are safe. Please do not be afraid or refuse me. I couldn't bear it." He watched her eyes grow wide with surprise.

"I will not refuse you our bed, Jareth. And I am not afraid, especially not of you harming me." She again looked down, this time at her plate. Lifting the fork up, she proceeded to eat her meal with little enthusiasm.

Jareth also picked at his dinner. And he didn't even attempt to make small talk, preferring to remain silent. At least he could concentrate on controlling his desire for her if he didn't need to engage in conversation. He sipped the wine, but just like the food, it tasted of nothing. His senses were completely focused on her and nothing else.

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Dinner finally ended after an interminable amount of time. Neither had even put a dent in the roast pheasant and the dessert sat upon its serving dish, equally untouched. Sarah's wine glass stood neglected and Jareth had barely drank half a glass of the burgundy vintage. She stared at her plate and he was looking out of the window, watching the moon move slowly across the night sky.

Sarah finally couldn't take another moment of silence. Fifty minutes was enough to make her stark raving mad. "Jareth?"

He jerked his head in her direction, their eyes locking. "Yes, my Queen?" He wanted to say more but felt tongue-tied.

"Um, I think, I mean, perhaps we should… I believe it is time to retire to our bedchamber. Do you agree?" She blushed, feeling bold and at the same time, shy as a virgin.

Jareth slowly rose up out of his seat. "Yes. I think you are right, Precious. Come, let me escort you." He offered his upturned hand, waiting for her to place her smaller one in his. The contact made him flinch but he worked to keep the reaction minimal. Sarah appeared to take the movement in stride and said nothing.

The monarchs walked down the hallway, silent and sullen. Neither seemed to be looking forward to the night ahead of them. Jareth knew he would push his desires down. His mother was right: Sarah needed to decide where this night would go. He would need to maintain a calm and unaffected demeanor. He pushed down on the handle and swung the door into the room. He stepped aside and let Sarah enter first and he followed closely behind, pulling the door closed, so softly as to barely make a sound.

Sarah went straight to the armoire, opening it and removing a white nightgown. She flung it over her shoulder and walked toward the bathing room to wash up for bed and change. She took extra long to prepare for bed, not wishing to see Jareth undressed. She brushed her hair, which was now so long that it covered her backside. She carefully braided it and when she saw how pale she looked, pinched her cheeks to bring a bit of color to them. She inhaled a deep breath and stepped out into the bedchamber.

Jareth was already in bed, lying on the right side of the mattress, his back facing her. Only a bare shoulder was visible, the rest of him was safely tucked under the covers. He forced himself to stay perfectly still and to breathe in a slow, calm and even meter. He needed to restrain himself and he would.

Sarah slipped under the sheet and fur coverlet, heaving a soft sigh. "Jareth? Can we talk?"

"Of course, if you wish it." He refused to turn to look at her, knowing it would be harder to gaze upon her loveliness and keep his resolve to remain passive.

"What was your childhood like? Do you have any siblings? So you get along with your parents? D9 you have any friends?"

He started to laugh. "Your not too shy about it, are you, Precious?" He rolled onto his back but kept his eyes fixed on the ceiling. "My parents and I have a solid relationship but I would not call us close. Fae are fiercely protective of their offspring but show their love with great difficulty. I know they care deeply for me, but it is rarely spoken." He sighed before he continued. "I have a sister, but she was once a wished-away baby. Her name is Ariel and she is married to the Earl of the Crystal Forest. We see each other only at court functions. We've never been close. I think she resents that I am not an adopted child like she is. And, as to my childhood, I had playmates, but no friends. I was groomed from the time I could speak to become the next goblin king. My mother did not think I needed friends. And the only thing my father ever did, was provide me with my first sex partner, believing it was his single greatest contribution to my education." He laughed but it sounded bitter.

Sarah placed a hand in his arm. "It wasn't a great experience, was it?"

"No. She was one of the playmates from my parents bedroom activities,"

Sarah gasped. "You knew this? I mean, he didn't try to hide that fact?"

Jareth shook his head."I guess he didn't think it would matter. Anyway, I couldn't perform and she laughed at me." He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, as if to blot out the memory. "She couldn't wait to tell my father and he came immediately back to me, while I was still naked in the same bed to ask me if I would have preferred a young male Fae instead." He pounded a fist into the mattress and groaned in abject misery.

Sarah didn't know what to say but felt she needed to repair the damage that had been inflicted on his young tender ego of long ago. "If it makes any difference to you now, you are a wonderful lover: tender and passionate and generous and giving. Clearly, you have nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about in that arena." She patted his arm and reached over to place a soft kiss on his cheek.

He grinned and looked at her for the first time since entering the bedroom. "Thank you, Precious. I recovered from that wound long ago but it never hurts to hear that I please you." He rolled onto his side and put his arm over her side as he whispered. "You please me very much, my queen." He moved in to place a faint kiss on her lips. "Good night, my love."

Sarah stared back at him in complete shock. She watched as he rolled over on to his right side and pulled the covers over his shoulder, sighing as he settled down to go to sleep. She felt her temper flare. Was he seriously going to just dismiss her? "Jareth? Don't you want to know about me?" She watched him roll back over to face her.

"Yes, of course I wish to know. May I ask my questions?"

Sarah smiled. "I wish you would."

Jareth took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Why did you run away from your family, your home?"

"When I returned from your labyrinth, I tried to apply the lessons from that journey to my life. I guess, it didn't take because my stepmom still treated me like a servant and my dad seemed to only care about Toby." She wiped a tear from her cheek before continuing. "It was a hard decision to make, leaving, I mean. I didn't want to leave Toby but I knew I'd never be treated fairly if I stayed. I felt unloved and unwanted. It was a huge mistake."

Jareth listened, nodding in understanding of her feelings. "Precious, why didn't you call me? I would have come to you, saved you from your life on the streets."

"I couldn't call you. I was so ashamed after what happened with Jeannie. I felt used, like dirt. I couldn't even call Hoggle, Didymus or Ludo. I knew I couldn't face you." Now the tears flowed freely, sobs reverberated around the room.

"Shh, it's alright, Sarah." Jareth gathered her up in his arms and just held her close. "Tell me, what do you hope for? I want you to be happy but I find I do not know how to go about making that a reality. What dreams do you have? Are you glad to be here?" The next question felt physically painful. "Are you sorry your are bound to me: would you prefer not to be my wife and queen?"

Sarah lifted her head off his chest and gazed into his worried, pain filled eyes. "Jareth, I love you. I am not sorry we are married. I just did not expect it to happen so suddenly. I wanted to get to know you first, but since we can't go back, we need to move forward. I want to get to know you. Do you realize I don't even know your favorite color?" She tried to chuckle, but it sounded strange with tears mixed into it.

"I have always loved the color blue, but I am now partial to soft jade green." He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. "I love you, Sarah mind. I think we should try to get some sleep now. We have made a fair start of it. Tomorrow we will continue to discover things about each other, alright?"

Sarah hugged him close and kissed his cheek tenderly. "Alright, Jareth. Good night, my king."