All's Fair in Love and War

Oh yes here it is. My new Fanfic! Exciting right? Well it is for me.

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own anything except the chocolate orange I am currently eating.

This is kind of new to me I've never written a fic with war in it before...Exciting!

Please read and review. I love my reviewers!

Hehe! I was just looking up names for an idea of what to call two characters that appear in this chapter and I stumbled across Bowie. Curiously I clicked on the meaning of the name and it happens to be Yellow Haired One... I thought it was pretty funny.

Sarah Williams, the dark haired, green eyed girl who had defeated the Labyrinth had grown into a woman. The dark hair and green eyes remained but she changed in other ways. Her face lost its plumpness, her body slimmed in the right places and grew in others giving her a perfect figure. She was considered a stunner, she had a good job, a good lifestyle and yet...

Sarah was utterly, utterly bored with her life. What exactly was the point of it all? Every morning she struggled out of bed, passed hours doing god knows what, consumed food at regular intervals, worried how she looked, what she wore, what people said about her and bemoaned the fact that she was currently without a man in her life.

It had been ten years (Ten years!) Since her trip to a world beyond normal mortal comprehension and since then the tediousness of life in general had gradually grown on her. At that moment however the pointlessness of it all came crashing down on her.

"Why is life so bloody tedious!" she grumbled to her empty room. Grabbing a book from her dressing table she caught her own eye in the looking glass and stuck out her tongue. Tonight happened to be just a little bit special. It was her birthday. Her twenty sixth birthday. Perhaps that's why life seems so...pointless I'm getting older, sure I'm only twenty six but that's half way to fifty two!. We're born, we go through childhood, grow up, make a life for ourselves, perhaps find the love of our lives, or not, then die. Fun, fun, fun!

Sarah drifted around her apartment aimlessly. Earlier today she had met up with some friends from work and had gone for a very sensible, slightly boring, lunch. When she had been younger she had dreamed of becoming an actress like her mother. Reality however seemed convinced that her true vocation in life was in fact in advertising.

I had so many dreams when I was younger. Sarah closed her book and lay back on her squashy sofa pulling a blanket over her and closing her eyes against the glare of the light overhead.

I was going to be an actress like mom, meet my prince charming and ride off into the sunset. Instead I'm doomed either to become a lonely old spinster, or marry for the sake of it and become one of those suburban mothers.

Sarah gave a slight shake of the head and brushed a dark strand of hair behind her ear. No, that will never happen to me. There will be magic in my life, I know it. I just have to seek it out. Luckily for her the very magic she was thinking of was seeking her out at that very moment.

Jareth paced his throne room agitatedly. When Sarah had defeated him and left the Labyrinth forever he had obviously been heartbroken. Time heals all wounds however and after the first seven years of kingly moping and pining (kingly moping and pining involves a lot of goblin kicking and crystal smashing) The Goblin King had resigned himself to the fact that Sarah had truly gone from his life. That didn't mean he wasn't sore over being beaten by a fifteen year old girl, or that he had fallen out of love with her (he knew without a doubt that he loved her and her alone) but at that point in time there were more pressing matters to attend to. Jareth returned to his throne and sighed deeply.

No matter how he longed for the raven haired, green eyed girl, who must by now be a woman, he couldn't neglect his kingdom.

War was brewing in the Underground.

"Mavek!" Jareth called from his position sprawled in his throne. Instantly a male Fae appeared before him and gracefully swept a low bow. He was not quite as tall little as Jareth but had the same ethereal appearance. His hair was a midnight black and stuck out from his head in strange angles like the Goblin King's although it was a little shorter. He wore cream breeches tucked into brown leather boots that looked much journey worn and were in fact caked with mud. His brown leather jacket was a little scruffy and the collar was turned up. In looks the Goblin King and Mavek were almost opposite.

"Your majesty"

"Oh stand up" Jareth snapped irritably tapping his riding crop against a leather booted calf "have I not know you for five hundred years?"

"Yes your majesty" he looked up and beamed, his dark eyes flashing merrily "but I have not spoken to you for eleven" Jareth grinned despite himself at his old friend and conjured him a chair.

"Well that is hardly a fault of mine Mavek, it is you that has been off crusading looking for those dammed elite warriors" he waved a hand dismissively and leant forward regarding the Fae before him with critical eyes. "You look like a skinny weed"

"A skinny weed!" Mavek protested from his chair "Oh no Jareth I have been training! This is all muscle. Fence me now and you may find yourself equally matched!"

"I doubt it" Jareth snorted before his face became serious once more as he glanced at a large map spread over a table to his left. "Judging by the fact you came so quickly you know what has happened"

Mavek nodded soberly also glancing at the table. "How is it possible after all these years? The seal should be unbreakable. The other kingdom should be contained!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Jareth grouched settling back and running a hand through his blonde locks distractedly. "I can only think that the creatures of the darkness have found some way to splinter the barrier set up by my grandfather those long years ago"

"Well they've had enough time to work on it! How many thousands of years ago was it made? I say let them come. The Underground is defended. We must fight"

"Of course" Jareth paused and tapped his chin "We may however need to unleash our special weapon. The Fae army is great, as is the army of other magical creatures but we do not know what may be on the dark ones side."

"You don't mean..." Mavek raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.

"I hear you found the elite clan...eventually"

"Of course, but Jareth these are The Riders were talking about! The most fearsome group of people in the entire Underground!"

Sarah woke from her slumber abruptly as she heard muffled voices coming from somewhere close. Rubbing her eyes and yawning sleepily Sarah slid from her warm nest on the sofa and padded towards her bedroom rubbing her neck.

I should know by now not to sleep on that couch. It always gives me such a terrible crick in the neck. She paused at her bedroom door and felt her heart skip a beat as the voices that had woken her grew louder. What the fuck? Someone's in my room?

"She's not even here!" a deep voice hissed.

"Quiet she might be around somewhere!"

"I want to go to bed! I have training really early tomorrow!"

"So do I but I'm not complaining!"

"You would be if you had Raimus at six o'clock!"

"Six o'clock! Ha ha! Sucks to be you!"

"Sucks to be me? What are you a mortal?"

"Just picking up on the lingo. Who knows what form of primitive language this girl speaks"

One voice, the first, seemed to be male and the other female. At the word mortal Sarah grabbed hold of the first weapon like object in reach and brandished it before her preparing to enter the room. Unfortunately for her it was one of those large salad tossing fork things made of clear blue plastic which didn't look very sturdy.

Sarah carefully turned the door knob before kicking the door open quickly and brandishing her 'weapon'

"Who are you and what do you want?" she yelled pointing the large blue fork first at the male then at the female. The two turned from the picture they had been examining to look at her in surprise before bursting into laughter simultaneously. For a moment they didn't seem quite so threatening. That was however until they wiped their eyes and regained their composure and Sarah got a chance to study them properly.

The two were dressed in a strange type of black armour which gave the pair a sinister look, especially as it was coupled with a great deal of black leather, dark cloaks, leather gloves, leather boots, swords hanging at their hips and ,strangest of all, half masks that seemed to be made of metal. Sarah narrowed her eyes. Their clothing did look a great deal like what the Goblin King had worn all those years before when he had taken Toby, without the masks of course. At the memory she shivered.

The two figures before her each bowed gracefully looking pretty impressive. Sarah lowered her fork slightly. The male spoke first. "My name is Seth and this is Tamar"

Seth was a little taller than Tamar. His hair was long, dark brown and tied back in a neat ponytail. His eyes were a watery blue and twinkled at her from beneath his mask which covered the top half of his face.

Tamar lifted a gloved hand in greeting. "Please forgive the intrusion, but we have been looking for you for a long time, Sarah" Sarah frowned at the mention of her name. Tamar had short, spiky hair that stuck out at odd angles and was a deep shade of purple. Her face looked thin and pixie like although it was also partly covered by her mask. Her eyes were of the darkest brown, almost black.

"We want to talk" Seth gave a hesitant smile "Please put down your um... over large fork for a moment. There is much to discuss"

"I...I don't understand" She placed the fork on her dressing table not turning her back on the two smiling sheepishly at her. "Who are you?"

"There are many names for us in the Underground Sarah" it was Tamar who spoke this time. Sarah allowed herself to be ushered back into the sitting room and sat back on the sofa where she had so recently be napping opposite Tamar and Seth.

"Some call us the Elite Warriors, The Riders, The Night Fighters, The Dragon Clan...really the list is endless" Tamar continued as if there had been no break in the conversation "But the name we prefer is The Riders although Seth here thinks that 'The Night Fighters' sounds pretty good too"

"I changed my mind" Seth grinned putting his hands behind his head and relaxing back on the sofa "The Riders is fine with me"

"Whatever Seth"

Sarah looked from one to the other. "Um...why do you wear masks?"

"Helmets with visors were a bit stuffy, as well as grossly over the top. Identity is also something crucial to the riders. We were chosen when we were but children to become part of the group and once we are christened fully fledged Riders we keep who we are concealed." Tamar shrugged "We are even given new names"

"Sorry I think I'm still half asleep" Sarah rubbed her eyes "From what I've heard I gather that you are magical beings..." The two nodded "From the Underground..." They nodded again "And you're some type of Labyrinth warriors?" They shook their heads.

"Not yet" Seth leaned forward and wagged a gloved finger "The King is soon to engage war and we have agreed to fight with them but nothing has happened yet"

"Right" Sarah mumbled raising her eyebrows. Her voice suddenly increased both in volume and pitch "That's it! I've finally gone crazy!" Seth and Tamar watched bemused as Sarah stood and began pacing frantically running a hand through her long dark locks. "Karen told me not to read so many fiction novels, said it would go to my head! Now I'm hallucinating armour clad people sitting in my living room! This will take a lot of counselling!" She turned her furious gaze on the two figures sitting a little puzzled on her sofa "Do you know how much therapy costs? What if my father finds out I've been sent to an asylum? Karen will be jubilant of course but Daddy...They thought 

it was strange at fifteen that I gabbled on and on about Goblin Kings and magical Labyrinths! What will they say when they discover, at twenty six, that I'm still imagining people!"

"Whoa!" Tamar held up a hand against the tirade but it did little to stop the mumbling girl pacing the floor before her "We're real! I swear it! The Labyrinth is real, his majesty is real, everything is real!"

Sarah stopped dead in her tracks "The Goblin King?" she whispered "Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus?"

"As real as you are" Sarah froze at Seth's words then gradually broke into a huge grin.

"Real?"

Tamar looked at the mortal in pyjama bottoms and a tank top standing before her. Her feet were bare, there were no visible signs of any tattoos, she didn't look particularly strong, her hair was soft and dark falling just past her shoulders, her eyes were wide and green, her face was flawless, she had the perfect figure and she even had faint freckles dusted across her nose. She was adorable sure, beautiful of course but this was surely not the girl they had been told about, the girl who had beaten the Labyrinth and it's King.

"I always secretly hoped they were real" Sarah beamed at Seth who was looking more than a little confused, Tamar knew he was thinking the same thing as she was. She was not what they had expected. "When the doctors told me I had made them up, made him up especially I fought so hard." She paused "I suppose as you grow up magic just sort of seeps out of you, it gets harder to believe"

"Yes" Seth ran a hand through his unruly black hair "Quite" He glanced at Tamar nervously who just grinned.

"So" Sarah leaped back onto the sofa smiling widely "What do you want? Why are you here? How are things Underground? Have you seen Hoggle and the others?"

Jareth looked over his Labyrinth broodingly. It was late, he knew that he should sleep yet found it impossible. Everything was lit by pale moonlight and looked surprisingly sinister. The Goblin King sighed. It had been good to see Mavek again, especially after eleven years and yet the loneliness of The King was not appeased.

"I am cursed to be lonely" he murmured to himself as the wind teased his blonde locks "Surrounded by subjects, courtiers, friends and yet so desperately lonely"

He leant against the edge of the balcony and observed the stars which he knew so well. The image of a dark haired, green eyed girl flashed through his mind as it often did. "Ten years, nearly eleven. Why does that girl haunt me so?" At random times during the day he would think of Sarah, the one girl he could not have.

"Ten years." He muttered "Twenty five? Twenty six? Is she married? Does she perhaps have children? Is she even alive at all? Mortals are so fragile." As he always did he drew out a crystal "Show me Sarah" The crystal remained stubbornly blank "Ah yes." He returned his gaze to the stars and gave a sad smirk "You have no power over me"

Tamar slapped Seth's leg from off the coffee table "So rude!"

"Hey we intruded into her apartment in the early hours of the morning and putting my feet on the table is rude?"

"Yes"

"You're rude"

"Shut up Seth!"

Sarah smiled "You were about to tell me why you need me?"

"Ah yes" the two said soberly and simultaneously leaning forward in one movement and observing the girl before them, their eyes shining from the holes in their masks.

"I know this is a bit sudden but we need you to return Underground" Seth started not moving his gaze from Sarah's face. He saw her eyes widen.

"We wouldn't ask at all but the situation is unavoidable" Tamar shot a look at Seth who nodded. "As we have already told you we are from a group called The Riders. We are about to join the Goblin King in battle against dark forces which are even now breaking the seal between the Kingdoms."

"What does any of this have to do with me?" Sarah knew her voice was shaking. This was all moving so quickly. Sure she wanted magic in her life but to return Underground, to see those she had left behind once more, could she bear it?

"We need you to fight alongside us"

Sarah stared first at Seth then at Tamar, the two fierce looking warriors who looked completely out of place in her small apartment. To both Seth's and Tamar's surprise she burst out laughing.

"Fight?" She laughed disbelievingly "I think you have the wrong person, I'm just a normal woman, and I've never fought in my life!"

"A normal woman?" Tamar raised an eyebrow "Did you not defeat the Labyrinth and its king to reclaim your baby brother?"

"Yes but..."

"Did you not fight your way through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered?"

"Well yeah, but I had help and it was all kids stuff really!"

"You consider engaging The Goblin King in a battle of wits 'kids stuff'"

"I suppose he was a little tricky..."

"Is your will not as strong as his and his Kingdom as great?"

"My will is as strong as his when it comes to someone I love, I may have lied about the Kingdom bit though."

"Well obviously that was just for effect. The point is Sarah you bested the Labyrinth. You beat the Goblin King at his own game. You are the Underground's champion."

"Champion" Sarah snorted. "That doesn't mean I can fight! I'm not a warrior!"

"We do not really understand it either" Seth broke in "We just wish for you to come back with us, we are but messengers sent by those higher up"

Tamar stood as did Seth.

Seth held out one gloved hand and spoke softly "We will not keep you Underground, you have choice in the matter. Do you wish for an adventure or not?"

"An adventure?" Sarah bit her lip and looked at the offered hand

"We have no time to lose" put in Tamar "The seal grows thin"

Sarah could feel excitement building within her. Return Underground and relive the magic or stay here and go to work tomorrow, oh dam I haven't finished the presentation for the meeting, I have to pick up my dry cleaning, Julian will want me to give the team a review of our latest project and I haven't got any milk...

"Fuck it lets do this!" Sarah grabbed Seth's outstretched hand Oh holy shit Sarah thought as they vanished This means I'll see The Goblin King again!

Jareth suddenly gave a start and looked around, something had happened, something had changed in the Underground, he could sense it. Below the Labyrinth seemed to give a contented sigh. Jareth raised an eyebrow thoroughly bemused.

Okay all the interesting stuff happens in the next chapter so stay tuned I promise I will upload it soon!

Review, I thrive off them!