DISCLAIMER: THE ONLY THING I CLAIM TO OWN IS THE INSANE IDEA THAT FORMED THIS STORY, EVERYTHING ELSE IS BORROWED.

Candles and Moonlight

Sarah wiped her mouth delicately, looking at Daniel from across the table with an uneasy feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. "Are you alright?"

"Yea," he answered too quickly, meeting her eyes with his. "Wh… why wouldn't I be alright?"

She licked at her lips and placed the napkin on the table beside her plate. "You seem really nervous about something."

It took all she had to not grin from ear to ear. This was her and Daniel's third year anniversary, dating each other that was. She suspected his nervousness was due to the question he was preparing himself to ask, a question that she was more than ready to say yes to.

Ironically, they had met at the twenty-first birthday bash that her friends had thrown for her. It had definitely been a night to remember. Somewhere between intoxicated fun and too much to drink she thought of Jareth and the room turned upside down on her. Sarah had made her way outside to sit in the cool air to try and clear her head.

She had felt his presence as she sat on the cold stone of the parking marker, her head resting on drawn knees. There was a warm gentle hand on her shoulder, she had lifted her eyes expecting blonde unruly hair and mismatched eyes filled with contempt, what she found was a darker shade of blonde and vibrant green eyes full of concern.

"Are you okay?"

She had laughed in relief, realized that that had been a bad thing to do considering her alcohol level and paled dramatically. "I think I'm going to be sick."

He sat down next to her, her head swimming dizzily. She felt hot and cold at the same time and the ground kept swaying before her eyes. A wreaking sound came up her throat.

"It's okay. Here, let me show you a trick." He had taken her hand and placed it open palmed on the ground at her foot. "It's a rock. It's solid. Close your eyes and feel how cold it is. It's not moving, it's a rock."

"I feel even more dizzy," she had told him, trying his trick.

"That will pass. Think solid rock."

After a moment she opened her eyes and looked at him, her head resting on her knees sideways.

"Feel better?"

"Yea, a little bit."

"My name's Daniel."

"I'm Sarah."

"Happy Birthday, Sarah." He had grinned at her and flirtatiously tucked her hair behind her ear. He had bright green eyes, subtle cheekbones, a slightly squared chin and perfect teeth with perfect lips. Sarah smiled up at him, picking her head up from her knees, and had promptly passed out.

According to Sarah's friends Jessie and Nancy, they had found her passed out cold sitting in Daniel's lap with his arms wrapped around her in an attempt to keep her warm. Her head heavy on his shoulder. They had gotten her into Jessie's car and Nancy made sure that Daniel had Sarah's number before they took her home. Poor thing hadn't even made it to midnight.

Daniel had called her the next day, having the sense to wait until late in the afternoon, and asked if she was willing to see him again. Feeling obligated to her knight in shining armor, she had said yes, and they had dated steadily for the next three years.

"You seem anxious," she said lightly, returning her thoughts to the present. "Is there something you wanted to say to me?"

"Yea, actually there is." Sarah bustled in her seat, her green eyes shining with anticipation. "I want to break up."

Her entire being froze. "What?" she chuckled unbelievingly. "You're kidding right?" she asked, her smile still frozen on her lips.

"No, Sarah, I'm not kidding."

"But…" her smile started to fade. "We've been together for three years. Why…?"

"Right," he interjected. "And I've been trying to figure out how to break up with you for the past ten months. I'm done, Sarah. I just… I always feel like there's someone else in your life who is more important than me."

"You've got to be kidding me," she replied, her temper taking over the hurt. "Who? Who else could there be, Daniel? I practically live with you, sleep with you, eat with you, we jog…"

"Sarah, it's not working out for me okay?" He moved things around on the table as a distraction. "I thought after three years that you'd let me in, but you haven't, and if I couldn't get through that wall you have around your heart by now, then I'm never going to."

"Wall… what wall? You know how much I care about you. I thought you were going to propose to me tonight and I was ready to say yes!"

"When's the last time you laughed, Sarah?" he asked quietly, looking at the napkin on his plate.

"What the hell, Daniel? I don't know! Yesterday, last week, what do you want me to say?"

He looked up and across the table at her. His eyes were calm and solemn. "I can't remember the last time we laughed together," he said in a low voice. "Somewhere along the line being with you became a chore, the thrill is gone and not much fun at all. I don't want to be with you anymore. I'm sorry."

He rose from the table and picked up the check. "Maybe you can have Jessie swing by and collect your things from my place. I've already gotten everything I want out of your apartment, you can keep anything I left behind."

"Daniel, don't. Don't do this to me." He eyes were brimming with tears as she watched his back walk to the front of the restaurant. He never looked back as he paid the bill and walked out the door.

She felt the world crash over her head, all splinters and glass. Somewhere in her mind she realized someone was talking to her, asking her if she was okay, and then a warm hand touched her shoulder gently. It was the waitress with concerned brown eyes, sun wrinkled skin, and a bun under her hair net.

Sarah bolted from the table. She ran through the restaurant, out the doors, and blindly down the street. She stumbled in her heels and pulled them off her feet, throwing them down an ally with a heart wrenching cry. She ran, barefoot and distraught, until she couldn't run anymore.

XxXxXxXx

"How'd you find her?" Nancy asked Jessie in whispered tones in the living room.

"A waitress at the Crystal Palm told a passing cop that she ran out very upset without her purse. He started patrolling in the direction she had run in and had someone wave him down. Apparently she threw her shoes at some guy taking a piss in an ally, clocked him good in the head with four inched spikes before running off towards the park."

"The park. We should have thought of looking in the park."

"Yea," Jessie nodded. "Anyway. The cop took her to the emergency room, she was too hysterical to drive her home and she…uhm… assaulted the officer with a firm slap across his face when he asked her if she was okay. She called him some pretty nasty things he said. Luckily he isn't pressing charges or anything."

Nancy sighed deeply peering through the semi open door to their bedroom. "I can't believe Daniel did this to her. No warning, no clues, just… fuck you, and he left."

"Yea, …uhm, about that. I have to tell you something because I'm not sure if he'll sue me or not."

"What did you do, Jess?" Nancy looked at her boyfriend dreading his answer.

"I beat the fuck out of him."

"Jess!" she covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide with concern. "Tell me you didn't. Really, lie to me if you have to."

"I've never lied to you, Nanc, I'm not gonna start now." He showed her his bruised knuckles.

"Dammit, Jess." She breathed with exasperation. She roughly took hold of his hand to examine his bruises. "Go get the peroxide. We have to clean this cut in case it gets infected."

Jessie moved away from his girlfriend to do her bidding, his shoulders slumped at disappointing her.

"Jess," Nancy called at his back. He looked over his shoulder at her. A proud smile crossed her lips. "I hope he needs surgery."

Jess smiled smugly. "I don't know about surgery, but he'll definitely need a dentist."

Sarah heard her friends talking. Their voices seemed so far away but she heard them. A part of her wanted to run out there and hug all two hundred and ten pounds that is Jessie Tarbrook for being a friend and defending her. But overall all she wanted to do was just forget, so she simply stayed in their bed feeling numb to the bone.

XxXxXxXx

"Jess, I'm scared for her," Nancy whispered in the dark. They were snuggled together on the couch, letting Sarah have their room… for now.

"She'll be alright," he whispered back, pulling her tighter to his muscled chest. "She's been hurt before, she'll snap out of it in a day or two."

"I don't think so. She's never been hurt like this, Jess. Not this bad, this deep. She won't eat anything… just lays there and cries, keeps saying she's sorry over and over again."

"Sarah's stronger than she looks. She'll find her way back, and when she does… that's when we get scared."

She finally cried herself to sleep, again, and tried to find the dream that could help ease her hurt. She tried to picture friends she had abandoned almost ten years before, but she couldn't remember them enough to get an image in her mind. Except for one.

His eyes were all she could remember of him, and his blonde hair that was so unruly. She wanted to run her fingers through it just to see if it could be tamed, even a little bit. But every time she reached out, he moved away from her. She stood in darkness all alone, feeling cold and numb.

Her heart constricted in another wave of despair. Even in her dreams she couldn't stop crying. She thought for sure that Daniel had loved her. That they would get married, have kids- maybe, be happy.

"Oh god, Jareth, I am so sorry!" she cried out in her dream, real tears seeped through her closed lids. "I am so sorry I hurt you. I hope you didn't hurt like this because of me." She crumbled into the darkness, letting herself fall deeper and deeper into oblivion.

Jareth stood at the side of the bed, his eyes filled with empathy as he gazed upon her. He couldn't, wouldn't, go to her in her dream. She was in too much pain, a pain that did in fact equal his own by her rejection nine years ago.

Her inner torment broke through to the surface. Her eyes seeped tears of sorrow, her throat choked on sobs of suffering. His lips curled on one side of his mouth, reveling in her torment, while his hand reached out and tenderly wiped at the fresh stream of tears that slid over her nose and down her cheek.

He had hoped, waited, wished even, that she would one day know what she had done to him. To know what it felt like to have your world crash around you and be left in the darkness of your own broken heart. But now, seeing her tears fall while she slept, hearing her cry apologies in his name, feeling the depth of her pain, he wished he hadn't wanted her to suffer quite so badly.

Unfortunately, such wishes were rhetorical even for him but he could make her forget, if he really wanted to. He glided the tips of his fingers down the side of her face, tilting his head slightly when he heard her call to him within her dream. He'd forgotten he'd given her that gift. To know when he was near or watching her. Uncertain if he really wanted to play this game he followed her into the depths of her dream.

XxXxXxXx

She felt his presence in the darkness like a caress on her face. "Jareth?" She turned her head to look for him but found nothing but darkness. Another stab clutched her heart. She was truly alone. She raised her eyes upward, knowing she had two devoted friends who loved her and would worry endlessly about her well being, but she didn't have the strength to go back.

She let her legs give out from under her, her rear hit the stone floor harshly. She didn't care, nothing mattered anymore. She sat with her legs crossed, her elbows on her knees, her face in her hands and laughed dryly at having no more tears to cry. She sighed deeply and simply waited for nothingness to come claim her.

Jareth stood only a few feet from where she sat, being in a dream realm he had no problem seeing in the dark. After all, dreams were his specialty and he'd learned long ago how to manipulate them in his favor.

It took her longer than he thought it would to sense his presence, especially when she had sensed his touch from the Aboveworld, but she finally raised her head and turned her face in his direction.

He felt the surge of hope that ran through her as her eyes darted unseeingly in the dark. He heard her heart quicken when she breathed his scent. He saw the flush of her cheeks when her gaze unwittingly landed on him, unnatural against the extreme parlor of her face.

Sarah knew he was there. She could feel him. She could smell his natural arousing scent, but she couldn't see him, he … he wouldn't show himself to her… and she didn't blame him. 'He's only watching again.' She thought dejectedly and returned to her original position with her head in her hands. 'Stupid.' She thought. 'So stupid to think that… that he would… just stupid.'

Her crying started anew and he silently watched her since she convinced herself that he wasn't actually there. She didn't know that her thoughts were as loud as a spoken word in dreams such as this, at least to him anyway. A loud commotion broke through her dreaming from above. Being curious, Jareth left Sarah and shifted closer to the surface to find out what was going on in her mortal world.

XxXxXxXx

"I said, fucking look at her!" Jessie yelled, shoving Daniel forcibly into the bedroom.

The leaner man sported a very swollen lip as well as a black eye that was nearly sealed shut along with various bruises all over his body.

"You're lucky I don't have you arrested!" Daniel yelled back, cradling his ribs on his left side. "You break into my place, kick my ass, now kidnap me to what…. stare at the miserable bitch while she sleeps?! You fucking drugged her and I know it!"

Before Jessie had the chance to cross the room Nancy stormed through the doorway and punched Daniel square in his already sore jaw.

"That miserable bitch is our friend, you piece of shit!" She glowered down at him after he fell to his knees with renewed pain jolting through his face. "It's been three days, Daniel! If we can't wake her up today we have no choice but to get her to a hospital! She's fucking killing herself you callous bastard!"

Daniel glared up at Nancy threateningly. Jessie was in front of him within two strides. "Go ahead," he growled with a fisted hand by his side. "Think of threatening her and I'll kill you right here." Daniel lowered his butt to his heels, turning his head away from them. "You're the one who put her in this mental state, you're going to be the one to get her out of it, and I don't give a rats ass what you have to do or say to do it!"

"You don't get it," he said, sounding defeated. He breathed in ragged breaths and closed his eyes. "She never loved me. I gave her everything I had, and she kept her heart in a block of ice."

"Bullshit!" the couple spat simultaneously. Nancy stepped closer, continuing to talk. "I've seen you together, jackass. You couldn't ask anyone to love you more than she does. Look at her! Does that look like a woman who doesn't care?!"

Daniel shook his head. "I didn't say she didn't care. I know damn well that she cares. But she 'doesn't' love me! You can tell when someone loves you and when they just care about you. She treated me the same way she does the both of you… she 'cares', even when we were alone she never…" he bowed his head to his chest, his shoulders shook slightly with emotion.

"I had to get her drunk and careless," Daniel continued. "just to get close to feeling any passion from her, and even then she held back."

"Are you calling her a dead fish in bed?" Jessie asked threateningly.

"No. oh god no. She never left me hangin, but she never let me return the favor either. I know she wasn't satisfied with me, and I don't know why."

Nancy and Jessie looked at each other wondering what to do now. If Daniel was telling the truth, and they were both sure he was, then who was she crying forgiveness from?

"Try it anyway," Jessie told Daniel gruffly. "We have to get her to wake up. She hasn't eaten, shit she hasn't left the fucking bed since she's been here! Nancy's been taking care of her like an invalid."

Daniel shook his head remorsefully but got to his feet anyway. He went to the side of the bed and sat on its edge. His face held an expression of anguish as he gently brushed her hair from her face. "Sarah,' he called softly, his voice hoarse with emotion. "Sarah, wake up."

XxXxXxXx

Jareth returned to Sarah's dream. He hadn't realized she'd been between the realms for so long. Her body needed nourishment, her friends needed consoling, and her … boyfriend … claimed that he wouldn't be able to help.

"What happened, Sarah?" Jareth asked her vocally, appearing by her side.

"I don't know," she cried, not realizing he was right there with her. She thought he spoke to her from a crystal from far away because that's how his voice sounded to her… far away.

"I thought I was happy," she continued, her voice sounding empty. "I thought he loved me… but he doesn't, and it hurt so much when he just left me there… and then I thought of you and how you wanted to love me and how I shoved it in your face like it didn't matter. I'm so sorry, Jareth."

"He does love you, Sarah. Probably as much as I had. But why are you here?"

"It hurts so much. It feels like… like something is eating at my heart, taking little bites… and the pain won't stop… and the more pieces that gets ripped out, the less I care, and that actually feels good because then I don't feel anything. I'm just cold and numb."

Jareth's breath caught in his throat at her words. At her description of what she was feeling. It was exactly how he had felt when she turned away from him. He staggered a step away from her, realizing that he had inadvertently caused her this pain. Somehow, by magic or pure will, he wasn't sure, but he knew this was his doing.

"Get up, Sarah," he commanded in his most authoritive tone. "Get your ass up off that floor and join your friends. You don't belong here!" he shouted when she refused to respond. He realized too late that he used the wrong choice of words when she simply sunk deeper into herself.

"It hurts too much."

"Dammit, Sarah," Jareth growled and picked her up from the cold stone.

He was startled at first at how light she was in his arms, then realized that she was only in dream form and relaxed. He'd never meant to hurt her like this. He underestimated his own power of persuasion. His grief had manifested slowly over the years into her heart. As his heart healed, hers became poisoned. Daniel's rejection was the catalyst that broke the seal.

Jareth found himself in a position that he didn't like one bit. To save her he had to return her to herself. In order for him to do that he'd have to appear to her physically. And at the moment there were three very upset mortals, who had no qualms with physical brutality, standing over her body. This course of action was strictly frowned upon by his kind, but the alternative was to let her die, and Jareth refused to let that happen.

"Sarah," Jareth called to her as he carried her spirit back to the Aboveworld. "Sarah, open your eyes. Look at me, my lady, please."

"Jareth?" she voiced weakly, struggling to open her eyes. She felt disoriented, nauseous, and couldn't focus at first. Then she saw him, his face mere inches from hers. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, and touched his face with her palm.

"Holy Shit!" "What the fuck?!" Both men yelled, jumping back when Jareth simply appeared out of nowhere beside Sarah on the edge of the bed. Nancy ran out of the room to get the baseball bat.

"You should be," Jareth said with indignance. "But not this much." He took her chin between finger and thumb. "Stay with your friends and I'll take care of everything."

"Who the hell are you?!" Daniel shouted hysterically.

"Where the hell'd you come from?!" Jessie added.

For once Jessie adhered to his instinct to stay put and not rush into something. Nancy, however, came rushing back to the bedroom with the aluminum bat over her head ready for a downward swing at the back of Jareth's head.

Jareth felt her approach and gracefully flicked his wrist as she swung the bat at his head. The offending object disappeared but the forward projection of Nancy's suddenly empty hands caused her to smack him in the back of his shoulders.

Jareth turned on Nancy with piercing eyes. All three of them backed up involuntarily. His power and authority filled the room. "I would think you'd concern yourselves with her welfare after being neglected for so long. Get her something to eat!"

Nancy ran on winged feet to escape his threatening gaze. Turning back to Sarah, Jareth ignored the men until Jessie put his hand on Jareth's shoulder.

"Get away from her!"

Jareth stood to his full height and turned toward Jessie. The man staggered backwards, either by fear or magic. "I am only here for her behalf. As soon as she's not in danger of losing herself, I'll return to my own kingdom."

"Exactly who the hell are you?!" Jessie voiced.

"Jess, kick him out." Nancy whispered from behind Jessie.

"How'd he get in, in the first place?" Daniel asked hysterically.

"I am Jareth. I'm here because Sarah called me to her." Jareth refused to be made inferior in the presence of these people. He turned back to Sarah's weak form. "Stay with your friends," he reiterated, ignoring the turmoil behind him as Jessie grabbed Nancy to avoid further attacks and Daniel gaped openly at the way Sarah looked up at Jareth. "Eat something and change your clothes. I'll be just a thought away."

"No, don't leave me, please." She tried to grab his hand but missed. Rising to her elbow, she tried to sit up but her arm collapsed from her weakened state.

"Stay away from the labyrinth, Sarah," he said flatly, hoping to make her stay awake and remain where she belonged. "Keep your dreams to yourself."

Jareth didn't like her fallen expression as she closed her eyes. Daniel snorted beside him, causing Jareth to turn his head in the man's direction.

"You think her dreams of torment are amusing?" he asked dead pan.

"What dreams? She takes pills so she never has any dreams."

Jareth turned his gaze back to Sarah, his eyes flared angrily. "Is this true? You have purposely avoided my only means of contact with you, then you insist on my forgiveness?"

"I'm sorry." Sarah said barely above a whisper, her eyes pleading for him to understand.

"How do you just appear from nowhere?" Daniel asked tentatively. "How do you know Sarah?"

"I don't appear from nowhere, I am…" Jareth felt her slipping back into the dream. Turning to the bed as she rolled her eyes closed. "Sarah!" Her head went slack. "Dammit, Sarah!" As fast as he appeared he vanished from the medium sized bedroom, leaving two men and a woman to contemplate what the hell was going on.

XxXxXxXx

He found her in the underground sitting on a stony beach with gray skies and gloomy weather. She hugged her knees to her chest, her chin resting on her knee. "You can't stay here, Sarah."

"Why not? Isn't this my place, didn't I make it up?"

"Not particularly, no. You're in the realms of depression where everything is gray and forlorn." He moved to stand by her side, the tip of his boot almost touching her bottom. "Why hide from me, Sarah?"

"Because you never let me go, Jareth. Everywhere I looked I was reminded of you in some way, shape, or form. I felt you watching me on occasion. I knew that you were nearby sometimes. After awhile I wasn't sure if I did the right thing but it was too late to call you."

She laughed without humor. "Ironically, the last time I felt you near me was the night I was going to give in to you. I couldn't stand it anymore. I felt your hurt, and I was tired of feeling guilty for it. But when I looked up… it wasn't you standing there, it was Daniel. I started taking the pills so I could fall in love with someone else. As long as I couldn't feel you near me, I thought I could forget you."

"That doesn't seem to have worked for you."

"No. I guess it didn't. I'm still yours whether I said so or not."

"You don't belong to me, Sarah. I have no claim over your heart."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes lighted with a small flare as she stood up. "Then how come it doesn't hurt when you're close to me? I know you carried me aboveground, Jareth, and I was content for the first time since meeting you."

"I inadvertently cursed you. This is the effect of it." He told himself that he spoke the truth, for both her sake and his own.

"I don't believe you."

"Believe what you will, it's the truth. I no longer feel pain for your rejection, Sarah. I have passed all of it for you to bear. What you feel for me isn't real. I'll return you to your world for the last time and remove the curse from you. You will remember nothing of me, the labyrinth, or the underworld."

"No. I don't want to forget you. Jareth don't make me forget everything. Let me remember something about you."

"Time to go home, Sarah."

He appeared by her side on the bed same as before, Sarah waking up to grab his sleeve with her hand. "Don't make me forget, Jareth, please!"

"Goodbye, Sarah." He leaned forward to touch his lips to hers.

"I wish…" He cut her words off with a brief but passionate kiss. '…to never forget you.' She responded to his lips on hers, weakly sliding a hand to the back of his neck. She felt dizzy as he pulled away from her, falling back to her pillows she fell into a dreamless sleep.

XxXxXxXx

He reset the order of time around Sarah and her friends so that none would remember him being there. He watched through a crystal specially made to observe her for the next twenty-six hours and no more. His heart once again felt heavy, as it should, for her rejection. But he was also enlightened by how much belief she had in him, how much passion she had kissed him with, how she had struggled to hold on to him with weakened hands.

He smiled secretly watching her sleep. He would always remember how he had won her in the end only to return her to her own world. Satisfied with himself, he placed the crystal on a stand while checking on a runner who had been ignored far too long while he dealt with Sarah.

XxXxXxXx

Sarah opened her eyes and had no idea where she was. Sitting up in the bed she vaguely recognized her friend's apartment. She stepped into the living room, Jessie and Nancy were cuddled close on the couch fast asleep. Tip-toeing to the kitchen she opened the fridge and grabbed the carton of OJ. Pouring herself a glass, her hand trembled slightly as she recalled Daniel's rejection at the restaurant that night. She wondered why is didn't hurt as much as she thought it should.

"Feeling better?" Nancy asked quietly from the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned on the frame.

"Yea," Sarah answered, swallowing the last of juice from the glass. "Sorry I put you out of your bed."

"Pahh, don't worry about it, wasn't the first time we christened the couch." Sarah smiled at the humor and poured some more juice. "What's that in your hair?" Nancy went over to her friend with her hand outstretched. "Where'd this come from?" She removed a small lock of long blonde hair that had been tangled in with Sarah's brunette tresses.

Sarah took the several silky strands from her friend and stared at them intently. "Jareth." She whispered his name so softly that Nancy didn't hear what she had said.

"What?"

"Someone I hadn't thought of in a very long time." Nancy watched in amazement as the strands of hair turned to glittery dust as Sarah stroked them through her fingers. 'What did you do, Jareth?' she asked with unspoken words with wonder.

XxXxXxXx

Sarah spent the next two weeks gathering specific things while trying to figure out what course of action to take. Jareth had intervened in her life somehow, she knew it without a doubt. What he had done or why, she had no idea. But she wanted to not only find out but she also decided that it was time to face old ghosts and tie loose ends.

Her first step was to collect certain items that somehow she knew she'd need one day and had kept them in storage. Sitting in her living room, she opened the flaps of the box and took each piece out as though they were treasured artifacts.

The first thing her hands fell on was the clothes she had worn that night in the labyrinth, well preserved in an airtight plastic bag. She grinned fondly as her fingers touched the tiny bauble that Hoggle had given her. 'A keeps sake for my friend.' He had said to her before he faded away.

A small rock that didn't appear to be anything special at all unless you talked to it in the right tone of voice, then it would roll of its own accord- going so far as to follow Sarah around her room when she had still lived at home. Next was the tassel from a brave knight to his lady maiden. She brushed it against her cheek with a whisper of a smile.

And last but far from least, the owl feather that she had collected after he had flown out the window, after she had checked on Toby, after she celebrated with her friends. She had gone downstairs for a drink before going to bed and seen it lying on the floor half under the coffee table near the window. This was her key back to the labyrinth, all she had to do was think of a way to get his attention and keep it.

XxXxXxXx

She positioned the candle on the small windowsill in front of the page sized mirror she had bought. The lady at the pagan shop told her she needed it to reflect the moonlight, unfortunately, the only window in her apartment that viewed the moon wasn't very big and in the bathroom, but it would work for what she wanted to do. At least she hoped so anyway.

With the mirror reflecting the full moon, and the candle burning in front of it, she placed the music box that she had had specifically made just for him next to the candle. It hadn't been cheap by any means, which meant she wouldn't have a car for at least another year or so, but if her plan worked, she wouldn't need a car.

She opened the box and let it play the titillating tune of the song Jareth had sung to her in the crystal ballroom. It had taken her over a week to remember it correctly, with the help of Nancy's brother, who played a synthesizer, she felt confident that the final result was magical in itself.

Turning off the bathroom light, Sarah went to her living room to do some homework while her own magic began its spell.

XxXxXxXx

Jareth heard the sounds of a particular song from far away and froze, his head tilted to listen closer to the cords being strung out with precision. The teenager before him stared at him in wonder as he simply walked away from her seemingly distracted. Only he could hear it and it sent a chill through him as he had never felt before.

He knew it was coming from Sarah, knew also that she was using an old mortal form of magic, one that was so primitive by his standards it was laughable. Yet, the sound beckoned him to follow and he was sorely tempted to do just that, if not simply out of curiosity.

"Goblin King, I want my sister back, right now!"

He turned around and looked at the red haired fourteen years old as though he'd never seen her before. "Yes, fine. Take her." He waved his hand majestically and both the teen and her little sister were returned home without further ado.

"Now what'd you go and do that for?" Hoggle asked in his agitated manner. "She wasn't even halfway through the labyrinth. She didn't deserve any special…"

"Hush, Hoogle," he said with a staying gesture of his hand, his ear trained to the music. "I've got a much bigger challenge calling for my attention. One that shouldn't even remember that I exist."

Before Hoggle could question him any further Jareth was gone.

"You coulda at least let her gives me her wrist watchy!" Hoggle yelled after his king, hoping he hadn't actually heard him. "And my name is Hoggle!" Feeling justified, the dwarf made his way out of the hedge maze and back to the main gate.

XxXxXxXx

After playing the tune for precisely one hour, Sarah closed the lid to the music box, pinched out the candle's flame, and turned the mirror face down for the night. She had no way of knowing if he had heard it or not, but something told her that he had. With a pleased grin she headed for bed.

Jareth waited until she turned out her lamp then appeared in her living room. The very air surrounding him had the scent of magic in it. Primitive magic, mortal magic, and nothing for him to be concerned about. Except that he was concerned. She was reaching out to him, and using magic to do it. This was the second time he'd made her forget, only for it to fail.

He was careful to not move too much within her living space, he sensed that she had been very busy in trying to figure out exactly what she was capable of magically. He felt a prickle on his skin and turned around to find her watching him from the doorway of her bedroom.

"What do I owe the honor, your majesty?" she asked cheekily with haughty airs, casually leaning against the frame with her arms crossed.

"I was curious as to what you're up to."

"Hmm. An honest answer at that. I didn't expect to get your attention so easily. Maybe you gave me more magic than I realize."

"Careful Sarah," he warned lightly. "You're playing with things you don't understand."

"Then I think its about time I learned, don't you?" she said slyly, stepping away from the doorway.

He regarded her seriously, studying her intently for some clue to her motives. She shouldn't have remembered their ever meeting, that she did made him consider her warily. "Why do you call me after all this time?"

"All this time…" she repeated and pretended to mull that in her mind thoughtfully, then met his gaze. "It hasn't been such a long time for you, Jareth. You've been here recently. You did something wondrous and magical just a few days ago." She stepped closer to him. "I wonder if you'll tell me, what was it that you did, Jareth?"

His heart skipped a beat as she drew closer. He could feel energy building around them like static. 'Why can't anything ever go right with this woman?' he thought to himself. 'She wasn't supposed to remember!' "Or, dear Sarah, you could tell me what is it you hope to accomplish while playing with magic."

She stepped around him. "I'm curious, Jareth." Her voice became soft and seductive as she spoke. She paused at his back and ran her fingertips over his shoulder and down his back. She smiled at the slight shiver that ran down his spine at her touch. "All you have to do is let me use the gifts you gave me." She continued to step around him until they were face to face, her fingertips caressed over his other shoulder and down his chest as she stopped in front of him.

He took hold of her hand and entwined his gloved fingers with hers. Her touch sent a pleasant chill through him, causing his heart to yearn for her all over again. "Conjuring pagan gods isn't wise, Sarah." His tone was sincere, his gaze wary as he watched her. "And I am not to be toyed with."

"I'm not conjuring pagan gods." She laughed, clasping her fingers over the back of his knuckles. "We both know that I didn't use any of your gifts in the labyrinth. So I'm curious. How was I supposed to use gifts when you never told me what they were?"

He pulled away from her to pace just beyond her reach. "You used them in the labyrinth, Sarah. Every creature you came in contact with was enchanted by you. I had a very hard time to get any of them to heed my orders to try and stop you. That is one gift you possess."

"Another being that I know when you're near me," she surmised. "I felt you appear here tonight. It feels like a warm caress on my skin. Are you aware that that's what it feels like when you're around me, Jareth? A lover's caress."

"I'm well aware of the light sensation making you aware that my magic is present. And yes, that would be another gift I had given you."

"Why would you give such a gift as that I wonder," she remarked in a silky tone. "That would've surely led me in the right direction to find you, wouldn't it?" she smiled knowingly as he looked upon her defensively. "How many more gifts had you given me?"

"I've allowed you to summon me at any time by the mere thought of my name," he answered with reluctance. "You needn't bother yourself with all your talismans and incense for my attention."

"But there's more to it than that. What I did tonight proved that to me." She slowly walked over to a book shelf and removed one in particular. "You see, I didn't think of your name at all, I merely remembered you and used your image from my mind as I played your song."

She opened the book and stared at the open pages in front of her, keeping it from Jareth's view. "I want to know what else I can do, Jareth." She told him raising her eyes to meet his. "I want to know if you can feel the same things that I can."

She held his gaze as she shifted her hold on the book, placing it within one hand while the hardback rested on her forearm. She reached her other hand to the open pages and ran her fingers straight down the folds from top to bottom.

Jareth felt a slight lightheadedness as he watched her fingers move down the page of the large hardbound. His breath caught in his throat at having the feeling of her fingers touching his back, just as she had done moments before. "What have you done, Sarah?"

She smiled at him. A smile that held more sadness than mirth or triumph. "I was very, very careful," she whispered, avoiding his question for now. "More careful than I've ever been with anything in my entire life. I asked questions and read as much as I could so I wouldn't hurt you. I don't ever want to hurt you again."

"I was taking pills, you know," she continued in a soft tone. "Because you never fully let me go, Jareth." She let her gaze fall to the open pages in front of her. "You did something recently that changed everything." She smiled more sincerely. "Almost everything. But you didn't know that I kept a part of you all these years, and I remembered everything as soon as I touched it."

She raised her free hand from the book with a pure white owl feather between her fingers. Jareth blanched at seeing it. He didn't have to be told where she had gotten it or whom it came from, it was one of his.

"I made a wish just before you altered time, Jareth. Another gift you had given me, to grant all my wishes. Do you want to know what I want to wish for next?"

"Sarah, don't!" he stressed, finding himself taking a step forward before he stopped again. It was only a feather, he loses them all the time as an owl, but she enchanted this one. She had figured out how to use the gifts he had given her against him.

"Interesting how you're always so arrogant and self assured, cocky even, until someone comes along and puts you in your place, King Jareth."

"Sarah, I beg of you, undo the enchantment."

"Undo it?" she asked incredulously, snapping the book shut and carelessly tossing it to the floor, his feather still between her fingers. "You tried to make me forget you! You tried to make me forget all the pain, the guilt, the fear, all of it! For what, Jareth? What did I do that you wanted me gone from your existence?"

"It wasn't what you had done, but what I had done," he answered with remorse, keeping his eyes on that part of himself in her hand. He hoped that she understood the power that she had put into the object. She could hurt him as very few could with only the snap of her fingers.

"Oh, right," She drawled sarcastically. "Cursing me to feel every ounce of your pain. To suffer in full force the rejection, the betrayal, the loneliness I had caused you." She slowly meandered the room, caressing the feather delicately as she continued. "Very cowardly of you, by the way. Never in a thousand years would I have thought you capable of stooping so low."

A ragged breath escaped his lips, the effect of her touch on the feather was as physical to his own body. She smirked knowingly. "But you set that part of the equation right, didn't you?" She looked at him from over her shoulder from across the room. "What do you think I want, Jareth?"

'She wants revenge. She wants to see me on my knees begging. She wants to prove that she has power over me. She wants to make me suffer, and as long as she holds that feather she could do all those things.'

"You want to destroy me," he whispered his eyes never leaving the feather.

She stared at him intently for a long moment then laughed, the sound filling her small apartment with an eerie resonance. "Of course you would think that because that's what you would want. I guess you missed the part when I said that I don't ever want to hurt you again. However, toying with you is a must."

She took a couple steps towards him then stopped, leaving only a couple feet between them. "I'm not stupid," she informed him, twirling the feather between her thumb and middle finger, wondering if the action would make him dizzy. If it did, he hid the effect very well.

"I know full well that we have to resolve this tonight because once this feather leaves my hand I lose. We both know that you will stop at nothing to get this from me, but right now you can't take what is not freely given."

"What do you want?" he asked, her words giving him his confidence back. He straightened his back to his full height and folded his arms across his chest.

"What do you want, is the real question, Jareth."

"I tire of these games, Sarah. You obviously have planned this very well. You want something from me as much as I want something from you, you've made certain of that."

"Yes, I made sure I had something to offer you. But I'll ask you again, what is it that you want, Jareth?"

He watched her intently, met her eyes with his own and felt himself drawn to her just as strongly as he had before she shattered his world around him. She'd played his song from her ballroom dream to lore him here, the only time when he had held her in his arms and she had looked up at him with fascination and unknown desires. She had professed her regret for hurting him, explained herself, and begged for his forgiveness. She had kissed him so passionately as he dared to make her forget him. She caressed that part of him in her hand with such longing and tenderness that he felt it along his spine. He took a step towards her.

"No!" she rebuked him stepping back, holding the feather close to her breast. "You stay an arms length away from me. I want to know what you want! I want to know if all of this was just a waste of my time and energies!"

Her strong facade started to slip, she was running out of time and she knew it. He was regaining his confidence, his arrogance, he'd soon be able to overpower her and there was nothing she could do to stop him. Her eyes filled with tears but did not overflow.

"I wanted you to take me with you and instead you wanted to make me forget. Why?"

"The emotions you were feeling weren't yours."

"Like hell they're not!" He motioned to come closer. "One more step, Jareth, and I'll crush you!" she threatened, holding the feather up in the air, her hand shaking with emotion.

He paused for all of one second before continuing towards her. "We both know you won't." She stepped back from him as he advanced upon her, still fearing him as much as she had all those years ago.

"Stop!" she commanded him, holding the feather with both fists as though she'd snap it in half. "Answer me, dammit! What do you want?"

He obeyed her command and stood still. His heart beat too fast in his chest. He could feel her energies up his spine, her emotions, her desires, her need for him to want her.

"First, I want you to put down that feather. Gently if you would."

"And second?" she asked, her hands shaking visibly.

"What does it matter what I'd want once you release your hold on me?" he asked indifferently. "Things aren't turning out that way you planned, are they?"

"I didn't expect you to show up so soon. I thought I'd only get your attention, not have you show up personally. I needed more time."

"For what? I'm here now. You've got me exactly where you want me, in the palms of your hands. What else is there?"

She glanced at the tips of both ends of the feather poking out from her fists, noticed how her hands were trembling and knew that he felt it, felt what caused it, as sure as he felt her gentle caress. She loosened her fingers ever so slightly, barely noticeable to the naked eye, but he felt it and moved upon her quickly.

He was suddenly right before her, pressing her fisted hands between their chests while taking hold of her face with both hands. Bearing down on her with the element of surprise he pulled her face to meet his as he dipped his head down to claim her lips with hungry abandon.

She cried out in surprise, his mouth muffling the sound before she moaned in acceptance. She unclenched her fists, letting the feather float to the floor, and placed her hands at the sides of his face just as he was doing to her. She retuned his kiss with pure abandon, having no idea when they ended up on her bed with his weight delightfully atop of her.

He pulled back gasping for air, Sarah breathed just as heavily, and their eyes meet, held, and understood each other for the first time in nine years.

"You ever try to use magic on me again and I will punish you severely," he glowered down at her.

"You've already done that," she replied unwaveringly. "Try something I'll never forget."

With a groan he crushed her lips with his and took her home to his castle along with a music box, her keepsakes, and a pure white owl feather.

The End

A/N: If you liked it, let me know. If you didn't like, let me know that too. Either way, Thanks for reading.