Once upon a time, there was a girl and her Goblin King. The king loved the dream of owning the girl's soul, to have her beg for him with those cruel eyes he adored. But in his haste to trap her, he stole a child. Just to get her attention you see, and only because she asked him to take the babe away. But somehow in the retelling, he always seemed to come across as a villain. And always in the retelling, his heart broke again like the dream he had created for his Sarah…..

Lightning flashed across a darkened sky as goblins scurried through the broken town picking up pieces of broken buildings and complaining cannon balls. The place really was a mess and it was quite rude for the girl to have knocked around his kingdom then run off like she hadn't a care in the world. All for the right to say she had overpowered the Goblin King.

From his high tower above the rabble, Jareth glanced from the mess below to the large wall clock adorned with carved goblin heads, muttering to himself. It was almost time to meet the High King and explain himself. It was all well and good to trap mortals and teach them a lesson, but being bested by one – and a mere girl at that? His father was quite firm about his disappointment and summoned his eldest son to a Council meeting with kings from all the realms of the Underground. His younger brothers. Jareth bit his lip to keep from saying out loud the somewhat rude opinions of how his brothers would have handled Sarah. Could they have stopped her from ruling their hearts? Could they have overcome the sweet cruelty that was Sarah Williams?

The thought was swept away by an unnatural need to shield Sarah from the others. She wasn't his, exactly, but she was so much more than he was ready to admit, even to himself. The pondering did nothing to ease his mind, and he made his way to the royal carriage that would take him to the meeting. Goblins rushed out of his way, knocking themselves over to steer clear of their master's boots.

His aide Hoggle gave him a sidelong glance but said nothing. Jareth knew the dwarf still did not believe his new role was a permanent one, but the king needed to surround himself with others who had known the girl. To remind himself that he could not fall again, he must remind himself that he did indeed fall. Hoggle was a good enough helper, he kept his mouth shut most of the time and reminded him of his appointments when needed. And Sarah had liked the little fool, though why that mattered he could not answer.

"A mere child holds the key to my redemption Higgert," Jareth said wearily, rubbing his eyes as he gazed at the changing scenery.

"Hoggle," the dwarf reminded him, but his heart wasn't really in it. The king seemed different, saddened and silent much of the time. He hadn't threatened Hoggle in weeks. Not since Sarah…no he would not think of her now. She was safe in her own home and he'd see her again on his monthly visits with her other friends from the realm.

"How did I let it get so far?" Jareth asked, but Hoggle knew he was not to answer. The king often asked questions he did not expect answers to and today was no different.

Within the hour they were at the High King's palace, a great hulking fortress of stone that defied gravity. It floated above the fields of the workers below, always watching, never sleeping. The carriage flew onto the opening drawbridge and Hoggle shuddered as he heard the dragon guards fly dangerously nearby.

As they landed in the large courtyard, Hoggle jumped out of the carriage to hold the door open and release the steps for his king. Jareth simply sat in the carriage lost in thought. After a moment, Hoggle cleared his throat. Nothing.

"Um, your Majesty - we are at the High King's court," Hoggle reminded him. Jareth shook off the thoughts buzzing around him and jumped gracefully onto the cobblestone path leading to his father's throne room.

"Well then Hibert, we must then see the High King!" And without waiting for an answer, Jareth made his way to where his father waited.

"Hoggle," the dwarf said softly, shaking his head. He ran after his master, shooting cautious looks over his shoulder the entire way.

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Sarah Williams gazed out her window and sighed. Apologizing to her parents for her behavior wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it would be, but it hadn't been easy. The looks on their faces had started out slightly suspicious, then cautiously accepting. The fact that she wasn't yelling at them did much to ease their worry. She looked out over the neighborhood imagining a castle filled with goblins and a haughty king who would not stay out of her dreams.

"Sarah?" Her stepmother entered her bedroom slowly.

"Yes Karen?"

"We were wondering, if you'd like to come with us to dinner tonight - we could hire a sitter?" Sarah smiled in spite of herself, apparently she'd been promoted out of watching the baby.

"That would be very nice, thank you."

"Um, fine then. We'll leave at six and take you to that new Japanese place your father thought you'd like."

"Great, thanks. I - uh, well I'll be ready."

Karen looked as though she wanted to say more, but nodded and left the room. Sarah fell back onto her bed, blowing out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as her stepmother walked away. Being an adult was going to be hard, but she couldn't go back now could she? She had to just take this one step at a time.

She pulled out her journal and opened it to her latest poem.

When you pull me into your world at night,

How I long for eternity to protect us,

But the love you claimed just isn't right,

And love itself does reject us.

Tossing the book back under her pillow, she jumped off the bed and headed for the shower. Maybe some time with her parents would help her forget her time in the Labyrinth. She had Toby back and she could still see her friends from time to time. Dwelling on a place she'd never see again was foolish, and Sarah was ready to move past foolishness now. She had to grow up and move on from her dreams. It was really the only sensible thing to do.