A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay! I had a couple of mini re-writes before I settled on something I liked, so I hope this chapter is enjoyed!

Also a huge thanks (and virtual hug!) to my reviewers – you guys keep me motivated to keep writing, and also virtual cookies to the anonymous reviewer who got the reference to "Clarity"! This fic is not based off its lyrics, but the song serves as a sort of premise for this story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Labyrinth or the song Clarity.

Warning: This chapter contains swearing and mature themes!

Clarity

Chapter Three: Fighting Fear

Her pacing was starting to become irritating - although Sarah was pacing back and forth barefoot on the beige carpet silently, the movement and the soft rustling of her wedding dress was starting to make Robert's head spin. Karen had astutely avoided the situation by retreating to the kitchen to make cups of tea that she assured would help the situation, but the aforementioned tea (and his darling wife) had yet to make an appearance after fifteen minutes of Sarah's non-stop pacing and muttering. It seemed that all Sarah was able to process so far was that a man named Jareth had showed up to interrupt her wedding, claiming that she was carrying his child and Robert couldn't help but reflect on the events that was meant to constitute the happiest day of his little girl's life.

After Jareth turned up, everything had started melting into an unmitigated disaster. Sarah's prospective mother-in-law had wasted no time after Jareth's bombshell comment and had promptly started calling his daughter a "gold-digging slut" and that it would be over her dead body before she let a "knocked up good-for-nothing hussy" marry into their family. Robert gave himself a triumphant smile as he recalled the memory of Karen calmly asking how Caroline Kingsley, the name-calling mother-in-law, managed to marry her way into the wealthy Kingsley family.

When insults started to be hurled back and forth across the church by family members of the bride and groom and the whole church fell into a state of disarray and uproar, Robert knew that Sarah had to be removed from the scene. He quickly ushered Karen and Toby out of the pews and gathered Sarah to move into the back rooms of the church and motioned for Brian and the priest to follow. Fortunately, Brian had the good sense to follow instead of witnessing the onslaught of insults between the two families, but the man named Jareth simply strolled down the aisle into the back rooms leisurely and even gave Robert a smirk as he followed the bride and groom.

Robert and Karen knew to respect the privacy of the couple and took Toby further along the hallway where they proceeded to sit down and wait for the aftermath. After some time had passed, Karen started bobbing Toby on her knee, even though they all knew he had grown out of this particular habit, but Karen needed the comfort and distraction. As she gently placed him back onto the bench for him to sit by himself, they heard, more than saw, Brian fling open the heavy oak doors and storm furiously out, with curse words peppering his murmured sentences.

"Fine! Just leave then!" Sarah rushed out after him into the hallway, her face contorted with anger. Her tightly pinned curls were becoming loose and messy tendrils were starting to fall away and frame her face. She quickly spun back around to face the room and with her eyes flashing angrily, she pointed her finger aggressively inside the room at what Karen and Robert could only assume was Jareth. "You! I can't believe you have the nerve to come and do this! You have absolutely no right!"

With a huff, Sarah seemed determined to storm off, but her father's soft but commanding voice stopped her in her steps. "Sarah. It's time to go home." Nodding numbly, Sarah faced her father and Karen moved quickly to physically hold onto her. "What about the guests?" she whispered in a small voice, not trusting the truth of the situation. "I'll go out and deal with them. Karen, take Sarah to the car" her father countered firmly.

He was broken out of his reflection when the tinkling of fine bone china alerted him to his wife's presence. "Sarah, I've made some tea. I... How ... What exactly happened?" Karen asked uneasily.

Sarah gave a hollow laugh. "I've absolutely no fucking clue. One second, I'm about to be married. The next, I'm apparently pregnant with another man and my fiancé decides he doesn't want to marry me anymore" she spat out with more venom than she had expected her words to carry.

Karen shared a nervous look with Robert and hesitated a moment before asking "Who is Jareth exactly?"

Sarah's face immediately no longer portrayed immediate anger, but instead displayed apprehension and confusion as she paused to contemplate her answer to Karen's questions. "He's .. I don't ... It's ... It's complicated" she replied, biting her lip with nervousness.

"Well, are you pregnant with his child? I know you're not that kind of person but I don't want him slandering you and ruining your relationship with Brian simply because he's got a grudge against you Sarah" Robert chided his daughter gently.

"I'm not pregnant with his child Dad" she retorted with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, that's settled then. We'll go talk to the Kingsleys tomorrow and get this mess sorted out. Just go and take a bath now. Everything will be fine." Robert nodded and gave her a smile.

She ran her fingertips lightly along the edge of the bathtub until they reached the faucets and she twisted them with a graceful force to unleash the powerful torrent of water. She crouched low and held her hand under the running water to check its temperature. She closed her eyes to muse on her situation and a memory of cool fingertips dancing along her shoulders and hot breath on the nape of her neck swam to the front of her eyelids. She jerked her eyes apart and saw she was still physically present in her family's bathroom, her fingers growing warm from the increasing temperature of the water. Why was it then that she could still feel those ghostly sensations dancing on her skin?

She fumbled on the buttons and zips on her dress, the contraptions meant to be undone by another's fingers, before letting it pool into a puddle at her feet. She reached for her favourite bottle of french vanilla bath soap and poured generously into the bathtub before slipping into the hot water and letting her head fall back against the wall. She could feel the tension easing away from her muscles and the combination of the warmth and the familiar scent of vanilla gently lulled her in a state of sleepless rest.

"Oh my dearest Sarah. Do you know what you do to me?" She felt the hot breath from his words tickling her skin and she smiled at his words and nestled further into his embrace. Cool fingertips pulsing with power and magic gently pushed off the silk shirt she had slipped on off her shoulders to reveal tantalisingly creamy skin as tender kisses trailed down her shoulder blade. She gave a small involuntary shiver at the contact of his mouth with her skin and he growled possessively as he continued his path of kisses continued.

She was curled comfortably in his lap with her back to his bare chest as his hands snaked possessively around her waist. Black ravens flew high in the orange sky and cawed loudly, but even their dark beauty could not interrupt her acute awareness of all his movements. She could feel his every intake of breath and hear his purred contentment as he deeply inhaled the scent of her hair. She played mindlessly with the hem of the silk shirt that fell to her thighs as she relaxed with her bare legs stretched out on the pale wood and leather chaise.

She scanned the horizon and noted the quiet beauty of the Labyrinth offset by the brilliant orange hues of the setting sun. Her eyes noted vast expanses of forest teeming with vibrancy and life, contrasted with domineering mountains lying dormant and solid. She gave a small sigh of melancholy and his body immediately tensed around hers.

"Is something wrong?" his voice was filled with concern.

"No! I just … wish this was real. You, us, this …" she motioned wildly with her hands to depict the vast landscape in front of her.

"Silly Sarah. You should know better than to wish for anything whilst I am around" he replied, humour colouring his voice.

"I know Jareth. But this is just a dream, so I know it'll be okay" she said, her voice quietly fading into the wind.

He unravelled his arms from her waist and gently turned her around so she could see his face. She noticed the path his eyes traced on her skin, with his gaze feasting hungrily on the stretch of skin revealed by the deep neckline of his silk shirt that extended to her navel. She could feel his desire growing for her against her thigh every moment he continued to take in her looks and she blushed shyly. Even though he had shown her on multiple occasions the extent of his desire for her and she had revelled in his worshipping of her body, she somehow had yet to reconcile that it was her and her alone that had the ability to set him ablaze with desire.

"Sarah, I am the Lord of Dreams – this isn't a dream until I say it is" he warned huskily.

"And is it?" she smirked, a cruel grin adorning her face.

He only had time for one word before he pounced onto her lips, attacking them ferociously with his own, as his tongue battled with hers for dominance. The onslaught of his feverish lips left her dazed and wanting more, and when she opened her mouth to moan, he snatched at the opportunity to deepen the kiss. As he picked her up and began walking off the balcony overlooking the Labyrinth and back into his room and his bed, her mind began to forget his warnings and slowly become a blank canvas, destined to only know and feel the pleasure that he could induce in her body.

"Never".

Sarah gasped as she broke the surface of the water. She had unwittingly slipped into the water as she recalled her memories of her dreams, and she drew ragged breaths as she struggled to reinflate her lungs with oxygen.

Had that not been a scene that she had dreamt during her sleep months ago? Why was that particular dream suddenly coming back to her? Her brows furrowed in confusion as she tried to connect all the different sides of the puzzle together. What had he said? It wasn't a dream until he said it was so? But of course it was a dream! She ignored the subconscious that tried to remind her what she had felt the morning after she woke up from that particular dream – tired despite a full 8 hours of rest, and her body sore as if it had been ravished over and over again.

She stepped out of the now tepid water and quickly slipped on a bathrobe. She wrapped a towel around her soaking wet hair, packed up her wedding gown and gently padded her way through the hallway to her room. Hanging up the flowing gown brought a pang of pain to her heart as she recalled in her mind the words her fiancé, or was it ex-fiancé had used to cripple her.

Mentally resolving herself to not think about it again until she had at least a full 8 hours of sleep, she made sure to distract herself with her nightly routine. She headed back to her room, ready for bed and rest and silently mused to herself that she was definitely more angry than upset at the whole predicament and that her lack of tears could only be attributed to her anger that the man she was about to embark on a life journey with did not trust her word over that of a stranger.

She could hardly begin to understand why on earth she had once considered Brian the man of her dreams – a man who would fulfil all her dreams and fantasies that she had been harbouring since she had been a young girl. The man of my dreams, my arse! The man of my dreams would know that I'm not that type of person!

As she pulled back the covers off her mattress, her eye caught on something sitting innocently on her bedside table. There on her table, sitting innocuously next to her small tower of books was a clear crystal ball, two yellow flowers – she only recognised the marigold and a small slip of parchment with offensively beautiful cursive writing. She snatched up the parchment quickly and her eyes widened with horror as she took in the short message.

Dearest Sarah mine,

Is a dream only a dream until you are woken up? Do not forget that I do not share.

Forever yours, J

As her heart thumped wildly in her chest, she became aware of the slow thudding footsteps of her father walking up the stairway and she hurriedly buried the parchment and crystal ball into one of her drawers before diving into bed. She heard her father's footsteps pause with hesitation outside her bedroom drawer, and she couldn't help but become overwhelmed with the events of the day. Tears streamed down her eyes and all she could feel was a chaotic mix of confusion, a lilting happiness, anger and grief.

Priding herself on having always been an emotionally strong woman, Sarah couldn't help but try to find something to blame for the flood of emotions. Damn these pregnancy hormones!

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Things should start to get even more interesting from here on in, so remember to please review if you'd like to see more of this story! J