O.G.A.K.

Chapter Nine

By: Mistress Eden

Disclaimer: I don't own the canon cast or setting. Drat it.

(A.N.: Hey all, sorry for taking so long to update, but RL has been kicking my but lately... ugh. Anyway, just to make it up to you I present... giganta-post! LoL, enjoy ;)

Italics in use like this 'Sentence, blah, blah, blah...' indicate thought.

Part One

A Rude Awakening

"Most of us women like men, you know; it's just that we find them a constant disappointment"

Clare Short

(B)

Sarah yawned sleepily, and clenched her eyes shut tight against the invading brilliance of the sunlight. Stupid sun. Through the haze of sleep, several facts started to filter through her foggy mind. One, her usually comfy bed was hard and awfully lumpy... Two, parts of her body were warm, and others were chilly...which was unusual since she usually burrowed under the blankets up to her ears. Three, there was the oddest mixture of scents in the room... A horrendous clashing mix of what smelt like dozens of perfumes... sweat... sex?

'What the hell?'

Sarah froze, going completely rigid as her eyes popped open. She was momentarily blinded by the sunlight that streamed in through the window, which, it seemed, was missing its curtain.

She blinked dazedly for a minute before peering down at herself with some trepidation.

'Oh. That's where the curtain went.'she thought inanely as she caught sight of it, tangled around her torso, she grimaced slightly as she pulled a curtain ring out from beneath her hip. Unfortunately, it appeared that, aside from the curtain..., she was, yes, Naked.

Her gaze instinctively jumped away from her nude body, she did not even want to go there, and scanned the wreckage of what had once been her elegant, tastefully decorated bedroom.

Her gaze locked on the ornate vanity, a lone soldier standing upright in the midst of the carnage, all of its contents spilled onto the floor in a rainbow display of makeup and broken glass.

'Hell, at least I don't have clean this mess up. One of the, very few, benefits of being Queen.'

She ignored the slight pang of guilt for what she was going to put the castles staff through as her head thumped back on the floor with an aggrieved sigh.

'How on earth do I get myself into these messes?'

What made it worse was that, aside from feeling a little sore, she felt pretty damn good. There was an odd, not unpleasant humming sensation beneath her skin. Like a live wire coursing with energy.

During this inventory of her body, she became aware of the warm object entangled around her waist. It had escaped her notice at first because it had felt almost like a part of her. Holding her breath unconsciously, she lifted the edge of the curtain and peered down, locking almost immediately on the hand and arm that lay snugly wrapped around her stomach. Blinking, she followed the pale arm up to the shoulder, and, twisting her body slightly she found herself face to face with a smugly grinning Goblin King. In a flash memory of the previous night's activities flooded back with a mortifying degree of detail.

'Bloody hell... I had kinky, crazy, wild-monkey sex with THE GOBLIN KING! Well crap, now I've gone and done it haven't I. Stupid Adelle... stupid lustful hormones... Mmm, but he does have a very nice chest... and...'

Sarah's discordant thoughts trailed off as Jareth started to chuckle, his usually unreadable face crinkled with uninhibited laughter. She frowned, about to ask just what was so funny when the bedroom door was unceremoniously flung open. Sarah started guiltily and turned toward the door. Her face flamed crimson as she was met by three pairs of curious eyes. Lissy, Adelle, and Elise all stood in the doorway with varying degrees of expression on their faces.

Poor Lissy's eyes were as wide as saucers, her cheeks flushed pink, but she at least had the good grace to look away swiftly. Elise was chuckling at Sarah's horrified expression, and Adelle, the evil wretch was smiling smugly as she said, "Oh good. My plan worked then."

She paused and cocked her head at a considering angle and said in a mock whisper, "Sarah dear, not that your breasts aren't nice, but you might wish to cover them."

Sarah glanced down in horror as she realized the curtain had slid to her waist, revealing considerably more flesh then she would have liked. She scrambled to her feet, cursing under her breath as she struggled to wrap her self up, toga style, with the heavy brocade curtain.

Jareth, the jerk, stood with his usual grace and ease, apparently unconcerned by his nudity.

Lissy, having seen more then enough at this point, mumbled some excuse about breakfast and bolted out the door.

Elise gave Jareth an appraising gaze before nodding her approval, and turning to follow Lissy.

Jareth just grinned in his usual self-satisfied manner, "Yes Adelle. I will confess your plot worked extremely well. As much as it pains me to add to your already inflated ego." Turning to Sarah he winked before continuing, "However my dear if you wished to bed me you should simply have said so. I would have been more then happy to... oblige." There was more then a little insinuation laid on the last word.

Adelle snorted as she strolled further into the room allowing the heavy door to swing shut behind her, "Your one to talk of ego's cousin..."

Sarah shook her violently before cutting of the witty reparte'. "Wait just one damn minute! You mean you knew what we were doing?"

Adelle looked at her incredulously, "Of course he knew darling. While he is a man and thus obtuse to female subtleties. He is an ancient Fae, and very well acquainted with intrigue, subterfuge, and... seduction."

"Ugh! This is why you all drive me nuts! All the sneaky, underhanded, double-dealing, manipulative..."

"Why thank you my dear." Jareth said pleasantly.

"Those weren't compliments you arrogant arse!" she cried as she tugged ineffectually at the curtain. It was damned hard to look menacing wearing nothing but a curtain.

"Of course they were darling."

Sarah ground her teeth as she thought, 'I wonder, if I kill him is that lesse majesty?'

Jareth snickered again and said, "Now, now Sarah. It is not very nice to plot to murder your own husband. Besides 'Lesse Majesty' refers to assault not assassination."

Sarah, who had been shuffling toward the closet, intent on finding more stable attire, froze, before slowly turning on her heel to face her husband, eyes wide with horrified shock.

"What did you just say?"

He grinned unrepentantly and repeated his statement. Only this time... his lips didn't move.

As realization dawned, a look of utter horror spread across Sarah's shocked face. "Your in my head!" she screeched.

"Oh dear... Jareth didn't tell you what would happen did he?" Adelle asked mildly.

Sarah rolled her eyes, "Of course he didn't tell me! He never tells me anything. He just does as he pleases, consequences be damned, and I wake up the next day to discover what new hell he's cooked up. Speaking of which, what exactly was it he didn't tell me this time?"

Jareth had the nerve to look hurt. "Really now Sarah, that is uncalled for don't you think?"

Sarah snorted, "No, I don't. Now, you are going to tell me exactly what you've done to me, and maybe I won't use you for target practise."

"I have not done anything to you my dear, this is simply the next step in the binding. When we wed..."

"When you tricked me into marrying you, you mean."

Jareth ignored her and continued as if she had not spoken, "Your life force was bound to mine, thus assuring your role as Queen, and severing the restrictions of mortality. However, at the time we did not physically bond, which is a vitally important step in any union..."

"I get that part, just get on with telling me how you can get into my head!"

"There isn't much use expecting a straight answer from him my dear." Adelle said gleefully as she sank down onto the edge of a small couch. "Allow me to explain. First he is not in fact, 'in your head'. If anything, your in his. This next part is a bit tricky so pay attention and Ill try to put it simply for you.

"You see, the mind has three layers. The Serraducca, or 'subconscious,' which is the core of ones mind, this layer is one most sentients are rarely aware of.

The second layer is the Raducca, this is where you think, puzzle things out, process information, or however you wish to put it.

The last layer is, for want of a better term, the 'top' layer of your mind, the Ducca. This is the layer where deliberate thought is played out, for instance where one makes comments to oneself, or makes pithy witticisms that are better left unsaid, and so forth.

"Your bond with Jareth allows him to read the Ducca, simply because you are subconsciously broadcasting your thoughts. Of course darling there are a few perks to this bond for instance, you re also capable of receiving Jareth's thoughts, not to mention the ability to access his powers."

"Wait, what?" Sarah said, looking incredulously at Adelle.

"In a Fae-bonding, both partners receive access to one an others powers. However, as you were born mortal, you do not have magic of your own, so you will be able to tap into Jareth's powers at will. I, of course,will be more then happy to teach you how to do so." Adelle paused considering for a moment, before continuing. "However I do feel obliged to point out that my esteemed cousin does receive a different sort of benefit from this mental bond. You are a woman of great passion and dreams Sarah. Both of which will magnify and increase Jareth's powers exponentially."

Jareth, who had used the opportunity to magically dress himself, gave Adelle an extremely dirty look and said, "As always Adelle, you are the soul of generosity and helpfulness."

Adelle opened her mouth to respond but stopped at the sound of Sarah's voice, the two Fae turning to stare at her in surprise.

"Stop! Just stop it, both of you! I am sick to death of all of this pettiness and subterfuge." Her voice was sharp with anger, firm, but underlined with deep exhaustion and tension.

"Your adults, act like it for once! Just once! For goodness sakes your both ancient, one would think that in all those years you would have learned how to deal with each other without bickering like children."

Her face was pale, but her lips were firm, and her eyes were hard as she turned the weight of her gaze on Jareth.

"I thought after the last time that you might have understood. That what I said might have made some small impression on you. But hey, I guess I was wrong, again! You looked at me and saw a solution to several of your problems. You needed a Queen to fulfill the role and to prevent Kristoph's claims on his sisters behalf. Toby's wish plopped me into your hands. Everything was right. The time was right. I was reasonably attractive. I had proved my worth by defeating the Labyrinth. My 'passion' and silly dreams would enhance your power. Everything fit into your plans.

"But you forgot one thing. I'm a human being Jareth. Not a puppet to dance to your tune, not a doll for you to dress up and parade before your peers. Not a pawn to be manipulated at your whim. A person."

Adelle and Jareth watched Sarah carefully, as though she were a wild animal that might lunge if they made any sudden movements.

Sarah sighed heavily, and her anger seemed to vanish, leaving her deflated. "Just go. Both of you. I'm just... so tired of all of this underhandedness, and Id like to be alone. So please. Go."

Jareth opened his mouth to say something, but Sarah held up a hand. "No. I mean it Jareth, if you ever want me to forgive you, you should just leave now."

The cousins exchanged a glance, and surprisingly, actually left.

Sarah stood in the shambles of her bedroom for several long minutes, clutching the curtain to her chest. Turning slightly she caught a glance of herself in the mirror. Her hair in wild curls around her face, lips swollen, and several love bites on neck and shoulders. Stooping she grabbed a small statue from the wreckage and with a soul deep cry of frustration hurled it at her reflection. Glass shattered from the frame with a loud crash and flew around the room. Turning on her heel, Sarah hurried into the bathroom careful not to step on the broken glass. What she wanted right then was a hot bath so she could scrub the scents of Jareth and sex from her skin.

Part Two

How Things Change

"Man wishes woman to be peaceable, but in fact she is essentially warlike, like the cat."

Friedrich Nietzsche

(B)

Sarah strode through the twisting passageways of the Labyrinth without registering her surroundings, wrapped so completely in her own thoughts that it was a miracle that she didn't walk straight in to the bog. But then again, perhaps not. The Labyrinth, while not truly sentient, was fully capable of recognizing it's Queen, and would under no circumstances allow harm to come to her. After having wandered in the corridor's of the labyrinth for nearly an hour, Sarah had, had more then enough of her mental wrestling's, she came to a halt with a smothered screech of frustration. If Jareth was not the most difficult man on the face of the ear... uh, underground, he was damned bloody close!

"Enough!" she muttered. "I am not, NOT going to think about this anymore!"

So saying she sunk down onto a stone bench and crossed her arms around her chest, stubbornly engrossing herself in surveying her surroundings. It took her only a moment to recognize, and place the small courtyard. This was where she and Hoggle had met the wise man. A soft smile crossed her face in the memory of far simpler times. In her minds eye she watched the shade of the girl she had once been.

"I said I'd take you as far as I could."

"Hoggle! You little cheat. You nasty cheat!"

"Now, don't try to embarrass me. I've got no pride."

"Oh yeah?"

"But them's my jewels! Oh, you, give them back! Give those back!"

"Now. There's the castle. Which way should we try?"

"Them's my rightful property! It's not fair!"

"No it isn't. But that's the way it is..." Sarah mused aloud.

(B)

The image of her younger self faded away as the sound of footsteps echoed against the stone walls.

Elise rounded the corner, bustling determinedly with, to Sarah's surprise, Jared perched incongruously on her shoulder.

"Ah! There you are child. Here take your petite peste before I decide to cook him for supper."

Sarah chuckled slightly as she held out her arm to Jared and allowed the small bird to sidle up to her shoulder.

Elise sat down beside her with a groan, "I am getting to old for this." she muttered.

"Nonsense Elise, you'll never be old." Sarah said with a fond smile.

Elise harrumphed, "Flatterer! But enough of this, tell me what happened."

Sarah sighed, and looked away for a moment before obeying the older woman.

Elise was exactly what she needed. She wouldn't be knowingly sympathetic and solicitous, Sarah couldn't have borne that. Elise was never one for soothing pats and meaningless platitudes. She was brusque, to the point, and had never once hesitated to tell Sarah the truth about anything.

As Sarah poured out everything that had happened, the parts of the story she had left out before, the events of the previous evening, and the mornings troubles, she felt a great sense of relief. Elise was solid and dependable as a rock. While the older woman was cunning as a fox, she had little use for politics and manipulation. A refreshing change from the Fae that were now the majority of her companions.

Elise said not a word, only making the occasional tsk, or harrumph to express her feelings.

When Sarah finished, Elise sat quietly for a few minutes, digesting the information before venturing her judgement.

"It seems to me that you hit the nail on the head Sarah. To them, everything is a game. It is their nature. Like breathing. I expect it is one of the many curses of immortality. When you are going to live forever, I expect little things lose their importance. Besides, they are all spoiled. Both your husband and Adelle, are little more then spoiled children."

She paused shaking her finger at Sarah, "That is no reflection on you though. The only thing you've done wrong is trying to be something that you are not. They don't have the power to make you miserable or happy, but you are letting them. I know this wasn't the life you planned for yourself Sarah, but that life is gone. And this life, this moment is all you have.

"So stop moping and whining. Stiffen up your backbone and determine to make the best of it. You've a core of solid steel in a land of silver and gold, different, but no less beautiful, and far stronger. Do not let them change that."

Sarah sat thinking on Elise's words for a long time before nodding her head in agreement, "Your right. Since I arrived here, I've been struggling to change and adapt, to accept their world. But if I have to accept them and all their nonsense, then they will just have to deal with who I am." A stubbornly wicked glint came into her eye and she smiled wickedly at Elise.

Elise harrumphed as she stood, casting a speculative glance at Sarah, "That is all very well and good, but just remember even the strongest of metal's need a little bit of give in it, otherwise they break under pressure."

Elise turned and left without another word. Sarah just watched her go, lost in her own thoughts.

Part Three

Jareth and Adelle

"We cannot possess what we do not understand"

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

(B)

Jareth paced silently back and forth across his study, mind a flurry of confused thought and feeling. It had been a long time since he had been so lacking in control, an irritating, but at least explainable occurrence. Sarah had a way of taking his world and twisting it upside down. And she thought he was unpredictable? Hah! The woman was the bane of his existence, and at the same time... the defining point of his world.

He paused by the massive window, and placing his palms flat on the sill, stared out at the vast twisting corridors of his labyrinth. The thought nagged at him, that perhaps he ought to be keeping tabs on the runner..., Marsha? Whatever her name was, but, his heart wasn't in it. Jareth had granted the wish in a pique of anger over the latest 'Sarah Incident', even though it had not been a true wish.

"That's what got you into trouble in the first place old chap." he muttered to himself.

Sometimes Jareth felt very old, and even the vast twists of his labyrinth couldn't hold his attention for long. Perhaps, that was what he saw in Sarah in the first place, that inner fire that sparked his attention, and jolted him out of his ennui. He handled it badly, he was forced to admit, though it galled him no end. There was little Jareth hated more then being in the wrong. And it seemed that more and more his dealings with Sarah were put in the wrong. What had he done that was so terrible? He had done his best to win the girl, but the stubborn wench resisted his advances at every turn. She frustrated and confounded him, tormented him and drove him mad. He wanted her unlike he had ever wanted anything before. He had come so very close to possessing her, but every time he thought he had her, she slipped through his fingers like water. He made one step forward, and she would take two back. He snorted, hell, this morning she had turned on her heel and run in the other direction. Damn the girl anyway, why did she have to be so... fascinating?

He was disturbed from his thoughts by the sound of his office door creaking open. Jareth slowly turned to face the intruder.

Adelle stood facing him, head cocked slightly as though contemplating something.

"Tell me Cousin, to what do I owe the privilege of your visit?" he drawled as he sat down at his massive burlwood desk.

She strolled into the room, her face and manner uncharacteristically serious. She paused before one of the windows, the filtered sunlight casting her features into sharp relief, and he was once more struck by how incredibly beautiful she was. Knowing her so long it was easy to overlook, but every now and again it struck him. However, to him it was a cold, sexless beauty, rather like a rare piece of statuary, or a priceless painting.

She spoke finally, breaking his reverie with her almost casual tone. "Your going to lose her you know."

He blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard what I said Jareth."

"And what do you mean by that statement Adelle?" he asked in a dangerously soft voice.

She casually picked up a carved stone figurine of an owl in flight, idly stroking it's feathers.

"Do you remember the Bacci Bird that we found when we were children? I remember how incredibly beautiful it was, the golden feathers and the trilling song. I begged Papa to let me keep it, and, being who he was, he agreed easily enough, even knowing the consequences.

The gardeners caught it, and put it in a beautiful gilded cage in my room. At first the bird sang just as always, but as time passed, the bird sang less and less. Then one day it stopped all together. No matter what I did, what enticements or threats I made, the little bird just wouldn't sing. Then it stopped eating. And one day, the little bird died.

"Ayah Marilla, told me the bird died of a broken heart, because above all things a Bacci loved to be free, and that was the one thing I denied it. With all my petting, and coaxing, and treats, I couldn't make that little bird happy." She paused, and her gaze met his, "And neither can you."

(B)

Sarah was jerked out of her reverie by a sharp tug on her hair. She yelped and glared at Jared who was wearing a look of patent innocence.

"Don't even think I'm going to fall for that buddy." she said as she rose to her feet and stretched her back. Sarah frowned as she heard what sounded like muffled screaming. "Where on ear... I mean the underground is that coming from?"

As though to answer this, a huge lid toppled off an urn to her right. The sound grew louder as Sarah got closer to the urn, she leaned over the the edge and the words, while slightly distorted became clear.

"Please let me out of here! Anybody? Please!" the last trailed off in a harsh sob.

Sarah frowned as she peered into the stygian darkness below, trying to decide what to do. Finally curiosity won out, and with a curse she swung herself onto the wide lip of the urn. She lifted Jared off her shoulder and held him against her chest with one arm, and, ignoring his protest to this treatment, shoved off the urn and down into the dark tunnel below.

Sarah fought the urge to scream 'wheee' as she slid down the winding stone slide, Jared however didn't seem to be enjoying it as much, judging by the squawks of avian outrage and the sharp claws he dug into her wrist. The slide ended abruptly and there was a frightening moment of empty air before her feet hit the ground. Jared bit her finger sharply, then wiggled his way out of her grasp, pulled himself up her blouse and onto her shoulder, making displeased clicks and huffing noises.

"Who...whose there?" a tremulous voice called from somewhere in the dark.

'Light... I need light.'Again, an answer to her unspoken desire was swift in coming. 'I could almost get used to this.' she mused.

Candles flickered to life around, what appeared to be a midsized oubliette. A young woman was crouched, huddling in the far corner. She blinked myopically in the sudden light, her mouth slightly agape.

Sarah gave a little wave, trying her best to appear non-threatening.

"Who are you?" the girl whispered.

"I'm Sarah, who are you?"

"Mary... I'm Mary."

"Nice to meet you Mary. Are you ok? I heard you crying..."

"No!" Mary wailed pitifully. "I'm lost! I wished away my little sister, but I didn't mean to! I didn't know it was real, I mean who would have thought that all of this..." she waved a hand vaguely. "Was real? I was only joking around, and the next thing I know Krissy is gone, and there are all these ugly little creatures running around, and this really strange man shows up and tells me that he's the Goblin King, and if I want Krissy back I have to solve the labyrinth. I mean, I don't even know what a labyrinth is! And some weird talking bug scared the crap out of me, and I fell through a wall. And there were these creepy to headed guys who didn't make any sense, so I just guessed which door to go in, and then I fell down here, and it was so dark, and there isn't any way out! And I'm going to die down here!" Mary burst into tears at this point.

Sarah blinked slowly, 'Ooook then.' She smiled kindly at Mary and moved forward and offered a hand to help Mary to her feet.

Mary screamed in terror and Sarah jerked back in surprise.

"What is that!" Mary cried, eyes wide with horror.

Sarah whipped around trying to see what was upsetting the girl but didn't see anything.

"What's what?"

"That!" Mary cried pointing toward Sarah.

Sarah was running out of patience, "What are you talking about?"

"On your shoulder!" Mary screeched.

"Huh? Oh... Jared. He's an owl." Sarah said slowly, as she seriously questioned the girls mental capacities.

"Is that... Is he...?"

"Is he what?" Sarah asked, utterly exasperated."

"The Goblin King?"

"No! No, no, no. Jared is just a plain, ordinary owl. Nothing magical, I promise."

"Oh. Ok then." Mary said as she hopped to her feet and dusted off the skirt of her pretty pink sundress. "Can you help me?"

Sarah blinked at the girls rapid recovery, then considered her request for a moment before grinning wickedly.

"Why yes. Yes I can. Nothing would give me more pleasure then helping you beat Ja... The Goblin King."

Mary beamed at her and quickly hugged Sarah much to Jared's dismay. "Oh thank you, thank you!" she cried.

Sarah disentangled herself from the girls embrace, "Uh-huh, right. Now lets see..." Sarah examined the walls and floor carefully. Nodding slightly as she saw a squarish section of wall lighter then the rest that seemed to glow softly.

She strode to it and said "Open sesame." She winked at Mary, 'I always wanted to say that." She pushed against the stone and there was a hot pulse of energy that coursed down her arm and through her palm. The section of wall rumbled for a moment, then disappeared.

"Come on. I'm not sure how long this will last."

Mary wasted no time scurrying madly across the room and out the door with Sarah trailing close behind.

(B)

Further Conversations On Love

"If I love you, what business is it of yours?"

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

"What are you talking about?" he said dryly as he picked up a quill and tapped it against his chin in a deliberately casual gesture.

Adelle laughed briefly, without humor. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about Jareth."

"Ah, yes. Sarah." He cocked his head as his eyes narrowed shrewdly, "And how pray tell did you come to this conclusion?"

Adelle snorted sharply in disgust and strode forcefully toward his liqueur cabinet. She grabbed a glass and splashed a copious quantity of good Dwarven whiskey into it, before setting the decanter down with enough force to rattle the cabinets contents. She tilted the glass and shot back a good portion before turning to face him once again.

"Do not try playing this game with me Jareth dear. You might be able to fool everyone else but I have known you since we were little more than infants. I dare say that I have learned something in the last eighteen-hundred years."

"Indeed." He said coolly. "But still, you have yet to enlighten me as to why you feel I am going to lose My Wife."

Adelle ground her teeth and said, "Because, you are a cold, ruthless bastard, yet in spite of that fact, she cares for you, a great deal. I daresay, she may even love you."

Jareth gave her a skeptical look at this statement.

"Oh, she would deny it. Ferociously no doubt. But, I have seen it in her eyes, in her voice. In the pain that you have caused her." She looked at him then, eyes almost mocking. "Sarah is an emotional person, but only betrayal by someone she loved could have hurt her that deeply. It was in her eyes when she looked at you. I daresay if I had a heart to break, it would have broken for her."

"As you say, 'if' you had a heart, and as most of the court will contest, you have long lacked that particular organ."

Something flashed in her eyes, but was gone instantly. She sighed softly then continued. "Jareth, I know that we have not always seen eye-to-eye... well, practically never truth be told. However, I believe that Sarah is one of, no, the best thing that has ever happened to you. You need to tell her the truth. Tell her why you have done all the that you did, why you essentially stole her life.

"You love her Jareth, don't even bother attempting to deny it. I know you, and I have seen the two of you together. It's in your eyes, in your very manner.

"But, knowing you as I do, I also realize that you have no intention of ever telling her. After all, why should you? That foolish wish of her brothers placed her in your hands on a silver platter. She is legally wedded, and bedded what more could you want? After all, she will get over her current snit and forgive you, whether or not you deserve it."

Jareth arched a brow at this, but kept silent, waiting to see precisely where Adelle thought she was going with this nonsense.

"I have come to know Sarah over the last several months. She is a loving, passionate person, but more and more I have seen that curbed. If you don't release her Jareth, if you don't tell her the truth, you will lose her. She's strong enough to do it. Strong enough to walk away. She may not be able to return above, but she is perfectly capable of going elsewhere.

"A jeweled collar is still a collar, and a cage made of gold is still a cage. She needs more then a pampered lifestyle and good sex to keep her happy Jareth, she's not quite so shallow as you and I."

"Are you quite finished?" he asked coolly. "Good. As much as I 'apreciate' unsolicited advice from one of your... shall we say, experience? It is unnecessary. While you may have a great deal of practise when it comes to the baser side of relationships, we both know you know nothing of love in any form."

Adelle blanched and stepped back as though he had struck her. "You really are an unbelievable bastard Jareth." she said coldly.

"So they say." he said thoughtfully, watching as Adelle stood impassive, draining the rest of her drink before refilling the glass.

"Perhaps you do know me." he said mildly. "But I most certainly know you. I have kept tabs on you over the years my dear cousin, and would you like to know what I have learned?"

She cast him a cold look, took a large swallow from her glass then said, "Not particularly."

He ignored her, "You are a vain, selfish, manipulative woman who cares for little more then the latest parties and fashions. You occasionally engage in an act of charity, but never without an ulterior motive. Not that unusual for a fae. In fact, one might even say ordinary.

"Ahh, and to you, that is such a dirty word. There is nothing you hate more then being thought average. But, if it weren't for your looks, you would have nothing, be nothing but another nameless face in a see of others."

She had paled slightly at his words, but her gaze didn't waver from his. Daring him to continue.

"Outwardly your life is ideal, a woman who has everything she could ever want. And yet..." he steepled his fingers beneath his chin and cocked his head contemplatively. "Your miserable. You have no friends, no relationships more lasting then a brief affair. You're a lonely woman who drinks to excess, in a vain attempt to deal with the emptiness of your life. Not that it ends there of course, it is common knowledge that your bed rarely lacks for company. Why, if rumor is to be believed, my 'dear cousin'." he sneered. "Your actually something of a whore."

Adelle said nothing for a long while, her gaze fixed on the glass in her hand. Then with great precision, set the glass on the edge of his desk.

"Maybe your right Jareth. Maybe I am all of those things and probably quite a few more." She paused and looked him in the eye with a steely gaze. "But at least I'm not a coward."

(B)

It wasn't long before Mary and Sarah encountered the false alarms, which had Mary quaking terror.

"Just ignore them." Sarah said mildly, "They can't do anything to you, they are just trying to trick you."

The alarms muttered there offense to this statement, as Sarah started to round the corner.

"Really Mary, they are perfectly harmless." Sarah cast over her shoulder.

Unfortunately as she wasn't looking where she was going she collided with someone else who was hurrying around the corner.

She landed on her bottom with a thud sending up a cloud of dust that had her coughing.

She glared at the smug alarms as she waved away the dust cloud, "You could have warned me you know."

"Why, you wouldn't listen to us. Were harmless remember." one of them said.

"Huh, I'll show you harmless..." Sarah muttered as she got to her feet, finally looking at the unfortunate being that had collided with her.

"Sarah! Ur, I mean your Maj..."

Sarah rapidly cut her old friend off as she glanced back at Mary who was watching this exchange in confused fascination.

"Hoggle, Ixnay the Ajestmay!"

Hoggle ignored this, instead staring slack-jawed at Mary.

"How did youse get outs here?" he demanded, pointing a gnarled finger at the pretty young girl.

Mary shrugged, "I don't know exactly, Sarah showed up and rescued me from that nasty pit..."

"Oubliete'." Sarah corrected absently as finished dusting off her breeches, and straightening Jared who was clinging to her for dear life at this point.

"Right... Oubliete. Anyway, she rescued me, and she said she'd help me get to the castle." Mary said brightly.

Hoggle gaped at them, mouth opening and closing like a landed fish. "Bu... bu..., but the King! Sarah, youse can't..."

Sarah glared at him. "Oh yes I can. There has to be some perks to this gig. And I decided that I want to help Mary win. And furthermore, if 'The King' doesn't like it, well he can go swim in the bog for all I care!" She paused considering for a moment. "What exactly are you doing here Hoggle?"

Hoggle seemed to be dumbfounded for a moment, then shifted uncomfortably, "Ise just doin my job is all." he said defensively.

"Sarah, don't you knows whatll happen if that girl wins?" Hoggle whispered frantically.

Sarah gave him a puzzled look. "No, what?"

Hoggle gaped at her, "What've those royal twits been teachin you all this time?"

"How to walk in six inch heels, corsets, and heavy skirts while balancing a book on my head. Which fork to use at dinner, etcetera."

"Useless fodder." Hoggle muttered.

"Pretty much." Sarah agreed amiably.

Hoggle shook his head. "That don't matter anyhow. I don't know exactly, but I do knows that if a wisher wins it ain't no good for you."

"What exactly happens? Does anyone get hurt?"

"Well not exactly, but it's something bad!"

Sarah pondered for a moment, "When was the last time someone won?"

"Well... youse the only one I can remember."

"Then it won't really matter if this one girl wins."

"But..."

"I'm helping her Hoggle and that's the end of it."

"But..."

"I'm not going to let Jareth win."

"But..."

"He needs to learn a valuable lesson in humility."

"But..."

"Besides I can't just let poor Mary's little sister get turned into a goblin."

"But Sarah!"

"No buts Hoggle! I've made up my mind. You can either help me, or you can go whine to Jareth."

Hoggle sighed defeated, "Ile help ya." He smiled at her ruefully and said, "Sides, I like you beter'n him anways."

Sarah beamed at her diminutive friend and gave him a quick hug.

"Thanks Hoggle, I knew I could count on you."

Over the last month's Hoggle had become used to Sarah's random outbursts of affection but he still blushed and stammered a bit.

Catching sight of the ring that still graced her right hand, (a massive ruby corker set about with fire-stone diamonds (a remnant of the previous nights ensemble.)) She impulsively tugged the glittering stone off her finger and offering it to Hoggle.

He gazed at the jewel in covetous awe, before shaking his head. "Youse dont need to give me nothin. Sides that things worth a kings ransom."

Sarah shrugged, "It doesn't make any difference what it's worth. I want you to have it. It's a gift."

His resolution faltered, but re solidified.

"Oh for pete's sake Hoggle, just take it. Were wasting valuable time."

"Hey, if he doesn't want it, I'll take it." Mary said brightly.

"You will not!" He snapped as he grabbed the ring from Sarah's outstretched palm.

Sarah nearly laughed at the expression of avaristic glee on his homely face.

"Umm... could we get going now?" Mary asked.

"Yes, let's get out of here." So saying Sarah hurried down the hallway at a brisk pace, a slightly nervous Mary, and Hoggle who was still examining his ring, trailing behind.

They made good time, though there was a minor snafu when Mary was faced with the prospect of climbing the rickety old ladder in a dress. She balked, at least until Sarah pointed out it was climb the ladder, or stay in the tunnels. After that it was pretty much smooth sailing, thanks to Sarah and Hoggles familiarity with the labyrinth, and it's inhabitants reluctance to mess with their Queen. To Sarah's slight annoyance it wasn't long till they had reached the gates. "Well that was disgustingly easy." she muttered.

(B)

Jareth and Adelle

"There is no art in turning a goddess into a witch, a virgin into a whore, but the opposite operation, to give dignity to what has been scorned, to make the degraded desirable, that calls for art or for character."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Adelle turned to go but Jareth shot to his feet and called after her, "What do you mean by that?" he asked dangerously.

She paused for a moment, one hand resting on the door jamb, then turned to face him.

"You know what I mean Jareth. Your so afraid of what might happen, you won't tell her the truth." A dark look flashed in her eyes, and when she spoke next, there was a dark note of pained bitterness in her voice, "Take it from a 'lonely' person, love is worth the risk of your damned pride."

She turned on her heel, and pulled open the door. Her exit would have been spectacular if not for the frantic goblin that came barreling into the room, nearly colliding with her skirts.

"Your Majesty!" he cried breathlessly.

Jareth gritted his teeth and snarled, "What is it now Scraggle?"

"The wisher! She...she..."

Jareth rolled his eyes in exasperation, "She what?"

"She's in the city!"

"What?" both Jareth and Adelle cried in unison.

"That is impossible." Adelle said. "Unless..."

"What are you doing here then?" Jareth snapped. "Send out the guard!"

"They won't go Majesty!"

"Why not?"

"They won't risk harming the Queen." he ducked his head and mumbled, "Not to mention there still scared of her."

"What did you say?"

"The Queen is with the wisher Majesty..."

Adelle laughed gleefully, "Well what do you know. Looks like you have a small problem 'cuz'."

She turned and left, the sound of her laughter echoing hollowly down the halls.

(B)

Sarah gazed a little nervously up at the metal behemoth that was embedded in the city doors. During her, run of the labyrinth the thing had popped out of the wall and tried its damnedest to kill her. The thing hadn't stood a chance, it ended up having its wiring fried, and, according to Hoggle, had been inoperable for nearly ten years before the King finally had it repaired. Now, it was up and in working order, except... it wasn't. They were nearly through the doors and the thing hadn't so much as flinched.

What was perhaps more disconcerting was that she hadn't even seen any of the guards.

"Something is seriously not right here..." she said softly.

Mary shot her an alarmed glance, but was cut off by Hoggle before she could speak.

"Whadya mean Sarah?"

"The place is deserted, and no one has even tried to stop us. Where are the guards? Why isn't the jolly rust bucket trying to decapitate us with his axe? Isn't Ja... the Goblin King going to do anything to try and stop us?"

Hoggle looked up at her in surprise. "But Your Ma...Sarah, you know how popular you is with the goblins. They ain't gonna do nothin to harm you."

Sarah looked blank for a moment, then realization dawned. "Oh...OH! You mean, they aren't going to try and stop us, because they... are 'fond' of me? Well that's kind of silly..."

"Well yeah, that'n they remembers what youse did the last time too. Took em years to get the place fixed up after that mess!" he said gleefully.

Mary looked back and forth between the two blankly. "You know, I really get the feeling that I'm missing something here. I don't get it."

"What else is new..." Sarah mumbled under her breath.

Hoggle chuckled at Sarah's comment and Mary gave them a baffled look.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. Common, lets just get to the castle and get Betsy back." Sarah said hurriedly as she strode swiftly toward the castle.

(B)

There Is Always A Price

"The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything."

Friedrich Nietzsche

"She is what?" Jareth bellowed.

"The Queen is helping the wisher Your Majesty." Scraggle whispered, his armor shaking.

"Actually, 'The Queen' is right here." Sarah said casually as she strolled into the room, Mary trailing behind her like a wide eyed deer.

"Sarah, this is completely unacceptable!" he snarled. "You cannot 'help!' the runners, it goes against everything you are supposed to be!"

"First of all, I am what I am. I never asked for this gig if you recall. Furthermore, I'm done playing dress-up doll. I'm going to do things my way, and if you don't like it, well its your own damn fault. Should have thought of that before..."

"Wait!" Mary interjected, jaw slack. "Did you say Queen?"

Jareth turned his gaze to the young woman and blinked, slowly.

Sarah who was regrettably used to Mary's unimaginable stupidity simply rolled her eyes and said. "Yeah. I'm the Goblin Queen. Wife of the king of glitter and hairspray. Such is my lot in life."

Jareth shot Sarah an indignant glare, and muttered under his breath.

"But... wait... wife of who?"

"Jareth, the Goblin King. Beloved of revlon, MAC and covergirl. Enamorata of aquanet. He of the spray-paint-pants. The lord of poufy-blouses..."

"Enough!" Jareth bellowed, face livid.

Sarah gave him a smarmy smile. While she would secretly admit that Jareth was the only male she knew who could pull off that look, not only pull it off, in fact he looked pretty damned good in it, that didn't mean that she couldn't ridicule his fashion sense and deliberately drive him up the wall. Ahh...the simple pleasures of life...

"Sarah, this behavior is unacceptable! I wo..."

"Wait... but that means you're the Goblin Queen right?"

Jareth gave Mary an extremely aggrieved look as Sarah winced.

"Umm, yeah... Kind of... technically..."

Jareth turned his look on Sarah before saying, "Yes. She is my wife and Queen, no 'kindof' or technically about it."

Mary seemed to be puzzling this out and after several minutes came up with, "But.. If you're the Queen, why are you helping me?"

Jareth snorted, "Precisely the question I wished to know."

Sarah shrugged, "Because I felt like it... and I would have felt bad if you lost your kid sister. Well, that and I wanted to annoy 'Tina Turner' over here."

Jareth scowled fiercely. "Who precisely is 'Tina Turner'?" Then shaking his head, he held up a hand, "Wait, I do not want to know. Now what the bloody hell do you think your about? Cease this nonsense at once!"

"Fine, we... I mean Mary won anyway so you need to produce her sister and send them home."

"She has not won yet, she still needs to..."

Sarah cut him off and turned to Mary, "Ok tell his 'Royal glitterness' that 'He has no power over you and you can go home."

Mary blinked at her blankly for several minutes before realization dawned, "Ohhh, You have no power over me. Right?"

Jareth cursed as the room rocked around them, and in a blink Mary was gone.

A wave of power hit Sarah like a punch to the gut and she sank into the nearest chair suddenly feeling weak and nauseous.

Sarah's eyes closed and she leaned her head back against the chair, the only sound she could hear was the rushing of blood in her ears. Her skin felt cold and clammy and her stomach threatened to revolt.

Several minutes later, she opened one eye, in deference to her pounding headache, to glare at Jareth. "What the hell was that?" she croaked.

Jareth, who was also sitting in one of the chairs, scowled at her. "Do not look at me in that manner, this is all your doing. Not mine." He sighed, and said, "It is just the backlash of power from the loss."

"Huh?" Sarah mentally kicked herself for her less then intelligent response, then yelped as Jared nipped her ear sharply in protest of her now awkward position.

Jareth the Jerk smiled smugly at her before saying, "It is all very complicated, but to put it in the simplest terms possible...

"When a wish is made, power begins to charge, like..." he paused searching for a metaphor. "Like water poured into a water skin. Power from the wish, power from the person who made the wish, power for the labyrinth, and from those tied to it.

As the thirteenth hour draws near, the power builds, inflating the reservoir until one of two things happens. If we win, the power is released... much like water being gently poured out, filling us with power and essentially charging our resources.

However if we lose, the power does not have that outlet. As the wishers are mortal and unable to channel the power, the reservoir bursts, sending waves of power out in an unrestrained force."

Seeing the look of horror on Sarah's face, he reassured her. "One or two losses are not really enough to damage anything, though the effects can linger for days. However continued losses are exceptionally detrimental. To continue with the water metaphor it's like the waves of a storm crashing against stone, eroding it bit by bit until there is nothing left."

Sarah gave him an appal ed look as her mind raced with concern for the inhabitants of the Labyrinth.

Jareth snorted and rolled his eyes, "As greatly as I am tempted to allow you to wallow in your rather belated concern, I must reassure that one or two losses will have little affect, except to shake the land, and to make the rulers, namely you and myself, rather ill."

Sarah glowered at him, somewhat ineffectually as she was still curled into a ball and holding her head in both hands.

"Oh no you don't! I won't let you pin all of this on me. It's as much your fault as mine."

"And how in the underground did you come to that conclusion?"

"If you had explained all of this in the beginning instead of letting Adelle torture me with corsets and etiquette lessons we wouldn't have this problem. And if you hadn't made me so mad by being such a lying, treacherous snake, I wouldn't have been in the labyrinth in the first place!"

Jareth glowered at her and staggered to his desk, draining Adelle's still full whiskey glass.

"I refuse to get pulled into these childish accusations Sarah. However I will concede that we should have informed you of some of the salient points of your position before allowing you to run amok in the kingdom. Still like it or not Sarah, you are the Queen of this land, and as such there are certain things that will be expected of you. Rules of conduct and..."

Sarah rose unsteadily to her feet, her face still pale and sheened with sweat, her legs still visibly shaking, "Yes, you're right. 'Like it or not.' We are all stuck together. But here is where it gets tricky, oh great Goblin King. It wasn't my choice to come here. It wasn't my choice to marry. It wasn't my to choice to be Queen. You made all of those choices. You've manipulated, tricked, and trapped me from day one. So now, you have to deal with the consequences of your actions."

So saying she made her unsteady way to the door.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jareth demanded, more then a little alarmed.

"You'll see." Sarah said, not bothering to turn around.

He couldn't say quite why, but he felt a frisson of apprehension shoot up his spine as he watched her go.