Suddenly Kimberley felt the whoosh as time rewound, the world spinning as though moving backwards until she fell with a flop onto her bed.

Lifting her head up she saw a dazed (and younger than her normal self) looking Sarah on the floor, Seth crawling beside her, crying insanely.

“SETH!” She called and rolled of her bed before crawling to him, hugging him fiercely. “Oh God Seth! I’m so sorry!”

Kimberley apologised over, and over, and over, until his cries softened to sniffles and he soon lay on her chest asleep. She debated weather to put him in his cot - or even ever let him down - until she hared Sarah groan from the floor and rushed to her, Seth still clutched to her body. “Sarah? Granny S? You okay?”

“I-I think so.” Sarah answered and carefully stood up with the help of the bed before sitting back on it. “Whoa, what just happened?”

“Seth was kidnapped, I ran the labyrinth, made some friends, realised a few known and unknown fears, made a connection with the king of the Goblins - you know my thing for bad guys!” Kimberley rambled off and pouted to her friend. “We got out at the skin of out teeth, just before I agreed to sell my soul to the devil.”

“You’d have gone through with it though.” Sarah reprimanded her and lent over for a hug. “And please, we all knew you were going to fall for him but Kimberley, but I don’t think that man can show emotion.”

“Oh he can.” Kimberley laughed and held Seth closer, if it were possible. “In the ballroom, he was-, as the spell broke I had a few seconds before I let him know. He was unguarded, naked in my gaze. He looked like he, like he really wanted me to-- and in the stair room! When I agreed to stay with him, his eyes were screaming in happiness, like that was all he wanted.”

“No Kimberley, you’ve got it wrong.” Sarah denied and grabbed her right hand. “Jareth-, Jareth only cares about his own goals. You think he’s a bad guy because no one loves him, because no one will give a chance to see what’s behind his mask but you have to understand - he has no mask, he is truly evil and will take any chance he can get to hurt those around him.”

“But he didn’t kidnap Sheila.” Kimberley pointed out and stood up, not wanting to hear this. “And he never hurt Seth!”

Sarah stood up too. “He planned on turning him into a goblin!”

“No he wasn’t!” Kimberley denied. “But we worked out an arrangement--”

“Which was?”

“If I defeated his Labyrinth, Seth and I got leave. But if I failed I could have to take his place.”

“And you expected him to keep it?” Sarah asked incredulously. “Kimbo, he’s a fiend, a monster! He’s not even human!”

“But he made a vow, and he doesn’t break his vows!”

“How do you know that?”

“I just do!”

“Yeah, then why isn’t he coming for you now, you were going to swap yourself for Seth in the Escher room, remember? You were about to shake hands.” Sarah pointed out and Kimberley sat down on a chair with another thump, glaring into the wall.

“Before that I said if I lost he would trade me in Seths place.” Kimberley reminded, and waited for her friend to blow up, again.

She was not disappointed.

“Why would you do that?!”

“I don’t know! Maybe it was the fact I could save my son from becoming a slave or next in line to that- that evil place! Maybe it was because I--” She broke off, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter - I just know that he isn’t as bad as you say, people change--”

“He isn’t a person.” Sarah all but growled out. “Don’t you think I’ve been through this, thinking that just because he has a pretty face he’s misunderstood, that living in that horrid world has just disillusioned himself from the goodness within his heart? Kimberley wake up and smell the sewers here; ..!”

“GET OUT!” Kimberley screamed, jerking Seth awake, who began crying. “Just get out!”

“It’s my house!” Sarah snorted in disbelief.

“I’m renting it from you! Just, just leave okay; I’ll call you tomorrow when we’re both calmer.” Kimberley ground out, pointing to the door. “I-I’ll call you in the morning.”

Sarah nodded stiffly then left, but not before throwing a glance back at Kimberley, a girl she considers a daughter, before closing the door softly and calling for a taxi.

The next morning finds Kimberley on a chair next to Seths crib, one hand in his, the other resting on the bars with her head resting on it. Kimberley muttered something and turned a bit before carrying on sleeping, her dreams plagued with dead ends and sexy devils.

Slowly the crystal that she had been carrying this whole time rolled in a circle before spinning faster and faster, rising in the air, creating a wind.

With a soft ‘pop’ the crystal exploded, sending glitter everywhere, showering little Seth, startling him awake. As he looked around, he noticed his mother resting beside him, and the man from yesterday standing beside her, a hand running through her hair, untangling it with his magic.

A hand rested on his head and soon he fell asleep, dreaming on playing horsie on a Goblins back as it ran round a circle in a throne room.

With the child under a sleeping spell - the only spell he would cast against a babe that was not to be turned to a Goblin - Jareth ran his left hand through Kimberley’s tangled hair, making it tame and un knotted with a simple spell.

Closing his eyes, he focused himself into becoming one with the air in the room, before falling deeper into Kimberley’s mind.

Opening his eyes, he found himself in the ballroom once again, but this time there was only he and Kimberley present. The music had long since gone, and the cleaners had left; Kimberley was completing the job - up righting chairs, stacking things, cleaning up glass before pulling a chair near the stage and sitting on it with a sigh.

Her revealing dark blue dress caught in the light as small diamonds reflected on the soft light, the low cut showing her pale freckled skin. As he lowered himself into a chair beside her, she turned to look at him.

“Jareth?”

“Kimberley.”

With an extended arm, he asked her silently to dance and she accepted, slipping her small-gloved hand into his own-gloved one before both of them stood, came together and started swaying to the non-existent music.

“Are you truly evil?” She asked, her head resting on his broad chest.

“I’m not human.” He answered, twirling her around then back to him.

“That doesn’t prove anything.” She replied and looked to him.

They stopped moving. Jareth chuckled as he felt her searching his eyes for the truth.

“What does being non human have to do with anything?” “I am as evil as the day I was born.”

Kimberley shook her head, braking the gaze in order to look at her shoes. “Lots of humans are evil and lots of non humans too, but there are nice, non evil non humans, same as nice non evil humans.”

Jareth placed a hand under her chin and raised her head and eyes to meet his. “Where would you class me?”

Kimberley blushed. “I-I don’t know.”

She stepped back and the light brightened, before pulling her chair over to sit on it. “I mean, you kidnapped Seth to get revenge on a woman who was of no relation to me, you made me confront all my fears, used my hopes, aspirations and past judgments against me, but, you did it out of l-love.”

He noted, again, that she faltered at the ‘L’ word, before nodding. “How do you see that?”

“L-Love is an emotion for all sentinel beings, not just humans. I can make us do some crazy stuff.” She shrugged and played with her gloved fingertips.

“Like sell your soul to the devil to save your only son.”

Her eyes flew up to meet his and he chuckled.

“No, you haven’t. Half a chime later and you would have been mine.” He added and licked his lips, watching as hers parted and formed and ‘O’ shape.

“Wo-would you-” She stopped to clear her throat. “Would you want me to?”

‘Would you want me?’ rang in both their minds. Jareth merely smiled before restarting their dance.

“If you ever want to see me again, just use my crystal.” He stated after they danced for what seemed hours. “I also want to give you this.”

‘This’ was a small ring that would fit her pinkie finger, 21 small silver balls on the black band and a silver barrier etched on either side.

“Use this as a reminder.” Jareth told her and Kimberley’s eyes turned to his. “Upon your twenty first birthday you will return to my world once again, but this time as a guest, but then you will have to choose: my world, or yours.”

With that, he faded out, but not until Kimberley kissed his cheek and whispered ‘thank you’.

In the real world, Kimberley awoke to Seths soft breathing and smiled to herself; believing at a dream - until she saw the ring on her finger.

To everyone who has added this their there alerts and myself to their author alerts, thank you!

There will be a sequel in a few weeks, promising more interaction between our heroine and favourite King.