It only took Rhys and his followers a few moments to recover themselves and jump back to their feet.

Jareth and Eluned were buffeted on either side by guests and nobles rushing for the exits. It seemed there were few willing to stand and fight beside their king. Rhys waved his hand and another shockwave shook the room. Kendryck stumbled to the floor, but the others kept their feet. Despite the cut from the flying glass, Jareth stood tall and straight, every inch a king.

Kendryck looked at Jareth with surprise. He did not move, but gave no indication that he planned to enter the fray. Rionach had begun to back away slowly. Jareth turned slightly to look at Eluned. "You might as well go for cover now and stay safe."

"Not a chance," she said quietly, but calmly peeling her sparkling silver gloves from her arms."

He looked frustrated, but turned back to his enemy. One of the men with Rhys, a stocky man with red hair had conjured a line of flames between them. Jareth cocked his head to the side. "How adorable." With a wave, he extinguished the flames.

He watched, amused as the man began to form a ball of fire between his palms. He reached back to hurl the flames at Jareth. Before it could leave his hands, a bolt of lightning screamed past his vision. The man crumpled into a smoking heap. Eyes wide he looked back again, towards Eluned's outstretched arm.

"You have been holding back!" he called, brushing away the blood dripping from his forehead.

"Not much call for lightning magic as a housekeeper!"

At that, Jareth threw back his head and laughed, a full, deep laugh that seemed to begin at his toes. He had forgotten how much he loved the heat of battle… almost as much as games and trickery. This was how he had won his throne in the first place. He conjured one of his crystal orbs and threw it at a petite brunette at Rhys' side. It exploded in a ball of sparks that threw her back against the wall and singed one side of Rhys' clothing.

Already, Rhys' remaining companions were beginning to back away. It was clear from the looks on their faces that they did not plan on encountering competition anything like this. Wide eyed, Rhys raised his hands in supplication. As Jareth took a step towards him a wicked bolt of blue lightning struck Rhys in the chest. He fell to the floor, twitching. Jareth looked back at Eluned with a glance that was full of many things: surprise, respect and heat.

He paced calmly to Rhys' spasming form. His companions stood as if frozen. "You came here expecting to find a weak monarch and a kingdom for the taking. Such a disappointment to find me instead, I am sure. Now, I have a bog I would rather like you to make the acquaintance of." With a snap, the ragtag group had disappeared.

Jareth walked to his father, his boots crunching against the broken glass and rubble. Kneeling down he said, conversationally, "Father, you should have told me you were useless and your threat nonexistent. Not to worry. I have protected your kingdom for you."

Kendryck pressed a hand to his bleeding arm, staring past Jareth, saying nothing.

Eluned could not help but smile as she stood still, her power still humming through her.

"Now," Jareth announced, rising to his feet again, "since it seems all my pageantry is no longer necessary, I believe Eluned and I shall take our leave. I believe we have much to discuss." He tucked her arm tightly against his and in a blink they were gone.

When she opened her eyes, it was easy to see that they were in the empty throne room of Jareth's castle. He stood, braced in the window, silhouetted by a brilliant red sunset. Eluned was no longer dressed in the extravagant ball gown, but a simple dress in a soft fabric and a long, warm cloak.

Jareth turned around then. "You are cold," he said quietly, and waving his hand a roaring fire sprung up in the empty pit in the middle of the room. He sighed. "Months ago, I would have given all of this up, just to be with Sarah."

Her lips were oddly numb when she responded. "You still love her, don't you?"

He sighed again and turned back toward the window as her heart shattered into a million pieces. She had turned away, moving silently towards the door when he finally spoke.

"No man wants to admit he has been a fool."

Eluned stopped, not daring to move. She could feel the heat of him behind her. With a finger on her cheek, he turned her gently to face him.

"I should have seen you centuries ago." He turned with her to the window and gestured to the Labyrinth beyond the castle, glowing red in the sunset. "I could have had all this and more than I ever could have dreamed. And so can you, if you will just choose me."

"Of course I choose you," she said. "I came to you when I had no one else, didn't I?"

"You know," he said, reaching beneath her cloak to take her fingers in his hand and casting her a sidelong glance, "I'm completely irredeemable. I will never be the fairy tale prince." He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her fingertips.

Eluned laughed lightly and held up her opposite hand, letting the lightning dance across her fingertips. "I think that will be alright. I have found I rather have a taste for something a little more forceful than those weakling princes. Who needs a prince when I can have a Goblin King?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know, I am rather disappointed that my father's little uprising was ended so easily and with such little bloodshed. A full battle with you at my side could have been such fun. How do you feel about putting down the goblin revolt?" He pulled her close then, laying his lips gently against hers. He felt her smile beneath his kiss. "You are right," he whispered against her, "later."

With a laugh that promised many dark and devious deeds to come, Jareth swept Eluned into his arms and in a blink the throne room was again empty.

The End

**Huge thanks to all of you who stuck with me! I got a lot of heat for not making this a Jareth/Sarah story, but for my first ever fic I wanted to explore something new. I hope you enjoyed it!**