I know...it's been forever...god-I feel awful. :( I do however state that I have had A LOT of crap going on in my life, aside from moving, going to school full-time, working, and having family drama. I have however been very busy with this story, and my artwork for it and outlining are making tons of progress. I am hoping to update soon. (that however is relative to me lol) But I have never stopped working on this story and will see it finished. I am actually really excited for what the next chapter is going to bring to the table. In the next chapter you will be meeting most of Jareth's family and getting more information about why he has been cursed. This chapter is a little long in the tooth, but necessary for the development of my plot. It's actually one of the longest chapters I've ever written-go figure. However like I've said, bear with me, I hope to update again within a month or so. Thanks for all you love!

Chapter Eleven

Jareth reappeared in his throne room, pacing in an agitated manner, snarling viciously at anyone who dared to approach him.

How dare she?! She had been the one to make that ridiculous deal! Didn't she understand?! How could he keep her safe if she remained unclaimed—slaves were considered disposable, replaceable objects at best…as his mistress she had his name and a protected station to keep her safe from unwanted advances. No one would dare insult a king by trying to steal his mistress away, but as a slave it was unlikely that he would be able to curry enough favor with the High Court to justify keeping her if that troll tried to rape her again. The last time he had tried to plead his case to the Court it had resulted in some rather nasty and lasting consequences.

Jareth grimaced at the reminder of the unpleasant memories, before retreating back into his thoughts.

That ungrateful spoiled child had the audacity to throw his generosity back in his face. She would yield to him, he would MAKE her, perhaps then she would understand that she was better off in her new position, in his bed. He had been generous til' now yet still she continued to try his forbearance.*

The exhausted king sunk onto the throne, sighing as he ran a hand across his face. He was unused to having to deal with women in his home let alone a mortal one. And Sarah was unlike any woman he had ever met. She was beautiful to be sure, but it was the spark in her spirit that was most attractive to him. She may cower from him when he intentionally terrorized her, but underneath her fear was an unmistakable spark of fire and determination—there were no other women that he had ever met that challenged him the way she did, especially knowing what he was capable of and being completely at his mercy. She was a sassy little thing with a compassionate heart. All of these things drew him to her, despite the walls surrounding his heart, her warmth still managed to penetrate through to his own chilled soul. He cared. Ogmios1 give him strength, but he actually cared about her.

He dropped his head into his hands, things had most assuredly not gone according to his plan. Unquestionably there had to be some way to resolve this before either of them tried to kill the other.

A nearby goblin startled the king out of his morbid thoughts when he collided with a rack of spears hanging on the wall, sending them all tumbling to the ground in a loud clatter. He glanced around noting that he had been gone from his chambers and her for quite some time. Slowly he rose straightening his shoulders as he transported himself back into his solar.

He looked around for Sarah, spotting her sitting expressionlessly on his bed staring blankly at the wall.

"Sarah?" he asked trying to draw her attention, something was different.

She tilted her head in acknowledgement but said nothing.

Disliking her stoicism he strode over to where she was seated and sat down next to her, hoping to see her jump at his proximity, only to be disappointed at her lack of response.

He continued to stare at her waiting for her to say something, do anything. Quickly becoming annoyed with her continued ignorance of him he decided to test this unusual response, or there lack of. He purposefully leaned forward, pushing Sarah back onto the sheets by her shoulders. Once again Sarah complied without hesitation or reaction, piquing his curiosity further. Gently reaching forward and brushing her hair away from her face and neck, he leaned forward running his lips across his new mark that graced her skin, moving his way toward her pulse point. As his lips met her pulse point he noted her accelerated heartbeat, but she still did not respond to his attentions.

Slowly he crawled over her, he began to kiss her throat more ardently, lavishing it with attention, trying to derive a response from her. He wanted to see that fire in her eyes—not the lifelessness that was now present in them, his frustration only building at her continued silence.

Abruptly he pulled back up into her face, only to see her head turned away, her eyes clenched shut as tears streamed down her face, her teeth biting into her lower lip, a small trickle of blood trailing down her chin as she reopened the split lip she had received the previous day.

He had never felt more like the villainous Goblin King than in that moment.

"Oh Precious…" he whispered softly stroking her cheek with his index finger, unable to stop himself from touching her completely.

As if his whispered words where the key, a tortured sob escaped her lips. She quickly pressed them together, trying to stifle her emotions, but it was too late, and Jareth had already seen it, her pain…

It was at that moment that the Goblin King knew, his caring for her went much deeper than he had suspected. Of course he longed to have her in his bed, but he wanted MORE…to what depth this new affection reached, he was uncertain, but he knew wanted her to enjoy, to relish their coupling, not cringe—forcing herself to endure his touch. And he understood in that moment that if he took her now, he would be no better than that troll, who had been ready to rape her to satisfy his own selfish desires. While he was certain he could insure that she found pleasure, it would still be forced upon her unwillingly. Disgusted with himself, he jerked away from her and stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Sarah's eyes flew open at the sound of the door slamming shut, she quickly sat up looking around the room, her shoulders sagging in relief at the apparent absence of a certain Goblin King.

Cautiously she edged her way off the bed, walking towards the large mirror located in the corner of the room. Staring at her reflection she slowly brought her hand up to her neck, fighting back a flinch at the moisture and tenderness of her throat. She took a ragged breath as she tried to slow her breathing, her panic beginning to subside. His touch had done more than scare her, it had taken everything she possessed to not vocalize her moans when he had begun to kiss her neck. Shame colored her face as she thought of her body's unwanted reactions, how her body had responded to him, she hoped he hadn't noticed the way she had started to lean into his touch.

But more than that questions were running through her mind;

Why had he stopped? Was this some sort of game to him? Was he going to come back and try this again? She cringed at that last thought, she slowly made her way back across the room, sinking down onto the bed, fighting back a whimper as she brought her knees up to her chest and rocked back and forth trying to calm herself. How long was this torture going to last? And how was she going to manage to keep her body from responding to him if he should try to seduce her again?

Jareth released a snarl as he hurtled his goblet against the wall. This was intolerable! He needed to—

A clock chiming interrupted his thoughts, alerting him to the time, the sun was about to set. Sighing in defeat he opened the library's window and flew off into the night. His screech of irritation echoing into the air.

Sarah blinked glancing around the room, it was dark, how long had she been zoning out for? Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that it had been quite some time since her last meal. Carefully she rose from where she had been resting, she stretched languidly, yawning as she did so. Cautiously making her way towards the door, deciding to leave before the Goblin King changed his mind and returned for her.

She reached for the door handle and tugged, only to find that it still remained firmly shut. Panic and frustration began to weigh in on her as she futilely pulled the ornate door handle. Her zealous tugging was interrupted by a muffled voice scolding her,

"Oi! What do you think yer doin'?"

Sarah jumped back releasing the handle in surprise, searching for the source of the voice, "W-What?" she asked unable to keep the confusion out of her question.

"Down here!" retorted the voice indignantly.

Glancing down she was shocked to see an ornate brass face on the door handle frowning at her. "Excuse me?" Caught completely off guard she was unable to keep from flinching as she was subjected to the door handle's scathing glare. Where the hell was she? Lewis Carroll's Wonderland? Every time she thought she was finally getting a handle on this place, haha, she found herself suddenly turned on her head all over again.

"I asked you what you think yer doin' girlie?" scoffed the annoyed doorknob.

"Leaving…why can't I open the door?" asked Sarah placing her hand against the heavy door in defeat.

"Only the King can make me open or close my door." Sniffed the handle proudly.

"Only the King?" whispered Sarah, horrified at the prospect of being trapped in the room indefinitely.

"Yer a funny one you are. Makin' me repeat meself…not very polite...I must say…don't know what the he sees in you." Muttered the knob annoyed.

"I'm sorry?" Sarah questioned even more uncertain than she had been minutes before.

"As you ought to be!" reprimanded the voice.

"Why only the King?" she asked puzzled.

"He is the KING, I hafta do what he wants." Grumbled the door handle.

"Does that mean you can open the door if you want to?" asked Sarah.

"I s'pouse so." Replied the door handle gruffly.

"Then will you please let me out?" asked Sarah kneeling down so that she was eye to eye with the face.

"…no one's ever bothered askin' before. Alright girlie, there you go." Grunted the doorknob.

Sarah remained kneeling there as she heard a distinct click as the door swung slightly towards her. Slowly standing, she quickly pulled it the rest of the way open and anxiously stepped through.

"Oh thank you!" gushed Sarah turning around to look back at the door.

"Was no trouble…" mumbled the door handle as the door started to close.

"Wait!" she cried.

The door froze at her order.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Locs girlie…" answered the handle.

"Thank you Locs." Smiling briefly as she gazed at the door, before turning back around to rush down the nearby staircase, the embarrassed door handle's grumbling following after her.

As she approached another set of doors she found herself hesitating for a moment. This was an unfamiliar part of the castle and the doors before her led to rooms unknown, anyone or anything could be waiting for her, and she did not particularly relish the idea of another encounter with anymore royalty. Quietly she tip-toed towards the door gently easing it open, listening for sounds, quickly stepping through the door when nothing met her ears. She spotted the opposing door across the room and rushed towards it when something caught her eye. Looking towards the unusual sight, her interest was piqued by the sight of a large rectangular shape draped in burgundy fabric. Walking over towards it slowly Sarah pulled the material off, surprised when she was greeted by her own reflection.

She stared at herself for a moment taking in the new mark that now graced her throat, the crescent like shape with its inner swirls would almost be beautiful, if not for the fact that it branded her a whore. She grimaced in distaste as her fingers brushed across the brand, it felt cool to the touch, cooler than the rest of her skin, startled, she pulled her shirt lower exposing the skin above her breast surprised to see the previous Celtic knot gone. She felt the skin of the where the mark had rested and it felt smooth, untouched.

Adjusting her shirt back into place she focused on the mirror and found herself running her hand caressingly up and down the intricate carvings depicting flowers that surrounded the glass. After a few minutes of studying the impressive artistry that went into the frame's creation she was getting ready to throw the cloth back over the large ornate mirror when something in the background of the mirror caught her attention. Staring hard into the depths of the glass, she tried to look for movement, some small part of her hoping it had been a figment of her imagination, when all of the sudden her reflection disappeared altogether, instead in its place was the reflection of Jareth's bedroom. Focusing on the room Sarah found herself blushing as she noticed the entwining figures on the bed, unable to help herself from taking a closer look she gasped as she recognized the impressive figure of none other than the Goblin King as he hovered over someone who was running their hands up his chest and to tangle them in his hair, drawing his head down for a kiss. Glancing away she forced herself to take a deep breath, grabbing the heavy material, preparing to toss it over the intimate images when she was stopped in her tracks, her attention riveted to the brand upon the woman's collar bone. Surely it wasn't…there was no way, it just wasn't possible. Feeling unexpected heat curl in the pit of her stomach, she took in the scene, noticing for the first time the features of the woman reflected back to her were none other than her own. Drawing in a shaking breath, she stared as the two figured rolled so that the woman now lay astride the king, undulating her hips in time with the man below her as he slide his hands up her sides gently caressing her skin as they moved together. Blinking several times she suddenly found her own reflection staring back at her once more.

Uncertain of what had just happened…if it had happened? Sarah found herself forcefully throwing the cloth back over the mirror, smoothing it out across the large frame, before she hastily continued on her way out of the room, unable to completely silence the little voice in her mind that asked her if being his mistress was really such a terrible thing.

Hurrying down the hallway as if being chased by her thoughts Sarah finally began to recognize the tapestries covering the walls. Sighing in relief at the familiar sight she was struck by the silence that pervaded the castle. It was eerie, normally rambunctious goblins were found throughout the chambers regardless of the hour. Drunken singing and laughing had turned into reassuring sounds that she had begun to assume were always present. Taking a quick look around she noticed the door way that led to the throne room. At least she knew she would be able to get back to her room now, without ending up turned around.

Hustling down the hallway she kept a look out for any goblins, but none showed themselves, nor any amorous royalty. Grateful for the small mercies Sarah rushed into her rooms bolting the door shut behind her.

Releasing a breath Sarah stretched fighting off a yawn and the hunger pains that were making themselves known to her stomach, wincing as she felt her injured lip reopen. When faced with the prospect of going to bed hungry or risking unwanted advances she decided to cut her losses and simply deal with her hunger. Slipping into her bathing room, it wasn't long before she was bathed and changed into her comfortable sleepwear.

Exhausted, yet unable to relax Sarah wandered out onto her balcony, taking deep breaths of the cool fresh breeze as it played with her hair. Staring off into the night, she fought off all the new fears she would now face in this world that was so very different from her own. Here she was considered a commodity, something that was completely expendable…ready to be tossed away whenever someone was done using her. The Goblin King had gone back on his word, she wanted to deny it, but his betrayal had hurt more than the stupid Troll Prince's hand… She had wanted so hard to believe he would keep his promise, because part of her, a part that she didn't want to even acknowledge existed had started to like him…he was attractive, persistent…seductive. And she had fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker…was that how he saw her? Some young mortal "girl", completely besotted and gullible, a piece of chattel to be used for breeding.

Shaking her head in disgust, Sarah slumped down against the railing, her shoulders hunched forward as she rested her head against the cool stone, silently berating herself for her foolishness.

Suddenly her thoughts and self-abuse were interrupted by the flapping of wings. Her head shot up in surprise at the sight of her little owl friend perching himself on the railing next to her arms, quirking it's head to the side inquisitively.

"Hello again…" she whispered, softly stroking his breast feathers in greeting.

Not bothering to respond the owl nudged her fingers with its beak, waiting until she turned her hand over uncertainly before dropping something into it.

Closing her hand in reflex Sarah was surprised to find a beautiful, delicate flower resting against her palm. She carefully picked the blossom up and brought it to her nose inhaling the exotic fragrance, trying to associate it with something from her own world. The closest she could get was that it reminded her of the violets her Grandmother used to grow.

"It's wonderful thank you." She grinned tucking it into her hair, before resuming her petting of the bird. The owl silently stared at her, only bothering to nibble on her fingers when she stopped her stroking.

She found it hard to explain, but she found it oddly comforting to stand there with the owl, no words being spoken, no need to pretend, the only sounds were the occasional stirs of the plants below caused by the wind. For how long either of them remained one could not say, but as the sky began to lighten with the warning of the coming morning the owl took flight, disappearing. In a trance like state Sarah wandered back into her room before crawling into bed, unable to fight her eyelids as they closed, shutting out the breaking dawn, the flower still firmly tucked behind her ear. It was the first time since being in the Underground that she dreamt of home and her Grandmother's garden.

Jareth landed on his balcony, quietly glancing around for any signs of the girl, only to be confused when he noticed her presence was absent. Concerned for her safety, he strode over to his "guard" and demanded an explanation, "Where is she Locs?"

"Where is who yer Majesty?" yawned the doorknob as he blinked up at the angry monarch.

"The girl that was in my rooms." Snarled the Goblin King angrily.

"Oh the girlie, she asked me to let er' out so's I did." If door handles could shrug this one would have been shrugging.

"Why Locs?" Jareth could feel a headache descending as tried to puzzle out the motivations behind his normally stubborn and vigilant guard dog.

"Cuz' she asked yer majesty…no one ever bothers to ask…" griped the doorknob.

Jareth stood there dumbfounded. Because she had asked?! Even his furniture was no longer safe from the charms of Sarah evidently. All she had to do was bat her eyelashes and everything seem to cave to her whims. He fought back the snarky voice that reminded him that he was no different.

Part of him wanted to be furious with her, she had intentionally defied him once again, and yet there was a part of him that had to admire the gumption this one small mortal possessed, that she was willing to even go against a king. Beginning to question his own sanity Jareth shook himself of the thoughts penetrating his normally focused mind, he quickly changed his clothes and stepped from the room, storming towards the healer's chambers, strangely anxious to check on the condition of the goblin who had tried to protect Sarah from the prince.

"Good morning your Majesty." Liam's greeting pulling his mind from all thoughts of Sarah.

"Liam, how has the young goblin fared?" he asked distractedly looking at his hands, trying to downplay his own concern that one of his subjects had been injured so brutally by a visiting "guest".

"Ah the young one known as Neats, I believe your mistress called him?" unable to keep the curiosity from his voice completely, after all the king had never taken a mistress before. Surely there must be something special about this young girl for his lord to lay claim to her.

"Yes, I'm afraid Sarah has grown rather fond of him and given that young Neats recently faced down a cave troll for her, I'm inclined to think he returns her affections." Shrugged the Goblin King nonchalantly.

"I should certainly say, considering the number of injuries he sustained, he must care quite a bit for your—er, Sarah…" the healer nodded in agreement with the King's assessment.

"He will make a full recovery then?" Jareth pushed, needing clarity of the prognosis.

"I see no reason he should not, but out of curiosity where did this young goblin come into contact with a cave troll? They rarely venture past the Labyrinth and I have never heard of one daring to enter Goblin City." asked the healer, a befuddled expression upon his face.

"Unfortunately he had a brush with the prince in the Goblin Market." Sneered the King.

"I have heard that Prince Lutge is not known for keeping an even temper." Soothed the gnome as he gazed at the snarl that graced his monarch's face.

"Indeed. That princeling needs a lesson in manners, heaven forbid he allow his temper to rule him when he ascends to the throne. It could lead to war." The Goblin King said thoughtfully as he marched towards the doorway.

"Thank you Liam, I shall relay the good news to Sarah, I'm sure she shall be much relieved."

"Yes, of course, give your mistress my best." Liam called out, hoping for a form of confirmation in his own way.

"Good day." Rejoined the King allowing the door to slam shut behind him.

Jareth fought back a sigh, he still had a tedious day of entertaining a self-centered prince. Hopefully however by the end of the meeting they could part with the treaty renewed. He snorted indignantly to himself, not bloody likely. The cave troll prince lacked the finesse to deal with politics, he was too selfish, and a king had to be willing to make the sacrifices for their people. The prince was a spoiled little brat that he would rather bog than eat with.

Fighting back his irritation Jareth strode toward the banquet halls only to stop in disgust as he found the prince and his guard already shoveling food into their mouths. Struggling to hold back the comments that were on the tip of his tongue, about just how lacking the prince was, he moved into the room pretending ignorance of the prince's faux pas—should the troll become defensive the negotiations would be even more difficult to conduct.

"I trust you slept well?" he chose to ask instead, tugging his gloves more firmly onto his hands.

"I would have slept better with a lush body pressed against me last night, it was rather cool after all." Sneered Lutge, food flying out of his mouth as he spoke.

"Your discomfort is unfortunate, I however found no issue with the evening's temperature, I thought it quite warm." Replied Jareth grinning lasciviously, while tossing himself into the chair at the head of the table, nonchalantly glancing over at the silent troll. "Let's agree to disagree, shall we?"

"Very well…" ground out Lutge begrudgingly, releasing a rather large belch while jerking out of his chair, goblets spilling their contents with the jarring motion.

Unperturbed by this Jareth sighed and rose, before gesturing back towards the prince to follow as he passed through the door and down the hall towards his study.

Comfortably situating himself behind his desk, he sat with his hands loosely folded in front of him, waiting for the troll to take the seat across from him before beginning.

"I am certain that you must have many duties to fulfill, as do I, and have no desire to waste precious time volleying back and forth over inconsequential niceties, therefore I propose we cut to the heart of the matter so that you and I may be able to return to our affairs as soon as possible." Stated Jareth, lazily motioning with his hand to summon the treaty to appear before them.

"As you wish Goblin King." Retorted the prince, leaning back in his already creaking chair, resting his entwined hands over his bulging stomach.

Ignoring the troll's lack of manners Jareth placed the treaty down on his desk, preparing to go over the contents, "The treaty was established some four hundred years ago, by your father and myself for unification in protection from the Darklands, in the event that either kingdom comes under siege, the other would be obligated to render assistance. The treaty goes further to include trade rights and land boundaries, and has been mutually beneficial to our people to maintain this amicability as much as possible.

Your father passing these duties onto you suggests that you are soon to become the sovereign…his failing health will only permit him to uphold his position for a continued short amount of time. He has been a wise and kind ruler for your people, I am confident in his choice as appointing you as the heir apparent, and that you will continue forth in a manner befitting of the throne. You are of course, welcome to read through the treaty and see if there are things you believe to be more advantageous and will discuss them." said the Goblin King nonchalantly.

Jareth sat back in his chair, posture relaxing. Hopefully this prince was not as stupid as he looked. The treaty had been a benefit to both kingdoms, helping to establish trade routes and promoting peace between the two kingdoms. If this prince thought it was no longer necessary…it could lead to war. He fought back a grimace at that thought. Thus far the prince's ego had ruled his actions, Jareth could only wait to see if level headedness prevailed here. He watched carefully as the troll read through the treaty, eyes scanning it back and forth. An indeterminable amount of time later the troll tossed the treaty back onto the desk, a scowl upon his face.

"Is there something the matter?" asked Jareth perplexed.

"No, where do I need to sign?" sighed the prince, eyes dropping back to the scroll on the desk.

"We don't sign with ink your highness. This is a magically binding document, if one party should fail to uphold their end of the agreement there is a price to be paid." The king informed the prince, pulling out a small pen knife from his drawer.

The troll said nothing in response, only pulled his lips into a firmer straight line, silently relaying his displeasure to the ruling monarch.

Jareth pulled his glove off, tossing it on the desk, before bringing the small knife up to his hand, using it to draw a thin line of blood from his palm. Gently setting the knife down he allowed the blood to drip onto the bottom of the parchment. He quickly pulled his glove back on and cleaned the knife off before turning the handle towards the prince across from him.

The troll hesitantly repeated the gesture and submitted his wound to the same treatment. Before their eyes the "signatures" glowed, the scroll itself floating up from the desk and vanishing from the room.

Both seemed to relax back into their seats for a moment, before the prince silently rose, "It is growing late and I must begin my journey home. There is much I need to do. Thank you for your hospitality, your majesty." Lutge stated, making a slight bow in Jareth's direction before turning and swiftly leaving the room.

The Goblin King sat there somewhat stunned by the prince's polite behavior. That was in fact the first time since arriving that he had afforded Jareth the proper treatment according to his station. Shaking off the strangely docile behavior he stood, vanishing from the room in the same manner as the scroll.

A/N:

If you are interested in viewing the artwork I've got thus far for the story the link is

_kibasgirl4ever_.deviantart_ (no underscores)