Okay, here's a perhaps for the Lady Sorrow who gave me lot's of reviews! (One for each chapter) Thanks! :) And all other reviewers! Any reviewers! :) Reviews will be framed and hung on the wall! Okay, I'm not that bad, but I do like reviews.

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Chapter 3. Too Stubborn.

(Of the 'She Lives' part.)

Sarah awoke to the bumbling, bustling movements of the servants. It must be late, she decided, or else they would have crept in and out. She slid one eyelid up and groaned as the grey, cold light hit it. And apart from the servants she could tell she was alone. And from his scent against her skin she could tell that he'd held her through the night.

He was never there when she was awake. But when she slept... It just had to be him. Who else would dare to snuggle up to Sarah in his bed?

The walnut lady was leaning over Sarah. "How do you feel dear?"

"Err, okay."

"And how do you feel about living?"

"I want to live."

The walnut lady nodded in satisfaction. "I am called Tierra. I am the Goblin Cities healer. He was in quite a state when you arrived." She seemed to shake her self, "well, how do you feel about a bath dear?"

Sarah smiled shyly. "Heaven."

After a stiff hobble to the steaming bathtub in the adjacent room Sarah relaxed and flicked the bubbles about. She was squeaky clean and felt so much better for it. When she had climbed out, dried, had her damp hair combed and twisted out of the way and dressed in a loose fitting silk gown with fresh underwear she was feeling superb. She was feed and watered and was eager to get of the castle when she was coaxed out to the gardens for some air.

When she reached them she was very glad. The air was sweet with the scent of flowers, bees buzzed lazily and butterflies kissed and seduced the flowers. It was a lover's garden. It made Sarah feel monumentally sad, but she pushed the thought away. The flowers made up for that. They where bright, bold and proud, it seemed that nothing would get these magical blooms down and dead.

Sarah smiled with that thought. Nothing would get her down, ever again. She couldn't allow it.

She sank gratefully on a bench and Tierra hurried over. "Are you tired?" she asked anxiously.

"A little, but I would like to stay out here." Tierra smiled in understanding, and Sarah was left seemingly alone to muse and wonder at all the strange and wondrous species that where not present Aboveground.

If it weren't for a certain person it might be that she would enjoy living her life here. If that certain person would only respect her... But Sarah knew the price of wistful daydreaming.

She smiled and lulled by the friendly, beautiful nature around her fell asleep.

Jareths' face was expressionless as he watched her fall asleep. His mind and insides hurt, as she was so close and yet so far. So gently he picked her body up and cradled her against his chest, feeling her softness against him. With a heavy sigh he started walking back to... his room.

He could have just translocated them, but walking seemed more appropriate.

He tucked her carefully in bed and stood back, just watching her peaceful face sleep. What could he do to make her love him?

"She already loves you, your majesty." That healer was so damn perceptive.

"Really."

"Really," Tierra told him earnestly, "you're just scaring her, with that temper of yours."

"Now don't tell me to learn self-control..." Jareth growled.

"I wouldn't dream of it. Only you can do that. Perhaps you should explain to her, she is older now, will understand more..."

"And maybe you should mind your own business!"

Tierra sighed and went to fuss over Sarah before leaving them. Sometimes Jareth was too stubborn, for she would never bend first.

***

Sarah came awake slowly, and realised he was staring at her. She opened her eyes slowly and watched him watch her. He was so beautiful and enchanting, he made all of Sarah's senses tingle by just lounging in an ornate carved chair by his canopied four poster bed. She took in his eyes, his mismatched gaze that took in everything with almost frightening intensity. His subtle chest that peeked securely out of his low cut poets shirt with frills a plenty, tight tights that where painted on his lean, long legs with his leather, high heeled boots crossed loosely and conformably at his heels.

On any other man it would have been feminine, yet on Jareth it was utterly masculine without a doubt. He raised his eyebrows at her questioning gaze. "How are you feeling?"

Sarah blinked, surprised at his apparent calm. "Err... fine." She said. "How are you?"

His expression didn't change as he said, "in the best of health."

He was strange that way, the way he could have so many emotions that she could never hope to comprehend, he could change and swing between them in the blink of an eye, or he could be so neutral as to be almost cold stone.

The silence stretched uncomfortably on between then, almost twanging with tenseness and unspoken intents and secretes. Sarah caste about in desperation for something to say. Her groping mind settled on "do you get many people running the Labyrinth?"

Jareth quirked his eyebrows and lips, "more than you would think."

A nice, unspecific answer Sarah growled in the corners of her mind. "Do you get many Goblins that way?"

"More than you would think."

Did he know how infuriating that was? Sarah asked herself, he was either doing it deliberately or just not wanting to talk. Sarah decided that if he wanted to talk he would have to think of questions to ask. She settled back into the bed and sighed. She realised that the sheets had been washed, for his scent was not so strong on them.

He sighed. "And how are you enjoying your stay?" He seemed to grimace at that, expecting the worst.

"I couldn't say, I've been asleep most of the time."

"Yes..." he looked through her.

"I have business to attend to." And he was gone a cloud of sweet glitter settling on his rich, deep rug and dusting the dark chair. Sarah imagined taking him to meet her father and Karen and Karen's face at all the dust and glitter he would leave everywhere. She laughed out loud, hearing her voice and sounds of mirth reverb around the large room.

Feeling very rested she decided to explore the room. Jareths' room, to see if she could decide what her was like from the way his chamber was shaped.

She started with the dresser. Like the rest of the furniture in the room it was large, hard wood lavish piece of furniture. The mirror was gold framed and perfect. The makeup on the top of it was scattered messily and probably expensive. Various bottles where opened and standing around in disarray where he had dumped them. I always thought he would have used magic to do himself up.

Showed she was wrong yet again. With a shrug Sarah had a quick glance in the draws, she didn't want to riffle through in case he noticed. There where various letters, documents and other uninteresting objects.

On his dresser there was nothing, not an ornament or anything. In these draws objects rattled. Various elaborate daggers and knives mingled with some practical looking ones to Sarah's inexperienced eye. Here there was a little white figurine of an owl made form some sort of shiny, hard material that was totally alien to Sarah.

She looked in the last draw. There where pictures. Pencil, paintings, pastel and just sketches, some where of the Labyrinth, some of times and places that Sarah couldn't know, but the majority where of Sarah. When she was running the Labyrinth, when she was dancing with him, after at the party and all the times through her life. Even one of her in the bath. He must have been watching me... Sarah gulped.

It was scary and she didn't know what else it could be. He had been watching her all this time. How dare he? He had invaded her privacy. All those times she had thought she was alone and she hadn't been... Her blood boiled, but what was she to do? What would he do if he found out she knew? What if he was watching her right now? She shuddered and hastily shoved the works of art back into the draw not feeling like snooping anymore.

She turned round and was face to face with boots. Black leather with pointed toes and higher heels than Sarah could balance in. His boots.

I really should have expected that she thought dimly. His toe was tapping impatiently off the floor. Outside the sun dived behind the sanctuary of the clouds

He glared at her haughtily. "What are you doing?" he demanded in an insanely calm voice.
Oh shit.