A.N.- I've updated, finally lol. I've never used quotes for any of my chapters before, but it seemed appropriate now. If Jareth and Sarah were portraying any of Shakespeare's characters, I think Benedict and Beatrice would be at the top. I'm debating whether to up the rating on this story, since there's some sexual overtones, but I guess that will depend on if the trend continues. Thanks to all who have been following so far!

Shakespeare Might Have Been Onto Something

"For which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?" - William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

Sarah stood outside the throne room, fuming. The goblin guards weren't letting her in, despite the fact that she'd claimed it was an urgent matter. They'd simply said it was past the time when the king was receiving petitions. She'd argued with them, but they weren't budging, even when she promised them treats. It was then that she realized something; the king wasn't even IN the throne room. These goblins were a diversion. So, she pretended that she'd given up, telling the goblins she would return in the morning. As soon as she was out of sight, she slipped into a side hallway, and began to search for Jareth. She imagined that he, being a vain man, would have the best room in the castle, and probably it would be on the top floor. She climbed stairs fot what felt like an hour, until she reached a small hallway with two doors. One set of doors was wider than the other. She marched straight up to them and while common sense was trying to tell her to knock first, she ignored her instincts and manners to let herself in. The room was dark, save a sliver of moonlight which shown on a massive bed where it was obvious a figure was currently on.

Sarah gulped, suddenly wondering if this was a bad idea. Would she be bogged for coming in without permission? But the anger came back and stole her reason. She strode up to the bed and said loudly, "I didn't think a king would resort to hiding after such a childish display of bad manners!"

She didn't know what she expected, but it certainly wasn't the swiftness Jareth displayed when he whipped the sheets up, grabbed her in his arms, and drug her into the bed with him. Sarah was aware of two things at once, as her anger fizzled into new emotions. One, she was trapped in the arms of a magical being. Two, said arms were devoid of any clothing...as was the rest of him. She wasn't sure if she was thankful for the darkness rendering her blind of the sight of him or not, but she could feel the muscles on his chest and his heartbeat quickening under her touch. "Why Sarah, if I'd known you'd go to such tactics just to get into my room, I'd hide from you constantly," he crooned.

His breath so close to her was causing a strange reaction within her, making heat pool in her belly. She fought her inner self, allowing some of the anger to return. "You're avoiding me," she accused him. "And after that display at my house, I'm not sure I'm entirely willing to forgive you. You wmbarrassed me in front of my friends, for no reason other than you felt put out that I had people over!" She started to wiggle, in order to free herself from his grasp.

"I would stop squirming, if I were you, Precious. Unless you want to become more intimate."

She had no idea what he was talking about, until she felt something hard and warm pressing against her thigh. Instantly, she stiffened, yet at the same time, her heart was going a mile a minute. She'd never been this close to a man before, and certainly had never been in bed with one. She understood the semantics, of course, having been subjected to Sex Ed in school, and had even been given "The Talk" by her father and Karen (an excruciating experience). But the reality was something far different, and added to that, the fact that Jareth was so much more than a regular man, her body was starting to go haywire. Out of panic, she said, "You're ignoring my complaint!"

He huffed, part in annoyance, part in amusement, as he realized it was too soon for him to press his suit. He let her go and answered, "I apologize, for acting in such a way and distressing you to the point that you had to seek me out. I was simply wishing to spend time with you alone, to get to know you better."

"Annnd?" She prompted, getting out of the bed, putting some distance between her and the naked Goblin King.

"And, I may have been too hasty, letting my emotions get the better of me. However, I still don't like Higgle being at your house."

"Hoggle. And why do you hate him so much? I thought he was your advisor before switching to Head of Market."

"You kissed him," Jareth responded without hesitation, a pout in his voice.

Unbidden, a laugh erupted from Sarah. "Seriously, that's why you practically tossed us into the bog?!" Even in the dark, she could see his scowl, so she forced herself to calm down. "Look, it didn't mean I wanted to date him or anything. I mean, I can't even imagine-," she shook her head, trying to rid herself of unwanted images. "The point is, you were acting like a complete jerk most of the time while I was running your Labyrinth. Do you not know how to treat a woman or something?"

"I assure you, I know how to please a woman," he purred. "I had to follow the rules with you, and the rules wouldn't let me 'break character', you could say. You wanted a villain you had to vanquish, and I gave that to you."

"Well, I'm not expecting you to be a villain now, so I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't act like one."

"I will do my best, Precious. Now, you'd better run back home, before I change my mind and show you just what villainous ideas I can enact upon you."

The cowardly side of her was urging her to run, but she had never backed down from a challenge before. "By the way, I'd like to invite you to dinner this week, when you're free. Just send a message the day beforehand so I can prepare, please." With that, she bent down and kissed his cheek, then skurried out before he could react.

Once back home, she entered to find her friends still there, thankfully. "I'm really sorry, guys. I'll make it up to you by announcing that we can stay up as late as you want."

Her friends glanced at each other, then Sir Didymus asked, "I'm confused, my Lady. When you left, you seemed quite upset. Yet, you return with a smile on your face. What happened?"

"Someone was acting like a fool, and I was able to get my point across to them, is all."

"These were dropped off shortly before you got back, very mysreriouslu, I might add," Hoggle said, suspicion in his voice.

Sarah saw the orchids Jareth had held in his hand earlier. Curious, she went over to look at them, and spotted a card hidden in the stems. Opening it, she read, Very clever, Precious. Rest assured, you won't be able to get away so quickly next time. I'll be over for dinner as you requested two nights from now. Better prepare yourself. - Jareth

Sarah's smile grew. This would prove interesting indeed.