A/N: So, I had this story knocking at my brain for awhile now. Please let me know if you'd like me to continue it. I still plan to regularly update my other stories in progress. Review please! They make me so happy, I update sooner.

Disclaimer: The parts in italics in this chapter are taken directly from the script and married to the novel by A.C.H. Smith. I don't own either.

The High King paced his chambers frantically. When his court had presented him with his latest challenge, he had thought them mad. He had been married for over a thousand years to a woman he loved deeply. She had only left him to join the Underworld one hundred years ago. He wasn't ready to take another wife. Unfortunately, the counsel had other ideas. He couldn't keep ruling alone. He needed a Queen by his side.

Who in the hell could he get to be his Queen? He was attracted to all numbers of female Fae, but none of them seemed fit to rule beside him. He only had one more month to find a wife and a new High Queen. If he couldn't, the duties would fall to his son and then the problem of finding a new Queen would be left to him. He loved his eldest son and didn't want his problems to affect him.

As he paced, a new face appeared before him. She was a young mortal that showed considerable courage, strength of character, and fire. As beautiful as she was inside, she was equally gorgeous physically. He tried to remember her name. Sharon? No! Susan? No! Stacey? No! No! No! Suddenly, it came to him. Sarah. Sarah Williams. The young girl had to be nearing twenty five years. It had been at least a decade Aboveground since she had run the Labyrinth. As a mortal, she would keep the boredom at bay. Mortals were so delightfully unpredictable. Unlike most of the Fae women he had had the pleasure to know.

"Gallagher," he shouted. The servant appeared within mere moments. "Go Above and find a mortal by the name of Sarah Williams. This crystal holds information on her last known whereabouts and a picture of her from when she ran the Labyrinth. As soon as you find her, come and tell me at once."

"Yes, sire," Gallagher replied. He disappeared into a cloud of gold and silver glitter.

The High King sat at his desk and eagerly awaited the return of his servant.

Sarah was at her friend Amy's house. They were sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and talking about Sarah's latest break-up. Amy looked at her friend and sighed. The woman before her was beautiful, kind, and successful. She was an accomplished journalist and had traveled throughout the world for her stories. This included some of the most dangerous places on earth. Unfortunately, when it came to men, Sarah became a timid girl.

"Kevin was a piece of shit," Amy said. "You deserved so much better."

"I guess so," Sarah conceded.

"You guess so?" Amy asked, incredulous. "Sarah! Why would you think you deserved the things that man did to you? He cheated on you girl!"

"I know," Sarah replied. "But I didn't give him what he wanted. He had to find it somewhere."

"What?" Amy cried. "You can't be serious Sarah! That is the most ludicrous thing I've heard you say."

Sarah lowered her eyes in thought. Was her friend right? She suddenly looked at the pretty redhead before her. The expression on her delicate face was almost frightening. She and Amy had been friends since junior year in high school. Amy was the only person to whom she had ever told the story of her time in the Labyrinth. When she didn't run, Sarah knew that this girl was worth keeping in her life. They had gone to college together and celebrated each little victory they had achieved: Amy's loss of her virginity, Sarah's first journalistic assignment overseas, Amy's engagement to Thomas, Sarah's first award, and on and on. Sarah knew what her friend was thinking, almost before Amy did.

"I know," Sarah said finally. "You're right."

"Damn right I am," Amy agreed. "You just need to keep looking."

"I'm tired of looking," Sarah replied. "The man I want doesn't want anything to do with me."

"You can't keep waiting for Jareth," Amy scolded. "You have to grab life and snatch up your own happiness."

"I know," Sarah replied. She thought back to the Goblin King. At first, she thought of him as nothing but an enemy. Gradually, though, she came to see him for what he really was. A man, nothing more. He may have been a King, but really, all he wanted was to be loved. She had rejected him. The story was true. The Goblin King had fallen in love with her and had offered her a crystal containing her dreams. Unfortunately, she had been too young to understand what that had meant. All she could think of was her little brother and the mistake she had made. She couldn't see the man behind the façade. The man who had become exhausted of living up to her expectations.

Jareth was waiting for her with his arms folded. She advanced upon him. "Give me the child," she said.

He paused before answering. "Sarah - beware. I have been generous up until now, but I can be cruel."

"Generous!" She advanced another step. "What have you done that was generous?"

"Everything. Everything that you wanted I have done." He took a pace back, into the shadow of the archway. "You asked that the child be taken. I took him. You cowered before me. I was frightening."

Taking another step away from her, he gestured in the air. "I have reordered time," he told her. The thirteen-hour clock had appeared, floating above his head. Its hands were whirling around. "I have turned the world upside down."

Sarah continued to advance upon him, her arms outreached. He retreated deeper into the shadows.

"And I have done it all for you," he said with a shake of his head. "I am exhausted from living up to your expectations of me. Isn't that generous?

Sarah's lips were parted. "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City For my will is as strong as yours and my -"

"Stop!" Jareth raised the palm of his hand to her. "Wait! Look, Sarah. Look what I'm offering you." He raised his left arm and made a large gesture with his hand. A glowing crystal ball appeared in it. He spun it around in his fingers, smiled wanly, and said, "Your dreams."

Sarah took another step.

"- and my kingdom as great -"

The stairs behind Jareth were descending now, and he backed slowly down them as Sarah stood above him. "I ask for so little," he said, spinning the crystal. "Just let me rule you and you can have everything you want."

She was frowning, and had halted her advance. "... and my kingdom as great ...," she said. "Damn! I can never remember that line." Sarah's fists were clenched white. She was thinking frantically. What were her right words?

Jareth took a step toward her. He needed her belief in him. "Just fear me, love me," he told her in a gentle voice, "do as I say, and I will be your slave." He stretched his hand out toward her, and took another step back up the stairs. Jareth's fingers were close to Sarah's face.

She stood where she was, and swallowed. "Kingdom as great ...," she muttered, " ... kingdom as great ..." She saw the crystal spinning in his fingers, and felt on her lips the warmth of his outstretched hand. She gasped, and, from some inspired recess of her mind, the words came out, blurted out.

"You have no power over me."

A waving hand brought Sarah back to the present.

"Earth to Sarah," Amy was saying.

"Huh?" Sarah replied, sheepishly.

"Damn it!" Amy exclaimed. "You were thinking of that pompous, arrogant, King again weren't you. You have to give him up Sarah."

"I know," Sarah responded. "It's not that easy."

"Nothing ever is," Amy advised. "You have to just put him out of your mind and move on. Find a nice guy. Settle down. You can't keep waiting for a man who will never come. It's been ten years Sarah. If he was going to come for you, he would have. For all you know, he's found someone else and has kids of his own now."

Sarah visibly flinched at that. A tear ran down her cheek. She hadn't thought of that possibility. Amy was right. She had to move on. Amy saw how upset she was and steered the conversation into more pleasant areas. The girls chatted for over an hour. Neither had noticed the face in the window watching them with a smile.

Gallagher had found Lady Sarah and was happy to return to his own realm. The Aboveground was a scary place. He immediately went to the High King's chambers. There, he found the man sitting at his desk and writing a letter. The King looked up as Gallagher stepped into the room.

"What did you find?" he asked.

"I found the Lady, Your Majesty," Gallagher replied. "She is at a friend's house."

"Take me to her," the High King commanded.

"Yes, sire," he replied. The servant took a hold of the High King's arm and the two transported to outside the house.

The High King was not naïve on the ways of mortal courtship. He knew he could not just take Sarah back to the Underground with him. He'd have to court her as a mortal, sweep her off her feet, and return with her before his time was up. He waved his hand over his body and his appearance changed substantially. His normally long black hair was short and styled in one of the current styles for male Humans. His Fae markings on his face had disappeared, as did his sharp teeth and pointed ears. The clothing he wore were modern jeans and a stylish button up shirt. His knee-high boots transformed into low black boots.

The High King turned to see Sarah and her friend walking out the door and down the street. He cloaked himself so that he would be invisible and started following them. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Gallagher. The two women appeared to be walking into a heavily congested part of the city. They walked into, what appeared to be, some kind of club. Loud music was playing within. A block away, he uncloaked himself and walked up to the window. He conjured up some Human money and paid the cover charge. Another Mortal stamped his hand.

Walking into the club, the High King tried to find Sarah and her friend. It wasn't long before he spotted them at the bar. He was in luck. There was an empty seat next to her. He swiftly walked over to it and sat down. He ignored the looks he was getting from other women in the room. His Fae charm was sometimes hard to tone down. After a moment, he ordered a cocktail and turned to the object of his desire. She was looking in her purse for something.

"Is there something I can help you with Miss?" he asked.

"I seem to have misplaced my pen," she said without looking at him.

"Here," he said, conjuring a pen and slipping it over to her. She took it and looked up at him for the first time.

Sarah had rarely been struck speechless. This was one of those times. The man in front of her was breathtakingly handsome. With trembling fingers, she passed the pen to Amy. Her friend looked at her and then looked at the reason for her sudden silence. She smirked and whispered something into Sarah's ear, causing the dark haired girl to blush fiercely.

A slow song came over the speakers and the High King rose. He offered her his hand and she, with just a moment of hesitation, took it. He led her out onto the dance floor and they began to dance closely.

"Who are you?" Sarah asked.

"My name is Ryan," he said, gazing into her emerald eyes with his crystal blue ones.

"I'm Sarah," she replied. "I've never seen you here before."

"I just got into town," he said.

"That would explain it," she laughed. "Are you staying with someone? Maybe I know them."

"I'm staying at a local hotel," he replied.

"Oh," she said. "You look familiar to me somehow. Are you sure we've never met?"

"Quite," he replied. "I would remember a face as beautiful as yours."

Sarah blushed and buried her face in his shoulder. They stayed like that until the dance was done. Ryan walked Sarah back to the bar and he bought her a drink. They spent the next two hours there, just talking. Finally, Amy got up to leave. She looked to Sarah, expecting her to leave with her. Sarah was so deep in conversation, that she didn't notice her friend had stood.

Ryan looked at Amy and realized that it must be getting late. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm keeping you."

Sarah looked up at Amy and sighed. "I guess I'd better be going," she said.

"May I walk you two home?" he asked. "It is getting rather dark."

Sarah looked at Amy with pleading eyes. Amy giggled and said, "Sure Romeo"

The three of them got up and left the club. As they walked, they continued to talk. Sarah felt as if she had known Ryan all her life. He was just so familiar to her, but she couldn't place it. When they got back to Amy's house, the redhead went inside. Sarah nervously looked into Ryan's eyes. He pulled her hand to him and turned it palm up. Out of nowhere, he grabbed a pen and wrote his name and a number on her hand. She looked at it in wonder. He put his hand on her cheek and pulled her face close to his. She shut her eyes and waited for his lips to touch hers. He didn't disappoint her. The kiss was gentle and sweet. He ended it much earlier than he wanted to, but it was important not to push too far at their first meeting.

Sarah opened her eyes and watched him walk away slowly. She smiled as she looked at her hand. Finally, she turned and walked into the house.

Neither of them had noticed the white barn owl, watching the scene from a tree outside of Amy's house.

But what no one knew, especially not the High King, was that the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with the girl.