Disclaimer: All references to the characters Jareth & Sarah and the film Labyrinth belong to Jim Henson Studios and other pertinent parties. I do not claim ownership to the characters and / or the original source material.

A/N: Well, here we are. Last chapter of KQRM. Hope everyone enjoyed the ride! – p.s.

King, Queen, Rook Maze Chapter 26. Check (or Endlessly She Said)

Soft murmurs of cloth and voices filled the empty court hall. Upon her throne, Queen Mab attempted to hide the boredom on her face. She nodded a slight thanks to the server presenting her a goblet of wine while the drone of her minister's voice buzzed in her ear. Taking a sip, she tasted sunshine, laughter, sweetness, and a slight aftertaste of bitterness.

Suddenly, a guard appeared at her elbow. A second and third threw open her court's doors. The herald scrambled down the length of the hall to determine who had dared to interrupt his schedule. Her minister fell silent and stared. All eyes turned to the shadows beyond the open doors. Before long, the rest of the court began to take notice of the Queen's intent emerald eyed stare.

Mab sniffed the air. She smelled mortal… with its telltale tenuous taint of death.

"My queen…" her minister began, but she lifted a single finger to quiet him. Murmurs from the courtiers began as the group made their procession through the hall.

The court's herald led the way, but all eyes were fixed on the mortal woman behind him. Tall, elegant, and imbued with a flurry of uncontrolled dark magic, the mortal dared to keep her chin held high in Mab's court. Dressed in dark green breeches, she wore battle armor of ivory and burnished gold that accentuated her femininity and declared her intentions. Yet she wore no weapon. Her black locks were held firmly in place with a single gold pin. A diadem of ivory that resembled old bone graced her brow.

In the mortal's wake, a masked attendant stayed a single step behind his mistress. Dressed in blacks with a swath of pale blond hair that appeared almost white, the man bore an air of mischief and confidence with a breath of pride. Indeed, Queen Mab found something… familiar about the masked man. She eyed him as they grew closer. His mask, she noted, appeared to be that of a gruesome and disgusting goblin with small horns at the temples. Only his mouth with its thin lips was exposed. When he smirked, she thought she saw a hint of a fanged tooth.

Around her, the courtiers had erupted into protests and exclamations before quieting to murmurs once again. They leaned over the balcony's railings and pressed as close as they dared to get a better view of the strange pair. The group stopped before her dais.

"You may kneel," instructed her herald.

The mortal woman looked down her elegant nose at him with her emerald green eyes. Her attendant merely stood with his hands behind his back. The herald mopped his brow of imaginary sweat.

"It is customary…" he began. The mortal's gaze hardened, and the herald made a quick escape. She turned then to her attendant and nodded her approval. He gave a short bow to his mistress before stepping forward to replace Queen Mab's herald.

"Lady Mab, Queen of the Fae, Eldest of the All-Father, Third Daughter of the Tuatha Dé Danann," he began addressing her. He turned to her courtiers and opened his arms in a dramatic gesture of oration to grab their attention. "And her court of nobles – comtes & comtesses, marquesses and marquises, barons and baronesses, earls, lords, and ladies and ministers."

At this, the masked attendant smiled and gave the courtiers a slight, mocking bow. The courtiers stiffened as he turned on his heel to address Queen Mab once again. She felt a shiver run up her spine. The voice was all too familiar. The crooked smile reminiscent of another…

"May I present the Lady Sarah," he continued. "Child of Eve, Eldest Daughter of the Clan Williams."

The courtiers relaxed slightly.

"Champion of the Labyrinth, Die Königin der Kobolde, Regina Labyrinthī Est, Queen of the Goblins, and Queen of the Labyrinth."

The courtiers bristled like cats. The subtle distinction of her title – not as Lady of the Labyrinth but as Queen – created sent rumors flurrying for the far reaches of the kingdom. Queen Mab raised an eyebrow. Her brother had only been Lord… by his own declaration. What made this doomed mortal woman a Queen? The masked attendant waited for the court to still, but his mischievous mask lent to his impish nature.

"She has come to negotiate a treaty of amnesty between her kingdom and the Fae," continued the masked attendant. "And to express her condolences over the loss of Goblin King."

Queen Mab shifted in her chair uneasily. Her courtiers stopped their murmuring. The hall grew deathly quiet. Her gaze locked on this imposter queen, this Death-stained child of Eve. Cold green eyes stared back her. Magic swarmed in those mortal eyes, and Queen Mab suppressed the urge to lunge forward to attack this "Lady" Sarah. She had felt something deep within her blood; some so familial that she had ached all over moons ago. Then it had disappeared as suddenly as it had came upon her. She hadn't thought of that pain until this moment. Her family's magical blood ran deep. Had she simply ignored her brother's passing? She glanced at the attendant who looked unnervingly Fae with a bearing of a king.

"My thanks… For I had not known my brother had passed," she said addressing the attendant first. "May I ask what happened to him?"

Sarah caught the Queen of the Fae's gaze with a shift of her stance. Queen Mab met her gaze for moment, but the whirlpool of human emotion, so raw and rich, made her look away. When she heard the mortal woman speak, she almost didn't believe it. Almost. Yet the words rang true.

"The King of the Goblins died of a broken heart."

Queen Mab shuddered. Fae were not meant to love. Was that the pain she had felt not long ago? Opening her eyes (when had she closed them?), she stared at the stained spot on the skirt of her diaphanous gown. How did that get there? Lightly, she touched the single wet spot. Something cold wrapped around her, and she steeled herself as she dared to meet the mortal's gaze once again.

"What are your terms?"

Behind the willow branches gently swaying in the wind, no one saw the pair magically appear from thin air. The man shuddered and paled for he had been drained physically by the ordeal, but also because he realized how much he had changed. The woman shivered as if a cool breeze had brushed against her hot skin, but she seemed more excited than afraid. A chorus of birds chirped merrily in the garden around the willow tree. The man appreciated his lover's choice of spot for returning to the castle. While he admired Sarah's choice of location, he also noted the distinct lack of goblin guard presence. A memory from the recesses of his mind tickled his brain, and he looked down at his somber Queen.

"Well done," the man breathed in a tone of admiration. "You are starting to get the hang of being a Queen."

"Thank you?" she responded with a note of uncertainty. Then she smiled at her own awkwardness. Her cheeks were flushed. "It was… terrifying, more terrifying than standing on stage naked for the first time."

"Ah, but you are a performer and at a Fae court, it's all about the drama," he replied smoothly. Reaching behind his head, he began to untie the mask, but with his gloved hands, he had difficulty.

"Here, let me," his queen breathed and approached. With deft fingers, she untied the straps and pulled the black leather mask of a goblin from his face. She frowned slightly and placed her bare hand on his sallow cheek. "You still look unwell."

"In time, I will heal," he muttered closing his eyes and basking in the warmth of magic from her hand. How he longed for it - that touch, that comfort, that affection, that warmth of familiarity. He felt hollow on the inside as if a hard metal spoon had scraped out his insides. Yet something seemed to fill him whenever she was near or touched him. Calming and soothing, her presence quelled the storm of confusion buffeting the walls of his hollow core. He couldn't bear the thought of being without her for an extended length of time. "Do you have to go, love?"

"I do. I'm sorry," she whispered. "I promise to return in three days. I simply need… I need time to set things right Above Ground."

"And then?"

"I will stay."

He sighed and pulled her into an embrace. He let his brow rest on her shoulder and he inhaled the smell of her dressed in soft leathers and cottons. Her bare hand brushed through his mane of pale hair. They stood there silently, the soft sway of the willow branches stilled as the summer breeze died.

"Why did you bring me back?" he asked into the bare hollow of her neck. With a gloved hand, he tugged at the single pin holding her raven hair up. He had always preferred it down.

"Because I needed you," she breathed as he began to slowly nip at her neck.

"I want to hear them," he whispered. There was a tone of desperation to his demand. "Say them so I may be sustained in your absence."

His Sarah chuckled lightly. "You dare to command your Queen?"

"I dare more than that." He dipped his hand in her hair and drew her into a languid kiss. When they parted, he gave her that lopsided grin with his pointed canines.

"You were always the rebel…"

"And relentless, and mischievous, and you may add moody and devious as well." He kissed the corner of her mouth. "Would you expect less from the once fearsome Goblin King?"

"No, but I am your Queen," she replied. He closed his eyes and shivered as the words resonated through him. The truth, the power, the weight fell through him to his heels and back up again. He was Jareth, not quite whole but he was alive and well. In his arms was his Queen, his Champion, the mortal woman he had loved for so long. He had won… and lost just as she had. She moved then and her lips were on his cheek. A trail of tender kisses led to his pointed ear and down his neck with each title and description she murmured against his skin.

"You are Jareth mac Manannán mac Lir, Child of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the former King of the Goblins and the First Lord of the Labyrinth now free of its burden. You were split in two, my King and my Rook. You were made whole again by my command. You are now my counselor, my tutor, my confidant. You are my lord and love-"

Jareth could take no more. His lips found her ruby ones, and he felt her relax even more into his embrace. After several moments, she pulled away and breathed the words he so longed to hear from her lips. Underneath the willow tree, only the pair knew what was said between them. Beyond the swaying branches, the sun began to slowly sink to the horizon, and twilight began to creep from the shadows of the Labyrinth.

A/A/N: If you aren't satisfied with this ending, there will be an epilogue/sequel of sorts coming soon.