The Williams family couldn't believe it.

There was a line.

The previous night, after Jareth had left, her parents had convinced her call Kevin, and compile a list of all the teenager's names that might be willing to come forward and help put a stop to Lacey's terrorism. By the end of the conversation, he'd given her twelve names, and the promise that he and Nina would call and talk to a few of the more reluctant ones.

Apparently, word had spread.

Fast.

As Sarah stood with her parents, she counted no less than twenty families waiting in line to speak with either the principal or the vice principal, with more steadily trickling in.

"Oh, my…" Karen murmured.

"Sarah!" Nina called from a little further up in the line.

The Williams family turned as one.

"Nina?" Robert asked.

Smiling, the girl separated from her mother's side to approach her friend's family.

"Hi, Mr. Williams!" She chirped. "Decided to come join the party?"

Robert and Karen were staring around at the large gathering in shock.

"Are all these people…" Karen trailed off.

Nina glanced back to the crowd before grinning sheepishly. "Oh, don't worry too much about all of them. At least eight of these guys are here for the same reason I am."

"And what reason is that?" Robert asked.

"Well, you know how we have a science fair coming up?" She asked, as Robert looked confused and Karen nodded. "Yeah, Mike Greyson saw Lacey come in yesterday and trash the room that was holding all the projects. These guys are all the science fair kids and their parents. They're basically here to demand that the fair be pushed back a month or two. I doubt there's going to be much of a fight on the issue, considering that none of the projects are in working condition."

Sarah looked worried. "Does that mean your project got-"

"Not exactly," Nina cut off. "I have all the programming for it backed up, and most of the interior mechanics are fine, but the stand and the outer portions are completely scrapped."

"So, then you've got about a week of repair work." Sarah guessed.

Her friend nodded. "About that, to be honest, I really got lucky. I heard that Leena Adams-"

"That girl that showed Lacey up in Mr. Clancy's class?" Sarah asked.

"The same," Nina confirmed. "I heard, her project completely bit the dust. Mike said everything else that got junked was probably collateral damage, you know? Like it was just done to cover up what she really came in for."

"That's terrible!" Karen exclaimed.

The two girls jumped, briefly having forgot the adults were there.

"Has this girl been doing this all year?" Sarah's father asked.

Nina and Sarah glanced between each other before shrugging.

"Pretty much." Sarah answered, "But since no one believed anyone when they said anything against Lacey, we've all kind of adopted a 'better you than me' attitude about the whole thing."

Robert frowned. "Well, that's stopping today."

Taking his wife's hand, the two adults took their place in the line.

Nina eyed the mass of parents before gently tugging Sarah a little further down the hall.

"I didn't want to say anything earlier," she whispered, "but there's a rumor going around that the reason no one has done anything about Lacey is because her uncle is the superintendent of our school system."

Sarah looked up at her sharply. "Do you think it's possible?"

Nina shrugged. "At this point, I think it makes a lot of sense. I mean, when has Ms. Lynn ever just shrugged off an 'accident?' Before Lacey, all the teachers were pretty fair about how they did things, but when she came… things changed in an awful hurry."

"That's not good," Sarah frowned. "If he's been covering for her since the beginning of the school year, then that means that as soon as he hears about this, he's going to give the Jeanes' a heads up."

The other girl sighed, looking a bit lost. "I guess we just have to hope they call the cops first."

Sarah nodded, but she could see in her friend's eyes that she had the same feeling - it was a vain hope.

-0-

Sarah shifted uncomfortably as she sat in one of the chairs that had hastily been put out in the hall, her ribs objecting quite thoroughly to the less-than-ideal seating. Nina and her mother had gone home forty minutes earlier and her own parents were just about to head in.

So far, 'The Line', as she and Nina had dubbed it, hadn't really changed in length. Whenever one family would finally leave, another would turn up, dragging a reluctant teen behind them.

"Do you mind if I go for a walk?" Sarah spoke up. "I'm starting to get stiff just sitting here."

Her father frowned slightly, but nodded. "Alright, but stay in the building. I want you close by in case your principal needs to take a look at that arm."

"Fine by me," She agreed, standing.

Giving herself a minute to adjust to her new position, Sarah turned and wandered off.

Taking the halls at random, with no real destination in mind, Sarah felt her eyes widen in surprise, when she came across Marcus Black, the student Lacey had gotten suspended at the beginning of the year. He was standing outside of the art room, studying one of the bulletin boards when Sarah approached him.

"Marcus?" She called softly, and the boy jumped.

Turning, he smiled when he spotted her. "Sarah? What are you doing here? Did the principal call you in too?"

Sarah shook her head, returning his smile sheepishly. "I'm sort of the reason everyone is getting called."

"You?" He asked. "But why-"

Sarah pulled back her sleeve and held up her arm, displaying the bandages wrapped securely around her forearm. "You kind of got lucky when Lacey got you suspended."

Marcus stared are her arm in horrified fascination. "She did that?"

"In the middle of art class," She confirmed. "She even scared everyone at my table into vouching for her."

The teen shook his head in wonder, completely speechless.

"So, does this mean you're going to be able to come back soon?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, with all the people coming forward, all the teachers are going over Lacey's stories with a fine tooth comb. Once she gone, I… should…" Marcus trailed off, his eyes wide.

"Already planning the victory party, Marcus?"

Sarah felt the blood drain out of her face as she went white.

"And what about you, Williams?" Lacey asked, coming up behind Sarah and draping herself affectionately over her shoulders. "Are you going to be happy when I'm gone?"

Sarah felt herself tremble.

Marcus' eyes hardened. "You're already in trouble, Lacey. What do you think you're doing, coming here?"

Lacey's smile was coy, and touch mischievous. "Oh, this and that. You know," she said, reaching under her coat to pull out something at the base of her back, "tying up loose ends and such."

Marcus' hand suddenly darted forward and grabbed the front of Sarah's sweatshirt, yanking her to him and briefly sending Lacey off balance as he all but dragged her down the hall.

Sensing the urgency, Sarah quickly got her feet under her, and began to keep pace as they started to run down the hall.

"Marcus, what's going-"

A shot rang out, and the jock dropped.

Sarah faltered as she turned back, her eyes widening at the pool of blood that was gathering under the boy.

"Run!" He rasped, trying to bring himself back to his feet.

Sarah quickly took several steps back, as she looked up, trying to keep track of Lacey. Her stomach dropped to her feet as she saw the other girl already leveling the gun at her with cold eyes.

"No…" She breathed.

An enraged hiss broke the silence, and Sarah wasted no time. Rather than stand there like an idiot, she turned and fled, rushing away from her with terror-fueled swiftness. Moments later, Lacey shrieked and her shot went wild, giving Sarah enough time to reach the end of the hall and skid around the corner.

As Sarah ran for one of the side exits, she caught the barest flickers of shadows out of the corner of her eye, her mind racing as she realized what she was seeing. "Send someone to help, Marcus," She begged them. "Please!"

There was a sound of claws scratching along tile, as something came to a sudden stop and darted back down the hall.

Sarah quickly turned her attention back to the corridors as she raced for the exit, praying she'd be quick enough. The door came into sight, and just as she broke through, another shot whizzed by her head.

The door slammed shut behind her with a resounding bang as she ran down the sidewalk and toward the town. Spotting a side alley, she quickly darted through and out the other side, searching for places to lose her pursuer. She twisted and wove through the alleys and side passages, darting out onto the streets for the cover of people, and trying very hard not to panic as she heard the scuffing and cursing of her hunter - always behind her and just out of sight.

Jareth's gift warmed eagerly around her wrist, reminding her that she still had options.

Yeah, she thought sourly, options I can't use with this many people around. What was I thinking coming into the town with this many people out?

But she knew why she'd headed for the town. While Jareth's gift was a good weapon against a pissed off girl with a baseball bat, its effectiveness lessened when paired against a gun. Lacey could fire her weapon faster than Sarah could remove a crystal and throw it, there was no way she could face the other girl head-to-head.

Catching sight of the supermarket, Sarah shot for the automatic doors, seeing a flash of blonde hair and a familiar coat as she passed inside. Sarah never faltered as she ran for the dairy section. Just because she couldn't use the protections Jareth had left her didn't mean she was helpless.

Sarah's grin was positively wicked as she skidded to a stop in front of the refrigerator with the eggs.

She'd always wondered what it would be like to egg someone.

Snatching up a dozen of the Jumbos she immediately opened the carton and got ready.

Sure enough, a couple minutes later, Lacey came stalking around the corner, and Sarah let the unborn chicken fly. Something like surprise flickered across Lacey's face as the first one splattered against her left shoulder. Then the second caught the edge of her forehead, and her expression darkened.

Keeping a hold of the carton, Sarah bolted toward the other side of the store just as a display exploded behind her, the sound of the gun shot sending the other patrons skittering for cover.

Immediately, Sarah headed for the service doors, knowing that the loading dock in the back would be open.

Intuition suddenly had Sarah throwing herself to the ground, another shot rocketing through the area she'd previously been standing. Quickly she pushed herself back to her feet and rushed through the swinging doors.

The area in back was lined with massive shelves, pallets of product sitting in their places waiting to be sold. Sarah heard the door behind her swing open and swiftly turned, chucking another egg and nailing Lacey in the chest as she stepped through.

The other girl glanced down at the mess with mild distaste, just as Sarah darted away.

"This is getting old, Bambi." Lacey called out, calmly heading in the same direction Sarah had run.

Sarah's breathing was coming out in sharp ragged pants, her damaged ribs making it painful to breathe. Glancing around, she finally spotted the loading dock.

"Finally." She wheezed.

Peeking over her shoulder, she smirked and quickly cracked open her remaining eggs and dropped their centers over the concrete floor. Let Lacey come after her, she was ready.

Once again, Sarah waited for the other girl to find her, poised to leap off the edge of the dock, and once again, Lacey came stalking around the corner without looking.

"Who's the bitch now, Lacey!" Sarah hollered, and the other girl sneered as she brought up the gun… and promptly slipped on an egg yolk.

Laughing, Sarah quickly leapt off the dock and shot down and out of the alley.

Lacey hissed in obvious pain as she tried to get up, only to once again slip on another egg. The blonde pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes as she glared at the area Sarah had previously been occupying.

Playtime, she decided, was now over.

-0-

Sarah was kneeling behind a dumpster a few alleys down from the supermarket, desperately trying to catch her breath.

It was only now, with the adrenalin beginning to fade from her system, that she was able to really feel what all the running and twisting was doing to her body. It hurt, and that brought home the fact that she wasn't going to be able to keep running for much longer.

Suddenly, there was a crunch of booted feet stepping into her alley, followed by a call of, "Where are you, Bambi?"

Sarah wanted to be sick.

Didn't this girl ever quit?

Gathering her feet under her, Sarah readied herself to make another run, when she felt something crawl up her arm. Freezing, she turned her head just enough to glance out of the corner of her eye at the creature currently resting on her shoulder.

She'd expected a goblin.

What she got, was a white ferret with a pretty tan colored face.

Sarah blinked at it in mild confusion. Was this someone's pet?

Another crunch, quickly brought her attention back to the crisis at hand. Lacey was closer now, and judging by the shadow on the far wall, Sarah had the sinking suspicion that the other girl was now too close to flat out run from. Peeking cautiously around the dumpster, she watched as Lacey scanned the alleyway just over her head.

Brushing one of the crystals loose from her gift, Sarah silently got ready.

Without warning, Lacey suddenly turned back toward the mouth of the alley, focusing on something Sarah couldn't see. Quickly spotting her chance, she threw the crystal at her tormentor's feet and took off, swiftly snatching up the tiny weasel as she went.

Lacey screamed at the sudden burst of fire that licked up at her jeans and coat, instinctively flinching back from the heat.

Racing down the alley, a bullet suddenly bit into the wall to Sarah's right. Chips of brick exploded outward, leaving shallow cuts where they struck her. Sarah quickly ducked, and tried to shield the little ferret from the worst of the debris.

Reaching the other end of the side street, Sarah once again managed to elude Lacey as she immersed herself in the busy crowds of Main Street.

It took a lot for Sarah to purposely slow herself down to match the pace of the last minute Christmas shoppers. Their hurried steps were not nearly as fast as Sarah wanted to move. She shivered as the cold bit through her thin sweat shirt, making her miss the coat she'd left at her school all the more. Turning her head, she scooped her furry companion off her shoulder and tucked her into her sweatshirt, trying to keep it warm with her body heat, and was rather surprised as it rebelled. Scrabbling up the inside of her shirt, it slipped out the neck and perched itself back on her shoulder, tugging on the hair by her temple.

Sarah flinched and scowled at the little thing. "Try to keep you warm, and this is the thanks I get? Fine, stay cold," she chastised, and the ferret narrowed it's own beady eyes, seeming to scowl back at her.

Sarah blinked. Yep, definitely scowling at her.

Satisfied that it had her attention, the small ferret eyed her insistently as it pointed to a small shop a few doors down.

She stared at the animal in disbelief.

That was not normal.

"Over there?" Sarah asked softly, jerking her head at the shop in question.

The small ferret bobbed it's body up and down in an odd parody of a nod.

Sarah briefly cast her eyes heavenward, before veering over to the tiny store and walking in.

"Merry Christmas!" The sales clerk called from beneath her register, unseen.

Sarah raised her hand in greeting just as the ferret leaped from her shoulder and out of the rising woman's sight. Cocking her head to one side in amusement, Sarah trailed after it as it covertly scurried across the floor to a darkened hall in the back. There it stopped, and scratched at a door marked, 'restroom'.

"You have got to be kidding me." Sarah muttered.

The ferret looked up at her inquisitively.

"You better not have brought me here just to help you take a bathroom break." She whispered fiercely to it.

The little animal gave her a dry look, before scratching at the door again.

Sighing, Sarah opened the door and followed the tiny creature in.

By the time Sarah located the light switch and locked the door, her new friend had calmly seated itself on the bathroom sink, pointedly looking between her and the mirror.

Seeing her reflection in the looking-glass immediately had Sarah wishing he was with her, and without thought, she reached out and touched the mirror his name falling from her lips.

"Jareth…"

-0-

Something was wrong.

It slid across his senses like a blade at his throat, the very air around him seemingly holding its breath.

It was so very still.

Snarling, Jareth paced the length of his throne room, unseen ethereal threads reaching out around him to try and pinpoint the threat.

"Damn it!" He suddenly growled.

Frustrated, he created a crystal and hurled it angrily at one of the stone walls.

It never shattered.

"Such a temper," the Ancient fae reprimanded, holding the crystal firmly in one hand. "Are tantrums your usual method of coping with difficulties?"

Jareth whirled on the elder fae, power coiling around him like an enraged snake.

"How did you get in here?" He hissed. No one should have been able to get into the castle without him knowing.

"The same way I get into most places," he answered evasively. "Not that it has any bearing on my reason for being here."

"Who are you?" Jareth demanded.

The old fae narrowed his eyes, his lips pressing into a thin line at the Goblin King's tone. "Cathal," he answered. "Lord Cathal. Once of The Falls."

It was the wrong answer.

The elder's eyes went wide as power slammed into him, forcing the older fae to brace himself against the onslaught.

"I had thought The Falls was through with their games." Jareth snarled. "As soon as I get you out of here, you can tell my father that if he tries this again, I'll send him a curse worse than what the unicorns gave him!"

The Ancient fae's eyes widened briefly at the proclamation before he growled and, with a mighty heave, turned the power back around towards its owner.

Stunned disbelief flickered across Jareth's face, moments before he was bodily slammed against one of the stone walls of his throne room, his prone form crumpling at its base.

The old fae huffed as he walked over to the defeated body of the Goblin King.

"I've got news for you, brat." He stated, nudging the younger fae's struggling form with his foot. "You're ten millennia too late to best me, so I suggest you get up, dust your self off, and listen."

"To what?" Jareth rasped, slowly getting to his knees.

Cathal frowned. "Can't you feel it, boy? Can't you hear her spirit cry out for you?"

The Goblin King looked up at the lord with wide eyes. "What?"

Jareth…

Ice slid through him, as he realized what the source of the unease was.

"Sarah."

Stumbling, he desperately tried to get to his feet, his skull pulsing against the sudden movement.

Cathal eyed him knowingly, a wry sort of amusement lighting his eyes. "Never got knocked around with your own power, I take it."

Jareth didn't bother to answer him, too busy trying to heal the minor concussion he'd acquired.

The lord snorted, and stepped forward, knocking the Goblin King's hands away as he laid his own against the younger fae's head. "Honestly, what do they teach you young people these days?"

The older fae's magic swept through him like desert winds, warm and dry and a touch unforgiving. It wasn't long before Jareth felt the pressure in his head ease, and the bruises he hadn't realize he'd obtained, vanish.

The Goblin King stood slowly, watchful as the elder withdrew his hands.

"What do you want?" Jareth asked.

Cathal sighed. "To talk, boy. Just to talk."

Jareth eyed him warily as he glanced toward the throne room's observation window.

"Go." The lord commanded. "I'll hold things down from here."

Jareth never even hesitated, as he ran and leapt out of the window, transforming mid fall and soaring for the Above.

Sarah needed him.

-0-

Sarah unexpectedly jerked back from the mirror, a feeling of knowing filling her as she realized that Jareth had heard her.

"Is that-" She froze, as she saw the little ferret's hackles rise.

"Yeah," she heard through the door. "I'm looking for my friend, she's wearing a green sweatshirt and…"

Sarah felt her stomach drop.

"I just saw her," came the muffled voice of the sales clerk. "Right over-"

Knowing better than to wait any longer, Sarah quickly snatched up the ferret and tossed it onto her shoulder. Swiftly unlocking the restroom door, she bolted for the back of the shop.

Due to her mother's inability to hold onto money for longer than a week, Sarah was very familiar with most of the shop owners in town and their shops. She never faltered as she navigated her way to the small service door at the back of the business and broke through, quickly turning around and slamming the access shut behind her.

The buildings on this street were very old, and Sarah knew that the doors tended to stick in the cold and wet weather. Slamming it ensured that Lacey would either have to go back around front or spend sometime ramming the service door back open. Either option bought Sarah some time.

And so she ran.

As Sarah sprinted down the alley, she thought of what she'd become, and of what she used to be. She thought of a time when she hadn't run from a monster's howl, and had instead chucked rocks at his tormentors. She thought of a time when she'd stood her ground against a fae king, and had been forced to run much as she was now. She thought of almost being out of time, with her brother still so far out of reach, and being forced to take a leap of faith to save him from her own mistake.

Even as her feet carried her to another safe place, she couldn't help but wonder why she was running.

Was it because Lacey had a gun? Was it because she was so relentless in her pursuit? Why? Why was this so different from the Labyrinth? Why was she running from this one girl?

Fear.

The thought slid through her mind like a distant memory.

Jareth had never given her time to fear. If he wanted to force her to make a mistake, he did it. He didn't draw it out, he simply put obstacles in her path, and let her deal with them. Aside from briefly trying to intimidate her in the tunnels, he'd never appeared before her again with the intent to scare her.

Sarah felt herself slow until she stopped.

There was no reason to run, she realized. She'd done this all once before, and she'd won.

Her eyes grew hard, as she finally understood what she'd allowed to happen.

Through fear, she'd given Lacey power over her. She'd let one girl do to her what she hadn't even allowed a fae king to do. She'd given up her right to fight back.

Sarah didn't even turn, as she felt the unseen shadows silently come to stand beside her.

"Anyone want to help me raise a little hell?" She asked mischievously.

The goblins giggled, knowingly.

The Lady was finally going to fight. Now the fun would start.

-0-

By the time Lacey had found her, Sarah had been prepared and waiting for her for a little over ten minutes.

"Finally decided to give up, Bambi?" The blonde asked, gun held loosely at her side.

For a few moments Sarah said nothing, content to watch from her seat. It seemed almost fitting that she was taking her stand here, in her part of the park.

"Hardly," Sarah answered flatly. "I've just decided to do things my way."

"Your way?" Lacey asked incredulously. "Who's been running, Bambi? We have been doing things your way, and look at where you are now, sitting on a bench in the dead of winter waiting to die. I think you've missed the point of doing it your way."

"I haven't missed anything, Lacey." Sarah stated evenly. "I'm just taking back what's mine."

"What's yours, huh?" She raised her gun. "You are so full of it. If you'd only done me a favor and died in that art room, I could have avoided this whole thing, but no, you had to turn around."

Sarah said nothing.

"Any last words, Williams?"

Sarah's stare was resolute. "Now!"

Six tiny crystals shot out from various directions, impacting on the ground around Lacey as one, sending fire and light shooting up around her. She screamed, in rage and fear as the fire caught the edges of her coat, and began to consume the pricey material.

Throwing herself to the ground, Lacey quickly rolled about until the flames went out, never seeing as the Sarah seated on the bench disappeared in a brief shower of light, and the real one swiftly up come behind her.

The blonde screamed again, as Sarah's foot came down on her wrist, the bone breaking with an audible snap. With Lacey's hand now useless, Sarah quickly kicked the gun out of the other girls reach, an unseen goblin quickly picking it up and running away with the weapon.

"This is over, Lacey." Sarah warned. "I'm not going to let this continue any longer. This game of yours is finished, do you understand me?"

Something nasty slid across the blonde's face. "I understand you," she sneered. "but you don't understand me. This isn't over until I say it's over, and it's not over until you're dead!"

Before Sarah could move more than a step, Lacey had gathered her feet under her and had tackled Sarah to the ground, her good hand automatically going around the brunette's throat, a knee braced against her ribs.

"You really thought, that just because you were able to pull off a few tricks, that this was over?"

Sarah clawed at Lacey's arms and face desperate to get the other girl off of her. Lacey's grin was inhuman as she leaned more of her weight onto Sarah chest, further cutting off her air supply.

"No one crosses me, Bambi. No one!"

Dark spots began to dance in front of Sarah's eyes as she struggled, her ribs screaming at the abuse.

Then, unexpectedly, Lacey screeched.

An angry chittering sound reached Sarah's ears moments before the blonde shrieked again, this time followed by the familiar hiss of a goblin.

Lacey quickly abandoned Sarah to try and pry both ferret and goblin from her head, the enraged creatures scratching and biting wherever they could reach.

Within moments, tiny hands had grabbed whatever part of Sarah they could grasp, and quickly dragged her out from under the other girl, and away from the conflict. As soon as they came to a stop, she sat up and curled around her battered chest, the defensive position easing the pain a fraction.

Sarah, however, didn't get to revel in her new position of safety for long, before the goblin that had been attacking Lacey was unexpectedly hurled in her direction. Sarah had enough time to see the ferret abandon it's task, just before she reached up to try and catch her defender, bracing herself as best she could for the impact.

The goblin never hit, suspended in mid-air by an unseen force.

"Is everyone all right?" Came the barely restrained voice of the Goblin King.

The goblins cheered as Jareth came stalking over the bridge, his eyes sharp and cruel.

Sarah released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"I underestimated you." He stated, his eyes watching the bloodied form of Lacey eerily. "When I left Sarah yesterday, I thought that any retaliation from you would at least be a few days away, yet here you are, trying to destroy what is mine."

Lacey spat at his feet, her eyes cold. "I've taken on worse than you, you don't scare me."

"Oh, I sorely doubt that, my dear." The King grinned, beginning to stalk around the girl. "In fact, I'd wager that I'm nothing like anything you've ever faced."

The blonde sneered, as Jareth circled closer.

"You know what?" She said icily. "I don't care!" And just as Jareth was in front of her, swiftly brought her leg up in a powerful kick.

Much like the thrown goblin, it never hit.

The Goblin King grinned savagely at the teenager as he kept a firm grip on her leg, controlling her balance.

"Didn't I just say, that I was like nothing you've ever faced? Foolish girl!"

Lacey tried to jerk back and out of his grip, but Jareth did not relent, and she quickly began to realize that she was in trouble.

"What do you want?" She asked, hoping to barter.

"I want you gone." The Goblin King stated. "I want there to be no trace of your existence, not even mangled and charred remains, not the dust from your bones, and I want you to suffer while it happens. However, I'm willing settle for your imprisonment."

Lacey frowned, her eyes hard. "I don't really care for that option."

Jareth sneered at her. "You don't really have one." And his grip on her leg tightened.

There was sudden sharp flash of light and when it dimmed, Lacey was lying on the ground unconscious.

Sarah and the goblins stared.

"What did you do?" She asked, curious.

"I altered her memories," He answered "She'll remember everything the way it happened up until she met you here."

Sarah didn't miss a beat, as she slowly came to stand beside Jareth. "So, what's the new story?"

He glanced over to her with amusement. "That you thought to hide somewhere more familiar, and was able to knock the gun from her hand, wherein you two fought until your adversary hit her head." And Jareth pointed to a thin, nearly unseen patch of rock, probably where an older monument used to be.

"But what about-" And Sarah noticed that their was no evidence of the Fairy Fire she'd used. "Never mind."

Jareth grinned. "I do know better than to do a half-job, Sarah."

She blushed, even as she shivered, and Jareth frowned, quickly shrugging out of his Aboveground coat and draping it around her. "How long have you been running around with only that sweatshirt?"

Sarah shrugged, not really knowing the answer herself.

Jareth made an odd sound of disgust, and quickly swept her up and off her feet, cradling her against his chest.

Sarah shot him an amused look. "I can walk, you know."

His returned grin was a touch cocky. "Of course, Precious, but can you translocate?"

And with a brief sense of coiling power, the Goblin King, his future Queen and, at the last moment, one ferret, disappeared from the park.

No one, not even the left-behind goblins, noticed a short ways off, a single flower blooming.

A Rudbeckia.

Justice.