She had a constant feeling of being watched. She could move anywhere, but still she felt a stranger’s look, making her more and more nervous.  Sarah cut a bread-roll in half and put some peanut butter on it. She didn’t know why, but her heart was telling her it was something to do with the Labyrinth.  She sighed. It was two years, two long years since she defeated Jareth and got Toby back. She wanted to forget and leave all of the Labyrinth behind. But was it possible? Her every single thought, every single desire was connected with it. All the time she had thought it was only about victory and friendship, that was what she had wished for.  But when she got everything she had wanted, she still felt the unsatisfaction, and pain and emptiness deep inside her. “The pigheaded,” she murmured, cleaned the knife and angrily threw it on the plate.  Didn’t he understand? She had to say the words. But she never wanted to harm him... Sarah swallowed her coffee nervously.  Did he care for her at all? Or did he just want to win, to rule her? “Damn, don’t think about him! He’s gone!” she ordered herself, but it didn’t bring any effect. Two years gone and she still desperately wanted to erase his unhappy look that had been burnt into her mind forever at the moment he lost. “You have no idea, how close you were,” she whispered. Did he know how much he had influenced her? How much she had lost her control, when he was close? Even that time... at the end... she almost couldn’t control herself and she almost took her dreams from him. Like fighting herself, something inside her kept saying the rhymes, but her palm wanted to touch the crystal. He almost won, she thought and smiled sadly. “It was only magic and illusion,” she stood up and took the cup to the sink.  But what if it was not? What if he really loved her and she had harmed him? “Then the pigheaded would come show himself!” she almost screamed, when she heard a noise: steel scraping porcelain. Sarah turned quickly. Unbelieving she walked back to the table, where she was sitting a moment ago. She looked at the knife - it was completely dirty with the peanut butter - lying on the tablecloth. Sarah turned around, frightened, but then calmed down and laughed. “I’m starting to be paranoid. I see him everywhere,” she waved her hand, taking a glass and delivering it into the sink, too. “Such a stupid idea! That he came back and...” she stopped both speaking and moving. “He wouldn’t come back to eat my peanut butter,” she frowned, took a few steps – then turned around and put the glass back. “Pink home-shoes, a game of scrabble, Labyrinth of knowledge game, David Bowie’s posters, thirteen teddy-bears...” “Toys?” Rebeca said, massaging her temples for the umpteenth time while Agnes just stood staring. A look a comprehension was beginning to dawn on her face. “A set of red lipsticks, fairy-tale books, a music box, red and white stripped pajama...” “Not that one!” “I’m telling you, it’s terrible. If he thinks I’m wearing this one day... are you all right?”  Agnes’s face was changing color for the fifth time. “Is something wrong?” Rebeca asked.  Not understanding, she watched as Agnes turned red, her eyes shining, murmuring something, then covering her mouth with her hand and starting laughing madly. “Would you like something? Water with sugar?” she offered her help, but the junk lady couldn’t stop laughing. “Chiii... So... sor... sorry... I’m all right, I’ve got this, when... haha... haaaaa...” “Well, I guess I should get the water,” Rebeca nodded and left for the kitchen. “What’s happening? Don’t tell me I missed something,” Sir Didymus appeared behind the door immediately, sizing Agnes up and down. “No, hi... hiii,” Agnes waved her hand, resting on the wall. “It’s just that now I know he won’t choose any of the princesses. I would bet anything,” she gasped and put the wig on Didymus’ head quickly, while the delivery goblin tried to get her attention. “I want the landlord’s signature.” “He’ll sign it,” she pointed at Didymus, who still didn’t understand a thing. “Are you the landlord?” “Well...” “One signature, here.” Didymus looked at Agnes quizzically, took the pen and made one large scribble. “Your majesty!” He got such a fright that the pen made a hole in the goblin’s notebook. “Oh, your majesty, I’m so gl-“ Rebeca ran through the corridor, spilling water from the glass everywhere, “-ad,” she finished, when Didymus turned to meet her, a mad look on his face. “Allow me to introduce you,” Agnes broke the silence, in which they were both looking at each other, not able to speak a word, “princess Rebeca, his majesty - king Jareth.” He was sitting on a branch, trembling with cold. Jareth moved one leg and tried to warm it with his breath, but he almost fell from the tree, so he settled down again and hid both legs under his wings. It‘s a lovely day, he thought. Since early morning he had been with her, every hour, every minute he was close and she didn’t know. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to know where she went, which things she used, what clothes she wore... Too many things, but he made an honest list and he frequently telegraphed the “Fast Goblin” via woodpecker.  He had completely forgotten about the princesses. Jareth yawned and longingly looked into a silent room where there was a bed, where it was warm and where... she was. For a while he kept staring, then he quickly looked around and flew to her room, opening the window using his beak. “Not this! I’m not going through with this!” Hoggle kicked a small stone and tired sat down on the stone garden fountain. “And the shoes are small!” he whined. Ludo, sitting close to him, sighed. “Bella?!?” “I’m here, Angelica! On the bush!” “Oh no...” he jumped up as if bitten, and quickly looked back into the green labyrinth, from where the voices seemed to come from. “Lucky for us, I have a sense of direction... hmmm, have you seen lichen anywhere?” “What is that?” “Or an anthill. We’ll set up the north.” “The north is there! I know, because my hand is cold.” “That’s a stupid maze. I don’t understand why they have no signs here.” “What are we going to do?” Hoggle looked at Ludo, frightened. “King,” the beast murmured and pointed at him with his large finger. “I can’t! They would find out that it’s a trick! I don’t even have a wig!” he protested, but Ludo was already searching their surroundings. “Aaaaa!” “What’s this?” “Gee, used lipsticks on the ground!” “Stop it, Angelica.” “They won’t find the entrance, they won’t...” the dwarf assured himself and swallowed, because there was only one entrance into this part of the labyrinth and they had nowhere to escape. “Ludo, wig!” the beast said and gave Hoggle piece of a broom. “Not THIS!” “Wow, I’ve found an exit. I told you I had a sense of direction!” they heard suddenly and Hoggle grabbed the broom happily. She was trembling, having bad dreams. She felt him so close... his smell, his presence. She knew that if she stretched out her hand, she would touch him.  Sarah stretched her hand and screamed. Jareth, sleeping on the carpet, sat up quickly at the same moment she fell back on her pillows, eyes still closed.  He could’ve sworn that he had heard her screaming, but most probably it was a dream. Sarah was sleeping.  He blinked a few times and bent over her. She was breathing heavily, as if she had run a marathon or like she was terribly upset.  He thought, smiling, it must have been a dream.  He yawned and laid back down again. His eyes closed at the same moment Sarah’s eyes opened. Shock, terror, fury and some other emotions were in her look at that moment. She wanted to scream, stamp, tear her pink blankets into pieces, but at first she wanted to strangle him, throw him into a cold water, brick up the wall and let the mason move to Mars. What does he think?!? Coming here! Without any invitation! Into her room! At night! Sleeping with her in her room! She was mad and decided to wake him up by shaking him roughly. She bent over quickly and stretched out her hand, but the closer she came, the less she could bring herself to do it. She looked into his face and watched him. No arrogance, no lies, no traps in there. He was so magical, when he slept, so defenseless, so... handsome.  “Oh my God, he’s trembling. He’ll get a cold, that stubborn one!” she frowned and gave him one of her blankets. “And don’t think, MAJESTY, that I’ll let you sleep here every night. And you owe me an explanation! Tomorrow,” she whispered intimidating. She watched him until her eyes closed and she fell asleep. “Chocolate cream, cocoa, peanut butter... what does the girl eat?” Agnes shook her head, not satisfied with quality of food they had just delivered into the kitchen. “How do you feel?” Didymus had just entered the room and he fell down, hands and forehead on the table. “Don’t tell me you didn’t like the princess,” Agnes couldn’t help herself, and she tried the nut cream. “This is the end,” she heard from somewhere under the table. “What did you say?” “The end.” “I think she swallowed it. She had no suspicion you were not Jareth,” she laughed, when he moved his face up. “Now you can show yourself to all the other princesses and tell them you’re sorry, but you’re already engaged.” “I am betrothed?” Didymus opened his eyes wide. “Not you, Jareth. But they don’t know yet.” “But I’m not marrying any of them!” “You don’t have to,” she stroke his head like a small child. “Somebody else is the bride.” “I shan’t marry her, either!” Didymus protested, suddenly adamant. “I wouldn’t advise that,” Agnes joked and knocked at the peanut butter glass. “The king would kill you.” He woke up a moment before sunrise and immediately understood how stupid his behavior was. If she had found him sleeping there, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she had cut him in half and wished him away in that status. What had he been thinking?  It was not because he was cold and needed to warm himself up and sleep in his human form. He did it because of her, to be close to her, to give their future a second chance. If she saw him, he believed, it would be enough to find a way. But this way... No. She didn’t deserve him charging in and changing her life. He must let her live and she would only live when he’s as far away as possible. He should have left his fantasies in his imagination, never looked for her; then it wouldn’t hurt so much now. Jareth, his body aching everywhere, stood up and sadly looked at her. He only wanted to see her, to tell her his secret good-bye, but something broke in him and he did the most uncontrolled thing in his life and... kissed her. Did he feel her trembling or was it him? He thought she would wake up, open her eyes, but it didn’t happen. She just murmured something he couldn’t understand and turned over.  Leaving her was the most difficult thing he has ever done. Jareth went to the window, moved the cotter pin and... Wait a moment, he hadn’t closed the window! “Good morning. I think somebody owns me an explanation here,” he heard and the cotter pin fell down again.