The sound of hysterical laughter filled Sarah's ears as she watched the light slowly fade from the sky above them. They were within the borders of the Fae kingdom by now but still within the forested regions of the land. Jareth had told her that the scenery would be mostly forest throughout the journey, with more open country upon reaching the borders of the goblin city.

Sarah was currently seated with her back to a tree, the tents already stood up in a little semi-circle.

"Sing?" Terra shrieked, hardly able to suppress her laughter as she met the slightly annoyed Jareth's gaze, "You sing? That's your new hobby? Oh, please! Go on then, let's hear it."

"Well, I hardly feel inclined to sing for you after you've insulted me!" Jareth replied grouchily.

"No, please, I promise I won't laugh," Terra begged, wiping away tears, "Sarah wants to hear you sing too, I'm sure. Just sing something for us!"

Jareth looked to Sarah expectantly and she sighed in response, "Sure. Why not?"

Jareth cleared his throat, turning to Terra.

"You remind me of the babe," he said.

"What babe?" she asked.

"The babe with the power."

"What power?"

"The power of voodoo."

"Who do?"

"You do!"

"Do what?"

"Remind me of the babe," Jareth finished with a wide grin.

Terra rolled her eyes, "Really, Jareth?"

Jareth ignored her sarcastic tone and leapt right into the song.

I saw my baby crying hard as babe could cry

What could I do?

My baby's love had gone and left my baby blue

Nobody knew what kind of magic spell to use

As Sarah watched Terra silently shaking with laughter, she felt a smile spread across her own face. Maybe these two weren't such terrible company after all.

Dance magic, dance

Dance magic, dance

Put that baby's spell on me

Jump magic, jump

Jump magic, jump

Suddenly Terra joined in, her voice shockingly beautiful as it rose in harmony with Jareth's. Jareth looked surprised but seemed to recover quickly, taking Terra's hands in his and spinning her around in a wide circle.

I saw my baby trying hard as babe could try

What could I do?

Stolen novel; please report.

My baby's fun had gone and left my baby blue

Nobody knew what kind of magic spell to use

Terra voice faltered on the lines she didn't know but came in strong again at the chorus.

Dance magic, dance

Dance magic, dance

Put that baby's spell on me

Jump magic, jump

Jump magic, jump

Terra suddenly broke away from Jareth and snatched up Sarah's idle hands, pulling her to her feet and joining her hands with Jareth's. Soon they had formed a little circle and together they danced around and around. Abruptly Terra separated from their circle and stepped back, leaving Sarah hand in hand with Jareth as he brought the song to an end. As his eyes met hers, she became painfully aware of her hands in his and instinctively wrenched them free, her heart fluttering nervously.

There was a long silence where nobody moved.

Then Jareth spoke, "We'll be needing a fire. I'll gather some firewood."

And with that, he turned on his heel and strode away. Terra sighed heavily and sat down on the grass, gazing absent-mindedly into the distance. Sarah hesitantly moved next to her, sitting down as well.

"Um, I wanted to ask you something," she said awkwardly, "I was wondering if you could explain that mirror portal a little better. I mean, if touching it brought me here, then why weren't you brought to my world when you touched it?"

"The portal needs two people with different roles in order to work," Terra replied, "The roles are summoner and summoned. I was the summoner, you were the summoned. It's a pretty simple concept."

"But...why were you crying?"

Terra blinked at her, "I wasn't crying."

"Yes, you were," Sarah insisted firmly, "You kept crying and saying 'he's lonely, he's lonely' and I felt sorry for you. And then you were about to say something else before I fell through the portal."

Terra bit her lip, "I didn't think that part was real."

"What? What are you talking about? What part of what?"

"When I first heard about the mirror portal, apparently a side effect of using it would be that the summoned would get to see the summoner's true thoughts and emotions."

"But that doesn't answer the question of why you were crying. And who were you talking about when you said 'he's lonely'?"

"I was speaking of Jareth, of course."

Sarah stared at her, "Jareth is lonely?"

"Obviously. Wouldn't you be lonely if you were all by yourself among creatures that you didn't particularly like and would be forced to stay there for the rest of your life away from your friends and family?" Terra asked pointedly.

Sarah snorted, "Sounds an awful lot like what I'm going through right now."

Terra smiled, "Fair point."

"So you were crying because Jareth is lonely?"

"Yes," Terra answered quietly.

"You must care a lot for him if his unhappiness affects you that deeply."

"Wouldn't it bother you if you saw your dearest friend was unhappy?"

"I suppose," Sarah murmured, "I've never really had very close friends."

"Then I pity you. They are a real treasure."

"Look, Terra, I'm...I'm sorry I fought with you earlier and called you a spoiled pig."

Terra blinked in confusion, "You have every reason to be angry at me. I was horrid to you."

"Jareth told me about your family."

Terra's lips pressed themselves into a firm line.

"Oh," was all she said.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to make you upset by telling me that. I think he just wanted me to understand you a little better. Over the short time I've already spent with you guys, I've realized you aren't quite as horrible as I thought you were. I still don't trust you," she added quickly, "But, I can try to be more civil."

Terra smiled wryly, "I feel so honoured."

A distant howling caught Sarah's attention and she looked around at their darkening surroundings.

"How soon will Jareth be back?" she asked suddenly.

"I don't know. Why, are you worried about him?" Terra asked sneakily.

"Well, if there are creatures around, is it safe for him to be alone in the dark?"

"He can handle himself."

"Maybe I should go look for him."

"You? You're more likely to get killed by yourself than he is. He's in no danger."

"But how do you know?" Sarah asked sharply.

"I would sense if he was."

"Is that some sort of Fae ability?"

Terra sighed, "You ask a lot of questions."

"Can you blame me for being curious?"

"I suppose not."

"Alright then," Sarah relented, "Jareth told me you were a protector. So what's that like?"

"It depends on who your master is."

"Master?"

"Yes, the person a protector swears his life to is known as the master. The two share a very close bond, a sort of 'string of fate' if you will that ties them together. If the master dies, the protector dies. If the master comes in the way of harm and the protector is too far away to come to their aid, the protector dies. And another nasty little thing: the protector always has to obey a direct order given by the master."

"But what if the master is cruel?"

"Well then the protector would have to be stupid to swear their life to them."

The girls giggled in unison.

"Any other questions for me?" Terra asked.

"No, not for the moment. But I'm sure I'll have thought of more by the morning."