Terra watched Jareth race past her and bowl Sarah over, the two of them landing in a tangled heap in the grass. Jareth picked himself up quickly and turned to her, looking very flustered.

"What is it?" Terra asked, not frightened but rather excited.

Jareth had no time to answer before a sheet of flame erupted in front of her, lighting up the trees like torches. A large scaly creature thrust its long neck forward, its glowing eyes fixed on them.

"That's what it is!" Jareth shouted.

Terra took a split second to examine the dragon. It was too small to be an adult, which meant it was just an inexperienced baby. Piece of cake. After all, she had been trained for this.

Terra whipped out her sword, leaping at the dragon's face. It snapped at her with its giant mouth in response, showing a row of fierce teeth. Terra dodged and crashed her sword down on its snout. The dragon was momentarily stunned but the creature's scales rendered her blow otherwise ineffective.

"Terra, what are you doing?" Jareth demanded as a terrified Sarah clung to his arm.

"We can't let it burn down the entire forest!" Terra insisted, clambering onto the dragon's neck.

The creature swung its head violently back and forth in an effort to be rid of her. It hit a tree, splitting it in half with a loud crack. Sarah screamed as the tree pitched over, crashing to the ground.

"Sarah, please get back to the camp!" Jareth pleaded.

"No, I can't leave you two!" Sarah wailed.

"We'll be fine!" Terra yelled, letting go of her hold on the dragon and plunging her blade into the trunk of a tree to stop her fall, "Jareth, tell me, what can you do?"

Terra pulled her sword out of the tree and fell just as the dragon released a mouthful of flame. Terra felt the heat of the fire pass over her head as she struck the ground and rolled aside, still clutching her blade firmly in one hand.

"At most I can summon my crystals!" Jareth called back, Sarah still clinging to him stubbornly.

"Well then, do that!" Terra shouted, racing to meet him.

The dragon followed her, using its powerful shoulders to break down the burning trees in its path. Terra, Jareth, and Sarah backed up rapidly as the blazing trees fell around them. Terra grabbed Sarah's arm, jerking her away from Jareth.

"Sarah, go back to the camp," she said firmly.

Sarah shook her head.

Terra clenched her jaw. Sarah was a sweet girl in her opinion but she could be a little thick sometimes.

"Sarah—"

Terra was distracted as Jareth threw his arms in the air, summoning a wall of crystals to stand as a shield between them and the dragon. The dragon opened its mouth, spewing flame at them. The fire struck the shield and flared outward. Terra could see terror in Jareth's face.

Hang on, Jareth, she thought grimly.

"Sarah, go now!" she snapped at the dark-haired girl, "You're endangering us by staying. Go!"

Sarah stepped back, turning to run. Terra watched her to make sure she was really leaving before turning back to face the threat. She turned to Jareth. He was looking very pale by now.

"How long do you think you can hold this wall?" she asked him.

"Not long," Jareth answered faintly.

Terra laid a hand on his shoulder. She could feel the tenseness in his body.

"All I need is a second longer."

Terra gripped her sword tighter in her hand, taking a deep breath.

"What are you doing?" Jareth asked.

Terra didn't answer. She bolted out from behind the barrier, running in a wide arc so as to avoid the deviating flames. The dragon shut its mouth, turning on her. Jareth let his wall crumble as Terra charged fearlessly at the dragon, striking at its shoulder. Her sword vibrated harshly in her hands.

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Crap, she thought, Should have gone for the belly.

A pale white flash caught her eye as Jareth's crystals suddenly closed in a circle around the dragon's throat, drawing tight like a noose. The dragon opened its mouth and let out a piercing shriek. The crystals had to be applying tremendous pressure on the creature's throat. Terra smirked. Genius. Now the pest couldn't breathe fire. She sprang forward, taking the opportunity to strike at the inside of the gaping jaws. She delved her sword into the soft flesh of the lower jaw, piercing the creature's snake-like tongue and pinning it to the bottom of its maw. The hilt of her sword was braced against the inside of the upper teeth, preventing the dragon from closing its mouth.

"Now we take it down from the inside!" Terra shouted triumphantly.

Jareth ran forward, casting a crystal into the open mouth of their foe. Terra watched it disappear down the creature's throat before wrenching her sword free and retreating alongside Jareth. The dragon rose on its hind legs, shaking its head fiercely and shrieking with pain. All too suddenly, it collapsed on its side, its tongue lolling out of its mouth and its eyes rolling into the back of its head.

Terra sucked in her breath sharply, "Nasty! Well, the forest is burning. I guess we don't really need a campfire now."

Jareth looked at her in astonishment. Then a slow smile spread over his face and he started laughing. Terra joined him, letting her pent-up feelings flow out of her.

"Well, that was exciting," she said when she'd finished.

"Is that the kind of adventure you were looking for in your dull courtier life?" Jareth asked, his eyes alight.

Terra nodded, "Very much so, and personally I think I handled the situation very well considering it was my first time facing any real threat."

Jareth shook his head in amusement, "You handled the situation like a lunatic."

Terra shrugged, "Fair enough. But honestly, what are we going to do about this forest fire?"

Jareth spread his arms wide, conjuring a swarm of crystals. They rose over the tops of the trees before bursting in a shower of water, dousing the flames efficiently.

"There," Jareth said, smiling up at his work satisfactorily, "That takes care of the problem. Shall we head back to camp before Sarah assumes that we've both become food for a dragon?"

Terra grinned, "Sounds like an excellent idea."

Jareth offered an arm in a gentlemanly fashion but Terra simply rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please, Jareth," she muttered, fighting back a laugh.

They strode back to camp where they were met by the sight of a nervously fidgeting Sarah. At the sight of them, Sarah instantly leapt up and enveloped the two of them in a hug.

"Thank goodness!" she said, "I was so worried!"

"We're alright," Jareth assured her, smiling down at her warmly.

Sarah sighed in relief, "It's a good thing Terra sensed you were in danger, or else we might have been too late!"

Terra's smile vanished, as did Jareth's. Sarah stepped back, looking confused at their reactions. Terra felt immediate dread rising in the pit of her stomach.

"She what?" Jareth asked.

It was too late. Sarah had said it. The damage had been done. There was no stopping what was about to come.

"She..." Sarah looked down at her hands as they started fiddling with a piece of her hair. "She sensed that you were in danger. But...isn't that normal among Fae? I mean, I just assumed it was..."

Jareth turned on Terra, anger smouldering in his mismatched eyes.

"No, it's not," he said coldly.

Terra looked him squarely in the face, showing no sign of intimidation.

"Um, what's going on?" Sarah asked uneasily.

Jareth didn't answer, his gaze still trained on Terra.

"How could you?" he hissed.

"You're overreacting," Terra shot back.

"Overreacting?" Jareth snapped, livid, "You could have died!"

"What's going on?" Sarah shouted.

Jareth turned to her, "You were wrong, Sarah. Being able to sense if a fellow Fae is in danger is not an ability we possess. Only protectors are capable of such a thing in regard to their masters."

"So..." Sarah's eyes clouded.

"Jareth is my master," Terra said unflinchingly.

"But that means," Sarah said quickly, "That if Jareth had come to any harm while he was ruling the goblin city, you would have died."

"Yes." Terra's face betrayed nothing.

"How could you have done such a stupid thing?" Jareth demanded.

"You can't possibly be that thick, Jareth!" Terra snapped, "You were my only friend! You were leaving forever! What was I supposed to do? Just suck it up? Pretend I was fine? How did you expect me to be rational?"

"You still could have been a protector," Jareth insisted, "Just not mine!"

"And who's protector would I have been, Jareth? Who was there outside of you? The courtier is full of stupid snobs who know nothing of honour and adventure! What, did you think people were going to be lining up to volunteer to have me as their protector?"

"You could have died," Jareth said again in frustration.

"Maybe I wanted to die!" The words escaped Terra's mouth before she could stop them.

For a second, everyone was quiet, eyes fixed on her. Jareth had a pained look on his face.

"Why?" he murmured.

Terra reflected his saddened expression in her own, "Why do you think? I was alone, Jareth."

Jareth eyes clouded with grief, "Do you want to die now?"

Terra took a moment to consider his question.

"No, I don't," she said finally, shaking her head slowly, "But there's no point in arguing about it. There's nothing that can change it now."

"Yes, there is," Jareth said suddenly, a flash of determination lighting up his eyes.

Terra caught his meaning and panic seized her again.

"You can't be serious!" she said, "The sacred pool is on the other side of the kingdom!"

"Sacred pool?" Sarah echoed, "What are you guys talking about now?"

Jareth turned to face Sarah again, "There's a sacred pool by the far border of the Fae kingdom. That is where a protector makes a vow of service. The only way that vow can be broken is if master and protector travel back to that pool and the master releases the protector from service."

"Jareth, we have to get Sarah home, remember?" Terra insisted.

"No."

Terra turned to Sarah in shock, "What?"

"I said no," Sarah repeated firmly, "You spent a hundred years of your life in danger of dying at any moment. The sooner the oath is broken the better."

She looked to Jareth, who nodded in agreement.

Terra stared in astonishment, "You have got to be kidding! Jareth, you'd be taking away my dream!"

"So be it," Jareth said coldly, "As long as you're safe."

Terra couldn't believe her ears. They were ruining everything!