Prince transported to the outer wall where Hoggle was heading back from his station from where he had guided the runner into the Labyrinth. 

"Hello, Hoggle." 

"Elwynn." Hoggle spat. "Come to steal a fairy for the dreamers again? I thought you learned your lesson when that Rat had to pull teeth out of your fingers." 

"A different favor this time," Prince said, giving a half-hearted glare. He picked up Hoggle's fairy sprayer and started walking with him towards his home. "I was hoping you could convince your human friend something." 

"What do you want with Sarah?" Hoggle said venomously. He and the Prince were on better terms than he was with the King but Sarah was important to him. 

"Nothing more than to talk. Nothing more. Nothing less. After I leave, she will have no magic in her other than her own and her frequent visitors." 

Hoggle stopped short. "Sarah has magic?" 

Prince tilted his head. "Of course. She ate fruit of this world. A little bit of its magic is in her. Toby too, as does every child who comes through here."

Hoggle scowled. "I thought that peach was something that rat made." 

"My father did enchant the peach, but it was from the gardens, not the mortal world. It's uncommon but every so often a runner does have something to eat. They are usually a bit busy though. This is not your fault." 

"Is she bound here? Does the rat have a claim?" 

"Relax, Hoggle. If my father did have a claim, she never would have been able to leave in the first place. Unless someone feeds her some more peaches, which I hear from Sir. Didymus she detests, she is still free to live in the mortal realm full time." 

Hoggle let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you for letting me know, Prince." 

"So can I have my audience? I'm even willing to do it mirror side and or explain the magic in more detail." 

"Yeah, I'll ask. No guarantee she'll say yes though." 

"Understood."

"I'll say your name next time she calls." 

"My thanks."
------------------------------

"Hoggle, I need you." 

The reflection in the full-length mirror changed from a beautiful dark-haired woman to a short dwarf.

"Hello, Sarah." Hoggle said, the background clearly showing he was at his house. "How have you been? Did you find a school yet?" 

"Good. I've received a few acceptances but nothing from Hamilton yet." 

"Well, this Hamilton fellow doesn't know what he's missing." The dwarf declared.

Sarah smiled. "How have you been, Hoggle?"

"Good, good. I haven't been bogged since we talked last." He took off his hat and wringed it nervously. 

"Hoggle, what's wrong?" Sarah asked, concerned for her friend. 

"Listen, Sarah. I had a visitor earlier and he asked for a favor."

Sarah's eyes narrowed. "Was it him?" 

Hoggle shook his head. "No. His son."

Shock and disappointment rushed through Sarah. "His son?"

"Yeah, the Prince. He takes care of the little kids while the rat handles runners. He asked if he could speak with you. Said he was willing to even do it through a mirror if that made you feel safer. He can't enter a house without invite either. He also let me know some other stuff about mortals here. He said he would explain or I could." 

Sarah thought about it. "Alright. Through the mirror preferably." 

"Alright. I'll call him now." Hoggle scowled and said clearly. "Goblin Prince Elwynn." 

Sarah heard a knock and knew it was on the other side because Hoggle went to open the door. She could hear him speaking with someone and a moment later she saw movement. 

Sarah had been expecting someone older, not a thirteen-year-old who looked like he had come straight from a fairy tale. He had on a green tunic and black jeans, thin leafy vines braided into his black hair. His eyes glowed like emeralds and he smiled gently. 

"Greetings, Champion of the Labyrinth." He said. He sounded young too. "I am the Goblin Prince." He summoned a chair with a crystal and sat down in front of the mirror.  "How is the little one?" 

"A pleasure to meet you, your majesty. Toby is well. He just turned seven and asks so many questions I struggle to keep up with him." 
The Prince smiled. "That's good. Despite what you may believe, we Fae care for children of all species. We have many runners and many wish-aways and many, who are one and the same. You are not the first runner, nor shall you be the last, but you are the first to win. And by using the words too." 

"I didn't see you while I was there," Sarah noted. 

"Few runners do and those usually see a glamour instead of this." He gestured to his face. "My father deals with runners, I deal with wishaways. I have only been at it about a single mortal decade but I've had a lot of practice. Most, especially wish aways, come out a bit different than they went in." 

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked. 

"May I come through? This is something that needs to be explained in person." 

Sarah looked apprehensive so Prince continued to speak.

"A word of advice. Fae need an invitation to enter a dwelling. But the person inviting them can set rules the fae must follow or be forcibly ejected from the premises. This invite, should you wish to capitalize on its magicks, must be expressly worded, or the Fae is liable to deliberately misinterpret. The fae is also able to choose wheater or not they accept said invite. If they dont like the terms, they may negotiate at the door." 

"So I need to say exactly what you can and cannot do before you come in?" 

"Yes. Perhaps 'I invite the Goblin Prince into my home to discuss important topics.' I won't be able to do anything to you other than speak. And of course, the vaulted 'I rescind my invitation.' Always works."

"May I speak to Hoggle real quick?" Sarah asked. 

Prince nodded and moved out of the way. 

"The Prince is a good person, unlike that rat. If he's mad, he'll go right ahead and hurt you. But if he says he just wants to talk, he means it. Just think before you speak and careful not to invite him to do anything you don't want him to. Especially wishes. " Hoggle advised. 

"I invite the Goblin Prince into my home to discuss important matters concerning his realm while sharing mortal realm tea and mortal realm cookies," Sarah said after some advice on her wording. 

Prince nodded, stepped through the mirror and looked around. "This is a nice place, but then again, I deal with self wishaway. Most places I end up aren't very nice." 

"Thanks?" Sarah said. "Would you come into the kitchen and I'll prepare some tea." 

"Tea would be lovely," Prince said. He gazed at her bookshelf and pulled a music book from the shelf. "Fan of Lin Manuel Miranda? And Lindsey Stirling?" 

"I enjoy his music," Sarah said from the kitchen. "I learned to play the violin about two years ago." 

"My father enjoys his music as well, although I am always relieved when he finds a new muse. There is only so many times one can listen to Dance, Magic, Dance before you would rather be bogged than listen to it." 

"I haven't heard that one," Sarah admitted, pouring hot water into the kettle. 

"You wouldn't have. It's more spell than song." Prince said, placing the book back. "When my kind sing, we can weave magic into the words, giving it focus and form. I'm told you experienced this in the ballroom." 

Sarah looked down and focused on the cookies. "I'm not proud of that moment." 

"You should be though," Prince said. "My father is one of the best music weavers in the 16 kingdoms. Even a fae who knew exactly what Father was up to would be hard-pressed to break free." 

Sarah slid him a tea tray. "The peach was drugged." 

"It was, which is part of the reason I wished to speak to you." Prince sipped his tea. "This is delicious. What is it?"

"Lemon Verbena. I have one over there." Sarah pointed to a potted plant with large leaves before taking a sip herself. 

"I'll have to see about acquiring one of my own," Prince said. "Now about the peach."

Sarah looked a bit scared. 

"Do not fear. If my father or myself had any claim on you we would be having this conversation in the Castle beyond the goblin city." 

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. 

"However, saying that neither the king nor prince have a claim does not mean the Labyrinth itself does not have one." He continued on before Sarah could panic. "The peach was what started it, and you sealed it when you declared your kingdom as great. Words mean a lot in our realm. Magick took it literally and gave you the gifts to match. Congratulations, Sarah. You have magic." 

Sarah stared for a really long time, long enough for Prince to not only finish off his tea but poured himself another cup.

"I...but…" 

"It is your magic that forced my father to stay away. Mind you, he has a bit of leeway intentionally misinterpreting the words you spoke to your ragtag army. 'I need all of you' so that he can see you through his crystals but he can do nothing more than see." Prince leaned in conspiratorially. "Drives him up a wall. Funniest thing I've seen in centuries."

"I can't have magic. I'm human!" 

"Humans can have magic." Prince countered. "Nothing like faerie magicks but it is magic. I was actually speaking with a dreaming witch not two hours ago." 

"Witches are real?" 

"They call themselves witches and wizards. They have their own government, schooling, sports, towns,  and even currency. But that is inconsequential for the matters at hand." He threaded his fingers and locked Sarah's gaze. "If you don't have magic, then how did you call Hoggle? Dwarves can't call with mirrors. Answer and step through, yes, but call. No, they are too weak magically. That power lies in the fae." 

"Are you saying…" 

"That a human can become a fae? Yes. In fact, I was born human, but my mother wished me away. By the time I turned two, I was more fae than human. By three my aging slowed, by four, I was completely fae."

"Is Toby…?" 

"A changeling? Yes. Merely visiting the Labyrinth starts the process, food accelerates it, and time for the rest. Returning to the human realm puts it on pause, which is why Toby ages like a human." 

"And me?" Sarah asked, looking like she was in shock. 
"Are an entirely different situation. You bested the Labyrinth in ten hours. The last to do so was me. The person before that was Jareth." 

She jerked up at the Goblin King's name, looking around like she expected to see him appear. 

"I'm not a resident of this world," Prince assured. "I have no power to invite my kind into a dwelling." 

"So, back to how I'm only the third person to solve the Labyrinth." 

Prince sighed. "As a Champion, you were declared fit to be a keeper, just like me and my father. You accepted this role when you declared your kingdom as great." 

She paled considerably. 

"Congratulations, Sarah Williams. You're a Princess of the Labyrinth." 

"Do I have to go back?" She said after a long moment. 

"Not right now. But soon, and not forever. You will be as free to jump between worlds as I am." 

"How free is that?" Sarah asked, looking suspicious.

"Free enough that I'm a frequent visitor at many music clubs. I actually have a gig in a few hours. My father moonlighted as a singer for two decades. Got pretty famous too. Think hard, you'll figure it out."

Sarah thought about it for a moment before her eyes widened. "No way." 

"Way." Prince laughed. "He was under a glamour to look more human and visibly age but he did." Prince chuckled and sighed. "But the Labyrinth is our home, and she calls to us, enthralls us, whispers to us her secrets." He smiled. "She cares for us, as we care for her." 

"What about my life here?" 

"I never said you can't live your life here. Once you finish changing and learn glamours and transporting, you can bounce back and forth with ease. We can even speed time up in the Labyrinth so that an hour here is a month there. Father actually did that when I was a toddler so he could spend more time with me." 

"What about the King?" 

"He wants a rematch of course but it can probably be a game of chess or something simple like that. Take him to an arcade, you might win again." 

Sarah laughed. "Did he ask you to come?" 

"Yes. He wanted me to ask you to talk to him. I now know you didn't even realize you had stopped him from coming." 

"He tried to turn Toby into a goblin." 

Prince sighed. "What is the number one rule in the Labyrinth?"

Sarah came up short. "Nothing is as it seems."

"And dreams are but fleeting realities," Prince said. "When you were young you wanted to be a hero. He wanted to teach you that children are precious and sometimes life's not fair."

"So he became the villain in my story," Sarah said. "All this time?" 

"He is actually quite kind. In all likelihood, Toby would have been returned with both of you convinced it was a dream after he judged your parents fit and that you have learned your lesson. If not, he would have been adopted by a fae couple in another Kingdom. Only the children who are better off not remembering their human lives become Goblins. It's a last resort. They forget and get to be children for eternity. I personally think that's mercy." 

"I didn't know." 

"Of course not. If the information that wishaways became fae got out, wishers would be less inclined to save them. Desperation is a great teacher. But you ran. And you won. And you remembered. And here we are. My father has many faults, but he is not cruel unnecessarily." 

Sarah looked into her cold tea. "I think he and I need to have a talk." 

Prince nodded and stood. "You know the words. I hope I'll see you later." 

He stepped and was back in the castle only to be embraced by his father. 

He stiffened. Jareth was not a cruel man, but he didn't exactly show affection well. 

"Thank you." 

"No problem, Father." 

He vanished, off to see the changeling that had stolen his heart, seeing crystal abandoned on the throne.