Aboveground

Sarah sat, curled up, on her window seat and stared out into the darkening sky. The dark storm clouds were closing in and it reminded her startlingly of the night when her life had started to change. She stifled her thoughts quickly. Four years had passed since then, and contact with her friends had long since disappeared. Sometimes Sarah wondered whether she had just made it up. Even certain memories had faded from her mind, most of them, in fact. But not all. She could still picture her three best friends, ludo, sir Didymus and Hoggle. Still see in her mind's eye the sprawling mess of the labyrinth spread out before her. Still see a face, his face; His mismatched eyes, feathery blonde hair and the proud angle at which he held his chin. Yes, she could still recall the goblin king. But the events that had passed within the walls of that place were blurred, memories of running down a corridor with no openings, of talking to door knockers, of fiery creatures who sung and pulled off their limbs as a game... but nothing was complete.

Sarah pulled her thoughts away from the past that people had scorned and turned to matters at hand. School, her final year, was drawing to a close. And the close meant the end of year concert; a concert at which she was required to perform. Grimacing Sarah thought of what she might be able to do. Be able to sing, if she wanted to be specific. Closing her eyes Sarah thought about all the songs she knew, but none of them seemed right.

"Sarah, dinners ready!"

Sarah groaned at the sound of Irene's voice echoing up the stairs. Her relationship with her step mother had not changed much, if anything, it had become worse. After Sarah told her family about her adventures in the labyrinth Irene had thought her crazy and tried to send her to therapy. As you can imagine, Sarah did not comply. Instead, she began to forget.

"I'm coming!"

However, Sarah had taken to spending a lot of time with Toby since his mother did not have the time. But Sarah didn't mind about that. It was only when Toby had told her about a dream he had had about a blond haired man with mismatched eyes and a bunch of goblins that Sarah had felt discomforted around him.

Sarah shook her head as she ran lightly down the stairs. Her fingers traced the hilt of a dagger she kept hidden under the long hem of her shirt. She thought about her knife throwing practice and smiled, it was going splendidly, and it was a good way to keep her mind off certain... things. It also helped her calm the sense of uneasiness she constantly felt. It made her feel safe to know that she could defend herself if necessary.

Sarah smiled half-heartedly at her family as she sat down at the table and slowly began eating her dinner.

"So Sarah, how was your day at school?"

Sarah glanced up at her father, "oh, you know, it was okay. I found out that I have to sing at the end of year concert in three weeks."

"That's great honey! Do you know what you are going to perform?"

She sighed, "no, not yet. I can't seem to find the right song."

After that the conversation turned to her fathers work and what parties they would be attending over the weekend. Sarah, of course, would be babysitting Toby.

After dinner Sarah headed up to her bedroom and grabbed her pyjamas before heading off to have a shower. As the scalding water cascaded over her she found herself humming a familiar tune. She frowned; it was from a long time ago, or so it felt, and it brought back strange memories, of people dancing. Sarah shook her head to get rid of the strange thoughts and quickly turned off the taps, wrapping herself quickly in a towel to ward off the chilly air.

That night as Sarah struggled to sleep, tossing and turning in frustration, as the soft tune kept playing through her head, she didn't notice an off white owl sitting on a branch outside her window.

Hi guys!! This is my FIRST labyrinth fanfic, ever. So please don't be too harsh!! Sarah and jareth pairing, of course! Labyrinth has to be my all time favourite movie, so I'm surprised it took me so long to think of looking for fan fiction for it! Hope you enjoyed and I WILL update soon!