Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth, and am not affiliated in any way with Jim Henson.
Sarah sighed and collapsed on her bed. To say her first day of college was hectic, chaotic, and exhausting was an understatement. Her father and Karen had told her that college was nothing like high school, and she accepted that. However, they never told her that college was going to be pure hell. She never really like high school much, but at least she actually had time to breathe. Today had been filled with syllabuses, dull speeches, monotonous teachers, and of course her rude and unruly peers. She rolled over on her side and stared at the room she would call home for the next school year. It wasn't that bad, you know, for a dorm room. She was grateful that at least she didn't have to deal with a roommate. Sarah had truly lucked out on that front. She wasn't given all the details, but her roommate either dropped out, or transferred at the last minute. Either way, she didn't care. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, and before she knew it, her mind was being consumed by sleep.
When she woke up, she wasn't quite sure where she was. She was disoriented and a tad bit confused. It took her a few moments to wrap her mind around the idea of being in a college dorm room. When she finally realized where she was, she couldn't help but to let out a frustrated sigh. She looked at the window that occupied a large majority of the wall. The sun was beginning to set, and shadows were descending on the campus. Sarah had wanted to walk around today to get a good feel of the place, but that certainly wasn't happening now. She got up from her bed and walked over to the desk that sat on the opposite side of the small room. Her laptop rested on the desk as well as a few of her books for her classes.
She opened her laptop. She wondered if maybe she should video-call her parents. Toby would probably like to see her, even if it's just through a computer screen. She noticed the time, it was a little before eight o' clock. Toby was usually in bed by now. Especially since it was a school night for him too. Toby had turned four this year, and went to preschool on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Seeing how today was Monday, he had school tomorrow. Karen would probably a little upset if she called and woke up Toby. Sarah decided against the call. She surveyed her room to see if there was anything else she could do. That's when she noticed a few boxes that still needed to be unpacked. She picked up the first box and placed it on her bed. It was rather heavy.
She opened the flaps and was surprised to see the box was full of books. Karen must've packed up some of Sarah's books. Sarah instantly recognized the covers of the majority of the books. She pulled out an older book with faded blue binding and gold letters. The title simply stated that it was a book full of fairy tales. She opened the book and thumbed through the yellowed pages. This was the book her father would always read her stories from when she was a child. She hugged the book against her chest. She carefully placed the book on a shelf near her desk. She went through the same process with each book in the box. These books brought her comfort while she was growing up.
Sarah was glad Karen had packed them for her. She would have to thank her next time she spoke with her. In many ways, the books were sort of her friends. Sarah knew that it was totally lame, but she didn't really connect with people the same way as she connected with books. When she was reading, it was like she was transported to a different world. Her troubles or cares didn't matter. As a child, she would often spend time in the park acting out her favorite parts of books. She looked in the box and was surprised to see a little red book with gold lettering. She carefully picked up the book. She never remembered having this book before. Maybe Karen had bought it and just threw it in with the others. "The Labyrinth," she read aloud.
Her fingers glided over the cover of the book. She started opening the book when someone knocked on her door. Startled, she dropped the book. Forgetting about the book, she walked over to the door. She looked out the little port hole, but she couldn't see anyone. She unlocked the door and opened it. She looked down both ends of the hall and didn't see anyone. "How strange…" she mumbled, her voice trailing off. She could hear music coming from one of the dorms towards the opposite end of the hall. She closed the door and locked it again.
She picked up the book again and opened it. As soon as she opened the book, she could've swore she heard someone whisper her name. She turned around, but there was no one else in the room. Maybe it was the music down the hall. She turned the pages of the book slowly. As she turned each page, she got an eerie feeling that someone was watching her. She quickly shook it off, and sat down with the book on her bed. Before she knew it, she had nearly completed the book. She looked at the digital clock that rested on the stand next to her bed. The large red letters claimed that it was 10:37pm. How did it get so late?
When Sarah was reading, she often lost track of time, but she had no idea it was so late. She couldn't help but to laugh at herself. Then, she realized she had to get up early for class tomorrow. She groaned inwardly. She most certainly did not want to go and deal with another day of what she had dealt with earlier today. She marked her place in the book and placed it on the table in front of the clock. She still needed to get ready for bed, and go over a couple of the syllabuses that she neglected earlier. She glanced at the book and couldn't help but to chuckled again. "I wish the goblins would come and take me away," she joked. She got up and grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from her closet. She looked around her room and sighed, "and I wish they would come right now." She added.
"If only things were that easy." She mumbled. She turned to leave her dorm, when the window flew open. A strong gust of wind blew through the window and sent papers flying. She dropped the clothes she had in her hand and ran over to the window to put it back down. She managed to close the window, and locked it. "That's too weird." The latch worked perfectly, maybe it was just a fluke. She turned to start picking up papers when she noticed something move out of the corner of her eye. Whatever it was ran under her bed. She looked under the bed, but she didn't see anything.
She got the eerie feeling that someone was watching her again. She stood up, and looked around her dorm. She didn't see anyone. "Stop freaking yourself out Sarah." She scolded herself. She ran her slender fingers through her dark hair. College officially sucked. She didn't know if she could deal with having to live in a creepy dorm. Maybe a roommate wouldn't have been so bad. She started picking up papers again when she heard a tapping noise. She looked over to see a pair of riding boots? One of the boots were tapping rather impatiently. She looked up to see who exactly the boots belonged to. She was surprised to see that a man now occupied her dorm room along with herself.
She jumped up and dropped the papers she had in her hand. "Well, hello precious," the man purred. He took a step forward, and Sarah instinctively took a step back. "Sarah, it's been far too long." The man's eyes traveled down her body. Sarah felt like a gazelle being sized-up by a lion. "Time has treated you very well." Sarah looked around for a weapon, a pair of scissors, a knife, anything. "What's the matter, precious?" The man asked. Sarah had to admit, the man was rather attractive, but that was beside the point. He took another step forward, and Sarah stepped back. This time, she was literally backed up against the wall.
Sarah finally found her voice. "Stop!" She called. The man complied, and Sarah was a tad bit relieved. "W- who are you? What do you want?" The man smiled a rather mischievous smile. "You mean to say you don't remember me? Sarah, I'm hurt." Mock sadness filled his voice. "You really should've learned last time, silly girl." Sarah had no idea of what this man was talking about. "What do you mean?" The man took another step forward, and Sarah grabbed a pen from a cup on her desk. "I told you to stop!" She yelled. She knew she wasn't a very intimidating figure. "I… I'll poke out your eyes!" She brandished the pen as if it was a sword. The man in front of her laughed. It was a very melodic sound, and Sarah very nearly found herself gravitating towards him.
"Please, just tell me who you are." Sarah pleaded. The man's mismatched eyes met her jade-colored ones for the first time, and Sarah's heart skipped a beat. She knew it was ridiculous, but this man was making her body react much more differently than it should. Her mind saw him as a dorm room invader, and her body was reacting like he was a sex god. "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah," the man said in a condescending tone, "You have no idea who I am, and yet you called upon me." Sarah's eyes flickered to the book that rested on the table near her bed.
The man took several steps forward until he was less than a foot away from her. Sarah was partially mesmerized. She still held the pen in her hand, but she knew it would be useless. The man grabbed her wrist with his gloved hand, and took the pen away. Then, he reached around her and grabbed the book with his free hand. Sarah's breath caught in her throat. The man was so close, she could feel the heat emanating from his body. When he reached for the book, she could feel his warm breath on her neck. He let go of her wrist and it dropped to her side. He opened the book to where her marker was. "Oh, you haven't even gotten to the best part." The man stated. "Pity." With a flick of his wrist, the book disappeared.
For some reason, Sarah couldn't help but to study the man in front of her. His wispy golden hair surrounded him and made him seem ethereal. He wore a baggy poet shirt that was unbuttoned at the top to reveal just enough to get her imagination going into overdrive. Although he wore gloves, Sarah could tell he had slender fingers. She realized her breathing was getting more shallow. "What's the matter Sarah?" The man questioned. A smirk played on his features. He obviously knew what control he had over the girl. "Well, we should get going." That woke Sarah up. "If you think I'm going anywhere with you, then you're out of your mind!" She yelled. "Rules are rules Sarah, you don't have a choice and neither do I."
The man took a step back and somehow conjured a crystal ball. Sarah watched as he juggled and balanced it on his hands and fingers. Within moments she was mesmerized. All of the questions she had were forgotten. She was quickly getting sleepy. "W- what are you doing, stop it." She groggily protested. The crystal disappeared just like the book had. Sarah's knees were getting wobbly and she was losing her balanced. She tried to fight off the sleep, but the more she fought, the more it tried to claim her mind. Before she realized what was happening, she started falling to the ground. She was afraid she was going to hit the ground, but before she did she felt arms wrap around her waist. She could feel herself being hoisted up into someone's arms, then sleep consumed her for the second time.
A/N: This is my first time publishing to this site. Any constructive criticism is highly appreciated!
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