Disclaimers: If you think I own anything of or in the
Labyrinth, you are a fool. 'Nuff said.
A/N: Okay, this struck me tonight, without provocation. I've
been experiencing a brief bout of writer's block, along with melancholy over
everything that has happened. Blame me not for this story, or what effect it
has on you. It is what was given to me, and now I give it to you. Please accept
my gift graciously.
~*~
Memorial
~*~
It had been
fifteen years since Sarah Williams had visited the Labyrinth. Fifteen years
since she had allowed her dreams to take over her reality. So much had
happened, so much had changed.
That night,
after returning from the Labyrinth, she had stayed up until all hours, partying
with her friends. After that, Hoggle stayed to help her clean up. They talked
until dawn broke, and he had to return. Sarah had sighed and said goodbye. She
missed the dwarf already.
She kept in
touch with her friends, on and off, throughout the rest of her high school
years. But she gave up her dream of acting, deciding that she had better have
more solid plans. She got interested in law, seeing nothing more solid than
that.
The last
time she saw her friends from the Labyrinth was the day that she had moved out
of her childhood home, and left for college in Massachusetts. She told them all
that she loved them, but needed to focus on her studies. She was growing up,
but would always remember them. And she'd see them again one day.
The real
reason she sent them away, though, was that she could hear the Labyrinth
calling to her. It was in her blood, forever. She had been drawn in, forever
would her mind wander back to that enchanted land. And she missed the arrogant
King. No doubt she had met many men who matched and even surpassed his
arrogance in law school, but the King's had been tempered with a kindness she
had not recognized. She wondered if he still thought of her.
She had
attempted relationships, but never had a truly successful one. Her mind would
always compare her current beau to the Goblin King, and, as expected, the new
ones never matched up. She wondered if she'd ever get over him.
After law school, she got a job
with a law firm in Boston. A good job, she was well paid. But it never
fulfilled her the way acting had. She wondered if anything ever would.
Now she was
thirty, and tired of the life she had been living. She had suppressed her
dreams for far too long. She wanted to act, and she would no longer let any
inhibitions stand in her way. Her decision was made. She gave two-week notice
to the employers at her dead-end job.
She took one last glance in the
mirror, hoping that on this day, her dreams would come true. Her mind flashed
briefly to the Labyrinth, even after all these years. She shook herself
mentally, and focused on her future. She was going to Los Angeles, to fulfill
her childhood dream.
She rushed to the airport, to catch
her early midweek flight. She checked her ticket one last time, to make sure
she had the right gate. American Airlines flight 11, headed from Boston, MA to
Los Angeles.
She settled into her seat, and
drifted off after the plane had ascended. A lingering thought plagued her mind.
The date… it's 9-1-1…She wasn't sure what happened next, everything was
a blur.
Sarah was never to know the full
story of what happened. But as the Boeing 767 crashed into the north tower of
the World Trade Center, Sarah did see one thing that gave her the greatest
sense of relief.
Everything went black, then the
dark faded away, revealing a tall, regal man, his hand extended to her. Her dreams
really had come true. The only worthy queen was finally going home.
