Author's note: I do not own the Labyrinth or any of the characters contained therein. I'd like to, but I don't. If this first chapter interests you, please review!
"You have no power over me." The words echoed strangely in Sarah's head as she fell through the air, fell through the ruins of Jareth's Castle, and landed softly on her feet, safely at home. The clock was chiming, and Sarah had no thought in her head other than to make sure her brother was safe. Racing up the stairs, Sarah burst into her Father and Step-mother's room. Toby was sleeping peacefully in his crib. In a burst of altruistic intent, Sarah jogged to her room and came back bearing Sir Lancelot, whom she tucked in with the sleeping Toby. Leaning down, she kissed her little brother on his forehead before smoothing his hair and then leaving, making sure to leave the door cracked.
Returning to her room, Sarah sat at her dressing table, realizing that she wasn't at all tired. Looking around, she saw all the various trappings and visualizations of her dreams, but nothing even came close to what she had just experienced. A small red book caught her eye, and she ran her hand over the smooth cover: The Labyrinth. She had thought it just a play before letting her imagination run wild, imagining herself as the heroine and conqueror of the Labyrinth, triumphing over the Goblin King. But never in all the times that she had practiced the line "You have no power over me," had she visualized the hurt and pain that she had seen in the Goblin King's eyes. Was it true that, "he had fallen in love with the girl…", as story went? How much of the story was real? Was any of it not real?
Sarah continued to survey her room. Her eyes alighted over her toys, dolls, figurines, music boxes, and books that were her continued childhood. A tube of lipstick. A beautiful princess dancing on top of a music box. Glowing red fireys dancing in a dark bog. A small Goblin King figurine. Sarah picked up the figurine hesitantly, a frightening suspicion taking shape: what if she had dreamed it all? This room held all of the inspiration for everything that happened in the Labyrinth. Everything. Could it simply have been a dream, nothing more, nothing less? The very thought made Sarah want to cry, but before she could, a gravelly voice called her name. Hoggle was framed in her mirror.
At first, Sarah was relieved beyond words that the Labyrinth had been more than a dream. It didn't register what Hoggle, then Sir Didymus, and then Ludo said until they had finished speaking. And then their words slid into place: "Should you need us…" Need them? They were her friends. Just as no one had ever befriended them, no one had ever befriended her, unless you count Merlin. She never would have gotten through the Labyrinth if it hadn't been for them. Separating from them before Jareth's castle had been hard, but they had left her with the same words, "Should you need us…" What had she replied? She did need them. How could she tell them? What were the right words? And then, just like that, the right words came to her, "I do need you." And she did, truly.
Hoggle's face changed instantly, into a gigantic grin. "Well, why didn't you say so?!" In an instant, Sarah was surrounded by her three friends, and she frantically rushed to hug them all. In her excitement, Sarah never noticed the snowy owl outside her window. The owl watched, and then when it wanted to see no more, it flew away, casting a small shadow over the floor. Sarah caught the motion with the corner of her eye and turned just in time to see the white shape fly away. A feeling of uncertainty came over Sarah: what exactly was she celebrating? Several answers were clear: friends, Toby, and the certainty that the Labyrinth was real. After seeing the pain in the Goblin King's eyes, celebrating his and his Labyrinth's defeat didn't seem right. Now that she thought about it, the Goblin King probably wasn't as bad as she had made him out to be. It had been a competition of sorts between the two of them, a battle, if you will. All's fair in love and war, Sarah mused.
She would have continued reflecting on the day's events and on a certain wild-haired king had not one of the goblins present chosen that very moment to startle Ludo, who responded with a very loud howl prompting Sarah to return to the party. But before she could be carried away by the festivities again, Sarah vowed to herself that she would never doubt the Labyrinth's existence. The day's events marked a turning point in her life, and while she could still reminisce about her childhood, it was time to grow up. But she would never ever forget about the Labyrinth or forget her new friends, and she would never forget about Jareth.