Author's note- Yay! I'm finally publishing my first story on here. Please be nice. I tried my best on the grammar but there might still be some mistakes.

Disclaimer- I do not own Labyrinth. I never had and I never will. If I did, somewhere in the Labyrinth would be snack machines, a gift shop, and a Karaoke bar.

Scuzzle bug- Karaoke! *starts singing Last Friday Night, badly*

Me- *throws a cookie across the room and watches Scuzzle bug chase after it* There that should keep her busy for awhile. Now, on with the story!

Alana Hope wasn't like other girls. She was a changeling, but of course she didn't remember. She was a mere babe when the exchange took place after all. Sometimes she would have memories of staring at the ceiling of a ramshackle cottage, or being watched over by a weathered lady with turquoise eyes, but she waved them away. They were just the products of an over active imagination.

Alana grew up as a human (the parents, school, a younger sibling), but her otherworldly nature and talent manifested itself in two ways. First, she had an unnatural talent for dancing. She could twist and twirl her body to the beat of any rhythm and if she really got into it she could make her dance quite grotesque or hauntingly beautiful. Her mother wanted her to take ballet lessons, but Alana did not want to be a ballerina. She just wanted to dance.

Secondly, Alana could converse with animals. She could understand them when they spoke and she could speak back to them as well. Or she could connect with them mentally and talk to them that way. Her conversations included but were not limited to, her cats Trouble and Sawdust, the neighbor's dog, her canary Pigpen, the mouse family that lived in the cupboard, and a very ill-tempered grass snake that took up residence in the garden and always had a cold, Shakes.

Alana liked talking to her non-human companions, for she found they were easy to confide in and she never had to worry about them telling her secrets. She also found many of them had issues of their own and would often ask her for advice. Trouble jokingly called her the Critter Counselor.

Her behavior worried her parents, at first. They constantly told her to go out and play with the neighborhood children, but as children often do they sensed she was different and would not let her play. Even before they had moved it had been that way. That was until she'd met Sarah Williams, a girl who lived across the street.

She figured out quickly that one of her doggy pals, Merlin, belonged to Sarah. The two ran into each other at the park and quickly began talking. They found they had much in common and had soon formed a very close bond. Thankfully their friendship was enough to quiet her parents fears.

Alana wasn't normal, she knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt, but it wasn't until the week of her sixteenth birthday that she learned just how different she really was.

Author's note- Ok, I know this is short but it's just the prologue. The next chapter is longer, I promise. I hope you like it so far. Please Review. Also no flames. Flamers will be dipped head first into the Bog of Eternal Stench.

*Scuzzle bug appears dripping wet and stinking to high heaven*

I think I've proved my point. :)