The tears rolled down her face, all as she stared at those around her with fury in her eyes. They could have stopped his death, yet they did nothing. With all their power, all their ability, they had let an innocent die. She would not forgive them, nor would she let them forget what they had done. It was her brother that had been killed, unnecessarily and without remorse.

Sarah angrily pushed her hair behind her ears before she began to harshly pull it back into a ponytail. She ignored how messy it was, she was too angry to care about looking nice. Once her anger cooled, then she would worry about revenge and looking good while doing it. Toby had only been six, yet those adults around had let him die. He had died in a hospital, with only Sarah at his side.

Karen had wanted to take a vacation, and despite Toby's condition, Robert had given into his wife's demands. Leaving only Sarah once more, after all she'd only ever been his caregiver. Mother and sister all wrapped into one package, the one he ran to when he had nightmares, had an accident, or just needed comfort. It wasn't supposed to be her job!

She shouldn't have been the only one there when Toby passed, she should have been able to rely on her father at the very least. No, her mother was there once more. As soon as she needed her, Sarah's mother had come running. Despite all that she had going on, Linda Williams would always come to her daughter's aid. Despite all the errors she had made with her when she had been younger, she was bound and determined to make up for them now.

Pulling closer to Sarah amongst the throng at Toby's funeral service, she rested her hand on Sarah's shoulder, shivering as she felt the presence of a sidhe. Realizing exactly what she felt, she scanned those around them frantically, why would a fae be here? How did Sarah or even Karen or Robert know a fae?!

Frowning when Sarah pulled away from her, she was startled to see her run into the arms of the sidhe she had sensed. He was tall with unfashionably long hair done in what seemed to be layers, his eyes mismatched, even as he wrapped his arms around Sarah. His posture screamed possessiveness, and dared anyone to come over and add to her grief.

As she watched, Karen and Robert walked over to the pair, shaking her head Linda couldn't help but wander over herself. She would be there for her daughter, unhappy as she was at the fact she was apparently involved with a fae man. In some instances, she wished she'd just been a lesbian, it would have made their mortal lives so much easier than involving the undying fae in them.

She arrived just in time to hear Karen's harping, "Sarah! Who is this man? This is your brother's funeral… So why is this stranger here?"

Sarah just cuddled further into the man's embrace, letting his power flow and surround her, calming her as none other could. Not even her own mother. "Lower your voice woman, can you not tell that Sarah is inconsolable? Or are you too much of a cruel bitch to care?" Sarah's own eyes widened as she startled in his arms. What in the world could the fae man be thinking?! Especially baiting Karen the way he was.

"Get out of here! I don't want to see either of you, ever again!" Karen began to scream, that is until Robert slipped his hand over her mouth, tears glistening unshed in his eyes. "Ignore her, Sarah is my daughter, just as much as Toby was," Here he stuttered, his breathing becoming shallow as he fought the tears threatening, "My son. I love you honey."

Sarah stayed firmly within the man's arms, letting him soothe her. Her tears continued to fall, even as the warmth of the body surrounding her began to seep through to her bones. Nuzzling closer, she finally looked at her parents, ignoring the woman her father had married. "Daddy, Mother, this is Jareth. I started to tell both of you about him… Remember? Before…" The tears fell faster as she took a deep breath, "Before Toby fell ill. This man is my fiancé." Linda eyed the man holding her daughter; he looked to be in his early thirties, with one eye a blue and the other a golden brown. His hair was white blonde and fell in gentle layers about his face, his overall demeanor dominating yet gentle in Sarah's presence.

"I'm sorry about the circumstances, sir and Madame." His voice seemed to startle Robert into letting go of Karen. Who promptly tried to go onto a rampage again, which was stopped only by Jareth's murmured, "She is, was his sister. I am to marry her; I am allowed to be here. Despite what you may think, she is my world. I adore Toby the few times I was able to meet and talk to him. He would have been happy to see his sister marry. We'd have both been ecstatic if he had been able to attend our wedding." After he said that, he turned his attention back to the woman in his arms, pulling her away so that he could kiss her tears away.

"I love you," Sarah whispered as he pulled away, a hint of a smile on her lips. Her eyes flickered back to her parents, "I'm sorry you had to meet him like this. I… I fully intended on you meeting him before this, but… With Toby… I couldn't. I hope you understand." Her parents both smiled softly, they could find no fault with their daughter. Linda squeaked when Jeremy came up behind her and wrapped her in his arms, reminding both her and Robert that they no longer had a responsibility to each other. Even if in truth they still loved the other with all their hearts.

Life had never been kind to Robert or Linda Williams. They had been happy yet unhappy together, they had a wonderfully beautiful and talented daughter whom they both doted upon. Yet when the time came, they chose to split up amicably. Things just weren't going right, Linda couldn't take care of Sarah, and she just wasn't stable enough so she left her with Robert. Who married Karen not even a full year after their divorce was finalized. Karen hadn't had the patience to deal with a young girl who had lost her mother; all her support systems had been broken, torn apart by the failure of her parents' marriage.

In doing what she had, Karen had alienated her step-daughter. Irreparably at that, because a few years later when Toby was born, Karen had no clue as to what a child entailed. Leaving all the care to a fourteen year old Sarah, who had bonded with Toby just as a mother would, yet she was still too young to be able to bear that responsibility. So she had wished him away, only to relearn what he meant to her. Just as she fell in love with the King of the Goblins, he watched and waited for her to summon him back into her life. So he came when Toby first fell ill, there had been nothing he could do other than be there for Sarah as she needed him. As time went on, she had fallen in love with him as he fell ever deeper in love with her.

Theirs was a love forged in misery and tragedy, assured to last eternity. When she had won the Labyrinth, it had granted her powers. The Labyrinth was a sentient being, but on a broader scale than most sidhe or humans. It one age was just another day for it, so for a mortal girl to awaken it so, it had granted her the ability to be with her King.

"You're fine darling girl, we too," Here Linda looked at her former husband from the embrace of her lover, "Understand what you are and have been going through. Be happy in the way we never could. We shall mourn the loss of a bright young soul, but don't let it hold you back. Toby would never be happy if he knew his death had caused you such unhappiness." As Sarah looked from her mother to her father, she saw him nodding his agreement. There would be no need for revenge, what had happened to Toby was just a fluke, an accident of fate.

"Mom… Daddy…" Her parents looked at her with affection radiating from them in waves, there was no better daughter or woman than the one standing before them. "Yes dear heart?" Robert murmured across the short distance separating them. "Let's go home. Toby wouldn't want us here when it starts pouring; after all, he was such a happy bright soul!"

So the life and love of Sarah Williams was forever changed. The day her baby brother died was the day her life began anew; her father and Karen never did recover the relationship they had before Toby's death. Her father always blaming Karen in some small way for his not being there when not only his son but his daughter needed him the most, and for always making Sarah be the mother Karen herself should always have been. Linda and Jeremy are still together, yet Jeremy has never said a word when she disappears for a weekend. He knows and has always known that Robert and Linda shared a special bond, one that had never been destroyed, even after their divorce. Sarah married Jareth in a very mortal ceremony at the park she used to play act in with her sheepdog Merlin. They all discovered, life moves on after death, not always happily or pleasantly, but it does move on.

Before A/N

Word count: 1,655

Hopefully it flows and makes sense, R&R, let me know what I need to change/edit. This is me trying to be responsible and not do anything drastic as I'm extremely upset and tired. So enjoy. Reviews (constructive or not) are always appreciated, especially when they help me as the author get more out for you. I especially need help with Sarah's Choice & Sarah's Beginning.