*First and foremost, I do not own Labyrinth*

Prologue

When age catches up

Sarah would turn eighteen at the end of spring. Next fall she would be in college. She was in fact packing, getting ready to go to said college for a weeklong visit so she could look around, get used to the town. It wasn't the one she wanted most but was one they could afford. She would travel across two states, live in the dorms, make new friends and leave her childhood behind or she would never grow up. At least that's what her therapist said.

Sarah wrinkled her nose and sniffed dramatically at those long annoying weeks. "Worthless know it all!" She complained remembering those days of forced therapy. It was horrible going to one but after insisting that what happened was real over and over her father and stepmother had forced her to go. She soon realized that if she did not admit it was all just a dream to them, she would soon find herself in a rubber room taking "happy pills" for the rest of her days. And so after only one month of her smiling and lying about how she had made it all up they let her go home.

What they didn't know was that when the hour was late, she would still call them. Someone would always answer. Be it Hoggle, ludo and sir Didymus and she would chat with them about her life and how she missed them. They never came to her room again but they always answered.

The hour chimed on her little clock, eleven pm. The entire house silent as Karen was an "early to bed early to rise" kind of person. Sarah sat before the mirror and opened the leather bound book she skimmed the well worn pages. Then she closed her eyes and called out to her friends. "Hoggle, I need you."

There was only silence, she heard nothing in return, only the unceasing tick of her clock. Maybe Hoggle was busy with his duty as the gardener today. "Sir Didymus, Ludo I need you." She tried again.

Nothing...

"Please?" she said looking in her mirror waiting for them to be there.

Nothing...

She called again, this time louder. Waiting for anything staring beyond her reflection, straining her eyes as if willing them into existence would work.

Nothing...

She panicked. What was wrong? Maybe The Goblin King was angry that they visited her. Hoggle always worried about that when he talked to her. "He will throw us all in the bog if he knew we did this I'm sure of it!" yet they never had a problem.

She tried again and again as tears fell. Maybe she was just to old now? Was 18 the magic loss of childhood fantasy number? She couldn't believe this was happening. Sarah paced in front of the mirror wringing her hands as the anxiety sunk deeper into her gut. What should she do? What could she do?

Call the king... Her mind whispered dangerously. Sarah shook her head, he would never answer, would he?

Sarah took a deep calming breath and sat again before the mirror. She wiped the tears from her face and steeled her resolve. She had thought of him, as often, if not more than she thought of her friends but she never dared call him. While young and afraid of him she wasn't immune to his allure. In the weeks that followed her trip to the Labyrinth her young teen mind conjure up many things that were not strictly innocent. Sarah had to admit that she had a crush on her villain. It was that that stopped her. If she saw him again, he would know of her silly crush and would mock her. Or pull you in for a kiss... Her hormone laced mind offered.

Sarah ignored her mind and shook herself. He was the king, he was the only one who had the power to give her back her friends. She would call, she had to try! Hoping that maybe if he was angry she could bargain with him to give her friends back. Sarah took a calming breath and tried.

"Goblin King" Her heart jumped even as she spoke. She swallowed against the lump in her throat and waited.

Nothing, only her own face stared back.

"Jareth, please?" She called, now desperation.

When the silence answered her tears started, and they didn't stop till she was asleep.

o0o

Meanwhile, in the underground.

"Jareth!" A vile deep throated call echoed through the throne room and Jareth pinched the bridge of his nose. What could that obnoxious dwarf want now? More important what had stirred him so much that he was yelling and daring to approach the throne room? More intrigued than not Jareth looked up.

Goblins stirred around him, those that weren't too drunk too anyhow. Some of the more drunk began singing yet Hoggle kept yelling. "Jareth you bastard what did you do?" When his little face came into view glaring for all he was worth, the dwarf kicked a goblin out of the way and stood before his king.

"Hagrag!" Jareth yelled in return, staring down the shriveled man who had the presence of mind to cower. "While I am king and need not explain myself." He began with beguiling calmness. "What the devil are you talking about!?" He finished in a deceptively amused tone.

"Why did you block her?" Hoggle insisted. Head held high though he knew he was on dangerous ground.

Surprise jerked Jareth's mind to a sudden halt, and he pulled himself up from his usual slouched position. "Her who?" He managed, though he guessed whom the dwarf was referring too. There was only one person who had ever befriended the useless coward. A suspicion was tickling the back of his mind and if it proved real... He didn't know what that meant or what might happen.

The dwarf looked shaken, a heavy sweat settled on his brow and he swallowed hard. "You mean it wasn't you?" he mumbled, looking all the world like he was lost. "ne, never mind yer majesty I'll just be on my way..."

"I asked you WHO Higgle!" Jareth demanded, his power cracking the air in agitation.

Hoggle flinched at the crack and stepped back.

If that creature runs his life will be forfeit. Jareth thought, almost wishing Hoggle would dare run. "Who!" he insisted again.

"S..Sarah, champion of the labyrinth"

Jareth had been blocked from her since she won. It was a law of the underground once a mortal won their freedom they were protected. The fey could not trick or trap a second time. The final words of their confrontation sealed the deal. Jareth flicked his wrist, a crystal coming to his call. His disappointment sure as he looked for her. Still nothing, he couldn't summon her image or even a hint of her whereabouts.

Normally it was of no matter to him. Many mortals had come to his labyrinth, not very many passed and even less as fast as she had. But once gone he never thought of them again, it was pointless. Except her, defiant, willful and strong somehow more memorable than most. He still tried to look for her, far too often in fact. But as strong as he was, the rules of the underground could not be bent.

"Well if you didn't cut her off what did?" Hoggle seemed very concerned, wrapped up in his problem. He was not even paying attention to Jareth, so it was easy to close the distance between them and grab the little rat by the cuff.

The dwarf yelped and struggle as he was hauled up to meet the eyes of his King. "You had better tell me everything. NOW Hogwart!"

Hoggle stopped struggling, fidgeting with the ugly bracelet on his wrist. "Well we set up a way to stay in contact with 'er, through the mirror in her room." Jareth dropped him and he scrambled away.

"You... you imbeciles did what?" He stuttered.

"When it was all done we was saying goodbye before the chance was gone." He said, pulling off his hat and scratching at his head. "But she said she needed us, said we was friends and we couldn't leave her like that."

Jareth took a calming breath. "And just how did you manage to do something that complicated without my knowledge?" These fools made a scrying mirror. They did it to keep contact with their friend... Behind his back, and because of the laws he had not known.

The dwarf shrugged. "Well, mostly it was Sir Didymus," That was not surprising, that Knight was one of the few in his realm that predated Jareth's kingship. "I didn't really ask how. It worked was all I knew. We never had no problems until now," The dwarf continued to ramble. Jareth wondered what else Didymus could do. "She would call or we would but we hadn't heard from 'er in weeks and so I called and there was nothin'. We thought maybe it was you who stopped us. But please your majesty, she needs us and we need her please let us contact her again!" Hoggle begged.

Jareth actually felt bad for his subject. To lose a friend when you have so few. Jareth understood but still was at a loss how. It shouldn't have happened in the first place. To hide his confusion he bluffed. "I will do nothing of the sort. Now leave my sight Hogspill and if you mention this again, I shall revisit the offer of princedom over the bog!"

In a flare of glitter and magic the dwarf was gone, sent back to his place at the front of the labyrinth. While Jareth materialized in his own room. Flicking his wrist again Jareth looked into its depths but again nothing could be called forward regarding the champion of the labyrinth. The goblin King felt his blood pressure spike in anger. He was angry at his own negligence, how he was feeling a speck of jealousy toward those subjects of his who had been talking to Sarah Williams. Unfortunately nothing mattered now. His small chance was lost, and worse still he had not even known the chance was available till it wasn't anymore.

He thought of talking to the Knight but pushed that idea away as soon as it came. It didn't matter anymore. "What's done is done." He informed himself, it would be better to never think on it again.

**End chapter**