A/N- So, I watched Labyrinth last night, partially as tribute to the late David Bowie, and I fell in love with it. The movie ended at midnight, and I was up until 2:30am reading fanfics about it. Then, an idea stuck, and badabing, badaboom, here we are!

EDIT: So, as I was writing, I realized that I got the timeline off. So, ignore my previous time jump. This is roughly twenty-five years later.

Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth.

"Ashlyn, I need you to babysit Gavin," my mom called up the steps.

I groaned, and rolled to my feet, setting my laptop next to me, before sticking my head around the top of the steps. "Why? I babysat last night."

"I know, but Aunt Sarah's been getting worse," she explained apologetically. "She wanted your father and I there tonight."

I bit my lip. My aunt had cancer, and we all knew she was living on borrowed time.

"Wait, why can't we come?" Besides the fact that I wanted to get out of babysitting, I loved visiting with Aunt Sarah, and hearing her stories. My favorite was always the one about the Goblin King.

"I don't know how late your father and I will be out, and it's already close to Gavin's bedtime," she pointed out. "Which should make your job easier, being as he has to be asleep soon."

I opened my mouth to protest more, but closed it when I saw her expression. "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

"Sorry," She grinned, and made for the door. "I'll see you soon."

She left, and I stayed a moment longer, hanging in the doorway, before my brother started making noise, and I had to go yell at him. I opened his bedroom door, and poked my head in. "Hey, kid. Start getting ready for bed."

"I don't wanna!" The five-year-old stuck his tongue out at me. "You can't make me!"

I sighed internally, before grinning evilly to the outside. "You know, Gavin, I really don't want to be babysitting you. And, you have been grating on me all week. You should watch out, or else I'll call the Goblin King to come and take you away, just like Aunt Sarah always told us!"

By this time, I had fully entered his room, and started tickling him to get my point across. He tried not to laugh, but failed, and ended with a scream of outrage. "No! Stop!"

He swung at me, but I caught his wrist. I wagged a finger at him. 'Ah, ah, ah. Just a few simple words. I wish…"

I trailed off, and Gavin immediately stopped struggling. I let go of his hand, and could almost see the goblins stirring, hoping I'd finish the call. I could see the King rising, getting ready to come take my brother away.

I opened my eyes, and narrowed them at Gavin. "You better get ready for bed. Otherwise, I'll call him. And, unlike Aunt Sarah, I won't come to get you out."

I saw Gavin shiver, and offhandedly hoped he wouldn't get nightmares. I honestly didn't want to deal with that.

After he was asleep, I took my laptop out again, continuing the episode I was watching. But, I couldn't concentrate, and instead took out a small, old, red leather book that was gifted to me by my Aunt Sarah as soon as I was old enough to love books. I opened the book, paging lovingly through. I read until my eyelids were heavy, and sleep overtook me quickly, my dreams filled with imagery of the Goblin Kingdom.

I awoke early in the morning, just as the front door opened and closed softly. I heard muffled sobs, and made my way silently downstairs. I saw my mother and father sitting at the table, my mother the one sobbing, but both with tears in their eyes, attempting to comfort one another. There was nothing I hated more than seeing my family in pain, so I hesitantly stepped out from behind wall separating the stairway from the dining room. "Mom? Dad? What's wrong?"

They both looked up, and my mother wiped her eyes, beckoning me over to sit with her. I complied, kneeling so that she could stroke my head like she did when I was little. I looked up at her, confusion mixing with the fear of what I thought I knew she was going to say. But, nothing could prepare me for when she said it. "Aunt Sarah… she… she passed away last night."

I felt the tears flood, and I tried to choke back my sobs, but I couldn't hold them in. I cried, face buried in my mother's lap, as she continued to try to console me. "She was in pain, Ashlyn. It's… it's for the best."

"No, it's not," I whispered. "If she just held out longer, he would have come…"

"Who, darling?" I looked into my mother's deep blue eyes, matching my own, along with the rest of her features, and she could see in my face what my answer was. She sighed, stroking the chocolate brown hair that looked exactly like Aunt Sarah's, but matched neither my father's, nor my mother's. "Baby, you know he isn't real. You're getting too old for this."

"He is real," I protested fiercely. "I can feel it." I looked to my father, begging him to take my side. "You know. You were there."

"Even if I was," my father began, and I knew what he was going to say before he said it. "I would have been too young to remember. But, the Goblin King was just a story that your aunt made up, a dream that came from reading that book she gave you so many times."

I pulled away from them, and wiped my eyes, though the tears were coming back. A weight crushed upon my chest. I looked down, refusing to look either of them in the eye. "I'm going back upstairs. I want to be alone."

Before either of them could protest, I had run up the steps, and hid away in my room. I launched myself onto the bed, and buried my face in my pillow, letting everything out. After about ten minutes, I didn't feel as if I could cry anymore, but I needed something to get my mind off the tragedy. So, I did the only thing that might work.

I turned up my music, so I couldn't even hear myself think, and took out the book from Aunt Sarah, planning to lose myself in the pages, as I did so often. I couldn't concentrate after a few hours, though, and found myself sighing, placing the book next to me. I stared up at the ceiling, and lost myself in thought.

He loved her. The book said so, as did Aunt Sarah.

So, why didn't he save her? I know he has magic. Why not use it to save the woman he loved?

Another thing that was bothering me was my parents. Why were they so insistent that I grow up, and forget the fairy tales I loved so dearly? Especially now that Aunt Sarah was gone, I needed to hold on to the fantastical, to keep the memory of her alive.

Then there was Gavin. I didn't understand why I had to babysit him so often. It wasn't like I didn't love him, I just prefered being on my own. But, often as I may dream of it, I would never truly call for the goblins to take him away.

In short, I wanted nothing more than to get away from this god-awful world, even if just for a bit. Something more potent than sleep.

Something like goblins.

I sat up slowly, taking out my earbuds. I would never wish my brother to be taken away, mostly for the sake of my parents. But, who said I couldn't ask for them to take me away, if only for a little?

I looked out the window, where the sky was already darkening. It was mid winter, so night fell quickly. But, what was truly obscuring the sky were thick rainclouds, looking ready to burst. I sighed, resting my head against my window, debating myself. If the goblins were real, asking for them to whisk me away to an unknown world might not be the best idea. Besides, who's to say they would even comply? And if they weren't real, then I lost my final connection to Aunt Sarah, and would be forced to simply accept that she was gone, let her memory drift into the background of my life, becoming nothing but thoughts of an easier time.

The thought that this may happen crushed me, and I shut my eyes tight, forcing me to make up my mind.

"I wish," I whispered, desperately hoping that I was right in following my instincts. Then again, my instincts had never steered me wrong before. "I wish that the Goblin King would come and take me away."

A/N- So, that's chapter one!

Word to the wise: I occasionally go off on random tangents in these author's notes. You can ignore them if you want, for the most part.

Speaking of tangents, here's one now!

Okay, so today in English we were looking at inkblots. I don't know why, we do the randomest things in that class. Anyway, the first one he pulls up, I look at it, and start laughing. He gives us a minute, then starts saying what others saw. He asked if any of us saw anything different, and called on me. I proudly proclaimed to the class "It looks like two flying goblins abducting a struggling child."

There was silence, before one of my friends (who also loves this movie) started laughing as he realized where my mind had immediately gone.

Then the second picture came up, and I knew I was obsessed, because I saw the scene where Jareth and Sarah were dancing.

Anyway, that was all. Fave, follow, review, PM me, remember that all flames are used for roasting hotdogs and marshmallows, and worship the Goblin King!