DISCLAIMOR: I DO NOT OWN LABYRINTH OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH IT. IT IS COPYWRITED AND OWNED BY THE JIM HENSON COMPANY. I AM ONLY TOYING WITH IT FOR MY AMUSEMENT AND HOPEFULLY YOURS. I AM MAKING NO PROFIT FROM THIS.
PROLOGUE
"You have no power over me."
As the mortal Sarah Williams spoke those intractable fateful words, many things happened at once. One of which was that when the Goblin King returned the two mortals to their home, a bit of magic escaped to the Aboveground with them. The more important if not the most important that occurred was that a being almost as old as Time itself had been freed. The magical bonds and seal restraining It had been broken.
For thousands of years the being had been imprisoned with a constant Keeper to make It didn't get loose to prey upon either the Aboveground or Underground. For thousands of years the Keeper had done a good job of maintaining the being's imprisonment; by keeping it stripped of its' powers and kept constantly weak.
Unknown to it's jailor, the being had gradually come awake from it's long dark slumber bit by bit. It used the energies exhausted by the Runners of the Labyrinth while trying to beat the ever changing maze. The powerful emotions felt by the mortals fueled the prisoner and brought it that much closer to coming fully awake and conscious.
When it had gained full consciousness, it began to influence the Runners, to use them to test the boundaries and weaknesses of the seal binding it. The being also wanted to learn about its' jailor and find his weaknesses as well. Over the course of its' captivity, it learned more than it had ever dreamed possible.
After Sarah Williams had won back her half-brother, the being held still to see if the Goblin King was aware of it. If he had felt the magic restraining it vanish. The being smiled noting that he was too distracted by his so recent loss and rejection from a mere stripling of a mortal teenage girl. It laughed as it set about getting free without detection. The fact was, the Goblin King had supplied the being with the instrument for its' release; even if it was done so unknowingly. By the time Jareth became aware of the being's absence, it would be too late.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
It had been months, and Sarah still couldn't seem to bring herself to fall back into the mainstream of her life. It wasn't that she hadn't tried because she had, but after her time in the Underground she just wasn't the same person she used to be. Everything that had previously thought magical had lost its splendor. After experiencing true magic, nothing could come close to it. It was as if what had once been shiny was now tarnished and what had been bright and colorful had become dull and washed out.
Acting had lost its appeal and her heart was no longer in it. She had come to realize that one of the main reasons that she had wanted to become an actress was to get closer to her mother and understand her if she could. But the reason she delved so deeply into acting had nothing to do with her mother, but more because of her father. It had actually been her father's fault that she became so heavily involved with the theater. He was after all the one who had taken her to her very first play. It was actually to see her mother perform, but it was still the very first play that young Sarah ever saw. It also left an impression on her.
Sarah had watched fascinated as the actors performed. So caught up in the story being told and the performance, that she forgot that she was actually watching her mother and her mother's friends. That had opened up a new window for her and she had thoroughly enjoyed it.
She found the allure to it when she discovered that you could be someone else for a short time. For that brief moment on stage you could leave who you were behind to don the life of another. Your woes, troubles, fears, disappointments, everything, disappeared. You got to forget your reality and create a new one that the audience believed to be true.
Having always idolized her mother, Sarah was devastated when her mother died. She had been just a child when her mother and father divorced, but she continued to follow her mother's career. She collected clippings of the papers her mother was in and the pamphlets her mother sent her. Sarah even talked with her mother on the phone and got to visit her in the theater sometimes.
Then her father had met and begun to date Karen shortly before Linda Williams' death. Because of that, Sarah had believed that her father hadn't been as heartbroken and sad as she by Linda's death. When her father married Karen, Sarah began to retreat to her protective world of acting. There she was loved, needed, and wanted.
Acting attracted her which caused her father worry about her seeming new hobby. He feared she would lead the same life as his wife and he would lose his daughter the same way. Karen disapproved of Sarah's pastime for an entirely different reason. She feared that Sarah wouldn't fit in at school with her head constantly in the clouds.
Karen had tried to get to know the girl but Sarah wouldn't let her. Sarah was angry at her father for marrying so soon after her mother died. She saw Karen as trying to replace her mother and she did not want another mother. She wanted her mother. She resented Karen and was jealous of the time and attention her father spent on the woman. Then Toby was born and any time or attention he usually spent with Sarah, was now focused on Toby, the son. The baby was the center of the universe for her father and Step-mother. Toby always came first before Sarah.
Fed up with everything on a night that the two went out to leave Sarah to babysit the baby brother she never wanted, she wished him away to the goblins. She hadn't known that her wish would actually be granted and that their was such a thing as goblins, let alone that they would take her brother. Nor did she every think that the story book her mother had given her was anything but a story. She had no clue that by wishing Toby away she would relive the book as the heroine.
Not all bad had come from the thirteen hours she spent in the Underground, however. In fact, mostly good had come from her trip. Sarah had acknowledged that if it hadn't been for Jareth and those hours spent in his laybrinth, she'd probably still be a naïve, spoiled, selfish brat. She wouldn't have come to realize how much she truly loved and cared for her younger brother. She became rather protective of him much to her parents' amusement and exasperation. Although she still became irritated and fed up with the toddler, it was only natural with their age difference. All she had to do though when she got to a certain point was to remember the night she had almost lost him due to her selfish wish.
Her room had also gone through a change as well. Gone were most of her childhood belongings. The stuffed animals, childish books, posters, the statue that had once graced her vanity, all gone; the music box, scrapbook, anything that had to do with her mother, and the little red book that had started it all. If she couldn't part with a certain item, the item in question was put in a box that now resided at the back of her closet. The rest were sold, donated, given to Toby, or thrown away.
Her room for the most part took on the look of the residence of a normal teenager. The fantasy bed was replaced with a normal bed with a wooden headboard. A nightstand holding a lamp and a stereo stood next to the bed. Cassette tapes were piled on the shelf and scattered about the room as were articles of clothing. Half finished homework spread across the coverlet of the bed as well as on top of the desk. Above the desk was a cork board which was tacked full of drawings made by Sarah. Most of the pictures were fantasy creatures but some were of her little brother and parents.
Since coming to understand her mother's love of theater and finding the allure of it no longer called to her, Sarah gave it up. Once she had, she found she actually had a talent for art. She had always liked to draw but had ignored it, spending all her time and energy on acting. Without that distraction, she actually put thought and effort into her drawings.
She still enjoyed the theater but preferred to enjoy it from the audience's perspective. The only way she would participate in anything related to the stage was to help with props or sets. That was one of the ways she discovered her talent. This new past time met with approval by her parents. They encouraged her and when they saw she was serious about her art, they bought her an easel, canvases, brushes, paints, and other art supplies.
She began to seriously apply herself in her art class in school. Her paintings improved as she learned and experimented with water colors, oil paints, and the color pastels. A classmate seeing this, suggested she enter an amateur art contest. Promising to consider it, Sarah first talked it over with her parents and with her three friends from the Labyrinth. All five of them thought it was a good idea and encouraged her to enter. They had all seen her work and knew she could have a future as an artist if she so desired it.
Since the theme was fantasy, Sarah knew she could do it, but also knew that there would be a lot of tough competition. Still, she smiled as she decided upon oil paints for her medium and began on her painting. She had come to the decision to paint her friends the way she had first met them. Hoggle taking a leak in the pond outside the walls of the Labyrinth with fairies hiding in the ivy that clung to the walls. Ludo hanging upside down while the Goblin Corps had the piranha like creatures at the end of their pikes to bite him. Sir Didymus guarding the bridge in the Bog of Eternal Stench.
Proud of her creation, she entered the contest and won third place. She had won a second place ribbon for originality, technique, and detail. Full of exhilaration, she rushed home and told her parents who took her out to celebrate. Karen sensing more than Sarah's prize ribbons were the cause of her excitement, asked when Richard went to the bathroom with Toby.
Sarah after blushing, confessed that she had met a boy at the exhibit. He was a few years older than her and seemed to know a lot about fantasy, myth, and art. She flushed while talking about him and Karen hid a smile. Sarah told her Step-mother that the boy was an amateur photographer, taking pictures of the contest. Karen quickly changed the subject when Richard and Toby came back to the table, but the two females shared a secret smile.
When they came home and Sarah was sure that she was the only one awake, she called upon her three Labyrinth friends. She could barely contain herself and beamed at them when they appeared so promptly. She told them about the contest and showed them her ribbons. She also shared the fact that she had been given a scholarship to a very prestigious art school. She then unveiled her painting to her friends.
"Why, that's us!" Hoggle said staring open mouthed.
"Indeed, milady. Though hast captured us well."
"Sawah good," Ludo imputed.
Sarah watched them and beamed as they expressed their awe and delight in the painting. She had been nervous and was still, but not as much. Taking a breath she knew this was right. Looking at Hoggle, she asked, "Would you like to have it?"
The dwarf's eyes widened and a look of uncertainty crossed his craggley features. "You means, I can have it?"
She nodded. "I really want you to have it, Hoggle. After all, you were my first friend."
The incredulous look stayed on his face as he accepted the painting, treating it as if it were fragile. In a rough voice he replied, "I'll treasure it always. Yous was my first friend too."
Taking a closer look at the peach tree in the middle of the painting dividing it into the three sections, Hoggle's eyes widened even further. There in a hole almost hidden up in the leafy canopy was a pale owl staring back. Sarah looked away from his searching look, voice soft and sad, matching the look in her hazel eyes. "I don't want to forget. The good or the bad. Not any of it."
