Sarah had returned to her small apartment and was trying not to cry. Come on, Sarah, she thought to herself, you're an adult now. You have to be stronger than this. She went and sat down in front of the vanity in her small bedroom. It took up a lot of space, but it was the one piece of furniture she insisted on bringing with her from her parent's home. She still called her friends from the Underground frequently. As she looked at her slightly disheveled reflection, she decided to call Hoggle. She hoped her friend would help distract her from her sadness however, her plan didn't work and she started crying in front of the poor dwarf.
"Oh, stop your crying. What's even got ya so upset?" Hoggle asked.
"I didn't get a callback again. This is the third time this week. I just feel like all the training I did in school was useless." Sarah was now 23 and finding out that drama school did not prepare her for all the rejection she would receive when pursuing acting.
"Sarah, don't listen to those rats. You're one of the most talented people I'ves seen. You're better then all of those fancy High Court actors." This caused Sarah to pause.
"You guys have a theater program there?" Hoggle rolled his eyes.
"Of course wes do, we're not savages." Then his eyes widened. "Sarah, you could try out down here! Oh, I know I saws a flier for the auditions recently. It was for a show about summer or dreams or something like that."
"Hoggle, you don't mean A Midsummer Night's Dream do you?"
"Yeah, that's it!"
"Oh my gosh, performing Shakespeare in the Underground among fae!" Sarah was catching Hoggle's enthusiasm now and wiped the tears off of her cheeks. "But how would I get there?"
"I could bring you through the mirror, but I don't haves enough magic to send you back."
"That could work, when are the auditions?"
"Ugh, hold on. I think the flier is still somewhere close by." Hoggle walked out of Sarah's view for a few moments before triumphantly returning with a piece of paper. "It says auditions start in a week."
"Do you think I could stay with you for a couple days, Hoggle so I have time to rehearse?"
"Sure, I don't sees why not."
"Great! I'll pick up a copy of the play and then in a few days I'll have you bring me back Underground!" Sarah and Hoggle finished solidifying their plans and Hoggle cut the magical communication allowing Sarah to take a second to reflect. Am I seriously willingly going to the Underground with no way back? She then decided even if she couldn't get back out, there wasn't much holding her Aboveground, she definitely didn't have a job to return to.
"Hoggle, can you please go over these lines with me one last time?" Sarah asked her friend. This had been a reoccurring request throughout the weekend.
"Sarah, if yous don't leave now you're going to be late and that won't be good for neither of us." Sarah sighed after Hoggle saw through her front.
"I guess you're right." Sarah started heading for the door of the small home.
"Sarah," she paused and turned back to the dwarf, "there's no need to be nervous, just show those fae how amazing yous are!" Sarah walked back and hugged her friend.
"Thanks for everything, Hoggle. I owe you." Hoggle brushed Sarah off.
"Aw, get off. Just go to the audition." As Sarah stood she noticed Hoggle was brushing.
Sarah had reached out to the theater company about auditioning and they had been thrilled about her interest. They had given her a special crystal to transport her to the theater for the day of auditions. Sarah left Hoggle's small home and threw the crystal, stepping into the mist it produced.
Once the mist cleared, Sarah found herself in a regal-looking hallway.
"Are you Miss Williams?" A voice questioned. Sarah turned and found the source of the voice. The fae looked similar to Sarah in age, but Sarah imaged she must be much older.
"I am, but I usually go by Sarah."
"You shouldn't give your full name down here." The fae simply relied before turning and walking down the hallway. Sarah watched the fae walk away for a moment before breaking out of her trance and running to catch up with the woman.
"What can I call you?" Sarah asked.
"You may call me Dea."
"Nice to meet you, Dea." Sarah said, trying to keep up with the fae's long strides. "What do you do?"
"I'm the assistant director. You've been in communication with Melanor, the director for this project. I understand you want to audition for the role of Helena." Sarah tried to affirm this statement, but Dea started speaking again. "That is the most emotional and human character." Sarah felt like this was an insult, but she held her tongue. Thankfully, she and Dea arrived at the hallway where other women were lined up for auditions. "You can get in line here, you should be called to the stage shortly." Dea said before turning and leaving the hallway.
"Thank you!" Sarah called to her retreating figure.
"Don't worry, she's pretty curt to everyone," said the woman next to Sarah. Sarah looked over and found a fae who looked about the same age as her, but was surprisingly was slightly shorter than Sarah. She thought this was a bit odd, because in all her stories faes had always been described as tall graceful beings. She then realized she needed to answer the fae.
"Thanks, I was starting to think she has something against humans."
"Oh, you must be Sarah them. I'm Calla." Sarah stared at Calla for a moment, wondering how she knew about her.
"Do I have that much of a reputation here?" She questioned.
"Well, it is pretty rare for a human to know about the Underground, let alone come down here," Calla explained. "How do you know about this place?"
"I have some friends that live here. One of them told me about these auditions." Sarah quickly replied.
Thankfully, before Calla could question her any further, Sarah was called for her audition. As she followed the fae backstage, she tried not to let nerves show. She was ushered to center stage where she felt her bag being taken from her, she tried to look around and soon found herself unable due to a spotlight being focused on her forcing her eyes to adjust to the brightness.
"Miss Williams?" A voice from the audience seating called out. Sarah tried to see past the beams of the spotlight and find the source of the voice. Her gaze soon landed on a table where Dea and two other fae were sitting.
"Please, call me Sarah." Sarah swore Dea rolled her eyes after she said this.
"Alright, Sarah. I'm Melanor, the director, you met Dea, and this is my assistant director Joanna. In your note, you said you wanted to audition for the role of Helena, correct?"
"That's correct. I've prepared her monologue from Act I Scene I."
"Lovely, start whenever you are ready." Melanor told her.
Sarah took a deep breath and got into character. The scene she chose was when Helena was questioning why Demetrius did not love her, even though he once swore he did. When Sarah's mind sometimes wandered to dangerous places, she often wondered if the Goblin King still loved her. She had realized what his words had meant a few months after her run of the Labyrinth and realized she felt the same about the king. She hardly let herself think about him, but he was good inspiration for the character of Helena. She started her monologue, loosing sight of real life and picturing Jareth's face whenever her character mentioned Demetrius.
Once she was finished, she was brought out of her trance by applause. "Sarah, that was amazing! Someone backstage will give you a crystal to get you home, but if you stay until the auditions are finished, we should have a cast list up by the end of the day." Melanor told her.
"Thank you all so much for this opportunity," Sarah said quickly before following the fae back to the waiting area. Her bag was handed back to her, once she was back behind the curtain. Sarah and the fae made their way to the door that lead to the hallway, before Sarah could exit the fae turned and held out a crystal.
"Miss Williams, here is your return crystal. It works just like the other one you were given."
"Thank you." Sarah said, taking the crystal. She carefully placed it in her bag. "I think I'll stay and wait for the results to be posted." The fae bowed to Sarah and ducked away, allowing Sarah to exit into the hallway. Calla waved Sarah over as she came out.
"So, how did it go?" Calla excitedly asked.
"Good, I think." Sarah tried to process the brief experience. "To me it felt good."
"Oh," Calla grabbed Sarah's hands excitedly, "I just know you'll get in, Sarah." Sarah couldn't help but match the fae's excitement.
"Thanks, Calla! Have you had your audition yet?"
"Not yet, I have two people to go before my turn."
"You're going to do amazing," Sarah emphasized the last word with a squeeze of Calla's hands before letting go. "Do you want to go over lines together?"
"That would be lovely; thank you, Sarah!"
After going over the Hermia monologue a couple of times, Calla was soon called for her audition. Sarah felt a bit relieved, Calla was kind for welcoming her, but she was a bit overwhelming with all her excitement.
Calla came back a few minutes later and seemed a lot calmer. The two girls sat and talked, both wanted to wait for the cast list to be posted. Sarah was careful not to mention too much of her first time in the Labyrinth. She especially avoided the topic of the Goblin King.
After the hallway cleared out, except for a few other women who were waiting for the results, Dea stepped out from the stage door with a list. Sarah and Calla were far away from the board Dea posted the list to, so they had to make their way around the other girls who had gotten to the list first. As they weaved through the girls who were either laughing and hugging or grumbling about a small part, they became separated. Calla was able to reach the board first and called back to Sarah.
"Oh, Sarah, I told you!" Sarah finally made her way up to the list and saw her name listed next to Helena. She also saw Calla's name listed next to Hermia. She felt Calla hug her and after a moment she wrapped her arms around the fae and hugged her back. "Do you want to go out and celebrate?" Calla asked as she released Sarah from the hug.
"I need to get home and tell Hoggle. I'm sorry, Calla, maybe next time." Sarah made her way back out of the crowd in the hallway and made sure she was far enough away from the group so she could throw her crystal and get home.
When the mist cleared, Sarah found herself back in her bedroom. She quickly ran over to her dresser mirror and called into it, "Hoggle, I need you!"
"Glad yous made it home, Sarah." Sarah barley listened to what her friend was saying, so she blurted out her news.
"Hoggle, I got the part! I'm going to be Helena!"
"Psh, I knew yous could do it. They haven't had talent like you in years."
"Thank you for all your help, Hoggle. I know I drove you crazy this weekend."
"Not as crazy as the rat makes me." Sarah let out a laugh at Hoggle's comment. "Just make sure I gets an invite for all my sacrifice."
"I promise I'll send you an invitation."
"Hmph, just remember you owe me." This comment made Sarah laugh again.
Once the two said goodbye and Hoggle's image faded from the mirror, a note appeared in his place. Sarah was a bit startled, but noticed the note was from the theater company. She started to read the message.
Hello Sarah,
We wanted to congratulate you on winning the role of Helena with your remarkable performance at the audition. We would like to propose an arrangement for your commute to the Underground. We will open a direct portal from this mirror to one in the dressing room at the theater. You may use this passage at any time when the theater is open. You will not be stuck in the Underground, your payment is your performance and commitment to this production. If all of this is satisfactory to you, please write your reply on the mirror and we will start the creation process for the portal. We look forward to working with you on this production.
Sincerely,
Melanor.
Sarah finished reading the letter and found that it didn't sound like a trap or a deal that would leaver her stuck so she looked around for a dry erase marker. She went to her closet where she still had some boxes from college that she didn't know what to do with. After some rummaging, she finally found an erasable marker that would work on the mirror. She quickly scrawled out her reply.
Thank you for all of your kind considerations and preparations for me. I do accept the terms and would appreciate the use of this mirror for my commute. I also realized I do not know when the theater is open, so I would appreciate a schedule for that.
Thank you,
Sarah
Sarah stared at her handiwork for a moment before wondering if she should have written her message backwards so they could read it. Her panic subsided after her writing started to glow and disappeared. Hopefully that means they got it, Sarah thought to herself. She continued to look at the mirror and after another minute another note appeared on her desk. This one also included a schedule of the rehearsals and times when the theater was open. She quickly pinned both of those to the side of her mirror and started marking her calendar, she had a play to get ready for.