A new beginning

Sarah stood on top of the hill, gazing down at the wasteland below. A wasteland that had once been a vibrant world, full of life. It wasn't right. It wasn't right that he was gone, that the land had died with him. It wasn't right that he'd only brought her back right at the end. Too late, far too late. He'd barely had enough time left to explain what was happening, explain what she had to do. Why had he left it so late? The question tormented her still. In the hours since his death she'd cried, ranted, pounded on the walls with her fists, and collapsed in heaps of tears. Now the tears were gone, she felt empty, numb, yet still that question. Why had he waited until it was too late?

As she gazed at the empty miles of scorched earth ahead of her, another question formed in her head. What was she going to do? The Labyrinth was gone, the whole of the Underground reduced to desert, bare rock and lifeless earth. All that was left now was the hill, the hill with the single tree. It was the starting place, the beginning of everything. She stood upon this hill as countless before her had, the new rulers of the Underground. As each monarch died, they chose their successor. A person with imagination. A person who believed in this world, a person who had visited the Underground before and fought to overcome the challenges it presented, fought to discover themselves within its lands. Only someone who had experienced the dangers and hardships of this place, could understand its beauty, its purpose. Only they could envisage its next manifestation. For that's what the rulers were, the creators.

Jareth had turned the wasteland into a Labyrinth, a teaching ground for children, a place for them to discover who they really were, to have all their preconceptions torn down and be given the chance to see the world anew. But like all the rulers, eventually Jareth's time was done, it was time for another to take his place. Of all those who had run his Labyrinth, one shone out like a beacon amongst the crowd. Her strength, her courage and her limitless imagination marked her as the only one capable of creating a new Underground.

He had summoned her to him, explained all this to her in his last few hours, and then, as Sarah had sat by his bed, holding his hand, he had faded. Gone was the illustrious Goblin king of her childhood, gone the man who had haunted the dreams of her adulthood. She had cried and raged, grieving and confused. Then gradually, as her emotions were spent, the land around her had faded, and she had made her way to the only remaining feature of the landscape. The hill.

So now here she stood, a blank canvas in front of her, a land to create, to rule. A land to better the lives of those Aboveground, to strengthen them, revive them, heal them, renew them as it had her. But this world would not be only for children. There were adults that needed the powers of the Underground. This would be a land for all that asked for its help. And as Sarah stood there, eyes closed, her mind filling with possibilities, the land before her began to shape itself to her will.

A/N As with all my stories, all reviews are welcome! Even criticism, as long as it's constructive, it all helps my writing. Thanks for reading.