Sarah…

Sarah looked up from her laptop again and sighed as her gaze flickered to the flyer again. How could I let Marley talk me into this? Sarah thought

'This' was auditioning for a new show in New York city. A show entitled Music of the Night. It was an Andrew Lloyd Webber show, not unlike the ones he had done in London. The show would have a bunch of unknown girls competing for the role of Christine from his famous musical the Phantom of the Opera.

Sarah had seen clips of shows like it online and she was stilled pissed that Samantha Barks—from a show Andrew Lloyd Webber had just completed about a month ago entitled I'd Do Anything- hadn't gotten past third place; but she did know how the show worked. It was basically a Broadway version of American Idol.

It had been two years since Sarah had the dream. Yet it had seemed so real. She would swear she now saw shadows move at least once a day, even when shadows weren't supposed to be there and at the sound of a bird, she would always turn and check to see if an owl was there. But Sarah knew it was a dream, it had to be! None of the friends she had made while she was there came when she called for them. Toby had been there safely in his crib the next morning, and the whole thing had an odd-air to it that could only mean that the whole 'Labyrinth' ordeal was just a dream. It was one Sarah had learned from.

She no longer complained about things being 'unfair,' unless she had a good reason for it; which was less often now. She gave up her childish toys (well, most of them,) and offered them to her now three-year-old brother, Toby. However, there was still those moving shadows or the call of an owl that made her think back to the man in her dreams. The Goblin King. The thought of him made her heart beat fast and her stomach do flips.

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave." He pleaded with her, his hands outstretched, offering the beguiling crystal orb. As if to entice her with the promise of a hallow dream.

"My kingdom is as great… My kingdom is as great…" Sarah struggled to remember that one line. It was always that one line. The young brunette glanced up at the Goblin King, in all his fine, unworldly, unfairly handsome glory, and suddenly, she remembered. "You have no power over me."

Mismatched eyes looked on in something akin to heart break as he withdrew the crystal, only to throw it in the air a minute later as her words echoed around the broken room. The Goblin King fell before her, his cloak fluttering to the ground as he shrunk down to nothing.

Sarah began panting as one word echoed through her head, mercilessly. "Lies… All lies, precious." It wasn't her voice that spoke them. Perhaps she was spending too much time working with Jacob and Liam at PhotoHut! all those 'special breaks' were starting to go to her head. Maybe she should return her stash, or at least give it to Liam or Jacob. Probably Liam. "Sarah? Sarah!" A male voice called from downstairs.

"Upstairs, River," Sarah called back, and was soon greeted by two pairs of footsteps pounding up the stairs, eventually finding their way to her room. A boy with shoulder length dark blonde hair and blue eyes stepped in first, soon followed by a girl with dark skin, hair, and eyes. Both were around Sarah's age.

"We wanted to see if you were free today? Jacob said that we could browse the music store for songs for our audition." The girl smiled, obviously eager to get down to the music store.

Sarah offered a small smile in return. "Thanks, Marley, but I've already picked out my song."

"Really? What song?"

"Does it matter?" Sarah asked. "They're not going to pick me."

River sighed. "Sarah, we've talked about this-"

"Just try and see it from my point of view! Marley's the star singer in choir and she gets all the biggest roles!"

"So do you!" Marley smiled. "And it's not because you're just pretty, you have talent!"

"So does Wes…" Sarah pouted.

"Yeah, but despite how often he dresses up like that Frank guy from Rocky Horror, he's not a girl and can't audition for this show," River joked.

Marley placed herself at the end of Sarah's bed. "I know you're not exactly anxious for this show, but I'm doing this for your own good. You gave up on your dream of acting way too quickly!"

"Yeah, why'd you even do that?" River asked.

"It seemed childish." Sarah answered quietly.

"It's only childish if you think it is. Sarah, you're really good! You could be the next Patti LuPone! Or Lea Salonga!"

"Or, to a lesser extent, Olivia Newton-John," River joked.

Even though her friends could be completely bat-shit crazy at times, (And complete and utter pot heads at others) Sarah knew that they were trying to do something nice for her. And her parents were, for once, actually going along with her friends crazy plans.

But that was it, the one plan they actually go along with, and it's the one that has to have her sing in front of one of Broadway's biggest producers and possibly on live TV. Sarah could sing, years of singing along to albums and her lullabies to Toby had proven that, but she couldn't sing nearly as well as Marley. She didn't really see any need for her to go and embarrass herself in front of all those people.

"So, are you coming or not?" Marley asked. Sarah turned to face her best girlfriend and was greeted by Marley's pout. Ugh, she knows me way to well. Sarah thought with a hint of annoyance. She smiled lightly, if not a bit strained. "Ok, let me just find a stopping place in my Mythology Report."

"You're still not done?" River asked.

"I haven't been feeling too motivated this weekend. I mean, yeah, it's our final project for the class and all, but it's not due for two more weeks so…" Sarah trailed off.

Marley laughed in understanding. "We'll meet you downstairs in a few, kay?"

"Kay…" Sarah said quietly.

As her friends headed downstairs, Sarah walked over and skimmed her Mythology report as quickly as she could. A certain sentence caught her eye. 'Fae are known for being powerful in the art of deception and seduction. Often using the powerful Fae song to seduce their chosen partner, it is reported that the Fae's song is more clear and beautiful than any other voice.'

Sarah sighed as she jabbed the period key with her finger before clicking save. As she shut down the computer, the seventeen-year-old couldn't help but think wistfully 'If only I could sing like the Fae, then maybe I might get past the auditions next week.'

As Sarah grabbed her jacket and started to walk out of her room, without thinking, she said it aloud. "I wish that I could sing as beautifully as the Fae." With that she exited her room, shutting the lights as she went out the door.

Unknown to the young girl, someone was watching and waiting. Waiting for her to say those exact words. Now that she had, he finally had some ground to work from. A dark chuckle escaped his throat as a crystal appeared in his hand. "Ask, and you shall receive, precious."

If what she asked for was to sing as beautifully as his kind, then who was he to deny her? After all, she did say 'I wish'.

A week later…

Sarah was shaking like a frail leaf, caught in the middle of an autumn wind storm. Marley had just auditioned earlier and was sent away from the room, but not before flashing Sarah a confident smile.

"She made it. I knew she would…" Sarah thought, fingering the ends of her hair nervously. She watched her friend walk out of the waiting room and into the arms of all their friends. Jacob slapped her a high five, River hugged her and gave her a little kiss on the cheek for a job well done, Wes congratulated her with a hug (Though Sarah had a suspicion that it was just so the foreigner could get a good whiff of Marley's hair, and Liam (Jacob's boss and oldest member of their group of friends at the age of fifty-eight) nodded dumbly and smiled at Marley.

The dead-beats must've sensed Sarah's growing nerves because Liam turned to Sarah and gave her two thumbs up. Sarah returned the gesture with a nervous smile. Oh god, can this be over with soon? I think I might hurl, or faint, or both. She shifted the sheet music in her hands, nervously.

As if the universe loved playing some sick joke on her, a woman with a head of stringy orange hair chose that moment to walk into the room with a clip-board in hand and announce: "Sarah Williams."

"Right here." Sarah stood nervously. The woman smiled at her encouragingly. "Nervous, sweetie?"

"Just a little," She admitted quietly.

"Don't worry, everything will work out just fine," the woman said reassuringly. "Its right this way, Miss Williams."

As the woman led Sarah down a hallway to a closed door, Sarah couldn't help but feel as though she was on death row. The woman stepped in front of Sarah to open the door. "Sarah Williams, Mr. Andrew Lloyd Webber."

Looking at one of the most influential men on Broadway should've made Sarah a little star-struck, but then again, wasn't it like that every time a virtually unknown teenage girl meets the Andrew Lloyd Webber? Because, for crying out loud, he was sitting at a small table with what Sarah thought was the second judge at the front of the room, and towards the back was a bearded man who sat at a grand piano. Nervous beyond belief, she offered a small smile as she waved meekly.

"Hello." The woman sitting next to Andrew Lloyd Webber offered. She was pretty: her long strawberry blonde hair pulled into a sleek bun and she had a splashing of freckles across her face. "Miss Sarah Williams, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"How old are you Miss Williams?" Andrew Lloyd Webber asked.

"Seventeen sir."

The man chuckled lightly. "You are the second youngest one we've had auditioning for us all day?"

"Was the youngest a really pretty sixteen year old who sang Bohemian Rhapsody?"

Andrew looked surprised. "Uh, yes! Marley St. Cloud? Kind of a blabber mouth that girl, do you know her?"

"Yes…"

"I am so sorry." Andrew and the female judge beside him looked at her in a near pitying way.

Sarah raised her brow in confusion. "Thank you?"

"And what will you be singing for us today, Miss Williams?" The blonde girl asked.

Sarah glanced down at the sheet music before handing it over to the piano player. "I hope you forgive me for the cliché, but this is the only song I had sheet music to and knew well enough to sing. It's called Think of Me."

Andrew chuckled. "Forgiven. Please, begin."

Meanwhile….

He sat on the windowsill of his tower; occasionally he glanced out at the Labyrinth, but his eyes focused mainly on the crystal that danced in his hands. Honestly, he knew he wasn't the most patient Fae in the Underground, but this was just taking far too long. Finally he heard an unfamiliar voice speak an all-too-familiar name.

"And what will you be singing for us today, Miss Williams?"

Smirking, he brought the crystal closer to his face and watched as his beloved apologized for something before the piano began to play a soft melody. "Now precious, sing your lovely song for us," he said longingly. He was greeted by a lovely voice that could have been rival of any Fae or angel in beauty.

"Think of me, think of me fondly. When we've said goodbye, Remember me once in a while, please promise me, you'll try. When you'll find that once again you long to take your heart back and be free. If you'll ever find a moment, spare a thought for me."

He couldn't contain the moan of pleasure as he closed his eyes and let the voice he'd given her fill his head. He had heard her sing before, but now her voice had an unrefined quality to it, like an uncut diamond, or unpolished gold. He could sense that the English gentleman (What was his name, Andrew something?) and the female judge thought so too, for they wore expressions of wonderful surprise.

"We never said our love was evergreen, or as unchanging as the sea. But if you can still remember, stop and think of me. Think of all the things, we've shared and seen. Don't think about the way things might have been."

He opened his eyes and gazed into the smiling face of Sarah as she sung. The last few lyrics struck him, he would never stop thinking about how different things might have been if only he could've convinced her to except his first offer; but after all, what's said is said.

"Think of me, think of me waking. Silent and resigned, imagine me trying too hard to put you from my mind. Recall those days, look back on all those times. Think of those things we'll never do, there will never be a day… When I won't think of you."

"Too true, Sarah-mine. Can it be?" He stroked his thumb over her face in the crystal. "It was not so long ago, but it seems so long ago. I remember how young and innocent and naïve you were. You may not remember me, precious, but I remember you," he told her image in the crystal.

"Flowers fade, the fruits of summer fade, they have their seasons, so do we. But please promise me that sometimes… You will think of me!" Sarah sang the final note so well, he was afraid she might break the crystal in his hand.

That English gentleman and the female judge were on their feet even before the piano music had finished, applauding Sarah and shouting their 'bravo's!' and praises. Sarah was blushing modestly and shrugging it off, that was until what's-his-English-name and the female judge bent down to scribble something on the pieces of paper that bore Sarah's name.

And before the she knew what to do, the two judges were telling her that she was now a contestant on the show, causing his precious Sarah to burst into tears of joy.

Now he personally felt that while her voice was near perfection, that it could use a little… 'Fine-tuning'. All the coaching that those mortals in the Aboveground could provide never help her: she needed a Fae's help. Seeing as how he granted the wish that gave her the beautiful chorus which was now her singing voice, he was going to have to be that Fae. Not that he minded.

After all, everyone needed an Angel of Music every once in a while…