Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize which includes the Labyrinth characters and those I threw in for cameos. Also includes plot development that may have been seen elsewhere. I'm not trying to poach ideas but sometimes a reworking is ultimately necessary and satisfactory.

Authors Note: I've been reading the Girls Next Door comic by Pika-la-Cynique on DeviantART and it inspired me to read Labyrinth fanfiction which was something I had never attempted despite my love for the movie and my unrequited anguish that Jareth and Sarah could not have a relationship even though it was implied. The age difference between the two actors was just too great. In fact, Jennifer Connolly was still a child and David Bowie was 23 years older than her. Same concept with Alice in Wonderland, Johnny Depp was almost 30 years older than the girl who played Alice. She was still a teenager at the time. Anyways, after I read my first Labyrinth fic, I couldn't find another to tickle my fancy so I decided to write my own which is how most of my fanfictions get started. Actually, all of them, I think. One last thing, I tend to talk backwards, like I was in a Jane Austen novel. I always try to keep a watchful eye out for it when I'm writing but if you notice it please let me know.

Chapter 1

Semi-annual hikes through the woods were something Sarah Williams and her friend Jenna Parker did twice a year. The two friends went on an outdoor retreat through the Appalachian woods in West Virginia once a year and had been doing so ever since they'd met in college over five years ago. The retreat usually lasted anywhere from a few days to a few weeks just depending on rugged and outdoorsy the two girls felt at the time.

This year, they'd set out on Friday evening right after Sarah's last class at John Adams Jr. High School where she was an English literature teacher. It was in the middle of October in the Potomac Highlands in the Northeastern part of West Virginia. Sarah had a long weekend off due to Columbus Day and the two friends had decided this would be the perfect time for their hike. The scenery was beautiful in the fall as all the leaves were changing colors preparing for the long winter ahead.

It was now Saturday morning. The two friends had camped overnight in a small clearing just two miles north of their starting point. They were only a third of the way to their destination which was the top of the mountain. Their goal was to make it to the top and back by Monday midday.

"Have you thought anymore on David's proposal?" Jenna asked her friend as they sat around the dwindling camp fire picking at the remnants of their granola and oat breakfast. Jenna eyed her friend suspiciously curious to see the emotions passing over Sarah's face. j

Jenna was unsurprised to see apprehension plan on the pale girl's face. Sarah toyed with her raven colored hair worrying the shiny locks through her fingers. She thought of the handsome face of her current boyfriend, David Klein, with his dark chestnut colored hair, bright blue eyes, ever present five o'clock shadow and off kilter half smile. He was the history teacher at John Adams. They'd been colleagues for little over two years. When Sarah first began teaching at the junior high the two had become friends almost immediately being the only two on staff around the same age. Longevity was something the teacher's at John Adams had a knack for.

Two nights prior to the start of their hike, David had proposed to Sarah over a candle light dinner in the home they shared. It had been romantic and perfect in every last detail but Sarah had been apprehensive, afraid to take the final step which would officially and legally join the pair together in holy unrelenting matrimony forever tying Sarah down as Mrs. David Klein.

Hesitantly and overwhelmingly, Sarah had asked her live in boyfriend to give her time to think about it. She expressed to him the need to think over such a vast undertaking and big decision. David had been less than understanding accusing Sarah of being unloving. He argued the point that they were already living together, already shared everything including a bed. Marriage would make her an honest woman, he reasoned. In the end, Sarah had been firm in her insistence on the need to think things over. Bitter and feeling rejected, David had given her until Tuesday to come up with an answer.

Another reason for the hiking adventure, it would give Sarah time to think about how she wanted to continue their relationship from this point. She could say "yes" and make David happy but feel confined. Or she could say "no" and maintain her freedom but lose the only man she had ever loved. It was a tough situation and one she had spent a lot of time dwelling on. No closer to answers now than she had been two days ago. Jenna's insisted pressing of the matter did not help either.

Sarah heaved a sigh giving her friend a pointed look. "Come on, Jenna. I don't know. I've been thinking about it nonstop. I just don't know what to do. I love him, but the thought of being tied down, being committed to one person forever. I just don't know if I'm ready to do that."

Jenna just shook her head letting the subject drop. Her friend didn't seem to be in the mood, as always, to discuss her relationship. Honestly, Jenna didn't understand the apprehension that Sarah felt. If she loved David, truly loved him then why was it so bad to be committed to him? Isn't that what love was about? Finding one person to love whole heartedly and love eternally giving yourself over to them entirely?

Sarah stood walking to the small pond they'd set up camp next to washing off her breakfast dishes. Behind her Jenna began to pack up their camp. If they were going to make any progress today they needed to head out. It'd been daylight for almost two hours now.

The sun blazed hot against Sarah's face despite the rather cool wind that whipped around her. Squinting her eyes against the bright sun, she wished, not for the first time, that she hadn't forgotten her sunglasses in the car. Beside her Jenna's breathing matched her own escalated intakes as the slope lurched upward in an unheard of angle. At one point, the two women had been forced to climb on hands and knees to keep from plummeting.

"We've never been this way before," Jenna observed as she stopped to catch her breath. The steep incline was taking its toll on the two women and the climbing altitude was doing very little to ease their breathing.

Sarah paused too using a nearby tree to shift some of the pressure off her aching feet. She glanced around them taking in her surroundings. The trees were sparse here growing vastly apart. Roughly ten trees covered the whole span of clearing they were standing in. No wonder the sun felt so smoldering.

"It's not really fun to take the same way each time, Jenna. I like the adventure, the thrill of being someplace new. It's exciting isn't it?" Sarah asked her friend in a childish way. The excitement reaching her eyes making them shine brightly.

Jenna laughed, amused and intrigued by her friend's relentless sense of adventure. "If you say so, Sarah. Let's stop for lunch. I'm getting hungry."

The two friends chatted idly over lunch which consisted of apples and trail mix. Neither wanted to eat heavily while they still had so far to climb. After they finished their short lunch, they repacked their gear and resumed their climb up the mountain.

The sun was just starting to dip below the horizon when Sarah called out to her friend who was a few paces ahead of her.

"Jenna, let's set up camp for the night. It's starting to get dark."

Jenna turned towards her friend waiting for her to catch up. Setting their backpacks down on the ground with thud, they began unpacking their sleeping bags and tent. A two person tent was shared between them. It took them little time to set up their tent having done it so frequently.

"I'll go gather some firewood," Sarah said after they'd finished constructing their camp site. Jenna nodded idly before taking out her GPS to determine exactly where they were.

Sarah walked slowly through the lidded forest observing her surroundings searching for fallen tree limbs to use as kindling. The trees were thick with brightly covered leaves; branches seemed to canopy above her like feathered wings stretching over her head shielding her from the sunlight.

In the distance, she could hear the soft trickling of a stream as it flowed intricately over rocks and debris. The sound was soothing mixed with the soft coos of the native birds who were singing their lullaby as the sun set. The wind blew slightly rustling the leaves overhead. Sarah closed her eyes relishing in the peaceful, comforting sounds of nature. How she loved this, feeling totally at peace with her surroundings. Gone were the worrisomes of home, of angry boyfriends and stressful jobs. Out here she was simply Sarah Williams. A woman standing ornate in a wood full of beauty. She inhaled deeply taking in the scent of the dirt, the moss, crisp cool air and a hint of pine which no doubt grew somewhere nearby.

"I wish…" Sarah said out loud her voice trailing off into the wind. She wasn't sure what she wished. Wished to live the simplistic life that the forest had to offer having only woodland animals as her neighbors. Wished to retire from the stress of her life and abandon all for a chance of adventure. Each day different from the last.

Opening her eyes, Sarah noticed a path off to her right that she had not noticed before. The earth was beaten down as if the path were well traveled. Curious to know where the path led she followed it blindly. It seemed to stretch on forever winding cautiously around trees which seemed to grow more barren the further she walked. She wasn't sure how far she'd followed this path or how far she was from her camp site but she had to know where it led. Something seemed to be drawing her, an unknown hand pulling her forward.

At last, the path opened into a small clearing. Much to Sarah's surprise all of the leaves on the trees in the clearing were spruce green seemingly untouched by mother nature's paint brush. The forest floor was lush with fern colored moss and soft grass which extended upward onto the roots and trunks of the trees encircling the clearing. Sarah could no longer hear the stream or birds. The clearing was like an entity all of its own, not a sound but the creaking of branches as the wind blew swiftly through the opening.

Sarah took a step towards the center of the clearing. It was so breathtakingly beautiful, a place of dreams. She turned in circles absorbing its beauty. As she made one final turn intending to return to camp, she gasped. Straight ahead, directly in front of her, was a large ornate mirror resting lazily against a large tree. It had not been there before she was sure of it.

In wonder, Sarah took a few steps towards the mirror. The frame of the mirror was silver which shone almost majestically against the soft glow of sunlight that peered in through the expanse of branches. The glass was free of smudges or marks as if someone had cleaned it moments prior to her entering the clearing. A mirror in the middle of a forest clearing, it was the strangest thing Sarah had ever witnessed. She tried to rationalize reasons why it may be here only to come up empty.

Again, Sarah felt the same pulling she'd experienced earlier. Like a hand pushing against the small of her back urging her towards the mirror. She found herself mere feet from the mirror stretching her hand outwards needing to feel the cool glass against her fingertips. The wind blew through her hair caring her name like a whisper in its breeze. Sarah. Again, she heard it.

"Sarah?"

Sarah whipped around, the trance of the mirror gone. That had been a real voice not just the whispering wind. Her eyes fell upon Jenna standing at the opening of the clearing. Sarah relaxed not releasing just how tense she'd been. She sighed audibly.

"What are you doing out here? Did you get any firewood? You've been gone almost an hour. I was getting worried," Jenna told her friend talking quickly not wanting to show how relieved she actually was to see her friend unscathed. One hour was a long time to be gathering firewood.

Sarah's brow crinkled in confusion. She pushed her long hair away from her face. "An hour? Really? I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you, Jenna. I found this path and I was curious to see where it came out too. I was just about to head back when I found this." Sarah stepped to the side to reveal the mirror.

Jenna tilted her head to the side in wonder. "Why is there a mirror out in the middle of the woods? That is so weird," the girl said uneasily but approaching the mirror anyhow.

"Beats me. It is strange though, isn't it? I wonder who could have put it here. It seems to be in perfect condition, not affected by the elements at all," Sarah observed finally placing her fingers on her cool glass.

The glass was solid at first but as Sarah continued to touch it the glass started to shimmer. Sarah stumbled forwards as her hands lid right through the glass. She screamed frightened. Something seemed to be holding onto her hand keeping her from pulling it back through the glass. Jenna grabbed her friend's wrist pulling wanting to help her back through the glass. What was happening? Stuff liked this only happened in movies. Not in real life! Mirrors were reflections not portals.

Sarah felt something pulling on her arm. Bile rose in her throat. She'd never been so terrified in her life. What lay beyond this mirror she did not know. She did not want to know. Her eyes met Jenna's who matched her frightened expression. Both girls had tears streaming down their faces as the screamed themselves hoarse.

"Pull your hand out!" Jenna screamed still trying to help her friend who was now up to the elbow in the mirror.

"I'm trying," Sarah shrieked, "something is pulling me."

With one final scream and yank, Jenna and Sarah fell through the mirror.

Thanks for reading! I wrote this a few months ago and as I was going through my folder marked fanfiction, this story called out to me and asked to be published. I don't know what to do with it or where to go with it since I'm still working on my other Labyrinth story but I thought I'd just throw it out there to see what happens. Please feel free to message me with suggestions