Sarah shuddered as the wind picked up; she glanced quickly over her shoulder.

"There is no one there Sarah," Brian said wrapping an arm around her shoulder, "nor was there anyone there the last twelve times you looked." Sarah smiled weakly back up at him. "Christ, the way you've been acting you'd think that you were afraid Judith was going to come running after you with an axe."

Sarah let out a stressed laugh. "Hardly, they applauded for her just as much as for me."

"Don't kid yourself. You stole the show just as you always do." Sarah opened her mouth to protest and Brian stopped her with a short kiss. "Judith would kill for the applause you get."

"You're so good to me Brian," Sarah said leaning in for another kiss. Brian pulled away before she could kiss him; an almost angry look on his face.

"Let's keep moving," he said tugging at her hand. They walked home in silence. When they reached Sarah's door Brain gave her cheek a soft kiss. "Are you going to be alright? You seem pretty agitated tonight."

"I'm fine. It's just a bit of old nerves I guess."

"About the play?"

"Sure," Sarah said opening her door, "Night Brian."

"Goodnight Baby." He said walking back towards the street.

Sarah shuddered as she shut the door. Of all the things to call her, it had to be baby. She considered locking the door behind her but no amount of locks would help her sleep tonight.

Heading up the stairs, she stopped as she reached her brother's room. It couldn't hurt just to check, she thought opening the door. Toby laid sound asleep on his bed, silently sucking on his thumb. Sarah looked down at him lovingly. She tugged his finger gently out of his mouth and bent to kiss his head. An inch above him she stopped as a static shock zapped her lips.

'It's the linen;' she reasoned to herself, 'it has to be. I won't let it be anything else.' "I love you Toby," She said as she exited the room. He would be alright; otherwise she'd make sure there was hell to pay.

One thing Sarah felt sure of was that her paranoia couldn't be completely imagination. Something had happened that night, and she sent a silent prayer into the wind that the rest of the babies in the town were as safely asleep in their beds as Toby was in his.

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Abigail stood across the quad staring as Sarah and a friend of hers walked to class. She was shaking. She knew the plan wouldn't work, couldn't work. She had tried to explain it to him last night. But when she pointed out what should have been obvious, he had lashed out at her. There were bruises on the back of her neck from where he had grabbed at her after one of their arguments.

Now she was stuck with a plan, she didn't believe would work, when so much depended on it working. The Goblin King's plan revolved around how Sarah would respond, as if she were a machine that ran only one way.

Even worse was that thing he left in her house. When she had mentioned to the Goblin King that it would raise suspicion if her sister was missing when her mother came home, she had thought he would return her sister to her. But he was craftier than she had thought. The thing he had left there in her room was in every sense very much Stephanie, but Abigail only had to look into her eyes to know the truth. It was only a shadow of her sister, a malicious creation that turned her blood cold when it entered the same room as her. More than ever it caused Abby to long for the warm touch of Stephanie's hands.

Sarah started to walk her way. Abigail was shaking so badly by this point she didn't even have to fake dropping her books. The girl Sarah was walking with passed by without stopping, and Abigail started to reaffirm her doubts as she bent to pick up her books. Suddenly a hand appeared in her view carefully helping to pick up each fallen book.

Abigail looked up and saw Sarah kneeled down reaching for book after book. "Thank you," Abby said giving Sarah a half hearted smiled.

Sarah seemed to take pity on her, probably mistaking her fear for embarrassment, or nerves. Well the nerves were about right but not for the reasons Sarah would think. "Not to worry happens to me all the time," Sarah said sincerely, "You're in my Biology class aren't you?"

Abigail wanted to wince, Sarah was making her job all too easy, "Yes," she said smiling back at the dark haired girl, "But I'm afraid I'm not too good in the class."

"Me neither," Sarah laughed shaking her head. It was a true laugh, she wasn't faking. 'Not like I am,' thought Abby.

"Are you kidding me? I've seen you in class you're so smart, you always know the answer to everything Mr. Michaels asks."

"Hardly, but I appreciate the sentiments." A cough from in front of them made them look up. Sarah's friend was tapping her foot impatiently, and giving Sarah an annoyed look. "Alright Diane I get the point," Sarah said standing up then she turned back to Abby, "See you in class."

"Wait," Abby said, "Do you have a bio partner for the next class?"

Sarah looked back at her appearing amused. For a second it reminded Abigail of the look the Goblin King had given her when she had made this fatal deal with him. However the next minute the look was gone, and she was innocent Sarah once again. "No," Sarah said.

"Do you want to be partners?"

"Sure," Sarah said, and turned to walk off with her friend. Abigail stared after her for long after the girl disappeared from her sight. She began to wonder just what kind of person she had sentenced to hell.

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He would come at night. Waking her from whatever peace she found in her slumber. If she complained that keeping her would prevent her from carrying out their plan he would counter with saying that the more in distress she appeared the more Sarah would be drawn to her.

"She likes to play the knight to the damsel in distress. She always befriends the outcast, anyone whose weak, she can't stand anyone with power." He sneered at the thought.

"She sounds like a good person."

The Goblin King's head snapped up to glare at her. "You would think that wouldn't you? But do you want to know what I think," he stood to tower over her, "I think it's because she's the one that wants to be powerful. She has to be the heroine and can't stand anyone who can compete with her; she has to always be the protagonist. Anyone who is stronger than her, anyone that can fight at her level becomes her adversary."

Abigail looked down at her covers; nothing seemed to drive him into a rage faster than when Abby defended Sarah. But Abby couldn't help it, the more time she spent with the girl the more she liked her, and the more she regretted what she was going to do. "Can't I just wish her away wouldn't that be simpler?"

"Only someone's guardian can wish them away, or someone who has power over them. That's why adults aren't wished away fewer people have control over their lives," he said rubbing his forehead.

"Oh," was all Abby could reply a surge of guilt for her sister welled up in her.

"What about on Saturday," the Goblin King said, "Why don't you go out with Sarah on Saturday?"

"Can't," Abigail answered. She looked over at the King who had his legs thrown up on the desk and was rocking back on her chair. He had been staring at a poster on her wall and only now turned to look at her. "Sarah goes out with Brian on the weekends."

She heard a thump and looked over to see his feet had hit the ground; an incomprehensible look written on his face. "Who is Brian?" His voice was deceptively collected but Abigail could sense a sharp bite behind his words.

"He's Sarah's boyfriend," she said eyeing him curiously, "They have been dating for almost two years I think."

"He's probably a weakling, Sarah goes for those," he said glaring out at nothing.

"He's actually considered quite the catch, and I figure he must be pretty strong he beat up one of the football line-men last year for calling Sarah cold."

"An idiot then, Sarah goes for them too."

"Actually…," Abby started but bit her tongue when the Goblin King growled at her.

"Break them up." Abby jumped.

"What was that?" She stared at him in shock, but he wasn't looking at her. Instead he stared at a poster of a ballerina in a puffy white dress on her wall.

"Break them up. I need you to hang out with Sarah on weekends, and this Biman is going to complicate that." He hadn't looked away from the poster yet.

"His name is Brian, and how am I suppose to break them up."

"You're a teenage girl, you probably know better than anyone," and with that he was gone.

Abigail stared up at the picture of the ballerina on her wall; it was a picture Judith had given her to promote the play the nutcracker, the school was going to put on. She had put it on her wall in hopes of pleasing Judith but had never really looked at the picture. It showed a dark headed girl dancing with a small blue coated nutcracker in her hand; the dress she wore had white frills and went down to the girl's ankles, the kind of dress a kid would think a princess would wear. Nothing that should of caught the Goblin King's attention.

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