I thought I'd add a few chapters at once to get the story started. I'm sorry for making this one so descriptive!
I do not own Labyrinth. The Labyrinth and all its associated characters are (c) Jim Henson.
2. The Perfect Family
Sarah gulped hard. She had faced many things in her life, but few things could compare to the utter horror she felt right at this moment. Actually, only one could. And he was in a far away world, long since silenced by her herself.
"I'm so so so sorry I'm late! Things at home kind of ran amuck and…!" She said, making Eevie blush in shame. Mr. Peterson was a tall man, despite being English. And he was neatly dressed in black slacks, a white shirt and a black tie. No doubt he was taking the Missus to the opera again. For a second her panic gave way to envy.
He wore black rectangular glasses, and had short dark ebony hair. And was quite much to look at, considering he wasn't much older than the girls.
"It's six-twenty-five, my dear girl. You're more than twenty minutes late." He said in a tone that Sarah was unsure how to place. "I know, I'm so sorry. You can take it off my pay, its only fair." She said, trying to look as ashamed as possible.
"We can talk about that later, right now we need to get going. Blair, dear, are you ready?"
"Coming." Mrs. Peterson came walking out of the next room, looking as beautiful as ever. She was small and petite herself, much like Eevee. And she was wearing a gorgeous plain black dress that hung to her ankles, with a halter neck that tied neatly into a ribbon under the few blonde twirls of hair that would not fit into her hairstyle. It was bunched up and kept together by a golden hairclip, swirling with intricate engraved details. They made their way out the door to the car, when Mr. Peterson turned back.
"I don't know what time we'll be back, so don't wait up for us. There's a party at the Hewletts' later, we might decide to go." He said to Sarah while grabbing the coat he forgot.
"Right, gotcha. Enjoy your night!" Sarah smiled, to which her boss returned a dashing smile himself. When the door closed, Eevee flopped down on the stairs.
"That man is just…" she started, and Sarah knew exactly what she meant.
"Your employers are just about the most stunning and perfect couple in the whole world." She said dreamily. And she was right. They were.
The Petersons were rich, beautiful, kind… And they had the perfect little daughter of three years, Alice. And little Alice was the whole start of Sarah's adventure so far. Sarah was au pairing in London for two ears, and the Petersons had been her employers since the beginning. She was grateful that she had such a kind family to work for, and she loved Alice like she loved her own little brother, Toby.
How I miss Toby. She thought. And not a second later, little Alice came running into the living room in her Tinkerbell pajamas, squealing "Saaaaaawaaaaaaaahhh!!!" and nearly bending her leg the wrong way as she jumped on it.
"Hey there, Princess! How are you?" she asked as she picked the little blonde girl up. Eevee nearly nosebled. She adored Alice - simply because she was a Peterson, and she was just as beautiful as one.
"I'm well, thank you!" she said and dug her shy face into Sarah's neck. She was a polite little girl, and her intelligence allowed her to have a rather large vocabulary at her age. But politeness and intelligence were no competition for her beauty – more specifically, her eyes.
"That's good! Have you eaten yet?" Sarah asked and made her way to the kitchen for a bite herself.
"Nope!" the little beauty shook her head. "Do you like my new pajamas?" she asked, proudly stretching out her frilly little Tinkerbell dress so Sarah could see it.
"It's lovely! Did you choose it yourself?" Sarah smiled.
"Yep! Mommy got it for me. We went to the shop today!"
Sarah chuckled at her cuteness, and set her in her chair to fix dinner. The kitchen was like something out of a magazine. The walls were plain white, but the cupboards and cabinets were of dark mahogany. Coupled with the creamy tiles and low-lit spotlights, it was more cozy than Sarah's own bedroom. The sink was Sarah's favorite, though. It was shinier than new, and often had her wondering whether the Petersons had a new sink for each day because it never seemed to weather.
The rest of the rooms in the house were also all of warm, neutral colors, with light brown carpets and wooden trimmings on the furniture and construction. Mrs. Peterson obviously loved vintage, because she stuck lace everywhere she could without making the home look tacky. And she had an entire collection of small statuettes of prim ladies in ball gowns, all neatly positioned and displayed in a big wooden cabinet with glass doors that stood in the small living room. Looking at the ladies always reminded Sarah of the books she used to read, and she'd imagine them in their big stately houses, flitting from person to person at a tea party in their enormous back garden… with dresses that, beautiful as they were, always looked so uncomfortably puffy. Those people always had all the time in the world, and they always had time to host a party of some sort. There were always twenty housekeepers and twenty more gardeners. Where the hell did these people get all their money?
When she realized that her thoughts were running wild again, Sarah shook her head and finished her long journey of five paces to the refrigerator.
Upon approaching it, she noticed the little piece of paper stuck to it:
"Food's in the microwave. Take care! -Mrs. P. :-)"
She stood still, staring at the note for a second. This house really is too perfect…
