Tears were in her eyes by the time she collapsed on the bench in the park. This was the only place that felt like home to her at times. She imagined she looked like Cinderella crying after her evil stepsisters tore apart her dress with her head on the bench crying.

How could he? How could they?

Sarah lifted her head up and looked out towards the dark woods. A light hooting noise from behind her caused her to look over at the pillar that was a few feet away. Slowly her eyes made their way up to the top to where a medium size white owl was perched on top. It's golden eyes were watching her carefully.

"What, have you never seen anyone cry before?" she said towards the owl. It tilted its head and hooted again. Sarah sighed and lifted herself off the ground and onto the bench. She sat there watching the owl.

"It's just not fair," she swore the owl's eyes sparkled when she said that.

"All I want is to have someone respect me and love me for me, not for what I look like!" The owl stared at her.

"Is that so hard to ask? I'm smart, loving, kind and well crazy. I talking to you like you completely understand," as she motioned with her hand towards the owl.

She gave a deep sigh and put her elbows on her knees and hid her face in her hands. The owl continued to watch and then very slowly flew over to the bench. She didn't realize it had moved. The owl hopped over closer to Sarah and then nudged it's head against her shoulder. Sarah looked up and saw the owl next to her.

"You are a weird one," she smiled slightly. "I'm used to weird," thinking about how her best friends are a talking fox with a shaggy dog as a faithful steed, a dwarf, and a hairy orange monster.

She started petting the owl with her left hand. It cooed and leaned in closer to her. Sarah chuckled at it. It wasn't normal owl behavior but then again what about her life had been normal anyway.

In the distance she could hear the clock tower chime midnight. She needed to get home before her parents started to worry about her. She got up and started walking towards the bridge that wasn't far way. The owl hooted angrily at her.

"I have to leave. I need to be going home."

xxxx

She got home without her parents noticing that she was. She slowly made her way to her room and started taking off her prom dress. After taking it off she grabbed her pajamas and quickly made her way to the bathroom to clean her hair.

When she returned to her room she went over to her bed but her eye caught a flash of white from the tree outside her window. She went over to it and opened the window.

There sat the owl. Sarah looked at it carefully. It was the same owl from the park.

"What are you doing here?" she looked at it and then noticed the tree branch it sat on. There were tons of little claw marks on it. She looked down towards the owl's talons and saw how they were gripping the bark on the tree. It's been here before?

She shook her head at it and sighed, "I guess I got another admirer."

The owl stretched out its wings. Sarah thought it was going to fly away but instead it flew inside her room and right on to her bed.

"Oh no mister! Not in here! Outside!" she tried to shoo it way.

It refused to move. She was too tired to deal with this pesky stubborn owl. "Well stay here if you must! But if you poop or pee on anything of mine I swear I'll cook you up and eat you!"

The owl just hooted merrily at her like it said 'I like to see you try!'

Sarah got into her bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The owl just looked down at sleeping Sarah, quite content to be allowed to stay. It was getting close to morning now. Robert had opened the door and checked in on Sarah but she slept on. He heard her family leave the house.

He looked back down at the beautiful sleeping Sarah. He looked at how her features slightly changed from when she was fifteen. She may be older but still just as beautiful maybe even more so now. She still had the stubborn and witty streak that he loved but even though she was older she was still very much the same child.

A child, very much, still a child that is unable to understand love to its fullest and truest. Maybe that's the fault. Maybe it was my fault that I lost. Could be.

He heard a slight moan from below him. He looked down at the young woman as she started waking up. Her emerald eyes flashed up to where he was perched on her headboard. A smile formed on her lips, "Still here I see."

I'm always here.

She turned over and pulled herself up a little to reach out to him and pet him. He loved her touch as she slowly worked her fingers into his feathers causing a soothing sensation to run up and down his little body. His only wish was that he could return the favor.

She stopped suddenly and looked at the clock. "I guess I'm home by myself."

She got up and grabbed some clothes. Then turned towards him smiling, "I'll be back in a bit."

He ruffled his feathers and stretched his wings out and flew over to the vanity. The mirror of the vanity had pictures of Sarah and Toby or of Sarah and her dad. He looked around at the old fashion looking brush and other odd and ends that were scattered on top. He looked over at a free standing figurine. He knew what it was of. The being haunted him for it was what he was truly. There stands a fearsome Goblin King of years gone by and standing next to it is all that remains of him a pile of feathers.

He looked at his former figure. He was starting to forget what he truly looked like. She still has it all these years. He tried to remember when Sarah got it. He had no trouble remembering it.

There he stood in a toy store disguised as a store clerk. A woman with dark brown hair was trying to pick out a gift for her daughter for her seventh birthday.

"What may I help you with?" He smiled at the woman who was Sarah's mother.

"Well I'm here to get a birthday present for my daughter," she pointed over to a small girl with hair just as dark as hers but with wide green eyes playing in the corner of the store. Jareth didn't need her to be pointed out to him. He knew the moment she had entered the store he knew who she was for he always knew what to give her.

Last Christmas he picked out a hairy orange stuff animal monster for her. Jareth watched as little Sarah played. He smiled at himself knowing the gift he had in mind already. He hated to admit to himself that he was in love with this young girl. It was a foolish thing.

"She thinks we are here for her cousin but well I'm trying to get a present for her," said Sarah's mom causing him to snap back to what was going on.

"Yes I have just the thing." He went over to where he hid the gift and then placed it before her. It was his true form.

Linda looked at it questioningly and then looked over at Sarah. "Sarah darling, coming over here for a moment!"

Sarah hurried over to her mom smiling. Her attention was caught for a moment on the figurine standing on the counter then went back to her mom.

"What do you think?"

Sarah looked back over at the figurine this time looking at it closer. Jareth watched as Sarah was trying to figure out what she thought about it. What if she can't stand it? What if she hates it?

Finally she looked at her mom and said, "He is handsome."

Jareth exhaled the breath he didn't realize he was holding. Sarah continued to describe the figurine but Jareth wasn't paying attention to it anymore. She thinks I'm handsome!

"I don't think Kevin will like it." Sarah looked back at it and slowly touched the figurine. Her smile changed as she ran her little fingers on the cape and then finally to the crystal ball that was in its hands, "He's powerful, like a king."

Jareth smiled and looked down at her forgetting about her mother standing only a few inches away, "He is quite powerful but also capable of being gentle and loving."

Sarah looked straight into his eyes and quite seriously told him, "I'm going to marry a king one day."

He ruffled his feathers and looked sadly away from the figurine. Too bad it isn't true.

Sarah reentered the room. She looked first at the headboard. He watched as her face slightly saddened but when she turned to face him on the vanity a smile appear on her face.

"Hey there." She ruffled his feathers playfully on top of his head. She looked over at the figurine he was still standing next to. "He's something isn't he?"

He watched as her fingers much like when she first saw it at the store touch the figurine. He looked into her eyes. There was sadness and pain in them it was no mistaking it for anything else.

"My mom got me this. I didn't know then that he was from a book I have." Her fingers stopped touching the figurine. She looked at it for a bit longer than opened and reached into a drawer.

He watched her as she looked for the book. He could hear her rummaging through different things. A slight tinkle of a melody caused him to close his eyes and remember to a time he had sung her a song with the same melody. He knew it was from the little music box he gave Linda's lover, Jeremy, to give to Sarah.

Slowly he watched her take out the little red covered book with golden writing on the cover even though it was faded he knew it said The Labyrinth on it.

She made her way to her bed and started reading it out loud to him. He didn't need for her to read it he knew the story by heart much like Sarah did.