Sarah took one deep breath before stepping out unto the stage. A roaring round of applause and cheers erupted throughout the grand hall as she made her way to stage front. She smiled, genuinely appreciative of their enthusiastic response. She slinked past her co-stars and stopped near the edge of the stage before making a low curtsy. The crowd became even louder as row after row ascended in a standing ovation. Sarah laughed to herself, overwhelmed at the reaction of her final bow. She was then met with a huge bouquet of red roses handed to her by one of her co-stars. She dipped her head and hugged Bianca with her free arm, and they exchanged quick kisses on the cheek before Bianca moved away.

Sarah clutched the bouquet to her, inhaling the heady scent of sweet roses. As the cheering continued, she had to blink back her tears of crushing astonishment. She was not expecting a response like this, especially from her first performance.

She stepped back to take the final bows with the entire cast of 'Pygmalion'. They all worked so hard on their first play of the season, the first play in the new Eternity Theater Hall. They were all deserving of such a prolonged applause.

But everyone knew that Sarah Williams completely stole the show.

Sarah was not one to gloat, however, and everyone knew that as well. Which made her all the more loved and respected. Even if her cast mates did envy her, they did not hate her. It was more of a grudging admiration. She was the youngest and by far, the most talented actress in the entire company. The Bella Tragedia Theater Company.

Sarah took one last, lingering look over the magnificent auditorium. The lights on the stage blared down upon her and her cast-mates, blocking out any traces of light in the audience. Besides the movement of the audience still showing their appreciation of their performance, Sarah could see nothing beyond the second row. She scanned over the finely-dressed onlookers absently, her smile never wavering.

Then her eyes stopped at the front row. Her breath caught when she saw the utterly gorgeous man staring back at her. He stood applauding her with the rest of the audience, a small smile on his lips. Dressed in a dark suit with a crisp white shirt underneath, his hair slicked back neatly, his face set in near-adoration, and his gaze… Sarah had to look away. She had never eyes that intense since… she mentally tossed the thought aside. It had been a long time since she had seen something like that… immensely powerful and thrilling at the same time.

Sarah let her free hand gently brush the diamond that lay between her breasts. After her last bow, she would tuck it back underneath her clothing – the way she always wore it.

After she left Metropolis, she went back to her home to live with her family while she picked her brains out to try and decide where her life was going to go. Her family didn't mind having her back at all; Toby was absolutely thrilled to see her almost everyday after she had been away from home for so long. But Sarah was not one to stay at home all day only to amuse her little brother. She went back to her local University to tie up some loose ends with her department, which took well over two months. She even got a part-time job coaching the new drama students.

But her family knew from the moment she stepped off the train that something had changed in Sarah. She was more composed, held her head up higher than she used to, her whole being just seemed to glow from the inside out; and when Toby looked up into her face, he couldn't tear himself away from the flecks of gold within her green eyes. Yet, the only person who said anything to her about it was her father, who only remarked, "There's something different about you." Sarah would only reply with a soft and knowing smile.

She was different, she knew it. She still felt that raw, giddy power within her that she still had yet to understand. But one morning, as she stepped out of her front door inhaling the fresh, late summer air, she stopped short and clutched the diamond she wore around her neck. It was gone. The unknown energy that was once within her was gone, before she could even become used to it or learn how to use it. She'll never forget that morning; it was as if a candle had suddenly been snuffed out. She remembered looking up into the clear sky then, searching for a sign, anything at all… Superman had finally left and she knew it. With his leaving, the power in the crystal diamond he had given had gone out. She was left with only a memory, yet it was enough for her.

Wherever she went, whatever she did, she kept her diamond solitaire on her at all times. She never took it off, even when she slept or showered. It still remained her comfort and her security during this uncertain time. It was the most precious gift anyone had ever given her and she was determined never to part from it, even for a second. Whenever she felt lonely, or sad, or anxious she let her fingers caress the smooth gem that lay between her breasts; and as the months wore on, it soon became a normal habit.

It was never a struggle to get used to living her life without that light inside of her. That fiery spark she was born with was still inside of her. Her confidence was never destroyed, because she had lived in Metropolis. She had lived in the city; became a friend to the most powerful man on Earth, and she had had her love with her once… She had lived out the most thrilling and most significant year of her life. She still never assumed, never took anything for granted, everything from she learned from her year in Metropolis and the Labyrinth stayed with her.

But there had always been one reason she ever truly felt alone and unhappy. Even before she felt her power fade away, she never felt his presence again. There was no phantom touch or breath on her cheek when she found herself alone. After long, lazy afternoons and painful, black nights she finally confronted herself with the truth and admitted that the Goblin King was constantly on her mind. Days passed, weeks, months. She remained hollow and empty, all because she tortured herself with the knowledge that she had fallen in love with Jareth, and there was nothing she could do about it – she refused to.

She kept the owl feather that she found in her apartment tucked away in a small box on her vanity, always glancing at it whenever she passed by. This was all she would ever do besides think about him day and night. She would not sit in front of her mirror and call his name; she despised herself if she lay awake in her bed at night, burning for his touch.

It hurt, physically hurt to think of him. But she was as stubborn as she was desperate. She would not be the first to reach out. She remembered all too clearly what he had almost done to Superman.

But didn't he still care for her? While she lived day after day with the thought that she still loved him, did he even so much as think of her? Why torture herself day after day, only if it meant another refusal from her.

She didn't even dream about him. Her dreams were the same as they had been before she moved to Metropolis – grey and ordinary. Occasionally, she would dream of Clark. Sometimes he was Clark, sometimes he was Superman. She was grateful for these last images of him, but they could not replace Jareth.

Finally, after months of making herself nearly mad with the thought of him lingering in her mind, she decided to call on her friends. Perhaps she could get some answers from them. When she sat in front of her vanity and stared at her reflection for nearly ten minutes, she finally gathered the nerve to call Hoggle's name. But there was no answer. She called for Didymus and Ludo and for Hoggle again. But still, there was nothing. She barely remembered grabbing the edge of her vanity and shaking it, screaming for her friends who would not come to her call. Tears began to stream down her face as she screamed their names over and over again. She called all but one.

She had wanted to take something and smash her mirror to pieces; instead she switched off her lights and cried in near darkness for hours on end. She was exhausted mentally and physically. She tried so hard to forget about him. But the harder she tried, the more difficult it became. Now her friends wouldn't even come to her. She didn't know if it was because of him, or worse, if they might have forgotten her too.

Tears spilled from her eyes as sorrow overwhelmed her, and she frantically beat her pillows with her fists. Her mind's eye was filled with his image; how he had looked, wild and beautiful. How his eyes had glowed with inner fire when they were together, when he flirted and teased her on some nights in her Metropolis apartment. She could not tear him from her mind. But she kept screaming to herself that she was not a fool, that she did the right thing.

Sarah's tears dripped onto her pillows, all of her sorrows, her tears, were being pushed out of her body into this one culminating fit of pain and exhaustion. She sobbed aloud in her painful loneliness and her damned pride that she refused to cast aside. She clawed at her bed sheets and hid her sobs into her pillows, barely conscious of a soft touch on her shoulder. She stopped then, her eyes flying open. She turned over slowly, waiting to see him standing there looking down at her, his elegant form silhouetted in the dark. Instead she saw a small boy staring at his sister with wide eyes. Sarah fought the disappointment that rose in her chest as she slapped her tears away.

Toby kept his hand on her shoulder and murmured, "Don't cry, Sarah."

She stared unblinking at her little brother, who was not even ten years old. He was always a precocious child, and now, he seemed years older than he really was. Yet, he pleaded with her with such childish innocence she couldn't resist lifting her blanket with the strength she had left.

"Come here," Sarah whispered. Toby readily obliged and climbed into bed next to his sister. She let her arm drop over him and curled her body next to his. They lay in silence together. Toby never asked why she was crying and Sarah never said a word to explain herself. It was in this moment that she realized she was not alone, she was never alone. If she could pity anyone now, it wasn't herself, it was Superman. He would go to the ends of the Universe to find a family, though his efforts would probably prove to be in vain.

Here, she had a family, and she had a piece of Superman that was always with her. She had given him nothing.

The following weeks were better. She kept herself occupied at all hours with the local college and her family, and after Christmas came and went, she received a notice from Gotham City. She had never even made any callbacks the whole time since she came back home. The company from Gotham must have caught up with her somehow. Perhaps they were desperate for new blood, or perhaps they finally gave into her old Professor's urgings to have her join. She knew he was the type of person that didn't like to see great talent wasted. The other companies had not tried to contact her, so she readily decided to do some research on Gotham.

It was much further from home than Metropolis had been. The city itself had suffered a depression but was now just getting back on its feet. And then there was the Batman. That was the absolute last thing she needed right now. Another man in tights just waiting to barge in on her life; not that the last time this happened was all bad. But there were some things she did not want repeated again. Apparently, this Batman had an agenda; to make Gotham City a better place for all citizens and to save it from the ruins it was quickly turning into. According to every newspaper article and recent statistic she found, he was doing his job quite well. Yet, she was still wary. A grown man who dressed up like a bat clearly had some issues…

But when she started doing her research on the theater company, she found them to be quite professional and had quite a reputation throughout the country. But what really sold her was the new theater that was being built just for the company. It was going to be brand new, completely modern yet dripping with elegance and prestige. The few pictures she managed to find of the new theater took her breath away, and that night she told her parents she was moving to Gotham City. And after all she had gone through recently, she thought it was best to move away from home once again and start over.

But her father had been just as wary as she had been. He quickly reminded her that Arkham Asylum was there, the city was still infested with crime, not too mention the Batman lurked in every street corner and building.

"Don't worry, Dad," she told him firmly, "I plan to stay very far away from him too." It wasn't a lie, or a coy exaggeration. She meant it. She wanted nothing to do with this Superman-wanna-be do-gooder. This Batman simply paled in comparison to her Knight, who was now light years away from Earth.

Soon afterward, she mailed back her confirmation to the company, packed her bags and boxes, and moved West to Gotham City. It was indeed very different here than in Metropolis. Metropolis had seemed brighter to her, more alive. Gotham was well, in a word, industrious. It was gritty, and the weather here always seemed dreary to her. Days passed before she saw actual sunlight. Gotham was just as busy as Metropolis, and the people were sometimes just as rude but that was simply because it was city life.

Even though the new theater had exceeded her expectations, the pay however, was not as much as she had hoped for. She had to take up residence with several other girls from the Company who were renting out a furnished building in the Gaslight district of Gotham. It wasn't exactly downtown, but it was still a safe and busy neighborhood, especially on the weekends. When she pulled up to the given address, however, she was immediately appalled and strangely fascinated at her new home.

This Victorian two-story complex had been painted pink. Granted it was not a true peptol bismol pink but more of a fuchsia shade. But it was still pink.

Sarah had deduced that the house was built around the turn of the century but was newly refurbished with polished hardwood floors, high ceilings, drapes, and Victorian flourishes throughout. The owner was a patron of the arts in Gotham and rented the house out specifically to Company members. Evidently she wanted the house to match the flamboyant ambiance of the theater. Each of the rooms had slightly different décor with hand sewn bedding and furniture. Sarah's room was painted an eggplant purple with a door that was painted red. The bed frame was made of intricate wrought iron with several antique mirrors decorating one side of the wall. On the other side was a small window where she could look out onto small inner courtyard in the back. She wasn't surprised to find a statue of a standing angel holding a small bowl for hungry birds.

Before she left home, Sarah had several phone conversations with some of the girls living here; Bianca being one of them. The dark-skinned girl with blue eyes stood in the doorway of Sarah's new room interrupting Sarah's reverie.

"Hey, Sarah."

Sarah turned away from the window and smiled amiably. "Hey, Bianca. Nice to finally meet you."

Bianca chuckled and looked at Sarah warily. "How did you know it was me?"

Sarah only shrugged. She would perhaps never be able to explain how she knew the things she did. "It was a hunch. Or maybe the voice just matched."

Bianca shrugged off Sarah's candor; they had already gotten to know each other beforehand. "Hey I know you have some unpacking to do but just wanted to let you know Sophie and I are right down the hall. We've already agreed to no overnight guests."

"Oh, sure." She honestly didn't think it would be a problem.

"Unless you're quiet," Bianca smiled knowingly.

Sarah knelt and began to unzip her bags. "Or you know, if you only just fall asleep together."

"Boring," Bianca teased, "I'll see you tonight, yeah? We're ordering Chinese."

"Oh, no, I can't." Sarah took out her toiletries and threw them on her bed. "I already promised to get together with Krista and Emily tonight."

"Cool," Bianca said before she left Sarah alone, "we'll leave some leftovers for you."

Krista and Emily were two of the girls she had bonded with almost immediately when she arrived in Gotham. Krista was one of the girls she talked with on the phone but had decided to move out due to the constant spats she had with Sophie. Emily had belonged to the Company in Metropolis and had always gotten along with Sarah. They all decided to meet at the bar and grill in Chimes Square. Emily and Krista were already seated at the bar enjoying their drinks when Sarah plopped in the empty seat next to them.

"Sorry I'm late," Sarah said, "this city is just as big as Metropolis."

"No problem," Krista handed Sarah a full pint of beer. "So, how is the pink house?"

"It's pink," Sarah's tone of voice was flat and dry.

Emily nearly choked on her drink. "Wait, the pink house in the Gaslight District on Murphy?"

Sarah and Krista both stared at her. That was exactly where the house was. "Yeah," Sarah confirmed, "the one by Coley Square."

Emily shook her head and laughed heartily. "Oh, man..."

"What?" Sarah said.

"Do you know what that used to be?"

"Oh god." Sarah didn't like where this was going.

"A brothel," Emily's laugh became even louder. "You're living in a brothel! I'm surprised you two didn't know."

"They must have assumed I did," Sarah took a big gulp of her beer. "And you've been here longer. It does explain the décor though. Fantastic. I love Gotham City so far."

Krista shrugged and spoke evenly. "It's alright, in its own right."

"It's rough," Emily countered firmly.

"It'll get better though."

"Oh, Jesus, here we go."

"No, really," Krista said, staying firm. "I really think the Batman is a godsend. I think he's the real thing. He wants to make this shithole better – bring it back to its glory days."

"It takes economics to do that."

"Well, that too…"

"No," Sarah said, coming to Krista's defense. "I think you're on to something. It's going to take a lot more than economics to fix this city. I just find this Batman's method a little overboard."

"Vigilantes need to have a presence," Krista's tone suddenly became very serious. "People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy." What she said was absolutely true and all three girls knew she was right. But it was a conversation killer none the less. Emily turned back to Sarah.

"You know what, I've heard it's nice inside the pink house."

"It is," Sarah nodded. "But I thought the house was a dormitory at one time."

"It has been, since the '20s. I think it's been a dorm longer than it was a brothel."

Krista smiled and added playfully, "So, which room do you think you have, Miss Lulu White?"

After settling in, and after one sleepless night in an unfamiliar setting, she decided to check out the new theater and meet with the rest of her cast mates before she began working on their play. The theater was certainly a beacon of light among a near-dismal, recovering city. She was absolutely awestruck by it. Everything about it, the architecture, the decorations, the overall grandeur of it… she was a fairy-tale princess again. Only she was the dreamy young girl lost in her childish naïveté before the Labyrinth. She was allowed to see every corner of the theater except for the rotunda. The workers explained to her that it was not quite finished yet and it would be ready just before opening night, which that was still nine weeks away.

But when she saw the Grand Staircase, it hit her. All of this… the theater, the acceptance, a city so far away from home… this was no coincidence. But it was too late. She was accepted, she already found a place to live, and she would start work very soon. It was only a matter of time; time she knew he was biding.

In the meantime, Sarah occupied her thoughts with rehearsals day after day. She kept her nights busy by socializing with her new cast mates. She made sure to come back to her loft exhausted and fell into dreamless sleep night after night. Fortunately, the only time she ran into the Batman was at the newspaper stands, and even then he never appeared in the paper more than twice a week.

But whenever she felt alone or lost, she would gently hold the diamond she never took off in her hand, and it never failed to bring her comfort.

On opening night, she wore her diamond onstage, and it had brought her luck. The applause they all received just wouldn't cease. Finally, they all took one last bow before raising their hands, waving a good-night to their audience.

Sarah smiled and her eyes wandered back to the front row. The man she met eyes with earlier continued to smile at her, never taking his intense gaze away, until the curtains finally dropped.