Sarah sat on her haunches and instinctively ran a hand through her long dark hair. What was she going to do? For a brief moment she thought about leaving Karen in the oubliette. She could finish the Labyrinth herself and in half the time. But Sarah quickly dismissed the idea. No matter how much she despised Karen, her father still loved her. Toby loved her. She was still family.

Sarah looked around. In her previous journey she remembered stepping over the occasional fallen tree branch but this time there was none to be found. The only thing scattered about was rubble and small, thin twigs. She looked back down into the pit. It was pitch black. Maybe there was a door down there like the one Hoggle had shown her.

She took a deep breath as she made up her mind. If anything, Jareth wouldn't let her rot for eternity, would he? From her previous relationships, Sarah knew what it was like to be heartbroken but what was she supposed to say? She was just fifteen back then. She had a life back home and dreams to pursue. Turns out trying to become an actor wasn't as easy as she had planned.

Sarah swung her feet over the edge. "I'm coming down."

Karen called back up. "No! Sarah don't-"

But Sarah had already jumped down. The fall had been longer than the last oubliette she encountered. She landed harder than expected. Pain shot through her legs as she made impact. She rolled onto her side hugging her legs close to her. "Bog dammit!"

Karen came rushing over holding the lighter she had been carrying in her pocket. She began to help Sarah up with her free hand. "I'll never know why you say that."

Sarah fought through the pain and stood. "Let's keep it that way. You told me you stopped smoking."

"I did. I just have an occasional one every now and then."

"That's not quitting if you do it here and there."

"Well it's a lot less than what it used to be. I'm going in baby steps."

Sarah shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Give me that." She took the lighter and began to look around. The oubliette was smaller than the one she fell into ten years prior. Karen had been right; bones littered the dirt floor. She began making her way to one side with her arm outstretched, trying to feel for any opening.

"I wouldn't go over there."

Sarah looked over at Karen. Her eyes were adjusting but it was still hard to make out the outline of her stepmother. "Why?"

"There's a skeleton that hasn't fully decomposed."

Sarah brought the lighter lower. As she swept it across the room the little light illuminated more broken and scattered bones. Suddenly Sarah saw it. She gasped and jumped back. The dwarf's skeleton was mostly decomposed except for some patches of skin on the face and silver hair.

Sarah knelt down beside it. Was it Hoggle? She reached out gingerly and touched the corpse's white shirt. Karen hit the back of her hand. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't touch it. You'll pick up some disease."

Sarah shook her head. She brought the lighter up to observe the skeleton once more. She noticed that in one hand he held a sword while the other held a shield. Sarah sighed in relief. Hoggle may have gotten braver by the end of their journey but she couldn't imagine him being brave enough to wield a sword.

Karen crossed her arms. "Now what do we do?" Sarah stood up. "There should be a door around here. At least, last time there was."

She walked past Karen to check the other side of the oubliette. Her stretched out hand ran along the walls but found nothing. She brought the lighter lower again and looked on the ground. Maybe one of these skeletons had something they could use.

A sparkling glint caught her eye. She bent down and picked up a silver badge shaped like a shield. With her thumb she brushed off the dirt to reveal an emblem of a hammer and pick ax. Strange writing was engraved along the outer edge. Karen came up behind her. "Anything?"

Sarah pocketed the badge. "Not yet. But there might be something we could use to climb out of here." She spotted exactly what she needed. A few feet away a neatly wrapped grappling hook rested on the floor. She bent down and picked it up.

"Here." Sarah handed the lighter back to Karen. The older woman watched as she swung the hook preparing to toss it up. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"We don't know how old that thing is. It could snap."

Sarah looked up with determined eyes. Above the early morning sun was shining brightly. "There's only one way to find out."

Toby walked down the wide hall of the castle. He observed the elaborate paintings as he strolled along. Each artwork displayed various sceneries of the Labyrinth and beyond. Sometimes a goblin or two would pass by going about their staff duties or chasing runaway chickens. Toby was fascinated by them. They seemed strangely familiar but maybe he just saw them in a dream.

Right. Left. Left. Right. Eventually he came to a door that interested him very much. The gold leaves and vines inlaid into the wood glinted in the sunlight that shone through the castle windows. Toby knocked on the door. Nothing. He reached for the handle but drew back when he saw it turning. Jareth opened the tall wooden doors a crack.

"I thought I told you—oh," He looked down at the boy. "Exploring the castle I see."

"Yeah, I guess." Toby looked past him. "Is that a telescope?"

Jareth opened the door wider. "Well, yes but-"

"Can I see?"

Jareth thought about it for a moment before letting him enter. "Alright." The work on his desk could wait a few moments. Toby ran past the goblin king with excitement. He looked at the golden telescope with great interest.

Jareth strided over to him. "Careful. It was a gift."

Toby continued to look over the telescope, making sure not to accidentally knock it over. "Sarah's boyfriend had one like this. He got it from his grandfather or something. Sometimes he'd let me come over and look through it."

Jareth felt a tinge of jealousy pull at his heart. True he had been heartbroken but curiosity had gotten the better of him and he couldn't help but observe Sarah from afar a few times. Shortly after her leaving, the dwarf war had kept him occupied from his usual duties such as blessing chickens or finding a suitable wife according to his parent's wishes. "And this…boyfriend still let's you come over?"

Toby shook his head. "They broke up a few years ago. What's all this?" He took a few steps over to the cluttered desk. Various scrolls, maps, and letters were laid out. Jareth sat down in the velvet chair. "I was in the middle of going over the treaty between the dwarf king."

"Really?" Toby looked over the document. He had never seen such a language. "Is this Elvish?"

Jareth picked up the quill and dipped it in the ink. "Dwarvish. It's surprisingly a complicated language." He signed his signature with a flourish at the bottom of the document before setting it aside to dry. He sorted through the other various scrolls before pulling out another one and reading through it.

Toby stood beside him. "Is this all you do every day?"

"Believe me, if I could I would be off somewhere on vacation."

"Why don't you just go on vacation then?"

"It's a lot more complicated than that."

"Why doesn't the queen do anything? Doesn't she have to approve it too?"

Jareth stopped reading. There were many times his parents, the high king and queen of the Underground, told him it was about time he found a wife. Sometimes he would imagine Sarah sitting on a throne next to his.

Sarah.

What was she up to? It had been nearly an hour since he last checked in on her and…Karen was it? He hoped she found the grappling hook but he had no doubts his Sarah would.

Jareth put the quill back in the ink. "The Labyrinth has yet to have a queen. At least, an official one anyway."

"Oh." Toby rested his head in his hand and watched as Jareth signed his name on the document in various places.

A knock on the door made Toby jump. Jareth didn't miss a beat and continued reading and signing the document. "Come in."

A goblin peeked inside. "Your majesty, I brought the battle plans."

Jareth waved for him to enter. Toby observed the goblin that came scurrying up to the giant wooden desk. He wore metal armor that reminded him of a knight. In one hand the goblin held a scroll and in the other he held a helmet. He was stubby and round.

The goblin general quickly set his helmet down on the desk and unrolled the scroll. "I just finished drafting this myself. I believe you Excellency will find it fitting to our design."

Toby leaned over the desk, resting on his elbows. Jareth leaned in as well, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he looked over the map laid out before him. The map showed the entire Labyrinth and parts of the neighboring lands that surrounded it. Red "x"'s and dashed lines were connected in various places. Toby noticed that again it was written in a different language but it looked different from the Dwarvish document he had seen earlier. He guessed it must have been in goblin.

The general began going over the battle plans excitedly with Jareth, announcing several times that it was his idea and that he had made up the entire plan himself. Treaties may have been in order but nothing was officially signed yet. Toby tuned out what the general was saying and began looking over the map more closely. Somewhere out there, Sarah and his mother were trying to find him.

It took Sarah a few tries before the grappling hook latched onto a piece of uneven pavement. Karen climbed up first and held the rope so Sarah could follow.

Sarah rested her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "Man, I need to get back in shape." Karen was also panting. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She tried leaning against the wall but fell through.

Sarah turned around as she yelped. At least Karen was good for something. She helped her up and Karen brushed the dust off her bottom. "Is that the opening you were trying to find?"

Sarah looked from left to right. "Yup. Nothing is what it seems in this place." She continued down the right path. Karen reluctantly followed her. "I'll say."

They walked on for some time, arguing about which way they should go. As with most of their arguments, it always turned into something bigger as they each brought up stuff about the past. Eventually they agreed to switch back and forth between who would decided which way to go. Sarah would choose one way and then Karen would pick the path at the next fork in the road.

To Karen, the stone walls looked the same after some time and she began to wonder if they were going in circles. Sarah kept her hopes up. They had to be going the right way.

Neither woman had talked to the other for some time besides the occasional "Go left" or "Turn right". Sarah thought that if they were still Aboveground, she would have either retreated back to her old room upstairs or go back to her apartment depending on the situation. But they were stuck together, at least for the time being. She wondered how much time they had left.

As she got lost in her thoughts her eyes wandered towards the castle in the distance. They had to be getting closer, right? Something about the Labyrinth seemed so different this time around.

"Sarah!"

Karen's voice brought her out of her trance. Her arm was pulled back as Karen grabbed her. Sarah quickly jumped back when she saw how close the wall of thorns was. She looked at the wall and then around the corner. "I don't remember this before."

Karen and Sarah looked as far as they could into the distance. A maze of rose thorns stretched out before them. The fog began to roll in.