A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews! It really means a lot coming from all of you especially as you seem to be some hardcore Labyrinth fans. Just a couple of things….I have changed Rose's name to Agnes and the first person to tell me why I did that will get a spoiler; secondly, I noticed my hyperlinks did not convert from my original document so I added them to my profile and will continue to do so as I complete chapters. I will add the music into my ending A/N and into my profile. If you get a chance, listen to the music (YouTube) as you read the chapter…it's pretty frickin' awesome!

Lastly…..a big shout out to Amaya Shinkuyoake for some editing tips and helping me navigate FF. The information was priceless.

Chapter 2. Abandoned

It's a crystal. Nothing more. But if you turn it this way

and look into it, it will show you your dreams.

Sarah gingerly placed her finger tips on the red book. The gold lettering on the front was quite faded but she would never forget the title as long as she lived. Lifting the book, she pressed it against her face rocking back and forth. After some time, she put it aside and reached for the other items in the wooden box: a feather as if from an old fashioned cap, a small plain rock, a bracelet made of the most random shiny baubles, and wrapped in delicate tissue paper – a glass sphere that could fit in the palm of her hand.

She let out a shaky breath and looked at all the objects, including the book, surrounding her. They were real, as she was real, as the book was real, as her memories of the before were real. No matter what had happened these last three years, no one, not her Father, or Step-Mother, not the case workers, or doctors could ever make her believe what happened to her wasn't real.

She smiled as she lovingly touched each item before gently placing them back in the box. She kept the book out, not daring to open it but placing it on the bookshelf in her front room. Her first book on the shelf.

She dusted herself off as she stood up surveying the room. The wooden box had been the last thing she had to go through; everything else had found its own place. Watching her funds, Sarah had been able to find an old kitchenette table and three matching chairs, an old ratty but still quite colorful circular area rug. Agnes had offered her a loveseat that had been gathering dust in the basement. It turned out to be vintage and absolutely lovely. Sarah had tried to offer Agnes something for it but Agnes vehemently refused. She said she liked to collect pretty things but often wound up not using them. Sarah was delighted to find matching decorative pillows at a consignment shop. She was quite happy with her place…her new home. Having her old bedroom furniture was a great comfort to her. She often would curl up in her old comfy chair which she had placed by the front window and watched the trees as they changed color. Her world was slowly coming together.

Work at the books store was satisfying in its own way. Sonya and Andre were very kind and patient with her as Sarah learned the ropes. One afternoon as rain lightly tapped the windows, and after all the new books had been stocked, Sarah had shooed Sonya and Andre out the door. She wandered around dusting as she went and humming to herself. Later on, she put on a small pot of coffee and picked up a book. She hadn't read any books since the before…

Taking a sip of coffee she opened a book from the bargain bin and began reading. It was one of the "Romance of the Month" novels but it made Sarah happy. She laughed, she cried, and in the end cheered when Priscilla and Antonio wound up winning back the ranch and adopting the children they had rescued from the fire.

Looking up, she realized how late it had become. She tidied up her dishes, locking up as she went. She took the money from the cash register and placed it in the deposit bag. She would drop it off on the way home. As she locked the door with her key, she felt the rain start to drizzle once again. She put the hood up on her sweatshirt, adding umbrella to her mental list of things she needed to pick up. The bank was only two blocks away and so she was able to deposit the money quickly. She decided to take out some cash for herself from the atm so she could stop by one of the corner grocery stores on her way home. She was slowly filling her cabinets with not only food but pots, pans, and utensils. She loved opening her kitchen cupboards to see tea cups and saucers. Sarah loved to make tea at night in her brand new red teapot and adding honey to sweeten it up.

Just as she was turning back toward the street and putting her money into the front pocket of her bag, she heard a voice out of the darkness, "Don't bother putting that money away, you are going to hand it to me."

Sarah felt a tingle of fear run down her spine and invade her limbs. The stranger from the darkness moved closer to her and in that instant the before and the now collided leaving her fifteen years old and in a maze made of stone. She lurched forward, sprinting out of reach of the stranger. She heard a guttural sound come from his throat as he gave chase. The wind and rain made it hard to see as she tried to blink the water out of her eyes. She made a quick left turn running with no direction, just towards noise and light. Up ahead, she saw the side street she was running down open up to one of the busier boulevards. She sped up and as the side street ended she tripped on the sidewalk and landed on her hand and knees crying out. Hands reached out and she scrambled away only to realize it was an older couple coming to her rescue. The stranger had vanished.

"Sorry," she cried out before heading down the boulevard towards the nearest bus stop.

Once she reached her apartment, she locked her door and walked into the bathroom washing the gravel away that was embedded into her palms. She felt herself begin to shake, feeling cold and scared.

She crept to her loveseat and lay down. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and her throat close up as a sob escaped her. Why? Why her? When she was just starting to get a handle on her life…and now she felt like she could curl up in a ball and stay there forever.

"This can't be happening," said Sarah to herself.

She felt so alone thinking back to that other time in her life….when she felt like she couldn't go any further. But then, she wasn't alone. She had her friends Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus, and Ambrosius. Even him. Even Jareth. Sarah pictured him, his multi-colored eyes and piercing stare, the constant scowl/smirk that he always wore. She remembered being in his arms, where she almost forgot everything, even Toby. That's what she needed now, she needed to forget everything, not just tonight but what her parents did to her, what they took away from her. A sob once again escaped her as she recalled the words that turned her world upside down. It also reminded her of the other time she had called to him, to her friends. They did not help her. She didn't expect them to appear this time either but it didn't stop her.

"Goblin King, Goblin King wherever you may be, take me far away from this place."

Her sobs became deep breaths and then silence. She felt so tired and hollow. As her eyes closed, she thought to herself that once again they abandoned her.

Sometime later she opened her eyes. The moon cast shadows and she blinked to get her bearings. She felt a change in the room as she tried to sit up. That's when she noticed that someone was in her old comfy chair. Her floor lamp clicked on as she heard him whisper, "Sarah."

A/N: "Don't Say" – Hannah Cohen.

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