Author's Note: What a crazy world we live in! It's been forever since I posted last and I'm blaming that on the restart of the public school systems in my state. I've been writing this chapter in my study hall (one that I didn't sign up for), after finishing my Algebra II/Trig homework, which my teacher seems to assign every freaking day. So, I sort of based the return of Linda Williams on the return of Isobel in Elaina's life (yes, I have to admit that I'm addicted to "The Vampire Diaries," which is something I'm sort of ashamed of). As always, I own nothing except for the obvious things I do own (the things that aren't from the original movie), please leave generous reviews, and enjoy!

"Hoggle!" Jareth frantically paced in front of his throne, waiting for that imp of a dwarf to come. Personally, he had no idea why Sarah had decided to befriend those three creatures, but they had a special link to her that, unfortunately, he did not. So, he would put up with the imbeciles if it meant he could keep his Champion safe.

The dwarf skidded into the empty room panting and out of breath. "Yer majesty," he stammered and Jareth scoffed at his fear. He wasn't that horrible of a leader; there had been worse in his time that had tried to rule the Labyrinth. His mind darkened as he thought of one in particular. Hoggle looked up at him expectedly and Jareth through in a glare for good measure.

"Higgbum," he demanded, ignoring the dwarf's attempts to say his right name. "I understand that you and the other two creatures have been visiting with Lady Sarah. "And don't try and lie to me," he warned as Hoggle started to protest. "I know these things. Don't worry; I don't plan on bogging you, for now at least."

"Ya- ya don't?" The surprise on the dwarf's face was so obvious that Jareth had to laugh.

"No, I don't. But I need you to give this to her when you see her next, which I know will be soon." He held out a gloved hand which had been empty, but now held the necklace he's so carefully constructed.

Hoggle stared. "Wha- what is it?"

"It's a present Higgle." Jareth sighed, collapsing onto his throne.

The dwarf shot him a suspicious glare. "It won't harm her, will it? You know I won't harm her; not again."

"The last time hardly did any harm to her," Jareth growled, and Hoggle cowered at the fire in his eyes. "That damn peach didn't even work on her; she's too strong." He sat back and rubbed his temples, trying his best not to think of the old memories. "No," he said, much more calmly. "It won't bring any harm to her. In fact it's going to protect her, which is something you and I both want. She'd better get this, or I'll forbid you from ever seeing her again." The threat was empty; he wouldn't actually hurt Sarah like that.

Hoggle seemed to know that as he glared up at Jareth and took the necklace. "She's not going to take it if she knows it's from you. She doesn't trust you."

Jareth winced. That definitely cut right into his heart. "Well then Hoggle, I suggest you don't tell her it's from me. Just make sure she wears it. I know you care about her, and I know you want her to be safe."

Hoggle looked at the necklace with interest. "How does this work anyways? You can't use your magic on her unless she asks for it, so how can you protect her?"

"It's not my magic that will be used in that charm; it's the Labyrinth's."

That sure got the dwarf's attention. Hoggle looked up at him with wide eyes. "The Labyrinth's? But how-"

Jareth snarled. It wasn't enough to protect her, no matter how powerful the Labyrinth was. Its magic could only work at its true, powerful potential if Sarah was safe within it, which she wasn't. If only she wasn't so stubborn; if only she would realize that he only wanted to keep her safe. "Just make sure she puts it on Hoggle, or you'll face the consequences." The dwarf's ugly face paled as he tucked the charm in his pouch and quickly fled from the room.

Jareth flew from his chair and prowled over to the window. He produced a worthless crystal and clenched it so hard that it shattered to pieces. He watched the sun sink over his kingdom, imagining a dark-haired beauty fighting her way to his castle. The Labyrinth had done its best to produce obstacles to keep her within its walls, but it had underestimated her strength and she had battled through them all.

"My Sarah," he whispered as he reflected on the painful memories. "The Labyrinth knows what's best, even if you don't."

(((((((((())))))))))

"Mom."

Sarah stared at the still-beautiful face of Linda Williams and wondered how in the hell that woman could just stand there and smile like everything was well in the world. The emotions raging inside of her mixed together like a huge stew, but the only thing she really felt was numb.

Linda frowned. "Sarah, are you alright? You're very pale."

Sarah gripped the back of a chair so hard that it creaked in protest. "No, I'm not alright! I- how the hell did you even get in here?"

Linda sighed and sat back down. "Your father isn't very creative with his hiding places; he never has been. The spare key is still taped underneath the mailbox, where it's been for the last twenty years he's lived here. I'm surprised that he didn't move it when I left."

The way she said 'since I left' so casually, as if she didn't have a care in the world, was what really pissed Sarah off. Without another word, she turned around and walked away. She heard the chair scrape as Linda made to follow her.

"Sarah, honey where are you going?"

"To my room," she snarled, spinning to face Linda. "I'm going to take a long, hot shower and I'm going to lock my door and push something heavy in front of it. Then I'm going to wait until you leave and hide the key somewhere else so you'll never be able to find it again."

The way she bit her strained lip was the only sign that Linda was upset. "Darling, honestly, is this any way to treat a guest, especially your own mother?"

"You are NOT my mother!" Sarah dug her nails so hard into her palms that she pierced the skin. "You haven't my mother for ten years, and you are most certainly not a guest in this house!" She was ashamed when she felt hot tears spilling down her cheeks, but she knew they were more from anger than anything.

Linda's face took on a sympathetic, soothing look that Sarah could immediately tell was fake. She was an actress too; she knew how to tell the difference from real and pretend. "Sarah," Linda murmured, reaching out as if to wrap her arms around her daughter.

"Don't touch me," Sarah snarled. "You aren't fit to play that role anymore. Just tell me; why are you here?"

Linda frowned and looked away, tracing the kitchen counter with a long, perfectly manicured fingertip. "I always thought this color was ugly; I thought it too old-fashioned. Your father loved it though and refused to change it." She peeked back up at Sarah and smiled weakly, even though her beautiful eyes were filled with remorse. "I came to see you act," she said softly. "I wanted to see my pumpkin's big debut, see her as the beautiful star I knew she'd turn out to be."

Sarah swallowed the hard lump in her throat and turned away. "It's been ten years. Ten. I woke up one morning to find that the mother I adored so much ran away into the night. The only thing you ever sent us was divorce papers. I used to have nightmares about you being dead, before I stopped caring at all."

Linda came up behind her and gently touched her shoulder. "Sarah," she breathed when her hand wasn't thrown off. "I know you won't believe me, but I did think about you. You'll always be my little star. I'm still your mother."

"No." Sarah threw off her hand and turned to face her, looking straight into her eyes. "No, you aren't. Karen was more of a mother than you, and now she's gone too. I want you to leave. That shouldn't be too hard for you." Linda pursed her lips and looked away, leaving Sarah the winner of the stare-down.

"Fine," she said, all of the sweetness gone. "However, I want to ask you to meet me tomorrow at the Luna Café. I know you must have questions and I promise to answer them all. I'll give you my number." She produced a pen and a slip of paper from out of her purse and wrote down a number, leaving it on the counter. "Please, Sarah." Her voice was pleading now. "Give me a chance to talk to you. Besides, if you truly have half of my gene pool, there's no way you'll be able to resist a cup of coffee." Linda turned to around and grabbed her jacket from on top of the kitchen table. "Oh, I forgot to mention how wonderful your performance was. You made a better Juliet than I did when I first played the part." She shot one last glance at Sarah and left without another word.

Sarah waited until she heard the front door slam shut before bursting into tears and stumbling up the stairs to her bedroom. She collapsed into the chair in front of her vanity and looked into the mirror. "Hoggle," she stammered. "Ludo, Sir Didymus, I need you." Barely a second passed when Sarah turned around and flung herself into Ludo's warm embrace. She sobbed into his soft fur while his big gentle arms came around her and held her tight.

"Sawah sad," he said, sounding hurt himself.

"Yes," she replied, her voice muffled in his fur. "I'm very sad."

"My lady!" Sir Didymus' voice rang from behind her. "Whatever is the matter?"

After a few seconds, Sarah pulled away from Ludo and forced a brave smile at him. "Thanks for comforting me buddy," she said softly, feeling a little better when he returned her smile. She turned to Hoggle and Sir Didymus, who watched her with nervous anticipation.

"Sorry," she said, doing the best to wipe the wetness from her face. "Thanks for coming so quickly."

Hoggle looked up at her with worry. "Sarah, is something the matter?"

She laughed bitterly. "You could say that, I suppose. My mother came back today."

"What?" All three of her friends gaped at her in astonishment. Sarah had told them Linda's story one night; of how her mother had disappeared in the night without telling her good bye or sending a note of any kind. Sarah had ripped all of the pictures of Linda from the walls after returning from her journey to save Toby. Realizing that her fairy-tale mother wasn't coming back to get her was another way she had changed in the Labyrinth.

"Yes," she confirmed, looking at the floor. "She just showed up at the dining room table and hardly seemed to notice that ten years have passed. I don't think she even cared at all."

"My lady," Sir Didymus said loudly, which was the best comforting voice he could offer. "If you need me to fight her off, I would do it willingly. You know give my life to you in a heartbeat." He finished with a flurry bow. Hoggle rolled his eyes, but Sarah had to laugh, even if it was a bit dryly.

"Thank you Didymus, but I don't think that's the best solution." She collapsed onto her bed and turned her eyes to Hoggle, the one she could talk to the most. "She wants me to meet her tomorrow. She says she wants to talk with me. What should I do?"

Hoggle came over and sat beside her. "What do ya want to do?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I do want her answers, but I'm not sure I'm ready to talk to her yet. I'm so confused!" She buried her head in her hands, but she didn't cry.

Hoggle patted her on the shoulder with his slightly clumsy hands and gave her a few moments of silence. "I think you should decide. She's yer mother, and I can't make the choice for you."

"Thank you," she said quietly. "Thanks, all of you, for being my friends." Ludo and Sir Didymus smiled, thankful that she was back to normal again. They chattered on about their days and such while Sarah smiled and pretended to listen with all of her attention. Hoggle watched her closely, knowing that she wasn't alright yet.

After an hour of aimless chatter, Sarah was actually starting to feel a little better. Sir Didymus proclaimed that it was getting late and that he and Ludo really needed to be heading back to the Bog of Eternal Stench. He kissed Sarah's hand bowed again, promising that he would fight to the death for her well-being, should she but ask. Ludo gave her another bear hug and Sarah basked in his sweetness.

"My dear Hoggle," Didymus said, ready to disappear after Ludo into the mirror. "Are you coming?"

"I'm coming," Hoggle said, staying beside Sarah. "I'll be there in a few." Sir Didymus nodded and was gone.

Sarah offered a weak smile at Hoggle, who looked up at her. "I wanted to give ya somethin' before I left," he said, reaching into his pouch of jewels. Sarah watched in anticipation. It wasn't every day that he gave up one of his precious jewels. "Here," he said, and she held out her hand.

Sarah gasped in delight at the necklace he placed in her hands. It was a tiny crystal ball wrapped in silver vines, strung on a delicate silver chain. The crystal shimmered as it caught the light from her room, glowing soft colors of blue, silver, and violet. "Hoggle," she said breathlessly. "It's beautiful. Where did you get this?"

"Er, I found it," he said. "I thought you would like it."

"I do," she said in awe, not able to take her eyes off of the jewel. "I love it." It reminded her of something, she realized dimly, but she wasn't sure what.

"Sarah," Hoggle said in a low, serious voice. "Just promise you'll wear it, okay? Wear it, for me."

"Of course," she said, surprised at the fierce way his eyes glinted. "I don't know if I'll be able to take it off." She clasped the necklace around her neck and let it settle on her breast bone.

"Then don't take it off," Hoggle said in a voice so quiet that she barely heard him. She was about to question his meaning when his eyes darted to the mirror and he jumped off the bed. "I gotta go," he said quickly. "The others are waiting." He was just about to disappear into the mirror when he turned back to her. "Sarah, about yer mum, do what ya think's best." Then he was gone, leaving Sarah with a goodbye on her lips.

She sighed and stared at her reflection in the mirror from across the room. The necklace shimmered brightly against her skin, but she tore her eyes away from its beauty and sighed again. She knew what she had to do.

Downstairs, she found the slip of paper with the hastily-scrawled number on it. She picked up the phone and dialed the number without thinking, before she could change her mind. The phone rang twice and was then answered by a sweet, collected voice. Sarah took a deep breath.

"Alright, I'll meet with you."