Author's Note: A rather short update for you all! Please note that as of December 28th, I had edited the first two chapters. While nothing really extremely impacting the story changed, I do believe they are much better then before!

Happy reading!


Chapter Three: Loose Ends

As soon as Jareth and Toby had disappeared, Sarah immediately dropped her strong façade and collapsed into tears. Her sobs wracked her body every couple of seconds and stole her breath away. She did not grieve that she took Toby's spot in this awful place, but the sudden realization of all that she was giving up in doing so.

Never again would she see her father sitting in the kitchen, drinking his coffee and staring intently at the funnies as if it were the most serious thing in the world. Never would she call up her best friend Morgan at one in the morning to get a play-by-play of her date. Never again would she sleep in her own bed, hug her dog, yell at her stepmother, or just lie in her backyard and enjoy the sunlight on her face. Too much had she taken for granted and now all of it was lost.

She mourned the Sarah that might have been. The Sarah who would have matured quickly, but never lost her sense of imagination. The Sarah who would have studied Theatre or Literature, who would have moved to a big city and lived in a cramped apartment, who would have grown old gracefully---perhaps with someone else.

That now lost the Sarah who would have been so happy in the real world after her adventure in the fantasy had turned sour. Oh, how happy she could have been!

As she lay weeping, lamenting the lost of what might have been, a tall man silently stepped into the throne room and paused at its door. Though, she heard him she could pull herself together, not yet. Even when he moved to a put a hand to her shoulder, she could not cease her mortifying sobs.

"Now, come on, calm down. It isn't so bad, my dear" he whispered soothingly, she noticed he had a slight accent but she could not place it.

No, it isn't bad…it awful, it's the worst thing that could have happened!"

The man's eyes glinted a bit at this, "Well, now, you saved your brother right?"

She blinked, "Yes…but-"

"And would you rather you two switched places?"

"No, I wish—"

"Ahh!" the man suddenly snapped, "No, wasn't wishing what got you into this mess? You think you would learn!"

The man stared at her a long time before sighing aloud, placing two fingers against her temples, and muttering under his breath. Immediately, Sarah felt a peaceful calm flow through her. It reminded of Sarah snuggling under her blankets at night and finally just being herself, the relief of the pressure of putting up with the world vanishing for a short while. Sadness replaced with tranquility, Sarah's sobs turning into something more along the lines of extremely embarrassing hiccups.

"Wha-what was that?" she asked between gasps of air, motioning toward his hand.

"Magick, the Goblin King isn't the only magickally inclined being here! Of course, now you'd best be getting used to it living around here," the man said, holding a hand out to help Sarah up.

"More Magick? I've had about as much as I can handle…"

"I suppose so," she whispered, still a bit distant, "Oh, I suppose I should properly introduce myself, I'm Sarah"

"Well, of course, we I know about you, you put up quite a fight did you not?"

Sarah blushed at this, "I hope so…"

"Well, I am Rowan. Come now, I must get you to the serving quarters, before His Majesty returns…"

"Oh, you are…you…work for the Goblin King?"

The man, Rowan, finally cracked a smile and laughed almost sarcastically, "Unfortunately so, head of his little cleaning brigade, the Great Rowan at your service!"

For the first time, she really looked at Rowan. Very tall, she had noticed that right away, slender and willowy. His face was open and friendly, highlighted by sparkling emerald eyes, a sprinkling of freckles, and full lips. His clothing was rather plain, just a loose white shirt and dark breeches tucked into boots but it suited him well. Could he really be a…for lack of a better word…servant to the goblins? This beautiful man?

Still, Sarah felt lighter because of Rowan's magick and could not stop herself from joking along with him.

"The Great Rowan! My, the King of the Goblin's has such high standards for his staff! Truly I should feel blessed! Honored, even!"

Rowan grinned at her antics, happy to finally see a bit of life in the poor girl's face. He had heard much about her, especially at the dinner table. She was being hailed as the Goblin King's first real human challenge. Rowan had been rooting for her all along. It was hard to believe this little slip of a girl had stood tall against Jareth, but he supposed he should have learned by now everything is not as it seemed.

"Now, let's get a move on before his Highness really does comes back, you'll learn quickly he is not to be disobeyed," Rowan gave a little wink, "Come, I'll show you around, I promise I'll try to make it as bearable as possible!"

With an exaggerated offering of his arm, Sarah could not help but smile and take it. A glimmer of hope finally appeared and, surprisingly, it was not because of magick. Sarah Williams would survive, she had to. Though she knew she would never give up trying to find a way back Aboveground, she was ready to face the challenge. She had a new life ahead of her, full of new beginnings.