Disclaimer- I'm not getting any money out of this story, so please don't sue me. Larizel is mine though, so if you use her without my permission, I will sue you. Not really but... anyway. All characters from the Labyrinth belong to Henson Associates, Inc. I am just borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

AN- Norehnka, thank you once more for your review. I am sorry that my chapters are short. I swear they don't look that short in word. I was thinking about it earlier today. I never wrote this story for reviews or recognition. I wrote it for someone to read it. I've decided that I will just post this story for you, if someone else wants to read and review it would be wonderful and I'd appreciate it, but for now… this is for you. When I get your review, the next chapter will go up. Chapter 5 is when the main plot kicks in. So you are almost there. The story has 17 chapters and it only gets better from here. Thank you again for reading my story and reviewing.

Insanity Takes Its Toll

Chapter 3: Closings and Beginnings

The darkness smothered all that was light. Nothing was left but the dark, depressed, and heartbroken. He lay in the corner draped in all black. His skin was so pale, and he seemed to be crying. He sat with his knees to his chest and his head in his hands. His silver-blond hair poured over his arms, and his shoulders shook with such misery. She wanted to reach out to him. She wanted to take away whatever caused this poor man such grief. She slowly walked to the corner that he laid in and knelt down in front of him. She could now see that he was very dirty. Dark streaks stained his blond locks. His skin carried a thick layer of dust, as if he hadn't moved from that spot in months. Her hand slowly reached out to brush the hair out of his face. Before her hand could reach him, his head shot up and she found her violet eyes starring back into pools of blue and black. She held his stare and could see that indeed he had been crying.

She finally found her voice and spoke in a choking whisper. "Why are you crying?"

He stared at her hard, but said nothing. He just looked at her, and slowly he smiled.

Taken aback with his reaction she stood to her feet and offered a hand to help him up. Still he just stared. First at her hand then back to her face. His mind raced and his heart searched for a memory. Finally his eyes grew cold and she felt a chill flow through her body. "You are not Sarah." He stood with such a speed that all she saw was the black cloak catch in the air. He was right in front of her, no above her. He stood so tall and so mighty all of a sudden. "Who are you?" It was more of a demand than a question. His words hung in the air and she couldn't speak. "I asked you a question girl. I expect an answer." He paused for a moment and looked over her again before speaking one last time. "It doesn't matter. Be gone with you."

Larizel alarm clock jolted her to life. She had tears running down her face and she felt so empty. All she could remember were his eyes. They were the eyes that she had seen in other dreams, but never like that, never that cold and broken. They were both blue but one was pale almost crystal and the other was darker with a brownish tent almost black with the strange dilation of it's pupil. They were unlike any she had ever seen. She closed her eyes and could see them, with tears ready to fall. She shook herself a few times to force the sleepiness out of her. Then the thought occurred to her. "Oh my god. I'm closing on my house today." With a smile she leaped from her bed and headed for her shower. As soon as it had come, the dream left her mind, and for the time being, it was forgotten.

She stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her almost dry body. Her hair was swami wrapped in a matching towel. She had put her make up on in the bathroom and smiled in approval at the outfit she had placed out for herself. She slipped into the long black dress that fit almost too perfectly. It had inline padding to shape and form her breast, and a corset tight midsection to manipulate her waistline. The long slit up the right side of the dress showed off her long legs, and made her seem taller, and even thinner, if that was possible.

After dressing she released her damp hair from the towel, and began to brush out the remaining tangles. She took the blow dryer to it to get out the last of the moisture, and after numerous failed attempts at fixing it she finally twisted it into a half ass French twist and stuck a Chinese hairpin into it. She looked herself over with a critical eye. Not the look she was going for, but it would do.

She looked over at the clock and gasped. "Dammit, it's already noon. I'm going to be so late!" Sliding on her black heels, she grabbed her purse and was out the door. She half jogged down her driveway and jumped into her black Porsche without opening the door. 'So much for being lady like.' She giggled to herself as she threw the stick shift into reverse. She was on her way to begin her new life in her new house. She could hardly wait.

The closing was short and sweet. The owners were delighted that she bought the house, and that she transferred the money directly into their new bank account, opened just for this transaction. Larizel paid the real estate agent and lawyers for their services, and she was given the keys to her new home. She could barely wait to get home. She left the closing with a new jaunty step. On the way back to her old condo she stopped and picked up some sage sticks at this little herbal shop she knew of downtown. She wasn't taken any chances with superstition.

When she pulled up at the condo, the movers were there and ready to begin packing. She looked the two men over, and found herself thankful that she had already packed anything of real value herself. She led the men to her suite and they began to work. Within three hours the place was bare. All that remained were the shadows of her belongings that could be seen on every wall, a picture here, and a bookshelf there. She had lived in the condo for three years. Not once did she reorganize, or move a single thing, and now it was all gone. She sighed as she walked out the door, and closed it quietly behind her.

The movers followed her to the new house and moved her belongings in with ease. As Larizel looked over the boxes she found herself satisfied that everything was there. She paid the movers their fee and saw them to the door. After they were gone she found herself in a huge house, alone and ready to explore. She took out her sage sticks, and lit the first one. Walking through the first room and cleansing it, a thought occurred to her. "I think I'm going to have to go shopping. All my stuff could barely furnish three rooms, let alone twelve rooms plus the endless hallways."

Larizel spent the majority of her day cleansing the many rooms of her new house. She unpacked the few boxes that it took to pack all her stuff. In such a large house it seemed like it should feel so empty. One hallway to the next, Larizel found herself exploring her new world. The living rooms, the kitchen, the bedrooms, all were bare, yet seemed to be so alive. As if at any moment the floors themselves would come to life. Which she should have probably felt disturbing, but it actually relaxed her.

In an upstairs hallway on the third floor of the house, she found a door that she could have sworn wasn't there before, or at least she didn't remember it. It looked no different than any other door in the house. It was made of a dark cherry wood, polished until it shined with a silver antique doorknob. Larizel reached for the doorknob and felt her hand tingle. The feeling flowed from the tips of her finger, down her spine until it hit her toes. She opened the door with caution, unsure of what she might fine. The room was dark, and it had no windows, she reached for a light and gratefully she found it. As she flipped on the lights she was taken aback by what the room contained, a wooden vanity, a few stuff animals, an old bed, and a book with the title 'The Labyrinth".

AN- And so the story thickens. I hope that you've enjoyed the story so far. I know it's been a lot of build up, but isn't it so worth it? You have no idea what's in store for you, but I do. P Read and review. (Evil grin) Tell a friend.