DISCLAIMER: I do not own Labyrinth or the characters associated with the film; they are the property of the Jim Henson Company.
Jareth was watching Sarah shuffle through her old belongings; he smiled as she reached for the book. He was watching her shift through the pages and noticed that she had stopped dead on one page. He knew what the words she was reading were; he only wished he could hear what she was saying. He leisurely watched her as she stared forward, caught in some dreamlike state. Her expression bothered him; she appeared distraught and upset. It wasn't an expression he was used to seeing on Sarah's face, even when she was acting. Sarah faced challenges head on with a resourcefulness that few could match. Why, then, was she making this face? What troubled her so much? Jareth began to worry. Not about the success or failure of his plan, but for Sarah's well-being. The game would not be fun if she were distracted by something else.
Watching her more intently, he noticed something even more strange. She was peering at her reflection in horror, yet Jareth could see nothing out of the ordinary. This carried on for a minute or so until Sarah moved to window. The weather was atrocious Aboveground. He remembered that the night he had met her, the weather had been terrible. It was yet another odd twist of coincidence. Jareth smirked. He then saw Sarah slink away to her bed, apparently terrified of something or another. He wanted to go to her and correct whatever the problem was; all she had to do was say the words. He waited hopefully and watched her mouth open and close. She had said words, but they weren't for him. He had only vaguely heard the words as a sweet whisper brought in with the breeze – she had called to someone in his Labyrinth, but that someone was not Jareth. He sighed. It was likely Hoggle.
Jareth's troubles soon began to extend beyond that of Sarah's. A deep rumble was heard in the distance and the sweet sound of gently falling rain came soon after. Jareth's eyes narrowed. A goblin came scampering in to tell him what he already knew.
"Sire, it's raining! RAINING! It never rains in the Labyrinth!"
This was true; it never rained in the Labyrinth because the Labyrinth was Jareth's domain. The Labyrinth and everything in it obeyed Jareth – including the weather. Jareth hates the rain. It never rains in the Labyrinth. It seems that fate was pulling out all the stops.
It had been ten minutes since Sarah had called for Hoggle, and yet she heard no reply; she saw no friendly face in her mirror; she was still utterly alone. Of course, Sarah had already calmed down. The crow combined with her odd reflection had disturbed her greatly. Sarah cursed her overactive imagination silently wishing that she had simply gone to bed. But, now, she was worried for Hoggle. In the past, she had called to her friends and they would appear almost instantaneously. Sarah mentally noted that she had not called to them in a few years and perhaps her memory was beginning to become fuzzy on time lines.
She called out again. Nothing. The storm outside raged on, but Sarah refused to even glance out the window for fear of seeing that crow again. Sarah decided to call out to all of her friends: Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo. Absolutely nothing.
"This is ridiculous!" Sarah exclaimed, flinging herself from the bed. She stalked to the window only to again be shocked by the crow. It seemed to refuse to leave the branch. It seemed to be staring straight at her. Almost as though in an act of defiance to the bird's persistent behaviour, Sarah started to say the words. Something was going on Underground, and Sarah doubted that it was good.
Sarah's ritualistic call to the Goblin King was cut short by the sound of her bedroom door opening. Toby teetered inside her room.
"You aren't going to wish me away again, are you?" he asked, terrified.
Tears came to Sarah's eyes. She could not believe that she had once detested the boy so much as to have him taken away by the Goblin King. She wrapped Toby in a tight embrace. She was amazed that he could remember the whole ordeal; she was also afraid of the impact it had had on his childhood.
"Never, Toby, never again. That was the biggest mistake of my life," she cried into his small shoulder. She felt the boy's muscles relax in her grip. She pulled back to look Toby in the eye and was relieved to find that Toby was no longer frightened, but happy instead.
"Toby, I'm calling the Goblin King because I feel that my fri…" Sarah started.
"Your friends are in trouble," Toby finished, "They are Sarah."
Sarah's heart skipped a beat as Toby spoke.
"Toby how do you know that?"
Her fears were confirmed.
"I see them at night. They're in trouble. And, HIM, too," Toby looked at Sarah with a purpose. "I see him; he's hurt, real bad. And he keeps calling out but I can't hear him. Then there's the princess…"
Sarah felt a twinge of emotion. Could it be jealousy? She shrugged it off and encouraged Toby to go on.
"She's wearing a white dress and she has long, black hair like yours. She's trying to get to him but she can't. When she gets there, it's too late, I think. And then she cries and I wake up," Toby finished. He didn't appear overly disturbed by his dream; more or less it was just a matter of fact.
The description of Toby's princess came to mind along with a familiar dress of hers. Sarah decided that her inquisitive mind would never be sated unless she asked Toby. She walked to her closet and shuffled around its contents. Where was the dress? It was there; it was gone. Toby watched Sarah patiently.
"What are you looking for?"
Sarah looked at Toby and sighed.
"It's a weird night, Toby. You should go back to bed."
Toby shook his head, "No way. I know where you're going to go and I want to come with you! It's too dangerous for you to go alone."
Sarah had to laugh at this. Toby's tone had been so authoritative and commanding, but as for him coming it was out of the question. Even if nothing was wrong and there was just some sort of inter-dimensional crossed wires, Sarah was going in there alone. She felt drawn to the Underground, and the pull was becoming stronger and stronger as each moment drew on.
"No, Toby, this is my mission," Sarah stated. There must have been something in her eye that told him not to argue because he didn't say a word in defence.
"Fine," Toby pouted, "But, I'm staying right here because I want to see him again!"
Sarah was surprised that Toby wanted to see the Goblin King again. Perhaps Jareth had not been unkind to him during his short stay Underground. Sarah would have to ask him about it when she returned. The storm outside showed no signs of stopping, and the crow showed no signs of moving. Sarah wondered if it was a fake, put there to scare off nesting birds. As though the crow had heard her thoughts, it cocked its head towards the window. Sarah scowled. She felt that same wave of defiance wash over her once more. Automatically she said the words, and waited.