Author's Note: After much slaving, torment and a huge gap between my last update, I've finished another chapter for you to enjoy (even after last chapter's lack of reviews). So, please enjoy this interesting bit of plot, remember that I own nothing but my ideas and original characters, and REVIEW!

"You FOOL!"

Linda Williams cowered in fright as he flung a dark orb at the wall behind her. She covered her head as it exploded into a thousand pieces, showering her with black, burning embers. "I'm sorry," she whispered fearfully.

He flew at her, pressing her to the wall. She was forced to look into his black eyes, trembling when she was how they burned with anger. "You were supposed to go to her," he growled in a dangerously low voice. "You were ordered to go to her as her long-lost mother, showering her with remorse. You were supposed to comfort her and get her to trust you. You failed."

"I'm sorry; I'm so sorry!" Linda cried out when he suddenly struck her across the face. "She's going to meet me," she wailed. "She trusts me enough; please don't!" She whimpered when he hit her again, even though he used less force.

"Remember what I've done for you," he snapped, forcing her to look into his smoldering black eyes. "I've given you everything, asking for hardly anything in return. I can take it all away in an instant, leaving you with nothing. Remember that."

"She trusts me," Linda whispered. "I'm her mother; eventually she'll trust me enough to listen."

"Make sure that happens, otherwise I will ruin you." Linda whimpered again when he placed his hands on her cheeks. She knew he was going to heal the would-be-bruises, leaving no trace of an assault. She shuddered when he leaned in and whispered in her ear. "You were very lucky that I'm in a good mood today, my dear Linda. Very lucky."

Then he was gone and Linda Williams collapsed to the floor in a fit of tears. What had she done, she wondered helplessly. What had she gotten herself into?

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

Sarah hummed idly to herself as she stood in front of her mirror, preparing herself for her visit with her mother. Her eye caught a picture of herself with a young Toby and she swallowed the painful lump that formed in her throat at the memories. The picture had been taken a few months after her journey to save him from the fate of becoming a goblin; she held him in her arms while both of their eyes sparkled with laughter. She studied the picture for a moment, and then tipped the frame down so she wouldn't have to look at the sweet expression on her baby brother's face.

She sure had changed a lot in the last three years, she thought to herself as she turned back to her reflection. Her face had lost all of its baby fat and was now more defined. Her hair had gotten a few shades darker, making her skin even more creamy white. And for her figure; well, she was definitely more 'womanly' now. It was odd, she mused; three years ago she had been a selfish, spoiled bratty teenager, but in a few weeks, she would be reaching the age of adulthood. So much had happened in her life over the years.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and observed herself in the mirror. She wore a dark navy blue sweater that hugged her frame and made her eyes seem more green than grey. She kept her hair long, leaving it in its natural waves. She was about to grab her jacket when she suddenly remembered the present Hoggle had given her. She fetched the necklace from her jewelry box and held it in her hand, studying it. The crystal shimmered, entrancing her with its beauty. It made her uneasy for some reason, but she remembered the desperate look in Hoggle's eyes as he begged her to wear it, so she fastened it around her neck.

She buttoned on her jacket and made her way downstairs, turning lights off as she went. At the front door she stopped and paused, wondering why in the world she had agreed to meet with her mother. However, she couldn't back down now, no matter how much she wanted to.

"Well," she said, heaving a sigh. "Come on feet; it's finally time to get some answers."

She shivered as she stepped outside and locked her door. The autumn air was beginning to grow cooler as winter approached; something that Sarah wasn't looking forward to. She already longed for spring and thoughts of her favorite season filled her head as she made her way down the sidewalk.

The Luna Café wasn't far from her house, giving Sarah the perfect amount of time to enjoy the walk. Still, she wished she could walk for hours more as she stood outside the door to the café, if only to calm her mind and rehearse what she wanted to say. She took a deep breath and forced her face to be cool and collected. Then she pushed open the door and prepared herself for the day she had longed for.

It only took her a brief scan of the fairly-small place before she located her mother, seated in the far corner. Linda was dressed casually in dark skinny jeans and a grey blouse with her hair piled on top of her head, but she still shone brightly like a lone candle in a dark cave. Sarah gritted her teeth when she saw the longing looks of envy her mother was receiving from all of the occupants in the room.

The café was warm, so Sarah shrugged off her jacket before reluctantly making her way to her mother. She weaved in and out of the tables and approached the counter, smiling cheerfully at Dan, the owner and full-time barista of the place.

"Why hello," he said when he spotted her. "That'll be one medium hazelnut latte coming up for our very own Sarah Williams."

"You know me so well," she said with a laugh, forgetting for just a moment why she was here. "I'll be sitting in the back today, by the fireplace." Dan nodded and proceeded to make her coffee. Sarah turned away from the counter and ran smack-dab into the person waiting in line behind her.

"Oh my," she said in surprise. "I am so sorry; I didn't even realize you were there!"

"Don't worry," the woman said, laughing sweetly. "I should've warned you that I was here." Sarah was immediately dazzled by her beauty. She had dark honey-blonde hair that fell to her waist in wild curls. Her face was pale and her features slanted; her eyes the most vivid, bright blue.

Something in the woman's face flickered, as if she were about to frown. "What a beautiful necklace," she said in a soft, awed voice. "Wherever did you get it?"

Sarah's hand reached up and touched the chain, as if remembering that she wore the tiny pendant around her neck. "A friend gave it to me." Something in the woman's expression made her uneasy and she had the urge to tuck the necklace into her shirt and out of sight.

Then the woman smiled and all uneasy thoughts were forgotten. "Well," she said, flashing a pearly-white smile. "It's very lovely. Enjoy your afternoon!"

Sarah thanked her and walked away, all traces of a smile sliding off her face as she saw her mother sitting at the table, examining her perfect fingernails. Linda's beauty was nothing compared to the other woman's, but she was still dazzling. She sat down in the chair without a word while Linda flashed a smile.

"Sarah," she purred in a sickly-sweet voice that made her want to vomit. "I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I was last night when I received your call."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Can we skip this part, please? I really just want to get straight to the point so that I can go home."

Linda's smile became more fixed and her honey eyes darkened. Sarah frowned when she noticed the dark circles beneath her eyelids; it was odd, her mother was usually and expert at covering up all blemishes with the perfect amount of makeup. Today it looked as if she had been in too much of a hurry to notice, which was something that rarely happened with Linda.

"Fine," her mother said in a curt voice, waking Sarah up from her observations and musings. "I know you have questions to ask me and I'm pretty positive I know what you're going to ask first, so I'll save you the hassle and answer it." She sighed and leaned back a little in her chair, starring down at the grains in the wood of the table.

"Sarah, the reason why I left is simple; I just didn't love your father anymore. I hardly knew him at all when he proposed and, being the spontaneous person that I am, I accepted without thinking twice. Marrying your father was a mistake. It was a life I never really wanted."

She was interrupted by Dan, who had come to deliver Sarah's coffee, along with a double chocolate muffin, one of the café's specialties. "I know how much you love these," he explained eagerly at Sarah's questioning glance. "This one's on the house in thanks for inviting me to your show." He looked like he was about to say more, but upon noticing the tension between the two woman, he quickly left.

Sarah picked at the muffin, but she could hardly swallow it as she digested Linda's words. "So," she said in a choked voice. "You're saying that everything you had with my father was a mistake?"

"No Sarah," her mother said, reaching her white hand across and touching the tips of Sarah's fingers. "Robert and I didn't truly love each other, but not everything we had was a mistake. You aren't a mistake; I loved you so much, and I still do."

She didn't pull her hand away, even though a part of her wanted to turn her back on her mother. "Then why didn't you tell me you were leaving? Mom, you never even told me goodbye."

"I did," her mother whispered. "It was late at night when I came into your room to tell you I was leaving. You were sleeping and you looked so peaceful, and I just couldn't force myself to wake you. I know I should have, and I'm sorry for that."

As she noticed how close Linda looked to crying, Sarah couldn't say a word. Faking tears was something neither she nor her mother had learned to master in acting; neither of them wanted people to see that they were capable of crying. In that moment, a tiny bit of Sarah began to forgive her mother. "It's alright," she said softly, looking down. "Where were you all of these years? I looked; you were hardly in the news at all."

Linda looked away as two faint spots of color rose in her cheeks. "I met someone," she muttered so quietly that Sarah barely caught the words. "Our relationship isn't very romantic, although I thought it was at first, but he has been helping me achieve goals that I never thought I could achieve."

"You paint me in such a good light, my dear Linda. I'm sure if Sarah knew the truth, she'd think differently."

Her mother froze and turned ghastly pale at the cold, malicious voice that came from behind Sarah. She was about to turn around and confront the speaker, when she felt a gloved hand clutch her shoulder with a painful grip. "If I were you," he whispered in her ear, "I would be very careful how I proceeded."

"Malum," she hissed through gritted teeth as she recognized the bone-chilling voice.

"Very good," he said, and she shuddered when she felt his breath against her ear. "Now, you're going to stand up and walk to the alley behind this café, or I'll kill everyone here with this fancy crystal I hold in my hand. You may stand up and turn around now, but do it slowly."

Linda only looked at her with fearful eyes as Sarah slowly stood up and turned around to face him, clenching her fists at her side. As promised, Malum stood close behind her, holding a half-concealed black crystal in his hand. He smirked at her, and she was immediately hit with a memory of another crystal being offered to her years ago. "Go on," he said, inclining his head in the direction of the alley. "Linda, you'll follow with me."

Sarah swallowed her feelings of fear and hatred as she stiffly walked towards the door. On her way out, she thought she caught the eye of the pretty blonde woman, but she blinked and the woman was nowhere to be found. The minute she was in the entrance to the alley, Malum flew at her and pressed her against the wall.

"Very good," he said mockingly. "You're a lot better at following orders than I thought."

"What do you want with me," she spat. "How are you connected to the Underworld?"

He grinned wickedly. "Why, I believe you've met my brother already. You see, you're the only person in all of history to defeat the Labyrinth, which makes me very, very curious. Not to mention the fact that my brother still pines for you, annoyingly enough."

Sarah opened her mouth to respond with an angry retort, but he slammed her head against the brick wall, causing stars to dance before her eyes. Behind Malum, Linda screamed. "Stop! You promised me you weren't going to hurt her!"

"There's been a change of plans," Malum snarled. "I'm not sure I can count on you anymore, my dear Linda."

Sarah's head swam with a mixture of emotions and pain. "What are you going to do with me?" Her voice came out in a weak whisper.

He chuckled. "My dear, I'm taking you back to the Underground, where you and I are going to spend some quality time together." Then, as Linda whimpered in the background, he placed a black-gloved hand over Sarah's forehead and muttered a word beneath his breath.

Sarah Williams knew no more.