Sarah was fast losing blood. She groaned a little, wondering what had possessed her to go and amuse herself during a snow day. She could have continued on with her life. She could have gotten her degree, a job, an apartment, and lived. But no. She had to let curiosity get the better of her and go to Madame Zini's. Now she was trapped with a crazy pixie woman and a boulder man for company.

The pixie woman vanished with a flash of light, unable to move in the Boulder's grasp. The Boulder man came closer and crouched down to her level. He reached out a hand and Sarah didn't even bother to move. He had helped her before with the pixie woman and she had already warned him about the stuff coating her.

His hand gripped her arm and the two of them vanished in an achingly familiar sensation. It was the same feeling she had when the Goblin King first took her to his Labyrinth: the tightening feeling when the place around them slid away, the settling when they came to their destination. Sarah found herself in the grip of the Boulder man when she came to, staring straight into the eyes of the Goblin King.

His hands were clasped behind his back, staring out of a window in the castle. He spun around, wafting tufts of hair in a spiky cloud. Enhanced eyes widened as he took the two of them in. His face blanched white for a moment. Boulder man let go of her arm and stretched it out, towards the Goblin King. It was clearly an appealing gesture.

Sarah crumpled to her knees. Her sight was narrowing, blackening at the edges. She saw the Goblin King's face set into a mask, unreadable as the metal sculpture she once had owned. His mismatched eyes had locked on hers in the first moment and he had yet to look away. He was talking to the Boulder man, gesturing elegantly with his hands as he kept staring at her. Taking it as a contest of wills, Sarah stared back.

Boulder man's huge hand came into the picture to cuff the Goblin King on the shoulder. The Goblin King stumbled slightly and grimaced, hand rubbing his arm. He flicked his hand and the Boulder disappeared abruptly. Sarah's sight was starting to narrow further and she brought her hand up to her shoulder, pressing slightly to keep herself alert.

Sarah watched his long legs stride over to her, coming too close, too quickly. She scrambled and stood on wavering legs. There was no way she would face the man who took a baby on the frantic whim of a young girl sitting down. At least, not when he was too close to actually reach out and restrain her. She swayed and settled her feet.

The Goblin King didn't say a word. He reached out with a gloved hand. Sarah flinched away, almost falling in the process. The Goblin King didn't move his hand and smirked at her, his brown and blue eye dancing in dark amusement. He carefully mouthed words to her. Sarah squinted, trying desperately to focus.

I. Will. Not. Harm. You.

Sarah didn't believe him, but she froze, giving him the benefit of the doubt. He gently brought his hand towards her again and pinched the fluid, drawing it out in a thin line before letting it go. It snapped back at her and rippled. A look of interest tightened his features.

When. You. Are. Better. Precious. You. Should. Tell. Me. The. Tale. Of. Where. You. Stole. Traveling. Fluid.

Sarah stared at him. "I never stole anything," she vibrated thickly. She was losing focus. Even if she couldn't hear it, she could feel the change.

One golden brown eyebrow arched.

The. Good. News. Is. I. Can. Help. You. He mouthed, not questioning her honor for the moment.

"And the bad news?" Sarah finally slurred, digging her finger into the wound and widening her tunneling vision momentarily.

The Goblin King grinned, showing teeth. You. May. Not. Be. The. Same. After. I. Am. Done.

"Thank you," Sarah vibrated tiredly. Her mind was too foggy to come up with anything more interesting to say. She thought he would ask for her soul, or Toby, in exchange for helping her. She had a feeling she did not have much a choice, anyway. It was either except the Goblin King's help or die on the flagstones of his castle.

He waited. Sarah stared. His eyes narrowed slightly.

So. Be. It.

He started to tug at his glove. His eyes started to glow a little, swirling gold flecks in both his brown and blue eye. By the time the glove was fully off of his hand, the air was filled with a vortex of soft gold. He brought his arm up and flexed his palm up, towards her.

Sarah saw the outline of a golden circle surrounding a deep scar running the length of his palm. She noticed the fluid around her heated and absorbed some of the golden glow pouring off the Goblin King, making an impression that she was using sparkling gel. The golden sparks were hot, hotter than the crystal that melted in her own palms what seemed like so long ago.

A fresh lick of heat blistered a little too hot as the Goblin King sank his hand through the fluid to touch her forehead. Sarah melted into her subconscious gratefully. A scene of an all too familiar ball came into focus. But the perspective was different. This time, she was experiencing the memory of the Goblin King's, watching her in the warped view of a glass crystal.

He had trapped her. Finally. He had that Hogwash creature betray her as she betrayed Toby, and was prepared to present her with a blank-check dream much like he would offer Toby when the girl's time was up. Their dream would give the Labyrinth new fuel to defend against the next ill-wisher. To incorporate it in the Labyrinth, he would have to be present in whatever dream-world the girl came up with. Since the ball seemed harmless enough, he decided to attend and gain another insight into the dreams of mankind.

He found himself in the ball room crowded with public in hideous masks. But she did not protect herself with a mask like she had given to the others. Even as he mocked her, sliding from one place to another in a cat game she could never win, she refused to stop looking for him. Purposefully leaving herself vulnerable in the sea of masked faces, she searched for him frantically. His protective instincts finally won out over his desire to tease the precious young ill-wisher. He had relented. He took her in his arms for a dance.

It was a mistake. It was the first time he had found himself with a real smile in ages. She was an amusing challenge and sparked his Labyrinth to life in ways he had not seen in a while. Creatures and voices of the Labyrinth were championing her – the one who had wished away a defenseless babe. It was senseless. It was yet another interesting discrepancy between his heart and his mind.

Her wide eyes sucked him in. Hazel flecks rounded, focused on his face. She was not angry or defensive. For the first time both of them were silently enjoying a moment. He felt as if he were on edge, wrapped up in her dream world despite himself instead of looking for weaknesses like he should.

Then she ripped from his arms, struggling frantically as if he was evil incarnate. His smile disappeared. What had he done? Did she not believe in her own dream? Was he not the prince charming she was wishing for? He let her go, unable to be the villain after the raw moment between them.

That, too, was a mistake. She had picked up a chair in a fit of violence and destroyed the intricate spell he had crafted for her. For them. They had both slammed back into the Labyrinth, back into the challenge, and back into their roles without a word spoken.

He stretched, moving his stiff and sore muscles on his suddenly hard throne. The ball had taken more energy than he had thought possible. Either that, or she had. His precious ill-wisher.

Hope surged. Perhaps that moment was enough for her to know that something had changed. It had been enough for him. That brief time was enough for him to confirm that the childish girl was more a danger to him and his realm than another trying to get to the center of his Labyrinth. She could also be the one who could guard the Labyrinth's gates and be its champion. She could choose to stay.

But based on her latest choices, the outcome was doubtful. Although hope flew through the Labyrinth, taking her through one of her own issues rather than a simple challenge, his mind was fixated on her failing. If she failed, she could neither destroy nor protect and all would be as it was.

Well, all would be as it was with one little addition. The babe would stay if she failed. He would not offer the babe's sister a dream without offering the babe one as well. If the precious girl failed, he could balance out her ill wish with making a place in his Labyrinth for an innocent's dream. All he had to do was to make his mind triumph over his Labyrinth heart. Then she would be sure to fail and the babe would have a piece of his protective walls to surround him.

Gold flickers swarmed over the scene, swiftly followed by darkness. Sarah had finally lost consciousness. She was no longer in control of what happened to her.

Far in the distance, the walls of the Labyrinth shivered closer together. The walls were preparing for another onslaught. An almost forgotten creature looked around, distracted from jumping for a fruit again. He heard the rocks and knew what they knew. Ludo, the hunted chimera of indistinct origins, let loose a roar despite the danger and his banishment. Those who knew the creature's ponderous speech could clearly make out his word.

"Saaaaarrrrrrraaaaaaaahhhhhhh hhhhhh!"