Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Labyrinth or any genius creation of Jim Henson. I do, however, wish that I had his kind of imagination!

~Sarah~

"Looking for something, love?" asked a familiar female voice.

"Wh-who are you?" asked Sarah, her pulse beginning to race with the cold chill of fear.

The figure snapped its fingers and the lights returned. It was the woman with the book. Unlike before, the woman appeared in strange clothing. She had a bronze-colored vest on over a white blouse. A gold-flecked, black fur cape was draped over her shoulders. Her feet were adorned with knee-high black riding boots and her golden-blond hair gracefully outlined her face. She sat regally in Toby's desk chair. Her liquid bronze eyes watched Sarah's shocked expression with amusement.

"I, my dear, am Armina, Great Queen of Beasts. And you are Sarah Williams, sister to Toby, heir apparent of the Goblin City." Her voice was different; it seemed magnified with even more power than before.

"Where's Toby? I didn't send him anywhere! Bring him back!" shouted Sarah. Her heart hammered in her chest and her breathing picked up noticeably. She hoped that her panic wouldn't give her away.

"He wished himself away. I can't argue with that. I can tell you he is safe," replied the queen nonchalantly, which really pissed Sarah off.

"Bring him back now!" she shouted.

"I cannot. He conjured Jareth himself and left of his own accord. But there is another option." She seemed unfazed by Sarah's anger.

"What kind of option?" Sarah demanded.

"I can take you with me to my realm that encompasses all realms of beasts, including Goblin City. You can see Toby all that you want, but he can't return here, ever. Neither of you have belonged here anyway." Armina said this as if it were a normal occurrence.

"What do you mean I don't belong here? I'm here aren't I?" Sarah was confused, and still angry that she refused to return Toby.

"Yes, but Fate dictates that you belong within my realm. What have you got to lose? You will live with me, in luxury. You can see your brother all that you want, though not right away. I promise you will be eternally happy as an immortal in my world. You can even see those friends of yours, Ludo and Hogbrain."

"It's Hoggle."

"Yes, okay, Hoggle." She conjured a crystal just like Jareth had done 12 years before. "You see this? This is a crystal; I believe you've seen them before, yes?"

"Yeah. Jareth offered me one before, I didn't take it."

"It's not like that, love. This one's different. With this, you keep your brother, your only remaining family, and you live forever! There is no downside to this. What have you to lose?" She repeated those words, trying to convince Sarah of the truth in them. She truly had nothing to lose.

Sarah considered what she was saying very carefully. She began to pace.

"I live forever, but you bore me. Choose now. Please, you can't make a mistake in coming to my realm. I so swear." Armina's eyes were fixed on Sarah as she paced. It was almost like a predator waiting for an opportunity to kill its prey.

"When would I get to see Toby?" asked Sarah. This was the most important answer to her.

The queen closed her eyes and seemed to be calculating something. She reopened her eyes and said, "The soonest would be approximately three days from now. But I could show you him in a crystal. You can't speak with him, though. Would that satisfy you until you could speak with him?"

"I suppose." Sarah took a calming breath and spoke the life-changing words, "I'll go with you."

~Toby~

As soon as he'd said the words he'd been plunged into black. When the black faded, a beautiful stone throne room spread before him. It was empty, yes, but no less impressive.

"Toby! It has been so long since I've seen you!" declared a voice from behind him.

Toby turned around and looked to see a man with long blond hair lounging on his throne. He wore a billowy off-white blouse and high gray pants. His mismatched eyes showed his happiness at seeing the boy again. He walked over and hugged the boy tightly.

"I'm Jareth, King of the Goblins. You are Toby, my heir apparent!"

"Am I?" asked Toby in disbelief. He'd just arrived, and he was a prince? This couldn't be true. Jareth released him from his embrace and went back to his throne.

"You are. Your sister took you from me, but now you can realize your true destiny. Fate willing, you will succeed me and be king of this marvelous realm."

"My sister said you were a jerk, and this place was a dump."

Looking hurt Jareth stood up and walked over to a window. He tugged open the curtain and beckoned Toby to look over the city. Where Sarah said there had been crumbling houses and broken fountains, there were beautiful stone houses and artfully crafted pools. A gray-black stone wall surrounded the city and happy little goblins went about their daily business.

"I can assure you that I, as well as my kingdom, have changed. I'm not who I used to be, Toby. Your sister changed me so completely that I've changed from a selfish, arrogant, hateful man into an adult."

"Okay, whatever. Can we go explore?" Toby didn't care about what his sister did to him; it was all mushy stuff anyway. He wanted to see his new world.

"Yes, of course, Prince Toby," said Jareth with a flourish of his hand, "Let's find you something less conspicuous to wear, though."

~Sarah~

Both Sarah and the queen arrived in what appeared to be her ornate palace. The whole place seemed to be made of white and gray marble with flecks of silver and gold. Beautiful young handmaidens immediately gathered around and insisted on providing for all of Sarah's needs.

After shooing away the handmaidens, the queen walked Sarah to her chambers. Apparently, it was fairly late here.

"Everything you could possibly need is in your chambers. There's an attached bathroom for your personal use." The queen opened the ebony black door and revealed a spacious room with a king-size four-poster bed. The room had a massive, 20-foot window adorned with gold curtains pulled back to let in the evening light. The walls were a subdued white-gray, but were covered in beautiful oil paintings depicting many different mythical creatures.

"Thanks, I'm sorry for the way I acted before. I was just too worried about Toby. Could I see him now, as you promised?"

"Yes, of course. I keep my word." She conjured a crystal and crushed it. Armina smirked at Sarah's surprise and blew on the dust. Before them appeared what looked like a giant TV screen. Immediately Sarah saw a contented Toby strolling through an odd city.

"Where is he? I don't recognize that place."

"Goblin City, of course! Don't you recognize it?"

"No…that doesn't look like Goblin City. It can't be. It was made of some crumbly red sandstone and all the buildings were lopsided. That's not Goblin City."

"It is. When you left, Jareth had an epiphany. He did that for you. He thought that the city repulsed you, in addition to his arrogance." Her argument was sound, but Sarah couldn't believe that Jareth really loved her. He was a jerk.

"The image will remain as long as you will it. I'm going to bed. Here," she said and handed her a crystal ball, "this is the portable version of this image. Ask about anyone, and you can see what they are doing. Good night." The queen left the room and closed the door behind her.

Sarah only watched the big screen for a couple more minutes to make sure Toby was happy. She opened up the closet and found a linen nightgown. She found her way into the luxurious bathroom. The walls were tiled with mosaics depicting the queen with Latin words floating above her powerful form. "Armina, Magna Regina Bestiarum. I wonder what that means," she wondered out loud.

She stripped off her work clothes and slipped into the wading pool-sized bathtub that seemed to have filled as soon as she entered the room. She sighed and enjoyed the warmth of the pool. All of the stress she had experienced seemed to melt away for awhile.

After 15 minutes, she quit studying the mosaic on the ceiling and reached for the crystal given to her by the queen. "Show me Jareth, please." She wasn't sure what she was doing, but before she could decide against it, the handsome face of the Goblin King appeared in the crystal.

He was laughing, a sight that reminded her of her experience 12 years ago. Despite the time passed, he didn't look a day over 30. His eyes were still mismatched, his clothing was still a steam punk's dream, and, though she wished he wasn't, he was undeniably the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

He wasn't just handsome. His face was timeless, like an angel's. He would never cease to amaze her with his looks. No matter how much of a jerk he was, she knew that she couldn't avoid his draw forever. She would face him when she saw Toby, and she would do her best to not be drawn in by his charm.

She sunk lower into the pool and was just thinking about how perfect a glass of merlot would be when a bottle and delicate crystal glass appeared next to her.

"Well, she did say that it had everything I could possibly need." She poured herself a glass and downed it in one gulp. She stood and climbed out of the pool. She wrapped herself in a soft towel and combed through her wild hair. As she got dressed, she took time to sip her drink.

"Here's to you, Jareth. Maybe you won't be such an ass this time." She took a sip and left the bathroom to find her bed was turned down and awaited her arrival.

Her eyes suddenly got heavy and she climbed into bed gladly. With the luxurious linens surrounding her, she fell into a contented sleep.