There are so many things that I don't understand
There's a world within in me that I cannot explain
Many rooms to explore but the doors look the same
I am lost I can't even remember my name

Daft Punk, Within


A slight wave of the Goblin King's gloved hand, and the practice swords disappeared. Toby straightened his back and shook out his hair as he felt his clothing shift to a replica of the Goblin King's dress battle regalia. He gazed up at Jareth questioningly, noticing that the king's lopsided grin and the glint in his strange eyes. A realization hit Toby as he reflexively tugged at the gloves, pulling them tighter down his hands. "A wish has been made," Toby stated, blue eyes sparkling mischievously, "and I'm going to confront the wisher."

Jareth's grin deepened as he turned his wrist and produced a crystal which relfected the image of a chubby, bald toddler in a dinosaur onesie being soothed and placated by the goblins in the throne room, his tiny tear-stained face vacillating between laughter and sobs as he regarded the strange, ridiculous beings around him. It never failed to amaze Toby that the goblins were so good with children. It had to be magic. Eventually, the toddler ceased sobbing and erupted in gurgling, toothless laughter, as one of the smaller goblins began playing a drum solo on the stainless steel pan that served as a helmet for one of the larger goblins, who promptly hurled the smaller goblin out the nearest window.

The prince gazed back up at Jareth. "And the wisher?" The crystal clouded over for a moment, eventually revealing a teenage girl who looked to be a few years older than Toby, being taunted by goblins as she attempted to swat at them with a small, silver, rectangular device.

"Shall we?" asked the king with an impish expression. Toby grinned and braced himself for the sensation of being transported. He was anticipating the encounter. He'd seen his uncle confront three wishers, only one of whom had succeeded in completing the labyrinth and recovering the child. He knew the goal – he knew what to say – he was ready for this. The fact that Jareth was allowing him to take the reins showed the king's faith in him.

Toby reflected on the impressive, imposing figure his uncle always cast in the uniform, and he was determined to show the same finesse. He could feel the edges of the oversized, imposing black leather collar framing his face. The black, glittering cape billowed around him as he reached down to touch the symbol of the Goblin King that hung on a chain over his chest armor. He knew without asking that his eyes now bore the same markings as his benefactor.

Suddenly, the king and the prince were no longer in the armory hall. Toby guessed they were in some sort of den or family room. Of course, the electricity was out. In the dim light of the lightning flashes, Toby could just see a large expanse of carpeted room, a beat-up leather sofa, a blanket with various toys spread across the floor, and the girl, who had ceased swatting at the goblins, and who was now staring at him open-mouthed.

The girl cowered in front of him, partially shielding her face from the sudden streaks of lightning, dark hair mussed and tangled, eyes wide with terror. "You…you're real?" she gasped, dropping her improvised "weapon." Toby tilted his head and smirked at the girl. Thankfully, the boots gave him just enough height to tower over her at least a few inches. They also gave him a remarkable feeling of power and a weird urge to strut around self-importantly. "Oh, yes," he replied silkily, "as real as the wish you just made." The Goblin King watched with interest from the shadows, leaning against the wall in a dark corner, unseen by the wisher. The girl fell to her knees at Toby's boots. "Please," she implored, pulling at her hair, "I didn't mean it! He just wouldn't shut up!" The girl collapsed in a sob. "Please give me back my brother." Toby absently noticed the small, rectangular silver device lying on the floor that the girl had brandished against the goblins. iPod. Music. The prince shook his head slightly as a memory washed over him.

"So you didn't mean to wish away your brother to someone you'd never met? You didn't mean to get him as far away from you as possible?" Toby stepped forward so that the girl was almost under his boots. Jareth stopped smirking. Toby's monologue was somewhat off-script. He wondered where this was going. Is the little imp writing his own lines, or just improvising? He held back momentarily to see what Toby would do next.

Toby stared down at his nose at the girl who sat crumpled at his feet, feeling strangely vindicated, though he really didn't know why. He assumed it was because he couldn't imagine someone wanting to wish away their brother or sister. How could you do that to someone you loved?

The shadows shifted in the darkness, and he could tell the goblins were getting restless. The girl began to stutter. "I…no, I…I didn't want him gone." Toby rested his hands on his hips authoritatively as he replied, "Oh, you didn't?" The girl looked down at the carpet in shame, almost whispering, "I just wanted him to be quiet."

A name echoed in his thoughts. Kaylee. The prince sneered at the girl. "It looks like you got your wish," he drawled. "It's quiet." The girl stifled a sob as she gazed back up at Toby. "Where is he?" she pleaded, dark hair nearly covering her face. "You know very well where he is," Toby retorted. He flicked the cape behind him and crossed his arms, glaring down at the wisher. "Kaylee, go back to your music, your fan magazines, and your fairytales. Forget about the baby." Kaylee resolutely stood to face Toby, stubbornly wiping one eye. "I can't."

The king, who was listening in the shadows, leaned forward in anticipation. Protocol must be followed. The gift…

The prince lifted a black-gloved hand to her, a crystal appearing out of nowhere. He tilted his head and his expression immediately morphed from sneering disapproval to benign temptation. "I've brought you - a gift," he stated warmly. "If you turn it this way, and look into it, it will show you your dreams – but this isn't a gift for an ordinary girl who takes care of a screaming baby." Toby waved the crystal closer to Kaylee's face. "Do you want it?" Secretly, he felt powerful and fearsome. No one had ever trembled in fear before him like this – that he could remember. The girl stared at the crystal as if hypnotized, finally tearing her gaze back up to Toby's face.

"I…please, I just want my brother back," she sniffled. The prince glowered at her and commanded "Don't defy me, Kaylee." He took one step backwards and launched the crystal at her chest, where it morphed into several over-sized, colorful butterflies that worried at her face and her hands. Kaylee gasped in surprise, and attempted to swat them away, as they morphed again into tiny goblins, pulling at her hair and screeching in laughter.

From the shadows, Jareth stifled a laugh. Cheeky little git. Where did he come up with that one?

Suddenly, the goblins scampered away into the darkness. "You're no match for me," Toby nearly hissed. He was drunk with a euphoric sense of power. The goblins, the wisher, the crystal – his to command. Toby snorted as he turned towards the window, which now displayed the burned oranges and reds of the hills beyond the goblin city, the castle gleaming in the background….

Thirteen hours later, Kaylee was returned to her home without her brother, without even a memory of her brother – just a strange, sad ache in the pit of her stomach that something was missing. Toby stared at her in disdain as he and the king transported from the den. How could she be so weak?.. He shook his head sadly as they appeared in the Goblin King's study to begin the real work – determining the best fit for little Bradley in the Underground.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sarah unwrapped the make-do scarf from her brow, wiped at the sweat that threatened to drip into her eyes, and slowly surveyed the storeroom. The cobwebs had been swatted from the rafters, the stone walls and floor had been wiped and washed down with the makeshift herbal cleaner, and the thatch bed frame had been smoked, de-loused, and infused with lavender. Not bad, not bad at all, Sarah. Karen would completely in awe. Sarah smiled wistfully as she thought of how her stepmother used to badger her about thoroughly cleaning the stove and sweeping after meals.

The conversation with Maeve's healer, Belenus, had not gone as well as she'd hoped. Apparently, under Maeve's direction, he could send her back to the human realm, but she wouldn't likely live for very long. She suspected he'd very nearly just disappeared in the midst of all of her questions.

"So, you could send us back?"

Belenus sighed patiently, his dark brows only slightly furrowed, though she could tell he was tired of the line of questioning, having completed his assessment of her health. "I am capable, yes," he replied matter-of-factly, crossing his arms and fixing her with a no-nonsense stare from under long, raven-hued bangs.

"I sense a 'but'"- Sarah spouted.

Belenus raised an eyebrow, unfamiliar with the term.

"It sounds like there are conditions – like everything here," she mumbled.

He considered her for a moment, smirking mirthlessly. "Sarah, you are a scientist in your world, yes?"

She nodded.

"As a scientist, would you agree that it's necessary to understand the…structure of a living thing to recreate it, or at the very least, repair it?"

Sarah considered for a moment. The answer was obvious, of course. She thought back to her work in deconstructing microbial pathogens, following the mutations of viruses… "I would have to agree, but I still don't understand what that has to do with returning Toby and me to our home."

The healer sighed patiently. "You were – extremely damaged when Maeve summoned me to return you. I could sense your life force leaving the dimension. You had perhaps a day in your world."

Sarah shook her head, almost denying that she'd been so close to death. "But, you healed me," she insisted.

Belenus almost looked awkward as he continued his explanation. "Sarah, I am a fae – well, some Elven early on in the lineage, but – I am not familiar with human physiology." Had he actually looked apologetic?

"I – I don't understand," she replied.

"I don't know human healing. I'm not familiar with your body's systems, tissues, the smallest components of you and how they fit together." The healer paused. "The best way I know to explain it is that I made your body work according to the laws and powers of this dimension."

Sarah heard what she assumed were crickets chirping as she tried to understand his point.

"So – I'm held together with magic?"

Belenus rolled his eyes. "You are 'held together' by the physical laws of this dimension. I have absolutely no idea what would happen if you were to return to your own dimension, but I doubt that you would live."

He turned to go, leaving her with a final thought. "From one scientist to another, Sarah, I wouldn't advise trying it."

She followed him out into the tiny courtyard. "And Toby?" she pressed.

He did not look back as he responded. "Unless the boy has been altered, he would be fine."

At least he'd agreed to try and locate a microscope for her. Apparently, fae senses were so super-amazing that they didn't need microscopes. She snorted, reminding herself that the most important thing was to try to connect with Toby – and then to get him home. For now, she planned on trying to talk to him when the Goblin King wasn't around – to assess what he remembered and to jog any memories lose if possible. Once she knew his state of mind, she'd work on how to get him back.

If she had to go to him, she would, though she didn't want to. Their last meeting had just been too…ambiguous? Painful? One-sided? The thought of dealing with that was uncomfortable. Besides, the singular thought of just talking with him was somewhat unsettling, given the effect he apparently had on her now. Dragon scales – what were they even made of? Screw the Goblin King. She would get her brother safely back home first. Then, she would do what she had to do to make a life here.

She huffed as she dropped to the table, eyeing the pint of goblin ale the tavern keeper had left for her. It was somewhat disgusting, but refreshing – and it did take the edge off. "Ughh!" she breathed as she downed a swallow and sank back into the chair. At least the stuff was so strong it was like a natural antiseptic. Sarah mulled over her situation. Even though she couldn't go back, she would make sure that Toby did. She wondered how her father and Karen were dealing with Toby's disappearance – and her disappearance, if they'd noticed.

She wondered if Karen had been injured in the crash, and remembered the dream she'd had about Karen in the field. Had it been a dream? She took another swallow of the gut-burning ale. Of course it had been a dream – she didn't believe in ghost. Sarah nearly choked on the strong drink as she pondered that thought.

The chic who wished away her brother to the Goblin King, ran a labyrinth to get him back, and cheated death by returning to the magical Underground does not believe in ghosts. I should write a book. Maybe they could make it into a mini-series – The Supernatural Diary of Sarah Williams….or maybe it could be on one of those shows where they look for bigfoot or the chupacabra – the cast could get people to try to wish each other away. Sarah covered her mouth, nearly laughing out loud at the thought of millions of people being wished away at once. God, that would be worth being a fly on the wall in the king's throne room.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hoggle sat in a corner of the tavern, determined to drink his weight in goblin ale. He hadn't asked for things to be this way. He'd thought things had been coming along nicely with Sarah. He'd found her a nice home, she'd started growing the herbs to trade….but then today...

The dwarf groaned and dragged a gnarled, warty hand down his face as he'd thought about the events of the day. Sarah had insisted on helping him with some small jobs and cleaning around his house in exchange for his help. She'd hung auspicious herbs on his door overhangs and over his windows – she'd said they would keep the evil spirits out – he'd hoped she included the rat in the category of evil spirits. He'd accidentally mentioned that he'd been keeping a lookout for the putrid sickness that was plaguing other kingdoms, and of course, she'd pretty much demanded a lecture on everything he knew about the putrid sickness.

"Is it a fungus? Some sort of bacteria?" she'd asked, refusing to drop the subject.

"Well I don't know, do I?" he'd retorted.

It had all ended with his promising to get a sample from the Elven kingdom. Apparently, she'd managed to convince Maeve's healer to get her some kind of magical device that could help her see what the disgusting growth was made of.

Hoggle shook his head. If only it had ended there. Once he'd finished up in the Labyrinth, he'd had a nagging suspicion that Sarah had been up to no good, and he'd been right. When he'd returned to the city, he'd seen Sarah on a corner of the main thoroughfare, gazing at the castle, obviously trying to catch a glimpse of her brother.

She hadn't seen the king and the prince walking down a side lane towards the city center. He'd panicked, realizing it would be moments before they met. Hoggle had rushed towards the royal pair as quickly as his stout legs would carry him without seeming to be in a hurry. "Your Majesties," he'd nearly shouted, hoping that Sarah had taken the hint.

Jareth had grimaced down at him in disdain, demanding, "Why does it seem as of late that you are negligent in attending to your duties, Hogpen?" He had tried to look as if he'd been on urgent business. "Well, ah…your Majesty, it's just that I have to be on the lookout for the sickness – checking every passage way, I am. And, I needs some spray." Jareth had stood before him with a look of disgust on his smug face.

The king had turned to Toby and informed him "This useless lump of bogwaste is the keeper of labyrinth. Eventually, you will need to check behind him to ensure his is fulfilling his purpose." Hoggle had been right upset about that remark. He spent most all of his days keeping up the Labyrinth. It wasn't work – it was what he did.

The Goblin King had abruptly snatched one of Hoggle's ears, holding it in a painfully high position, as Hoggle stood on tiptoe to relive the pain. "Well?!" the king demanded. "I'm goin', I'm goin'" he'd replied, glancing back at the lane to ensure that Sarah had gone.

Hoggle took a long draught of his ale. Why had he thought an older Sarah would mean a more reasonable Sarah? Maybe he should ask permission to retire to the Elven kingdom countryside all by himself in a little hillside hovel, surrounded by the peace and quiet, several casks of goblin ale stored in a cave nearby. That was the stuff dreams were made of.


Thanks for the sanity check on the writing style and the reviews. Author commits to limiting unrelated ramblings...eeesh, sorry about that!

Sarah finally appears on J's radar in the next chapter (bcz she just can't stay away...sigh). Thx to tooralooryeaye for the sanity check on the plot