Okay guys, bare with me here. I feel like I'm losing you all. (all ten of you... .)

---

She woke amongst piles and piles of trash. Dan made a face and looked around herself. There wasn't much in sight besides trash. She could remember... something. She needed to do something. It was important, she remembered that much.

Looking down at her feet she realized she was completely without shoes. In a land full of junk she had to stare down as she walked to make sure she didn't step on something sharp and hurt herself. It was because of that she nearly ran straight into the old woman. She stopped just in time, however, and fell on her rump in the process.

The woman was stooped and gnarled and glared up at her. Dan couldn't imagine how she remained upright under the pile of junk that she carried on her back. "Now what did you go and do that foor?"

Dan looked at her, puzzled, "Do what?"

"Ran into me, of course!"

"But... I didn't. Did I?" Dan was nearly positive she had not, in fact, ran into the woman. She wasn't very well going to apologize for something she hadn't done.

The old lady seemed to consider her a moment before looking down at the young girls bare feet. "Well! No wonder you're so careless. Here, you need these, don't you? They're you're boots."

Dan was astounded to have her very favorite combat boots handed to her. They even had laces. Without knowing quite why, she sniffed them very tentatively. They smelled like leather and feet. Dan frowned, trying to think of what she could have possibly expected them to smell like. The memory seemed to float just in front of her, visible but just out of reach.

Before she could think too hard on it the old woman was shoving a stick into her hand. "This too, you'll need this. Good sturdy stick, this one." Dan looked down at it and found it glittered. It was so familiar, why had she needed a stick, anyway?

The memory of a beautiful sword sprung to mind just as the woman was shoving more things at her. Things she remembered from her home. Before she knew it she was being lead into her own room. The comfortable feeling of home washed over her as she walked through the doorway. The old woman continued to push her in, pointing out various objects and thrusting them onto her as though they were precious prizes.

It was the last object she showed her. A doll. Everybody was surprised when they found Dan, the biggest tomboy of them all, had a doll. It was a beautiful thing, too, with long raven colored hair, dark green eyes and a floor length dress fitting for royalty. A very familiar dress, in fact. Dan gasped when she finally remembered. The doll was a princess. She looked up and her eyes fell on the red leather book titled "Labyrinth" tucked next to her keyboard. Snatching the book up Dan rounded on the old woman.

"You're a distraction!" The memories came flooding back. "The princess is in danger, isn't she?" The woman looked genuinely confused. It gave Dan pause, but only for a second. "No, she is! I remember now!" She tromped her way out of the junk heap, completely uncaring of her lack of shoes.

The old woman picked up the boots and tied them to the heap of junk piled onto her back. "Don't know what princess she's on about," She muttered softly to herself.

---

Dan stormed the castle in a fury. She was angry at the distractions, angry with herself for slipping into them. More than a little angry with Hoggle. A quick glance at the first clock she came across showed her how little time she really had. She couldn't imagine what had eaten so much of her hours, except the peach dream was still fresh in her mind. She had -wanted- it to be real, she must have dawdled there much longer than she thought previously. Dan wondered if the tastes of peaches was forever ruined to her.

The throne room was easy to find, through the front doors and there it was. Its ornate wooden doors were opened wide and the room itself was entirely empty but for a wicked clock to the side that threatened to strike thirteen and one very contrite dwarf. She scowled at him.

"He threatened Sarah." He said simply.

Dan's eyes narrowed dangerously, "The princess?"

Hoggle's lip twitched, instead of answering he motioned down the only other doorway to the throne room, "She's down there, but he won't give her up without a fight."

Dan stared hard at the dwarf and nodded once. "You did the right thing, Hoggle. We can't let her get hurt." Without another word she walked down the empty corridor he indicated. He watched her go and marveled. She hadn't even thought he would come along, let alone try to convince him not to.

It took her to the most unnerving room yet. It looked as though it was composed entirely of stair cases. Across the room she caught sight of a flash of dark hair and velvet dress. She gasped and whispered, "Princess."

She braced herself for yet another merry chase, this one even stranger than the last. Her last failed attempt to catch up with the woman in the outer maze fresh in her mind. Always the woman was just out of reach. Finally, in a fit of frustration, Dan called to her back "Please!"

"Why do you fight so hard?" She nearly jumped out of her skin when the Goblin King's voice was in her ear. He was unnervingly close and she chastised herself internally for not hearing his approach. Spinning around Dan faced the King, snarling in a way she rather hoped looked threatening. He smiled in a pointy sort of way that made the back of her neck tingle with fear. So much for intimidating him.

She rather wished she had brought along the glitter stick. It would be nice to have something to hold between herself and the predatory king. Without it she found herself standing taller, "Its the right thing to do. Why did you kidnap her?"

He quirked a brow and prowled towards her. Dan quailed under his attention and took a few steps back. She stopped when she realized she had reached the edge of the walkway. "It was the only way, really." He shrugged.

With an impatient snort Dan pushed past him. He let her go with an enigmatic little smile. She looked around frantically for the woman and finally spotted her, stories below her own vantage point. The dark haired woman looked up at just the same time, her expression was decidedly annoyed and when she spotted Dan so far above her eyes widened.

Sounding almost bored the Goblin King piped up, "No, please don't." His voice was flat, with no inflection whatsoever. Dan cast him a suspicious look before jumping the great distance to the princess's side. The thought that she should fear the fall didn't register until she was halfway down and the world shattered all over again.

---

More world breakage. Funny how often that happens in the goblin kingdom.