Sarah and Hoggle walked straight for a while, dragging their hands along the walls so they wouldn't miss any hidden openings. After a few dozen yards they made their first turn, and the next thing they knew they were intentionally lost in the labyrinth. They chatted about life for a while, catching up on each other's accomplishments and families while they made their way along. Much of this section of the maze looked exactly the same, with tall stone walls showing no sign of the passage of time. Having no idea where Jareth might be they decided that strolling through casually, without trying to actively search, was just as likely to work as a more systematic approach. However, Sarah was well aware that this could very well prove to be a pointless exercise.

"Maybe he's in an oubliette," she said suddenly. "Did you say once that the labyrinth is full of them?"

"It is," he confirmed, "but I've been through every one that I know of and found nothing. Besides, I can hardly picture our former king hiding out in some dark little hole. He may be in exile, but if I know him he's in a comfortable exile."

"That does make sense."

After a few hours they emerged into a portion of the labyrinth made from hedges rather than stone pillars. It became a bit more difficult to walk as the imposing bushes were overgrown and unkempt. It gave the maze a more sinister appearance and for the first time Sarah began to wonder if she was too hasty in her decision to help search for Jareth. She was also quite hungry. When she mentioned this to Hoggle he reached into one of the many pouches in his belt and pulled out an apple. Sarah took it, but examined it for a moment without biting into it.

"That hurts," Hoggle said with a wounded air.

Sarah chuckled. "I wasn't thinking anything about you. I was just trying to determine if it was organic."

"What's organic?" he asked.

"It's fresher… cleaner, grown without pesticides. It's foolish of me to even wonder. I can't really picture any massive commercial farms producing GMO fruits here."

"I don't even know what you're talking about," Hoggle said before biting into an apple of his own. "I grew these in my back yard."

"That's how it should be." Sarah bit into her apple and found it to be sweet and crunchy. Despite the presence of magic and mystical creatures, the simplicity of this world appealed to her. She doubted anyone here worried about proper nutrition and exercise to maintain their youthful appearance.

After walking for some time in a straight line they came to a dead end and had to backtrack. Only a few yards behind them they suddenly encountered a wall of hedges where there hadn't been one before. A path opened off to their left instead.

"It changed!" Hoggle said with surprise.

"It does that," Sarah replied.

"Not normally," he countered. "I walk through the labyrinth all the time and it always stays the same."

"It changed all the time when I was here before."

"That's because Jareth wanted it to."

"Do you think that means he's watching us?" Sarah was both startled and excited by this idea.

"He must be. He must want us to go that way." Hoggle gestured towards the newly formed opening.

"Well, since that's the only way we can go, I guess we'll have to do what he wants."

"Do you think he's going to force us out of the maze?"

"I hope not," Sarah said.

They kept walking, filled with new energy and purpose now that they felt sure Jareth was aware of their presence. The walls did not change again that they physically observed, but bit by bit it seemed evident that the path was winding its way closer and closer to the middle section of the labyrinth. Occasionally they came across areas that showed evidence of damage, but for the most part everything looked the same as Sarah remembered. The main difference was that the hedges were no longer as neat and trim as she recalled. Eventually they reached a point where they had to walk single file as the hedges closed in on both sides and above them, making a dense green ceiling which blocked the light. It was spooky, but eventually the walls petered out and they found themselves in a small clearing.

Sarah estimated that it was probably early evening back home, but here the sun was still hanging high in the sky. Around the perimeter of the clearing were several small bushes bearing nuts and some type of berries which they snacked on while they rested for a bit. Sarah lay on her back in the grass and looked up into a cloudless sky bluer than any she had ever seen before. The grass beneath her felt soft and warm, lulling her into a state of contentment. Once again she was stuck by how restful and beautiful it was here. As much as Sarah loved New York City and her life there, she couldn't help but bask in the natural setting and the sweet smell of fresh air untainted by the stink trash, exhaust and urine. Sarah couldn't help but smile as she took a deep breath. Although Hoggle claimed the situation had become difficult in Jareth's absence, Sarah really couldn't see it in these idyllic surroundings.

Just thinking his name caused Jareth's image to pop into her mind and Sarah was suddenly slightly disturbed, but not in a fearful or unpleasant way. She closed her eyes and his face came into even greater focus. The amount of detail she was able to conjure made her wonder how she could have forgotten about his existence for over half of her life. Who could possibly forget about those mesmerizing eyes?

Sarah suddenly realized what she was thinking and felt a stab of guilt. She hadn't thought about Mark once since she arrived but here she was mooning over the memory of a man she barely knew. She tried to bring Mark's face into her mind instead but she was not able to recall the color of his eyes. Disturbed by this lapse she sat up and looked over at Hoggle. He had dozed off and was snoring quite noisily, as befitted a person with a nose that large. Aside from his snuffling there were no sounds, not even the hum of insects.

Sarah got up and walked towards the spot where they had entered the clearing but she could no longer see any sign of the opening. She wasn't alarmed by this but instead took it to be a good sign. She let Hoggle continue his nap while she made a slow lap around the perimeter of the clearing. As she suspected, there was only one path open, on the opposite side from where they entered. Sarah collected as many berries as she could as she made her way back to where Hoggle was napping. She carefully shook him until he awoke and hid her smile while he grumbled and yawned.

"We should keep going," Sarah said gently. She got to her feet and turned towards the opening. "It appears we're meant to go this way."