One Moment In Time

Thank you so much everyone for your lovely reviews and your encouragement for my first story. I didn't expect it would be well liked. I'm really happy you liked it and so have written this story for you all.

Once again I own nothing from the Labyrinth world just the inspiration that it gives me. Enjoy everyone!

Chapter 1

Sarah had been awake all night. When she was nervous about something it kept her awake. Today she had the biggest moment of her life. She had a job interview with the biggest newspaper in the city. Sarah had graduated from university 2 years ago and had always aspired to writing for a big newspaper. These last couple of years had been difficult. She had made ends meet by writing freelance articles for magazines and the occasional Sunday supplement. It was hard not knowing where the next pay packet was coming from but her will and determination had helped her through. Some might even say she had a stubborn streak.

So, as the sun rose on the day, she decided she needed to run off some of her nervous energy. So, here she was in the local park, dressed in her gym gear stretching her legs getting ready for her run. She had always found that running helped her and of course it was excellent exercise. It gave her time to clear her head. She set off, setting herself a nice even pace. No point rushing this. A full circuit of the park was just over 2 miles and she had plenty of time before her interview this afternoon.

The day promised to be a beautiful one. Winter was a thing of the past and spring was truly here. The flowers were beautiful. The daffodils, crocus and tulips were all in bloom and the trees were in bud. Nothing could be more perfect for Sarah. She had always loved spring. The season brought new life, new hope and the promise of things to come.

As Sarah ran, she looked at all the people that had also come out to enjoy the warm spring morning. There was a man who obviously had the same idea as her, he was out for a run.
There was a woman who was sitting on a bench feeding the ducks at the lake. Sarah approached a woman who had a small child in tow, a girl. It seemed to Sarah that it hadn't been the little girl's idea to come out as she was expressing her displeasure. She was holding her mother's hand and walking alongside her. She was asking her mother why she had to go for a walk

"Because it's good for you sweetie. Fresh air is the best thing ever. It's too nice a day to be cooped up watching TV" her mother explained

"But Mummy, you know that Bugs Bunny is my favourite show and this one had Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd in too. I'm missing it and I'll never see it. It'll never be on again. I'll never know what happened. It's not fair" pouted the little girl.

That phrase. Sarah's head snapped to the side and looked at the girl as her mother refused to be swayed by her daughter's argument and dramatics and walked on regardless.

That phrase. She hadn't heard it or said it in years. And suddenly her mind was cast back to that night. The night when she had been left to babysit Toby. The night when driven by her bratty nature and impetuous spirit she had spoken the words that led him to be taken by the goblins. Now while it was true, she had never actually intended for the goblins to take him, take him they had. And then he appeared. Jareth, the Goblin King. He had offered her the chance to get Toby back by running his labyrinth. She had accepted and with help from her dear friends Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus she had beaten the labyrinth and defeated the Goblin King. But it wasn't easy. She herself had uttered those words on several occasions, most memorable of which had been in a tunnel beneath the labyrinth.

She had faced Jareth there. He had tried to intimidate her (and in truth he had but there was no way she would ever admit it).

"And you Sarah. How are you enjoying my labyrinth?" He had leaned over her and she could smell the faint aroma of peaches.

"It's a piece of cake". Sarah couldn't help it. She had responded with sass. She couldn't let him see how much he was unnerving her and so the sassy side of her nature had reared its head

"Really? Then how about upping the stakes, hmm?" Jareth had responded by making the 13 hour clock appear behind him, turning and with the use of his magic, he cut down the time she had to complete the labyrinth.

"It's not fair" and to Sarah's teenage mind it hadn't been. To Sarah's adult mind it still wasn't but she could kind of appreciate she had goaded him into it.

"You say that so often. I wonder what your basis for comparison is?". Jareth had walked off and with the power of his magic had quickly presented her with a new challenge, the cleaners.

Jareth. The thought of him still affected Sarah to this day. She had kept in touch with her friends from the labyrinth. She spoke to them through the mirror often, but she had not seen or heard from Jareth since that day. She had thought of him every now and again. She had wondered about how he was, if he had thought of her, had he forgotten her? Did he resent the fact that she had beaten him and his labyrinth? There were so many questions that she could ask him. She had considered calling to him through the mirror but had always lost the courage to do so.

Sarah sighed and ran on trying to push down the memories and clear her mind in anticipation of the day ahead.

This story had started off as a one shot but as I wrote I realised that it was going to be a very long one shot especially as I had several ideas I wanted to include so I decided to split it up into small chapters. So stay tuned for the next chapters. I'm excited to see what you think of this one, please review for me. Thank you