And All the Colors Fade to Black



Summary: Sarah is the daughter of the mayor in a small town in England. During a school project, she stumbles upon a secret world just beyond the reality of earth. When the world she stumbles upon is in the midst of war, it threatens to affect the earth, too. Now Sarah must team up with an old enemy to decide how to stop the feuding world, and how to keep the aboveground citizens of earth from discovering a new part of the underground that she hadn't seen when she was there the first time.

Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with Labyrinth. I don't own the characters Sarah or Jareth either. Also, I'm not to familiar with England, as I have never been there, so any information on it what so ever is very much appreciated. I don't even know if England has mayors! How pitiful am I? Wait, don't answer that. (

Chapter 1: An Ordinary Day Turned Unordinary

"Your assignment for today is to find out a little more about our community and how to help it become better. Think of it as an inspired community service project. Any questions?" Mrs. Mark asked the sleepy class in front of her.

It was summer and most of the students had summer break and the outdoors on their minds. This was evident by the blank stares aimed at the sunlight streaming through a window across the room to the outside just beyond their reach. A student in the back slumped down in their seat raised her hand in the air a little.

"Yes, Ms. Williams?" Sarah frowned; she didn't like it when Mrs. Mark called her by her last name. It reminded her that she was Sarah Williams, daughter of Robert Williams, the mayor of the small town of Lancastershire, not to mention the richest man in the town. She tossed her long hair defiantly over her shoulder and raised a thick, dark brown eyebrow.

"Can you give us an example of a past student community service project?" Mrs. Mark smiled, amused at the question. "Of course I can. One student volunteered to stay after school every week to clean the black boards. Any volunteers for that one?"

Silent groans followed the question and the squirm of anxious students in their seats. "Well, I will leave the decision up to you, but remember that if it's too easy of a duty you will most certainly fail this class…" The bell rang interrupting her speech and the students practically ran out of the room, Sarah Williams following behind them miserably.

She had thought her senior year of high school was supposed to be fun. Not all work and tests, not to mention this class, the one her father had insisted on her taking. Sometimes she really despised her father. He was way too overbearing for her liking, but that was only on those rare occasions when he actually came out of his office. Her thoughts were interrupted as she ran into her friend Elizabeth who was waiting for her at the end of the hallway. Elizabeth was almost the exact opposite of Sarah; she was on the short side, a little heavyset and big in the chest, had blonde, curly hair, and little dimples in her cheeks when she smiled. "So, Sarah, how was your day?" she asked.

Sarah shrugged and smiled a little. "It was all right I suppose. As good as it can get for it being another boring day in school." Elizabeth nodded in understanding and pulled out a purple notebook decorated with pictures of her boyfriend and little red heart stickers. "Is it all right if I interview you for my journalism class? It might end up in the school newspaper, so don't say anything too weird, OK?"

That was Liz for you, she was about as straightforward as they come. Sarah thought that was why they were friends, because she was sarcastic and Liz was honest. "Question number 1, what are you going to do over summer vacation?"

Sarah furrowed her brow in thought for a moment, then answered, "I'll probably go swimming, try to get a tan, and baby-sit Toby most of the time. You know how it is over at my house." Elizabeth laughed at Sarah's reluctance to want to baby-sit her 5-year-old brother.

"Oh Sarah, you know you love him and spoil him more than anyone else in your family. Don't even try to deny it girlfriend," Liz teased. The two seniors made their way down the stairs out to the parking lot where Sarah's 92' yellow Jeep awaited her. "I'll see you later, Liz," Sarah called out as she drove away from the school, the top of the Jeep off, and the wind blowing her dark brown hair with blonde highlights about her head.

As she drove to their large house not too far from the school, Sarah pondered what she was going to do for her community service project. Maybe I'll just do a campaign to stop cutting down the trees in the forests around here, she thought. The sun glared off the bright yellow paint on her vehicle as she pulled her Jeep into the driveway and put it in park. She hauled her black shoulder bag filled with research books over her shoulder and up the stairs to her house.

A strong smell came from the kitchen and Sarah knew Karen would be in there, just as she was every evening while cooking dinner. The house was large, too large in Sarah's opinion. She missed their old house just a couple of miles away from here where she had grown up. Once her father had been elected everything had changed and there had been no looking back.

Now everything they had was expensive, just because her father was the mayor. Toby ran downstairs once he had heard his sister's Jeep pull up in the driveway, his room being right over the garage. "Sarah!" he exclaimed, and grabbed her leg while she tried to walk up the stairs to her room, him on her leg and the very heavy and cumbersome shoulder bag weighing her down.

"Toby, sweetie, do you think you could possibly wait until I put my bag in my room, then I'll play with you or whatever you want, OK?" Toby reluctantly let go of her leg and stood back so she could get to her room. She walked the rest of the way up the carpeted stairs to her room on the left side of the large hallway that was almost like a balcony.

Only her room, Toby's room, a bathroom, and a hall closet were up in this area of the house. Her father and Karen's bedroom was on the other side of the house, along with their own bathroom and her father's study. Downstairs was the foyer, the one she had come through, the kitchen off to the left and the dining room after that. The living room and family room were to the right of the foyer and her father's mayor's office was straight on from the foyer.

In her room, Sarah dropped her bag on her bed, took off her shoes and put them at the foot of her bed, and pulled her long hair away from her face. Her room now was far removed from the one from her childhood. Posters of unicorns and dragons and things that seemed to defy gravity no longer decorated her walls. Her shelves were no longer adorned with her favorite stuffed animals. Now it was common but elegant, the look of a grown up, mature woman.

It was so hot out, even with air conditioning you could still sweat. In England it rarely got this hot, but when it did, look out. She changed out of her school uniform and into a pair of blue jeans shorts and a yellow tank top. Yellow was her new favorite color.

After she had gotten comfortable and ready to study, she remembered her promise to Toby and decided that study and homework could wait until after dinner. She found Toby in the family room, playing one of his new video games. The video game system had been in his room until his mother had discovered that he had been playing it at night instead of sleeping, and she promptly brought it downstairs where it would be out of reach at night.

"Hey, Toby, want to go to the park? It's a nice day outside," she said, as she slipped on her walking shoes that she had retrieved from the hall closet downstairs. Toby shut off his video game while Sarah put a leash on her dog, Merlin. "Karen! Toby and I are going to the park!" Sarah shouted in the direction of the kitchen. "OK kids, have fun!" Karen called back.

It was nice enough for them to walk to the park instead of driving there, as it was just down the road, about two blocks away. Sarah took hold of Toby's hand, while Merlin's leash was in the other, and they walked merrily to the park. Once there, Toby ran off to the new playground to play with the other five-year-olds. The playground was one of the things that her father had built while his term as mayor. It was the same park that she had recited her lines from a certain play in not too long ago, only now it was more modern with bike trails, playgrounds, and even a new public swimming pool.

Sarah took Merlin for a walk on one of the trails, trying to get inspiration for her project. Her thoughts were elsewhere as she looked at the area around her. The sunlight from the sky poured down on the treetops, which filtered the light and made it cooler here than anywhere else in the park. She came upon a clearing, and Merlin suddenly began to bark and tried in vain to run towards a large oak tree standing in the middle. "Whoa boy. What's gotten into you?" Sarah asked, as she walked towards the unusually large tree.

The light summer breeze scattered the lilac flowers in bloom from the top of the tree to the ground and into the air. This place seemed almost magical to Sarah, but how she knew that she wasn't sure. Reluctantly she let go of Merlin's leash, and he ran towards the tree and started pawing at the ground below it. Surrounding the tree in a circle were flowers, flowers that Sarah had never seen before, along with mushrooms scattered in between them.

Sarah joined Merlin at the base of the tree, and she touched the rough bark there. She pulled her hand away as a bright light emanated from the tree at the spot where her hand had made contact. Where the light had once been, there was now a doorknob. Feeling a little spooked; Sarah took Merlin's leash in her hand, and pulled him with all her might away from the tree.

Without looking back, she ran, practically dragging the resistant and still excited Merlin behind her. Reaching the playground a little out of breath, she bent over and placed her hands on her knees, breathing deeply. She stood and walked the rest of the way towards the playground in order to get Toby and hurry home. Mortal eyes, Sarah knew, weren't supposed to have seen what she had just witnessed.

Sarah took the protesting Toby by the hand, the sun sinking below the horizon, and they walked back home together. Inside the house, Karen had dinner on the table already, and Toby ran upstairs to their bathroom to wash his grimy little kid hands. Sarah smiled as she watched him bound up the stairs, and she put Merlin in her room so he couldn't beg for food during dinner. Back downstairs, Robert Williams, Sarah's father, opened his office door a crack and yelled out just as Sarah was walking by, "I won't be able to make it to dinner at the moment. Hi kiddo, how was your day?"

"Fine and dandy," Sarah mumbled as she walked to the kitchen. Sarah knew the only reason why he had even asked how her day had been was because she had just happened to be walking by the one time he had actually came out of his office a little. "Sarah, wash your hands and get the glasses out for me and fill them with ice and tea. Your father won't be coming to dinner," Karen said.

"Yeah, so I heard. I'm going to take dinner in my room tonight. I have a pre-calculus test tomorrow that I need to study for. If that's all right with you." "Of course, but on your way back upstairs tell Toby to come downstairs for dinner." Sarah grabbed a plate and filled it with Karen's special casserole. She knew she wouldn't eat much of it, her stomach could only take so much abuse.

Upstairs, she knocked on the door to Toby's room, and switched the plate of food to her left hand and opened the door. Toby was lying on his bed watching cartoons. "Hey sweetie, Karen says it's time for dinner. As in right now," she added when he didn't get up. He groaned and started to whine and protest but Sarah stopped him with just an expression.

"All right sissy, but I hate it when mom cooks. Why can't we hire a chef?" Sarah laughed so hard she almost dropped her plate. "That's a good idea, just don't tell Karen that. Now get down there and pretend that you like it."

Sarah changed into her pajamas in order to get comfy while studying, but once she got all settled in, her thoughts were a million miles away from the words in the book. Could it be that what she had experienced today was in some way connected to her journey through the underground in Jareth's labyrinth four years ago? She hoped not.

If he in any way tried to take Toby again he'd have to go through her. Besides, she could always call her friends from the labyrinth. But, would they face down Jareth again to save her? By this time Sarah had fallen asleep in her chair, the unread pre-cal book open on her lap. Outside on a tree limb a snow-white owl with brown specks decorating his body, ruffled his feathers at the sleeping mortal girl, and took flight and glided towards the star filled sky, just beyond the milky white moon.

*~*

Yeah I know that was a long first chapter. Please review if you want to read more. Any comments, questions, or random insults are welcome. Thanks for reading.