AN: Hello everyone! Gosh, thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! I'm very glad that you enjoyed the first chapter. Well let me stop gabbing and let you all read!

As always special thanks to my beta, Scattered Logic, who helped me TREMENDOUSLY with this chapter!

It begins….

3 years later…

"Sarah, I'm sick of this behavior! I had a hair appointment this afternoon and now it had to be canceled thanks to your tardiness. You've become completely unreliable! If you can't straighten up, then you can get out of my house!" Karen glared at her stepdaughter who stood dripping wet and shivering in the living room.

Sarah's eyes widened and then narrowed as she glared at her stepmother. "Your house? This is my father's house, not yours!"

"And I'm married to your father, which also makes it mine. I'm tired of this, Sarah. This attitude of yours has to go! I'm tired of being treated like the wicked stepmother when I've been so kind to you."

Sarah laughed and it wasn't a pleasant sound. "You've been about as kind as the lash of a whip."

Karen ignored the comment and continued. "You're 18 years old, Sarah, maybe it's time for you to get yourself out of your ridiculous fairytales and into real life. When I was 18, I had my own apartment, had graduated high school and had a full time job."

Sarah crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, good for you and I'm not 18 yet."

Karen rolled her eyes. "Close enough."

"So, what are you going to do? Kick me out of my dad's house because you're mad that I'm trying to do something with myself instead of sit home all day like you? I'm sorry that you don't think that my play rehearsals mean anything and I'm so terribly sorry that they cut into your time. I'm very sorry that I don't have the time to baby-sit Toby directly after school. And I'm sorry that watching him every night and every weekend so you can go out with my dad isn't good enough for you!"

The fact that Sarah was dripping wet and freezing cold from her walk home was no longer on her mind. She was growing tired of this constant bickering with her stepmother. It seemed that nothing she did could ever be right. Her stepmother had once told her that it would be nice if Sarah dated and went out with friends. Now that she got involved with the drama group and had been seeing someone, it suddenly wasn't allowed.

Karen shook her head and then glared at the rebellious young woman in front of her. "I don't know why you bother with those play rehearsals. You're not good enough to make it as an actress and you never will be. Wasn't that made clear to you when you didn't get the lead role that you wanted in the play? And the success that your mother found was a fluke, beginners luck, not real talent. Her beauty was the only thing that got her anywhere and before long that will fade and she will be worth nothing."

Sarah gritted her teeth. "You take that back about my mother!" She cried out.

"I won't, because it's the truth. I don't know why you bother defending her. Get real, Sarah, she left you when you were 7 years old and she rarely calls you anymore. That must tell you something! Her stupid career was more important than you and if you acted like this around her, then I can understand why she left!"

Sarah's eyes narrowed and her lips thinned into a straight line. She wanted to swing and hit Karen as hard as she could, but instead she bit her lip and clenched her fists by her side.

"I hate you!" Sarah turned and charged up the stairs before the tears in her eyes could stream down her face. She refused to appear weak in front of her stepmother.

The phone rang on her way up the stairs and she grabbed the cordless phone that sat in its cradle on the small table in the upstairs hall. Perhaps the phone call would help her forget Karen's harsh words.

"Hello?"

"Sarah?"

She closed her eyes and then opening them, she chuckled. "It's really not a good time right now, Brian." Talking to her ex-boyfriend who had just dumped her a week earlier was not making the day any better.

"Yeah, well it's never a good time and you don't return my calls. Now that I have you on the phone, I want my stuff back."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I want my jacket that I gave you and those Bon Jovi tapes I bought for you. I want the silver necklace I bought for you, too."

"Why, so you can give them to your new girlfriend?" Sarah asked angrily. As if getting dumped wasn't such a horrible thing in the first place, finding out that Brian had been seeing another girl behind her back while her own friends and half the school had known was just the icing on the cake. They had never had a very serious relationship, but she had liked him and his betrayal hurt her more than he would ever know.

"Look, you can either give me my things back or I'll get my father involved in this. He's a-"

"State trooper, I know!" Sarah finished for him.

"Well good, so I don't have to go through the whole thing with you again. I'll be by tomorrow to pick up my stuff."

"You mean my stuff," she spat back bitterly.

"Well, I bought it, so technically it's mine," he started.

"Whatever!" She hung up the phone, slamming it into the cradle. Just what she needed--to see her ex tomorrow!

She took long strides down the hall, desperately seeking the comfort of her own room.

She swung the door open and slammed it shut behind her, not caring that she was acting like a spoiled child. It had been a long time since she had acted like this, but right now she didn't care. It felt good to let loose. She couldn't act mature all the time.

Tears filled her eyes and she choked back a sob. Her world felt as if it was tumbling down. It had been bad enough missing the late bus after play rehearsal. She'd had to walk home 4 miles in the rain just to listen to Karen bitch and moan about her. A simple reprimand for dripping on the floor and for being a few hours late would have been sufficient, but things were never that simple. It wasn't as if she had missed the bus on purpose.

Karen had gone too far this time by insulting Sarah's mother and then shoving the fact in Sarah's face that she had not gotten the role she had worked so hard for in the school play. She was constantly being reminded that she had been cast in a minor role with hardly any lines or stage time. It infuriated her and when she really thought about her part in the play, it made her feel worthless. And then Brian had to call and he was going to stop by tomorrow to take back the things that he had bought her! Would it ever end?

She wanted nothing more to do than to lie across her bed and cry until she reached the point where the tears would no longer fall. As she made a few steps toward her bed, her eyes widened, she gasped and she involuntarily stepped back.

Standing across the room in front of her window, his arms crossed over his chest, dressed in a leather jacket and gray breeches, was the Goblin King.

"Hello, Sarah." His lips curved into a slight grin.

"No!" Sarah pointed a finger at him. "I'm hallucinating, you're not really there." She shook her head and backed up against the door. "I've had a stressful day and I'm tired and I'm seeing things!" She said aloud, trying to convince herself. "Goblin Kings just don't show up in teenager's rooms. You're not real!" She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, he would be gone.

The Goblin King seemed amused by her reaction. "Not real?" He raised a brow "That certainly is a new bit of information to me."

Sarah opened her eyes and wanted to cry when she saw him still standing across the room. She had to be hallucinating. Had Karen finally driven her to the brink of insanity?

Sarah took a deep breath and pulled herself together. If she had created him with her mind, then she could make him disappear as well. "You're not real. You're a figment of my imagination because I've had a stressful day. "

The Goblin King smirked. He enjoyed watching her struggle and enjoyed seeing the pain and confusion creep onto her face. He crossed the room and stood directly in front of her, so close that Sarah could feel his warm breath on her face. A gloved hand reached forward and she felt the warmth of his fingers right through the leather as he caressed her cheek with long slow strokes.

The Goblin King felt her tense beneath his touch. "If I'm not real, than you have quite an active imagination," he purred.

Sarah slid away from him, the warmth of his touch still lingering on her face. Her imagination wasn't that active. "Leave me alone!"

"If I leave, you will be accompanying me."

Her eyes widened. "Like hell I will!"

He pulled at his black leather gloves and glanced at her quickly. "You can either choose to act like a spoiled child and replay this ridiculous facade or you can act like an adult and accept gracefully and maturely."

Sarah watched as he moved away from her and glanced around her room. Unless she had seriously gone crazy, The Goblin King was real and was standing before her. She had felt the warmth of his breath on her cheeks, she had smelled the leather of his jacket and gloves. She had felt his touch on her face. He was real and he had returned.

But why was he here? Why had he returned now, of all times, to torment her? Remembering his insulting words, she cried out at him, "I'm not going anywhere with you! Least of all to your stupid Labyrinth!" What were those words again? "You have no power over me!" She cried out.

The Goblin King's eyes narrowed at the words and her behavior. He knew that she would be difficult. He had watched her for days. He had sat in the tree outside her window in his owl form, waiting for the perfect moment to confront her. He knew that she was still a handful to deal with.

Letting the anger at hearing the words fade, he laughed. "Say those words all you wish, because the damage has already been done." At her confused expression, he continued. "I could leave you here, but then my kingdom would remain in ruin."

"Your problem not mi-" A small bit of anger faded from Sarah's face as she realized his words. "Ruin?"

"Yes, ruin." His voice was filled with disdain. "I can barely live in my castle. The elements enter whenever they wish. The inner and outer walls of the Labyrinth are crumbling to dust. The magic is unstable and it changes areas at will. The Firey Forest is nearly dead and it grows worse everyday," he spat but quickly reined himself in. He couldn't afford to lose his temper, not now.

"But how did it happen?" Her eyes clouded with tears at his description. It really couldn't be that bad, could it?

He glared at her. "You know how."

She felt anger rise within her. How dare he blame her and even if it had been her fault, what could she possibly do now? "What do you need me for? Why don't you just repair it yourself? You're the one with the magic." She reminded him.

The Goblin King thought his words over carefully. He didn't want her to know that he was powerless to prevent the decay of his own kingdom. "Because only the one who caused the damage can repair it. That would be…you." He told her bitterly.

Sarah shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. She reminded the Goblin King of how she looked nearly 3 years earlier, defiant and in control as she uttered the words that destroyed his world. "I'm not going back." She told him firmly.

"Not even to help your friends?" He tilted his head, his mismatched eyes shining with mischief.

"What have you done to them?" She started angrily. She balled her fists and The Goblin King nearly laughed. What did she plan to do? Hit him?

"I haven't done anything. I've told you, the Labyrinth is in ruin. It has become unpredictable and far more dangerous than you remember. It would be quite unfortunate if one or more of your friends were to die because of your stubborn refusal to return."

Sarah swallowed. Her friends, Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus. They had gone against the wishes of their king to help a stranger gain her baby brother back. She had called for them often, whenever she needed them, but they never appeared again after the party. She had always assumed that the Goblin King wouldn't let them talk to her, but if the Labyrinth was in ruin and unpredictable then perhaps it had not been his fault after all.

She gave her room a quick glance as she thought about what to do. Her eyes fell upon her copy of the lines for the lead role from the play that still lay open on her desk. The lead role that she had deserved and had not received. She raised her head and looked directly into The Goblin King's eyes.

"All right. I'll go with you."

The Goblin King smirked. This was almost too easy. Concentrating, he pulled forth a crystal. Sarah didn't even notice that the sphere didn't appear to be as shiny, beautiful or strong as his usual crystals. All she was concerned about was getting away from her life right now and helping her friends. The only friends that she had.

The Goblin King didn't waste any time and he quickly tossed the crystal to the ground. Sarah felt dizzy and something felt wrong. She clearly remembered what being transported by magic to the Labyrinth felt like the first time around, it had been a pleasant experience, but this felt different. Everything became hazy and she felt terribly dizzy. She could hardly make out The Goblin King standing directly beside her. Feeling rather woozy, she gripped her head and closed her eyes, swaying unsteadily on her feet.

The strange sensations began to fade and Sarah took a deep breath before opening her eyes. She feared what the Labyrinth would look like after hearing The Goblin King's descriptions. But as her eyes opened, a large maze was not what was spread out before her.

She spun around and in every direction saw tall trees. She was in a forest, but this forest didn't look like it belonged in the Underground. It looked like a normal forest in her own world. Her brows furrowed as she looked at the Goblin King.

"Where are we?" she asked him.

He was not paying attention to her. His eyes darted back and forth, gazing over the lush green foliage. Where was his crumbling castle? Where were his filthy, unruly goblins? Where was the Labyrinth?

He turned to gaze at Sarah, finally acknowledging her presence. For a moment, he looked confused, but all too quickly he looked like his usual arrogant self again.

"You don't know do you?" Sarah answered him. When Jareth didn't reply, Sarah knew that the answer was… no.