Outside the little village a gate that led into what Sarah thought of as a traditional labyrinth, a high walled, twisting and turning maze much like the first part of her original visit. This time however, she had company, which, even if they didn't know the way any more than she did, made her feel better about the whole experience. As they walked, Sarah recounted that journey to her companions, and was surprised at how much she remembered. She recalled how she thought she was being so clever by marking her way with her lipstick, and how little that helped. Hoggle knew of the little creatures that lived underneath the Labyrinth, and chuckled at her story. "Them little guys will do anything to create chaos and confusion. And besides, they likely didn't like you writing on their roofs!"

Sarah laughed. "Well, it taught me not to expect fairness, that's for sure." They walked on for a time in companionable silence, and Sarah stopped worrying about the time limit, and the mysterious reason behind her unexpected visit to this place, and just enjoyed being with the friends she'd forgotten. For the first time she truly regretted turning so far away from her former self. She wasn't unhappy in the life she'd chosen, but wandering through this strange and magical land made her wonder what would have happened if Toby hadn't died. Would she have come back here sooner? And, would Jareth have welcomed her? His attitude toward her was so different. He was still her adversary, but he seemed so much kinder, somehow, or maybe it was her own perception of him that had changed. She was facing him as a woman, not as the innocent child she was at fifteen. What did he want from her? "What will happen if I lose?" she asked suddenly.

Hoggle looked uncomfortable again, proving once again he knew more about what was going on than he was willing or able to let on. "What do you mean?"

"Jareth said that if I win I can leave, but if I loose, I have to stay here, with him. What does he mean? Will I become a goblin, or what?"

Hoggle shook his head. "No. Not a goblin. That doesn't really happen, you know.

"Really?"

"No. That's just the story. Children are wished here, right enough, but Goblins are goblins."

"But Jareth…"

"Told ya what you expected to hear."

"Oh." Sarah took a moment to digest this new information. "What happens to the children then?"

"They find their own place. Families take them in, or the older ones make themselves useful in the castle, or in the towns. Depends, really."

"So, if I lose I'd become some sort of servant?"

Hoggle shrugged. "I don't know. Jareth doesn't let me in on his plans, you know."

She sighed. "Well, I hope I never find out."

"What will you do if you win?" Hoggle asked, trying and failing to sound unconcerned. "Will you forget us again?"

"Oh, Hoggle…I hope not. I really didn't mean to, before. It's just…at first, after Toby died, I had to deal with my grief, and my parent's grief…I had to face up to grown up feelings and responsibilities. Poor Karen almost didn't make it, and I felt I needed to be there for her. There wasn't time to think of things like magic, and faeries, and stuff like that, things I used to think about all the time. Eventually I just forgot. You were just a story I knew. It was easier, I suppose, to stop believing in magic, then to know it existed but still couldn't save Toby's life."

They turned another corner, and were faced with a dead end. "Uh, oh" Hoggle muttered. "This isn't good."

"Well, we just go back to the last turn, and start again," Sarah said reasonably.

'That's not going to be easy," said a voice behind them. Sarah turned and saw, instead of the passage they'd just walked through, a heavy iron door, with a strange looking creature guarding it.

They were trapped.