Author's Note: Labyrinth is the property of Jim Henson and George Lucas.  Not too sure how far this one will get, so try not to get too attached to it.  I still have to finish The Opposing Pawn and all my other multitudes of fanfiction, so this one has lower priority.  But it still doesn't mean you're not allowed to enjoy it.  The title is borrowed from Enigma's song, Gravity of Love, which is the most beautiful love song every composed.

Summary:  Fifteen years after her adventures, Sarah's living as a single mother of two just trying to keep herself afloat in the world.  When her children are kidnapped, is it an act of revenge of the Goblin King, or is it someone else pulling her into a dangerous game?

Eye of the Storm

Written by Kyheena (Omega WEAPON)

"Don't think twice before you listen to your heart,
Follow the trace for a new start…
What you need and everything you'll feel,
Is just a question of the deal…
In the eye of storm you'll see a lonely dove,
The experience of survival is the key
To the gravity of love…"

                                                ~Gravity of Love by Enigma

Chapter One

Candy for Silence

"Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City, to take back the child that you have stolen.  For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great…"

Her voice trailed off and her face screwed up in concentration as she strained to remember what it was that she had suddenly forgotten.

"And my kingdom is as great…"

She thought and she thought, fighting the terrible sense of forgetfulness, but every time the words were on the verge of appearing on her tongue they would vanish into nothingness once again.

Frustration overtook her, and she stomped her foot, scowling angrily.  "Ooh, it's not fair!  I can never remember that stupid line!"

From where he lay stretched out on the back lawn, a lanky, nineteen-year-old Toby chuckled.  "Don't think too hard, Sammy.  You'll give yourself wrinkles."

Samantha placed her hands on her hips, sticking her tongue out at the young man and looking remarkably like her mother.  "Uncle Toby, you're so mean!"  She huffed.

"But you know what?  You're still a better actress than you mom ever was."  At this, Sammy giggled in delight.

"You're going to be in so much trouble when I tell her you said that."  Jack said nonchalantly around a mouthful of peanut butter and jelly sandwich, staring intensively into his math homework. 

Toby propped himself up on his elbows, raising an eyebrow at his eleven year old nephew.  "You know what?  You're way too serious for your age, kiddo.  You need to learn to lighten up, or you'll end up just like you're mom."

"Now that's two things I get to tell her."  Jack said with a small, sneaky smile on his mouth.

Toby sighed, knowing that his nephew would, too.  "How many Snickers bars will it take to keep you quiet?"

"Five."

The tall blond snorted.  "If your mom doesn't kill me for calling Sammy a better actress…which she is…" He gave a smile and a wink towards Samantha, and the eight-year-old giggled.  "Then she'll definitely have it in for me if she knew I was giving you so much sugar.  I'll give you two."

"Make it four."

"Three."

"Deal." Jack never even looked up from his homework during the negotiations for his silence.

Toby chuckled, lying back on the grass, throwing one arm over his eyes.  "You drive a hard bargain, kid."  High overhead, deep gray storm clouds glided lazily across the sky, and even though the air was warm, the breeze was cool and brought with it the promising smell of rain.  The tall pine trees that surrounded his parent's home swayed in the wind.  It was steady becoming stronger, and Jack was trying desperately to keep his homework papers from flying away.  The storm would more than likely break that night.

"Uncle Toby, guess what!"  Sammy fell to her knees in the grass beside him and threw herself across his chest, knocking the wind from his lungs.  "My class is doing a play of Snow White, and my teacher wants me to play the lead!"

"That's really great, Sammy."  Toby said, struggling to reclaim his breath.  "I can't wait to see it.  At this rate you'll be a world-famous actress by the time you're ten."

"Really?"  The little girl piped excitedly.  "You really think so?  Can I tell Mommy that?"

Before Toby had a chance to answer, another voice interrupted him.  "Tell me what?"

"Mommy!" Sammy squealed, leaping off her uncle's chest and bounding across the lawn to throw herself at her mother, who had just come threw the door to the back yard.  Sarah was just barely able to catch the whirlwind of child that clung to her waist with surprising strength, squeezing her around the middle for all she was worth.

Sarah grunted from the impact, trying to make an effort to hug her daughter with her briefcase still in hand.  "Well, hello to you too, pipsqueak.  Have you been good for Uncle Toby?  Jack, you're going to ruin your eyes if you do your homework in this light..."

"Or I'll be wearing bifocals by the time I'm fifteen.  I know."  Jack said, pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose with a sense of dignity beyond his age. 

"Smarty pants."  Sarah smirked at her son.

"I was reading Uncle Toby the play again!"  Sammy piped up, drawing from her skirt pocket a worn screenplay bound in read leather, the word Labyrinth glittering even in the weak light.  "He says I'm going to be a world famous actress someday!  Do you think he's right, Mommy?  Will I be famous like you are?"

"You mean I was."  Sarah corrected the little girl, a hint of a sad smile on her face.  "And I don't have a doubt in the world that he's right.  But before any of that happens, did you get your homework done first?"

"Er…"  Sammy's bright smile quickly receded into a guilty grimace, and she cast a quick glance over her shoulder at Toby for help.  Before Sarah could respond, Toby came riding to his niece's rescue on a white horse.  "It's only one page of math, Sarah.  Nothing that can't be done in an hour.  Sammy just really wanted to show off her good acting talents."  Toby recognized his older sister's infamous "that's not the point" look, and quickly continued before she could get a word in.  "Besides, she's been really good about getting all her homework done after she gets home from school, so she deserves a little break every now and then, right?"

Sarah pursed her lips, looking back and forth between Samantha's and Toby's identical, hopeful yet guilty smiles.  Jack was looking up from his homework, one eyebrow raised in question, awaiting his mother's decision.  Finally, Sarah sighed, giving in under the three intense stares.  "Alright, one day of play before homework is okay, but you have to get it done before bedtime, okay?"

"Uh-huh!" Sammy exclaimed, smiling brightly once again.  "Besides, Jack can always help me!  He's better in math than Uncle Toby, anyway!"

Toby scowled at his niece.  "Traitor."

Sarah couldn't help but smile.  "Alright, Jack can help you tonight, just as long as he's…"

"Done."  Jack finished for her, shutting his math book.  "One step ahead of you.  I can help Sammy with her homework when we get home.  Did you hear back from the interviewer yet, Mom?"

Sarah's smile grew a little wider.  Her son's intelligence and maturity beyond his years never ceased to amaze her.  "No, not yet.  They probably won't call until after six.  If they call at all, that is…"

                Silence settles in the backyard, only the rustling of the wind through the trees could be heard.  The two children and their uncle knew why she sounded so worried.  Five interviews this month so far, and for whatever reason, they had all been rejected, and it had been like this for the last three months.  True, Sarah managed to hold a steady job as a receptionist at a local counseling center, but the income made was just barely enough to make payments for her and her two children.

"You'll get the job, Mom."  Jack said finally in a gentle tone.  "There's no logical reason why they won't hire you, not with a résumé like yours.  Even a blind person wouldn't be able to miss your kind of potential."

"He's right, you know."  Toby added with a nod.  "If they don't hire you, then it just means that they don't deserve to have you in the first place."

"Thanks, you two."  Sarah smiled weakly at her son and brother.  "Jack, Samantha, we should be getting home.  Get your things together."  Sammy nodded brightly and disappeared into the house while Jack struggled to place all the loose leaves of paper into his books as the wind picked up speed again.  "I appreciate you watching the kids again, Toby."  Sarah said when both of her children were inside.

"Sarah, for the thousandth time, it's not a problem."  Toby sighed, picking himself up off the grass and brushing loose strands off his jeans.  "I would rather them be here than locked up in some day-care center where they're forced to take naps and sing 'Old McDonald' over and over.  Besides, consider it paybacks for all the times that Mom and Dad made you stay home to watch me."

That made Sarah laugh.  "Vengeance is sweet.  But I have to ask you…if you don't have plans, that is…if it would be possible for you to watch them again tomorrow?  I know Dad and Karen will be out of town for the weekend, but I have that interview in Springbank tomorrow, at five-thirty, and that drive's horrid enough as it is without the Friday-night traffic, I don't think Sammy or Jack want to wait around that long for me…"

Toby heaved a huge, fake sigh.  "Well, I guess it's okay.  But you do know this cuts into a important night of watching B-rate horror movies and eating popcorn and drinking soda, right?  But, I know how important this interview is for you…"

Sarah grinned, standing on tip-toe to kiss her little brother on the cheek.  "Thank you.  I appreciate it."

"Hey, what can I say, I love the little squirts.  Maybe we'll do a movie or go bowling tomorrow night.  Something fun for a Friday."

"That sounds great."  Sarah agreed as they walked through the backdoor and into the kitchen of their family's home.  "They need to get out and do something, not sit around and worry about my problems.  Jack, Sammy, are you ready yet?"

"Yes, Mom."  The two children answered simultaneously from the front room.

"Alright then, let's head home.  I have spaghetti planed for…"  Before she could say another word, a shrill beeping sound filled the tiled kitchen; Sarah's cell phone was ringing.  Heart pounding, she drew it from her purse and pressed the little button that accepted the call.  Toby looked anxious, a big, supportive grin plastered across his boyish his.  Jack and Sarah were also back in the kitchen, looking just as nervous as she felt.  Grinning, Sarah placed the little phone up to her ear.  "Hello?  Mr. Mathews!  Hello!  This is a surprise, I didn't expect to hear back from you so soon…  The position, of course! …oh…" 

Toby felt his stomach lurch.  That tone of voice was far from good, and the hopeful smiles on Jack and Sammy's face flickered.

"Yes…I understand…  No, no, there's no need to apologize.  Well, thank you anyway for your time… Yes.  Goodbye."  Sarah turned off her phone and dropped it back into her handbag.

"Sarah…" Toby began slowly as his sister stared down at the floor, her long dark hair hiding her eyes.  "I… I'm so sorry… Is there anything I can do?"

"…no, Toby.  It's alright.  I wasn't really expecting to get the job, anyway…  You can wish me luck on tomorrow's interview, though.  I'll need it.  Jack, Sammy, let's go home."

Jack was frowning, but he only nodded in silence.  Before he went to follow his mother, he walked up to his Uncle and shook his hand in a very adult-like fashion.  "Uncle Toby, until tomorrow."  Sammy had tears in her eyes when she rushed up and hugged her ankles around the knees.

"Bye, Uncle Toby."

"See you tomorrow, Munchkin."  Toby said, trying to smile.  "And don't be so sad.  Everything's going to be alright, okay?"  Sammy nodded, brushing the tears from her eyes before following her brother.

The drive home was commenced in silence.  Sammy sat huddled in the back seat, hugging her book bag to her chest, and Jack stared intensely out the front window.  They did not live too terribly far from her parent's house – just across town, really – but the ill news that Sarah had received in the kitchen made the car ride feel like an eternity.  The sky was growing ever darker above, and the trees were swaying harder in the strengthening wind.  It was not surprising when the first raindrops began to strike the window shield of the car.

"…I don't want either of you to feel like this is your fault, because it's not.  Don't feel like you have to worry about this at all, alright?  Everything will turn out for the better.  The job I'm being interviewed for tomorrow is better in the long run."

"You'll get that one Mom.  Assistance to a talent agent?  It's in the bag."  Jack said, still staring out the window.  Sarah smiled, but nothing more was said until they reached the parking lot of their apartment building.

Even though the apartment complex and clean and well-maintained, the neighbors friendly and the landlord fair and lenient when her payments were behind, it was not the ideal place where Sarah wanted to raise her children.  Going from a two-story, four bedroom house by the lake to a small, two-bedroom apartment was a drastic and difficult change, and it was all they could do to make the best of it.  Jack and Samantha even agreed to share a room so their mother could have some time to herself when she needed it, regardless that Sarah had offered the share the small master bedroom with Sammy so Jack could have someplace to call his own.

Sarah was beyond grateful that she was blessed with such wonderful children.

"You two go get cleaned up."  Sarah said as she unlocked the door and clicking on the front lights of the apartment.  "I'll go get dinner started."

"Do you need any help?" Jack offered.

"Maybe in a few minutes, sweetie."

"Okay…"  Jack and Sarah said in melancholy tones, setting down their backpacks and making their way to the single apartment bathroom.  Sarah watched after them for one sad moment, then turned towards the kitchen.

*              *              *

Jack gathered cool water in his cupped hands and splashed it onto his face, sputtering as he groped blindly for a hand towel.  Sammy finished drying her hands and handed the towel over to her brother.

"Jack?  We are the reason why Mommy can't find a job, are we?"

The eleven-year-old finished drying his face and put his glasses back on, remaining quiet as he searched for the best answer that would not upset his sister.  "…that's the hard thing about being famous, Sammy.  Everyone knows about your life, and so a lot of people know when a once-famous play actress is raising two children by herself after her husband dies.  A lot of these jobs Mom's applying for need ready availability, and when you have two kids you have to worry about… Well, things can come up that can't be controlled, and it takes away from the attention she might need at work."

Sammy said nothing, only stood off to the side, head bowed low.  "They're all stupid."

"I know, Sammy.  I know.  It's always about them, never about the people who need it.  But things will be alright, Sammy.  You'll see."  His little sister sniffed, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.  "Hey, I'll tell you what.  After dinner and after homework's done, I'll help you with the lines in that play you're in, okay?  That way you'll be so good by opening night that everyone will see what a great actress you are."

"Okay…"

Jack smiled, took his sister by the hand, and together they walked to the kitchen.

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To Be Continued…

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Love it?  Hate it?  Do you want more?  If so, then please tell me!  And about continuing The Opposing Pawn first, I kinda lied.  I really think this one has more potential, so it gets first dibs in updates, but only if you guys want it like that…