She Thought It Was Over…

Plot Summary: Sarah, after eating the enchanted peach, awakens to find herself in a bubble shaped like a ballroom. She dances with the Goblin King, and then continues on her quest to eventually destroy him. This is where my story leaves off, I don't want to give too much away because then you won't read it.

While Sarah walked, a single thought was persistent in her mind, buzzing around in her head like a stubborn bee. Could it be that Toby was still in the castle? This confused Sarah more than anything. Sarah was so deep in thought that she wasn't watching where she was going, and ran straight into Hoggle.

"Hoggle!" Sarah cried, beyond joyous in seeing her friend. Hoggle, however, turned and limped fast, well, fast for Hoggle, in the other direction. "Hoggle, wait, where are you going?" Sarah asked, chasing her friend down a winding corridor. Hoggle, being no good with directions, inadvertently found himself facing a dead-end.

"Hoggle, what is going on?" Hoggle turned and gave Sarah a blank look. "I've never seen you before miss. You sure did frighten me." "Hoggle stop playing games," Sarah whispered in a plea. "You seem to know me, do I know you?" he asked suspiciously. "Are you telling me that you don't remember helping me through this curse of a maze not too long ago. Don't you remember Ludo and Sir Didymus?" Hoggle appeared stumped. "I've never heard those names before miss. I'm sorry that I can't be no help to you." Hoggled bowed his head and walked past her and down another turn and then left her sight.

Sarah sighed. She always thought that she and Hoggle would be friends, but now it seemed that he had no inkling of who she was. This saddened Sarah. She had a feeling that Jareth must've erased his memory. She hoped that the erasure wasn't permanent, however.

Not letting that slight setback deter her, Sarah kept walking. She finally arrived at the menacing stone gates guarding the city that she knew was on the other side. She wasn't sure how to get past. Having dissembled the giant monster that used to guard it, Sarah knew her passage through wouldn't be as difficult as before.

Stepping hesitantly to the gate, Sarah barely touched the rough stone before the gate swung open to Sarah's amazement. The city on the other side wasn't filled with the rowdy goblins that it had been before. Instead it was so calm and peaceful that it confused Sarah. Where were the goblin armies that were supposed to greet her with the threat of war in order to stop her? The town was so deserted that Sarah half expected a tumble weed to roll past her. Instead, a lone chicken squawked into her path, startling Sarah out of her wits.

"If I am scared of a chicken, what does that make me?" she asked herself sardonically. With her passage unblocked and cleared of obstacles, Sarah was to the castle in less than five minutes. "Don't take this for granted," Sarah warned herself warily. Sarah cautiously mounted the steps and glanced up at the castle that towered over her. She was a little less confident now that she didn't have her friends to back her and support her.

The sound of a baby crying brought Sarah back to her sense of urgency. Again, she barely touched the enormous doors to the castle and they swung open before her. Following the depressing cry of the child, Sarah found herself in Jareth's throne room. And just as she had feared, Toby was unattended in the middle of a pit crying his little eyes out. "Oh Toby," Sarah said with relief evident in her voice. She was just about to reach him, when he eluded her grasp and disappeared. "Toby?" Sarah asked aloud. Where did he go?

Hearing another cry, Sarah followed it the same way she had before, to the escher room. Immediately, Sarah felt bile rising to the back of her throat. She forgot how disorienting the room was. All the stairs went off into space at impossible directions and angles. Toby was sitting upside down on stairs that were upside down almost directly over her head. A vague sense of deja vu hit her. "Toby…" And Sarah was off, chasing her brother around the room again. Sarah was also aware of the lack of Jareth's presence. Suddenly, as if produced by mirrors, a dozen of Tobys filled the room all crawling away from Sarah.

"Oh no," Sarah whined. Which one was her brother? Resolutely, Sarah chased as many of them as she could. Eventually, her long walk from the day and her already exhausted body took its toll on Sarah, and she sat dejectedly on a step and watched all of her duplicate brothers walk and crawl about the room. That's when it hit Sarah. Had she learned nothing from her previous journey? "Nothing is what it seems to be…"

Knowing this, Sarah found a set of steps that went upside down, or what were upside down to her, and as she set foot on the first step the room spun and she was rightside up and Toby was crawling just to her side. "Toby," Sarah said, reaching out for her brother. This time her hand made contact, and Sarah cried with joy and swung her brother up to her hip. He giggled and rubbed his big blue eyes. "You scared me, you know that." She chided him as if he understood what she was saying.

"Well done," a mocking voice resounded from around the corner, bouncing its way across the room to its owner. Sarah didn't even need to look up to see who was addressing her. "Jareth," she sneered, mocking his tone of voice. "I see you've made it past one of my most…interesting…challenges. However, you are not done yet. Surprised. Don't be. You've won your brother's freedom. Your's, however, is a different story. You failed, Sarah. Although, this little contest was never about your brother."

Suddenly, a great wind whipped around Sarah, and her baby brother was snatched forcefully from her protective grip. The wind died down, and Sarah's cradling arms were empty. She lowered them to her sides. "What did you do with my brother?" Sarah asked wearily. "I returned him home. See for yourself." As Jareth said this, he threw a crystal at Sarah. This being vaguely familiar to her, Sarah wasn't sure whether to drop the hideous orb or catch it. In a split second, she decided to catch it and let it rest daintily upon her fingertips. Inside, Toby was sleeping peacefully in his ivory crib.

Rising an eyebrow, Sarah looked up at Jareth and the crystal dissolved. "How do I know that isn't an illusion? So far it seems that everything that I went through was just that." "Oh no, my Sarah. You are quite wrong. You really did get to the forest and eat the enchanted peach. But, everything after that point took place in your mind. And you are right, I did erase your friends' memories. I couldn't have them knowing how to solve the labyrinth now could I?"

Sarah pondered this for awhile before answering. "But, if the labyrinth changes, why would you need to erase their memories?" "Does it Sarah?" Jareth replied cryptically. "It seems we are at a standstill here, wouldn't you agree? You lost, therefore, you are now at my command. You are my subject. But the question, once again, dear Sarah, seems to be, what am I to do with you?"

Let me know what you think. Toodles. LadySorrow.