A/N: Thanks everyone for all the great feedback. I felt there was perhaps more to this story that I wanted to tell, so I'm gonna give it my best shot. Please r/r and tell me what you think so far. This chapter is more or less a bridge from the last one to where the story actually starts, so I apologize in advance if it's a little slow.

Disclaimer: Of course, I own nothing.

An Interlude

Seven years had come and gone since that fateful summer night when Sarah Williams had vanquished not one, but two villains. She had grown into a beautiful, intelligent confident young woman, with vitality and charisma to spare. She had blazed her way through high school, coming out of her shell in her sophomore year to become one of the most popular and respected girls in her class. She had been President of the Drama Club, Class President, and Valedictorian of her graduating class. In short, she had become the young woman she was always destined to be.

She had also been a watcher, her eyes following every movement her father made. For the first two years after their confrontation, she had done everything in her power to keep him from being alone with Toby. And while this was not always possible, she also watched Toby for any signs that he was being abused by their father. Those signs never came; Toby remained a bright, cheerful and happy little boy. With no reason to be suspicious, Sarah lowered her guard a little, and even learned to relax a bit in her father's company, although she felt she would never truly be comfortable in his presence again.

Sarah had blossomed and was able to be happy most of the time. She had her days, though, when her mind clouded and the darkness of the past threatened to overtake her. Those were always the days that Hoggle chose to visit.

When he had said "Should you ever need us..." she had assumed an unspoken "Just call." But there was never a need to call, Hoggle just seemed to know when things were at their darkest and he was suddenly there to brighten her day. There was a time, immediately following her adventures in the Labyrinth that she had almost forgotten, buried it all in her mind and marked the whole thing off as a dream. But that feeling had passed, and now the Labyrinth was with her all the time. She looked back on it now as the beginning of the start of a new life for her, and because of that she was grateful for those thirteen hours of hell.

When Hoggle came to her, he came through the mirror. It was always the same; she would sit in front of the mirror, feeling the weight of her heavy past on her shoulders, sometimes feeling as though she couldn't carry the burden any longer. And then he would be there smiling back at her through the glass. He would give her updates about life in the underground, and of Ludo and Sir Didymus. Apparently things had pretty much gone back to normal after she left, and it cheered her to know that all was well with them. Hoggle never mentioned HIM though, and Sarah never asked. She didn't know why, for she was curious as to what had become of the Goblin King after their final meeting. It just seemed as though it were better not to bring it up.

Hoggle also wanted to know everything about her life. He would ask her about school, her friends, what play she was working on in the Drama Club, etcetera. He also asked about her family. Sometimes his questions cut right to the core, and she wondered if he possibly knew her dark secret. But of course that was impossible. He was just being polite, or as polite as Hoggle could be.

After the visits, Sarah would almost always feel better. There were times, though, when even Hoggle's cheerful ramblings couldn't bring her back from her dark place. That's when she would feel the hands again. Such a strange feeling it was to be visited by the hands. She could almost feel them on her shoulders, or stroking her hair. It was not as though they were some disembodied spirit. No, the hands seemed more like an idea, a thought that was so strong it could manifest itself outside her mind. They never frightened her; they were a comfort to her when no other comfort could be found. And they pushed her out of her darkness and back into the world of a normal teenage girl.

And so it was that Sarah's life took on a strange sort of normality. And when, in her senior year of high school Karen discovered she was pregnant again, Sarah actually found it in herself to be happy for her, and for her father. Three weeks after graduation, Karen gave birth to a baby girl, the most beautiful thing Sarah had ever seen. She had thick dark hair like Sarah's, but instead of green eyes, hers were the most dazzling shade of grey imaginable. As Sarah held her new baby sister for the first time, she knew she had never loved anything in her life the way she loved this child already. She also knew that once again she would become the watcher.

Sarah applied to a nearby college so she could remain at home while attending school. Karen encouraged her to move into a dorm, saying it would be good for her to get out of the house and on her own. Sarah didn't question Karen's motives, for she knew it was more convenient for Karen if she stayed. But she could never tell her the real reason why she didn't want to leave home, so she assured her that she just wasn't ready for such a big step. And besides, she wanted to get to know baby Maya. At least that part was true.

So Sarah stayed, and Sarah watched. In the four years it took for Sarah to finish College, Maya grew to be a carefree and loving little girl who completely idolized her big sister. Every day when Sarah came home from her classes, Maya met her in the driveway, leaping into her arms hugging her fiercely. Her iron grey eyes would sparkle as she laughed, and Sarah laughed right along with her.

Sarah had patrolled diligently, as she had with Toby, keeping an eye out for signs that her father was preying on Maya. But those signs never came, and by all appearances Richard Williams had learned from his mistakes, and was now the father to Maya that Sarah wished he had been to her.

As the years went by, her relationship with her father became easier, and Sarah felt she almost had a normal family for the first time. As graduation approached, she began making plans to move to the city and take a job as a set designer for a small production company. She had once again set her sights on her dreams, and was ready to chase them.

The human spirit is an amazing and resilient thing. It can bounce back from almost any tragedy or dark circumstance. The human mind is also amazing. Given the right motivation it can open doors to worlds that were never before possible. It can also close doors. Sometimes that's a good thing, but there are times when it's dangerous. And as Sarah Williams made her way into the world and left her dark past behind her, she allowed her mind to shut doors that should have been left open, and to forget things that should never have been forgotten.