A/N: Hiya! I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to update all this. But it seems that my muse has returned after her extended vacation. THANK GOD! But anywho, thanks b00k for the addy! Maybe it'll help me get a few more reviews is praying so Well lets get this ball rolling!

Disclaimer: ya know it!

Labyrinth of Dismay

Chapter 2: Once upon a time...

Sarah bursts through the trees on the other side at a full run, Merlin fell into his usual place running a few feet ahead of her his shaggy whitish fur boucing around him. The skidded around a corner to run down an old alley way. She avoided the mud puddles that the morning rains had left, the alley had a damp musty sour oder to it. Caused mostly by the deteraring walls that were smeareed by soured water and slime. Merlin barked happily as they exited the alley to sprind town a neighborhood street bathed in golden light, left by the setting sun. She skidded into her yard stumbling up the small slope and up the painted wood steps. As she hurridly reaches for the door nob the door is suddenly thrown open by someone on the other side. A young woman stands in the door and tosses her curly red hair in a haughty way, her green eyes survaying Sarah then her red lips purse in a slight look of disgust.

"Late again Miss Williams? This is really exasperating, I allow you to stay here only because your step-mother whished it before her death. I told you to be here at six, it's six-thirty. Ragen and I have been waiting." Sarah glared at the woman, Milissa, her chest heaving with her heavy breaths. She raised a hand to push her devilished chesnut hair out of her hazel eyes.

"I'm sorry, Merlin stole my script and..." The woman interrupted by speaking to a man that suddenly appeared behind her.

"Are we ready?" she asked quizzicaly, he nodded and turned to speak to Sarah.

"I've fed Billy, he's still awake and a bit fussy. We'll be back around midnight." he took the womans hand and led her out the door and into his car. Sarah watched them drive off before ushering Merlin inside. Sarah heaved a sigh and with a shrug of her shoulders to her dog droppped the bundled up part of her dress allowing it to tumble to the floor settling around her feet. She swept up the stairs and into the babys room. Billy was plaing contentedly in his crib, noting this Sarah exited and made her way to the smaller door of the atic stairs. She sneezed once while making her way to the atic that now acted her her bedroom/home. She flipped the switch that turned on the dull yellow lightbulb that iluminated her room in a dingy light. Although she had tried to make it a little more homey but the room still had the feel of a prision cell to her. She could see the particals of dust floating through the air just under the lightbulb as she stripped the dress over her head to toss on her bed. She had moved all her things out of her room and up to the atic quickly after Milissa and Ragen had moved in with Billy, her old room now acted as a office for Ragen. The room was arranged almost identical to her old room except for her vanity which now set beside the two opening celing to floor windows that decorated one end of the atic where her be also sat. She stepped over to her vanity plucked a scrunchi off of it wrapping it around her wrist before running her fingers over five items that were displayed there along with her hairbrush and makeup.

First was an old picture of her mother, second was a happy family picture of a five year old Toby sitting on her shoulders with a smiling step-mother and father on either side of them. The next three items made her smile sadly, one was an old newspaper clipping about a fatle car crash that killed three, the next two were specail. Onc was a red leather book with fading gold letters and sitting ontop of it was a music box with a female figurine in it dressed in a beautiful ball gown. Billy's crys sounded up the stairs to Sarah who grabbed the red book and shoved it into her back pocket, grabbing a white poets shirt off a chair throwing it on as she headed down the stairs. She plucked Billy from his crib as she entered the room.

"What's wrong baby?" she bounced him on her side trying to shush the two year old to no advail, she placed him back in his crib and he cried louder kicking the sides of his crib. "Come on Billy, that's enough, there's nothing for you to be crying about." she heaved a sigh as he somehow started screaming louder, "Do you want to hear a story?" he paused for a moment from his screaming before starting again, Sarah continued, "Once upon a time there was a young girl..."

Outside the bedroom window a white owl watched with duel colored eyes before taking flight back to the Underground. He would wait and see what happened.

A/N: I believe this one is much longer, but I don't have a lot of time so there's probably a thousand spelling errors and I'm sorry. I still have to type the chappie for 4th of July Surprise...v.v; and do homework, a writers life is never dull...A.A.