Sarah sighed and sat back in her desk chair. Endless amounts of papers, books, folders and pencils surrounded her, littering the desk and the floor around it. So much for senioritis, she said to herself, I have more work than ever this year.

Deciding it was time for a break, Sarah stood up. Stepping delicately over the piles of schoolwork on the floor, she made her way to her window. As she opened it, a warm breeze greeted her and the stars above her house glittered through the night, half-hidden by the large oak tree in the back yard. She smiled at the April night and seated herself on the windowsill.

It wasn't very often anymore that she got these moments. She was so overwhelmed as she prepared to leave high school in a matter of months and it was so difficult to let herself relax.

So she took advantage of the spare moment and watched the tree create shadows that moved and danced around each other as if they were alive. Her mind wandered, as it often did, to her journey through the Labyrinth and her defeat of the Goblin King. The second she spoke those liberating words, "You have no power over me," she had grown up from the spoiled six-year-old she hadn't been able to overcome to a thoughtful, intelligent and beautiful fifteen-year-old girl. And she didn't stay a girl for long. She turned sixteen and got her driver's license, got a job at a local bookstore and was going to school. Now, at a ripe seventeen, she had found a whole new sense of responsibility and it had pleasantly shocked everyone around her.

Realizing that she put her defenseless baby brother on the line for her own selfish reasons affected her greatly and these epiphanies were what saved her. Even though she still dreamed of far away lands and played with her childhood toys, she had friends and went to parties. People now enjoyed her company, for she was fun to talk to when she wasn't always whining. She loved her life and was perfectly content for the first time since Toby was born.

As she sat, lost in thought, the warm breeze suddenly chilled and washed over her, causing her to shiver. It grew stronger and stronger, causing the huge tree to thrash and rattle its leaves. The papers on her bedroom floor were picked up and whirled around the room. The curtains were blowing around wildly. Acting quickly, Sarah jumped up and struggled to push the large glass doors shut. She slammed them closed and turned the latch as the wind continued to whistle through the small cracks in the old walls.

Sarah grunted in frustration as she set out to re organize all the papers that had been strewn around the room. As she straightened up, her mind raced with sudden thoughts of Jareth. She didn't know why, but she had a distinct feeling in her gut that the sudden winds were a sign of things to come…….and that, somehow, Jareth was behind it.

Before she could give it any more thought, her bedroom door burst open. In ran a 3-and-a-half year old ball of blonde energy in blue footie pajamas. Toby ran across the room, jumped into Sarah's bed and hid his tiny body under the blankets. Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"Toby?"

A small whimper was the only response.

"Toby, what's wrong?"

Still no answer. She nimbly stepped over the remaining mess and sat on the edge of the bed. Peeling back the covers to reveal Toby's round little face, she realized he'd been crying.

"What's the matter, Goblin-bait?" she said, smiling inwardly at the nickname he may never understand.

"Bad dream," was all he said.

Sarah picked up her baby brother and held him on her lap. "Tell me about it."

He proceeded to tell her about the dream he had almost every night these days. Scurrying little creatures that stole him from his bed. A tall man with a kind smile, speaking words in another language. Alone in a cold dark room, climbing stairs that kept changing. Trying to get to Sarah, but every time he tried, he just got farther away.

Sarah silently cursed Jareth for doing this to a small child. The poor kid would probably end up in therapy for the rest of his life. Sarah vowed to one day tell Toby about their trip to the Labyrinth, about Jareth and the Goblins and how she had almost lost him forever. She wanted desperately to tell him now, as she rocked him in her arms, but she knew he couldn't understand. She would tell him in a few years, when he would be old enough to take in the idea, but not so old that he would consider himself too old for "fairy tales."

"…and then the storm woke me up and I got scared." Toby finished his story and Sarah hugged him.

"Don't worry about the storm, Gobs, it's just wind."

"I don't wanna go back to my room." Toby sobbed.

"Do you want to go sleep with mom and dad?" To Sarah's surprise, Toby shook his head.

"I want to sleep here, with you."

Sarah sighed. "Okay, but I have to finish all this. So go to sleep and let me work, okay?"

Toby grinned and nodded. She watched him as he nestled down in the covers and fell asleep.