A/N- This is my first story on fanfiction, so I won't ask you to be nice, but I would appreciate it. Oh, and the regular disclaimer, I do not own the charecters or the places, ect.

...words are binding...

"Now Sarah, calm down-"

"What do you mean calm down! She had no right to do that!" Sarah's voice was almost shrill in the coldness of the kitchen. They had been waiting for her when she got home, her backpack slung over her shoulder as she took her customary route through the back door, usually it meant her presence would be unnoticed. And that was always a plus in Sarah's view. But today had been different. She had come home late, drama club rehearsal had run overtime, again, but that wasn't unusual. What was unusual was the two pairs of eyes that had greeted her as she quietly slipped in through the kitchen door. That and the small leather-bound book lying on the table top. Her diary. Sarah froze at the sight. Her father was sitting at the table, looking more worn out then he had in a long time, his hands toying with the book though he was not looking at the pages. Karen though… Karen was leaning in the open doorway of the servant's stair, blocking Sarah's retreat, a poisonous smile on her face. Sarah wasn't even sure it could be classified as a smile.

"Hello Sarah." And that's where it started. She had read her diary… Karen had read her diary. Everything else turned into a blur of words, the patronizing cruelty of her step mother with the ever so concerned words. "Worried about you… Much too old for imaginary friends… Imagine- goblins!... Perhaps talk to someone…" And her father's silent looks, uncertain, almost disbelieving. "Almost eighteen… Daydreams… No grasp on reality-"

"You shouldn't have read it! Why were you in my room! Why were you in my diary?"

"Now Sarah, calm down-" The first words from her father, the first time he really looked at her since she had walked in.

"What do you mean calm down! She had no right to do that!" The things that were in that diary… The labyrinth, a story so fantastical she had confided it to no one, precisely because she knew it would have drawn this exact reaction. Hoggle and Ludo, a dwarf and a beast, some of her best friends. And the Goblin King… A chill ran down Sarah's back at the thought of him. Lethal danger, with his poisoned tipped promises, the look in his eyes as her words echoed between them. A look she had not recognized until later, the offer that was in them, the pain as she blindly refused, the ego that had never before been slighted. You have no power over me… A childhood terror that had not been completely vanquished, she did not wish for another encounter. And Karen had read it. She had unlocked Sarah's diary and unlocked the darkest reaches of Sarah's soul. No wonder she was calling it insanity.

"Honestly Sarah. Behave yourself, I won't ask you to act your age because you're obviously not fully functioning as an adult. It's for the best; we can finally get you the help you need. You're obviously out of control, vicious, what you wish you did to your brother… I just don't know what to say Sarah… I've tried, truly I have." Karen's voice was cruel, playing the martyr to Sarah's righteous outrage.

"You had no right! I can't believe you!" She turned to her father, looking for some sort of defense.

"I think that, maybe, it's for the best Sarah." The concern on his face did not come close to numbing the betrayal his words made. Sarah fell silent, staring at her father, her protector… her Brutus. Then she was running past him, her backpack dropped upon the floor as she made for the stairwell, trying to brush past her stepmother. But Karen seized her arm as she passed, her nails digging painfully into Sarah's bare skin. Her voice was mocking, cruel, bitterly making fun of Sarah's "fantasies."

"I wish the goblins would come take you away-" She paused and Sarah wrenched out of her grip, running up the stairway before her stepmother could finish those fatal words. But the sound of them echoed up after her, freezing her at the top of the steps in the hallway that lead to her bedroom. "Right now."

...words are binding...

Sarah's heart echoed in her ears at the fading sound of those poisoned words. Praying that perhaps she really was insane, that the labyrinth was just some sort of sick delusion. That the words meant nothing, just syllables tossed together, a meaningless phrase that had no power. A shadow brushed by the edge of her vision and Sarah whirled around, but all her eyes met was the shadows in the twist of the servant's stair. An empty hallway, no buzz of magic, no flutter of wings, no scurry of goblins, not even a thunderstorm to grace the moment. She leaned against the edge of the doorway, closing her eyes for a moment, her heart pounding inside her. Nothing. The words sounded stupid to her now. Words she hadn't even dared to whisper after the fateful events almost a year ago. Slowly she opened her eyes, and still there was nothing. The stairway remained empty, except for the murmur, too low to be heard, of conversation downstairs, the hallway was empty.

It was almost a let down. Almost disappointing. Sarah slumped down against the wall, and took her head in her hands. She didn't know what to think. It had been so real, the frustration with Toby, the determination to win him back. The adrenaline of racing against time, the bittersweet partnership with the frustrating dwarf. The fear. The unforgettable tension, uncertainty, terror, desire that was the Goblin King. The single dance in the ballroom. The triumph. Could it really all have been a hallucination? Karen couldn't have been right. Couldn't be right. But the hallway remained empty and Sarah couldn't tell if she was grateful that the demon had not appeared to collect the soul he had been promised, or to be terrified that she was as insane as her step-mother implied. Whether she was relieved she did not have to face the Goblin King, or… as empty as the hallway that lay in front of her. So she sat there, silent, staring at her hands, for minutes on end. Finally she rose, a cold feeling inside of her, as if something had died, as if someone had taken an eraser and had erased a part of her. No, as if it had just simply disappeared.

She walked down the hallway to her door and put her hand on the handle, quietly turning the knob, she didn't want to remind her parents she was still upstairs. She slid the door open slowly, the faint glow of dusk that lingered in her room, spilling over the bed, over the Goblin King who was lounging upon it, and out into the hallway. Sarah shut the door with a snap and blinked. Wild blond hair, black leather gloves, heeled boots, and those pants. He was exactly what she remembered, twirling a crystal in his hand. But he couldn't have been there. Karen had been right, she had been hallucinating. It couldn't be true. Sarah's mouth was dry, caught between wanting to believe she was insane, that the Goblin King was not sprawled upon her bed, almost insolently twirling a crystal, and wanting to believe she was right, and that was the Goblin King, sprawled upon her bed, hair glowing in the dying sun. She opened the door again.

Empty. Her room was empty. Karen was right. She was going crazy, hallucinating. So it had never happened, the Labyrinth, Hoggle, the goblins, Jareth… it was all a dream, some crazy, messed up fantasy, and she was insa-

"Hello Sarah." Sarah didn't need to turn around to see who that voice belonged to.