Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Labyrinth. Emily, Amy and any other original characters are mine though.

Chapter 39: Emily and Amy

Toby was wandering the halls of the castle alone. Neither Sarah nor Jareth had come to see him this morning and he wanted to know what was going on. He went to the throne room but all the child found there was a group of snoring goblins. He went to Jareth's study, but no one was there either. He decided to go to Sarah's room. He walked along the hall to her room and opened her door without knocking.

He was greeted with the sounds of Sarah and Jareth laughing. "Sarah?"

She stopped what she had been doing and looked at her little brother. "Toby, oh I'm sorry I didn't come see you this morning."

"Why aren't you up Sarah?" he was curious. She was always up by now.

She hadn't really wanted to tell Toby, he was only young but she knew he would worry about her. "Well Toby, I was sick last night so I woke up late and I was just having breakfast." 'There,' she thought, 'that won't worry him too much.'

"Are you alright now Sarah?" he had come over to the bed and Jareth lifted him up next to Sarah.

"Yeah, I'm alright now Toby. Jareth and his sister Lilah looked after me.'

He settled into his arms and nodded his head in acceptance of her explanation. He then saw what she had been eating and his eyes lit up. "Sarah, can I have pancakes too? Please, please, please Sarah."

She laughed at him and looked at Jareth. "You'll have to ask Jareth. He's the one who'll get them."

"Can I have some pancakes please Jareth?" Toby had moved from Sarah's arms and was sitting beside Jareth, bouncing slightly where he sat.

"Of course you can Toby. Would you like a milkshake too?"

"Yes please Jareth. Can I have strawberry?"

"Yes you can have strawberry."

Another tray appeared beside Sarah's almost finish one, this one with a slightly smaller serving of pancakes and a strawberry milkshake.

"Thank you Jareth," was all Toby said before devouring the meal as if it were his last, drawing a chuckle from both of the older occupants in the room.

xxx

Toby was wrapped in Sarah's arms and Jareth was watching them from across the room when he heard it.

Someone was calling him. Jareth summoned a crystal and looked in on the caller. She was a young girl, fourteen or fifteen years old. She was crying and yelling at someone and the view within the crystal changed to show a screaming baby girl, around three months old.

He looked back to Sarah and closed his hand over the crystal, feeling it dissipate within his hand.

He made his way to Sarah's side and got her attention without saying a word. She looked at him and saw the mix of emotions on his face, ranging from sadness to anger, and she silently asked him what was wrong.

"Sarah, I've been summoned. A child has been wished away. I shall be back soon.

xxx

Emily slumped against the wall of her small flat, tears streaming down her face. She didn't know what to do. Ever since she was born Amy had done nothing but scream. Emily was at a loss. She had tried everything but she couldn't take it anymore. She was only fifteen. She never should have kept the child but she couldn't give her up. But she had broken today. Amy hadn't stopped crying in days. She only stopped to sleep and she hadn't slept for more than half an hour or so at a time. Emily gave up and she called the Goblin King. She had known the story or a King who took unwanted children and she was so desperate she had called on him.

xxx

Jareth appeared in a cloud of glitter. He was dressed in the same black ensemble he had worn when his Sarah had wished Toby away.

The girl cowered on the floor before him. She was sobbing, her face pale as tears made their way down her thin face.

"Are, are you th…the Goblin King?" she managed after a while.

"Yes I am the Goblin King. And who might you be child?"

"My name's Emily," she stood up to face him, and as she did Jareth looked behind him at the baby shrieking in her pram behind him.

"You wished for the child to be taken?"

Emily nodded slowly, her eyes tightly shut in an attempt to stop more tears from falling. "She's my baby, Amy. I love her, but she just doesn't stop crying. I can't take it anymore." She pushed a piece of her long blonde hair from her face and rubbed her red eyes. "Goblin King, if you take my baby will she be alright? What will you do with her?"

Jareth looked from the baby to the mother, she was still a child herself, nowhere near ready for motherhood. Jareth felt sorry for her in a way, he did not know of the circumstances of the birth of the baby but the girl obviously loved her. She just wasn't ready for this.

"Amy will go to a family who can care for her. Are you sure you want this?"

She sniffed and wiped away the tears that still escaped her eyes despite her best attempts to make them cease. "Yes, I want this. Amy deserves a family, a mother, who can give hr everything she needs. I can't do that. Please take my baby and give her the life she deserves. Please."

"As you wish," he summoned a crystal and held it out to the sniffling girl. "Now Emily, just take this crystal, and Amy will be given to a good home."

Emily shook her head and walked past Jareth. She knelt down beside her daughter and picked her up. She kissed the child's forehead gently, a kiss filled with a mother's love. He tears began anew and she looked at her daughter. The baby stopped crying and looked at her mother, a small smile gracing a cherub lips. A cry escaped Emily as Amy did this. She had never smiled at her when she held her before.

Jareth looked on, a mask of stony indifference on his face. But inside he was silently trying to think of a good home for the baby. She was obviously loved. If only her mother had been a little older.

Emily took in every last detail of her child's face. "Goodbye my Amy, I love you sweetie. Mummy love you baby." She cradled the now silent baby in her arms a minute longer and then quickly strode over to Jareth, placing the baby in his arms. She kissed Amy once more and then took the crystal from Jareth's outstretched hand. Jareth vanished from the room and Emily collapsed onto the floor, her frame wracked with sobs. "It was for the best," she murmured over and over to herself. Finally she fell asleep where she lay, still clutching the crystal.

xxx

AN: I wasn't sure about this chapter, I nearly didn't write it the way it turned out. I ended up keeping it as is because it was a way for Sarah to see how children aren't always wished away in anger. Hope you all liked it because it was difficult for me to write as it brought up some painful issues from when I was younger...no I wasn't wished away by my mother lol. Anyway, please let me know what you thought of it. Next chapter soon, and thanks for reading.