Century Child Chapter 1: Prologue, a labyrinth fanfic

Author's Note: Ok, so, I'm insane. I really, really, really should focus on finishing Field of Innocence before cranking out another story, but this idea has been nibbling the back of my brain for a while. At first, I thought it was going to be another one shot, but it's grown and claimed a life of its own. Here we go again… As always, any reviews and critiques are welcome, I adore them. I thrive on them. Just let me know what you think, please? Quick thanks to Anij for the beta job (of the first part, at least, I had another friend beta the next), and on we go.

Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to the Labyrinth. All characters and plotlines from the movie are NOT my property, I just like to fiddle with them. The name of Sarah's store, Page One is taken from a bookstore of the same name in Albequerque, New Mexico, which I also don't own. I am just too dim to think of name on my own. . .Any and all characters not found in the original movie ARE mine however. Mine, not yours. Mine, damnit. Oh, and the plot of this story is mine.

Century Child

Chapter 1: Prologue

Have you ever had an image shatter before you? Have you ever stared at the pieces lying scattered at your feet, wondering at what point that first crack started its way into being, worming its way into the foundation of your knowledge until it finally forced the seams to split apart? You can try to futilely repair that image, but the pieces only spill through your fingers like water, leaving your life irrevocably changed.

So, what happens next? Do you travel through life eternally disillusioned? Do you drift forever trying to reconcile fantasy and reality harmoniously when before the two moved in completely opposite paths, never crossing?

Who knew how much could change with one, small, thoughtless phrase uttered by a foolish teenager? And as painful as it is to admit, that same foolish, selfish teenager still wants that crystal. The older – and one would hope – wiser young woman would prefer the man who offered it. For, if honesty is a requirement, then the crystal that shows what one's dreams are would only reflect that strong, untouchable face - a face that can be called up with perfect clarity even now.

I wonder what would be different if I was mature enough to make that choice then. Would those I care for still be ok, albeit saddened by my disappearance? Would they even notice I was gone?

I suppose, in the end, I made the choice that was right, and it's led me here, where I am today. A crazy bookstore owner who writes in her journal like she's talking to another person in front of her, but honestly...who would believe me if I ever told the truth?

The light tinkling of bells over her front door caused Sarah to put her pen down. She looked up with a smile, automatically giving the greeting that was habit by now.

"Welcome to Page One, how can I help you today?"

"How about a cheeseburger? I'm starving!"

Sarah rolled her eyes and looked at her sixteen year old teenage brother. A messy shock of golden hair fell into earnest blue eyes that peered out at her from underneath the fringes. He wore his usual baggy jeans and holey t-shirt and she shook her head.

"I just bought you new clothes. Why in the world do you keep wearing that old thing?"

He shrugged. "Feel like it. Now…about that food..."

"I close in fifteen minutes. Surely you can wait that long?"

"But Sarah, it takes you forever to close everything down."

"Them's the breaks of being the owner. Sorry."

Toby sighed. "All right, but I want ice cream after that."

"You're a garbage disposal. That's the only explanation for how you can put away that much food and not look like a beach ball. I didn't eat that much when I was your age."

"Yeah, well, girls are different, right? Real different." The grin that spread across his face made something in Sarah's stomach clench. Great heavens, he was noticing girls already. She couldn't give him The Talk. She just couldn't.

Not for the first time, Sarah took a moment to privately rage against her parents for choosing the icy night in December three years ago to drive home. The car had spun out of control, killing them both and leaving a then twenty-seven year old Sarah with the task of taking in and raising a thirteen year old grieving Toby, while dealing with her own grief.

All on top of opening and running her own business. It wasn't the best of situations, but somehow she'd managed it. Somehow.

And at times like these, staring at her baby brother, who wasn't really a baby anymore, her heart clenched and she wondered if she was doing things right for him, or if she was just setting herself up for a disaster later on down the road.

"Sarah? Earth to Sarah?" Toby waved a hand in front of her face and she shook her head, bringing herself back to the present.

"Sorry, Tob. My mind wandered. It's been a long day."

"You should pay someone to help you."

"Now why would I do that, when I have perfectly good slave labor to exploit in you? Seriously, start showing up brother of mine, or you'll have to pay for your own pizza these days. I can't keep feeding you at this rate."

He rolled his eyes and gave a long suffering sigh. "All right, fine. I'll give up my summer to help you."

"You're so kind, your highness. Now, let me count everything here and lock up while you get your royal butt into the car so we can go eat."

He gave a whoop of joy and dashed out of the store. It was only a matter of minutes before Sarah was locking the door and making her way to the car where Toby leaned impatiently against the passenger side.

"I'll drive!"

"Not a chance, buddy, not without your permit."

"Aw, c'mon, Sarah! I need the practice!"

"You need the permit, first."

"When can I get it?"

"When you're thirty. My sanity should be able to handle the thought of you driving by then." She unlocked the doors and they climbed inside. Within minutes, they were parked outside the local diner that had a cheesy fifties theme. Sarah smiled inwardly. This had been Toby's favorite place to eat since he was six.

When they were settled in their back booth and had placed their orders, Sarah reached up and tucked some tendrils of hair that had escaped the loose knot at the back of her neck behind her ear.

"So. School's out. You've officially survived sophomore year in high school. How does it feel?"

"Feels like it did when I finished freshmen year. I can't wait until graduation."

"Have you started thinking about college yet?"

"I don't know that I want to go to college. I mean, it's not all that great. You didn't like it, did you?"

"Some aspects, no, but overall it was a good experience. Besides, you know what dad always said: If you want to go anywhere, you need to go to college first."

"Dad said a lot of things," he answered bitterly, slumping back on the bench and out of her reach. "Doesn't mean they're all true."

Sarah knew when to back off from years of experience. She sighed and nodded. "Right on that. We'll talk about it later. Look, our food's here."

They ate in silence and Sarah could feel a headache starting from the tension between them. Toby just wasn't coping well, and he refused any and all help the school counselors could give. Sarah didn't have the money to pay for a psychiatrist and she was helpless as to how to help him. She only hoped he could get through this on his own, knowing she was there for him when he needed. Besides, what good would she be when grief was still a dull ache constantly in the pit of her stomach?

She ate mechanically, buying Toby the promised ice cream and eventually drove them home in silence. Luckily, her father and Karen had paid off the mortgage on the house before they died. That had been why they were on vacation in the first place. It was a celebration for two. The house officially belonged to Sarah and Toby, lock, stock, and barrel, with no worries of the bank ever taking it from them. All she had to do was worry about the myriad of bills every month, both on the house and on her store. She spent the entire trip home in silent contemplation.

Once inside, Toby pounded up the stairs to his room, slamming the door behind him. Minutes later, the loud sounds of Metallica wailing about the god that failed drifted down the stairs through the walls. Sarah sighed again, automatically pulling the pins out of her hair as she trudged up the stairs to her own room. Again, she couldn't help but wonder if what she was doing was in the best interests for both of them.

Later that evening, Sarah was curled up on the window seat in her room, her journal in her lap as she once again scribbled furiously.

I'm worried about Toby still. Everyday, it feels like he's drifting further and further away from me. There are moments when I can see the traces of that sweet little boy in him, but those moments are growing fewer and farther between. He's starting to see me as a stodgy old authority figure, and he's fighting me just like a normal teenager. I suppose I should be glad he's acting normal, but at the same time, there's another part of me even more worried.

He's stopped talking to me about his favorite stories. They were always fantasies, about worlds that were magical and colorful. Now he won't even keep the books in his room, let alone read them anymore. I know it sounds silly; he's a sixteen year old boy. He's bound to have other interests more suited to boys his age, but I can't help but feel that last bond we had is breaking. I know he thinks the story of what happened to us fifteen years ago is just that, a story. I can't exactly prove to him Hoggle and the others are real, not without calling them in the mirror, and they've never answered when someone else was in the room.

I'm thankful I can still talk with my friends. They've been more help than ever imagined in helping me get through these last few years. Hoggle and Ludo and Didymus still talk to me. I can't even guess where I'd be without them.

It looks crazy to even write it.

I talk to magical creatures through a mirror.

The one I'd like to talk to, though, is always absent. Suspiciously absent. But I wouldn't know what to say to him besides. Just one more thing in my life that I can't control or understand.

I think I'll try and talk to Hoggle tonight. He always makes me smile, regardless of the situation, and with Toby sulking in his room, I can manage it without him barging in and asking why I'm talking to myself again. I hate keeping this secret from him, my only family, but I have to keep reminding myself he was just a baby when it all happened. He wouldn't have any memories, and he didn't believe me when I told him about it at first. It's just a secret I have to keep to myself.

Sarah closed her journal with a snap and stood, stretching her fingertips to the ceiling and arching her back to work out the kinks caused by a long day at work, followed by who knows how long hunched over writing. With an inaudible sigh, she moved to sit at the vanity across from her bed and began slowly brushing out her hair, frowning at her reflection in the mirror. She looked tired. Too tired. But without any valid help at the store, she had to handle everything from receiving shipments to making sales on her own.

A small smile played at the corner of her lips. Who knew the girl whose dream it was to become a star of the stage would find herself content owning and running a small, rare bookstore? It was just another one of those surprises in life that happened unexpectedly, but she wasn't complaining. After all, this kind of work made it ideal for her to raise Toby after the accident. She was the boss; she could set her own hours and make them as flexible as she needed.

Granted, income was a big worry, and while her father and Karen left a decent amount in their bank accounts, Sarah far preferred using her own money and keeping what her parents left behind for emergences and – here she fervently hoped Toby would change his mind – Toby's college expenses.

Finished with her hair, she rolled her neck as she put the brush down and sighed, making a face at her reflection. Her hair had grown almost down to her waist; as she hadn't really had time to get it cut recently, and it fell loosely down her back, save for a few tendrils framing her face. She knew she looked haggard, and sighed. She'd love to be able to sit back and relax for just a day, even a few hours, but she couldn't. There was still so much to do with her brother, and her business. In that order.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she focused her attention on the mirror again, calling tentatively.

"Hoggle? Are you there?"

Seconds passed and she breathed a sigh of relief as she always did when the familiar face shimmered into view.

"Eh, whaddya want now?" He asked gruffly, but she knew it as all a façade by this point. After all, he was her friend.

She rested her chin in her hands and grinned at him. "What else do I want whenever I call you? Just to talk. How are things?"

"Same as usual. Stupid faeries to kill, stupid gate to watch. Nuthin' changes."

"Oh, poor, poor Hoggle. Do you want me to come over? We could have another adventure."

"No! No, ya can't do that! It took forever to fix things after ya left last time!"

Sarah laughed lightly. "All right. I was just offering to alleviate your boredom.

He harrumphed at her and she only smiled more.

"Ya look tired." He finally offered abruptly. "Yer still not sleepin' are ya?"

She sighed and shook her head. "No. Between the shop and Toby, I don't get much sleep, period. Running a business is tough. Running a business and raising a teenager is even tougher."

"He's still bein' difficult?"

Sarah shrugged. "Well, it has only been three years, after all. It isn't something you can get over overnight, losing your parents. We had another disagreement about school tonight. The usual, of course."

"If he don't wanta go, you can't make him."

"I know, Hoggle, believe me, I know." She shifted uncomfortably and chose to change the topic. "How are Ludo and Sir Didymus doing? I haven't talked to them for a while."

Hoggle snorted. "And you ain't gonna! That little mutt decided they needed a quest, so's they've been runnin' around all over the place, lookin' for another stupid girl to save or somethin'. Makin' a mess of things, too, and who do you think has to clean up after them so's none of us get in trouble with the King? Me."

Sarah couldn't help giggling, and fought back the spark of interest at the mention of the Goblin King. She'd long resigned herself to the fact that any contact between them would never happen. Besides, she was just laboring under the last vestiges of an old schoolgirl crush.

"Yeah, laugh, at least you ain't gotta deal with it."

"I'm sorry, but you have to admit, it is kind of funny."

"No I ain't, cuz no it ain't."

"All right, Hoggle, I'm sorry. Look, just tell them I said hi the next time you see them, ok? And if they happen to be around next time I call, I'd love to talk to them."

"Sure, sure, I'll tell 'em."

"I guess I'd better go. I am kind of tired."

"Ya need to stop bein' so stupid and go to sleep."

"Yes, sir!" Sarah gave a mocking salute, but eased the stinging insult with a soft smile. "Thanks for worrying about me, Hoggle. And for listening to me whine."

"Someone's gotta be stuck doing it." He grumbled, before shooting her a look of concern. "Really, get some sleep. And don't worry about yer brother. He'll be fine, he's got you to take care of him, like you rescued him before."

Sarah nodded, warmth washing over her with the simple confidence he had in her. "Thank you. Good night, Hoggle, I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, yeah, go on, I gotta go kill some more faeries." The mirror abruptly went blank. Hoggle still wasn't much one for farewells.

Sarah stood and changed into her nightgown for bed, thoughtful as she underwent her nightly ablutions. Getting Toby to help out around the store might be a good thing for him, she reflected. After all, it would give him a sense of responsibility, and maybe he'd find some books on an interesting subject that just might motivate him to want to go to college.

Deciding to take things one step at a time, Sarah climbed into bed and switched off the lamp on her end table, blanketing the room in darkness. The music down the hall had shut off in accordance the house rules that it not be blasted past a certain hour. Toby really was a good kid. If only he could stay a kid, because somehow, Sarah just wasn't sure she could manage it if he kept growing up and growing away from her. Curling into a ball with a pillow clutched to her chest, Sarah sank into an uneasy sleep.

End Prologue

Author's Note II: So? What do you think? Yes, it's kind of slow, but unlike my other fic, I do believe the action will be picking up VERY soon. evil laugh If you'd be so kind, please leave a review. Thanks for reading and see you (I hope) next chapter!