I do not own any of the characters created by Jim Henson and company

Chapter One

The old and tarnished music box, which had once been her favorite toy, now played a flat and melancholy tune. There is something about
small, glittering boxes that get a child's attention. When Sarah had
outgrown staring in awe at the lone dancer that sprang to life each
time the music started, her prized possession was put in the drawer, like the rest of her things. A glance over her room made Sarah shiver for a second. It wasn't her, but in a sense, it was. Sarah had outgrown going to the park and reenacting Shakespeare. Saying 'bubble bubble toil and trouble' didn't make her curls curve under, or anything that used to happen. Sure, every once in a while an idea would pop up in her head, but Sarah would write it down. If she ever got out of college she would probably end up a writer, maybe even a teacher if she got lucky.

Toby was at that age of ignorance, and though she still had a place in her heart for him, he could be a rascal whenever she was home. Bleach marks on the walls showed the feeble attempt of trying to clean up finger painting, but it was obvious where every finger had lain. Luckily, there weren't any bleach stains in her room. Knowing Karen, she probably had it locked up whenever Sarah wasn't home. It was a good thing too, because that would mean that her room hadn't been the playroom while she was gone at college.

Once Sarah came to think about it, she was really lucky she had even gotten into college. Sure, she had the grades and stuff, but she might have gone mentally insane after the labyrinth sequence. There was one thing that made it so she didn't lose her mind, and Sarah didn't even know her name. It had happened one year after, and she had been shocked to see someone staring into her room from the mirror.

"You know it was all a game, don't you?" The woman who was speaking didn't have a sophisticated tone like the goblin king, but her voice was low and smooth.

Still a bit shocked an actual human-like figure in her mirror, Sarah stumbled over her words.

"Well, yah, I was playing to win Toby back, and I won."

The woman, or maybe she was a girl, rolled her eyes. She looked only a few years older than Sarah. She had dark red hair, light green eyes, and a freckled, ruddy face that looked like it was naturally like that. She was definitely the weirdest fae Sarah had ever seen.

"Obviously you got that part Sarah, but the whole 'the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl' shit wasn't true. May I?" The girl said while motioning at the mirror.

Sarah nodded her head briefly, but she couldn't really understand how Jareth could not have fallen in love with her. She saw it in his eyes.

"Stop thinking about yourself Sarah. He does it for everyone, and lucky for you, you didn't fall for it."

Sarah was shocked from the rudeness that was coming out of this girl's mouth.

"Why should I listen to you? I don't even know who you are."

Someone knocked at the door, and Sarah heard Karen's voice saying, "Are you okay honey?"

"Yes Karen," Sarah said while staring at the girl in front of her. "My computers just whacked." Sarah knew Karen was going to say that Sarah didn't even have a computer, but she just walked away.

"And you lie too, this is going to be fun," the girl said with a smirk.

"Who are you?"

"Randall, and if you want my history, I was wished away."

Sarah stared blankly at her. "But don't people turn into goblins if they're wished away?"

"Yes."

She wasn't being helpful at all, and she actually looked like she was enjoying it. "Then why aren't you a goblin."

"I was wished away because my sister was trying to save my life, not because my elder sister was selfish."

Sarah scowled. "Then why the glitter?"

Randall smiled largely as if it were a joke. "Peer pressure. That's all I have to say. Actually, I came to tell you not to go crazy. Do not tell people that any of what happened in the Underground was true. You can tell them stories, you can even go ahead and write a book about it, but don't go saying that it was true. Jareth, the nutball, has already sent half a dozen people into the mental house."

"Why are you telling me this?" Sarah asked.

"Because, Jareth's IQ seems to be getting lower and lower every day he spends with those goblins, and I don't think he will ever realize he's sending people into mental asylums."

Sarah realized something right then. This girl had been in the ballroom. She had only gotten a glimpse of the redhead, but Randall wasn't one of the ones laughing at her.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Randall, who had been swinging her legs from the vanity mirror looked up at Sarah in horror.

"I don't love him," she scoffed. "He wouldn't let me save my sister."

And if she seemed that that was enough reason, Randall slid back through the mirror and vanished.

Sarah had not seen Randall since that night, but their conversation had made her wonder. Once, when Sarah had volunteered at a hospital in the summer after eleventh grade, she had actually looked up in the records to see if Randall was actually telling the truth. Five people had been committed into an asylum for 'lack of mental stableness' and a brief record of their interviews with physiologists. Sarah didn't remember if she had volunteered for that position at the hospital only to figure out the truth or not.

"Dinner," Karen shrieked from down stairs.

Sarah ran to go fetch Toby who was probably playing in his room to take him to dinner.

"Sarah," Toby exclaimed. "I can read full sentences like you can!"

"That's nice to know Toby," she said while scooping Toby up. She stumbled a bit under his weight, but kept on walking.

"Don't you want me to read to you?"

"Not now Toby, it's dinner time."

"But…"

"No buts. Your mom said it was time for dinner."

"Fine Sarah," he said while yanking at her hair. "I'll read to you sometime though."

"Whatever you say Toby, whatever you say."