Author's Notes: This was inspired by the new TokyoPop manga, Return to the Labyrinth. I didn't really care for it, but I thought the portrayal of Sarah was interesting. Anyway, Return to the Labyrinth focuses on Toby, now a high school student. Jareth decides that he's quitting as Goblin King and gives Toby the reigns. I've only read volume 1 and might not read any of the rest.
Prologue
Sarah was having a strange day.
She stood in her office. The small room was covered with books, mostly texts appropriate to a professor, but also dime store novels of magic and fantasy and children's books filled with unicorns, fairies, and handsome princes. Pictures decorated the walls, images of plays past with Sarah standing proud and tall, radiant on the stage. She had adored the stage and participated in numerous plays throughout her many college years – even the stress of getting the PhD had not been enough to stop her from acting.
But now, strange things were happening. She kept finding things not where she placed them, or knocked over or moved. When she thought she heard something or saw something in the corner of her eye, she would turn and nothing would be there. It reminded her of… But no. It couldn't be, not after all these years. Sarah was an adult now. She looked at herself in the mirror, a woman with thick glasses and a hack job hair-cut stared back at her. She wasn't the same girl anymore. She hadn't even spoken to her old friends for a while.
She jumped when her phone rang.
"Hello?"
It was Toby. Typical teenager stuff – he had an essay to write and he wanted help. She rolled her eyes. He probably hadn't even started yet.
"That's nice Toby." Did she see something again? No, now she was just getting paranoid. She had to stop getting so distracted. She had papers to grade. "Look I don't really have time for this right now."
Toby was upset. This was important. Sure. She remembered everything being important then. She whirled suddenly. There was nothing. She looked about the room suspiciously.
"Look, you're in high school. You can take care of it yourself."
Sarah felt bad for blowing him off, but she was too wired to deal with a high school history paper right now. She had been having a bad feeling all week.
Something big was going to happen soon.
TBC