Sarah stood there in shock. It was impossible. There was no way she could have lost… but she had. And now, as per their agreement, she was now within the Goblin King's power. She nearly trembled in fear at the thought. He could do anything, extract any revenge on her and there was absolutely nothing she could do.

It was her 18th birthday and, after she had celebrated with her friends and family, she returned to her room. As she closed the door she had felt a familiar rush of magic swirl around the room.

"Happy birthday, my dear." She heard his soft accent as she turned to see him standing there in dark armor, with his trademark smirk on his face.

"What do you want, Jareth? In case you've forgotten, you have no power over me." Sarah said harshly, trying not to show any fear.

Jareth's smirk widened, making her more nervous.

"I have a problem, you see. I have some traitors in need of punishing. I'm sure you're aware the penalty for treason is death, but these three have been in my dungeon for some time now, and I haven't been able to carry out their punishment on a technicality." Jareth answered almost sounding bored.

"Why should I care about a problem you have with your prisoners?" Sarah asked, suddenly getting a bad feeling.

"Ah, you see, there is an underground law that forbids a monarch to deal punishment for any reason to the subjects of another monarch without first informing their sovereign. Your friends swear fealty to you, and due to the rules I could not come to you again until your 18th birthday. So consider yourself informed of your subject's fate. Good day your majesty." Jareth turned to the window and prepared to fly away.

"Wait! What are you talking about? I'm not sovereign of anything!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Oh really? I seem to recall you claimed that your kingdom was as great as mine. Perhaps I misheard." Jareth spoke softly and narrowed his eyes in silent challenge.

Thinking quickly Sarah said, "Well if that's the case, I cannot allow you to harm my subjects."

Jareth chuckled darkly. "You don't really have a choice in the matter. I've fulfilled my obligation by telling you of their fate." He turned to leave again.

"Wait!" Sarah shouted again. "I'll run the labyrinth for them!"

Jareth turned back again. His eyes darkened and flashed. He towered above her, every inch the Goblin King.

"You would run the labyrinth to win the lives of three traitors. You seem to be forgetting that the game has two sides. What would I get should you lose?"

Sarah thought for a moment and, drawing a blank, asked, "What do you want?"

Jareth smiled showing his sharp canines. "I want total and complete power over you, Sarah Williams. And I must warn you, the labyrinth is a living entity. Should you agree to my terms, it will be very different from the last time you ran, and this time your friends will be unable to help you." With that he held out his hand.

Sarah trembled a little at the thought of losing, but she had no choice but to run. Her friend's lives were at stake. She reached out and put her hand in Jareth's.

"Deal."

Glitter and dust swirled around, transporting them Underground.

"Come, Sarah."

Jareth's command snapped her out of her thoughts. He was now headed away through the winding stone tunnels under the labyrinth, expecting her to follow.

"I said come." He said sharply when she didn't move.

Finally getting control over herself, Sarah stumbled after him, afraid to think about what he would do with his newfound power. He'd made sure his power would be absolute, so it could be anything from polishing his boots to… no. She wasn't going to imagine the worst.

After many twists and turns she would never remember, even if the opportunity to escape presented itself, they arrived at a door. Jareth waived his hands together in a practiced motion, while muttering some words Sarah didn't understand. He then placed the crystal where the keyhole was noticeably absent, and it was absorbed by the door which then opened seemingly of its own accord.

Jareth led her into what seemed to be the wine cellar of the castle. It seemed unusually clean and well organized for the Goblin Castle. Sarah soon realized why when Jareth repeated the process on another door and led her into a room filled with broken casks, and passed out goblins surrounded by spilled ale. Apparently Jareth was the only one who could get into his private wine cellar. Sarah let out a nervous giggle, and Jareth frowned but stayed silent.

They continued through the castle, venturing through both the public rooms, and what Sarah began to realize must be private halls and corridors. All the while Sarah was plagued by the fact that she had failed, and fear of what exactly that meant.

Finally after walking for what seemed like forever, they arrived before a very ornate door carved in an intricate pattern that Sarah soon realized was a labyrinth, and much like the labyrinth she had so recently traversed it seemed to move around of its own accord. Her sinking feeling returned as Jareth repeated the same process he'd used in the wine cellar. This was obviously a room most people weren't allowed in, and that couldn't mean anything good for her.

Once inside, she looked around and immediately began to hyperventilate when the first thing that registered was a large bed with satin sheets. Sarah quickly tried to back towards the door only to run into Jareth who had magically appeared behind her. He gently, but firmly, pulled her into his arms. As she stiffened he shushed her, and started to speak softly.

"My dear Sarah, I have waited a long time for you to return Underground."

Sarah whimpered in fear, and Jareth pushed her gently back to look her in the eyes. There was a softness there that Sarah wasn't familiar with, and it unnerved her.

"I will miss you."

Before Sarah had a chance to wonder what he meant, the wind picked up. It blew her hair violently in her face so she could not see. When it died down, Sarah was startled to find herself back in her own room.

Looking down she noticed a piece of rolled parchment on her pillow, sealed with wax and adorned with an owl's feather.

Sarah hesitantly reached for it and broke the seal. Unrolling it she read quickly.

'My dearest Sarah,I have no power over you, for your will is as strong as mine and your kingdom as great. You are free to live your life as you see fit. I will not interfere.You need not worry about your friends. I have given them all official pardons, and they are returning to their normal lives. You may visit them whenever you wish.Jareth'

Sarah sat heavily on the bed.

"He let me go… Why did he let me go?"

She had no idea how long she sat there trying to work through her thoughts. It just didn't make sense for him to have let her go, and the last things he said… she thought he meant he'd waited to have his revenge, but then he'd said he'd miss her… it just didn't make sense. She had to be missing something. It had to be some kind of trick. Didn't it?

Sarah's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. She looked up as Karen poked her head in the door.

"Hey birthday girl! Would you like to help me get dinner on the table?" She asked with a smile.

Since her first run through the labyrinth, Sarah had been getting along better with her stepmother. They had even discovered a few things they both enjoyed doing together. One thing they both loved to do with each other was cooking.

After shaking her head to clear it a little, Sarah smiled. "Sure!"

Sarah was usually talkative when cooking, so it didn't take Karen long to notice something was on Sarah's mind.

"Ok, what's wrong Sarah? You're being unusually quiet tonight. Did something happen?" Karen asked in concern.

Sarah knew Karen was actually a very good judge of character and situation, and her opinion could help clear Sarah's head, but Sarah didn't want to sound crazy either. So Sarah decided to tell her the truth, in a fashion.

"Well, there's this book I was reading from the library. It was really good, but I misplaced it until it was due back, and now there's a waiting list! Something about one of the characters is really bugging me. I just don't understand him!" Sarah waited, hoping Karen would pick up the conversation.

Karen looked at Sarah for a moment. Something more was bothering her besides a book. Sure she got really into them, but there was more to this then that. This seemed personal. It was almost like Sarah was asking for help with some problem that she didn't want to talk about. Karen decided there was no way to find out what the problem was except to hear Sarah out.

"Ok Sarah. What did this… character... do that you didn't understand?" Karen asked.

Sarah sighed internally. "Well it actually starts before that. Do you remember that book I used to act out all the time?"

Karen thought for a moment. "You mean the labyrinth? Yes. I remember the story very well."

"Yes, that one!" Sarah said excitedly. "Well, there's a sequel…" she hurriedly retold the events of the day, ending with the Goblin King sending her home, and the note on her pillow.

"So, what do you think? Why would he send her home? He's planning something, right? Trying to give her some false sense of security or something, right?" Sarah asked, eager to hear Karen's opinion.

Karen thought for a moment. She understood exactly what the King was thinking, what she still didn't get was exactly what was bothering Sarah and what this story had to do with it.

"Oh, Sarah honey... I think you've got it all wrong! Don't you remember how the first book started? You acted it out so many times it's hard to believe you'd forget. 'But what nobody knew…'" Karen trailed off, waiting for Sarah to catch up.

"'But what nobody knew was that the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with the girl." Sarah finished looking slightly confused. "But he stole her brother!"

Karen laughed. "Stole her brother! Come now, Sarah. Is that really what happened?"

Sarah thought, and remembered something Jareth said a long time ago. "You asked the child be taken, I took him." Sarah shook her head. "I guess not."

"You know, I always thought the King didn't really have a choice in the matter." Karen said.

Sarah looked up shocked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he was the King of a magical kingdom. I guess I always thought he was bound with magic to take the children who were wished away to him." Karen couldn't believe she was discussing the fine points of a children's story like this, but it seemed to be helping Sarah, so she continued. "You know I heard once that the Fae have trouble conceiving, so they took unwanted human children and adopted them. The labyrinth was probably a test to see if a person really wanted the child back or not."

Sarah got a far off look for a moment. "You have thirteen hours to solve the labyrinth, or your baby brother will be one of us forever…"

"He didn't mean goblin, he meant Fae!" Sarah whispered, shocked by the revaluation.

"What was that dear? Are you alright?" Karen asked, concerned. Sarah suddenly looked a little pale.

"Nothing! I'm fine… really. So, if the King loved her, why didn't he keep her? Why send her back when he could have had her forever?" Sarah asked, even more eager to hear Karen's answer.

"Because it's not enough. He wanted her to love him in return. Tragic really. Because he was forced to take her brother and make her run the labyrinth the woman he loved would never trust him. I think he forced her back and took her freedom from her just so that he could give it back to her, and prove she could trust him with her heart. It's beautiful really… you'll have to tell me how it ends." Karen sighed. She always had been a bit of a wistful romantic.

"What? Oh, right! I will Karen, don't worry!" Sarah said distractedly, forgetting that she'd pretended to be reading all this in a book.

Sarah hugged her sepmother before she ran off, claiming she had something important to do, leaving very confused Karen alone in the kitchen.

Sarah's face was determined as she prepared to say the words that would change her life forever. Karen had made her see things that she had been too stubborn to admit before, and now it was time to set aside a two year misunderstanding and see what the future might hold.

As soon as she was alone in her room she said, "I wish the goblins would come and take me away, right now!"