Author's Notes: You know, its chapters like this one that makes me intensely aware of how linked my writing is to my mood. So, apologies in advance any sassy and quirky undertones working into the chapter. I'm in a weird mood right now.

Lady Ravanna: Yay! Glad to have another reader who likes these type of fics! And thanks!

Cotille S.: Oh, thank you! And yeah, I love the name. I had intended to use it in another story, but since the muse for that story died, I decided not to waste the name. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth.

Chapter 4: Alice's Wish.

In Sarah's opinion, her husband took the situation with Alice rather well.

Of course, this was after the long spiel about how the girl is a minor and this is technically illegal, etc., etc… You know, the normal things a lawyer would worry about. Sarah found herself quite brilliantly crafting an excuse that did not include any lies: just some huge omissions.

The truth of the situation being that Alice had been confronted and harassed by some classmates, and Sarah found her distraught in the park near the school. Not wanting the girl to be alone, she offered to drive Alice home only to soon discover that the girl's foster mother is currently out of town. So, Sarah made the executive decision to offer the girl to stay with them for the night, and in the morning, she would talk to Alice about the details of what her classmates did.

The omission of course included thirteen hours of running around and avoiding dangerous traps in a Fae Realm Labyrinth while being harassed by a Goblin King who wore criminally tight pants and glitter. Lots of glitter.

Yep. Not lying. Definitely taking stretching the truth to a new level, but not lying.

Thankfully, Alice remained very quiet about the situation while she spoke with her husband. Sarah could easily tell that while she excelled with words, Alice feared them. Her shy nature made her nervous speaking to others, and she could only assume the young girl spoke to her at all due to their shared understanding of the Labyrinth. When her husband, Jeremy, spoke to Alice, all he could get from the girl were vague head nods and shakes while she shuffled her feet and shrugged, refusing to meet the older man's eyes.

Now, having settled down Jeremy's concerns, Sarah stood outside her daughter's old room waiting for Alice to finish changing into the spare pajamas she had rummaged from the room's dresser. With a deep sigh, she began to mull over the current situation, trying to think over how she would brooch the subject come morning…

"Mrs. Sarah!" Her name came in a worried whisper, breaking the woman from her thoughts. "Mrs. Sarah!"

Dashing into the room, she found Alice, clad in short blue shorts and an oversized t-shirt emblazoned with some band Sarah had no hope of recognizing, sitting on the far end of her daughter's bed, pressed into the headboard. Spine stiff and legs held tightly to her chest, the girl stared with panicked eyes at the little creature, who sat perched on the footboard of the bed, watching Alice with curious eyes. All Alice did was draw her clenched fists closer to her chest, likely still gripping that feather, Sarah mused.

"Am I crazy or is that a goblin?..." the girl whispered, not budging an inch from her spot far away from said goblin.

"No, you're not crazy," Sarah stated, leaning against the doorframe with an amused twinkle in her eyes. "And the fact that you can see him proves that I haven't just been going mad over the past thirty years."

Alice just numbly nodded her head. "Okay…" Taking a deep breath, she moved her eyes from the creature to her teacher. "So… what you just said means that no one else can see them but us, right?"

"Yep." Moving into the room, she shooed the little goblin off the bed before sitting herself down on it. "Don't worry though: the little buggers are harmless. Just a tad bit mischievous. They respond well to snacks, though."

Alice unpressed herself from the headboard, staring curiously at the little creature still watching at her from his new position sitting on the ground. "Hello?..." she began hesitantly. "What's your name?"

The goblin blinked, seeming a bit shocked at the girl's question. Then, puffing out his chest, he proudly declared in his garbled speech, "Me name's Kip!" She smiled brightly at him, and he gave her a toothy grin in response. Then, he looked confused, glancing between Sarah and Alice. "Nice lady knows the girl who ate the peach and remembered everything?"

"That name is getting old," Sarah quipped with a sigh.

Giggling, Alice nodded her head. "Yep! Mrs. Sarah is my English teacher."

Kip nodded as if that explained everything, though she highly doubted that he grasped what an English teacher actually did. Then, in a matter of fact voice, he stated, "That good. Sarah-lady can help the girl who wished herself away!"

Alice tensed, hands clutching tighter around the feather, and Sarah's eyes went wide with shock. Turning to her student, she began to speak, but Alice interrupted. "Could I please go to bed now?"

Sarah wanted to press on, to question the girl, but the whispered words and the sad look in Alice's eyes stopped her. "Okay… we can talk in the morning if you are up to it." Alice nodded her head quickly as she slipped under the sheets. Sighing, Sarah rose to stand, heading over to the window to draw the curtains shut before leaving the room with Kip in tow.

Unknowingly, she had closed the curtains on the guardian owl, who watched with his unusual two-toned eyes.