Chapter 7

Back to the Underground

Sarah clutched Toby tight as she started to feel a strange tingling sensation and her vision became blurred. As her vision became clear again she found herself in a strange little tent. "Are we in the fairytale now?" Toby shouted joyfully.

"I suppose so Toby." looking to Hoggle she asked. "Where are we?"

"We're in a little tent I set up outside of the Labyrinth, we have to be careful 'cause we're in the Goblin Realm. We will leave when it is nightfall." Hoggle stated.

Sarah had just noticed that it must be day in the Underground, she looked around herself and made sure her father and all their belongings had made the transition. All was accounted for. Taking a quick peek outside the tent, she saw Didymus and Ludo standing guard. "My Lady!" Didymus bowed. "We shall stand watch and fight off any foe who may come!" Didymus bravely stated with a flourish of his staff.

"Thank you Sir." Sarah replied respectfully. Looking out, in front of them the dunes rose to a hilltop where she spied a familiar looking dead tree. She sucked in her breath sharply, she knew the labyrinth lay just beyond that hilltop.

"Sarah Williams!" Robert's voice boomed from behind her. Sarah quickly jerked her head back into the tent and spun around, she had not expected her father to wake so soon. She tried not to laugh when she saw Hoggle cowering on the other side of the tent. "Where the hell are we?" Robert shouted, looking angrily at his daughter.

"Umm, Hey, you're awake!" Sarah tried to smile. "We're in the Underground Dad, I mean, uh, we're in the fae realm."

Mr. Williams put his head in his hands, he had a major hangover. Sarah rumaged through one of the bags and pulled out some asprine and a bottle of water. "Here you go, I thought you might need these when you woke up." Sarah offered the pills and water to her father.

"Thanks." Robert replied and downed the asprine. Sarah was thankful that Toby had fallen asleep on the little cot in the tent, they didn't need his energy at the moment.

"Papa, you told me that you trusted me to make good decisions and I felt that we should move here, and escape all that's going on in our own world." she paused for a moment. "We will have a fresh slate here, a new beginning." her voice was half pleading with her father to trust her.

"Sarah, this is crazy!" Robert's voice was stressed but no longer angry. "I'm still having a hard time believing this. If we are in some fairy realm, we sure don't belong here!"

"But papa..." Sarah's eyes pleaded with her father.

"No Sarah, we can't run away from our problems. We'd probably do worse here." Robert shook his head. "We must go home, and that's not a request young lady."

"You can't make them stay against their will Sarah." came Hoggles voice of reason.

Sarah let out a long sigh, she wanted this so much. She knew Toby would be devastated when he woke up back home and would soon have to move to a cramped little apartment. "Okay, fine." Sarah said with much sadness in her voice. "I wish we were back home, Aboveground." she stated reluctantly. She held her breath but nothing happened. "I said, I wish we were back home Aboveground!" she stated again impatiently, she wanted to get this whole thing over with.

"What's going on Sarah?" Robert demanded to know.

"I...I don't know!" Sarah exclaimed. "It worked to get us here."

"That's very odd." came Hoggle's voice again. "Looks like yous stuck here if you like it or not Mr. Williams."

"Sorry Dad." Sarah winced, she really wasn't sorry. However she did not wish for her father to resent her. She was doing this for all of them. Robert stared blankly at his daughter for a moment. His head was throbbing still and he still felt as if he were in some strange nightmare.

"So, what's the game plan then?" Robert finally asked with a sigh. Hoggle and Sarah then explained where they were and where they were going.

"Yous all best get some rest before we leave." Hoggle said at the end. "It'll take us half a day to reach Midge's farm."

Sarah yawned. "Well I could use the sleep." she curled up on the cot with Toby leaving the other one for her father while Hoggle laid down on a little blanket on the floor. Didymus and Ludo had already dozed off outside where they were suppose to be keeping watch.

AN: another very short chapter. sorry! I promise the next one will be nice and long. cheers!