Thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far! I'm very excited about writing this fic, so I hope you continue to enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

Chapter Two: Dancing and Dreamscapes

Do you dream of pretty things?

Do you dream of butterflies and birds, of cool green grass and sunlight?

Or do you dream of music that twines around your feet and legs and makes you dance? Do you dream of masked faces and fluttering laughter and spinning around a ballroom until you collapse? Of dancing until your feet ache and your body and mind are weary, but you keep on spinning and twirling and pass from partner to partner because you cannot stop?

Tell me.

What do you dream of, Sarah?

Sarah woke up with a sudden gasp of breath, a sharp intake of cold morning air.

It was five in the morning, and a chorus of birds were twittering outside Sarah's bedroom window, chattering about the weather and food and other small bird-problems. The sun was breaking over the horizon beautifully, shooting rays of dawn across the receding night.

But Sarah's mind was not on the birds, or the pretty sunrise. A half-remembered dream was flitting through her head, filling her memory with bits of songs and laughter and the echo of a voice like black velvet whispering in her ear.

What do you dream of, Sarah?

What do I dream of? I dream of dancing and aching feet and songs that capture me in their melodies and their madness and will not let me go. I dream of pretty faces obscured by masks and glitter, I dream of laughing people and the snapping of fans.

When it first appeared, Sarah had thought that her now reoccurring dream had been of the enchanted dreamscape she had encountered in the Labyrinth- a dream of a dream. But after this newest dream she was not so sure. There was something different about this dream, something sinisterly strange and haunting.

And that voice- smooth and dangerous, tempting her with every syllable it spoke. It had never called to her before it any dream.

She knew whose voice it was. She could recognize that voice anywhere, for that taunting and half-mad creature was never far from her mind, his imprint was left on her forever, no matter how much she would deny it. And he haunted her dreams constantly

But never before had he spoken to her in dreams. Usually all she would see of him was a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of a tall and unearthly figure, who would disappear soon after she saw him.

Sarah shook her head. Now was no time to be musing over these things. It was Monday, and she had to be at work soon.

She got out of bed, almost tripping over her pair of worn-out slippers, and made her way to the shower.

"Hey Sarah."

Aidan's grin was quick and lopsided, making him look younger and more innocent than he actually was.

"Hello Aidan. Listen, I can't really talk to you right now, I've got to go work on the orchestral script, but I was wondering if you've had time to work on the ballroom song yet? I know you were booked to get into the studio yesterday, but somebody told me they were having problems with the wiring and I-"

Aidan waved his hand.

"It's fine, all taken care of. Nothing to worry about." He wore carelessness as casually as clothing, and Sarah bristled a bit at his attitude.

Calm down, Sarah. He's just a kid, and there's no reason for you to snap at him just because you haven't gotten enough sleep lately.

"Well. Good then. Just as long as the recording gets done." Sarah gave Aidan a plastic smile and brushed by him into her office, shutting the door behind her.

As soon as Sarah sat down she grabbed a notebook of manuscript paper, and started scribbling in it furiously. She had to write down this song she kept hearing in her dreams. It was so beautiful, so alluring, and would fit in so well with the film.

Three hours later Aidan knocked on Sarah's office door. When no answer came, he walked in to find Sarah slumped on her desk, her head in her hands.

"Is something wrong?"

"What?" Sarah jerked herself upright, and looked up at Aidan. Her eyes were shot with red like she had been crying.

A flicker of alarm crossed Aidan's face, and then disappeared.

"Is something wrong? You look upset."

"No, it's fine. It's just..." Sarah waved her hand in the air, dismissing her problems.

"It's nothing."

"Are you sure? You don't look so good."

Sarah inwardly wondered over the fact that Aidan was being so concerned, or at least acting like he was concerned.

"I'm fine, Aidan. Now, was there something you wanted?"

"One of the tech guys wanted me to come get you. He said he needed to talk to you about background track of a song, said he wasn't sure what you wanted to do with it."

"Okay. Tell him I'll be right there."

Aidan nodded and left the room. As soon as he left, Sarah slumped back down into her former dejected position.

She could not write the music down.

She didn't know why, but she couldn't. The melody kept slipping between her fingers like a handful of water, and no matter how much she tried she could not keep the music in her head long enough to write it down.

Sarah stared despondently at her manuscript paper. It was a mess of eraser marks and scribbled notes, and she had even worn a hole into one section of the paper because she had erased the notes there so much.

A knock on her door and Aidan's muffled voice suddenly broke Sarah out of her reverie.

"What was that?"

"Just that the tech guy is getting kind of annoyed that you aren't there yet."

Sarah sighed.

"I'm coming."

It was the end of the day, and Sarah was so happy. Now she could go home and sink into her bed, and let sleep melt away the heavy weariness that had followed her around today. She stood outside her office, locking her door and thinking cheerful thoughts.

A voice unexpectedly came from behind her.

"Do you want to go out to dinner with me?"

"What?" Sarah turned, surprised, to find the green-eyed Aidan standing behind her.

Aidan grinned.

"Do you want to go out to dinner with me? I know this really awesome cafe that's open 'till around two A.M., and they often have live music there."

Sarah looked at Aidan, slightly confused. She was very tired and frustrated with herself, and because of this the meaning of what Aidan was saying didn't fully sink in until she went over his words several times in her head.

"Ummm. Not tonight. I'm really tired and need to sleep, especially since I have a meeting at seven in the morning tomorrow."

Aidan gave Sarah another wolfish grin.

"Not tonight? Does this mean another night is a possibility?"

Sarah blinked.

"Maybe? I don't know. I can't think right now."

Aidan laughed.

"I can tell. Well then, Sarah. I'll see you tomorrow."

She waved to him and he caught her hand, kissed it, and left the room before she could protest.

Her feet ached.

The cream-colored, heavily brocaded dress was growing heavy. Each time she spun she felt like the weight of the skirts would tip her over.

But her partner caught her before she could, and spun her around again.

Then the song changed and everyone switched partners. But the spinning hypnotic dance did not change, did not stop.

Behind the rhythmic clatter of feet and the muted voices of those around her, she could hear the music. Was it a violin or a viola that was playing? And the other instrument wasn't exactly like a flute, but not exactly like anything else either.

Candlelight flickered and made things surreal. People seemed to stretch and grow in the spaces between light and shadow, their appearances changing into things... less human. Eyes glittered, teeth grew sharp, and faces grew angular and alien.

Then she saw him. His clothes were black that night, and stitched with silver.

His eyes met hers and time stopped.

Sarah's eyes flew open.

She lay in her bed for several moments, trying to calm down. Her breathing was labored, and she wasn't quite sure why. The dream that night had been creepy, yes, but not outright scary. She supposed her racing heart and heavy breathing was probably due to the intensity of the dream, if nothing else.

Her eyes drifted to the alarm clock by the bed. It was five o'clock. Her alarm would ring in a half hour.

But Sarah did not think she could fall asleep again, so she got out of bed and stuck her feet in her slippers. A sudden spot of coldness on her foot made her pause on her way to the shower and examine one of her slippers.

A hole had been worn into the bottom of her right shoe. It was a small hole, just big enough to let the coldness of the wooden floor seep into her foot.

That's odd. I must've ripped it on something.

Sarah shrugged and continued to her bathroom.

Once again, any and all input on this story is appreciated. I really want to know what you guys think of it.

Thanks much

-Zaraph