A/N: Please review or email me, as I would like input. I seem to have problems getting to where I want to go with this, and I would love advice.

Sarah woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. She had not slept that well in… a long time. Perhaps years. No dreams had plagued her after her talk with Jareth the night before, and for that, she was grateful.

Jareth… Still a handsome devil, but a devil nonetheless. Sarah allowed herself a small smile. He no longer seemed as scary as he once had. Either he had changed… or she had. She still found him incredibly attractive though.

Flipping onto her stomache, she propped her chin on her hands and daydreamed for a moment, for once not having woken up too late and having to run out the door. She pleated her white comforter between her fingers, feeling the softness. Perhaps that was the same feeling of Jareth's hair… No, this type of thinking would get her no where.

Sarah thought about how far she had come since that lonely year when she had wished Toby away. She winced to think about it like that, but it was true. She had wished him away, so what had happened after was more than partially her fault. To her younger self, the world had seemed against her in every way, which she believed is how most fifteen year olds viewed the world.

After those thirteen hours, she had grown up in a way that was wholly unexpected. Karen and she had come to a mutual understanding, and then a bond had formed. Sarah had become an enthusiastic baby-sitter from then on, and she and Toby still were close. Karen had given birth to Aaron about five years later, when Sarah had already left home, but she was looking forward to really getting to know him as well when he was a little older.

Toby was now a precious nine year old, who loved trucks and sports, and loved Sarah's stories about a foolish girl who wished her little brother away. He was especially found of how she would mimic the voices of the various characters she would encounter throughout the world of mazes.

That actually reminded her that Karen was supposed to come down for the day, and that she had taken today off work just for that purpose. Sarah perked up immediately, and grabbed her cellphone off of her bedside table and called her step-mother.

"Hello?"

"Hi Karen! What time are you going to be here?" Sarah smiled and stretched her toes out under her covers.

"Oh, I should be there in about an hour. I'm just trying to get Toby to school, and Aaron to daycare. Be ready, young lady!" Karen laughed, trying to play the evil step-mother.

"Yeah yeah, see you when you get here." Sarah smiled, and clicked 'end call'. She lounged for awhile longer, hearing Amy leave for her job as a school teacher at the local elementary school, before getting up to make some breakfast.

Luckily, Amy had actually left a couple of eggs, and Sarah pulled the only piece of work she allowed herself to bring home on her day off to the side of her plate as she dug into her breakfast.

It was the manuscript that she still had not finished. While it was long for children's literature, but still, she really should have finished by now, and felt guilty for letting down the writer like that.

In minutes, she was lost in the world of the faery courts, following the adventures of the bright blonde-haired little boy. He was incredibly precocious, but he had the weight of responsibility on his shoulders as her prepared to take over a portion of his family's kingdom.

She read, intrigued by the imagination of the writer….

The Boy had been born to privilege. But we all know, that privilege brings responsibility. He did not want this responsibility, wishing for nothing more than to play with his friends, and to watch the grass grow and tickle his nose.

Sometimes, during his lessons, he would watch the clock tick backwards, as if to spite him. Sometimes, the clock would stop all together, and would not start again until he gave a very large sigh.

His teacher was very ugly, with a horribly long nose with large green dots, glowing yellow eyes, and long teeth that looked more suited to a panther than a teacher. He was a particularly unpleasant fellow, named Sir Matthews, and he did not like the little Boy.

He did not like him so much, that sometimes he would have to step outside of the classroom so he would not have to look upon the Boy again.

Sarah chuckled at the sheer amount of exaggerated examples, children tended to love those kind of details, and this writer was on target for a good demographic at this point. She read on further as the author described the lessons the boy was subject to, until the boy's family was described.

His Mother, was a beautiful faery, but she was not very kind. All of her beauty had fled from her insides, and settled on the outside. Everyone knows that beauty should be inside, but the Boy's Mother had gotten confused. She spent long hours in front of the mirror simply staring at herself, and would not play with the boy no matter how much he begged, and cried.

His Father was also beautiful, but he was a goblin. An extraordinary goblin, as he had light skin and was so tall he seemed to touch the sky. He was very nice to the Boy, but very busy, as he was very important. The Boy knew that he should not ask his Father to play, and so he had two friends that would play with him.

His one friend was named Ransom, and he was an elf, and very mischievous. He made up pranks for the Boy to play, such as hiding his Mother's special mirror, and running away as she yelled and screamed at the loss. Ransom also liked to throw rocks at little girls, and stick out his tongue at his elders. He was quite naughty.

His other friend was named Keirnan, and Keirnan was very quiet. Keirnan loved books so much that he often got his nose stuck in their spines, and could not free himself without the help of the boy. He did not much like Ransom's pranks, but helped the Boy get out of trouble that Ransom would often cause. Keirnan was a faery, but he had black hair, and dark skin, and some whispered that he couldn't be a faery with that kind of colouring.

Keirnan also seemed to be able to see the future, though it looked hazy, and he often told the Boy that he was capable of greatness. The Boy though, did not want to be great. He wanted to be normal. He wanted to be a mortal like those that he saw in still water, those that lived in the Aboveground. These mortals were all humans, and he longed to live in their world. They always seemed happy, they always seemed to love each other. He had never seen anything like that in his world. He longed for it… Everytime he passed a pond… a lake… sometimes even a mirror, he could see little boys just like him, playing with their Moms and Dads, and everyone smiled, and laughed. It looked wonderful.

Ransom would make fun of the Boy for staring into water for so longer at these beings, but Keirnan seemed to understand.

Sarah put down the story as she came to the end of the chapter, and checked her watch. Time to get ready for Karen. She left the story on the buffet, and went to shower.

Letting herself back into the apartment later that evening, Sarah was still laughing as she tried to balance the large box of her old belongings Karen had brought, along with all of the shopping she had done.

"Honey, I'm home!" Sarah called out, hoping Amy was around to help her carry the bags. No such luck. She managed not to drop anything until she reached her bed, and then turned to unpack the box, and see what exactly was there.

Her old costumes… Sarah smiled, remembering long afternoons with her old dog Merlin in the park… some of her old jewellery, her old stories and plays… She left the rest of it in the box to look at later. Some of the stuff at least was going to be donated to a charity store.

She turned to go back to the kitchen to see to a bit of food, when suddenly she felt a great tug on her mind. Sarah stopped dead in her tracks, a hand to her forehead, wobbling in place, "What the hell…"

It happened again. This time, Sarah could not stay on her feet. She sank down to sit on the floor, gasping at the pain. Once more, and her world went black.