Chapter 2: Nowhere to go but home

Sarah took a last look at her childhood home, and sighed. There on the porch stood her stepmother, waving enthusiastically, with a fake smile on her face. She really was a wicked stepmother, just like in the stories. She turned away from the house and started walking. She wasn't supposed to think about those stupid fairytales anymore, they were for children, but perhaps it was something with that strange dream she had that made her think about them. Either way, it didn't matter.

What did matter was that her father was away working in another city, and that her stepmother thought she was old enough to move out now. So, just like that, she threw her out, with only two days warning. Of course Sarah didn't have anywhere to go, but it didn't seem like her stepmother cared very much about that.

Sarah was thinking, and didn't realize where her feet were taking her before she looked up and saw the old castle ruin, next to the park where she had played when she was younger. She sighed, looking out over the still lake. "I just want a home," she said. Just for a few seconds after she had said the words it looked like the reflection of the ruin in the water wasn't a ruin at all but a real majestic castle, and an oddly familiar one too. "How strange," Sarah mumbled. She reached out to touch the surface of the lake. And then, she woke up, in a forest.

"Where am I?" Sarah said, sitting up. Her head felt oddly heavy. What had happened? She had reached out towards the odd castle, and then she was here. The castle… The castle behind the goblin city. Could it be? Could she be back? Well, there was only one way of finding out. She got up, and started to walk in no direction in particular. If she really was in the labyrinth, walking in any particular direction wouldn't help much either way.

It was so silent, nothing to be heard apart from a few frogs croaking. At least she didn't hear laughter… That was a relief. It was strange how all these memories came back now, memories that had been suppressed for years, so she wouldn't be called "crazy", "freak", and worse. It was better to keep quiet than to say things people didn't want to hear, she had found out. And because of that, she had stopped talking to her friends from the labyrinth, stopped thinking about Jareth, and it was nothing more than a children's story she told Toby.

It seemed like the forest went on forever. She wanted to give up, but a little voice in her head said: Nothing's as it seems in this place. She smiled as she thought of her old friends, Hoggle mostly. He might be a grumpy coward, but he had been her first friend here, and they couldn't have done it without him. "Sarah!" growled a voice behind her just then. Sarah would've recognized that rumbling deep voice anywhere.
"Ludo!" She turned around and gave her big fury friend a big hug. "Ludo, where's Hoggle and Sir Didymus?"

The big animal shrugged. "Don't know."

Sarah smiled. "Well, I'm glad to see you anyway. Will you help me out of the forest?"

Ludo nodded. "Follow." And she did.

"So I am really back," she mumbled thoughtfully.

Finally they reached the end of the forest, the goblin city lay just ahead of them. "Ludo?" Sarah turned towards her friend. "Do you think I could live here?"

Ludo nodded vigorously. "Yes. Sarah friend."

Sarah looked around. "But first I have to find Hoggle."

"No, Hoggle bad."

Sarah stared at him. "What? No, Hoggle is my friend!"

Ludo shook his head. "Hoggle Jareth friends." Sarah couldn't believe it. Were Hoggle and Jareth friends? But Jareth was awful to Hoggle, why would they be friends?

"We're going to the castle! Now!" How could he do something like that?!

"OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!" Sarah was knocking furiously at the door, and had been for about five minutes. At last she heard footsteps shuffling behind the door. Slowly the door opened. A guard stood behind it.

"What d'ya wa…" The guard stopped, and dropped his spear. "Sarah!?" Hoggle said in disbelief as he pulled up the visor on his helmet. Sarah wasn't sure if she wanted to yell at him or hug him.

"Hoggle! What are you doing here? Are you working for the goblin king?" Hoggle looked down, like he was ashamed.

"It wasn't easy, you know, after you left. He didn't go easy on us. We had committed treason after all. It was either to follow his order to the last detail, or…" Hoggle shuddered. "The bog of eternal stench." Sarah sighed, she couldn't blame him for being a coward. She gave him a hug.

"I'm sorry I didn't call, Hoggle. I'm sorry I left you behind."

He stared at her. "So you're not mad at me?" Sarah shook her head.

"No, I'm not. Now, where's Sir Didymus?"