"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" –Lao Tzu

Chapter Four: The First Step

Sarah was in a beautiful, green, mossy forest. It reminded her of some lines from one of her favorite books when she was a child: "The unicorn lived in a lilac forest…and she lived all alone. It was always spring in her forest, because she lived there, and she wandered all day among the great beech trees…" This was a lilac forest in full spring, and maybe if she waited on the mossy rock—surprisingly comfortable, for a rock—the unicorn would appear.

It made sense to Sarah, so she made herself comfortable and waited, feeling the slight breeze against her cheek like a kiss. The bushes and trees whispered as the breeze flew through their leaves, and then a rustling grew louder. Sarah turned, expectantly. Something was coming…but she wasn't scared…

She also wasn't surprised when a unicorn didn't come out of the forest growth. Instead, a pale arm pushed aside the leaves and golden hair sparkled in the sun that shifted through the canopy. Sarah looked up and said, "Jareth…what are you doing in my forest?"

"Your forest?"

"Isn't this my lilac forest?"

Jareth smiled, surprisingly indulgent, and sat next to her on the moss rock. He pointed behind them, turning, and said, "I doubt your lilac forest would have that, precious."

Sarah turned, following the direction he indicated, and saw that something marred the horizon of her forest. Rising above the green canopy was a dark, twisty tower. It looked like it was about to fall over, and even from this distance she could see holes in the roof. She said, "Who lives there?"

"I don't know, I think it's always been there, and whoever lives there has lived forever."

"Riddles again," Sarah muttered with disgust.

They sat in silence for a while. Sarah surprised herself by resting her head lightly on Jareth's shoulder, ready to jump back if she needed to, but in this place—this reality—she felt surprisingly peaceful; completely at ease. All the problems in her life, all the uncertainty, all the boredom and responsibility, seemed a far way off. Another lifetime; another Sarah. Let her deal with it.

Jareth kept still. She felt the warmth of his body, smelled the sandalwood, which wasn't overpowering now but a nice, spicily pungent aroma. She had an urge to bury her nose in his neck and take a deep whiff.

"Are you doing this to me?" she asked, bemused.

"What?" Jareth asked. His voice sounded deeper and huskier from this close.

"Making me so trustful of the Goblin King? Are you doing this on purpose to get me to say yes to whatever cockamamie scheme you've come up with?" Sarah asked. Only in this reality would she say "cockamamie" like it was something normal. "'Cause I'll warn you now, I won't fall for it, even if I'm really relaxed and happy."

Jareth chuckled and shook his head, causing the tips of his hair to brush against her cheek and the side of her face. She shivered.

"So untrusting, Sarah," Jareth said. "When did you become so untrusting?"

"Always when it came to you," Sarah said, half-joking. She straightened and turned slightly to look Jareth in the eye.

Jareth studied her carefully, his mismatched gaze sweeping over her until she shuddered under it. He hesitantly raised a gloved hand and stroked her cheek, looking at her as if she fascinated him; as if she was a quandary that needed an answer, a knot with no center, a riddle with no clue. Finally, he said, "Cruel. You're so cruel. Will you be cruel and leave me to my fate?"

Sarah licked dry lips and noticed that the Goblin King's gaze followed the motion. It was difficult to concentrate when he stroked her cheek like that; very gently, without an ounce of that forcefulness that usually intimidated her.

Sarah couldn't trust it. She moved away, putting some distance between them until she was on the far end of the rock. They stared at each other and finally Sarah broke the silence, saying sulkily, "You want something, that's why you're being like this."

"Like what?"

"Nice!" Sarah leapt to her feet and paced to the edge of the clearing. She stared up at the tower for a moment, then back at Jareth. "You're never nice."

"Am I not?" Jareth murmured, sounding almost like he was speaking to himself. He looked at his gloved hand—the one that had stroked her cheek—with an almost surprised look on his face, as if the hand had spoken or done something it shouldn't've.

"Please, Jareth, what do you want from me?" Sarah begged. "Just tell me plainly. Tell me and if I can do it, I will—but only tell me. How do I find you?"

"Sarah, Sarah…I can't make bargains anymore." Jareth smiled sardonically. "Nor can I conjure a crystal. All I can say is that to free my people—your friends—I need your help. I pray you're still the heroine—the Champion—of the Labyrinth. I pray you haven't grown up too much…"

"What does that mean? 'Champion'?"

"My—the Labyrinth's—salvation," Jareth answered, enigmatically. "You can—and will—change destiny, if you just try. Will you try?"

"You said a month, and Aboveground it will be like a dream," Sarah said. "Is that true?"

"Yes—if you can find me. Once I am back to the Labyrinth, my powers can be restored and I can manipulate time again—for you."

"Manipulate time…so my father won't die while I'm here? Or get worse?"

"No."

Sarah nodded. "But where do I go? Where are you lost? I can't just wander aimlessly. Do I…do I go back into the Labyrinth? It looks pretty overgrown…" And that brought a whole new load of questions to her mind, but she waited for Jareth to answer before she asked any more.

Jareth looked at the tower. He said, "Start there. It's four day's journey to the east."

Sarah blinked, that was actually a true answer, without riddles or cryptic messages. She smiled, then she actually processed what he said. "Start there?" Jareth only looked at her and Sarah added, "How far must I travel? Jareth…what journey are you sending me to?"

Jareth stood and walked to her so quickly and gracefully, Sarah couldn't help remember the time in the Escher Room when he had appeared in front of her, flipping up from an upside-down staircase, always ready to throw her perceptions on her head. He had worn a tight-fitting, black outfit with leather breastplate, his hair like a white-gold flame—and he'd scared and fascinated her.

Now, she was transfixed in this dream world by Jareth's blue-brown gaze as he suddenly was in front of her—touching her, ghosting his fingers over her neck until goosebumps rose on her arm. She gasped as Jareth leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Oh yes, it will be a journey, Sarah, and you will need to use all your might and magic and cleverness. And you'll need quite a bit of luck. You'll travel very far, no doubt face many dangers untold and unnumbered obstacles, until you feel like weeping with exhaustion." His breath tickled her ear, causing her to shiver, and his voice tickled along her brain and down her spine, making her shudder. "I wish there was another way and something else I could tell you—some reprieve. But you are my—and the Labyrinth's—last hope. Your friends' last hope. Without you, Sarah, this land will sink into…nothingness."

Sarah turned so she could meet Jareth's gaze and give herself a little room. When he was so close—when her nose was filled with his scent and her body felt his heat—it was overwhelming. He had so much presence, she felt engulfed in it like flotsam on the ocean. She nervously scratched her chin, a tick she didn't even realize she did, and said, "You're not telling me everything."

Jareth's eyelids drooped slightly, shuttering his bright gaze.

"What about the vines? What's happened to the Labyrinth?"

Jareth clenched his jaw, looking away.

"Why is it overgrown like that, Jareth?"

Sarah watched the muscle jump in Jareth's jaw.

"What would cause that? Jareth!"

"A great evil," Jareth said.

"There's no such thing as 'great evil,'" Sarah answered.

"Are you sure, Sarah? And you, a believer in fairy tales. If you don't believe in evil, you may have grown up too much for this place."

"I don't believe in anything so simplistic as to be blanket-labeled as 'evil,'" Sarah answered, firmly. "People are more complex than just being 'bad' or 'good.'"

"Did I say the evil was a person?" Jareth turned and met Sarah's gaze, and what she saw in his expression caused her to shiver. A bleakness she hadn't seen ten years ago. "But, you don't have to worry about that. What has happened to the Labyrinth…well, it is secluded to the Labyrinth."

Sarah frowned. "You wouldn't lie, would you Jareth? Not when I'm offering to help you?"

"I've never lied to you, Sarah." He tucked her hair behind her ear. The leather of his glove brushing against her ear caused her to shiver again. Jareth moved back a step. "You're going to wake up in a moment, Sarah—"

Sarah frowned. "I have more questions!"

Jareth smiled and said, "Regardless, you will wake up soon. Remember," he gently picked up the pendant around her neck, cradling it in his palm as he inspected it, "this will offer some protection—and power. Always wear it, don't ever take it off. This is important, precious. Do you understand?"

The seriousness that had crept into his voice alarmed her. She nodded. "Jareth," she said, as the edges of the forest suddenly blackened, fading away from her vision. "Jareth…don't leave me with so many questions…"

Jareth murmured, "Good luck, precious…"

And Sarah jerked awake.

# # # #

Sarah stared at Hoggle's dingy ceiling and after a moment, she sighed and pushed herself to a sitting position, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around her blanketed legs. The little house didn't have any curtains, so the sunlight streamed through the window. Hoggle wasn't there, but when she tilted her head and listened, she heard the familiar foom-foom of his sprayer. She wondered about Hoggle, what it was like to be the one left behind. Did he stick with ritual tasks in order to keep busy?

She scratched her chin and pushed the blankets back. There was a pump at the sink which, in its crude way, provided frigidly cold water. Sarah used it to brush her teeth and freshen up. Afterwards, she put away her things in the backpack. She wiped her face on her sleeve, thinking, Douglas Adams would be really disappointed with me right now—I forgot a towel. She ate a handful of trail mix and then left the cabin. Hoggle was nearby, spraying the plants around his home, even though she couldn't see any fairies. She watched for a moment, a deep sadness settling in her chest like a stone.

She watched as Hoggle sprayed, the only moving thing in the landscape besides herself. And it was the desolation—the loneliness—that hung on the dwarf like a cloak, which finally made up Sarah's mind. She slung her satchel higher on her shoulder and walked up to Hoggle.

"Thanks for the place to sleep, Hoggle." She reached down and hugged the dwarf before he could shy away.

He shied away, patting her arm. "It ain't nothin'. I'm hopin' ya have good luck on this journey and I wish I could go with ya but…" He looked toward the wall and shook his head. "I ain't wandered far from the Labyrinth—and the Underground's so big."

"Is it?" Sarah looked across the landscape. The sun was nearly at the crown of the sky, but she could easily see where east was by where the sun had risen. She said, "I have to walk four days to the east. I'm not looking forward to it—I'm used to cars, after all."

Hoggle shrugged. "Least ya got a direction."

"There is that."

Sarah wanted to ask Hoggle to come with her, but it was obvious the dwarf didn't want to leave his house—or his "job"—and so she nodded and thought of hugging him again. She stopped herself by the awkward way he shifted from foot to foot, obviously uncomfortable by the show of affection. God, she missed her friends. Why had she ignored them for so long? Why hadn't she been more worried when they'd stopped coming to the mirror? Ten years…had Hoggle been alone like this for ten whole years?

"Okay, well, I'll be going then," Sarah said. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Hoggle said.

Sarah hesitated, then turned east and hitched her satchel up again, before she began walking. Four days journey…minus one step…two…three…four…

And before her, stretched out like a surrealistic painting, was the desolate landscape filled with orange-red sand and black, twisted trees.

Author's Notes: And thus Sarah's decision is made and she begins her first step on a new journey...one with plenty of obstacles and dangers untold. (*dramatic music*) Anyway, I've got the next bit already in the works...there's a chance I might actually upload it soon. Keep your fingers crossed. I know this chapter was a bit shorter, and I know the beginning was a bit on the long side, but trust me, the roller coaster has crested its first hill and now the ride really begins...

Oh! I forgot to mention, there's a few references here. The obvious one is Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, (which in a fit of dyslexia or something I switched his first and last names around and had to go back and edit) but there's also a reference to The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle (my favorite book). Can you find it? ;)

Please review! I love hearing what you guys think and I try to reply to all the reviews! What do you think about Jareth's appearance? And of course, what could the Goblin King be hiding? He is so good at that. :D

Finally, a few shout-outs:

Thunderstorm101: I do admit, Jareth makes an excellent villain, but in this story, Jareth was a villain from Sarah's childhood. He fit the role. But who is he really? That is part of the journey Sarah is undergoing.

Ayjah: Me too. Hoggle is quite amusing in his own way.

Aperio: Weasling for more story is a compliment for me. :) Next chapter, more about the "problem" will come to light. I'm looking forward to your reaction!

Pinkflora: Yup, you did get the reference. While evil plants are familiar, I'm definitely going for something different this time. :)

Jinx1764: You got it! One theme I'm going to play with is whether her life stresses caused the current predicament or not - basically a trigger.

LadyGrey69: Thank you! Your compliment put a smile on my face. I try to take a new spin on the old story (which is difficult! LOL!) and I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds Hoggle hard to write.

merlinstwit: Oh my, your compliments leave me humbled and eternally grateful! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story thus far! I won't give away the end, of course, but merely smile enigmatically (*enigmatic smile*) and say: I hope it will be everything you want/imagine. And honestly, I haven't heard it all before and I love hearing it...reviews are great feedback and keep me motivated! Eyes on the prize, so to speak! (Btw, wonder if the bf is annoyed by the shouting? :D)

luna andie: Phew, glad to hear I got Hoggle right. I always worry about that. I'd like to think if given time, Sarah would be better prepared for an adventure. She was smart enough to mark her path with lipstick in the movie (even if her attempt was thwarted). As for Jareth, he is an annoying obstacle sometimes...and other times a tempting one. :P

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own any of the original characters of the Labyrinth. I only own my originally created characters. This fanfic is for non-profit pleasure only. Please do not repost, alter, copy, etc. this fanfic without my permission beforehand.