"We dance round a ring and suppose, but the secret sits in the middle and knows." – Robert Frost

Chapter Five: Queen Mab

Sarah hated this red landscape with its craggily, black, dead-looking trees. The odd thing was that despite the desert desolation, the sun wasn't hot. It was actually very clement, almost like home during early spring. The anachronism made her uneasy; reminded her that she wasn't where normal laws applied.

Somewhere in the last few hours—the sun had begun low on the east horizon but now fluttered towards the west, so at least the sun's journey stayed the same—her bag had begun to feel like a lead weight dragging her down.

She hadn't seen a soul. The only live things were the animals—birds, a rabbit once. She wondered if this was the Goblin King's idea of a journey—endless walking. Sarah stopped by a large rock, looking toward the horizon. The landscape was rising up, breaking away her view of what was coming and making her nervous. She didn't know what was coming. Should she rest now? She checked her backpack. She had only her sweater for warmth. Maybe she should have gone to a sports shop and bought a huge hiking backpack, one she could have stuffed a sleeping bag into, and some real emergency provisions. She'd assumed—quite stupidly, she admitted to herself—that she'd be able to find supplies wherever she ended up, but the truth of the matter was she had a limited amount of food and water. If she didn't find more soon, her journey may end more quickly than she'd like.

She munched on a granola bar as she considered her next move. She should at least crest the hill and see what lay beyond. One thing that would suck is if she slept on the ground and then found out the next day that a town had been close by.

Sarah put away the empty wrapper and stood, stretching. After a moment, she began her trek again, this time slightly uphill. It took her another hour to finally get to the top of the hill. She looked out across the landscape with a gasp. It was strangely, terrifyingly beautiful—alien, just as the Labyrinth had seemed that first time she'd seen it. The desolation stretched for miles. Once in a while, she spotted a lone saguaro that twisted up from the ground, but it was mostly those craggily trees and skeletal shrubs. However, in the distance, a green carpet of trees rose up, transforming the horizon. The tower had been in a forest, so she knew which direction she had to walk. Jareth had said a three day's journey, and she gauged the direction by the sun.

It took her the rest of the day to walk down the hill and to the forest's edge. A full three hours, with occasional breaks. Sarah was starting to feel really anxious about this whole food thing; her stomach growled but she'd rationed her meager supplies. Just inside the forest, she found a clear stream and she filled her water bottles there. She also washed her face and feet—she had a pretty big blister growing on her left foot that was beginning to ache fiercely. As she passed the stream and went a little deeper into the forest, she found a nice clearing where she could easily use her sweater as a pillow. It was warm enough here that she could sleep, so she decided to make this spot her camp ground for the night. The trees were far enough away that she could have started a fire, but she didn't want to risk it. By now, evening had fallen. In the forest, it was dark.

Sarah wasn't sure she could sleep. What if there were wild animals? What about bugs? Sarah had always been a city girl. Yes, her father and step-mother had sometimes taken her camping, back when they were dating and before Toby, but it had been easy camping with tents and sleeping bags, anti-bug lotion, a car to go into town and get supplies. Really roughing it was a whole different thing.

Sarah tried to find a more comfortable position on the ground. The grass was soft, at least, and the green smell of nature was soothing. Even though Sarah had been certain she wouldn't sleep—lying down had just been a way to pass the time until daylight came back—her eyelids soon grew heavy. She turned onto her back and yawned. The last thing she remembered was the scent of the forest, and then with a sigh, she fell asleep.

Her sleep, however, was short-lived. She knew, when she felt something brush against her cheek, that it had only been a small amount of time. Something tickled against her cheek again and she suddenly thought, Spiders! With a gasp, she jerked back, her eyes flying open.

It was still dark, but now there was a golden light. She heard soft rustling and the murmur of voices. She focused and saw a procession walking into the clearing; the thing that had brushed her cheek was a lady's dress as they had passed by her. Sarah sat there, stunned, as perhaps two dozen men and women walked into the clearing from the depths of the forest. The men wore silk trousers and shirts, many with intricate brocade waistcoats; the women had beautiful gowns of silk or cotton, with ribbons tied in their hair and soft slippers on their feet. It was like something out of a Shakespeare play, definitely Midsummer Night's Dream, but there wasn't anyone with a donkey's head. She did notice that many of the people seemed to flock around one woman in particular, the one at the head of the group who wore the most beautiful gown with embroidery in golden thread showing an intricate bird and floral pattern. Her hair was put up in a coif with flowers woven into it. She laughed, flapping open a turquoise, jewel-encrusted fan.

Sarah moved forward and grabbed her satchel and sweater, stuffing the latter into the former. The movement caught the woman's eye and she snapped her fan shut and pointed. "My my! We have a guest!"

The group hushed as they turned to Sarah, who suddenly found herself being keenly observed by forty-eight or so eyes. Sarah shifted nervously, unsure of what to do. Wave hello? That was silly, so she sat there, fidgeting.

The woman walked forward and crouched so she was only a few feet from Sarah, as if Sarah was a pesky animal in need of taming—or maybe a stray. The woman said, "Have you been there for a significant amount of time, girl?"

"Uh…yes."

"Well!" the woman stood and snapped her fan open again, fluttering it gracefully around. "You should be more vocal otherwise people will hardly notice you."

"I was sleeping," Sarah said, indignantly.

"Sleeping? Girl, there's time in the afterworld to sleep," the woman scoffed. She tapped her fan against her lower lip, thoughtfully, then snapped it shut with a surprisingly loud sound that made Sarah jump. "I know! Why not join us?"

"Join…you…?"

"Tonight is a harvest moon, and you always celebrate a harvest moon. We're here celebrating. Why not join us, girl? Why else would you be out in the forest this late?"

"I—I'm looking for someone."

"Oh really? In a forest?"

"Well, he told me to go here."

The woman's tinkley laugh filled the night. She said, "Oh, he? A midnight sojourn, then? A meeting between two lovers? Oh, how delightful!"

Sarah blushed. "Wait, you're jumping to conclusions. Actually, he's rather lost—"

"Oh, I haven't had a midnight rendezvous for so long. I miss the joys of youth," the woman murmured, giggling behind her fan. "Tell me this young man's name?"

Sarah sighed, running a hand through her hair. She had a feeling this woman listened only to the things she wanted to hear. She muttered, automatically, "There's no one."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Oh, what a shame." She tsk-tsked a few times, then said, "But please stay! Dance the night away, be merry!" She draped an arm across Sarah's shoulders and waved her fan towards the opposite end of the clearing. Sarah saw a buffet table laid out with food and her stomach rumbled. "Eat! Dance! Then dance and eat!"

"I—I really am not dressed for something like this—"

"Oh? You look fine to me," the woman said, smiling.

Sarah frowned, looking down at herself. To her amazement, she saw her clothes had changed; she was wearing a green gown in the same style as the women. Leaves and branches were embroidered onto it with black thread, and a beautiful sash wound around her waist. Her hair was woven with multi-colored ribbons, as well, that hung down and brushed her bare shoulders. She hadn't had anyone spontaneously change her outfits since…well, since she'd been in the Labyrinth.

"I don't know what to say," she said, lamely.

"Say you'll stay for our party, dear!" the woman said, leading Sarah toward the buffet table. The women clustered around them, giggled, and chatted while the men stayed at a more respectable distance, talking amongst themselves. Sarah saw a small music ensemble emerge from the forest. Men carrying an instrument each: a violin, flute, oboe, cello, amongst others she found harder to identify. They sat on chairs that magically appeared before them and tuned their instruments, preparing for the dance.

Sarah turned back to the buffet that was now in front of her and glanced at the woman, who smiled encouragingly. Sarah hesitated only a moment longer—she'd only had two granola bars all day and her stomach was painfully empty—before picking a prune-and-walnut tart. She nibbled delicately on it, enjoying the flavor.

"Excellent, you must stay now. I am Mab, these are my ladies-in-waiting," she flicked her fan to indicate the circle of girls around her, "and those out there are lords and ladies of my court. Who are you, sweet?"

Sarah licked the stickiness from her fingers and reached for a goblet of wine. She said, "My name is Sa—ah!" She dropped the goblet, spilling red wine into the grass, as her amulet flared with heat. "Damn thing! What's it doing?" She pulled the chain so the amulet was away from her skin. She could feel the heat emanating from it.

Mab looked at it thoughtfully. "Tricky little thing, isn't that? No matter, I'm sure it'll subside soon."

"Subside? It felt like it was trying to take my skin off!" Sarah grumbled, testing the amulet with a fingertip. She found it cool again and settled it back, hesitantly, unsure if she should trust it.

"No matter! No matter! Why ruin a good party over a trinket? Instead, I will fill the name of one of my gentleman friends for your first dance." She reached forward and grabbed Sarah's dance card, which had appeared tied to her wrist with a bit of red ribbon. Sarah was too surprised to say anything as Mab scanned her own dance card, then picked a name from it and wrote it down on Sarah's card.

"Do not worry about embarrassing the poor man. He'll be more than happy to dance with you, and if he doesn't, he'll have Queen Mab to contend to."

"Wait—did you say Queen Mab?" Sarah frowned, feeling something prickle in her memory. "That name sounds so familiar."

"Oh? Are we of an acquaintance, you and I? I'm afraid I know so many people…"

Sarah scratched her head, then shook herself back to the present. No, whatever memory was triggered, it was gone, put back to slumber.

"Here, have some of this wine," a lady-in-waiting said, pressing a new goblet into Sarah's hand.

Music suddenly filled the clearing. Mab beamed. "Ah! The night can truly begin now! And I believe here comes your first suitor." Mab waved with her fan.

Sarah took a sip of the wine, enjoying the fruity, tart taste balanced on her tongue. A young, handsome man came over to her. He wore a green, brocade waistcoat and he smiled as he offered his hand. "It seems we are a matching pair," he said, indicating Sarah's green gown.

"What a coincidence," Sarah said, beginning to get into this role. A nice warmth had settled in her belly that made her feel at ease. She wasn't even worried about dancing, and as far as she knew, she couldn't dance. She wasn't even very good at the bump-and-grind stuff that she'd seen at nightclubs.

Sarah took the man's hand, and he bowed low over it and led her to the center of the clearing, where other couples danced. The music was lively and quick, and he took her hand and waltzed her across the clearing. She felt her dress sweep across her ankles and for a moment she remembered another time she'd felt that same sweep of fabric. The exhilaration was similar, but she'd felt more alive, quicker, with the Goblin King as her dance partner. She'd been trying to remember and outwit him. He'd been a worthy advisory for her adventure—though at the time she hadn't thought of it as an adventure, all she'd wanted to do was get her brother and go home. But this time, she planned on enjoying the dancing and the dresses and the handsome man.

When the song ended, he bowed to her and she, laughing, curtsied. And then there were other young men who placed their names on her card, and one stepped forward and she was waltzing. When one dance ended, another started, and there always seemed to be a name on her card and a young, handsome man who stepped forward to take her hand. Once, she looked over her dance partner's shoulder to see Queen Mab smirking at her. She opened her fan, hiding her face, and leaned to the side to talk to her lady-in-waiting. Sarah wondered what they were saying.

"Mab's a bit of a hag," the young man Sarah was dancing with said.

Sarah turned to him, frowning. He was beautifully handsome, with delicate and high cheekbones and long, golden hair. But, his best feature was, by far, his eyes. They were brilliantly blue and full of mirth, twinkling with life.

"Excuse me?" Sarah said.

"Oh surely you've noticed it too? Come, don't you think she has shifty eyes?"

"Shifty eyes?" Sarah glanced at Mab again. "She seems nice…"

"Of course," he said, amiably. He turned her sharply, causing her to brush against him. Sarah was pretty sure the move had been done on purpose, but when she looked him in the eye, he smiled innocently.

"What's your name?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, I don't use real names here, but you can call me Goodfellow. Most people do."

Sarah frowned. Goodfellow, another familiar-sounding name, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember where she had heard these names. Her brain seemed slower than usual, like she was dreaming, or recovering from a fever. That should bother her, right?

"What brings you to this forest anyway? Not many travelers come this way, since it's an in-between place."

"In-between? Isn't that what the Underground is?"

"No, the Underground is a place where the forgotten and fantastical survive. But this forest…there's no lord that claims it, and it borders wild places, like the Labyrinth."

"The Labyrinth, I was there once," Sarah said, with a sigh.

"Really? Did you think to visit again? It's very different. I was a little disappointed when I came by. The Goblin King and I played poker sometimes—"

Sarah stopped dancing and stared at Goodfellow, her mouth hanging open. "You know the Goblin King? And you two play poker?" She tried imagining Jareth at a green felted table with a dealer's hat, furtively looking at his cards as Goodfellow threw some more chips on the pile in the middle. Sarah snorted.

"Of course, what else can us immortal types do? Poker is a great way to pass the time. There're also games of chance, as well." Goodfellow grinned. "I remember this one time, the Goblin King won his power of dreams from some second-rate magician. Oh, and there was that time we wagered on runners. The Goblin King kept winning that one, said there were no runners that could complete his Labyrinth—well, except I did win one wager…once."

Sarah took a step back. "You know who I am."

"The Champion, yes."

"Do you know what happened to Jar—the Goblin King, then?"

Goodfellow scratched his chin. "No, I haven't heard from him in a long time and when I went down to Labyrinth, it was crawling with vines. Hope the guy's okay, there's not a lot of interesting people around here."

"Oh! Do stop hogging the girl!"

Sarah turned to see Mab leaning close and smiling at her. "Right, Sarah? You still want to dance, don't you?"

"Actually, I think I'm done with dancing for a bit."

"Oh? Then are you hungry?"

"No, actually…how long has it been?" The canopy blocked the night sky and filtered the moonlight in a way that made it impossible to tell how much time had passed. How many gentleman had she danced with? Besides Goodfellow, she couldn't seem to remember even one. "I should get some sleep or something before I have to leave, I have a long journey ahead of me."

"Leave? But why?"

"Well, I'm on a kind of quest," Sarah said, glancing at Goodfellow. He seemed to be watching the exchange between her and Mab with amusement. Sarah suspected she'd find little help from him.

Sarah was beginning to dislike Mab. She kept coming off as too strong and pushy. Why was she so interested in her, anyway? She frowned and said, "I have to leave to continue my quest."

"Your quest, you're too young for a quest. You should be dancing—"

"I've had enough of dancing, thank you." Sarah started to unwind the ribbon around her wrist, trying to pull off the dance card.

Mab's smile faded. Her eyes flashed and she said, "It's not wise to throw my hospitality back at me, girl."

Sarah shuddered, dread growing in her stomach. Had she fallen into the same stupid trap as she did last time—thinking the Underground could be a piece of cake? Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered.

"Excuse me?" Sarah whispered.

The dancers had stopped, the ladies-in-waiting looked like they were holding their breath; everyone was staring at the two. Something ugly flashed in Queen Mab's eyes, something that made Sarah shudder in fear, and then Mab smiled prettily again. "Oh, never mind honey. If you must leave, then you must, but maybe I can help you. I know all these parts of the Underground…" Mab opened her fan and slowly flapped it toward herself a few times. She snapped at a lady-in-waiting, who scurried off and grabbed a drink from the buffet table. She came back and presented it to Sarah, smiling. Sarah noticed that she was beautiful, like all the ladies-in-waiting, but her eyebrows were plucked away and redrawn with black kohl, except in the corner, a little flower was growing.

Sarah reeled back and then glanced at the other dancers. Some of them had flowers growing from their hair, finger nails, and ears. How did she not notice that before?

Goodfellow made a soft "hmmm" sound, and glancing at him, he met her eyes and she realized he was the only one without greenery growing on him. Queen Mab made a soft noise, causing Sarah to jerk her attention back to the woman. Mab had flowers in her hair, and while it looked like they were strategically woven into her hair, on closer examination, Sarah saw green shoots that went into her scalp.

She stumbled back another step. "I think I'll be going—"

Mab reached out and grabbed her forearm. She smiled, showing off rows of perfect, pearlescent teeth. "What a beautiful trinket you have there." Mab leaned forward and touched the pendant. She grasped it and lifted it, looking at it carefully. Sarah wanted to pull away, but she found she couldn't. She stared into Mab's eyes and her own widened as she felt dizzy; the woman's face blurring slightly and reforming. Sarah blinked, trying to clear her sight.

"I've seen it's like before, but where?" Mab said, tapping her fan against her full, lower lip, a smile curling the corners.

And before Sarah could stop herself, she whispered, "Goblin King…"

"Ah! That's right! How could I forget?" Mab said, smiling again.

"Do you know where he is?" Sarah asked, her voice drowsy, her eyelids heavy. Why did her mind feel like it was working through pudding? And why was Mab so close to her? Sarah was definitely a "personal space" type of person, unless she was in a relationship with the person in question, and she definitely wasn't in a relationship with Mab—she didn't even like Mab…so why did she stay so long at the party? That didn't seem like her.

Mab stroked the pendant with the pad of her thumb. "Give it to me and I'll tell you exactly where he is. I can find out as easy as whispering to the wind. Just give me the pendant…"

Sarah frowned. That seemed logical. She needed the pendant to find Jareth, but if she found Jareth, she didn't need the pendant. Right?

Goodfellow suddenly sighed and stepped forward, grabbing Sarah's arm and pushing her back a step. The pendant slipped from Mab's fingertips, tapping against Sarah's skin and causing her to shudder, her mind suddenly clearing as if a fog was clearing. She blinked and shook her head.

"Cut it out, Mab, you don't need her little trinket. You've got plenty of pretty things—like a magpie, really."

Queen Mab hissed, whirling to face Goodfellow. "Póg mo thóin!" Her face twisted with anger and she hissed, "When addressing me, you'll refer to me by my title, knave, or I shall kill you."

"Ah, no matter how foul the words, they always sweeten upon those beautiful lips, majesty," Goodfellow said, bowing mockingly. "I apologize, this servant forgot his place—"

Mab's eyes widened, the orbs brilliantly emerald despite the lack of moonlight. She hissed, "Robin Goodfellow! You were banished from my sight on pain of death!"

Hearing the full name caused it to click in Sarah's befuddled mind. She was feeling the beginnings of a headache, but she still managed to point a finger at Goodfellow and say, "Ah! I know you! I played you in my high school's play of Midsummer's Night!"

Queen Mab's threat was momentarily forgotten as the two people turned to Sarah. She clenched her jaw, wondering if she'd just made a stupid mistake. Everyone else in the clearing had fallen to the background—literally. They were encased in shadow, and as Sarah glanced around, unhappy to have both these people staring at her, she realized that the ladies-in-waiting, the women, and the gentlemen, all stood rooted in place and…was that bark on their skin? She could see the wooden whorls of bark on forearms, collarbones, and chins wherever the moonlight filtered through the canopy and hit them. Oh god, what was happening? This was turning into a nightmare.

Goodfellow grinned, ignoring the expression on Sarah's face which she was sure was wide-eyed and fearful. He said, "Ah! I've never had a better description!" He cleared his throat and recited, "That shrewd and knavish sprite / Call'd Robin Goodfellow: are not you he / That frightens the maids of the villager—"

Mab screamed in rage and made a gesture as if to throw something at Goodfellow. In her palm, a bright ball of green light erupted like a flame and flew for Goodfellow's head. He dodged, lightning quick, appearing by Sarah's right shoulder. He grabbed her and whispered in her ear, "Sorry love, I think my time here is over. Tried to crash the party and got caught. Stay out of trouble, alright? Oh, and don't drink or eat anything offered to you unless you've made it yourself." He paused, pushing Sarah out of the way of another lobbed, green flame ball. Mab screamed again. "Shakespeare was a great descriptor. Even had some lines about her…" and with that final statement, Goodfellow disappeared.

"Ah! I hate Shakespeare! Stupid git described me as a midwife's fairy the size of an agate stone!" Mab screamed, grabbing her hair in her temper tantrum and disrupting her beautiful coif. Some of the flowers pulled out of their stalks, drifting to the ground in a shower of petals. Mab stamped her foot and whirled on Sarah, taking a threatening step forward. "Give me the damn pendant!"

The reference of Shakespeare unlocked Sarah's memory again. Of course, she'd had to read the play so many times throughout her high school and college years—Romeo and Juliet. She murmured, "Queen Mab. I wish I'd paid more attention in English class."

Queen Mab sneered.

"Why do you want the pendant?" Sarah asked.

"You're a fool, Champion. You don't even know what you have hanging around your neck like a target."

"You know I'm the Champion too? Does everyone know?" Sarah took a step back, keeping the same distance between herself and Mab. "Look, Mab, I can't give you the pendant. The Goblin King gave it to me—"

"And he's a buffoon! You're nothing but an idiotic, mortal girl. You were fooled by the oldest trick in the book!" Mab waved toward the buffet table. "Enchanted food."

Yeah, it was pretty pathetic. Guess the peach wasn't lesson enough, Sarah thought, but she didn't comment.

"Besides," Queen Mab said, smiling, "the era of the Goblin King is over. His kingdom lies in ruins, his people are gone, his power is no more. Nothing you can do will bring it back, girl. He's sent you on a suicide mission and you're too much of a dolt to even see it."

"I—"

"Give me the pendant and I'll let you go back home. I'll even give you your heart's desire. One wish—anything—I'll give it to you." Queen Mab flicked her palm up, as if she was cupping something, much like Jareth when a crystal sphere appeared, but in Mab's palm it was a green flame that spurted to life. She looked into the flame, a smile curving her full lips again. "Perhaps you'd like a man, a prince, who will call you his princess and fight metaphorical dragons for you? Who will always hold you close at night and make you scream in pleasure?"

Sarah's lip curled. "Tempting me with a wish? A little clichéd."

"Ah, wait, I've got it this time. There's a smudge in your family line…someone is sick," Queen Mab murmured, her voice dropping into a seductive tone. It glided over Sarah like honey, making her shudder, making her think of her father. "An illness that may lead to death—and you, hating yourself because though your father is sick, you find yourself hating the extra responsibility forced upon you due to his illness. You wonder if you've changed at all, if you've grown at all, if you deserve condemnation for your errant thoughts. But with my gift, that will all go away. I will give you your father's health back. I will give you your old life back."

Sarah bit her lower lip. Now that was a temptation, probably just as clichéd but one that was more difficult to refuse. If Sarah thought about it longer, she might say yes; if she didn't think about it and just acted on her emotional impulses, she could keep some integrity. After all, what Mab said was true and in Sarah's heart, there was a dark ball of shame. She did loathe the added responsibilities that had suddenly came her way just as her life was starting out; the ones that forced her to give up a job she liked and take one at smaller pay in a smaller city. She had felt like she was going backwards, not forwards. She hated feeling those emotions—the anger, the shame, the impatience—because her father was sick and it wasn't his fault.

Sarah clenched her hands into fists at her side and said, before she could think further, "Sometime she driveth o'er a soldier's neck, / And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats—"

Mab hissed. "Stop."

But Sarah didn't. She knew the power of words and she recited Mercutio's speech like a talisman; the only thing she could think of to combat Queen Mab's tempting offer. "Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes, / And being thus frighted swears a prayer or two / And sleeps again. This is that very Mab / That plaits the manes of horses in the night, / And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs, / Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes: / This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs—"

"Insolent girl!" Mab screamed, extinguishing the green flame.

When Sarah went back Aboveground, she'd have to write thank you notes to her English teacher and drama teacher for making her memorize lines in Shakespeare.

"I'll kill you then and take the pendant from your cold corpse!" Queen Mab screamed. She suddenly threw her hands wide and her fan turned into flower petals, falling from her palm. She tipped her head back and yelled, "Bring her to me and we'll dance all night! Bring her to me!"

"Oh hell," Sarah muttered as the people behind Mab who had been frozen like trees before suddenly began to shake and creak. She saw them pull their feet up and rip away roots, she watched as they brushed bark off their skin as if they were just flaking off dried paint. She stumbled back a step as every head turned toward her, some in unnatural ways that necks shouldn't move. Their eyes glowed green.

Fight or flight, Sarah's brain yelled. Fight or flight!

Sarah whirled and ran through the forest. She hadn't expected her journey to turn into a nightmare so quickly, and what was worse, this wasn't anything like when she'd been young. The Labyrinth had frightened her at times, had made her wonder whether she'd ever make it out, but she'd never felt such all-encompassing fear. Her heart pounded in her throat, making her breath come out in ragged choking noises. She stumbled on roots, branches hit her face, but she kept on her feet despite it all and ran for all she was worth.

She whirled to avoid a tree and glanced over her shoulder. She cried out in despair at what she saw; dozens of…creatures moving through the forest. They were shadowed by the canopy, but as they moved, circles of moonlight fell upon them like a netting and she saw…horns, tree branches growing out of flesh, patches of fur, beaks, and glowing eyes. Always glowing eyes. They moved inhumanly, gliding across the forest floor, easily avoiding every root that caused her to stumble and every branch that whipped across her face. Why not? They were part of this damn forest.

Sarah's breath came in a sob and she thought, frenzied and frightened, I who have the gift can hear / Hounds and horn and tally ho. It was a night for poetry and nightmares. She knew what chased her. From the deepest, darkest parts of her memories, she remembered the folklores and the fairytales.

The Hunt had been loosed upon her, had caught her scent like she was a rabbit. There would be no escape. She would die. She could imagine Queen Mab smiling over her dead body, tapping that damn fan against her lower lip. "Insolent girl…"

Sarah stumbled again and this time fell, scrapping her palms as she caught herself. She cried out and heard answering, triumphant calls behind her. She struggled to her feet and kept running, but her lungs felt leaden, her breath burned inside her. She couldn't keep going much longer. Her palms ached and she clenched her hands into fists, desperately pumping her arms.

The pendant slapped against her skin. Sarah sobbed, "Save me, get me out of here…I don't want to die…"

Say your right words…

"Oh please, oh please."

Where'd she learn that rubbish? Use…your…right…words…

Sarah opened her mouth, unsure of what she would say, when suddenly a hand grabbed her hair. She screamed and managed to barely keep on her feet, but she had to stop running or risk pulling out her hair. She grabbed the hand tugging at her and looked up through teary eyes to see Queen Mab standing over her, grinning triumphantly. The Hunt was behind her.

Sarah screamed, "I wish the goblins would come and take me away right now!"

The pendant flared, giving off a bright, white light. Queen Mab stumbled back, her green eyes widening. "No! It's not fair! I had you!"

Sarah fell to her knees, gasping for breath as the light engulfed her, blocking everything from her vision—Queen Mab, the Hunt, and the forest. She heard Queen Mab scream, "You can't win, you stupid girl! The Goblin King has angered a stronger predator than even himself and sent a little sheep in to save him! A suicide mission, do you hear me? You'll die. Ní dhíolann dearmad fiacha!"

I don't care as long as I'm away from you, Sarah thought, closing her eyes and falling into the light.

Author's Notes: Whew! I know it's been a while. I've been horribly busy - and then I caught the flu! Which I'm still recovering from. I decided to take this time, while I have some energy, to get chapter 5 done and posted. I hope you liked it; I'm rather proud of it myself. Since last chapter left with Toby, we find ourselves back with Sarah. There's also a few references here, for those who like to hunt for that kind of thing. Of course, a few are mentioned upfront: Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare has been on my brain recently, due to numerous reasons, and I just finished re-reading Romeo and Juliet for the first time since...well, high school. I guess it's no surprise that I come up with this, then. Queen Mab is definitely different than Mercutio describes her (one of the reasons why Mab hates Shakespeare), although Goodfellow would argue the "hag" part. ;) Robin Goodfellow was a surprise to me; I think my muse was cackling in the background. But it was fun to have a cameo with him! There's also some Celtic/Gaelic in there (hopefully I found good translations in my research). I bet you can guess pretty closely what Mab was saying to Goodfellow - it wasn't very nice. I won't translate the last bit she says...yet. *dun ta dun*

Oh! I almost forgot! The brief lines of poetry Sarah recites, about the Hunt, are from "A Fairy Hunt" by Francis Ledwidge. :)

As always, please read & review! Tell me what you think! All suggestions/comments/questions/etc. welcome...feed the muse, she's hungry and she's been poking me with a stick to try and keep me writing despite my health.

A few quick shout-outs because it's late and I wanna go to bed:

merlinswit: I guess I keep giving you things perhaps not great to read before bed. Hope the bfs not sleeping this time! Enjoy! :)

pinkflora & Kou Shun'u: Who knows? *enigmatic smile*

VampireMafiaQueen: Ah, Toby did hear something. And I always think, "What happens in the Aboveground when Sarah's gone?" I expect that time moves more slowly Aboveground, as it seemed to in the movie, and incorporated that in my fic. Jareth even says that it'll be only a night, but he also says he'll make it better after Sarah finds him, so I expect stuff is gonna go down before that. :D

tomoe-gozen52: Good job on spotting the name thing. It's popped back up in this chapter; it'll pop up again. I suppose I shouldn't mention that I'm a lot older than 10 and sometimes I still get freaked out at night? Had to stop watching horror movies when I got my own place, which is sad because I love horror movies. :D

Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments/reviews! And thanks to everyone for the feedback on Toby's POV. He'll be popping up again so I want to make sure I write him correctly...

Disclaimer: Despite my attempts, Jareth does not belong to me. He, Sarah, as well as anything having to do with the Labyrinth, belong to the original creators. I merely claim ownership upon my original characters. Please do not copy/take/alter/re-post this text without permission beforehand; it was posted here for non-profit, amusement purposes.