Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth or any of Jim's Henson's wonderful characters.

Chapter 3

Of Dreams and Lapdogs

The music was playing softly in the background, almost like a lullaby. Dancers twirled around her as they spun in each others' arms.

She was wearing a beautiful white dress with large, puffy sleeves that made her feel like she was playing dress-up as a Disney princess, and a silver ornament was entwined in her hair. She was the only one not wearing a mask.

The other dancers parted for her as she walked through the crowd. She wasn't looking at them – their goblin masks or their scornful looks. There was… someone who she had to find.

Her emerald green eyes briefly passed over every face, none of them the one she was searching for.

Then she saw him standing at the far end of the room. She recognized him by his distinctive hair, glinting gold and silver in the soft light. Strange that he, the villain in this tale, should be her Prince Charming come to sweep Cinderella off her feet. He lowered his mask and his mismatched eyes met hers.

Such a sad love

Deep in your eyes

And then he was gone.

As a dancer walked in front of him, he transported himself behind her. He watched as she whipped her head around, searching for him. He let her look through the crowd a few moments, taunting her by reappearing and then disappearing again. It was a nice change to have her chasing him, instead of the other way around.

He took a young woman in his arms and spun a few times across the dance floor, his eyes never leaving the mortal girl.

She pushed through a throng of dancers and stood, exasperated. She didn't understand why she was here. She felt out of place – a young girl in a woman's world. Old enough to play Cinderella, but not old enough to be her.

Such a fooled heart

Beating so fast

A couple of dancers beckoned her over and opened a box. A snake jumped out and she stepped back in surprise. They laughed.

Every thrill is gone

Wasn't too much fun at all

He grew tired of this game of cat and mouse.

He was tired of waiting.

A fan moved out of the way, and he saw her standing in front of him.

She was by far the most beautiful woman at the ball. Her lips parted innocently as she looked at him.

He stepped forward and took her in his arms; one hand around her waist and the other holding her hand. His prize. His Sarah.

I'll paint you mornings of gold

I'll spin you Valentine evenings

Though we're strangers till now

We're choosing the path between the stars

I'll leave my love between the stars

He led her to the centre of the floor and began to twirl her around in a waltz. She tried to memorize the way he held her – as if he would never let go. She could feel his heat pulsing through her skin wherever his gloves touched. Her own hand lay in his and the other rested on his midnight-blue jacket that glittered as he moved.

He was singing to her.

I'll be there for you

As the world falls down

The others other dancers seemed to press in around them. Uncomfortable. Too close.

Then she noticed the clock behind his head. A clang rang out as the minute hand reached the twelve. She looked back at him. Toby, she thought. I have to save Toby!

The look in his eyes made her hesitate for a moment, and then she pushed out of his arms and ran to the edge of what she now realized was a bubble.

There was a chair next to the wall, and she grabbed it. She threw it at the bubble, and the dream was shattered.

Falling…

Falling in love.

Buzz. Buzz. The phone vibrated on the nightstand. Buzz.

Sarah's eyes slowly opened, and she sat up in her bed. She had just had that dream again. It seemed that every night, Sarah found herself dancing in the Goblin King's arms. The only thing that had changed was now she didn't want to wake up. She didn't want her dream-self to break the crystal dream. It was almost as if… No, she couldn't be developing feelings for that arrogant, puffy-headed jerk! Her train of thought was once again cut off as the phone buzzed persistently. Blinking a few times, she looked at the clock. Just past three. In the morning.

Oh, what did she do to deserve this?

Sarah grabbed the phone and flipped it open without bothering to look at the caller ID first.

"'Ello?" she asked groggily. If this was John calling her this early, she swore she would let the goblin's chickens loose in his apartment. Now that would be cruel.

"Sarah?" a voice screamed at her, and she dropped the phone in shock.

Bringing the phone back up to her ear she asked, "Yes?" before holding to cell as far away from her as possible when the voice yelled back, "Can you hear me, Sarah?"

Who the heck could this be? "Yes!" she yelled back, deciding not to risk losing her hearing by bringing the phone any closer to her ear.

"Sarah! It's Herald! I figured out how to work phone!"

That goblin was so dead.

"HERALD!" Sarah screamed. "Get in here RIGHT NOW!"

Sarah had gone back to her apartment after helping her dad and step-mom clean up the mess in the kitchen. She typically didn't sleep over at her parents' house, but last night had required her to stay late while babysitting Toby, so she hadn't felt like driving home at some ridiculous hour in the morning. Herald had returned about an hour after she yelled at him, and he then came to her apartment with her (she couldn't very well just leave him at her parents' house, no matter how appealing that sounded). She still hadn't heard back from Jareth about this new nuisance she had to deal with.

Five seconds later, the little goblin came scurrying into her bedroom, clutching her house phone. Sarah changed her mind. Chickens would be positively tame compared to Herald. Setting him loose would be cruel.

"Give. Me. That. Phone."

Herald obediently obliged. "Herald, you can't call people at three in the morning. In fact, you shouldn't be using the phone at all. Got it?"

Herald nodded sadly.

Looking at the goblin's dejected face, she sighed. Boy, what a sucker she was turning out to be. "Herald, how did you even manage to find my cell phone number?"

Herald grinned. "The em-r-gen-y list on the big ice box! Herald, dialed all numbers until he find Sarah's!" He smiled proudly.

Sarah blanched. "What numbers exactly did you call?"

The goblin's face scrunched as he tried to remember. "Uhhh… lots. Most just rang and rang and rang an-" Sarah held up her hand for the goblin to stop and Herald shut his mouth immediately.

"I get it Herald. No one picked up their phone." That's because it's three in the morning and no one in their right mind would be up.

"Well….," the goblin said. "One man answered. He asked me what my name is and for a problem. But don't worries Sarah, I's told him we have no problems."

"What number was that? It's important, Herald." Please don't let it be the number I think it is. Please, if a God exists, have mercy.

"9-1-1," the goblin recited, crushing all of Sarah's faith in some sort of deity. She groaned.

First a poisoned-peach dream and now this. Maybe she should have stayed in the Underground after all.

The police had arrived at her apartment some twenty minutes later, and Sarah tried to explain to them that the "toddler" she was babysitting had accidentally dialed the wrong number, so there was really no need for the officers to come. The police gave her a warning about keeping the phone out of reach of children ("Trust me, I won't let him near it again") and then left.

It was now nearly five in the morning, so instead of getting to slip back in bed, Sarah resigned herself to getting ready for work. She had gotten a job at a local publishing company that wrote children's books. Sarah sat behind a desk all day and drew pictures for the books. She enjoyed the work, but this job was just another stepping stone into the larger field of art. She hoped to create enough pieces to hold her own art show one day.

Sarah remembered to lock the little goblin out of her bathroom when she showered – the last thing she needed this morning was to have Herald see her naked. When she stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed, she found Herald sitting by the door.

He looked up at her with wide eyes. "You was singing that song Kingy always sings. Kingy always gets real sad when he sings that song."

She had been singing? She hadn't even realized… "What song, Herald?"

"You know… SUCH A SAD LOVE DEEP IN YOUR EYES A KIND OF-" he belted.

Sarah clasped her hands over her ears. "Ahhhh! Herald, I get it! Stop singing!"

Being called Queen certainly had its advantages because Herald immediately shut up.

She walked to her cramped kitchen and searched through the fridge for something decent for breakfast. "Do you like eggs, Herald? Because that's all I have left."

For once the goblin was quiet. Sarah pulled her head out of the fridge to look at him. "Herald…?"

The goblin looked like it was about to burst into tears. "Queen eat eggs? Queen eat CHICKENS?" Then the Water Works started, and Herald was rolling on the floor crying.

Sarah silently cursed herself for forgetting the goblin's strange fondness for chickens. Kneeling down she tried to consul the traumatized goblin. "Shhh… Herald, please stop crying. I won't eat eggs."

Herald sniffled. "Queen likes eating chickens."

"No, Herald. Those were… uh, fish eggs. Definitely not chicken." Fish eggs? Her inner voice was now banging its head against a wall. The first thing she could think of was fish eggs?

"Why don't we have apples instead?" she suggested quickly.

The goblin finally stopped crying, though his eyes were still wide and glistening with tears. "Peaches?" he asked hopefully.

Sarah flinched. She hadn't eaten a peach in six years for understandable reasons… "I don't have any peaches."

Herald looked disappointed, but he accepted the apple Sarah got out for him.

"Okay," Sarah said, standing up. "You're going to have to come to work with me because there is no way I'm leaving you in my apartment alone."

Sarah pushed through the doors of her office building and waved cheerfully to her colleagues as she passed them. The large purse on her arm seemed to squirm as she walked and the top popped open so that a little brown head could be seen.

As Sarah sat down, Maggie (or Mag for short) came over to Sarah's desk and looked in the purse. Mag was an old women with wispy white hair and a rather ridiculous assortment of clothing. Today she was wearing a floor-length plaid skirt with a Christmas sweater top. Apparently someone forgot to remind Mag that it was now summer. "Whatcha got there, Sarah?"

Sarah was internally grateful that Mag was almost as blind as a bat. "It's my dog."

"Awww, how cute!" The old woman bent down and rubbed the little "dog" behind its ears. "And how are you girl?" she asked, addressing the creature in the purse. "Yes, you're a good doggie, aren't you? Good girl!"

Sarah stifled a laugh at the sight of Mag scratching Herald behind his ears. The little goblin was looking indignantly up at Sarah, but since he had been ordered not to say a word, he kept his mouth shut.

Sarah had dressed Herald up in a small vest (she had gotten it from one of Toby's birthday parties at a Build-a-Bear Workshop) and pink bow, and she had folded the goblin's ears in so they didn't look quite so large. He was no Chihuahua, but Sarah hoped he could pass as some sort of lap dog. Or mutt.

Mag then sauntered off to her own desk, and Sarah slipped her purse under her desk before anyone else could come and get a closer look at her new "dog." She had just booted up her computer when John appeared at the edge of her desk.

"Hey, Sarah," he said with an easy grin. John looked like an honest-to-god model with beach-blonde hair, a golden tan, and light blue eyes. He was also cocky, arrogant, and vain – almost like someone else Sarah knew…

"Hello, John."

"Are you free tonight?" He leaned against her desk, leaning just a little into Sarah's personal bubble.

"That depends. Do you have anything planned for us tonight?" Sarah had been dating John for about a month now. In all honesty, she was surprised that the relationship had lasted this long. Most of the boys she tried to date had left after about a week for some reason or another: She was too preoccupied with fantasies; they acquired sudden, mysterious injuries while around her, the worst involving a car crash that broke the guy's leg; weird things happened around her (Sarah suspected the goblins were the culprits for this problem).

John smiled, "I was thinking dinner. I'll pick you up at 6:00."

"6:00? Oh dear. I seemed to have just remembered I have a terribly important yoga class then!"

He laughed and pressed a light kiss to her cheek. "See you at 6:00, beautiful."

It was only after he had left that Sarah noticed Herald was growling from under her desk. She ducked down and glared at the goblin. "Herald! Quiet!"

"Herald no like him. Kingy won't like him either. No, no. Kingy gonna be mad. Kingy gonna wear kicking boots."

"Herald, you have to be quiet! We talked about this-"

"Sarah?" came a voice to her left.

Sarah lifted her head and promptly banged it against the underside of the desk. "Ouch," she complained, rubbing her head as she turned to the speaker. It was Stacy, a young high school intern. "Hey, Stacy."

"What were you doing?" the girl asked, bending down to look under the desk.

"I… just dropped my pencil. Let's get to work, shall we?"

Stacy nodded and sat down in the chair next to Sarah's. Sarah pulled up the file with the next children's book she was illustrating on her computer. It was titled Ling Po and the Terrible Flying Piranhas. Wow. She could tell this one was going to be a best seller…

For the next five hours, Sarah drew cartoons and Stacy outlined them in pen. Though, of course, it was very hard to concentrate when masked dancers and a certain Goblin King kept flitting through her mind…

"Okay," Sarah announced as she pushed away from her desk. "Lunch time." Stacy's stomach grumbled in agreement.

Both girls stood up, but as Stacy began to walk toward the office's little kitchen, Sarah saw a very familiar goblin crawling across the floor. "Herald," Sarah hissed.

Stacy turned around, her blonde curls bouncing. "Did you say something, Sarah?"

"No, I…uh…think I see some earrings I dropped the other day over there. I'm going to go check." She set out in the direction of the goblin. Herald had now crawled behind a section of printing machines. Sarah bent down and tried to see the goblin in the shadows of the machines. "Herald! Come here!"

Then the power went out.

When the lights came back on, John would find his keys to his very expensive Porsche were missing.

Finito! I finally added another chapter! Sorry this took me so long to write…

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and read this story so far. You guys make my day. :)

Next chapter should have Jareth's POV – hooray! I know I haven't exactly been following along with my original summary/plot plan, but I promise Sarah will get wished away sometime hopefully in the near future!

Until then, please review!