Sarah had been walking for what had seemed like hours. She saw the same grey walls that just went on and on. She had remembered what a little blue worm had said on her first visit:

"Things are not always what they seem in this place, so you can't take anything for granted."

Sarah sighed and decided to find an opening, so she stopped and turned towards one of the walls. She strode straight to the wall and crashed into it.

"Ouch! Jesus." She exclaimed. She brushed herself off and frowned at the wall.

"What's the point in trying to find an opening when they randomly turn up? Next time I'm feeling for an opening before I crash into another wall." She muttered.

She continued on her journey through the Labyrinth, feeling the walls for some sign of an opening, alas she couldn't find one.

If anybody comes across me now, they'll think I've gone crazy.

Still, she carried on this way, walking further and further down the stone walls, still going in a straight line.

"What're yeh doin'?" cried a little voice.

Sarah looked around wildly; she couldn't see anyone or anything in sight.

"Up 'ere!" screeched the little voice.

Sarah looked up and saw, sat on the top of the Labyrinth, a tiny goblin (although goblins are generally small, this one looked no more than a baby) holding a little staff. She smiled at the goblin.

"I'm trying to get through the Labyrinth, but there aren't any turns or openings or anything!"

The goblin frowned at Sarah. He didn't want to leave his post, but he wanted to help the girl. So he stayed on top of the wall and looked down at her.

"I'm 'fraid ter Labyrinth's goin' through some construction at ter moment, so ter openin's 'ave been blocked off. Say, we weren't told that 'ere were any runners today. What'cha doin' 'ere? Ter King's not 'avin' runners through."

"I'm afraid I don't know what I'm doing here. What do you mean by runners?" Sarah quizzed the goblin.

The goblin frowned yet again; he was specifically told that no humans could run through the Labyrinth today. He scratched his head and sighed.

"Runners, ones that are set ter challenge ter get through Labyrinth!" he cried exasperatedly. "I s'pose I could tell yeh how ter get out an' go 'ome."

"No!" she exclaimed. The little goblin was startled by her abrupt reply and had to steady himself before he fell off the wall. "I mean, I think I was brought here for a reason. You see I didn't mean to say, but…" She faltered; she didn't know what she was going to say. Of course she did wish to be in the Labyrinth, but she didn't mean it, it was like someone was making her say it. She would find her friends, they would help to find out why she was here, and then she would go home.

"Do yeh want to go ter castle? I'm sure ter King'd know what's goin' on."

"Oh." She didn't want to go to the castle; she couldn't face Him straight away. "Ermm, I'd rather not. I want to see if I can find my friends."

"Yeh've been 'ere before?"

"Yes, well I think so anyway. You see, I thought it was a dream, I still think it's a dream. But, then the-"

"Did yeh win ter kid back?" The goblin asked almost angrily. Or was it just confusion?

"Yes, yes I did. My baby brother, T-"

"Ah, well, wasn't a dream. None of it is. It's real. Still don't know why yeh're 'ere though… So yeh're one of ter lucky ones that won ter kids back? Hold on, did yeh say yeh made friends?" The goblin certainly looked puzzled at this point.

"Why, yes. Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus, do you know them?" Sarah replied, her eyes wide. So both the Labyrinth and this little goblin said that it wasn't a dream. She was starting to believe her journey through the Labyrinth was real, that she wasn't crazy.

The little goblin's eyes widened with shock, then, he burst out laughing.

"Those crackpots? Ne'er loyal ter King. Totally bonkers ter lot of 'em!" The little goblin was laughing so much, he was struggling to hold on to the wall. Suddenly, he stopped laughing, his face contorted with horror.

"Hold on a minute. Are yeh Sarah?"

"Don't you dare call my friends crackpots. I'll have you know they are loyal. Not loyal to cruel and twisted kings, but they're loyal to me! How did you know my name?"

The goblin stood up on the wall, he hopped down so that he was facing Sarah and looked up at her curiously. He had big brown eyes and a long, pointy nose. The next thing he did shocked Sarah. He put his right hand above his waist and the left behind his back, then, he bowed - his long nose touching the floor. For what seemed like minutes to Sarah was only actually seconds, the goblin rose and looked at Sarah and beamed.

She looked at the little goblin with a confused look. But as soon as she opened her mouth to say something, the little goblin dashed off and disappeared.

That was weird. Hoggle, Ludo and Didymus, crackpots? More like he's the crackpot…

Sarah huffed and decided to go in the same direction that the goblin went. As she moved forwards, the Labyrinth bent around.

Thank God! A corner! I may just be able to find my way through the Labyrinth now.

To her surprise, she found herself in what seemed to be a goblin town, but this wasn't the same goblin city she had encountered on her first trip to the Labyrinth. There were lots of female goblins holding baskets, looking through windows and walking into, what seemed like, little shops. She stared in amazement.

"Excuse me, what is this place?"

A plump, middle-aged goblin stopped walking and her focused her attention to Sarah. She came up to Sarah's waist, her big lime green eyes kindly regarded Sarah, telling her she was listening and ready to reply:

"It's the goblin city, child." She said smiling.

"Really? It looks very different from the last time I was here…"

"Oh, this is the shopping district. The part of the city which leads directly up to the castle is full of soldiers, knights, the guard and their families. This is where we all do out shopping. Are you a runner dear?"

"Oh, no." Sarah looked around in wonder. This quaint little part of the goblin city was lovely, with little shops, hanging flower boxes and the goblin citizens of the Labyrinth.

"Did you say you've been here before?"

"Uhmm, yes. Years ago. I was rescuing my baby brother, Toby."

"Well, why are you here? Most runners lose their memories of the Labyrinth, but not the lessons they've learnt. Oh where are my manners? My name's Nell." The goblin woman beamed at Sarah. "Did you win your brother back dear?"

"Yes, I did get him back. Oh, nice to meet you Nell, I'm Sarah."

Nell's mouth dropped in shock, and she gasped.

"Oh, dear, what are you doing here?"

"I – I don't know…"

"Oh, my, I don't think the King will be happy to see you dear. Or he might. I'm not sure. But he will know why you're here."

"W – what?" Sarah stuttered. "What do you mean, he might be happy to see me?"

"Well, dear. Come and sit down over here."

Nell led Sarah over to a little goblin pub, they sat outside on the picnic tables, secluded from the rest of the goblins around.

"You see, I am the King's tailor. I am one of the goblins the King trusts, he keeps things close to his chest, you see, away from his regular subjects. After you left, things went weird, strange. The King shut himself off for a month. Nobody saw him at all, except those few goblins he chose to keep by his side, me for example. The Labyrinth's seasons ended up messed up, it turned to winter. We had terrible blizzards and storms all month. He was angry as well. I've never seen him so torn. It was like he had something bottled up and needed to lash out at anyone who was nosy enough to try and find out. I'd never seen him like that in the centuries I've served him. I've only ever seen him dark when he has a runner through the Labyrinth, when he has to become cruel to teach the runner a lesson about appreciating what they've got. Or when someone wishes a child away and chooses their dreams instead of attempting to rescue the child." The little goblin woman sighed.

"Anyway, the storms cleared, but it's always been autumn. It's been forty years of autumn, which in your time is…"

"Ten years." Sarah finished.

"Exactly, time is quicker here, but no-one ages much. It's the magic in the Underground. The King was calmer, but he was never the same. You see, I think it's because you did such a good job at winning your brother back, I mean, you destroyed parts of the Labyrinth that the worker goblins had to rebuild by hand. It was way beyond magical repair. You really made a mess of the Escher room." The woman chuckled.

"I never did much like that room. Of course, it looked different when you turned up. It changes to adapt to the runner. Yours, I assume, was taking a leap of faith."

"So he was mad that he had to rebuild parts of the Labyrinth?"

"Well, some of it. I think it was your words, dear. Words are a powerful thing, don't you forget that. There was something else. I don't know exactly, he doesn't tell everyone all his problems and secrets. But, personally, I think he has nightmares about the High Council taking the kingdom away from him. He loves his subjects, and they're all loyal to him. Even if the Council tried, there'd be a revolt, possibly a war. It's not just the goblins that love him; it's the other creatures he provided a home for. He's not just King of the Goblins, he's King of everyone encased in the Labyrinth."

Sarah and Nell talked for a while longer. But Sarah had a niggling feeling that Nell wasn't saying everything that she knew, she seemed to be hinting at something, but stopping herself before she said anything else to Sarah.

Sarah had told Nell about Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus, which prompted Nell to tell her where they were.

"They're in a little village not far from here. The name always escapes my mind… Begins with an R… Rusty… Rusty Drop that's it!"

Sarah giggled. "Rusty Drop? Are you being serious?"

Nell laughed. "Yes, all the little villages have silly names. I don't know why it's called that. But that's what it's called. There's a little pub there with the same name. A lot of the goblin villages have names shared with their local pub. Most goblins aren't smart when it comes to picking names for their villages, or their children for that matter. Well I recall that that fox, Sir Didymus as you and everyone he knows calls him, used to live near the Bog of Eternal Stench. Keen sense of nose my pet chicken's giblets! Well they all moved there after you're trip through the Labyrinth. Became real close friends, they did."

Sarah smiled and was eager to see them. "Could you please tell me how to get there?"

"I can do better than that Sarah. I'll take you there myself. I have to go through there to get back to the castle."

A/N: Thanks again for everything guys. Slightly longer chapter, but still short nonetheless, so sorry. There will be longer chapters next week, over Christmas, when I have free time.

Any quotes/characters belong to Jim Henson. Original characters, such as Nell, belong to me. Any lyrics used belong to the artists or authors as stated.