Judgement day had arrived, and Sarah stood bashfully in front of a large rectangular desk. Even though she was expecting it, it still came as a shock.

"Miss Williams. I'm afraid I've have no other alternative. I'm going to have to dismiss you" announced Principal Waltham, who looked down on her behind his thick spectacles and grey suit. Sarah appeared shaken, as if she would burst into a flame of tears at any given moment. However, as much as this pained her, it wasn't in her nature to show weakness to anyone, so she tried her hardest to fight back her tears and fight for her position.

"Mr. Waltham, I know I've disappointed you, but I worked so hard, and I want this job so very much! I apologise for yesterday, and if you just give me one more chance, I know I wouldn't let it happen again!" she pleaded.

"On the contrary, it's not just about yesterday, Miss Williams. You have been on trial for over a week now, and I have come to the conclusion that we need someone a little older, a little more experienced and a little more disciplined with children. Kids need to take orders from adults, not form long-lasting friendships. I'm sure you'll do fine to get another job soon. This one just isn't right for you."

Sarah was more than upset. It was her first ever job in her chosen profession, and she had been fired. Still, she knew better than to leave the room kicking up a fuss, so she took a deep breath and raised her head.

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity anyway" she said weakly, before walking away from what she thought would be a large part of her future.

The journey home seemed a whole lot more miserable than she had ever known it to be. Even the sun didn't bother to shine on her like it usually did. Looking through the large iron school gates, she saw the children playing happily. Tears formed in her eyes as watched little Cindy dance around in circles. Sarah should have been a part of that.

"Miss Williams! Miss Williams!" called a little brown-haired boy, who skipped over to the gate. "Why aren't you playing with us? Are you going home? Have you got a bad tummy ?"

"No, Colin. I'm afraid I'm not working here anymore." She tried to smile as best she could.

"Don't you like us anymore, Miss?" he enquired, to which Sarah knelt down beside him and leaned against the iron bars.

"Of course, I like you! I like you all. And I'll miss all of you very much. Me and the Principal just had a disagreement, so I'm really sorry I can't be with you anymore Colin. Can you do me a favour? Tell all the other kids to be good for me, won't you?"

"Yes, Miss! I will!" he beamed.

"Thank you, Colin." She chugged his chin to show her gratitude, and with that, the little boy ran off to spread the news. Sarah was no longer going to be a part of their lives.

"Well, that's it. It's over!" Sarah announced later that night, as she lounged on her bed in her jeans and cotton sweater. It was only Hoggle that was with her this time, and he too stretched himself across the mattress. Sarah didn't even seem to care about the mud that the dwarf scattered all over her linen.

"I'm sorry, Sarah. If there was anything I could do, I would. Here, do you want me to send some goblins over there, and teach that teacher a few lessons of our own?" he offered. But Sarah shot Hoggle an annoyed look.

"Hostility is not the answer, Hoggle! Maybe in your world, but not here!" Then her face lit up. She bit her lip and looked longingly at her friend.

"What you givin' me that look for?" asked Hoggle.

"You said that if you could help me, you would, right?"

"Right!"

"Well, there is one thing that you can do."

Hoggle stared at her for a second, not sure what she was insinuating. Then, he realised what she was after.

"Oh, no. No way, Sarah. I told you yesterday, you ain't coming to the Labyrinth again! Jareth might 'ave been easy on you the last time, but you were just a kiddy then. He won't be 'appy if I let you there again."

"Come on, Hoggle!" she moaned. "You know the Labyrinth even better than he does."

"So?"

"So, you know all the best places to hide. He won't even know I'm there. Please, please, please?" Sarah gave him a puppy dog pout, knowing that as much as he tried to hide it, Hoggle was a soft touch. He paused for the longest time before ultimately agreeing to something he never thought he'd agree to.

"Oh, alright then, but don't say I didn't warn yer!"

"Thanks, Hoggle! Don't worry. I'll be there for two hours, tops!" She jumped up, excitedly, and began to brush her hair. Hoggle watched her as she tamed her dark tresses, confused as to why she felt the need to look pretty for an hour or two in the Labyrinth. Not that she didn't look beautiful anyway. "Besides, I'm having dinner with my dad tomorrow, so it's not like I'm planning to stay forever. So, how do we get in?" she asked, anxiously.

"Through there!" Hoggle pointed out his stubby little arm. She followed his finger until she reached the mirror that stretched in front of her. The dwarf then tottered over to the it, and took one last look at Sarah before he walked straight through it, as if it wasn't even there. There was no sound of glass breaking, or even squeaking the slightest little bit.

"I've never seen you do that before!" Sarah gawped, amazed, for it had been a long time since had been in the presence of magic.

"I've never let you see me do that before." called out Hoggle's voice from behind the mirror, which, strangely, still reflected her own complexion. "Didn't want to give you any ideas, did I? Now, hurry up, and get yer'self over here."

Bit by bit, she paced up to the mirror. She thought back to when she had encountered the talking worm on her first visit to the Labyrinth, who taught her how to walk through the brick wall. It certainly wasn't that hard, so how hard could walking through a mirror be? Running her fingers over the glass, she decided it would be best of she did it in one quick motion, so taking a profound breath, she stepped back, closed her eyes, then sauntered towards the mirror. Hoggle was already inside, waiting for her in the Labyrinth's garden. He could see Sarah from the other side of the glass, and watched in panic as she sprinted towards him, knowing that things were going to end badly. His suspicions were right, for instead of passing through it, she ended up bouncing back from it and falling with a thud on her bedroom floor. Now, the mirror made a sound!

"What happened?" she asked, as she picked herself up, rubbing her head where she banged it.

"You went too fast, Sarah. You can't just rush into a mirror and expect you'll get through it. You have to take yer time. Imagine that it ain't there. Try it again, but this time close yer eyes and think about it."

Shutting her eyelids, she attempted it once more, but the same thing happened again. Sarah huffed, beginning to feel dizzy from all the falling. It was a good job her lodger was on vacation. What would she have thought if she walked in to find her roommate ramming herself a plate of glass? A call to her parents and a trip to the psychiatric ward is what she would have thought.

"I closed my eyes, but then I opened them a second before I reached the glass, and it made me lose my balance!"

"Well, why don't ya blindfold them then? Might help you concentrate more."

Sarah liked the idea, and went over to her wardrobe to pull out an old scarf. Tying the scarf around her head, she turned to faced the mirror and stretched her arms out in front of her. Leisurely, she walked forward, all the time imagining that the mirror was no longer solid, but invisible. After a few steps she felt for the glass. She wasn't there yet, so she paced a little further…and further…and further. In fact, now it seemed like she'd been walking for ages.

"Am I there yet, Hoggle?" she solicited. Bizarrely, he did not reply, but after a few more steps she felt his attendance, so she halted in her tracks and reached out to touch her friend. "There you are!" she acknowledged, placing her hands on what seemed to be his head. "Are you trying to joke around with me? Why aren't you saying anything?" she laughed.

Only Sarah didn't know that it was not Hoggle that she felt in front of her, for the dwarf had been told to stay quiet. When she removed her blindfold off she gasped in fright when her eyes fell upon the one person she had vowed to stay away from.

"Jareth," she whispered, gawping at the man she thought she'd never meet again. He, too, stared back at her, raising his eyebrow condescendingly.

His presence was completely unexpected. She had almost forgotten what he looked like, but now the memories came flooding back; his deep, brooding eyes, his thin narrow mocking lips, his wild platinum hair, but most of all his fancy regal clothes which currently consisted of a black ruffled shirt and dark grey breeches. Of course he had a cape to accompany his attire and a sliver medallion to finish it off. Sarah gazed down at her own garments, and rapidly felt rather inferior. Her faded denim would doubtfully impress anyone, let alone a Goblin King. Not that she wanted to impress him. Oh, who was she kidding, of course she wanted to impress him! And now she felt humiliated, especially when she realised her hands were still in contact with the lower part of his body. Abruptly, she removed them, and Jareth let out a slight chortle.

He tried hard not to be captivated by her dark moon-shaped eyes and fair skin. She had lost her childish features since he last saw her, but she still kept her innocent expression, especially now since she displayed a look of pure bewilderment on her face.

Turning her head, she noticed Hoggle, who cowered away behind a rock in the corner. That was when she realised that she was now indeed, in the Labyrinth - well, the entrance to it anyway. She saw the lake where she and Hoggle had first met. It was still as dirty - maybe even more so. But small fairies still fluttered around it like it was something magical. Suddenly, it all became so familiar. She felt like a fifteen year old again, back when she bravely confronted Jareth and fought on the side of good. She knew she'd have to be that girl again if she wanted to get out of there unharmed, so she turned back to Jareth and looked him fearlessly in the eyes.

"Hello, Sarah" he said, in a charming, but slightly threatening, tone. "Trying to take over my Labyrinth again, are you? Surely you didn't think you could sneak in here and get away with it. What did you do, convince the dwarf to bring you here? Hmmm? Flutter your pretty eyelashes at him, and give him a horde of excuses about how you're lonely in your world and in need of a change of scenery." He looked at Hoggle. "I deal with you later!" he warned.

"Leave Hoggle alone! It wasn't his fault. I came through the mirror while he wasn't looking" demanded Sarah. She tried her best to appear courageous, but there was something seductive about his nature that made her feel weaker than she did the last time they had met.

"Still the same old Sarah" Jareth sighed as he began to pace around her, much to her displeasure. "Stubborn, childish, naïve…the list continues."

"I can say the same for you," she pointed out. "And for your information, I didn't come here because I felt lonely! I came to confront you."

"Really?" he said, seeming a little surprised. "I can assure you, Sarah, I have taken nothing from you. If your brother has gone missing again, may I suggest a leash?" he taunted.

"This isn't about Toby!" she stressed. "I came here because I don't like the way you treat my friends! You make them work for you like slaves!"

"They are my slaves!" he urged. "And they will work for me whether they like it or not. No silly little girl will come into my kingdom, and tell me what I should and should not be doing." Jareth stopped pacing, moved closer to her and gritted his teeth. "Believe me Sarah, you wouldn't want to cross me again. I'm not as I was before. I can be very, very dangerous."

"In case you haven't noticed, I've changed too. I'm not a little girl anymore, and I won't let you mess me around like you did last time."

Jareth didn't like her talking to him like this. He hated anyone who challenged him, especially a young female. He grimaced, before turning to Hoggle, who still now covered his eyes with his hands.

"I want you to take Sarah home, Hognose. If I find her here again, you know what will happen to you."

"O' course, Jareth" Hoggle feared. "I'll do it right now. The lady don't wanna 'cause no trouble, ain't that right Sarah?" His soft blue eyes pleaded with hers, and she sighed, knowing that she didn't want to get her best friend into trouble after all he had done for her.

"Yes, that's right" she declared.

"Yer see. She'll go home without a fuss."

"Good" sneered Jareth, and with that he began to fade away. "Just remember what I said Sarah. If I ever catch you here again, I will not be so merciful!"

Then, the Goblin King was gone.

"Right then. Let's get you back to where you belong" Hoggle clapped his hands together, before toddling over to a rusty old mirror that was hidden between some shrubbery in the garden. He prepared to step through it, but when he noticed Sarah wasn't following him, he heft a large sigh. He knew what she was about to say.

"I'm not going back, Hoggle." Yes, she said it. The dwarf groaned and shook his head. "Don't worry. I won't get you in any trouble. As long as I'm around, Jareth won't touch you. We'll get Ludo to be with us at all times. There's no way he'll mess with Ludo. Then we'll try and find a way to turn all of his goblins against him. Once he sees that we're all furious with him, he'll have to change the rules!" As she said this, Hoggle began to breathe heavily, almost as if he was having a small heart attack. Sarah gasped and ran over to him to help him stand up straight. Once he had calmed down, she gazed into his beady eyes. "I know you're worried, but nobody calls my friend Hognose and get's away with it!" she stated, with a smile.