Sarah Williams sat on her front porch, starring passively at the rain as she tried to convince herself—not for the first time—that she was happy. Focusing in on the gentle pitter-patter of rain on the roof, it was almost possible.

She had always loved the rain; that is, when she was safe from getting drenched by it. As she was now, under the protection of the porch awning, she could fully appreciate it.

It was raining that day too, she mused. As soon as the thought had formed, she was frowning again. It had been almost three years since she had wished her baby brother Toby away and been forced to run the labyrinth to get him back. She had contended with riddles and deceptions at every turn and had come out the better for it. She had made friends the likes of which she had never known before and learnt things that were as invaluable to her as Toby's safety.

And she had outmatched the King of the Goblins. That she remembered as clearly as if it had happened only moments ago. He had offered her his world, and she'd turned it down in favor of her own. And she did not regret any of it. Honestly. But that did not mean that her time in the Underground had not left a scar.

After seeing the Underground with all its fantastical creatures and sprawling landscapes, nothing in the Aboveground could compare. Places she had once loved now seemed to have lost their luster. The park she had frequented to practice her acting skills, once so beautiful and picturesque, now looked paltry and sparse. It was as though everything in her life had gotten the volume turned down. If she tried hard enough, she could still make do, but it was a poor substitute to life at full blast.

Eventually it had all become too much to bear. She made the conscious decision to forget her connection to the Underground. It was more easily done than she anticipated. After her friends' first visit through her mirror, they had ceased to make an appearance. Sarah had been hurt at first by their abandonment, but she soon decided it was for the best.

Along with their departure, she had put away her childish things. Most of the toys were passed down to Toby or donated to charity. Many of her books were placed in storage, and the posters adorning her walls taken down. The one of the Escher room was burned.

She'd even chosen to put away the pictures of her mother. It had been years since they had seen each other, and it had suddenly seemed foolish to idolize the woman who had discarded her so carelessly. It had all gone in a box that was pushed into the farthest corner of the garage.

Moving on had come more easily after that. In all the time since, she had grown up even more. She took care of Toby without having to be asked. She was always on time, and she came home when she said she would be. She went on dates like Karen wanted. Though, in all honesty, Sarah was still rather uncomfortable with that aspect of her almost adult life.

The boys that took her out were always kind and gentlemanly but, for whatever reason, it never seemed to work out. Sarah thought it was a difference in levels of maturity. Her father had always said she was an old soul, and Sarah never agreed more keenly than when she was being asked to participate in beer pong or quarters. It all felt mind-numbingly juvenile. By the end of the night she was grateful to be parted from it, leaving her dates with half puckered lips and dumbfounded expressions.

As for the rest of her life…Things moved on predictably. She had finished all of her college applications and was hopeful at her chances of being accepted. Her father was proud of her decision to apply as a business major. A "very practical and grown-up decision" he called it. Sarah was pleased to have pleased him. She did not dwell on her forgotten dream of being an actress.

Except for when she watched the rain. Then all the feelings she had long dismissed came rushing back. And she, like a raindrop pulled down by gravity, was powerless to stop it.

You're pathetic, she told herself. You're going to be eighteen in less than a week. It's time to stop moping.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a voice called from the steps of the porch. Sarah turned away from the rain, greeting her visitor with a smile.

"Hey, Will," she replied, "We can go inside if you want."

"No, this is perfect," he said, plopping down beside her on the swing. Sarah found she was glad for his company.

Will Calhoun had moved in down the street shortly after Sarah's return from the Underground. He had been among the first to work up the courage to ask her out on a date, and she had agreed.

Will was not like the guys who tried to impress her with bustling parties and blaring music. In fact, his level of maturity was much more on par with hers. They had actually gone out three times before Sarah decided that something was missing. It wasn't anything that he said or did, she just found that she wasn't attracted to him in that way.

When she finally broke the news to him, she could see the disappointment in his face. And, like a coward, she had tried to run from it. But before she could make her getaway, he had called after her. He asked if they could be friends instead, and she had seen that he meant it. So friends they had become, remaining close to inseparable for the last two and a half years.

Sarah had found early on that Will was a great help in overcoming what had happened in the labyrinth. She had worked up the courage to tell him all about it, and he assured her that he believed her. She recognized that he was likely humoring her, but it felt good to have someone to confide in. And when she'd told him that she wanted to forget it all, he was nothing but supportive. He was willing to talk when she wanted to talk, and he took her out when she wanted to go out.

Together they had built a friendship that was based on trust and reliability. Will could be counted upon no matter what. He was stable, and polite, and understanding. And, most importantly, decidedly non-magical.

"So, what's got Sensible-Sarah feeling down today?" Will asked, reading her mood perfectly.

Sarah sighed, offering a weak smile. "I don't know, I guess I'm just having a lot of thoughts." Will narrowed his eyes, pressing for more information. Her smile grew a bit; she never was able to slip anything by him. "My birthday's just a few days away, and I guess it's got me thinking about…the future."

Will's eyes widened for a moment, and then he chuckled, his mousy brown curls shaking as he did. "A mid-life crisis at eighteen. I shouldn't have expected anything less."

"Shut up!" Sarah scolded, playfully punching his arm. "And it's not a crisis, it's just... strange. I mean, this time next year I'll be living miles away from here in a dorm."

"That is something," Will agreed, somewhat wistfully. Sarah bit her lip. She knew talking about her impending departure was a sensitive subject. All of the schools she had applied to were out of state. Far enough from the house that lead her to the labyrinth that she would only have to think about it twice a year. But it also meant leaving Will behind.

His father was an ex-Military commander living on his retirement pension. While it was enough for them to get by, Sarah knew that Will's only prospects for higher education were at the local community college or in the service. And he had made it clear to her that he did not intend to follow in his father's footsteps.

Sarah disliked the thought of leaving her best friend as much as he did, but she could not see a way around it. She needed to get out of this house, out of this life. Even thinking about it for too long brought along an unfathomable pain, the likes of which she could not make sense of. It was like her chest was caving in on itself, making it harder and harder to breath. The world she currently inhabited was not meant for her. It no longer wanted her, and she was quickly losing the patience required to endure it. She needed to be somewhere that she could truly forget about what had happened to her. Then, maybe, she could remember how to be happy again.

Though the silence had stretched on for quite a while, Will did not feel the need to break it. He knew that Sarah would speak when ready. He could practically see the wheels of her mind turning as she collected the words she wanted, stitched them together in precisely the right order, and worked up the courage to speak.

"Will…Do you think if I wished myself away I could get out of here?" she asked. There, she had said it. The words hung precariously in the air, heavy with the weight of potential. A drop of water about to fall from the faucet.

Will paused, taking a moment to consider his own response. "No."

"I'm not kidding-"

"I know you're not," he cut her off. "But believe me, wishing won't solve your problems. I've tried."

Sarah's heart sank. "Oh no! Will I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay," he assured her. "I know you didn't mean it the way it sounded. We all have our problems…"

"No, it's not okay. God—you must think I'm a spoiled brat, huh?"

"Well, I do think that," he said with a lopsided grin, "But not for the reason you're implying." It only made Sarah feel worse. "Come on, Sar, don't be so hard on yourself. It's really no big deal. My dad gets drunk and uses me as a punching bag. See? I have no problem saying it."

"You should, though," she returned, grasping his hand in hers. Then she sighed. "It really isn't fair."

"Toughen up, be a man," Will said in a gruff imitation of an older man's voice. Sarah looked at him questioningly. "Just something the old man used to say to me when I started complaining about things not being fair."

"I get asked what my basis for comparison is," she grumbled.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing." She pulled her knees up to her chest, silent again.

After a minute, Will held out his hand to her. She looked from the outstretched hand to his face inquisitively. "Come on," he said, "For old times' sake."

A faint smile on her lips, Sarah grasped his hand in hers. Say your right words, she thought, for no reason that she could say. Nothing would come of it. She had made enough wishes in her time back in the Aboveground to know that they did not all have dire implications. Even if her words did hold the power she willed them to, there was not a chance in the Underground that the Goblin King would come back for her.

"I wish," they said together, "That someone would take me away from this awful place."

Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. She put all of her energy into that wish. She thought of New York, and London, and Paris, and all the other places she would rather be than where she was. She saw stage lights and flowers raining down on her from an adoring audience. And, rising from some unbidden part of her subconscious, she saw a circular ballroom with couples swaying back and forth to a love-struck melody.

She wanted it. She wanted all of it, and none of it at the same time, and she was not quite sure what that meant, but she did not care. Everything she was, she put into that wish, and hoped that something-anything-would change. Then she opened her eyes.

Nothing happened. The rain did not begin to fall up, the moon did not spontaneously change position in the sky. There was not a speck of glitter in sight. A squirrel did pause to look at them, blinking twice before scurrying on its way.

"Well," Sarah began, "That was anticlimactic. Sorry, I don't know what I expected-"

The end of her sentence was cut off by a sudden gust of wind so powerful it forced both of their eyes closed. When they opened them again, there was a man standing before them. Sarah shook her head, sure that what she was seeing was a hallucination. She waited several seconds, but when he did not disappear, she began to panic.

Had it worked? Had her wish been answered? Or, if not answered, responded to at least. It worked, her mind hazily processed, It actually worked.

And now that it had happened, she did not know how to feel. Should she smile or scream? Approach or hide? There was no Toby to consider this time; she had made the wish, and the choice was entirely hers. But looking at the strange figure before her, she was not entirely sure what she had wished up.

The man was gray haired and bearded and incredibly well groomed. Not a hair or line on his tanned face looked out of place, like he carved himself from wax every morning. And he was impeccably dressed; a high necked coat of forest green trimmed in gold draped over his sturdy frame. Beneath he wore a matching waistcoat, a poet's shirt buttoned at the neck, and thick gloves spun of tough brown leather. In one hand he held a massive book, his other hand paused in the act of turning a page. He looked just as surprised to see them as they were him.

"Impossible," the man breathed, his voice lightly accented. He took a step forward, causing Sarah and Will to draw back.

Will placed a protective arm in front of Sarah. "Who are you?" he asked, his high voice doing its best to sound intimidating.

The man looked insulted by Will's display. His upper lip curled and he seemed to look down on them as he answered. "I am Arden, chief adviser to the one true king of the Goblin City."

Sarah's eyes widened at that, her heart beginning to hammer against her ribcage. King? Chief advisor? The Goblin City? These were words and thoughts she had not allowed to grace her mind in years. She had banished it all long ago. None if this was supposed to be-allowed to be-a part of her life. But feeling it all come back, it pained her to say, was like releasing a breath that she was unaware she was holding.

Already the euphoria was making her dizzy. Every pleasant childhood fantasy she had ever had was suddenly at the forefront of her mind once more. Like no time had passed since she was a fifteen-year-old playing in the park. And she was suddenly keenly aware of how much she had changed since then. What had happened to that girl? The one whose imagination put worlds at her fingertips, daring or begging her to pull back the curtain and see the mysteries that lay beyond.

She stepped around Will so that she could stare the man straight in the face. "You're from the Castle beyond the Goblin City then?" she asked. "You're adviser to the Goblin King?"

"Yes," he replied, straightening himself as he did. "But please, you must tell me: Are you Sarah Williams?"

He said her name with such intensity that Sarah was shocked into silence. She could only nod in response.

The man's—Arden—reaction was palpable. His mouth briefly curved into a smile filled with wonder, but quickly faded as he looked at her. He looked as though he had been given the key to the universe only to find that the lock was broken. Sarah felt suddenly faulty under his gaze.

Will broke through the awkward moment, grasping Sarah by the elbow to grab her attention. "Sarah, what is going on here? Do you know this guy? And what's all this talk about- about goblins?"

"Will," she gasped, seizing his arm like a lifeline. At that moment he was the only thing keeping her mind tethered in the real world. "Will, don't you see? It was all true, everything I told you about. The labyrinth, the goblins, their king. I wasn't making it up!"

Will took a step back from her, his hands knotting in his hair as he tried to process what she was saying. Sarah watched as his brow furrowed and he shook his head back and forth as though he could shake this reality away. It was several long seconds before he seemed to get a grip on himself and return to her side.

"Sarah," he said, squaring himself to her. "If everything you ever told me was true, then what is he doing here? I mean, you said you beat the Goblin King. I thought you were done with these people."

Will's words brought Sarah crashing back to Earth. He was right. By her own lips she had proclaimed that the Underground had no power over her. She had chosen this world, the real world, over the world of her dreams. Mysterious chief adviser or no, her mind had been made up long ago.

Sarah approached Arden once more, this time with her feet firmly under her. "Why are you here?"

"Well, My Lady, I cannot say for certain how I came to be here. One would presume that it is because someone made a wish."

Sarah scowled at him. Just as cocky as his master, it seems. "Well that was a mistake," she snapped, "You can go back to your kingdom now."

That seemed to cause him to back track. "The Champion must forgive me if I have insulted her. Mistake though it may have been, I am not sorry to have been summoned here. Quite the opposite in fact."

"Why?" she asked, suddenly skeptical.

"Because you are next in line for the Goblin Throne."

Sarah's jaw promptly fell open. "In line for the what, now?" she stuttered, convinced she had misheard him. She, Sarah Williams, could not be in line for the Goblin Throne. Her mind would not compute such information. And so she rejected it. Simply refused to believe it.

She tried to imagine herself sitting on a throne in the Goblin Castle, her rambunctious subjects scurrying around at her feet as she juggled a few of those glass crystals. The image was so outrageous, Sarah could not help but grin.

Will and Arden both looked on in confusion as she huffed out a laugh and turned to walk back into her house. "My Lady, you mustn't go," Arden called after her. "It is my duty to escort you back to the Underground."

"You really are hilarious, you know that?" Sarah's voice boomed, clutching her sides in mock humor.

"My Lady, this is not a joking matter."

"Isn't it?" Her voice had turned grave. "You mean to tell me that your king didn't put you up to this little practical joke? He really can't stand the fact that I bested him, can he?"

She was growing truly angry now. That pompous prat of a king had better stay out of my life from now on. The last thing she needed was a sparkling Fae showing up on her doorstep every time she made an idle wish. I'll let it go this time, she thought, but if he or any of his subjects shows up again…

"Tell His Majesty that I have no interest in him or his throne," she snapped, making to walk into the house for good.

"But, My Lady-"

"I don't want to hear it!"

"My Lady, you must know that King Jareth has not occupied the throne since your departure."

Sarah paused midstride. Her mind was whirling once again. The Goblin King had vacated his throne? That didn't seem like him. Sure, he might have been weakened by her triumph over him. But she imagined his superhuman ego would allow him a quick recovery. What Arden was saying did not make any sense.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

Arden breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have succeeded in grasping her attention. "When you rejected his offer, the power of the labyrinth was transferred to you. A king cannot rule without his power, and so he was removed from office."

"Removed from office?" Sarah yelped, guilt sweeping over her. She had never thought that her trip through the labyrinth would have such drastic repercussions. A pit was forming in the center of her stomach. Though she was not overly fond of the Goblin King, she had no desire to dismantle his entire life. Her head swirling, she was forced to take a seat on the porch steps.

Will placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Why is this the first she's hearing of it?" he asked. Sarah was somewhat shocked by the sternness in his voice.

"It is near impossible to locate an Aboveground child without a summons." Arden said this with the air of someone who had spent far too many hours fretting over this exact problem.

Sarah looked up. "Why?"

"Childhood carries with it a very special kind of magic. It protects you from the corrupting forces at play in the world. At least, from the Underground world."

"Well, that particular brand of magic will expire in five days," Sarah remarked. "You couldn't have waited until then?"

"No, by then it would be too-" Arden stopped himself, realizing what he was saying. He cursed himself internally. He had apparently lost his edge while Jareth was away.

His slip of the tongue did not go unnoticed. Sarah narrowed her eyes at him. "Too late?" she finished for him. "Too late for what?"

"Well, too late for the…appropriate transaction to be made."

"What transaction?" Will pressed.

Arden gave a sigh of defeat. "On the Champion's eighteenth birthday, the spell of protection around her will be broken, and the full power of the labyrinth will be hers to wield. It will also be too late for her to transfer that power back to its rightful owner."

Sarah scrutinized him closely. He seemed less cordial all of a sudden; like he was somehow disgusted by his presence there. And then something clicked.

"You're not here to offer me the Goblin Throne," she accused. "You're here because you want me to restore the Goblin King's power!"

Arden scowled, angry with himself for letting things go awry. "Yes, well, I couldn't simply allow the seat of power in the Goblin Kingdom—a most noble and ancient seat, I must remind you—to pass to an impish mortal girl."

"You know, you're really not doing a good job of convincing me to help you," Sarah warned.

"Oh?" he queried, evidently no longer caring if he insulted her. "Perhaps this will give you some perspective: If you do not relinquish your power before your eighteenth name day, the labyrinth will drag you back and keep you in the Underground forever."Arden stepped closer as he made his threats. Sarah was unaware of when she had risen from her seat on the steps, but she found that she was standing toe to toe with this bully of a man.

She could see that he was trying to come off as intimidating, perhaps in an effort to scare her into submission. The prospect made her want to laugh in his face. She was not a girl who cowered before anyone. Not anymore. He could toss snakes and scarves and whatever else in her face and never see her tremble.

I'm taller than him, she mused, realizing that she was looking down at his round nose. The thought gave her the confidence she needed to stand up to him.

"No, perhaps this will give you some perspective," she snarled, poking a finger into his chest. "I am Sarah Williams. I defeated the goblins, and the labyrinth, and the Goblin King when I was just fifteen. No matter what he threw at me, I turned it into a weapon for myself. You have zero comprehension of my power. And if the labyrinth plans on dragging me back, I'd love to see it try."

Sarah then turned on her heel and walked towards her front door. She gave herself a mental high five along the way. It had been some time since she'd matched wills with a supernatural being. She was pleased to find that she had not lost her touch. She was fully prepared to leave the infuriating man where he stood, until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned to unleash hell on the king's adviser for touching her, but then she saw that it was Will. She glanced from him to the hand that was placed on her shoulder, confused.

"What are you doing?" she whispered to him. "You're ruining my dramatic exit."

"Sarah," he said, his voice sobering.

She squinted at him, trying to discern his intentions. "What?"

"I think you should go with him."

Sarah could only stare at him. What was he talking about? Go back to the Underground? It was the stupidest thing she had ever heard. She had no desire to go back there, none at all. She was making a life for herself in the Aboveground world, and she was very comfortable.

Are you? a voice within her asked.

Comfortable enough, she thought in response. I have friends, and family, and school. I have everything I ever wanted.

Almost; the other voice echoed.

She bit her lip, focusing on the sensation to stop her rampant thoughts. "Will, you have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't I?" he quirked. "Sarah, I've heard you talk about this place a hundred times. A hundred times! Don't try to tell me you don't care."

"It's not that, it's just I-"

"What? You're having such a great time up here? In all the years we've known each other, the only time I see you really light up is when you talk about this place."

Sarah frowned. He was right, and she knew it. No matter how hard she tried, a part of her heart would always belong to the Underground. That she did not bother to deny. She also could not deny that, had this offer come two years ago, she would have jumped at the chance to go back. But it was too late for that now. She had changed too much. In spite of what she had told Arden, she was no longer as sure of her own power as she had been at fifteen. Somewhere along the line, the Sarah that had fought her way to the castle beyond the Goblin City with the force of her own might had been transformed into normal, realistic, ordinary Sarah. And ordinary Sarah did not have the power to rescue a king and restore order to a kingdom. She did not have the strength even to try.

"And what if I can't do what he's asking me to do? Huh?" she shook her head. "What if I go back there and make everything even worse than it already is?"

"That's impossible," he said, smiling like he knew a secret. "You're Sarah Williams."

Sarah's breath caught at the way he said it. He had such faith in her. In a singled sentence, he had dispelled her fears, her insecurities. He believed in her more than she believed in herself. She flashed back to the way he had looked at her on the few dates they'd had. It was the same kind of expression. He looked at her like she was the only source of light in the room. And for some reason that made her want to run away as fast as she could.

"I can't. I can't do it," she whined, making for the house again.

"My Lady," Arden interrupted once more. He seemed to be mulling something over in his mind, deciding whether or not to speak up. Finally making up his mind, he said, "I must tell you that—should you choose not to relinquish your power—King Jareth will perish."

His words were cold and detached. They hit her with the force of ice-tipped barbs stinging her all over her body.

In that instant, Sarah felt her body lurch as it never had before. It was as if the world around her had turned so completely that she was suddenly looking at everything upside down. She could not move, or speak, or think straight. Suddenly, she was functioning on pure instinct as every synapse in her body boiled down to one, all-consuming thought: No.

She could not allow him to die because of her. That would truly be too much. Too much guilt and remorse for her to possibly bear. She no longer had a choice. It was frightening by how quickly her perspective could change. With one sentence her mind had been made up, absolutely.

"Okay. I'll go." Arden visibly relaxed at her words, and Will smiled at her with pride. She returned his gesture with a surprise. "But I want Will to come with me."

"Huh?" he responded, the smile sliding off his face faster than a change in the weather.

Sarah smiled at him in triumph. "If we're going to make this work, I'm going to need some help."

"Help?" he babbled. "Right, fat lot of good I'll do. You know what they used to call me in grade school? Wimpy Will."

"You're the one who wants me to go so bad," Sarah reminded him. "This is my condition: I'll go as long as you come with me."

Arden began to protest. "My Lady, this would be highly inconven-"

"It's either both of us or neither of us." Sarah laid her terms out flat. Her words did not falter, and she knew her eyes burned.

Will glared back at her for a moment before his expression softened. "I never could say no to you," he said resignedly.

Sarah smiled, grasping his hand before they both turned to face Arden. The aristocratic man did not look pleased at this development, but there was little he could do to protest. He had his king to consider after all. So, with a sweep of his thick, green cloak, he transported them back to the Underground.

Author's Note: So here it is, the first official chapter of Shattered Gowns and Broken Crowns. I was really pleased with the response I got on the Prologue, and so I plan to continue this as a full length fic. I have almost all of it outlined now and just need to sit down and write the damn thing. I'm going to try for updates every Wednesday. Feel free to get on me about that, it'll keep me motivated.

In giving credit where credit is due, Labyrinth and its characters belong to Jim Henson and the Jim Henson Company. The chapter title is inspired by the song "Chasing Answers" by Mina Mauldin.

Thanks to everyone who has read the story so far; I hope you are enjoying it. And let me know what you think!