A/N: Hello everyone! Here is chapter 3, getting to know Bran better, an important dream, a wedding, and the calm before the storm...

Enjoy!

Chapter Three: Makes No Sense for You

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The next day Sarah sat on a bench on campus soaking in the sunshine while scratching some notes down on paper. Every once in a while she would pause and tap the end of the pencil on the notepad with her lips pursed in concentration. Her last class had gotten out about fifteen minutes previous, but there was a nice green lawn with some trees and benches outside the building where she liked to sit and work on projects.

While her brain worked at a particular problem she was having with the plot of the play she'd been writing, she tilted her head back to watch the fluffy white clouds roll by. Other students walked by at random, and she could hear a group of girls chatting and laughing with high voices somewhere far to her right.

A flutter of movement in one of the trees across from her drew her eye. She blinked hard. You've got to be kidding...Another one?

A raven sat in the tree. It was like deja vu from the last time one of the birds was watching her, except this instance it was daytime without a storm overhead. But it did seem odd to see another one in a small period when she'd never noticed them before. Although, this one didn't give her the creeps quite like the first, but she thought that might be because of daylight hours.

While she glared at it, a voice addressed her. She dropped her pencil.

"Oh, I'll get it."

It was Bran.

"Hi, Bran. What are you doing here?"

He handed the pencil back to her, his fingers brushing against hers as he gave her a winning smile. "I was spending time with some friends, was going to leave, and spotted you over here by yourself. It looks like you're busy, but I wanted to say 'hi'."

"Well, thanks," she said.

"What is it you're working on?"

"A project for one of my classes. It's a full play that's due by the end of the term. Hey, could I get your opinion on it actually? Your timing is perfect! You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," said Bran. His black hair glinted as he settled on the bench beside her, and his fingers toyed with the drawstrings of his sweatshirt. Those strange golden eyes regarded her curiously.

She took a glance at the tree where the raven had been. It still sat there, but in a moment it lifted its wings and flew away. Her unease settled back down again.

"Sorry. Um, thanks again for being my backboard to bounce these ideas off of." She tucked some hair behind her ear and stared down at the page. "So I have my main protagonist and antagonist of course, but I'm having trouble deciding on some motivation for the antagonist since he's supposed to be complex but believable. It's hard not to be cliché. He's angry about something, but I need to figure out why and how. Am I making sense so far?"

Bran smirked and nodded. "Yes, you are. Continue."

He threw an arm over the back of the bench, but fortunately she wasn't too uncomfortable since there was still a wide space between them. After knowing him a couple weeks, it became clear right away that he was a bold sort of man who didn't mind invading people's space, so she grew accustomed to it.

"I'm trying to decide why the antagonist has something against the protagonist, enough that it creates real conflict without being cheesy. So a few possibilities I thought—"

"Revenge."

Sarah's head snapped up. "What?"

"Revenge," he said again. He looked out into the distance as if thinking deep within his mind. "Revenge might seem cliché, but it depends on how you use it really. Revenge is always good motivation to hate someone or to act against them. It drives people. It strengthens them to do what must be done. They become willing to do anything just to get a taste of it and bring about vengeance on the one who wronged them."

Bran's diatribe made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. It didn't sound like he was suggesting motivation for her story but explaining something from his own life. She studied the hard lines of his face for a long moment.

"Bran...revenge is never right," she said quietly. "It destroys people, especially the ones who are driven by it."

His eyes hardened as he finally looked back at her. "I was just talking about your plot, Sarah. You asked for an opinion, and I say the villain of your play should be motivated by revenge. Taking it a little too seriously, aren't we?"

It did not completely convince her. She'd learned of his interest in science, his desire to discover something no one else ever had, and the reaches of his reserved yet bold personality; but this was a whole new page to his book. It seemed to clash with his behaviour so far.

"I'm trying to help you," he continued with a softer gaze and gentler tone. "If you'd rather I didn't, I'll see you another time and leave you alone."

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "No, it's fine. I do need some advice, and that really was a good idea even though it's used so much."

"It's used so often because it happens so often. Stories are usually based on real experiences or...human...behaviours. Would you like more ideas then?"

"Well, just in case, yes. There's another part about it I was going to throw out there..."

Bran soon was listening intently to her explanation, and she quickly forgot the odd interaction and the raven.

Two days later, Sarah got fired.

She worked part-time at a large bookstore downtown between classes and had really enjoyed it there, but then she walked in that day and got asked to one of the back rooms by her boss.

Mrs. Steinbeck was a middle-aged woman with streaks of grey in her black hair and sharp features, but she had always been courteous and kind to her employees and customers. She could be stern as well, but Sarah never had any problems with her.

The possibilities ran through her mind when she sat down and waited to hear her fate.

"Sarah...I'm sorry, but...I'm going to have to let you go."

"Wait, what? You mean..."

"Yes. We had to make some lay-offs and after a lot of consideration, two people were picked. I'm sorry, but it's necessary to make some cutbacks."

The words haunted her as she finished her work-day then headed home. She'd worked at the bookstore for little over a year, just getting the job before she and Chris broke up. Going job hunting again did not sound appealing at all, especially with her school schedule being erratic since she had taken classes a little more at leisure. Amber and most of her friends would graduate in a few months—except a few juniors and sophomores—while Sarah took her time to finish. Now she wasn't sure if it had been worth it.

It was like being left behind while the rest of the world moved past.

What next? Would Bran suddenly lose interest in her too? Would she not be able to pay for college tuition? It seemed like every time she tried to get involved in something, it fell apart and she was back in her disconnected state of mind to the world around her.

At least I still have great friends no matter what. The ones here in the real world...

And so she worked on some homework while waiting for Amber to get home and tell her the news.

The days swept past in a flurry, and no job had opened up yet.

She'd avoided seeing Bran until Jessica's wedding, citing busyness as her excuse while in reality she just didn't know how to treat him anymore. His intentions were fairly obvious, but she needed to understand her own first. Plus, her life was falling apart, and it didn't feel like a good time to pursue any romantic roads.

The night before the wedding, Sarah lay in her bed staring up at the ceiling. She left the windows in her room open to let in the cool night breezes that stirred the cream-coloured gauzy curtains.

Why can't I sleep? It's not like it's my wedding.

It was another hour of shifting around and turning in a tangle of blankets before she fell into uneasy slumber.

And for the first time in weeks a vivid dream from beyond her own mind came again to her.

Sarah was in a familiar silvery-white ball gown that swished around her white heels that clacked on the floor, and a crowd of garish masked faces laughed and whirled around her. White chandeliers hung from the ceiling with a glow of pale light, and the whole place reminded her of a wintry scene. But what was she doing here?

She was looking for someone.

The strange revellers paid no mind to her as she tried to push through them. With her head craned and her eyes vigilant, she searched and searched. Time felt stretched and slow like they had been thrown into deep waters as colours swirled around her with the different gowns and suits stark against the white walls.

She paused when music drifted upon the air with words she finally could make out.

As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill has gone
Wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you
As the world falls down

For some reason the words made her feel sad as they sent a soft ache deep into her heart. The voice stirred something within her, a clear smooth voice that was as pleasant as the music itself.

But the rest would never be heard because a commotion rippled through the crowd.

The dream warped. A dark figure shoved its way through the assemblage, toppling some of the masked people and shouting to be heard over the music. She could not quite understand what the booming voice was saying. She did know that something was wrong. She turned to try and hide, but her feet felt like heavy weights. She could barely lift them.

The whole room tilted and threw them all to the ground groping for something to hold onto. The masquerade was gone, but Sarah still wore the ball gown and heels. She struggled to her feet and grew afraid at the new scene surrounding her.

Dark walls made of black stones rose up all around like some fortress enclosing her within its barriers. Night had fallen and clouds roiled along the heavens like a shifting mass of anger and shadow seeking to blot out the stars. No living thing was in sight other than her.

She began to run. As soon as she did, a terror jolted through her for some thing followed from around the corner. It chased her like an ominous, unseen pursuer calling up foreboding and dread around it like gathering clouds. She could sense it just behind but couldn't seem to shake it no matter how fast she ran.

Her foot caught on a stone. She fell hard to the ground. A silent scream tore from her throat as she whirled around to see what came for her.

It was a raven.

She threw her hands up to protect her face as it came swooping towards her.

Out of the dark clouds came a gleam of white darting like a falling star straight for them. Her green eyes gazed up with hope as it shot as an arrow loosed from the bow. The dark bird hesitated as soon as this new presence burst through the gloom.

It was an owl. A very familiar owl.

It spread its broad pale wings and attacked the raven with vehemence, talons clawing and beak bighting at each weakness of the sable bird. There was a fierce tussle and a great noise from the raven like screams of fear and anger.

The raven gave up.

It untangled itself from the gleaming talons of its foe and flew away into the night.

Sarah had curled up with her knees to her chest on the cold hard ground and closed her eyes and did not see who won the struggle.

She squeezed her eyes shut tighter when a hand laid gently on her arm.

"Sarah." The voice was deep and accented. And beautiful. "Sarah."

"Sarah, time to wake up!"

Sarah took a few moments to adjust to the real world after being startled awake from such a dream. Amber flung open the curtains and jumped onto the bed. Sarah groaned and hid beneath the covers hoping her enthusiastic friend would just go away for a few more hours so she could get some real rest unplagued by fantastical visions that she did not understand.

"Oh, you are not getting out of this," Amber purred with evil intent. She tugged at the blankets and bounced a little on the bed. "We have a wedding to go to! You may not take hours to get ready, but I don't want to chance rushing out the door and barely making it either." She leaned down with a lowered voice. "And you, my dear, have a date."

Sarah forgot her intense desire to sleep and popped out from under her covers. "Date! It's not a date."

"Ha! I knew that would work. And yes, it is. Not official maybe, but you have a date. I'm pretty sure he'll try to make it official soon anyway."

Sarah moaned again and dropped back onto the pillows. After a dream like that one, the last thing she wanted to talk about was Bran being her "date" for the wedding. It seemed so silly now. Why had she agreed, again? Oh yes. He was fairly attractive, a friend, and she didn't want to be a third wheel to her best friend. Plus Sarah had trouble saying no sometimes.

"What's wrong with you?" said Amber. She tucked some pale hair behind her ear and raised a brow at her quiet companion. "Any normal female would be thrilled about this, especially with Bran being so attentive and interested, but you...You're dreading it? I definitely don't understand. You are going to have to explain."

"What is there to explain?" said Sarah. "I'm not sure I'm interested in him like that or if I will be. I just don't know how I feel. Besides, you know very well that I'm not normal."

They laughed together.

Amber got up from the bed. "What is it you don't like about him? That's what I don't get."

"Well..." Sarah had difficulty finding the right words. "It doesn't feel right, I guess. There is something about him, like it's under the surface, and I can't quite figure out what it is or why it bothers me. I want to say 'yes' and go out together, but on the other hand I'm really hesitant."

"Hm. Do you realise you say something like that about every guy that you've gone on a date with or about Chris, your only boyfriend? None of them seem to be right to you. You know what I think? I think you must be interested in someone else."

Sarah laughed and slid out of bed. It was an amusing idea, but suddenly she thought maybe it wasn't so far-fetched.

Oh no...

One thing she would grudgingly admit to herself was that a certain tall, blonde, magical individual had incited a definite schoolgirl crush in those days. Of course she considered it part of the distraction then, but it had been there. Especially when that lovely dream had nearly worked too well on her...

"I'm right, aren't I?" Amber cried. She pointed an accusing finger at Sarah and raised her chin. "That look. It looks like you're thinking about him all of a sudden."

"No, Amber, it's not that sort of look. It reminded me of something else. Well, are we going to get ready or what?"

"Of course. Breakfast first though."

"Agreed."

"Last one to the kitchen makes the waffles!" Amber yelled as she darted out the door.

Sarah rushed after, yelling without thinking: "That's not fair!"

The guys arrived a few hours later to pick them up, dressed in collared shirts with ties and slacks and looking sharp. Bran wore ironed black—nothing surprising—with a blood-red tie. He also did not hide his appreciative appraisal of Sarah once she glided down the steps behind Amber. Amber had gone with a spring green, but Sarah chose a lavender dress that enhanced the fairness of her skin and the rich shadows of her hair. A rosy tint in her cheeks when she saw Bran's appreciation complimented her ensemble even more. The dress was of a light, flowing material that fitted at the waist and swirled around her legs until it brushed her knees. It really was one of her favourites. It almost made her feel like a fairy.

But fairies aren't actually very nice. They bite, she reminded herself. Well, I might bite too if provoked.

Her mind drifted back to the nightmare that somehow transformed into a dream. Could it be her own mind conjuring images after being troubled by the strange raven eyeing her back at her family's house? If only she understood what it meant, because she knew it had to have some significance. The raven and the owl. It gave her a sense of foreboding. Like a warning of things to come.

"You look...breathtaking," Bran said with a grin.

"Thank you," she said, silently noting the fact that they clashed horribly. Not as if she would've planned to coordinate, thanks anyway.

The drive to the wedding was a bit too quiet for comfort. Sarah slid out of the car as soon as they parked at their destination.

It was an outdoor wedding with white chairs set on the grass, purple and yellow flowers wrapped around a lattice arch and placed on the end chairs, and white awnings set up around tables for the reception with streaks of purple muslin floating down to the ground. It was all very beautiful and smelt of flowers. They set their wedding gifts on the appropriate table stacked with other presents and found some seats in the middle, not too close yet not too far.

"You did a fine job of matching," Amber laughed softly at Sarah whose lavender dress nearly matched the lilac hues of the décor.

"So I did."

Bran leaned towards her. "But I'm glad you did wear it. That colour looks quite fetching on you."

Another blush darkened her cheeks. Fetching? Sometimes he almost sounds archaic the way he talks. Sort of like...She bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment while trying not to think of him. Now was really not a good time, especially while at a wedding of all things. But it was nearly impossible after his reappearance in her dreams. And what a reappearance it was, literally swooping in to save the day.

That tingling sense of foreboding hovered in the back of her mind again. Was something about to happen?

Of course there is, she chided herself. A wedding is about to happen. Don't go thinking things like that. All of that is over, remember?

Bran was sitting rather close. She spared a glance at him out of the corner of her eye as she tried to subtly lean the other way. He was watching some of the other guests, but a slight shift of his lips looked as though he was fighting a smile.

"Sarah," he said, rounding on her, "there was something I wanted to ask. Just something I've been thinking about."

"O-okay," she stammered.

His strangely coloured eyes bored into her with unwavering intensity. "What are your dreams?"

"Dreams?" Her voice wavered at the startling topic. That was certainly not what she thought he would ask, but this could very well be worse. It seemed outlandish, but could he know about the dream?

"You know, your dreams in life. What do you want most, Sarah?" said Bran with pronounced enunciation of each word. His voice had lowered to an intimate murmur that sent shivers down her spine.

"Bran...I'm not sure now is a good time," she whispered, although she did look him in the eye even if it felt like waves rushing to overwhelm her. "We might be friends, but I don't even know you very well. I consider that some pretty personal stuff. Don't be offended, it's just..."

"Personal," he finished for her. He nodded and relaxed back in the chair. "Just thought I'd ask. I'm curious about people's dreams. What motivates them. What they want out of life."

A heavy quiet fell between them, so Sarah internally rejoiced with relief when the ceremony began a few minutes later.

The music played, the bridesmaids and groomsmen walked down the aisle, and the bride herself appeared at the end on the arm of her father. Jessica glowed with happiness as she glided down the grass towards her future husband, and Sarah admired the beauty of the expression with a bit of wistfulness. The words passed right over her while she studied the faces of the couple who gazed at one another with a love that was deep yet hesitant and passionate yet nervous as they took that leap into a life together. Sarah loved weddings. She didn't mind admitting to being a romantic. She found genuine love to be a beautiful thing.

Then the vows arrived. Here she really listened, and that is when the world seemed to contort all around her like some force trying to pull her out of it.

"I, Jarred, take you, Jessica, to be my beloved wife, to have and to hold you, to honour you, to treasure you, to be at your side in sorrow and in joy, in the good times, and in the bad, and to love and cherish you always. I promise you this from my heart, for all the days of my life."

To honour, love, and cherish.

Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave.

Sarah clutched her hands together so tightly that they trembled. Her whole body stiffened, and her heels dug into the ground. A sensation of falling swept over her, and she closed her eyes to keep it at bay for a few moments more. She suddenly felt lightheaded from the soaring sensations storming in her heart.

After being distracted each time she considered the words and actions of the Goblin King, this time it all finally clicked into place.

To some degree she realised—since she hadn't listened to him very well—he was asking her to stay in the labyrinth with him at that last confrontation and offered a choice between him or saving Toby; but in this very moment, as a woman listening to vows exchanged, the implications struck her full force and stole the breath from her lungs.

The king had nearly been asking for a queen.

He had asked her in his subtle, mysterious ways to stay with him forever: to fear him, love him, do as he said, and he would be her slave. To love him.

Yes, it must have been partially done to deter her from defeating him and the labyrinth, but suddenly the haze cleared and she could see the scene as well as hear every word in crisp, sharp detail. In painful detail. His face so intent yet with a concealed earnestness as he offered up the bright crystal sphere to her with promises of dreams. But in some way he was offering not only that but himself.

How dare he make me choose! But...he really was asking me to stay, to be with him, even though he knew I would probably reject him.

Sorrow pierced her heart amidst the rushing revelation that reverberated through. It was a difficult truth to swallow now that she understood far better than she once did. She was still a child in many ways at the time, so the seductions he attempted towards the end had slipped right past, leaving only an infatuation in its wake. Old enough to do the right thing and run the labyrinth, yet young enough to not be swayed by a man's enticement.

The odd mixture of feelings coalescing within her threatened to break her calm façade. Revelation of such great depth and meaning stirred up emotions and sensations she could hardly contain. After trying to put it all in the past and leave it behind, even when he wasn't around he refused to be beaten and forgotten.

The King of the Goblins haunted her heart.

A/N: So we learned more about our mysterious friend Bran, Sarah's life seems to be falling apart, and the calm before the storm has just ended...

Thanks to all you readers for taking the time for this little story of mine. Reviews are very encouraging. Ahem. Just saying...