Useless. The word repeated over and over again in her mind as she turned corner after corner. Janelle was useless. Her husband, her son, her friends… they would all think she was useless when she finally made it out of this hell and returned empty handed. How many hours had passed since that hauntingly beautiful man had sent her down here? How many more hours did she have before Sarah was lost to them forever?

Or a better question would be; how many hours did Janelle have before she woke up?

She knew it was a bad habit to mix the high level of caffeine she drank every day with the Xanex her doctor had prescribed to her a few years before. But this was borderline psychotic. If she was lucky, she was having some sort of psychotic break and had fallen asleep during her nightly chores. If she was lucky, the labyrinth she was trapped in now did not actually exist and this Jared character was just an exceptionally vivid figment of her imagination.

"Lost are you?"

Janelle jumped, a feral scream ripping from her lips as she clutched her breast. "Don't do that!" She hissed. Her rage was evident upon her face as she looked upon the two headed creature before her.

"Lost?" The second head asked, tilting its head to the side curiously.

The thing before her was draped in a dark blood red robe, the neck splitting to support both oddly shaped heads with gnarled looking tree bark skin. She was reminded of the creature in one of those super hero movies Toby and Sarah liked to watch together. "You are disgusting," she sneered, her lip pulling up in disgust.

"I find that offensive." The first head snapped, narrowing its eyes as the creature crossed its arms over his chest.

"Offensive." The second head repeated.

"I couldn't care less what you find offensive." Janelle breathed out in displeasure. "I just need you to point me in the right direction of the castle at the center of the labyrinth."

"Jareth's castle?" The first head asked.

"Castle." The second head repeated.

"Whatever that man's name is. I'm searching for my step-daughter." Janelle explained, feeling the migraine forming behind her eyes.

"You don't want to go there, trust me." The first head spoke, shaking his head sadly.

"Trust me."

"And why not?" Janelle asked, crossing her own arms over her chest in defiance and irritation.

"Because the Goblin King does not take kindly to humans."

"Hu-" But the second head did not finish his parrot like repetition. The word human seemed to trigger a response from him. He let out a shriek and turned his head to bury his face against his counterparts' hair.

"What's wrong with humans?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Humans eat magic, of course." The first head explained, shrugging his shoulders as if it were the most obvious statement in the world. "Your kind are frivolous with its beauty and forced us to live the rest of our lives down here, without the ability to explore the Aboveground. King Jareth protects us from you."

"Protects you? From us?" Janelle wanted to laugh. She had heard many of the stories that Sarah had told Toby at night. At first she had passed them off as fantasy, but now she knew there had been truth behind every word. She remembered Sarah's stories of the Bog of Smell and the Ugly pit. She could remember all the horrifying moments that Sarah had described… and suddenly she was filled with dread.

The kind of dread that could make a human do terrible things.

Xxx Sir Didymus xxX

Though he refused to admit it out loud, Sir Didymus knew his sense of smell was fading. Ever since his liberation from the Bog of Eternal Stench, he had found himself growing less and less alert. Often even Ludo was able to sneak up on a slumbering Sir Didymus, and the tall beasts scent had once been so easy to catch. Not anymore.

So when Sir Didymus caught wind of Sarah's scent outside of Jareth's castle, he took off immediately. He and Ambrosius ran through the fields after their favorite girl's scent in a carefree fashion unlike the pair. They darted through pathways and across streams until with a howl of confusion, Ambrosius launched Sir Didymus through the air.

He landed upon his head with an oof at the feet of a rather irate looking blonde woman and the two headed Worgle named Shinin. Neither looked very happy at the intrusion.

"You are not Sarah." Sir Didymus sighed in agitation, brushing the dirt off of his body.

"No," Janelle sighed in agitation. "I'm her step-mother."

"The evil witch!" Sir Didymus yelled as he began to bark ferociously. Sarah had often told fantastical stories about her evil step mother and how she cared so little for her family. Her presence alone agitated him.

"I am not a witch!" Janelle practically shrieked. No matter what she did, Sarah insisted on making her the villain. Now she was only proving that was true. The hours were trickling by faster than she cared to admit and, unless granted a miracle, Janelle was going to lose Sarah forever. No one would forgive her for this. She would always be the evil step mother who wished away her step daughter forever.

"You will gain no sympathy here, witch." Sir Didymus huffed as he crawled his way back onto Ambrosius' back. "You will gain no sympathy from us." And he was off, in search of the real Sarah he knew was probably still locked away in Jareth's castle.

Xxx Sarah and Jareth xxX

She let out an exaggerated sigh, rubbing her fingers along the bridge of her nose to alleviate some of the headache that was building there. "She's incorrigible."

Jareth smirked slightly, clearing the crystal of the image of her step mother and Shinin. "She simply doesn't understand."

"She doesn't want to understand." Sarah stated indignantly. "There's a difference. She's completely against opening herself up to new experiences and all she can see is what's best for her, what's right in front of her."

"She is fighting through the Labyrinth for you, Sarah." He explained. While he held no fondness for Sarah's step mother, there was something to be said for the lazy effort she was making. She was at least attempting to make it to the castle at the center of the Labyrinth.

"She's fighting through the Labyrinth for herself." She knew she was being harsh, but her words were true. Sarah's step mother cared for no one but herself and having wished Sarah away would only drive a wedge between herself and Sarah's father. He would never forgive her for getting rid of his eldest daughter.

"You do understand what all of this means, don't you?" He asked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I know." Sarah breathed. "She's not going to make it in time. I may as well accept that now."

"Are you happy with that?" He asked, feeling a flurry of fear flood through him for the first time in years. Jareth was afraid of nothing. He had fought in wars and protected his people for all of his life. Being afraid of this girl was a completely new experience for him.

"I'm…" Sarah stopped, closing her eyes and imagining her life. Where once she had imagined becoming a world renounced writer or actress, she could now see herself sitting in that small room, pouring over the pages of the old musty book. Where once she had imagined a blindingly beautiful white wedding and a baby on her hip as she cooked dinner for a loving husband, she could now see herself chasing a magical child around the fields with Toby close by helping her teach his little brother or sister new things. Sarah's life would be different, but different wouldn't be bad. The most important things were that Sarah would still have Toby and that Sarah would get to live. "I'm happy." She finally nodded. "It will take some adjusting, but I'm happy."

As the bell tolled around them, Jareth let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

For the first time in many years, Jareth felt hope.

Author's Note: This story is almost finished! There are just a few more chapters before Sarah's fate is sealed forever.

Also, being that we are so close to the end of everything, I figure it may be time to start discussing... a sequel! Please let me know when you comment if you would like to see a second story. There are two options for the sequel.

1.) This would take place many years after the end of this story and it would be based on Sarah's life.

2.) A lot of you have been asking me to put Sarah and Jareth together romantically. This will not be happening in this particular story. But maybe a sequel based off of how their relationship grows and changes?

Let me know what you'd like to see!

As always, all my love; Kaasuten