The day's events leading up to the prom were harried and exciting. Karen fussed over Sarah as if Sarah was her actual biological daughter and that the tension between them both was nonexistent. Sarah thought it was a kind of an odd behavior on the other woman's part but decided not to say anything. It was best to go with the flow. Karen insisted that they both go to the spa and get facials, manicures and their hair done.

Sarah was all bound up in a spa robe with her head in the warm dryer. She tried hard to focus on the magazine she was reading but soon the words were beginning to blur and little yawns escaped her lips. Toby had woken Sarah up at the crack of dawn that morning and insisted that she prepare his favorite breakfast. Being a devoted sister she complied to the child's request. Now the hustle and bustle of the day was wearing on her as she relaxed in the all too warm spa as the hair dryer buzzed monotonously in her ear. The buzzing sound gave way to the gentle chirping of night time insects. Sarah was once again in another dreamscape. This time it was on a balcony overlooking the twinkling lights of smallish odd shaped houses. They seemed vaguely familiar to her. She looked beyond the lights and could make out dark walls twisting and turning into the black horizon of night. Looking up into the sky, stars splattered the firmament in unknown constellations as an incandescent moon cast it's glow. Although her back was turned she could feel his presence behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and slid them down the length of her arms and began to coax her to sway. As they moved in unison she closed her eyes.

"If you were to say to run, I'd run with you," he breathed into her ear. "if you would say to hide, we'd hide. I would do this because of my love for you and break my heart in two..."

Sarah turned in his arms to face him and opened her eyes. She could see how serious he was in the moonlight. She was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to say.

"My dear Sarah, you're trembling like a flower..."

Her trembling began to transpire into shaking. Jareth's face began to take on a look of concern.

"Sarah?" She heard his voice call. "Sarah?"

The shaking increased.

Sarah opened her eyes to Karen shaking her shoulders.

"Sarah? Come on, Sarah! Wake up! You fell asleep." This time is was Karen's voice that finally broke through her drowsy daze.

The girl started and sat up .

"No time for that today, we got to hurry and get you dressed!" the older woman stated.

Sarah mumbled her apologies, but was still going over the memory of her dream in her head. It seemed so real, but it couldn't have had!

On their way home Sarah kept staring out the car window. Not really seeing the landscape go by. She was analyzing the oh so vivid dreams she had been having the last few days.

"Are you alright, Sarah?" Karen asked looking concerned at her stepdaughter. The girl and the woman had been having a decent time up until the end of their spa visit. Sarah began to draw within herself and became very quiet. Sarah began to question things within herself. Why has he been showing up in my dreams? Also did he just say he had love for me? Am I sane or is this just some subconscious wistful dreaming? Since when do I long for the Goblin King? More questions kept crashing around in her head.

Karen noticed how Sarah's brow furrowed and frowned in concentration.

"Do you not like your hair do?"

"Oh, it's very nice, thank you Karen." Sarah quickly responded, snapping back to reality.

"I really like how the stylist gave me a French twist, it looks nice!"

Karen relaxed a little bit, glad to see that Sarah had snapped out of the daze she was in before. Maybe the girl was worried about some boy or something, who knows Karen mused to herself?

Soon they pulled up to the house and went inside to show Sarah's father and Toby how fancy both Sarah and Karen looked after the spa. Both males oohed and ahhed after the two promenading women. Soon thereafter the women hurried upstairs to finish getting Sarah ready.

An hour later Sarah stared at the reflection of herself in the full length mirror hanging on her closet door. Again it was the red dress that Karen and she had picked out last week, also the very same one that Sarah had worn in the first dream she encounter with the Goblin King. Sarah's thoughts flew to the memory of that dream and the others that followed. What did they mean? Karen sided up to Sarah noticing the distracted look on the young woman's face. She should be beaming and ecstatic as any other girl on prom night! Alas Karen knew that Sarah was not like any other girl, but still Karen was concerned for Sarah, something was bothering her.

"Sarah? Are you alight?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You seem a little out of sorts, you didn't didn't get in a fight with your friend did you?"

"Oh, no, we're fine." Sarah quickly countered.

Karen placed a hand on Sarah's shoulder and looked at her in the eyes of her reflection.

"I know I am not your mother, but I am happy to get to share this special moment with you! I do care about you. I want you to enjoy yourself at this time." Sarah turned to the woman and gave her a hug.

"Thank you, Karen, for being there and helping me with all of this."

"Tut tut, you're going to make me cry and ruin my make up!" The older woman began to fan her face to help keep the emotional tears at bay.

Moments later the two women descended the stairs. Sarah's father was taken aback a little after seeing how much of a woman Sarah had actually become. It was hard to believe that she was no longer a child and on the cusp of adulthood. Toby had the honor to present his sister with a lovely wrist corsage. Both adults took snapshots in various poses with the young woman and even a few with Toby in them. Then it was time to go, the moment had come as the shared limo ride had come to pick Sarah up. Sarah and her friend stood from the sun roof and excitedly waived good-buy to Sarah's family, as the black limousine drove away from the house.