One

Spring, 1989

"Sarah, are you ready?" The eighteen year-old did another full turn in the mirror and held her hands up in question at the four faces staring back at her. She heard her step mother murmuring something to her father and rolled her eyes.

"Fabulous, my dear, I must say!" Sir Didymus exclaimed with an excited clap, his faithful companion, Ambrosius, barking with approval.

"Sarah pretty!"

"Thank you, Ludo." she said as she stepped forward and picked up her favorite pair of earrings.

"Sarah!"

"One minute!" She slid her earrings in quickly and grabbed her lipstick before hearing her stepmother call again.

"Go on! We'll be cheerin' for ya!" Hoggle insisted. Sarah walked to her door and looked up at her gown hanging on the back, taking a deep breath and running both hands through her long chestnut hair. She grinned and took it off the hanger, snatching her cap off of the dresser and throwing her door open. Before stepping out of her room she looked back at her friends and blew them a kiss, excitement and nerves making her hand shake on the doorknob.

"Do you think his Highness would be happy for her?" Sir Didymus asked after Sarah closed the door, the group looking into an empty bedroom.

"Well I ain't tellin' him nothin'." Hoggle huffed as he crossed his arms, "He don't deserve to hear about Sarah."

With a yawn and a smile Sarah entered her room and plopped down on her bed. Her eyes were heavy with much needed sleep, her belly full with hotdogs, onion rings and a huge milkshake from her favorite diner. A knock on her doorframe made her turn her attention from her ceiling to where her father stood.

"Proud of you, kid." He said and moved to sit next to her on the bed, "My little girl's growing up. It felt like just yesterday you were putting on your dress up clothes and acting out your favorite books."

"Dad that was literally two days ago." She said and he laughed, placing a hand on her knee and looking around her room.

"You've always had a strong imagination that I admire. And your creativity is amazing, I think that's why you do such a great job at your job."

"Thanks, dad." She said as she sat up and gave her father a hug.

"Get some sleep, kiddo. I'll see you in the morning." With that he kissed the top of her head and stepped out of her room, closing the door behind himself. His heavy footsteps descended the stairs and Sarah moved to her dresser to only be met with disappointment. The pile of clothes containing all of her favorite pajamas in the laundry room hadn't made it into the washer yet thanks to her busy schedule. She went one more drawer down and was happy to see a few oversized t-shirts. As she pulled one out something shiny caught her attention. She glanced down just in time for the object to fall from where it was nestled inside of the shirt and plop down on the top of her foot.

"Shit!" She hissed in pain and surprise at the heaviness of it. It disappeared underneath her dresser before she could get a look at it. With a huff and a sigh she knelt down and reached underneath, moving her hand around blindly until her fingers closed around something cold and round.

"There you...are...it's...it's a..."

"It's a crystal, nothing more." She could hear his voice; she could see him rolling it back and forth on his hands and that slow, devilish grin. It all was fresh and vivid in her mind as if it had happened just three seconds ago and not three years. Moving quickly to her feet Sarah rushed to her mirror and smacked the glass repeatedly with the palm of her hand.

"Hoggle!" She hissed, "Sir Didymus! Ludo!"

"Sarah? What's wrong, M'Lady?" Didymus asked with a loud yawn as they replaced her reflection.

"This." They gasped at the sight of the crystal ball, "Where did this come from?"

"That's Jareth's!"

"I know it's his, Didymus! How did it get here? Hoggle, was this you?" She asked with narrowed eyes and a cold glare, the memory of the enchanted peach still fresh in her mind.

"Me?! I ain't done nothin'! I swear on my life!" He crossed his arms and puffed his chest out but his eyes were wide in panic.

"He could have left it behind when he took Toby." Sir Didymus answered calmly and watched Sarah as she looked back down at the crystal, "My Lady? I doubt he's going to show up. He's hardly shown his face since you bested him and his Labyrinth. Barely anyone has heard from him. You're safe."

She squeezed her fingers around the ball and was surprised to find that it grew colder in her grasp. She looked up at the faces in the mirror and smirked, looking back down at the crystal.

"I wish..."

"No!" They all cried in unison. They reached for her but the barrier of glass stopped them.

"I wish the Goblin King would show up and take me away right now!" They waited with held breath and only moved their eyes to look at each other. A knock sounded from her door and Sarah jumped, whirling around as the faces in the mirror disappeared.

"You okay in here?" Her father asked from the other side. She exhaled and rubbed her forehead, finding herself surprised at the feeling of disappointment.

"Sorry, I was reading a book and got really into it. I'm fine, dad!" Her friends reappeared as her father walked away from her door and down the hall to his bedroom.

"Ain't nobody seen hide nor hair of him in a long time. I'm guessing his pride is still bruised." Hoggle said and Sarah heaved a heavy sigh, plopping down on the edge of her bed.

"I need sleep." She said as she passed the crystal back and forth between both hands. They left again and she changed into the oversized shirt, placing the crystal next to her on her pillow. She laid down and furrowed her brow, hoping she would get a response now that she was alone.

"Jareth? Can you hear me?" Still she was met with silence, "Is your pride really that hurt? So I beat you at your game. So I didn't stay behind to live in some smelly, dark castle. So what? It's been three years. I beat you, Jareth, fair and square so it's time to move on. I'm going to college soon so I don't have time to feel bad for you. Dammit is this thing broken?" She fussed and tapped it with a long fingernail, waiting for a reaction.

"You're exhausting!" She shoved the crystal off of her pillow, hearing the hard thump as it hit her floor, "Goodnight, jerk."