Summary: No one could blame her for walking away, except maybe Jareth. But now, ten years later, Sarah is being rewarded by the queen of the elves. Will Sarah meet her old nemesis along the way? What will happen when necessity brings them together? JS

Disclaimer: This goes for the entire fic. I do not own Labyrinth, any characters in it, or David Bowie. I do, however, own any original characters that appear. All of the titles of the chapters will be taken from lines or songs in the movie because I think it's cool, and it makes finding a good chapter title easier.

No One Could Blame You

Chapter One: Would You Go Left, or Right?

There was a storm coming. Clouds were rolling across the sky, and wind was shaking the trees dotting the streets. Sarah hoped she would make it to her apartment before the storm began. After a hard day of rehearsals, the last thing she needed was to get rained on. Of course, the day wouldn't have gone quite so badly if it hadn't been for Josh. He just wouldn't take no for an answer. When would he learn that she wasn't interested?

For some time, Josh had been hitting on her. Ever since Chris had broken his leg and had to quit the show, Josh had been insufferable. Just because he had been given the part of Sarah's love interest, he thought she was his to take. Josh was a good guy at heart, but Sarah just couldn't see herself with him. It had been like that for years. Sure, she wanted to fall in love, get married, etc., but every time she met a guy who liked her, she felt that something wasn't right. So, few of her dates called her back, and none of her relationships worked. She was seriously beginning to think that something was wrong with her. Maybe you should give up, a little voice would whisper. Sarah was starting to agree with it.

Sarah parked her car and just barely made it inside before it started to pour. As she changed out of her leotard and tights, a book sitting in her drawer caught her eye – a little red book with gold letters on the front giving the title, The Labyrinth. Had it really been ten years since her adventure?

Ten years today, actually. She had been fifteen then. Now she was twenty-five, and still single. Funny, she had always thought that she would be married to her handsome prince by now. But that wasn't likely to happen if she refused to date, or kiss frogs. Men don't come riding up to maidens and carry them away to their castles anymore, if they ever really did, in the first place.

After a quick TV dinner, Sarah decided that, for old time's sake, she would read the book. She hadn't since her adventure, since she had solved the labyrinth. She had looked at it, of course, and contemplated every detail she could remember, but she had never found the courage to read it. It was silly, but she had the awful feeling that, if she did, somehow Toby would be taken away from her again, and she'd be forced to relive the whole experience for Jareth's sadistic pleasure. But, tonight, the tenth anniversary of her victory, she felt that it might be safe enough. Besides, she was drawn to the book tonight. She always was on the anniversary of that night so long ago. She had just never succumbed to temptation before now.

Sarah reached out for the book, still hesitating as the old fear set in. In one almost convulsive movement, she grasped it in her shaking hands, and drew it towards her. She opened it up and began to read words she didn't need to see, for she knew them by heart. It was a short book, so it didn't take her long to get to the important bit, the bit she herself had lived. She read it aloud, letting experience, talent, and practice lend verisimilitude to her reading. She discovered that she was much better now than all those times she had acted it out in the park with Merlin.

"Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen. Give me the child, for my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great. You have no power over me."

At that moment, all the windows in her small apartment burst open. Lightening flashed and thunder roared, as it had ten years before. All off Sarah's worst fears seemed to be coming true. She expected an owl to fly in at any moment, change into the Goblin King, and announce that he had come for his revenge. A bird did fly in through her window, but it wasn't a white barn owl. It was a brown hawk.

The hawk made a pass about the room and landed on the carpet at Sarah's feet. The hawk seemed to grow and change until, instead of a bird, Sarah was looking at a tall, handsome woman with sharp green eyes, nut-brown skin, and grey hair that showed vestiges of the auburn color it had boasted during the woman's youth. Her robe was a deep red that reminded Sarah of dried blood. The woman's features were aristocratic and intimidating. Her keen gaze was fixed on Sarah's face. She reached out a manicured hand to grasp Sarah's chin, lifting it up, and then moving it from side-to-side, as if trying to get a good look at her.

"Yes, you are lovely," the woman muttered in a musical, accented voice. "Intelligent, too. I can see that in your eyes, but I didn't need to look at you to know that. No one beats the Goblin King without wits. There is power in your eyes, as well. Good, you'll need it."

"Who are you," Sarah asked, a little indignant that this strange woman would simply break into her apartment, and then proceed to appraise her.

"I," the woman replied, removing lean fingers from Sarah's face, "am Nabila, queen of the elves. You are Sarah, defeater of Jareth, King of the Goblins and Master of the Labyrinth."

It wasn't a question, but Sarah felt the need to respond, anyway. "I am, but what do you want with me?"

"I wanted to see you, Sarah," Nabila stated, annoyed that Sarah had not perceived what she thought was obvious. "All of the Underground is whispering of you. I felt the need to visit you. Pay my respects, if you will."

"Thank you," Sarah said uncertainly, wondering why anyone would want to pay respects to her, especially ten years after the event that possibly merited such a thing. "What did you mean when you said there was power in my eyes?"

"Aw, you noticed that, too, did you," Nabila whispered. "You notice the important things. I like that. Yes, I did mention power, your power, to be precise."

"M-my power," Sarah stuttered, taken aback. Her eyes were now very round, and her mouth was hanging open, making her look very like a snake ready for a meal.

"Your power, dear," Nabila assured her, circling Sarah and examining every inch of her from head to foot. "And you have much of it, Sarah. You have great power for an elf, much less a human. You only need to be trained."

"But if I had powers, I would know about them, right," Sarah reasoned, impetuously flicking a lock of her hair away from her frazzled face. "I've never noticed any powers, so they can't exist."

"Dear, I am never wrong about these things," Nabila argued, impatient to have her accept it. "You haven't tapped into them, yet. They are now dormant, or mostly dormant, anyway. You'll find them quite strong once you use them."

"I still can't believe you," Sarah muttered, a little unsure of herself. For some reason, this all sounded right. She knew it shouldn't make any sense to her, but she was beginning to wonder if it were true. It might explain a few things, like why it always seemed to rain when she was upset.

Nabila could see the girl's doubt of her own position in the discussion. The queen knew the girl would soon see.

"Come with me to the Underground, Sarah," Nabila offered abruptly, reaching out an inviting hand. "Come and open your mind to new possibilities. You'll discover there the world you've always wanted to belong to – a world of magic and romance. The Underground awaits you, longs to have you home again."

"The Underground is not my home," Sarah protested. "Besides, I can't just pick up and leave. I have a life here, a family, a…a career. I can't leave all that behind at a moment's notice."

"You won't have to, Sarah," Nabila told her, allowing her outstretched fingers to curl into a dainty fist. "You can still see your family anytime you want to. You'll have to give up your career, I admit, but I can offer you so much more than that. I want to train you in the arts of magic. I want you to be my heiress, the future queen."

That had been grossly unexpected. Sarah had been smart enough to know that Nabila would expect something in return for whatever she was going to offer, but Sarah had no idea of what was in the woman's mind. Now Sarah was really startled.

"Are you serious," Sarah asked. "You don't even know me."

"But I do know that you are remarkable," Nabila countered, spreading her arms out a bit and shrugging her shoulders elegantly. "You are the only human to ever solve the Labyrinth. You also have great magic. I have been watching you for years, even before your adventure in the Labyrinth. Many in the Underground have."

"People have been watching me," Sarah repeated, stunned. "Who have?"

"Rulers mostly," Nabila commented, as if they were having a perfectly normal discussion about flowers or cake recipes. "Only the most powerful of the inhabitants of the Underground can gauge some else's level of magic and even fewer can see the magic of the creatures of the Aboveground. You were marked long ago as someone to watch out for. Many have plans to make you the wife of their son, or their own wife, or a servant of sorts, but I want to offer you my throne once I die."

"People want to marry me," Sarah croaked.

"Oh, yes," Nabila assured her. "A union with you could produce very powerful offspring, indeed."

"I don't want to get married because of whatever powers I may have," Sarah cried.

"Which is why you should take my offer," Nabila rejoined.

"What if I don't want to take anybody's offer? I don't want to be a fairy princess anymore. That's too much responsibility for me. I'm much more realistic than I was at fifteen."

"It is reality, and I would suggest that you accept it, Sarah," the queen retorted regally. "You don't belong here. You know that. If you belonged here, you wouldn't spend half of your time dreaming that you were somewhere else. And just think of the long life you'll have," she coaxed. "I can't promise you immortality – no one can have that, not even my kind, but you'll live one hundred times longer than a human would. We age one of your years every century. You know you are tempted to take my offer. Give into it."

"But why do you want me," Sarah demanded.

"Your powers, of course, and your great ingenuity," Nabila added lightly. "You proved yourself worthy when you were only fifteen years old."

"But I had a lot of help," Sarah admitted.

"And you knew how to choose it. That is a good trait for a leader."

"I don't know," Sarah said noncommittally, wishing that wasn't a good point.

"How about I give you a month to think it over," Nabila suggested. "In a month, the show you're working on will be over. That will be the perfect time for your decision. You won't have any more responsibilities holding you here."

"Alright," Sarah agreed. "I'll think it over, but I don't make any promises."

"I know, but I'm confident that you will see this is the best course of action."

That said Nabila vanished before Sarah's bewildered eyes.

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Sarah did think about Nabila's offer. After all, one is not offered to be made royalty, magical royalty, every day, but she was still torn. Nabila had promised that Sarah would be able to visit her family, and would learn magic, but she was still also afraid of what Nabila was asking her to do. Sarah didn't know how to be a queen, especially to a people of which she knew next to nothing. She had always supposed that elves were nice, but she had thought the same of fairies. She had also always thought, until she read The Lord of the Rings, that they were little, bearded men who made shoes or toys, but she couldn't imagine Nabila making either.

There was also the little matter of whether she could trust Nabila, or not. Could this all be some elaborate scheme to get her back within Jareth's reach? Surely not. Jareth's world couldn't possibly revolve around her. She couldn't quite shake the feeling that he was behind this, but it still seemed far-fetched, when she thought about it, that he would be out for her blood. She had beaten him and his labyrinth. If there was any justice in the world, that would provide her a little immunity.

Or perhaps, this was a trap set up by Nabila herself to get these alleged powers that Sarah possessed. Sarah suspected that there was a very good chance she would end up dead if she decided to go with Nabila. Still, it was so tempting. Sarah wasn't sure that she could live the rest of her life wondering if she had really passed up the opportunity she had dreamed of since she was a child. Granted, Nabila was no Prince Charming on a white charger, but if she was willing to play Merlin to Sarah's King Arthur, perhaps she was better than a prince.

There was really only one thing she could do to decide which choice would be best. She had to talk to her family.

But how could she possibly do that? They would never believe her. What if they thought she was crazy? How many bridges would she be burning if she went to them with a story about goblins, dwarfs, fairies, elves, and whole realms that no human knew existed, except for her? At the very best, they would probably just laugh at her, thinking it was all a bizarre joke. Even Toby didn't believe in magic anymore.

No, she was on her own with this decision. If she chose to take Nabila's offer, she would have to tell her parents about it. After all, she couldn't just disappear for a while. She certainly couldn't keep returning year after year almost unchanged while her family aged. That would require several unconvincing lies that would never satisfy them. Nabila would have to help convince them of the truth with her magic.

That sounded like a very good plan, and easily made. The actual decision was another matter entirely.

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"Hoggle, I need you," Sarah called as soon as she was back from rehearsal the following day. "All of you," she added.

"Well, it's about time," Hoggle's reflection grumbled gruffly. Sarah turned around to find the dwarf staring at her with his hands on his hips. He seemed much the worse for wear in his grubby clothes and deeply lined skin. Ludo, the massive auburn coated yeti, looked awkward in the small room as he tried to find a place to sit without damaging anything, and Didymus, the flawlessly clad fox-knight, had swept into a low, chivalrous bow before straightening up to gaze adoringly at "the Lady Sarah."

"You haven't called on us in months now," Hoggle continued.

"I've been so busy," Sarah sighed. "That's the downside to being successful in showbiz. You have to work all the time." Hoggle didn't seem appeased by her explanation. "I know I use the same old excuse every time I call on you, but you have to understand that I don't have a lot of free time anymore. I don't even see my family much these days."

Hoggle was mollified a bit more by this, so he asked, "What do you need us for today, Sarah?"

"Last night I got the strangest offer in the world," Sarah began, "and I need some help deciding if I want to take it."

"My lady," Didymus piped up, "I'm afraid we can give you no counsel in regards to your career, for we know nothing of human entertainment."

"It wasn't a job offer," Sarah said. "Well, at least not like that. It's a long story, so I should probably start at the beginning." Sarah told them all of the events of the previous night, as well as all of her theories concerning the earnestness of the queen. By the time she finished her story, they were all reasonably impressed, especially Didymus.

"You mean to say that you, my lady, may become a queen," Didymus was shouting excitedly. "And of the elves, my lady! Such an honor was never bestowed upon a human before now. I advise you to take the offer. You could get no better in all the world."

"Now, wait a second," Hoggle cautioned. "This is a big decision to make. What if it's dangerous? She could get hurt by this Nabila. She sounds a lot like Jareth to me." He spat the king's name, as if it left a foul taste in his mouth. "You know the king's capable of anything to get what he wants. This queen may be no different."

"But she may be different," the fox-knight reasoned. "Everyone deserves the benefit of a doubt. I have always heard that the elves are peerless in virtue."

"Sarah, queen," Ludo asked, astonished to be in the presence of royalty. He had never even met the goblin king. He found it awe-inspiring that his old friend could be as powerful as Jareth one day.

"Not yet," Sarah chuckled, scratching him behind the ears. "How about you all state what you think I should, and why."

"I say, you shouldn't," Hoggle declared, "because it could be dangerous, but you have to do what you want. It's your decision."

"I believe that you must agree to be queen," Sir Didymus advised, "because it would be a great honor."

"Yeah," Ludo agreed, unable to formulate his own opinion.

"I'll consider all of your arguments," Sarah assured them. "I still have a month to think it over. I'll let you know what I decide as soon as I make a decision."

Hoggle, Didymus and Ludo finally had to leave. Sarah continued to stew over the situation for several hours before going to bed. She dreamed of the Labyrinth and its strange master for the first time in years.