Everything seemed so surreal in the hours after Sarah got home.

She didn't remember much about the party. She was just so relieved that everything was back as it should be. When everyone went back throughout the mirror, she was finally left alone with her thoughts. And oh, what strange thoughts they were. She kept running everything through her mind over and over; the wish, her new friends, the labyrinth…him.

Sarah didn't want to think about him, but she couldn't keep him from imprinting himself in her mind. She opened her window and leaned on the sill, letting the night breeze hit her face.

Jareth, the Goblin King, was the villain in her story; the bad guy. Wasn't he? He had tried so hard to make her fail, including almost killing her with…what had called them…the cleaners? If that door hadn't opened right then, she would have died. But…maybe he was behind that. He seemed to be in control of things in his Labyrinth. Maybe he had made it look like he was the villain, because that was how she'd seen him. "You cowered before me, I was frightening." Sarah had read enough faerie-tales to know that more often than not, Fae granted wishes but not in any way you would expect. They were tricksters. Maybe he really HAD just been giving her what she expected of him.

She kept repeating his last offer silently to herself. She hadn't really processed what he was saying at the time; she'd been too preoccupied with her task, with being the hero and doing the right thing. And she HAD done the right thing. She had saved her baby brother. But now she thought back to his words.

"Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave." It sounded ridiculous at first, but when she really thought about it, she realized it wasn't very far from something she'd heard people vow to each other many times. A mutual promise to love, cherish and obey. Was that what he meant? She was only 15! But…maybe age didn't mean the same thing to creatures like him. After all, younger girls than her were getting married in the human world for thousands of years in the past. And judging from his castle…and his clothing, the culture in the Underground was more like Aboveground's middle ages than anything else. But still…she wasn't ready for marriage. She didn't even really know Jareth. God, she hadn't even finished high school!

Sarah shook her head to clear her thoughts. This was ridiculous. She would probably never see him again. She didn't even know if any of it was real. She thought it was, but now that she was back at home and there was no sign of magic anywhere, she wasn't sure. Was it all just an elaborate dream that her over-active mind had made up? Maybe, but then why was she so exhausted?

She needed to get some rest or she would drive herself insane thinking all night. She got into bed and climbed under the covers, wrapping them tightly around her for comfort. She thought she would have to struggle to find sleep, but she was wrong. Sleep found her just moments after she settled in and closed her eyes.

If she had known the truth, she would never have been able to get to sleep.