Chapter 1

Something was very, very wrong.

It had been some time since she'd called on her friends in the mirror. So when her family went to church that Sunday, Sarah feigned obligations, saying that she had homework to complete. The rain started as they left, quickly turning to a torrential downpour. She sat before her vanity and looked into the mirror, calling for Hoggle. The first thing she noticed was the darkness behind his eyes.

She tried asking him what was wrong, but he shrugged it off, explaining that the Underground was simply going through a change and it wasn't anything for her to worry about.

Another week went by and she tried again, but this time no one answered. Swallowing nervously, she sat at her vanity, staring into the mirror and calling everyone she could think of to appear to her – even the fieries.

No one answered.

Finally, calming her nerves with a steady breath, she called on him. "I wish to speak to the Goblin King, right now."

Nothing happened.

Officially worried, she reached for the Labyrinth book by her bedside and opened the pages. A sliver of fear went through her when she realized the ink was fading. What's going on!?

Bolting upright, she leaned over her dresser and shouted into the mirror. "Hoggle? Ludo? Didymus? Jareth? Where are you!?"

No one answered, but the mirror slowly rippled. Nervous, and frightened for her friends, she climbed through without a second thought.

As she emerged on the other side of the mirror, she immediately knew that something was wrong. To the untrained eye, nothing would have appeared to be out of the ordinary, but Sarah could FEEL the difference. The Labyrinth wasn't as "alive" as she remembered. There was no rustling, and no background hum of goblins. There wasn't even any wind. Everything was unsettlingly still.

Sarah swallowed back her fear and did a slow turn, staring around her and into the distance. The silence was eerie and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The only thing that seemed to be moving were the clouds- great black billows that swirled ominously overhead.

Gathering her courage, she moved towards the Labyrinth's entrance, unnerved by the lack of fairies around. Trees still grew, the moss was still green, the flowers and weeds still blossomed out of control, but everything seemed muted, withering almost.

She approached the door and stopped, gasping as she stared at it.

Huge, sprawling veins of wicked cracks had made it so insidiously weak that it was wide open and falling apart into dust. Sarah carefully stepped over the rubble and instinctively began to trace the steps from her run. With any luck, a certain worm would still be available to give her some answers.

Sarah had more trouble finding the worm's residence than she would have liked to admit. She moved down the corridor for what seemed like forever, keeping her eyes at knee level.

Finally, she noticed a weak glow coming from the tiny entrance to the worm's home. She crouched down and attempted to peer inside.

"Hello?"

There was no response so she tried again.

"Hello, anyone home?"

The tiny door opened slowly. "Did you say 'allo?"

Sarah smiled to herself, "No, I said 'Hello'. But that's close enough."

The little door creaked all the way open and a little pink worm came wriggling out eagerly. She had a small purple bow in her fur, and her eyes were rimmed red from exhaustion and grief.

"My sweet husband used to make that joke! Oh please Miss, have you seen him? He hasn't been home in days. I woke up one morning and he was just gone! I've been beside meself with worry!" The tiny creature burst into desperately hopeful tears.

Sarah stared, at a loss for what to say; but something inside her shattered a little as she watched the small pink worm cry.

"I don't, no. But I'm going to try and find out. I'm also looking for him and my friends. Want to join me? Maybe you can fill me in on what's happened here."

She turned her head and looked around the Labyrinth, trying to keep a jovial tone of voice despite the worry and fear beginning to crowd inside her head.

She didn't know why, but she knew they didn't have a lot of time to solve the mystery about what had happened to the Labyrinth.

The small worm shook off her tears as would a dog, and said, "I should like that very much, thank you." A quiver was still in her voice, but determination was in her eyes.

Sarah carefully took her in hand and placed her gently upon her shoulder before setting off again at a much quicker pace. "We'll get to the bottom of this... somehow. I don't understand what is going on here. I tried calling out to everyone. Even...Jareth, but there was just no answer. Where's all the magic? It feels so barren here." Sarah asked.

"I'm quite sure I don't know, Miss. Magic is the King's business. It's not for the like of a worm to understand."

Sarah sighed. She had hoped for an easy answer, but she wasn't really surprised. "I suppose we'll have to see if we can find someone else who can tell us what's going on. Do you know anyone who might be able to help us?"

"Nah, just a worm. My husband knew everyone, but I always preferred to stay home. Not much of a social butterfly- that was my grandmother."

Sarah began to go through the same passage she had last time when the worm suddenly yelped, "Wait! Go the other way! This way's the long way. Normally we would never recommend going directly to the King, but these be serious times."

"There's a short way?" Sarah asked.

"Of course Miss!"

"I wish I'd known that last time! I'll go as fast as I can, hold onto me tight little lady. Or, if you get scared, I can put you in the pocket of my shirt."

"Your shoulder is fine for now, Miss. I'll be alright. I just want to find my husband."
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