I do not own the Labyrinth or David Bowie in skin tight leather. Unfortunately.

Please don't sue.

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"Sara, we're home." The voice of Sara's stepmother filtered to her upstairs bedroom. Silently, Sara sat at her vanity putting away the toys and trinkets of childhood. Her eyes skimmed over the photographs and playbills that where her mother's before placing them into the box with the rest. When she reached for the delicate globe with the dancing princess, Sara hesitated before finally laying it on top and sealing the lid.

"Sara, is everything alright," She could hear her stepmother on the stairs now, probably to check on Toby. Please just a few moments longer, Sara pleaded silently. I'm closing a chapter of my life…

Later that night, her friends would come through the mirror and visit her one by one – Ludo, Sir Diddymus, Hoggle. Unlike the toys and pictures, her feelings for her friends couldn't be shut up in a box and stored away. She made a promise – a pact if you will – that she would never forget them and would always call should she need. Each of them looked so strange and fragile in her own world outside of the Labyrinth, and her heart ached with the thought of losing them. Although her time with them was short, Sara knew that she would always love them and swore to keep them close to her heart forever.

Even as her head hit the pillow and her eyes closed in sleep, the memory of that promise slipped from Sara's mind. She awoke the next morning a changed girl. Gone were the fantasies and dreams of her childhood, replaced now by cold hard ambition. Reassessing herself in school, Sara realized that she would have to completely apply herself to schooling to have any hope of a future outside of a mediocre career as a half-bit actress. Forgoing friends and her old habits, she no longer had time to waste. The abrupt change at first worried her parents. Her father came as close to almost having a talk with her when she dropped out of the drama club. But when her semester grades came in, all attempts at protesting screeched to a halt. For the first time in her life, Sara had made the Honor Roll. He was pleasantly surprised to find that Sara and her stepmother were actually getting along. She was still somewhat sullen and withdrawn, but he merely chalked that up to being a teenager.

By the end of Sara's senior year, she had completely turned her academic record around. Her grades and scores left her with the pick of any university. Her tastes in schools were almost as perfection oriented as her fashion sense – only the best would suffice. Cold and beautiful, Sara made no friends at college, though she did hold her professors in amazement. She completed her Masters degree in a dizzying five years before entering graduate school. Sara discovered her true passion in life – Ancient History. She delved deep into the secrets of the past, hungrily devouring knowledge as if it were food and breath and life itself.

Finally, life was truly perfect. At an unbelievable age of 28, Sara had established herself as an expert in her field. Her cold beauty and unending depth of knowledge earned her a small measure of fame in the circles of Academia. She worked now for the Metropolitan Museum in New York, NY while she lectured upper level History at the University. Living alone, Sara was never lonely. Her life was filled with books and study. Her life was complete.

So you can understand why this busy, driven girl turned woman could no longer hear the sad voices of her childhood friends. It wasn't that she didn't remember - deep down inside underneath all the layers of ice, she still loved them in her own way. Sara had simply closed a chapter in her life. The door to her memory was closed shut, and some doors once closed cannot be easily reopened.

So Sara worked and studied. She made friends, she made enemies. She learned.

But she didn't listen.

Even when her friends lonely cries turned to desperate screams of agony, Sara never heard a word.

That door was closed. Sara simply forgot how to open it.

A/N: I hope you guys like this – the idea has been formulating in my head for awhile. I'm almost finished with My Immortal, and I promise to get that updated soon. But, I wanted to get this out there first.

Let me know if you like!