Darkness, blackness, forgetfulness. Surrounding, consuming, and then there was a flash of light. There was a face; closer than before, and more real, full of greatness, of pride, of desperation and, above all, of love. He was bloodied, his clothing torn, his eyes blue and unseeing. His hair, a matted mess, was streaked a deep crimson red, contrasting beautifully with his pale alabaster skin.

She could see the bravery in his stance, the love at his fingertips, and the death on his mind. She could feel the warmth of his heart radiating towards her in waves, the cold numbness momentarily forgotten. There were more flashes, this time none as fierce as the first, each a forgotten memory. There was a white dog, ridden by a chivalrous animal of sorts, a strange, gentle beast, pleading for her to return to him. There was a gnome – or perhaps a dwarf – short and stubborn, a crystal ball, and a white owl. And there was a man.

He had the same face as the man in front of her, only less cold, less harsh, less lifeless. He was beautiful, just like she remembered. There was another flash, this time stronger than the rest combined. There was a young girl, sixteen at most, wandering through a maze of cobblestone and brick, unless, of course, it was a labyrinth. She saw herself now, not too far in the distance in the man's embrace, their hair – his blonde and her raven – intertwining in the gently blowing wind. She saw his eyes, blue, loving, royal, and she gasped.

He was Jareth.

Sarah struggled to breathe. It was only a dream, it was only a dream. It was only a dream. But if it was only a dream… why did she feel as if she had been there before – why did she feel as if each of the bright flashes had been her own memories? Had they been? Had they been proof of a life that had been long forgotten or merely figments of her imagination? She glanced at the clock beside her, the red, glowing numbers reading a faint 2:47. Sarah sighed and flicked on the lamp on her side table and began reading from the diary once again, this time flipping to a random page further than she had read.

"I swear I saw a spark when we kissed. It was, despite the cliché, magnetic and fantastic and explosive in a way that none of my other kissed had ever been. It was like a kiss should be. Or maybe it was just the surprise that I felt. I can't even remember; my mind is hazy. I wonder what would happen if I stopped and went back in time to repeat that moment. Would time slow for me? Or would it go faster and faster like my heartbeat?

If love is what I felt for Jareth when I was 16, what does that make what I'm feeling right now? I'm going crazy, I swear. I feel ecstatic and excited and serene… and scared. Scared that he thinks it was a mistake, that it was another one of his tricks… that he may have actually loved me back then and still does now.

But what scares me the most is the thought of screwing this up. What I'm scared of most is losing him now that I've finally found him again."

She flipped the page again, this time further than she had ever dared go before, to the very last page. It was tearstained and tattered and difficult to read, but Sarah couldn't look away. And as she read she saw glimpses of her past; a crystal ballroom, a crying baby dressed in a striped outfit, and the eyes of the man in her dreams; Jareth's eyes.

"Do you remember the prophesy, the one I found a few days ago? I can't stop thinking about it, and I can't stop thinking about what I'm going to do. I never imagined that I could ever love something enough to risk everything. But I do. I love Jareth and I love the Labyrinth and I love my friends and the Underground. I never thought that I would love something enough to risk never see it again. But I can't stand knowing that without this sacrifice the Underground, and everything Jareth has spent his life working for will crumble.

I know that you're reading this Jareth, because I have left the diary open to this page so that you will know why I've gone. I never believe that I could have a fairytale ending, Jareth, you know that. I guess now I'll never get the chance. But that's not why I've gone. I don't fear love. I don't fear being a Queen or staying in the Underground or being with you for my entire life. I fear losing all that I love, and being the cause of the loss of everything you love.

I'm sorry for never giving you the chance you deserved the first time around. I'm sorry for being an arrogant, selfish child. I'm sorry for not admitting this – for not telling you what I'm about to say before I made my decision.

I love you, Jareth. And I hope that you can learn to forgive and forget me.

Sarah Williams

What had she done?