Tada! Excursion into Labyrinth #4! Except it is no longer an excursion, as I have now finished my other fanfiction, and can now dedicate my writing time to this without guilt!

Unlike my other Labyrinth fanfictions, this is NOT a oneshot. This is going to be a very long continued story. The one I finally get to share with you all.

Woo hoo!

Warning, this prolouge is mildly song ficy, but I promise that particular trait will be confined to this chapter! Besides, it song ficy to "As the World Falls Down" and considering the fandom I'm writing in, I'm pretty sure we all know that one.

Onwards!

The world was spinning.

Sarah wasn't sure if it was the couples turning and twisting on the dance floor, the loops of pearls that hung from every surface, or the mirrors that lined the edge of all the rooms, but they made her vision swirl.

She leaned against the outer wall of the room, a mirror that both helped her confusion, and yet provided a stable support as she watched the circular world around her.

The couples danced in circles, around and around. They didn't seem concerned where they were, they didn't seem concerned about anything outside that bubble.

Sarah thought it sad, even as she crept along the glass, trying to find an exit. Did they even know there was a world outside them? A world of wonders and delights?

But no, better to stay here in this world of riches and convenience. Better to dance around and laugh and drink.

They laughed at Sarah, in her enormous white gown, trying to find a way how. How silly she was, how stupid to wear white, to want to leave this place.

Sarah cursed her dress. She somehow felt that if she hadn't worn white, she would have been able to blend into the party better.

Why was her dress white? There were so many colors in that ballroom, red, green, yellow, brown, but hers was the only dress that matched the ivory sheen of the room around them. Why did she wear white?

The truth came to her. White for purity, white for innocence, white to show she was the only one among them without ulterior desires. Of course she wore white.

They mocked her for her honesty, giggled at her lack of motives, laughed at her innocence. But beneath that laughter, they were angry. They were jealous.

Not that it mattered. Sarah had other things, better things to do than to listen to them giggle about her. She ducked passed a couple getting handsy behind a pillar, her hand still sliding against the glass, trying to find a way out.

She had to get out. Had to continue on to the rest of the Labyrinth, on to the city, to the castle where-

Her eyes caught his, and she froze.

He looked… so very handsome in that sparkling blue suit. Standing on a platform that rose him above the dancing of the room, he smiled at her. Approving of her. Not laughing like the rest of the guests. He wanted her there.

At once Sarah was happy. Deliriously, stupidly happy. Happy to see him. Happy to know he was happy to see her.

Then a couple swept past him and he was gone.

The pain that shot through her heart surprised her. Somehow, she felt that if she could be near him, be in that gaze again, all would be right. Wasn't that why she was here? Wasn't that why she had come?

She plunged herself into the dancing, towards the podium. Perhaps he would be there. But the other guests pulled and tugged at her. Jumping in front of her with goblin masks to make her scream.

Sarah quite lost herself, forgot which way was up or down or left or right. There was only forward, if she kept on going forward maybe she could see him again. The harsh lights of the ballroom shone in her eyes and she cried, for she was alone.

Jareth. She needed to find Jareth. It was all wrong, all wrong. Her heart was crumpling like old paper. Useless. Delicate.

She wiped away tears, shoving guests left and right, pushing her way through. If she could just find him in this terrible, beautiful, room…

And suddenly, there he was.

Somehow he had gotten up again on the raised dias, chatting amicably to three or four women around him, drink in his hand.

Had he even noticed her struggle to get to him?

One of the women spotted Sarah and frowned. Jareth glanced lazily in her direction and froze, blinking, staring her up and down. Sarah raised her chin proudly, basking in his sight, in his attention.

He suddenly shoved his glass towards one of his admirers, his eyes never leaving her. Sarah shivered as he stepped towards her. His gloved hands hovered over her arms for a moment, his lips parted, for a moment he didn't seem sure of what to do.

Then he smiled, took her hand and waist and swept her out into the dancing again.

Sarah gasped in fear, clinging to him. He guided her through it, protected her through it.

And then everything was right. The lights no longer blinded her eyes. The mirrors only were there to show them dancing. The guests dared not touch her when he was there.

All was perfect. All was right.

He seemed to know it too. Smiling, looking down at her in a way that made her heart weep with relief. Leaning down, he pressed his cheek to hers and sang. Sang quietly, so that only she might hear, sang only for her to hear.

There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes

He smelled of fresh earth and sweet wine. Sarah breathed him in, leaning into his cheek. Felt his breath on her neck.

She let all the world be right in that moment. Let herself believe his loving words and gently embrace. Let her heart sigh in relief, in contentment.

He kissed her right below her ear, just a moment between phrases of that wonderful song, and she let him.

There's such a fooled heart

They danced on and on, and the longer they danced the closer he pulled her to him, till they were nearly flush against each other, yet somehow still moving in harmony with the room, and she let him.

Beating so fast,

He sang, and his voice was deep and rich and rough and it made her head spin and her heart laugh for joy, washing away all worries and thought, and she let him.

in search of new dreams

She trusted him.

A love that will last

She loved him.

Within your heart

Then she realized that they were dancing alone. The others stood around them, watching.

Jeering.

Doubt filled her. About what she did not know, but it was too much to face and she hid her face in his shoulder. His arms came around her back, rubbing it gently, his lips still brushing against her ear as he sang on.

As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you.

Everything was right. Everything had to be right. Wasn't she wearing the dress of princess? Wasn't she dancing with the man of her dreams? Then why shouldn't everything be right?

And then the clock began to ring.

All at once, Truth came rushing back to her. Clarity returning to her mind like a flood, her heart not strong enough to hold it back. She gasped at the pain it brought it, but she relished it, bathed in the pain for pain meant Truth.

Again she remembered that it did not matter what the crowd though of her. She pulled her head back, facing the mocking of the crowd. Refusing to hide from it. They were jealous, only jealous and she had what they all wanted. Jareth.

But... she didn't want Jareth, she hadn't come for this, Sarah realized. She remembered now. There was no reason for her to stay here. If only she could remember what she had been searching for...

She felt lips at her neck, and she realized Jareth was kissing it, stroking it, teasing it with his lips. He crooned to her even as his lips worked their way down to her shoulder.

But I'll be there for you, as the world falls down

Her mind fuzzed for a moment, but she forced clarity back. He was trying to distract her, trying to bring her back into that wonderful illusion.

I'll paint you mornings of gold

But she knew the truth. He could not take it from her. He only had as much power as she gave him.

I'll spin you Valentine evenings

She would give him no more.

He pulled away to look down at her, still smiling, still singing, looking at her with... with... what? Relief? Love? Joy?

We're choosing the path, between the stars

What was he so pleased about?

I'll leave my love, between the stars

Some instinct turned her around, and she saw that clock that had broken her out of the stupor. Still chiming, going on and on. Slowly, steadily counting down the moments. The moments to the end.

Her heart wrenched. Both hands pointed straight upwards. Up! Up for thirteen o clock. Up for no time. Up for failure.

But I'll be there for you

Toby! Poor little, innocent baby Toby. Whom she had so callously wished away. That was who she was looking for! That was what she had been passing through for. Not this ball. Not the dress. Not Jareth. Toby!

As the world falls down

Jareth's gloved hand touched her chin, and he pulled her back to face him. He was singing more intently now, worry flashing in his eyes. He was trying to distract her.

Makes no sense at all, makes no sense to fall

She looked up at him, anger stewing in her stomach. How dare he try to distract her from her brother. How dare he take advantage of her in the foggy state she'd been in. How dare he try to keep her here.

Falling in love

She stood on her toes, pressing her cheek against his and he relaxed, thinking he had won her again.

"Liar." She hissed in his ear, and shoved him away. She dived into the crowd. Shoving, pushing, struggling.

They tried to stop her, tried to delay her and stop her has they had before. Sarah snarled at them.

The effect was almost laughable, they stumbled back, arms pinwheeling, mouths open with fear. She laughed. For all their finery, for all their mocking and anger, they were afraid of her.

Sarah snapped at one particular couple, the woman fainted, the man toppled back into a pillar.

Another gong from the clock rang through her ears and she ran harder. She just had to hurry. Reach Toby before him, and maybe… maybe-

She came to the edge of the room, looking up and down the row of mirrors. How did you leave? There must have been a way in, shouldn't there be a way out.

The mirror reflected the faces of the crowd at her. Anger. Fear. Jealously. Hate.

Anguish.

Jareth watched her, pain etched into his brow- was that a tear rolling down his cheek? His lips were still moving, what was he saying now-

Falling in love, as the world falls down

Another gong. She had no time. A quick survey of her surroundings and she snatched a chair up from the floor and threw it at the mirror.

The entire room shattered like a porcelain case. The guests clung to one another and cried out at finding no floor beneath their feet.

Everything, the pieces of the room, the guests, the pearls, the chair was flying upwards. Leaving Sarah alone in darkness.

The darkness went on forever and ever, like an eternal night with no moon or stars. Sarah floated in it alone, the guest's cries still echoing in her mind.

The darkness pressed on her skin. Seeping in through her ears and mouth, she was choking on it. It overcame her, she screamed until her voice was raw-

Sarah woke up.

She sat bolt upright in bed. Her hands shook, her stomach tried to crawl it's way up her throat into her lap, her head reeling as it tried to comprehend what was real and what was a dream.

The room was dark, not quite as dark as it had been in her dream, but dark enough to make her doubt that the dream had been a dream after all. Perhaps it had been real. Perhaps the night would start pressing itself against her again.

Sarah grasped through the air beside her, till they found the chain of her lamp and she pulled hard.

Light flooded her bedroom. She hugged her arms to herself, shivering as she looked around the room.

Safe. She told herself. Toby was safe. Sixteen years had passed since her hours in the Labyrinth. Toby had come home. Had grown into a strapping young man. A junior in high school, earning a solid 3.8 GPA, safe and growing. No harm would come to him.

But her heart wouldn't settle.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and opened the drawer to her bedside table. Her hand reached inside, and pulled out a single crystal ball.

Sarah clutched this to her chest, her thumb brushing over it's clear surface, turning it just so-

Light sprang from some unseen source inside the glass. It filled the room, lighting it as if it were day, not three in the night.

Truth came to her. Toby was safe. She had won.

She rested in the comfort these truths brought. Her breath slowed, her heart settled and her mind became at peace. The dream's influence was gone. She rubbed it again, the light disappeared, she placed it back in the drawer.

Back onto her bed she fell, Sarah tugged the chain for her lamp again, then turned on her side to catch a few more hours of sleep.

So begins the story...

Reviews encourage authors and help them improve their writing. Please review! :D