Chapter 3

The lone dark castle stood for more than a thousand years, each of its delicate towers wore black shadows that embraced the darkness that enveloped it. The fortress that surrounded the castle looked as menacing as its dark center. Trees entwined themselves at the walls and twigs and branches alike poked at every possible angle while some of the grown roots made it hard for anybody to travel the ground. Everything made it hard to pass through the center. The fortress was a life-size maze, waiting for another challenger to overcome the obstacles. Anybody could challenge the labyrinth. But any ordinary person would give up the thought to travel and defeat this game. Any ordinary person would find it hard just thinking about it, let alone do the deed. The Goblin King smiled. Any ordinary person would have given up but not Sarah. Sarah Williams was a special little girl, he knew that from the start. When she wished her little brother away seven years ago, he had underestimated her. With that mistake, he had indirectly felled his kingdom.

Jareth sat at the window sill, one leg propped up while another dangled lazily. Instead of a riding crop occupying his arm, a little baby slept soundly in it. From his bedroom window, he saw everything. With his predatory eyes, he saw the guardian of the gate killing a swarm of pesky fairies. He smiled. Ever since his defeat he made sure his labyrinth would be indestructible. Inch by inch was reinforced with his magic, strengthened everyday and this time anybody who would be foolish to venture inside would sure get lost. No more shortcuts to the castle especially meddling helps, he made sure of that.

Everything that had contributed to the downfall of his kingdom the last time, he had improved. He also made sure he was three steps ahead of Sarah. With the snap of his right wrist, a crystal ball appeared. His lips twisted with what he saw, "Well, well. What do we have here?"

Jareth looked at the little girl who had now grown into a young woman. He thought maybe he had overestimated the girl this time, after all finding the labyrinth was an impossible task. Without the right key, information and knowledge, it was a sure loss on the challenger's part. Given the time limit, it would be a miracle if Sarah would be able to find one teeny tiny information that might lead her to him. His smile widened, he was so sure he would win but this time he knew better than let his arrogance get the better of him... Again.

Something green caught Jareth's eye. It was the pendant around Sarah's neck. Even from the small ball, Jareth would never mistake the familiar twin of his own. He touched his pendant then his lips turned subconsciously into a small smirk. He did not know how Sarah was able to get a hold of it and he did not care how but he knew he made the right decision making all the necessary changes and improvements in the Labyrinth. This time he was prepared. He had not overestimated Sarah after all.

Jareth snapped his wrist, it seemed even in the above world Sarah Williams has allies that might help her win. Might. He patted the baby in his arm, he almost forgot about her. The little girl was more bubbly and cried less than last one, her brother. The baby woke up, smiled and tired to reach for him. He reached out his free hand, Jareth was more than surprised to have the baby's tiny hands wrap themselves around his gloved finger.

This time, Jareth promised himself, he will make it impossible for Sarah to get this baby back.

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Sarah pressed the button to recline her chair inside the airplane. This, she thought to herself was the first time she rode an airplane alone. She smiled triumphantly at her and Karen's effort in securing this one way ticket to Russia were she would meet for the first time Great Grandmother Ingrid. Karen insisted Sarah call Babooshka as such, but Sarah felt that name was reserved for Karen alone so she decided on plain old Nana. The same name she calls her other grandmothers. Her thoughts were interrupted by a stewardess pushing a tiny cart filled with tasty looking snacks.

"Would you like some orange juice?" Sarah eyed the liquid before refusing, wanting a cup of hot coffee instead. After eating that peach Sarah lost all desires in eating all things fruity, solid or not.

Sarah sat near the window, the flight to Russia was sudden as Nana Ingrid explained over the phone she had dreamt all of this and strictly said Sarah comes immediately. From the tone of her voice, she seemed so sure and the next thing Sarah knew she was on the next plane to Russia. And Nana's call was the closest thing they have in bringing Sammy back. The trip was all too sudden; Sarah's favorite lavender silk shirt became a terrible match for her flower patterned denim jeans. She winced at her clothes, digging furiously for any cover up from her bag.

She settled for a pink coat Karen thoughtfully added. It had been a real deal convincing Robert to let Sarah go after losing his other daughter but Karen had persuaded him, telling a big fat white lie about how her Babooshka needed help after suffering a major heart attack. Robert was a little reluctant but agreed as long as Sarah returns as soon as possible.

Fearing she forgot her money, Sarah opened her wallet. She had a few rubbles while most of her bills were still dollars. Sarah had about $ 650 and less than 200 rubbles. Sarah sighed, she forgot to change her money.

"Do you want to trade bills?" Sarah lifted her head and saw her own green eyes reflected through a pair of expensive looking eyeglasses. She was speechless for a while, finding familiarity in his heavily accented voice. "..I'm sorry.. Did I scare you?"

Sarah closed her wallet and blushed."No, you didn't. I haven't been myself awhile. What did you say again?"

"I asked," The stranger drawled, his head titled to Sarah's wallet, "Do you want to trade bills?"

"If it's not much trouble?" Sarah sighed with relief. Exchanging her dollars would save more time than having it changed in Russia. The stranger got his own wallet and pulled a chunk of bills out. Sarah introduced herself, "I'm Sarah."

"Jared." Sarah inhaled sharply, her heart pounding hard on her chest. Her hands were frozen with fear while Sarah finally took in the physical appearance of the stranger. He had short familiar blond hair, his nose as straight and perfect, and his lips as thin. Everything about him was familiar except his eyes that remained a mystery.

"Jareth.. I mean Jared..." Sarah pointed at the glasses. "...Could you..ah... remove them?"

The stranger smirked as though he could read her mind. With his long slender fingers he removed his glasses and looked at Sarah straight in the eye with his matched sky blue eyes. "Better?"

Sarah released the air she was holding and the stranger smirked arrogantly. "Much, much better."

"Why the urge to fly down to Russia?" Jared tried to make small conversation while he handed Sarah his chunk of bills. Sarah held out her own dollars and briefly checked the rubbles.

"You gave me more than what I exchanged for." Sarah said lightly, she got the extra hundred rubbles and reached it out for him.

He seemed amused with the gesture, but his amusement withered when he realized she was serious. He slapped her hand lightly. "Keep it. I have more than what I know what to do with."

Sarah retorted. "Then give this to charity, but I'm not taking any of it."

"… I'd rather give that to you." Jared yawned and massaged the bridge of his nose. Like Sarah he reclined his own chair and positioned his legs comfortably. "You look like you need some wardrobe updating"

Sarah turned red, gripping her jacket tight. She knew her get up was horrible and between his brown leather jacket and shiny alligator shoes, she was an embarrassment to the face of the female species. Sarah huffed, "Excuse me, for not being chic enough to wear any 'frampy' and 'cutsie' clothes. And excuse me, for having better things to do than play mix match with my clothes."

Much to Sarah's annoyance, Jared laughed. Laughed so much, the nearby stewardess asked them to shush it. "Now, now. Little Sarah, no need to be all temperamental."

"And. Don't. You. Call. Me. Little." Sarah poked his bicep at every word. The more Sarah fumed, the more Jared laughed. Sarah added her age for good measure. "For your information, twenty one is hardly 'little'."

"It is." Jared raised his elegant eyebrow, daring Sarah to context his statement in which he knew she would. "When you consider how old I am."

"I'm sure you're not a century old." Sarah rolled her eyes. "I'll say you're barely thirty."

"Ah, how young you make me." He did not say anything more, but continued to raise his brow. Sarah paused a little and thought about their conversation, everything about him mirrored Jareth, except for the mismatched eye. Even the way he sat up in the airplane chair compelled her to compare him to Jareth. "'Frampy' and 'cutsie'? I'll have to argue they're not even in the dictionary."

Sarah remained tight lipped in annoyance, probing Jared into making her talk again.

"Alright." Jared paused awhile, thinking of another topic to talk about, "Why the sudden urge to fly down to Russia?"

It was a bait question, Sarah thought that much. "Why don't you tell me Jared? Why am I flying down to Russia?"

Jared laughed once more, showing perfect pearly white teeth.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Why am I flying to Russia?" This time it was Sarah who raised her dark brows. Her hands were gripping tightly the hem of her pink jacket, while Jared remained his cool composure, seemingly unaware of what Sarah was thinking.

Jared toyed with the green pendant Karen had given her, studying every detail until Sarah snatched it back and demanded he answer her. "With that attitude I doubt any sane lad would want to talk to you."

"Just answer my question Jared."

"Feisty little thing, aren't you?"

"You're avoiding it. I'm sure."

Jared sighed and massaged his temples. "Little girl… I was only trying to make light conversation. No need to get all riled up about it."

"Fine." Sarah's reply was curt and clipped. Sarah thought about the man seating beside her, it was more than a coincidence to meet somebody like the Goblin King within her 13 day period. Was this another one of his tricks to slow her down? She sipped her coffee, savoring the rich flavor before asking Jared. "Why are you flying to Russia?"

Jareth dropped the newspaper he was reading and smiled, "Good question. I was rather astonished myself aboard a plane flying to Russia."

Sarah swallowed the hundred questions in her mouth, nodding her head for him to continue.

"Once I found myself in the middle of this great plaza in Switzerland and there was this big statue of a big man eating babies." Jared smiled at the memory, "I was beyond euphoric."

"Is there a particular reason why you went to Switzerland to see a baby eating statue?" Sarah raised her eyebrow, enjoying the opportunity to finally be the one to raise the eyebrows and not the other way around.

"I have this habit of flying down to places on a whim." Jared explained, he was about to say more when a little girl about the age of six wandered over to them. Her curly blonde hair bounced as she moved over to them and she rested her head on top of Sarah's lap.

"Hello." Sarah cooed, she patted the girl's head and asked the girl where her mother is. Sarah looked around for any woman looking for a child but everybody was sound asleep, except for the three of them. Sarah smiled again at the little girl. "Do you speak English?"

The little girl only looked at Sarah.

"Как Вас зовут?" Jareth bent his head to face the little girl, smiling as best as he could. The little girl gave a shy smile, blushing lightly. She looked at Sarah for awhile before answering Jared. It struck Sarah that the little girl looked familiar. And it was strange to meet two familiar faces she couldn't place where on exactly the same day. Sarah dismissed her thoughts and focused on the little girl.

"Хайди" The little girl barely said. Sarah, who could not understand Russian, looked quizzically at Jared. Sarah continued to pat the little girl's hair and looked at her. Sarah saw the little girl had beautiful almost fae-ish features. With the silky blonde hair and baby blue eyes, she looked like a doll. Even her clothes were Victorian like.

"It seems her mother is not here" Sarah looked around again, making sure she did not miss any hysterical mother looking for a child. "Ask her if she needs anything or what her seat number is."

"Что вам нужно?" Jared asked, the little girl blushed again. She motioned for Jared to bring his ear closer to her, to which he did. Jared was nodding with what the girl had said. Sarah continued to look at the little girl, finding her nose a little bit like Karen's and some other familiarities. Her hands were the same shape as Sammy's. Jared was about to ask her something when she bolted out of their seats, startling both Jared and Sarah.

Sarah tried to catch a glimpse of the little girl. She only saw the sleeping passengers she saw before. Concerned for the beautiful little girl, she asked, "What did she say? Is her mother in the rest room? Maybe I should take a look"

Before she could unfasten her seat belt, Jared's cold hands laid on top of hers, stopping her and making her look at him. "She said her name was Heidi. And she wanted to tell you a something."

"And that is?" Sarah was surprised. She was never acquainted with that little girl, so what message could it be?

"Это началось"

"Which means?"

"She wants to tell you, 'It has begun'."

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Toby laid down on his blue bed, Karen had put him to bed earlier than usual. Toby knew she was nervous and anxious for Sarah to call her. Sarah had been gone for more than nine hours now, but he knew she was still on the airplane. The shortest flight duration was eleven hours and thirty five minutes, two more hours before Sarah would be able to land in Moscow and meet with Nana Ingrid.

Toby's eyes swelled with tears and eyed the clock hanging on his cabinet door. Sarah only had two hundred twenty four hours left to fix his mistake. He should have never made that darned wish. Toby kept on replaying everything on his mind, wishing he made a different choice or sometimes he wished he never said those words. If only.

Toby wanted to cry more with what happened that afternoon. Karen had reassured him everything would be alright because Sarah was doing her best, but Toby knew it would not be enough. That afternoon replayed on his mind, bringing goose bumps to his skin.

"Daddy!" Toby called from the doors. "Daddy, what are you doing?"

Robert stopped what he was doing and looked at the mess he made inside the nursery. "I figured if Karen's grandmother was sick and alone, she could come live with us. Wouldn't you like that?"

Toby's lips quivered but he remained composed. "…What about Sammy?"

Toby was barely audible but he made sure Robert would be able to hear. Robert shut his eyes as if he was trying to recall something important. "Sammy… Sammy… I swear that name is familiar."

Toby's face was white and lifeless while Robert struggled to remember the name of his youngest daughter.

"Daddy… Don't you remember who Sammy is?"

That wish was taking its toll on everybody, his father was starting to forget. It would be a matter of time before Karen did too. And it was all because of him. He's got nothing and nobody to blame but himself. And perhaps it was time Toby did his part, like what Sarah did. Toby wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He had to be brave like Sarah.

With all the strength he could muster he threw the crystal ball in the floor and said the words that started it all, "I wish…"

A/n

I am so sorry for the very long wait. ((( College has been a killer this new semester, I think all the professors have conspired to put all the deadlines on the same day. TT_TT I hope I have written this chapter better than the last :D:D I'm so happy right now, because with all the activities school has put me through I forgot about my birthday and when I looked at the calendar, less than 2 weeks before I turn 17 yey! :D:D Only one more year before I can have my driver's license. :D And when I have that, I will never be a passenger ever again. :D

p.s I'm sorry for my randomness, I had chocolate overload. :")

jayb1rd- Thank you:D I'll read yours :D:D

lulipmoran- Thank you! :D sorry for the long wait. I'll try to update faster :D And I promise to put a lot of author's note. :D Thank you!

Aarlaya Tracyn- Thank you! :D:D

Guest- Thank you! Toby made as appearance in this chapter:D I'm a big fan of Toby

BW4eva- Thank you! It was a struggle moment for me. I'm glad you liked it. :D

chQta4ever- Thank you for your reviews :D

laurie- don't worry I know it isn't a flame :D At first I also thought it was random.

Aisling66- I'm thinking about it :D I want her to be fae but I'm having a hard time deciding :D:D

Kaytori- Thank you! I hope so too, but maybe it would take another chapter or so. :D

Unique Fantasiser- Thank you! :D

I would also like to thank all those you have added this story to their favorite and alertlist. Thank you! :)

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