Author's Note: This is the last chapter of Blind Faith. This story took approximately five years to write, and I can honestly say it's one of my personal favorites that I've done so far. I hope you have enjoyed it as well. Thank you to everyone who favorited, commented, and encouraged me! You don't know how much I appreciate it!

Please take note that I posted the last two chapters (23 & 24) together, so make sure you've read chapter 23 before continuing on! Also, look out for an important author's note at the end!

Chapter 24: In Which Our Trio Return to the Aboveground & Some Unforeseen Shit Hits The Fan

Sarah laughed again as Toby told her about the centaur version of karaoke that he'd taken part in. Apparently there was a spell of sorts that would magically produce the music and words needed for the singer. Toby, obviously, didn't know any centaur songs and was impressed when the spell worked for Pearl Jam's Even Flow. The centaurs weren't quite sure what to make of it at first, but a few of the younger foals enjoyed it and came up to talk to Toby afterwards about more music like it in the Aboveground.

"Sarah, we gotta find a way to bring CDs down here! I have to introduce them to Nirvana, Oasis, Weezer, Radiohead, Green Day…" Toby continued listing all of his favorite bands.

It had been a day and a half since Toby had left with Palath. He'd called her using the crystal Jareth had given him when he'd arrived to explain what was going on and about the music festival and a feast that he absolutely had to stay for. Sarah hadn't heard from him for a day afterwards and was just starting to get worried when he called her again. She was sitting in her private chambers that Jareth had given her in the castle. A crystal sphere about the size of a softball was perched on a small stand sitting on the table in her little parlor. Toby's voice rambled on from the sphere as he continued talking about all of the things he wanted to introduce the foals of the centaur herd to. She almost felt sorry for the centaurs.

"Toby," she finally interrupted. "I hate to cut short what sounded like a good diatribe on the shortcomings of centaur knowledge of human pop culture, but when are you and Palath coming back?"

Toby frowned for a moment, considering. "Well, the Festival of Music is done tonight and I kind of wanted to stay for the big finale. Palath said there's a really cool tribute to all the centaurs who've died bravely in battle. Apparently it's the highlight of the festival."

"That's fine," Sarah nodded. "Will you come back tomorrow morning then?"

"Yeah. Might sleep in a bit, but we'll start back before noon."

"Good. Jareth still needs more time to recover anyway before he can rearrange time to take us home."

"You still need more time to heal too!" Toby insisted, his brow furrowing. When he'd learned of the reason for Sarah's collapse, he'd been angry at her. He insisted that she needed to take better care of herself especially with her new powers. When she asked why he was being so overly concerned, he replied that everyone knew you had to start slow when you gained powers. Sarah had rolled her eyes and chalked it up to his reading too many Marvel Super Hero comics.

"I know, I know!" she insisted. "I am resting! I haven't used my powers since I got sick." And she hadn't. Instead, she'd been communing with the Labyrinth. She'd taken to walking through the maze and just listening to the creatures that lived there. She found that the buzzing of her power through her veins subsided more when she did this. Jareth, when asked about the buzzing, had said that it was most likely because her body was still growing accustomed to the magic of the Labyrinth.

"Good," Toby declared. "Okay, I'm going to go join in the festival games. I'll let you know when Palath and I leave tomorrow."

"Have fun! And thank you for keeping me in the loop, Tobes."

"No problem, Sar! This is way easier to do than to have to sit and listen to you yell for an hour about how you didn't know where I was or what I was doing or if I was dead in a ditch."

"Hey! That was only once and for a very good reason."

Toby rolled his eyes, remembering when he'd gone off with a group of friends to celebrate one of their birthdays at the paintball gun range in the next town over and hadn't gotten back till late. He'd been staying with Sarah then and she'd freaked out about losing him. "Whatever," he said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Sar," he sent her one last grin.

"Love you, bye Tobes."

With that, the crystal sphere went blank and Sarah settled back against the highback chair she'd been sitting in for the last hour and a half. It had been an interesting past few days. While Toby had been with the centaurs, Sarah had been spending time learning her role as Lady of the Labyrinth. Aside from communing with the sentient being, she'd also been spending time with Jareth to learn how they would be working together. A lot of the work he did was actually behind the scenes in his office. While he did hold court with the goblins, it was usually only for a couple of hours once a week. The nobles of his court, could come to him at any time if they had need to consult with him. Unlike the court of Avalon, Jareth's nobles actually held land and had subjects who counted on them to have their best interest at heart.

Sarah had spent some time with each of the Goblin King's nobles over the past few days, learning about them and their lands. Cymbeline in particular had been of enormous help in learning of the different parts of the Goblin Kingdom. Sarah could tell that she and the fae would become close friends.

After stretching a bit, Sarah rose from her seat and went to find Jareth. At this time of day he was usually in his office reading reports. Something Sarah hadn't thought about was the tremendous amount of paperwork it took to run a kingdom. She made her way confidently down the stone hallways. During her and Jareth's shared recovery time, they had walked the layout of the castle many times. It was both a learning experience and a bonding experience. When she reached a wooden door with an intricately carved owl in flight, she knocked twice and waited for a moment. "Come," Jareth called out.

Sarah entered and shut the door behind her. Jareth was seated at a large ash wood desk, his back to the large window letting in the late morning light. The room was smaller than what Sarah thought a king's office would be, but it held an air of comfort. Bookshelves lined the walls on either side of Jareth's desk. A stacked slate fireplace, currently crackling merrily, was built into the wall to Sarah's left. A pair of armchairs sat facing each other in front of the fireplace with a small table between them. And a large cabinet with crystal decanters of liquor and matching tumblers was against the wall to her right.

Jareth looked up from what he was writing and smiled. He set his quill in its holder and stood to walk around the desk. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.

"I just got done talking with Toby," Sarah started. "He and Palath will be headed back from the centaur village tomorrow. Apparently there's some big finale to the festival of music that he wants to stay for."

"Ah, yes," Jareth nodded. "I've been once. It's a tribute to the fallen heroes over the past year. I imagine there will be much drinking there tonight." Sarah gave him a worried look. "And I'm sure Toby will be responsible and not partake," he quickly added on.

"He better not," Sarah mumbled.

"Come, have a seat. I'll ring for some tea," he indicated one of the armchairs.

Sarah sat down, tucking the folds of her skirt under her as he formed a crystal sphere with one gloved hand then sent it rolling off to the kitchens. She wasn't used to wearing dresses or skirts, but it was the custom for ladies in the Underground. She'd protested to Cymbeline, but the fae woman had pointed out that tearing down customs such as this would estrange her from those she was supposed to rule and gain trust from. So Sarah had sighed and decided to pick her battles. It wasn't worth it in the end to fight for pants. However she vowed to bring a selection of slacks, leggings, jeans, and sweatpants from the Aboveground. She may only wear them in private, but it would be worth it.

Jareth approached her and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead before sitting down in the chair across from her. "I imagine we'll want to plan our trip to the Aboveground for the day after he gets back?"

Sarah nodded. "And, if you can manage it, I'd like to get back no more than an hour or two from when we left."

Jareth rose from his chair and sauntered forward. He reached out with one gloved hand to cup Sarah's chin. "I move the stars for no one, but you, Cariad." He leaned a few inches more to press a kiss to her lips.

Sarah's heart drummed a rapid beat in her chest as he pulled back. Her breaths came in short pants, but she kept a firm hold on herself as she said, "Well, are you going to finish what you started?"

Jareth's eyebrows rose upward in surprise, but he grinned and brought his other hand up to cup her face before resuming snogging her. Both of Sarah's arms came up to wrap around his torso, and she gave as good as she got, nipping and sucking on his lips before allowing his questing tongue to slip in her mouth. She moaned and tugged him down so that he plopped into the seat next to her. It was a wide chair, but they were still pressed close together. Hands started to wander. Jareth's slid down her collarbone and around her breast then settled on her waist. His other remained at the back of her head. Sarah's hands fluttered down his chest, her nails biting into his pectorals briefly when he nipped at her lips. She continued down until she met his waist, and then began to pull him towards her until their bodies were pressed together tightly.

Sarah had a momentary thought then that this was the best kiss she'd ever had. She'd had dalliances while in high school and dated a few guys while she served in the army, but none of them compared to this. Was it because he wasn't human? Or was it because she felt something more than just lust or fondness for him? Did she - love him? She let that thought linger for a moment as the kiss wound down and they were both left panting as they leaned against each other, their foreheads pressed together.

"That was… quite pleasant, my dear," Jareth said as one gloved hand continued to hold hers, his thumb brushing over the back of her hand.

"I would say so," Sarah smiled and relaxed against him. They stayed that way for another few moments until a knock at the door interrupted them.

A servant entered and announced lunch, to which the Goblin King sighed. "Thank you, we'll take it in the small dining room."

Three days later found Sarah and Jareth finishing up with a final medical exam before they traveled to the Aboveground. Toby had arrived the night before and had been quite happy to be done riding horses for a while. "Seriously, Sarah," he'd said. "I'm going to invent a saddle for long distance travel."

"I'm sure the horse would appreciate that too," Palath had remarked.

Toby had shot him a look with narrowed eyes, but chose not to reply. They'd gone up to the castle then and Jareth had arranged for dinner and rooms for both centaur and teenager. They'd woken up early the next day and made preparations to leave. Jareth left instructions with Duke Freyr Erikson as he would be filling in for the Goblin Monarch while they were away. Then they'd all submitted to one last medical exam. "Are you finished?" Jareth grumbled from his chair in his office where Healer Isla had agreed to meet them.

The healer turned from where she was writing something in her healer's journal and narrowed her eyes at the Goblin King. "I'm sure I could come up with a dozen other preventative tests to do if I so chose," she threatened in a low voice.

Jareth swallowed and shook his head. "I don't think that will be necessary. Please, take your time, great healer," he bowed his head in deference to her.

"That's what I thought," she replied before turning back to finish her entry. "There," she said after another minute. "You both are perfectly healthy," she turned to face both Sarah and Jareth. "And I expect you to stay that way for longer than a fortnight at least."

Sarah and Jareth looked at each other for a moment before nodding. "Of course, Healer Isla. We thank you for your gentle care these past weeks," Sarah said apologetically as she stood from her chair near the fireplace.

The healer looked her up and down and nodded once. "At least one of you has an appreciation for my skills." She gathered her things off the desktop. "I'll be taking my leave for Lemwyn now."

Jareth stood as well and came forward. "If you'll allow me to, I'd be happy to create a portal to shorten your journey."

"I'll take you up on that, Goblin King," Healer Isla nodded. "Oh, before I go though, your brother wanted me to ask when you plan on returning?"

"Tell Rhihart it shouldn't take more than a few days. I'll send a message to him later if he's so worried about it."

Healer Isla raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment further. "If you would then?"

"Of course," Jareth replied and made a complicated gesture with both hands, which resulted in a small portal opening up in the middle of his office. On the other side, they could see the front gates of Lathe, Lemwyn's capital city and Rhihart's domain. Healer Isla nodded once more to them then walked through. The portal closed with a snap behind her.

"We should go see if Toby is ready yet," Sarah said once the portal had disappeared. She turned to exit his office. "Are you ready to go?" she asked over her shoulder.

Jareth let out an inelegant snort. "Of course I am," he mumbled.

"Uh huh," Sarah replied as they walked down the hall together. "You're going to use your magic to pack a bag when we get to your room, aren't you?"

There was quiet for a moment before Jareth replied, "I'm a grown man, Sarah, I don't need to be told how or when to pack!"

Sarah smiled to herself, but didn't press the issue further. Jareth veered off to his rooms to collect his bag, while Sarah found Toby three doors down. "Are you ready?" she asked after knocking on the door and entering. Inside, the teen had somehow managed to make a bit of a mess even though he'd only been inhabiting the room for approximately eighteen hours.

"Yeah, I don't really have much to take with, you know," he said scratching his head and looking around at the room. "The clothes I came in were kind of ruined by that arrow and I don't think mom and dad would approve of my bow."

"You're going to leave it here?"

Toby nodded. "Yeah, I mean, if that's okay with you? I figure I'll get to come back and shoot it with Palath or Andrius soon."

Sarah hadn't really thought about it, but her younger brother had made genuine friends here in the Underground and it would make sense that he would want to return. Not to mention that as an Honorary Member of the Centaur Herd he may be asked to do things or attend celebrations. She supposed that they could make up something about him visiting Sarah's place whenever he wanted to come to the Underground. "Yeah, of course," she replied.

"Do ya suppose Jareth could magic me some Aboveground clothes?" he asked, plucking at the trousers and jerkin he was currently wearing.

Sarah stood back and examined her brother. "I think I might be able to help you with that."

"Really?" Toby gave her a skeptical look. "No offence, but how much practice do you have using your magic?"

"I can do some things!" she fired back. "Watch." With that, she looked down at her own pale green dress and visualized what she wanted it to look like. She closed her eyes and reached for that tingling feeling in her chest where she could feel her magic, and let it build for a moment before releasing it into her clothing. There was a small woosh of air and her clothing rippled in the breeze as they transformed into a pale green peasant shirt and dark jeans. She looked herself over to make sure everything was fine. "See?"

Toby didn't seem entirely convinced, but nodded and closed his eyes. Sarah thought for a moment, visualizing what she wanted her magic to do, then reached for that tingling feeling again. It built for a few seconds before rippling outward and creating a low breeze around Toby as it changed his trousers and jerkin into a long sleeve dark blue shirt with a silver arrow across the chest and black jeans. Toby looked down once the breeze disappeared and nodded. "Not bad!"

"I told you so," Sarah sassed. "Now come on, we're going to meet Jareth in the throne room."

With that, the two siblings walked down to meet the fae monarch before all three headed out of the castle and towards the labyrinth. Jareth had explained earlier that he would need its help in order to create the time spell allowing them to travel back several weeks. The walls leapt aside for them allowing the three to swiftly travel to a stone courtyard somewhere in the middle of the giant maze. "This should do," Jareth halted them. "Now, Sarah and I will join hands. I need you to open yourself to me so that the labyrinth and I may work together. Toby, hold tight to my arm. As I am the one performing the spell, I will be the best anchor for you to hold on to."

Sarah held out her hands palm up and Jareth placed his on top of hers, gripping tightly. Toby stepped closer and looped his right arm through Jareth's left, making sure he had a firm grip. "Everyone ready?" Jareth asked. The other two nodded and he closed his eyes and began to chant in a foreign language. At first nothing happened, but then a subtle breeze started to swirl around their feet. Leaves skittered along the stones as the wind picked up. Jareth's voice rose in volume as the wind did. It whirled around them almost as if they were in the center of a tornado. Golden beams of light began to rise out of the ground and swirl around them in the same direction as the wind. They arched up and met above their heads, forming a cage of swirling gold light around them. Jareth was nearly shouting now as he chanted. The lights flickered for a moment and seemed to glow red for an instant, but he reasserted himself and spoke louder. He bellowed one final word, threw back his head, and opened his eyes, which were now glowing all white with no iris or pupil. The wind howled around them and the gold beams grew so bright that they could see nothing outside of the cage.

However a moment later everything stopped. The wind died and the light faded away. When Sarah and Toby opened their eyes it was to see a wide meadow in the middle of a forest. The moon shone brightly above them and a gentle breeze made the tall grass around them sway. They were back in the fairy ring in the middle of Black Mountain State Forest. "Why are we here?" Toby broke the quiet.

"Because even though the gate between worlds is once more open, it is still easiest to transport using a fairy ring, especially when one is also adding a time spell onto the transportation spell," Jareth explained patiently as he released Sarah's hands and looked around the clearing. His breathing was heavy and he swayed a bit. However he held up a hand to indicate he just needed a moment of rest.

"Wait," Sarah's eyes darted around the tall grass. "We're only a couple hours from when we left right?" Jareth nodded. "Then what about the hellhounds? Are they still around?"

"I doubt it. They would've realized what happened and returned to their master to report back," Jareth replied.

"How sure are you of that?" Sarah murmured.

"We will be fine, Cariad. I promise," he assured. "Now come, we have a bit of a hike and then quite a drive ahead of us." With that, he waved a gloved hand and thick wool cloaks appeared around their shoulders once again. He stepped forward to lead the way through the tall grass.

It took some time, nearly two hours, before they stumbled out of the woods and onto the road. "Umm, we have a problem," Sarah said. "Which way is my truck?"

"You can find it, Cariad," Jareth came up beside her and rested a gloved hand on her arm. "Reach out with your powers. Use the trees, the plants… they will tell you where it is."

Sarah frowned, but nodded. She closed her eyes to concentrate better and reached out with her mind. She'd done this once before when she and Jareth had found the hobgoblin going through his things in the palace, and she found it easier to do now. The flora around her responded to her touch, greeting her warmly. Despite the cold, dark night, the trees, bushes, flowers, and even mushrooms around her were excited to meet her. They couldn't speak exactly, but there was a feeling they gave off… an aura in a sense. Everything wanted to help the Lady of the Labyrinth.

It took a moment or two, but eventually Sarah was able to express what she needed to the flora, and from there it took mere moments for her to sense the right direction. "This way," she said confidently pointing to the left. She thanked the surrounding flora before reeling her magic back in.

Toby and Jareth followed her as she led them a half a mile down the road to find her truck where she'd parked it. It seemed ages ago, but with the time spell, it had only been a few hours. It was then that she realized another problem. "Um, I don't have my keys."

"What do you mean?" Toby asked in a tired grumpy voice.

"I mean we just spent the last few weeks being chased, shot at, and nearly killed in the Underground and at some point during all that I lost my truck keys, Toby," she snapped back.

Toby leaned his head back and groaned. "Can't you just magic the truck into working?"

"It has iron in it. Iron and magic don't mix," Jareth pointed out.

"So what do we do?" Sarah asked.

"We do a locator spell," he replied easily.

"A locator spell? What do we need to do it?"

"Nothing much, just a clear visual in your mind of what you're searching for. I'll lead the spell, you just picture the keys in your mind."

Sarah breathed in deeply then let it back out. "Okay."

Jareth stepped closer then reached out with both hands and placed his fingertips on either side of her head, his thumbs resting on her forehead. "Think about the keys," he said in a low, soothing voice. "What color are they? What do they feel like in your hand? How big are they?"

Sarah could feel her mind drifting as she pictured the keys. It was like she was flying. Blurred shapes rushed past her until it settled on one place… the labyrinth. A small furry goblin with an overly large nose was gnawing on one of the metal keys. She could feel Jareth's amusement at the small goblin, then felt his magic reaching through her and grabbing hold of the keys. The goblin startled and dropped them before they disappeared. A moment later, Sarah was rushing backwards, blurred shapes making her dizzy. However it only lasted a moment before she was standing still with Jareth's hands still on either side of her face. The feeling of cold hard metal in her fist drew her gaze down. The keys were there… with a bit of goblin spit on them. "How did you…?" she started.

"Very carefully," he smirked before leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead. "Come, let's get back to your apartment." He left her feeling like her stomach was in her throat. She stood still for a moment, swallowed, then unlocked the truck.

The drive back to the city was uneventful and all of them were tired from their night hike through the woods. When Sarah finally pulled in the parking lot, they all trudged up the stairs and paused at the door when the key didn't work. "Damnit," she grumbled. "Landlord must have already replaced the door and lock. That was fast."

Toby gave her a bleary look as though pleading with her to just open the door. Sarah frowned, but then snapped her fingers. "Hang on." She pressed a hand against the door and channeled her magic into it. The door knob and locking mechanism were all made from brass, which was composed of copper and zinc, no iron. So Sarah's magic had no problem making the door unlock.

Toby changed into pajamas right away and passed out almost immediately on the blankets laid out on the floor. Sarah and Jareth took turns changing before standing awkwardly at the foot of the bed in Sarah's room. "You can have the bed, I don't mind," she insisted.

"No, no! I couldn't!" he replied.

They stood for a moment more before she quietly suggested, "We could share the bed? It's a queen size afterall."

Jareth glanced over at her to judge her facial expression and found it pretty much matched his own feelings of uncertainty. "Yes, I suppose we could."

"Okay then." They both moved to separate sides of the bed and carefully got in. "You stay on your side and I'll stay on mine?"

"No promises, Cariad," he chuckled before reaching over to turn off the light.

Sarah grumbled as a loud pounding woke her. "Go 'way," she mumbled.

"It's not me," a male voice grumbled right next to her ear.

Sarah hummed and settled back against the warmth wrapped around her back, but a moment later her eyes popped open and she looked back to find a tousled haired Goblin King spooning her. Another loud pounding from the living room startled her and she jumped a little. "Wha? Wha issit?" Jareth slurred as he jerked awake.

"I dunno," she muttered as she threw back the blankets and pushed herself up from the bed. The pounding happened again along with a shout from someone calling out, "Ms. Williams?"

Sarah furrowed her brow, but made sure her pajamas were covering all of her before trudging out to the living room. She unlocked the door, but kept the chain bolted as she opened it to see a man and a woman on the other side. He was of medium height with graying black hair and wore a dark sports coat with a blue tie over a button down shirt. She was tall with short dark brown hair and wore pale blue blouse under a charcoal blazer. "Ms. Williams?" the man asked again when he spotted her.

Sarah glanced down to see Toby still completely out on the floor. "Yes?" she whispered.

"Sorry to wake you," he commented looking at her pajamas. "My name is Detective Valenti and this is my partner Detective Brennan. May we come in?" They flashed silver badges at her.

Sarah frowned, but nodded and closed the door to undo the chain. They stepped in after she re-opened the door and followed her into the kitchen. Jareth appeared from the bedroom as well and stepped into the kitchen behind Sarah. "This is my…" she eyed Jareth for a moment before settling on a name for him. "My fiance, Jareth. What can we do for you, Detective?" They all sat down at the small kitchen table

Detective Valenti let out a long breath before looking her in the eyes and saying, "I'm afraid I have some bad news, Ms. Williams. Ten days ago, a yacht was found capsized just off the coast near Plum Island. All four passengers were found dead on arrival."

Sarah felt her stomach drop. There was no way… he couldn't be saying what she thought he was going to say.

"I'm afraid your father and step-mother, Robert and Karen Williams were among the deceased," he finished.

Sarah was silent for a long moment before she shook her head. "No… that can't be right. You've - you've made a mistake." Tears filled her eyes and her voice faltered. A warm arm reached over and wrapped around her shoulders, tugging her against a strong chest. "Did you… are you sure?" she whispered.

Detective Brennan nodded. "Yes, they had their IDs on them and they matched their pictures. I'm so sorry for your loss."

"I - I…" Sarah tried to say, but her voice failed her and instead a sob came out.

"Shh…" Jareth pulled her to him and hugged her tightly, one hand pressing against her back and the other gently pressing against the back of her head. "I'm here, Cariad. I'm here for you." It was obvious he was at a loss for what to say, but Sarah could barely hear him anyway over the rushing of blood whooshing through her ears and the muffled sobs into his shoulder. "I've got you," he murmured softly.

Author's Note: That's right! I'm doing a sequel! I've already started writing it and am super excited to share it with you! However I'll be spending the rest of the summer working on it before starting to post. I am currently competing in Camp NaNoWriMo in order to get a large chunk of the sequel written. I'm not sure how long it will be, but I plan to start posting sometime in October. So stay tuned!

With that, I'd like to give you a sneak peak of the first chapter to tide you over for now! Enjoy!

Chapter 1 Preview

"Sarah? Sarah, my darling, I need you to focus on me." Sarah turned her head to face the voice. Jareth was crouched in front of her, one hand holding hers and the other resting against her cheek. "There you are," he smiled. "I know it's difficult right now, but the Detective needs to ask you some questions. I tried to get him to ask me, but he said he needed to speak with you first."

Sarah felt like everything was moving in slow motion. Nothing really made sense. Up was down and down was up. However one thing clicked. One terrible thing that couldn't possibly be true, but she knew in her heart it was. Her father was gone. Karen was gone. She supposed she should be grateful to have one parent left… but Toby… he had… Toby. She sucked in a breath. "Toby," she whispered.

"I've already taken care of it, Cariad," Jareth murmured. "He… he's in shock, I think. He could really use you right now."

She rose from her seat and moved into the living room where Toby sat in the armchair, hugging himself tightly and rocking back and forth. Detective Brennan was crouched in front of him, one hand resting on the teen's knee. "Toby," Sarah mumbled as she moved towards them.

The teen looked up with reddened tear filled eyes. "Sarah," he replied. "Sarah, it's not true. Tell her it's not true."

She paused for a moment and looked at Valenti who stood behind the coffee table. He frowned and looked like he didn't know what else to say. She moved forward and slid into the chair next to her brother, scooping him up and cradling him like she used to do when he was a baby. He clung to her, hiding his face in her shoulder, shaking.

"Ms. Williams," Detective Brennan said quietly. "I need to ask you a few things. I know this is a difficult time, but it's important that I speak to you now." Sarah took a deep breath and nodded. "Good, now, first and foremost, where have you been the last couple of weeks?"

Her mind raced. Why would she be asking this? "I've been here," she replied carefully. "I returned from my tour of duty a couple weeks ago and before that I was visiting some friends and family. You can ask them."

"You returned from your tour of duty a couple weeks ago? Our records indicate that it's been nearly five weeks since your tour ended."

"Five… That…" Sarah felt sick. She had to tread carefully here because apparently the time spell had not worked. Why wouldn't it have worked?! "Yes, that's what I meant," she tried to recover. "My tour ended nearly five weeks ago. I spent about a week visiting friends and family and have been here since then."

The Detective's eyes narrowed. "Ms. Williams. I know you've had a terrible shock, and perhaps it is messing with your memory. So I'm going to tell you right now that that's not possible. We tried to contact you when we first found your parents a week and a half ago, but you weren't here. All we found was an annoyed landlord complaining about a broken door and you skipping town and leaving all your things here. Cameras caught your truck leaving the parking lot eighteen days ago at roughly three thirty in the afternoon."

"Ms. Williams," Detective Valenti spoke up. "I have to be honest with you that events and facts aren't in your favor. You disappeared around the same time as the deaths of your father and stepmother and you take their son with you."

"Wait, are you suggesting I had something to do with this?" Sarah asked. "I thought it was an accident?"

"The cause of the accident is currently under investigation, but our initial evidence suggests tampering with the navigation systems may have been the cause," he said.

"I had nothing to do with that!" Sarah vehemently denied.

Toby had stopped crying at this point and was looking between his sister and the detectives with concern. "Sarah would never hurt my mom and dad!" he piped up as he shifted to sit beside his sister in the wide armchair.

"We want to believe you," Detective Brennan interjected. "So just tell us where you were for the past three weeks."

Sarah opened her mouth to respond, but wasn't sure how to. They hadn't prepared for this. Anything she said right now would be either an obvious lie or easily checked out and proven wrong. "They came to visit me," Jareth stepped in. He moved closer to stand beside brother and sister.

Both detectives turned their focus on him.

Jareth sighed and seemed to gather his thoughts before speaking again. "Sarah and Toby were visiting me at my family's vacation home in northern Vermont. We told Robert and Karen of the trip before we left and they gave their permission."

"And you did not think it strange to not hear from them for three weeks?" Valenti asked.

"There is no cellphone service up there, and the few times we journeyed into a town we tried calling, but received no answer. We thought we just kept missing them," Jareth shrugged. Both detectives eyed him suspiciously, but couldn't find fault in what he was saying. "Now if you don't have any more pressing questions we'd like to mourn in peace. Should you need us, you know where to find us." He gestured to the door.

Detective Brennan and Detective Valenti made their way to the door. However the later turned when he was halfway through the door. "We will have more questions for you later," he said. "Think about what you want to say Miss Williams, because we will find out the truth eventually."