It had been three years since the Goblin King had whisked her away to his Labyrinth.

Sarah sighed, stretched, and rolled out of the warmth of her bed. Glancing around her still childish room, her face flickered with obvious disappointment.

I really am never going to be able to return, she thought; there really is no point in hoping day after day. Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus had promised to come when she called, but they hadn't visited for some time. Sarah pushed back horrible thoughts at the back of her mind that time moves slower in the Labyrinth, and maybe they'd just grown old...

Sarah didn't need any more deaths of loved ones. Her father and stepmother had died in a huge car accident right before Sarah's eyes, and the grotesque images would most likely haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life. All she had left was Toby, but he had been adopted by his mother's sister. Sarah wasn't wanted, she wasn't a blood relative.

Since Sarah was sixteen at the time, she had put on a brave face and decided to live by herself, only because it seemed better for everyone if she hadn't made a fuss. She secretly wished every night to be transported back to that place, that magical place, a place where she felt she belonged.

Yet, for two years she had felt completely and utterly alone. A loner at school, teased for being "away with the fairies" and scoffed at by the mythology teacher, whom she had asked questions about the Goblin realm, Sarah had no one. Not even Toby bothered to keep in contact with her anymore, although he would only be four it would have still been nice to hear from him. It would have been nice to hear from anyone, for that matter.

It was a Saturday, and according to the weather forecast it was meant to be bright and cheerful. However, once Sarah pulled open her curtains, the black, threatening clouds rumbling through the sky told a different story. As water drops started to splatter her window, Sarah made herself comfortable by the windowsill to watch, tucking her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. She loved storms.

Suddenly, just as she began to relax, a huge crack of lightning bolted through the sky, almost blinding her. Sarah jumped and gave a little shriek, it had been so close to the window that she could have almost reached out and touched it.

As Sarah tried to calm herself down, the room - although her window was shut - became like that of a small hurricane; strong gusts of air whipped all around, knocking things from shelves and off her desk. Sarah's long brown curls swirled around her face, and her eyes squinted shut as the room was suddenly glowed with an incredibly bright, white light. The wind slowly died down, and the light slowly dimmed.

"Hello, precious." A familiar voice taunted from behind her.

"It's you!" Sarah exclaimed, not needing turn around reassure herself.

"I see you've grown into quite the young lady." The Goblin King approved, circling her. Sarah held in a gasp as she laid eyes on him hardly being able to believe this was real. Three long years of wishing for this very moment to happen, to be able to return to her fantasy realm, her hopes and dreams were coming true.

She took in what he looked like. His straw-blonde hair had grown longer, and was attractively messy due to the wind. He was clad in a white V-neck shirt, tucked into his signature tight trousers and black pointed boots. He was wearing his crescent moon pendant, and over his shoulders was a long black cape made from hundreds or black feathers woven together that brushed the floor. It looked heavy, but it didn't seem to affect his graceful, catlike stroll at all.

"Why are you here?" Sarah gulped accusingly, her heart rate steadily increasing. She felt exhilarated and dizzy, as if she were about to faint.

"To whisk you away, once again, of course. I heard your wishes, my precious, 'oh, I wish the Goblin King would take me away from here!' well, here I am." He laughed at her shocked reaction, a real, throaty laugh that caused Sarah's heart to stop.

"But why now, after all this time? Why didn't you come before, why did you leave me?" Sarah protested, a slimy feeling of fear crawling up her neck, and tears forming in her eyes, threatening to overflow.

"You are now eighteen years old, I believe? An adult by the standards of your world. There is only one way for you to return to my realm, and that is for you to become my wife; my Goblin Queen." He smirked at her provocably and stopped circling her, only to hop onto her flowery bed, cross his legs and lie back on his arms. "Of course, you're a little minx so I don't expect you to come quietly." He said this without interest, looking at his nails as he did so, and tilting his head.

"W-what!" Sarah sputtered, a furious blush searing across her cheeks. "You can't be serious!"

"I'm afraid I'm quite serious my dear, and please don't look so forlorn about it. Many women would leap at the chance to be with me." A teasing smirk caused Sarah's frustration to explode.

"You're so disgustingly arrogant!" Hot, furious words burst from her lips.

"Is that a no? You don't wish to return? Well, if you're sure…" The Goblin King stood up and made to leave through the window.

"Wait" Sarah muttered under her breath. "Not so fast, Goblin King." he smirked, as she had reacted exactly as he had predicted her to. He licked his lips seductively, and turned to her.

"You will return to my realm as my wife-to-be. I will not force marriage on you until you fall for me, but I demand a kiss every day. You will be my Queen one day, Sarah." He announced these rules with a look of complete seriousness on his face, as if he had been practising these lines as if this were an important scene in a play.

"I will never fall for you." Sarah proclaimed, sticking her chin out, making a mental promise to herself to make sure these words would stay true.

"If that be so, then we shall never marry." The Goblin King sighed. He strode over to her and cupped her chin in his gloved hand and looked her dead in the eye. "But I do assure you, my dear. You will fall for me." They glowered at each other for what seemed like hours, for neither one wanted to give in and blink. It was like a stare-off between cats.

Sarah had to give in. As soon as she re-opened her eyes, The Goblin King was nowhere to be seen.