Sarah had never been so happy to see someone. Her arms curled around Sir Didymus, and she pulled him to her, breathing in the distinct smell that foxes seemed to carry. With her eyes closed and one of her dearest friends in her arms, Sarah could almost convince herself that she was home and safe, dancing around her bedroom with her other Underground friends.

But the tears streaming down her face, coupled with the jagged stone of the Labyrinth floor pressing against her knees, served as a harsh reminder that she was anything but safe.

She pulled back, holding Sir Didymus at arm's length, and appraised him slowly. He looked much more aged than when she had last seen him in person, and there seemed to be a look of overbearing worry and sorrow churning in his eyes.

"Oh, Sir Didymus", she said, offering him a gentle smile, "I am so glad to see you!"

The fox returned her smile, but Sarah could see that his focus was upon something over her shoulder. She released her hold on him, and stood, so that they were no longer excluding Ezra.

"This is Ezra- he's running for his sister, but we decided to join forces. I have to run the Labyrinth again, Sir Didymus, and you wouldn't believe-"

"Sarah."

Sarah stopped, pulled up short by Sir Didymus's interruption.

"Yes?"

"There is no time for introductions. I know, of course, who this young man is; gossip spreads throughout the Kingdom like wildfire. But please, tell me this: how have you and this young man been travelling through the walls of the Labyrinth? I…well, I must confess that I have never seen this happen before."

Oh.

Sarah simply did not know how to answer Sir Didymus's question. It frightened her when she thought of Ezra's theory that the Labyrinth had been responding to her will. She did not want to believe that she had an affinity for something so magical and alien- something so like the Goblin King.

However, it seemed that she would not be given a chance to reply, as Ezra jumped in to offer his own theory.

"I believe that the Labyrinth is responding to Sarah's will. Even though it is controlled by him- apparently it is his magic that runs through its walls- but the Labyrinth seems to want to help Sarah along. It led us here to you, after a slight diversion." He said.

All throughout his little speech, Sir Didymus had been watching Ezra closely, a strange expression etched upon his thin face. He appeared interested in Ezra's idea, but Sarah knew that he was also greatly disturbed by the thought of the Labyrinth gaining a mind of its own.

Sir Didymus turned to her and spoke, softly, as though he were speaking to a mere babe.

"Sarah, is this true? Do you feel as though the Labyrinth is physically moving to accommodate your desires?"

His voice grew louder and more urgent as he spoke. He seemed so worried, so het up about this new development, that Sarah longed to console him. But she couldn't, so instead she settled for answering his question as honestly as she could.

"I…oh, Sir Didymus, I don't know what to think. It does seem as though the walls have been listening to me, but then…well…surely the Labyrinth wouldn't want to help me? If it's under the Goblin King's control, that was stuttering, unsure of herself as she tried to be honest in her feelings.

The fox remained silent in front of her, something which only caused Sarah's uneasiness to grow.

Ezra, too, seemingly did not like the elongated silence, and began to babble on about how they could use the Labyrinth's new allegiance to their advantage.

"Well, if It has decided to help Sarah along then-"

"No."

Ezra's musings were interrupted by Sir Didymus. He stood between the two of them, a morose look plastered upon his face.

"So you disagree with what Ezra is saying?" Sarah asked, gesturing to Ezra, who looked a little put out at the idea of his theory being rendered useless.
Sir Didymus nodded his head.

"Of course I do…I'm sorry, but it would be quite impossible…sweet Sarah, even a human such as you must know that, even though the Labyrinth appears to have a mind of its own, it was nothing more than a lifeless maze before Jareth sent his magic pulsing through it."

This was a statement, not a question, but nonetheless, Sarah found herself replying.

"Yes, that's right…but I don't see what that has to do with anything." She said slowly, wondering what kind of theory he had concocted in his clever mind.

The old knight regarded her with an almost pitiful expression, causing Sarah to frown. Sir Didymus had been beyond kind to her, but it always grieved her when people treated her like she was lacking in intelligence.

"Sarah, I must put this plainly. The Labyrinth responds to no will other than that of the Goblin King. It bears no allegiance to you, or your plight."

No.

But, then that must mean...

Both Ezra and Sarah reached the same conclusion at the exact same moment, but it was Ezra who voiced the terrifying reality aloud.

"So you're saying that Jareth is the only one who can command the Labyrinth? And, if this is the case, then he must've purposely made our paths cross?"

Sir Didymus nodded solemnly, all the while softly stroking up and down the length of Ambrosius's back: the noble steed was visibly shaken by the mention of the Goblin King's name, and had been expressing his displeasure by growling loudly any time it was mentioned.

Sarah closed her eyes, and rested her head against the stone wall of the Labyrinth. Her head was pounding, and the coolness of the stone soothed her.

She felt a hand, warm and reassuring, rest against her back.

"Are you okay, Sarah?" She heard Ezra ask.

Oh, how Sarah wished she could answer that question with honesty. No, no she was not okay. She was reeling from the realisation that the Goblin King was playing yet another game with them; they would have another of his ridiculous riddles to solve.

And every riddle, every little stupid game that they had to play, ate away at the time that she and Ezra had to save their siblings.

It was exhausting, always trying to be one step ahead of the Goblin King and his wicked plans. She was so, so tired of playing now, of playing at being a grown up woman, when she felt as though she was scarcely more than a girl.

pBut she could never admit this, not when she had so many relying on her.

She couldn't let Toby down.

And so, suppressing the small part of her that wanted to give up the fight, Sarah opened her eyes and moved from the Labyrinth's wall, shaking off Ezra's hand as she did so.

Stand up, girl, and show them what you're made of.

"I'm fine." She said, refusing to meet her friends' eyes, in case they should detect the lie. "Now, let's getting moving. It looks like we've got another riddle to crack."

Hi everyone.

I'm desperately trying to keep this story going- I'm so proud of it, and I want to finish it- for my sake, as well as my readers'. It is just taking longer than expected. But this story will be finished- I started writing it when I was 16 (I'n now 20), and I have no intention of discarding it.

Hopefully those who are still reading this story will receive this chapter well! The action will pick up again next chapter.

Oh, and a side note- I will be going over some of the older chapters and fine-tuning them. None of the changes made will disrupt the plot, I just want to tidy them up.

As always, thank you for reading.