~Chapter One~

"Goodnight, Miss Sarah," the little boy of four whispered as he and the other children headed upstairs to bed.

"Goodnight, Even." Sarah smiled and waved to him.

"I'll be back down soon," Keisha began, "as soon as these young ones are all asleep!" The woman tickled Evan, who giggled and ran up ahead of her toward his room. Keisha raced behind him, giggling as well.

When the troops were in their rooms, waiting for Keisha, Ellie, and Anthony to tuck them in, Sarah started cleaning up the school papers from the afternoon classes. Most of them were drawings from Art Class. Of all the things to do at the Applebee Orphanage, Art Class was the children's favorite.

Ashley had drawn a beautiful sunset Not bad for a seven-year-old, thought Sarah. The triplets, Bradley, Jason, and Camry, all drew dogs; their favorite animal. Heather used different shades of pink to draw numerous hearts of all sizes. It was for Julian, the boy she liked, but Sarah knew that Heather was too shy to actually give it to him.

"Boy, what a day!" Sarah drew in her breath quickly and blew it out all at once. She collected all the pictures and other papers into an awkward pile and picked it up.

Just as she turned to head toward the stairs, a lone paper got loose from the pile and slowly made it's descent to the floor. Sarah sighed and returned the rest of the pile to the table. Bending down to retrieve it, her breath suddenly caught.

A white owl was drawn on the paper. It sat on a tree branch in the moonlight. The eyes seemed to burn into hers. But there was no name; no indication of the artist.

"Miss Sarah?" A small child's voice called softly from the stairs. Sarah shook her head and blinked, looking up from the drawing.

"Maria? What are you doing up at," she checked at her watch, surprising herself, "ten-thirty? Bedtime was a while ago, young lady."

"I know," the dark-haired child of seven said, "but I had a bad dream."

Sarah smiled and sighed at once, then put down the drawing and went to Maria, who sat on the bottom step.

"What was it about?" she asked, putting an arm around her. Maria chewed her lip.

"My mommy. She was drinking again."

Sarah winced. Maria's father had died when she was five, and her mother began drinking. When the girl showed up at school with a black eye, social services took action. Maria would have gone to a foster home, but at the loss of her daughter, her mother had gone to another bar, and drove home. Maria wasn't informed of the accident, only that her mother couldn't see her anymore.

"Miss Sarah, would you tell me a story of the magic maze again?" The girl yawned and leaned against Sarah's leg. Again, Sarah's breath caught. She'd told all the children at the orphanage the story of the Labyrinth, but of course, not the whole truth, and not as if she'd ever been there.

"You have to say special words to get there." Sarah found herself saying, almost against her will. "And there, before you in the rising sun, is a Labyrinth. It amazes you by how large it is. Once inside, there are many passages and doors you can take. To get through, to the center. To the castle."

Suddenly, unwelcome tears came to Sarah's eyes. She instantly blinked them away, fearing Maria would notice. "In that castle lives the King of the Goblins, Jareth."

She swallowed and took a deep breath. Maria was fast asleep. Sarah picked her up gently and carried her to the last room on the left. Tucking the girl in made Sarah sigh with relief. Maria didn't see her tears, withheld for so long-too long. The first time Sarah had divulged the tale, she convinced herself it was just the way she told it: a fantasy for the children to take in. But more and more, something inside of her that lay dormant for years had brought back the memories, and the love of magic, mystery, and enchantment.

Sarah whirled around at the sound of something taping against the window. She rushed to it, almost tripping over a toy on the floor, and peered outside, straining her eyes to see what it was.

What was that she saw? It was white and looked airborne…

"No!" Sarah nearly screamed, shaking her head. She tore from the room, down the stairs, and out of the orphanage. She just couldn't take it anymore.

A light rain began halfway to the payphone on the corner, but by the time Sarah reached it, there was a total downpour. She deposited her money and dialed her father's number.

"Williams Residence." Karen answered. "Whom may I say is speaking?"

"It's me, Karen." Sarah replied, already becoming annoyed. "Can I speak to Toby?"

"He's having a guest sleep over."

"Yeah, I know. It's all he's talked about for weeks. Just put him on." There was more than a hint of challenge in Sarah's voice.

"Fine." Karen agreed. The phone was put down, and Sarah heard her stepmother talking with Toby. At the mention of just who was on the phone, her half-brother squealed.

"Sarah!" Toby shouted happily.

"Hey, honey." Sarah smiled at the sound of his voice. She hadn't seen him for months; letters and phone calls had to do, because she didn't feel like going home to under-appreciative parents. "Do you have time to talk?" Toby hesitated before saying,

"Casey and I were going to watch a movie."

"Okay, Toby."

"Sarah? Are you alright?" Asked her brother, his tone that of worry for his sister. Sarah realized she had started to cry and abruptly stopped.

"Sure, Toby, I'm fine." She assured him.

"Well, maybe I can talk for just a minute."

"Great. Toby, do you remember when you were six, and I read you one of my fantasy stories? You pointed to the castle on one page, and told me 'It was scary there!'?"

Again, there was hesitation. Sarah sighed, thinking herself crazy to actually make a big deal out of what a six-year-old child with a book would say.

"Yeah." Toby answered at last. Sarah was shocked.

"What did you mean by that, honey? Do you remember?"

"Yes. That castle had mean monsters that made my cry! They were scary!" Toby sounded as if he may cry this very moment.

"It's okay, Toby! Don't cry, sweetie! Do you remember when I saved you from the monsters?"

"An' you gave me your teddy bear, Lancelot."

"I did, didn't I?" Sarah asked, only now recalling her old, beloved bear.

"Sarah, Casey and I are going to watch "‘The Little Mermaid now’…"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry I called you when you're having a friend over, Toby."

"No, it's okay." The boy's sad tone washed away. "I miss you sissy."

"I miss you, too, honey." Sarah made kissing noises and Toby began to giggle. "Goodbye, Toby."

"Goodbye, Sarah."

* * * * *

The rain beating down on the windows didn't bother Sarah, nor did the constant flashes of bright lightning. She could always sleep through them.

It was the dreams that got to her…

But it was too late. It always was. She'd had this dream for years, and chose to ignore them. Only, she couldn't now. Not after talking to Toby, and telling the tale to Maria, and seeing the drawing of the owl…

"No!" Sarah shot up, her hair matted to her face. Luckily, her scream was drowned out by the thunder.

She grabbed jeans, a gray top, and a sweatshirt, and for the second time that night, tore from the orphanage, outside, and in the pouring rain.

"I wish the Goblins would come and take ME away…right now!"

At first, nothing happened, and Sarah fell to her knees. But before she could scream again, a slimy hand closed over her mouth, and she was pulled into the night.