Standard disclaimers apply. I never have nor never will own Labyrinth or its characters. I'm just borrowing them on a temporary basis.

Chapter 2

The woman in black smiled. It wasn't a particularly menacing smile, Sarah noticed. In fact, she looked downright pleased.

"I see you are as intelligent as I remember," the lady said.

"Wait. How do you know me? And who are you? What are you doing in my kitchen at-" Sarah glanced at her watch, "-5:15 in the morning?"

"So many questions. How do you expect me to keep them all straight, let alone answer them, if you keep asking them?" When Sarah looked as though she would keep quiet, the lady continued. "I am the Goblin Queen, as you have guessed. However, I suppose I cannot have you running around calling me 'Your Majesty'. It would completely ruin my purpose of being here. So, call me…." The lady paused for a moment, as if actually thinking up a name on the spot. "Call me Ainé. I suppose that name is as good as any. I know you because everyone knows you. You are the legendary Sarah Williams, the one who defeated the King and destroyed his kingdom with six simple words. He never truly was the same after that, by the way. If you'd really like to know, he mopes. A lot. He doesn't even play with his goblins any more. And, I'm in your kitchen because I was rather hungry and thought I'd find something to eat before searching you out to speak with you."

Sarah puzzled over the words. There had been something in there that was slightly fishy. What was it? "Err…what would you like to eat? I could, possibly, fix you a sandwich or something. That's the best I can do right now, what with it being early and everyone being asleep and whatnot. Why would you need to speak with me?"

"A sandwich would be nice, thank you," Ainé replied, blatantly ignoring Sarah's question. "Preferably peanut butter and jelly. The Underground doesn't grow peanuts, I'm afraid, so I've missed out on that delightful little sin. I haven't had one in…goodness, over three hundred years!"

Sarah wisely decided to curb her questions until the visiting monarch had had her snack. After all, who could deny the lady a request as simple as a PBJ sandwich? "Well, which jelly? We have-" Sarah dipped into the fridge and resurfaced with a few jars. "-strawberry, grape, peach…." Sarah quickly placed that particular jar back in the fridge when she caught a glimpse of Ainé's disdainful face. "Right, veto the peach. I suppose that makes sense, what with Jare-"

"Don't say the name!"

"Eh?"

At Sarah's confused face, Ainé adopted an exasperated face. "Well, how do you think you summon someone? It has nothing to do with fanciful phrases, whatever you have been taught to believe. The power is in a name." She paused a moment, then added, "Grape will do just fine."

Sarah nodded numbly as she retrieved the proper ingredients and utensils to accomplish her task. This woman's moods changed as quickly as light traveled though the solar system. Sarah set about completing the monarch's sandwich and mutely handed it away. She would remain quiet for now, attempting to decipher the jumble of information she'd been given; after all, who knew when all of this might come in handy. So silent she did remain, while Ainé happily ate away her sandwich.

Several things happened at once that seemed to take away the happiness in the air of the kitchen. Sarah heard her father's alarm go off and tensed immediately. She knew that he rose easily and always came straight down for coffee. There was no escape for them. For Ainé, happiness faded when, as she was taking the last bite of that lovely sandwich, she heard the frantic owl-hoots of a familiar tenor and choked as the bite went down. Both turned to their companion and choked out, "We have to leave, NOW!"

That, however, was where the compromise ended. Sarah bolted for the backdoor and nearly tore it off its hinges in her haste to flee the kitchen. This abruptly ended when she saw a white owl fly for the door, which was promptly, albeit quietly, slammed on its beak. Ainé fared no better. She attempted to run up the stairs to seek shelter in Sarah's room and was nearly spotted by Sarah's father, Raymond. Thankfully her dark attire blended in with the surroundings, and she quickly backpedaled into the kitchen. Both ran for the opposite sides of the kitchen, seeking alternate modes of escape, and met rather forcefully in front of the coffee pot.

"What are we going to do?" Sarah squeaked out, panic evident in her face and voice.

"Take my hand!" When Sarah made no move to do as she was bid, Ainé grabbed a hand and concentrated. They disappeared out of the room just as the kitchen light turned on. Thankfully, Raymond was rather incoherent first thing in the morning, or he would have been very puzzled at the copious amounts of glitter that now lay on the counter and floor. As it was, he simply grabbed a mug, poured the coffee, and sat at the kitchen table, basking in the warmth and wakefulness caffeine in the form of liquid brought.

Elsewhere in the house

Sarah and Ainé reappeared in the room that this whole adventure had started in. Ainé immediately ran to the window, closing it and bringing down the shades before drawing the curtains closed as if her life depended on it. She quickly turned around and scanned the room. At the sight of the mirror, she panicked.

"Grab a blanket and throw it over the mirror," she whispered quickly. For once, Sarah ran off to do as she was told. She didn't exactly like being bossed around by people, but Ainé had managed to whisk her out of the kitchen, and this did seem to be rather important to her. Once these small details had been attended to, both girls visibly relaxed and collapsed on the bed, the little bit of adrenaline they had been running on leeching out of them. They were both content to just lay there for awhile. Finally, Sarah's curiosity overwhelmed her need to peacefully fall back asleep.

"So, why did you want to talk to me of all people?" Ainé recognized it as the question she had ignored earlier and realized she had no way out of it, really.

"Well," she replied slowly, "I had wished to take a…vacation…from ruling. The King did not agree with me and attempted to hold me against my will. I escaped by coming to the Aboveground, and," at this point her gaze moved to Sarah, "the only person in it that actually believed. It was my hope that you might be hospitable and allow me to take shelter here for a bit, until I feel the need to vacation dissipate. Is this agreeable with you?"

Sarah sat and contemplated for a bit. "Honestly, I don't see the problem in you having a vacation. Staying here might be a little trouble, but I'm sure I can find some way of allowing my parents to let you stay. We have to come up with a story, though. You can't be Ainé the Goblin Queen who decided to take a vacation in another world. That wouldn't do at all. I suppose you'll stay in here until we come up with a plausible story. That being said, I am rather tired, still. Would you mind if I went back to sleep? You could have the bed, if you happen to be tired, too. I have a rather comfortable sleeping bag that I've been looking for an excuse to slip into. "

When the Goblin Queen nodded her acquiescence, Sarah moved to her closet and pulled out a sleeping bag. She went to the dresser and pulled out some clothes. Turning, she handed them to Ainé, who took them and went into the closet. Sarah set about collecting a pillow for herself and settling into the bag. When Ainé returned, Sarah made a gasp of surprise.

"You know, if your hair was a bit shorter and you looked a bit younger, you would look exactly like me!"

Ainé laughed at that comment. She made no further reply as she climbed into bed and settled down. Both groaned when, ten minutes later, the alarm went off. Sarah hastily shut it off and clambered back into the bag. Meeting Ainé's inquisitive stare, Sarah shrugged.

"I like to wake up early to see the sunrise. It also makes sure I remain disciplined. But, as it's a Saturday and we just spent quite a bit of time panicking, I think I can let it slide this once, don't you agree?"

So, once again, both ladies settled down into their respective beds. And both managed to sleep far into the day, breaking habits they had had for as long as they could remember. The duo managed to sleep through a woman's dismayed screech at the sight of her dirty kitchen, but failed to remain asleep when said woman barged into Sarah's room, crying out about the injustice of little children and their fascination with shiny stuff. When they managed to sleepily clear their eyes, they realized the perilous position they were in and exchanged worried glances. Somehow, they just knew this wasn't going to go over well.