In the silence of this eerie place, the constant flow of the stream should have brought comfort to Sarah's ears, but it did not... after a while, she became immune to the monotonous sound. The silence deafened her ears - she tried to tread heavily along just to give her senses some comfort, though with little success. A forest that she had once thought pure and beautiful was dark and relentlessly oppressive.

The silence was broken by a rustling behind her. It brought relief, though her heart skipped a beat - there was no-one, nothing in this forest with her. Or at least there shouldn't be. She stood motionless for a second, listening, her breath held in. As she began to walk once more, she heard the sound again, louder and more vigorous this time. Sarah swung round, her eyes frantically searching the foliage, she jumped as a bush in the distance shook, another rough sound grating through the air. She was frozen with fear when she saw that something was getting closer - there was a trail of disturbed undergrowth as it approached, the rustling making her feel sick: a scratchy and irritating sound as crisp leaves grated against each other. Sarah willed her feet to move, and finally they obeyed --she hobbled clumsily along the stream as fast as her tired legs would carry her on her uneven, painful breath.

As she ran, she would snap her head round to look behind her, each time seeing a low black figure, an animal. It got closer every time she glanced round, and was closing the gap between them quickly. As she bounded through the foliage, blood seeped once more from the wound on her chest. She had not thought it very deep before, but it was now unbearably painful, and along with the exertion, made it hard for her to breathe. She yelled out in pain and anger - frustrated by the fact that she couldn't go any faster. She swung round once more, this time not seeing a stealthy black figure against the backdrop - this time she met with two piercing eyes; wolf's eyes. Her footing was heavy and awkward and she continually stumbled, pain shooting through her ankles.

'Things aren't always what they seem,' Epona's words echoed into her head, yet still she ran. 'Everyone has a dark side,' the inner voice continued in earnest, as though trying to reveal some hidden truth. Sarah's focus remained on the distant trees, longing to be hidden amongst them, protected from this danger. Then it dawned on her. There was no danger, it seemed as though there was, but nothing was as it seemed. Sarah's pace slowed.

She turned round to meet the wolf's gaze as it bore into her soul. "You're not real," she whispered. 

"You can't be real," she said in earnest, as though trying to convince herself as well as the wolf. 

Clutching her throbbing side, she could hear four heavy paws crushing twigs as it slowly, cunningly walked towards her. Her gaze never broke from the animal's, she didn't run, even when it's mouth tightened to reveal it's sharp teeth. Her feet remained where they were, even when it pounced.

"You're not real!" she screamed, raising her hands up in a feeble attempt to protect herself from the oncoming attack, though they were not met by prickly fur. A burst of hot air puffed into her, causing her to correct her balance - as she opened her eyes, a black cloud hung in the air before her, then gently faded into nothing. It seemed she was alone once more.

As she stood there looking at the empty scene before her, her vision became strained. The trees seemed to blur and warp, and the whole world seemed to be spinning. She looked at her hands and panicked when she saw the warm red liquid that covered them. The blood had soaked her dress, and it now clung possessively to her waist. She doubled over as a sharp unbearable pain shot through her body.

"There, there, I can make it all better," a pair of slender yet masculine hands stretched forth from the blurry forest to take hers. The voice was smooth and velvety, and it was as if she forgot some of the pain with every word that it uttered... as the man thread her fingers into his gloved hand, her vision began to clear.

"Jareth!" she cried, still half delusional, "You must help me, look at me, I'm..."

"There, there, I can make it all go away..." he soothed, pulling her to him. Sarah did not notice the cold nature of the embrace... her hands spilled blood on his blond hair as she clung to him; his proximity was intoxicating, and the warmth of his breath in her ear raced through her body, awakening her senses. "Fear me, love me," he said... she would do anything if it meant she could feel this way forever. Jareth gripped Sarah's waist and gently pushed her from him. "Do as I say," he continued, "and I can make you fly." Sarah's eyes widened as she felt Jareth's magic flow through her, making her pain go away. He effortlessly lifted her from the ground and spun her round in the air above him. She closed her eyes and stretched out her arms, stroking the air as it rushed around her. 

She went higher, and felt Jareth's fingers fall from her waist. In that instant, the pain, the anguish and the fear flooded back. She doubled over as pain shot through her body, though she continued to whirl through the air. The forest was a blur... her strained eyes throbbed with the effort, and sent shooting pains through her head. Clutching it with her hands, she screamed. "Let me down! Please!"

Still she continued to fly. "Fear me," said Jareth's cruel smile - it was the only thing she could see. "Love me," he taunted, the words echoing through her as a command, not a plea. "Do as I say, and you will be mine to control forever..."

"No!!" she screamed, helplessly spinning high above the ground. "You don't control me! You're not real!" Still she span, the pain becoming unbearable. "You're not real!" Sarah screamed again, though was replied with a cruel laugh. "I am not your puppet... you have no power over me!"

With those words, the spinning ceased, and Sarah crashed to the ground. She strained her eyes to focus on her surroundings, but there was no Jareth. She curled up on the ground, winded, gasping for breath... she honestly believed that she would die here.

'I mustn't let this thing beat me!' she cried to herself, and with a yelp of pain, rolled onto all fours and began to crawl along the forest floor. With one hand clutching her chest, she stretched the other out into the blurry distance, her fingers digging into the mud to haul her along. Her balance was unsteady, and she swayed heavily to either side - she blinked her tired eyes hard to try and clear her vision, though her surroundings continued to warp and blur, the trees shooting towards her, then drawing back tauntingly. Exhausted, her legs refused to support her any longer, and her face fell into the mud.

In the distance, a music box began to play - it's distorted, haunting melody creeping towards her, getting louder. She became entranced by the movement of the trees - their colours merged and blended as though the music were stirring the air on which they floated. The music was soon all around her, the tumbling notes enveloping her as she lay on the ground. The forest no longer danced to it's tune - the colours darkened, and all around her was pitch black... the mud underneath her disappeared, and morphed into a smooth polished surface of red marble. With a sudden burst of strength, she sat upright to look around her - her vision returned to clarity once more.

She was sitting in a large circle of black candles - each one mounted upon a black metal stand 4 feet high. Their flames illuminated the black cloth that hung beyond the circle - gently flowing in an unfelt breeze. Her pain had disappeared - she stood up and looked down at herself. She was no longer wearing the blood soaked cream dress - she now wore a slinky black silk gown that swept the floor. It had short sleeves, though long black gloves reached past her elbow. Her hair was pinned up with tousled segments flowing onto her face and neck from under a diamond comb. A lavish diamond necklace hung about her neck, and reached down to the dangerously low neckline. As she stared aghast at the dress, the sound of an echoing footstep caught her attention. Villdon was standing by one of the candlesticks on the far side of the circle, only a few metres away...