The Next Sarah - Jareth x OC

Helena walked into the Burger hut; she had been working there for three months now. She had hated every minute of it. Her manager hated her, she was sure. If she was assigned to the fryolator one more time, she was going to lose it. She hated the smell of the rancid vat of oil but pushed through. She was supposed to be at university now, her dream was to become a nurse, she had studied so hard at school, at college, to get enough UCAS points to get in. Within a month of getting an acceptance letter and turning eighteen years old her parents died. A drunk driver had run them off the road, leaving her to be the sole care giver for her 3-year-old little brother, Oliver.

Helena clocked in, tying her apron on, and checking the roster that designated her position for the day. Fry duty again, as expected. Day in and day out, your life had become one big joke. She knew it wasn't his fault, but when she left work that day, picking Oliver up from nursery, she couldn't help but feel deep resentment in the child in her arms. If only her parents hadn't died, if only they hadn't left her, her younger brother. She loved him, she loved her deceased parents, but this wasn't the life she wanted for herself. She wanted more out of life; she was stuck in this cycle.

All of her friends had left for university, she was alone. Spending her evenings with Oliver at their small flat, she would put him down for the night and read through her library books. It was the only thing she had allowed for herself, a library card. Everything else went into looking after her little brother. She had subscribed to a random book service through her library, they selected a number of books for her so she wouldn't have to. She enjoyed fantasy books, specifying that in her selection. This time she had been given three books, Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone, The Hobbit and Labyrinth. The first two books were known to her, she had seen the movies growing up but had not read them personally. The third was new to her, much smaller than the other two books and bound in red leather. She flicked through the book, the pages appearing fragile and overworn. She almost felt like the book would fall apart if she held onto it for too long.

She read through the book from cover to cover. Reading of the adventures of a young girl called Sarah, her friends Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus. She had given away her younger brother; Toby to the goblin king Jareth. Before she had known it, it was the early hours of the morning. She had finished the book in one sitting, being sucked into the story itself. It radiated with her, being able to say a few words to get rid of her younger brother, to change her life so easily. The goblin king offered Sarah everything, anything she wanted but she refused, hunting for her brother instead. She would have done things differently, taking his offer, changing her life. She looked over the crib down at her younger brother, she felt guilt for the life she was longing for, she did love her brother, but to what extent? This wasn't what her life should be.