Sarah

SARAH

“You have no power over me.”

Sarah’s birth clan was pleasant. It was orderly, affluent, enough wealth to get by without becoming greedy. There was nothing… wrong with it. And yet, Sarah found herself unhappy there. There was something lacking, something desperately absent, that no matter what ancient script or deep wild she scoured, she would return to her den feeling empty inside. The something she yearned for was somewhere Else — some great, grand Out There that she could hardly fathom except in her wildest dreams.

She waited. She grew strong, and she grew beautiful. But as she became more mature, more independent, her unhappiness became more profound.

Sarah will never tell a soul how she met the Goblin King, nor how she came to enamor him so. The way they met is her secret to keep, her story to whisper to only herself, only in the darkest night. All that matters is that this meeting came to pass, and the Goblin King’s passions grew so intense that he would have readily given over all his wealth and all his power for her to love him in return. But she never spared him a second glance, though his promises followed her like a ghost, ever whispering in the back of her mind.

The day would come when her recklessness would overcome her sensibility, and it would come sooner than she’d ever thought it would.

It wasn’t what she meant to do — it wasn’t what she meant to do at all. She was so drawn by the allure of freedom, of the brave world all around her, of never again needing to watch after that stupid hatchling. Her brother, the worst little creature she’d ever known. Oh, how he’d cry when his parents were away. And, as if that weren’t enough, the toys Sarah had cherished so as a hatchling herself had gone to his possession, including her favorite stuffed bear. It was when she saw him holding it that she flew into a rage, a rage she’d forever regret, and wished upon him that which should never be wished.

With that wish, she gave him away. She gave him to the Goblin King, who swept him far away in the very same instant as the words left her mouth, and left her terrified and alone with no plan to get him back.

In the tales she read, the ones that led her to him in the first place, she’d learned how to follow him. She’d learned how to find the Goblin City, far from her clan, in a labyrinth hidden in the Starfall Isles. She never thought she’d have to, though, she never thought she’d need to brave the perils of that strange, foreign place. But she’d made her choice. The time had come to prove she could handle the consequences of an adult dragon’s power.

Coincidentally, Sarah’s journey brought her straight through the Clan of the Thirteenth Hour. She was a talkative girl, intelligent, voice surprisingly understandable, though Pickasso noted she spoke little of her goals. Just that she was looking for the castle beyond the Labyrinth. Well, the Thirteenth Hours lands were one of the nicest little inter-planar shift areas. Just step in, and you can step out into the Labyrinth just as easily! That’s what Pick told her, and she thanked him graciously for it, then agreed to stay the night.

The clanmates took to her, almost right away. A whole lot of them begged her to stay. She was sweet to even the wildest of them, respectful and inquisitive and kind. But she was resolute, too, sure that whatever business she had in the castle had to get done. Against his common sense, maybe, Pick had a good feeling about her. He felt, deep down, that whatever she was trying to do, she’d succeed, but she’d need help. She’d need loads of it, loads of friends to keep her on the right track, lest she fall prey to the countless perils of the Labyrinth.

But she was a good dragon, a better dragon than most. Even to the monstrous Ludo, she was tender, gentle, nurturing. Ludo went right after her when she left, even, and well — he knew he’d miss the big fella, but Pick didn’t stop him. They’d be back.

They’d be back, or Pickasso would go to the castle and throttle the Goblin King himself. And when the time came for it, he wasn’t quite so gentle a dragon as Sarah.

Ludo wasn’t the only ally Sarah acquired on her journey. A whole host of companions inspired by her tenacity and gentle soul joined forces with her, staying close to her side through trials and culpits the likes of which Sarah had never imagined. The street smarts of Hoggle, the courage of Sir Didymus, the strength and stony allegiance of Ludo - it was all critical to her success. Certainly, not one of them was perfect, but they were together, and that was all they needed to endure even the direst circumstances the Labyrinth set before them.

But when at last, after everything and more, they arrived before the castle, Sarah knew she had to enter it alone. And enter it, she did.

Sarah knew better than to fight him with claws or magic. She knew no spell that could fell him, nor had no weapon that could strike him down. And then, even with all he had done to her, even having taken her hatchling brother from her, even having put her through such nightmares as the Labyrinth contained and forcing her to best the terrible riddles therein, she wouldn’t have killed him even if she could have. She didn’t need to, so long as she could take her brother home. And so, it was not with violence that she defeated the Goblin King, but with force of will alone. The words of the very tales that led the Goblin King to her were the words she banished him with, words that at last rang truer than true.

“Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen, for my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great.

You have no power over me.”

Sarah woke up with her brother on her stomach in the Clan of the Thirteenth Hour. Her eyes opened and settled on the slumbering hatchling, then her head thudded back onto the ground with a heavy sigh of relief, claws stroking the thick, adolescent plumage of his back.

They were finally safe.

Her long-overdue rest was interrupted with a start, though, as nearly the entire clan converged around her, whooping and hollering with a celebratory joy. Though exhausted, she couldn’t help but laugh, wings laying flat to let her friends see the hatchling she’d gone to hell and back to rescue.

Toby. Her brother, who she loved with all her heart. Toby, who she’d never again resent or neglect. Perhaps growing up a little was okay if it meant she’d be able to watch him grow, too.

Ludo, Hoggle, and Didymus agreed within moments to linger in the clan, and a beaming Pick settled his gaze on Sarah next. Before he could even make the offer, she’d stood, transferring the sleeping babe to her back plumage, and she asked if it’d be all right if she remained there. With her friends, who had offered her solace before her gravest trials, and led her through the Labyrinth itself.

Pick didn’t accept, per se. He just gave her and her hatchling brother a tight hug, and that was enough.