Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1
After returning from the Labyrinth, she contacted her friends from the Labyrinth one time, but the portal must have got shut off and never worked again through her mirror. She thought maybe Jareth did it. Perhaps he was angry with her for refusing him.
Home life was miserable, and her friends didn't understand her anymore and kind of drifted away. She was sick of her father introducing her to his partners in the firm's sons. They were grabby touchy perverts or arrogant morons with entitlement problems. She had nothing in common with any of them. It felt like her father was trying to marry her off to a lawyer's kids.
She became isolated and just excelled academically, like she never did before. She sank herself into books and historical information after her return from the Labyrinth. Sarah had an itch to learn as much about the fae as she could find in her world. She buckled down in her studies and graduated valedictorian of her high school at seventeen years old, a year early. She qualified for two scholarships. Sarah realized she had an eidetic memory that she had never had before, and absorbed and remembered things effortlessly. Her dad congratulated her, and that was all. Karen made plans for him and Toby on the day of her graduation, and nobody came. She was getting used to it, sadly.
Karen made her feel like an outsider more and more. She would make ridiculing and cruel comments all the time about her appearance or 'social ineptitude'. Sarah told her father, but he just blew her off like always. Karen was driving a wedge to make her uncomfortable all the time. Sarah stopped worrying about Toby because he was growing up to be a spoiled brat. His mother manipulated him and turned him against her. Driving her away, Karen could make him believe she didn't care at all about him.
Her mother was a stranger still since she was twelve years old, pursuing her acting career and never having a care about anyone else, as always.
One day, Sarah's father decided that he, Karen and Toby all would move away to Germany. Her father had joined an international corporate law firm. Karen has been adamant about him leaving Sarah behind. She remembered the night she listened at their bedroom door, even though it wasn't said so quietly anyway…
Flashback
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Robert said, “Really, honey, we can't just uproot and leave Sarah behind. She'll have no family.”
Karen said, “Sure you can. It's a wonderful opportunity, and your daughter won't want you to be held back for just her. She is old enough anyway. She's a high school graduate at seventeen and needs to find her own family, anyway. Not only that, but she can fend for herself. It's not like she'll even care about any of us.”
Robert said, “She just started her degrees at Yale and hasn't got her career going yet. Let me ask her what she thinks?”
Karen snapped, “Why would you ask that girl what she thinks? She doesn't care about anyone but herself. We deserve this opportunity even without her.”
Robert said, “I want us to go. It will be a great experience for Toby. Don't you think Sarah would feel like we abandoned her?” Sarah frowned and thought, 'Yeah, no great experience for Sarah. Hell yeah, she will feel abandoned, but Karen won't think so.' Sarah went back to her room and wrote to her cousins in Ireland, to ask if they will let her come stay and get transferred to go to school there at Trinity College in Dublin.
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Sarah's life changed over quickly. She got her passport, approval through emigration, transferred over to Trinity College, and had all her belongings shipped to her cousin's house in Ireland. They bought plane tickets in advance for a week. Karen, and her father, closed up the house. Her father dumped her in a motel and gave her enough cash to get into the airport shuttle and taxis. Sarah's father even set up a bank account in The Bank of Ireland in Dublin with fifty thousand dollars and was sending her four thousand a month. Her father could barely have a moment to say goodbye to Sarah when they boarded their plane to Germany and parted ways, thanks to Karen…
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Sarah said, “Karen didn't even allow us ten minutes to say goodbye.”
He frowned, thinking about that. He said, “Goodbye, Sarah. Be safe.” He turned to walk away.
Sarah stomped her foot and said, “You really would just walk away like you never loved me! No hug, no kiss, no I'll miss you and not one tear!” Sarah had tears in her eyes at the airport gate that was boarding to Germany her father was leaving through. He stopped and looked at her with wide eyes. “I see Karen was right, but instead of me not caring about you, you just proved you don't. With the last nail in the coffin, it's the other way around. Have a pleasant life, Robert. Sorry about the messy inconvenience of my birth. You and my mother have both shown me how I never should have been born. Thanks for that. I'll have you stop wasting your money on me as soon as I can. I hope.” Sarah turned and walked away, even as Robert shouted after her. She just kept on walking away.
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Present
In school, in Dublin, she found many things of interest, but her favorite ones were Celtic Historical Studies and Ancient Britannic Languages, ancient and modern dialect forms of the Gaelic language, like Irish, Breton, Scottish, and Welsh.
Her Irish cousins, from her mother's side of the family, let her stay with them to get her double master's degrees. Her father had always wanted her to be a lawyer and said it disappointed him in her, but he still paid for her studies while she was there.
She applied for Ireland citizenship because her mother was born here. A year later, she was given full citizenship because she was the only first generation born in the United States, and she got her birth registered in Ireland, along with her mother's birth certificate on record. This made her education free at an undergraduate level now that she was a citizen. So, part of each degree was free, but she went all the way to her master's and that part took money to finish. She never told her father that he didn't have to pay for all of her schooling now because she still needed his money and saved it instead for later. The checks still came once a month.
Upon completion of both of her thesis' in three years' record time. She graduated with a double master's degree with both a 4.0 GPA and summa cum laude by the age of twenty. She never told her father of her achievements because he didn't care.
Sarah transferred to the University of Aberdeen in Scotland to get two masters in the study of Anthropology, specializing in Anthropology of the North. Sarah got another master's in Archeology, specializing in the British Isles. She had saved her father's money and started paying for her education again because she wasn't in Ireland anymore. She told her father she transferred to the University of Aberdeen and moved there to a cheap efficiency apartment.
At age twenty two, Sarah was halfway through her third and fourth master’s degrees. She had got a small inheritance of $300,000 from her grandmother on her mother's side, who came from Ireland. Her grandmother came to America with her mother, who was born in Ireland, at age two. Her mother didn't need the money, and her grandmother had left it all for Sarah as a beneficiary.
She was going to pay for her education now because it was the right thing to do. When she called to tell her father over the phone about it, she was harshly told to pay for her own education from now on, immediately that very day she got the inheritance. Her stepmother made her father cut her off financially because she heard her voice in the background spitting vile things about her being a burden and an ingrate. Sarah's father repeated everything she said she told him to say over the phone. It was very hurtful, and it made her furious.
She used the money she had left from her father she saved up and her inheritance to graduate, at age twenty four, with a 4.0 and 4.2 GPA summa cum laude from school and cut off all communication with her father. He was all she thought she had, and now she knew she was all alone in the world, since she hadn't heard from her mother since she was twelve and got a birthday card with five bucks in it. Her father called and called until it stopped. Sarah was done with them all. Her stepmother, Karen, made damn sure of it.
She had a total of four master’s degrees and went on a few archeological digs in the UK from time to time. She even got a job doing research at Cambridge University in England. Her field of research focused on the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon people, relics and new discoveries. She loved her job.
After college, she had learned self defense from her Uncle Kenny. He was a Royal Marine Commando. He was a brilliant and powerful man. She adored him. Sarah wanted him for a father instead of her own. Uncle Kenny showed Sarah more affection and taught her everything he knew. He had taken a liking to her and took her further than any classes she could take. He said he wanted her to know everything he knew to help her if she was ever in a dangerous situation. Her Uncle Kenny taught her to shoot and learn archery as well. He would take her hunting and fishing. She was truly thankful and kept up on her skills that he taught her. She loved it and picked it up quickly from him, and he made her feel good about herself again.
He had her specialized in survival training as well. It was better than any professional Survivalist could teach. She started collecting items for camping and surviving outdoors. She learned to camp, trapping, finding wild food, recognizing plants, foraging for supplies, searching for safe places to set up camp, fire starting, preparation of animals for food, valuable items and how to use them, ect.
Sarah learned all this while doing her job. She had been doing personal research on the Tuatha De Danann, fae folk of legend, by visiting historical sights and viewing them from every angle to see if she detected magic. It had a certain smell or feeling, or both, to her. She remembers that smell and feeling from her Labyrinth run back ten to eleven years ago, at fifteen years old. Now, at twenty six years old, she searched out and read everything in the libraries or that she could get her hands on.
One day, she stumbled on information that referenced that Newgrange Mound was Dagda's home and the passage to Below ground. She thought, 'Below ground, Underground? Not much of a difference, and it is another realm or dimension.'
Three weeks later, Sarah was told that a new project had opened up for Newgrange Mound and the archeologists had discovered another passage branching off to the left. Sarah was intrigued and with her credentials she was a top pick for the team to go in from Cambridge.
She knew it was an opportunity to get into the Underground. Even if she just enters with the team, she will just stay late, and maybe she can be left alone in there. She was going to get ready and prepare for a new adventure.
On the evening of the day of the excavation, her decision to go was all set. It was raining outside, and the lightning was flashing across the room. It was one of those nights when you just want to snuggle into bed, keeping dry. Sarah was staring at the ceiling, going through an inventory check.
Sarah had packed up all she would need to survive outdoors. Everything was all in black, including her clothes. She hoped everything wasn't too heavy to bear. She had her long skinny bag with her bow and quiver wrapped in two wool blankets, a large, waterproof duffle bag of clothes, and a waterproof backpack full of nonperishable food and spices. Sarah also brought a waterproof zip closed large shoulder tote bag with her pop up tent disk in a dark green. She had to take a few books, a thousand rounds of iron bullets, a survivalist/first aid kit, a rope, and compact climbing gear inside it. Sarah had, on her belt, a hunting knife and a 9 mm Kel-Tec P-11 handgun with a ten round clip (which both were not obtained legally).
She had to wear her poncho over her cloak, her knife, and gun on her belt, with her top pulled out long enough to conceal them. She wasn't sure what the Underground's weather would be like or what season to expect. Sarah even packed up all her jewelry and had bought a lot more gold and silver with her savings, so she had something to barter with.
The only impediment was to get access alone in the Newgrange mound at night. She figured she would just park with the others going.
Sarah took a shower, got dressed in her black outfit with boots. She braided her very long dark hair tightly from a ponytail on the top of her head. She filled her bottles in her backpack with water. Sarah put on her gear and cloak and poncho. She grabbed her four bags and headed to the car.
She drove north to where Newgrange was located and parked the car by the others. Sarah got all her gear and her cloak with the hood up. She walked up the steps and into the entrance, and followed the main passage to the dead end with her flashlight. Her partner, Stan Ivers had a lantern lighting up the left passage just uncovered.
She saw a stone wall in the dead end up ahead. She sat down all her bags in a pile and took off her cloak and rain poncho, trying to cover them up so as not to look like much. Sarah walked away from them and started looking around at everything but the dead end slab because she could smell the magic coming from it. She was looking for other markings.
Eventually, everyone left except for her and Stan. Stan said wearily, “You are staying longer, Sarah?”
Sarah said, sighing, “Yeah, a bit longer.”
Stan said, ready to leave, “Ok, I'll leave you the lantern then.”
Sarah smiled and said, “Thanks, Stan.” He packed up and left.
Sarah put on her gear and grabbed her bags, and she walked up to the tunnel's dead end wall. She saw a small, tiny spiral no bigger than a fingertip in the center of the slab on the wall. To anyone else, it would look like just a dirt mark or a stone divot. She used her fingernail to see how deep the dirt was in the grooves and picked the dirt out. She used her knife to cut her right index fingertip. Sarah pressed her finger all the way into the hole, about an inch deep and rested her right hand on the wall. The wall opened up, and she fell through, baggage and all.