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Sarah tumbled through a world unknown, where black steam swam between her legs and golden kaleidoscopes of glitter congregated and separated before her eyes. Fish with scales of cobalt and violet and vermilion walked nonchalantly upon their fins, glossy bubbles escaping their lips in conversation. A man with his head on backwards nodded once to Sarah and continued on his way through the grey clouds.

Sarah looked around her surroundings in amazement; It was beyond anything she had ever seen before. A little town sat below her, warm lights reflected in the lake above her head and people floating from house to house. The golden glitter that had so unceremoniously dumped themselves on her began to swim back to their respective tribes, save for one little golden spot that stayed firmly on the center of her forehead. An owl startled her, flying directly in her line of sight. 

That owl again! What was he doing here? 

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The King jumped; He could feel something, someone coming. Was it the Queen? Had she finally returned? Oh, joyous day! Perhaps he would yet be saved. His hair turned an alarming shade of orange, looking rather like someone had decided to try giving him Kool-Aide tips, except with Kraft Mac & Cheese powder. But....wait. What if- what if she was coming to tell him she was leaving for good? The King's hair melted back into an ungainly shade of green.  No one disappeared for that long and remained hidden- why would the Queen give herself up, besides? Oh dear. This would not do. The Goblin King sank into his mahogany chair, whose squat, bowlegged legs sank even lower.  He would hold her captive, this time with no intentional escape. No, the cycle might not continue, but it would be stuck on his side of the playing field!

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"Come back! Come- Oof!" Sarah collided with the little owl, sending him ricocheting across the sky. Sarah crashed head over heels into something soft and warm, all of her limbs a tangle in the ground. When Sarah looked up, she was no longer in the in-between filled with lights and mist, but in a quiet country vale surrounded by long green grasses and  flowers. The flowers nodded their bejeweled heads in a condescending manner; How dare this young rag of a girl topple herself into their field? The grass whispered as the wind flew over their tips, gossiping about this strange new girl. A single crescent moon floated in the sky, a Chesire cat smiling at Sarah's bewildered expression. A few feet from where she had landed, the small owl had hopped to his feet (or is it claws?) and looked inquisitively at the rumpled girl before taking off into the night sky. 

Drat. Now Sarah was not only hallucinating, but she was also caught lost in this- this world. She was in the owl's home now; Sarah would have to deal with it and move on. Off in the distance, a small smudge of blurry lights sat together under the sky. For now, that was Sarah's target. She lifted her feet out of the smushy ground beneath her, and began the long, grueling trek towards the warm glow. 

Meanwhile, the Goblin King assembled a hunting party for the Queen. Donning a suit of only the purest black, the King set out with his royal goblin consorts with goblin steel shining fiercely from their scabbards, nearly screaming for blood to soak their blades. The King's black armor displayed a woven pattern, thin coiling ropes of chain dripping down the breastplate and dangling off the edge at irregular lengths. Around the neck, the chains wove themselves upwards upon being placed on the King's chest, which appeared to be melded to the steel itself. His sword hung low on his waist, a black scabbard wrapped in white ribbon from chape to locket. A fat opal crested the pommel, an eye which observed whichever gruesome behavior the Goblin King was party to. Whatever stood in the way of this hunting party would surely perish, humans and animals alike. 

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As Sarah walked, she was so concentrated on the light before her that she was not aware of the flowers and grass dissolving like cotton candy in the rain. The only sounds were ahead, giving her no reason to turn around in fright. The flowers melted first- the petals ran like water color paint, coldly dripping into the dirt beneath them. The long grasses peeled into two, curling in on themselves before finally disappearing into the mire. 

Sarah neared the warm glow and heard light-hearted voices soaring from above, deep basses sinking every note from the ground, even a nasally tenor worming his way through the air. At first glance, Sarah might have thought that her eyes were playing tricks on her;  She was met with the sight of colored lights swirling excitedly in the humid air. She drew closer to see the lights were actually...parts of a person? The pin pricks of light drew together and condensed to form a woman's lips, white teeth shining through red and pink spotted lips. Notes soared from between her teeth, whistling merrily to some foreign tune. 

The lips dissolved, and another swarm of lights engulfed Sarah singing high and low until she felt compelled to join them. Her own voice sang lightly, clearly among the stars- she forgot for a moment, just one moment where she was and how she came to be. Sarah was so entangled in the music, she didn't notice for a second the darkness creeping up behind  her...