Genre: One-shot, Songfic, Hurt/comfort
Characters: Sarah, Jareth
Summary: Sarah is devastated after her brother's death in a traffic accident. She wants to escape her pain and loss. Would her call for help be answered?
The song "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" by Andrew Lloyd Webber ("Phantom of the Opera")
Author's note: Yeah, I know, at first I'm publishing only one story and now after a big silence one new fiction comes after another. Never mind, it just happens to me once in a while, folks. I just decided to try and write for most of categories. It's actually kind of hard to make some original story since all the bright ideas seems to be already used. But... I can at least make a variations of theme, right? Maybe I will even choose some challenge in the end. But for now – enjoy my new creations that came from my Labyrinth-Jareth-David-Bowie obsessed brains and please, people, rewiev my stories and let me know what you think of them. Do I have to continue to write them?
You were once my one companionYou were all that mattered
You were once a friend and father
Then my world was shattered
Wishing you were somehow here againWishing you were somehow near
Sometimes it seems if I just dreamed
Somehow you would be here
Wishing I could hear your voice again
Knowing that I never would
Dreaming of you won't help me to do
All that you dreamed I could
Rain was pouring hard in that day. It was as if the skies were mourning along with the dark-haired woman who sat in her tiny childhood bedroom, blankly staring through the window at the raindrops slowly sliding down the glass, mirroring the tears on her face. She absently reached aside and entwined her fingers around some worn teddy bear, pulling it in her lap and clutching tightly against her chest, allowing her tears to pour onto it. Her green eyes had lost their brightness long time ago. A month ago, actually.
Listening the quiet song in background, she thought about the past, about decisions that had been made and how wrong she had choosed in the end. The etherical voice of her namesake Sarah Brightman touched the very depths of her heart as well as the words of the song, almost perfectly resembling her thoughts about two men in her life that had been the most important to her and eventually she had lost them both. Between her loss then and now had been seven years long distance, but the first one still hurt no less than the second. She would give anything to get another chance to change at least something.
Quiet knock at the door caught her attention, still she made no move, only turned her head a little bit to the man who stood in her doorway. His eyes were puffy from crying but he kept his voice calm and steady when spoke.
"Sarah, I heard that you're going to leave us." That was no question.
Sarah said nothing, just give a nod, turning her head back to continue stare at the window. Robert Williams sighed and walked in to sat beside his daughter. He could understand how she was feeling after losing the youngest member of their family, but her decision to move out had been like a lightening from the clear skies.
"Look, I know how much you miss him, but please... can you at least consider your decision?" He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Sarah raised her teary eyes to look at her father. They all had been through hell during this past month, but she needed him to understand how important it was to her. It was impossible for her to stay here, in this house with so many memories, where everything reminded of her little brother. It was so unfair, she suddenly thought and almost smiled at these words.
"Dad, I'm sorry, but I just can't stay here." She spoke after a moment of silence, her voice hoarse and low from being without use for a while. "This whole place reminds me of him. I... can't, don't you understand that I can't?"
Another wave of memories swept over her at these words. If only she had choosed to turn back... before it was too late, as he warned her. Maybe he knew what destiny awaits her brother? Maybe he tried to save him instead of what she had expected. Sarah shook her head, another flow of tears clouding her eyes, and she buried her head into her once so beloved teddy bear Lancelot, which she gave Toby after their return from the wondrous journey through the Labyrinth.
"Sarah, I already lost one child," her father quietly said, caressing her raven hair. "I don't want to lose another."
"Oh, Dad," Sarah sobbed and in a swift motion threw her hands around his neck, hiding her face against his shoulder. Robert hugged her tightly and rocked her gently, caressing her hair and back as he used to do when she was just an infant. Sarah felt so protected and loved like never before and for a moment she almost wished to stay here like this forever and never leave, but then again her thoughts turned to Toby.
Sarah knew that if she will stay, eventually these memories and pain would drive her insane. She already knew where she wanted to go, but at first she had to say goodbye to her family for any case. Resolutely Sarah pulled away and wiped her wet cheeks, sadly smiling at her father.
"Dad, I want you to know that I love you so much. And I love Karen too in spite of our earlier differences. She always tried to do her best to take care of me..." Sarah took a deep breath, then continued. "But I can't stay. Please, Dad, just let me go!"
"Sarah, you're not going to do anything stupid, are you?" Robert anxiously asked. "Like put your hands on yourself or else?"
"Dad! No, of course, no!" Sarah's eyes widened in shock. "Please, what makes you think so?"
"I don't know, it's just..." Robert struggled to find the right words. "It's just the way how you said that as if we're never gonna see each other again. You're scaring me, baby."
Sarah reached up to caress her father's unshaved cheek. Poor Dad, she thought, with all this he completely forgot to take care of himself. She forced a smile and shook her head.
"I won't do anything stupid, I promise." Except for one thing, she thought at herself. "But I'm gonna move to some place that is very far from here and... quite frankly, I don't know if I'll ever come back. So, basically, yes, probably we won't see each other again."
Robert stared at her closely as if trying to burn her face into his memory. He knew his daughter and her iron will. If she had decided to leave, nothing could make her to change her mind. With a heavy heart he sighed and then hugged her once again, this time holding her with all his might. Sarah made no complaint, answering on his embrace, knowing that this is the last time when they are together.
Over his shoulder, her eyes turned to the window. The rain has stopped and a weak sunlight tried to sneak out through the clouds. In spite of enormous grief that pressed her heart, Sarah smiled, imagining that her little brother is trying to give her some comfort from the Heaven.
Passing bells and sculpted angelsCold and monumental
Seem for you the wrong companions
You were warm and gentle
Too many years fighting back tears
Why can't the past just dieWishing you were somehow here again
Knowing we must say goodbye
Saying goodbye to Dad and Karen was easier than she expected. After finally leaving the house behind, Sarah sat in her car and drove away to the place where she wanted to hang around before trying to reach her dreams one last time. She glanced aside to the box with her childhood keepsakes – music box, Lancelot, little red book and a figurine which resembled the Goblin King. These were the things she wanted to keep at herself as the most precious memories were linked to them.
The streets were wet and slick, puddles looming here and there, making her to drive very carefully. Sarah bit her lower lip, concentrating on the road to reach her destination safe and sound. Her thoughts, however, wandered on their own until turned to the day when her world turned upside down before crumbling apart in small pieces.
She had been engrossed in her work at the bookstore, when her phone rang. It was her Dad who called her to come home immediately. He spoke shortly and calmly, still his voice tone clearly told that something serious had happened. Without thinking Sarah had asked her colleague to cover for her and rushed back home.
It was late afternoon and Toby was supposed to be home from school, but when she parked at her usual spot in front of their garage there was no cheerful eight years old blonde boy to meet her as he always did. When she went inside and entered the living room, Karen's teary eyes and pale face was the first thing she noticed. Then her Dad came in and asked for her to sit down before he told her the terrible news.
After walking out of school, Toby had went straight to home as usual when he got hit by a motorcycle which had emerged around the corner unexpectedly. Before the driver realized that the boy is walking across the street and now is into his trajectory, it was already too late to swerve. The impact threw the little boy across the street. The driver got through with a few broken bones, but for Toby the hit had been instantly lethal.
Sarah had to pull over to regain control over her trembling hands, remembering the shock and disbelief that took her upon hearing it. She refused to believe that her little sweet brother could be gone in a such cruel and senseless way. After everything she had went through to save him from the grasp of the Goblin King, he had been torn away from her in a way she would never believed to be possible. Fresh tears started to stream across her cheeks and Sarah leaned her head against the wheel, crying for her loss.
Finally calming enough to be able to drive, Sarah restarted the engine and continued her way. After a short while a large cemetery came in her sight. She turned the wheel and drove into the parking lot, finally turning the engine off, then she reached behind the seat and took her backpack to remove into it all of her keepsakes from the box. After one last glance around she finally opened the door and climbed out of her car not even bothering about locking it.
The air after rain was fresh and clean, perfect for her decision to let the past go right here and right now. Just one last thing and she will be ready to go home, to the place that could give her the only salvation. Sarah walked in silence down the path, with each step getting closer to her destination. The trees above her head slightly swayed in the wind, dripping the raindrops on her hair, not that she minded. After a minute her eyes finally spotted a layer of flowers in front of her.
There he was, her little brother, buried under the ground all alone. Sarah stopped at the tombstone and fell on her knees, ignoring the wet grass that muddled her jeans. Her fingers gently touched the name on the cold marble as if trying to give him the last caress. Then she opened her backpack and took out the bear, Lancelot, squeezing it in a tight hug and then placing it at the tombstone in the middle of the sea of flowers and candles.
"Here you go," she whispered the same words she said when gave the bear to him the first time. "I'd like Lancelot belong to you now. Now and forever."
She sat there for a moment, consumed by grief and memories of their too short time together and shared love for stories. Toby always loved the "Labyrinth" story and asked her to repeat it multiple times before going to bed. Sarah always arranged the original fairytale a bit, adding her own adventures with Hoggle, Sir Didymus and Ludo as well as her encounters with the Goblin King. She even quoted their last conversation as her version of final words between the original princess and the King.
Strangely enough, but Toby never considered the Goblin King to be the villain. He always was a little bit sad when the princess turned the King's offer down. Sarah tried to explain that she had to save the child, but Toby had his own thoughts. She recalled the last time they talked about it only a couple of weeks before...
"He really loved that princess. Why she was so stupid?" Toby asked after listening the story for the umpteenth time. "I don't think the Goblin King had turned the child into the goblin if only she had asked for it. "
"Toby, she didn't know it. Besides she was very young and she needed to return home to grow up." Sarah smiled at him. Toby was very smart and observant for his age. He always saw the things in the way no one else could. "When you will grow up, you will understand. And now go to bed." She ushered the boy into the bed and tucked the blanket around him.
"I think the princess liked the Goblin King. Only she had more important things to do than stay with him." Toby suddenly said when Sarah already was half-way out of room. "I think she would understand it someday."
"She really had very important thing to do. She had to take care of the baby. And when she grew up, they met again and lived happily ever after." Sarah finished the story with her own version of its end, then grinned at brother's satisfied face. " Now sleep, okay?"
"Okay. Good night, Sarah!" Toby yawned and closed his eyes, hugging his Lancelot tightly while Sarah turned and switched the light off, knowing that her brother is safe and soon he will be sleeping soundly.
Tears obscured her view and broke her last resolve. Sarah hunched and embraced herself, trying to held her emotions in control. She knew she had to let it go once for all times if she ever wanted to move on with her life, but it was too hard to do alone. Besides she needed to tie up all loose ends with her past too.
Sarah wiped the tears, closed her eyes and produced in her mind an image of the man she loved and feared for so long. Her mind was set when her lips parted to pronounce the words she once had said without meaning them but now her heart truly believed in each and every syllable. She opened her eyes and looked straight at the Toby's name with her voice loud and clear.
"I wish that the goblins would come and take me away right now!"
Try to forgive, teach me to liveGive me the strength to try
No more memories, no more silent tears
No more gazing across the wasted years
Help me say goodbye
Help me say goodbyeAs her words echoed in the air, the wind breeze shook her hair and twirled the leaves around her. There was no need for her to turn around to see him; she could feel his presence with her whole being. She could feel his stare burning the holes in her back when she heard his steps coming closer to her across the wet grass.
"My, my, you of all people never stroke me as someone who would ever say those words again!" His British accent caressed her ears and surprisingly fast soothed the ache of her heart a bit.
"This time I wished myself away, not someone else." Sarah quietly said, not tearing her eyes away from tombstone.
"And you didn't mean it this time too?" The Goblin King drawled, his tone seemingly nonchalant, but when Sarah turned her head, he was suddenly taken aback by the tears that streamed across her face. Something was wrong or else she would never called him, let alone wish herself away.
Jareth carefully observed her and then his look turned to their surroundings. They were in cemetery but why? He made another step and looked at the tombstone before her and the name on it. In a sudden realization he kneeled at her side and touched engraved words with his gloved fingers.
"Toby?" His voice suddenly was hoarse and quiet. "He's... dead? How?"
"It was a traffic accident. Some guy hit him with a motorcycle. I... I never had a chance to say goodbye to him."
"But why did you called me? Even I can't bring him back," Jareth said.
Sarah took a deep breath, then forced herself to look straight into his mismatched eyes that stared back with unseen compassion and simpathy.
"Your majesty," she spoke, addressing him by his title, and that caused the shiver run down his spine. "I called upon you since you're the only one who can set me free from this pain! Please, forgive me what I've done in past! Forgive me for not seeing that you've been nothing but generous to me before. Show your generousity one last time. Take me away!"
Jareth looked at her exhausted face and the look in her eyes was full of unspoken emotions. After all these years she finally was ready to return to him. He realized that her brother had been the only one who held her into this world. Now without him she made no sense of staying here any longer.
"Are you sure about it?" He asked to be certain she realize what she has been asking for. "Because if I do take you away, there is no turning back and no one will run my Labyrinth to save you."
Sarah only gave a nod. Before the mind caught the action, she already had thrown her arms around his neck and sobbed against his shirt. Jareth made no attempt to pull away and gently took her in his arms. He always had been fond toward her baby brother whom he wanted to become his heir in future. And Sarah had fought so hard to get him back from his grasp only to lose him again so soon. He mourned along with her and one single tear slid down his face.
"Tell me, your majesty," Sarah whispered against his shirt. "Did you knew his fate? When you warned me to turn back before it's too late, did you knew it?"
Jareth brokenly sighed, before answered. "No, precious. I warned you from the dangers toward yourself, but I didn't know his future. If I had known I would have told you."
"He always liked you." Sarah pulled away a bit and took a deep breath. "He loved the Labyrinth story and... you. Sometimes I'm thinking that if I had accepted my dreams and went back to my room as you told me to, you would have turned him into the goblin, but at least he would still be alive."
"Precious, don't burden yourself. You couldn't know the future, no one could." Jareth reached out to caress her cheek and wipe her tears away. "Don't blame yourself, Sarah!"
Sarah lifted her eyes at him. There was a flash of an enormous love in his eyes when he stood up, pulling her with him and tightly held her hands.
"Sarah, I can take your tears and sorrow away, I can give you a new life and even more. Can you accept my offer now? Can you fear and love me? Can you do as I say so I could be your slave forever?"
Sarah thought for a moment. In an instant she realized her true feelings for him. His words in the past, everything he had done, it all made sense – he loved her. Everytime her memories turned to Jareth, she longed to be with him. Toby was right, the princess loved the King and now they really met again. The end of this story was up to her now. She looked in Jareth's eyes and saw his bare soul reflecting into them.
"Yes, I can. I didn't understood your offer before, but I do now." Sarah answered and for the first time her heart gained peace. "Take me home, your majesty!"
"As you wish, my queen." Jareth leaned to kiss her, then grinned. "And call me Jareth."
Sarah smiled back, then turned to take her backpack and one last time crouched down to caress the ground in front of the tombstone.
"Goodbye, my little brother!" She whispered. "Thank you for believing my stories. I will never forget you."
Then she stood up and embraced the man she once feared in her childhood, but loved from all her heart as an adult. All of her pain lifted off her shoulders like a heavy weight when Jareth kissed his future Queen once again before they vanished in thin air to begin their new life together.