The last
beat of my heart
by Lilith ( jmpoley@hetnet.nl )
Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth and everything related to it. Neither
do I own "The last beat of my heart" because it's a fabulous song by Siouxsie and
the Banshees!!!
Sarah stood in front of her bedroom window. The
street looked deserted, except for a young girl who was running by. Rain poured
down, making the clothes of the girl stick to her body. A flash of lightning
lit up the scene. Sarah could now see the dog that was running next to the
girl. A melancholic smile crossed her face. It could have been her, running
down the street, followed by a dog. She did so, five years ago. Even the
weather had been the same then. Her eyes followed the girl until she was out of
sight. The young woman behind the glass frowned. She couldn't help but feeling,
her seeing this scene, meant something. A load crack of thunder made her
shiver.
Silently she turned, overlooking her room. The
vague forms of her treasures were hardly to be seen in the darkness of the
room. She didn't care to turn on the light. She wanted it to be dark. She liked
the shadows. This was the only place she felt safe. Her own room that hadn't
changed a bit for years. She didn't want it to change. Too much already had.
Her life seemed to be perfect. Everything thing
she did turned out to be a success. Every risk she took always ended up her
way. The best universities had asked, no, begged her to come. She had chosen
the most difficult things to study, always to find out that they weren't
difficult for her. And there had been boys. Boys that had loved her, boys that
tried to court her. But she had always found that even this seemed to be too
easy.
Where was the challenge? Where was somebody who
could and dared to resist her? Lost in thoughts she seated herself in front of
her vanity table. Staring absent minded in the black mirror. She knew the
answer, for there had only been one challenge in her life. She bit her lip
while her mind drifted away to a moment, five years ago. It had been that girl
she had seen running by, that had fed her thoughts about this subject.
Her cheeks coloured as she thought of that
night. It had been this experience that made everything look so dull now. For a
second she closed her eyes, feeling the excitement running through her body.
Her thoughts ran over her actions then. She grinned as she thought of her
mistakes, the things she did on impulse. The things she had said. The creatures
she had encountered. The enemy she had met.
With a bitter smile she added to herself "My
equal" The only person who had been able to dare her. He had succeeded, she had
learned so much from him. But it had been much later before she had came to
understood what impact the whole magical event had left in her mind and body.
It had made her grow up. But it had also made her own world boring. A deep sigh
escaped her lips. She had came to the conclusion that they both had lost the
challenge. He had lost the game itself, but she had lost her joy in this world
that suddenly appeared to be so boring. She had lost her chance to be with the
only man she had ever met, who was able to live up to her demands. Life
wouldn't be boring with him by her side.
She had lost him, but it had been the game that
made her. Still she couldn't help but ask herself if there would have been
another way. She had thought over it a million times. But she had only came to
understand that he probably had loved her, and she loved him. And she would
always love him. But would she ever see him again. Would he ever forgive her.
Would she ever be able to forgive him ? He was a bad guy, after all. Her mind
drifted off…
"In the sharp gust of love
my memory stirred
when time wreathed a rose
a garland of shame
its thorn my only delight
war-torn, afraid to speak
we dare to breathe."
Her eyes flew open. Something felt different.
But this thought faded in a feeling of confuse and lost its importance. She
stared at her reflection in the mirror. The confusing feeling had found it's origin.
It wasn't her own reflection. The image at the other side of the mirror seemed
to hold his breath. Not daring to speak, afraid to ruin it all.
Sarah stared back, feeling the same way. She
didn't know how long she had been sitting like this, but slowly, a feeling that
washed over all others, crystallised in her mind.
"Majestic
Imperial
A bridge of sighs
solitude sails
in a wave of forgiveness
on angel wings"
Here was the face she had dreamed of. The man
she had cursed. The king of the world she longed for. All the anger that had
been inside her washed away, leaving the other half of her feelings for the man
in the mirror exposed to her own critical mind. She had never seen it all so
clear. Fear crept through her veins. Suddenly she got up and stepped backwards.
The face in the mirror seemed to panic.
"Reach out your hands
Don't turn your back
Don't walk away."
For a moment she stood motionless, then slowly
she reached her hand towards the mirror. She gasped for air as the man inside
did the same. At the surface of the mirror their fingers touched. They
intertwined. Sarah closed her eyes as she felt how she was drawn into the
mirror.
For a second a freezing cold crept to her body.
Then it was all over and she felt strangely weightless, although she could feel
something solid beneath her feet. She opened her eyes, but she didn't see what
she had expected to.
Everywhere around her was a pulsing shade of
blue, made of a material that seemed to be both fluid as solid. And opposite of her stood the king. Her eyes
ran over his features. A warm feeling lit up her heart. The confusing thoughts
were gone, everything was clear now. She felt surprised.
"How in the world
Can I wish for this?
Never to be torn apart
Close to you
'til the last beat
of my heart"
The king bowed and whispered her name: "Sarah."
She wanted to make a gracious gesture to him, but her body seemed to be
paralysed. Only her lips wanted to part: "Jareth". A smile she knew so well crossed his face. With a wave of his hand
a gate appeared behind his back. He obviously didn't care to look at it, as his
eyes never left her. His voice sounded cold as he spoke: "Behind this is my
world. The Underground with its Labyrinth."
Without a sound the doors opened a showed the
world she had wished for. She wanted to tell him how she had dreamed of this,
but he gestured her not to speak. He pointed behind her: "Behind you is the
gate to your world. We are now standing in a gateway between our worlds."
Slowly she turned and saw her room and through the window she could she the
weather had cleared. Leaving a clear darkening sky as the sun set.
"At the close of day
the sunset cloaks
these words in shadowplay"
Jareth continued. "Look what I am offering you,
Sarah." She tore her eyes from her room and stared at him with an angry look.
"Don't remind me, Jareth. I thought we had left that behind us. I won, Jareth!"
Jareths look on his face changed from haughty to furious: "I think you lost as
much as I did, Sarah. But if you don't want to listen, I'll leave you here,
just slip back into your small world! As I'll do the same!" Sarah froze.
"Here & now, long & loud
my heart cries out
and the naked bone of an echo says
don't walk away"
Silently she nodded. Jareth grinned. For a
moment Sarah thought she saw relief on his face, but he turned his face away
before she could tell. The pulsing blue seemed to grow thicker. Jareth looked
at the light for a second and then turned hastily to Sarah. 'We're running out
of time. Like I just said, I've got something to offer…" His voice trailed away
as he stared distracted at the surroundings. Sarah waited patiently, curious of
what he could offer. At last Jareth looked up to her, gazing into her eyes:
"Come to my world, Sarah."
"Reach out your hands
I'm just a step away."
Sarah couldn't believe her ears. Before she
could utter a sound, Jareth continued: "I have got a world to rule and enemies
to take care of." He paused. Sarah added what was not spoken: "And children to
take from their houses!" His face was blank when he answered: "They ask me to
do so." They both fell silent. Sarah knew he was right. But still she didn't
like the whole thing. "I can read from your face, you still disagree." He
chuckled. Sarah couldn't help but smile. Jareth reached out his hand towards
her: "I want you to come to rule with me. There is so much to do."
"How in the world
Can I wish for this?
Never to be torn apart
Close to you
'til the last beat
of my heart"
Sarah grinned. The question was so much like she
expected from him. Never ask for help, just put it in another way. She looked
into his mismatched eyes: "And what if we end up fighting like cat and dog?"
Jareth shrugged: "Once you've come to the Underground, you can never go back.
But that's just a risk to take." Sarah smiled brightly en took his hand. "Well,
let's go then." Inside her mind she was singing at the top of her lungs, while
repeating one word. Risks, risks, risks. Risks to be taken while he was at her
side. A strange twist of fate made her
enemy into her saviour.
"How in the world
Can I wish for this?
Never to be torn apart
'til the last beat
'til the last fleeting beat
of my heart."
THE END