Time is so long so tedious, especially to ones with immortality. Crystals glinting, catching in their iridescent glow, visions of sorrow. Beautiful and vigorous women radiating in their youth became fleshy, and the rheumatic eyes no longer held the vigor of life but of a dull, glinting scythe. Men, like Greek Apollo, standing tan and firm over the ill, soon become ill themselves. Their perfect rows of white teeth became black and crawling with maggots; and the lithe, athletic bodies fell like paste from their bones. Jareth with his mis-matched eyes shined with curiosity as he watched humans fall apart Aboveground.
One crystal though he watched beyond all others. In it, was an old woman lying in a bed. Her tiny, sagged framed swaddled in bright patterns and colors of the Middle East. Her tendrils of hairs as white as pearls were lying on her silken pillow and clung to the seed pearls and rhinestone around it. Her breathing was ragged and her green eyes now looked faded and tired. Jareth gripped the crystal ball tighter his knuckles turning white as he stared at a paper thin hand reaching out from under her thick covers the blue veins of her hands glowing hauntingly as if they were about to burst.
Generations of family members swarmed around her and she wistfully patted their soft, gentle hands lovingly. Younger kids pulled closer to her in bed their tiny arms grasping at the now skeletal frame of their beloved grandmother.
"Don't go Grammy." a cherub faced boy said his light blue eyes shimmering with tears. The grandmother struggled to sit up right her weary head refusing to cooperate with the aging muscles, turning to puddles, inside her. Heaving herself with great effort, she placed her cool, pale lips against the youths gentle features. "My dear it's not going to be too long until we see each other again." She rasped blood trickling brightly against her flaxen face cutting into the tight grooves of wrinkled flesh.
A woman quickly grabbed the child in an attempt to give her mother room to breathe. "It's not fair!" the little boy screamed his face twisted and red. The grandmother began to breathlessly laugh her visible bones popping as if in a dance of mirth.
"Life is not fair!" she cried her eyes now distant as past memories from her youth. Pain clutched and sent her in spasms as she cried out. The family cried knowing there was nothing they could do except watch the woman they love gasp like a fish, her watery eyes nearly popping from their sockets as her tiny mouth became a cavern of blood and black bile. Jareth let a blood curdling cry as he quickly shattered the shining orb into millions of glass shards many digging deep into his unchanged white flesh.
Transforming into a white feathered owl he quickly flew his white wings blurred and black eyes gleaming in pure desperation. Evaporating into the room the owl quickly clicked his beak and became the slender Goblin King. He raised his gloved hand and time stopped for him and the woman.
The woman heaving in suffering stared unbelievingly at Jareth's face his eyes lined with coal and lips as sensual as she remembered from that time long ago. "Sarah…" he whispered leaning by her bedside his hand clutching at her as if to prevent her pain. Sarah gave a sigh of joy and cried at the sight of him. He quickly kissed her thin, wrinkled lips with vigor
"I can save you Sarah. All you have to do is say the words and I will be your slave!" Blood trickling and the lights fading from the shriveled body of his beloved brought the king to rasping sobs. Stroking Sarah's thin hair, tears began to pour down as he begged "Please."
Sarah looked weakly grabbed his hand and stuttered, slightly chortling "Jareth, you have no power over me. It's time." Bringing his hand to her mouth he kissed him softly the blood trickling down his hand until finally, her weary heart stopped, and her once hazel eyes were blank and the body began to grow cold.
Watching his crystals, the curiosities of humanity never ceased to amaze Jareth. His only love dead and cold, he left to grieve as the family would do, except without comfort and alone.