Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth.
Also, two quick warnings. One, my Beta didn't go over this one, so... might not be so great. Or have minor problems. Two, there might be... something... sad in this one-shot. You have been warned. *flees to hide in a box*
Jareth appeared in the stone room that was covered in blood, breathing hard. He whipped around, trying to find the person that had caused all this trouble. But to his fear, he found no one.
The Goblin King ran towards the door, trying to find the girl. If she had left, there was still a chance he could find her. There was still a way-
The girl he was looking for stepped around the doorway before he could reach it and stared at him with a cold dead face, causing Jareth to freeze in his tracks.
Sarah, beautiful as ever, was changed. Her face was pure white, smooth and unblemished, she wore an elegant gown of red that had darkening brown stains of the skirt and sleeves. Her long dark hair seemed to have grown darker since he had last seen her and it fell in waves around her face, all the way down to her hips. Yet, her hands bore blood against the pale skin, one of which held a knife, and her eyes, which had once been a beautiful and cruel green, had changed to black.
Jareth swallowed hard as she cocked her head slightly to the side at the sight of him.
"I recognize you," said Sarah, she took a few steps closer to him, gauging his reaction, or rather lack thereof. "You're the Goblin King. What are you doing here? Perhaps the book was true and the Goblin King truly did fall in love with the girl?"
As though testing the theory, Sarah brought the knife to rest lightly against the delicate skin of her bosom.
Jareth kept his eyes on hers.
"I came to ask why," he said. "Why have you done all of this?" He gestured around the room to the countless bodies. "This is not the Sarah I knew."
[ ]
Sarah sat in her room one night after defeating the Labyrinth, doing her homework after dinner. She sat at her vanity, the table space empty of everything save a textbook and her notebook.
Suddenly, a cold familiar tickle came up her neck, but when Sarah looked around, there was nothing there.
After Sarah had defeated the Labyrinth the month before, she'd felt that strange tickle at the back of her neck from time to time. It had started about a week after defeating the Labyrinth and only happened about once every five or six days, but now it was happening every few hours.
Sarah had tried to call her friends to ask about it, but they'd never answered her. She wondered if it was because she could only call them if she needed them, but there were other explanations too; she was too old for them; it was all a figment of her imagination (although the scar on her finger from the fairies bite said otherwise); the Goblin King had locked them up in an oubliette somewhere or forbidden them from speaking to her.
At the thought of the Goblin King, something stirred in her and Sarah crossed her legs. That man had been a recent player in her fantasies that she was not willing to acknowledge. He had been handsome, devilish, and as much as she disliked him, she was certainly curious about his potential… prowess.
Sarah caught her reflection biting her lip and quickly shook her head. She couldn't be thinking about the Goblin King now. She had to focus on her homework.
Sighing, Sarah looked back up at her reflection, only to scream and fall off her chair trying to flee from the image that met her.
Laying on the floor in shock, Sarah's mind raced in fear. She couldn't have seen what she did. She just couldn't have.
Slowly, Sarah, sat up, and, after picking up a book with the intention to throw it, Sarah stood, turning to her reflection and… found nothing wrong. She placed the book down gently on the surface of the vanity and leaned forward, carefully pulling at the skin under her eye to make sure.
They were still green.
They weren't black.
With a sigh of relief, Sarah muttered to herself.
"Alright, Sar', you're seeing things. Time for sleep."
Alarms were ringing in the back of her mind as she climbed into bed, but Sarah ignored them. Sleep would fix this. She was sure of it.
Her eyes could not have been black.
[ ]
Sarah's black eyes widened, her expression become one of surprise.
"Time changes all things, Jareth, dear," she said, dropping the knife to the floor and approaching the man. "Surely my changing isn't so great that you must look at me like I'm some kind of monster."
Jareth's steeled his face as she came closer, his hand instinctively going to the dagger at his belt. He had not come unprepared for whatever challenge she might throw at him.
"What happened to you?" Jareth asked, ignoring her attempt to pout seductively. Yes, Jareth desired her, and it was difficult, but Sarah was not herself.
A twittering laugh lifted from Sarah's throat.
"The Labyrinth, happened," Sarah explained. "Magic happened."
[ ]
It had been a year since she had run the Labyrinth. The tickling on the back of her neck was gone, but Sarah had been catching her reflection with black eyes more and more, and it had been starting to scare her. But every time she blinked or looked back, her eyes changed back to normal.
Today, they didn't.
It was spring break, Sarah didn't have school for another week, but she was scared to leave her room. What if she wasn't the only one who saw them? What if they thought she was possessed and taken to a church to be exorcised? Or worse, what if she was possessed? Sarah didn't know the edge of what was possible, but she certainly knew that magic existed, so why not demons?
So Sarah sat in the corner of her room the spring sun starting to set. Her stomach complaining and aching for food, she glanced up from her book to look at the mirror every few minutes.
Every time she was met with the same vision of herself with black eyes. There was no more iris, no more whites, just pure darkness.
She had spent the better part of the day crying in fear. Her parents had knocked on the door, begging her to come out. Her friends from school had come over to ask if she was going to come hang out or not, if she was okay. Even little Toby, who was learning to walk and talk had come to the door to check on her.
Sarah was starving, she just wanted to leave her room and eat, but she didn't want to risk her eyes appearing black to anyone else.
If Sarah had to put her feelings into one word, it would be terrified.
Sarah waited until her alarm clock read midnight before she snuck downstairs and ate. Halfway through the dinner that Irene had wrapped up for her, Sarah's father came down and caught her. He didn't see her black eyes, he just saw her.
Her father expressed his concern, asking what was wrong, but Sarah just brushed off her behavior as a fit of anxiety. She didn't tell him. She didn't want to be called crazy, even if she was.
[ ]
"What does that mean?" Jareth demanded, a bit confused.
"Don't you know, Jareth?" Sarah asked, taking another few steps closer so that they were standing no more than three feet from each other. She looked up at him with a seductive little smirk. "Mortals are not meant to have magic inside of them. If I hadn't gone to the Labyrinth, that wouldn't have been a problem. My goody-goody ways were getting in the way of my fun. Who knew?"
A chill ran down his spine at that.
At the look on his face, Sarah twittered again.
"What? Did something I say click with you?"
"You took magic with you when you left the Labyrinth," Jareth stated, "didn't you?"
[ ]
It had three years since the Labyrinth.
Now it felt like she was watching her body move and act without being in control. It was terrifying. She tried to fight against whatever the thing was that was holding her back, but she found that no matter how long or hard she struggled, she couldn't break it's control.
Still, nobody saw the black eyes. The only person who had seen them was Toby on the first day that Sarah realized she wasn't in control.
He'd cried and screamed and hit her, but she hadn't raised a finger against him, which Sarah was extremely grateful for. No matter how bad things got, what she did, Sarah never hurt Toby.
Sarah had punched Irene, threatened her father with a knife, she'd teased and taunted guys in public with tight skirts and low cut tops. She seduced a few, but never followed through. She always managed to trick whatever guy into falling asleep before that could happen and stole all his valuables while he slept.
Yet there was nothing Sarah could do to break free.
Sarah didn't even know what was happening until one day when she finally went too far.
Sarah had been walking down the street with a young woman she'd met shortly after being kicked out of the housem, who had been prostituting herself for a few years. She was talking about how, while it was disgusting most of the time, it was a decent way to get money, especially since old men like younger girls like them.
As they were walking, they passed a tall, pretty man. He was a bit on the muscular side, and he was very attractive, but Sarah saw more than one thing at once.
On one hand, he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, a light coat for the weather, and sneakers, his hair cropped short, and his face chiseled yet clean-shaven.
On the other, his brown hair was long down his back in a ponytail, above his eyes were markings not unlike the Goblin King's, and his clothes… well, they looked like they belonged in a fantasy novel.
The man was a Fae!
Sarah had walked away from her friend and called out to the man. When he turned around Sarah smiled politely and starting talking to him in a flirtatious manner, and he flirted right back… at first.
When his eyes widened suddenly and surprise filled his face, Sarah's hand plunged through the man chest and straight through to the back before he could even make another sound.
She felt the flow of energy in the man run out of him and into her body, causing the force that was holding her back to become stronger. She felt the thing throb and grow with each drop of energy it extracted from the man.
When she finally dropped the body, she realized that the prostitute had watched the whole thing and was crying in terror. The girl's eyes met Sarah's and she bit back a scream. Sarah, however, felt herself smirk before she found herself standing in the Underground, just outside of a small town.
This is going to be fun, the thing told Sarah. Believe me, this will be worth it. You'll see.
All Sarah wanted to do was cry and look away.
[ ]
"Not quite," "Sarah" said. "I latched onto this girl."
Jareth's face dropped in shock, which quickly tightened into rage.
"You're conscious magic," Jareth sneered. "Get out of her now."
Acting as though he had asked for her story, "Sarah" continued, "The longer I stayed with her, the more aware I became. After almost a year, I was conscious. After two, I was in control. She's surprisingly weak, you know. Couldn't even fight me off for long–"
Suddenly there was gloved hand on "Sarah's" throat.
"Get. Out. Of. Her. NOW." Jareth demanded.
"Sarah" broke out into deranged laugher, only to have it cut off as the Goblin King tightened his grip on "her" throat.
"Ah-ah, Goblin King," it said, looking pathetically at Jareth. "If you kill this body, you kill her. Right now, I hold the ace."
[ ]
Sarah had watched herself tear through countless innocents, killing thousands and taking their magic. She watched herself kill without remorse or compassion. She was violent and deadly.
Sarah watched that thing controlling her body and destroying everything in their path as it grew stronger.
Hopelessness set in, causing Sarah to sob even if she physically couldn't. She was beyond trapped.
It became so difficult to watch that she managed to shut it out for the most part, to not watch what was being done with her hands.
After it had killed the King of one land, Sarah thought it would stop. It had killed every last living soul in the land, its king, it had even taken the magic of the land and completely drained it of any life.
But it continued, killing not only the armies that came to stop it, no matter who or what they were, but also another whole Underground kingdom.
Sarah knew it was only a matter of time before it made its way to the Labyrinth. She feared that day and hoped she would be dead by then.
[ ]
When the Jareth had heard of the fall of the Pixie Kingdom, he hadn't been quite able to believe it. But at the hands of a single woman? He couldn't. He didn't.
Jareth had paced for days, wondering what to do. Other Kingdoms were gathering their armies, getting ready to destroy this woman, whoever she was. Jareth didn't think sending in his army would do much good, but he knew he would have to watch. To find out what was going to happen, and who this woman was.
On the day of the battle, Jareth couldn't believe his eyes. It had been true. All land that the pixies had claim over was dead, rotted, decayed, lifeless, and the only living thing in all of that destruction was one woman.
Sarah.
Jareth didn't watch the battle. One woman against an army of trolls, ogres, and drow couldn't possible win. But when he received word that the battle was over, he was mortified to see that Sarah was the victor, and every single person that had entered the battlefield, to defend their homes, for their honor, was dead.
He didn't think that Sarah could do that. He refused, but the longer he watched, the clearer it became.
Something wasn't right. This wasn't the Sarah he knew. He had to fix this. He had to stop her. But what was he supposed to do?
Even though it had been years. Even though she was now a murderer of the worst kind, Jareth was still in love with her.
So he made a plan; if she truly did destroy the entirety of another Kingdom, he would go to her. If he could, he discover her reasoning's, perhaps break a spell that had been placed over her, one that was controlling her mind, making act this way.
Jareth could only pray that she wasn't the one in control.
[ ]
When Sarah had felt Jareth appear, she felt the cold wind of the night he'd taken Toby and she knew.
As soon she saw him, however, that emptiness that had become her, fled in the light of hope. He knew her. He would be able to see. She wasn't in control. She prayed from within that thing, prayed that he would see. That he would stop her. She didn't care if he killed her, he could stop her.
[ ]
Despite himself, Jareth's grip loosened slightly on Sarah's neck. She might not have been in control, but it was still hers.
Whatever that thing was, it had Sarah trapped within her own body.
"What do you want in exchange for her release?" Jareth demanded. If he could he would save her.
"Hmmm," the creature spoke, using Sarah's lips to smile smugly. "You really do love this girl."
"Name a price," he barked. He was beginning to lose his patience.
It thought for a moment, humming to itself.
"I want all the magic of the Underground," it said. "And a jetpack."
Jareth scowled at its attempt at humor.
"I'm sorry," Jareth said, tightening his grip once more. "You're going to have to tell me your price again. I didn't quite catch that."
"You- wo-uldn't!" It gasped out under his grip. "She'll die too!"
Jareth cringed. He didn't want to. If he could stop it, if he could just get it out of her somehow, but nothing like that had ever been attempted.
"Name a different price," Jareth managed to grind out.
It, panicking, spoke frantically.
"A body of my own perhaps! All the magic of this world and a body of my own! That's what I want! Not this pathetic little girl."
Jareth was on the verge of screaming. He couldn't let that thing win, but he had to save Sarah.
All at once, there was a strange gasping, strangling sound from it, drawing Jareth's gaze once more.
To his surprise, her eyes began to clear of the black and turned green again. Her face changed from the plotting panic to plain fear.
Jareth could see plain as day that it was Sarah and quickly released her, before attempting to pull her into his arm. Sarah stopped him short. Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she spoke.
"Jareth, you've got to do it," She sobbed. "You have to kill me. Please. It's done so much. It's killed so many. Please. Don't try to save me, just kill us both. Please!"
"Sarah, I can't," Jareth said. He didn't realize how badly this was true until he said it. He couldn't kill her. It would destroy him. He loved her too much. He needed her. "I can't. I'll find a way to save you–"
"You have to!" She begged. "Kill me! I can't hold it off much longer! If you don't kill me, it'll kill you and the rest of the Underground please–"
A violent shudder broke through Sarah's entire body and the black started to take control of Sarah's eyes once more.
"Sarah!" Jareth called to her, but to no avail. Soon enough, the creature was in control again.
"Whoo, that was strange," it said, stepping away from Jareth easily. "First time she's managed that. Not as weak as I though aftera–"
Jareth had forced himself to move, to act without thinking, and now Sarah's body was impaled on the end of his knife. Jareth felt his hands shake and tears well in his eyes, but he bit it all back.
Carefully, Jareth lowered the shaking body in his arm to the floor, cradling it gently as he kept the knife in place. Once they were sitting, the body resting against him, he pulled the knife out, and with it, all the dark magic that had been swirling inside Sarah.
It tumbled out, practically screeching and whining as it went. But once the last tentril had escaped from Sarah's dying body, Jareth threw a crystal at it that bound the dark magic into the crystal before it shattered into dust, unable to harm another living soul.
Then he turned his attention back to Sarah.
She was deathly pale and trembling, tears reforming in her eyes, but she looked up at Jareth and gave him a small smile.
"Th-thank you," She managed. "You k-killed it. You stopped it."
"Sarah–" Jareth began, but found Sarah's hand on his lips.
"You did the right thing," She said, her smile starting to deteriorate. "I know it was hard. I'm so, so sorry it had to be like this."
"Sarah," he choked a little. He wouldn't let himself cry. "Just hold on. We can still get you to a healer. You will survive this–"
"No healer in his right mind is going to help me," Sarah said calmly.
Forcing herself to sit up a little, Sarah took Jareth's face in her hands.
"This is goodbye," She said. "Thank you for everything."
Before he could protest, Sarah, shivering and weak, blood flowing endlessly from her abdomen, pulled his face to hers and kissed him lightly.
Her lips were warm, but her hands were like ice. Jareth pulled her body as close to him as he thought he could without hurting her.
For the first time, Jareth admitted to himself that he was scared. He was scared of losing her. Of exactly what she was saying.
But when she broke the kiss, it wasn't to take a breath, it wasn't to say anything, or even just to look at him. No. She broke the kiss as she went limp and slipped away.
Sarah's eyes were empty, devoid of anything, her body completely limp, her face blank.
Sarah was dead.
Jareth let the tears fall, he let himself sob into her lifeless shoulder; he let himself grieve if only for a time.
[ ]
It is said that when the Goblin King walked out of the Drow King's castle, carrying the body of the Woman That Painted Kingdoms With Blood, the Life Sucker, the Destroyer, the Magic Eater, he was calm. Almost too calm.
The Goblin King paraded her body around, his bloody knife, the very one that had taken her life, in one hand as he did. He paraded her body around through the armies that had come to kill her this time.
The Goblin King walked her body through the armies, showing them all the corpse of the woman that had destroyed two Kingdoms in only two weeks.
When one man attempted to touch the body, to mutilate it as revenge against the woman that killed his sister, the Goblin King broke the man's arm and leg without saying a word. Nobody tried to touch her after that.
After all had seen that she was dead, the Goblin King returned to his kingdom and claimed to have burnt her body for all the world to see. In truth, he had burned the corpse of a prisoner he had intended to have executed anyways.
The body of Sarah Williams was buried in the royal cemetery.
Her gravestone read, not that she was the Destroyer, the Magic Eater, but that she was Sarah Williams, Champion of the Labyrinth, Love of the Goblin King, Jareth, and honorary Queen, for in the end, she made the greatest sacrifice anyone could for the sake of many.
And many, many, many years later, when Jareth, the Goblin King, himself passed away, his body was buried beside hers.
*pokes head out of box* Done already? Please don't shoot me! I'm sorry! I just really wanted to write this! I sat on it for months before I wrote and another month before I decided to post it! There was a lot that went into this and I'm sorry if it's confusing or upsetting, please don't kill me! Or do. I like receiving reviews (which is weird because they've been giving me anxiety attacks lately).
Anyways, PLEASE REVIEW! Thank you. *sobs in box* I'm so sorry!