Chapter 8: Rex Renaissance
Adona brought Sarah, Mimic, and the raven to her palace in the celestial kingdom. Sarah marveled at the opulent surroundings.
"You have a lovely home." Her proper rearing bid her give this compliment first, above all things.
"Thank you dear."
Lucen stood up to greet them, "It is much nicer to meet under these more relaxed circumstances, don't you agree?"
"Yes, it is." Sarah felt awkward, and so, she did the next best thing. She curtsied as low as she possibly could, to the royals in front of her.
Adona and Lucen looked at each other, it had been so long since they'd been addressed in this fashion. Even been recognized as such. They were relatively unfamiliar with such a human custom, but were not completely ignorant of it.
Needless to say, it was much appreciated. Sarah had hoped for a good reaction, it was the only thing she'd thought of to do.
"Do you know why you've been brought here?" Asked Lucen.
"Something about Jareth, and the trial, I guess."
"I brought you here to be with our son. I feel that if there was anyone he'd want to see right now, it would be you."
"I thought Jareth was dead."
"His current state is debatable. He cannot die, yet he appears near death. We declared him dead publicly because we thought there was no other option for us."
"King Jareth is alive?" Mimic fairly shrieked in joy, "Our king lives?"
"In a manner of speaking. His life force seems to be drained."
Adona suggested, "Perhaps you can revive it."
Sarah threw up her hands, thoroughly worn through on these suggestions and innuendo, "What does everyone think is going on between us?"
Lucen gestured with his hand to her and someone imaginary, "Didn't you and he have a relationship of some sorts?"
"I already asked," Mimic interjected, "She declared a resounding no."
"Really?" Adona stepped up close to her, "I remember you hesitating when he asked if you would stay with him."
"I forgot the lines."
The mother raised an eyebrow, "Oh you did?"
"Well, I considered it, but I had to save Toby."
"Toby is the brother, then?" Lucen asked, handing Sarah some sort of underground style drink. She smelled it as she brought it to her lips, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. There was a warm chocolate feel to the scent, and she adored it.
"It's not dangerous. I don't have the same penchant for hallucinogens that my son does." The father laughed.
Sarah drank, and found that it resembled the comfort of some long forgotten childhood drink while combining all the exclusivity of the adult years.
"Is this alcoholic?
"We have little use for alcohol here, it doesn't effect us."
Adona sat forward, "Would you have accepted?"
"Why would he want me?"
"You are not an unattractive and uninteresting being, child. You're a fantastical human. Rare, glittering in the aboveground, like some precious stone in sand."
"I - "
"You were the only one who understood our world. So many never attempt the labyrinth. They dismiss it as a dream and leave their brothers and sisters, only to discover that they have the rest of their lives to weep over their loss."
"You are worthy of our world. Jareth recognized that." Lucen was gazing in the direction of where his son's body lay.
"Just because he liked me, I'm supposed to love him?"
"You do love him. Was the ballroom not your fantasy?"
"Yes, but that's not proof!"
Adona smirked, what Sarah didn't know about her abilities was to the queen's advantage, "If I am correct, you have never dated, as is normal in your human customs for your age."
"I just haven't found the right guy."
"Mortal or immortal?"
"How do you know I haven't dated?"
"I can read your thoughts," Adona smiled, "Your soul is laid bare in your eyes."
Mimic nudged her playfully, "How're you liking the immortals so far?"
The queen gazed closer, "My son has been in your dreams. Innocent and-" Her eyes widened, "Those not so innocent."
"Oh God." Sarah got up, her drink shook in her hand, embarrassed at being so exposed.
"My dear," Lucen placed a hand on his wife's arm, leaning in to whisper, "Let's let this go. She will realize herself soon enough."
"You're on board now with my notions of their love for another? I thought she was just a human?"
"Like you said, she's a jewel among the humans. Perhaps even a selfish being such as I can see her being worthy of my eldest son."
The royals moved forward, "We will take you to see Jareth now."
Sulila had never noticed the amount of cracks in the ceiling before. She was perplexed at how she ended up on her back on the overhang floor to the main hall.
Then she remembered and pulled herself to her feet, "Just wonderful."
Her mother had intervened, that brought her to a standstill in terms of her options. Limitations were now in place that she hadn't foreseen. If she knew anything at all, her prey was now guarded in the Celestial kingdom by her parents, two individuals she had not a chance of winning against.
Direct confrontation was out of the question.
She worried about that girl being close to the comatose body of her brother, being allowed access to parts of immortal realms where she did not belong.
Looking to her sides, there were wolves standing there. They looked to have concerned over their defeated leader.
"Are you two, perhaps, willing to undertake a mission for your queen?"
The two predators twisted their mouths, revealing their fangs in what resembled a grin.
"I'm going to send you to my parents house in the Celestial kingdom. You know the human that was present here earlier?"
They nodded.
"Find her without being seen, eliminate her and you will be brought back here. There are to be no casualties, you are there for her and her alone."
Once again, her servants nodded.
Sulila stretched out her hand and let her powers of teleportation send her subjects to do her bidding.
Adona and Lucen walked arm and arm down the halls. Sarah and wolf-Mimic walked along after them. The raven was perched on Sarah's shoulder. She didn't mind him there as much as she thought she would, he did his best not to poke his talons into her soft skin. Mimic was fairly ready to run, so anxious she was to see her king. Lucen raised his hand in front of two large marble doors.
"This is our family altar room. We have laid Jareth to rest here for now."
Mimic tapped on Sarah's shoe with her paw, "Do you mind if I go in and pay my respects first? Alone?"
"Sure." The human shrugged a bit, she truly didn't want anyone going in with her either.
The wolf walked inside and the doors closed behind. "We'll leave you all, alone with your thoughts." Adona pulled her husband back down the hallway.
Lucen called back as he was led away, "Just ask the door to open in your mind!"
She gave a weak nod, her throat dry and parched from so many continuous gulps of fear. Minutes ticked by, she assumed, not having access to a watch.
When the Mimic finally reappeared, she was wearing yet another skin. This one was that of a typical goblin of the Labyrinth. Short with mottled green skin and a persistent vacant expression.
"I'm not sure if this is supposed to be my original form or not…" She trailed off.
"That's a goblin."
"Well I know that, but it might be how I looked before I forgot how I looked."
"That's the whole reason you can't change back? You forgot?"
"Yeah, well, you know, a thousand years go by, etcetera…"
Sarah shook her head, laughing lightly, "Do you want to go next, Raven?"
"No, I don't need to see the king."
"Alright." Sarah walked in through the double doors, and shivered when they closed. There was a resounding thud in the room that made her extremely uncomfortable.
The room was classical and medieval. It was smaller though, more personal, with stone columns and pillars holding bowls with burning fires. As such, the lighting was dim and pale, with no harsh rays to blind the eyes. At the front of the room, nearly a hundred candles burned, the now solid wax that had once dripped from them, pooled on the floor and the ledge. This altar was dedicated to some deity that Sarah could not recognize.
Parallel to the altar, there was a large slab that came up to Sarah's waist level. On the slab, motionless and laid out in the manner that one might see a body in a coffin, was Jareth.
Sarah gasped when she finally saw him, she hadn't expected to see this man in this state. Jareth wasn't meant for such helplessness, even in her defeat of him, he had never fully submitted.
She approached the slab where he lay, almost worried that he would suddenly come to life. She didn't put it past him to play a trick on her.
Lucen sat next to Adona, gazing into a crystal, "She's walking towards him."
Adona turned to look over at him rapidly, "Are you spying on her?"
"I'm monitoring the situation."
She smacked his hand and sent the crystal flying, disappearing into the air.
"Would you prefer I just bewitch the girl, force her into love?"
"No, that is truly unfair."
"Then at least let me see her confession." He opened his hand for another crystal.
It was promptly smacked again, "There will be confessions, I can promise you that. You don't need to watch."
"Fine."
"Voyeur."
Sarah placed her hands on the edge of the stone slab, her small finger of her right hand brushing over a soft piece of cloth that he wore.
"I guess I wanted to say a few things to you, and your mother wanted me to be here with you." She took a deep breath, "I owe you my life, if you hadn't saved me, I'd be dead."
She was plagued with a particular fantasy, that of touch. Throughout her first trip through the labyrinth, they had only held hands in the dream ballroom. Her mind told her that she had the chance now to touch his skin without repercussion.
Wandering fingers moved over the back of his hand, every sensation being registered, drawing up old emotions long buried in the recesses of her mind. She moved her hand, tentatively to touch his cheek. He'd always been real, not a dream or product of an overactive imagination, but for some reason she expected him to not be real under her touch.
Had she not believed that he was dead, or close to it, she might have attempted a singular transgression. Take one advantage of his condition, and kiss him. The ultimate example of a stolen kiss, she smirked inwardly. Something in her wanted to do this though. She leaned in close,
"Your mother said that you'd want to see me. That I was special to you because I was believed in your world. I don't know if that's true or not, but it means something." Her fingers tapped on the table.
"You wouldn't have saved me, if some part of you didn't at least respect me, maybe like me. And, and you kissed me before you did that. I can't say it didn't make me feel a little - " There was a pause in thinking, "Nervous? Jittery? Like I had butterflies in my stomach? That's really the best I can come up with."
"Lovesick?" Came a voice from behind her.
She whipped around fast, and saw the raven sitting in the shadows above the door. Giggling slightly, mostly due to relief, she made the obvious joke, "Do that nevermore."
"I don't quite understand."
Disappointed, Sarah was a touch snippy, "I thought you didn't want to see Jareth."
"That does not mean I am not interested in watching you see Jareth."
"You are the queen's spy! She wasn't hinting hard enough, she had to send you!"
"I come here of my own curiosity, do not implicate the queen, Sarah."
"You liar!"
"I do not lie, my lady. I am here of my own volition, and possibly a regard for Jareth's kingdom, nothing more."
"What do you care about the labyrinth?"
The raven actually seemed to choke, and she pressed further, "Are you here for him?" She pointed at Jareth's body.
The creature couldn't meet her eyes, and Sarah's widened, "What did he send you for?"
"To ascertain the level of your concern for our majesty and ensure your survival against Sulila."
Sarah crossed her arms, "I've never seen such a fast talker before."
Trying again, the raven asked, "I assured your safety, can you at least help me in my other task?"
She simply stared at him, there was the justifiable desire to here the questions first.
"Will you confess to me, in the presence of my lord, that you do care for him?"
There was a longing gaze sent in Jareth's direction, "Yes."
"Would you have stayed in our kingdom, if not for your brother?"
Much was to be thought about here. At least any other day. Recently however, the answer had been made simple, "If he'd promised to be fair to me, yes, I would have."
Grinning as best a raven could, the bird flew to a lower level, to level with her more eye to eye. She wasn't nearly ready enough to give him the chance to pelt her with more interrogations into her feelings for the goblin king.
"Does he hear or see anything?"
"Through the eyes and ears of others, his servants."
"Like you?"
"Like me, yes. What I witness is all for him to view."
"So all my ramblings, incoherent thoughts that I just said…"
"He knows."
"Damnit."
"I daresay the king is intrigued by your revelation of feelings."
"You're a funny bird, you know that?"
He nearly responded, but a screech from outside the doors caught them off guard.
The raven raised a wing, "You stay back." Sarah obliged, not wanting to confront whatever lay outside those doors.
The doors opened wide enough to allow the goblin version of Mimic to slip back into the room, "Wolves!"
"Sulila's?"
"Who the hell else's would they be?"
Sounds of claws grating against the marble doors became very loud, and to the surprise of all inside, the door jolted with every scratch.
"All they have to do is want to get inside bad enough, and the doors will open." Mimic revealed the unsettling circumstances.
"Raven, can you maybe fly over them, and get to Adona and Lucen?"
The bird nodded, and with Mimic's fear only letting the door open slightly, the raven flew out.
Unfortunately, a squawk was followed by a defeated bird limping back into the room. Once it was inside, Mimic slammed the doors shut.
"You poor thing!" Cried Sarah, running to the broken raven.
Deep puncture wounds pierced the raven's breast. Obviously, the wolves had jumped and bitten into the messenger. It bleed beyond Sarah's control, and she couldn't hide the troubling news.
"I can't stop it."
"I'm dying?"
"Yes." Her voice was tearful and mournful, with regret for the waste of one's life on her behalf.
"Lay me next to my king."
She lifted the bird with both hands, and laid him, as gently as possible, upon the stone slab next to the body of Jareth.
When she turned around again, she gasped at the form Mimic had taken, she was back to being the twin of Sarah.
"What are you doing?"
Mimic looked at her like she was confused at this question, "My job."
"I don't understand."
"C'mon Sarah. You've seen the movies," Mimic cocked her head to one side, "I'm gonna lead them away. When the coast is clear, you run for it."
"No!" Sarah ran forward, "Raven already died for me. It isn't right that you should too!"
"You're the one that has to be kept alive, I'm not really a part of the whole equation that's going on here."
"Please."
"There's not really a discussion period for this." Mimic pulled her close so that she could easily understand the following, "When you know they're gone, run for the main hall."
Nodding, Sarah felt a tear slip down her cheeks, "I'm not worth this, Mimic."
"Maybe you don't think so." Mimic pulled the doors opened abruptly and flung her human self into the hallway, with the gates closing behind her.
Just as she was ready to collapse into sadness, something slammed against the again closed doors.
One wolf had not been so easily fooled.
Mimic scrambled down the corridors, trying her best to cause any sort of commotion. Her feet found no easy footing on the floor.
"What the hell do humans see in these shoes?" She murmured.
Taking the first exit she could, she ran into a side room and barricaded the door behind her. It was no match for the blood-crazed predator outside.
When the wolf finally did break through, it was momentarily puzzled at the sight which greeted it.
Another wolf was there, back to the wall, snarling at him.
"Where's the girl?" The first wolf asked.
The second didn't reply. It raised it's head, howled the signal, and met Sulila's wolf in fatal combat.
Sarah found herself cringing near the stone slab, cursing herself that Mimic had given her life in vain.
She didn't have the power to combat Sulila's wolf, it would tear her to shreds in seconds, if the attack even lasted that long.
The raven, still in the final stages of life, tried it's best to comfort her, "Don't worry."
The wolf was beginning to show behind the partially open doors, and all Sarah's fears couldn't close the doors on him. Soon, a gnashing set of teeth found itself in, and the wolf's head had forced itself through the small opening.
"Adona and Lucen might still show up." Whispered the raven, his voice choked.
She turned her attentions on him, trying to avoid thinking about her impending death. She smoothed the poor bird's feathers until she saw him grow still finally, and his chest neither rose nor fell.
The wolf was getting further into the room. Her eyes became focused on its, those vicious orbs empty of mercy that looked only to her.
It leapt, and Sarah rolled to the side to avoid the attack, but there was no need.
The wolf hung in midair, shocked, before bursting into little particles of matter and vanishing from view.
She looked for Adona and Lucen standing in the doorway, but they were nowhere to be seen.
There was a deep inhale of wonder.
When she breathed out, she asked the only question on her mind, "Jareth?"
A hand fell on her shoulder, "Hello Sarah."
