IX
"Thirteen hours? You can't do that! That's not fair!" Sarah hollered, whirling around to face Eon. He smirked and tilted his head slightly to the side, much like a dog when faced with high frequencies.
"You had just as much time to save your brother, Sarah. You did it with grace, ease, and poise. I'm sure you can do it again." He said, turning to leave.
"I only had one person to save then!" She cried angrily. "You can't expect me to-"
"-I don't. I told you, Sarah. Save the one you love. I never gave you the option to save everyone. That's not how this story ends, dear girl. You have thirteen hours to save the one you most love. The other will fall victim to my Labyrinth and all its…intricacies. I do not imagine they will ever make it out. Alive, that is. Hurry up now, you're wasting time." Eon hissed before disappearing completely from the area.
Sarah screamed, her wail echoing down the long hallway. Her face red, eyes stinging with tears, her feet began carrying her down the hall before she realized she was moving. Her heart felt as though it would pound its way right out of her chest and her lungs were tight and wanting air. She ran for countless minutes before she began to slow. The air was thick with night air, and clouds dark and gray hung low in the sky, the harbingers of a fierce storm.
"Stop." She told herself. "Remember, things aren't always what they seem. You really have forgotten…" she said, taking a deep breath.
Turning to her right, she walked with hands outstretched before her in case the wall that was now in front of her was just that. As she took a few steps forward, her fingers brushed against cold brick. A heavy sigh escaped her, a new fear settled in the pit of her stomach. Keeping her hand on the wall, she outstretched her other so her fingertips brushed against the opposite wall. Slowly, she began to walk, hoping at any moment she would find a break in either wall. Minutes passed, stretching out longer and longer, until they turned into an hour. Sarah's arms had long since cramped from constantly being outstretched and her back ached from the tension. At last, when she felt as though turning back and starting over would be more fruitful, she fell onto her side when her right hand lost contact with the rough brick it had been tracing for so long. Sitting up, Sarah looked around, stunned for a moment, still trying to figure out what exactly happened. Coming to her senses, a wide grin stretched across her face, and broke into a smile.
"YES!" She cried, jumping up and down at the discovery of the new hall.
Her energy renewed with the good news, she began down the path, making sure to feel for more openings. The next was discovered sooner than expected, and soon, Sarah was able to see where the walls broke, and an entrance began. The minutes stretched endlessly as Sarah turned countless corners, hoping that one would open up into a room, a puzzle, anything. But time after time she was greeted by another long, narrow hallway.
Frustrated with the entire ordeal, Sarah spun around, ready to turn back and start anew. What she found upon turning, however, was a very tall, very wide door, hanging in mid-air. Thick black Ivy made up its frame, while small rocks formed stepping stones to the charred oak door. A brass handle protruded from its fixture, waiting for someone to turn it. Sarah reached out and took the handle in her hand and gave it a twist, jumping at the loud creaking sound the door gave as it slowly swung open. The place beyond the door was luminescent. An expanse of lush green grass waved in a steady breeze below a crystalline twilight sky. Much like a prism in sunlight, thousands of colors burst across the sky in great waves. A splash of green, a fleck of blue, pink splattered here and there, all painted on a deep blue canvas. Stars embedded themselves in and around the swirling colors. They shot across the sky in swift flashes, or danced slowly to an unheard melody. The grasses seemed to sway to the very same melody that kept the stars in motion. And along with the tune they sang, accompanied by the wind, who's somber notes gave a feeling of utter melancholy. Sarah was enchanted. She stepped through the doorway into the grass, who welcomed her with a soft brush against her calves. All sound, the rushing wind echoing off the narrow Labyrinth walls, the whispers she barely heard, the growl she could not pinpoint and paid no mind to, vanished. The door closed behind her and it vanished too. Silence crashed on Sarah like a tidal wave. She stepped, but no sound came. No crunching of gravel, or swoosh of dust skittering across the ground. The wind which whipped across the plain did so in silence. The grass swayed, but did not swish, like any grass should in a breeze. Silence held dominion over everything, it orchestrated, and conducted, it sang and it played on. It was everywhere and everything. And it was drowning Sarah with every breath she took.
Kallan's head was throbbing. Sitting up, he began to rub his temples, hoping to staunch some of the pain. Upon opening his eyes he was met with an intricate set of iron gates, a dirt path leading down the twisting corridors of the Labyrinth beyond.
Shit he thought, standing up to walk over to the gates. They were not locked, or chained, or bound. They sat, waiting for someone to push them open and continue on their journey. The someone to push those gates open would not be him, however. He glanced down at his bare hands, scratched from whatever fall he took when he wound up in his current situation. He stood, staring at the gates for quite some time before he felt a strange sensation in the back of his head; a strange prickling feeling, like a limb that had fallen asleep. He looked around, curious as to which part of his surroundings had changed to make him feel so, but there was nothing. A white bench sat faded and broken to his left, half of it devoured by a curtain of shadow. A rounded stone wall stood behind him, its cobbles entirely too shallow to attempt to climb. The wall wrapped around on either side until it was met by the hinges that affixed Kallan's current problem in its place. The ground was firm, and with the chilled night air promising frost by morning, there was no chance of digging his way under. The prickling came again, this time stronger, almost irritating. It buzzed and hummed, causing the throbbing in his temples to increase tenfold. Soon, the buzzing turned to humming, and the humming to whirring, and the whirring to screeching. The screeching brought Kallan to his knees, a cold sweat burst into thick beads on his forehead and his hands grew clammy.
Kallan.
His eyes flew open. Putting in all his effort, Kallan lifted his head, his eyes scanning the darkness for the voice which called his name. There was no one.
Kallan.
The voice again, clearer this time, it clipped the silence and left an uncomfortable feeling in the stagnant air. This time, he could recognize it. He knew the voice, and to whom it belonged, but his presence would be inconceivable here. Here there was nothing but shadow and doubt. Here was a prison.
"A prison…" he murmured to himself, standing on weak knees and slowly turning.
"Jareth?" he whispered, turning slowly. There was nothing.
Yes
A whisper caught in the wind. Kallan squinted, hoping to see a flash of color, mismatched eyes blinking in the dark, but there was still nothing.
"Where are you? I can't see you." He called, still scanning for any sign of life, a breath, a sigh, a whimper. Anything, but he found none.
Here!
It barked, a sound close to his left ear. He spun to face it, his eyes falling on the broken bench. Even more confused, Kallan took a tentative step forward, then another, until he stood directly in front of the bench. From a distance, one would assume it broken, the other half fallen to ruin and heaped behind the shadows that cast off the wall. With a mere few steps closer however, Kallans heart began to pound. There were shadows, yes, but like any shadow, it was transparent and wavered with the towering birch beyond the wall that cast it. The thick mass before him was not a mound of dirt and rubbish and bench. It was a body. Hollow, the vessel sat waiting for something to fill it, to bring it to life. Kallan would have assumed this poor creature was a corpse well beyond saving, had it not been for the small bit of an aura that clung to it with every effort it could muster.
"Your Majesty….what has he done to you?" Kallan asked breathless, falling to his knees in a mixture of deference and shock.
I did not bring you here to pity me. I need your help
The voice breathed, a quick spark of energy flaring briefly. Kallan bowed his head in apology.
"I don't understand how I can help though." He declared, his eyes fallen on the withered body before him.
Your people Jareth began are revered amongst the other Fae for their skills in the art of healing.
He said, making clear it was not a question, but a fact. Kallan nodded in confirmation, but did little more.
"We are, but I am hardly a healer. I can tend minor things, Your Majesty, but this far surpasses anything I could do. The amount of time it would take…." His voice trailed off, still struck by what was transpiring.
I need you to do what you can! Jareth demanded, his whisper gaining volume.
"It would be impossible. I can't…Jareth, I have to find Sarah! She's out there, and it's your fault!" He said, standing up quickly.
I would love to hear your theories on how I could possibly be here AND have rather ignorantly brought her across dimensions, but we are a bit pressed for time here.
Jareth quipped. Kallan could almost see him , hands pressed against his hips, head cocked slightly to the side.
"You don't want her here." Kallan confirmed.
Of course not!
Kallan smirked, beginning to pace across the small bit of space he had.
Would you? He continued. Nothing is right here anymore. It isn't safe. I got caught, Kallan. Me. That speaks volumes…wouldn't you agree?
His voice was calm now. Kallan's grin dissipated.
"What can I do? I'm a watch guard…I'm no healer…" He said, returning to the body on the bench.
Let me use you. You can heal me from the inside, while I take your form and find Sarah.
He proposed.
"That's ridiculous." Kallan scoffed, disregarding the fact that it was the only plausible way to heal him.
It only need be for a little while. As soon as you've healed enough of me where I can manage for myself, we'll switch back and nobody will ever be the wiser, especially Sarah.
He explained, laying all cards on the table.
I need to see her
Kallan barely caught the last part; it was no more than a breath on the wind, a sigh that would have been overlooked in any other situation. He groaned, realizing that there was hardly another alternative. He inhaled sharply and scowled.
"Fine. I'll see what I can do, but I will make no promises." He said, opening his palms and turning his head skyward.
A great rush swept through the room. A spark ignited and a flash bright as day lit up the entire area. Kallan opened his eyes to find that he was staring up at himself. Jareth's broken form was heavy and wasting away by the second. He closed his eyes again and focused, clearing his mind of everything one by one until thoughts of healing swept through, taking over his entire being. A white light filled his mind, all thoughts losing form, all words falling apart. The evening symphonies of insects chirping and trees rustling disappeared. The last thing Kallan heard was Jareth inhale sharply as he pushed open the door and mutter something that resembled a 'thank you'. And somewhere, sometime, there was a girl screaming.
Sarah felt as though her head was on fire from the inside. Her ears burned with the sudden deafness she had stepped in to and her body trembled entirely. Her ears burned, her head throbbed, her body ached. She whimpered, but no sound came. She called for help, but nothing. Falling to instinct over intuition, she fell helplessly to her knees, and began to scream.
