Chapter 10

Sarah fell back, staggering slightly in shock at the ease with which the heart punched through her enemy's chest. As the realization that she had shoved the Heart clear through the dark fae and into Jareth began to dawn on her, the very last shred of Jareth himself flickered into the gargoyles eyes as it stared into her own.

The last of his own identity rose in the gargoyle that Jareth had become as he stood there, dying in front of Sarah. Rage filled him. Rage at the situation, at the dying fae that had dared to try and take his kingdom, and at the loss of his humanity. Jareth decided that he was not going to die without taking his rage out on the cause.

The dying fae pinned to his chest had tried to take everything from him. Now, he would have his vengeance.

Jareth plucked him from his chest, ripping the dark fae from the wide end of the Heart as he did so. Ignoring the massive hole that he had just torn in the back of the helpless fae, Jareth bit into him, tearing out his throat out. As the blood gushed from the throat of his adversary, Jareth blew the tiniest fraction of his essence into the fae that hung from his grasp, watching with satisfaction as it tore him apart from the inside. He let the final pieces of the now destroyed fae fall to the ground, turning his attention to Sarah.

Jareth dropped to his knees, reaching for Sarah with tears rolling down his face. The last of his essence started to dissipate. As it did, his body slowly reverted back to his fae form, feathers drifting to the ground around him. He struggled to speak now, his face going stiff as the life poured out of him, oozing around the Heart embedded in his chest.

"I… I love you... Sarah. I- I've always loved you... from the… first time I ever… saw you … in the park. I never… never wanted… anyone… else. Even when... you rejected me and I… broke… inside." His breathing grew labored and he struggled to continue. "Thank you... for trusting me... and not see- seeing me as... the monster... I became."

He could see the tears pouring down Sarah's face, even as his vision went dark. Her hand came up and caressed his cheek, sliding easily over his now smooth skin. He drew another breath, knowing that it would be his last. Sarah had to lean in hear him as he whispered, fighting to get each word out, "Don't cry… I will... love you forever... My Queen. Rule... the Goblin... Kingdom... well."

He fell heavily to his side, away from Sarah's hand still pressed against his cheek. His eyes closed one last time, his lashes settling against his cheek as he slipped away. Something clattered to the ground as his grip on it loosened. Slowly, Sarah bent down and picked it up. It was the eternity pendant he always wore. Her tears fell faster as she examined it, but she fought them back, wanting to be strong. Any moment now, Jareth would open his eyes and she would help him up. They would head back to the castle and everything would be alright again.

Idly, she turned the pendant over. As she looked at the back, she slowly made out a fresh engraving in the metal. It read: Hiam grav let Mo amnam. As she read it, Sarah slowly became aware that she could understand the strange language by instinct. She read it again, automatically translating it roughly into English as she went.

~I love you, my soul.~

Time seemed to stop for Sarah. Everything was quiet. She looked down at Jareth as he lay on the ground before her, looking as though he were sleeping peacefully. She dropped to her knees, reaching out, her hand shaking, to touch his wrist. He felt like living stone.

In that moment, Sarah understood. She understood what he had done, and why he had done it. The depth of his feelings for her became crystal clear, and Sarah understood what she had just lost. At this realization, she broke.

Trying frantically to rouse him, knowing all the while that it was useless, Sarah screamed out her grief in heartbreaking wails. "No! No, no, NO! You're not supposed to die. You can't die! Not now! This is NOT how it ends! JARETH!"

Her strength gave out in the face of her grief, and she sobbed, slumped over his still form. As she felt him slowly completing his transformation to stone, she spoke to him, her words coming in broken phrases now.

"Jareth… please… please don't… I can't… not without you… don't.. don't go. His lips smiled softly, as though he could hear her, and then they, too, turned to stone. He was gone. Nothing remained but a statue under her hands.

Sarah sat back on her heels, her head bowed over her hands which clutched the pendant to her chest in an attitude of prayer. Her tears blocked her ability to see Jareth and she blinked them away, only to have her eyes refill a moment later. She no longer sobbed. Her grief had gone beyond such things. Only the tears remained, hiding the world around her behind a shimmering curtain of misery.

For a moment, the entire Underground stilled as the Labyrinth grieved for the loss of her ruler. The silence hung in the air, heavy and still, and then it passed as a new sense of purpose flooded the Labyrinth. Sarah, wrapped up in her own grief, didn't notice.

The change came on so gradually, and she was so deep in her bereavement, that she missed the first signs. The runes and crystals around her, which had gone dark at the death of the King, slowly flickered back to life. The statue of Jareth began to glow. The heaviness in the air lifted, as though the Labyrinth was taking a deep, cleansing breath to rid itself of the darkness that had enshrouded it since Sarah returned.

As the glow from the statue before her grew brighter and brighter, it pulled Sarah out of her own heartbreak. She blinked away her tears, gasping as the statue rose up from it's prone position in front of her. She struggled to her feet, staggering back as the statue of Jareth suddenly ignited into brilliance. The light was so intense that she had to shield her eyes from the blinding glow.

It only lasted a moment before the light dissipated once more. When she dropped her hand and opened her eyes, the old statue of the woman was gone, replaced by the stone figure of Jareth, his stone lips still smiling gently, a peaceful look on his face.

At the expression on his stone face, Sarah's sorrow came flooding back. She stood before the statue, looking up at his motionless face. She still had not noticed the magic that was starting to swirl around her.

The magical glow of the runes and crystals gained intensity as the power of the Labyrinth slowly rose. At first it merely trickled into the grief struck woman. That trickle slowly turned into a torrent, and Sarah cried out, shocked at the rush of magical energy that filled her. The power of the Labyrinth shifted fully to her as she stood there before it's Heart. All around her the runes and crystals flared brightly as lines of power shot from one to the other, connecting to the stone statue that Jareth had become.

She looked around in wonder as the Labyrinth restored itself. Furtive movements caught her eye. Slowly creatures began to emerge from the tunnels all around. Seeing that a few of the denizens of the Labyrinth had survived, her tears came afresh. They surrounded her, their heads hanging in mourning.

They crowded around, more and more creatures arriving, unseen by Sarah. Those that could reach her, patted her awkwardly. Those who couldn't get to her, murmured quietly, trying to comfort her in her distress. The murmurs gradually built, until they were all chanting, "Goblin Queen... Ruler of the Labyrinth... Protector of the Realm..."

Gradually, their accolades penetrated her grief. Raising her head to behold her subjects crowding around, she raised her hand for quiet. Instantly, the crowd fell silent. Thoughts and words filled her mind, but nothing came out of her mouth. Sarah cleared her throat and tried again, wanting to say something to honor Jareth, but her heart was simply too heavy. Her hand dropped and slumped to the ground once more.

"My lady?" A soft voice called to her, drawing her attention. She looked up. It was Sir Didymus. She tried to smile but couldn't, her heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

Jareth was dead. He'd died to save her and the Labyrinth. How could she ever smile again?

"Yes?" She sniffed, trying to wipe away her tears.

"My Lady, I may be overstepping my bounds, forgive me, but...you can change this."

Sarah blinked, glancing up at the statue above her before looking back a Didymus. "H-How?"

Sir Didymus smiled. "Time, My Lady. You can alter time."

She looked at Didymus in shock, her eyes going wide in realization. Suddenly, she lunged forward, grabbing the startled fox knight and hugging him tightly.

Releasing Didymus, she stood, looping the chain that dangled from the pendant around her neck and caressing the pendant for a moment before dropping her hands. "Wish me luck!" The creatures crowding around her looking at each other in confusion, not understanding what their new Queen intended.

Sarah closed her eyes tightly as she made a pure hearted, selfless wish before disappearing in a shower of glitter.