Del: Laughs triumphantly….. Del has returned.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Labyrinth, the story and any additional characters, however, are mine.
In Times of Sorrow
Chapter 10
In Pursuit of Love
The door to Jareth's study flies open forcefully and slams against the wall as Jareth storms into the room with Darien hot on his heals. Leon the Healer and Gobit the Goblin look up quickly at the two brothers, both with furious expressions on their faces, "What's happened?" Leon questions. Jareth too furious to speak just glares at the floor while clenching his fists at his side so hard that his knuckles are turning white, and in a voice filled with anger and pain says, "They took her." Leon's eyes widen as his brow furrows and ask, "THEY took HER?" Gobit stands looking very nervous as he rushes to his Masters' side, " 'Hoo is 'de, Sur?" Jareth looks down at the little goblin, his eyes red, almost brimming with tears of anger, so consumed in anger and worry no words can form and he stands silent as Darien answers, "Three gargoyles just took Sarah." Gobits' face drops and Leon gasps before saying, "Gargoyles took Sarah?! Where did they take her and why did they take her?"
A furious growl escapes Jareth as he clenches his fist even tighter and says, "They must be taking her to the Mountain of Kintar, they took her, because in order to save her I promised the Eldest Dragon that I would destroy the gargoyle Sintium, who has poisoned the mind of his younger brother, and end the futile war in the Dragon Kingdom." Darien looks shocked and puts his hand on his brother's shoulder, "Brother, that is a dangerous promise to make, Gargoyles are very deadly creatures, and plus this outcome could affect all of the Underground! The Council will have to have voted to put the Goblin Kingdom to war." Jareth growls as he turns on his brother, "It was the only way I could get the information I needed in order to save her! And plus we are not at war, I do not lead the Goblin Army to the aid of the Eldest dragon, I only promised that I would destroy Sintium, furthermore, if nothing is done at this early stage it could very well lead all of the Underworld into war. The Gargoyles have somehow returned and seek to claim the Dragon Kingdom in order to take control of the entire Underworld once again!"
Darien takes a step back from his furious brother and glances at Leon and Gobits' shocked expressions before continuing, "What information did you need in order to save Sarah? She was well on her way to recovery; her body has healed quit nicely." Jareth's scowl deepens as his mind flicks back to the image from the Eldest Dragons' crystal of Darien and Sarah together, and the Eldest's voice whispers in his head; "This turn of events is not good, now is not the time for another to be vying for her affections. You should be establishing a strong bond with her, for on the path ahead of you there can be no doubts." Jareth looks at his younger brother with doubt in his heart and says, "Now is not the time for that, what is important is that we must find her. They somehow found out very quickly that I agreed to help the Eldest and even why I agreed to help him, so they will surely be waiting to hear if I will revoke my oath or not." Darien sighs and says, "That can only mean that there is a spy in the Dragon Castle, or that the younger dragon brother is using the Dragon Crystal to spy on his brother." Jareth groans and continues, "That truly no longer matters to me, they have Sarah! This has become more than just a feud between brothers. No one is going to take her away from me," Jareth shoots his brother a glare, "Those Gargoyles have crossed the wrong King this time."
Darien narrows his eyes and asks, "So what would you like to do then brother? Storm the Mountain of Kintar by yourself and just demand that they give Sarah back?" Jareth rubs his temples in frustration, "NO, I plan that I will go to the Fire Mountains to speak with the Eldest in order to gain information about the Mountain of Kintar and then we will go in and get Sarah." "But then they will know that we are attempting to get in the Mountain and may very well kill her before we can even get close," Darien pointed out, he frowns deeply and grabs Jareth's arm, "And then there remains the fact that it isn't just one Gargoyle there are at least four, including Sintinum. They are not easy creatures to kill my brother." Jareth's scowls, "But they can be killed! And as soon as I can get Sarah they will be, I vow that all three that took her tonight will die, and Sintinum will suffer a far worse fate than death itself when I get a hold of him. I simply can not stand by and leave her in their terrible grasp," Jareth's face falls and his shoulders slump as he looks at his brother and in a sad voice says, "I just have to get her back."
Darien looked at the distraught expression on his brother's face and a pang of guilt hits his heart, Jareth must really love this girl, he's willing to die for her. But then again, I would give anything to have Sarah look at me the way she looked at him. Darien put his arm around his brother shoulder and looked him dead in the eyes and said, "Then I will go with you," Jareth looks at his brother, "I can't let you have all the fun, anyway I have a score to settle with that gargoyle who took a swipe at me down there as well," Darien chided.
Jareth looked out the window into the inky blackness of the night, feeling that darkness reflecting in his own heart as his mind filled with worry and doubts.
It was dark, so dark that she couldn't see. Sarah could feel the loneliness ripping through her heart, barely able to control the pain, she grasped her sides to keep from falling apart. Tears spilled down her face as the longing took her, and darkness filled her mind. "Just get it over with," a voice whispered in her head, "It's only going to get worse, and then it'll kill you anyway….. So just get it over with, it can all be over now, all the pain can stop." Sarah can hear herself crying out, "Oh, Jareth, please help me, I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore! Why have you abandoned me? I want to see you!" In her mind Sarah screams as that night plays over once again, the glint off the blade, the sickening feeling as the razor edge digs deep into the soft flesh at her wrist, and the suffocating darkness that engulfed her. Sarah screams as she opens her eyes into darkness, turning her head she can't shake the darkness. True horror suddenly grips her as in the darkness the only thing she can see are two evil green-glowing eyes that seem to laugh at her across the emptiness.
Darien paces back and forth across Jareth's study, his eyes are dark, his face serious and deadly, as Jareth speaks to Leon the healer, "Leon, I'm afraid that I have no choice but to leave the Goblin Kingdom under your watch while Darien and I got after Sarah," Jareth pulls a crystal from his sleeve and hands it to the healer, "If you ever need to get in touch with us, use this crystal. But take care; we're still not sure how the gargoyles are spying so the crystals may not be a safe means of communication. Just in case though when we do communicate keep the messages simple, doing your best not to reveal that Jareth and I are absent from the kingdom. This should not take long; Darien and I are going to get her back quickly and safely." "Well at least we hope," Darien interjected. Jareth frowned at his brothers' sour remark, "We WILL get her back quickly and safely. I dare not even think of the horrible tortures those filthy gargoyles could subject her to."
Jareth's frown deepened as the thought occurred to him that Darien had said "we", it struck a deep chord in the Goblin King to see his brother so seemingly overwrought for concern for the woman he loved. The image of Darien and Sarah swam in his mind and sent a pang of pain lancing through his heart, What if Darien loves Sarah? Could she love him? Or worse could it be that she just doesn't love me? Jareth shook the thought from his mind as another image filled it, Sarah sitting on his bed, wrapped in his arms, her face flushed, and her lips swollen from his kisses. She had never looked more beautiful to him than she had that night, and once again a sharp lance of pain hit the Goblin King's heart.
Darien's face fell at Jareth's response, he knew better than most of the horrific tortures that Gargoyles were capable of, and a young, beautiful prize such as Sarah would be too tempting of a treat for them to resist for too long, Darien began to pace quickly, anxious to get on the way.
Leon accepted the crystal that Jareth offered, "I understand, I will protect the kingdom and will await for any orders from you, Sire." He said solemnly. The small goblin Gobit, starred up at Jareth, his face filled with sadness as he gripped Jareth's pant leg, "I com' wid u Masta, u's gonna need me!" Jareth smiled at the brave little goblin but shook his head, "I need you to stay with Leon, Gobit, and he may need you to help keep the other goblins in line." The little goblin smiled with honor and pride at the responsibility Jareth gave him, and the fact that the King had gotten his name right. "Yus, Masta!" Gobit exclaimed.
Jareth turned to Darien appraising his brother, besides his worried expression, Darien had swapped his black silk shirt for a heavy black leather jacket, the royal guard Dragon sword in the hostler at his back; Darien noted the appraisal and asked Jareth, "Is there anything else before we begin?"
"I think I may have an idea to get us back to the Mountains of Fire quicker than I thought," Jareth said, as he pulled his a golden crystal from the air, turning it ever so slightly the image of the Eldest Dragon swam into the small sphere. "Brother Jareth," the Dragon said, "It is a dire situation that you face at the moment." "I'm well aware," Jareth replied, "The gargoyles have taken Sarah, with the promise that she will die if I do not revoke my oath to kill Sintinum." The Eldest growled, "You must return to the Fire Mountains quickly then?" "Yes," Jareth replied, "any assistance would be greatly appreciated." The Eldest smirked, "Two of my trusted friends will be arriving momentarily to bring you the kingdom." "Thank you, but there is something of greater concern as well," Jareth said quickly. "I know of your worries, Goblin King," the Eldest replied, "Measures have been taken to increase the spells around the Castle, but regardless, your crystals are safe from spies, at least for now, and we may speak freely."
"That is reassuring Dragon King," Jareth said, "But is there any way into Kintar that could help Darien and I to get inside without notice?" The Eldest paused, thinking for a moment before he replied, "Yes, there is such a way, when you and your brother arrive, I will show you the way." Two loud resounding crashes shook the castle grounds, "That would be your escorts," the Eldest explained, "I will see you shortly." And with that the crystal was golden again, the Eldest Dragon gone from the crystal.
Jareth turned to his brother, "It is time." "Finally!" Darien replied. Leon and Gobit followed as Jareth and Darien rushed to the entrance of the castle, as they stepped into the open two red dragons stared intently at the brothers. Gobit grabbed Leon's robe at the sight of the frightening creatures. The largest Red Dragon lowered his head to Jareth, "Brother Goblin King, I am Ruben, this is Rogat," he said indicating the other Red Dragon, "We were sent to escort you to the Dragon Castle." "Very well," Jareth replied, and with a graceful leap he sat atop the mighty dragon, as Darien stepped onto Rogat's leg and then onto his back. "Time is of the essence Ruben," Jareth said urgently, "Then we will fly as fast as the wind, Brother." Ruben replied.
The two dragons lurched into the air, stretching their mighty wings and thrusting themselves into the air. Darien laughed as the sudden take off unsettled him slightly, and the exhilarating feeling of being airborne washed over him. Jareth however stared straight ahead, the smoke from the mountains of the Dragon Kingdom were mere grey wisps on the horizon, I'm on my way my love, just hold on a bit longer and I'll have you back. I WILL have you back.