Chapter Eight: It Comes Down to Reality
The first thing she saw was blood and black feathers covering the living area floor. Intermingled with the blood were shards of glass, having come straight from the living room window, which was now nothing but a gaping hole in the wall. Storm winds blew into the room, making the grotesque evidence on the floor swirl about and blow towards Sarah, but she didn't think about what was whipping about her face and skin, for she had seen Toby and Mouse and was now, without thinking, running to assist them.
A man stood in between the two boys, holding Toby up by the scruff of his neck as though he was nothing but a rag doll. And Mouse, Mouse was lying on the floor, struggling to get to his feet. There was blood trickling from Mouse's forehead, and Toby couldn't even cry now, for his attacker had a firm hand around the boy's throat, choking him.
Sarah screamed and grabbed one of her table lamps before she ran towards Murdor, for she knew it was him, and then brought the lamp crashing against the side of his head. He dropped Toby, as she had hoped he would, but then he turned to her with those malicious glowing eyes of his and smiled, every fang glistening in the dim lighting of the room.
"Sarah," he hissed, his voice inhuman, almost demonic. "Conqueror of the Labyrinth, you shall not win this war."
"I don't care what war you are talking about!" Sarah screamed, holding a piece of the broken lamp in her hand and lunging at him. "But you have no place in my house! Now get out!"
She dug the piece of glass into his arm, never noticing when it also cut into her hand, and she wasn't prepared when Murdor reached out and grabbed her hair, sharply yanking her head back and making her drop the glass. His eyes were evil as he snarled at her, and he held her back even as he bent down and grabbed Toby by the neck again.
Mouse managed to get up at the moment, and he ran at Murdor even though Sarah was screaming at him to go for help. He ignored her cries and then leaped up at Murdor, knocking the creature back a few steps and forcing him to loosen his hold on Sarah. He then kicked up high, catching Murdor in the throat, before he moved towards the wicked creature with something like claws extended from his fingers. Murdor was ready for the next attack, however, and before Mouse could hurt him, Murdor had grabbed the boy by his shoulder and was holding him high up in the air above the ground. Without warning, he then craned his neck and bit deeply into Mouse's neck, making the boy scream and writhe in agony.
Sarah, who was never one to curse, let loose a stream of curses as she scrambled to her feet and ran to help Mouse, but it was too late. Murdor threw the boy to the side, making him crash against a wall and then crumple limply to the floor, and Sarah changed directions, finding herself running alongside Toby to get to his heavily bleeding friend. They both dropped onto their knees next to the boy, and Toby started crying, despite how strong he had been trying to be, when he saw the blood seeping from Mouse's neck and mouth.
"Hey, I'll be okay," he said quietly. "Don't worry about me. You need to get out of here."
"Are you kidding? Mouse, you're going to die!" Toby shouted, panicking.
"No, I'm not. I'm going back to the Labyrinth," Mouse said with a weak laugh. "You'll see me again. This is...his way to send...people back. My time here is up. Sarah, look out for Toby!"
Sarah spun around even as Mouse slowly disappeared, and she saw Murdor moving towards her and Toby, a triumphant gleam in his eye.
"Get out!" Sarah screamed, getting to her feet again to protect Toby. "Get out!"
"Not without the boy," Murdor smirked. "He's my insurance that you'll be coming back to the Underground."
"Who are you really?" Sarah scowled, searching for some weapon to use.
"I'm the King of the Labyrinth," Murdor laughed. "I have you to thank for that, Sarah. But as I already explained before, I should like very much to keep my crown, and so there are certain things I must do to ensure that I won't be removed from power."
"Sarah, what is he talking about?" Toby wailed, completely confused now that Mouse had fully disappeared. "Where is Mouse? Who is that? What is he talking about and why won't he leave?"
"Oh, he's about to leave," Sarah growled, finding one of Toby's baseball bats lying on the floor.
"As is Toby," Murdor chuckled, and Sarah's eyes widened as she saw something familiar forming in the man's hand. It was a crystal, much like the ones Jareth had once had, but this one was dark and within it something menacing was swirling.
She dropped the baseball bat and ran to Toby, planning on throwing her arms around him and shielding him, but at that moment, Murdor flung the crystal against the wall and the whole room erupted into black flames. Sarah screamed, a great gust of wind knocking her legs out from under her and sending her falling hard onto the floor, and she curled into a ball and covered her head as glass swirled in all directions, shards lodging in her hair and skin.
"Goblin King!" she screamed as an immense roaring sound filled the apartment. "Jareth! Jareth help! I wish you would come RIGHT NOW!"
A rush of air lifted her up off the floor and slammed her full force into one of the walls, making her hit her head and then drown in unconsciousness. Her body fell backwards onto the floor, and she couldn't see or hear anything, not Toby's screams, not Murdor's laughter, and not a familiar voice that was flooded with concern for no one but her.
She had no way of knowing how long she had been unconscious for when Sarah slowly started to come out of her nightmares and her eyelids fluttered. She didn't want to open her eyes, for she was terrified of what she would see, but a faint tune reached the recesses of her mind, comforting her and encouraging her to wake up, to get up and face whatever it was she was afraid of. Still, even with the music from her pretty ballerina music box calling to her, Sarah was reluctant to open her eyes, was reluctant to face the realities of everything that had A) either been a horrific nightmare or B) had actually happened. Staying in bed, however, wasn't going to help anything or make any matters better, so Sarah forced her eyes open.
She was in a strange room, and she found herself shaking her head in confusion as she sat up and looked around. The room was painted a cream color, and on its walls were posters near and dear to Sarah's heart that she hadn't seen for some time, a giant "Cats" poster, as well as a framed copy of "The Escher Room." And then there were other paintings, these of fantastical creatures and places that let her know that she was in Mr. Caper's house, for all were done with his talent. There were stuffed animals like what she had, of Ludo, Ambroscious, Hoggle, and Sir Didymus, and she was amazed that he had done such a wonderful job collecting all of the same things she had. And, like her, he hadn't found the one piece that she desired the most, the statue of the Goblin King that had once sat on her vanity right next to the mirror.
The ballerina stopped twirling and the music came to an end, but there was other music playing outside of the room, so quiet that she could barely hear it as she slid off the bed and moved towards the door.
"Goodnight, to my angel.
Time to close your eyes and save these questions for another day.
I think I know what you've been asking me.
I think you know what I've been trying to say."
She opened the door and stepped out into the living room to see Mr. Caper sitting at the piano, his gloved hands moving quietly across the keys and his voice deep in thought as he sang. He stopped playing the piano as she drew closer and moved his hands to something in his lap.
"I promised I would never leave you,
And you should always know, wherever you may go,
No matter where you are, I will never be far away."
Sarah wanted to ask how he had known to come to her. She wanted to ask so many questions, but there was something tugging on her heart, perhaps his song, that prevented her from saying anything. Instead, she moved towards him and put soft hands on his shoulders. It was then that she saw what was in his hands, and tears trickled down her cheeks as she slipped to her knees on the carpet behind him.
How could she have not known? The item that was in her friend's hands was the statue she had been looking for for such a long time. In his gloved hands was the figure of the Goblin King, and when she saw that familiar figure, held so carefully in Mr. Caper's hands, so tenderly, she knew. She knew the truth now. Mr. Caper was Jareth. How else would he have known to come to her last night?
Her shoulders shook with sobs, and he turned to her with compassion in his eyes before he knelt on the carpet next to her and gathered her into his arms.
"Sarah," he whispered into her hair.
"Why didn't I see? Jareth, how did you end up here? Why aren't you in the Labyrinth anymore? What have I done to you?" Sarah cried, burying her face in his chest.
"You have done nothing," he spoke gently. "I did this to myself."
"How? Why?" she asked, looking up into his face to see that his eyes weren't meeting hers again.
"I had been warned many times throughout my long life that if someone were ever to defeat me at my own game, then if I ever returned to that person in their world and did anything for them, I would lose my crown and my place in the Underground," Jareth said gently, stroking her hair. "I would become their servant, bound to them and having lost all power over my world. You once defeated me, Sarah."
"But I never wanted you to come back for me, and you never did anything for me," Sarah cried quietly, but even as she spoke it, she knew it to be false. He had done something, and realization soared through her as she looked at his gloved hands. She pulled back slightly and then took his hands in hers before carefully taking his gloves off.
His hands were burnt, the skin discolored and dry, and physically, they were grotesque to look at, but to Sarah, they were the most beautiful hands she had ever seen. Her tears fell freely as she raised his hands slightly and then pressed a kiss to each hand, so grateful. He had saved her and Toby from the fire. It was all making sense now. He had surrendered his entire kingdom to save her life, and now he was simply thought to be a slave to her, which was why he couldn't look into her eyes. He was too low, as low as the dirt according to his world. He had given everything when he had saved her.
"Jareth," Sarah breathed deeply, putting her arms around his neck, "I wish you could look into my eyes. I want you to have your power back. You weren't meant to be this submissive and powerless."
"No, Sarah. You conquered the Labyrinth. When you won your brother back, you won power over the Labyrinth as well, were you ever to return and claim your throne. You are my queen, and I...I am your humble servant."
"You have given me everything!" she cried. "We will find a way to restore you to your kingdom, just as we will find a way to save Toby! How can we get back to the Underground?"
"That has to come from you, Sarah. I no longer have any power," Jareth said gently. "You have power that you do not even realize, just as you have protection from Murdor."
"What did you give me that he can't harm me here?" Sarah asked, pulling away and standing up.
"When you lay dying from the flames, I knew that Murdor was responsible for destroying your home and your family," Jareth said, standing up as well. "I knew he would seek to destroy you here, so I gave you protection, something so simple and pure that it would be overlooked by anyone who wasn't looking for it. I gave you my tears, Sarah," he said, putting a hand to her cheek. "Here, here," he explained, touching her eyelids gently, and then looking lingeringly at her lips before he touched them as well, "and here."
"I will get you back to the Underground, Jareth, and I will restore you to being king. I promise that," Sarah said firmly, looking out the window at the busy New York streets. "I just have to find out how...and what power I possess. Murdor wants me there, otherwise he wouldn't have taken Toby. I am going to see to it that he gets what he wants."
"That's my brave Sarah," Jareth chuckled, and she turned and smiled up at him.
"I'm not nearly as brave as you've had to be, Jareth, and for that, I thank you. I am so happy you are here with me."
"I promise to you that I will not leave you, my queen," he smiled gently before tenderly kissing her forehead.