AN: Hello all, I'm posting early as I am in fact working on another Labyrinth fanfic. One that will be completed before I start posting, so I thought I should start now. It's going to be a lot deeper and more character orientated, not sure of the title so if any of you are interested just put me on author alert... The next thing I post will be Labyrinth centric for sure.
Breaking the Surface.
Sometimes the way forward… Is the way back.
The water surrounded her, swirling her hair above as she plummeted; wide eyed and freezing. The darkness enclosed her, eating away at her mind as her hands numbed and her eyes stung. She was floating even further down, unable to will herself to move. She knew why; somehow, she knew that she needed to reach the bottom.
There was something moving to her left as she spun to face the movement, swivelling in the water and waving her numb hands through the water. She saw nothing, thinking desperately that she'd need to breathe soon… Yet her lungs didn't ache. She was dreaming, she realised with a start. A dream so convincing that it scared her, scared her so much that she wanted to shut her eyes and wait for it to end.
One of her floating hands slid over a thick weed, the slimy plant feeling so real that for a moment she wondered, dismissing the thought as she sunk lower. Without knowing why she looked to the surface, seeing a distorted face looking down at her through the ripples; light but dull haired and white teeth gleaming down through the darkness.
…It's Hoggle!
Lower she drifted, hearing the past echoing in her mind and tearing her thoughts to shreds. Why wasn't she panicking? Why wasn't she fighting the decent, instead of carrying on her wary observance of the waters? Looking down she could see the dark sands below, swirling lightly in the current as she feel towards it.
… It's a piece of cake…
She didn't know she was swimming down until she was kicking her legs, turning at some point to breaststroke desperately downwards… Until her hand reached to the bottom, fingers splayed and the muscles in her arms tightening.
Sarah reached, plunging a hand into the silt as she did so and fumbling for a moment. A second later, she withdrew her hand with a sudden surge of elation.
Yet Sarah never saw what it was she had grabbed, waking with a start to the stone that dug into her back and head. Shooting into a sitting position, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. A dripping noise echoed around her, reverberating back to her clearly as she listening to her own breathing; something that seemed obscenely loud in the silence.
Skirting a hand around herself, Sarah failed to make contact with anything. Merely cutting her fingertips lightly against the harsh rocks, coming to rest on her knees as she widened her search area.
"Jareth?" she whispered shakily, remembering how they had fallen into blackness and nothing more. She tried to focus on the events after, finding absolutely nothing but darkness before her dream.
Where was he? He wouldn't of left her in such a place, yet she still felt the light flick of anger ignite within her. How could she be so sure? They weren't exactly best friends, the thought sounded preposterous even in her mind.
The dripping continued as she made out the cave walls, low and dank as a mossy smell reached her nose. Staring fretfully around, she realised the very dim light coming from down a passage as she stared harder. Nothing moved within the light, nothing more than a hue as she tried to convince her that it was definitely a light, not her eyes fooling her in the darkness.
Raising herself on shaking limbs, Sarah followed the light; skirting a hand across the slippery surface of the cave as she did so.
Jareth murmured softly, feeling his head pound with every slight movement as his limbs ached. His muscles were on fire, griping at every twitch and breath. He was hot yet shaking, frowning with the effort to awaken from such a deep sleep.
And then with as much subtlety as a knife to the throat, he remembered.
With a jolt he sat up - immediately regretting it as his back protested, alerting his muscles to the movement as they all tightened at once. The cave was empty save for himself, seated under a low alcove with an opening to his right and overlooking a harsh cliffs edge. The lazy lapping of water sounded below, followed by nothing more as he carried on watching the area.
Nothing moved at all, no sounds apart from the water as he tried to stand on shaky legs. Managing but only just, he leaned against the wall and held his head desperately. The throbbing behind his eyes only increased, pounding away at his mind with sickening glee.
Sarah…
Where was she? He knew without having to look, she wouldn't be with him. Locked away somewhere, perhaps. Unconscious, a small blessing he thought wryly. She wouldn't be involved - whoever was the cause of this, he was sure their intentions were not honourable.
He turned to the cliffs edge, watching the vast walls as he did so. There was a sudden wind, fluttering his hair and awakening him a little more from his groggy stupor. Turning expectantly to the source, he was faced with the one fae he didn't expect to see.
The man smiled back at him, arms crossed over his chest as the winds carried on for a moment longer. The knee high boots and long shirt - left un-tucked and dirtied - as it rippled serenely in the dying wind. His hair, tied neatly back so many times before was now unkempt and loose around his slightly aged features, jaw and cheekbones looking too taut to be attractive.
"Kaiden." Jareth murmured with venom, hands balling into fists as he fought the urge to attack. He was weakened by Kaiden's games, both knew it and so he stayed poker straight.
The man bowed his head slightly, a mockery of the real thing as he kept his eyes on the Goblin King - a smirk growing with every moment. With an easy flick of the wrist, he conjured a crystal to roll lightly over his palm. Jareth growled low in his throat, watching as Kaiden rolled the sphere a little clumsily over his hands.
"Familiar, boy?" he asked lightly, grinning as Jareth bared his teeth in his anger. "Such beautiful little things, aren't they?" No answer. "And within, they show such beautiful things," his voice took on a wistful tone as he gazed into the crystal, blocking Jareth's view with the hands that held it.
Jareth remained still, his mind screaming out to run forward and kill the man. Yet, his brows furrowed as Kaiden walked towards him with his hand raised; offering the crystal with it's flickering image within. He stopped just short, giving Jareth a good look within the crystal.
Sarah was climbing a slight incline; mud smeared just under her eyes and across her nose, hair limp as the crystal showed the unguarded panic in her eyes. Her footing was uneven as she hurried, slipping a few times as she caught her elbow upon the cave wall.
Without another word, the crystal disappeared to reveal Kaiden's empty hand. The low chuckle reached his ears as Jareth glared upwards, watching the other man's seemingly sympathetic look.
"That woman," A pause as he grinned openly. "Really your downfall, isn't she?" he laughed outright as Jareth advanced on him, holding up one elegant hand as Jareth automatically came to a stop. "Really boy," he tutted softly. "You're manners are atrocious,"
"Where is she?" he nearly ground out, eyes boring holes into Kaiden as the man straightened his hair a little. He looked tired, dirtied and with a mad gleam in his eyes as he took even steps forward. Jareth remained poker straight, unable to move a muscle as Kaiden came to stand beside him; looking out over the cliffs edge as he did so.
"She is unharmed," Said in a voice so soft and weary, he felt the urge to look to the source in disbelief. They both looked worse for wear, though Jareth's magic loss was accountable. He could only guess as Kaiden's reign over the land was not what he imagined it would be.
"For how long?" he bit out, hearing the man laugh to his tone and place a hand on his shoulder.
"Well, that all depends on how far she gets," The voice was right beside his ear, suggestive and threatening as Jareth fought the urge to shout out a meaningless threat. "Doesn't it?" A pause as he leaned back, his form moving away in Jareth's peripheral. He saw the man shrug lightly, tilting his head to the side in consideration. "Still, quite a quick mover, it's hard to tell,"
"What do you mean?"
"I intend to keep you here, Jareth," he said, ignoring the question as Jareth felt his temper flair, only being dwarfed by his fear for the mortal who was currently making her way towards them. What would Kaiden do to her? Murder certainly wasn't beneath him, yet with such a twisted mind he could only hope Sarah didn't make it to him. "You know as well as I you will not last long now, merely a matter of time,"
"And Sarah?"
"What about her?" he asked easily, examining a nail by Jareth's side. This time he growled, fighting the magic that held him in place as the muscles in his neck fought to turn as little as his head. He failed miserably until Kaiden waved a careless hand and released him, allowing him to slump and turn quickly to the other man.
"What will happen to her?" His voice was low, weak and defeated as Kaiden finally came to stand before him fully; grinning and glaring at the same time.
"As I said, it depends," he mocked lightly, showing no surprise as Jareth charged him. Gloved hands barely made contact with his neck as Jareth once again froze, fingertips barely coming in contact with his skin and teeth bared in a feral manner. Kaiden leaned a little into the hands that cupped around his throat, smirking as he lowered his voice to a whisper. "If you're going to be so subtle, we might miss each other in this darkness," he waved a hand around the cave, laughing a little before returning the gesture towards Jareth with a flick of the wrist. He was automatically flung against the harsh rock wall, head bouncing with a sickening thud as he collapsed to the ground. " Now, sit, down." he growled, coming to face the blonde haired fae as he crouched down at his side.
"Why," Jareth asked breathlessly, eyes unfocused as his head throbbed painfully. He felt sick to the pit of his stomach, it was all going so wrong. Why hadn't he seen this before? Guessed to the originator of the Mutation? How could he have put Sarah in so much danger, without a second thought? "Why are you doing this?"
"To even the scores boy," he reached out a hand, running it across Jareth's scalp where he had just injured himself. The prone man hissed in a breath as he did so, Kaiden pulled his hand out as he caught sight of the red stain now on his skin. He rubbed it off carelessly on his trousers, smearing the red into the black where it vanished. "You gained the Goblin Kingdom and it's Labyrinth, all through your father," his voice had turned icy and dangerous, his hand balling into a fist against his bent knee. "Doesn't seem fair to me," His features only hardened as Jareth gave a woozy laugh, the term tickling him even in his current state.
"I know as well as you, that wasn't the only reason," He tried to shake his head at the stupidity of the situation, stopping immediately at the world started spinning. He gestured with a shaking hand, trying to appear confident as his mind raced a mile a minute. "With a volatile nature such as yours, did you really think my father was going to -"
"Your father couldn't of cared for reason," he interrupted swiftly, his tone dismissive. "He cared for keeping his child under a watchful gaze!" he spat, eyes boring into Jareth's as the blonde's eyelids flickered heavily. He was falling now, cutting the waiting time with his blood loss. "I waited for centuries for my own Kingdom! For my chance to prove myself,"
"So this is you're recourse?" he asked heavily, lifting a head that seemed too heavy on his neck. "Sucking the Labyrinth dry, killing the land and it's creatures as you do so?"
"Alistair," Kaiden muttered, ignoring the other's comments. He stood swiftly, pacing in a tight march before Jareth as he tried to focus on the movement and failed. "With his bright outlook, even after your failure with the mortal," he laughed a little, mocking with his eyes. "Even then, he patted you on the back, consoling a delinquent son for his failure,"
"Kaiden," Jareth started as his world began to spin more forcibly, feeling a hand gripping the shorter hair on his head and yet feeling helpless to fight him off. His face was tilted upwards, facing the mad, glazed eyes of Kaiden as he threw his head back violently. His head bounced off the cave wall, landing on the packed dirt with a silent cry; mouth open as he squirmed.
"Be quiet!" Kaiden screamed, running a hand over his hair as Jareth merely groaned. His voice changed quickly, turning into a caress within a heartbeat. "Not long now Jareth, just keep quiet, it'll be over soon."
Sarah sniffed again, fighting the tears that threatened to spill with each passing - hopeless moment. Her arm bled heavily, running down her forearms from her elbow. The pain didn't bother her anymore, merely reminding her to quicken her pace. She knew she was going the right way now, heard the short shout of an unfamiliar voice as she bounced heavily along the cave.
The light was improving, aiding her run as she avoided falling every few minutes. Her heart pounded so heavily in her chest that she felt sick; a coppery taste filling her mouth as she tired quickly, not stopping, not daring to.
A tear slipped down her filthy cheek, cleaning the dirt in one solitary streak. She didn't realise, giving a choked sob as she finally breached the top. Finally reaching level ground, she ran onto a stone ledge; halting immediately with an audible gasp.
She had been here before…
More than once, not in person but in spirit. She listened to the lapping water below, wide eyed as she looked around for another person.
No one.
With her own breathing sounded ragged, she determinedly calmed and tried to listen intently. With the passing seconds, she became aware of the uneven breaths to her side; ragged and rattling, sounding dangerous yet feeble as she turned to her left.
In the uneven light, she caught sight of almost white hair against the wall. She gave a choked sob, feeling the déjà vu wash over her so suddenly that she stumbled on weak legs. She held a hand to her mouth, trembling slightly and listening to the man breathe.
She walked forward shakily, dropping to her knees as she did so.
This couldn't be happening, it wasn't. She was imagining it, still out cold in the cave and dreaming. Yet she felt the cold, knew she had complete control over her own movements and motives. She knew what she was doing and why, this was not a dream, she knew it but didn't like it.
"Ja- Jareth?" she whispered shakily, reaching out a hand but halting a moment short. She allowed a finger to flutter over the hair that stood on it's own free will, giving easily before flicking back to it's former position. She caught the slightest of a stir, his head rolling a little; pushing his nose a little more towards the dirt as Sarah felt compelled to do something.
What exactly, she had no idea. She touched his cheek; cold yet soft against her grimy hand. She moved towards his hair, running her fingers into the shocking blonde as her thumb looped before his ear. She tilted his head a little towards her, quickly doing the same with her other hand as she did so.
He groaned, faintly, making Sarah suddenly breathe a sigh of relief. He wasn't comatose, there was still a sense of pain within as he laid prone and an ashen white. "Jareth?" she whispered a little louder than before, running her thumbs across his visible cheekbones as a small frown creased his brow.
With thinking, she moved her hands through his hair in a comforting gesture. Already her mind was trying to construct an escape plan, someway out and away and fast. Yet he mind came up blank, flinging her useless scenarios; each getting more ridiculous by the second. Her panic of earlier came back with a vengance, striking her deeply as she gazed at the Goblin King.
With a gasp, she realised her left hand was wet; a sticky yet slick substance upon her hand as she pulled it back, tilting it towards the light as she remembered the dream. Just as she feared, her hand was caked in blood, deep red even in the dim light.
Trying not to move him too much, Sarah found the wounded spot and hissed; his usual feathered and near white hair was darkened with blood and sticking up in spikes from her fingers. She parted his hair as best she could, inspecting the wound and covering her hands in the process.
And yet, at such a crucial moment, all she could think of was the dream.
The amulet, she realised with a gasp, it was important. Somehow she knew, she needed to grab it now. Removing her hands, she inspected the chain around his neck before removing the heavy metal from his pearl white chest.
She ran a bloodied finger over the details, glittering in the light before becoming smeared red. Her finger tingled, feeling alike pins and needles as she frowned to the lifeless object. Actually, her whole hand tingled, spreading all the way to her arms with such warmth that she sighed.
Jareth stirred a little by her side and for some strange reason, Sarah understood what the tingling meant. It was an acceptance by the magic, somehow it would help for the confrontation that would come. And a confrontation would come, she knew that too.
"How touching," A voice said directly behind her, yet she didn't even blink. Without knowing why, she tucked the amulet within her trouser pocket with a swift and undetectable movement. With a measured pause she stood, turning on the spot after one last look to the prone figure on the ground. She felt no surprise as Kaiden stood before her, watching him grin at her like he'd just won the game.
His smirk slipped a little as she carried on watching impassively, obviously expecting a commotion and receiving nothing but silence in return. His smirk died gracelessly, slipping from his face in the blink of an eye.
"You," A pause as she cocked her head slightly, feigning interest as she felt the amulet's weight against her leg. "Sent me those dreams, didn't you?"
"Why, how clever we are child!" he mocked, looking to her with joyous eyes; the plan was coming to a close, completed successfully as Sarah thought back to her dreams whilst trying to appear calm and collected.
"I'm no child," she said softly, refusing her bodies wish to back up a step as Kaiden advanced.
"A child in mind," he growled, looking her over quickly before flicking her a grin. "In body, well, maybe not so," Sarah resisted the urge to shout and scream, maybe even lunge out as her mind started to go into overdrive.
Thoughts and theories floated in and out so quickly she couldn't catch them, couldn't plan anything more before the train of thought was lost once again in her panic. "You tried to make me turn back," she nearly whispered, face giving away no emotion.
"Of course," He nodded once, stony in a flash. "Yet, I am not wholly responsible. The Labyrinth insisted on it's meddling, something I didn't bother to stop,"
"Why?" she asked after a pause, watching with satisfaction Kaiden's obvious dislike for the conversation.
"Why waste my energy," A shrug that Sarah saw straight through, he was becoming uncomfortable, more so with every passing moment.
"You couldn't stop it, could you?" she asked with a grin, letting the smirk fill her voice as Kaiden didn't answer; instead carrying on glaring at her with passion. "You couldn't!" She laughed lightly. "Did you even see what it showed me?" she asked after a second, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so.
"It is no concern to me what the dying land cries," His voice was filled with venom, looking into her with eyes that told her how much he wanted to shut her up. "Pitiful really, it's only chance being a selfish girl,"
"And yet, look how far I've come," she fanned her arms out to their surroundings, the water lapping below as the silence grew; along with Kaiden's obvious anger.
"It makes no difference, it's a lost cause now Sarah," he bit out, grabbing her shoulders in a vice like grip and spinning her on the spot - a movement not unlike her dreams, though this time she would not cry out to Jareth's still form. "Just look to your King,"
"How are you doing this?" she asked, staring to Jareth with eyes that didn't see - becoming unfocused and glassy as she refused to take in the blood and unnaturally white skin. "With this," With a flourish of movement, he showed her a glint of something small and silver. The eyes watched from behind, an arm extended over her shoulder as she carried on watching him twist the tiny bit of metal between his fingers; catching the dim light every so often. "Familiar?"
"My ring!"
"Given to a Wise Man in payment for his ramblings," he said evenly, playing with the piece of silver easily in slender fingers. "Generous little girl, giving me exactly what I needed. For you see, there is no Wise Man; just me in a guise, waiting for the foolish girl who was fated to gain so much, and all I needed was this," His hand withdrew over her shoulder, causing her to turn on the spot and shoot him a confused look. "Your essence, Sarah. A means to draw the magic given to you by that fool," He glanced down to Jareth with disgust, face screwing up as if tasting something disgusting.
"He's no fool," she whispered with feeling, drawing his eyes back to her with a sneer.
"Giving a mortal child, a girl of eleven years so much control, so much importance?" he asked, expecting no answer in return as he continued. "That's not foolish?"
"The Labyrinth told him to," she stated easily, ignoring the tittering laugh that Kaiden gave her.
"Is that all he told you?" he asked through the dying laughter, shaking his head and sending his grey hair flying slightly. "My, my. We really are clueless," he clucked his tongue once, leaning forward as if sharing a secret. "He tracked you Sarah, watching you in the guise of an owl for years after the Labyrinth's orders,"
"Why?"
"Have you learnt nothing more over the years?" he seemed genuinely amused, eyes aglow as she carried on frowning. Waving a hand and showing her the red leather book, the book she owned. "It's written plain as day in the book," he held it to eye level, flicking it open carelessly and reading a few words. "Giving his love to a child, giving her the powers that she wouldn't need, never gain any control over unless she lived Underground," The book vanished. "Foolish man."
Within an instant, he grabbed her arms and hauled her bodily to the cliffs edge. She tried pushing back, digging her heels in as he dragged her easily with nothing more than a smile. She knew this part was coming, wasn't surprise yet didn't let on. He knew she had seen the fall, but not the single piece of jewellery that she seemed to need.
"Get off of me!"
"Come, come, Sarah," he tutted a little, finally bringing her to the edge as she stilled her protests. "Don't you remember the next bit?" His voice, schooled into confusion before she felt the breath against her ear from behind. "I showed you your final moments time and again, this should be of no surprise,"
"No," she looked to his hand, her ring worn carelessly on his little finger for safe keeping - the drop the one thing that she was panicking over. "It isn't." With a desperate plea to the Gods, she spun her body to face him and grabbed at his hand. Leaning back on her heels as she did so, tilting dangerously over the edge.
With the tiniest of smiles, she gave the cool metal a twist and a pull - feeling it slip slowly before loosening all together. Unfortunately, slipping from her fingers as both the ring and herself fell.
"You stupid child!" he screamed after her, stumbling as her weight left and he fell back a little. Face peering over the cliff edge, just catching sight of her body hitting the black waters below.
She hit the water hard, feeling her skin burn with the cold as the dried blood and dirt on her hands washed slowly away. She splashed down mere inches from a jagged rock, missing her face but only just. The metal floated past her feet quickly, disappearing almost instantly in the silt and grime that had been dislodged when she hit the water.
With a sickening feeling descending into the pit of her stomach, she turned in the water and began swimming with long strokes to the bottom. Her descent seemed to take forever, so slow that she screamed without opening her mouth. Her lungs cried for oxygen, pleading for her to go back above the water and yet she carried on.
With a final thrust she felt the silt become thicker, already settling as she waved two hands through the dirt. She squinted against it, guarding her eyes a little as the water became darker and filthier. Yet she carried on…
…She needed to breathe, so badly her lungs burnt angrily.
She saw a glitter of metal, quickly searching the area and watching to cry when - after a good thirty seconds searching - she didn't catch sight of it again. She was getting tunnel vision - the edges of the world blurring into blackness as she carried on.
This couldn't happen, it wouldn't happen.
How could it, she was the good guy… Good guys didn't die, they were victorious and saved the world.
Yet she felt her blood sing brightly in her ears, her sight becoming blacker by the second as her frantic searches became fainter and fainter.
Jareth rested on his knees, head pulled upright by a hand in his hair and pulling at the back of his shirt. He watched the bubbles that floated easily to the surface, becoming smaller and far between as time went on. He carried on watching, even as Kaiden watched and laughed. Jerking his head violently, he felt the magic tingle the air for the briefest of seconds before their scenery changed.
Without much fanfare they were a mere foot from the water, watching the ripples from eye level below the cliff of before. The area was mostly thrown into darkness, but with the silt offering no support as it moved easily below.
She couldn't be dead, people like Sarah didn't die so quietly; they lived through things so trivial as death threats and attacks.
She was alive.
He knew it…
… And yet, the waters became completely still, not even a ripple graced the surface as Jareth watched. He felt empty, empty and doomed as even more time crept by.
"Sarah," he said with a sigh, turning his eyes downward. He had barely turned his face before Kaiden grabbed his hair, pulling his face sideways to face him, lowering to his knees with a gleeful look on his face.
"Gone, I'm afraid boy," he giggled hysterically, eyes dancing with such happiness it made Jareth sick. "Happens to people with hero complexions," he added easily, eyes flickering to each of his at a mad pace.
"You bastard," he whispered. He felt nothing, saw nothing… Waited for the release of death, for the final spark of pain that would end it all. He closed his eyes slowly, resigned to his fate…
Which never came as the water by their side seemed to explode suddenly. The death grip Kaiden had on his hair decreased, yet still he didn't dare open his eyes.
