And here we go.

The Highwayman

Chapter 25 (Somnambulist)

Dust covered Sarah's sight. Coughing and gagging, she scrambled to her feet, trying to see through the haze. "Jareth?" She screamed as she coughed, "Jareth!"

"Over here," came a voice to her left. It wasn't Jareth's voice, but Sarah followed all the same.

The dust began to clear as Sarah came closer. She could just make out Heryah's silhouette, bending down over an edge. Closer Sarah came, now able to see a crater at least six feet deep and oddly human sized. Broken rocks and rubble were scattered upon the ground. Sarah's breath stuck in her throat as she peered over the edge, unsure of what she might find. There, at the bottom of the crater, was Jareth. His arms were outstretched to his side, his eyes were closed. Sarah couldn't tell whether or not he was breathing. "Jareth?" she called out as she began climbing down the crater. Heryah was faster; she just blinked out from the top and reappeared next to Jareth. Anger coursed through Sarah and she grabbed a rock and chucked it toward Heryah as she screamed, "Stay away from him! Don't you dare touch him!" The rock fell short and bounced away harmlessly, but Heryah made no more advances towards the prostrate king. Sarah slid the final feet into the crater. "Sophia!" She yelled as she neared Jareth, thinking maybe the Blue Sister could help.

Sarah hovered over Jareth, afraid to touch him. With shaking hands, she felt his face and began sobbing. His pale skin was warm, and she felt a pulse on his neck. Her tears were falling freely, obscuring her vision, but it didn't matter. Jareth was alive! Sarah placed her cheek on his chest and cried. All the loss, hurt, and loneliness and pain, was shed with those tears. She barely acknowledged the appearance of Sophia, Temanna and Hoggle. They were all tuned out. The only one who was important was Jareth, and he remained unmoving. Why wasn't he moving? Sarah brushed the tears from her eyes and looked up to see four pairs of eyes unable to conceal their worry.

Sarah frowned. "Will he be alright?" Temanna and Heryah shared a glance, and Sophia dropped her blue eyes to the ground. Fear gripped at Sarah's heart, but she pushed it away. "He is going to wake up, right?" Again, the Three Sisters avoided her gaze. Even Hoggle remained silent, wringing his hands together and rubbing the ground with his boot. "Dammit, someone answer me!" She screamed as she moved away from Jareth and towards the Sisters. Heryah made like she was going to speak, but Sarah pointed at her, hands still shaking. "Not you. Not a word out of you."

Heryah surprised her sisters by actually holding her tongue. Sophia stepped forward, hands held out before her, "We don't know, Sarah. We granted him immortality; it would take an immense amount of magic to destroy him."

Sarah read between the lines: Jareth had used too much magic. "Will he wake up?"

"I don't know," Sophia repeated softly.

"Will he wake up!" Sarah clinched her fists, her whole body shaking. She couldn't lose Jareth now…she just couldn't.

Sophia flinched. "I don't know."

Sarah turned away from them in disgust. "Damn all of you to hell."

Heryah swallowed and took a few steps forward, "Sarah we need to wait."

Wait? Sarah stared at Heryah in disbelief. Wait? Waiting was all she had ever done. Three hundred years had passed and Sarah was still waiting to be reunited with Jareth, to have a life with him, and always, always the chance was ruined. And Heryah was to blame. Sarah rounded on the Green Sister, fist clinched and swung hard, connecting with Heryah's left cheekbone. Heryah dropped to the ground, silently holding her reddening cheek. "If that's the worst thing that happens to you, consider yourself lucky." Sarah stood to her full height. "Now help me move him."

Jareth was frozen in the space in between time. The sheer amount of magic he had used to move the heavens and to hold the Underground still had drained him. He was tired, both body and soul, and so he slept. It seemed a long time since Jareth had rested. One part of his mind acknowledged that his body had been moved to a safe location within the Labyrinth. From far away he could see himself, clothed in white, resting on a large bed. Sarah was there next to him; his Sarah, his love, his hope, his life. She called out to him, but Jareth just did not have the energy to answer. He was burnt up inside, and so he remained asleep.

Time was of no consequence to him. He 'saw' the Three Sisters move in and move out of the room, always worried. Sarah and Hoggle remained near him nearly all the time, speaking to him, calling out to him to wake, but still he slept. He fell into a blissful slumber, unsure if he was ever going to wake, unsure if he even wanted to rouse. Then someone called out to him.

"Jareth." It was a feminine voice that Jareth had never heard before, and yet it was oddly familiar and comforting. Still, he ignored the call. "Jareth, I need you to wake."

No, thought Jareth, leave me in peace. I am tired.

"You cannot sleep forever, Jareth," replied the voice. "And there are those who love you waiting for you."

Jareth hesitated before answering. She will not understand. And I am tired.

A strong energy of warmth and understanding surrounded Jareth. "You have burnt yourself out, haven't you?" The voice sighed, and Jareth could feel himself being embraced. "Jareth, I shall give to you my strength, for you shall need it in the future."

I don't understand, Jareth said confused as he felt more of the energy flow into his body. Slowly, a sense of being returned to Jareth and he opened his eyes. There was nothing but greyness around him, and yet he shined brightly, and before his eyes, another being shined brightly as well. Jareth tried to focus on the other person, but his senses were jumbled. He saw an old woman, bent at the back, with greying hair and piercing grey eyes, but he felt agelessness around her. This was someone of great importance.

"Do you know me?" She asked with an outstretched hand. Jareth shook his head and she smiled. "You will in time." She took a step forward, "Do you trust me?" Jareth paused, staring unblinking at the extended hand, but he eventually placed his hand within hers. "Then Jareth, I bestow upon you my gifts." Hot energy coursed through his veins, burning through his body. Though not necessarily painful, Jareth was left breathless all the same when the sensation stopped. He felt different, though he could not verbalize why. The old woman pulled him into an embrace and kissed both of his cheeks. "Now you must wake, for there is someone waiting for you."

Ok, I laughed out loud on some of these reviews.

Clockwork Mockingbird: I will take that as a compliment ;-)

Grey Kindle: That review was on crack, just so you know, but good to hear from you again. lol

We're about to wind this up peoples.

Next chapter: Jareth and Sarah. Yay!

~Nylle