That night Sarah was more alive than Niko had seen her since she had left the Labyrinth. Her eyes, her mind, her soul were focused on him alone and her entire being was filled with such life she almost shone. Later, much later, as they lay in each others' arms, Niko looked at her, smiling. Her own face, more peaceful in sleep than he'd ever seen her here, smiled back at him, a sign of her new inner peace. For the first time since she had begun to grow distracted, Niko had hope that his actions had finally snapped her out of it. And what a way to do it. Niko smiled at the memories of the past few hours, filled with hope for Sarah's future in his lands and filled with joy at the new stage his relationship with her had reached. He too slept peacefully that night, for the first time in months.
The morning, however, brought only clouds. Sarah awoke more sullen than ever. Her reawakening of the previous night had only brought into focus the longing she felt for the lands that had become her home. And now she was aware of her distant behaviour herself. She knew her work was failing day by day, she was losing contact with the few friends she'd made in this land, whilst using crystals to speak with Hillevi and Amber every single day and making them visit often, desperate to cling onto any link with the Labyrinth. Her soul was connected with the maze, it wasn't a desire to return there, it was a need. Yet her new life was here. Whenever she thought of the plans the Labyrinth had for her and Jareth, she resolved not to return there until her need for it was gone. She loved Niko, she would not leave him, she would not allow anything to tempt her back to her old home. And she loved her new life, loved the work when she could concentrate for longer than ten minutes at a time. As for Niko, the more time she spent with him, the deeper their love grew. Their evenings together were the happiest Sarah had ever known, and their nights the most passionate. Every night they would go to bed filled with hope, yet every morning despair would reign once again. It tore Niko apart watching her eyes open every day and instantly her face would fall with the realisation that, once again, she was not within the boundaries of the Labyrinth. Breakfast was strained as Sarah struggled to hold back the tears at her absence from the place she loved, along with those of guilt that she could not be as happy as Niko wished her to be.
Things continued to grow steadily worse. Soon Sarah's appetite began to wane, then it disappeared completely. Niko tried to convince her to eat, but more often than not Sarah's despair was too great to even force food down. Not long after that, her health began to deteriorate. Getting out of bed each morning was a serious struggle, she began to lose weight from lack of eating and bouts of weakness would overtake her. For all the physical signs, it was still the mental ones that were most upsetting. Sarah did no work now, she found it impossible to keep her mind on anything long enough to do so. She stopped going to meetings as she spent the entire time staring out of the window at the gardens outside and afterwards she'd find herself unable to remember a single thing that was said within the room. Her attention would drift even in her conversations with Niko and it was only at night, in bed together, that she seemed truly all there, almost desperate in her attempt to cling to the life she now led. But the smile that had graced her face in her sleep soon turned to tears as Niko watched on, unable to do anything more to help her.
The Aboveground girls' talks and visits were reduced and then prevented all together as Sarah's health and behaviour took a steep decline after each visit, each touch of something linked with the Labyrinth. Soon even Jareth stopped seeing her as his visits had the same effect. He continued visiting his brother, however. He gave him support and advice, but both knew they were fighting a losing battle. In the end, the only advice Jareth could give Niko was this: Don't ever let her go back.
"It'll only do her more harm." He repeated, mere weeks later as they once again sat watching the woman in question. "Any link with the Labyrinth is making her worse, all you can do is keep her away from it and try and keep her busy."
"How?" Niko practically shouted at his brother, knowing deep down that he was only trying to help, but far too frustrated to keep his temper. "She can't focus on anything, any work I give her she forgets about, if I try to speak to her, she gets confused and distracted. I have tried everything to keep her here but she's getting worse, fast."
Jareth was silent as he considered Niko's words. He knew they were true, he could see the evidence himself, just as he knew allowing Sarah back in the Labyrinth would only make things so much worse. Sarah had to be kept away, as much as he and the other girls missed her, it was for her own good. Shaking his head with a sigh, Jareth stood, preparing to take his leave. There were no goodbyes as both brothers knew Jareth would return before long to check on Sarah's health. Instead, he left with a warning.
"I do not know what advice to give you, but if you allow her back in the Labyrinth and then try and bring her back here, it'll destroy her. Keep her away. Things will come to a head soon, whether for good or bad, but whatever happens, keep her away."
Niko heard the immense sorrow in Jareth's warning and knew how much he cared for the mortal girl who had become his friend. He could not understand the pull the Labyrinth had on both his brother and his betrothed, but he could see it clearly in their eyes. Those lands were a part of them and Jareth understood better than he how hard this was for Sarah. If Jareth said to keep her away, then keep her away he would. He just didn't know how long he could stand to watch her like this.
It was the next morning, just over three months after Sarah first moved to Cencia that things finally did come to a head. For weeks she had been having trouble getting out of bed. Her body had thinned from lack of food, her eyes had large black bags underneath them and all her movements suggested an internal weariness that was taking over. That morning she slept much later than usual and then needed Niko's assistance in getting up and dressed, so tired did she feel. After her meagre breakfast she seemed to perk up slightly, but only very slightly, and by noon she was out in the garden as she usually was.
Niko stood at his office window as he so often did, watching her sit in the garden, not moving, staring off into space. What had happened to the strong, independent, passionate woman he'd first brought here? She'd worked harder than any in the Labyrinth and even once she'd moved to his lands she'd lived by Niko's side as a queen. That girl was gone. Niko stood, watching her, struggling with the tears that demanded to pour forth from grief at what her removal from the Labyrinth had done to Sarah. He'd vowed to make her strong again, but he was helpless against the link the Labyrinth had with her. Never in his life had Niko felt such anger. He wanted to destroy the Labyrinth, destroy it as it had destroyed Sarah. But whatever power the Labyrinth had over Sarah, it had the same over Jareth. Niko could not do that to his brother.
As the lunch bell tolled over the castle grounds, Niko saw Sarah rise slowly and begin her unhurried walk towards the castle. He watched her stumble and, unthinking, held out a hand towards her. But she was on the ground and he was in the castle. He watched in horror as her stumble turned to a fall and the fear kept him where he was as he waited for her to get up. Instead, he watched her remain on the ground where she fell, unmoving.
His immobility seemed to last for an eternity, though in reality it was only a few seconds before he snapped out of it and transported himself to Sarah's side, sending out a call for help as he did so. Once he reached his fiancée, Niko pulled her into his arms, terrified to find her unconscious. Calling her name and praying for a response, Niko hurriedly felt for a pulse, forcing himself to calm enough to eventually feel the weak thread of her life beneath her fingers. Her pulse was slow and weak, as was her breathing. No attempts by him could rouse her and when his doctor finally arrived on the scene, his prognosis was unsure. He knew what was causing Sarah's illness, just as Niko did, but neither knew what to do about it.
Jareth's words popped into Niko's head as he watched the doctor shake his head in despair.
"Things will come to a head soon, whether for good or bad, but whatever happens, keep her away."
Things had come to a head, and definitely for bad, but he could not keep her away now. Sarah was dying for lack of the Labyrinth and he couldn't watch it any longer. If taking her back meant he was giving her up, then so be it. The thought filled him with grief, but if losing her to the Labyrinth was the only alternative to watching her die, he'd take it. He could not watch Sarah die. He was not strong enough for that.
Shouting at those surrounding him to move away, he got Sarah more firmly in his arms and within moments, he was in her old bedroom in the castle at the centre of the Labyrinth. Jareth was aware of their arrival immediately. An almost physical thrill went through the Labyrinth at the return of her whom it had marked. For it, this was a moment of victory, for Jareth, and indeed Sarah and Niko, it was one of defeat.
Using a crystal, Jareth was instantly at his brother's side, looking down at the woman who now lay on the bed. No words were said between them, it was instantly obvious to Jareth what had happened. For a while, neither of them moved, both consumed with worry for the brave Aboveground girl who had taken on the Labyrinth twice, praying she at least survived this battle, although victory now seemed impossible. As they watched they saw her breathing began to ease, grow deeper and more even. A quick feel of her pulse reassured Niko that she was returning to normal, even her skin visibly regained some colour. Relief washed over both men at Sarah's improvement after only a few minutes. Once it was clear that Sarah was over the worst of it and was now just in a deep sleep, Jareth indicated silently for Niko to follow him. With one last look at his fiancée, he did so.
Both King's were silent as they walked to Jareth's office, neither wanting to think of what Sarah's immediate improvement meant, both knowing it was inevitable. Once they were both seated, silence continued to reign until Jareth eventually broke it, his anger audible in his voice.
"You shouldn't have brought her here." Was all he managed to choke out.
"Jareth you saw her, I..." Niko began, his own temper beginning to heat up.
"Bringing her back here will only make her worse." Jareth cut him off. "She'll use the power of the Labyrinth to heal herself and that'll only increase the strength of the bond between her and this land."
"What else was I supposed to do?" Niko asked, desperate for an answer, knowing there was none to be given.
Jareth sighed before responding.
"I don't know. But bringing her back was a bad idea."
"And leaving her there to die was not an option." Niko's eyes were hot with tears. "When she collapsed her breathing and heartbeat slowed to a point where I could barely detect them. If I'd have left her there she would have died. I know bringing her was a bad idea, of course I know that!" He was shouting now, his helplessness only fuelling his anger. "But your damn Labyrinth caused this problem and it's the only thing that can cure it!"
"The Labyrinth will never give in. In its eyes, it has already won. It has no reason to give in now."
Jareth was managing to keep his own anger under control, but only just. His love for his lands went deep into his soul, but right now he despised it for what it was trying to do. Many times he had been to speak with the spirit of the Labyrinth, tried to reason with it, come up with some solution, each time he had been rebuffed. The essence of this land had an ego that out-sized even the Goblin King's and it would not back down. Amber and Hillevi had begged him to do something as they too had watched Sarah deteriorate, but it didn't change that for the first time in his life, he was powerless. Wrong. The second time. He hadn't been given a choice in coming to rule these lands himself, the Labyrinth had marked him just as it had Sarah. For a second, Sarah's old favourite phrase flashed into his head: It wasn't fair. Despite the gravity of the situation, Jareth couldn't help be laugh as he remembered how naive Sarah had been on her first trip here, and he continued to smile as he thought of how she had changed and everything she had done since.
Seeing his brother smile, Niko's anger abated. He didn't need magic to know what Jareth was thinking. He too was forced to smile as he thought back on the amazing woman Sarah had become in even the short time he had known her. She had already fulfilled so much of her potential, and he knew there was so much more to go. That's why he'd brought her back, that's why he hadn't let her die.
A/N Thank you to you all once again! Your reviews always make me smile, so I thought I'd give you an early update as a little present. Hope you've enjoyed it.
Lablover: Is that quick enough an update? :) Thanks for the kind words!
pinkflora: With regards to your comments about the Labyrinth's behaviour, I hadn't actually thought of that but you are so right!