Chapter 28
Once Jareth had Sarah back safely inside the castle he felt the fear that gripped him ease slightly, his heart slowed from its intense pounding and his breathing steadied, but the adrenaline still rushed through him. Taking a deep breath, he pulled a chair closer to the bed. Sarah lay unconscious amongst the pillows, like a princess from one of those stories she loved so much as a child, but no kiss from a hero prince would wake her. Besides, there was no prince in this world, only a king that felt the farthest thing from a hero.
He took her limp hand in both of his and held it to his lips, his eyes locked on her face as he looked for any sign she was waking up. He knew the spell that was used on her all too well. He had used it on her himself, only he had used it to seduce her into her dream world not to cause her physical harm. His heart ached as he thought back on it all.
He had been with Nolwynn in the Fairy Kingdom. They had been discussing the circumstances around the second fairy spy's injuries. They could not figure out how the fairy ended up at the farthest reaches of the labyrinth. Jareth had made Hoggle show him the exact spot he had found her; it was the same entrance he brought all those that wished away children. There were no bordering villages or towns anywhere in sight, a complete no man's land. Fortunately, the fairy would recover physically but she had not yet regained consciousness, even when she did they were not optimistic about her remembering much of what happened. Their best hope was that once she had her strength back magic could be used to bring the memories back. Though Nolwynn and Jareth were both reluctant to make the poor fairy relive the events that put her in such a state, they agreed it would be the last resort. Jareth kept pacing the length of Nolwynn's sitting room, the fact the fairy knew Sarah's name made his blood run cold, a quick look through a crystal showed her perfectly fine, walking alone through Dearmad, which made the following events even more alarming.
He and Nolwynn were picking at their dinner while they waited for word on the fairy. Sarah's voice whispered in his head, along with an intense feeling of fear-her fear-then nothing. He said nothing to Nolwynn but shot her a panicked look before disappearing.
Instantly he was in Dearmad, Sarah unconscious at his feet. Not wasting a moment, he picked her up and returned to his castle. Once they were safe in his bedchamber he laid her down on his bed. As best as he could see she didn't seem hurt. He laid a gloved hand on her cheek, studying her face.
"Sarah." He said softly, hoping for some recognition. She didn't stir but she exhaled, the smell of wine on her breath, wine and something sickeningly familiar. Cursing to himself he left the chamber to summon several of the goblin servants to stand guard outside the room. He then called on the Priest, not only the protector of The Book, Priest held vast amounts of knowledge pertaining to all types of magic. If there was an antidote, then he would know it.
Though he didn't want to leave her side Jareth returned to the spot he found Sarah. Laying several feet away from him was a body, heavy stone bricks crushing him. Jareth knelt down to examine the body, immediately recognizing the face of one of the daemons, Blagdan, if Jareth remember correctly. He remembered years ago Nolwynn complained of one of Nechtan's daemon courtier's several attempts to seduce her, though they never had proof of it he and Nolwynn were sure he had been sent by Nechtan as a way to spy on his sister. The stones were clearly the same stones of the labyrinth but there was not a single missing section on the labyrinth wall. The labyrinth was known to shift on its own but never had he seen it to attack a living being but Jareth could not imagine any other way for the daemon to have died, Sarah would never be able to lift one of the stones, let alone use it as a weapon.
He looked away from the daemon's lifeless face and noticed the leftovers of a picnic, the wine bottle laying on its side, the deep red liquid had spilled out but there was enough left in the bottle that one sniff confirmed it had been the method the potion had been delivered.
With a snap of his fingers the daemon's body disappeared, the dungeon of the Goblin Castle was a fitting place for the creature, dead or alive. He was not going to risk leaving him there for anyone else to find, the body was proof of Nechtan over stepping his bounds. Once the High King was found the Daemon King would be charged with crimes against a human. With the wine bottle in hand he returned to Sarah's side, hopeful that Priest was able to wake her.
The sound of the heavy door opening drew him from his thoughts. Looking away from Sarah for a moment he saw Priest in the threshold, his face etched in concern.
"Your Majesty?"
Reluctantly, Jareth left Sarah's bedside and approached Priest, picking up the nearly empty wine bottle on his way, he was silent as he handed it over. Priest took one sniff, his eyes widened in recognition. He looked to Sarah then back to Jareth.
"Who gave it to her?"
"A daemon, whose body is currently being held in my dungeons."
"Body? Did you…" Priest stopped himself before asking a ruling king if he killed someone.
"No," Jareth responded, "I was denied that pleasure. I found him with Sarah, he was crushed by labyrinth stones."
Priest's hand went to his mouth as he muffled a gasp of surprise as he listened to Jareth explain.
"I've never seen the labyrinth attack someone but that's the only explanation I can think of. There wasn't a stone missing from the wall but I have no doubt where they came from." Jareth waited for Priest to answer but he was met with silence.
"Priest, surely you have heard of such a thing."
"No, Your Majesty, of course you know the labyrinth changes itself, its nearly alive there is so much magic in it, but no I've never heard of it causing harm to anyone." Priest left Jareth's side to get a better look at the unconscious Sarah.
"Is there anything you can do?" Jareth moved to his place next to the bed, watching intently as Priest used his magic to examine her, his hand hovering over her body, searching out any injury.
"I'm afraid not, she will simply awaken when the potion runs its course. You know that." Priest gave him a pointed glance; he knew this was not Sarah's first encounter with the spell. "Luckily, she is not harmed in anyway. I sense the daemon, but only faintly, he may have touched her but did not hurt her."
"Well, that is one positive in this mess."
"Of course you know she may be emotional when she wakes, she has spent hours with a daemon, he was manipulating her thoughts and emotions, sometimes it takes a day or two to return to normal." Priest left Sarah's bedside and headed toward the door, Jareth followed him.
"Thank you, Priest."
"I suppose since it was a daemon that means King Nechtan is behind this all." Priest said quietly.
"It looks that way, yes."
"That does complicate things doesn't it." Priest couldn't stop a wry smile.
"Yes, I dare say it does, but there is too much evidence against him. He has gone too far." Jareth was determined to see Nechtan pay for his deeds.
"How did he find out?" It was the question that troubled Priest the most, he could never figure out just how the Daemon King found out about the prophecy he guarded.
"That is still a mystery, but I'm sure it will come to light." Jareth's eyes glinted as he thought how satisfying it will be to discover the one responsible.
"Goodnight, Your Majesty. Please summon me if you or the Queen need me." Priest opened the dark wood door and left the room.
"Queen is a bit presumptuous, don't you think?"
"No, Your Majesty, you married her once before, she is the Queen." Priest said matter of factly.
"She has no memory of that and it was several life times ago. If you need to bring up the past you will also remember she rejected me as soon as she knew what I am." Jareth bit out, hating to be reminded of that painful episode.
"Perhaps, Your Majesty. Perhaps she doesn't know she remembers it."
Jareth was silent as he thought over Priest's words. He watched as the old man slowly walked down the gallery and out of sight.
The Goblin King closed the bedchamber door, sealing him and Sarah off from the rest of the castle inhabitants. Not expecting to sleep tonight he took his place in the chair next to the huge bed. Sarah looked like a doll amongst the bedding, completely still in her drugged sleep. Once again he took her hand in his and pressed it to his lips and kept it there.
Hours passed as he waited for any movement from her, his mind wandered from one thing to the next. I thought of what he would love to do to Nechtan, of what to say to Sarah when she did wake-and most pleasantly-he thought of her as his Queen. After hearing Priest refer to her in such a way he could not shake the image from his mind. Sarah the Goblin Queen, well perhaps, Jaret thought as doubt crept in. After all that happened to her he wouldn't be surprised if she once again rejected him and the crown. Thinking back on Priest's words, Jareth hoped that Sarah didn't remember their past, too much of it was painful. He sighed as he thought of the different incarnations of Sarah he knew, he could see a little of each of them in her, especially the nun. Sarah had her kindness and bravery, and in time her patience. What was unique to this Sarah was her strength, she would never go screaming from him in hysterics, she feared him at times but running away would never cross her mind.
Sarah's soft moan snapped Jareth from his thoughts. Looking up, her large green eyes were staring back at him. Her hand, still clasped in his gave a little squeeze of reassurance.
"You found me?" Her voice was low and scratchy.
"Of course, Precious, I heard you call me." He smiled slightly and planted a kiss to the back of her hand, trying not to look overly worried.
"Who was he?" There was no need to specify on who he was.
"His name was Blagdan, he was a member of a powerful daemon family and high ranking in the Daemon Court."
"He told me his name was Dan." Sarah whispered.
"Do you remember anything else?" Jareth didn't want to push but was desperate for any information she might have.
"We spent the day together, I felt incredibly happy."
Jareth nodded, "Daemons can feed off your feelings and control them, especially if they can touch you." He pushed thoughts of that slim laying a hand on her as he felt anger well up in him.
"We had a picnic, it was the wine. He said awful things, he was-he was…" she trailed off as the memory gripped her, the reality of what she escaped playing in her mind.
"I know, I know, "Jareth said reassuringly.
"Then there was an earthquake and he was crushed by the stones."
"Earthquake?" Jareth was unfamiliar with the word.
"The ground shook, I didn't see what happened but when it stopped I opened my eyes and he was dead." Her voice quivered at the thought.
As she fought the tears welling in her eyes he picked her up from the bed and settled among the bedding, Sarah cradled in his arms. She let her tears go then, her head resting on his leather clad shoulder, each teardrop making a little sound of impact on the jacket he wore. He rested his chin on the top of her head, the dreaded thought that her pain was because of him ate at his mind. He closed his eyes, trying to shield himself from it but the thoughts would not cease. If he had gone to visit her today has he had planned this never would have happened. If it weren't for that damn prophecy none of this would have never happened to her.
Sarah quieted but did not try to pull away from him. Jareth remained silent, not wanting to end the moment. Soon he felt her become heavy as she began to drift off, the shock exhausting her. Reluctantly, he shifted to lay her down. Pulling the covers over her he turned to leave but was stopped by a tug on his arm. He looked down to see Sarah's solemn eyes staring up at him, her face half hidden in the pillows and a hand gripping the sleeve of his jacket.
"Don't leave, please." She whispered.
"Of course not, Precious." He said quietly, he moved to sit in the chair when she tugged on his arm once again.
"Not there."
Jareth didn't want to assume what she meant but as she moved from the edge of the bed to make room for him. He sighed as he once again sat on the bed, still booted legs stretched out on top of the velvet cover. Sarah inched closer to him, placing her head on his chest. As he wrapped an arm around her he hoped she wouldn't notice the pounding of his heart.
