"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 49
By Aiijuin
*Disclaimer: I don't own anything Jim Henson or Labyrinth. Gröeg was originally designed by Brian Froud and catalogued by Terry Jones in Brian Froud's "The Goblins of the Labyrinth". This fanfiction is rated M for some harsh language and adult situations. Gavin King is Jareth, the Goblin King, for those who have jumped into the middle of the story. Jeremy Eden is from the original Henson script of "Labyrinth" as the man who wrote the "Labyrinth" playbook that Sarah was reading from, in the beginning of the 1986 movie.
Be warned! Although this is a Sarah/Jareth romance story, it is also a profoundly dark fairytale!
**NOTE: Story numbering is behind by 1 chapter, because there is a prelude, which is not considered a chapter. Fanfiction . net automatically assigns numbers to the chapters by default, which I have not control over. Thank you!
Chapter 49: If These Walls Could Talk
"…And so, The Marchioness Lady Sarah Alvery d'Bourgeise of Alpes-Côte d'Azur Province died three months later in the year 1606. She passed away within my arms at the center of the Labyrinth that she had created… Sarah was only thirty-three years old. Despite her arguments, I hired all sorts of doctors and medical persons, and even brought in several witch doctors, and clergy for the sake that one of them would be able to find a cure with which to save her. None could in the end, and her powers killed her," Sir Eden finished solemnly as he began to light the candles about the room.
The study fell silent as Torok, Gavin, and Toby all reflected on Jeremy's final words. Toby glanced out of the window and saw the blackness outside. Torok, who still had a strange affinity for young, defenseless girls asked, "Ah, and where is this Savietta-girl that Lady Sarah had brought into her Labyrinth?"
Jeremy turned to the window and answered the Troll King, "Two weeks after the Marchioness had died, Savietta drowned herself in the lake behind the château. Apparently, she could not bear the sight of me and the guilt of what had happened to her brother…. I must truly resemble the Goblin King, Monsieur."
"You really do, at least from what I can remember of him when I was a baby! Mmm.. That sucks about that girl," Toby chided. "Of course, if you didn't wear that crazy makeup and those outfits, I think you'd probably resemble him a lot less, yo."
The knight turned from the window with a lighthearted laugh, "Yes, well, I can't do much about the facial flair, you see, Lady Sarah was quite insistent upon making me Jareth as much as she possibly could…. And as to the apparel, um… I do apologize, but I can't exactly go to the local clothing store and shop for new attire since I've been bound eternally to this place. Whatever Lady Sarah had stocked for me in her wardrobe, is usually what I wear, and since I'm not fond of women's clothing… well, I'm a bit stuck with these outlandish costumes."
"Wow! That really sucks!" Toby exclaimed "She magically altered you to become the Goblin King… I guess you two had an interesting relationship and probably a wild one at that though."
Sir Eden collected the used silver cups from the little tea table and put them back on the tray. He shook his head and answered the teenager, "Wild? If you mean sexual, then 'no'. Despite being a terrible flirt and extremely forward in her advances, Sarah was devoted only to the real Jareth. She pretended that I was him within her mind, and I suppose it kept her sane…but as far as relationships, I regret to say that our love was unrequited in the end."
Gavin's eyes sprung up from his deep thought and he exclaimed, "I thought she didn't love you!"
"She did not," the English knight chuckled and admitted. "I was in love with her."
After a long pause, Jeremy grabbed the tray and nodded towards the hall. "Here now, I've been terribly rude and have not offered any dinner. It's late and I'm sure you're all quite peckish by now… "
Toby nodded as they walked down the stairs of the château to the ground floor and then turned to the left toward a vast, long hall, which led into a kitchen at the very end. Torok and Gavin followed slowly. The great mansion was extremely dark inside now without the sun shining in through its massive windows. More silence ensued as footsteps echoed loudly across the marble floor until Gavin finally broke the silence and said, "We shouldn't remain too much longer. We've actually just come to discover anything you can tell us about Sarah's condition and if there might be a cure. Apparently, you've told me everything that you've could, and yet I have heard nothing that can help her in the end."
Sir Jeremy didn't answer, but ushered them into the kitchen and drew out a cast iron pan from a metal hook on the light stone-faced wall. He lit a fire within the potbelly stove and placed a cap on the top unit. After he ensured that the fire was properly kindled, he took several vegetables and some boullion and began to prepare a soup. He set a large cast iron cauldron over a lit fireplace and boiled some water.
"Vegetarian, huh?" Toby asked slyly.
"Don't you like vegetables, young man?" Jeremy smiled.
"Nah, this whole scenario just reminds me of an inverse of what's going on with my sister Sarah, sort of. I mean, you're like my sister Sarah in most ways… brainy, intelligent, realistic, well-grounded, good tempered, brave, soft-spoken, a vegetarian… and then that 'Lady Sarah' person that you talk about seems like Jareth in my sister's life… flamboyant, obsessive, spoiled, a party-animal, flirtatious, vindictive, jealous, clingy, wild…"
Gavin harrumphed loudly in protest as Torok giggled again like a little boy. The Troll King couldn't resist his amusement about the way Toby perceived Jareth. Jeremy took note of their reactions and raised his eyebrows in curiosity. Toby placed his hands out in front of him and shook them wildly, "Not that there's anything wrong with being a party animal or flirtatious! That's cool! But everything else shows that Jareth behaves just like a big kid and needs to seriously grow up…"
Toby paused for a moment as Torok nearly fell off his seat in laughter and Gavin elbowed him hard. Then the teenager finished, "…and that's an opinion coming from a seventeen year-old, hormone-ridden dude like me!"
Sir Eden closely observed Gavin and Torok's behavior from the corners of his eyes and it wasn't until supper was over and everyone had eaten that he decided to confront Mr. King. Toby had stood up from the table and asked, "Hey, yo! I mean…Sir Eden, do you have a bathroom around here somewhere?"
Jeremy answered, "It's down the other hall, which you make a right when you leave here, and then keep going until you pass the stairs in the main foyer again. When you finally reach the third door on the left you'll have found it. Here take the candelabra with you, otherwise you'll trip on the rugs or the hall furniture, plants, and monuments. The problem with the Goblin Queen was that she tended to be a clutter bug, and if I hadn't cleaned up after her, then there would have been junk lying all over the floors."
Toby took the candleholder and turned slowly to the right as he left the kitchen.
When he knew that the boy was out of earshot, he turned to Gavin and asked, "I know that you've come here for a miracle cure for Sarah's illness, but I haven't one to offer you, Jareth. Your queen tried everything in this lifetime to attract your attention, which is why she had brought Savietta here after you took the girl's brother. Sarah was hoping that your affections were still directed towards the girl, but you had already moved on."
Gavin raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. Jeremy continued, "Sarah eventually wrote the little red book entitled, 'The Labyrinth'. While I was not aware that my name had been engraved upon it, I do recognize that it isn't a bedtime story or a simple play, but is a potent spell designed to do one thing…"
Jeremy cleared the plates from the table and finished, "…It was created to summon you back to the Goblin Queen's presence after she had read from it outloud. Apparently, her spell worked. The teenage boy, Toby, he was a baby brother wished away, wasn't he?"
Gavin didn't say 'yes' or 'no', but the expression on his face answered Jeremy's question. Sir Eden finished, "She defeated your Labyrinth, didn't she and won her brother back? That must have been quite a shock for you, but now that you know the truth of her nature… that Sarah is no 'ordinary' girl… then I suppose you're royal pride is brought back into equilibrium."
Gavin retained his silence.
Jeremy opened a bottle of chardonnay and grabbed three glasses. He poured one for Gavin first, followed by Torok, and then himself. He returned to his seat and drew close to Gavin. "I must know, your Highness, how much do we really look alike, then?"
Torok jumped right in with a boisterous snicker, "You could be his identical twin, Monsieur!"
Gavin allowed himself to become Jareth before the English knight. Jeremy laughed inwardly and mused, "It is worse than I imagined… I do apologize for looking the way I do, but I was born this way, except for a few minor details that Sarah changed, like my mismatched eyecolor for instance and my eyebrows have been arched by her.... I hope that you are not insulted by my presence, your Majesty. I'm also sorry for my affections towards your beloved wife."
Jareth finally spoke to Sir Jeremy, "I'll forgive you on one account that you tell me everything you can about what the Goblin Queen may have discovered during her lifetime that she spent as The Marchioness Lady Sarah Alvery d'Bourgeise."
Jeremy nodded, "Fair enough. Lady Sarah was born with her memories intact since her birth, although she really doesn't know why, she believed that it was because her human mother had died in childbirth. Lady Sarah had to be resuscitated after she was cut from her human mother's womb. Sarah's belief was that she had died, but the Goblin Queen persona had taken over her human consciousness that might have been lost before her revival. All of the thousands of books within the study were handwritten by her on every matter that pertained to the Goblin Kingdom…its history and its inhabitants. A great majority of them is about you, Jareth. I have read each one multiple times over the centuries, but I know one book in particular that may help you."
Jeremy sighed and finally finished, "It's best that you all wait until the morning to try and leave the Labyrinth. Although you are both immortal, the boy you have brought is not. He will be killed. This is not like your Labyrinth, Goblin King. When Sarah died, its magic had turned dark and it had become wicked without her love to support it. The Nazis of the two World Wars had discovered this the hard way, when they entered into the Labyrinth and it began to kill them off one by one. Even with their guns and grenades, they were powerless to defend themselves and were all annihilated before sunrise the next day. It is my belief that nobody survives for more than thirteen hours after they've entered it. The ghosts and spirits of those that have died within these walls still run about and scream wildly as if they were fleeing for their lives. Some have even been driven to insanity and can be quite cumbersome and violent at times. There were even several children of tourist parents that accidentally wandered into these walls, but the Labyrinth does not discriminate against its victims. The children were subsequently killed after thirteen hours despite my greatest efforts to help them beyond the walls… I could not save them, because I myself cannot save myself…"
