Author's Note: Hi, I really appreciate all the reviews for chapter 12, all
four or five of them that is. What they lack in quantity they make up for
in quality. I hope you like this next chapter, sort of a cliffhanger at
the end, but never fear, I assure you everything will be all right. Enjoy.
Chapter 13: Sorrow
The dungeon was dark and the floors were littered with sparse strips of straw and bits of mulch. The walls were dirty and gray in color, and they were cold to the touch, as was the floor. Noises from above startled Jareth every so often when he heard grating laughter or thunderous footsteps. They hadn't harmed him, at least not yet. He wondered what Conway had planned since he couldn't be there now to protect Sarah. He just hoped she would be able to take care of herself. After all, he thought to himself, she did have the stone of ages. The cells around him were unoccupied. He was the only one down there. The only thing preventing him from escaping was the fear that if he got away that Conway could harm Sarah. He was a bit annoyed with himself that he let a mortal get the best of him. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard footsteps coming down the winding staircase to his right. Slowly, he crawled to the bars of his cell and peered out. What he saw was a frightened, yet determined, Sarah looking in each of the cells. "Sarah," he called out quietly. She turned toward the direction of the sound of his voice, and saw him out from in between the steel bars. "Jareth, oh thank goodness are you all right?" she whispered worriedly. "I'm fine," he said. "Listen, Conway is gone, you can come out of there now," she explained hurriedly. Jareth looked doubtful. "What do you mean gone?" Holding out the stone Sarah replied, "I have the stone, remember? Well, anyway, I turned him into a rat by accident." Jareth started to laugh, but Sarah put a finger to her lips in a gesture to be quiet. Conjuring a crystal, he motioned for Sarah to stand back and she did, then he flung the crystal at the bars, which melted from existence. "Here," she said, handing him the stone once he was out of the cell. Grabbing her side in a sudden bolt of pain, Sarah fell to the ground a small groan escaping her lips. "Sarah, what's wrong," Jareth asked in concern as he saw her face grow pale. Sarah stayed on the ground and said, "You have to go to the labyrinth yourself. I can't make it right now. I'll stay here for a while and join you when I get better," she explained. Jareth started to protest, but saw the resolve spark in her eyes and knew that there was no way she was going to budge. "I don't want to leave you alone," he replied, kneeling down to stroke her hair with his free hand. Then his free hand moved down to lovingly caress her cheek. She sighed, and gave him a small, weak smile. "I'll be fine," she answered bravely. "Go," she commanded. Bending down, he pressed his lips to hers in a quick yet tender kiss. She smiled at him again, then laid back and closed her eyes. He stood back up, determined to get back to his kingdom to help Ishtar in order to be with Sarah again. Once he had sneaked stealthily a safe distance away from the castle, he transported himself using the stone back to the labyrinth. Dozens of campfires could be seen from various parts in the labyrinth, and Jareth knew it was the refugee elves and fairies from Ishtar's kingdom. Strolling hurriedly towards his castle, he noticed that it had been changed. Lengths of barricades had been built around it in order to make it some kind of fortress. Goblins stood guard at the door of the castle, and one almost asked him what his business was, but he quieted his subject with a scowl. Throwing the doors open he entered his castle and saw Ishtar giving orders to as many creatures as he could at once. Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus stood around watching wearily. Their eyes opened wide once they had spotted their king rushing towards Ishtar with the stone of ages held in his grasp. Ishtar had seen Jareth approaching but had no time to chat, he needed to get things ready before the invasion could happen. "Ishtar," Jareth said, looking grave, "I need to speak with you." Ishtar started to walk towards the main window in the throne room, the large stone one Jareth often looked out of. "See that down there, Jareth?" Ishtar asked, pointing to something below. Jareth peered at the spot where Ishtar was pointing. "All I see is a few barricades," he replied. "That's my point," Ishtar answered shortly. "I need to build more protection." His patience gone, Jareth bellowed, "This is my kingdom and you will listen to what I have to say." All the movement in the room stopped as Jareth stood angrily staring down Ishtar. All eyes were on the pair standing at the window. "Now," Jareth continued, once he had gotten a hold of his temper, "Sarah is still in your kingdom, and she is injured and defenseless. I need help to go and get her," Jareth explained. Ishtar hung his head guiltily. "I'm sorry, Jareth, I didn't." Jareth cut Ishtar off by saying, "Look, I don't want apologies, I want help. We need to stop hiding and running away from them. Sarah defeated their leader by pure accident, so right now they are in a good position for invasion." Thinking about it for a while, Ishtar nodded his head in agreement. He then went back to work sorting out what needed to be done, and who was going with Jareth to take back Ishtar's kingdom. Hoggle stepped forward toward Jareth and said, "Yer majesty, Ludo and Sir Didymus and meself would like to help get Sarah back." Turning it over in his head, Jareth replied, "I have a better plan, Hoggle. You and Sir Didymus will sneak in while we're fighting the sprites and demons. Ludo will keep a look out, since there's no sneaking where he's concerned. When the fighting starts, go around to the side of the castle. There's a covered hole that leads straight to the dungeons." After that was all said, Jareth went to help gather up goblins, fairies, elves, dwarves, and gnomes to help fight. While he was handing out armor and artillery, Yetzel flew towards him. "Where's Sarah?" she asked. Jareth frowned, then raised an eyebrow. "And where have you been?" he demanded. Yetzel placed her tiny hands on her hips and glared unsuccessfully. "I asked you first," she said. Jareth placed a hand on his chin and answered, "Sarah's still in Ishtar's kingdom." "What!" Yetzel exclaimed. "Go find Hoggle. You can help them when we storm the castle," he ordered. Yetzel frowned, but did as she was told and flew off to find Hoggle. Now that enough troops had been gathered and readied to fight, Jareth and Ishtar were at the front and lead the army towards Ishtar's kingdom. Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus, and Yetzel were close to the front end, ready to break away from the group and find Sarah. Marching into Ishtar's kingdom, the sky overhead was now pitch black, and not because it was nighttime either. The sprites had taken their toll on the land, and no color remained anywhere. It was as if they had stepped into a black and white painting. Once the castle came into view, Jareth signaled for Hoggle and the rest to go find Sarah. The sprites and demons must have seen them coming because they had congregated in the center of the once magnificent city. Their leaders could be distinguished from the rest of the group because they wore armor. Knowing this fact, Jareth and Ishtar focused on taking them out first. Fighting broke out almost immediately. Fairies flew over head trying to confuse the demons and sprites, while the goblins attacked them once they were distracted. The dwarves and gnomes used brute force against the hordes. Hoggle lead Yetzel, Sir Didymus, and Ludo to the spot where the hole was that lead to the dungeon at the side of the castle. He quickly uncovered it, and silently let Yetzel fly down first, then Sir Didymus. "Ludo, you stay up ere and watch out fer anyone that looks like a demon or sprite," Hoggle told Ludo. Ludo nodded his head in understanding. Hoggle followed after Sir Didymus down the hole. A rope ladder was all they had to hold onto to get down. Yetzel didn't have any problem, she just flew straight down until the rope ended, then flew into the dungeon. In the sparse light Yetzel was barely to make a pale, weak looking Sarah, breathing shallowly on the floor. One hand was tightly grasping her side, while the other was lying over eyes. "Sarah," she whispered flying closer to her. Sarah moaned in response. "Sarah," Yetzel pressed, "get up we have to get going." Sir Didymus had made it to the dungeon, and then finally a panting Hoggle, exerted from the descent. "I've fallen and I can't get up," Sarah joked, even though she was serious about the not being able to get up part. "Sarah," Hoggle said, stepping closer to her. "Jareth is outside now fighting the sprites and the demons. If we don't get you out of here you could get hurt," he explained. Sarah sighed and slowly tried to sit up. Finding that she could sit up, even though it pained her, she then tried to stand. Using the wall for support, she got both feet on the ground. Hoggle and Sir Didymus tried to steady her, but in vain. They were too short to do much good. "I need Ludo," Sarah whimpered. "OK," Hoggle said. Somehow they were going to have to get Ludo down here. The problem was the hole was too small for him to fit down. Yetzel volunteered to fly up the hole and tell Ludo the situation. Ludo agreed to help Sarah, and he used his talent to call the rocks. Slowly the side of the castle opened up with a rumble and a shake, and the steps leading down to the dungeon became visible. Ludo and Yetzel started down them, while the sprites and demons were occupied. They found Sarah once again, except this time she was sitting in the ground with her head in hands, a sullen Sir Didymus trying to comfort her. "It's all right, Sarah," Yetzel told her. Ludo lumbered forward, and extended both hands towards the ground. Using all her strength, Sarah used his arms to stand. Seeing that she wasn't going to able to walk, Ludo helped his friend by picking her up. Sarah wrapped her arms around Ludo's fury neck and he carried her back up the steps, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Yetzel following. Emerging from the dungeon and out into the open where they were vulnerable once again, Sarah looked around still in Ludo's arms and saw Jareth fighting off as many demons as he could. Ishtar was nowhere to be seen. The scene was pretty much the same as the first battle that they had stepped into before. Bodies littered the ground, and the group did their best in trying to step over them instead of on them. Yetzel made herself human height and went to work finding the wounded and healing them. Sir Didymus rushed to help Jareth, but he made himself more of a hindrance than help. Jareth was sweating profusely and blood was splattered on his chest and some matted onto his forehead along with his hair. Ludo let Sarah down at her request, and she hurried to him as fast as she could, holding onto her side to minimize the movement. Jareth had seen Ludo carrying Sarah towards him, and he was glad that she was unharmed besides the wound she had suffered previously. After he had vanquished all the demons and sprites in the area where he was, he was able to hurry to Sarah. They met each other halfway and Jareth gathered a heaving, weak Sarah into his arms. She buried her head in his chest as he wrapped his one arm about her waist to steady her and the other was stroking her hair trying to comfort her. "I think I'm going to die," she whispered hoarsely. He stiffened in fear and asked, "Of course you're not going to die. You're just in a lot of." Jareth stopped speaking as he saw Sarah's eyes fluttering closed, and then she went slack in his arms. By this time Jareth was distraught. There was nothing he could do to help her. He sat on the ground, and cradled her limp body in his hands, while whispering soothing things to her. Yetzel, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo all approached a sullen Jareth cautiously, in case his anger was suddenly turned on them. Quite unexpectedly, big, salty tears began rolling down Jareth's sculpted cheek and off his chin. Yetzel kneeled down and tried to comfort Jareth. For all they knew she was dead, as they had seen her go limp in Jareth's arms.
Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you review. And remember, questions, comments, or random insults are always welcome.
Chapter 13: Sorrow
The dungeon was dark and the floors were littered with sparse strips of straw and bits of mulch. The walls were dirty and gray in color, and they were cold to the touch, as was the floor. Noises from above startled Jareth every so often when he heard grating laughter or thunderous footsteps. They hadn't harmed him, at least not yet. He wondered what Conway had planned since he couldn't be there now to protect Sarah. He just hoped she would be able to take care of herself. After all, he thought to himself, she did have the stone of ages. The cells around him were unoccupied. He was the only one down there. The only thing preventing him from escaping was the fear that if he got away that Conway could harm Sarah. He was a bit annoyed with himself that he let a mortal get the best of him. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard footsteps coming down the winding staircase to his right. Slowly, he crawled to the bars of his cell and peered out. What he saw was a frightened, yet determined, Sarah looking in each of the cells. "Sarah," he called out quietly. She turned toward the direction of the sound of his voice, and saw him out from in between the steel bars. "Jareth, oh thank goodness are you all right?" she whispered worriedly. "I'm fine," he said. "Listen, Conway is gone, you can come out of there now," she explained hurriedly. Jareth looked doubtful. "What do you mean gone?" Holding out the stone Sarah replied, "I have the stone, remember? Well, anyway, I turned him into a rat by accident." Jareth started to laugh, but Sarah put a finger to her lips in a gesture to be quiet. Conjuring a crystal, he motioned for Sarah to stand back and she did, then he flung the crystal at the bars, which melted from existence. "Here," she said, handing him the stone once he was out of the cell. Grabbing her side in a sudden bolt of pain, Sarah fell to the ground a small groan escaping her lips. "Sarah, what's wrong," Jareth asked in concern as he saw her face grow pale. Sarah stayed on the ground and said, "You have to go to the labyrinth yourself. I can't make it right now. I'll stay here for a while and join you when I get better," she explained. Jareth started to protest, but saw the resolve spark in her eyes and knew that there was no way she was going to budge. "I don't want to leave you alone," he replied, kneeling down to stroke her hair with his free hand. Then his free hand moved down to lovingly caress her cheek. She sighed, and gave him a small, weak smile. "I'll be fine," she answered bravely. "Go," she commanded. Bending down, he pressed his lips to hers in a quick yet tender kiss. She smiled at him again, then laid back and closed her eyes. He stood back up, determined to get back to his kingdom to help Ishtar in order to be with Sarah again. Once he had sneaked stealthily a safe distance away from the castle, he transported himself using the stone back to the labyrinth. Dozens of campfires could be seen from various parts in the labyrinth, and Jareth knew it was the refugee elves and fairies from Ishtar's kingdom. Strolling hurriedly towards his castle, he noticed that it had been changed. Lengths of barricades had been built around it in order to make it some kind of fortress. Goblins stood guard at the door of the castle, and one almost asked him what his business was, but he quieted his subject with a scowl. Throwing the doors open he entered his castle and saw Ishtar giving orders to as many creatures as he could at once. Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus stood around watching wearily. Their eyes opened wide once they had spotted their king rushing towards Ishtar with the stone of ages held in his grasp. Ishtar had seen Jareth approaching but had no time to chat, he needed to get things ready before the invasion could happen. "Ishtar," Jareth said, looking grave, "I need to speak with you." Ishtar started to walk towards the main window in the throne room, the large stone one Jareth often looked out of. "See that down there, Jareth?" Ishtar asked, pointing to something below. Jareth peered at the spot where Ishtar was pointing. "All I see is a few barricades," he replied. "That's my point," Ishtar answered shortly. "I need to build more protection." His patience gone, Jareth bellowed, "This is my kingdom and you will listen to what I have to say." All the movement in the room stopped as Jareth stood angrily staring down Ishtar. All eyes were on the pair standing at the window. "Now," Jareth continued, once he had gotten a hold of his temper, "Sarah is still in your kingdom, and she is injured and defenseless. I need help to go and get her," Jareth explained. Ishtar hung his head guiltily. "I'm sorry, Jareth, I didn't." Jareth cut Ishtar off by saying, "Look, I don't want apologies, I want help. We need to stop hiding and running away from them. Sarah defeated their leader by pure accident, so right now they are in a good position for invasion." Thinking about it for a while, Ishtar nodded his head in agreement. He then went back to work sorting out what needed to be done, and who was going with Jareth to take back Ishtar's kingdom. Hoggle stepped forward toward Jareth and said, "Yer majesty, Ludo and Sir Didymus and meself would like to help get Sarah back." Turning it over in his head, Jareth replied, "I have a better plan, Hoggle. You and Sir Didymus will sneak in while we're fighting the sprites and demons. Ludo will keep a look out, since there's no sneaking where he's concerned. When the fighting starts, go around to the side of the castle. There's a covered hole that leads straight to the dungeons." After that was all said, Jareth went to help gather up goblins, fairies, elves, dwarves, and gnomes to help fight. While he was handing out armor and artillery, Yetzel flew towards him. "Where's Sarah?" she asked. Jareth frowned, then raised an eyebrow. "And where have you been?" he demanded. Yetzel placed her tiny hands on her hips and glared unsuccessfully. "I asked you first," she said. Jareth placed a hand on his chin and answered, "Sarah's still in Ishtar's kingdom." "What!" Yetzel exclaimed. "Go find Hoggle. You can help them when we storm the castle," he ordered. Yetzel frowned, but did as she was told and flew off to find Hoggle. Now that enough troops had been gathered and readied to fight, Jareth and Ishtar were at the front and lead the army towards Ishtar's kingdom. Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus, and Yetzel were close to the front end, ready to break away from the group and find Sarah. Marching into Ishtar's kingdom, the sky overhead was now pitch black, and not because it was nighttime either. The sprites had taken their toll on the land, and no color remained anywhere. It was as if they had stepped into a black and white painting. Once the castle came into view, Jareth signaled for Hoggle and the rest to go find Sarah. The sprites and demons must have seen them coming because they had congregated in the center of the once magnificent city. Their leaders could be distinguished from the rest of the group because they wore armor. Knowing this fact, Jareth and Ishtar focused on taking them out first. Fighting broke out almost immediately. Fairies flew over head trying to confuse the demons and sprites, while the goblins attacked them once they were distracted. The dwarves and gnomes used brute force against the hordes. Hoggle lead Yetzel, Sir Didymus, and Ludo to the spot where the hole was that lead to the dungeon at the side of the castle. He quickly uncovered it, and silently let Yetzel fly down first, then Sir Didymus. "Ludo, you stay up ere and watch out fer anyone that looks like a demon or sprite," Hoggle told Ludo. Ludo nodded his head in understanding. Hoggle followed after Sir Didymus down the hole. A rope ladder was all they had to hold onto to get down. Yetzel didn't have any problem, she just flew straight down until the rope ended, then flew into the dungeon. In the sparse light Yetzel was barely to make a pale, weak looking Sarah, breathing shallowly on the floor. One hand was tightly grasping her side, while the other was lying over eyes. "Sarah," she whispered flying closer to her. Sarah moaned in response. "Sarah," Yetzel pressed, "get up we have to get going." Sir Didymus had made it to the dungeon, and then finally a panting Hoggle, exerted from the descent. "I've fallen and I can't get up," Sarah joked, even though she was serious about the not being able to get up part. "Sarah," Hoggle said, stepping closer to her. "Jareth is outside now fighting the sprites and the demons. If we don't get you out of here you could get hurt," he explained. Sarah sighed and slowly tried to sit up. Finding that she could sit up, even though it pained her, she then tried to stand. Using the wall for support, she got both feet on the ground. Hoggle and Sir Didymus tried to steady her, but in vain. They were too short to do much good. "I need Ludo," Sarah whimpered. "OK," Hoggle said. Somehow they were going to have to get Ludo down here. The problem was the hole was too small for him to fit down. Yetzel volunteered to fly up the hole and tell Ludo the situation. Ludo agreed to help Sarah, and he used his talent to call the rocks. Slowly the side of the castle opened up with a rumble and a shake, and the steps leading down to the dungeon became visible. Ludo and Yetzel started down them, while the sprites and demons were occupied. They found Sarah once again, except this time she was sitting in the ground with her head in hands, a sullen Sir Didymus trying to comfort her. "It's all right, Sarah," Yetzel told her. Ludo lumbered forward, and extended both hands towards the ground. Using all her strength, Sarah used his arms to stand. Seeing that she wasn't going to able to walk, Ludo helped his friend by picking her up. Sarah wrapped her arms around Ludo's fury neck and he carried her back up the steps, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Yetzel following. Emerging from the dungeon and out into the open where they were vulnerable once again, Sarah looked around still in Ludo's arms and saw Jareth fighting off as many demons as he could. Ishtar was nowhere to be seen. The scene was pretty much the same as the first battle that they had stepped into before. Bodies littered the ground, and the group did their best in trying to step over them instead of on them. Yetzel made herself human height and went to work finding the wounded and healing them. Sir Didymus rushed to help Jareth, but he made himself more of a hindrance than help. Jareth was sweating profusely and blood was splattered on his chest and some matted onto his forehead along with his hair. Ludo let Sarah down at her request, and she hurried to him as fast as she could, holding onto her side to minimize the movement. Jareth had seen Ludo carrying Sarah towards him, and he was glad that she was unharmed besides the wound she had suffered previously. After he had vanquished all the demons and sprites in the area where he was, he was able to hurry to Sarah. They met each other halfway and Jareth gathered a heaving, weak Sarah into his arms. She buried her head in his chest as he wrapped his one arm about her waist to steady her and the other was stroking her hair trying to comfort her. "I think I'm going to die," she whispered hoarsely. He stiffened in fear and asked, "Of course you're not going to die. You're just in a lot of." Jareth stopped speaking as he saw Sarah's eyes fluttering closed, and then she went slack in his arms. By this time Jareth was distraught. There was nothing he could do to help her. He sat on the ground, and cradled her limp body in his hands, while whispering soothing things to her. Yetzel, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo all approached a sullen Jareth cautiously, in case his anger was suddenly turned on them. Quite unexpectedly, big, salty tears began rolling down Jareth's sculpted cheek and off his chin. Yetzel kneeled down and tried to comfort Jareth. For all they knew she was dead, as they had seen her go limp in Jareth's arms.
Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you review. And remember, questions, comments, or random insults are always welcome.