CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sarah wondered if Jareth had ever felt cold before in his life. He was wearing the same thing he had on in the afternoon, jeans and a thin sweater. Sarah, on the other hand, was bundled up in a warm coat, and shivering. The weather had taken a sudden dip from the sunny warmness of the day. A chilly breeze was blowing, waving Sarah's cold damp hair into her face.
Just what I want. Sheer exhaustion and a cold. Wonderful. I can't believe I'm doing this.
Sarah stomped her feet on the sidewalk to keep warm. "I'm freezing, Jareth. How about you?"
"No," he said simply. "If we start looking for that elf, you wouldn't be so cold anymore."
"Looking?" She squeaked. This was too much. It was past midnight, and the whole world was asleep. She felt ready to fall over, to fall asleep right there on the sidewalk. "Have you ever opened a phone book directory, Jareth? There are a lot of people living in this town, Jareth. Very many in fact. Too many. The point is, finding Alvar in a community of thousands on people won't be so easy. It would be difficult. Very, very, very, very difficult."
"Left or right?"
"What?"
"Are we taking the left path or right path?"
"We go-" Sarah groaned, subdued. "I don't know. What do you think?"
"We don't know where he is. One path is just as good as the other. Left."
"Right."
"So we go left."
"I mean, we go right."
"We should go left."
"Ugh. Whatever." Sarah grabbed Jareth by the sleeve of his shirt and dragged him straight forward. "We go ahead, okay?"
"Where are we headed?"
They crossed the deserted road, and Sarah strained to see the street signs in the dim orange glow of the streetlight. "Kearny street. If we go straight, we'll be at the place where I first fell through into the Labyrinth."
"I see. "
"Do you think Alvar got sucked back into those gaps between the worlds? He might be in the Labyrinth now."
"It's a possibility, but the window in your room was opened when it had been closed before, so I'm sure he escaped for some reason."
"I just don't know why." Sarah picked up her pace, the exercise warming her up a little. "He seemed to trust us before."
"Never trust anyone, Sarah."
"Is that so? That means I can't trust you," she teased.
"Believe what you want," he said, shrugging fractionally.
Believe what you want.
Sarah bit her lip. "That was what my mother used to say."
"So she doesn't say it anymore?"
"No. She died in a car crash with her boyfriend."
"I'm sorry I mentioned it." Jareth's voice was soft.
"No, actually I thank you for mentioning it. After she died, everybody else tried to make me believe all sorts of different things. My mom's boyfriend's parents thought she killed him and gave me this big lecture on how careless she was and how she was a bad woman. My father thought her boyfriend killed her, so he was spouting off on how bad Jeremy was. And through all this, everyone was like, 'Wear seatbelts, blah, blah, blah.' And everybody told me how sad they were for me, but... few people really know. Anyway."
Sarah watched her breath come out of her mouth, visible in the chilly air. "Am I boring you?"
"No, Sarah. Never."
"Well."
"Well."
They walked on in silence. The hustle bustle of the day had faded to nothingness in the nighttime. The streets were empty, and the houses and old fashioned shops on either side of them were dark.
A dark shadow moved on the other side of the street, catching Sarah's eye, and she tensed. Uh oh. She motioned for Jareth to freeze.
The dark shadow slinked out of the darkness and under a streetlight.
For a moment, Sarah stood confused, the image of the person meaning nothing to her. Then, realization dawned, and she breathed a sigh of relief and exasperation. "Let's go, Jareth. It's nothing."
"Who is she?"
"Uh... no one we need to worry about." Sarah tugged at Jareth to get moving.
The woman under the lamplight noticed them, and she smiled slowly at Jareth, paying no attention to Sarah. "Hi, honey." She ran a red fingered hand suggestively across her generous chest. "Wanna get... lucky?"
Sarah mentally pinched herself to keep herself from laughing. The situation was ridiculous. Jareth was staring at the woman, confused. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sarah quickly pushed him back. "He's mine, okay? So take a hike," She rumbled softy, licking her lips sexily at him. The years of drama class had definitely paid off.
The smiling woman on the other side of the street glared at Sarah sharply, then blew a kiss at Jareth. "Well, I'll see you some other time then, honey." She sauntered off, back into the darkness.
Sarah made a noise of distaste as she disappeared from view. "Sorry, Jareth. Forget about that."
"Who was that?"
"Somebody who..." Sarah trailed off, thinking of the right words to say. "Offers her body for men to indulge in for money."
Jareth coughed, noticeably embarrassed. "I see."
"So, why don't we start looking for Alvar?"
"Good idea."
They began walking on.
A lonely hoot of an owl floated down to Sarah's ears, and she looked up at Jareth, who smiled sadly.
"The owl is the only bird that lives in both my world and yours. It's beautiful," he whispered, distant.
"But you can turn into one, can't you?"
"No, not after you defeated me. After the clock struck thirteen, I had the choice of either living as an owl for the rest of my life, or as myself. I chose to live as myself, but I lost the ability to turn back into an owl, and with that, goes the ability to transport myself from here to there."
He paused. "There's more to it than I can put into words. When I was the owl, I had some of the feelings of an owl. The owl doesn't feel compassion when it goes to attack its prey, and it doesn't love. But when the owl part of me died, so did the coldness of the owl. I'm boring you, Sarah."
"No, never. I mean, I was going to ask you about it." Sarah placed her hands in her coat pocket. "Well, I guess it's all my fault. I killed some part of you."
"We were enemies back then. We did what we had to do. We have to leave that behind now, Sarah. And besides, I wouldn't say you killed part of me."
"You're right. You're still as stubborn as ever."
"Only because you are."
"Whatever." She smiled at him widely. "And not only stubborn, you're proud, too."
"And vain." He smiled back. "I don't plan on looking like a little goblin."
"And even if you do, no one's going to see you. It's one or two in the morning."
"Everyone in Oakdale saw me as a little goblin when we drove to that... shopping center this afternoon."
"A lot of people saw you kiss me." The words popped out of Sarah's mouth as if they had a will of their own.
"I didn't notice."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up." Sarah stopped walking and looked down at her feet, refusing to meet his eyes. Her heart was fluttering in her chest. She had been thinking about that kiss for more times than she could count.
"Sarah, no one is watching now," Jareth whispered. He turned so that he stood opposite her.
"Really?" Her voice was no more than a breath. She lifted her eyes to meet his, and they were dark in the moonlight. "I didn't notice."
Jareth cupped a hand behind her neck, slowly stroking her hair. Sarah felt her skin light on fire beneath his fingers, and her breath caught in her throat.
Jareth curved his other arm around her waist and pulled her close. She could feel his heart pounding as fast as hers through the layers of clothing.
Then he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers once, twice. The little touches were electrifying, yet so incredibly chaste and innocent, as if it was his first time kissing a girl.
Sarah whimpered.
He stopped and looked at her, desire evident in his gaze.
"Jareth, please..." She lifted her mouth to meet his, and then they were both lost in each other's soul as their lips folded together.
He was kissing her tenderly, slowly. She kissed him back, holding his face softly with her hands. And to her surprise, she felt a wetness there on his cheek. She wiped that away. Jareth, don't cry. She lost track of time, the only thing that mattered was here, now. Alvar didn't matter, Aberanne didn't matter. It was just the two of them, flying inside their own universe, and Sarah never wished it to end. But it did, and Jareth pulled away, bringing them back into reality.
Sarah opened her eyes, gazing into his face. He moved to kiss her again, but pulled back as their lips met, clearing his throat self consciously.
"I think we should go back, Sarah. It's too late."
"Yeah." She still tasted the kiss, and it was bittersweet on her lips. "We might find Alvar on the way back."
At the mention of Alvar's name, a small shriek came from behind them. "Help me! Someone!"
"Alvar?" Sarah gently detached herself from Jareth and looked back.
A small figure was running towards them, gasping and panting.
"It is Alvar." Jareth muttered.
"Sarah? Your Majesty? Thank the gods!" Alvar ran up to them, panic clearly seen inside his eyes. "Aberanne! She's here! She got me!" He wheezed between shallow breaths.
"Aberanne's here?" Sarah tensed. This was bad. "How? When?"
"I don't know! She-" he took a couple of deep breaths and rested his hands on his knees. "I was in Sarah's room, looking around. And then Aberanne popped out of nowhere! And then she dragged me away!"
"To where?" Jareth asked.
"It doesn't matter! I was- in a park or something. She was going to kill me! She was going to kill me!"
"Okay, calm down, Alvar." Sarah knelt in front of him, matching her eye level with his. "Tell me what happened."
Alvar took a deep breath. "See, Beggle had been working with Aberanne ever since day one! When we fell into one of those portals, he happened to step into another one while we were at the big building, sending him back to the Labyrinth. He told Aberanne right away that I was still here."
"And then?"
"But first I have to tell you that after you and Jareth escaped, Aberanne had been perfecting on her spellcraft. She managed to step over to this world! She blew up that building in hopes of killing me, but I was out, luckily. And then she went looking for us, and she finally found me! But I escaped. Thank the gods it was dark out, or else she would have found me. But the news is far from good! Don't you see? Aberanne is one step away from making her dream come true! All she needs to do is kill us three, since we're the only people who know about her, then she could start launching her invasion!"
"Where is she now, Alvar?" Jareth asked.
"I don't know. She could be right behind us. But I do know a good place to hide. See?" Alvar pointed a long finger at something up the road. Sarah turned to see the "ghost house" on the block ahead, dark and foreboding.
Good a place as any.
She stood up and motioned for them to come. "We might as well."
"Is this the place you told me about?" Jareth questioned as he caught up to her.
"Yeah, this is it. Hurry. Run." She broke into a jog. "Alvar? You keep a lookout."
Jareth suddenly grabbed Sarah by the shoulder and turned her around. "Alvar just disappeared."
"What? He did?" No, no, no, no... Sarah looked, but Alvar was nowhere to be seen.
"He's gone. I didn't keep my eye on him for one second and he disappeared. I think that Alvar's-"
Suddenly, the faint beam of a flashlight shone from two blocks behind them, waving through the darkness. "Who's there?" somebody called.
It took Sarah a moment to recognize the gruff voice of the local policeman, Mr. Sheridan. Some neighbors must have called the police because of the noise we were causing, Sarah thought. The last thing that she wanted was a run in with the cops.
"Forget about Alvar. Run, Jareth." She grabbed his hand and she ran towards the broken down house as quickly as possible.
"What was that?" He hissed.
Sarah reached the door and pushed it open with a creak. "Get in."
They stepped inside, and Sarah shut the door, exhaling. "It was the police. The last thing we want is for the police to find us."
"And Aberanne." He paused a moment. "And Alvar."
Sarah gasped and stared at him through the dark. "What do you mean, 'and Alvar'?" She ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it away from her face.
"I have a feeling that Alvar might not be the innocent little elf that he is," Jareth whispered into her ear. Then out loud, he said, "Trust nobody, Sarah."
The sound of light, muffled footsteps came from the center of the room. "You've got that right, Your Majesty." There was a small clicking noise, and a halogen flashlight bathed the whole room in a soft white light. Alvar, holding the flashlight in hand, gave Sarah a smile that showed all his pearly, pointed teeth. "Hi, Sarah."
CHAPTER TWELVE
Alvar placed the flashlight on the ground facing up, and the room danced with dark shadows. "Sarah, you should listen to your sweetheart once in a while, you know? He does make a good decision once or twice every century," he mocked.
"Alvar! What the hell?" Sarah backed up a step, feeling her back touch the door. The truth was dawning upon her, bit by bit. I never knew. I never, ever knew. She reached down to grab the doorknob, but Alvar lifted one finger, and the doorknob clicked under Sarah's hand. Sarah jiggled it, found that it was locked.
"Alvar, I suppose you wouldn't mind telling us what you are doing?" Jareth said, his voice as cold as ice water.
"All in due time, Jareth. All in due time." Alvar gestured to the broken timbers and debris lying around in the room. "In the meanwhile, make yourselves comfortable. I have quite a bit to tell you."
"Get on with it, Alvar. Say what you must."
"If you insist, Your Majesty." He walked over to a fallen piece of lumber and sat down upon it. "First of all, let me say that you two have been the biggest idiots I have ever known. You have believed every single lie I have wrapped around you. But in the end, when it was too late, Jareth was smart enough to realize that something was fishy." He snorted. "For beginners: You actually believed that Aberanne was going to take over the world? You'll be relieved to know that Aberanne is not planning to take over the world. You'll be even more relieved to find out that Aberanne doesn't even exist! Look at me, you guys."
Sarah looked at Alvar sitting stretched out and relaxed on the piece of lumber, and the image of Aberanne sitting on the throne flashed into her mind.
"Oh, my God..." Sarah gasped as she saw the resemblance. He was right, there was no Aberanne, he was Aberanne. How could I have ever missed this? Aberanne was right in front of my face for the whole day.
Alvar/ Aberanne grinned. "All it takes is a little makeup and a dress, and I can turn into anyone I want to be. I succeeded in fooling you guys, my army, and your army, Jareth!" He doubled over in fits of laughter, clutching at his sides.
"You are filthy," Jareth spat, the anger in his eyes flaring.
"Think whatever you will of me. You'll be dead in an hour, anyway!" Alvar chuckled. "Let me tell you something. That whole story about the gaps popping up between the worlds and stuff? The thing about me wanting to take over the world? That was bullshit. Have you ever paused a minute to think that if there were so many gaps in the worlds, the other people of the world would be popping in and out as well? Where are the missing persons reports? Where are the other elves and gnomes and goblins? Why haven't anybody else disappeared or showed up? Why just you?"
Sarah was dizzy. All that Alvar said ... they made perfect sense. The 'taking over the world' thing was just crap. The 'passing between worlds' was just crap. Just crap.
"I don't want to take over the world, you guys. I'm happy to be Alvar, ruler of the kingdom of myself. To put it in short, you guys, everything that had happened to you in the past two days were lies. When dear little Sarah wanted to kill herself in here, I was the one who broke the table leg. So when she was choking, I carried her over to the Labyrinth world without her noticing. And when I was chasing after you, I touched Sarah, who was holding on to your hand, and brought both of you back here." Alvar put his hands behind his head and leaned back lazily. "I made you believe that the whole world was in danger, and that everyone was popping helplessly in and out of the worlds, when in fact, it was just you two. And I did a good job at it."
"And you being on TV? That was a lie? And Beggle?" Sarah asked weakly.
Alvar nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. Well, the TV thing was partially true. I made the building blow up. Simple magic. And I purposely posed in front of the camera. But I wasn't sure if you guys would watch the TV, but the news was pretty big, so you would see it sooner or later. As luck would have it, you watched it right away! And Beggle? Oh, I made up the whole thing about Beggle. Hoggle never had a brother, so that was why he never told you!" He laughed as if it was the funniest joke in the world.
"Alvar, what do you want? Why are you turning the world upside down?" Jareth demanded, taking a step closer to him.
"Little old me? Simple." His happy attitude quickly died away and he stared at Jareth menacingly. "I want you dead, Jareth. And her." He nudged his head shortly in Sarah's direction.
"What? Why?" Sarah stared at Alvar, tears forming in her eyes. He had been such a good friend to me and it had all been a big lie.
"For destroying my life, that's why!" Alvar howled. "Ever since Jareth sent you into that Labyrinth with your 'Hoggle' and 'Sir Didymus' and 'Ludo'. You got your brother back, and everything seemed perfect for you, but what about the rest of us? The Labyrinth was screwed! Jareth, the incompetent ruler, brings havoc and imbalance into our kingdom by inviting you in, and then he has to lose to you! To a stupid girl! He turned into an owl! The goblins begin stamping out the countryside, wrecking everything! My house and my family were destroyed! I had to do something!"
"If the conflict is with me, leave her aside."
"You're so helplessly in love with her you're helpless," Alvar jeered, rolling his eyes. "After you turn back into a silly little human, every single thought that you think of is Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. You are the king, Jareth, you have a kingdom to take care of! The goblins were too dimwitted to revolt against you, and the other species lived too far away from your castle to revolt. My life was basically ruined because of you! I wanted you dead, and I still do. And I want her dead for ever making you this way! I want you two to die a very painful and torturous death."
"It's not her fault that I did what I did. Let her go."
"Jareth, no-!" Sarah ran up to him, looked at him pleadingly.
"See? The missy wants to stay. If I wanted to kill just you, I would have done so already. I want to see you lovebirds die side by side." Alvar sneered. "And don't think I'm not capable of killing you. I've been alive for more than eight thousand years, and I've seen many kings come and go, but none so young and pathetic as you, Jareth. After he's dead, I'll make sure someone new and strong takes the throne and rules the Labyrinth. It's suffered too long under this weakling."
"If you want the throne, you can have it. If this is what it's all about."
"I don't want the throne, I have already told you before. I don't want you on the throne! You killed my family, ruined my estate, and had my friends turn against me. Is this reason enough? Look! I want to see you and Sarah dead. I want my revenge!"
"Look- Alvar," Sarah began.
"Shut up," He snapped. "I've talked long enough. I've told you everything. And now you die. Slowly and painfully."
"No!" Sarah shrieked, launching herself at Alvar, but was jerked back by something at her feet, and she sprawled face first onto the dirt floor. She looked frantically back, found that steel shackles had grown out of nowhere and had clamped both of her feet to the ground.
"You die last, Sarah. Jareth goes first," Alvar screamed, and held out his slim hand to the direction of Jareth. A blinding fireball formed in his palm, and he launched it at Jareth, laughing diabolically. Jareth lunged to one side, the fireball missing his head and grazing past his hair. The fireball suddenly changed direction as if it had a will of its own, and flew up to the ceiling above. A rain of sparks showered down on Jareth and Sarah as it hit the ceiling.
Sarah screamed, covering her face with her hands. She struggled to pull herself away from the shackles, but they held fast, digging into her skin.
"Alvar, you betrayer." Jareth spat. He jumped to his feet and walked over to the grinning elf.
"What are you going to do? Any sudden movements from you and your girlfriend goes bye, bye."
Jareth stopped dead in his tracks. "Don't touch her."
"Too late."
Sarah felt something tighten around her waist, fastening her to the ground. Three steel bands had grown out of the ground and wrapped themselves around her.
Jareth glanced quickly at her, but kept his gaze pinned to Alvar. "How dare you..." And then a blood red crystal appeared in his hand, and as quick as lightening, he launched it at Alvar.
Alvar had been taken off guard, and the crystal hit him squarely in the stomach. He flew back with the force of it, ramming into the wall and knocking the flashlight onto the ground. Wild lights danced around the room.
"Jareth, you idiot!" He struggled to get up, but three more crystals had been conjured into Jareth's hands, and they flew toward Alvar, pinning him into the wall.
Sarah watched and struggled, tears streaming down her face. At this point Alvar was bleeding, helpless, but Jareth was also weakening. Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead, and his mouth was pressed into a firm line. The magic was humming around the dim room as Jareth's crystals pummeled into Alvar, lighting the air with flashes.
And then it stopped as quickly as it had started. Alvar was silent, and he slumped over on the ground in a little pool of his blood. Jareth gasped for breath, staggered for a moment as he clutched his chest.
"Jareth! Are you okay?" Sarah tried to twist around to get a better look at him. No, he didn't seem to be okay. He was too pale, and his face showed pain. "Jareth, rest."
"I'm fine. I think he's dead." Jareth walked carefully over to Alvar.
"Jareth..." No, no, no, don't go over there. The fight had ended rather quickly, extremely quickly. "Stop! Jareth! Move back!" Sarah screamed, a second too late.
The elf lifted himself from the puddle of blood and hurled himself at Jareth, throwing him on his back. "You're not that easy to kill, Your Majesty!" He seethed, blood spraying from his lips onto Jareth's face. He held both of his hands to Jareth's throat and began squeezing.
"Alvar, stop!" Sarah could hear herself screaming the words, pleading.
Jareth was too weak. She could see him struggle to throw the elf off, but the elf hung on, unshakable.
This can't be happening.
She didn't know what to do. But she had to do something... Oh my God, he's dying! The flashlight. It lay there three feet in front of her, if she could just reach it... Sarah stretched out her arm , ignoring the tearing pain from her sides. She needed to reach it. Her fingers touched it and she pulled it over to her. "Alvar!" She screamed hoarsely at him. She shone the beacon of light directly into the elf's face.
Alvar yelled sharply, a hand flying automatically to his eyes. It was all the time that Jareth needed. He flung Alvar off of him and stood to his feet.
"No!" Alvar uttered a cry that was barely human. He slashed his claws across Jareth's abdomen. Jareth gripped his stomach, took a step back.
Sarah screamed as she saw thick, dark blood stream through his fingers. "No!"
"Sarah..." He whispered.
"No! Don't!" Sarah was crying, the dirt streaking her face.
Jareth stumbled and fell to the ground, holding his abdomen.
Alvar looked at him and laughed triumphantly, his innocent little boy face twisting into something so evil that Sarah had could not recognize it.
"Jareth!" She cried, ignoring the elf. His breathing was labored, fast. The blood streamed through his fingers in little rivulets, like red rivers crossing through a land of snow.
"Jareth, please don't give up." She was not going to leave this house without him.
Alvar stopped his laughing and turned to face Sarah. "Now that I'm finished with him, it's your turn!" He declared.
Sarah turned to look at him, murder in her eyes. "I trusted you. You were my friend. You betrayed both of us!" She flung the flashlight with all her strength at Alvar's head.
He stumbled backwards from the blow, landing beside Jareth.
And then Jareth struggled to his feet. He kicked the surprised Alvar once in the side. "You won't kill her. Ever." He held his hand away from his bleeding abdomen, and something happened that made Sarah nearly faint.
Jareth began to... shine. He was radiating pure white light from his wound, and the light wrapped itself around him, blinding Sarah. He held out his hand towards Alvar, and suddenly the light shot out from his fingers.
Alvar screamed, uttered something Sarah could not make out. The light smothered him for a minute, and he gradually disappeared, dissolving into the light.
For a second all was quiet. The light faded away, the room dimmed, and Alvar was nowhere to be seen.
"Jareth?" Sarah called. She found that she could move, that the shackles and steel bands around her had faded away with Alvar. She scrambled to her feet, ran over to Jareth.
Just then she thought he was going to be okay, that he was going to be well. The wound was just a flesh wound, he was just tuckered out.
But he staggered. "Sarah..." He smiled at her, and fell to the ground.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"No, don't do this." Sarah knelt beside him.
"It's the least I could do. The light-" He coughed.
"What was it?" She asked, but she already knew. His life energy. He had used his life energy, the last ounce of power he had left, to save her life, to destroy Alvar.
"A little trick, nothing much," he whispered.
"It can't end this way..." Tears streamed down her cheeks and dropped onto his face. She was crying openly, loudly. She didn't care what he thought of her now, just as long as he lived.
"This is the only way it can end," he whispered, a wistful smile flickering across his pale lips.
Sarah found his hand and enclosed it tightly within hers. It was so weak and cold, and she could feel his life drifting away through her fingers.
No.... not here, not now...
"I could get you to a hospital or something... Just rest! You'll get better." Useless. She knew she was babbling and lying to him, to herself.
"Sarah, promise-" he coughed before he could finish, and red liquid dripped down his chin.
She instinctively wiped at the blood with her trembling hand, but it smeared his cheek instead. Jareth feebly pushed her hand away as she tried to clean the red streak off of his face.
"It's all right."
Even with the blood and dirt staining his clothes, his hair, his face, he had never looked so beautiful.
This can't be happening.
"You can't d-" Sarah couldn't bring herself to say the word, even though she had said it so carelessly in years past. The word was filthy, obscene, a curse. She bit her lip and tasted blood.
Blood, blood everywhere.
Jareth inhaled, shuddering. "Die? I'm afraid that I-"
"No!" Sarah shook her head. "No."
"Promise me, Sarah. After I'm gone you will never think of me again."
"No, I'm not going to promise you that," she managed to say through her sobs.
"Stubborn to the end, I should say."
"Yes, and so are you."
They looked at each other, Jareth's astonishing blue and green eyes gazing focused into her soft brown ones. After a long moment he spoke up again. "Well, promise me this, then. Live life. Don't do what you had been planning to do that day."
His voice reached her ears but she didn't understand them as her grief threatened to overtake her.
"I love you," she whispered through her tears, and it was only then that she realized that she loved him... from the first day she saw him she had loved him.
"I'm not dead yet, Sarah, don't start with the soppy stuff." He tried to smile.
"Shut up, Jareth." She wanted to slap him for his twisted comment, but she smoothed out his hair, and ran her fingers down his bloodstained face instead.
They were still defying each other, matching wits, right up until the end, she thought distantly.
"Promise me you'll live your life." He coughed again, violently.
"But how can I live without you?" She bent down and gave him a brief kiss on his mouth, ignoring the blood. His lips were soft and cool, and he kissed her back gently.
Sarah lifted her face, licking the blood away from her lips, and she saw that his mismatched eyes were wet.
And all of a sudden his walls crumbled and the tears rolled down his cheeks. "I'm sorry I look like this, Sarah, I'm so sorry I didn't do the best I could. Alvar was right, I was an idiot-"
"Shush. I promise you." She cut him off firmly. She had thought it through. She was going to live. It was what Jareth wanted, and this would be the least she could give him.
Jareth sighed. "I love you, Sarah. Forever." He smiled gently at her, and closed his eyes.
There was no more movement from him other than the shallow rising and falling of his chest.
Sarah held him, gazing into his face. He looked so peaceful, his eyelashes dark crescents against his cheeks and his lips forming a trace of a smile.
And she could tell that he wasn't afraid to die. He seemed... relieved and surprisingly younger, as if a lifetime of burden had been lifted from his back.
She sighed. Maybe this was the only way for it to end. Their love would have never survived in her world or his. He was a king, after all, and she was just a girl who needed to move on in her life.
But that's not an excuse.
Sarah shook her head, a teardrop falling onto his face. No, it wasn't an excuse. It was the truth, and it hurt like hell.
She had questioned herself so often, just what would happen if she had never met him.
Life would have been nothing, of course. Questions unanswered, dreams unfulfilled.
She had never known the answer until now. He had shown her a world so different from hers, he had shown her love and friendship. He had passed through her life like a warm breeze, and offered her hope when there was none.
"I'm so glad I met you, Jareth. I'm so happy I knew you," she whispered into his ear. She lifted her head and looked down at him.
The rising and falling of his chest had stilled. He had gently slipped away, and Sarah knew that he was in a better place, away from his lifetime of pain.
She leaned close and kissed him gently on his lips.
Live life...
She smiled down at him, placed his hands neatly at his sides. "I will live my life to the fullest, Jareth. I'll love you in my dreams." She kissed him quickly one more time, then stood up and began to walk to the door.
As she reached it, she turned back and saw that he was no longer there, and all of the blood had disappeared. It was as if nothing had happened.
Wait- no.
A silver object glistened under the early morning sunlight that peeked through the disintegrating roof. She walked over to it and saw that it was Jareth's silver necklace. She picked it up and looped it around her neck, feeling the sickle shaped pendant rest comfortingly against her body. And for a split second she felt Jareth's presence with her, reassuring her.
White magic. I'll always be one with the light.
Sarah wiped away her tears and smiled.
She walked over to the door and began to place her hand on the doorknob, but the cracked, wooden door opened wide as she touched it, knocking her to one side.
What the hell?
Sarah jumped back, a brief moment of panic washing over her.
"Sarah?"
She lifted her eyes to the voice, and the familiar face locked eyes with her.
"Dad!"
"Oh, God, Sarah!" With a rush, he swept her up in his arms, his unshaven chin scratching against her cheek. "Where were you?"
"I'm so sorry, Dad, I really am. I love you so much." She was crying again as she hugged him close. "I'm sorry. I just needed to get away for a couple of days."
"Never mind that. At least you're here." He detached her from his arms and held her at arms length. "You look terrible."
"Thanks." Sarah smiled through her tears. "You know, I was just thinking. Thinking about my life and how I thought it sucked so much. But- Geez. I guess it was just me. I mean, I have to move on. I guess I owe everyone an apology."
"And so do I, Sarah." Her father inhaled. "Especially to you. When your mother walked out on me, I was... grief stricken. But I figured I had to move on. Marry again and start a better life. But I shouldn't have taken everything so fast, you know? Sometimes you just have to slow down once a while and think. And ask for other people's ideas. I was so selfish. I was-"
"You were trying to make a better life for me."
"Yes. I tried. I don't know if it worked or not."
"Dad, when you married my stepmother, I was angry. Not at her. I realize that now. I was angry my mother had left us and I thought you didn't think I was important anymore when you married my stepmom."
"You? You're the most important person in my life, Sarah."
Sarah gazed into his eyes and suddenly knew that it was true. They were always going to be together, father and daughter. "I'm sorry I doubted you."
"God, Sarah. What's come into you all of a sudden?" He laughed.
"I just... had an epiphany. I couldn't stand how my life was heading, so I wanted to change it and shape it up. A lot." Sarah sighed. This was going to be hard to explain. "See, I met a few people here and there and they showed me some really important lessons. There's not a person in this world that is not loved by someone else. And very often you don't realize that you're loved until it's too late. You just have to learn to open your heart to people."
"Where did you learn that from?"
You wouldn't believe me if I told you.
"Some people here and there." She shrugged. "And another thing. Life can't be perfect. The tragedies are just as important as the joys, and you have to accept them all. People die, and you have to move on. That doesn't mean you don't care for them. You need to remember them and grieve for them, but you can't be stuck on it forever, because death is just as important as birth."
Sarah took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. "My mother is gone, and there's no way I could bring her back. I have to move on. Nobody could take her place, but that doesn't mean I can't live anymore. Besides, I don't think anybody truly dies. My mother lives on forever in me. She'll be in my dreams."
And Jareth. He'll be there, too.
Sarah looked down at the ground, feeling the tears well up inside her eyes, and kicked at a pebble.
"Wow. What a speech." Sarah's father smiled shakily at her, disbelief evident in his face. "I believe you're right. Your mother will always take up a special place in both of our hearts."
"Yeah." She lifted her head up again, and smiled at him. She could sense the honesty in his words.
"Boy, I'm glad we had this talk. Cleared everything up, didn't we?"
"Yes, sir!"
"And, uh...somebody's here to see you." He gestured to the door.
Sarah peered outside, where the early morning sun was shining softly over the city. A blue car was parked on the gravelly dirt outside of the broken down house, and a woman wearing simple blue jeans and a sweater was leaning against the side of it.
Mom? For a second, the thought drifted into her head, but Sarah knew that was impossible. "Stepmom!"
"Sarah!" She instantly ran up to Sarah and hugged her tight. "You're safe! We found you!"
Sarah could see worry and relief mixed into her stepmother's eyes, and the tears that wouldn't stay back flowed down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, stepmother..."
"No, Sarah. Don't be. I've been so hard on you all these years, like a wicked stepmother from a fairy tale or something! But I'm going to change, Sarah."
"So am I."
"Me three."
Her father walked up to them and wrapped his loving arms around Sarah and her stepmother.
"Why don't we go home, guys? Toby's probably worried sick. And Merlin, too." He smiled at Sarah. "Hell of a day."
"No bad language, mister. Not in front of the kids." Sarah's stepmother playfully slapped him in the chest, and Sarah could see something in her eyes, something that was never there before. Or was it something that had always been there, but that she never really paid any attention to?
Love. She loves my father... and she loves me as well.
Sarah turned her face upward, looked out into the miles and miles of grayish blue sky. A lone white owl soared across the horizon, disappearing into the trees beyond.
She smiled and blew it a kiss.
EPILOGUE
Cool breeze and autumn leaves
Slow motion daylight
A lone pair of watchful eyes
Oversee the living
Feel the presence all around
A tortured soul
A wound unhealing
No regrets or promises
The past is gone
But you can still be free
If time will set you free
Time now to spread your wings
To take to flight
The life endeavor
Aim for the burning sun
You're trapped inside
But you can still be free
If time will set you free
But it's a long, long way to go
Keep moving way up high
You see the light
It shines forever
Sail through the crimson skies
The purest light
The light that sets you free
If time will set you free
Sail through the wind and rain tonight
You're free to fly tonight
And you can still be free
If time will set you free
And going higher than mountain tops
And go high the wind won't stop
And go high
Free to fly tonight
Free to fly tonight...
(Savage Garden)
FINIS. Whew! What did you think?? Remember, I live only for feedback. If you see any mistakes, inconsistencies in the plot, whatever, please tell me!! I wrote this in a rush...
FINISHED: April 18, 2000 11:17 PM