Chapter Twenty-Six: Dark Secrets Revealed

He grabbed her forearm in a vice-like grip, and lugged her forwards, closer to him
and the edge of the stage. Sarah nearly went over, flailing her arms to regain balance. She
dug her nails into his arm, but Peter was not phased by the bright droplets of blood which
slowly began to trickle from his flesh.

Instead he forced her onwards, glanced behind him, as if anticipating something.
Sarah herself looked around, unable to see a thing in the darkened theatre. Her eyes had
yet to adjust to the complete lack of light. Peter, on the other hand, could see like a cat in
the black surroundings.

"Peter! How could you!" Sarah demanded, finding her voice as she nearly toppled
down the stairs behind him. Her large, bulky dress wrapped about her legs, causing only
more problems with hurrying after her "host."

He stopped, dead in his tracks and took several long breaths. Sarah tried to free
herself, but he squeezed tighter, making bright red marks stand out on her paled skin. She
grimaced, nearly falling to her knees as the pain erupted in her tender arm. Then, with
vicious intent, Peter turned on her, his eyes glaring through the darkness.

"How could I? Sarah, my dear, I wish to ask you the same question. I thought we
had an understanding, a relationship if you will. No, the beast came and raised his head,
and you were charmed. What a sorry mistake, what a horrible decision. Sweet Sarah,
why did you lie? I can smell him on you," Peter stated, his tones foreboding, filled with
malice.

Sarah started, her heartbeat racing along within her chest. She shook her head,
unable to believe what Peter was implying. There was no way that he could know of her
short fling with Jareth. No one had seen, no one would have believed if had they had seen
the Goblin King, in the first place. Peter seemed to speak as if he personally knew Jareth.
Sarah shivered as a dread formed in the pit of her stomach.

"I don't...," she was abruptly stopped by a powerful slap across her face, which
drove her head to the side.

Sarah allowed her jaw to drop in shock. The painful red welt stood out on her
flesh, and she dared to touch it with one shaking hand. She then turned her gaze towards
Peter, noting the look of insanity upon his enraged features. It seemed that suddenly her
eyes were adjusted to the dark.

"Don't deny it! Don't you dare say that you did not entertain that beast in my
home!!" he screamed, grasping both her arms in his hands, and roughly yanking her
towards him.

Sarah turned her face away, begging for him to let her free, to allow her to run
away forever and never look back. Yet, she felt his warm breath upon her neck, and knew
that Peter would rather die than let her leave Fontridge, alive. She lost control at the
sudden revelation and screamed, flailing backwards in a drastic attempt to find her way to
safety.

Peter grabbed her about the waist and continued onwards, through the swinging
doors of the theatre, and into one of the many twisting halls that conformed Fontridge
Manor. The place which Sarah had first taken to be her sanctuary from life, and now
would prove to be the death of her. She kicked at Peter, but found no benefit for her
attempts.

A door slammed somewhere in the manor, and a powerful gust of wind whistled
down through a passageway. Sarah screamed again, and struggled in Peter's powerful
grip. She beat at his arms, hoping, in vain, to cause him some pain so that he would
loosen his hold. He did nothing of the sort, but did stop as another door slammed, and
outside lightning traced across the sky, though it had been a clear night all along.

"Do you feel him? He's here, all around us, waiting to take shape. He's angry,"
Peter whispered against her ear and then continued on to his final destination.

Sarah stopped her flailing as she realized that she could feel him. Jareth's magical
presence danced about in every shadowed corner of the grand mansion. She could smell
his lovely scent, could sense his presence at every turn, and could nearly hear his
intoxicating voice in the presence of the wind. The Goblin King had heard her words, and
now was there.

"He'll kill you," Sarah bit out viscously, dragging her heels so as to slow their
process through the large house.

Peter scoffed, tightening his hold on her. Her ribs stung as the pressure against
them increased, for his arm was wrapped about her chest. She drew in a quick breath,
biting back the cries of pain that threatened to explode from her paled lips.

"I want him to come, but he will not kill me, Sarah. He would not dare do any
such thing," Peter stated, as he turned another dark corner, hauling Sarah ever onwards.

Sarah fell silent. Peter knew everything, and obviously had known it for quite
some time. She had never met another who had experienced the Labyrinth, or who had
talked about it but once. Mr. King, however, understood things that she, herself, found
mysterious. His uncanny knowledge only frightened her to a still greater extent.

Another flash of eerie white lightning erupted from outside, illuminating the dark
hallway with its force. Sarah cringed and tried, once more, to break free. However, she
had no chance to do so. Peter threw her to the ground, watching as she rolled and finally,
collided against something agonizingly hard.

Sarah yelped, folding herself into a fetal position against the large, solid object.
She turned her misted eyes upwards, still partially stunned by the surging pain that bit into
her back and head, and looked at the dark shape which stretched far over her. She
shivered, noting something similar in the way the figure appeared.

Then, as if cued, another door slammed, and the lightning burst forth, casting light
on the darkened statue. Sarah's eyes snapped open at the sight which was now laid out
for her. The magnificent ivory statue was what she had crashed into. The figure that had
first shocked her, when she had just arrived at Fontridge. It was the grand sculpting of
Jareth, himself.

"Peter, please," she begged, finding that she had lost what little bit of courage that
had been left in her soul.

Peter said nothing in response to her pleas. He only circled her crumpled form, as
a lion might stalk its prey. He would soon pounce, and then there would be nothing left of
her. Sarah trembled, following Peter's movements with her wide, doe-like eyes.

Something soft brushed against her cheek, and Sarah nearly erupted into a fit of
hysterics. She scrambled backwards, grazing her palms against the rough ground in that
particular chamber. She looked upwards, expecting to see Peter's sinister face grinning
down upon her unprotected body. That, however, was not the case.

A brilliant ivory cape drifted in a breeze, which was scented of hundreds of years
of springs, summers, magical incantations and life. Legs that had once been stationary
now adjusted to a more natural stance, and those tall boots that had been pure white a
moment earlier, where ebony in color, as Sarah watched. His sculpted legs flexed a
moment, and he lowered the raised sword, which was held in black gloves. His mane of
golden hair framed his lovely aquiline features, and his solemn face came last into life-like
reality.

Jareth had arisen from the statue of himself, and now looked down at Sarah
carefully. He then turned, noting Peter, and held the very real sword towards the other
man. The Goblin King managed a slight grin as he slashed the deadly blade through the
still air, watching Peter's expression alter from sinister intent, to fear.

"I've waited a long time for this," Peter finally managed, reaching along the wall
for something which Sarah was unable to see.

Jareth just cocked his head, stepping slowly down from the pedestal he had been
atop. His cloak swept out behind him as he walked, and approached Peter. The grand
Goblin King paused and then held his sword out once more, waiting for Peter to make his
move.

"I would say the same, but I do not tolerate waiting. The girl is mine, and I will
take her. Will you stand in my way?" Jareth demanded, narrowing his changeling eyes as
he glared at Peter.

The mortal man simply grasped the hidden thing that he had searched for in the
dark. In one swift movement he swung his arm, and the weapon, easily reaching Jareth.
The Goblin King leapt away, graceful as a cat and twice as quick. Though there had been
no time for a reaction, even those as skilled as his. A bright flow of blood instantly stained
his sleeve, where the sword had struck his arm.

"Then we will fight, and you will die!" Jareth declared, moving in so that their tips
of their swords very nearly touched.

Sarah watched in utter horror, scooting away as their fight ensued. Jareth's sword
clashed against Peter's time and again, as they worked their way around the pedestal,
where once there had been a life-like replica of the Goblin King. Jareth lunged forward
and knocked Peter's weapon skillfully from the man's hands.

Jareth stood there, watching the sword clatter to the ground, and then turned to
acknowledge Peter. He waited a few moments and then motioned towards the weapon,
allowing his adversary time enough to retrieve what had been dropped. Peter rushed over,
grasped his sword back in his hand, and struck at Jareth.

"That was a mistake old man," Peter chided, a strange flickering light flashing in
his emerald eyes.

Jareth started a bit at the insult, and then skillfully worked his way towards Peter,
forcing the less trained man against the base of the statue. He swept the sword about
Peter's, blindingly fast in his precision.

Not far away, Sarah watched in utter awe. She waited, her breath held and her
heart pounding loudly in her ears. She could feel the tension in the room, its stifling hands
gripping her throat. She swallowed, watching as Peter's sword was flung from his hands
once more, leaving him defenseless to Jareth's will.

"Mistake? I think not," Jareth chided as he forced Peter to the ground, pinning the
man with one of his black boots.

Sarah rose to her feet, slowly daring to approach the two. The conflict was over,
with Jareth as the victor. Another flash of lightning raced across the night sky, and cast
sinister highlights across Peter's face. His anger did not even dissipate as his life hung in
the hands of the Goblin King.

"Then do away with me, beast. Kill me as you do so many other innocents!" Peter
proclaimed, tearing open his shirt to bare his chest to the deadly weapon still in Jareth's
grip.

Jareth pushed the very tip of his sword against that flesh, so that he drew a single
drop of ruby blood. He watched, a grin forming on his lovely features and then shook his
head.

"I should kill you," Jareth began, nearly ready to allow Peter to rise back to his
feet.

A horrible, gut-wrenching scream burst from Peter's lips. He tried to grasp the
sword's blade, but found it gone, only Jareth's foot remained planted upon his chest.
There was no way he could make it to his feet, while the Goblin King still bid him remain
down. Power such as was harnessed by Jareth could not be fought.

Sarah reached out tentatively and touched Jareth's arm. He shivered slightly,
turning to acknowledge her presence. A slight smile touched his features as he looked
upon her lovely face. He brushed a single finger along her cheek and then touched her
soft lips. Jareth looked back down upon Peter and realized the rage that had risen within
the man's soul.

"Then be done with it! I want no more life! Rid me of this half of myself that
comes from you!" Peter declared, glaring upwards at Jareth's look of shock.

All was silent. Jareth could not say a word as his mind went over what had been
said. Sarah, however, suddenly a horrifying shade of white, backed away. She shook her
head, as knowledge bombarded her damaged psyche. Emelia's child, the one she had
written about in her diary, the one that she had conceived with Jareth.....

"God, no!" Sarah whispered, her horror evident in her words.

Peter turned his gaze to look at the ashen woman, and grinned slightly. He lifted
one arm just enough so as to point towards the retreating Sarah. She brought her eyes
towards the man who had been so kind, and had hidden a horrible secret for nearly two
hundred years already.....

"She knows! That's right, Sarah. With his blood, eternity was graciously
bestowed upon me. An eternity to understand my mother's death, my father's
abandonment, and the truth behind my heritage. Only he," Peter paused as he looked back
towards Jareth, who was still wondering what this all meant, "...does not know!"

"I do not know what? I beg you to enlighten me," Jareth remarked, sarcasm
dripping from his words.

Peter laughed, shaking his head as the mirth bubbled forth. Before their eyes, his
ebony hair grew, so that it was the same length as Jareth's, and the clothing he wore
melted into an ensemble matching anything the Goblin King might wear. The seemingly
normal man below Jareth's foot now transformed into something which appeared fae in
every aspect.

"See me now for what I am! Father, kill me now, and rid me from this torment!"
Peter screamed.

Jareth recoiled backwards, allowing his sword to clatter to the ground. He denied
it with a vehement shake of his head. Peter, however, would not leave the confrontation
at that. He rose to his feet and then met Jareth's gaze. The Goblin King could not fight
now, and found himself dominated by his son.

"You took my mother as an innocent youth, and seduced her, giving her your
child, and left!! You do not deserve to live!" Peter threatened as he lifted one gloved hand
upwards.

A single crystal formed in Peter's empty palm. He acknowledged it briefly, noting
the lovely curve of the spherical shape and then returned his eyes to Jareth. The Goblin
King seemed all the more shocked to see his magic in the use of another. His gaze trailed
across the magical crystal.

"I did no such thing!" Jareth demanded.

"LIES!" Peter yelled and threw the crystal at his father.

The orb struck true, colliding with the royal Fae lord against his chest. Jareth
stumbled backwards, striking the wall, which was carved with fantastic images that had
once amazed Sarah. Now she paled even more at the sight of her love, slipping towards
the ground, seemingly mortally wounded from the magical spell.

"No!" Sarah exclaimed as she rushed forward and fell to the ground beside the
King.

Jareth's eyes remained fixed on Peter, their power flashing in fading waves of fury.
He clutched his chest, agony spread across his paled face. The magic had struck true, had
affected Jareth in a way mortal weapons never could. Now he remained so very still that
it seemed he would never move again.

Sarah breathlessly touched his face, her eyes so wide and full of misty tears. The
contact of her chilled flesh against his skin aroused his attention. His crystalline eyes
drifted towards her, and he managed a light smile, as if to apologize for not returning, nor
coming soon enough. It would be the second time he had arrived too late.

She shook her head, trying to alleviate his guilt. Yet, before she could utter a
word, rough hands gripped her about the shoulders and hauled her backwards. Sarah
tumbled to the ground, reaching out for Jareth, but unable to fight against the strength that
drew her away.

"Jareth!" Sarah called, fighting against Peter as he continued to force her to her
legs.

The Goblin King watched, his heart urging him to rise and fight, but his body
unable to comply. He saw her dragged away by Peter, with a maniacal grin upon his paled
features. There was nothing he could do.... he had been driven to uselessness by a son he
had never known. Jareth leaned his head back against the rock wall and closed his eyes,
trying to block out the scene of horror.... and hide from his past.