Chapter Thirty: Nevermore

Sarah walked the grounds of the mansion, the springtime breeze drifting through
freshly bloomed flowers and sending sweet perfume into the air. She had dressed casually,
in slacks and a sweater, and wore her long chestnut locks in a ponytail. After all, she had
not thought before coming out here.

The fire had been doused by the fire patrol, but had been done so too late to save
any bit of the grand mansion. Fontridge was beyond repair, and the entire event had been
chalked up to old wiring. Only Sarah knew the truth, and was not about to incriminate
herself with the story which no one else, even Gabrielle, would believe.

Gabrielle herself thought that they had all rushed out when the fire had begun to
consume the building. Her lack of memory was, of course, a cause of the smoke and the
trauma of the fall she must had taken upon running away. Jareth never entered her mind
once, which was just as well.

Sarah casually, kicked at some stray piece of wood, which had been scattered
when an entire portion of the mansion had exploded. It had been a miracle that the fire
had not spread to the old woods. On the other hand, the flames had been meant for but
one thing, Fontridge.

"Well, what now?" Sarah asked herself as she continued to stroll along the
grounds of the mansion.

It was quite amusing. Everything was still so perfectly kept, while Fontridge was
no more. Even the hedges, the perfect iron fence, and the gate that had not squeaked
once in its entire existence, were still picturesque.... Of course, the fire had occurred but
the day before, giving not enough time for disuse, rust, and dust to set in.

Sarah paused momentarily as she noticed the large stable. It also had been spared
from the consuming fire. She looked at it for quite some time, and then her dream flashed
briefly into her memories. The majestic black stallion.... could it be that the horse had
been left without any others knowing him to be there?

Sarah broke her stationary stance and ran onwards, stopping only briefly to pull
open the doors, which immediately led into the immaculate aisle of the stable. She paused
again, gasping for breath and looked down, as far as she could in the darkness. Still, she
was unable to tell if the stallion remained behind.

"Hello?" Sarah asked, tapping nervously on the wood with her fingertips. Her
only answer was the echo of her own voice.

She stepped a single foot into the barn, and then the other, fearing that the doors
would, perhaps, shut on her once she was entirely inside. Sarah reached over with one
groping hand, running her palm along the smooth wall.

Her finger caught on the plastic switch, and she instantly turned it on. The stable
erupted into a wash of golden light. Suddenly it did not seem as terrible as it had been
before. Sarah easily left the safety of her escape route and walked diligently towards the
far stall.

A brief series of nickers instantly informed her that she had been correct. The
horse had been left, perhaps to starve if no one had returned to check on him. Sarah
hurried herself along, and then grasped the iron bars, which lined the upper half of the stall
door, the lower half was lightly polished wood.

"How could they leave you here?" Sarah asked, snaking a hand between the bars
before she had a moment to think about what she had done.

The stallion playfully lipped at her hand, and she laughed, stroking his velveteen
muzzle. This was not the unpredictable beast that Peter had made it out to be. Sarah ran
her hand down his face, and along his cheek, adoring the fine silken texture of his short
coat. He shone with a lovely luster, even in the small amount of sunlight that he had
received.

"He was my Father's," Peter's voice from the past haunted Sarah's thoughts.

Still, the memory forced her into realization, about why this horse was so entirely
special. If the stallion had once belonged to Peter's father, then that would mean....
Jareth was the rightful owner of the magnificent steed. Sarah removed her hand and drew
it back to herself.

She turned from the horse, searching the stable for something resembling a halter
and leadrope. She doubted very much that Peter had ridden the horse recently. The poor
thing was ancient, although it still appeared to be in the prime of his life.

Her gaze fell upon a leather halter, which had been adorned with a silver decor,
that all shone flawlessly. Even the tack which had sat around, had been properly cleaned.
Sarah sighed as she retrieved the halter and the leather leadrope, which was attached by
way of a golden stud chain.

"I can trust you, can't I?" Sarah asked gently as she pulled at the latch.

The horse bowed his noble head, as if telling her all he could without uttering a
single word. She nodded, and then strained against the door, nearly toppling over when it
all came flying open on her. She steadied herself, and whispered calming words to the
stallion, who had received quite a fright from her quick and jerking movements.

"Come here boy," she stated, her voice even and her approach ever so slow.

The horse once more lowered his head, and relaxed his taught muscles. He trusted
her, which aided quite a bit in the problem she now faced, finding a way to fasten the
halter around his head. She had not ever considered herself an avid equestrian, but there
was no way she would dare leave this lovely horse behind.

Without much trouble she fastened the halter and then stepped away, gripping the
leather lead firmly in her hands. The stallion raised his head, his deep eyes, so full of trust,
fixed upon her, as he waited to be led from this prison which had kept him for some
unknown amount of time.

He followed behind her, his nostrils flaring as he took in the new scents, the feeling
of being outside once more after so long. Sarah paused and pushed the doors open the
rest of the way. At once warm, golden rays of sunlight poured into the stable, and bathed
the stallion. His coat glistened like molten obsidian, and his mane and tail were woven
strands of the loveliest ebony.

Sarah turned, adoring the sight of the stallion as he stood in the sunshine. It took
her breath away to look at the gorgeous horse. He lifted his head, standing tall and proud,
and then edged closer to her, so that she was able to run her hands through his flowing
mane, and upon his muscular neck.

"You certainly are Jareth's horse," she whispered and then brushed away a tear, as
her thoughts returned to her lost love.

Things would not be the same, and she constantly lived in a state of suspense.
Jareth had not sent her a thing to tell her that he was safe. Her hope of hearing from him
had dwindled to near nothing, but she couldn't give up.... at least not yet.

Sarah reached up, sighing slightly, and unclipped the lead. There was no reason to
keep this lovely creature locked away. He needed to be free. Still, the stallion did not
move, even as Sarah withdrew his halter and stepped away, to look at him, outside, and in
the most lovely spring weather!

"Go on, run away!" she demanded, tossing her hands in the air to accentuate her
words.

The black stallion edged back, and rose up a bit on his hind legs. His dark eyes
rolled, showing their whites as the movement of her arms frightened him. He then planted
his hooves firmly in the damp grass and reared, appearing more majestic than Sarah could
have ever imagined.

With a single snort and a great pounding of heavily muscled legs, the horse tore off
into the woods, where the fence had never been. She watched until the last flicker of
ebony was gone from the darkness of the old forest, and then sighed deeply. It was the
last bit of Jareth in this world, and now it too was gone.

"Sarah! I thought I would find you here," Gabrielle called, slowly walked towards
her friend, with her hands stuck firmly into her pockets.

Sarah turned, and completely surprised herself by smiling. She had believed herself
near tears, but now found that she was not as sad as originally thought. She strolled over
to Gabby and then followed the fiery redhead back towards their cars.

They both stopped a moment to look at the ruins of Fontridge. Stone pillars, and
some vague outlines of wood were all that remained after the fire. It seemed almost like
the old ruins in the forest's clearing, where a young Emelia had once taken refuge from
her life and this mansion.

"I thought I would start my life over here," Sarah relented as she looked at one of
the manor for perhaps the final time.

Gabby tried to say something to soothe Sarah, thinking that her friend was
depressed about it. She moved closer and placed a caring hand atop Sarah's shoulder.
The brunette turned, but there were no tears in her eyes, no hint of sadness in her grin.
Instead she seemed at ease, and more happy than she had been in quite some time.

"Funny, isn't it? I traveled across the world to run away, and actually faced more
than I would have ever seen back home. All along I was trying to run away... not from
something, but from myself," Sarah said and then turned away from the mansion, walking
on the cobbled driveway.

Gabby followed in silence for some time, until they reached their cars, and Sarah
unlocked her door. It was only then that curiosity broke through and Gabby cleared her
throat, to gather Sarah's attention.

"Sarah, why did you come back here?" Gabby inquired as she too opened the door
to her car.

Sarah's smile remained as she looked downwards, thinking of the reason why she
would want to ever return here, after all the pain she had suffered in Fontridge. However,
a part of her had needed to see it one last time, so as to finally place the past where it was
meant to always be. She turned her deep brown eyes upwards, to look directly at Gabby.

"To say good-bye," Sarah replied and then allowed a soft laugh to follow her
words.

She climbed into the car, entirely ignoring Gabby's look of surprise. There was
nothing more to explain, for that was the basic reason why she had come back. She had
returned to bid farewell to everything she had learned at Fontridge, and all she had lost as
well. Above all, she wanted to say goodbye to a young woman, who had helped so very
much.

Sarah started the car, smiling still at her own personal thoughts. Gabrielle had
finally relented, and also climbed into the car, waving briefly at Sarah in the process.
Then, they were out of sight from each other, as Sarah started down the long country
road, towards her hotel.

She occasionally looked out the window, momentarily taking her thoughtful eyes
off of the road. Her mind drifted back to weeks ago, when she had first arrived at
Fontridge, and the actual drive to the manor. She could recall seeing everything for the
first time, and the thoughts of false happiness that had bombarded her in this new
environment with new people and a new career.

For now she would place her acting on the back burner. There was something else
she wished to do, before it all left her mind, as memories tend to do after time. With Peter
gone, Emelia's story would never be told. There was quite a book that could be written,
based on the diary and what Sarah herself had learned from Jareth. She smiled and turned
her eyes back on to the road.

She turned the corner, and left the old road, with only the massive Fontridge
Manor (or what was left of it) residing along the lane. She didn't once get the urge to
look back, and would nevermore see the mansion that had so changed her life....

Nevermore...


*** P.S. Not Done Yet!!***