Part Seven
"Romeo, Oh Romeo, where the hell are you, Romeo?!"
Jareth blinked, then again, but there was no mistaking it. There he was, chained against the side of the throne, and yet - still in the dark room - *a mirage* he thought - ~*a mirage! Sarah, it's an illusion! Don't!*~
"No use," the voice chuckled. "She can't hear you."
Sarah was running for the false Jareth, ignoring everything else with the determined single-mindedness that had won her back her baby brother so long ago-
-*Sarah, NO!*-
A huge, black head burst through the crumbling wall of the room, aiming straight for the woman, who skid to a stop as she saw it coming, too late, too late-
With a howl, a Nightmare was upon it, jaws fastened like a steel trap to the monster's eye, purple blood oozing from the wound as the wyrm screamed and pulled it's head out again. Two more Nightmares dove for it, attaching themselves to its snout and throat, keening their angry scream as it shook its head like a hideous dog-
-and burst into flame, as one of the goblin fireballs hit it square in the chest. The three Nightmares hung on doggedly, even when their own bodies caught fire, even when the monster they held began to fall-
-Sarah ripped her eyes away and focused again on the figure by the throne. Vaguely, she was aware of her Nightmares ripping the chains from the goblins-she'd given them orders to free the goblins but not harm them-she was aware of the slowly diminishing wyrm screams being replaced by goblin shouts for water and sand, to put out the blazing corpses before they burned the city to ashes-she was aware of other creatures' voices added to the mad cacophony as the rest of the Labyrinth creatures erupted from the cavern to help defeat the last of the invaders-
-but all that mattered was Jareth. He looked horrible, bruises and smears of blood and dirt, chains covering practically every inch of his body. She didn't care. He was alive! ALIVE!
"Jareth," she screamed and launched herself at him, she reached out with her fingers-but an instant before she touched him, only a heartbeat before she could just...*touch* him...
Gone!
"Jareth!"
But it was no use. She feel to her knees where he had been, so real and solid a minute ago, but nothing now. Just air. Jareth...Sarah closed her eyes and let a sob choke its way out of her. She'd been so close...
"Lady...Creator..." A voice rasped tentatively behind her, and she managed to lift her head enough to find the room was still, that the moans and cries of the wyrms had stopped at last-that every creature was frozen, looking at her. One of the Nightmares stepped closer, blood from the late Erlar still dripping down his twisted jaws. "My creator," he growled. "Our job is finished?"
"Y...yes. You may...may go." She struggled to control herself; this was no time to fall to pieces. She'd do that soon enough.
The Nightmare hesitated.
"What?"
"My creator...my brethren and I are still...hungry. We have not feasted on a kill for a long time-"
"Eat the wyrms, then," she said tiredly, climbing to her feet. "We needed a way to clear their corpses anyway."
The Nightmare bowed before her, touching his forehead to the ground. "Thank you, my creator."
She nodded woodenly and watched the beasts, monsters of her own making, clamber eagerly out of the throne room, headed for the courtyard strewn with what they saw as a delicious feast. She felt sick. "You," she said quietly to the remaining goblins. "Go down into the city. The other creatures will aid you, if they can. Go."
Silently, solemnly, they went, crawling, hobbling, limping as best they could out of the ravaged throne room. Only one remained, a hairy, stunted little boy goblin with a broken leg. She stared at him, knowing what she-as Queen-ought to do. But also wanting desperately to cast herself on the throne room floor and sob her heart out-wanting just once to be Sarah crying for Jareth, crying for the horror she had seen, just a simple woman reeling in her own grief. She looked again at the shuddering goblin, and her mind's eye superimposed a picture of Rilum-she shook her head hard to clear away the thought.
Her face set suddenly, she bowed her head briefly, as a sovereign acknowledging her duty does. Then she bent down and scooped up the pitiful bundle. Black cloak flowing behind her, she strode purposefully from the room, the Queen of the Goblins attending to her subjects' needs.
~HOW COULD YOU??!!~ Jareth threw himself against the chains, screaming in rage. ~HOW DARE YOU TO DO THAT TO HER?!~
"Calm yourself, fae, else I shall knock you unconscious again."
~DAMN YOU,~ Jareth bellowed, ignoring the warning. In a fit of rage, he summoned a bolt of pure power from somewhere deep in his being and threw it full force at the dark man before him.
A blast of pain knocked into him so quickly, he didn't even have time to realize what was happening before he was slumped on the floor.
He came to a few minutes later, aching in every atom of his body, sick to his very stomach. He opened blurry eyes to see his captor kneeling on the ground before him, breathing hard as he rocked back and forth. "I...warned you..." he gasped, the silk gone from his voice. "I told you...the chains are not merely physical..."
~But I hurt you nonetheless.~
"Yes. But at a great price, fae. At a great price. You will suffer more for this act than any ever have at my hand. Still, I am somewhat proud of you. Despite the mind chain you still got in a blow at me. Very impressive. Don't get arrogant about it, though. I'm not going to allow it again." He pushed himself to his feet, moved towards Jareth. Something glinted in his hand, cold with the kind of cruel magic that could rip a creatures soul in half. Jareth watched him advance with the evil device, ice flooding the pit of his stomach.
"You are going to regret your brief triumph."
"Romeo, Oh Romeo, where the hell are you, Romeo?!"
Jareth blinked, then again, but there was no mistaking it. There he was, chained against the side of the throne, and yet - still in the dark room - *a mirage* he thought - ~*a mirage! Sarah, it's an illusion! Don't!*~
"No use," the voice chuckled. "She can't hear you."
Sarah was running for the false Jareth, ignoring everything else with the determined single-mindedness that had won her back her baby brother so long ago-
-*Sarah, NO!*-
A huge, black head burst through the crumbling wall of the room, aiming straight for the woman, who skid to a stop as she saw it coming, too late, too late-
With a howl, a Nightmare was upon it, jaws fastened like a steel trap to the monster's eye, purple blood oozing from the wound as the wyrm screamed and pulled it's head out again. Two more Nightmares dove for it, attaching themselves to its snout and throat, keening their angry scream as it shook its head like a hideous dog-
-and burst into flame, as one of the goblin fireballs hit it square in the chest. The three Nightmares hung on doggedly, even when their own bodies caught fire, even when the monster they held began to fall-
-Sarah ripped her eyes away and focused again on the figure by the throne. Vaguely, she was aware of her Nightmares ripping the chains from the goblins-she'd given them orders to free the goblins but not harm them-she was aware of the slowly diminishing wyrm screams being replaced by goblin shouts for water and sand, to put out the blazing corpses before they burned the city to ashes-she was aware of other creatures' voices added to the mad cacophony as the rest of the Labyrinth creatures erupted from the cavern to help defeat the last of the invaders-
-but all that mattered was Jareth. He looked horrible, bruises and smears of blood and dirt, chains covering practically every inch of his body. She didn't care. He was alive! ALIVE!
"Jareth," she screamed and launched herself at him, she reached out with her fingers-but an instant before she touched him, only a heartbeat before she could just...*touch* him...
Gone!
"Jareth!"
But it was no use. She feel to her knees where he had been, so real and solid a minute ago, but nothing now. Just air. Jareth...Sarah closed her eyes and let a sob choke its way out of her. She'd been so close...
"Lady...Creator..." A voice rasped tentatively behind her, and she managed to lift her head enough to find the room was still, that the moans and cries of the wyrms had stopped at last-that every creature was frozen, looking at her. One of the Nightmares stepped closer, blood from the late Erlar still dripping down his twisted jaws. "My creator," he growled. "Our job is finished?"
"Y...yes. You may...may go." She struggled to control herself; this was no time to fall to pieces. She'd do that soon enough.
The Nightmare hesitated.
"What?"
"My creator...my brethren and I are still...hungry. We have not feasted on a kill for a long time-"
"Eat the wyrms, then," she said tiredly, climbing to her feet. "We needed a way to clear their corpses anyway."
The Nightmare bowed before her, touching his forehead to the ground. "Thank you, my creator."
She nodded woodenly and watched the beasts, monsters of her own making, clamber eagerly out of the throne room, headed for the courtyard strewn with what they saw as a delicious feast. She felt sick. "You," she said quietly to the remaining goblins. "Go down into the city. The other creatures will aid you, if they can. Go."
Silently, solemnly, they went, crawling, hobbling, limping as best they could out of the ravaged throne room. Only one remained, a hairy, stunted little boy goblin with a broken leg. She stared at him, knowing what she-as Queen-ought to do. But also wanting desperately to cast herself on the throne room floor and sob her heart out-wanting just once to be Sarah crying for Jareth, crying for the horror she had seen, just a simple woman reeling in her own grief. She looked again at the shuddering goblin, and her mind's eye superimposed a picture of Rilum-she shook her head hard to clear away the thought.
Her face set suddenly, she bowed her head briefly, as a sovereign acknowledging her duty does. Then she bent down and scooped up the pitiful bundle. Black cloak flowing behind her, she strode purposefully from the room, the Queen of the Goblins attending to her subjects' needs.
~HOW COULD YOU??!!~ Jareth threw himself against the chains, screaming in rage. ~HOW DARE YOU TO DO THAT TO HER?!~
"Calm yourself, fae, else I shall knock you unconscious again."
~DAMN YOU,~ Jareth bellowed, ignoring the warning. In a fit of rage, he summoned a bolt of pure power from somewhere deep in his being and threw it full force at the dark man before him.
A blast of pain knocked into him so quickly, he didn't even have time to realize what was happening before he was slumped on the floor.
He came to a few minutes later, aching in every atom of his body, sick to his very stomach. He opened blurry eyes to see his captor kneeling on the ground before him, breathing hard as he rocked back and forth. "I...warned you..." he gasped, the silk gone from his voice. "I told you...the chains are not merely physical..."
~But I hurt you nonetheless.~
"Yes. But at a great price, fae. At a great price. You will suffer more for this act than any ever have at my hand. Still, I am somewhat proud of you. Despite the mind chain you still got in a blow at me. Very impressive. Don't get arrogant about it, though. I'm not going to allow it again." He pushed himself to his feet, moved towards Jareth. Something glinted in his hand, cold with the kind of cruel magic that could rip a creatures soul in half. Jareth watched him advance with the evil device, ice flooding the pit of his stomach.
"You are going to regret your brief triumph."