An Unexpected Turn
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, so don't sue me. I have nothing to give you except a pile of bills that I have to pay.
Summary: Jareth has gone to rescue Sarah, who is now being forced to marry Marcus. Many twists and turns along the way with a big suprise at the end.
Hello all. Sorry about getting this one up late, but I couldn't figure out for the longest time how to finish this chapter after I started it, so I left it alone for awhile, and came back to it. I hope that you enjoy this one, I worked hard on it into the wee hours of the morning on it. Feedback would be greatly appreciated also, so don't hesitate to leave anything.
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Jareth couldn't stand waiting. Josephus had clearly instructed him to wait and hide while he stormed the warlock city. Josephus could see that Jareth wasn't completely healed and it would be too dangerous to have him by his side. He had said that if he needed Jareth, he would send someone for him.
Now Jareth sat about a half-mile away from the gates to the city, watching the scene that was unfolding. He had a clear view of the battle going on, and he could see that not much had happened. Josephus and the troops had just flooded through the gates and had begun their attack. Jareth could see that he wouldn't be needed.
Jareth sat down on the ground and let his thoughts drift back to Sarah. He remembered the vision that his mother showed him, of Sarah sleeping with her head on his chest. He remembered seeing the worry on her face. She looked like she hadn't slept or eaten for a while.
He now pictured what she probably looked like now. She was probably sitting in one of Marcus's jail cells. She was probably tired, hungry, and worried about what was going to happen to her.
Suddenly, Jareth had an idea. The jail cells. Where he and Marcus spent so much time when they were little. He knew that area like the back of his hand. With that, Jareth stood and disappeared in a cloud of glitter.
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Josephus pulled his sword out of a warlock and looked up where he and the troops had left Jareth. When he saw that he wasn't there, he cursed and began to try and contact his son. When Jareth finally answered him he said, "Jareth, where the hell are you? I give you simple instructions to stay put, and you have already taken off."
"I have to rescue her, father," Jareth answered her. "I figure Marcus has her locked away in his dungeon, where we spent tons of time when we were younger."
"Jareth, no!!" Josephus said. "It's way too dangerous for you in your condition. If you wait for a few more minutes......"
"I can't wait any longer," Jareth said. "Who knows what he could've done to her by now. I have to make sure that she is okay."
Josephus, who could see no point in arguing with him, said, "Very well. But please be careful. We just got you back, and we don't want to end up losing you again."
With that, Jareth ended the communication with his father and ventured towards the cells.
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Sarah peered out of her cell window, trying to see what was happening outside. The window was very dirty, so it was very difficult to see anything more than about 20 yards.
She could see that Josephus and Marcus were now about to fight each other while the soldiers stopped to watch. Josephus initiated the fight by taking a stab at Marcus, and missing. Marcus returned with a stab towards Josephus, and he also missed.
Sarah couldn't stand to watch anymore. She turned away from the window and thought, " I have to get out of here."
She looked around the cell and noticed a large rock that was sitting in the corner, and Sarah got an idea. She picked up the rock and moved over to her cell door. She looked out to see that the guard was sitting right under her, his head nodding as if he was drifting of into a deep sleep.
Sarah held the rock over the guards head, and hoped that her plan would work. She let the rock drop and it hit the guard squarely on the middle of his head. He didn't fall over like Sarah had hoped he would.
Thinking quickly, Sarah said, "Are you all right? You had better open this door so that I can look at you."
The guard, still in a heavy daze, obliged and used his keys to open the door. Sarah said, "Lean forward so that I can see the top of your head."
When the guard did this, Sarah clamped her hands together into a ball above her head and brought them down on the top of his head with all of her might. This time the guard went down, and didn't come back up.
Sarah grabbed the keys off of the guard and ran out of the cell, closing and locking the door behind her, and ran off down the dungeon hallway.
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Jareth turned left around a corner and realized that he was lost. "Damn." he muttered as he realized that he didn't know the tunnels as well as he used to.
He sighed and continued down the hallway, hoping that he could find the cell that Sarah was in.
He saw an open door down the hall, and rushed to it, hoping that it was where Sarah was. When he saw the guard passed out in the cell, he smiled. He could clearly picture Sarah knocking the guard out.
He turned and walked out of the cell to meet the tips of two swords that were in the hands of two warlock guards pointed at his throat.
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Sarah ran down a long hallway in the dungeon hoping that she would be able to find her way out. So far, she wasn't having any luck.
She decided to try using the keys that she took off of the guard and unlock a door that was to her right. She saw that it was another cell. She then crossed the hallway to try the other door. she tried every key on the ring and found that none of them worked.
Frustrated, Sarah began to pound on the door. She pounded it three times right in the middle and the door instantly opened wide, revealing a long staircase that went up. Sarah smiled as she made her way carefully and quietly up the stairs.
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"Are you getting tired, old man?" Marcus asked Josephus as he took another stab towards him, narrowly missing Josephus's arm. Josephus was able to dodge the blade and return with a strike of his own, also narrowly missing Marcus.
"Not at all. I may be older, but I still have a few tricks that could come to good use. For instance.....," Josephus answered. Marcus took another shot at him, and Josephus was able to grab Marcus's collar and trip him at the same time, causing Marcus to fly face fist into the ground and end up with a mouthful of dirt.
Marcus flipped himself onto his back to come face to face with the tip of Josephus's sword. "....That's an old trick that my father taught me. It has always been one of my favorites." Josephus finished his sentence with a smile.
"Now, it is time for all of this silly nonsense to end. Surrender to me quietly and have the fighting stop."
Marcus spat in his face and said, "You'll have to kill me before I surrender to you."
Josephus shrugged and said, "Okay. If you say so."
Just as Josephus was about to drive the sword into Marcus's throat, a voice cried out, "STOP!!!!"
Both Marcus and Josephus looked up to see two guard holding their swords to Jareth's throat. "Release him." One said, as he increased pressure to the tip at Jareth throat.
Josephus looked from the guards holding Jareth to Marcus, removed his sword from his throat, and back away from him. Marcus stood up and brushed the dirt off of his outfit, an evil grin on his face.
"Pity." He said. "You were so close to." He walked over to where the guards and Jareth stood. He motioned to one of the guards, and the guard released Jareth and grabbed onto Josephus.
"As for you..." he began. "I see that Darren has betrayed me, and I will have to dispose of him later. But you and I will settle the score now. What we should have done so many years ago, when you betrayed me."
"Marcus, that was years ago. And Diana chose me, fair and square. Why couldn't ever accept it?" Jareth said.
"Because I knew that she really loved me. She was crazy about me, she told me so. She loved me, and you took her away from me, to make me jealous!! Then you just used her and disposed of her, like she meant nothing to you!!! You killed her!!!" Marcus said, his voice increasing in volume with every sentence.
"What are you talking about, Marcus?" Jareth asked. "I would never have done anything to hurt her or you. Diana..."
That was all Jareth got out, because Marcus punched him in the jaw. Jareth collapsed to the ground, holding his face with one hand.
"You are a Liar!!" Marcus said. "You killed her and now I will finish you like I should have long ago!!"
With that, Marcus grabbed Jareth, picked him up and threw him into the center of the ring that both the warlock and goblin soldiers had made.
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Sarah walked to the top of the staircase and looked around to see if anyone was around. When she saw that the halls were empty, she stepped out and began to run down the hall. She had no idea where she was going, but she just kept him running, hoping that she would find a door to escape.
She rounded a corner and smacked into Darren. She began to scream, but Darren anticipated it and covered her mouth with his hand.
"Calm down." He said. "I will not harm you. I want to help you." Sarah didn't know how to react, so she just stared at Darren with wide eyes.
"If I remove my hand, will you promise not to scream?" Sarah nodded, and Darren removed his hand.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked him. Darren shook his head and said, "There is no time. Jareth is in trouble. I will try and explain on the way." With that, he grabbed Sarah's wrist and they took off down the hall.
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Jareth yelled in pain as he slammed against a wall of a building. Marcus obviously was using his power to throw Jareth around.
Jareth crumpled into a pile on the ground and moaned when Marcus walked over and grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to his feet. As soon as Jareth was able to stand on his own, Marcus punched him in the face and Jareth fell back to the ground.
Marcus pulled out his dagger and stooped over Jareth. "And now to finish what was started.." he said as he raised the dagger above his head, preparing to plunge it straight into Jareth's heart.
"MARCUS!!" a voice shouted in the crowd. Marcus looked up to the area where the voice came from. The crowd parted as Darren walked through, with a dagger of his own at Sarah's throat.
"Darren," Marcus said, his dagger still aimed at Jareth's heart. "What are you doing?"
"I am sorry Marcus, but I cannot let you do this. If you plunge that dagger into Jareth, I will plunge mine into your bride's neck, and I warn you, I have created a potion that is more powerful and will kill her in a matter of seconds, rather than minutes."
Marcus was shocked. He lowered his dagger to his side and released his hold on Jareth a little.
"Why, Darren?" Marcus asked. "Why would you do this to me? I trusted you for so many years, and now you do this to me."
Darren, still holding Sarah with the dagger at her throat moved forward. "Because...," he began. " Because I would never let anyone harm my family and get away with it."
Marcus looked down at Jareth, who was just as confused as he was, and then at Josephus, who looked towards the ground.
"What do you mean family'?" Marcus asked, looking back up at Darren.
"Jareth is my older brother," Darren said. "He never knew about me, though. But I knew about him. Josephus told me about him whenever he visited me."
Jareth couldn't believe his ears. He looked up to his father, who was still looking at the ground.
"I know him like I know the back of my hand. And I love him, even though we have never officially met. And if you kill something that I have grown to love, then I will have to kill something that you have grown to love. It's too bad that your love for her blossomed out of revenge." Darren said.
"These two were meant for each other. And if they will not be able to live together in this world, then they will have to live with each other in the afterlife. So unless you drop your dagger right now, I will plunge mine into her chest."
When Marcus didn't release his grip on his dagger, Darren raise his and plunged it into Sarah's chest. Sarah grabbed the dagger in her chest as the blood began to pour out from her wound. Her face was in a state of shock, her eyes wide, her mouth in an "O" shape.
Both Jareth and Marcus screamed out as Sarah fell to the ground. Marcus immediately made his way towards Sarah. Jareth would have done the same thing, but he was in too much pain. Instead, Jareth looked up at Darren and saw Darren looking at him. He saw Darren wink at him.
Jareth looked back at Marcus hovering over to Sarah, and then back at Darren. A small smile crept up onto Darren's face, which was the only thing that Marcus saw as he looked up at him. Marcus looked back over at Jareth and said, "Very well."
Marcus stood and moved over to Jareth and said, "Now it is your turn, Jareth." Marcus knelt down beside him and raised the bloody dagger above his head. Jareth squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the blade to pierce his skin.
Instead, he heard what sounded like a gasp. He opened his eyes to see Marcus struggling to breath. He saw blood trickle out of his mouth as he fell to the ground over him. He then saw Sarah standing over the both of them, with another dagger in her hand.
"Sarah?" he asked. "What's going on?"
Sarah dropped the dagger and knelt down to shove Marcus onto his back, then helped Jareth to his feet. Jareth wrapped both of his arms around her, not believing that she was standing there in front of her.
"It's okay, Jareth." she said. "Everything's okay."
"What's going on?" He asked her. "Darren stabbed you. You're covered in blood. You're dead. That must mean that I am dead, too."
"No Jareth," Sarah said. "No. You are just as alive as I am. If you don't believe me, feel this."
She grabbed his hand in hers and brought it up to her stomach as she said, "Look. There is no wound. It was just a trick to fool Marcus." She then placed his hand over her heart so that he could feel the blood pulsing through her heart. She then took his other hand and placed it over his own heart to feel his own pulse.
Jareth realized that they were both very much alive and broke down, gathering Sarah back into his arms and burying his face into the crook of her neck. She did the same and the two of them stood there, crying.
Darren moved over towards where Marcus lay, and knelt down over him. Marcus was barely breathing at this point, and he struggled to say something that Darren couldn't hear. He motioned for Darren to move closer, and when Darren did, he heard Marcus say, "If I am going to die, you are going with me."
And with that, he plunged the daggar that he still had in his hand into Darren's side. The last thing that Marcus heard before perishing was the sound of Darren screaming out in pain.
The sound of Darren screaming broke the trance that Sarah and Jareth were in, and they looked over to see him fall to the ground, Marcus's dagger sticking out of his side.
"NO!!" Sarah screamed and she ran towards him, Jareth two steps behind her. They both knelt down to Darren's limp body. Sarah took his head and placed it into her lap.
"Funny," Darren said as he struggled to breath. "I created the potion used on the daggers to harm others, and it ends up killing me."
"Darren," Jareth said. "There must be an antidote that we can use. You used one for me. Do you have any left that we..."
"No." Darren said. "It's not worth it. You shouldn't waste it on me. Just let me go on. I'll be fine."
Sarah began to cry again. Darren said "Please don't cry. At least I know I am going to a better place than Marcus."
"Jareth, I just want you to know that I have loved you since I first knew about you. When Josephus told me that I had a brother, I wanted to run and find you. But when Josephus lied to me and told me that you would not have me as a brother. I was so furious."
He paused to gasp for a breath, then continued, "I then met Marcus and he told me about you. I thought that if I began to work with him, I could get revenge against you. When I heard that you had been stabbed and were dying, I took my chance to go to your kingdom to finish you off."
"But once I arrived, and I saw you in that bed, I realized that I couldn't kill you. I couldn't bring myself to kill someone of my own blood. So I got the idea to use Sarah as a hostage to Marcus while you recovered. Then I brought her here, knowing that you would come to rescue her."
"I found her in the hallway and told her of my story and my plan. I had everything laid out perfectly, except for this once little fault." he said.
"Just remember that I will always be around, Jareth," Darren said. "I will always be around and I will always love you, brother." With that, Darren took his last breath.
Jareth shook his head as he realized his brother was gone, and the tears began to flow again. He sat there, holding his brother's hand and cried until he couldn't cry anymore. Josephus then stepped forward and lifted Darren into his arms. He then walked over to his horse and place Darren's body on the horse's back.
Sarah stood and offered her hands out to Jareth, and he slowly took them. She helped him stand, and the two of them walked over to where his horse stood. Josephus turned toward the crowd, who had been standing around in shock, and called for the goblin soldiers to follow, carrying the wounded and the dead with them.
And they followed at quite a distance behind the two horses, carrying two men who had never met in their lives, but now had a special bond between them, despite one of them being dead and the other alive. One horse also carried the dead man's father, who held on tight to the man who was dead, and the other horse carried a woman, who held on tight to the man who was very much alive
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!! It took me forever to make it through this chapter. Like I said before, I had no idea where I was going with it for the longest time, and it was driving me crazy!! I decided to put it on hold for a while and let it sit. I came back to it, reread the entire story, and came up with this chapter. Don't worry, this isn't the end!! There still are many things that need to be resolved. (For instance, the marriage of Sarah and Jareth, maybe :D ) I hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to leave any feedback that you have!!