Part three.
Jareth's bedroom was very crowded, but somehow Sarah and Hoggle managed to find a space to land in. Hoggle barged rudely through the crowd, yelling, "Make way, make way, Lady of the Labyrinth coming through!"
Sarah caught his shoulder. "What did you call me?"
"It's your title. You completed his Labyrinth, so he gave you a title. You're in the history books, you know."
Sarah was silent. She couldn't believe that she had a title. Sarah Williams, Lady of the Labyrinth. It had certainly worked: a path had cleared for them, leading up to the bed. She walked through without difficulty. Goblins were hurriedly leaving the room.
"They were told to get out of your way if you ever came back," Hoggle explained.
"By who?!"
"Take a guess."
"Jareth?"
"No!"
"Then who?" Sarah asked mildly confused.
"Didimus of course. He has Jareth's authority on such matters."
"Jareth's authority . . . ?" Sarah asked her eyes wide.
"Well, who d'you think knighted him? He might not have been the most likeable guy, but he was a proper king, and knew who he could trust."
"Wait a minute, that means Sir Didimus was meant to stop me getting over the bridge." Sarah was startled at the revelation.
"Yes, but he didn't, because Sir Didimus, unlike Jareth, knew a winner when he saw one."
"I'm flattered that you think so highly of me, Sir Hoggle," piped a voice from the other side of Jareth's bed, as a russet furry face appeared.
"Didimus!" For a moment Sarah felt better. The vulpine knight's courage and optimism were infectious.
"I knew thee would come," he said softly, bowing over one arm.
"How bad is it, Sir Didimus?" Sarah asked, in a hushed voice, concern in her eyes.
"Bad, my lady. Very bad. He has but a few minutes left."
"Minutes?!!" She ran forward, but stopped, hand over mouth at the terrible sight.
Jareth's flesh was so pale, he seemed almost made of bone. The skin was stretched tightly over his face, his hands were skeletal. His hair had grown down his waist, but it was thin and like straw, straggling over the covers. She only knew he was breathing because of the terrible rasping sound in his chest, and the oxygen wheezed in and out of his body.
Sarah gently seated herself on the edge of the bed so as not to disturb Jareth too much, and very gently took a hand. It was so thin, she almost started crying again.
"Jareth, it's me, it's Sarah," she said gently. "I wished myself here. Forever. For you. I chose to come here just for you. I love you. I really really really love you. Truly. I want to stay here, with you, forever. Don't leave me."
The breathing stopped.
"Trust me, Jareth!" Sarah cried desperately.
There was a pause, the longest pause of Sarah's life, as she waited for a reaction, any reaction. Sarah took his head, and put in her lap, then lowered her head to his, so he could feel her warm breath on his face. "Please, please come back to me," she whispered. "It's me, I swear it's me. Come on, you idiot!"
A slow breath was sucked in, and rattled out again, slowly, then faster and faster, until the rattle was gone. He almost seemed to gain weight out of the air. The hair didn't shorten, but it brightened, growing thicker and softer. She touched it gently with a smile. "Beautiful hair," she whispered.
"Thank-you."
The whisper startled Sarah so much that she jumped a little. A throaty chuckle followed. "I'm glad to see I still have that effect."
"Oh you-!" She picked him up and hugged him, very tightly.
His eyes opened in astonishment. "Sarah . . . ?" he whispered. "Why . . are you hugging me . . so hard?"
"You were about to die!" she sobbed.
"What do you mean 'about to'? I did, but something - or should I say some*one* brought me back," he answered, looking deep into her eyes. "Now how about I take you home?"
He clicked his fingers, but nothing happened. Sir Didimus and Hoggle crept out of the room to spread the wonderful news. Jareth looked puzzled. "I must still be weak," he whispered, apologetic.
Sarah laughed. "No, you silly fairy, I wished myself here. Permanently."
He gaped at her. "What . . . ?"
"You needed me, and I . . well, I realised I needed you. Even more, than I thought it was possible for me to need some one. So much more."
A smile hovered at the corner of his lips. "Sarah . . ."
"Yes?" she asked, hoping for some kind of similar feeling.
"Don't call me a fairy: there are no wings hiding in my back."
She blushed at the fact she thought that Jareth would admit to anything and for confusing what he was. "Sorry."
"And you're very kind to tell me such things, but you didn't have to make all that up."
Sarah stared at him, slowly getting redder and redder. Jareth realised that he'd just made a huge mistake. He could only hope that his status as an invalid would save him from being actually hit.
"WOULD YOU BE ALIVE RIGHT NOW IF I WAS MAKING THOSE THINGS UP?! I DON'T THINK SO! HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF LYING WHEN I WAS BARING MY HEART TO YOU!!!"
Sarah pushed him off her lap, leapt up and ran from the room. Unfortunately, Jareth's head was extremely sensitive, and he groaned loudly as it hit the bed. Sarah froze in the corridor, as goblins ran past her. She turned and followed them, to find the Goblin King pale as a sheet and groaning. The goblins kept asking what was wrong, which was irritating as Jareth couldn't answer them. Their squealing chattering voices only made his headache worse. Sarah could already feel a pounding in her temples.
"Enough!" she yelled. "Out, out, out!"
"She sound like King," said one of the goblins.
"Move!" Sarah screamed, and they did, very quickly.
Jareth managed a ghost of a smile. "Very well done, you don't often get a compliment like that out of them."
"That's a compliment?" she retorted, coming towards the bed.
"They're comparing you to me, it's a compliment. In their standards at any rate."
She sat down on the bed, and helped him back onto the pillows. "I'm sorry," she sighed. "I should have known better than to treat you like that."
"I shouldn't have accused you of lying," he answered. "You've always been brutally honest."
"If you're not careful, I'll go away again." She tried to sound threatening but it was only a halfhearted attempt.
"As long as you don't hurt me, you can go where you like. But I'd prefer you to stay."
She hesitated. "You mean that?"
"Of course I do. But we should still try and find a way for you to get home. You have family. It's not right for you to abandon them."
Sarah folded her arms and prepared for a siege. "I am not going! I refuse to go back there! I wished myself here, and by the rules of this land, that means I have to stay unless someone comes for me, and nobody is going to do that because they don't even know where I've gone, so there! I will chain myself to this bed if I have to . . .!"
Jareth's eyes darkened, as certain thoughts entered his mind, and then he shook his head to banish them.
"Sarah . . ." But he was cut off.
"I wished for the Goblin King to come and take me away." Sarah stated.
"But I didn't come for you, so technically you can go back." He said trying to sound reasonable.
"And when I'm back, I'll just wish myself here again! What will it take to make you realise I don't want to go back, I'm staying here, and I am doing this of my own free volition!!!"
"And what would you face in order to prove this?"
"Name it and I'll face it," she answered, lifting her chin, then added for good measure, "I'll even take a bath in the Bog of Eternal Stench if you insist."
The eyebrows shot up. "You really are serious."
"Well, duh."
"Excuse me if I looked shocked. I didn't think anyone could want to stay here that much." Even his voice was full of surprise.
"I don't want to exactly stay here - this is the ballroom after all. Which reminds me, why the hell are you in here in the first place?"
Jareth blushed only a little, but the red was startling in his pale face. Sarah glanced around, and recognised the room. "The dream . . the crystal," she said slowly.
Jareth's eyes widened. "Yes . . what about it?" he said very cautiously.
"This is the same ballroom!"
"Yes . . . ? So?" He said trying to sound offhanded about it.
"Why would you want to die in here?"
Jareth hated the fact that Sarah could be so inquisitive sometimes but he answered her any way. "Because the happiest moments of my life were spent here, and I don't care if it sounds clichéd, it's true!"
Sarah looked at him questioningly "Wait a minute, what are you talking about? The crystal ball was just a dream."
"For you maybe, but for me it was real. And I fell in love with someone at that ball, the only lady who did not wear a mask."
Sarah stared at him in silence for a few moments, not wanting to answer him. A knock on the door saved her.
"My lady, my king? How dost thou?" He peeked around the door.
Both Sarah and Jareth smiled at Sir Didimus.
"I would like to be moved back up to my bedroom now, as I'm sure that my recovery will not take long."
Sarah swore silently, that man was quick to weasel his way out of a situation.
Jareth's bedroom was very crowded, but somehow Sarah and Hoggle managed to find a space to land in. Hoggle barged rudely through the crowd, yelling, "Make way, make way, Lady of the Labyrinth coming through!"
Sarah caught his shoulder. "What did you call me?"
"It's your title. You completed his Labyrinth, so he gave you a title. You're in the history books, you know."
Sarah was silent. She couldn't believe that she had a title. Sarah Williams, Lady of the Labyrinth. It had certainly worked: a path had cleared for them, leading up to the bed. She walked through without difficulty. Goblins were hurriedly leaving the room.
"They were told to get out of your way if you ever came back," Hoggle explained.
"By who?!"
"Take a guess."
"Jareth?"
"No!"
"Then who?" Sarah asked mildly confused.
"Didimus of course. He has Jareth's authority on such matters."
"Jareth's authority . . . ?" Sarah asked her eyes wide.
"Well, who d'you think knighted him? He might not have been the most likeable guy, but he was a proper king, and knew who he could trust."
"Wait a minute, that means Sir Didimus was meant to stop me getting over the bridge." Sarah was startled at the revelation.
"Yes, but he didn't, because Sir Didimus, unlike Jareth, knew a winner when he saw one."
"I'm flattered that you think so highly of me, Sir Hoggle," piped a voice from the other side of Jareth's bed, as a russet furry face appeared.
"Didimus!" For a moment Sarah felt better. The vulpine knight's courage and optimism were infectious.
"I knew thee would come," he said softly, bowing over one arm.
"How bad is it, Sir Didimus?" Sarah asked, in a hushed voice, concern in her eyes.
"Bad, my lady. Very bad. He has but a few minutes left."
"Minutes?!!" She ran forward, but stopped, hand over mouth at the terrible sight.
Jareth's flesh was so pale, he seemed almost made of bone. The skin was stretched tightly over his face, his hands were skeletal. His hair had grown down his waist, but it was thin and like straw, straggling over the covers. She only knew he was breathing because of the terrible rasping sound in his chest, and the oxygen wheezed in and out of his body.
Sarah gently seated herself on the edge of the bed so as not to disturb Jareth too much, and very gently took a hand. It was so thin, she almost started crying again.
"Jareth, it's me, it's Sarah," she said gently. "I wished myself here. Forever. For you. I chose to come here just for you. I love you. I really really really love you. Truly. I want to stay here, with you, forever. Don't leave me."
The breathing stopped.
"Trust me, Jareth!" Sarah cried desperately.
There was a pause, the longest pause of Sarah's life, as she waited for a reaction, any reaction. Sarah took his head, and put in her lap, then lowered her head to his, so he could feel her warm breath on his face. "Please, please come back to me," she whispered. "It's me, I swear it's me. Come on, you idiot!"
A slow breath was sucked in, and rattled out again, slowly, then faster and faster, until the rattle was gone. He almost seemed to gain weight out of the air. The hair didn't shorten, but it brightened, growing thicker and softer. She touched it gently with a smile. "Beautiful hair," she whispered.
"Thank-you."
The whisper startled Sarah so much that she jumped a little. A throaty chuckle followed. "I'm glad to see I still have that effect."
"Oh you-!" She picked him up and hugged him, very tightly.
His eyes opened in astonishment. "Sarah . . . ?" he whispered. "Why . . are you hugging me . . so hard?"
"You were about to die!" she sobbed.
"What do you mean 'about to'? I did, but something - or should I say some*one* brought me back," he answered, looking deep into her eyes. "Now how about I take you home?"
He clicked his fingers, but nothing happened. Sir Didimus and Hoggle crept out of the room to spread the wonderful news. Jareth looked puzzled. "I must still be weak," he whispered, apologetic.
Sarah laughed. "No, you silly fairy, I wished myself here. Permanently."
He gaped at her. "What . . . ?"
"You needed me, and I . . well, I realised I needed you. Even more, than I thought it was possible for me to need some one. So much more."
A smile hovered at the corner of his lips. "Sarah . . ."
"Yes?" she asked, hoping for some kind of similar feeling.
"Don't call me a fairy: there are no wings hiding in my back."
She blushed at the fact she thought that Jareth would admit to anything and for confusing what he was. "Sorry."
"And you're very kind to tell me such things, but you didn't have to make all that up."
Sarah stared at him, slowly getting redder and redder. Jareth realised that he'd just made a huge mistake. He could only hope that his status as an invalid would save him from being actually hit.
"WOULD YOU BE ALIVE RIGHT NOW IF I WAS MAKING THOSE THINGS UP?! I DON'T THINK SO! HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF LYING WHEN I WAS BARING MY HEART TO YOU!!!"
Sarah pushed him off her lap, leapt up and ran from the room. Unfortunately, Jareth's head was extremely sensitive, and he groaned loudly as it hit the bed. Sarah froze in the corridor, as goblins ran past her. She turned and followed them, to find the Goblin King pale as a sheet and groaning. The goblins kept asking what was wrong, which was irritating as Jareth couldn't answer them. Their squealing chattering voices only made his headache worse. Sarah could already feel a pounding in her temples.
"Enough!" she yelled. "Out, out, out!"
"She sound like King," said one of the goblins.
"Move!" Sarah screamed, and they did, very quickly.
Jareth managed a ghost of a smile. "Very well done, you don't often get a compliment like that out of them."
"That's a compliment?" she retorted, coming towards the bed.
"They're comparing you to me, it's a compliment. In their standards at any rate."
She sat down on the bed, and helped him back onto the pillows. "I'm sorry," she sighed. "I should have known better than to treat you like that."
"I shouldn't have accused you of lying," he answered. "You've always been brutally honest."
"If you're not careful, I'll go away again." She tried to sound threatening but it was only a halfhearted attempt.
"As long as you don't hurt me, you can go where you like. But I'd prefer you to stay."
She hesitated. "You mean that?"
"Of course I do. But we should still try and find a way for you to get home. You have family. It's not right for you to abandon them."
Sarah folded her arms and prepared for a siege. "I am not going! I refuse to go back there! I wished myself here, and by the rules of this land, that means I have to stay unless someone comes for me, and nobody is going to do that because they don't even know where I've gone, so there! I will chain myself to this bed if I have to . . .!"
Jareth's eyes darkened, as certain thoughts entered his mind, and then he shook his head to banish them.
"Sarah . . ." But he was cut off.
"I wished for the Goblin King to come and take me away." Sarah stated.
"But I didn't come for you, so technically you can go back." He said trying to sound reasonable.
"And when I'm back, I'll just wish myself here again! What will it take to make you realise I don't want to go back, I'm staying here, and I am doing this of my own free volition!!!"
"And what would you face in order to prove this?"
"Name it and I'll face it," she answered, lifting her chin, then added for good measure, "I'll even take a bath in the Bog of Eternal Stench if you insist."
The eyebrows shot up. "You really are serious."
"Well, duh."
"Excuse me if I looked shocked. I didn't think anyone could want to stay here that much." Even his voice was full of surprise.
"I don't want to exactly stay here - this is the ballroom after all. Which reminds me, why the hell are you in here in the first place?"
Jareth blushed only a little, but the red was startling in his pale face. Sarah glanced around, and recognised the room. "The dream . . the crystal," she said slowly.
Jareth's eyes widened. "Yes . . what about it?" he said very cautiously.
"This is the same ballroom!"
"Yes . . . ? So?" He said trying to sound offhanded about it.
"Why would you want to die in here?"
Jareth hated the fact that Sarah could be so inquisitive sometimes but he answered her any way. "Because the happiest moments of my life were spent here, and I don't care if it sounds clichéd, it's true!"
Sarah looked at him questioningly "Wait a minute, what are you talking about? The crystal ball was just a dream."
"For you maybe, but for me it was real. And I fell in love with someone at that ball, the only lady who did not wear a mask."
Sarah stared at him in silence for a few moments, not wanting to answer him. A knock on the door saved her.
"My lady, my king? How dost thou?" He peeked around the door.
Both Sarah and Jareth smiled at Sir Didimus.
"I would like to be moved back up to my bedroom now, as I'm sure that my recovery will not take long."
Sarah swore silently, that man was quick to weasel his way out of a situation.