A/N: Thanks Red, as always. TopazQueen, hope you enjoyed and yes I am the Queen of Evil Cliffhangers. Emerald Skye, glad you like my fic and Sarah will come into in the next chapter, or possibly the one after (but most likely the next), to answer your question.
Disclaimer: I don't own Jareth or the Labyrinth, blah, blah, blah…but now I have a funny picture in my head of how Jareth would react to someone telling him they owned him. (^_^)
Hunter stood in the doorway of the cell not even making an attempt to clamp down on his anger as he took in the scene before him. Kara was on her knees before Ulrich, eyes closed as the dagger he held bit further into her skin. She looked angry and defiant and in pain all at once and he was going to rip Ulrich apart, he acknowledge with ice cold certainty.
Ulrich had looked up at his command but had not released Kara and seemed in no hurry to do so. Kara's eyes flew opened but the look of relief on her face was quickly replaced by on of pain as Ulrich dragged her forward by her hair. Moving so that she was half in front of him, the dagger by his side.
"I said, let her go," Hunter repeated.
Ulrich smirked and shoved Kara forward so hard that she fell, landing heavily on the ground. Still looking at Hunter he raised the dagger and licked it clean of the lingering drops of blood. Kara scrambled to get up and managed to make it to all fours before Ulrich's booted foot caught her in the side, driving the air from her body and causing her to fall again. His eyes never left Hunter's as she lay at his feet, struggling to take in air as tears robbed her of her vision.
Leaning forward, Ulrich wrapped his hand in her hair again, yanking her painfully to her knees and pressed the cold metal of the dagger against her throat.
"You came at little early, Your Highness," Ulrich spat. "As you can see I am not quite finished." The knife pressed a little deeper against Kara's skin. "And I do hate to be interrupted."
~Hunter…~
Even in her mind voice he could feel her fear. It vibrated inside his skull. ~Shh…Its ok darling. We're here. We'll get you out.~
Kara noticed Jareth standing behind Hunter for the first time and breathed a small mental sigh of relief. She was certain now that Ulrich did not have a chance, though she had no explanation for the black wolf that slid into the room to sit panting at Hunter's feet.
"Tristan!" Ulrich growled.
The black wolf cocked its head to one side and to Kara it looked like it was laughing.
"How dare you slink in here to sit at the foot of a vampire as though you were his dog?" Ulrich spat. The hand in Kara's hair had clenched into a fist.
The black wolf growled threateningly.
"I challenge you," Hunter said calmly, though his eyes were two blazing orbs of violet fire by this time. "I challenge you for her life."
Kara felt Ulrich shrug because it pushed the dagger further against her, a small drop of blood ran down her throat.
"As you will. If you desire to die before your lady love then I am more than happy to oblige."
The dagger was remover from Kara's throat and Ulrich thrust her forward for the second time. Landing on her hands and knees she scrambled forward, uncaring that the whole pose lacked dignity. She just wanted to be as far away from Ulrich as she could get. Hunter moved forward, crouching to take her hands in his own and he pulled her to her feet. Wrapping his arms around her and holding her.
~I'm sorry it took so long.~
Kara did not reply but she let him feel how grateful she was that he was here now, that he was holding her.
Reluctantly he let her go, giving her a gentle push towards Jareth and the wolf before moving to face Ulrich.
Jareth opened his arms to her and she threw herself eagerly into them, burying her face against his chest and letting the tears soak the soft fabric of his shirt. The wolf pressed his face against the side of her leg as if seeking to comfort her and Jareth stroked her hair in an attempt to do the same.
"You must break your bond with Hunter," he whispered softly so that only she would hear. "Nothing must distract him."
Nodding her head Kara did as she had been told.
Hunter felt her retreat and accepted it. There was more at stake now and he knew that he had to focus only on the fight. He dropped into a fighting crouch before Ulrich.
Ulrich looked at the dagger contemptuously before tossing it to one side and adopting a similar pose. Both men circled each other and where Hunter seemed wary, Ulrich was suffused with an air of absolute confidence. Cradled against Jareth, Kara watched.
Ulrich made the first move, swinging his fist towards Hunter's face. Hunter deflected the blow and countered with a swift uppercut, which never found his mark as Ulrich danced back and away. Ulrich dropped suddenly to the ground, swinging his legs round to connect solidly with Hunter's. He fell, landing heavily on his back before rolling to one side and flipping easily back onto his feet again, but before he got himself fully upright Ulrich's fist caught him on one side of the head. He was knocked to the ground for a second time.
Hunter kicked up from his position on the ground, striking at Ulrich's legs. The blow sent him stumbling backwards, giving Hunter time to get to his feet. He followed up by striking Ulrich in the chest and knocking him to the ground. Hunter moved forward with every intention of finishing things but Ulrich swept his legs round and Hunter had to jump back to avoid the blow. Ulrich's questing hand found the discarded dagger and he launched himself up, aiming for Hunter's throat. It happened so fast that Hunter had no time to react and everything slowed down, his world narrowing down to a tiny point of steel.
A black shape momentarily obscured his vision as Tristan launched himself at Ulrich. His strong wolf jaws locked around Ulrich's throat. Ulrich screamed but the sound rapidly became a wet gurgle as Tristan crushed his windpipe.
Kara buried her face against Jareth for the second time, unable to watch. Eventually the wet chocking sounds stopped and Kara glanced up to see Tristan calmly cleaning his muzzle. Hunter took a step towards her and she left Jareth's arms to run to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he wound his around her waist. He lifted her up against him, taking her feet right of the ground and pressing his face against the tangled mass of her hair, delighting in the feel of her pressed against his and the sensation of their minds merging with each other as they both let down the shields they had erected during the fight.
"I thought I had lost you," he whispered hoarsely.
Kara just wound her arms all the tighter around him.
~Did he touch you?~ he asked using their private mental pathway, understanding that she may not want to speak of it if he had.
~No. He never got the chance.~
From the doorway Jareth watched their exchange with a little jealousy and a little sadness of his own. Though he was undeniably happy for them.
Within minutes the four of them had left the safe hold, Kara shielding her eyes from the light of the sun as she emerged. Hunter whistled calling the horses to them. Hunter swung himself easily up before reaching down to pull Kara up after him to sit cradled in front. He looked down at Tristan with real and new found respect.
"Thank you. When you are ready, please come to my court. You will always be welcome and everyone shall know that you saved my life this day."
The wolf gave a slight nod of its head before turning and melting into the forest.
Jareth mounted his own horse and rode up beside the reunited couple. "I will ride with you to the border," he said. Kara looked up at him and noticed for the first time that the smile he gave them was tinged with sadness. She frowned slightly as Hunter turned their horse.
"I would be glad of that," Hunter remarked.
"I can't wait to be home," Kara sighed as she settled against Hunter's chest. He kissed the top of her head. She smiled but felt sadness touch her as she glanced at Jareth a second time and she thought about what must be troubling the Goblin King. On the ride back, as she drifted somewhere between sleep and awake, a plan began to form in her mind.