Special thanks to my talented beta and friend, Scattered Logic.
Chapter 33: Restoration
Jareth's heart was thundering so loudly in his ears that all the other sounds around him were drowned out. The smoke from the fire filled his nose and the heat of the flames could be felt where he stood some 40 yards away.
Sarah's name repeated like a mantra in his mind. He had to reach her or he was going to lose both her and the baby. The pain that he felt at that thought was excruciating. In the matter of a few short months, Sarah had become everything to him. He couldn't bear to think what would happen if he lost her or their child.
There was nothing he could do with an iron musket pointed against his back. His magic would not work in its presence. If he attempted to escape on foot or by air, he would surely be shot.
His breathing increased and he began to sweat, though it wasn't from the heat of the fire.
A muffled cry filled his ears and a cold chill ran down his spine. He thought it might be Sarah but soon he realized that it had come from the soldier that was holding him hostage.
Jareth turned to face the man, but he simply wasn't there. He was lying on the ground a few yards away and he was hurriedly trying to escape on his hands and knees. Jareth watched in confusion and then he noticed the rocks scattered on the ground.
The sounds around him became clearer and he heard Mrs. Henry cry out, "Take that, you damn redcoat!"
He spun to face the Henry family and noticed that they all held rocks in their hands. Remembering the rocks on the ground, he realized that they had given him a chance to escape. He gave the family a quick nod of thanks as they tossed rocks at other soldiers, and then rushed blindly toward the burning house.
Jareth could hear Rochester hollering at his soldiers as Jareth ran up the porch and into the kitchen. He heard the sound of gunshots outside and he prayed to the mortal God that not another Henry family member lay dead. This was wrongall of this. He believed that time had not meant for things to go this way.
The smoke was thick and it burned his eyes and lungs. He used his magic to shield himself from its effects.
"Sarah? SARAH!" he cried out desperately. Boards fell around him, smoke billowed in every direction. The only thing that answered him were the flames, cracking and spitting as they devoured the house.
The last time he had seen Sarah, she had been upstairs in their room. He dashed toward the stairs, the flames unable to hurt him with his magic protecting him. The stairs were blocked by the fire, so Jareth transported himself to the second level with his magic.
"SARAH!!!!" he yelled out.
He heard the sound of coughing and a small voice.
"Jareth?"
"Sarah? Sarah, where are you?"
He heard her cough again and realized that she was at the end of the hall, most likely on the stairs that led to their room. The flames created a wall between them and Jareth used his magic to appear beside Sarah. She was curled up in a fetal position on the stairs with the fire surrounding her and closing in.
Jareth reached for her and pulled her into his arms.
She responded slightly, lifting her head from his shoulder. "Jareth?" Her voice was frail and immediately after speaking, she began to cough.
Jareth buried his face into her neck and hair, which smelled of smoke. "I'm here."
Without another word, he and Sarah disappeared from the house.
* * *
There was a great deal of confusion amongst everyone as Jareth and Sarah appeared out of thin air on the lawn outside the house.
Jareth placed Sarah on the ground and took in her appearance. Black marks were smudged all over her skin and clothing. She continued to cough and her breathing became raspy.
Jareth stroked her face gently, hoping that she would look at him, but she gave no response.
"Sarah?"
She coughed and began to wheeze. Each breath she drew was short and sounded painful and she was beginning to grow pale.
Jareth choked on his own breath as he realized that the smoke in Sarah's lungs was suffocating her. She had been in the house, engulfed by smoke for too long.
He attempted to heal her with his magic but it wasn't working. He simply didn't possess enough of it to do any good.
He ground his teeth together in frustration and in an effort to remain in control of his emotions. He was going to lose Sarah and the baby because he didn't have enough magic to save them.
The Henry family stood a few yards away, unable to approach with a group of soldiers now guarding them. The family was still full of grief from Jacob's unexpected death at the hands of a man who now held them all as captives. It appeared that the tyrant would claim yet another life.
Jareth heard the sound of a musket being loaded and he raised his head to see Rochester standing in front of him with the weapon.
"You have lived long enough," Rochester growled.
Jareth merely raised a hand and Rochester's musket disappeared from his hands and reappeared pointed at him as if someone was holding the weapon.
Rochester's jaw dropped and he took a step back. The musket took a step forward.
"How are you doing this? Thisthis is impossible!" Rochester cried out. Sweat appeared on Rochester's face as the trigger began to be pulled back. Rochester closed his eyes like a coward as the weapon fired. He jumped at the sound, but the impact of the bullet never came.
He opened his eyes in confusion and looked at Jareth. Jareth was still beside Sarah and he was running his hands over her body. For a moment, he turned to look at Rochester and then he rose.
The man who rose was not the Jareth that the Henrys or Rochester knew. Murder burned in his eyes and the outfit he had been wearing had changed. He was dressed all in black and a cape with a high leather collar. A wind appeared out of nowhere to whip the cape around him.
"I could kill you," Jareth snarled.
Rochester's eyes narrowed. "Then why didn't you do it? You're a coward," he spat.
"I was not the one who was unwilling to watch like a man as death approached,"
Rochester glared hatefully at Jareth.
"If killing you wouldn't destroy the timeline, I would do it without hesitation. History alone has spared your lifefor now," Jareth spat.
"You're a coward. Just admit it. That's why you can't kill me and it's why your little whore is going to die," Rochester taunted.
Jareth moved forward with amazing quickness and wrapped his hand around Rochester's throat. Rochester made choking sounds as Jareth squeezed.
The Goblin King spoke with chilling calmness. "I have no desire to kill you. Death is quick and it is too good for the likes of you," Jareth answered. He released Rochester, who fell to the ground gasping for air.
Rochester was about to speak but he stopped as bright light surrounded Jareth and it grew brighter and brighter until the light shattered like a fragile crystal.
Jareth looked down at his hands and closed his eyes briefly as he felt the surge of his magic rush through his blood. He had not expected for it to happen, in fact he thought he would never feel it running through his veins again. But somehow his magic had returned, rather forcefully and unexpected, but at a time when he desperately needed it.
Jareth rushed to Sarah, his cape trailing behind him as he went. Everything became forgotten as he crouched beside her and pulled her into his arms. As she hung on to the last threads of life, he froze time to protect her.
He glanced at the faces around him, at their bewildered expressions. The Henrys were standing together and, thankfully, none of them were dead. Only Jacob was missing. Jareth sighed as he gazed at them in their frozen positions. Leaving them would be harder than he had thought. They were good people and they had become the closest thing to a family he had ever known.
Jareth did not look at Rochester, nor did he look back at the burning house, the flames unnaturally still. Instead, he gazed down at Sarah, kissed her lips softly and lowering his face to hers. They both disappeared from the scene.
* * *
Sarah opened her eyes and blinked, not knowing where she was. Her eyes widened and she bolted upright breathing heavily. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she realized that she was in her bedroom and that she was lying on her bed. Fear swept over her with an icy chill.
Had it all been a dream?
She trembled at the thought and hugged herself. It couldn't have been. It was too real. Yet where was Jareth? And just how had she ended up in her bed? She'd been in 18th century America. She clearly remembered falling in love with Jareth and marrying him. She remembered the war and the Henrys.
She nearly cried out at the belief that everything could have been a very realistic dream. Tears filled her eyes. She'd been pregnant. She was sure of it.
Fearfully, she placed her hand on her stomach and she laughed through her tears as she felt the firmness beneath her fingers. Her child was growing thereshe and Jareth's child.
It was then that something moved and she saw Jareth standing by the window. She frowned when she saw him. He was dressed in the same outfit that he wore when they had first met and he looked exhausted.
"Jareth, what happened? How did we end up here? Did you get your magic back? What happened to the Henrys? How did I get out of the house?" she blurted.
Jareth smiled warmly and, as he slowly made his way to the bed, Sarah could see how tired he really was. As he sat beside her on the mattress, she reached over and brushed her fingers gently over his face. He closed his eyes at the caress.
"You look so tired"
He nodded. "I will be fine with some rest." Jareth raised a hand and brushed Sarah's hair from her eyes. The leather of his gloves was cool against her face.
Sarah noticed that he looked pained. "What is it?" she asked softly. "What happened?"
Jareth didn't answer her. Instead he fell forward, his arms wrapping around her as he pulled her to him and held her tightly.
Sarah didn't understand what was going on, but she allowed him to hold her and she hugged him in return.
When he drew back, her concern grew at the pained expression on his face. "Jareth?"
"It was closefar too close." He shook his head reliving memories. "What do you remember?"
"Everything. How we met again and fell in love"
Jareth shook his head. "What do you last remember?"
Sarah frowned. "The last thing I remember was you coming to rescue me from the house. My eyes were burning and my throat" Sarah reached for her throat and was surprised to find that nothing was sore.
"How didhow did you save me and why don't my eyes or throat burn?"
Jareth looked full of anguish. "I should have been there sooner to rescue you, but I couldn't with an iron musket rammed against my back. The Henrys were able to distract the soldier and I rushed to the house." Jareth drew her close to him again. "I was so panicked that at first I'd forgotten that I had any magic at all. I could have been there sooner if I had thought to use it."
He ran his hand through her hair, watching the strands slide between his fingers.
"But I'm okay."
Jareth drew back and looked into her eyes. "But you were not okay. You were slowly and painfully dying from being exposed to the smoke of the fire for too long. If my magic had not returned when it had" his voice trailed off, his tone full of agony.
"But it did return, right? I mean, isn't that how we're here?"
Jareth nodded. "I'm still uncertain why it returned. I have no answers but many questions." Jareth stroked her back and leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers.
"So how did we end up here? What happened to the Henrys? And how did the house catch on fire?"
Sarah drew back and gazed into Jareth's eyes. "I heard shouting outside and when I went to investigate, I smelled smoke and never made it to the window," she told him. "It was a different smoke than the one we smell when Mrs. Henry is making dinner."
"Rochester appeared with a large group of soldiers. They attempted to light the outer buildings on fire and then Rochester threw a torch inside so the house would burn."
"But why would he do those things?"
"Because he seeks destruction and death. They satisfy him. He slaughtered the livestock, but kept the horses for his men and he was going to kill us all after he was finished toying with us."
"Where is he now?"
"He's dead," Jareth spat. Anger colored his tone.
Sarah drew back a little farther. "You killed him?"
Jareth shook his head. "A part of me would have liked to, but I could not. We are in the future, our present, and Rochester has long since been dead."
"So you brought us back to our own time?"
Jareth nodded.
"Does anyone remember that we were there? The Henrys? Rochester?"
He nodded again. "They remembered us." Jareth moved his hand up and down one of Sarah's arm, the feel of her body was comforting to him. " The Henry house was not meant to burn, " he explained further. "Rochester only arrived there because of me. I reordered time and have fixed history so that it could go on as it should have."
"Did you bring Jacob back?" The hope was shining in Sarah's eyes.
Jareth shook his head. "I could not. I told you before, Jacob died as a result of the war and not us. It was simply his time to go."
Sarah lowered her head and nodded. A few moments later she looked up again. " So what does or did everyone think happened to us?"
"The Henrys believe that we have gone home to nurse your sick father and they will receive another letter when our child is born."
"How can you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Send a letter back in time like that?"
"Magic," Jareth told her with a slight grin. He stroked her face lovingly. He never planned to take her or his magic for granted ever again.
"What happened to the Henrys? Did they have good lives?"
Sarah's concern for the family was obvious and Jareth eagerly told her how history had unfolded.
"Elizabeth changed her ways after Jacob's death. She met a young man and they married when the war was over. They had 4 children together. Thomas helped his father run the farm, he grew older and he met a young woman whom he married. He inherited the farm when Mr. Henry died only a few days after the marriage ceremony. He died of a natural illness. And Mrs. Henry kept her family together through the war. When her husband died, she helped Thomas and his wife run the farm until she eventually died. They seemed to have lived good lives."
Sarah nodded, thinking everything he'd said over. "And what about Rochester? How did he die?"
Jareth shifted uneasily on the bed. "He continued to kill and do as he saw fit. I allowed him to keep certain memories of us so he could remember all he had done. Those memories along with others of his own making drove him to insanity. The British army had stripped him of his ranks due to his actions and he did not receive any land that he was promised when the British lost the war. He ultimately committed suicide."
Sarah nodded and hesitantly asked, "And what about Danarra? You said that Rochester took the horses."
"Time was reordered so that never happened. The Henrys kept him for many years and Thomas took care of him until he died. I wanted to bring him with us, but it would alter time to do so."
"I'm sorry" Sarah told him. "I know how much you loved that horse."
Jareth shrugged, attempting to show that it didn't bother him. Sarah knew better but she didn't push the subject.
"I don't understand how I can remember the fire if you reordered time and it never happened. And how can you remember everything?" Sarah tilted her head, gazing into Jareth's eyes.
He gave a sigh and looked tired. His motions were slow as he reached for her hands, pulled them into his lap and began to caress her fingers.
"I was the one who cast the spell so, naturally, I would remember. It is a side effect of changing time," he explained. "The one who reorders time will always remember what he changed so that if time was reordered in a selfish or unnatural way, the spell caster would remember forever the wrong he or she did. You remember because you were in my arms and therefore inside the spell with me. I froze time for you so you and the baby wouldn't die, but I couldn't erase the memories as I worked the spell. I can erase them now if they bother you," he offered.
Sarah shook her head. She could see how exhausted he was. He was in no condition to be casting more spells and truth be told she wanted her memories to remain intact. "No, I'd rather remember," she answered simply.
Jareth nodded.
"So why are we here in my room and not in the Labyrinth?"
"I thought perhaps you would desire to pack some of your belongings and that you might like to say goodbye to your family before we go home."
Tear prickled Sarah's eyes. "I'm never going to see them again, am I?"
Jareth shook his head. "I'm afraid not. It would not be safe for you or our child to ever leave the Labyrinth. I will not ever allow you to leave." His tone took on a possessive quality.
Sarah remembered that he had told her before that she couldn't leave the Labyrinth. She had accepted that but now being in her parent's house it suddenly seemed more difficult. She would never see her family again. She realized that she had always taken them for granted because they had always been around, even if none of them interacted directly. Now they would become a memory.
Tears filled her eyes. She'd never see Toby grow up.
Jareth's heart ached in his chest at the tears in Sarah's eyes, but he didn't comfort her. He heard voices and he rose to his feet. "I will give you some time with your family and to pack and then I will return."
Sarah nodded numbly. The air grew cooler as Jareth disappeared.
* * *
Robert Williams walked up the hallway stairs and painfully glanced into his daughter's empty room as he made his way to his own room. He froze in mid step as he saw the figure slumped over on the edge of the bed, hands covering the face and long dark hair framing the hands and face.
He swallowed hard.
"Sarah?"
Sarah's head jerked up at the sound of her name. Tears continued to stream down her face as she looked up and saw her father standing in the doorway.
"Daddy?"
Her father was across the room in an instant and he drew Sarah into his arms. He held her tightly to him.
Finally he drew back, though he still held her, and he looked into her face. "Is it really you?"
"Of course it is, Daddy." Sarah smiled through her tears. She didn't understand his emotional reaction. Her father was usually the calm one of the house and he rarely showed emotion.
"Where have you been?"
Sarah frowned at his question. "I'm right here. Where I've always been."
Her father shook his head. "Did you hurt yourself? Did someone kidnap you? Do you not remember?"
"Dad, slow down. What are you talking about?" She was thoroughly confused.
"You're acting as if you never left. As if you have been here all along." Robert took his daughters face into his hands and looked into her eyes.
"Sarah, you've been gone for nearly a year."