Chapter Five: Obstacles of the Labyrinth
"The words you speak and the actions you take today should be soft and tender…for tomorrow you may have to eat them." ~ Anonymous
The day had been long and tiring. Sarah was pleased by the idea of retiring to bed. Her room was so nice and peaceful. Krystal was already sleeping in her special hammock swing, something that Jareth had spelled with his magic. She wouldn't have to worry about her daughter falling out of bed, because the hammock would shift its weight to keep the toddler inside its web.
He puzzled her, this Goblin King. Ever since she had returned, he had been nothing short of charming. Of course, this only made Sarah more wary. She knew better than to trust a fae. He had professed his love for her once, but that declaration had been a hoax, a trick meant to fool her petty teenage mind into thinking he actually loved her, while he made away with Toby. She had been nothing more than a spoiled brat her entire life, but in those few hours, she had morphed into something else, a mature human being.
And now look at me, she shook her head. It was true that she was ashamed of what she had become. She wasn't proud of cowering in a dark corner while fists came pounding down on her. There were many times when she had thought of simply giving up, letting Jason have his way with her, but then the tiniest seeds of what remained of her pride brought her back to reality. To give in would be the same as handing Krystal over to him. That was something she just couldn't do.
Her mind started to flicker over her one main fear. What if Jason beat the Labyrinth? There was nothing she could do then. Jareth couldn't do anything either. It was in the rules that if he beat the Labyrinth she had to return to him. She'd have to go back Aboveground and resume her life of constant beating and torture. She shuddered, recalling how disgusting it felt to have his hands on her skin. It made her flesh crawl.
Once, when he had been particularly drunk, right after Krystal had turned one, he had raped her. Techniqually, some officials wouldn't call it rape, since he was her husband, but Sarah certainly hadn't wanted anything to do with him that night.
He had come home drunk and raging around like all hell had broke loose. The moment he had come through the front door she had known. He leered at her, dropping a bottle to the floor. The noise had made her jump. When she had landed back on the ground, he was tugging at her shirt.
"Jason," she had hissed. "Krystal is sleeping up in her room."
A low, throaty chuckle had vibrated through her ears. Before she could stop him, he had his mouth crashing down on top of hers. She had tried to scream, her fingers clawing and ripping at his skin. However her attack had only lead her to more pain. He drug her upstairs, while she pounded on his back with her fists and kicked with her bare feet. Only after he had thrown her down on the bed and started berating her body, had she finally given up. She was in too much pain to do more than cry.
Waking up that morning had been the worst. She had had to push him off of her. Blood, her blood, was everywhere. Her muscles all ached and when she stood up they screamed at her. After taking a shower, her pain was less noticeable. The cuts and scrapes were gone, as well as the crimson blood. There were some bruises, which were either turning a sickening yellow or blossoming purple and blue. Nothing was as bad as the memory of his actions that night. That wound would be forever burned into her. It couldn't be taken away. Ever.
Having to explain everything to Krystal was worse. The child had known something was wrong. Her mother had never looked so disheveled before. This wasn't the way things happened in her household. Sarah had told her daughter that she had fallen down the stairs. Being only one, the girl hadn't known better and her mother was thankful for that.
A knock on the door caused her to jump. Sarah looked at the wooden frame, wondering who would be stopping by her quarters at this time in the afternoon. It was past one. Was it one of the servants? Maybe someone was coming to check on Krystal and her, since she hadn't stopped by for lunch. She hadn't had an appetite, but now, thinking of food, she was starting to wonder why she had refused.
Another knock came. Getting up, she threw on the bathrobe that was hung over the end of bed, wrapping it around her body. She was only wearing some gray sweats. She hadn't like any of the gowns that had been in her closet. But depending on who was at the door, not liking the current fashion might be upsetting. She grabbed the door handle, opening the door. A pair of mismatched eyes, one blue, one brown, gazed back at her.
"Not hungry, I presume?" Jareth asked, one eyebrow arched. "I would have thought with all this excitement, you might have joined me for lunch."
"Sorry that I had to decline, your Majesty," she curtsied in mock adoration, "but as you must have forgot, I'm a mother. My first priority is my child."
"Which is all well and good, Sarah," he nodded in agreement, "but I do believe that your daughter has been asleep now for quite some time and I did have it arranged for some one from the nursery to stop by to watch her. Yet," he rubbed his chin, "you still didn't attend lunch. Could it be that something else was troubling you?"
For a moment, she thought he was referring to his actions in the nursery, then when she saw the smallest form of sympathy in his eyes, she knew he had guessed she was stewing over Jason. There was no use lying to him. As much as she hated to admit it, Jareth knew what he was talking about. He didn't have anything to hide and she didn't either.
"If you must know, I was worrying about what will happen to us if Jason wins," she sighed, looking over her shoulder at where Krystal was sound asleep in her hammock. Turning back to the Goblin King, she saw the look the fae was giving her. "I've lived for over two years in fear, Jareth. I don't know how else to get by." She felt tears coming. Emotions were exploding inside her; fear, hate, anger, depression, and relief.
"It's not that I don't trust you or that I doubt your magic, but I can't let myself believe I'm finally free of him, because there still is that slight chance that he'll beat the Labyrinth. If he does, I'll have to go back to the way things were before and you were my last chance. You were the last string I had left to pull and now even that might not be good enough to save me." She sunk to the floor, weeping.
"Sarah," he whispered, kneeling down aside of her. He had never seen her this way before. The Sarah Williams he knew was fearless. She had never let anything get in her way. Yes, of course she had had her moments in the Labyrinth where she threw tantrums, but even through that she had prevailed. She was going to make it out of this too. He was going to help her.
"He is not going to get to you, do you hear me?" he asked, wrapping her in his arms. He pulled her into a friendly embrace. "I won't let him hurt you again. For all those times you had to endure the pain, I am sorry that I couldn't be there, but let me be here now for you. I promise you, I won't let him touch you or Krystal ever again."
She was still crying when he finished his soothing words. Carefully, he picked her up, carrying her over to her bed, as if she were a mere doll. He set her down, pulling the covers back up and tucking them around her body to keep her warm. Brushing strands of her hair away from her face, he made his way to the door. He was just using his magic to shut the blinds when he heard her soft voice.
"Jareth?"
"Sarah, I'm right here," he answered from the doorway. "Is there something you need?"
"Could you…do you think…" she stopped. "Nothing. Never mind. It's stupid. I'm fine."
Curious, he took a step forward. "What Sarah?"
She sighed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Could you…stay here with me, please?" He didn't know what to say. She took his silence the wrong way and quickly blurted out, "No. Never mind."
"Sarah," he smiled, closing the door. He walked over, sitting down on the side of her bed. One of his fingers caressed her cheek. "Don't be ashamed," he told her when he saw her cheeks flush in the dim light. "I will stay."
"Thank you, Jareth," she sighed, closing her eyes.
He watched her until her breathing was slow and soft. "I will protect you," he whispered against her hair, lying down next to her. "No one will ever hurt you again. I promise." He kissed the back of her neck and then allowed the peaceful sound of her breathing to lull him to sleep.
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Jason continued through the Labyrinth, his small companion in his clenched fist. Jamilya wasn't accustomed to being carried around. She found the human to be rather an unnerving creature. Amongst her many powers, she could see the evils of a soul. This man was reeking in injustice. Earlier, she had attempted to break free of his hold, when he had grabbed her, she had seen a woman in his eyes, some one she should have known from the beginning. A woman named Sarah Williams.
He had beaten her. Such a lady of great strength had been struck down. One would think that with the Labyrinth under her belt, she would have been fine, however, he had something over her. There was a child involved. Even maternal instinct couldn't compete over the all-powerful fear of losing the one thing that mattered the most to her. Sarah had seen the danger, the one action that could take her baby from her, and she wouldn't let that happen.
She had taken beating after beating to insure the safety of her child, but her time was rapidly decreasing. She couldn't only take so much violence. The abuse on her body was starting to take its toll. Jamilya wanted to help her. The woman had done nothing wrong, with the exception of marrying this man. But what could she do? She had no way of stopping Jason; he was on a rampage.
Jamilya sighed. If only she could contact Jareth somehow. He would know what to do. Being the creator of the Labyrinth, he was entitled to the crown, though he certainly didn't want it, but she had to admit, he did a fair job. She wondered why Sarah hadn't married him and had decided to through her life away to this Jason person instead.
"Which way now, pixie?" demanded the arrogant man, shaking her in his large fist.
"I'll tell you if you let me go," she grinned, hoping he'd be too dumb to know she was bluffing.
"I don't think so," he snapped, throwing her to the ground.
Lucky that she had wings, Jamilya was able to catch herself mid-air. Praying she'd be fast enough, she took off in the direction of the Wise Man. Right on her heels, Jason followed. She hissed as many elvish curses that she knew, but none seemed to do her any good. When she turned over her shoulder to see where her pursuer was, she failed to notice the bird that lived on top of the Wise Man's head. In one clamp, his beak had closed over her.
Great, she thought, just what I need. "Let me out of here!" she cried, pounding her tiny fists on the top of the bird's mouth. When that didn't work much, she rolled her eyes, and opened the small tan pouch that hung on her waist belt. Inside the bag, a million little specks of what looked like diamond sand glittered all around. Grabbing a handful, she blew it around the cavern of darkness.
Outside, the bird felt as if his mouth were about to explode. "Patoouie!" he exclaimed, spitting Jamilya out. "What in tarnation was that?"
"Pixie dust, not only meant to make dreams come true," she giggled.
"Gotcha!" Once again, a pair of big hands had caught her. Angrily, she burrowed her teeth into his soft flesh, but a cruel taste of some strong form of drink came to her. The vile scent was enough to drive her mad, and she was forced to pull away.
"Eeck!" she cried, wiping her mouth clean. "What is that?"
"Alcohol," he smirked, opening his hands just enough so he could see her. "Not just to get drunk off of." And with that, they were on their way once again.
Jason was taking them in the direction of the Fierys forest. Jamilya smirked. Now his time would come. When he got in there and they thought of him as a new playmate, his minutes would be numbered and he would be gone for good. Ah, victory, sweet freedom, and a load to tell the Goblin King. The tiny girl couldn't wait for the human to make his first wrong step.
A/N: Up next: Jason runs into some trouble with the Fierys! Oh, what a pity….NOT! I hate that bastard. Eerg! There was some more Jareth/Sarah fluff in this chapter, but don't think they are together yet. That won't officially happen for another few chapters. What do you want to see in the next chapter? More of Jareth and Sarah? Stuff on Krystal? Jason die? Hehe! I wanna throw that in every chapter! But alas, I have to draw out his dying day! Damn. ~ Nev