Title: Whispers of Magic
Author: Kathea
Pairing: Jareth/Sarah
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Time will tarnish your memory but some things will never go away even if they are only whispers.
AN: Set at least 10 years after the movie with a very grown up Sarah and a Jareth that hasn't changed one bit.
Disclaimer: This story was written for my entertainment, if by some miracle you were also entertained then I am honored. I obviously make no money from this artistic venture.
Reviews: KaterineKasdorf: I'm glad you are liking it. I agree that so many Laby stories are very glum, not dark, just glum. Moonjava: I'm glad you like it. Lady of the Labyrinth: Well, here's your update. Solea: Thanks for the really long detailed review. Those make my day. The human condition is the most understandable place to base a story. Everyone can relate to it. While I don't personally share Sarah desire to have children, I too know women who want nothing more than to be able to have a child. Thanks.
Chapter 3: If Wishes Were Horses
"Ms. Williams, your most recent scans show no evidence of cancer. Everything seems to be normal. Most importantly your MRI was completely clean." Dr. Everett concluded.
"That's great! I was hoping you'd say something like that. So, with the cancer gone what are my chances of…"
"Sarah," Dr. Everett sighed. "You know that I want your uterus to heal as much as you do but there is nothing that I have seen to indicate that it is regenerating. I wish I could tell you something different but I can't."
"But you said there was the possibility that…it's not fair…I've done everything. I've done the chemo, the radiation, the surgeries. What more can I do to get my life back?" Sarah cried before burying her face in her hands and letting the tears fall. Dr. Everett came around her desk to squat next to Sarah and stroke her hair.
"Sarah, I am so sorry that I can't tell you better news." Dr. Everett said trying to console the grieving woman. "I can give you the name of one of the counselors here at the hospital, if you'd like."
"No…I'll deal…with it myself. Thank you." Sarah said quickly, her throat thick with oncoming tears.
"Sarah, I still need to see you in six months." Dr. Everett called to the quickly exiting figure. Melissa Everett sank into the chair Sarah had so quickly vacated and said a quick prayer for Sarah. Cancer was tough enough to handle as alone as Sarah was but as a young woman, having any chance of bearing children ripped away from you so violently was bound to leave a scar more visible than any surgery would cause.
Adrenaline propelled Sarah home from the hospital and into her room before she realized where she was. She sat, dazed, on the edge of her bed watching her reflection in the mirror. Her naturally pale face stared back at her, eyes red from tears and glazed from the onslaught of emotions were like empty pools. More than exhaustion a lack of will had Sarah falling back on her bed and curling into a tight ball. Sleep came quickly and so did the dreams.
Under her hand, a little foot kicked at its confines. Sarah could feel a heavy weight on her bladder and the warmth a new life under her heart. Her taut belly filled her vision as life swelled within her. Joy suffused her as she knew the time when she could finally see this tiny person with her eyes instead of her heart. Another hand, a gloved hand, brushed across her bare skin. It was joined by another hand that caressed and cuddled the life held within her. Sarah looked up to see the father of her child, knowing instinctively that mismatched eyes would be staring back at her. But when she looked up the face was blurred and sound assaulted her ears. No longer did she concentrate on the sound of her breathing and the faint thump of her heart beating in time with her child's but a raucous jingling of bells and tones that assaulted her hearing.
Sarah bolted from sleep, her stomach still warm under her fingertips. In the moonlight that streamed through her window, the binding on a small red book glinted at her spitefully. Suddenly it all came together in a blast of understanding. It was Jareth. Jareth was doing all of this to her. What kind of shallow person was he? What kind of man would torture someone for the mistakes of childhood? It wasn't enough that she lived a lonely life only enriched by children that weren't her own and suffered through a life altering illness. No, he had to make it worse by sending her dreams of things she could never have. After all no man would want to marry a woman who could never give him children.
She could admit that turning Jareth away at the end had been a mistake. Not calling to him once she was out of high school had been another mistake. But she'd been young and foolish with misty-eyed dreams for a life that would never happen. She'd let it go though. She had tried and in some sense succeeded in forgetting about those mistakes in favor of remembering more recent ones.
Anger bubbled up within her then. Somehow she knew that Jareth wasn't one to let things go. He would wait and patiently bide his time until his actions would reap the most rewards. He had certainly outdone himself this time, the bastard. Her next actions were obviously not well thought out. Anger, resentment, and not just a touch of pain had Sarah calling out for the one person on whom she could pin all the blame.
"I wish Jareth was here right now!" Sarah all but shouted. And there he was, leaning nonchalantly against the door frame.
"You called?" He spoke first in that infuriatingly smooth voice.
"How dare you!" Sarah shouted rising from her seat on the bed. "I have done nothing to you to deserve this! What happened between us was years ago, I was a child. What makes you think that you can treat people this way? Just because you are a king!"
"Are you quite finished?" Jareth responded disdainfully. Sarah snarled at him from across the room. "Would you like to explain to me exactly what crimes you are accusing me of?"
"Like you don't know." Sarah scoffed.
"Humor me." His cool voice replied.
"Okay. I'll be generous and not blame the cancer that made me BARREN on you. But was it really necessary to send me the dreams of a child in my arms, of being pregnant, what the hell did I ever do to you?"
"I was not aware of your condition." Jareth replied seriously.
"Sure, and you haven't been keeping tabs on me." Sarah said smirking. Jareth looked down at his boots at her comment. "Oh my God, you have been watching me!"
"Well, I wouldn't call it watching, more like checking in on you every now and then." Jareth replied just a bit chagrined.
"And will you admit to sending me these dreams?"
"No, because I haven't been. You may accuse me all you like, it matters not to me." Jareth said haughtily, the shell of a king quickly covering any other emotions.
"Fine, you won't own up to it, I can deal with it. But if you are going to send the dreams at least stop with the tinkling bell music and blinding lights, okay? I can handle the rest."
"What?"
"The music, the bells and whistles make it hard to go back to sleep and the light hurts my eyes."
"You don't have to believe me but I have an idea as to what's causing these…dreams. I must return to the Underground but I'll be back. Until then." Jareth said grandly and swept a graceful bow and disappeared.
The adrenaline rush was quickly gone. Sarah slumped to her bed not believing her own actions. What on earth has caused her to call him? He didn't even seem surprised. He should have been, right? How could he have known that I would call him? It seemed that he took this all far too easily. It probably wasn't a good thing that the Goblin King had so blithely accepted her recriminations. Sarah's mind swirled with questions. Sleep seemed to be the best activity to pursue and with much relief Sarah sank into a thankfully quiet and dreamless sleep.
Jareth walked purposefully through an empty section of the Labyrinth. It was eerily quiet in a way that wasn't normal for the Labyrinth. He rounded a corner and heard the girlish giggle before he saw her. A dark-headed girl child with mismatched eyes watched him approach.
"You do this to taunt me, don't you?" Jareth said huffily.
"Your Majesty, you know that I only appear to you as you wish me to be seen." She said with a smile.
"I am very aware of that fact." Jareth replied ruefully. "I have recently been informed that you have been up to some mischief. Is that true?" The little girl scuffed her shoe on the stone and smiled up impishly.
"Maybe, maybe not."
"I think most likely. I had an interesting conversation with a very old acquaintance today."
"Really? How is Sarah doing?"
"It seems that she is a bit distressed because of the dreams she's been having recently. She thought that I was sending them to her."
"Isn't that perplexing?" The child replied, scratching at her temple.
"I thought so, since I know that I can't send the kind of dreams that Sarah's been having. Not that I would torment her so. She told me that she is no longer able to have children and from the look on her face it must be heart wrenching to have the dreams where she is with child."
"I only granted what she wished for. It's not like I did it to hurt her." The little girl replied petulantly then clapped her hands over her mouth.
"Don't act so surprised. I knew it was you. You leave a very recognizable calling card." Jareth said smiling tightly at the little girl. "So what am I going to do with you?"
"Nothing as you very well know, Your Majesty." The child replied in a steely voice. "I grant wishes, she wished for children. Since her biology prevented that the dreams are the only way to fulfill the request. I am only doing my job."
"Very well." Jareth said sadly. He turned and started to walk away from the girl but suddenly two arms were wrapped firmly around his leg.
"Don't be mad at me." The little girl cried as big tears rolled down her cheeks. "I didn't mean to hurt her. I really didn't. Tell her I'm sorry." Jareth reached down and pulled her up into his arms. She buried her head into the crook of his neck and held on tightly.
"Hush, now I'm not mad at you. You know that I can't be." Jareth said soothingly as he brushed a gloved hand over her dark hair. "How, my dear, did you know that I was going to see Sarah again?" Two mismatched eyes grinned back at him as the child struggled to get down to the ground again.
"Because I know these things." The girl said quietly and disappeared in a burst of white light and the tiny tinkle of bells.
AN2: Chapter four will be written as soon as I can figure out what I did with my outline. Probably the middle of next week.