ladyofthedragons1: thank you. sadly, this is the last chapter :(
CanaceErinn: even if you hated stalkers with a burning passion...as long as it was Jareth, chances are anyone would love him :) Thank you for all of your reveiws, it was lovely having you along for this
ShadowCat666: Hey gym buddy, Im gonna miss hangin with ya :( only four days of school left! waahhh!
Xanda: Thank you!
batteredchild: Here you go, the last chapter. Enjoy it, go slow so it lasts longer.
Lady of the Labyrinth: your reveiws are some of the ones I looked the most forward to reading :) hope this ending lives up to the beginnig, Im still not sure Im a good 'scary' writer. All of my others were romance/comedy. A first time for everything! Im glad I gave goosebumps to to someone, and yes I can see them. Another warning must be given. BEWARE-an eviler Jareth is inthis one. I recommend having someone with you to hold lol, my friend made me sit with her for support lol. the little drama queen ) ta ta for now, I have another story in the making so I will (hopefully) see you soon. or...talk to you...you know what i mean. OH! Before I forget, wow this is a long reply lol, I saw Boogeyman when I was seeing White Noise too! That and my fear of the B.M. is what inspired the poem. :)
Almost Funny: Thank you very much!
jumping-jo: if the beginning is dark, what will you say about this one...hmm...
Phantom'sSonge: creepy indeed :)
atsuibelulah: aha! I thought so! This year of Japanese hasnt been wasted! It DOES come in handy! thank you for sticking with me, here be the final chapter :)
Moonjava: thank you very much. Glad to have had you along
I close my eyes and count to ten
He's hiding in my old playpen
Jareth threw her aside. She landed in a heap on the floor. She sat up, shaking with fright as she looked up at him. She inched her way back to the wall, wondering how far she would get if she ran.
"Nothing you can say or do can save yourself. Do try not to blame this on me, you brought it upon yourself."
"But I didn't know you were real! I just wanted to scare him in to shutting up! I didn't think you'd come," she yelled, moving into a squatting position.
"Be careful what you wish for," he said, conjuring a crystal to dance with fingers. He took a step closer to her.
Sarah sprang up and ran. She wildly looked for hallway to turn down, but none came. Throwing open a door she flew inside.
She was in her bedroom.
Sarah hadn't been sure it was her real room, but not waiting to find out she tore out the door that would have led to the hall. It did. She hurried to her parents room, and now she sat in a corner, squeezed between the bed and the wall. She prayed as hard as she could that he wouldn't come again. Maybe he only wanted to scare her. Well, duty done. He could leave her alone now.
But she barely rode that train of thought. She knew he would be here soon looking for her. Perhaps he already saw her in his crystal. She didn't know. She just knew that her nightmare for the past year was coming true and if so, she dreaded the end of the night.
She sat there, silently crying for an hour. This time she didn't wish he'd get it over with. She wished with all the strength left in her he would stay the hell away from her. Her mind wandered to Toby and she thanked God her parents didn't trust her. Jareth might have taken him again if he were in his crib.
Sarah briefly wondered where her baby brother had gone. Who's watching him now that she had been deemed too crazy a sitter. Taylor? No, her parents would rather have Sarah than her. Vanessa? Terri?
"Terri!" she whispered in surprise.
She turned awkwardly in her cramped hiding place to grab the phone on the bedside table that was digging into her side. Receiver in hand she quickly punched in her friends number. She anxiously waited for an answer.
"Hello?" asked a worried voice.
"Oh, Terri!" Sarah breathed in relief. "You're alright."
"Sarah what's going on?"
"Terri it was him! I told you he was coming," Sarah cried into the phone. "Terri please help me," she sobbed.
"What can I-" she screamed and Sarah heard the phone fall to the ground.
"Terri?" Sarah called, forgetting to stay silent. She heard the sound of it being picked up again.
"Good evening, Sarah," came a cool male voice. Sarah slammed the phone on the base.
"Sarah…" she heard from the hall.
Panicking, she crawled into her parents large, walk-in closet. She shoved shoes and boxes of photographs out of the way, curling up in the farthest corner. She placed the shoes and boxes back as best she could, and pulled some of the hanging dresses in front of her, hoping they would shield her from his gaze.
She heard the familiar squeak of her bedroom door open. Her heart was racing. He was going to find her, she just knew it. He was going to find her, take her back and…Her mind refused to go further.
"You see," he called, leaving her room to slink around the spare, "I could easily find you with my crystals." She heard the clothes in the guest room being harshly ripped aside to reveal an empty floor. "But where's the fun in that?"
She knew he was only doing this to make her wait. He knew where she was. She tried to calm her breathing, but it just sped as she concentrated on it.
He was in the room now. His shadow danced along the back walls shelving from the door that was slightly cracked open. She held her breathe as best she could. His steps were close. Eyes wide with fear she locked them on the door.
"Now where could she be?" he asked with amusement. "Behind the door?" Sarah jumped as the bedroom door was slammed shut with a loud bang. There goes a quick escape. "The bathroom?" His boots clicked on the tile flooring. "No. Wow, I'm losing my enthusiasm. This Williams girl is very tricky," he said, sarcasm laced in each syllable. "She wouldn't hide under the bed would she? Surely she knows the boogeyman lives there." Sarah clenched her fingers into a tight fist, nails drawing blood from her palms. She hated him She hated him with every fiber of her being.
"How about the closet?"
She held her breath. She held her breath and closed her eyes and prayed that her heart wouldn't burst and that that damned Goblin King would rot in hell and-
"Well," he breathed. "What have we here?" He forcefully pulled the dresses and shirts apart that were hiding Sarah.
"Wait-" but he already grabbed her and yanked her to her feet. Pushing her out the door, she landed on the side of the mattress. She rolled onto her back and looked up at him as she slid to the floor.
He sauntered to the little playpen in the center of the room. He picked up a white rabbit and looked it over without much interest. Sarah slowly rose to stand, looking at him sharply, yet wisely staying back.
He set the toy back and picked up another.
"Do you know why I'm here, Sarah?" he asked, glancing at her as he returned the child's thing to the crib.
"You're angry with me." She said slowly, daring to take a step closer to him.
"And have you grasped the concept of why I'm angry with you?"
Why is he so calm all of a sudden?
"I believe so."
He nodded and picked up a familiar teddy bear.
"Lancelot…" Sarah breathed quietly.
Jareth gave a small smile as he fingered the toy. He saw her itching to get his hands off of it. He tugged at the arm of the bear, it easily loosened.
"Stop it…" she whispered, voice barely heard even by herself. But his sharp hearing caught it. He pulled on it a little more, small pieces of stuffing finding there way to the holes. With everything that had happened that night, Sarah lost it.
"Don't touch that!" She screamed, running forward and yanking the bear away. "Don't you ever touch that!" In her moment of fury and with irrational judgment that comes from that, she jumped back and grabbed the iron poker from her parents fireplace. Without a thought she thrust it forward, slashing his left arm.
They both stood there shocked. Jareth was surprised she had even dared to yell at him. But attack him? This was a line he didn't think she'd have the courage to cross. Sarah stared at her hand as she dropped her weapon. She was drowning in the dawning horror of what she had just done. Her said hand rose to her mouth as she looked at him with wide eyes. His were slowly building to the fire she had seen earlier and she bolted from the room.
"Sarah!" He thundered, chasing after her. She ran frantically down the stairs, hopping them in threes and fours and swinging on the railing to race to the front door. Fumbling with the lock she heard him start the stairs. Crying with desperation she opened the door and flew down the driveway, taking off into the night.
The park, she thought. Get to the park.
Wings flapped above her, and an angry owl screeched loudly. Frightened tears streamed down her face. Her heart raced as she ran, jumping some of the shorter fences, sprinting the length of others. Soon the bridge was in sight.
The owl had passed her now, and it turned back to fly low, talons and wings hitting her face. Covering her head with her arms, she ran to the woods. The owl slowed down, avoiding the trees.
Sarah turned to search for it, arms down now that the trees made it harder for him to attack her, barely slowing her pace as she fumbled through the woods. She ran into something hard, and mid fall was caught by strong arms.
Screaming as loud as she could she tried to push the body away from her, but a hand firmly covered her mouth, smothering her cries.
"Hello Love," he murmured in her ear. Her eyes were wide with fear, shaking her head vigorously, biting at the leather gloves. "You didn't think you'd get away, did you?"
Sarah had an idea. Her body went limp and fell quickly from his unsuspecting grasp, his left arm considerably weaker than the times before. On the moist ground floor she crawled away even as she began to stand.
"Oh no," he said angrily. "I've had enough of this." With a flick of his wrist she was thrown against a tree and lay at the bottom. "Stand up," he ordered. "And don't run. You can't hide from me."
Battered and bruised from all she had been tossed and thrown against, her running and crying, her aching lungs fought for breath as she stumbled to a stand. Her knees shook and she stared at the ground.
He circled her, eyeing her carefully as he looked her over. Her shirt and jeans were torn in places, leaves, twigs, and bark were mangled in her long locks, and her dirty face had a few clear trails where tears left there watery marks. He nodded approvingly.
"I'm sorry," she croaked. "I-I don't know w-what came over me."
"But I do, Sarah. I know exactly what you felt. Pure rage you can't contain nor control. I feel it every time I think of you." She winced, yet wisely stayed silent. "I hate you with a passion, Sarah, even though your damn spell hasn't worn off."
"Excuse me? Your Majesty," she added quickly. "My spell?"
He chuckled, eyes more angry than amused.
"Ah yes, and the real slap in the face was that you had no idea. Would you like me explain it to you?" He swept behind her. "What were you expecting when you went to the Underground?" His hands slid down her arms to rest on her waist, his blood slowly starting to stain its way into her clothes.
She stood silent, afraid to answer him.
"Well?"
"A challenge?" she tried weakly.
"Exactly," he answered. "A challenge against a king, but with something more on the line than a baby brother." He gave her hips a light squeeze. "Love." Sarah looked up. She tried to turn to face him, but he kept her facing forward. "You wanted a king in love with you." He rested his chin on her shoulder. "The Labyrinth wanted you to have your expectations filled, Sarah. Every little detail."
"W-what are you saying?" she asked nervously.
"I'm saying," he murmured in ear. "That it decided it wanted me to love you, and what the Labyrinth wants, the Labyrinth gets." He removed his hands to spin her around. His gaze locked on her eyes. Sarah still saw the fire, and couldn't understand why he was doing this. Was he saying he loved her? He had an awful way of showing it.
She began to look down, but he caught her chin roughly and forced her to keep the stare.
"Y-your M-majesty?"
"I despise you with every fiber of my being for destroying everything the Goblin Nobility has ever fought for, yet somehow…" She was surprised as he glared at her with his suddenly soft voice. "You haven't left my mind for a moment, Sarah." He let go of her, but she was frozen in place. He circled her slowly. "My heart is torn both ways. My hatred of my defeat constantly battles the spell the Labyrinth placed on me last year. I've realized now it may never ware off."
"Are you saying…" She couldn't bring herself to form the words.
"I love you Sarah. Much more than I care to admit to myself. I have ever since you left the Underground. I hate the labyrinth for doing this to me."
Her tense body began to relax in front of him. He smirked. Sarah's brow furrowed in confusion. His hand went to the back of her neck, gripping it fiercely. All she could do was utter a few pained sounds, too surprised and weak to put up any more of fight.
Her head spun even with his firm grip. Slowly the world around them disappeared into mist, and when her vision focused she immediately recognized the labyrinths high stone walls.
"I've told it repeatedly that I would not make you its queen, but it won't forgive my failure until the one who beat it, my 'equal' as it likes to think, rules beside me." His other hand joined the first, and they ran down her bruised arms softly and she winced. His left slowly made its way back up, cupping her face. "As long as you're alive, the labyrinth will call me to bring you to it." Sarah didn't know what to think. "It seems I have no other choice."
"Nine…ten…elev-" but he cut her off, mouth attacking hers.
Sarah's chest burned. Something was happening, but Jareth wouldn't release her to allow her to see. As his tongue played with hers, tears streamed down her face. She tried to push him away, but she could barely control her limbs. She clawed at him, finally hitting his left arm's wound.
He stepped back quickly as he hissed, right hand pressed against it. Sarah looked at Jareth to see a bloody dagger fall to the ground. Her eyes flew to her body and she saw the blood flow freely, and she fell to her knees, clutching wildly at it as if she could stop the river.
Her blood soaked into the labyrinths dry floor. Winding its way through every crack. As the labyrinth absorbed it, it accepted Jareth's previous promise that he would never marry Sarah.
Sarah looked unbelievingly at Jareth, and as the sun slowly peaked over the horizon, she could see now for the first time how pale he had become. His raspy breathing was loud as he stared at her, holding his arm. He smiled through the pain, teeth clenched.
"I am stronger than the labyrinth," Jareth whispered to her, kneeling beside her. "It's spell was strong…but I could beat it."
Sarah cried into her hands, smearing blood onto her filthy face. This wasn't how she was supposed to go…She fell from her knees to lay sprawled on the ground. He looked down at her with a sad smile.
"It hurts me to see this, do understand. And now…" he laid down beside her on his side, watching their blood mix together with a startlingly intensity. "…everything done tonight has been ruined…" His finger played in the blood as he struggled to speak. The iron poison was spreading quickly. "…I wasn't supposed to die tonight…" He took a deep breath, "…I've no heir…no siblings…another reason to hate you…. The Goblin Kingdom will surely die now…not that I, had, much hope I could save it…"
"I hate you," she whispered.
"I know you do," he said, sounding almost pleased. He closed his eyes and moved to lay on his back. "I hate you too," he said, taking her hand in his. "But now we're all the other has. Always and Forever."
I hear him promise with a grin
That every night he'll come again
Now I'm speaking down from heaven
He never let me reach eleven
Now we're both ghosts roaming free
Forever will he follow me
Much Love,
Amy