Discalimer: I don't own it! I never will (plase don't hurt me!) Alyana and Camulus belong to me though.
Thanks again to all those who reviewed. Just a little warning, the end of this chapter is a little weak, I rewrote it about eight times but I couldn't get it any better. Let me know what you think.
Warnings:
Sarah looked at the ring in the little box that she held in her hand. It had been nearly four years since she had last worn it. It felt like longer and she idly wondered how all of her friends in the Labyrinth were, maybe later she would call them.
"Sarah?" Cam approached her quietly as she closed the lid.
"Yes?" For some reason, this morning, she was guarded around him. Something was not right.
"Who's Jareth?" Sarah's heart skipped a beat. Carefully she put the ring in her dresser draw and went into the kitchen.
"I don't know," she opened the fridge and pulled out the milk, "why do you ask?" She tried to keep her voice level as she replied and focused on pouring her glass of milk.
"You've been talking in your sleep, that name keeps coming up." There was an accusation in his voice.
"Maybe I read it in a book once," it was not entirely a lie and she tried to shrug off his paranoia. Another thought crept up on her: had she really been calling out to the Goblin king in her sleep? Had he ever responded? Whatever it meant, Cam was not happy with her answer. He slapped the bundle of letters that he had been holding on the counter.
"I have a story to write for tomorrow's paper. I'll be at the office all day." He pecked her cheek as a goodbye and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him. She stared after him, baffled. Things had been tense between them for a couple of weeks and it was beginning to scare her, especially this morning. Sarah had never seen Cam lose his temper over something a trivial as a name from a book. He had always seemed perfect, but now it was almost like it had been a disguise that had become too much for him to maintain.
She sifted through the post as she ate her breakfast; bills, credit cards, junk mail, all the usual, except for one. It was addressed to her but had obviously been hand delivered as it only had her name on it. The envelope was sealed with red wax and she opened it with a small frown. Inside was a piece of parchment and she pulled it out with a little impatience.
My Dearest Sarah,
Be warned: Camulus is not all that he appears to be.
Remember my gift. Use it well
Yours Forever,
The letter was not signed, the handwriting was elegant and written in black ink and it stirred a half forgotten memory. The ring! The note was from Jareth and he was watching her. But why warn her about Cam? She screamed in frustration and tossed the note in the bin, deciding to ignore it. But all day it played on her mind and by the end of it, without really understanding why, Sarah was wearing the ring.
Cam was late home that night and the next three days after that. Things between them got steadily worse and still she kept the ring on, always watching him, always suspicious. On the fourth night, rather than going to bed, Sarah stayed up. When Cam arrived home she was curled up on the sofa, staring at a t.v. that was not even on. The room was dark and he did not seem to notice her as he began to make his way up the stairs to their bedroom. She almost called out to him, but curiosity stopped her. Curiosity and something else, fear, dread, throughout the day, and all the others before, she had wanted him to come home, but she had feared it at the same time, terrified that he would ask more questions about the Goblin King, demand, again, that she tell him why she called him name out in her sleep. By the time she had decided to call him it was too late.
"Sarah!" She heard him bellow and fear swept through her. Somehow he was down the stairs and in the sitting room before she could respond. In the darkness she could see two golden eyes glaring at her and the emotion in them was clear: anger, contempt and exhaustion. Those emotions, that combination, made her shrink further away from him, and they hurt, there was no love there. Abruptly the light snapped on and she saw that he looked oddly gaunt.
You starve and you exhaust me.
Jareth's words rang through her mind. Looking at Cam now, she was almost seeing him differently. Then the face and the expression changed, though she could still see the contempt in his eyes instead of the love and somehow, the relief he was showing seemed false. What had happened? What had gone wrong? How long had his love for her been replaced by contempt?
"Cam?" She whispered, confused by his sudden mood swings and her sudden insights.
"I'm sorry, Sarah, I just couldn't see you up there, I over reacted," he passed a weary hand over his face, closing his golden eyes briefly. "I panicked, it's so late and you weren't up there. I thought that maybe Jareth had taken you." He spat the name of the Goblin King with scarcely concealed hatred.
"Cam, I told you, there is no Jareth," she replied a little more forcefully than she had intended.
"Don't... lie... to... me," he said slowly. "I know all about him."
"You don't know anything!" She decided to cut the argument off. "Cam, where has this gone wrong? When did you stop trusting me?" He looked away, this was not their first argument, but he had never before made her feel so tiny, insignificant and unloved. "So that's it then?"
"Yes, Sarah, I can't live with you like this. I'll be gone by morning." He turned and walked away. Sarah was shocked, she had expected him to offer to make another go of it, not to just walk away.
Cam was as good as his word. By morning he was gone and barely any sign of him remained. Sarah curled into a ball and wept.
When Camulus had announced that he no longer wanted to be with Sarah, Jareth had laughed with relief. That relief was now turning into something else: worry. Sarah had barely moved from the room in three days, she had not eaten and she had not left the house. Instead she wept and slept.
"Jareth," he heard her whisper, "I hate you, you and your Labyrinth and your dreams. You've ruined my life and I hate you!" She whispered it over and over again and the Goblin King felt a wrench in his soul. With a roar of utter rage and loss, he flung the crystal against a wall, shattering it. How could Sarah ever share his feelings for her now?
What do we all think?
Artemis
