-Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth or any of its original characters, they belong to Jim Henson.
Chapter 27: The Dark One
"You've done well, your efforts will pay off." His tone pleased.
"Thank you, my lord." Lidia said softly.
"You're sure… He won't be able to find us here; if he finds us, he will destroy us…" She added trailing off, her tone filled with fear.
"On the contrary, he will find us, and he will crumble, when he watches his only child die right before his eyes." He explained malevolently.
"I thought we were just going to send the child away… I don't want to be hurting an innocent babe…." Lidia said apprehensively
.
"Oh, you don't do you? Well perhaps you should have thought of that before?" He shouted angrily now, looking to her for answer that he already knew.
"Now take the baby and hide it." The lord said assertively.
--
"Jareth, we have to find him…" Sarah pleaded desperately.
"I won't be able to survive without him; he must be so scared…. He'd be hungry by now…" She said in a cry, her voice trailing off.
"I know, I am going to get him back. – don't worry for even a second." He said softly, caressing her face in his already gloved hand.
He continued to prepare himself-- prepare for an unknown battle, his clothing thick like armour, but a type of armour that Sarah had never seen before, like tough leather.
"I need you to stay here, in this room, you don't leave this room until I come back... Do you understand me-? He started before being cut off by a very angry wife.
"I am NOT staying here; I am coming with you to get OUR son." She protested angrily.
Jareth sighed, he knew already that this was a battle he wouldn't win, he could try to explain to her that he couldn't lose them both, that he wasn't sure if he could protect them both, or perhaps that whoever was responsible for this unconceivable crime could potentially use her against him. It was a lost cause she was headstrong, brave and over all a worried mother- she was without a doubt coming with him.
"Fine, but you listen to everything I say, do you understand me precious?" He said assertively, his face much more serious than before.
Sarah nodded in agreement and quickly threw her cape on over her shoulders, she then approached Jareth and grasped him at his shoulders.
"Where are we going?" She asked softly.
"I have an idea, as to who is responsible for this… But I won't be making any accusations in the extremely rare case I'm wrong. I will warn you my love, that my cruelness can sometimes hold no boundaries—you may find you see another side to me tonight- that you've never seen before." He said darkly.
"—maybe you'll see that side of me too, tonight." She added curtly, offering a small smile.
Jareth wrapped his arms around her, almost in a loving way- a protective way, before Sarah could say another word, they were transporting somewhere else- somewhere unknown.
--
When they reappeared, they were somewhere she didn't expect, not that she had an idea of where they would be going but she assumed it would have been somewhere dark, cold and frightening, a dungeon perhaps? – But now they were somewhere, bright, refined… someone's study perhaps?
Her attention was snapped away from her wandering eyes, at the sound of Jareth's voice, it was dark and menacing… Untrusting.
"My son, the prince of the underground, he's been taken from his cradle, you wouldn't happen to have any information regarding this?" He asked coldly, to the familiar Fae seated in the chair in front of them.
"No, your Majesty, not a clue." He said mortified, Sarah could see from his facial expression that he was undeniably guilty.
"Well I find that very interesting, because the unlawful individual who locked my wife into a closet, comes from this very place… So perhaps you know where the midwife 'Lidia' is then? He asked his tone hinted with anger.
"Oh Lidia, yes, of course, I thought she would have been staying with you, since that is where she has been this whole time isn't it?" He asked awkwardly.
"THAT IS ENOUGH ROWAN, WHERE IS MY SON." Jareth bellowed, so angrily that all the objects in the room, shook with his voice.
"My King, how would I know? I was banished from your Kingdom, don't you remember?" He asked condescendingly, looking to Sarah to see her shaken with fear.
"You appear to be frightening your wife your majesty." He said coolly.
Jareth looked to Sarah to see that was indeed afraid, her eyes welled up with tears and her body shook mildly, but he knew it wasn't because of his anger, it was because she knew without a doubt that this man was responsible for their son's disappearance, he was about to add more to the fire, when his attention turned over to her, she had begun to speak, her words calm and direct but her tone desperate, pleading.
"If you have my child, please give him back to me. I will give you anything that you want. – Anything." Her voice begging.
"If I did have the prince, that perhaps would be an offer, I wouldn't be able to refuse." He said ominously, slowly walking out from behind the desk, his appearance was intimidating, his features dark, his clothing black to match his persona.
"We will not be giving you anything, only your head at your feet." Jareth said coldly.
"Where is he?" He asked, stepping dramatically towards him, grasping his shirt and pulling him to meet his cold eyes. There was a pause between the two, as he waited for his reply, Jareth face with stricken with fury, his teeth grinded together, an attempted to control his urges of killing him on the spot.
"He is hidden, until I get what I want." Rowan said emotionlessly.
Jareth gritted his teeth again this time unable to control his urges, yanking him aggressively to throw him across the room to have him collapse into the desk opposite.
"AND WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT?" Jareth shouted just as loudly as before, power coursing through him so vigorously that his veins popped out of his neck.
"Your kingdom and your queen- but I'll settle for your death." He said casually, wiping the blood from his lip.
Jareth let out a powerful laugh, he couldn't help himself, the nerve of this peasant, thinking that he could just bark orders and commands upon him.
"That will indeed be over my dead body--." He chuckled to himself.
Jareth had already made the decision that whoever was responsible for his son's disappearance would be tortured until the whereabouts of his child was revealed. He then would kill them, slowly and painfully- no mercy would be shown. An example would be made of them so this outrage would never occur again, no one would ever test the limits of the Goblin King.
He began to walk back over towards him, slowly, his face cold, merciless. As he began to close in on Rowan's injured form, Lidia came barrelling into the room, Jareth's attention sprang from his current task, to see Baby Jareth clutched in her arms.
"Your Majesty, if you harm him, then you give me no choice but to harm the child." She said, a weapon unknown clutched in her hand.
"You harm a hair on his head and your fate will be worse than death!" He shouted furiously.
Sarah was standing back, watching the events that were unfolding, feeling completely helpless. —just like she had felt in the basement with- Nick. Except this time, it wasn't her life that was at risk, it was her baby's- Jareth's baby, their son. She couldn't just sit back and lose them both. This time would be different…There was no way anyone was harming her family—she decided in that moment, to put her own life at risk and leapt in front of Lidia, knocking her armed hand as hard as she could.
As soon as she started to move, Jareth's eyes snapped towards her, seeing that she was making an attack, he watched as Rowan attempted to send a spell in her direction but quickly stopped him, using a shock wave of power from his gloved hand, it sent Rowan spiralling across the room, smashing into a nearby bookshelf.
Lidia now laid buried beneath Sarah, fortunately for the goblin queen, because the midwife only possessed healing powers, she was unable to fight back using any other means besides her own physical strength. She certainly hadn't anticipated Sarah's strength would be as great as it was, almost appeared unhuman.
Baby Jareth had been thrown across the floor during the initial attack, he was crying uncontrollably causing Sarah to become angrier, even more desperate. Her emotions fuelled her strength, her entire body filling with rage, with such aggression, she grasped Lidia's head with both her hands and begun, pounding it against the stone floor, with all the strength she could muster. Until her eyes closed and a thick puddle of blood spilled out onto the floor, she had lost all consciousness, leaving Sarah wondering if she was in fact dead.
Frazzled and slightly shocked from what she had done, she crab crawled backwards only to whip her head around to hear her child crying. Out of breath she bolted towards her inconsolable baby, scooping him up as quickly as she could to comfort him.
Her attention was then drawn to the other side of the room, Jareth stood pinned, his own crystal being forced towards his face, he attempted to stop Rowan by grabbing him by the wrist, he pulled with all his might to retract the crystal away from his face.
Panicked Sarah placed the baby into the corner, she then made her way towards the fighting men, as if she was in a trance, she stopped to pick up a large paperweight. Hearing her footsteps, Rowan dropped one of his hands-off Jareth to send Sarah flying across the room, causing her to fall backwards into a pile of rubble.
Catching the dark Fae in his moment of weakness, Jareth sent him spiralling back across the room, he stalked back towards him, his face, cruel, cold unemotional, he knelt next to him and conjured a simple crystal.
"This is going to hurt." He said bluntly, before placing it onto his chest, a smirk appearing on his face at his fellow fae's fate.
The pain would have been excruciating as it sucked all the life from his body, his skin dehydrated before Jareth's eyes, Rowan attempted to get up but was breathless, he grasped at his chest, before falling onto his knees, he desperately clawed at Jareth's feet, obviously praying for the goblin king to provide some mercy, but there was no mercy- Jareth only kicked his hands away, the last of his life clearly dissipating as he fell to the floor face first.
Jareth stared at his lifeless body for a moment before remembering that his wife had just moments before been extracted across the room.
He quickly ran to his wife's aid, she laid on the floor, nearly unconscious but coherent enough to make out his face.
"Is it over?" She asked faintly.
"yes, precious it's over." He said, peering over at Lidia's form, he then got off of the floor and stalked over towards her, he stood over her for a few seconds, his face filled with anger, he then without a second thought fired another crystal in her chest, killing her instantly.
"Let's go home." He said as he walked over to picking up his crying infant.
"It's alright my little one, you are safe now." He said holding him close, nuzzling him into his neck.
"No one will ever hurt you again." He added consolably.
Taking his family into his warm embrace he then materialised the three of them back to the Goblin Kingdom.