Chapter: Should Old Acquaintance...
She was home, or no... she was in her old dorm room. Sitting in the window sill, Sarah gazed up at the unmoving and strangely dead looking earth sky. Stars shimmered on a field of velvet black, setting off the brilliant silver sliver that was the vanning moon. There was a time where she would have been transfixed by the luminescent quality of the moons light, but now it was merely a dead rock reflecting the light of a dying star.
Leaning back, she pulled the silence tighter around her, and sighed. By now her tears had long since dried out, leaving her with streaks of salt trailing down her cheeks, as she let the icy winter wind cool her body to the same icy state as her heart. But that did not mean that she was done weeping, it merely meant that she had dried out. Deep bruised blue covered her eyes, beneath the glamour she used to hide it. Funny that it was by far easier for her to cover the markings than it was to make them fade, maybe it was because they reminded her of... No she would not even think it, she did not miss that vain cruel, petty tyrannical... wounded hurt, suffering... :" Jareth..."
His name spilled from her lips once more, and tears materialized out of nowhere, to wash the salt of their brethren away. Fresh sobs shook her, as she huddled against the cold inside. She had been cheated on and left by boyfriends before. But to be honest she had never really been in love with any of them, never truly cared whether or not they were in her life. Pain flared in her heart once more, pulsing with the frantic rate of her heart as she sobbed. She loved him, just as she had told him, claws, fangs and all. And she thought that he had loved her too, that she had mattered to him. That was what made this so painful, to realize that she had never meant anything to him, that she had never been anything but a means to an end. At least she had found out quickly, before anything irrevocable had been done...
Shivering against the cold she wished for god knew what time, that she had followed her first thought and left once it had been certain that he would live... Surely he would have forgotten her quickly, but then he probably would anyway.
The sound of keys in the door whipped Sarah's head towards it as the door swung inwards with a low creek. It could only be one person, as Sarah's stuff was still occupying half of the small room. And sure enough.
Lilly was the kind of girl that you would not forget once you saw her, She had a thick straight mane of muddy brown hair, that glistened with natural blond highlights, as if it had tried to go blond only to decide that it would rather be muddy brown, to match the pasty golden complexion to which it was attached. It was the same with her comically large doe eyes, which were a strange ashy grey, only until you noticed the bright blue that surrounded her pupil like a starburst. It was pretty, though strange. And it made an alien kind of sense when seen together with her very triangular face, aquiline nose and thin but well shaped lips.
And standing there in the doorway, with an armful of books, wearing her favourite oversized burgundy hoodie and a completely surprised look on her face she was the one sight that Sarah needed most.
They had been roomies for less than four months, but in that time the two lonely girls had evolved a deep rapport, basically replacing the family ties they both lacked.
Pausing Lilly quickly took in the upended backpack on Sarah's still made bed, before turning to the young woman huddling precariously on the narrow window sill. Tossing the books in the nearest available spot, Lilly turned back to her crying friend. Three quick steps brought her to Sarah's side, and wrapping her arms around her friend, Lilly pulled Sarah in close, in a wordless embrace. They stayed like that for some time, Sarah sobbing while Lilly cradled her, and told her that everything would be alright.
But it wouldn't be, in her heart Sarah realized that she would never be alright again, yes she would continue living, going on with the life that with one fell swoop, had lost all appeal. For without her goblin king, she would forever be missing something vital in her very core, something that only Jareth had ever provided her with.
Forever... the word had a strange meaning to her as she caught her own reflection, in the night darkened glass. Tiny red lights flickered in the depths of her eyes casting a haunting demonic light on her face. Jareth had lived almost four thousand years, Shiver was at least a few hundred years old judging by his speech pattern. What if having magic and being bound to the damned Labyrinth... oh god and Jareth. .. Would make her age like them, meaning not at all. Pulling back from Lilly's embrace, Sarah stared at her friend, her only family in this world, as a terrible fact struck home. Forever... She Sarah Williams might live Forever, alone as she watched all she loved die, while she had no choice but to go on...
A scream of utter horror ripped from her lips as she fell from the windowsill, and onto the floor in a trembling weeping heap. Falling to her knees beside her, Lilly stared in helpless pain. She had never seen Sarah cry over a boy before, but then neither had she ever thought that Sarah would be the one to leave it all behind, because she had to take a stupid chance as her note had said, yet here she was... Wrapping her arms around Sarah, Lilly cast a quick glance at the door, which someone had been considerate enough to close without asking anything.
Sarah was the sister that Lilly had never had. In fact being an abandoned child, Lilly had never had anyone. She had spent her entire life being shuffled from orphanage to orphanage, because she was difficult, different, a dreamer and oh yeah her personal favourite a heretic. If she hadn't won that essay scholarship, Lilly didn't doubt that she would be either dead or on the street somewhere. And now sitting on the floor with the one person who had ever mattered Lilly had no idea what to do to make Sarah's pain stop.
Sarah's sobs changed growing shallower and faster, and after just a few minutes they sounded dangerously like she was about to hyperventilate, well that did certainly cut down on Lilly's options. Grabbing Sarah's shoulders firmly, Lilly forced the slightly larger woman up into a semi sitting position, before muttering:" Sorry about this."
Two slaps jerked Sarah's head back and forth, but it also stopped her hysterical breathing, and made her focus on Lilly.
"Why... Why! you hit me! "
Rubbing Sarah's reddening cheek gently, Lilly shrugged:" Well yeah, You were starting to hyperventilate, so it kinda seemed like the thing to do."
"But.. Yeah thanks I guess."
Nodding Lilly sat back on her heels, and froze...
Light glowed out of Sarah's pupils like tiny flickering flames, and if Lilly hadn't been looking straight at them, she would never have believed what she was seeing. Flames, god damn red flames flickered in Sarah's eyes, burning brightly enough for them to bathe both women in their crimson glow.
" Sarah what the fuck is up with your eyes! Their... like they are... Fuck, why are there flames in your eyes? "
" Flames? Oh wait, yeah right the glow, fuck I had forgotten about that..": Reaching up Sarah ran her hands over her face, and into her hair, banishing the glamour she had used to cover her new markings.
"Sarah? What's that around your eyes? Is that bruises did he hurt you? I swear to the gods almighty that I will rip him limb from limb if he hurt you".: Angry outrage made bright red spots bloom on Lilly's cheeks.
Smiling sadly at her friends heartfelt words, Sarah shook her head. It felt good to smile even if it were because of the mental image of an irate Lilly ripping the goblin king apart:" No he didn't hurt me, well at least not physically, but he broke my heart..."
" Ow honey, you want to talk about it? "
Nodding Sarah wiped her nose on her sweater sleeve in a very charming gesture:" Yeah I do, but I don't think you are gonna believe me..."
It took two full quarter gallon cartons of Ben and Jerry's double brownie ice-cream, and a full pot of coffee to tell Lilly everything. And the look on her face, as she now sat turning the crystal that Sarah had conjured was one of dazed confusion. Looking up from the flawless crystal Lilly said: "So if you want to, you could like. . I don't know wave your hands and make the ice-cream tubs refill? "
"sure": Passing her fingers over the empty tubs, Sarah imagined them full and by the time her hand had completed the pass, there were two full tubs, with a bag of mini marshmallows mixed in just for good measure.
Grabbing her tub, Lilly dug in and sat back with her mouth full of ice, a very satisfied grin plastered over her smeared lips:" That is soooooo coool. Wow I wish it was me, well except for the whole broken heart and all destroying war thing... So are you just going to give up like that? I mean he sounds petty messed up, but from what you have told me it sounds as if someone else is pulling the strings... Ok bear with me cause I use to play a lot of AD&D when I was a teenager, and there were these mind controlling spells, could he be under something like that? And really if you had been through all that shit wouldn't you be, you know, a little fucked up in the head? Waiting for a few millennia only to be turned down... Then spend a few years being tortured to within an inch of your life, while believing that the one true love of your life is dead, because of you... Not that I don't understand you, I mean come on your were what fourteen? that's just creepy, but still it had to hurt like hell.. But that didn't stop him..."
Picking up her own tub, Sarah blinked owlishly at Lilly: "Give up! what do you mean... He cheated on me, and he's dead set on trying to destroy both himself and his world, taking this one with him in the fall.. Are you serious? "
Nodding around another mouthful Lilly mumbled:" yeah you may be right, but just for me think it over... In the meantime what else can you do..."
. . .
Pale rose tinted light painted the freshly fallen snow in soft colours, even his dark smokesteel blade seemed less deadly as he clasped it tightly in his trembling glove clad hand. Raising the curved sword, Jareth slashed it down in a hard sweeping motion, gasping as the pain ripped down his back. This was the thirteenth wall, and it hurt him just as much as the first one had, as he struggled to make it crumble into mere dust. It was the price exacted by the magic that had created them, and a warning not to weaken the living structure. But he could not heed it, the weave controlling him was too tight too strong, and he was too weak to resist. And he only grew weaker with each crumbling wall.
Stepping through the thirty foot hole, Jareth groaned as he looked at the open landscape in front of him. These were the inner northern fields of his people, it was the biggest fields and utterly essential to his subjects survival. It should have been harvested long ago, yet the withered corn still stood as tall as his hips, unharvested and useless. Ice clung to the tall greying stalks, like glimmering eaves of corn, it was actually rather pretty, if it had not meant that his people, would be starving in just a few months.
The soft sound of fur boots against loose snow reached him, long before the lithe figure of Titania drew even with him.
Resting her slender mitten covered hand on his arm, Titania smiled gentle up at him, but behind that apparent kindness Jareth saw her cruelty shine out at him.
Bowing lightly to her, he said:" My lady this is the northern wheat fields, they extend some ten miles straight as the owl flies, and will afford us the most speed. Though I must warn you that rebels will have ample opportunity to hide in the long crops."
Nodding in understanding Titania turned and beamed up at him:" Then burn it!"
She couldn't see it, but she felt it through the spells binding them, when his heart stopped and flooded with icy crippling dread, as her words sunk home.
Burn it! yes not only would it eliminate a few more of those obstinate miscreants that Jareth insisted on claiming as his subjects. It would also allow her to torture that mongrel atrocity that had been thrust upon her. And it would be so sweet, to know that he would be feeling every death as his own, while he lay with Beinhill tonight. Smirking to herself, Titania grasped his arm, and let him "lead" her to her tent. Yes Beinhill's price had been so slight, the love of the goblin king and a throne of her own beside him. well those two things had been readily surrendered. They were of little worth. Beinhill was a queen in name only, her magic far too immature and weak, to ever entice the Labyrinth to bond with her, and then of course there was the point that Hoggle detested the vapid little creature. No Beinhill's real use would come as soon as Jareth was removed. Because then her presence would make the unwashed masses of the Labyrinth flock to Sarah, forcing the wilful but woefully inexperienced girl to return to her realm, to take up the reins of a ruined and mourning kingdom. And all the while her broken heart would be slowly draining her, killing her pudgy human body as surely as any poison. But just to be certain, Titania would send in a few handsome young fey men to help her "heal" and should it take too long, well those young men would all be capable warriors. They did after all only need her to keep the veil strong enough, for the elder gods to remain contained until Oberon had draw enough strength from the human realm to kill those false gods once and for all.
And then finally they could reclaim their own rightful place as gods in the mortal realm, basking in the power drawn from the blood sacrifices that were their due.
Pausing outside her opulent tent, Titania, regarded Jareth with a predatory light in her bright blue eyes. Even she could not deny the pure sexual presence of the man. He was handsome, tall, lean and golden with ebony lashes around those haunting eyes of his. Oh and those lips, yes he most decidedly did have a bed-appeal unmatched by any, and the skill to back it. It was perhaps the only aspects of her unwanted son that Titania would ever come to miss.
And considering that he would be gone in a mere matter of days...
Licking her lips Titania pulled the tent flap aside, Oberon would arrive later that day, and that would spell the end of her chance to enjoy the untamed virility of the goblin king in the ways that she enjoyed the most... well that was still hours away, and plenty of time for her satiate herself.
" Thank you my lord, might I offer you a goblet of mulled wine as the fields are put to the torch?"
She could have squealed like a goblin child as Jareth bowed gracefully, and replied with the exact word she had planted in his mind: "why my thanks mother, I would be most honoured."
God how she would miss the charade once Jareth lay cold in his grave, but needs must...
. . .
Staring into the darkened reaches of her mirror, Sarah sighed and griped her hair with enough force to almost pull it out by the root. Two and a half day that was how many days that had passed while she had been with Jareth. And was as long as she had lain in her bed either crying her eyes out, or staring vacantly into thin air. It was no time at all and it was an eternity, that had left her utterly changed. Everything about her had changed, From the way she found herself dressing as she finally dragged herself out of bed that morning, to the new sway that had crept into her walk. Lilly had grinned that morning when Sarah dressed in a simple knee length silk dress, with a fitted bodice and long black lace up boots, rounded off by a tailored leather jacket, with a high collar.
She had according to Lilly looked like a serious warrior queen, out to either eat someone alive, or fuck them to death. Either way it was nowhere near Sarah's normally bulky sweats and tattered jeans, but it did look good on her judging by the busload of looks and catcalls Sarah had received during that day.
She should have been enjoying the attention, but all that did for her was ram home how none of those raunchy, dim-witted Neanderthals' were even close to being Jareth. And now twelve hours later, Sarah found herself sitting by her mirror staring at her markings focusing on getting a grip on changing them on command, and failing miserably.
She couldn't put her finger on it but something had been pulling at her attention all day, like a building headache, that just refused to go away, stealing her concentration. Rubbing her temples, Sarah sighed and looked up as Lilly opened their door, and slipped in bearing what could only be called a mountain of Chinese take away boxes and a six pack of their favourite beer.
" So hungry? cause I just got this crazy need for Chinese.."
Grinning widely Lilly scampered over to Sarah's desk and unloaded her haul with a satisfied groan:" There we go... dig in.."
Running her eyes over the white boxes, Sarah sighed again as her stomach decided to remind her that she had eaten little more than smoothies in the last few days:" Oh wow that smells sooo good, did you get some..."
"Duck chop suey, yeah and fried rice. Here you... Sarah, are you okay? You look so pale.."
It felt like the world had gone still, as if everything had boiled down to a pinhead of icy heat, hovering just above her right palm, as a slightly pitted crystal appeared and dropped into Sarah's trembling hand.
" Sarah! please Lil miss We need yer help, I need yer ta close the gateways and": Hoggle's desperate voice rung out:" Sarah they are half way through already, I have stopped them, but... It will be a matter of time.. yer best be preparing lil miss..."
Gripping the murky crystal tightly, Sarah all but screamed:" Hoggle.. Hoggle can you hear me!.. Hoggle please"
"Sarah? Yes... I hear yer, no need ta yell.. Look lass the young pup is leading the white blade and his men through, but we' ave him stopped now though... Look if what I fear comes ta pass yer will have ta protect as many mortals as yer can..."
"But how Hoggle I can't fight Titania alone, I don't know how. I've only just gotten a hold on using my magic for like, the small stuff:" Fear flared her markings in acid yellow and red, with a thin black pattern running along her lash line:" What if I just close us off, wouldn't that..."
"Listen lil miss, yer know that won't do nothing once, he has broken through. yer know that I can't let him while I'm still alive. And once I'm gone..."
" The veil...": All colour drained from her face as Sarah finally fully grasped what the price for Jareth's actions would be:" Oh goddess he will kill us all!"
Hoggle's voice dropped to a near sigh:" aye."
" No! I can't let him do that! not.. No.. ": Staring at the petrified Lilly, Sarah swallowed convulsively, as she considered her possibilities, there were so few, so little she knew and understood.
" Look I don't know if I have understood this right but ": It took Sarah a few seconds to realize that it was Lilly who had spoken, and that she no longer looked petrified. Instead she now sat leaning forward with an intent look on her striking face:" This world is kinda like a giant generator of magic right?"
Nodding Sarah kept silent fearing that any suggestion from her might break Lilly's line of thoughts.
" so If we cut off that power, the other realms starve, Right?"
Another nod.
" But you also said that Jareth is drawing his magic from you and Hoggle right?"
" Uhm yeah I guess that's how it works now that he is weakened."
" So what if you two cut him off? Then he can't do whatever it is that he is doing and you can just wait him out... right? And once he realizes that he's screwed then he'll give-up right, then you just reopen the tap right?"
Sarah's mouth gaped like a newly caught bass as she tried to think of a reason that, that shouldn't work. It sounded so simple as Lilly said it, too simple, yet Sarah couldn't think of a reason for not to work.
It was Hoggle's disembodied voice that were the first to break the silence:" From the mouth of a babes... Lil lass I wish I could kiss yer, Of course. Sarah yer be the stronger ruler, And the ones who's blood bound yer both, I've never had two rulers before so I don't know whether it'll work. But if yer shut the gateways to all, then yer should shut off the flow of magic between yer as well, seeing as Jareth feed off of my power, then that should starve him too... Only he doesn't have the reserve ta wait out the Labyrinth."
" But won't that kill him?": God Sarah hated the soft terrified voice that had croaked those words out.
" I don't know Lil miss, I have never done anything like this before. But it might... But seeing as it's the very fabric of the realms that's at stake, I don't see how we could justify sacrificing it all for him... "
"Uhm.. I was just wondering..." : Lilly asked:" If you. . Higgle? "
" Hoggle": sounded the terse correction.
" Yeah whatever... If you Hoggle, are against him. Then who's with him? the goblins? Or is it those Seelie's Sarah told me about... "
Staring at Lilly in confusion, Sarah nodded: "well it's the...Hoggle?"
The voice of the dwarf sounded as if he was frowning:" He's leading the whiteblade's draegor knights and about half of the seelie warriors, but he's nay in charge... Neldan keeps me informed of their planning... according ta him it's Queen Titania who holds the reins. ..."
" What about the Goblins, the gnomes, and fireys?": Concern made Sarah frown, they were her people despite everything.
" They be hiding in the Labyrinth picking off the scouts and stragglers. They know that this might be the end of their world, and bless their hearts they are determined ta fight for their home and lives... "
Rubbing her slender fingers over the bridge of her prominent nose, Lilly looked from Sarah to the murky crystal: "So what now? how do we save this whole mess? ..."
. . .
The stench of burning grain and flesh lingered heavily as Jareth pulled the tent flap aside and exited the tent he shared with Beinhill, pausing he turned, mechanically offering his hand to the beaming female, with a soft smile before lifting her hand to his lips and pressing a suggestive open-mouthed kiss to the back of it.
His eyes glowed with soft promises, yet his mind screamed and howled against this most recent violation of his mind and body. This had been Beinhill's price, His hand and her own throne as Goblin Queen.
He had known of course that she had long pined for him, that she would cast long glances his way, and bat her long silver eyelashes at him, in an effort to capture his heart. That was the reason that she had been kept on the night maid shift, so that he could minimise any contact with her. But in vain.
No matter what he had done, how many socially ambitious ladies she had seen him with she had still clung to her obsession with him. It had in fact gotten so bad that he had been forced to tell her bluntly that he would never consider her, that his heart was forever beyond her. Her reaction had been to attack him, forcing him to ban her from the castle. But that had only prompted her into trying to kill herself, and he had not had it in him to let her do that... Oh how he regretted that now, as she clung to his arm, on their way through the camp. Had she been dead then Sarah's ear would not have been poisoned against him, and she might have stopped this madness... But if wishes were horses then no-one would starve come winter.
Then again the dead did not starve... Inwardly shuddering, Jareth forcefully expelled the torturous images of the creatures who had been trapped by the fire.
Stopping outside Titania's magnificent ivory and spring green tent, Jareth seethed as his body bowed once more, showing a deference that he did not come even close to feeling. Any and all compassion or respect he might have ever felt towards the warped creature was well and truly dead, the second he had realized that she had been the tool that had driven his beloved Sarah from his life. Letting the tent flap fall shut behind him, Jareth had a quick but very satisfying vision of the two women slowly impaled on red-hot iron pikes cursed to scream in eternal agony as death was denied them.
Pulling out a chair, Jareth gestured for Beinhill to sit, as he remained standing behind her, the very image of an attentive partner. His hands resting lightly on her slender shoulders as he fantasized about snapping her swan like neck.
" Oh isn't that just a perfect image, my lord what a sweet couple, surely you must have been made for each other."
The look of joy on Beinhill face made Jareth's bile rise, but what truly ignited his anger was the words that slipped so effortlessly from his own lips.
" Thank you mother, you alone saw the truth, Beinhill is the one I was meant for, thank you for opening my eyes to..."
No, drawing in a deep shuddering breath Jareth stopped, he just stopped the words before they slipped from his lips. Only shock destroyed his grip on the words, and they escaped his tongue with barely a split seconds delay, nothing big enough for anyone to notice. But it was there, however small the slip in the weave, it was there and he would use it.
The world faded into the background, as Jareth concentrated fully on that tiny sliver of hope. If he could stop a word from being said then maybe he could stop a small touch, and given time he would find a way to break completely free. Just as long as that tiny trickle of his returning magic continued, then he could let it accumulate and once the time was right, he could use it to shatter her spidery web. Suddenly hope seemed to return to him, he would have to work at it, to test its limits, and he would have to be exceedingly cautious. But he now had a real chance to...
To do what, to return to the throne alone knowing full well that Sarah was out there, living a parallel life. Just as alone as he. She hated him now, and he couldn't blame her. He had done her an unspeakable injustice, and she had no reason to ever forgive him...
Anguish filled him flooding his mind pushing everything else away, as he replayed the final word between them, again, Wishing once more that he might have done something, said something, to let her know and make her see that it had not been his fault. But it was too late, and what was said, was said. Nothing could change that, no matter how desperate his wish...
. . .
Light glistened on the frozen shapes that had once moved amongst the living. Most had become unrecognisable but their tiny sizes still revealed their young ages. Tiny hands reaching for the larger bodies that had tried in vain to shield them as the flames had caught them against the shear wall,and the inhuman heat washed over them.
Pressing her hands over her stinging eyes, Sarah fought desperately to purge her mind of the pain and the images. But there was no escape as the bond of the Labyrinth held her enthral, forcing her to feel every single death.
And the pain raked her soul with unrelenting claws.
Writhing on her narrow bed, Sarah gripped Lilly's hand like it was the only thing grounding her to the world of the living.
" Sarah? Please look at me, Sarah if this doesn't stop, I'm gonna call you an ambulance, you hear me? This is killing you, and I can't just watch you die."
Her teeth clattered almost too much for her to form words without biting her own tongue, but Sarah, Queen of the Goblins and mistress of the Labyrinth was not prone to giving up. Her voice had all but vanished, so raw was her throat from gasping, But Sarah still managed to ground out:" No! It. ... will... pass... it will... It will...Pass."
It was as if the pain was a slave to her word, because the second the words left her lips, the pain stopped between two short breaths.
" Oh god, that... that was..."
Sitting up with the help of Lilly, Sarah hid her face in her badly trembling hands with a sob. It was too much too real, and Sarah knew that she would never forget the pain of the parents they watched their children succumb to the suffocating smoke, as they themselves were taken by the flames that their king had ignited in the withered crops that should by all rights have sustained them through the long cold winter... but now... the dead did not starve...
" Sarah what in the name of hell just happened? you were gasping and going into some sort of seizure..."
Wiping the tears away with angry movements Sarah groaned:" The Labyrinth... I am its queen, and I feel every untimely death... as if...it was my own... Jareth, he.. he burned a one of the common fields, there were families inside trying to... to salvage as much of the grain as they could.. they..."
Gently stroking Sarah's hair, Lilly hushed the still shivering girl, and cradled her near:" ssch don't, it's been a long night, and you need to rest... now scoot over, I'm bunking with you tonight."
Nodding slowly, Sarah moved in daze as she allowed Lilly to press her back into the bed and wrap her arms around her. It was nice to lie safe in Lilly's arms, to feel her warmth and know that she was no alone. But there in the silvery darkness, Sarah hated herself for wanting it to be a different body to which she clung...
. .,. .
Dark clouds raced across the pewter sky, bearing witness to the frozen agony of it kings heart, and bringing with them the promises of more snow. Yet the whipping wind did not touch her as she moved through the frozen waist high crop. Nothing touched her, Nothing but the keening voice screaming two words again and again:" NO goddess! NO"
It was his voice deep and ragged with the force of his desperation, and the sound beckoned her towards the curious sight before her. He was standing on the crumbled heap that had once been a high granite wall, tall and beautiful in his golden faceless splendour. His mismatched eyes glowing red as he conjured a blazing torch into existence, with a simple flourish of his hand. His arm went back ready to launch the torch and the cry rose to a screeching crescendo.
Horror would be the word that best described the broken contorted creature that laboriously pulled itself from the shadow of the goblin king, with wildly jerking movements. It's head was a twisted parody of the face she loved and knew as well as her own. It moved in the alien stop motion way, of a movie monster, and it almost looked as if every bone in its body had a full rotary joint . Ragged fingers with bleeding broken claws gripped at the crumbled stone only to lose hold as the stone turned to dust. But slowly inch by torturous inch, it pulled its spidery body from the shadow.
Then it rose to stand huddled against the wind, its hands held in awkward claws, stuck between lashing out and ripping into itself.
And still it twisted mouth screamed : No Goddess No...
Again and again.
Turning brightly glowing eyes to Sarah the creature... No it wasn't a creature, it was Jareth, the true Jareth staring at her, begging her to help, to stop something to...
She was running before she even knew what she was doing, her only thought to reach the man she loved, it didn't matter what he looked like, or what he had done. He was Jareth and she loved him with all that was her.
The stones crumbled into dust as she fought desperately to scale the pile of rubble that only grew five inches with each inch she managed . Screaming at the top of her lungs, Sarah called him, begging him to stop himself, to fight what was happening. And in response the shattered Jareth lunged at the perfect faceless creature only to be flung back like a broke toy.
She couldn't see him anymore, but she could hear him as he screamed, and the faceless creature cackled with glee...
Bands like the strings of a marionette glittered from the creatures limbs as it glided gracefully across the rubble, connecting it to the shimmering sky above. The torch still held loosely in a gloved hand as it advanced on Jareth.
Scrambling Sarah fought on, desperate to reach Jareth, to shield him from the heavy blows she heard connecting with flesh. But the rubble continued to grow, and Sarah was helpless as the torch flew above her, soaring towards the frozen grain. Only the eaves were gone and instead it was the denizens of the realm standing close like crops in the field.
"Noooooooooo"
Flames spread like water, drowning everyone in their roar as they were swallowed...
Bolting upright on her narrow bed, Sarah gripped her padded quilt as she panted and tried to orientate herself, she was safe and in her dorm room, it was Lilly whose arms were wrapped around her, and it had all been a... Dream..
Or had it?
She could feel the truth of what she had seen, even now as the images faded away. Something else was controlling Jareth, he was not himself... And yet he had been aware of what the faceless creature had done in his name... Rubbing her puffy eyes, Sarah slipped from her bed as carefully as possible, so as to not wake up the still sleeping Lilly.
Leaning against the window sill Sarah stared at the moonlit compound. Jareth had been so scared in her dream, so desperate to stop himself from throwing the torch. Pressing her forehead against the frigid pane, she sighed deeply, and pressed her still blank medallion to her chest, feeling the tiny trickle of magic connecting her to him. It had only been a few hours since Hoggle's plea, and she still hadn't come to any real conclusion on whether to actually do what Hoggle had asked her to, and cut of the trickle that slowly restored his magic to him. Hell she didn't even know how to do it.
Well that would have to be the first step, to figure out how to cut off that thin connection.
Closing her eyes, Sarah drew in a deep breath, as she emptied her mind of anything but the feeling of warmth that had become a part of her. In her mind's eye, it shone a bright blue as it stretched out into a thin pulsing line that pierced through the pale grey mists of the veil. And she could almost feel him at the other end, their lives connected for eternity through that thin incorporeal filament.
Seen like this it seemed so simple, to cut it off, all she needed do was sever that thin gossamer strand, it was her duty as their queen to keep them safe. Reaching out with the part of her soul that was still so new to her, she stroked her incorporeal fingers over the shimmering surface, shuddering as she felt the throbbing heat of his heartbeat. It was so strong, so achingly familiar in its steady rhythm, as it seemed to pull her closer, to pull her through the reaches of the veil. She knew even as she let herself be pulled along by that alluring pounding, that she shouldn't.
The veil was silver smoke studded with diamond stars parting before her, its glory taking her breath away as she speed towards him. It could have been years or only a few minutes, when she finally broke free of the swirling mists, to race across the ever changing night sky of the Labyrinth, she simply did not know. Nor did she care. She could feel him, he was so close, so tantalizingly near, and Sarah could not stop herself as she sped along the pulsing line intent on reaching him. And once she did she would... she would... Her speed faltered as she realized that she had no idea what she was doing. What was she even hoping to achieve, he had cheated on her, threatened her and she had left... What would she even say to him, if she got the chance.
Anguish pulsed off of her as she stopped, even now, she loved him with a passion but what would that help? what...
Lights like grounded stars spread out below her in a wide band, it was both a beautifully and terrifying sight as it slashed through the darkness of the Labyrinth below her. Smoke curled lazily through the air, obscuring the sky above her in a light grey fog.
Horror filled her as she descended and saw the nature of the creatures milling around the blazing fires. They were tall and misshapen with black and rough skin and wide powerful builds. Each was decked out in blackened and spiked armour as if they had been crafted to reflect the evil Sarah felt emanating from the milling throng. Theses creatures, were nothing but evil, intent on utter destruction and mayhem for no other reason but their own pleasure.
" No. Jareth what have you done? ..."
" What I had to.. why are you here, I believe that you made yourself quite clear..."
He floated before her, a pale shadow creature of faint gold and deep blues, as he snarled at her, his words laced with cold venom.
No she would not cower before him: "I came to help you."
" Help me!" : Scuffing at her words, the ethereal image of the goblin king flickered slightly:" I don't need your help you silly little creature! How dare you. Now go back to that steel and concrete hell you call home, I have no further use for you!"
" Oh really.. Not even to get your magic back, or to reopen the portals? that's right I closed them..."
His cold laughter echoed around her as he gestured toward the mountainous pile of Iron ore that surrounded the mist shrouded portal:" I am the Goblin king, I do not need the likes of you to retake what is MINE"
His clawed hand flashed out, and incorporeal fingers clutching her ghostly throat, as he yanked her in tight, his other hand pressed against her chest just above her cores. Staring into his shadowed eyes Sarah saw nothing but hatred and madness gleaming back at her.
" I have no need for you, I take what is mine!"
The surge was utterly debilitating as he plunged his claws into the shimmering blue core that was his magic inside her, attempting to rip it straight out of her.
No she could let him do this, if he had his magic back, they would never be able to stop him.
" NO!"
Wrenching away from his grip, Sarah stared in disbelief at the snarling creature before her, how could she had misjudged him so badly, how could she have doubted that this was for the good of everyone.
" I refuse to let you do this!" : Gripping the thin throbbing strand that connected them like an umbilical cord Sarah snarled: "I will not let you hurt another soul"
The strand broke like a fine thread, and the veil roared in pulling her back to the safety of her own world, far far away from him.
Tears fell like silver pearls from his eyes as Jareth watched Sarah's spirit speed away like a falling star through the veil :" Thank you my love... thank you for being strong... far stronger than I have ever been."
Closing his eyes, he pressed both hands against his sigil, as he pressed words and magic into its warm metal. It would appear to Sarah once he was no longer king, bearing with it the words that would be his last, his legacy. Yanking the ghostly chain from his neck, he smiled as it solidified, gleaming in black and silver before dissolving into nothing.
There, it was done... Now all that remained was for Hoggle to also do what needed doing. The Labyrinth had a Queen now, a strong beautiful Queen who would protect it and those within far better than he had ever done..
Gazing up at the swirling skies above him, Jareth sighed softly as his spirit was pulled slowly back to its prison of flesh. He had tried to break the threads of Titania's weave, he had fought to expand the tiny flaw he had found, but it was no use, the flaw was too insignificant to be used for anything but a few seconds of control, and he had no more time. Leaving him with only one terrifyingly easy choice...
Tomorrow would be his last day...