Chapter: Like Poison
The sun's golden rays played over the pristine snow, and glassy icicles, creating dark blue and purple shadows over which shimmered bright rainbows. Pulling the sled behind them, Sarah glanced at Shivers hunched figure as they struggled against the harsh wind.
The day had been clear and crisp with a deep azure sky devoid of any clouds. And apart from the stiff northern wind that were now quickening with the promise of becoming a brisk gale, there had been nothing to diminish the glory of the day.
It had started as a stupid bet at the breakfast table, and before she knew it they had been trudging through the nearly knee deep snow, on a quest to find prey for dinner and to decide who was the best crossbowman.
It had not unexpectedly turned out that Shiver though still healing could easily out shoot his queen. But that was only because he was a more than exceptional shot, because Sarah was slowly but surely regaining all those skills that she had learned through three thousand years of lives lived with Jareth.
And now they were pulling home the bounty of the day.
One large pig/lizard thing, as well as a bushel of small white plumed birds with six long spidery legs that were devilishly fast and damn near impossible to spot against the snow. Sarah had named them snow dancers because it looked like they were dancing as they surrounded their helpless prey of small shiny beetles.
The small birds had provided the targets for their contest, and yes Shiver had quickly picked off the first ten before Sarah had even gotten the first three.
And he had been nothing but a perfect gentleman about the whole thing, but it was just too good for him to let it completely slide once he also ended up being the one who brought the lizard-pig down with a single arrow. Before Sarah had even brought her crossbow up to bear.
Grinning he had pulled the bloody bolt from the carcass, before casually flinging out: You know my queen, being a competent hunter is not a prerequisite for a queen. It is enough for you to be pretty."
Pausing he turned from the dead beast and shot her a wicked grin as he drawled:" Though in your case you may be wise to practice a little more vigorously. .. One can..."
The wet slap of a snowball connecting squarely with his face, had cut his teasing short and launching a veritable snowball war worthy of most ten year olds.
Not that neither combatant cared. No the flying snowballs were purging the heaviness in their minds, and replacing it with something lighter that came dangerously close to happiness.
It was not until they had been too exhausted to lift their own arms, that they finally stopped, to lie in the churned up snow and stare at the bright noon sky. For a while they had just lain there panting with the exertion, and simply enjoying each others silent company. Then after a while of companionable silence did they talk. Words and thoughts pouring forth from one as the other listened, accepting the offered fear and pain and in return offering support.
Fear filled them both, fear that Jareth was lost to them, fear that Titania's vile plan would succeed, resulting in the death of the labyrinth and the merger of the realms, ushering in a new age of capricious gods and dark sacrifice.
Fear ...
So much fear...
And once they had cleansed themselves of the fear, Sarah smiled and for the first time in weeks it had been a good honest smile.
They began the walk home not long after.
And now as the wind picked up in speed, and clouds began to gather above them, they were finally home.
The wind howled loud and long as it ripped through the rafters of their home, only... it sounded more like the voice of insanity unleashed and mixing with the scream of mortal fear.
Instinct gripped them both launching both goblin and queen into a flurry of action as they relinquished their prey, to the freezing storm, raced up the stairs and barged into the heat of the common living room, just in time to hear Didymus roar in rage and hurl himself through the door and into Jareth's room.
"NO thou vile beast! Thou shalt not lay thy hands upon the young lady... Unhand her ... Now."
All signs of Shivers worsening limp vanished like dew before the sun, as he burst into a sudden sprint screaming: "Lilly !"
Racing after Shivers lean form, Sarah entered the room just in time to see the two knights prying Jareth's claw like hand from Lilly's bleeding neck. Once freed she fell to the floor like a marionette with its strings cut.
Seeing her fall Shiver released his grip on the snarling creature that had been Jareth, as he fell to his knees beside Lilly and scooped her up and into his arms with a sound like a strangled sob: "No please... not again. ..."
Pain and fear ripped into Sarah, yes she wanted to go to her fallen friend, but the release of Jareth's amputated left arm had given him the room he needed to roll out from under Didymus strength, and he was now doing his best to get away from the furious fox.
Throwing herself into the fray, Sarah used her minute weight to throw Jareth of balance, causing his knees to buckle and pull both her and Didymus down on top of him, pinning him to the floor with their combined weight.
" Get off me you abhorrent abominations, get off of me and kneel ... I am your king!... ": The voice was Jareth's but the words and cold cruel tone clearly belonged to the creature Sarah had seen in her dream. Was it real? Did something, someone control Jareth? Sarah didn't fully know what to believe, but she knew that she had to find out.
"Oh shut up ! You are no king here, nor in the underground!... You have no power over anyone! Not even yourself! "
The words leaving her mouth were low, cold and snarled and their effect were instant, freezing Jareth in place as his face contorted with pain and uncontrolled rage. Seizing the moment Sarah quickly straddled Jareth's chest, digging her leather clad knees into his elbows effectively immobilizing him, as she ignored the thick clotted blood pooling beneath his still open wounds.
Howling with rage he twisted and thrashed, but her position made it impossible for him to dislodge her, as Didymus grabbed Jareth's ankles and forced him to lay still.
"Shiver is Lilly alright? Is she breathing?"
" I ... Yes, yes she breathes... I'll take her to my rooms.. Lest I harm the man who raised me."
Scooping her up and into his arms, Shiver stood swaying for a second as he regained his balance before carrying Lilly's limp form from the room with a groan and a noticeable limp.
Turning her attention back on the snarling creature beneath her, Sarah felt her heart seize up, and freeze. This was not Jareth, this was something, someone else. Someone she had seen before, in a dream, the creature that struggled to free itself from their grip, was the same as the perfect cruel being that she had seen in her dream. And she had no idea what to do with this new knowledge, nothing in her three thousand years of living with Jareth was of any use to her now.
And honestly the memories of her most recent and arguably most strange life was no help either.
And as if on cue Didymus chose that exact moment to chime in.
" Mine lady I have a solution to the conundrum that we face albeit it be a temporary one. "
She was grasping at straws and she had nothing to lose in listening to the fox.
" Yeah let's talk, but not in here okay. .."
Holding up her hand, Sarah grimaced at the look of horror that flickered over Jareth's face as a shimmering coil of rope materialized to hang from her slender fingers. But there was no avoiding this, they couldn't risk him running off or hurting anyone while they tried to figure out what to do. And the hardened look in Didymus eye as he grasped the rope told her that he too understood the need for this precaution, even if he didn't relish the thought of it:" I shall do it most swiftly my lady."
" Good, cause I'm letting go now."
. . .
Leaning against the door frame Sarah watched Lilly as she sat on the edge of Shiver's bed with a crisp white bandage around her neck, and her head on the lanky goblin's shirt clad right shoulder. His long arm was wrapped protectively around her back, allowing him to hold her hand with the same arm he was hugging her with. And it was obvious that Lilly was drawing immense strength and comfort from the way Shiver was just there holding her.
But even so there was a grim mood in the room, and it reflected off their faces as Lilly concluded her explanation of how she had come to suspect that Jareth was possessed by some kind of spell. And how she must have done something to alert the spell and cause the attack.
" Look I'm certain that, this...": gesturing to encompass the entire situation, with her free hand Lilly frowned at the gravelly tone her voice had as she continued: "This isn't Jareth's fault, so don't hurt him okay, I think... well you heard me, when I just told you that he is under some sort of spell. But ... Didymus help me out here..."
Bowing slightly the large knight stepped away from the wall to stand before the trio: "Verily it is as the lady has said. Our lord is indeed held in thrall by a magic most devious and foul. The strands of this malignant web, was concealed in both colour and style as to render it indistinguishable from the halo of Labyrinthian magic that doth ever permeate his person. But here in this blessed realm, where none of the golden glow resides the strands become most obvious as they struggle to remain whole. The spell, being as it is devoid of Labyrinthian magic, has been feeding off of any magic it can access. But it could not, I believe take in this vibrant and powerful magic suffusing this realm. And thus. ... I do believe that it sought to gain magic through us, growing ever stronger and shrewder. I believe that it has attempted to keep us from recognising its presence by possessing our king with that viciously vile manner of speaking..."
Nodding absently as Didymus trailed off into silence, Sarah rubbed her face as she groaned: "Yeah that makes sense, but I have no idea what the fuck I'm going to do to break the spell. I mean this isn't a fairy-tale, I can't just kiss him, and make it all better..."
"Wait": Lilly croaked as she eagerly leaned forward, while still managing to stay wrapped in Shivers arms: "Why not? It works off malice right... and the closer we get to him the crueler it gets right? So couldn't you like I don't know burn it out with love? "
Shrugging Didymus looked doubtful, but he remained silent as he seemed to consider Lilly's suggestion. Sarah on the other hand didn't stay quiet.
"Yeah I don't think that will actually work, though. ... although the thought isn't bad, and while it's the only alternative we have to poisoning him with iron again.. Okay I'm gonna go try something and if it fails then..."
Swallowing thickly Lilly leaned back into Shiver's tightening embrace, as she met Sarah's fear filled eyes.
What Sarah was not saying, was that if she failed, and was killed by this creature, then this world would die. And in dying it would be taking them with it. And even if it should remain, then they would be trapped here, with no way to return to either the underground or the aboveground. And yet as silent understanding passed between the two women, they both knew that it was a risk that they had to face.
Smiling slightly Lilly nodded: " Yeah we know now get in there before you lose your nerve."
. . .
The room was the same as it had been. And yet it was utterly changed. "Jareth" now sat on the bed, with his arm awkwardly caught between his body and the headboard he was leaning up against. Blood stained the fur below his amputated stump a dull blackish red, and trailed from the corners of his mouth in two thin lines. Dark circles made his mismatched eyes seemed sunken and dead as he sat silently watching her with a look of cold disdain.
Closing the door firmly behind herself, Sarah leaned back against it, relishing the solid feeling of the cool wood at her back. Her heart pounded a furious rhythm in her chest and her mouth felt as dry as a desert. Licking her chapped lips Sarah exhaled and pushed out from the door.
" So the mortal comes to savour her victory. Why don't you just kill me and end this farce?"
Meeting his cold gaze Sarah asked:" Is that what you want? To die? "
A dark manic light flared to life in his sunken eyes and for a second he looked like a haunting ghost as his features twisted into a mask of driven insanity.
"Yes" : He drawled passionately: "That is what I desire, to die, to rest, to be free of your inane attempts of ensnaring me with your incredulous lies. To die and finally know ... peace."
"Hmph that was what I thought, you're not Jareth, Jareth would never say that, he would never ask to die, when there was a way to live. I don't know what you are but this is your final warning to leave him alone before I make you leave him. Jareth if you are in there..."
His teeth flashed in a cruel predatory grin as he barked out an icy laugh, inclined his head slightly in a strangely threatening manner, and growled:" Oh Jareth is not here right now, but I shall make sure that he hears your sweet words. ..."
Scuffing at the obvious attempt of mockery, Sarah smiled: "Don't bother I'll just tell him myself."
" Oh" : The creature cooed mockingly: "How sweet... but it is too late for that, the spell was completed and I now hold sway over this pitiful shell of a body... However shortly it should last..."
The last word was hissed as the creature inhabiting Jareth's flesh lunged forward, in a clumsy attempt of biting Sarah, the attempt succeeding only in landing him in a tangle at Sarah's still boot clad feet.
Dropping to her knees Sarah grabbed his bony shoulders and using his stunned state, she spun him, and pulled him in hard against her own body, trapping his arms between them. Her grip was like iron as her nails dug into the ivory column of his throat, drawing blood, as she sighed softly into his ear: "I will draw you out like poison is drawn from a wound."
Power pulsed down her arm burning like fire and yet a cool balm as it ripped their world apart and hurtled them through a vortex of light and darkness