AN: My lovely beta informs me that a tissue warning is needed for this chapter. See I'm not all evil... Oh wait...
Chapter 50: To Fight for One's Beliefs
The sun had long risen by the time Sarah and Jareth emerged from their underground trek through a cleverly hidden door that once closed behind them blended seamlessly with the rough surface of the crumbling walls sand coloured stone. To anyone who didn't know what to look for it was just a wall like all the others that made up the undulating and still slightly glittery Labyrinth. But to those who knew, it was a gateway into the entrenchment that rose up behind them, still visible despite being several miles away.
Stepping out into the merciless cold of the premature winter Jareth shuddered and pulled the fur lined cowl of his knee long cloak up, obscuring his face and muffling his voice as he turned to face a now equally cloaked Sarah, holding out a gloved hand: "Are you ready my precious? "
Her grip was firm as she took his hand and let him help her through the rubble that obstructed the corridor where they found themselves. And her voice was clear as she said: "Yeah, It'll be just like last time. Only this time I'm really going to enjoy defeating the bastard waiting at the end of it."
Winking at her Jareth drawled: "Yes well this time the bastard is married, and far too old for such a pretty young thing such as you. "
Feigning outrage she punched him lightly with her free hand: "Oh and you are soo much younger? "
Puffing up in mock consternation Jareth released her hand and crossed his arms over his chest: "Well I am nearly seven millennia his junior."
Her leather gloves were icy as she cupped his cheek, and brought him down for a tender kiss: "Yeah well you're still an old lecher..."
"Lecher! ": He exclaimed, obviously about to say more, but her soft moist kiss stopped him dead in his tracks, as he folded himself around her and surrendered to her love. The kiss was soft and warm, and it soon fed into kiss after kiss as the heat of their bodies under the heavy cloaks banished the vicious fangs of the still present winter wind. Holding her tightly as he pulled reluctantly from the kisses, Jareth sighed: "Much as I am enjoying this, we need to move precious. We have far to travel and little time to do it in."
The fur of her hood tickled his throat as she rested her head on his shoulder: "Yeah I know, I'm just tired. The last three day have been trying to say the least. "
"Yes well I feel the strain too, but we have to move during the day if we are to reach the castle beyond the goblin city in time."
Her arms dropped to her sides as she stepped away from his safe heat and turned to face the dimly lit corridor before her: "I know, I know. Arh fuck it! Come on feet, we better get going."
A faint smile curled his lips as he readjusted his knee length cloak and followed her.
The wind howled through the stone of the Labyrinth as the pair walked in silence. It was not a bad silence, it was mostly due to said wind. But neither of the couple resented it as they struggled against the wind. They simple accepted that their voices weren't strong enough to carry. Besides walking in the deep snow was hard work, not made any easier by the fact that the world they had just left had been a warm summer land. But it was what it was and the still sun kissed couple was left no choice but to push on, helping each other as the snow grew too deep, or the rough floor traitorous with barely visible black ice.
Sarah had never questioned how she had managed to find her way through the confusing Warren of corridors, passages and plazas both big and small when she ran the Labyrinth the first time. It had just been one of those things that she hadn't thought about. Even after she had learned the truth about herself and the Labyrinth she hadn't stopped to examine how she seemed able to glide through the jumble of walls and hedges never truly doubting her direction. It was only now as she and Jareth walked silently hand in hand, turning in perfect unison whenever they changed corridor or had to choose a new path, that she began to wonder. She had never been here before yet she knew just where to go and how to get there. Stopping abruptly she turned to meet Jareth's questioning expression: "Do you need to rest precious we have been traveling for quite some time."
"No I need to know how we are doing this? "
Confusion creased his forehead: "Doing what precious? "
Of course he wouldn't catch on, to him it was probably the most natural thing in the world. Hell he might not even know how it worked. For some reason the thought of Jareth not knowing something seemed wildly amusing to her fatigue clouded mind. And a mild chuckle was present in her voice as she put words to her question: "How are we gliding through the Labyrinth like this? I mean we have made like a hundred turns and shit, and even when it seems completely counterproductive I just know that it's the right way. What's up with that?"
Relief chased some of the dark fatigue from his eyes as he faced her fully and leaned against the wall, now behind him: "Well it is very simple."
Holding up his hand, Jareth turned it slowly showing her both the palm and back of his glove covered hand: "You don't have to see your hand to picture it, it is a part of your body, and you know it intimately. To us the Labyrinth is the same. It is a part of us, a part of who we are, and just like our hands we know every nook and cranny of it. Thus as we know where we wish to go, we simply have to, Go. "
"Really? Huh I.. ": Her brow furrowed into an adorable frown as Sarah mused: "I guess it makes sense. I just never thought about it that way..."
"Oh really! ": The hidden smirk lent a playful lilt to his voice as he pushed out from the wall and grabbed her by the hips spinning her effortlessly: "I am shocked precious, truly!"
Letting his mirth infuse her, Sarah laughed softly as she found herself in his arms again faced with the multi coloured flicker of his dark flame: "I Know, I know, but I was an arrogant child."
"You were ": He agreed: "But you have outgrown that beautifully. And now you are perfect."
The tone of his voice dropped, making it rumble out of his chest with a nearly elemental sound as he spoke: "You are a queen now, my queen. You rule me without fear, and I am your willing slave. You are my heart and my soul, I can never live without you again..."
"And you never shall ": Her lips were like burning hot velvet as she rose on her tiptoes, and melted their lips together in a soul searing kiss, that would have fused them together had it not been for the freezing cold surrounding them.
Pulling back, Sarah smiled softly at the deepened intensity that burned out at her, as Jareth seemed to devour her with his eyes. If she didn't stop this now, there were no doubt in her mind, that they would end up spending the night here. Whiling away hours that they could not afford to lose, as they released the tension that had been building since their return.
"Oookay, I think we gotta go now, before we start something that'll take longer to finish than we can afford."
His grip on her hips tightened holding her flush against him as he growled: "Hmm yes, but rest assured my precious, I will be picking this up once we make camp."
An expectant shudder passed through her as all manner of wicked thoughts raced through her hyperactive mind, fueling her own desire: "Good goddess Jareth, You are soo not helping!"
Leaning in he nuzzled her throat as he breathed darkly: "I know, Ooh I know!. I am not trying to..."
The dark promise in his tone left her reeling as he released her and stepped back, smoothing down his cloak leaving the impression that he was merely a pale face floating in shadow: "But please precious lead on. I will Be Right Behind you..".
Ignoring the obvious teasing Sarah rolled her eye as she straightening her own cloak, and turned her back on him, and resumed walking down the slowly widening corridor.
Now that she had some understanding of how the Labyrinth worked it didn't surprise her when she felt the need to make a sudden turn and walk straight into what appeared to be a solid wall, but which turned out to be a well camouflaged opening not unlike the one she had first encountered when she ran for Toby.
What did surprise her however were the fact that there were no corridor on the other side. No behind the hidden opening the pair found themselves faced with a seemingly endless plain of white dotted with frozen ponds and withered dead trees.
"Oh for the love of the goddess! Not this!"
Rubbing his eyes with an expression of exhausted disbelief Jareth groaned: "Of all the wandering reaches we could have walked into it just had to be this! The endless fields!"
"So? They're just fields right? "
There were times in Sarah's life where she wished that she stopped to consider her words before speaking. This was one of those times, because of course the field that stretched out white and pristine in front of her wasn't "just" a field. The semi pitying look in Jareth's eyes said that plainly enough as he sighed: "Really Sarah? After all you have seen and done!"
Shrugging with a self deprecating smile Sarah said: "Yeah I know, that was a little bit naive of me. But that aside, why are these fields called the endless fields?"
His brow rose giving him a quizzically amused expression that spilled into his voice:
"Oh I would think that that was quite obvious, but then again, not much is that simple. "
Gesturing with an elegant glove clad hand Jareth indicated the sweeping fields: "This area lies within a kind of miniature realm. They are a test of patience and wit. One that I have very little if any control over. "
Turning to face him fully, Sarah pulled back her hood, exposing herself to the fierce cold: "Okay then what? How do we leave this "realm"? "
"We have to find the middle, and from there we must find our own way. "
"Okay, you are not making any sense, you know that right? Find the middle.. If something is endless then it has no middle. "
The look he leveled on her was one of infinite patience as he cocked his head at her: "You didn't give up this quickly when you ran for Toby. Nor when you faced that far more convoluted maze that is my mind. So why give up now? Don't you want to solve this riddle too? "
"Of course I want to solve it, I want to get out of here. But I'm just soo tired! It's been days since we last slept, and I can barely stay awake. "
Looking every bit as tired as she claimed to be Sarah flopped gracelessly to sit cross legged in the fluffy snow with her head resting in her hands: "I know we have to move, but goddess I'm so tired! "
Crouching beside her, Jareth sighed as he enveloped her in his arms: "I know precious.. Perhaps we should exploit the relative safety of this little pocket, and rest up now."
"Yes please."
Setting up camp didn't take long. Rising slowly from where he had sat Jareth stretched as if his back ached before pulling a bright blue tinted crystal from the air, and dropping it onto the ground. Blue dust swirled up around them in a silent tornado, blinding them as the sounds of rustling cloth and crackling fire grew louder around them. It didn't take more than a few seconds then the dust dissolved revealing a nice sized tent and a roaring campfire. It was humble, but to Sarah it looked like the Ritz as Jareth helped her to her feet, and guided her to the entrance of the round medieval tent of heavy brocades. Here he deftly relieved her of her cloak and helped her settle down with the magically heated blankets wrapped around her. Before pulling out another crystal and turning his attention to the clay skillet, and wax paper parcels that came into existence in front of the fire where he dropped the crystal.
Snuggling into the warmth, Sarah watched Jareth's profile as he moved with a brisk economy that spoke of long years campaigning in wars both in the fey and mortal realms. It was a matter of minutes before the succulent aroma of thick slabs of smoked and salted meat from their stores filled the air. He looked as tired as she felt when he finally lifted the skillet and brought it to her, changing the skillet into two plates and handing them to her, so that he could remove his own cloak and settle comfortably beside her.
"Eat precious, you need the strength this will give you. The day is still young and who knows what might happen..."
Shaking her head, Sarah chuckled as she bit into her meat ravenously. No matter how desperate the situation Jareth never passed up on an opportunity to hit on her. How could she not be flattered, when the most violently sexual man in the history of creation kept looking at her like he was about to devour her, while she wolfed down the delicious meat he had prepared for her. Stuffing the final morsel into her grease stained mouth with all the grace of a semiconscious ape, Sarah sighed as she realized that Jareth hadn't eaten more than a few bites of his own food.
"You should eat too, you'll just exhaust yourself if you don't. "
Setting his plate just outside of the tent opening Jareth leveled a piercing gaze at her as he licked his oh so kissable lips and purred: "I'll eat later, I find that I have developed a hunger for a different type of... Flesh."
His eyes burned like twin suns as he leaned in and tossed her plate aside: "I am part Goblin, and we do prefer our flesh... rare."
"Uuuuh big words there old man, Are you gonna..."
She ought to know better than to taunt him like that, but then again she loved it when he lifted her as easily as a child picks up a doll, tossing her into the middle of the tent where the furs were thickest, and the seemingly constant wind was barely audible as her hunting leathers vanished leaving her naked before his powerful dark clad figure.
"Yes precious, I am! And you will scream... Repeatedly! "
Crouching in the furs Sarah smirked: "Ooh ?"
"Yes, but first you will dance for me, slowly."
His eyes burned with authority, and his posture clearly said that he expected her to obey him. He was so strong as he just settled cross legged, summoning in a glass of wine: "I gave you an order precious, and I expect you to obey me.. Unless you wish to be punished... Do you? Wish to be punished?"
Punished, the word alone ignited a blazing heat in her body, soaking her even before he had laid a single finger on her. Punished... Sinful images of Jareth using and abusing her while she was helpless to stop him filled her head, and left her licking her lust swollen lips. They had played this game before, in different lives true, but no matter how deprived and wicked the punishments they devised had been, they had never failed to thrill and satisfy.
Holding her head up in a haughty angle Sarah crossed her arms below her breast's lifting them slightly as she taunted: "Ha and who do you thin..."
Ropes had her arms pulled up and over her head before she could finish her sentence, lifting her up to stand on the tips of her toes, as Jareth rolled to his feet with all the grace of a hunting cat and stalked towards her tapping a short black riding crop against the side of his heavy leather boot: "Tsk Tsk Is that anyway for a queen to treat her sovereign king. Really Sarah I thought we had dealt with your insolence but apparently I was mistaken."
The leather of his gloves felt alive like some alien skin as he ran his palm up her flank just skimming the underside of her firm perky tit's before leaving her again as he moved behind her: "Luckily I know how to remedy this ... "
The sensation of the crops cold leather tongue being run over her well toned ass, left her whimpering in anticipation and fear, as Jareth leaned into her, speaking in a deep breathless voice: "You are "So" tempting like this, your skin so smooth, unblemished. It is almost a crime to mark it... Almost."
The first blow was a shock as it landed squarely across both asscheeks, ripping a startled yelp from her. But they had played this game before. And Sarah knew that he could never stop after one. And so she was ready as the dull ache of the first blow was chased away by the sharp bite of the second and third and fourth, leaving her ass aflame and her a panting moaning mess while Jareth slowly caressed her tender flesh, murmuring soft declarations of love into her ears, calling her perfect and beautiful. The effect was nothing short of intoxicating and she surrendered completely into the sensation as Jareth slipped the crop up between her slightly parted thighs running the rough leather back and forth along her swollen labia in a merciless sawing motion.
It had been a long time since she had felt this helpless, been this much at his mercy and now she savoured every second of it as he pressed his still fully clothed body up against her back nibbling her neck with predator teeth fully capable of ripping through her flesh.
"Do you like this hmm? To know that you are completely in my power, that I may please or punish you as I see fit..."
Her voice was breathless to the point of almost being incomprehensible as she moaned: "Yes Oh sweet goddess yes... Please punish me, please make me scream!."
The movement of the crop intensified as he obeyed her and pressed it deeper into her slick folds to rub at the very centre of her pleasure, igniting blinding stars in front of her eye's. It hurt, yes but in the best way possible and all Sarah could do was twist and moan as her hands gripped the rope, unable to stay still as the sawing became a light but deadly accurate tapping aimed at her dripping wet entrance, teasing her as the round crop tongue lapped at her.
"Oooh Please, Yes more! ": She couldn't help herself as she spread her long legs, wantonly offering herself to the instrument of her undoing as it relentlessly drove her towards the shining abyss of orgasm. It had ceased to be a piece of dead leather striking her, and morphed into a firm tongue lashing at her nether lips like a beast lapping water. It was primordial and wild, it was everything that Jareth was beneath the perfectly polished surface of the goblin king. And it was maddening.
Using her toes Sarah pushed herself backwards trying desperately to gain contact, and to find proof that he was enjoying this as much as she did, that he Needed this as much as she did. But all she felt was empty air, which sparked a second of terror, before a cool leather glove pressed firmly against the small of her back as the crop ceased it's tapping in favour of rubbing slowly, tenderly even around her ravenous entrance.
"Ah ah arh, be still my queen, I am far from done with you."
"Please! Jareth! "
His breath caressed the shell of her ear and the liquid silk of his loose shirt sleeve whispered across her skin as he pressed against her side, letting her feel the swollen rock hard evidence of his own arousal.
"Please What ": He mocked as he softly caressed her taut stomach with his free hand: "You plead so prettily, yet neglect to tell me what you are pleading for. So what is It my precious? This perhaps? "
He left her no time to compose an answer to his question. Instead he used his free hand to steady her as he quickly flipped the crop over, and abruptly drove the cold brass ball at the end of the handle into her, filling her in a frustrating mockery of what it was she wanted. But be that as it may the violent intrusion still ripped a harrowed wail from her as her inner walls clenched down on the intrusive instrument forcing Jareth to fight them as he slowly withdrew it.
Biting down on his lower lip, Jareth suppressed as a shudder and a moan. The resistance he could feel as he fucked her with the handle had the blood surging straight to his own groin. Because he knew just how exquisite it felt to be squeezed by those velvet wall as her muscles milked him.
Grinning viciously to himself Jareth quickly released his throbbing member from the tight leather confines of his trousers, slowly stroking himself as he watched the evidence of her desire stain her thighs with an ever growing sense of urgency and need. The musky scent of sex filled the air fueling his desire to bury himself in her hot moist body, until his skin burned with it.
Drawing the handle from her swollen sex, Jareth let the crop dissolve in a burst of blue as he gripped her hips and pulled her back entering her in one long strong stroke that saw him buried to the hilt and seeing as many stars as she did as she shook and moaned. The heat of her body enveloped him stealing all reason away as he pounded into her reaching the bottom of her body with each powerful thrust.
Slamming into her he held her hips in a bruising grip, feeling drunk on the unarticulated screams that ripped from her, as he sought to merge them through sheer brute force alone. For the first time since he had become aware of the spell hobbling him, he felt utterly and truly powerful in his own realm. For the first time He was in control. Control of himself and of the wanton and equally powerful woman who writhed and screamed in pleasure with each of his strokes. Of the magic that wove through them both anchoring them to the realm and the reach that held them in it's bosom. The magic though so very weak was still there, still however awkward, Hoggle. And no matter how inflamed with lust he was Jareth still grasped the meaning of this revelation. But now was not the time, the now and here was for pleasure and the power that that generated.
His breath quickened as he felt her clench around him with the onset of her climax. She was always a tight, hot fit, but as she neared orgasm she grew so tight that it bordered pain, trapping him, and leaving him no choice but to drive her through her orgasm and unravel with her as he did...
. ... .
Dawn soft and rose tinted, greeted Sarah as she shook off the fog of deep and exhausted sleep. Stretching like a cat she allowed herself a few minutes luxurious minutes of soaking up the intoxicating heat of the furs swamping her.
She had never been one to enjoy camping, But then the camping trip of her youth and childhood had always involved leaky inflatable mattresses, scorched food and a legion of ginormous and thoroughly voracious mosquitoes Hell bent on draining her to the last drop. Not hour long sessions of wild sex with a very dominant goblin king who had seemed utterly determined to fuck her through the foot deep layer of fur, once he was done spanking her ass raw of course. Rubbing her wrists Sarah smiled to herself. Magic truly had some tremendous perks. By all rights her wrists should have been chafed and bleeding and her ass covered in swollen welts. But thanks to Jareth's use of magic she didn't have a single bruise on her, hell she wasn't even sore. Instead she felt relaxed, warm and completely rested. Energized even. Her cores a warm comfortable weight in the centre of her being as she watched Jareth sitting in the entrance with his back to her, looking to be deep in thought.
The rosy light caressed his perfect form, highlighting the scars that covered him. Normally they were all but invisible but when the light hit him in the right angle like it did in that moment they stood out in pale leathery patches on the golden milk of his velvet skin. Rolling slowly and quietly onto all fours, Sarah crawled towards him like a great cat.
"I was wondering whether I had exhausted you too much last night.. How are you feeling? Did I miss anything? "
Grinning wickedly, as she rolled her torso unto his lap, Sarah sighed: "Nope you got it all... You even took away the infiltrations I've been battling for years. Oh and thank you for last night, my king. I needed that, and judging from your expression you did too."
His thousand mile stare shifted from the slowly glowing sky of bright oranges and hot pinks to gaze loving down at her where she reclined in his lap.
"Oh have no doubt precious I enjoyed it very much, and I am already making plans for when to pounce on you again."
Shuddering with anticipation Sarah rubbed her cheek against the taut plane of his abdomen and sighed: "That does sound good, I hope it won't be too far in the future."
The wicked smirk that spread onto his face had unseen things deep in the pit of her tightening as he softly drew his fingers through the thick fall of her hair and drawled: "That my love, is for me to know and you to dread."
"Uuh ": Sarah taunted lightly: "Have mercy great goblin king. Please I am but a humble maiden."
The smirk disintegrated into a delighted laugh as he shook his head, setting his wild hair into motion: "Oh yes you are.. But pleasant things aside we must set off again I'm afraid, the urgency of our quest has not lessened."
"Yeah I know. So what now how do we find the middle? "
"We do not.": Shifting his gaze back to the endless horizon, Jareth answered her question saying: "I had a revelation last night... I am it's king and a king does not walk the path of his subjects, he does not bow to the same rules as other men. He creates the rules that others must follow..."
Her brow creased as she failed to follow his train of thought and she found herself forced to ask: "Ookay so what does a king do?"
"He rules ": Holding up a hand he called in a crystal and smiling down at her he let it drop to the snow just outside the tent opening. The bright crystal became thin like a bubble as it floated to the ground bursting as it touched down.
The ground shook as two mighty rocks shot up from the frozen ground to tower over them as they leaned up against each other creating a triangular opening through which they could see the slowly crumbling walls of the Labyrinth. Judging from the type of stone and angle of the sun that particular part of the Labyrinth was located close to the halfway point of their journey.
"Ah yes": Sarah deadpanned: "We are the rulers of this world. "
"Yes we are, and I had forgotten just how much magic is released when desire is allowed to flow into the world. This gate has been born of that magic. "
"Ooh sweet, that's cool, so all we have to do is screw each others brains out, and then we can fuel the return of Hoggle ": Smirking up at him Sarah continued: "Oh wouldn't he love that. "
A half choked laugh erupted from him, as images of Hoggle looking shocked and disgusted in the way that only parents could filled his mind: "Oh sweet goddess that would be hilarious, but unfortunately magic born of desire is volatile in the extreme and if it is not used immediately it will dissipate. Sadly this is as far as the magic will safely carry us"
"Hmm well we'll have to do it the old fashioned way then."
"Yes I am afraid that that is the only option let to us. But before we set off again I suggest that we have some breakfast. All the activities of last night have left me famished."
. .,. .
The walls of the Labyrinth as they approached from the north were built with a dirty looking dark grey stone, which was porous enough to allow various plants and mosses to take root there, thriving as they turned the spacious corridors into colourful upright gardens. Animals of every shape and colour scurried around their feet as Jareth led Sarah by her hand, pointing out the plants and critters that might be of interest or were particularly prized and valuable, as they passed.
Here the higher walls of the surrounding areas shielded the low-lying garden area, allowing the thick steam emanating from the many cracks, to heat the air and keep the cold at bay. The warmth was wonderful after trudging through the heavy snow. The moisture that accompanied it, not so much. It was wet enough that they had both decided to forego the added warmth of their cloaks since the water made them far too heavy.
Pointing to a fist sized bird with plumage of bright emerald green and deep sapphire blue Jareth said: "Those birds are known as the queen's gemstone. And killing them are considered an omen of disaster. Thus the Garden gnomes who tend to this part of the Labyrinth will go to great lengths to ensure the safety of the birds."
Holding out his other hand Jareth whistled softly calling the small bird to him before presenting it to Sarah: "It is widely believed that it is a sign of true love if one of them lands on you while you are with your beloved. It would seem to be true. Don't you think."
Grinning as she shook her head, Sarah purred: "Oh you insatiable romantic...What am I gonna do with you. Hmm"
"Well ": Jareth drawled: "You could enjoy it and allow me to shower you with every romantic gesture I can imagine, or you can return aboveground and be rid of me."
"Naah": Sarah sighed softly: "I couldn't do that, so I guess that I'll have to get use to it won't I.? "
Easing the small bird up into the thick water mist Jareth smirked: "Well yes I believe so.."
Letting the words fade into silence. They walked on each engrossed in their own thoughts as they passed by plants that were slowly withering away, their colours fading as their foliage formed piles on the damp soil below, as one step took the other, their feet carrying them forward. And for awhile they could lose themselves in the illusion that they were just out walking. That the world wasn't dying around them and that at anytime they could simple step through the veil and appear in the castle they both thought of as home.
The rusty red sun bathed everything in it's soft amber light casting long burgundy shadows as the day crept unstoppably towards it's pitch black grave. Soon the cool winter light would fade, leaving the still walking couple in darkness. Knowing this Jareth caught Sarah's glove clad hand and pressing his own palm against the wall between two large leafed plants of a deep silvery green.
"It's getting dark soon, and though this part of the Labyrinth is beautiful, it's also as deadly as the feral parts surrounding the central glade."
His tone of voice spoke clearly of the dangers he perceived them to be in, yet as far as Sarah could tell there was nothing, and no one in the immediate vicinity. But that didn't mean that there wasn't anything there.
"Okay then what do you wanna do? "
His answer was somewhat muffled by the angle as he turned fully towards the wall and a sharp blue light began to emanate from below his palm. But the tremor of uncertainty still carried.
"I will make us a shelter here and then we must hope that the creatures who lurk here will pass us by. Because if not then we will be forced to fight them, and I am not entirely certain that we'll triumph. "
Tilting her head slightly Sarah asked: "Oh and why not? "
The azure glow grew until it covered a six foot span of the wall, then the large irregular stones began shaking, tearing loose from the wall and floating out to pile up and form a rough stone hut with a small opening.
Wiping his hand on a loose clump of moss Jareth turned back to her and said: "There are many reasons, their size and strength. The fact that they live only to feed of magic and finally and perhaps most importantly they have skin comprised of metal which our weapons cannot pierce. If we are set upon by these iron trolls we will have no choice but to flee. I cannot stress this enough precious. I need you to flee! No matter what one of us must reach the stone and challenge Oberon. "
Calling in a crystal to light her way as the sun began dipping below the ridges of the higher ground surrounding them Sarah set about gathering up the dead branches and leaves which lay scattered all about them.
"Yeah lets just assume that I'll leave you behind, cause you know that will totally happen, then what I challenge Oberon. He then chooses non magical combat, pounding me into the ground, killing me and then proceeding to destroy everything anyway. Or if I'm so very lucky. He'll keep me alive and force me to witness everything, and live out an eternity as his slave without you."
His shoulders dropped and his hands stopped working on the smoked and salted meat he was preparing for their evening meal: "I know precious but if we both perish here then all are doomed, this way there is at least a chance."
Scuffing derisively as she dropped an arm load of wood beside him Sarah snapped: "A Fucking tiny one, and You know that! "
Resuming his work without meeting her accusatory gaze, Jareth agreed softly: "Yes I know."
"Then why? ": Giving in to the sudden anger washing through her, Sarah grabbed his shoulder heedless of the damage her claws might cause as she turned him to face her :"Why the fuck would you ask it of me? "
His bicoloured eyes glistened with fear, anger and pain as he barked out: "Because I am too much of a coward to sacrifice you! I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT YOU! I CANNOT AND I WILL NOT!"
Wrenching away from her bruising grip, Jareth surged up to tower over her: "There! I've said it, Again.! I will not live another four thousand years or longer without you! Call me a coward I do not care. All I care about is You living on! You !"
" I ": Shell shocked they called it when everything stopped and a person's brain refused to take in anymore information. When all you could do was stare unseeing into the distance because what you had just seen or heard was too enormous to process. That was how Sarah felt in just that moment, Shell shocked.
"Precious? "
Strong hands closed on her upper arms and somewhere in the back of her mind, Sarah vaguely registered that the same hands were shaking her like a ragdoll. But it was unimportant in the light that Jareth was prepared to let all the realms burn rather than face life without her again. Actually allow untold billions of creatures both sentient and dumb to burn in the Ragnarok that would follow the collapse of the veil. All for her! It was too much, to great a burden for her to shoulder, and nothing in her uncountable lives could help her deal with something like this. Nothing but anger.
Anger that burned with a bright flame as she tore back from his reach.
"How dare YOU put that kind of responsibility on me! How dare you ! Do you have any idea how it feels to be made responsible for all of GODDESS FUCKING CREATION! ! You utter ASSHOLE! "
The fear filled regret in his eyes changed instantly into one of defeated resignation and deep-rooted agony: "Oh but I do... Forgive me precious I did not mean to put that burden on you... No one should ever have to shoulder that alone..."
Goddess above but Sarah hated when a sudden realization slapped her in the face like a forty ton truck. He had shouldered that weight from birth. He alone had been the linchpin around which the universe revolved. Who was she to blame him for wanting to share that burden, how could she throw his need back in his face on a cloud of unjustified anger.
"No Jareth, I... I'm sorry okay, I didn't think. Of course you know how this feels, I am the one who doesn't understand. And Oh damn it Jareth! Can't we just forget all of this and just agree that we do this together or not at all. Okay? "
She couldn't read the expression on his face as Jareth nodded curtly and drawled: "As you wish precious. "
"Damn straight you idiot!": She might not be able to see through the mask of the goblin king as he bowed formally to her and began to turn away. But she knew just how to break through it.
Stepping forward she stopped him by wrapping her arms around his waist holding him in place: "Don't lock me out, I'm truly sorry okay, I didn't think and... Oh hell "
Reaching up she gripped his hair, using the long unruly strand to pull him into a kiss. At first he stood rigid and unresponsive, but then her teeth nicked his lower lip in a playful nip and he could hold back no longer. Wrapping himself around her he lifted her up, and gripping her unbound locks in the same way she gripped his as he poured everything he was feeling in that moment straight into the kiss. Their lips and bodies moved together as Jareth let all the anger, pain and fear dissolve and morph into a steel-edged determination to see this through.
His hands burrowed deeper into her hair as she wrapped a leg around his hip. And...
A roar like a roll of boulders through a ravine ripped them apart, and saw them both dropping into battle ready crouches.
They were orcs, wide of build and encased in black stained and spike covered armour that looked like something ripped from a masochists nightmare. The four who had leaped from the wall opposite the trapped couple wielded short wicked looking axes in both hands and the three who crept in from either side gripped long cruel looking spears in their massive clawed hands.
Calling in his curved shadow steel blades, Jareth straightened to stand tall and imposing in front of them, with a hungry grin on his thin lips.
"I see that the stench of the seelie dogs have spread far and wide. Such a pity I truly enjoyed the purity of these gardens. Though I do assume that you will make excellent fertilizer once I am through with you. "
The lead creatures beady red eyes glowed with a cold malicious glare as it cocked its head sneering mockingly: "You no threat, you piss veined fey traitor. You meat for draegor. "
Sighing in feigned regret Jareth shrugged: "Arh well I suppose that there is only one end to this."
Surging forward he slashed out disembowelling the two warriors to the left, in a spray of thick noxious ichor. Letting his momentum carry him past them, he spun and dropping to his knee, expertly severed the hamstrings of the remaining tow before rising as they collapsed with loud agonized screams, to see Sarah spin and deliver an expert roundhouse kick snapping the neck of the last of her three opponents.
Satisfied that she was in no real danger, Jareth turned to the last three cowering orcs with a cold determined light in his eyes: "I suggest that you pray to whatever god you filthy garfals worship! For you will not see another hour."
"Sire Nooo Please..."
"Please what? Are you begging me not to kill you as you killed the thousands whose bones are now used to build storm ladders? Are you begging Me for mercy? ": Furious anger burned through him, searing his skin from inside and setting his eye's ablaze with flames bright enough to cast flickering highlights on the wall, the plants. And the terrified orcs: "No, there will be no mercy."
Pointing a gleaming claw at the still whimpering orcs who were trying to crawl away on legs that wouldn't move, Jareth hissed like a serpent as a thin coating of bright blue flame erupted along their backs, igniting even their armour. Screams, piercing and steeped in terror and pain erupted and rose to the blackened night sky on thick plumes of oily smoke.
"You will pay for your betrayal with your lives."
"Noo noo...": Dropping his crude weapons the front orc screeched: "We no choice, we know no better... Please..."
"Oh ": Jareth spat: "There is always a choice."
Sarah had seen him fight with cold and fierce determination before, but this being who tore into the screeching and pleading orcs was something quite different. This Jareth was merciless fury personified as he stepped forwards and moving with the liquid grace of a roaring wildfire, as he used one blade to relieve the vile brute of its head before turning on its two remaining brethren. They never even had the chance to scream before they lay dead at his feet, their foul black tar like blood staining the ground.
Pulling his blades from their still hearts, with a look of revulsion, Jareth quickly wiped the blades in the frayed cloaks of the dead, before rising and sheathing them.
"We have to leave, this was an advanced scouting party, the main force will not be far away": Waving his hand towards the stone hut, he collapsed it into an unrecognisable pile of rubble as Sarah finished wiping her own blades clean.
"Yeah, But what route do we wanna take?"
Resting his hand on an unharmed section of the wall Jareth closed his eyes as he sought desperately for the faint echo of Hoggle's voice.
"Hoggle? Please I need you. We need you! Come Hoggle guide us as you have guided me so often. Please... Hoggle? "
A faint glow began to build in the very air around them as a soft voice breathed: "South yer need ta go... South."
"Hoggle? Great goddess I thought you gone forever..."
Pain furrowed Jareth's brow as the glow began to dim: "Please Hoggle, You cannot leave us in the darkness like this... Please stay.."
The regret and sadness was heavy in the dwarfs voice as it blew across their minds like a loving parents goodnight kiss: "A know young pup, A know, but i ain't got no choice.. I'm fading.. I'm fading too fast.. Run they are coming! "
The glow flared only to die and leave them in the complete darkness of the moonless night, as the urgency of those last four words filled the couple with adrenalin and sent them racing down the wide corridor as the sound of heavy armoured Draegons reached them.
This was more than they could deal with alone, and even if they could, the risk of one of the orcs escaping and alerting Titania and Oberon to Jareth's return was too great. This time there was no other option but to flee.
And flee they did.
Their feet pounded the fog wet stones in a tight staccato rhythm as they ran. Flight was not an option this close to a Seelie party, the risk of the golden throng being followed by a flock of ferocious fairies far too great. Leaving Sarah and Jareth with no choice but to run for their lives.
But it was too late they had been too complacent as they sliced the small scouting party apart, they should have known the second they saw them that they were not alone. That a much larger force followed them, they should have known, and that bile inducing though had both monarchs swearing under their breaths as they rounded a sharp corner before the still advancing Seelie had any real chance at seeing them. Not that that helped in any way, as Jareth flung out an arm pulling Sarah to an abrupt halt before she could slam in the wall barring their path.
There was little time to think as the first cries of outrage reached their ears when the orcs found their dead brethren. Sarah didn't understand their words, but the rage that accompanied them was unmistakable. And the same was true about the number of voices, because if she was not mistaken then she heard at least three dozen clearly distinct voices crying out in anger.
Gripping his hand, Sarah pulled him with her, pinning him against the rough stone wall with her much slighter weight, as she whispered urgently: "Do you trust me? "
The look into her eyes as she uttered those words had cold dread raking down Jareth's back like cold iron nails. No matter what she planned it did not bode well, yet what could he say but: "Of course I do, You know that."
The look of relief that lit her from inside did little to ease the fear that Jareth felt as Sarah sighed: "Good, then stay back until I call you. No matter what you hear stay Back!"
"Why what are you intending to do?"
Her lips were a thin bloodless line of determination as she kissed him softly and whispered: "The only thing I can do."
Too confused to offer any further questions, Jareth didn't protest as she pushed him to his knees in a small niche half covered by fallen down stones.
"Stay here..."
Then she stepped back blowing him a kiss as loose stones rolled up to form a cave around him. Panic swelled like a flood wave as complete darkness surrounded him, and the stones muffled any sound from outside, leaving him straining to hear anything but a faint mumbled echo.
Sharp clawed mounts approached, carrying with them the creak of leather and metal. They were many, far too many for them both to handle and far too many for Sarah to handle alone. Too many for any one man or woman to face alone. Shaking his head, Jareth rubbed his cold gloves over his face banishing the sudden unnatural calm he had felt as Sarah had pushed him into the niche. Only to replace it with a near claustrophobic panic as he realized that the stones had been bonded together around him, creating an apparently unbreakable cocoon.
Goddess above what had she done. Shuddering as he felt the ghosts of the compulsion Sarah had just used on him whisper through his mind as it dissipated. Pressing his forehead against the icy stone, Jareth whispered miserably: "What have you do done, you insane woman what have you done."
She was trying to protect him, that much was clear, but no matter how strong she had become after regaining her memories, no matter how skilled a warrior she was the force he heard approaching would be too much for a single warrior. Unless of course that warrior had a vast reserve of magic at their disposal. Enough to bend the very realm to their will, and use the stones themselves as their weapon.
But to do that the Labyrinth needed to have an equally vast reserve of magic, or else it would drain anyone foolish enough to attempt to wield it, dry. Slamming his fists against the jagged stones Jareth growled as he sought to quell the sudden wave of furious terror that threatened to devour his mind whole, with physical pain. The stupid girl was trying to save him! But he didn't need saving, he needed her. Why hadn't she just hidden with him? They would have been safe enough!
"Ha ": Taunted his mind: "If you believe that then you are a fool, you are just furious at yourself for not reacting before her. Because you know bloody well that there is no hiding from a fey hunt. You know that one of you would have to confront it, and you know bloody well why Sarah is the one doing it! "
"No! ": Gripping his hair in trembling hands, he barely felt it as his claws sliced through the soaked leather to score his scalp as he shook his head, and silently screamed at the voice in his mind: "No, there is no reason! She could fight him as well as I, she..."
Falling silent inside his own mind, Jareth felt foolish and defeated as his hands dropped impotently to his sides. Because the voice was right as it sneered: "Well then you are a fool, for he will slay her and then there will be no one to oppose him."
Sarah's clear voice rung with authority, cutting off Jareth's internal dialogue as she called: "Halt you will go no further! Renounce your allegiance to those traitorous curs who dare to use vile spell to usurp a power that was Never rightfully theirs! And I shall let you join with us and Live!."
"Do my eyes deceive me ? Is it not Sarah, Jareth's little morsel? How clever and we all believed you to be languishing by that pitiful excuse for a wall. I must say you do look quite dashing, in your little heroine outfit."
The voice of the speaker was soft and oh so refined. Pressing against the stones of his cramped prison, Jareth struggled to make an opening big enough to see her or the creature who belonged to that voice. But the stones refused to budge no matter how hard he pulled, pushed or scratched. Leaving him angry, frustrated, and still locked in the darkness..
. ... .
The last stone rolled obediently across the rough floor to slot into its brethren, completing the thick shell protecting Jareth from what she was about to do. Because what she was planning was dangerous, not only to any one in the close vicinity of her, but to the Labyrinth itself. The warriors who were mere seconds away now were too many and too fast to outrun they both knew that, and it was that knowledge that had allowed her slip a simple quick tendril of power into Jareth's mind keeping him calm and pliant as she made certain that he was safe even if it was just an illusion to help herself face the danger.
A wicked smile curled her full lips as she pushed all thoughts of what was at stake to the very back of her mind, and focused on the fast approaching riders and the hoard that inevitable followed all fey hunts.
And she was not disappointed. First to round the corner and draw to a startled halt was a tall female fey armoured in a light blue crystalline metal and riding a pale silvery horse with sad eyes of shimmering water. Leaning against the wall in a casual posture, Sarah was very aware that she looked like Jareth as she held up her hand and called out: "Halt you will go no further! Renounce your allegiance to those traitorous curs who dare to use a vile spell to usurp a power that was Never rightfully theirs! And I shall let you join with us and Live!."
The lithe creature cocked her head in honest surprise and taking Sarah in through the thick veil of her silver lashes, she exclaimed: "Do my eyes deceive me? Is it not Sarah, Jareth's little morsel? How clever and we all believed you to be languishing by that pitiful excuse for a wall. I must say you do look quite dashing, in your little heroine outfit."
Giving her a cold answering smirk, Sarah leaned her shoulders casually against the stone wall and studied her naked claws as she drawled: "I will be generous and pretend that you did not just say that, But only if you take this one and final opportunity to remember where your true allegiance ought to lie. "
The naked skin of her left palm pressed against the smooth stone connecting her to the faint throbbing of the Labyrinths pulse: "What say you? "
The words sounded hollow to her own ears as she spoke them, because there was no way that the ethereal female would ever lay her allegiance with her, and they both knew it. And honestly this entire conversation was nothing but a means of gaining more time as she relentlessly pushed the a stream of magic into the stones surrounding her.
"Oh Sweet child, the naivety I see has not left you. And amusing as I find it, we must end this little chat of ours now. Your rulers will no doubt be thrilled to have their wayward puppet returned to them, and I could well imagine that there are many questions as to how you managed this remarkable little feat. Now, will you come voluntarily or must we go through the tedium of me having to subdue you, before dragging you back through this ungodly hell? "
The pulse of magic flowing from her hand and into the stone strengthen, until it was a roaring river of power tearing through her with so much strength that she was unsure whether it would actually rip a hole through the skin of her palm. It was a desperate gamble but as she allowed her mind to flow freely with the power she fed the wall she knew that it was justified. Dimly aware that her body was still bandying words with the deceptively lithe fey, Sarah's mind stretched out trying to encircle the entire seelie force and ensure their complete destruction.
The hoard was larger than Sarah would have expected yet she was not surprised to see it be the size that it was. A full one hundred warriors, both orc and fey, crowded the corridor, spreading their vile stench all over the walls much like the waters of the bog did. But it mattered little, soon they would be wiped away as the waters of the tiny fountain of purity at the foot of the clock hill washed away the stench of the bog. What did surprise her however was that there were live prisoners in their midst, thirty goblins, gnomes and monsters stood chained to a wagon overseen by a massive dark blue orc with a wicked fanged whip. Seelie orcs did not take prisoners unless they had a purpose, and seeing the broken beat down state of the prisoners it was not hard to guess that purpose. Anger flowed through her like liquid iron as images of the equipment build from the still bloody bones of innocents filled her mind. These beings, who were subjects of their realm, had been captured with the sole purpose of being killed and used to build more equipment. Their worth measured in how sturdy their bones were...
Well she would not allow that to happen to another soul.
All doubt she might have harboured about what to do to the fey woman vanished as she blinked and found herself looking into her bright lake blue eyes. Seeing the utter decadent evil and cruelty that lived there.
And then she remembered who the woman was.
Asrai.. Her name was Asrai and she was the lady of the lake, the very fey who had granted Arthur the sword Excalibur. She was the creature to whom the Celts sacrificed swords and blood in the dark bogs, and she was the once cruel mistress of the dreaded Nix's before they as a race fled the seelie realm to join the free goblins of the Nightrealm. She was cruel, vindictive and arrogant, everything Sarah despised about the seelie court and Sarah was through listening to her spewing her self justifying venom.
"Asrai Stop! I am giving you a final chance to place your allegiance where it belongs, and save the lives of your men."
The look of shocked disbelief left on the ethereal beauty gaping like a newly caught cod. An image that under different circumstances would have seemed laughable. But now only left Sarah feeling sad as the fey rallied to snarl venomously: "How dare you threaten Me!...You, you... Child! "
Cutting off the tirade before she could even begin it, Sarah sighed tiredly: "As you wish..."
Jareth had warned her about using the Labyrinth as a weapon, telling her that there was a price that had to be paid, she had scoffed then. Thinking that he had been nothing but a worry wart afraid that she might feel a little discomfort, but now as pain lanced through every fibre of her being, as she called on the stone beneath the hoards feet to rise up and grip the legs of every warrior and mount, holding them captive while the walls began to move closing in from both sides crushing everything within their grasp, yet keeping the now cowering prisoners safe, Sarah understood. Because it was excruciating.
But she did not have time to worry about her own pain while the air itself turned into glass forcing the swirling and screeching fairies hiding in the low clouds to decent and make themselves seen. Tiny fangs glistened in pale moon light as their cruel owners snarled and gnashed them at Sarah. Yet the condensed air held them in a tightly confined space that like the walls of the Labyrinth grew ever tighter.
The pain of forcing the stones to move was nearly blinding, yet Sarah refused to stop. These beings, these spawn of the seelie realms corrupted soul, these devours of life had to be stopped, both for the sake of the broken souls who watched their captors gruesome deaths with wide fearful eyes. And for the man who was most likely screaming at her right this minute, even though the stone protecting him stole the sound away.
The screams of the dying hoard were muted and dull as they pierced through the roar of blood pounding in her ears, and a small part of her lamented that she couldn't truly savour their pleading cries for mercy but the suffocating pressure of that was building inside her own core as the Labyrinth tried to drain her dry, drowned them out. Even Asrai didn't produce a high enough tone to pierce through the din, as the stone claws gripping her legs pulled her slowly and mercilessly through a crevice barely six inches wide.
A mist of shiny pink blood, crumbled gossamer wings and unidentifiable lumps of flesh wrapped in what had once been fine spider woven silk began to drop from the sky as the magic finished it's job and began to dissolve, releasing the tiny corpses one by one, giving the illusion of hail as the mangled bodies hit the ground with squelching thuds.
"Noooo, please!": Sarah had fallen to her knees by the time that all voices but Asrai's had grown silent, the pain and drain on her core too much for her to bear any longer. But still the sight of the willowy fey as she was pulled slowly unstoppably to her excruciating death, brought a smile to Sarah's lips.
And Asrai's death was just that excruciating. The unseen force that gripped her had her entire legs pulled into the crevice, causing her flesh to bunch around her waist like a discarded gown of ivory white and deep scarlet. Tears streamed from her bloodshot eyes as her bloodied and torn fingers scrambled for any handhold strong enough to halt her torturous death.
"Pleeeease My Queen, My Mistress! Mercy, Pleeease ": Her voice had deteriorated into a faint hoarse whisper, and blood stained her once flawless lips as she pleaded with her final ounces of strength: "Please... I .. can still be saved. ... pleasee..."
There was no bitterness in Sarah's voice as she looked at the pitiful creature with tired eyes and said: "No your soul died when you stood aside and allowed your rulers to visit such cruelty upon an innocent realm... Let go let it be...Over."
"No... Noooooaaaiiiiiiiiiooo...": Asrai's eyes had been her best feature, but now the once aquamarine orbs lost all beauty as they tried to escape her contorted skull in the spray of blood that accompanied the harrowing screams escaping her, when the strong bones of her hips finally shattered with a loud wet pop and her slender torso was pulled into the crevice, shredding her organs and crushing her heart, mercifully ending her vile life as the faint light within her was snuffed out.
Death, it was not often that the death of anyone caused Sarah to smile, but this one, this cruel evil creatures death did. And not just because of the immense sense of relief her death brought, but because of the magic her blood and death had fed back into the dwindling core of the Labyrinth. Blood was magic, it was why all gods of old had demanded it be sacrificed to them, why it was sacred in almost all parts of the world. And this fey had had millennia to accumulate that power in her blood and in her core, power that were now returning to the Labyrinth with every drop that soaked into the stone.
Pulling herself over to the wall Sarah sat back against its bloodwarm surface, feeling a sense of victory in knowing that even though her entire being screamed in pain and throbbed with fatigue, she had bought the realm a few more precious hours. Both with the lives she had fed it and the lives she that had saved.
Resting a faintly trembling hand on a smooth stone she smiled as she felt Hoggle's energy brush against her fingers like a flutterwing brushing a flower.
"You are still in there aren't you?, Well if you are, you could help me by releasing Jareth... I Don't think that I'll have the strength to do it yet..."
"Then pray Mistress allow us to release our King from his sanctuary..."
The strange voice was nasal in the way that most goblins were, and that in itself made it familiar even if Sarah did not know the owner, turning slowly to face him she tried to keep the fatigue from slurring her words: "I would be very grateful mr?..."
"Pond Mistress, it pleased the king to gift me with the name Pond, and to allow me to join the Miller family..."
Sarah's vision was wavering as she held up a now visibly trembling hand silencing the goblin before he could delve deeper into his family history: "That is good to hear Pond, but I need..."
Her voice was hoarse as if she too had been screaming, and her throat felt raw as she forced herself to push on: "I need you to... Release..."
"The King is being released as we speak Mistress ... Mistress?... Mistress! Help Our Queen, needs... Help!"
She couldn't stay awake any longer, no matter how much she fought. And as darkness filled in to cover all even Jareth enraged cry as he was finally freed, she couldn't help but feel grateful for the silence that stole all fear and thoughts away: "Sarah what have you done! Sarah! !"
A faint smirk curled her lips as Jareth caught her up in his strong arms before she could fall to the warm stone, and his hand cradled her chin.
"I ... did.. not want. ...you to... see."
"See what, you stupid girl? That you killed them? Don't you think I felt it too? Don't you think I know exactly what you did to them? We are connected in all things! It is true that you protected me from the pain, but at what cost? You've exhausted your core and we are still two day's walk from the great plaza! "
"I know... Forgive... me... But I ha.. I had to... make sure... sure that you... Reach the... Stone... Only You... can beat his... Ass... Promise me... Kill him!"
"I promise Precious, just don't... let go. Stay. Let me save you."
Her smile was sad and soft as she forced her shaking hand to move up, and stroke her cold fingers over his cheek frowning as she realized that her wet gloves prevented her from touching his skin. She really wanted to feel his skin one last time, but she didn't have the strength to pull the bloody things off. And so as her arm lost the strength to hold up her hand, Sarah groaned as she sagged against him held in place only by his strength. Goddess this was not how it was supposed to end, but there had been so little time that she hadn't had time to consider the repercussions of her choice. She was supposed to go with Jareth all the way and watch him defeat Oberon and Titania so that they could live happily ever after. And she was supposed to be there when Shiver and Lilly finally got married, and when Didymus found love again, because she just knew that he would. And Hoggle! She had felt him calling out to her as she pumped her magic into the ravenous realm, begging her to stop and just fly away. To flee, just anything but the suicide she was about to commit to. But she had ignored him and now, now she paid the piper as the world narrowed down to a brilliant pair of mismatched eyes and a soft insistent whisper pleading with her to stay with him. Blinking slowly Sarah smiled softly and forced her quickly numbing lips to whisper: "It is, all right... I'll find...you...Again. I swear... I'll. ... Find... you. I... I.. Even death will ... not...Jareth."
No not like this, she wanted to tell him that she loved him, that she was sorry and how much she wanted to have gone with him. But instead all she could force out was his name as everything spiralled down into a pinpoint where nothing but Jareth existed.
And then even he vanished...