Title: Memento Mori pt 2
Rating: T
Summary: A price must be paid for her destruction of his labyrinth.
Author Notes: Feedback is always appreciated and I make every endeavour to reply to each reviewer.
Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth or any of its associated characters and I am making no profit from this work of fanfiction (more's the pity).
Dedication: For Sarah, always.
Memento Mori pt 2
Copyright © June 2007, Ruth
What do you think? A voice answered.
Sarah gasped at the sudden intrusion on her solitude and whirled around, expecting to be confronted by a tall, darkly dressed Goblin King with an even darker mood. Instead, all she found was empty air and a silence that was only broken by another distant rumble of thunder.
"Jareth?" she asked, forcing a voice that was stronger than she felt. Names had power here, after all, and the last thing she wanted was to become ensnared by him again. She had completed his labyrinth, she had won Toby back, so why did she still feel bound, obligated to this place and all that it represented?
Not so, came the voice again. It seemed to be all around her and yet nowhere at the same time. Disembodied. The thought, combined with her rain-soaked clothes, sent a chill down her spine, along with the growing feeling that she was once again subject to the power of something greater than she could understand.
"Who are you? Where are you? Why can't I see you?" She asked, her voice becoming ever higher as she related each question. The storm showed no signs of abating and it was only now that the cold and the wet were beginning to affect her; her teeth chattered and shivers gripped her lean frame.
Ever the inquisitor, I see. I am, but I am not. I am the shadow of all that I used to be. Still taking things for granted, little girl? You say that you cannot see me, but I am all around you.
"L…Labyrinth?" Sarah questioned, with no small degree of incredulity in her tone.
Much has changed since you last set foot on these paths, child. Much has been destroyed.
"B…because of me? But I had no idea… I mean, I would never…"
What's done is done.
"What must I do?" Sarah repeated her earlier question, a whirlwind of emotions rising within her. How could her decision have caused so much devastation to such a beautiful land?
"Words have power"
Indeed they do young one. The power to restore the life of the labyrinth is within you, if you only figure out what it is, and how to use it.
"Well how am I supposed to do that?" She asked, an edge of desperation seeping into her tone as the voice seemed to fade away into the night.
"You could start by explaining yourself."
Sarah froze. The voice that had previously seemed so distant had suddenly become distinctly…tangible.
"Jareth?"