Final Disclaimer- Yea yea yea… I know. Sue me, I don't own it, but I liked it enough to write about it and yes I borrowed some old scenes and lines. For the last time… not mine… theirs. I am powerless.
AN- Well everyone. This is it. I have bled my veins onto a screen for all to read. I hope you liked it and enjoyed it. I want to thank everyone who has read it and whoever may still read it. Two people actually read this entire story Friday. That's if the reader traffic thing actually works which I think is kinda neat. According to those stats 527 Hits and 223 Visitors. Which if you do the math means I may have at the most 25 readers. Which is cool. It makes me feel nice to know a few people are out there reading my story. My final thank you's are being held for the end.
Insanity Takes Its Toll
Chapter 17: The End
Larizel found herself watching what she assumed was a celebration gathering. There was a little girl with violet eyes standing next to her parents. She seemed uncomfortable with all the attention focused on her. The forest around them was lush and full of life. The little girl looked around at all the people that stood around her. They all had this magical presence to them, this feeling of something so much more to them. In the crowd of people Larizel saw a boy. He was a bit older than the younger girl, his hair was sharply cut with wisp of hair falling everywhere. The violet-eyed girl and he smiled at each other. Everyone was talking about something the little girl didn't understand. They spoke about betrothal and marriage, ending of wars, and beginnings of peace.
Larizel watched as if she was in a trance. The boy walked up to the little girl. His powerful presence locked the girl in her place. Handing her a crystal that transformed into a single red rose he kissed her on her cheek and whispered in her ear "Someday I will make your dreams come true." Then everything went dark as a storm moved over the crowd of people. The lightning crashed and the wind blew violently. There were people all around the violet-eyed girl. They were shoving and pulling her away from the boy and the crowd. She called out for help but no one seemed to hear her. Larizel moved as if to run to her aid, but the scene faded.
Larizel found herself in empty darkness that swallowed her body making it shiver. She remembered the place she now stood. In the corner sat a figure dressed in black. His silver and blond hair fell over his face. This time she knew who he was and went to his side. Whispering quietly to him she laid her hands over his, which were sitting on his knees. "Jareth." He brought his eyes up to hers slowly. "You don't have to be in pain anymore." She watched the emptiness leave his eyes. She felt his skin getting warmer. "I am here to save you." He took his gloved fingers to her cheek moving to the back of her head and into her hair. She leaned forward her lips lightly brushed against his. Nothing more than the flutter of butterfly wings. "I have nothing more to give you Jareth… for I have given you all of me. Is that enough?" She did not receive her answer. He was gone and she found herself sitting in his place.
She was consumed with pain and a broken heart. She had taken his place in the darkness. She had given him everything and took his place in the oblivion of depression and heartache. It was the one thing she had wanted to do for him from the beginning, relieve him from his pain. At what cost she didn't know, didn't care. In the darkness she heard a voice calling to her. She couldn't quite make out whom it was. She couldn't quite understand what he was saying. All she had was darkness, just black, cold, empty darkness. She curled her knees to her cold body and began to cry. "This must be what Jareth felt." Her tears were falling into her hair that lay over her face cascading down all most touching the ground. She felt this overwhelming loss and heard his heartbreaking words surrounding her soul. She knew what the words had meant, truly, meant this time. It was now she who had lost not just the game… but also the boy.
"Larizel you have to wake up." Jareth's voice cast away her dreams as she slowly opened her eyes. She awoke to find that she had been crying. Jareth sat on the bed next to her with his hand holding hers. "You were dreaming again." He wiped a few tears from her face and looked onto her with concern. "What awful dream makes you cry in such misery?"
Leaning into his hand she spoke in a quiet whisper. "You."
With her head in his hand he raised her eyes to peer into them. They were slightly red and held tears still ready to fall. The accusation was like a dagger to his heart. He had done this to her, it was his entire fault, and she must blame him. "I am so sorry Larizel to have done this to you. I never expected this outcome."
She put a finger to his lips and whispered to him. "All I wanted was to relieve you of your pain and misery, and so I have." She paused to swallow hard looking away from his gaze. "But now I fear I have taken your place in the solitude of pain."
"But why?" His voice was guilt ridden.
"Because now I know how you felt." She sat up in the bed for the first time since he had brought her back to the castle. She straightened out her back and in a voice of a siren she sang to him. "Live without your sunlight. Love without your heartbeat. I, I can't live within you" The words held ever inch of heartache he once felt. He sat there in shock realizing that Larizel really had seen everything. That she did everything from the beginning knowingly and for the most part willingly on behalf of releasing him from the cage Sarah put him in, but in her eyes he saw that pain, that suffering that he knew all too well and it awakened something inside of him. He watched her vivid violet eyes become dull. He could see her hollow and broken soul hid far in the back of her pitch-black pupil no longer surrounded by the touch of blue. Her tears held in the corners of her eyes, forever ready to fall. Her skin once again was turning pale. Reality struck hard as he came to full understanding that Larizel willingly took his place in the cage. From the very beginning saw his pain and all she wanted to do was to save him and make the pain go away. She had now sacrificed herself twice for him. It wasn't fair.
He took her small frame into his arms as she cried effortlessly. He rocked her slowly not sure what to do or say. She had done everything, given everything and now she suffered for her good nature. 'No good deed goes unpunished' He grimaced at the phrase he heard Aboveground, but for once he understood what it meant. After a few moments he realized she was once again asleep. Cursing himself he prayed that her nightmares wouldn't continue. He stood from the bed and made his way out the door. He had made his decision on what he needed to do now.
Sarah was still lying on her bed when he entered the room. She didn't move she just looked at him. He stood once more in all of his glory, but something was different about him. He no longer looked at her the way he use to. He was indifferent with a lack of the admiration that she had come accustom to.
He broke the silence with a stern voice. "Sarah, it's done." She wasn't sure what he meant, but she could take a guess. "I am sending you back Aboveground. You can start again with a new beginning."
Tears were collecting in her eyes. "Why?"
This time he did have an answer for her. "Because what you have done can not be forgiven. Having you here now is just torturous. I can not even begin to recover from what you have done and with you here I never will."
"But you love me." Her words seemed desperate, but swallowed by the room leaving him unaffected by the statement.
"I did, which is why you have to leave." The words were cold and rang of truth. He really didn't love the person she had become. He loved who she was before, but she wasn't that person anymore.
She stood to her feet, legs shaking. "No you can't mean that." Her heart was breaking she could feel the cracks making its way through her soul.
"But I do and it is time for this to end and for you to go. I'm sorry Sarah, but the Labyrinth demands it and I have to agree." He did find tears in his eyes watching the vision before him transfer back and forth between who she is and who she was. He turned his eyes away from her and spoke words in regret. "Goodbye Sarah." With that he blew a bubble like crystal to her and in its burst it took her away from the Underground to never return.
Sarah awoke in her old house. She looked around and everything was different. She called out his name running through the house. Running out to the backyard she cried seeing the statue of Jareth. She stepped into the fountain's water that added weight to the cream madien dress she wore pulling it partially off her shoulders and making her long sleeves heavy. She all but crawled her way to the statues feet. The waterfalls flowed their way over her hands that were placed on the stone he tood upon. She was begging through her tears. "Please bring me back. I'm sorry."
In her screaming and crying she did not noticed the men coming up behind her. One grabbed her by the arms while the other injected a syringe into her leg. Another man walked up from behind them. "It's okay Sarah. We are here to take you home." Dr. Corgan brushed a couple of strands from her face. "I don't know how you escaped this time, but it's time for you to come back."
Sarah screamed to the statue of Jareth once more as they pulled her from the waters. "Why are you letting them do this to me? Why are you allowing me to go through this pain? It's not fair!" She heard his voice in her head. 'It isn't, but that's the way it is.'
Jareth stood in his throne room trying not to buckle to his knees. It was possibly the hardest thing he ever had to do. He felt sorry for Sarah now as he watched them take her away in an ambulance from his crystal, but what's said is said. A movement was caught in the corner of his eye as he spun around to see what it was.
Larizel stood in the hallway. She was wearing the dress he had laid out for her if she had ever wakened with out him there. Most of the dress was black. The long black sleeves were off her shoulders and nearly touched the ground with a purple trim. The top low cut and the full dress was laced up the back with purple straps allowing it to adjust fully to her thin frame. The skirt of it had a purple panel that broke from the black and ran down the side parting the single slit that came up her right leg stopping at her thigh. She wore high-heeled black leather boots that stopped about mid shin. She was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
She walked slowly to him, but stopping a few feet away. Her voice held a touch of sadness. "You let her go? Why?"
"Because with her here the pain would never truly go away. The Labyrinth's fury demanded her departure." He could not look her in the eyes. The things he had put her through, that she put herself through because of him. He didn't know what to say. No apology would ever reconcile the pain she's been through
Larizel looked into the crystal he held in his hand. Her voice was sincere. "You can't leave her like that." Regret raced through his body straight to his heart. The pressure felt like a heart attack. What else could he do? He didn't have the power to do much else. "She deserves a new beginning." Larizel took the crystal into her hand and looked into it. She saw Sarah lying on a stretcher inside the ambulance with Dr. Corgan sitting next to her. Larizel focused her power at the woman in her vision.
Sarah felt her body tingle. Her heart fluttered for a moment and found hope in her heart. The smile that graced her lips left a glow on her face. The body that lay on the stretcher was gone.
Dr. Corgan was confused riding in the ambulance now alone. He called to the EMT's in the front seat. "Hey guys, where are we going?"
The EMT's looked at each other puzzled. The driver spoke first. "Um… I don't know. Where did you want us to go?"
Completely baffled Dr. Corgan shook his head. "Let's head back to the hospital." The EMT's looked at each other and shrugged. They were already heading that direction. Perhaps that's where they were heading all along.
Sarah found herself inside her house once more. She sat on the couch in the living room that was not hers. She didn't understand what just happened. Walking into the kitchen she saw documents sitting on the table. She walked to the papers picking them up she flipped through them. One was the title of a black Porsche signed over to her. Another was the deed to the house also signed over. The last document was to a bank account that was turned over to her name. Finally she came to a hand written note signed by the person that had signed over all the possessions to make Sarah's her own.
Dear Sarah,
The only thing I can give to you is a new life, my life. My money, my car, and my house now all belong to you. No one remembers anything of your last 17 years so your life is completely yours to reconstruct. It is the one gift I can give and I'm sorry I can't give more, but make the most of it.
Sincerely,
Larizel Arzelette
A bittersweet smile came over Sarah's features. "If only I could forget so easily." Her eyes filled with tears and she whispered, "It isn't fair that Larizel is to stay. I will be back someday. But until then… forget me not."
Larizel turned away from the crystal. She was tired after using so much power to give the girl she pitied a new start in life. It was quite trying to use a power to erase that many memoreies and that many years. She stumbled her way to the throne nearly collapsing before reaching it. Her eyes focused on Jareth who had his back to her. The tears hit her eyes before she could stop them. Though she feared what he would say still she spoke in a hush tone. "I have nothing more to give you Jareth… for I have given you all of me. Is that enough?" She pause for a moment, she needed his answer this time. Somehow her voice became quieter and was carried in an unfelt breeze to his ears. "Am I enough?"
Jareth turned to face her, but couldn't meet her eyes while taking a step back. Could he possibly have an answer to that question? He forced himself to look into her violet eyes searching for the answer he was to give. Closing in the gap between them he took her hands into his as he smiled to her. "Yes." The word was so simple, but carried so much power behind them. "Larizel… will you stay with me, here in the Underground? Could you leave the life you once lived far behind and never look back?"
A smile was appearing on her face, but she looked down to the ground contemplating her answer. She didn't really expect him to ask her to stay. She had plans to return to her Ravenite family to learn of her culture and the life that she was to live, but did any of that really matter. It wasn't as if it was ever planned for her to be raised as a Ravenite anyway. It's why she was taken as a child and sent Aboveground. He took his hand to her chin and raised her eyes to meet his. "Will you stay?" He began to feel like a fool for asking, especially twice.
Her hand touched his face as her fingers traced his sharp angled features. The smile that crossed over her lips was not readable, but her words were kind and eyes shined with mischief. "Only if you keep the promise you made to me when I was a child."
He pulled away from her for a second and laughed. "You remember that? But you didn't remember anything. How could you know…"
She silenced him with the look in her eyes. The ring of blue was back around her pupil and the violet sparkled. "Because I saw it in my dream. Could you still love me the way you did then? Admire me? Adore me? Look at me with those eyes? Could you?"
He searched his soul before giving her the answer and felt out to the Labyrinth as if asking for its permission. It gave no answer as if indifferent, which was all he needed. "I can and I shall. I promise."
The cage was left empty. Larizel stepped out into a new world, a new life full of possibilities… a new life with him. Both no longer in pain, and have found themselves whole once more. The bond between them had grown so much in the last few weeks. It was as if this was how it was always suppose to be, she was right before… this was her destiny all along.
The End
AN- Thank you all for seeing this through with me. The fountain around the statue confused a few of you. I had added the fountain during a revision of the first chapter. I do not apologize for the ending. It truly wasn't what I was planning. Sarah was suppose to either stay with Jareth or go back to Hapsville and Larizel was suppose to either die or go back Aboveground and become a full-blown rockstar. But you know as they say… the best laid plans…. This is how it was destined to be. I hope that you liked it and if not, I wish you did.
MY FINAL THANK YOU'S:
Norehnka Thank you for stepping up and letting me know what you thought of the story. You were the first to add me to your favorites, which meant so much to me. It was very sweet of you to let me know you were running away for two weeks so I wouldn't feel deserted. I almost put the whole story on hiatus until you returned, but then I figured you'd love to have the rest to read when you come back. Though at this time I do not know what you think of the rest of the story, I do look forward to hearing it.
XSugarcoatedxStarlightx Thank you for your encouragement and coming forth letting me know you had started reading. It really made my day to know that someone else was really enjoying my story. Thanks for adding me as a favorite and adding me to your myspace. Again… you have such pretty eyes… lol.
Notwritten Thank you for leaving me a review on every single chapter, even if it was just to say you liked it and have a good day. And my favorite line that I have said to everyone at work "Keep smilin'" ) It meant a lot to me that you just took the time to click on that little button.
Princess of the Fae Thank you for your short comment back on chapter 3… lol. I saw that you had an alert set up, but I don't know if I lost you along the way. I wanted to thank you for your pity on Jareth, God knows he needed it. Poor thing.
Dark Wolf Flame Thank you for also adding me as one of your favorites. It saddens me that I didn't get to hear more from you. You seemed to really be into the story for a moment there. I do hope that you still enjoyed it.
Mysteriamoon Thank you for leaving your review and with all said and done the answer revealed … Larizel won her own mind, but it made you wonder for a while there.. huh? I also wish I would have heard more of your thoughts on the story.
AmethystLainey Thank you for adding me to your favorites don't think I missed the add, however I missed out on your thoughts of the story. Since you added me I'm assuming you did like it, could be wrong, but no way of knowing.
ChioneTheMetroid Thank you for setting up an alert on the story, though I haven't heard from you I wanted you to know you didn't go unnoticed.
Last and least rabid fangirl thank you for making me really think out the last few chapters of my story. Making sure that I wrote them just the way as they should be… oh and for making me go look up what the hell a Mary Sue was… lol. Which I found doesn't actually apply in this case. ;)
I'm sure you caught how my format changed in this final chapter. Like all artist the story is never done. I've already began to go back and add little scenes and details here and there. I've already redone Ch.1, it's sad to know it may never end. I love you all and I hope that I will find inspiration to write another story in the future. For now I gave mine to alorindanya as an offering to get a new chapter for The Thief, The King, and The Son. Go read that and help me urge her to write more.
Thank you and goodnight.
(Takes a bow)
