"Sarah? Precious?" Jareth gingerly opened their bedroom door. Ever since Cassandra had lost her child, it became more and more difficult for Sarah to function. The Queen forced herself to write the letter and send the sword to Cassandra and did her duties, but otherwise, she just laid down, not wanting to speak or eat unless it was for Baby Toby.
Jareth was doing his best too, but the pain that Cassandra had to endure tore at his heart. He cursed at himself, wishing that he had done more to educate her on illusions (even though he and Sarah really did all they could). And now, she not only lost her baby, but was still in great pain. Even the goblins were quiet, knowing that their rulers were not in the mood to be played around with.
He came in to their private chambers, with some chicken noodle soup on hand. It was Sarah's and Cassandra's favorite, one that he made for Sarah when they met Above during a bout of sickness. Her wife was facing away from him, and he put his hand on her shoulder.
"Love? Please have some soup." Sarah didn't respond verbally. However, she did reach out to hold Jareth's outstretched hand to help her up. Pleased that she was sitting, he dipped the spoon in the bowl and brought it to her mouth. "Here," he whispered. "I'll feed you. It's okay."
Sarah nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. She took the first bite, and grabbed the bowl from Jareth's hands to feed herself. Jareth smirked a little. Sarah was always an independent woman. "Thank you." She said quietly. He rested his hand on her thigh.
"Anything for you, Precious."
After Sarah was done eating, he held her close and kissed her swollen belly. "My son." He whispered happily. Looking up, he saw that Sarah still had tears in her eyes. Jareth wiped them and kissed them away with feather-light touches. Sarah leaned into him, resting her head in his shoulder. "Jareth, you're remarkable. I'm sorry that I haven't been more myself. I didn't even check in you." She started to cry some more.
"Shh shh, it's alright. I'm fine, the kingdom is fine, even Cassie is fine for the moment."
At this point, Sarah started to become hysterical. "No no, it's my fault. I'm a horrible mother Jareth! I can't, no I- ahhh!" She clutched at her abdomen. "No! What's happening?"
Liquid oozed onto the bed. Thinking quickly, the king scanned it. It wasn't blood, and it wasn't urine. "No." He said with wide eyes. It couldn't be. Sarah's water broke, and she was two months early! All the stress she put on herself must have triggered the early birth.
It took a moment for Sarah's brain to catch up. "No, Jareth we need to go Above! Get a regent!" She coughed. Aboveground physicians were ahead of the Underground. It wasn't normal for Underground beings to have complications in health. And with those complications, the baby usually dies.
Jareth conjured a crystal. "Ambassador Roland!" Honestly, he didn't like any of his ambassadors, but Roland will have to do. "I need you to be regent. Come here at once!"
Roland groaned. "Oh come on. Please don't."
Jareth didn't have time to respond, for Sarah snatched his crystal from him.
"LISTEN UP." Both men sat up at attention. Sarah lowered the crystal so Roland could see her belly. "I am in labor early! If you don't want me to force you to deliver my child, YOU NEED TO GET TO THE THRONE ROOM AND NOW!"
Her outburst seemed to the do the trick. Roland was in the throne room within minutes, ready to take over for however long he needed to. "Alright," said Jareth after he checked on the shaky ambassador. "Let's go Above." He put one arm under Sarah's back and the other behind her legs. Just as he was about to transport his pregnant wife, Belle came running in.
"WHAT NOW?" Sarah screamed. "I AM ABOUT TO-" Belle held her hand to Sarah's face and shook her head in frustration. "I am aware that you are in labor early, but do not forget that Princess Cassandra is about to start her third and hardest task yet. I still need at least one of you to available, but preferably both."
"So what do you expect me to do? Just leave my wife up there alone?" Jareth demanded.
Belle gave another sigh. "I'm not sure."
At this, Sarah laughed hollowly. "I am NOT going there without my husband. Here's an idea, how about you come with us?"
Jareth stared at Sarah. "Sarah, how do you think we're going to transport A CENTAUR Above and into a hospital?" The idea was just absurd. Humans were not very accepting of change. Hell, some of them couldn't even accept one of their own species as their equal of their skin color was different.
"I don't know." She lamented lamely. "But I worry about Cassie just as much as, oh, OOOOWWWW!" She coughed again, her temperature rising quickly. Jareth looked down to see a wound that Sarah had contracted yesterday from an accident when a goblin dropped some building blocks onto her, scraping her arm. Peeling the bandages, Jareth was shocked to see how infected it was. "Sarah! Why didn't you tell me?" He was angry now and was ready to explode. Cassandra was in some crazy Labyrinth, Sarah was in labor early, they couldn't figure out how to bring Belle with them, and now Sarah had a dangerous infection that could complicate the delivery even more than it should.
"It wasn't important, okay?" She wailed. "Just make sure the baby will be okay!"
Jareth turned angry red. "I have lost you too many times! This is too dangerous! What were you thinking? You're out of your damn mind!"
"Well maybe I am!" She screeched as she snatched her arm away from Jareth. "MAYBE IF YOU WOULD JUST CALM THE HELL-"
"Umm Kingy?" A small goblin popped into their doorway, making the tension of the room even worse than before. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU?" Jareth yelled. "IF YOU COME INTO OUR PRIVATE CHAMBERS, I WILL SEND YOU TO THE BOG OF ETERNAL-"
"Kingy, we have idea." The small Goblin looked so timid that even Jareth deflated a little. Closing his eyes and pinching his nose, the king took a deep breath. "Yudo, this BETTER be good." He nodded, looking more horrified by the minute.
"Kingy, what if horsie lady dresses as hunchback in wheelchair?" He wrung his hands nervously, not sure if he would get thrown in the big or not. Jareth's face lit up, and he turned to his wife and ambassador. "Yes! That's a wonderful idea Yudo! What do you say?"
Sarah nodded. "Yes yes. Now can we go now? Please?"
Belle stepped in between them. "I will NOT be dressed in some lowly humanoid form!" She crossed her arms, looking quite upset.
Sarah had had it. "Now listen here." She snapped at the centaur. "You will do this. It is not a lowly form and I AM IN LABOR! DO NOT make me drag you Above!" The queen's hair was on her face, all wet from the sweat. Her green eyes were determined and were full of fire. Sarah's thoughts were consumed with images of her new son and her daughter. She would not let this horse get in the way of their safety. THIS is what it means to fight for your children and what it means to be a mother. "I will carry you on my back if I have to!" She concluded.
Belle backed away, and sighed. "Fine. Do what is necessary." Jareth nodded, and conjured a wheelchair. Within 10 minutes, they dressed Belle in a long gown to cover her legs, put make up to make her look old, a wig on her head, and they were ready to go. Jareth held onto his wife and ambassador, transporting Above.
When they arrived, Sarah's conditioned worsened. The infection was spreading rapidly across her arm, looking worse by the minute. It was difficult, but he managed to carry his screaming wife with Belle catching up quickly as she propelled the wheels forward.
"MY WIFE HAS AN INFECTION AND SHE'S HAVING A BABY!" Jareth screamed as he rolled her in. The entire team of nurses and other assistants got Sarah quickly into a wheelchair. "She had a piece of wood fall on her arm and she's 28 weeks along," he explained breathlessly to the doctor that came running in with coffee. She nodded. "Sir, if you could please give us some room, we'll take care of your wife. What's her name?"
"Sarah Williams." The name came out of his mouth strangely since Sarah no longer used that name. The doctor nodded. The team was incredible, putting the Queen on the examination bed as the doctor took her vitals. "Oh boy," the doctor grumbled.
"What? What's wrong?" Jareth didn't like the sound of the machines beeping. "Sir, it seems that your wife is going into shock." At that moment, Sarah started screaming. "MY ARM HURTS PLEASE FIX IT!"
Revealing the arm, Jareth gasped. He felt sick at the sight of Sarah's arm. It looked absolutely appalling. "Sarah, where did you go yesterday? Where was the construction? Answer me!" Between deep breaths, Sarah replied timidly "the Bog, Jareth." "WHAT? I SPECIFICALLY TOLD YOU TO NOT GO NEAR THERE IN YOUR CONDITION!"
Sarah glared at him. "Well it's too late now, isn't it?! ARGH!" She clutched her abdomen again.
The doctor put her hand on Jareth's shoulder before he could respond. "Sir, I need to speak to you." She nodded towards the door. "Call the orthopedic surgeon and an obstetrician." She ordered her team. "Try to calm her down and I'll be back in a moment!"
When they were out, Jareth could tell that this was a serious situation. "Just tell me." He growled. The doctor's face was grim and he wasn't sure what was so wrong. She took a deep breath. "Sir, I think your wife has flesh eating disease."
Jareth took a step back. "Take it easy sir." She stabilized him and sat him down in a chair. "What? No, it can't be. What's the cure?" The doctor sighed. "Unfortunately, your wife will have to go into surgery to remove it. I want to warn you, she may lose that arm. She's also in such a fragile state that the baby is in danger." So many things were going through Jareth's mind. He didn't expect his son's birth to be like this. He wasn't even sure if they'd be alive when they got out.
When he didn't respond, the doctor continued. "We're going to perform a cesarean section to remove the baby. I think you should go see them before she goes into the OR. Sir?" She looked to make sure that Jareth heard her words. "Uh, yeah." He choked out, getting up. "Doctor," she turned around, with compassion in her eyes. "Will she live?" She looked at the floor for a second before answering. "I promise that we'll do everything we can."
"Not to be rude, but we brought her here so you could save her." He quipped. The doctor did not react to his anger, something that did impress him. It suddenly occurred to him that she probably dealt with people like him all the time. "I know sir. I promise that she's in good hands." She gave him an encouraging look and opened the door for him. "Go see your wife."
Jareth clasped Sarah's hand in his. "Sarah?" She looked at him, with fear and pain in her eyes. "Oh Jareth, the odds are so low. I'm so scared." He stroked her dark hair and kissed her. "Shh. It'll be alright. We survived so much, even vampire zombies. You can survive this." Sarah gave him a small laugh, and happiness swelled inside his heart. "I love you, Sarah." He whispered, pressing his lips to her hand. "I love you too." She whispered back, squeezing his hand. "Take care of Cassie for me?" He smiled. "On my life."
He gave a kiss as they wheeled the love of his life to the operating room.
The Goblin King sat in the waiting room, next to Belle. "Well, now you're looking remorseful." She grumbled. Jareth sighed. "I was pretty awful to you and the goblins, wasn't I?"
Belle didn't let up. Even under the loads of make up that Sarah had painted on her, it was still obvious that she was angry. "Yes. You were despicable. You also forget that this is no longer your kingdom nor your territory."
Jareth stared ahead and counted to ten, a calming technique that helped him quite a bit. "Damn it Belle. I'm trying to apologize." He said through clenched teeth.
"Ha! Well, you're doing a horrible job." She informed him. He could see that his uneasiness amused her.
"I'm sorry for how I treated you." He started again. Lowering his voice so only Belle could hear him, he said "It's just, I've been through a lot. You know about the jiangshi and how I nearly lost Sarah. Before that, I almost died of a car crash myself. And damn, winning Sarah back when she didn't remember our childhood was so difficult." He blinked away the tears that were forming in his eyes. "And now, Cassie has married without me at her side. I've always wanted to be a part of her special day. And then she lost her husband and child, bullied by her mother-in-law and I can't do much to help. And here we are." He let out a strained laugh. "In a hospital for mortals while my wife has a flesh eating disease which she may not live and my son will be born today. All of the stress has hurt her, and probably made it so the baby is born early. I wish I had done more to shield her. To protect her. What kind of a husband and father am I?" His voice broke and the tears fell from his eyes. His body shuddered and his messy hair came down to frame his face, a small protection from the world.
Belle put a hand on his shoulder. "You may have a temper, but you are undoubtedly the most devoted husband and father any wife and child could have. And, you are a ruler that anyone would kill for. Protective, strong, and caring for his subjects." She said. "I accept your apology. But don't worry, your queen is a fighter! Have faith, my king." She smiled at him.
Jareth would always remember that moment of strength that Belle lent him that day. Though they would never share such a moment again, he would always have gratitude in his heart for what she did for him. Words are quite powerful.
"Hi Toby." Jareth cooed at his new son. As soon as they took him out, Baby Toby was put in an incubator, protected from the world outside of him.
"You're a strong young man. I'll take care of you. Don't worry." The child responded to Jareth's words and turned his head towards his father even though he could not open his eyes. "How about a story of your older sister, hmm?"
Jareth settled to tell the story of the time when Cassandra tried to climb a tree and fell in the river. Since it wasn't too deep, Jareth encouraged her to try to swim on her own, promising her that he was there with her. The young girl pushed through and got herself out. "Like Cassie, you can make it too." He held out his finger for Toby to hold. As soon as they made contact, the child fell asleep, comforted by the touch of his father. "I love you." He told his son. Oh, how he couldn't wait for him to get bigger and teach him to kick goblins and attempt to make crystals (even though Cassandra couldn't do it).
"Are you Jareth?" A man in scrubs peaked through the door. "Your wife, Sarah, is awake."
He went into her room, relieved to see that her arm was not amputated. It truly was a miracle that his wife was alive. He gave her a small kiss on the forehead.
"Hey." She whispered, touching Jareth's cheek. "How is little Tobias Jareth?" Jareth laughed. "He's small, but he's doing wonderfully. Bigger than most kids his age. He's strong and stubborn. Like his mother." Sarah beamed.
He turned the topic to his wife. "How are you?"
Sarah groaned. "Well, my arm feels like it's been ripped off and my abdomen feels like someone cut me open with a chainsaw, but other than that, I'm good. I'm alive, all my limbs are here, and our son is alive too. I just hope he stays that way." She lamented. Jareth kissed her hand, the one that rested on his cheek. "My love, if you can survive this, so can Baby Toby." Feeling comforted by this, Sarah pressed her lips to Jareth, feeling content in her husband's arms. "We're going to have to think of a way to make it up to the doctors, nurses, the rest of the team for saving us and for Belle and the goblins for putting up with our behavior." She mumbled. Jareth waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. When the time comes, we'll worry about it."
The couple heard the doors open, revealing the centaur. "Your Majesties, I'm sorry, but the Princess needs you."
Cassandra's new task was at a darker location. Unlike her father's Labyrinth, this one was dark and dreary, and seemed to be in the inside of a tall building. Or maybe it was just so dark and the atmosphere was so suffocating that she just couldn't tell. The walls were a blood red color, giving Cassandra terrifying thoughts at what must have gone down there. She had no doubt that many creatures died in there.
Shivering a bit from the cold, the princess engulfed herself in flames, trying to keep warm. She had no idea where the center of the Labyrinth was, so she took a hunch and turned right. A normal person would've tried to mark their paths or something, but Cassandra knew better than that. Her parents were conquerers of their Labyrinth, after all. She just had to go a certain way, to feel the Labyrinth and land where she was supposed to.
What she hated though, were surprises and suspense. She had no idea when something would jump out at her. Everything looked so dead and dreary, unlike the one near Goblin City. She started to eat some food she had carried with her when a scream was heard from the other side.
"Help me! Please!" It was the voice of a small child, and Cassandra instinctively ran towards it.
She didn't even walk ten steps before falling straight down.
The young princess let out a piercing scream as she fell further in. Just when she was imagining spikes or snakes at the bottom, she landed in something soft. Shaking, the princess brushed off some straw off her body. What was this place?
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Princess Cassandra." A voice drawled out.
In her terror, Cassandra shot out a fire ball. A shadowy figure caught it and out it out, as if it was a mere soap bubble. He (it? Who knows) slipped towards the princess. She could feel his hot breath against her neck, but no actual person was there. What was he?
"Oh? What? Cat got your tongue?" The Shadow let up a deep laugh. Cassandra shook her head, coming to her senses. "Show yourself! Only a coward would hide behind shadows!" She snapped her fingers, holding fire in her hands for light.
He laughed even more. "Oh, princess. I AM the shadows!"
Something invisible seemed to wrapped itself around her throat. Her body went rigid, and she couldn't breathe. Even the fires in her hands went out. She felt the Shadow enter into her head, laughing at her struggles.
"My. You are such a beautiful woman." He drew out the word "beautiful," and she felt panic rising in her as he caressed more intimate parts of her body, like her stomach and neck. It started to get more and more invasive. "Oh, yes, I can see why you've gotten the attention of a god and so many other creatures. What if I just take you for myself? Mmmm." Images popped into her head of an endless sleep where the Shadow would take advantage of her body and seep into her dreams to violate her.
Cassandra! Her eyes snapped open at the sound of the Voice coming back. You must fight back! Think of your husband. Think of your parents and your baby brother! Think of the centaurs that you healed and how much more you can do!
"But how?" She though as she sobbed silently. "I can't even move!"
Use your mind, fight it off! You know how to use your instincts!
Cassandra focused. She was determined to not be overcome by the Shadow. Every part of her body seemed to fight against her mind, wanting to finally rest after this whole ordeal, but she would not give up. She focused on Troy, she focused on her life and the beauty that it brought her.
She felt him slowly lose grip on her.
"What the-" the Shadow was burned off. But how? He was immune to fire.
"I, PRINCESS CASSANDRA OF GOBLINS AND QUEEN OF ANTERIAN, CAST YOU OUT OF MY MIND AND BODY!" She stretched her body, and the Shadow screeched. This was the first time that the princess even acknowledged her new title as the rightful queen of her husband's planet.
She felt it exploding from inside of her. Caging every fiber of her being in fire, she prevented herself from exploding with the Shadow. Though it was not visible, she could feel its remains scattered around the room, then disappearing.
Catching her breath, she looked up to see a man above her. "Ahh!" Cassandra threw a fireball at him too, but he ducked. He held his hands up. "I mean you no harm princess. In fact, I am to thank you for freeing me of that prison."
The man had the same voice as the Shadow. His voice was deep and seducing, something that made Cassandra extremely nervous. Keeping flames on her fingers, she looked at the man closely. He had long, shaggy brown hair and the brightest gray eyes. He had a beard, one that was cut strangely with bald patches. His clothes were rags, but she could see that they were once for a nobleman. It was a sad sight to see, someone who was once important was so lowly.
"Who are you?" Cassandra asked. The man eyed her with great interest. "My name is a name that is well known Above, I'm not sure if you'd know it though since you're fey."
"Try me." Cassandra offered. "I've read a lot of Aboveground culture, although not as much as I'd like."
The man nodded. "Very well. My name is Rumplestiltskin."
She gasped. "Wait, you're the one where the lady has to guess the name because you helped her turn straw into gold!" He scrunched his nose. "That's the story now? Not quite accurate but eh, good enough." He sat down. "I'd like you to help me." He told the princess.
"You already owe me one for freeing you, yes?" She said proudly. She could feel that The Voice agreed with her.
Rumplestiltskin shrugged. "Fine. You're right. Here's the problem, I cannot leave this room with a physical body. And, neither can you." He picked a straw and twiddled with it.
"In order for us to go free, we need to feed it, in a sense." He threw the straw in the air, spun around, and caught it with two fingers. Cassandra scrunched her eyebrows together. "Feed it?"
"Yes princess, feed it. Your father's Labyrinth is a living being, no? Well so is this place." He pressed his body on the walls, feeling for something, almost dancing against them. "They need gold. Something that you can do for them."
The Voice told Cassandra to bargain. She pretended to consider Rumplestiltskin's words. "Alright, what must I do?" Looking pleased, he lifted some hay to reveal a spinning wheel. "Only a young maiden who has experienced a recent tragedy can turn straw into gold. Here's the catch, the entire time that your spinning, you will feel excruciating pain. What kind of pain? I'm not sure. But good luck. This will get both of us out."
"Wait!" Cassandra called out. "You owe me one!"
Rumplestiltskin plopped his body onto the floor. "What would you like?"
In her mind, she called out to the Voice again, asking for guidance. After trying a few times, she got her answer. "I want to know my husband's true name." She decided.
Rumplestiltskin stared at her in surprise. "You realize that knowing someone's real name could hurt your soul, especially if you're not a god? It could corrupt you and make it so nothing can make you satisfied or happy. You're also not able to control him from here." Cassandra frowned. She was confused. Why would the Voice tell her to do something hurtful to herself?
Rumplestiltskin felt sorry for the poor girl. "You could give the name back though. The only person it doesn't hurt would be your husband himself. Tell him, and he will have power over his life and you will no longer have control over him." Cassandra nodded. "I supposed I'll just have to be strong, and do whatever I need to do. Now teach me how to use this thing."
He guided her hands so she could insert straws. "Just keep pressing here with your foot, and you'll get the hang of it." Rumplestiltskin backed away so she could work, looking sorry for what she had to go through.
The moment she started, there was so much pain between her legs that she wanted to scream. It was like someone plunged a knife down there, tearing her apart further and further. When she kept pushing forward, the pain changed to her ears. She saw little worms going in and out of her body, and tried to tell herself that it was an illusion. Only when she stopped spinning did the pain stopped.
"How much gold do I have to spin?" She asked. What is it with magical creatures and gold anyways?
"The whole room." He stated. Cassandra's jaw dropped.
"All the straws in the entire room?" Looking around, the room was about the size of a house. It would take her at least two days to spin, and with the pain it gave her, it would take her about four.
She shook her head, and pushed on. No matter what, she had to keep on going and tell herself that the pain wasn't real, just in her head.
For five excruciating days, the princess cried and kept on spinning. It turns out that some of the pain WAS real, and she had to be careful to not push beyond her limits. She almost broke a bone once. That wouldn't do her any good. Rumplestiltskin would try to chat her up, and even tried to seduce her but she knew better. She would not be tricked again.
When she finished, a breath of relief filled her lungs. She buried her head in her hands as the room made the gold disappear, accepting her offer. Their surroundings changed, and she was free. Rumplestiltskin was pleased, to say the least. "Well done princess."
He started to walk away, but Cassandra conjured ropes to bind his wrists and legs. The man gasped and fell sideways, into a wall. "Not so fast!" She growled. "What is my husband's true name? You promised to tell me!"
Through clenched teeth, he said "Jethro. His name is Jethro. Just tell him his true name and he will automatically regain power over his life. His mother will still have some power over him, but she can give it back. How? You're going to figure that out. Goodbye princess, and good luck with the monster before you." Before she could ask what he meant, Rumplestiltskin disappeared, his laugh cackling through the air.
A large roar filled the hallways. She slowly looked forward, trying to not faint at the sight of it. Scales covered the creature and started to wrap itself around her. Cassandra screamed as a tail nearly crushed her. Two large snouts the size of her hands breathed out smoke.
A dragon was trying to make the princess his dinner. No matter how quickly she ran, it was too big and too fast for her.
By the way, she's still a princess because she hasn't been officially coronated and she's in the Underground, where she is still known as Jareth and Sarah's kid.
