"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 41
By Aiijuin

*Disclaimer: I don't own anything Jim Henson or Labyrinth. Gröeg was originally designed by Brian Froud and catalogued by Terry Jones in Brian Froud's "The Goblins of the Labyrinth". This fanfiction is rated M for some harsh language and adult situations. Gavin King is Jareth, the Goblin King, for those who have jumped into the middle of the story. Jeremy Eden is from the original Henson script of "Labyrinth" as the man who wrote the "Labyrinth" playbook that Sarah was reading from, in the beginning of the 1986 movie.
Be warned! Although this is a Sarah/Jareth romance story, it is also a profoundly dark fairytale!
**NOTE: Story numbering is behind by 1 chapter, because there is a prelude, which is not considered a chapter. Fanfiction . net automatically assigns numbers to the chapters by default, which I have not control over. Thank you!

Chapter 41: Family Matters

"Torok," Jareth said in a neutral voice and then raised his head from his hands. "What do you want…again?"

"Ah, you know, a little of this and a little of that," Torok began. "Mostly, I have come to discover your progress on finding Sashya's soeur, you know her sister?"

Jareth stood up and looked out of the French doors. The sun was beginning to set below the trees and an orange glare cast itself into the study of Henkies Estate. He grumbled incoherently for a moment and then said rather unenthusiastically, "She's starting to be a bother… your queen, I mean."

Torok didn't answer either way, which meant that Sashya was probably watching him. Gröeg came in and magically lit the candles in the study by pointing his fingers at each one individually. Jareth gave the goblin a look to speed things up and then go away. Gröeg clapped his hands and the rest of the candles lit up on their own as he sped from the room. Jareth rubbed at his chin and froze.

Torok raised his eyebrows and finally said, "You know, mon Frère, I think we are having a contest of who can say the least words here tonight. What is the matter? You are much too silent for my liking."

Jareth sighed but said nothing and turned around to sit back in the desk chair. He put his feet up on the desk and looked at his boots. Torok sat back in the chaise and started to sigh himself. Of course, the Troll King was much too nosy to allow Jareth to keep secrets from him. Torok began to drum his fingers on the wood trim of the chaise, which annoyed Jareth to no end.

Finally, after several minutes of going back and forth in a stare-down, Torok broke, "Fine! Fine! Vous gagnez! You win! I can stand no more! Sashya is not just grumpy, but she's very grumpy. I will hear no end to things and there will be no peace until you find her… her Sarah…"

Jareth sat up and swung his legs back down to the floor with a clatter. He furrowed his eyebrows and spat, "If your wife wants to find her missing sister that desperately, then she can go find her alone and without my help! Comprenez-vous? I have more important matters to attend to here and have little interests in her family problems."

Torok tried to shush Jareth, but it was too late!

Sashya stood up from another chair that was neatly placed in the corner of the room near the bookshelves. She glanced around with the same cold and distant eyes that Sarah Williams had when she attacked the muggers in the park two days ago. Sashya's soft pink gown swished past Torok as he tried to grab her arm before she got too close to Jareth. However, Sashya broke free from his grip in a matter of seconds. Before Torok realized what was happening, Sashya and Jareth were standing toe to toe.

The air was crackling about them in a light-display of magic and power. Torok raised his hands in front of him and pleaded, "Please! The two of you… Stop! Argh, mon esprit!"

Luckily, for Torok's sake, something unexpected happened. The magic fizzled out as quickly as it had appeared. Suddenly, Jareth looked tired and realized that the power must have shifted back to Sarah Williams again. However, Sashya also looked weakened. In fact, Jareth noted that she looked downright ill. She clutched her stomach in agony, raced towards the French doors, swung them open, leaned over the balcony, and then threw up.

Torok sighed, "Not again."

Jareth raised his eyebrows and mused, "That's interesting… I've never had that effect on the ladies before."

Torok stammered, "It's not your powers or you, Jareth! Something unusual is happening in our lands."

"Such as, your invincible queen suffering an acute digestion disorder?" Jareth asked blandly.

"No," Torok snapped. "Have a bit of respect here, Goblin King! Elle est enceinte! You know? She is with my child…"

"Ah," Jareth mused and then added sarcastically, "And this is so unusual for a celibate chap like you because why?"

Ignoring Jareth, Torok patted Sashya on the back and calmed her. Jareth wanted to say something insulting, but his mood was dampened by the loss of his power and the stresses in his own life. Instead he waited for Sashya to recover and summoned Gröeg to bring some tea that would settle the Troll Queen's queasy stomach.

Torok escorted his wife back to the chaise and patted her hand. He turned to Jareth as Gröeg brought the tea to Sashya. Torok stammered, "This is horrible! Horrible! Our kind should not be subjected to illness, or these kinds of little surprises! We don't breed like humans… This event is unheard of! I have lost control of my powers and Sashya over hers. Are we becoming mortal, now?"

After Torok wiped the tears from Sashya's eyes, he stood up and pointed at Jareth. "I blame you, Goblin King!"

Jareth rubbed at his temples. He had a horrific headache coming on. He replied, "Yes, do join the club. I'm getting blamed for most things these days."

"N-No," Torok stuttered furiously. "It is that Sarah Williams! She is spreading the Curse throughout our lands, like a disease or pestilence. You NEVER should have brought her to our realm!"

"Oh, leave Miss Williams out of this," Jareth muttered. "She has her own set of troubles these days and doesn't need more adversaries to content with. I recall that you had brought her back the second time..."

"You!" Torok pointed again. "You protect and defend her! Why? She decimated you, but you still pursue her...... And don't tell me that you are plotting revenge again… Menteur! I don't believe that story anymore. You are madly in love with her! It shows."

Sashya stood up and rasped, "Jareth! How could you!?"

Everything was happening so quickly, that Jareth still hadn't recovered from his shocking discovery at the hospital with Sarah. His head was spinning, while a woman who could have passed for Sarah William's stunt double was screaming at him again. Her hazel eyes were bright and furious as she glared at the Goblin King. She regained her footing and shouted, "I'll solve this problem right now. I'm going to find this Sarah Williams girl and take care of her, just like you asked me to earlier. Then, I hope you'll concentrate on finding my twin!"

"No, wait," Jareth reached out to her, but she vanished from the room in a cloud of sparkles and dove feathers.

Torok shouted moments before she vanished, "Sashya, mon Amour!"

The Troll King was ready to chase after her, but Jareth nabbed him by the sleeve and threatened, "So help me, if your wife does anything to Miss Williams, I'll destroy your castle again and make sure the two of you are in it when it falls. Now, take me to where she has gone and hurry!"

Torok nodded and they vanished after Sashya.

Instantly, they were back at the halls of the neonatal wing of the hospital. Jareth whispered to Torok, "Couldn't you have gotten us any closer to where Sashya and Sarah are?"

"I'm sorry, mon Frère," Torok apologized. "I lost track of her en route. It seems to be happening a lot to me lately…"

"Quiet!" Jareth snapped and walked forward through the halls as the two great kings tried to avoid being seen by any of the hospital staff. Jareth pointed and continued, "This way."

Torok nodded.

Meanwhile, Sashya drew a jeweled blade from its scabbard and began to pull back the privacy curtain of room 13-A. Everything was dark and quiet except for the fetal monitor that was beeping regularly on a computer display nearby. Sashya gasped, as she caught full view of Sarah Williams. As if by instinct, Sarah opened her eyes.

The two women looked terrifyingly at one another and Sashya dropped the blade unto the ground. Sarah tried to push the panic button on her room wall, but it was too far out of reach. Sashya began to shake violently as she slid against the wall and unto the ground. He breath was heavy, while her eyes were frantic and wide. She began to weep in confusion. The air around Sarah glowed with intense energy as the fetal monitor display screen fizzled out with a crackle of electricity and buzzing sounds. Smoke could be seen coming from room 13-A.

However, as before, the power Sarah accumulated was more of a hindrance than a help to her. Her nose began to bleed profusely. She became dizzy and propped herself back on her pillow as she gasped for air. After a few seconds, she blacked out.

Jareth and Torok saw the smoke coming from down the hall and charged into the room. Sashya was on the ground, shaking in terror. Jareth found the blade and tucked it into his boot. Torok raced over to Sashya and braced her by the shoulders. Her nose was bleeding all down her lips and chin. The Goblin King checked Sarah to make sure the vindictive Troll Queen had not injured her.

"Sarah's nose is bleeding," Jareth whispered, remembering that Sarah had a roommate from earlier that he didn't want to disturb.

Torok heard him and touched Sashya's nose with his hands. He wiped the blood between his fingers and looked at it apprehensively. He turned to Jareth, "Sashya's nose is bleeding as well, mon Frere."

Jareth raised his head to gaze at Sashya. Sure enough, like Sarah it was the same nostril that was bleeding. Torok continued in a quiet voice, "Immortals don't bleed. What is going on here?"

Sashya stammered between tears, "That's-That's Sarah! I – I almost killed my own… twin…sister!"

Jareth walked around to Sashya and knelt by her side. He replied, "That woman cannot be your sister. She's only thirty-two years old and you're one of The Ancients, like me."

"You-You don't understand, Jar… I know my sister! We're connected… we've been bonded since our creation. Anything that happens to her also happens to m-me," Sashya continued frantically.

Jareth dragged Sashya back to her feet and he could see the protest on Torok's face. He held Sashya by the back of her long, dark hair and faced her towards Sarah as he snapped, "This woman is a human. You're not."

"Jareth, please…" The Troll Queen pleaded. "It's Sarah. It's her… Please! Believe me! I wouldn't accept any other ordinary girl to be my sibling."

"This is the girl," Jareth began, "who defeated my Labyrinth and left my kingdom in shambles. This is the girl who burnt Grimm's Wood to the ground and called Ludo to drop rocks upon your glass palace. At fifteen years old, this girl wished her baby brother away to me, but I assure you that she has no sister. I'm sure that when she wakes again, she'll tell you that she's never met you before except in the reflections of a mirror or a lake."

"Jareth…" Sashya said almost inaudibly as the tears rolled down her cheeks. Her voice had been reduced to something softer than a whisper. "She's your wife."

Jareth did a double take at Sashya and then at Sarah. Sashya nodded slowly and pawed at Jareth's cloak to get his attention. When he looked at her again, she clasped her hands together in a prayer-like motion and whispered, "…your queen…"

Jareth released his hands from Sashya and Torok hugged her near, while throwing dirty looks at the Goblin King.

Footsteps of a running entourage of medical people could be heard echoing down the linoleum hallways. Amongst them a voice shouted, "…and her fetal monitor just stopped displaying two minutes ago!"

They entered the room and immediately checked Sarah's pulse as they realized her nose was bleeding. The head nurse hit the panic button on the wall, and the alarm sounded as the other nurses in the room hurried to remove intravenous tubes and electrodes from Sarah's body. Sarah's roommate awoke with a cry, as two orderlies raced in followed by three floor physicians. They immediately raised the bars on Sarah's medical bed and rolled it out of the room and down the hall with Sarah unconscious in it.

A couple of the recovering mothers walked out to their doorways to see what all of the noise was about. They heard one of the doctors shout, "Her pulse is erratic and she's bleeding profusely from the left nostril. What's her BP?"

A nurse answered, "It's two-twenty over ninety."

"Right! Get a drip started on her stat, and lets move her back down to the ICU-1 on the ground floor. We need to stabilize her heart rate! Margaret, page the neurosurgeon and get me another neonatal monitor at once!"

"Yes, doctor."

"Is she seizuring or dreaming? I see REM indications. Make sure you have her tongue depressed and her head turned just in case."

"Yes, doctor."

"Williams, Sarah. Age 32, five foot eight inches, weight 122 pounds… pregnant positive: eleven weeks… diagnosis from neurology: Alpha, Beta – abnormally low, Theta – nominal, Delta – abnormally high on all frequencies. Is she comatose?"

"No, doctor….."

Jareth, Sashya, and Torok hid behind the privacy curtains of Room 13-A and were never seen in all the hassle. Sarah's roommate could still be heard asking, "What's going on? What's going on!?"

But nodody answered her.