"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 59
By Aiijuin
*Disclaimer =Labyrinth (c) Henson, Lucas, Jones, Froud; Gröeg (c) Brian Froud, Winkin', Blinkin' & Nod (c) Mothergoose Nursery Rhymes. Torok is from 1986 movie Troll, but has been changed around to meet my story expectations.
Be warned: Although this is a Sarah/Jareth romance story, it is also a profoundly dark fairytale!
Rated M+(Adult Scenarios, Abrasive Language, Innuendos, Sensuality)
**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 59: As the World Falls Down
It was nearly eleven o'clock, when Sarah decided that she had enough fun, and wanted to return to her residence at Henkies Estate. Arther followed her as they searched together for Mr. King to say their goodnights to him. She had taken off her shoes, since her ankles had swollen up from a combination of hormones, baby, and dancing for an hour while pregnant. Her back hurt her and Arther had to hold her close, in order to give her some physical support.
After searching indoors for fifteen minutes, Sarah and Arther searched the outdoor parking lot for Gavin's vehicle.
Does Gavin drive? Wondered Sarah, because up until this moment, she had never actually witnessed him using a vehicle ever…
Arther shivered in the cold winter air, and returned inside to grab he and Sarah's coats. In the meantime, Sarah searched for her parents' vehicle. It was still there, so she decided to return indoors and ask them where Gavin could have gone. She passed Arther as she was reentering. He was on his cellphone, trying to make a call.
He held the device close to his ear silently, with a look of concern on his face. "Mr. King isn't picking up his cell. That's odd. He never turns it off…or at least, he says he never does. Not that I've ever tried calling him at eleven o'clock at night. What about you, Sarah? Did you find him at all?"
Sarah shook her head and answered, "No, but I should locate my parents and find out if something happened to him. He's been working too hard lately, so I'm worried about him. It's possible that something happened with Gavin's son, Baby Jareth, which could have made him rush home without warning."
Arther nodded and said, "Well, I'll help you find your parents, or if you would like I can drive you back to Henkies Mansion and we'll see if Mr. King has returned home. It might be easier to call your family from there, since its much quieter."
Sarah glanced around a second more before replying, "That's so strange that I can't even find Toby or Jessica.. Yes, we should go. I have a very bad feeling about all of this."
Arther replied, "Of course! We'll leave at once."
Half an hour later, Sarah and Arther arrived at Henkies Mansion.
Something was wrong!
Sarah flew from Arthur's car as fast as her swollen ankles and aching calves could carry her to the front of Henkies Estate. The door was ajar, and the lights were out.
Actually, it looked as if the front door had been partially ripped from its hinges. It swung lightly in the wind as it began to snow again outside. Sarah could see her breath before her face as she shivered in the darkness. Arther had a look of fear plastered on his face as he glanced silently at Sarah. Their eyes seemed to ask the same question, so together they raced on foot towards the front door. Arther readied his cellphone, and had speed dial set to 9-1-1, just in case.
His neatly styled, ebony hair blew as the winds picked up briskly. Sarah was the first to enter the house. The first thing that raced through her mind is that someone had broken in and harmed Gavin and the other residents.
Her thoughts strayed towards Baby Jareth, while a look of panic spread across her face. Arther reentered his car and pulled out a flashlight from the glove compartment. He ran back to Sarah's side as he followed her into Henkies Mansion. Sarah called for Gavin, but there was no answer, not even Mr. Gröeg the butler responded. She thought that she had heard a sound coming from the study. Arther apologized, as he pushed ahead of Sarah, in order to ensure her safety. He scanned the room with his flashlight, as Sarah peered over his shoulder.
The two French doors had been completely ripped off of their hinges, the massive desk was broken into two halves, and all of Gavin's books were thrust from their shelves unto the floor, where they were blowing in the wind with the other mountains of books from before. Sarah's eyes began to tear up, as she imagined who or what could have done this to Mr. King's home. Sarah nudged Arther on his arm and strained, "Art, I need to call my parents."
Arther handed her his cell. She fumbled with the buttons of the display as she dialed her parent's home. The phone rang and rang, but there was no answer. Voicemail finally picked up. Sarah hung up and dialed her brother's cellphone number, which also rang continuously without being picked up. She even tried her father's corporate cellphone number …
Nothing!
Sarah began to hyperventilate, as Arther tried to calm her down. Her nose and mouth began to bleed when he found a box of tissues that were lying on the floor of Gavin's office, and handed them to her. Sarah pushed them away and said, "We need to dial the police!"
"They can't help you..."
Sarah turned around in shock, searching for the voice that had just said that.
"Over here, by the mirror, Sarah," the voice continued.
Sarah looked at the mirror and saw her own reflection…
That is, it almost looked like her, except the reflection's attire was different. This other version of Sarah was wearing a pink silk gown, similar to the one that Sarah had been dressed in during her excursion into Grimm's Wood and the Troll Kingdom. Sarah asked, "Who are you?"
"There's no time to explain. You need to hurry! Torok and I are doing everything in our power to keep the passageway between our realms open, but Jareth's fury has made him incredibly strong…"
"Jareth?!?" Sarah stood with her mouth agape, while Arther said nothing, but looked wide-eyed at the reflection.
"Yes. He's taken them, Sarah, and I don't know what he's going to do to them, but he's trying to lock you out forever."
Sarah knew immediately who 'them' was. Sarah turned to the woman and muttered, "Daddy, Karen, Toby, Jessica, Gavin, and Gavin's son… All of them?"
The reflection nodded and said, "I don't know what has made him so furious, but he's nearly delirious with rage. I've never seen him like this before, my sister. I know that you're the only one who can possibly console him now… please hurry, before this curse becomes any worse. Save them! Save him! And finally, save us!"
"Where do I go!? What do I do!?" Sarah panicked as she clutched her pregnant belly.
"Look to your left…"
Sarah looked to her left, which was towards the torn front door. Jareth's Labyrinth stood in place of the cold, dark, winter night that she should have seen out the entryway. It looked exactly as it had when she was fifteen. Sarah touched her lips silently as she remembered what probably angered Jareth to this extreme. After looking at Arther, Sarah rasped deeply and tried to regain her wits, "… I kissed you…. It's all my fault."
"No," Arther whispered regretfully, "No, Sarah, it's all my fault…."
"No, it's not," Sarah sobbed back, and she hugged Arther goodbye just before walking into the Labyrinth.
The Labyrinth immediately vanished from sight as Arther sat down in Henkies Mansion and began to shake like a frightened child. A familiar, female voice sounded next to him, "Reentries are always rough… we both know that. Cheer up, Sweetie, all of our problems are behind us now!"
"Maybe for you they are, but not for me, Sis… Daddy and Mommy will never forgive me for this," The dark-haired man continued to whisper remorsefully.
"Of course they will! You fret too much, just like Mummy," the blonde-haired, lead singer of the band at the Winter's Solstice party smiled gleefully. "Besides, we both know that this was the only way…"
Arther stared out of the front door with his head propped into his hands. He looked like a lost child sulking on the foyer stairs. His sister held out her hand to goad him to follow her. She finished, "Come on, Jareth… it's time for us to move forward and stop living in the past…."
The dark-haired man smiled brightly at the sound of his real name, and his emerald green eyes beamed brightly. He nodded. The blond-haired woman took him by the hand and pulled him up. She gazed deeply into his eyes with her mismatched eyes, winked, and then, she finished, "It's time to return home at last."