"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 63
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 63: It All Ends With a Kiss
Toby looked up towards his sister as his parents stood by his side with their mouths agape. Karen was still spitting out some dust that she had inhaled. Jessica was shifting her glances from Jareth to Sarah to gauge what was going to happen next. The last few minutes of deafening noise had been replaced by utter silence. Torok, of course, finally broke the silence by remarking, "Oui! This place looks better than it had after Jareth rebuilt it seventeen mortal years ago… Do you want to fix my place next, mon Cherie?"
Sashya raised her eyebrows at Torok and gave him 'the look'. He simply chuckled and turned back to Sarah. Despite all of her awakening powers, everyone could tell that she was still a mortal. Her complexion was pallor and her skin was clammy and wet with sweat.
Her decision to repair the Labyrinth was probably not the best one in her human condition. Immediately, Sashya reflected Sarah's pain. The Troll Queen clutched her abdomen and cried out, "Something is happening!"
Sure enough, Sashya's water had broken, and she was going into premature labor with her baby. Needless to say, it was probably Sarah that had overexerted herself and accidentally flung the two of them into an early delivery. Torok began to pace around frantically, because he knew what was soon to follow after watching his entourage of human female victims give birth in the past.
Robert and Toby weren't much better, because Sarah was standing atop of the innermost Labyrinth wall, and was far out of their reach. They knew that she needed immediate medical attention from the look on her face. Luckily, for their sake, the seven dwarves built a makeshift ladder using their bodies and lowered their Queen gently down to ground level. Hoggle raced to Sarah's side and grasped her hand. He cried, "Sarah! We're gonna help ya'! Don'tcha worry!"
Sir Diddymus arrived at the scene upon Torok's summoning, and was told to ride his Ambrosious over to Grandmother Troll to fetch her at once. Within the hour, the fox had returned with the ancient troll, while Sarah and Sashya had been moved inside of Jareth's castle.
Jareth was still utterly quiet throughout this ordeal, and none knew what was going through his mind. Sashya was completely overwhelmed with pain, but Sarah strangely was not. Her mood was as subdued as Jareth's. Although she was sweating profusely, she seemed emotionally detached from what had been going on. The only dialogue being spoken was between the humans, the Troll monarchs, and certainly Sir Diddymus, who never shut up.
Toby was highly nervous being surrounded by four magical super-beings who had the power to reorder time, move stars, and build entire superstructures at the wink of an eye, especially during this particularly stressful moment… He wasn't sure what was going on with Sarah, but now he wished that he had read the blue labeled "XIII" book that Jeremy Eden had given Jareth.
Sashya was in an uproar before the end of the hour, and Sarah looked like she wouldn't live much longer. The strangest thing was, Jareth was mirroring Sarah's bedraggled health. Torok was the first to take notice. He asked, "Mon Frère? Are you okay?"
Jareth turned to the Troll King and muttered, "I should have listened to you and had become the owl while I followed Sarah through Grimm's Wood."
Torok placed his hand upon Jareth's shoulder and said, "Did something curse you in there? ...No! Of course not! You are too powerful to have fallen prey to such things… Oui?"
Jareth shook his head and answered, "Sarah, the Goblin Queen, placed a counter spell down upon me, while I was pretending to be a human. She passed her half-life over to me and now we are both doomed if I cannot stop this."
Torok's eyes opened wide, "Then, You must hurry and break the spell, Jareth!"
"I don't know how, Trollie," Jareth smiled weakly.
Sashya bellowed out another cry, which sent the Troll King racing back to her side. Robert and Karen took turns talking to Sarah, who was getting weaker by the second. Toby leaned in toward his sister and asked, "I thought you had thirteen days to solve this, Sar. Isn't there more time?"
Sarah shook her head weakly and whispered between shallow breaths, "I…thought that I felt fine,… but I accidentally expended too much power at once. I thought that once I ascended within the Underground… that my immortality would have been restored, but it wasn't. The baby… is taking the… last of my strength… and… I don't have time to recover. I'm….sorry."
Toby pleaded for her to hang in, and then turned to Jareth for help. However, he saw that the Goblin King wasn't well either. Although he hadn't witnessed what had happened during the Troll King's fiasco at O'Connell's Captivating Carnival, he knew that a powerful connection seemed to be linking Sarah and Jareth together in a terrible fate. He realized that if Jareth didn't find a cure for Sarah before her baby came, the two would definitely die together. It was also apparent that Sashya would probably follow, due to her ties to her sister.
Toby took deep breaths, in order to keep from hyperventilating. He thought long and hard about what he could do. He was only human, and not a super-genius. He had no idea what advice he could possible offer.
Unless…
Toby's eyes widened. He turned to Jareth and prodded, "Goblin King!"
Jareth blinked and looked over at the boy with a tired look upon his face. He didn't ask what Toby wanted, but his expression showed he awaited a response from the teen.
Toby continued, "In every fairytale story, the curse is broken by a kiss."
"Those are just bedtime stories, Toby," Jareth muttered.
Toby shook his head and said, "No, they're not! Remember? You yourself said that 'all fables and fairytales have an element of reality that they have been based off of'!"
Jareth mumbled, "That was in regards to the talking fish, not a powerful curse that has lasted for thousands of years."
Toby looked into Jareth's mismatched eyes and scolded, "Isn't it, at least, worth a try? What could it hurt at this point?"
Jareth stammered, "Have you forgotten how she betrayed me with Arnold, or Albert, or whatever his name was again?"
"Oh, come on!" Toby exclaimed. "I can't believe that you're going to let your immortal life go down a six-foot grave just because you can't put your bruised pride aside and forgive Sarah for being human!"
Sashya screamed, "For crying out loud, KISS HER AND END IT!"
Torok tried to calm his wife, knowing that she was in the final stages of labor. He turned to Jareth and prodded, "Mon Frère, only you can break this curse upon the two of you. You should listen to the boy."
Jareth slumped down to the ground upon his knees. His dilemma was very apparent, and Sarah's troubled breathing was slowing down. Karen turned to the Goblin King and whispered, "Please. Even though I hardly know you…If you've ever cared for her, just…just help her…"
Robert patted his daughter on the head and said, "Hang in there, baby. I'm here. I won't let you go, Darling."
Sarah's vision was blurred and she couldn't see straight anymore. She thought that Jareth was talking to her and she whispered weakly, "I love you. I absolutely love you….Jareth."
Despite his weakened condition, Jareth's face lit up when he heard her say the words. Sashya was making her final pushes to expel the child within her, as the Goblin King pushed Robert out of the way and leaned in towards Sarah's lips.
He whispered, "If this doesn't work, then… may we meet again in the next lifetime."
Jareth kissed Sarah on the lips as Grandmother Troll delivered Sashya's baby. There was a deadly silence that filled the room as nothing made a sound. Robert embraced Karen in grief as the Goblin King seemed to slump down on Sarah's face. Torok tried to prod Sashya as she seemed to shut down completely after the baby had passed from her body. Grandmother Troll shook her head in dismay as she was about to slap the Troll King's baby to breathe. Ludo and Sir Diddymus lowered their faces sadly as Toby looked away.
The seven dwarves removed their caps and Hoggle began to cry.
Grandmother Troll decided to follow through with her services to her king, as she slapped the new baby on the back in order to clear its lungs, and it began to scream. Suddenly, everybody stirred as if they had been awakened from a deep slumber. Jareth pulled back with a startle at the sound of the Troll King's newborn daughter. Sashya awoke with an exhausted laugh and Torok snuggled close to his Queen while kissing her face in relief.
Sarah blinked around quietly, realizing that she was still alive. Minutes after Sashya delivered her daughter, Sarah delivered hers as well.
It was a girl...she had lost the bet...
Torok named his daughter 'Sarah' after his wife's beloved sister, while Jareth decided that it was only fair to name their daughter 'Sashya' after Sarah's sister. The kingdom didn't celebrate either of the girl's births until two weeks later.
When fourteen days had finally passed, and Sarah and Jareth awoke in their bed next to each other to the sound of crows and rag-tag chickens scurrying outside. They immediately decided that they would have to hold the biggest ball that the Underground had ever seen just to celebrate.