Chapter Two; This is War
The screaming pierced through the musty darkness of the throne room like a scythe, cutting to the very heart of the Goblin King. Dust scattered from the cracks between the poorly bonded stone as the castle walls shook, sprinkling the heads of his panicked subjects as they sprinted in erratic patterns. Some sought safety and cover as they dove beneath furniture or out into the hallways. Others, the braver few, catapulted towards the windows to get a better view of whatever had caused the monstrous tremor. The panic that had ransacked the castle wedged itself into Jareth's heart, watching as it filtered through every Faye, Goblin and magical creature like a plague. There had not been an attack on the Underground in thousands of years, not since Jareth had made his rise to power. Peace had made his people complacent and the fear was not something they were ready or capable to handle.
Suddenly he was one hundred and twenty years old again, standing in a tower window and watching the carnage that took place below him. The castle walls were ablaze with flames, magical reds and greens crawling up the stone as the Faye Militia battled the Troll Army. From where he stood, eyes wide and fingers gripping the stone until his knuckles were white, he could see every Faye and Troll. He could see the blood splattered earth and the places where the walls around his castle had begun to fall. He could see Faye guards he had known his whole life with enraged grimaces etched upon their normally peaceful faces and swords poised to strike. He could see the Trolls. It was the first time in his short life that he had seen a living Troll outside of the history books his mother made him read and the very sight of them struck fear into his heart.
The Trolls were an angry race, filled with a rage that no other magical creature could mimic. They lived far outside of the heart of the Underground and rarely interacted with any other creature. But when magic had first begun to dwindle, the Trolls had emerged from their caves and trekked towards the castle. Determination filled them like a wildfire; they would take the castle from the Faye and live where the magic was the strongest.
And so the war began.
He watched with wide eyes, his lips pursed into a thin white line. Never in his life had he witnessed a slaughter like the one he watched now. A particularly mean looking Troll lifted a club above his head and with a deafening roar brought it down upon the helmet of a guard Jareth didn't know. Blood poured from beneath the crushed helmet, and from the way the Faye guard crumpled to a heap at the Troll's feet, Jareth knew he was dead. His stomach rolled and with a cry of anguish, the Goblin Prince leaned over and emptied his stomach onto the stone floor.
His hands shook, his stomach lurched and again and again he vomited upon the ground. It seemed like hours had passed in a few short moments before he felt warm hands upon him and the tug of transportation magic. When he was finally able to open his eyes and the sick feeling that had settled over him had passed, he was greeted by the warm and comforting eyes of his mother. Gently she soothed back his hair and placed a loving kiss upon his brow. The small prince shivered and shook as he crawled into his mother's lap, desperate for her protection from the battle that raged beneath them.
As soon as her protective embrace had circled him, the Goblin Prince began to bawl.
"Hush, my love." His mother whispered, brushing her fingers through his hair in a desperate attempt to soothe him. "All is well. Hush."
But the small boy continued to bawl, clinging to the soft and silky fabric of his mother's. He had never felt fear this raw before and every time he closed his little eyes he could see the dark red liquid pouring from beneath the guard's helm. "There's so much blood." He wailed with his face buried against his mother's chest.
"There is." She confirmed with a voice still soft and comforting. "War is never pleasant or kind. Many will die and many will suffer. But war is an essential part of life, sweet child. It prepares us to better appreciate the times that are good and just. This war will be over soon, that I can promise you. Your Great Father will put an end to the Troll skirmish and peace will settle upon our lands again. Never forget the necessity of fear or how peace can be taken for granted, little prince."
He was still shivering, standing in the center of his throne room, when the memory began to fade. He blinked away his past as he took in his surroundings, the pattering feet of the goblins and the terror in the faces of his court. It was Sarah's look of courage and strength that sent a spike straight through his chest. She held all the determination and bravery that he felt he lacked in that moment and it tugged his heart in every direction. Once, towards the window to see what could have made the monstrous tremor that shook his castle and the loud moaning growl that seemed to rise from the chaos outside. Secondly, was toward his intended to whisk her away to safety. Back and forth his eyes flickered, window to woman, window to woman.
But she was moving before he could. The silky fabric of her dress danced around pale legs as she started to move towards the door to the throne room, no doubt off to face whatever terror was assaulting them. Yet, Jareth was faster. He sprinted at her at full speed, wrapping an arm around her waist before she could protest, the pull of his magic ripping them from the throne room and into the familiar castle of the Author.
"Jareth!" She chastised, her features contorting into an anger he very rarely saw. "I can help."
"You will stay." He demanded, releasing her from his grasp and feverishly capturing her by the arms and kissing her rosy lips.
"I will not!" She rebutted, like a petulant child once their kiss had broken apart.
"Stay!" He yelled, stepping back and once again flooding himself with teleportation magic. The throne room was in more chaos since his disappearance, goblins running in circles and screaming.
"SILENCE!" He roared, his booming voice penetrating all other sound in the throne room. The goblin's stopped their running and screaming; his guards straightened and gripped the hilts of their swords. If there was one thing that could be said about the Goblin King, it was that his presence practically sparked with authority and comfort. "We need to keep calm." He spoke, puffing out his chest and trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. "You will stay here," he spoke, his eyes flashing over the goblins before turning to his guard. "We will find the source of this disruption."
"And Sarah?" Farnig whispered, stepping up to the side of his King. "Is she safe?"
Jareth gave his oldest friend and most trusted General a sidelong glance. "For now."
"Is it the Trolls, my lord?" Farnig asked, unable to mask the fear in his own voice.
"I pray not."
XXX Sarah XXX
She paced.
Back and forth she moved across the floor of her tower, biting nervously at the nails upon her left hand. Jareth was stubborn and insistent that she remain behind and, where normally she would have argued or put up a fight, she could not get the look of terror in his eyes out of her mind.
"My darling girl."
Spinning on her heels, Sarah all but collapsed into the comforting arms of the Queen Mother. "You're here." She breathed, burying her head against the elder Faye's shoulder.
"As if I would refuse such a desperate request," the Queen Mother gestured towards a soft set of cushions positioned in the corner of Sarah's tower. Gently the two women lowered themselves onto the cushions and Sarah let out a shiver. "Tell me."
"I don't have a clue what's happening." Sarah admitted as her shoulder's slumped in defeat. "Farnig was taking me to a meeting with the King and the walls shook and it sounded like something exploded. The next thing I knew, Jareth had deposited me here."
"And you did not use your own magic to follow him back? That seems rather unlike you, little dove." But something about the confusion etched across Sarah's face made the Queen Mother think twice about the laugh that had almost bubbled from her throat.
"He was so insistent… and he looked so scared." She bit down upon her bottom lip, closing her eyes as she remembered the feverish way he had kissed her. It had felt less like the kisses of adoration or even lust that she had been used to. This kiss, this feverish and rushed declaration of his love, had felt more like a goodbye.
"Did you see what caused the explosion?" The Queen Mother asked, the same fear beginning to spread through her eyes, matching that of her sons.
"No. Before I could leave the Throne Room Jareth had brought me here."
"Did you hear anything? Anything at all?" The Queen Mother asked, scooting closer to where her soon to be daughter in law sat.
For a long moment, Sarah sat silent. She closed her eyes and thought back to the moment of the monstrous shaking that had captivated the castle. She could see the fear of the Goblin's and how Jareth had seemed to zone out for a moment. She could see Farnig, protectively positioning himself between Jareth and the closest door to the throne room. She could see the chaos as it began to unfurl around them and just before she had made the conscious decision to go and face the threat herself, she remembered a monstrous sound. "I think I heard a roar."
"They're back…" The Queen Mother breathed, her voice almost inaudible as the terror over took her. "Dear god… their back."
XXX Jareth XXX
It had been hundreds of years since Jareth or any other member of the Faye Militia had used their wings. They were impractical and flashy and they made one lazy. But Jareth thought nothing of releasing the binding magic that had kept his wings hidden. They unfurled around him, fluttering for just a moment before they lifted him off the ground. Up he soared, higher and higher into the sky until he could see the entire Labyrinth before him. His eyes scanned the familiar terrain, looking for the cause of the disturbance as Farnig followed suit and was shortly hovering beside him.
"I see nothing," Farnig whispered, his eyes straining to view the surrounding terrain.
Jareth's eyes took in every inch of his kingdom, his heart still in his chest… until he found it. Not too far from the western most wall, three hundred yards out at most, stood four very ugly very angry looking creatures. "There." He spoke, his voice holding steady as he lifted a hand and pointed out to the creatures. "Trolls."
"Are they restarting the war?" Farnig asked, unsheathing his sword and moving so his body hovered between the newcomers and the King.
"I think they just tried to ring the bell." He spoke, but his voice held no conviction as he allowed his wings to carry him down to the western wall. Gently he touched down, his wings continuing to flutter in case he needed a quick escape. "State your name and your business." He demanded, his arms crossing over his chest.
The largest of the Trolls stepped forward, its large belly pushed out in front of it as it moved. They stood in silence, both staring each other down for the longest of moments. With each passing second Farnig became more and more uncomfortable, shifting his sword from hand to hand in preparation to strike. Finally, the large Troll huffed and opened his mouth to speak.
"We have come for help."
"Help?" Jareth asked, cocking his head to the side. Peaceful negotiations weighed lighter on his stomach than the threat of war. "Help with what?"
"War." The Troll spoke, his tone gruff.
"You do recognize the irony of your request." Jareth spoke, his voice hard. "I may have been young, but I remember the slaughter your kind inflicted upon mine. Why would you ever hope to imagine we would assist with your wars?"
"Because our wars will soon be yours. We stand as the last line of defense before our enemies' raid your Underground." The Troll snapped.
"And who are your enemies?" Jareth asked, the hair on the back of his neck beginning to rise as a new fear settled upon him. The war between the Trolls and the Faye had only ended because the Trolls had given up once Jareth had restored the balance to magic. No one had won. Whatever enemy the Trolls feared now was no doubt formidable.
"They have found us." The Troll explained simply.
"Whom?" The fear was almost palpable in the Goblin King.
"The Humans."
Author's Notes: So in my attempts to make these chapters longer than the chapters in I'm Only Human, I find I'm having more inspiration to write. Specifically, I love writing the flashbacks to younger Jareth. I hope you're enjoying them as well. I do realize there is no mention of the Faye's having wings anywhere in Labyrinth, this was my own personal adaptation to the Faye and I hope you enjoy it. It will be very important in a few chapters from now.
Did anyone guess that the Humans were attacking? I really wanted you all to think it was the Trolls :3 Leave me a review and let me know what you think so far!
As always, all my love.
Kaas