A Tainted Land

A/N: I hope you are enjoying the story so far, I'm sorry about the lack of Jareth as the hero right now. I hope Sarah isn't coming off as too much of a damsel, but there is only so much she can do in the given situations.

Chapter 4: Falling Apart
Jem- Earthquakes

When the earth quakes,
and the blood splatters.
The rubble cracks the body,
the skull shatters.
My brother looks for brothers.
A son looks for father.
A daughter looks for mothers.
A soul matters.

Something was hurdled; no someone was hurdled across the room and tackled Slevin off of her. She couldn't see anything and couldn't turn her head to look, but she could hear the hissing and growling that was occurring. It sounded like dog versus snake fight, and Sarah feared who was fighting Slevin. Would they help her? A figure appeared above her suddenly and Sarah yelped, her lips barely moving. He had dark hair that fell around his face in a tangle of waves and his eyes were a dark brown. Sarah couldn't help but think how lovely it was to see a normal color hue.

"She has been bit…paralyzed…Micah…your order?!" yelled the man above her. She whimpered softly as she struggled to watch the fight.

A roar erupted and then a hiss of pain, "Take her! OUT!" another man responded. Warm arms dipped beneath her and hefted her up and against an equally as warm chest. She got a glimpse of what was going on in the corner of the room as the man turned to take her away. Slevin was in his snake form, lunging for another man who looked like he was half animal as well. Half dog? No, he was a wolf man.

Snake people, wolf people, what was next?! Bird people? She thought about it for a second and realized that Jareth could turn into an owl. Sarah settled to just give up and stop being surprised about things that occurred in the Underground. The warmth that spread through her from the chest she rested against made her sleepy. Sarah's eyes fluttered closed for a moment as the man carried her through the dark corridor, but they opened up as soon as they entered the main room of the cave. Fights were breaking loose everywhere and she was glad to be in the man's arms and not shoved amongst the chaos.

"He has the girl!" screeched a snake woman; "He has our Nagi!" several snakes threw themselves away from their opponent to come after her and the man cursed to himself.

"Don't…don't leave me…." She croaked, the effort almost too much for her to speak. He smiled down at her, and it was the kindness in his face that startled her the most.

"I would never consider it…"he replied before turning on his heel and moving at a speed she had never witnessed before. There were others that stepped in behind them to keep the snakes away. Several men were in half wolf shape, while others just seemed to be oversized wolves. "Almost there…" he promised as they pushed through the darkness of the cave entrance. Sarah's heart was beating frantically in her chest and her breathing was sharp and shallow.

The sound of the forest met her ears moments later and she saw several more of the wolf men.

"Who is this one, Archer? A human?" asked one of the men.

"No…a Champion…" Archer replied easily. He walked smoothly towards the group of men and settled Sarah down against a tree root. The men stared at her with interested eyes and Sarah looked uncomfortable, causing Archer to growl, "Do not stare…go about your business…"

Sarah could not move yet, so she lay against the root, trying to keep her eyes open. She was afraid to let herself fall asleep because of the strangers that surrounded her. It was true that they had saved her life, but so had Slevin and she did not know of their reasons for sparing her. Had Sarah walked into a war without even knowing it? Surely the snakes and the dogs didn't get along.

"Champion…you may sleep…You are safe with us…The snakes will not get you…" Archer urged softly. She wanted to shake her head, to tell him she was fine and there was no way in hell she was going to fall asleep in her undergarments in front of a group of strange men, but she didn't. She couldn't, and moments later she was dreaming.

Jareth stood impatiently in King Davyn's throne room, awaiting the man's arrival. It was day time anywhere else in the Underground, but in the Kingdom of Dorcha it seemed to be dark all hours of the day. For all he knew he had interrupted Davyn's slumber, something Jareth actually would be happy to do. Davyn was a pain to everyone in the Underground and he deserved to be woken. He was part of the reason everything was falling apart.

"Jareth…" growled a voice thick with sleep, "How wonderful to see you here…What brings you to my happy little nook of the world?" Davyn wore a pair of fitting black pants and nothing else, his hair slightly messed from his sleep.

"You seem to have acquired something of mine in the past day…." Responded Jareth calmly, "I came to retrieve it…"

Davyn looked confused for a moment and then he laughed, clapping his hands together as he approached the other King. "Oh Jareth…Oh no…" he laughed again, "Something of yours? All I have acquired in the past day has been a fussy little girl…No worries…I tossed her into the forest a good while ago…Surely she is dead by now…" said Davyn with a wicked gleam in his eye. He knew exactly what Jareth was talking about, but refused to admit it.

"You have no word of her?" Jareth said, his voice strained. He was trying very hard not to hit Davyn, because he knew the other man was searching for any reason at all to start a war.

"No…" Once the word left his mouth several gremlins came screaming into the room.

"HE TOOK HER! HE TOOK HER! NO DINNER FOR US!" came the screaming gremlins as they ran around Davyn's feet. He rolled his eyes and kicked one in the back so that it would fall on it's face. "Snake Lord has dinner…" he pouted.

"Lord Slevin?" questioned Davyn with a frown. "Has dinner? Oh oh! Took the girl?"

"WHAT?!" Jareth snapped, grabbing the little gremlin up from the floor and holding him close to his face. "Sarah? He took Sarah?"

"The Champion! He took her…We wanted to eat her bones! Not him! Not fair!" the gremlin cried until Jareth threw him across the room. Jareth turned to leave the throne room but Davyn's laughter stopped him.

"You cannot go after her, Jareth. She is running the forest much like she ran your Labyrinth…to interfere would be to make her lose…and then she will be mine…." Davyn warned, his grin wicked.

"Do you have a way we can watch the show then?" questioned Jareth as he turned back around. Davyn nodded and motioned towards a stand beside his throne. It held a silvery liquid within it and with a touch from Davyn's finger, an image came into view.

The image was of Sarah, lying unconscious against a large root, her body bare other than her undergarments. Jareth tensed, his eyes wide as he looked over the now grown up Sarah. He had not seen her since she was a budding youth.

"Seems the wolves finally made their move…" Davyn murmured to himself softly.

The wolf man named Micah emerged from the snake cave and barked several orders to his men before moving up to Sarah's unmoving body. He turned her head to the side and examined the bite wound there. Jareth did not know what was being said between them all because the bowl let him see the images only, no sound came from the creation. He couldn't use his own crystals because they worked only in his own Kingdom.

"How lucky for Sarah to be rescued by the wolf pack…Micah is honorable…" Davyn didn't sound happy about Sarah's improving circumstances. "Slevin must be furious…if he is even still alive…" He chuckled.

"How does she win?" asked Jareth, eyes remaining focused on the still form of his lovely Sarah. His heart still ached for the young girl who broke his heart. He offered her everything, but still she said no in order to save her baby brother. If only she had known that Toby was not in danger at all.

"She needs to get out of my forest…Simple…" Davyn responded.

"That is impossible…there are walls surrounding one side of your forest and an ocean on the other…She cannot get out…she can only survive…" Jareth growled.

"Very well Jareth…if Sarah here can survive two more days in my forest…I will let you go get her…but if she dies she dies….If you rush in to save her before the two days are up…then you forfeit her to me and I will do as I please with her…" Davyn negotiated.

Jareth frowned, unsure if Sarah would be able to survive two more days in the deadly forest. He was sure that she would be safe for a little while with the wolf pack, but he didn't know if she would remain with them. "Deal…" Jareth responded. "But you do not get to throw in extra dangers…"

"Ahh but there is no need…plenty of danger lurks around that forest…my interference is not necessary…" He laughed. "Make yourself at home Jareth…I am going back to bed…" Davyn waved sleepily and left Jareth to his despair.

The door to the throne room shut and Jareth was alone with the bowl. "Be strong, precious…" he whispered.

Sarah stirred from her slumber, rolling over so she was on her side. A small smile fell on her lips as she ran her fingers through the warm and soft fur beneath her hand. "Warm…" she mumbled softly. A rumble vibrated through the soft fur beneath her hand, causing Sarah to open her eyes with a startled yip. When she fully opened her eyes she noticed that there was a large wolf beside her, which was what she had slept against. It was a golden furred wolf, with honey eyes that seemed to watch her with an intelligence beyond that of a human. "Wh-What…" she scooted away from it and it made a whimpering noise.

She was in a tent of sorts, the only light coming from a small fire in the center. The smoke escaped out of a small hole in the ceiling. Other than the wolf watching her, nobody else was in the tent. "Where am I?" she questioned. Her memories returned to her in that moment and she gasped, her hand flying to her neck. It was bandaged and it was then that she realized she was also clothed. It wasn't the same outfit she arrived in, but it covered her and she was grateful. The material was soft and warm, and made of a soft creamy hue that came close to matching her skin color. It was a dress that had long sleeves and if she was standing would fall to her knees. It had a scooping neckline and the trim of the dress was completed in a dark brown color. "Are you…Micah? Or Archer?" she asked, her memory fully returned.

The animal seemed to grin for a moment before it's fur melted away and a man took its place. Micah. He had tan skin, broad shoulders, and a built chest. His hair fell down his shoulders in the same color as his fur. But as she looked closely at his eyes she realized that not only were they honey hued, but also had flecks of chocolate color in the irises. They were simply gorgeous. He was also naked, which made Sarah blush brightly. He chuckled and reached over to grab a blanket from a pile of linens.

"How do you feel?" asked Micah politely. He covered himself with the blanket and leaned back on his hands.

"I…I feel much better…Thank you…I'm Sarah by the way…" She said quietly. Something moved behind her and she jumped, immediately fleeing to Micah's side. Micah laughed softly but caught her before she ran through the tent. Archer appeared in the doorway, confused as to why Sarah was frightened.

"Micah, we have some stew ready…would you like me to bring two bowls?" Archer asked with a smile. Micah nodded and pulled Sarah down beside him. "Hope you are feeling better my Lady…" Archer added before dipping out of the tent.

"Do not be frightened, Sarah…We mean no harm here…We attacked the snakes because they are a terror to this forest…" he explained, patting her hand gently.

"I thought this was the Forest of Nightmares…shouldn't everything be a terror?" Sarah questioned. Micah shook his head.

"Not at all…though this forest is terrifying, not everything within its barriers is dangerous...My people are peaceful, but a formidable enemy…they made the mistake of attacking our village…" he frowned. "We fight for the good of the forest…while Slevin and others like him try to keep it as dark and dangerous as they can…" Micah sighed and Archer returned with two bowls of steaming soup. "Thank you Archer…" he took both bowls from the other man and handed one to Sarah carefully.

"Thank you Archer…for…carrying me out of that place…" Sarah said quickly. Archer nodded and gave her a small bow before he disappeared from the tent. Sarah blew on the soup and then tasted it, her mouth exploding with flavors. "This is amazing…" she whispered. Micah nodded in agreement and they sat quietly together, enjoying and savoring every bite of the stew before them. When Sarah's bowl was empty she found herself yawning and her eyes once again becoming heavy with fatigue.

"Rest, Sarah…I will watch over you…" Micah urged as Sarah slumped against his shoulder. Sleep took over her and her breathing was calm and steady.

Archer returned several hours later to find Sarah asleep in Micah's lap. Micah was gently smoothing her hair against her head as his fellow wolf entered. "She will be good as new when she awakes next…" Micah murmured.

"Are you sure this is the one?" Archer questioned, sitting down in front of Micah. "Is this who the legend spoke of?"

"Yes…this is her. The Champion…The Goblin's King's Champion…the only one to best the Labyrinth…spoken to be a true warrior, hidden behind an innocent face…" He slid a finger down Sarah's cheek, "With a charming allure, and a sharp wit…" Micah laughed quietly. "She will heal the rift between the kingdoms and unite the land…"

"Then we will protect her, for the sake of us all…" Archer whispered, eyes watching the slumbering Sarah protectively.