Sarah could feel the same raw power that she had felt towards Dream. He must be an Endless, and seeing the book, she knew which one he must be. She curtsied low.
"You must be Lord Destiny."
Destiny stopped before her. "Stand, child. Walk with me in my garden."
She did as he asked. They walked for a ways, observing the various things in his garden. Sarah didn't understand most of them, but she didn't mind. It may overwhelm her if she did and it would be too much for her mind to handle at the moment. Perhaps, if she had come at a different time, she would be more in awe with the things she saw.
"You are very unique," Destiny commented out of the blue. "You are touched by two of the Endless: Dream and myself."
When he did not elaborate, Sarah asked him, "what does that mean, then? I understand a bit about Dream. I would be able to harness his powers as the Delegator of Dreams. And a bit of you, as I would be the Lady of the Labyrinth."
The corner of Destiny's mouth upturned in a rare smile. "The Labyrinth is its own separate entity, but it feeds into me, yes. All Labyrinths lead to my garden. You are unique because you possess gifts that have come from your own choices. Perhaps not something you desired, but choices nonetheless. You will change reality itself, bending it and saving it. I can foresee it. It is a combination of my powers and that of Dream's."
"Funny that Dream was about to kill me." Her voice was laced with resentment at the mention of the Lord of Dreams. "But then I wouldn't have had these powers I'm destined to have."
"You believe that he should have sacrificed the world for you?"
"I didn't say that. Just that the whole situation is ironic. I would rather have died, especially since Jareth sacrificed himself for me. Perhaps this will disappoint you, but if I had been in his place, I would've done the same."
Destiny hummed. "Of all the living beings to have existed, I have yet to understand why someone so headstrong as you was touched by my powers."
"You don't know?" she asked sincerely. "I would've thought you, as Destiny, would know every mystery."
Such a thought was unfathomable to her.
"One would think. Sometimes there are mysteries that elude even me. I do, however, have a theory. I believe it was your victory over the Labyrinth. After all, it represents destinies and the ability to see the larger picture. Because of this, I foresee that you will change the trajectory of reality and the universe itself."
Like that of Dream's, Destiny's voice held the weight of someone older than the universe. The wisdom hiding behind his clouded eyes was as vast as the endless stars in the sky.
"It's my destiny, I suppose?"
"I will tell you what I told your beloved when he visited me not long ago."
"Jareth visited you recently?" Sarah's heart skipped a beat.
"As I was saying," he continued, gesturing forward. In front of them were forks in the road which then branched off into their own paths, creating endless possibilities.
"I reminded him that the path one's life could take is fluid. There are factors that affect that life, be it chance circumstances, choices made by oneself, or the choices others make."
They continued to walk forward, taking random path after random path.
"Just as there are forks in the road, there are forks in your life. There are predictions to be made, and some choices more likely than others. Sometimes, there is a path that one is sure to take, but not necessarily the smaller forks in the road."
Once they reached the end, Destiny had her turn around.
To Sarah's surprise, there was only one straight path. None of the other forks of possibilities were there anymore.
"Queen Sarah, only at the end of the road does one look back and see that there was only one path; the path you chose was the path you were always meant to take."
His last words echoed endlessly in her head.
The path you chose was the path you were always meant to take.
Though the meeting brought her little comfort, it brought her immense clarity. She curtsied low to him.
"Thank you, Lord Destiny."
"Do not thank me, Child. I know what must happen. And it will happen. That is the way of it."
Sarah's hand was once again against the wall of the Labyrinth in the Goblin Kingdom. She wasn't sure how she got there, but knew that she left Destiny and somehow made her way back. It reminded her of those times when she would drive her car back home from work and have no memory of how she got home, though she knew that she was aware the whole time of what was happening while she was driving.
"Queen Sarah."
Sarah knelt down, both as a gesture one would do in deference to an entity, and as a gesture of comfort to a small child.
"Labyrinth. I can feel your grief."
"I also feel your grief, My Queen. I am grateful that you have accepted your position as queen. We are in need of your compassion, your wisdom, your strength, and your guidance in this trying time."
Sarah was equal parts humbled and terrified.
"Thank you, Labyrinth. I hope I can do well. I hope to do half of what King Jareth has done."
"He is very much missed, My Queen. He was a good king, who did the best that he could. His dutifulness was the most important thing to him with the exception of his love for you."
A lone tear slid down Sarah's cheek and onto the dirt. If she had looked down, she would have seen a tiny, white chrysanthemum bloom by her side.
The Labyrinth's voice spoke in bittersweet reminiscence.
"There were many a night when he would approach me, needing comfort but desperately trying to hide his worries of being so near you prior to your courtship. He was not satisfied with friendship and worried dearly that, perhaps, you did not love him as much. I feel your love for him shine so strongly that it's strange to know that he had ever worried."
A memory from the Labyrinth flooded into Sarah's mind. It took place right before their latest date where he communicated so freely of how much he loved Sarah, and his deepest wish for her to eventually accept her place as his queen. The image was so bright, so vibrant that for a second, Sarah forgot that he was no longer alive.
When the memory faded, Sarah wailed like she hadn't ever done before. His love was one of the most important things to her, and she wished that she could tell him over and over. The ache in her chest grew, consuming her entire body.
For how long she cried, she didn't know. All she knew was that as much as she did, the sadness would not be purged from her body. The Labyrinth joined her, mourning as she did. It almost felt good to let everything out. Her dreams were of being loved fully, the way that Jareth loved her when no one else in her life could give her the same. Not her past lovers, not her friends, not even her parents.
The Labyrinth shared her pain. Together, they mourned not only the loss of the king, but the loss of the future they would have had with him. They mourned for Sarah's premature reign that was marked by a death instead of an acceptance on her terms. They mourned for the wedding between the Champion and King that would never take place. They mourned for children that would not be had. They mourned for the vulnerable kingdom that was left in the wake of his death, with the vultures of Faerie court ready to strike at them.
Perhaps Jareth was the one who died, but it was Sarah who was experiencing the flash of life before her eyes. She saw herself and Jareth from the thunderous night they first met to the last moment that he crushed his medallion to save her.
Her hand still against the Labyrinth, she could see in her mind's eye the future that she so longed for. Though she did not wish out loud, the wish in her heart was so strong, it made itself known to every plane of existence.
"I, too, want him back, My Queen."
The next time Sarah opened her eyes, she was dreaming.
From a website called bouqs, it says that "In some places like Western Europe and Japan, white chrysanthemum flowers are reserved for mourning and grief. However, in other countries, white blooms relate to innocence, purity, honesty, and loyalty." I thought that was fitting for Sarah. She's mourning, but she's also innocent of any wrongdoing and is fiercely loyal.
Let me know what you think of this chapter in reviews below! Please don't be shy about leaving one even if it's years later. :) Thank you for those who have been leaving them!
