Two pairs of eyes glanced down at the deep black mirror on the floor in front of them.
The third pair looked at nothing in particular, which wasn't that strange as it couldn't see anything anyway.
Jareth had a growing feeling that alerting Warren and Sarah that he'd found the mouth of a cave had been a mistake. While the many centuries old mark of his kingdom had been painted several feet past the entrance, the past few hours of walking had provided them with little more than weary legs, a chill to their cheeks and a growing appetite. Not to mention, the loss of daylight that could have aided them in their travels south and a timely return to the capital.
After briefly exchanging a look with the woman by his side, he sent the crystal that had been lighting their path so far, down towards the darkness.
Like a starless night, all that the inky mass in front of them showed was the reflection of the glowing orb above it. With a gentle wave of Jareth's hand the orb lowered until it touched the reflection. Its light rippled below, dancing in widening circles around its origin.
The two looked at each other while stale humid air clung to their features, nipping at their extremities. The smell of wet rock now suddenly made sense. With a gesture of the king's hand the crystal orb floated back up and its light brightened, temporarily blinding the two.
"Well? What are we dealing with here?" Warren's head tilted, eyes staring ahead with a surprising amount of awareness after their long trip so far.
"Water." Jareth looked ahead, where a solid rock wall blocked the ability to look further than ten feet ahead. The man guided the orb down until it dipped below the surface, merging with its reflection before it sank down. Five. Ten. Fifteen feet until it bumped into the floor. "Lots of it."
The woman gently touched his arm. "Jareth, summon a few more. I want to see how far this wall stretches. This cave might still go somewhere."
He nodded, then put his palm up by his mouth and gently blew. Small bubbles formed from his lips, effortlessly spreading out, growing more solid and increasing in size. A few clinked into one another with a gentle chime. He waved his arm, causing them to light up and spread out. Some floated to the sides and others levitated to the ceiling, what remained descended into the water. The ceiling became visible first, then the width of the cave revealed its limits. For each restriction met, a crystal blinked out of existence.
Sarah crouched, her eyes scanning the balls of light below while they floated through the water like a living constellation. Most of them produced no more results than the ones above the surface. A few moved further ahead, alerting the two watchers when their lights faded. Jareth moved to recall them but Sarah gestured to him to leave them there. For a moment she studied the soft glow still visible from her vantage point. The brunette reached out with her free hand until she touched the water. The light below the surface danced gently when her gloved fingertips disturbed the pool. Sighing, she turned and took a few steps back the way they came. "It would have been too much to ask." Sitting down on the floor somewhat unceremoniously Sarah tugged off her gloves and her boots. While taking off her cloak she could hear Jareth walk up to her.
"Sarah? What are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" The woman unbuttoned her coat and dropped it on the floor.
"You are not going in there."
It was an order. That much was clear. But Sarah found that she had trouble obeying orders more often. Especially once an idea presented itself. So instead of arguing, she simply didn't respond. After unbuttoning her waistcoat and rising to her feet, Jareth forcefully grabbed hold of her wrist, wrenching it away from her trousers.
"I will not say this twice." His voice was icy. Colder than the water behind them. "Warren's quest ends here. As it should have yesterday."
"I'm afraid I must agree with my baby brother, my lady," Warren said, his shape hidden in the darkness and his voice echoing in a way that made it difficult to tell where it was coming from. "This cave might have been promising, but it is not worth your wellbeing. Or ours, for that matter."
Sarah chuckled, trying to twist her wrist out of Jareth's hold, but he held firmly. "You two go ahead and strip to make our plunge easier, because I sure as hell am not going down there by myself."
"Do you mean… swim? Like dogs?" Even though Warren was obscured in shadows, his voice clearly reflected uneasiness.
"Well… I will swim. You two just focus on not drowning while I bring you two to wherever this water leads."
"Absolutely not. We are going back," Jareth decreed, grabbing Sarah's waistcoat and thrusting it against her chest. Warren let out a sigh of relief, but the king could see the mulish flicker in Sarah's eyes. He uttered her name in warning, brows lowering sternly. Her hands stayed positioned by her sides, ignoring the waistcoat held out to her.
The woman held his gaze for several moments while Warren remained silent. A smile curled around her lips. A strained tension tentatively seeped from his shoulders, the anger in his eyes easing.
Then, suddenly she bolted back in Warren's direction. Jareth's heart leapt when she disappeared into the darkness. Without hesitation he made a flourish and three crystal orbs appeared with a bright flash. The area was lit up just in time for him to see Sarah disappear into the water up ahead, partially deliberate and partially slipping off the edge. Warren jumped, looking back towards Jareth, wide eyed when the woman's name fell off the king's lips with a panicked cry.
A moment later Sarah resurfaced, taking a breath and shuddering lightly. "It tends to be easier to just dive in. Get that harsh slap of cold water over with."
"Sarah, how dare you disobey me?" Jareth's voice was so loud that even Warren flinched. It bounced off the walls in layering echoes, joined by the sound of his boots clacking on the rock. Striding back to the water he swiped for her, but she drifted out of his reach just in time. "Get out, this instance!"
"Either you can join me, or I'm going to see for myself. So what is it going to be?" She sounded more confident than she felt. Truthfully Sarah dreaded swimming into the pitch black depths behind her. The prospect of it was even scarier than the fire and rage in Jareth's eyes. But she had made up her mind. If swimming was so rare that it was likened to something only animals did, there had to be something behind the obstacle. Something inside of her just knew it.
With the Goblin King still seething, she could see Warren was more than a little reluctant to follow. She couldn't blame him. Swimming without knowing how to was scary in its own right. Especially when blind. Not to mention he had to go against Jareth's orders. Warren looked in Jareth's direction, almost meeting his gaze.
"Come on, you cowards. I'm going to freeze in here. You have ten seconds before I'm going by myself." Mentally she crossed her fingers, hoping her bluff was convincing enough. Jareth's face relented very little to determine whether it did or not.
Both of their gazes turned to the older brother when he kicked off his boots and hurriedly stripped down to his trousers. The younger brother called out to him in a mix of confusion and surprise.
"I told you, Jareth, this is my last resort. My final chance. I have faith that lady Sarah will see me through." His shirt dropped to the stoney floor. "Do you have faith, little brother?"
Jareth frowned and looked from him to Sarah. She grinned rather victoriously. "No need to wait for us, Jareth. We'll find our way back."
"You two…" Sighing deeply he rubbed his face frowning as though he was fighting a growing headache. "I suppose I have no choice. Without me you'll certainly meet your end and that's not something I fancy having on my conscience." He dressed himself down to his trousers. "But if I so much as suspect either two of you are in danger, we go back. Immediately."
Pleased, the woman wiped cold droplets from her face. "Okay, you royal landlubbers. When you're ready, take my hand and get in the water. When you let yourself slide in, see if you can push off of the wall. It will give us some momentum. Take a deep breath before you dive and hold it as long as you can. If you start running out of air, squeeze my hand. If you can, try to help me by moving your legs up and down in the water. Jareth, could you light the way?"
Jareth nodded, still clearly worried. Both men sat down on the ledge and Sarah moved in between them with her back to them. She grabbed Warren's hand and Jareth placed his in hers, squeezing lightly.
"Sarah, are you sure about this?"
She nodded quickly, before any more doubt could grow within her. "Yep! Ready?" After the two men somewhat reluctantly agreed, Sarah pushed their hands ahead of herself, signaling them to slide in. Once they did, Jareth found his bearings first. Both men and Sarah pushed off the wall.
Jareth guided several orbs to follow them which drifted ahead, lighting a path forward. Meanwhile Warren let Sarah lead him along, his hand clamping onto hers from the moment they got in. It was a clunky expedition at best, but they managed to keep momentum and despite it being their first time, Sarah got some supporting force from the men's legpower. Her gaze remained focused on the path ahead, despite the urge to look at the men to see how they were doing. With ghostly silence their light swept past loose rock and smooth surfaces. The brunette repressed a reflex to gasp when she saw tiny pale crustaceans scatter from the light. How they managed to live in complete darkness, inside a cave with seemingly no resources, she could only guess.
After a little while, the cold caused a biting feeling in her lungs. Her chest tightened and there was a dizziness settling in. She needed air. Unconsciously her body grew rigid, her fingers twitching. Looking up, she tried to see if there was a pocket of air above them. Assessing the situation, she glanced at Warren, who had his eyes tightly closed, a small air bubble escaping his lips. When she looked at Jareth, he met her gaze. The slight knit in his brows told her he sensed she was getting breathless. Directing the orbs a little further upwards he scanned the ceiling. After a moment he gestured ahead.
Following his gaze, Sarah saw a small pocket coming up and she arched her body towards it. Sarah squeezed Warren's hand and angled it up. Warren and Jareth followed her lead and a few moments later they broke the surface. All three of them gasped for air. Sarah felt the two men starting to sink down and quickly remembered to instruct them. "Keep your legs kicking." Her voice bounced back instantly into her ears in the small space. It was deafening. "You're doing great. When we go back down, use your free hand to make motions like you are pushing aside heavy drapes. I will rhythmically squeeze your hand. Try to push your hand straight ahead at the squeeze, then move it to push backwards." She took a moment to catch her breath, the three of them struggling to keep their heads above the surface. Exhaustion was setting in for all three of them. Her breath remained short. It would have to do. "Okay, ready?" The men squeezed her hands. "Take a deep breath."
They ducked down and the men tried to angle themselves again, following her lead. Sarah tried to keep the squeezing of her hands in rhythm. The two brothers tried their best to kick and paddle while Jareth also worked to light their path.
The next time Sarah and Jareth saw the rock making way for air a few crystals moved up ahead. The orbs left the surface and floated further up and ahead. The group angled themselves towards it, a sense of adrenaline and desperation rising within them. When they broke the surface Sarah let out a relieved and excited laugh. "Keep going. Don't stop. There is a ledge up ahead." She was significantly out of breath and weakly swam to the edge of the water as fast as she could muster. Despite it being a little over thirty feet it seemed to take hours to get there.
Once reaching the rocky edge, she guided Warren's hand to it, who gleefully grasped onto it and hurriedly crawled out, fishing around with his hands until he was fully on land. Jareth crawled up as well, trying to catch his breath while turning towards her to help. With shaking arms Sarah put her hands on the edge and pushed herself up, lifting herself out of the water and rolling onto her back with a sound straddling between a sob and a laugh. The blonde angled her legs out of the water and touched her face worriedly.
Gasping for air, Sarah looked at Jareth. "We did it, Birdbrain."
"That we did," he agreed, smiling sourly. He beckoned the light closer, his fingertips gently caressing her waterlogged hair while he quietly checked if she was okay.
"We did it," she sighed, her eyes closed. It was all too tempting to stay down for a while, rest up. Catch her breath. But the low temperature was starting to gnaw at her. Opening her eyes she flinched against the light of the orbs hovering over her. "Let's go. The sooner we find… that thing we're looking for, the sooner we can leave." Jareth helped her up, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her.
Due to the deafening silence in the cave, the sound of something hitting stone was uncomfortably loud. "Curses," Warren wailed, causing the two of them to look over. The man had risen to his feet and was rubbing his head with a pained expression.
The woman spotted the jagged edges of the arching wall just above his head and she gasped. "Are you okay?" Sarah stepped towards him, her hand on his arm.
"Yes, yes," the man grumbled while shaking her hand off with agitation.
"Let's keep moving." Jareth grabbed Warren's arm and tugged him from the wall. He offered Sarah a hand as well. His lips briefly brushed against her knuckles when she accepted his offered hand. The woman smiled up at him. Directing her gaze ahead, she shifted their hands so she could intertwine her fingers with his, reveling at the warmth of his palm and the comfort of his lower arm pressed firmly against hers.
The crystals herded around them like watchful sentries, floating nearby and illuminating their surroundings. The cave was almost perfectly straight and seemingly endless. While minutes passed the dark gray rock had started to grow lighter. There had been a low hum the past few minutes. It was unnerving, since there was no sign of wind, or really anything but endless pitch black darkness. It almost sounded like chanting or singing. Her fingers tensed in Jareth's hold, who responded with a reassuring squeeze.
Sarah looked around at the silver walls which gradually started to widen, matched with the ceiling that rose higher and higher above their heads. While the minutes passed, their jagged edges grew smoother and even. Eventually, the area started to seem carved. Man made. Jareth seemed to notice it too, sending his crystals far and wide to map the area. Eventually, they spotted a distant light. A dim orange glow.
Even though the cold was seeping into their feet and their bodies were shivering they pressed on. Jareth and Sarah noticed large pillars on either side emerging from the rocks. The room widened further, the pattern of the pillars repeating beyond the passage they walked down. Each pillar stood about five yards apart from the other one. A breeze drifted towards them. The rocky floor made room for huge tiling of marble in black and white, weathered and cracked but still shining. The pillars appeared to be black marble as well.
"Wow," Sarah said breathlessly, taking in the pillars towering over them by a handful of yards. The structures connected at the center with large arches and reached ahead as far as the eye could see. Or at least as far as the crystals could show them. Some were now little more than a pinprick of light in the distance. In between the pillars lay large piles of debris and pieces of broken marble.
"Am I to guess that I am missing a rather impressive sight," Warren asked with a smile when the arm leading him stalled.
"This place is huge," Sarah gasped. "I can't even see the walls anymore. Everything is made of marble."
The light they had spotted earlier turned out to be the setting sun. The far end of the room opened up to the outside, as though the structure had simply fallen away. A clear sky started to tinge purple with upcoming nighttime. At the very end of the room was one set of pillars which had a downward arch. The sky lay cradled in its curve.
Gradually the three came to a halt.
"What do you suppose this place is?" An inscription on the downward arch caught her eye. It was weathered but visible enough to read. "Taecul Xon?"
"That sounds like the old tongue," Warren said. "Dreadfully boring language. Not to mention useless in this day and age. I am afraid I might not have been in attendance at those classes very often. I believe it has to do with light."
Looking from Warren to Jareth she gave him a questioning look, but he shrugged. "We should probably explore further or look for clues," she mused.
"Let's find the ends of this room first. See if we can find any doorways or stairs."
"I'll… wait here, I suppose." Warren grinned uncomfortably. "How I would have loved to be able to see this room. Imagine how long this place has been here… I wonder if Father might have built this. Just the smell alone is fascinating. Do you hear that humming? I wonder what that is." Sarah smiled at the excitement in his milky eyes.
"While you surrender yourself to the fantastical enthusiasm of a child, we will make ourselves useful and have a look around. Stay here." Jareth tossed Sarah a glowing crystal ball and wandered off into a random area while his brother glared into his general direction.
Sarah giggled, patting Warren's shoulder after he lowered himself to sit on the floor. "He means well, Your Highness." The tall man grumbled and waved her off while he resorted to stroking his beard.
A good while later Sarah was still wandering the hall. Her body was slacked in exhaustion, her head heavy and the soles of her feet rigid. The orb Jareth gave her offered a mild warmth and she greedily clung to it. She was still soaked and the sunlight had long since faded. A chill had set in her bones, setting up a perfectly horrible climate to cause permanent goosebumps on her skin. She'd wandered far off from the main area they initially entered from. She could only barely see Warren's shape on the floor, bathed in a thick stream of moonlight.
Holding out the orb to the opposite side there still was no end of the room in sight. Her breath puffed out from her lips in a sigh, wisping before fading away.
"Found anything?"
Her body jerked in surprise and she turned around, seeing Jareth's form illuminated by the light of the conjured crystals. "Don't sneak up on me, Birdbrain," she snapped defensively. Her hand came to rest on her chest while she tried to calm her racing heart. Icy breath drifted from her lips in pale puffs. "But no. Nothing. You?"
"I'm afraid not. Just endless pillars and tiles. The drop-off plummets down into the abyss." He sighed, idly twirling the orb in his hand, causing reflections to scatter across the marble around them. "We should head back. We'll catch our death's out here at night. Or well, you will." The Goblin King looked down at her while she clutched the orb in her hands, blocking the light as she held it against her chest. His brow furrowed. "Prolonged exposure to the elements tends to have rather devastating effects on mortal folk."
"We can't leave now," Sarah moaned in disappointment. "We came all this way. There has to be something."
"This place might have simply succumbed to neglect in the past few centuries. For all we know, whatever we are looking for has crumbled down into the dropoff."
Sarah looked down at the orb, her jaws clenched and her brow furrowed. "Damn. What a waste." The tension on her face eased when Jareth tilted up her chin.
His lips pressed gently against the chilly skin of her forehead, lingering momentarily. "You need warmth. Come." Holding her gaze he turned her back towards the main path. The woman sighed sadly, but let him guide her back towards the older man.
Once they reached Warren his milky eyes were staring ahead into the night sky. He was leaning on his knees with his chin in his palms. His aging face was set in a childlike petulance and boredom.
"No further clues, I'm afraid," Jareth said.
Warren's lip curled in agitation, after which he crawled up to his feet. "You know, after at least two years of trying to decipher those scriptures and weeks of trying to find this location, this is terribly anticlimactic."
"That's the penalty of investing all your hope in some rotting parchment, you blind dolt."
Warren scowled, throwing a withering look in Jareth's general direction. "Well, I suppose we should head back." Warren turned himself back towards the way they came and started walking. "I've heard poor lady Sarah's teeth chattering for hours now."
Jareth followed, but Sarah remained standing in the pale moonlight, staring up at the sky.
Something to do with light… Perhaps…
The king grabbed Warren by the arm to keep him from wandering too far, turning back to look at her. "Come, Sarah." He received no response. She walked up to the center of the main area, tilting her head. The blonde frowned when he saw her take three steps to the right and two back. "What are you doing, Precious?"
The woman didn't answer, taking a step to the left and four back. Looking up at the downward arch she remained still. "Taecul Xon," she said softly, repeating the text on the overhead marble.
A faint shimmer scattered across the etched words and the woman gasped. She looked around at Jareth. "Did you see that?"
Suddenly there was a bright flash. Like molten lava the letters spewed out light onto the marble floor. The light sank through the cracks and seeped into the veins of the marble tiles. It waded towards her, billowing through the cracks like northern lights. Jareth rushed towards her but she held up her hand. Hesitantly he kept some distance.
Once the light reached her she could feel a warmth on her feet. It wasn't particularly unwelcome in her current state. She looked up to the arch, where one of the moons was perfectly cradled in it. Warren joined them, accidentally bumping into Jareth, who irritably shoved him away. He was still wearily observing the light. It stayed underneath them, faintly shimmering with the resemblance of a heartbeat.
"What's happening?"
Jareth shushed Warren with another light shove.
"It seems to be waiting," Sarah said contemplatively.
The king kneeled down, putting his palm to the marble and splaying his fingers. "Taecul Xon," he said loudly. Like a wounded animal the light briefly scattered, light flickering around them. Then the light flared brightly, temporarily blinding them before it slipped away like water in a drain.
"What the…" Slowly the king rose back up to his feet.
"Am I missing something?" Warren seemed simultaneously confused and irritated.
"Jareth, look!" Sarah pointed to a nearby pillar, seeing a small light dancing along the pedestal's surface. He rose to his feet and walked over to it, after which the light dropped down again, only to emerge on another pillar. Curiously, he started following.
The brunette grabbed the elder brother by the hand and tugged him along, eager to follow the light.
"Where are we going?"
Weaving through the pillars the light guided them. Left, right, left, left, right. Sometimes backwards before curving further away from the entrance again. Jareth and Sarah's gazes were so transfixed on it that it was almost dizzying. Warren voiced his confusion but was met with silence.
"It's kind of like…"
"A Labyrinth," Jareth finished, briefly meeting her eyes before searching for the next shimmer of light. "You might be more right than you realize. This magic feels familiar."
They could have been walking for an hour before suddenly the light vanished. The three of them stopped, hazel eyes spotting a faint shimmer nearby. Letting go of Warren's hand, she headed for it. Jareth's eyes were wandering the opposite direction, still searching.
Sarah walked towards a shape ahead of her. The light returned, shimmering briefly underneath her feet and the light dancing up like fireflies. Every step closer scattered more of the tiny wisps. Eventually, they provided enough light to see the object. It was a basin. The fireflies danced up towards the bowl and disappeared in its contents. Once the liquid lit up, the light expanded and sank down through the base like veins in an arm. Its light splayed out onto the floor in thick roots. The woman gasped, mesmerized by the glittering vision and the golden liquid inside the basin. Entranced, she reached out to the bowl and the small pool started sizzling. Her hand hovered over it. The liquid started sparkling, sending up tiny fireworks that colored green right before they fizzled out. Behind her she could hear Jareth's alarmed voice calling out to her. Her fingertip touched the liquid, her eyes still dazed.
Once she came in contact with it a sharp pain shot up through her arm and reflexively she pulled her arm back. Hissing, she shook her hand and put her finger in her mouth. Jareth wrenched her away from the basin, standing in front of her. "What do you suppose this is?"
The Goblin King looked down at the liquid while it continued sparkling. "It's a font. Magic."
"It tastes terrible," Sarah noted after she removed her digit from her mouth. Her tongue carried a tang of bitter with a spice-like aftertaste. The tingling feeling it left behind slithered down her throat like a serpent. "I thought magic needed guiding?"
"Precisely…" Jareth reached out towards the basin. The life inside the bowl frantically reached for his hand, the tiny sparks scrambling for him like a school of hungry fish. His hand hovered over the light, steady and just close enough for the light to brush his palm. When he lifted his hand up to study it, the sparks crawled into his skin. Studying the basin he found another inscription. "Tamusnoc te tis sungid," he whispered. Looking back he met Warren's black and unseeing gaze when the tall man stepped up next to him.
"I don't like the sound of that, brother. It sounds like a curse, or a precondition."
The light faded from Jareth's hand and he flexed his fingers. "Is this what you were looking for, brother mine?" He looked back up at his elder brother.
The black eyes cleared, flushing the ink away to reveal a pale white. A line formed between his brows. Warren seemed hesitant, but stepped up to the basin. His burly hand reached out and lowered until he touched the edge of the bowl.
Sarah and Jareth jumped when the man's hand was sucked down into the liquid. Warren cried out in surprise. The woman's lips parted when she could see the light crawling up along his arm, chest and neck towards his face. "Jareth, help him!"
"No," Warren insisted. "Wait. It's…" Two pairs of eyes were glued to him. Sarah was reaching out gingerly, debating what to do. Slowly, the light seeped into his eyes, scattering around and bubbling underneath his sclera in a way that made Sarah nauseous. His eyes were bulged wide and darkened to black depths again, his arm strangely half submerged into the shallow basin. Slowly the light dulled to a faint glow, then vanished. For a moment nothing happened. The woman was about to question what just happened, but was interrupted when Warren was violently hurled away from the basin, slamming down onto the floor at least ten feet back. There was an unnerving thud when his head made contact with the marble tiles.
In reflex Sarah let out a startled scream and she hurried over to him. The magical light scattered wildly underneath his skin as if he'd been struck by lightning. He lay limp on the floor, unconscious. For a moment she was afraid to touch him, scared that the light might hurt her, but his lifeless form was alarming enough to conquer her fear. Pushing her fingertips into his neck she let out a relieved sigh when she could feel his heartbeat. Looking back at Jareth she noticed he was preoccupied with the basin. "Jareth, we need to get him out of here. He's probably hurt." No response. "Jareth!"
The blonde didn't move, eyes fully trained on the basin. She glanced down at Warren who still lay motionless on the floor before looking back.
Her eyes widened when she saw light flitting underneath Jareth's skin. Pushing herself up from the floor she hurried back to him. She wasn't going to end up the only conscious person in some dank cave far from home in the freezing cold. Sarah stopped when suddenly the light emitted brighter, almost consuming every inch of him. She could hear Jareth's breath laboring and saw him shaking when she reached him. His muscles spasmed wildly and uncontrollably. Hesitant to touch him with magic so clearly devouring him Sarah started to panic.
"Jareth, please stop!"
He was unresponsive and Sarah was steadily descending into a panic attack. Her heart was racing and tears pooled in her eyes. Looking at the basin she wondered if she could kick it over to break Jareth away from it, but it was rooted firmly to the marble floor.
A moment later the light began to slink away, seemingly further into his skin. She could now see that his body was rigid, muscles pulled taut and his eyes a hollow black. The liquid glow on his body had drained away almost completely. Thick red liquid trickled from his nose. Blood.
A quivering breath shuddered from his throat and Jareth stumbled back, the light relinquishing him with a last spark. It took a few seconds until he regained relatively steady footing, though he was still slightly swaying on his feet. One of his hands rose up to his mouth and an uncomfortable rumble rose from his throat. Blood seeped from his nostril and down his hand, wading down the curve of his knuckles. His cheeks puffed and instinctively Sarah turned away, just in time to see Warren was regaining consciousness. She ran back to him while Jareth hurried to duck behind a pillar. Regrettably, the silence in the area made the sound of him retching hard to ignore.
Brushing some of Warren's hair out of his face she touched his skin. It felt normal, but definitely warmer than it should be in the freezing cold surrounding them. "Your Highness, are you okay?"
His eyes were still squeezed shut, his hand raised to cover his face. "All is well," he wheezed. The man shifted to lean on his elbows. His hand rubbed the back of his head after which his eyes fluttered open. Sarah looked into the black pits with concern, searching his face for any signs of dizziness or trauma.
She flinched and stumbled back when Warren let out a thundering scream. With his eyes the size of saucers and his body rigid, he scrambled back on the floor. Confused, the brunette looked around at the large empty room around them, then back at him. "Warren? What's wrong?"
His breath was labored. With trembling fingers his hand rose up to his face, rubbing his eyes firmly. When Sarah called out for him again, his head turned and he crawled up to her. Right up to her. Almost until his nose touched hers. Uncomfortably she leaned back. His hands came up to her face, pressing against her cheeks. "Lady Sarah?"
"Y-yes?" His inky gaze stared at her and tears started pooling in his eyes. Sarah felt her heart lurch when the darkness faded from his eyes and left two dark orbs at the center.
"Hands to yourself, dearthair mor," said a familiar baritone voice.
It took a moment for the large man in front of her to respond to the voice. He almost seemed hesitant. When Warren turned, both men seemed equally flummoxed. Shaken. They stared at each other for a while, wide eyed and frozen. Eventually, Warren staggered to his feet and walked over to his younger brother. He reached out to him, but Jareth stumbled back. Sarah couldn't tell if his uncharacteristic wobbliness was due to surprise or his encounter with the magic font just moments ago.
"Father?" The panic in the Goblin King's voice wasn't lost on any of them, including himself. Jareth held a hand in front of his mouth, a muscle in his jaw flexing. Meanwhile, Sarah was torn on comforting Jareth, consoling Warren or simply letting the scene play out.
Warren took a step back, his fingertips touching the marred skin under his eyes. "I… I'm not… I can't…" The tall man shook his head, his towering form now appearing frail. "Jareth, I…" Sarah stood frozen, watching the two. Warren crumbled to his knees and bowed deeply. "Logh amae, Jareth… L-Logh…" It was heartbreaking to see Warren crumpled to the floor, curled up, scrubbing and wiping at his eyes furiously as if he desired to wipe them clean off his face.
Jareth kneeled down in front of him, tearing the large pair of hands away from the bearded face. "I apologize, brother. I didn't mean to liken you to that monster."
"How…" The older man's voice was little more than a whisper and his head shook quietly. He kept his eyes squeezed shut still, hiding in his familiar state of senses.
Jareth squeezed his brother's shoulders in silent support. "I don't know. A slumbering spell, perhaps."
"I… don't suppose it could be ancient magic? Do you think…" He finally opened his eyes which grew unnaturally wide, like a madman with a thousand yard stare. Even from this angle Sarah could see them flicking left, right, up and down at an unnatural pace and irregular interval. "Do you think it could be permanent?"
The blonde shook his head with a sigh. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We don't know what exactly just happened. There's no telling if that magic is still ravaging around within you. What it might do in the future. We need to meet with a healer, as soon as we can." He saw the hopeful tension in his brother's shoulders. "Manage your expectations, Warren."
Warren raised a hand to his brother, who guardedly recoiled a little. The man carefully touched Jareth's face. A moment later, he laughed. "You look nothing like I envisioned, brother."
The king narrowed his eyes. "Choose your next words carefully, Warren."
"And Sarah," he bellowed with a booming voice, startling the mortal woman. He walked over to her, nearly tripping over his feet. "Only a goddess such as yourself would capture my brother's attention!" The woman repressed the urge to back away when he approached her. "The offer still stands, you know."
Warren's lumbering form was thankfully halted by a hand wrapping around his arm. Unbothered, Warren looked around and moved to one of the pillars. His hand reached out and bumped into the rock. "Having vision is so… unusual. I don't know how you lot deal with it." Distractedly he wandered away to the moonlight. Jareth followed him like a weary father after a toddler.
Meanwhile Sarah was still trying to catch up to whatever had just happened. Seeing as even two men with hundreds of years of experience with magic were clueless, she had no idea what to make of it. Walking over to the basin, she saw little was left in it. Her mind wandered. If Warren had regained his eyesight, if only temporary, what did that mean for Jareth? The shallow fluid now quietly simmered in its remaining volume, the sparks now small and gentle which reminded her of a fizzy drink. There was a vaguely green shade to it. She wasn't sure what it was, but it compelled her closer, glittering in its tranquility like a siren's song.
Before she realized it, her hand made contact with it. It grabbed hold of her hand and seared a way up her wrist. It bit at her skin like hungry piranhas. It set her skin aflame as though it was stuck into an oven. Sarah pulled on her hand, the liquid now thick and more solid. It glided in its entirety up her wrist, writhing and undulating. The brunette started to panic and brought up her other hand in an attempt to rub or peel it off. However, before her hand even reached the other the strange liquid dove into the skin of her forearm, gold and green singing through her veins. Her muscles were suddenly overcome by pins and needles. She shook her hand, twisted her arm. Palm up she looked down at it, just in time to see the glow disappearing into her skin. Touching her flesh, it felt warm. Feverish.
Worry settled in her stomach.
"Sarah?"
Startled, she quickly lowered her arm and spun around, hiding it behind her body. "Coming!" When she reached the two men, her hand took hold of Jareth's unconsciously. He gave her a mildly confused though pleased glance.
"Let's head back. We need a healer as soon as possible."
Sarah looked at the large hall, taking in the scenery since she'd likely never see it again. Silently she dreaded swimming back. While the excitement caused her to briefly forget about the cold, it was starting to settle in again.
Her attention shifted when the steady pace of the man next to her faltered. She looked up at him, noting now that even in the warm light of the crystals around them Jareth seemed unnaturally pale. "Jareth, are you okay?"
The king's unfocused gaze turned to her and he nodded. "Yes, I…" He swayed on his feet again. Sarah looked past him to Warren, who also seemed deathly pale. Looking back at the blonde she saw him shake his head. "No… I… I apologize. I need a moment." His hand slipped from hers and he walked to a nearby wall, sinking down to the floor and leaning back against it. Warren joined him, leaving Sarah to stand by herself.
With uncertainty her feet carried her to the same wall, weary hazel eyes looking at the two men as they sank against the cold rock. "Uh, Jareth… I don't mean to overexert you, but maybe you should channel some of your healing abilities?"
"Just a moment," he mumbled in a way that alerted Sarah that he was going to pass out any moment now.
Sure enough, the words had barely left his lips when his head nodded forwards and the leg which had been bent slightly dropped to the side. Frowning, her gaze turned to Warren, who had already slipped into unconsciousness as well. Sighing, she sat down next to Jareth.
One by one, the crystals popped, shrouding the trio in darkness.