Author's Notes: So. . .not sure where this came from, but as I'm dealing with a smidgen of writer's block over my current fic, Field of Innocence, I let my fingers wander the keyboard in the hopes of cranking out something relevant and useful to my story. This is what happened. I think it stems from the song I was listening to at the time, and a particular portion of the lyrics, which go like so:
"How can I ever feel again?
Given the chance would I return?
Why am I loved only when I'm gone?
Gone back in time to bless the child.
Think of me long enough to make a memory.
Come bless the child one more time."
For some reason, I see a Jareth/Sarah conversation happening along those lines, or at least some internal thoughts going on. The lyrics are loaded with meaning, so. . .yeah. . .
Nightwish + writer's block + giving free rein to the fingers THIS. And with that, here you go. My first ever, Labyrinth one-shot. Much thanks to Anij for talking me into trying a one shot for the first time, beta-ing it, and throwing out some ideas for the title! any comments/constructive criticisms/suggestions are always welcome. I live on reviews, since, as a college student,I can't really afford much in the way of food. . . heehee
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Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing pertaining to the Labyrinth. I don't own anything pertaining to Nightwish, either, except lots and lots of songs. They're a kick ass group, I wish I owned the. I wish I owned Jareth, too. Ye gods, I'm so broke. . .
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The Night Jareth Died
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The night Jareth died, Sarah sat alone, watching the moon trace its path across the sky. The reddish hue of the orb left a faint trail glittering in its wake.
Blood moon.
An omen of death.
She sat, blissfully unaware of the hastened passage of time worlds away, feeling the aches from the ravages of time. Sixty years had come and gone, and she was the only one who remained. The only one who remembered. Or were they truly memories? Were they only more evidence of the senility doctors claimed besieged her in her advanced years?
A soft sigh escaped her lips and she picked herself up carefully, limping to the bed waiting in the center of the room, covers turned down by the dutiful home aid she found herself in need of more often than not these days and oh, was that a sting to her pride. She lived independently for so long and to have to rely on someone for the simplest of tasks just wasn't fair.
Now why did that phrase send chills down her spine on this warm balmy evening?
Sarah shook off the feeling of foreboding as she settled her pained body into the covers. Soon enough the home aid – what was that girl's name again? – would come and administer the nightly pain medication that would help her sleep. Time had not been kind in its dance with her.
Dance.
She began to hum a waltz under her breath as the home aid came in.
"Ms. Williams? I have your pills."
"Thank you." Her voice was raspy, sounding as though she had a permanent sore throat. "I'm sorry, what was your name again?"
"Julia. My name is Julia, Ms. Williams."
"Julia. Of course. I'm sorry; I don't know why I can't remember."
"It's all right, ma'am." Julia gave her a kind smile and tucked her in after giving her the medicine. "Get some rest, you've a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, and I'll have to take you in early, since that's when he could fit you in."
"Hmph. I could still drive myself, if it wasn't for this stupid arthritis."
"Of course you could. I know how much you love your freedom, as you've always lived alone, but unfortunately you don't have your license alone."
Freedom. Yes, she'd lived freely her entire life. Always following her own choices. Always going where the urge took her.
Always alone.
The humming began again and Julia smiled.
"That's a beautiful tune. You hum it often; can you tell me what song it is?"
"I'm afraid I don't remember much of the words." She frowned. "Sad light in your eyes…pale jewel…paint you mornings of gold….I can't remember much more. It's all faded. You understand."
"Of course. Good night, Ms. Williams."
"Good night, Julia."
She slipped into the dream world easily this night. And found herself in the ballroom she'd frequented so many times before. And just like before, she found herself searching. Searching for the elusive figure in blue who always evaded her grasp. Tonight though, tonight, she caught up with him, catching the edge of his coat in his gnarled fingertips.
"Wait. Please. Who are you?"
"I am no one. I am just a dream of yours, as you decided years ago."
"That's silly, I can feel your jacket, you're real, just as real as-" She gasped as she felt her fingers pass through his jacket, a tingling in her fingertips as they slipped through the now transparent coat.
Still, he stood before her, finally turning to face her, face hidden behind a mask as the ball whirled on around them. But she couldn't touch him. He was glimmering before her eyes. Fading.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"Always so many questions. There are no answers here, Sarah that you haven't found before, if you would only open your eyes to them."
"I don't understand. Who are you?"
"You know my name."
"No, I…" A moment of sudden clarity. "Jareth…" She breathed the word and watched as the mask shimmered and vanished in front of her eyes.
He smiled wearily, even as his face shimmered in the dying light. He looked overburdened, worn down by the passage of time, though not as evident physically as she did. She drank in the sight of him. It was a dream after all, and here she could finally admit her longing. After all, it wasn't any more real than her other dreams. Her lifetime of dreams she had never found fulfilled. As she stared, sound faded into silence and startled, she glanced back at the ballroom.
Only to see a ravaged wasteland remaining where a rich, fertile celebration had stood.
"What's happened here?" She whispered.
"You happened, Sarah. Your refusal doomed this place. Now, your choices have brought you full circle. Your wish for freedom has come to fruition. You are here to bear witness to the end of the Labyrinth."
"I never wished for this!"
"Didn't you?" He smiled softly and she could only gape at the gentleness in his expression. "You refused the gift three times. Once, when you chose to run the Labyrinth in exchange for your brother. Twice, when you refused my offer at the thirteenth hour. Three times when you turned your back on your friends in the mirror, cutting off all contact. Three is a number of power. The third time decided the path, and here is where the path ends."
"But…it was a dream. It was only a dream!"
"And dreams fade. You cling to this dream, but still you refuse it. Now, it is time for it to fade completely."
"What about you?" She asked in a panicked whisper, knowing the answer even as he blurred before her eyes. Though whether from the fading magick or the tears that began to spill down her cheeks, she wasn't sure.
"Sarah. Dear, dear, Sarah." He stepped forward, brushing his hand down her cheek. She turned her face to his hand, but could only feel the icy coldness of power. Any warmth in that touch had long been leeched with the fading power.
"Don't cry, Sarah. After all, you are the victor. This is your prize."
"But you're dying!" She croaked, cursing the break in her voice, and the pain in her shaking limbs.
"I am Fae. Death is painless when I simply fade. Would you rather I go out in a bloody war?" He asked, exasperation leaking into his tone. "After everything you still have to be difficult, don't you?"
She sniffled and coughed, rubbing her hands across her paper thin cheeks, scrubbing the tears from where the traced the lines in her face.
"You don't understand. I did. I did. But I couldn't."
One pale, silky eyebrow rose in response to her statement.
"Our last conversation. Don't you remember what you said?"
"Just fear me. Love me. Do as I say."
"I did. I did. But I couldn't. Not when Toby was at stake."
"So late you come to this realization?"
"I'm sorry." She whispered brokenly. "I'm so sorry, Jareth! Forgive me! Please, please, forgive me!"
Sarah fell to her knees, sobbing. Through her tears, she watched his booted feet draw near. Even they were fading. A ghost of a touch passed over her bowed head, and a whispered word.
"Farewell, Sarah."
Silence.
Nothingness.
Sarah wept.
Tremors began in the land beneath her. Cracks appeared, spreading like the strands of a spider's web. The land was fading, taking her with it. A great yawning chasm was opening before her and darkness stretched out to an eternity before her eyes. She couldn't find the strength to care. Motionless she remained, crying for lost chances, for childish wishes, and shattered dreams. When the darkness swallowed her, she went gladly. It was only fit punishment to fade with that which she destroyed.
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"No! Jareth!"
Sarah sprang up in her bed, screaming. Seconds passed in which the only sound was the hammering of her heart as she soon realized what had happened. Burying her head in her hands she wept uncontrollably. Was he really gone? Had he really died? Dear god, she never had a chance to find out if he loved her as she loved him. But it had been her love, rather than the inability to accept it, that had ultimately destroyed everything.
"I'm sorry," she whispered into the darkness.
Throwing off the covers she stumbled into the bathroom and flipped the switch. Harsh, glaring light assaulted her eyes and she blinked rapidly to clear the sudden haze that blanketed her vision. She stared at her haggard appearance in the mirror.
Chocolate colored hair hung over one shoulder in a loose braid to keep it from her face while she slept. Dark circles marred the pale, unlined skin under her eyes.
A nightmare?
But it had felt so real. She rested shaking hands on the edge of the sink and bowed her head. Still she wept. Had she truly doomed her friends and the one she loved to such a fate? Was the Labyrinth fading even now?
"You weep for a dream?"
She gasped. That voice. That low, cultured, arrogant voice.
She looked up and her gaze locked with his through the mirror. He stood behind her, leaning in the doorway of her bathroom, a questioning look on his face. All traces of arrogance gone. The coldness wiped away by what looked like concern on his face.
Her mind processed this even as she turned to face him, reaching up to futilely swipe at her face, attempting to rid herself of the red face, swollen eyes, and runny nose her bout with tears had caused. It was no use. Her dignity, or what was left of it, was in tatters, so what did she have to lose?
"I thought you were dead. I thought you died and it was all my fault."
"It was your dream, Sarah."
"Dreams sometimes change. And sometimes they stay the same."
"So they do. And your dream was ever to pursue a career on stage, was it not?"
"No. That was a small dream. I wanted my mother to see me. To love me. My dream, my real dream has always been the same."
She dared a glance up at him. His face was smooth, unreadable. Any and all emotions carefully locked away as he asked.
"And what, pray tell, is your real dream?"
Sarah's voice was practically inaudible as she replied. "To be loved. And to love in return. To feel safe enough to share me, all of me with someone who would do anything for me, and who I'd do anything for in return."
"Ah, Sarah, there's the fire I feared had burned out."
"I'm not the pathetic, lonely old woman I was in that dream. No matter how real it felt."
"It was real, Sarah. It was the future of your choosing."
"But then…why am I here? Now? Not a seventy five year old woman?"
"Once more, I have reordered time. For you, Sarah. To this point, when the power is ripe. This year is the only time in which I can reach you again freely."
"I'm twenty four, what's so significant about that? It's only been nine years since…" She trailed off. "Nine years. Three times three."
He nodded, looking impatient. "One last chance, Sarah, to accept or deny. What is your answer?"
She laughed. She couldn't help it. Heaven help her, but she found his arrogance amusing and that's when she knew for certain this was no schoolgirl crush, but something more. Something eternal. But a girl still had to have her standards.
"Well, that wasn't very romantic. You could at least ask nicely." She teased him. "Ask me again, Jareth. I need to hear the words."
"Sarah, I offer you your dreams, and you stand here as though I come to you in jest."
Her face softened. "Please. Jareth. I need to hear the words."
He exhaled slowly and took a step towards her.
"Just fear me."
"Never."
"Love me."
"Always."
"Do as I say."
"Only when it suits me."
He was standing in front of her by the end and she smiled up into his eyes. Cautiously, she reached up, twining her arms around his neck.
"I love you, Jareth. I'm so sorry I've made you wait, but I was so young. I know better now. I love you. I would do anything for you."
He smiled down at her and she read the answer in his eyes, the words he was too proud, too much of a king to say out loud. She felt his hands grip her waist firmly and a dizzying sensation rushed through her ripping a gasp from her throat.
Once again she found herself at the gates of the castle beyond the Goblin City. Jareth's hands were still on her waist as he stood behind her and she shivered to feel his breath on her ear as he leaned in close to whisper to her.
"Sarah. Welcome home."
END
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Author's Notes II: Like it? Hate it? Think I should give up on one-shots? Please review, it'd be greatly appreciated! Love, me.