A/N: Ok, last chappie. Thanks for sticking along with me for the ride. This was my first Labyrinth fic, and I received many more reviews than I had first anticipated. Thanks for your comments and your support. Take care.
~Indy Croft
Ascension
It was the final moment, a second in time that moved at an impossibly slow pace… he was going to kill her… the sword was in her grasp… Toby, she couldn't fail Toby… her body was aflame with pride, she wouldn't die now… she turned, the sword arcing behind her in a streak of hellish gray… she could see Ariman bearing down on her… and Jareth was between them, his body ready to take the demon's wrath…
The sword sliced cleanly through them both…
She stared up in horror, her mouth open in a silent cry of dismay, her body frozen in submission to her mind. Before her very eyes, the blood continued to spill, coating her hand, pooling at his feet and running in rivlets between the stones. From its entry point in the lower chest, she could feel the quaking of his body through the sword, running up her arm, making her heart shake in unison. What had she done…
The blade is made of iron, the one thing that will destroy a Fae creature.
"No!" she gasped, and recoiled, yanking the sword with her to get it away from him, she had to get it away, had to make it stop. He screamed at the searing heat as it ripped through him, the sound like nails ripping the skin from her body. No longer with the strength to stand, he collapsed forward, her arms coming up to catch him in his descent. The way his body wrapped around hers, heavy and trembling, brought an unexpected rush of warmth through her, making her eyes close in the moment to savor it. Everything she tried to forget from before, all of the feelings she had tried to banish, came rushing back to her. Her body buzzed with the memories, the dreams, the emotions. But it left her too soon, as his ragged words seeped coldly into her heart.
"It appears… that you will get your dreams after… all," he panted in difficulty, leaning his head back enough to gaze into her eyes. "Your face will be… the last thing I see in this world."
Anguish welled up in her stomach, nauseating her. "But I-I didn't mean it." Her broken voice was holding with control by a thread.
"Oh, you didn't? That… sounds familiar." Despite the situation, Jareth couldn't stop the soft chuckle that left him.
The words cut her deep, buried themselves as painfully as she had buried the sword. Then to look in his eyes, to see that clouded emotion that made her heart shudder, she couldn't bear those eyes, and her head fell forward onto his shoulder. "No," she whispered into his cool shirt. "No, no… no, I never meant any of it." All this time and she finally got him back, just to lose him again. She shuddered slightly when she felt his fingers comb gently through her hair. "Jareth…"
He tensed slightly under her gripping fingers, and after a moment, his warm breath caressed her neck. "Yes…"
Sarah felt the weight on her growing, she realized he was becoming lax, oh, God, no, no… "Tell me this is a dream; please tell me it's all a dream."
"If life is a dream, better… to dread the waking."
"No!" she defied sharply, her head lifting to pin his eyes with hers. "No, anything is better than this!"
"Really?" he asked softly. His eyes had half-closed, his smile thin and waning. "I can think of nothing bet-better than being in your embrace." Gently, his fingers traced her jaw, the leather of his black gloves sending chills through her. "How I wish I had had the power… the power to make you stay… to not have to let you go-"
"Then don't, Jareth, don't let me go! Hold onto me… stay with me," she choked out, letting her own palm lift to touch his face… catching her lip in her teeth to silence the climbing sob as she looked at her blood covered hand, still wet and warm, pressed against his moist cheek, staining him like a rich blush.
"I… I can't live… within you…" His mismatched eyes, once so bright and expressive, were dimming so quickly.
Sarah's eyes were brimming with tears. "But I can't live without you," she confessed, so softly she almost couldn't hear her self. "Don't leave me."
His chest was hitching slightly, catching on each breath, and she could see a line of blood leaking from his mouth as he gave her a gentle smile. "Sarah…" The fingers that so gently brushed her face slid down her neck, smoothed her hair, caressed her right to her soul-he leaned forward, his forehead pressing against hers. "Ne-never," he promised.
Sarah's eyes drifted closed at the contact, her heart pounding when she felt his breath mingle with her own. They were so close now, the smell of his sweat and his hair of cinnamon and bark mingling with the coppery scent of the blood bound between them. Why had it taken 17 years- why didn't she admit it from the start…
"Jareth…"
The room was so quiet.
"Ja…Jareth?"
Her eyes opened, the tears finally spilling over in quiet salt filled streams.
His eyes had closed. His breath no longer danced with hers. He was still. Silent.
"…n-no…"
So devastatingly beautiful…
She had been so wrong.
…what's said is said…
And it wasn't true. She knew in her heart, the heart that broke and bled for the man who gave his life in the foolish act to save hers, she knew that it was all a lie. And through her sobs, between her anguished cries as she cradled the deceased King, she whispered the truth, the words that would correct the lie that lead to his ultimate destruction.
"You have power over me."
Day turned to night, the world faded into elongated shadows, and Sarah welcomed the emptiness as the exhaustion of her tears finally sent her into sweet oblivion.
If I smile and don't believe….
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream….
Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken….
Hello….
I'm the lie living for you so you can hide….
Don't cry….
Her eyes flew open and she brought herself up from the bed. In her room again, the sun filtering in between the blinds, she drew in a few ragged breaths, trying to slow her pounding heart and soothe her frayed nerves. What had she been dreaming about that frightened her so? Pulling herself from the sweat soaked covers and crossing the room to her dresser, she glanced at the photo of her and her brother.
It hit her, knocking her back on the bed as her knees gave. Ariman. Jareth. No. Her hand flew to her mouth. How had she come back to her apartment? Was it all a dream? The blood, God there was so much blood, it stained everything it touched, yet her clothes were clean…
On her feet swiftly she ran through the living room, when she spotted movement in the kitchen. Tearing around the corner, she looked at the cup of coffee sitting on the counter, and a casual, relaxed Stutz leaning back in the chair, a newspaper in his hand.
And an envelope, white, official and unopened, sitting on the table.
…I have reordered time…
Could it be possible?
"At 5:27 this morning, six children, names listed below, were returned to their families after being discovered hidden in the woods behind the Church of St. Joan of Arc. The kidnapper is still being sought-though finding him is doubtful unless the check in the bowels of hell-and many thanks were given to Special Agents Shabnam Muhammadi, James Stutsman, and Sarah Williams for piecing together the clues that helped solve the case, blah blah blah." He threw the paper down on the table and gave Sarah a dazzling smile. "Most of those facts were incredibly embezzled, but with what actually happened, I doubt the public would believe it." He granted her a lopsided grin.
"Welcome back, by the way. Quite surprised me when you suddenly appeared on the couch last night. We were concerned you weren't coming back. But, you were pretty zonked out, so I put you in your room. And before you ask, I didn't take anything." He paused to breath. "Your coffee's getting cold."
Sarah didn't care about the coffee. She only leaned against the wall, her face a mask of defeat and crushed hope. Of course it was too good to be true. She knew what happened to him- she viciously rubbed her eyes, keeping the tears from falling. There had been enough of that already.
"Hey, are you all right?" Stutz asked, standing and offering her a comforting arm on her shoulder. "Did some… something happen…?"
Sarah inhaled through her nose, trying to keep herself distant. "Stutz, thank you for looking out for me. I am deeply grateful… but I need some time to myself." Her eyes lifted to meet his. "Please."
Luckily, Stutz knew his friend well enough to know when to back off. He nodded then pointed at the envelope on the table. "Uh, there's something from the boss. I think it's a paycheck or a bonus. Um… look, if you want to talk, call me, ok? I'll be here to listen."
She nodded, forced a grateful smile, and didn't move again until he shut the door. Then she stumbled forward, sagging against the counter as the emotions came to her once again, but this time she didn't let them overrun her. She didn't want to break down again… she didn't know what she'd do if she did. Nothing was what she needed to feel. Throw herself into her work, like always, and she would be fine.
She would get through this.
You said you wouldn't leave me. You promised me.
Sarah looked up into her partial reflection in the window. Strange… Her back straightened as a feeling of warmth blossomed in her chest, flowed through her, moving down her arm. It began tingling. She watched her arm move up in a graceful arc, and a crystal appeared.
She had conjured a crystal.
It swirled between hands, dancing gracefully along her fingers, until it stopped in her right hand. It felt so incredibly natural, like breathing. Just like the magic that flowed in her, it was all second nature now.
A slow smile spread across her face.
The end.
Right?
"Hello" is the fantastic creation of Evanesscense, and I take no credit for the lyrics.