Chapter 24 - Impossible solution

Jareth paced his throne room, desperate for news of what Gerard had demanded. Sarah simply sat on her throne and watched him. She knew there was nothing she could do to ease his mind, and in fact her mind was so consumed with guilt and worry, she was in no position to do anything but make him worse. She kept going over the events in her head, wondering how she could have done things different, how she could have prevented this. But her mind kept going back to the same thing: Gerard needed stopping, no matter what the cost, she would never regret it. She simply would not have been able to live with herself if she’d allowed Gerard to carry on keeping slaves and that was the end of the matter.

As if on cue Kara entered the throne room. She was no longer dressed in rags, but wore the simple black skirt and white blouse of a maid. As she entered the throne room Kara dipped into a clumsy curtsey before beginning to speak.

“Your Highness…”

At the point Sarah cut her off by laughing. For the moment her worrisome mind was eased. “Kara, you’re my friend, there’s no need to call either me or Jareth Your Highness when in private.”

With that the nervousness in Kara vanished and she simply grinned before running over the Sarah. As she did so, Sarah stood up and hugged her when Kara reached her throne.

“Oh Kara I missed you so much!”

“Me too, I can’t believe how much you’ve changed! Sarah you’re going to be a Queen!”

At that the smile disappeared from Sarah’s face and she looked across at Jareth. The Goblin King had stopped pacing and looked back at her, the fear of what was to come clear in his eyes. Kara realised the mistake she’d made and looked from Sarah to Jareth, and then back to Sarah.”

“Sarah, I’m sorry… What you did, I don’t understand, how can you be punished? You freed me, you freed so many of us. You’ve given me a position in this castle, along with all the others. You’ve granted the noble’s their own homes…. How can that be a bad thing?”

The grief at the thought of her friend in danger was clear to see in Kara, but Sarah managed a weak smile before answering.

“The world is not fair, not this one, not Arnagoth, not Aboveground…. I’ll never regret what I did, but for some things there are consequences…. For some reason people don’t take kindly to you trying to steal their kingdom.”

Both girls managed a small laugh at this, but Jareth returned to his pacing. At that moment they heard a crack of thunder and the High King appeared sat in Jareth’s throne beside Sarah. Stunned, it took Sarah a few seconds before she remembered her manners and knelt before her liege. Kara did the same thing but Jareth only stopped his pacing and stood looking at his father with his arms crossed and a defiant look on his face. For a few moments there was silence as father and son stared at each other. Finally the High King sighed and Sarah could see the anger physically drain from him.

“Rise girls, and Sarah, sit back in your throne, I would not have you kneel while I tell you this. Jareth, come stand before me.”

All did as they were told, Kara moving to one side, before their King continued.

“Gerard came to me today. He laid his case before me and demanded his punishment. These are his terms. For trying to usurp his power as King, your lands shall be forfeit and he shall gain rulership.”

Jareth’s face contorted into a mask of rage but before he could begin speaking the High King raised his hand for silence.

“That is not all. He states that for the severity of the crime that Sarah herself shall be punished. In order that she never has the chance to commit this crime again, he asks….” The High King faltered for a moment, looking at Sarah with such sadness in his eyes that she knew what Gerard had demanded before he even spoke. Jareth though was not so perceptive.

“What did he ask!”

Once again the High King looked at his son and then said. “I’m sorry Jareth, but he asks for her death.”

The rage dropped instantly from Jareth’s face as his glance turned to his fiancé. Gone was the anger and defiance, all that was left was terror. That he should lose Sarah so soon after getting her back was more than he could bear. His years as ruler kept his tears at bay, but his emotions were clear to see. Sarah herself couldn’t even bear to look at him. Instead her head dropped and her eyes closed, the tears seeping out against her will. Kara forgot all her courtly manners and ran to kneel at Sarah’s side, throwing one arm around her childhood friend, but letting her tears flow easily at the High King’s words.

“Jareth, my son, you know the laws as well as I do, Gerard has the right to demand the punishment of his setting, and even as High King I can do nothing about it. These laws were set thousands of years ago, to change them would take years, we do not have that time. He demands your kingdom and Sarah’s death and as much as it pains me to say this… I can do nothing to prevent him taking them.”

Sarah had managed to get her tears under control and looked back up at Jareth who stood there staring right back at her. None of them could tell if he’d even heard what the High King had just said, so consumed by his grief and anger was he. Slowly Sarah rose from her throne, never taking her eyes off her beloved. Kara let her stand, kneeling back down by the side of the throne and watching them. As Sarah reached Jareth he wrapped her in his arms and closed his eyes against the threatening tears. Unobtrusively the High King turned to Kara and whispered “come my dear, we must leave them to their grief” before transporting himself back to his own castle, and Kara back to her new room.

For a long while Jareth and Sarah simply stood together with their arms around each other. Neither wanting to break the embrace, neither knowing what to say. They had no idea how long they stood there, but eventually Sarah pulled away to look at him. For a long time words would not come to either of them but slowly Sarah began to speak.

“Do you remember when we first met?”

A small smile touched the edges of Jareth’s mouth at the moment and Sarah felt it mirrored on her own face as she continued.

“I was so afraid of you back then. A monster, come to steal my brother.” A small laugh escaped her throat. “But I was wrong, you weren’t a monster, you were my saviour, and in the end I guess it was me you stole.”

This time it was Jareth’s turn to laugh. “Now my dear, you cannot steal what is taken freely.”

Sarah smiled in return. “True spoken.” The smile slowly dropped from her face and a somber expression took over as she looked him in the eyes. “I think maybe I loved you even back then. I thought you a monster, and yet there was a power about you that I couldn’t ignore, one that had nothing to do with your magic. When you brought me back here I was terrified again, but not because of what you might do to Toby, I was terrified that I’d reach you and I’d all be a dream. I realised I loved you, and the thought that this might not be real, that you might not love me, might not want me at all… It was enough to destroy me. Yet here we are, the past month… Jareth I can’t explain how much what you did means to me. I’ve never been so happy in all my life as I have been since I came back here. I love you, love is something I never thought I’d ever feel, but you’ve shown me what love truly is. And more than that, you gave Toby his parents back!”

“At the expense of his sister.” Jareth added quietly.

“A sister who would have been an empty shell if I’d have stayed there after my attack.”

“Sarah, about your attack…”

“I know, Hoggle told me. I do truly know that if you’d had the power you wouldn’t have let it happen, but some things happen for a reason. Toby got his parents back, my father and Karen got their lives back, and I got you….” For a second Sarah looked down before steeling herself to look back into his eyes and continue. “Jareth, what I’m trying to say is… I love you. That’s all that matters. I can never thank you enough for this past month, and no matter what the consequences, I will never, ever regret choosing to stay. You’re my world Jareth, and I’m willing to sacrifice everything for you…. Even my own life.”

Gently Jareth kissed her on the forehead and whispered “I won’t let him take you.” before wrapping her in his arms once again.

At that the silence once again reigned. Neither of them knew when they sat down, but when Jareth eventually began to speak he was sat in his throne with Sarah on his lap cuddled against him.

“There’s only one thing we can do.” He said quietly, unable to look her in the eye. Taking a deep breath he began to speak again. “I have to send you back, Aboveground. I have to send you home.”

The sharp intake of breath from her made him look down at her. The abject horror on her face at what he was proposing was clear to see. Of all the things she had expected him to suggest, this was not one of them. The thought of leaving him, of having to live her life alone Aboveground, was more than she could bear. Finding her voice through the pain she began to speak. “Jareth no, you can’t do that, you can’t send me away. Didn’t you hear anything I said, I am home, this is my home, with you.”

“I have to send you away, it’s the only way. If you stay down here they’ll kill you.”

“But how can you expect me to go, how can you expect me to live my life without you? And how is that possible, I died, my body’s lying in a grave, I watched my own funeral, I saw my family cry at my graveside. How can you possibly send me back?”

“I can re-order time, you know this. I alter the memories of families who don’t win their children back, I can alter this so that you never died. They’ll think you’ve been in a coma.”

Sarah scrambled to her feet to face Jareth head on. “Jareth no! I can’t go back there, I don’t care what the consequences, I have to live here with you. I love you, how can you expect me to live my life Aboveground without you? Don’t you realize that every second we’re apart I’ll be thinking of you? It’ll destroy me Jareth. A life without you is no life!” By this time she was crying almost hysterically. What he was suggesting was beyond horrifying. He was asking her to cut out her heart, but how could she live without her heart?

“You won’t be thinking of me Sarah. You won’t even remember me, I’m going to alter your memory too. The last thing you’ll remember will be being attacked. I’m sorry…”

“Don’t you dare, don’t you dare tell me you’re sorry. You expect me to go back there and you want me to go alone?”

“Sarah it’ll be easier this way! Without your memories you can move on, you can live your life instead of living a half-life always thinking of me. Trust me it’ll be easier.”

“How will it be easier? Do you even realize what you’re asking of me? For the past month you’ve kept me shielded from the pain of that night. I’ve not had to confront those feelings. Now you’re asking me to go back, to have to live with what happened and I’ve got to do it alone?”

“No not alone. You’ll have your family, your friends…”

“I have no friends! And I’ve already grieved for the loss of my family. I can’t go back there!”

“Yes you can, you’re strong enough, I know you’ll get through it.”

“Jareth please! Don’t’ ask me to do this I beg you!”

“Sarah don’t ask me to watch you die!!” His voice shook as he spoke these words, but his eyes never left hers. Shocked by the utter terror in his voice Sarah was silenced, even more so by the tears clear in his eyes. “Sarah I love you. It’s going to kill me sending you away, every second I live without you will be torture, but you cannot ask me to sit by and watch you be put to death. I’d rather live the rest of my life without you, watch you grow in your own world, hell I’d rather see you married to someone else with a dozen kids than watch them kill you all because I couldn’t stand to let you go. I love you Sarah, and nothing, nothing! will change that. But I have to send you back. I’m sorry, truly I am, but there is no other way. Gods I wish there was, but if you’re to survive, you have to go back.”

For a while there was silence as both of them tried to come to terms with what they knew had to happen. Neither of them willing to let it, both knowing they had no choice. Eventually Jareth broke the silence, this time speak quietly.

“You won’t be alone though. I know you didn’t have many friends, so I’m sending Hoggle and Carnice back with you. They’ll be in a human form, I’ll alter everyone’s memory, thiers included, so that it’ll seem like you’ve been friends for years.”

“But they can’t replace you…” Sarah’s voice had dropped to almost a whisper, the grief almost too much to bear. “Please Jareth, if I can’t stay here, please come with me…”

As she made her plea she saw a visible shift in Jareth, his head bowed, his shoulders drooped, she was looking at a broken man.

“I can’t. My subjects need me, if I leave, Gerard will take over, he’ll destroy everything I’ve helped build with my people. I love you Sarah, more than anything in the world, but I’m a king first and foremost, I’d sacrifice everything I have for you, but the kingdom is not a possession, it’s a people, it’s an entity, it’s a life. I have no right to let it be destroyed. I’m sorry, but I have to stay here and fight for it.”

The tears were running freely down both their cheeks, the sorrow too much to contain, and to Sarah’s grief was added the guilt of knowing she’d caused all this strife. As she looked into her lovers’ eyes, she realised there was nothing more to be said, the decision had been made, somewhere in the back of her head she knew it was the right thing to do, she knew there was no other choice, but all her heart felt now was the pain of being sent away. It was too much. Her legs buckled and as Jareth caught her and lowered her to the floor, she finally gave way to sobs that wracked her entire body, unaware of the heartbreaking tears being shed by the man who was holding her as though his life depended on it.

Eventually both their tears dried, the physical expression of their grief worn out, but the pain lessened not one bit by it. There was no goodbye. There was no heartfelt speech. There was only a look. They held each other for what seemed like hours, but they had no way of knowing how long it truly was. Eventually Jareth stood, helping Sarah to her feet also. He kissed her forehead gently, and their eyes met for a single second before Jareth formed a crystal and sent Sarah back Aboveground.

The last thing she heard was “I love you”…

Author’s note: Thank you so much to everyone who’s read and reviewed this story. This is the end I’m afraid… well the end of this part anyway, I’m already well underway with the writing of the final part of the trilogy so hopefully it won’t be too long until I start posting that one!