Work Text:
She was back.
Sarah's younger brother Toby had recently died, he was so young only six, and in her grief she had come crawling back to Him, the King of the Goblins, Ruler of the Underground, Lord of the Labyrinth, His Royallest Majesty, Jareth.
And she saw, it wasn't just her who was as grief-stricken.
"How could you?" He whispered, his voice hoarse with sorrow. Though his words were bated, the accusation cut deep. It had been but five years since Sarah had bested the Labyrinth, and she had never forgotten those events. It all felt like a feverish dream, though it was so, so real. She would never forget the betrayal etched on Jareth's face as she uttered those terrible words, "You have no power over me." That was when she was sixteen, and now she was back at that fateful spot.
But now it was different. The once beautiful monuments stood in ruins, moss and lichen growing rotten and wild. The Labyrinth's state had fallen into a diseased decline, not to mention Jareth. His head was bowed in defeat, she had never seen him in such a terrible state. Maybe it was the time that had passed and made her see him in a different light, but he truly looked nothing like the flamboyant, bodacious fae she so knew and hated. Though now it felt awfully difficult not to pity him. He was a sorry sight, sitting in his now not-so-mighty throne, head dropped to his knees. Blonde locs splayed out, hiding his face. Silent sobs wracked his body, and Sarah at this moment didn't know what to think.
Then he raised his head, disturbing the mane that lay limp upon it.
"How could you..?"
His once alluring face was streaked with tears, his resplendent blue eyes no longer sparkling as they did before. It seemed his soul was as desolate as the Labyrinth itself.
Her chest tightened, and the silence that stretched after his hushed question was almost agonising.
"Jareth." She moved her hair out of her face calmly. Jareth looked up at her, but she saw it in his eyes, he was hurting. "I am not good for you, Jareth." Her voice was barely a breath, but it made all the difference.
"I don't want good, I want you!" He rose from his seat and gestured around him. "Don't you see it? The Kingdom has been in shambles since you left!" His eyes glistened with unshed tears. He took a shaky step forward. "You cannot leave again, dear Sarah." He said it firmly, but his eyes flitted back and forth in a paranoid fashion.
When she took a closer look, Sarah noticed that Jareth wasn't lying, it was bad. Looking around, she noticed that the stone was crumbling, and out of the window, she caught sight of a large stone pillar crashing down into a cloud of sparkling dust (or maybe glitter, it was hard to tell) before it disappeared completely.
"The Labyrinth has chosen you, Sarah," He said carefully, "And without you, it will destroy itself, and me with it." His eyes darted around. "I- I can't afford for that to happen... there's nothing without this, without you. Please, Sarah."
He stood up taller, and Sarah saw that he was in pain from many injuries, her eyes falling on the harsh bruises that mar his skin. It was true, his soul was tied with the Labyrinth long ago, when he was crowned as King, and any hits the Labyrinth took affected him too.
"I... I don't understand, why is it hurting your kingdom that I'm not here..?"
Before he could answer her, Jareth let out a soft hiss of pain, recoiling slightly as he approached her.
"My dear, Sarah, there's an ancient contract that I had to sign when I became King thousands of years ago. The prophecy foretold that the King has 13 chances to find a suitable candidate to be Queen, and if that doesn't happen, well, then the current Ruler would be... destroyed. Along with his kingdom."
"Oh... And I was the 13th..."
"Precisely." His expression darkened and his face twisted into a scowl. "How could you do this to me? I gave you everything."
But then he said what she had been fearing the whole time.
"I was just trying to help." He said bitterly.
Sarah knew that she asked for it, that she knew the risk that she was taking when she wished her brother away, and she felt a crushing wave of guilt wash over her. Perhaps it was her fault, maybe Jareth was just doing as she'd asked, and perhaps she was too naive to see it.
"You always wear your heart on your sleeve, Jareth. But I couldn't love you, not when you're... like this." She gestured to him, who was limping toward her weakly, desperately. "I do wish you'd just... leave me alone."
After that, time seemed to play out in slow motion. He looked down at the floor with a seemingly blank expression, before letting out a strangled cry of pain and falling to his knees before her. The walls around crumbled even more than they already were, and the floor shook aggressively as Jareth crumpled down. Her eyes widened as she watched the alarming display.
"Jareth..?" Sarah reached out a hand as if to help him, but she stopped herself. "Jareth, are you okay?"
"Clearly not, sweetheart," He spat melancholically, "Well, you got your wish." Too weak to stand, he tossed a crystal ball at her. "Treasure it." He said it almost softly. Like maybe he did truly love her. But Sarah didn't have much time to ponder on it, because after his head slumped down and the life faded from his eyes for the final time, the light was Medusa. All-consuming, blinding, until nothing could be seen.
"Jareth!" Sarah called out, in an attempt at being the weakest semblance of a savior. But she could not see anything through the foggy light, could not reach him in time. It was all too late. When the light faded, she ran towards him, he lay pale and unmoving in a pile of torn feathers.
The already rotting hall was now completely empty and cold, as if nothing had ever been there in the first place. Jareth was dead, and dead as dead could be, Sarah did not know how to bring him back.
~☆★☆~