Dying Breath (Labyrinth Fanfic) (UNEDITED VERSION)

Chapter 28 - Runner

Jareth’s POV:

I stared at the old man. I was his son? Now, this made no sense. He couldn’t be my father. Maitland had been a DUllahan and I naturally supposed he had done away with my father. I was sure he had killed him. He couldn’t have turned him into a human.

I looked the old man over and suddenly, I didn’t see an old man. I saw a tall, black-haired man in his prime. His dark eyes glowed with the youth of life and vigor though there was age written in them as well. Ages of the years.

I stared at him and again all I saw was an old man in a tattered overalls with a long gray beard. I drew back from him and force a picture of me into his mind. A picture of a Goblin King. He laughed,

“Just like I remembered you. Strong and young, my dear son.” Once again he changed into the Fae man. This time he stayed like that. I glanced over at the woman at the desk and she smiled at me before looking back to her work.

She must have only seen the old man. I was about to ask another question when the doctor appeared in the doorway of the waiting room and said,

“Sir, the lady you brought here is now in stable condition. I would advise for you to leave her here for several days to make sure no infection sets in. She had a pretty bad wound. Now, I would advise you to go back to your home and come back in the morning.”

I stood up and shook my head.

“No, I can’t. I want to see her. May I please?” I begged him. I wasn’t used to having to play a human. I didn’t like begging at all. The doctor sighed and said,

“Sure, you may. She is asleep but you may at least see her. The bleeding was stopped and I hope for her swift recovery.” I breathed a deep sigh of relief and followed him down several halls and into Sarah’s room.

Any news of my father or of Fae/Humans had been completely forgotten. I wanted to see my Sarah. My queen. My love.

When I stepped into the room, I felt pease wash over me. All my instincts told me that all was well. I used my magic to check her vital signs and was so overjoyed that I nearly collapsed to discover they were good.

It had been the Dullahan magic which had hurt her so much. I walked over to her side and took her pale hand in mine. The doctor said,

“I shall leave you be for a moment. I shall return soon.” He left and I just looked into her pale face. She would live for sure. There was no doubt of it. I would have a queen. My heart filled to overflowing with joy as I realized I wouldn’t live my life alone!

Suddenly, I felt two presences behind me. I spun around and saw the old man. Beside him was another man in his mid-forties, human age. I looked them over and the old man smiled,

“She is a pretty one, son.” I shook my head and looked back at her. I never had been so confused in my whole life. Scratch that, I never had been confused before. I was the thousand-year-old Goblin King. I didn’t get confused.

“Who are you two?” I changed into my full Fae form and prepared myself for whatever these people were. The mid-forties man shifted as well and I thought I was looking into a mirror. He laughed and the old man changed his form as well. I knew what he looked like.

“Don’t recognize me, brother?” The younger man said. I looked him over and said in disbelief,

“Gareth?” I looked over the older man and said, “Father? But, you all are dead. I was told you had died, Gareth. Father, a Dullahan took your place and I thought you were dead. What is going on here?” Gareth sat down on a chair that had appeared and smirked.

“Well, it seems that Dullahan changed us into humans about twenty years ago. He changed Father so he could get rid of him and he changed me because I knew too much.” I formed my own chair and sat down.

I closed my eyes and tried to process the information. I had had a twin brother. He looked like me and even acted like me. I was older than him by an hour and so I always thought of him as my little brother. When I had become Goblin King he had been horribly jealous of me. We had settled our differences a few years later.

I hadn’t spoken to him in nine hundred years when my father (who I know knew to be the shape-shifting Dullahan) had told me he was dead.

I looked at the two men and suddenly wrapped my arms around my brother’s neck. We had always been close and I had grieved when he died.

I pulled back and said,

“Gareth, I understand. You were made into a human somehow by the whiles of the Dullahan. But, I have one question. How can you show up in your Fae form when you are humans? Fae can’t become Fae once they have become human.” Father laughed and walked over to pat me on the back.

“Well, yes, we can. The Dullahan changed us with dark magic of theirs. Once the Dullahan is dead the magic is reversed. We are back in our Fae forms. And, the magic that forbade your wife’s blood from clotting has also been reversed. Did you get that?” I nodded. I understood most of it. It meant that I had my father and brother back.

I smiled at them and looked back at Sarah.

“Do you all want to return to the Underground and the Fae Realm?” Father looked at Gareth and nodded.

“We would like that very much. I want nothing more than to see my wife again. I thought I would die here as a human. I would be very glad to go back.” I smiled and took my wife’s hand. It took me no more than a moment to erase all memories the nurses and doctors had and then I magicked my father, brother and wife all back to the Underground.

We settled Sarah in and made her comfortable. The Fae healers attended her. I never left her side. Father returned to the Fae Realm in a few days for a tearful reunion with Mother.

Two weeks passed and life was back to normal. Sarah was slowly recovering and the Goblins were back to their normal drinking and racket making. Yes, life was back to normal.

Gareth stayed with me and refused to leave. He declared that he would prefer to stay with his twin brother than to return to the Fae Realm.

I settled back against a chair and looked over at the sleeping form of Sarah. Gareth had been running the kingdom while I watched over Sarah. I wouldn’t leave her side.

I twirled a lock of her hair around my finger and said,

“Oh, my love, I thought I had lost you. I thought you were gone.” I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She shifted around and drifted into a deeper sleep. I smiled leaned back.

The door to our rooms opened and Gareth walked through. I looked up at him and he said,

“Jareth, there is trouble.” I frowned. I had grown to hate that word. It was a horrible word to me.

“What trouble?” He chuckled and looked over at Sarah.

“A runner in the Labyrinth.”

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Author’s Note:

HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know this chapter is a little weird. I needed to put a lot in one chapter to make my idea work. Oh well, my specialty. I do have plans *rubs hand together and grins evilly*. There is something very important about this runner. Okay, no more information. I just wanted to say that the credit for this idea goes to queenieforever as she gave it to me without meaning to. THANKS QUEENIEFOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sarahlet2999