The Reference Ch. 20

Chapter 20: Immortality Rites

"I have to what?" Sarah deadpanned.

Jareth let out a sigh and tightened his grip on her hand. "I promise to be there with you the entire time and Healer Orin will be supervising the procedure. I trust him with my life… with your life."

Sarah sat completely still; the blank look on her face mirrored the still waters of her thoughts. "I – I have to die in order to live forever?" she stuttered.

"Sarah, I know this sounds bad, and I'll admit that it is risky, but the council requires it. We're on their good side right now and we don't want to jeopardize that."

"Jareth, you can't honestly tell me you want me to do this because the High Council told you to do it. I know you, rules are meant to be broken and just how the hell am I suppose to live if I have to die?"

"I confess that the idea of being with you forever is quite appealing to me. I had hoped that it would be to you too."

Sarah narrowed her eyes and pulled her hand away from Jareth's. "Don't you dare try to play the victim in this, Jareth! You know I love you, but excuse me if I'm having trouble dealing with the fact that I'll be dying in a couple days!"

"Tomorrow actually…" he mumbled.

"What…" she deadpanned.

"The procedure has been scheduled for tomorrow because the High Council sent a message saying they would be here two days hence to make sure their orders are being carried out."

"I… Jareth, I can't do this," she stuttered, a wave of fear enveloping her.

"Yes you can, Sarah," he encouraged, taking hold of her hand once more. "You are the bravest person I know. As I understand the procedure, you'll only be clinically dead for a couple of minutes at most."

"And just how do you go about killing me? And have you thought of how this will affect Herm?"

"Yes, we have thought about how it will affect Herm and Healer Orin believes that it will be fine because it will be with you during the procedure and because of the limited amount of time you'll actually be dead. As for how we…" he paused.

"See! You can't even say it!"

"An injection… Healer Orin will give you an injection."

"Jareth…"

"Do you want to stay here with me?" he paused again. "You told me you would."

"I…" she stuttered. "Yes, I still want to stay with you."

"Then you have to trust me. I would never allow this if I didn't think Healer Orin couldn't do it."

"I do trust you, Jareth, but you can't blame me for being scared."

"No, I don't blame you in the slightest," he shifted forward on the bed and wrapped his arms around her shivering form.

"You have to admit though," she said into his shoulder. "It is rather ironic that I was so afraid of brain surgery only a week ago and now I willingly go to my death."

Jareth pulled back, a grin on his sharp-planed features. "Yes, it is a bit ironic isn't it?"

Sarah pulled back slightly and looked up into Jareth's mismatched eyes. She could remember when she first noticed the difference in her kitchen back in her apartment. That seemed so long ago now, but it had only been a little over four weeks. So much had changed since then. It was baffling to think that a month ago she'd thought Jareth to only be a figment of her imagination and the Underground to be existent only in fairytales. Now it seemed like anything was possible. The door between reality and fantasy had been blasted open; what once wasn't fathomable was now just another facet of the new world she was coming to know.

She leaned back into his embrace, wrapping her own arms around him. "Jareth?"

"Yes, my dear?"

"Tell me you love me."

It was Jareth's turn to pull back a little. He looked down into the pale face of the woman he'd come to love and smiled. His lips touched the end of her nose as he leaned forward to kiss her. "How to express something so large is not an easy task, but I shall try." He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sarah, I have lived a very long life by your standards. However in all those years, I've never felt anything like what I feel towards you. You have inserted yourself into my life and I find it difficult to think about life without you now. You're in my heart; you're in my soul. You'll be my breath should I grow old. You are my lover; you're my best friend."

She smiled, "That's Rod Stewart."

Jareth smirked, "What can I say? He phrased it quite well." He took hold of one of her hands and pressed it against his chest over his heart. She could feel the steady thump as the muscle pumped blood through it. "Do you feel that?" She nodded. "It's yours… I believe it has been since we first met ten years ago. I love you, Sarah."

Sarah traced her fingers from Jareth's temple to jaw line then leaned forward to press her lips to the corner of his mouth. "Thank you," she whispered and proceeded to press soft kisses along his jaw until she got to his lips.

He let her lead the kiss, content to allow her to physically reciprocate his verbal declaration.

o O o O o O o

"If you keep pacing like that you'll wear a hole in the floor," Jackie commented from her seat in the King's sitting room.

"Liar," Sarah retorted as she passed by, hands clasped behind her back.

"Hey!" Jackie held up her hands defensively. "Just telling you what my mother used to tell me."

Sarah paused in front of Jackie, unclasped her hands, and took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, just a little nervous I guess. I just wish…"

"Stop! Please don't finish that, my dear," a deep voice requested from the doorway. Sarah whirled about to see that Jareth had just entered the room. "No wishes until you learn to control your magic."

"Sorry," she twisted her hands in front of her.

Jareth smiled at the woman before him as he approached her. He tilted her head up with a finger below her chin and kissed her chastely. "Healer Orin is ready for us," he said taking hold of her hand.

She took another deep breath and nodded. "Lets do it."

Jackie stood to follow them out the door. The walk to the healer's quarters didn't take as long as Sarah would've liked and she soon found herself being ushered to a bed set slightly apart from the others. A tray filled with multicolored bottles, several sterile cloths, and needles sat on a nearby table in easy reach of Healer Orin who was mixing two liquids with a stirring rod. "If you'll lie down we'll get started after I'm done preparing this," he said trying for a reassuring smile, but Sarah didn't notice as she sat uneasily on the bed.

"You can do this; Jackie and I will be here the entire time. I promise," Jareth encouraged her as she lay back against the propped up pillows.

Jackie smiled as well and rested her hand on Sarah's knee. Hermaphroditus was reassuring too from his perch coiled around her arm. Healer Orin moved around the end of the bed, a needle and a sterile cloth in his hand. "Lady Sarah, I'm going to tell you how the procedure is going to go and what to expect. While I do so, I want you to focus on relaxing. It will hurt less if your muscles aren't tense." Sarah nodded and took a few deep breaths, imagining all the tension in her body flowing out on the exhale. "Good, now, I'm going to give you an injection with a lethal dose of poison. As the poison works through your system, you'll feel some pain, but it will be brief. The pain should fade away within a minute and be replaced by numbness then fatigue. It is at this point that you will most likely fall unconscious. After another couple of minutes, the poison will have worked its way through your system and you will be technically dead. However I will be injecting you with a potion right before the poison claims you.

"I'll admit that the timing is essential and it is this part that is the most risky. I am confident in my abilities though, so you have nothing to fear. The potion I'll be injecting you with is the key to immortality and while you are technically dead, it will be working its way through your body to transform it. The potion only works when the blood is still, which is why you must be dead. There will come a point once the potion has settled into every last centimeter of you when I will inject you with adrenaline. The introduction of the adrenaline in combination to the potion is what will awaken you, so to speak. You'll still be unconscious, but you will be reborn as an immortal.

"You can expect to be unconscious for about twenty-six hours. There shouldn't be any dramatic changes in your psyche, but there might be some physical changes. It is possible that you will take on some of the features of a fae.

"Now, I suggest we get started. I will explain more of what comes with immortality tomorrow when you wake up."

Sarah nodded and watched as Healer Orin swabbed the crook of her elbow with iodine then raised the needle and pressed it against her skin. She turned away right before it pierced through to look at Jareth and Jackie, the former holding tightly to her hand and the latter resting a hand on her knee. "I love you both," she said.

She felt a gentle tugging as the needle left her arm and despite what Healer Orin had told her, she tensed in preparation for the pain. There was no mistaking it when it did come. She only had to wait a minute before it lanced through her like a bolt of lightening. Gasping for air, she fell back against the pillows, one hand clenching the bed the other squeezing Jareth's hand tightly. Her teeth ground together to prevent herself from screaming. Her entire body tensed and lifted from the bed. The pain stopped just as quickly as it came though and she fell back with a thump.

There was no more pain… no more anything. She couldn't even feel Jareth's hand in hers or Jackie's hand on her knee. She looked down to make sure they were still there. Jareth's hands were still wrapped around hers, but she couldn't feel it at all. She blinked and had trouble opening her eyes again. It was getting difficult to breath. Her head dropped back to the pillow and her eyes closed. She couldn't open them again.

Healer Orin placed his index and middle finger on her wrist to check her pulse. "Her pulse is slowing. She'll be dead in a couple of minutes." He reached for another needle on the tray beside him. The clear tube behind the needle held a smoky purple liquid. He placed it at the crook of her elbow and waited… feeling the beat of her pulse slow.

"What are you waiting for? Give it to her," Jareth commanded, feeling the pulse point of her other wrist.

"It must be delivered the moment before death. If it's too soon, it will be ineffective, too late and the heart can't give it that final pump to spread it through the body."

Silence filled the room; the only sound was the unsteady rattling of Sarah's slowing breath. Jackie fidgeted nervously, clenching and unclenching her fists. Jareth kept one hand on Sarah's wrist, the other holding her hand, his eyes glued to her ashen face. "Wait for it…" Healer Orin muttered. Sarah's breath stuttered; her pulse fluttered. "Now." He slid the needle beneath her skin and quickly depressed the potion into her body. Her heart gave one last thump then laid still.

Jareth inched closer to the head of the bed and gently ran the back of his hand along her cheek. "Sarah…" he muttered.

"How will we know when to inject the adrenaline?" Jackie asked, her face paler than usual.

"You'll notice the ashen pallor to her skin right now; it's a result of the poison. The potion will restore her skin's natural healthy look, it even gives it a kind of glow… literally. That is when we'll know she's ready."

Jackie nodded. "How're you doing up there Herm?" she asked trying to distract herself.

My Mistress… I cannot feel her. I – I feel hallow… empty… unsure of what to do. the small dragon stuttered, raising its head to look at Jackie.

"It'll be okay. She'll be back in a little bit… hopefully."

It was uncertain whether she was trying to reassure the dragon or herself, but everyone in the room could feel the strain. They were all searching for any sign that the potion was working. "Look," Jareth whispered five minutes later.

He pointed at the sight of the injection. The skin around the crook of Sarah's elbow was different than the surrounding skin. It looked healthy and seemed to have a kind of light radiating from within. "It's working," Healer Orin grinned. "This means we did it! We just have to wait now for the rest of her body to look like this."

Slowly, but surely, the healthy look spread over Sarah's body. If it wasn't for the fact that she wasn't breathing, one could almost assume she was just napping. "Check her toes, they'll be the last to change," Healer Orin ordered.

Jackie moved down to the end of the bed and removed one of the doeskin slippers Sarah was wearing. "Yes, it's all the way down here. Even the very tips of her toes are glowing." She smiled.

"Then she is ready," the elf said and reached for the last needle on the tray. He carefully inserted it in the crook of Sarah's elbow and depressed the syringe. The liquid emptied into her and he pulled the needle back out. "There, she should start breathing again in a minute… then we just have to wait."

Every being in the room; human, elf, fae, and dragon, waited with bated breath. Every eye watched for the telltale rise and fall of her chest. "There…" the healer whispered.

The other three pairs of eyes widened as another breath was taken and the lungs expanded, moving the chest cavity with them. "You did it…" Jackie muttered, not taking her eyes from Sarah's slumbering form. She suddenly jumped up and hurried around the end of the bed to hug Healer Orin. "YOU DID IT!"

The healer let out a startled grunt as she held tight to him. "Yes… I did, didn't I?" He hesitated for a moment before hugging the small woman back. They held tightly to each other as they both watched Sarah breathing. "We might as well get some rest," Healer Orin stated. "She'll be out of it until this time tomorrow."

"Yes…" Jareth moved to sit on the closest bed.

"You don't have to stay with her, your Majesty. She's out of the worst danger now. I expect she'll pull through nicely."

"I'd rather stay beside her," he responded not taking his eyes from the soft features of her face.

"Of course," Healer Orin bowed slightly to his king. "I shall inform Lord Utgard of the success of the procedure then retire."

"Thank you, Orin. Would you also tell him I'm grateful for his taking over my duties while I'm with Sarah as well?"

"I will, Sire. I bid thee good night," he bowed again and led Jackie out of the room.

Jareth moved the bed he was sitting on closer to Sarah's until there was almost no perceivable space between them. Lying down, he magically changed into his sleeping attire, a pair of loose cotton pants, and intertwined his fingers with Sarah's. "Rest well, my Queen…"

o O o O o O o

"Lord Jareth! You are needed in the throne room," an urgent voice said accompanied by a slight shaking of the shoulder.

Jareth groaned and made to sit up. Who would dare to wake their king in his bedchamber? Groggy eyes opened to see plain cream-colored walls… definitely not the tapestries found in his room. Then it all came rushing back to him and his eyes darted to Sarah's slumbering form. She had not moved an inch from last night, but he could see minute physical differences in her visage. Her skin was slightly paler, her lips more rouged, her eyebrows swooped up slightly (though not as dramatically as in a full-blooded fae), and there were pale markings on her eyelids almost like soft bruises. Overall, the changes made her appear to be a delicate china doll. He marveled over the changes and raised his hand to gently run his fingers down her bare arm. Silk and satin… that's what her skin felt like. "Your Majesty?" the servant asked breaking through Jareth's fascination with the woman before him. He snapped around, a frown set on his face. The elvin servant cringed back slightly, but held his ground. "Sire, you are needed in the throne room."

"Can Lord Utgard not take care of it?" he demanded reluctant to leave Sarah's side.

"He is the one requesting your presence, Sire."

Jareth sighed, but stood and made a motion with his hand resulting in his regular garb appearing on his lean body. The servant did not wait to be instructed and simply led the way from the healer's quarters to the throne room. It was evident from the windows they passed that it was well into the morning hours. When they arrived in the throne room, it was to find a very unexpected guest. Lord Utgard stood before the throne, his face carefully trying to stay blank, but his animosity toward their guest was tangible. Jareth marched forward with as much dignity as he could muster after being awoken only a few minutes ago and came to a stop beside Lord Utgard who stepped down a step in deference to his king. "To what do we owe this visit, King Zuul? I hope you don't think me fickle enough to have changed my mind about your offer?"

King Zuul, High King of the UnSeelie, was dressed regally in black with silver trim. His clothing was reminiscent of the Aboveground's Regency era. He gave a low chuckle before answering, his broad shoulders moving his knee-length cloak as he did so. "Oh no, Lord Jareth… I only ever make offers like that once. You passed by your chance. Why? Feeling remorseful?"

"Not by a long shot," he retorted raising a swooped eyebrow. "Lets cut to the chase, Lord Zuul. Why don't you tell me why you're here?"

"Important things to do, lad?" he smirked. Jareth glared at him. "Ah, yes, your precious little mortal… how is she?"

"Your purpose here, Lord Zuul," Jareth demanded, refraining from fisting his gloved hands.

"Yes, yes… I see you won't be sidetracked. I am here with another offer, Lord Jareth. One completely unrelated to my last."

"Oh?" Jareth crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes, I would like to join our forces in the search for a fae I believe is a mutual acquaintance of ours."

"Todd…" Jareth muttered. Lord Zuul nodded. "What would you get out of it?" Jareth asked.

"Todd failed me and is avoiding his punishment. Though I am loath to admit it, my forces need help finding him. You would get the pleasure of knowing your enemy is captured and I would receive the pleasure of ending his life."

Jareth was silent for a moment. Working with the UnSeelie was a repulsive thought by itself however the end result would almost be worth it. Knowing Todd was dead and unable to hurt Sarah again would indeed be a prize. But could he sentence a fae to death like that and still live with himself? The answer was obvious, yes… if it meant Sarah would be safe… then yes. "Have you any idea where he might be?" Jareth asked.

"We've tracked him to the Aboveground, but you know as well as I how restrictive the boundary between worlds is when letting fae through. By the time, I amassed a large enough search party on the other side, Todd could have returned to the Underground."

Jareth nodded. The boundary between worlds only allowed a certain amount of magic through at a time. It was possible for up to five fae to travel at once, but that depended on how much magic they had. If they were more powerful, like himself or Kind Zuul, then fewer could travel at once. Goblins, however held very little magic and many could be transported at once. "If I dispatch my goblins to help you retrieve Todd, I will need your oath that they will not be harmed by your UnSeelie."

"Of course not! The little cretins are nearly UnSeelie as it is and we don't harm our own… not often anyway."

Jareth supposed this was the best he could hope for. "Then yes, I will provide reinforcements in the search for Todd."

"I'm impressed, Lord Jareth! You didn't even feel the need to consult your precious High Council!"

"Is it really necessary to insult me right after I've agreed to help you?" Jareth snapped.

King Zuul smirked, "It's my nature, King Jareth. Pardon me."

Jareth scoffed. "A battalion of my goblins will be waiting for you on the south edge of the Labyrinth tomorrow at dawn."

"I thank you, Goblin King. Your battalion will be returned as soon as Todd is in my custody."

"You're welcome, UnSeelie King. Now if you'll excuse me, I do have important things to attend to."

"Oh yes, your mortal. Do send my greetings to her. She is a pretty thing… for a mortal that is."

"I believe it's time you left, King Zuul."

The UnSeelie High King chuckled again. "As you wish, King Jareth."

And with that, he disappeared in a cloud of dark smoke. Once it had cleared, Jareth turned to Lord Utgard. "Arrange for a battalion of goblins to be ready by tomorrow morning, and make sure they're armed. I don't trust the UnSeelie King."

"Yes, your Majesty," Lord Utgard bowed low then left to make the preparations.

Jareth sunk down into his throne, one hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. It would still be another seven hours or so until Sarah was expected to awaken. He looked up at the large clock with thirteen numerals around the edge. Why was it that thirteen hours could pass so quickly when there was a runner, but when he was waiting for something truly important, time slowed down?

Annoyed with himself, Jareth pushed up out of his throne and marched out of the room. He'd been back in the Underground for nearly a week and what had he done? Appoint a chief of staff so that he could do all the work? Damn if it wasn't true so far! Determined to do something productive while he waited for Sarah, Jareth went straight to his office, of which he had not visited since his return to the Underground. He opened the paneled dark wooden door expecting a mountain of paperwork on his desk, but was surprised to see Lord Utgard sitting there jotting something down with a quill. Lord Utgard looked up when he heard the King's entrance. "My lord, is there something I can do for you?"

"What are you doing?" Jareth asked after a long pause, still standing in the doorway.

"I'm reviewing the commerce report from the Goblin City." Another long pause. "I'm sorry to have taken over your desk. I'm arranging for my own office next door, but it's taking a bit longer than expected. Did you need the room?"

"No, no… I just thought I'd start to catch up on the workload since I've been gone, but I see that you have everything in hand."

"Yes well, I'd just finished giving the orders for the battalion and I was just getting started up here."

"Thank you, Lord Utgard. I appreciate everything you've done for me, both when I was not here and since my return."

"T'was my duty, Sire."

"Send a messenger if you have need me," Jareth said before backing out the door.

It seemed Lord Utgard was quite capable of taking care of the day-to-day things. However that left Jareth with little to nothing to do. "Sarah…" he whispered quietly. It was difficult being away from her, but she wasn't very good company at the moment, perhaps if he were to bring along some reading material. Decision made, Jareth went back to his office, requested the summary reports since the beginning of his absence, and then made his way back to the healer's quarters to read and wait.