Dying Breath (Labyrinth Fanfic) (UNEDITED VERSION)

Chapter 13 - Dullahan

Sarah's POV:

I bolted upright and Jareth leapt off the bed. I looked at him and he just stared at the messenger.

"What do you mean?" He asked. The messenger shook in his boots as he said,

"Jut what I said, your highness. The Trolls have untied and are waging battle against the Banshees and now the Fae as the Fae king as agreed to fight with the Banshees. Now, am I excused?" Jareth waved him away and started to pace. I never had seen him completely surprised at something.

Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and before I could blink we teleported to the throne room. He stalked up to his father who was standing alone in the room and said,

"Father, what is going on? Why are the Trolls coming?" I hadn't ever seen him without an answer. He always had answers. He just did. That was Jareth. He wasn't always polite about what he knew but it had become something I could always trust. But now, he didn't seem to have answers. He seemed confused.

Maitland turned his back to his son and said,

"Jareth, I don't know. The Trolls have united. They haven't ever in their whole existence united. It isn't their nature to join themselves in a large group. I don't understand it." Jareth sighed and flopped down on his father's throne. I frowned at the way he draped himself over the arms.

Maitland laughed.

"You haven't changed, Jareth. Sarah, he always did that when he was younger. Him and his riding crop. You know, you really need to get a horse if you are going to keep the riding crop." Jareth glared at his father and said,

"I see no reason. It's great for thinking." I tried to keep myself calm as the tapping noise started to get on my nerves.

"And for getting on my nerves." I whispered to myself and crossed my arms. Maitland laughed at my statement. I believed Jareth choose to ignore it.

He suddenly said,

"Father, who was the one person that the Trolls would unite under? The one thing that could get them to bond?" Maitland frowned for a moment then said,

"No one, Son. No one at all. Nothing can get them to unite." Jareth's mismatched eyes glittered as he rose from the throne, ridding crop still tapping against his thigh.

"That isn't the correct answer. There is one. One and one only." He conjured a crystal ball and drew up a picture. He smirked and the ball vanished. Maitland looked at him and his face paled with horror.

"No, we killed them all. We dealt with them. They can't still be around. They have been gone for nine hundred years. Ever since we left the Aboveground." Jareth sighed and walked over to my side. He took my hand and absentmindedly started to rub it.

"Father, they are still alive. One must be. Only they could get the Trolls to come together. I looked at him and said,

"Who are you talking about?" He frowned and said,

"Dullahan." I looked up at him, very puzzled. I had no idea who or what the Dullahan were but I got the idea that I didn't want to meet them. The men noticed my confusion and Jareth quickly said,

"The Dullahan is a monster of sorts. He is a headless horseman. He rides a black horse and is dressed in black. He carries his head around with him. the head is a gruesome piece of work. Not much to look at. His riding whip is made of a human spine. He is something like death. Very creepy." I nodded and wrinkled my nose at the thought of it. It didn't sound appealing.

"What happened to them?" I asked.

"We killed the mall. They can be killed. They are immortal like us and not like the Banshees. They could be killed and kill them we did. You see, we were the ruling race before the humans drove us away. We kept the Goblins, Dullahan, and other such things under control.

"For the goblins we set up a king." He gestured to Jareth. "But the Dullahan wouldn't agree to it. We even said they could choose the king but they refused. The humans wanted us all gone and we knew better than to leave the Dullahan to run loose on the Aboveground. So, we waged war with them and in the end, many of them died. We thought we had gotten them all. Unfortunately for us, it seemed we missed one."

Jareth hissed slightly and rubbed my hand faster.

"What can we do! We haven't the strength to fight them, do we?" Maitland shrugged his shoulders.

"We might. Our Fae army is quite good and well trained. I would prefer that your goblin army was ready though, Son. I would feel better to have some backup." Jareth nodded shortly and stopped rubbing my hand.

"Very well. We shall return tomorrow afternoon. I shall ready my army and await your message. Come, Sarah." One moment we were standing in the throne room and the next we were both lying on the bed in our room.

I blushed at our closeness but blushed even more when he pulled me closer. I was forced to lay my hand on his stomach and I realized how fit this guy was. I mean, he had it made in the looks department. I leaned my head against his chest and yawned. It had been a stressful night and not one I wanted to repeat.

Jareth massaged my shoulders a bit with one hand and whispered,

"Go to sleep. You need your rest." I yawned and before I fell asleep, I asked,

"What is going to happen now that the Trolls are united under a Dullahan?" He shrugged and held me close, close enough that I could hear his  beating heart. I realized then that mine was racing.

"Nothing good, precious, Nothing good."