Labyrinth: Saving the Fallen City

Epilogue

A cry woke me up. Darkness of sleep surrounded me and my heart pounded. I sat up quickly in my bed and pulled out my sword. I held the candle on my bedside table up and illuminated the darkness. My heart settled then and was replaced by a tired smile. My scare was caused by Jareth.

He sat on the other side of the room cradling Elliana. The whimpering enfant cried out in her father's arms. "Sarah! I broke her. Oh my gosh I broke our child!" He said panicking after seeing me awake. I moved my still sore body out of bed and walked over. Jareth looked up at me and shook his head. "You shouldn't be standing. I thought I could handle it" He said. "Jareth, you have handled babies for so long, you're overreacting" I said sitting on a small dresser by the crib. "Yes, but this child is mine" He said holding the girl closer to him. I smiled at his obvious affection.

I was torn from my moment by a whimper. I stood up and walked to the crib to pick up Leegan. His crying twin must have woken him up. "You know they were right, he looks a lot like his father" I said touching the little boys nose lightly. He calmed down once I had held him for a moment. Leegan looked so peaceful as he slept, as if the entire world was right.

"See, you did it. Elliana is asleep" I said after about fifteen minutes of Jareth rocking the girl. He sighed and set her down in the crib. "Let's get some sleep before these two goblins start crying again" Jareth joked, pulling me towards our bed. I looked back at the cribs to make sure everything was alright. "They're okay" Jareth soothed and we crawled into bed. Jareth put his arms around me and I closed my eyes. "We did good" Jareth muttered before both of us fell into much needed sleep.

***

I opened my eyes and took in a deep breath as if it had been withheld from me. My hair swirled around my face from the wind and I stood with difficulty. The atmosphere was thick causing my labored breath. Something crept up my body and I clawed at my throat. It started suffocating me. My writhing was in vain as it pulled me deeper into its poisonous hold. I looked for any way out.

Finally, an eerie pull caused me to stand up and push my way forwards. I saw someone in the distance falling. A strange urge rose within me and I started running. The poison pulled at my white dress, but I shoved it away and slid along the clouds. All that I could see of the girl were her hands slipping off the edge of the cloud. I reached over the side and looked into her terrified face. It was my daughter. I threw my body against the cloud and reached for her small hands. Before she could even try, the edge snapped and she fell into the darkness below her with a cloud clutched to her chest.

"No!" I screamed watching her terrified face be swallowed up. I tried to dive off the edge after her, but the poisonous hold snatched me back. I kicked and screamed trying to get to her, but every time I tried, the poison pulled harder. It pulled me back until I was falling down a slope of the clouds. I tried to claw at the clouds to stop my fall, but it was useless.

The fall stopped then and I looked up from my sprawled position on the ground. A huge man was standing with my daughter beside him. One of his hands was around her mouth and the other was around her neck. Her eyes were unfocussed and if it weren't for the man's hold, she would have collapsed. "Please" I pleaded reached for my daughter. The man smiled at me "I warned you I would collect" A voice hissed in my ear. "No!" I screamed, standing up and running for my Elliana. The man was disappearing with her in his grasp. I jumped to catch her when the space right in front of the rippled. It was a mirror, and I went straight through.

"Momma! Momma!" Elliana yelled poking me in the cheek with her small finger. She looked at me in a panic as I heard footsteps charging down the hallway. She threw the covers off of me as I pulled her to me quickly. Elliana huddled close to me and threw the covers back over her head and giggled. My spike of fear settled when that little giggle escaped.

Leegan rushed into the room and looked around wildly. "Where is she?" He screeched. Another giggle sounded beside me and Leegan narrowed his eyes. He rushed over on his five year old feet and slapped at the covers playfully. "Tag! Your it!" He screamed at Elliana. "That's not fair! Mommy is the base!" Elliana said to her twin. "Go asked Uncle Hoggle the rules. He's an expert on this game" Jareth mumbled tiredly and they nodded. "Race ya!" Leegan yelled, already turning to run. Elliana tried to jump up but I held onto her to make sure she was still with me. "Momma he's winning!" She whined, kissing my cheek and I let her go. I love them so much.

Once their loud yells were echoes, I felt Jareth poke me lightly. "What's wrong?" He asked. I shook my head. "Nightmare" I said shivering. He pulled me to his chest and I smiled. "Nightmares aren't good for you. Especially when you have this little guy with you" He said rubbing my swollen belly. "Could you tell me what it was about?" He asked. "Elliana" I said feeling a tear in my eyes. "Jareth, something isn't right" I said nervously. "It was just a dream Sarah" He said turning me to look at him.

"I remember it was said that here dreams and reality were blurred here. This wasn't normal. I've had the dream before, on our wedding day, and also confirmation with the dark warrior-" "Where?" Jareth growled. "It was at our wedding, he told me that I made a mistake and that someone wasn't happy and they would collect. Jareth, last night was so real. Six years ago when we were married I had a dream I was dancing and then something came and kidnapped me. I fell into darkness. Before I was snatched away, someone tried to reach for me. It was me. I was in someone else's body. Last night I saw whose body I was in. It was Elliana. When I tried to save her, a man had her and he dragged her away" I sat up in the bed and stood up.

I was pacing the floor with only Jareth's long shirt on me. Fear shook me and I began crying. I wanted to go to my children right then and never let them go. I wouldn't let anything hurt them. "Elliana is safe, I am her father, and I will protect her like I protect you and Leegan to the ends of the earth" He said putting his hands gently on either side of my face and wiping away the tears. The realization hit them then about the dream. "The dream wasn't a meaningless coincidence. It was a promise" I said as he pulled me to him protectively.

And that's it! End of book one! Keep reading to the next part for the summary of the second book! Also, I want suggestions on the next book. I'll say more about it at the end of the summary.