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"You see, when someone's died, mostly they're a bit shaken or hurt, or angry, or worse. And all they need is a kind word, and a friendly face.
The Sunless Lands are far away, and the journey is hard, and most of you will be glad of the company of a friend."
Death, A Winter's Tale by Neil Gaiman
He laid on his large bed alone. Even after all this time, his bed felt too large for him without his wife next to him.
He already said goodbye and gave blessings to his posterity, making sure that his oldest daughter and heir would take his place on the throne. That they had everything they needed. That his funeral would be the way he wanted it to go: without much of a fuss but still traditional, allowing those who wanted to pay respects to do so.
For so long, he thought he wanted to make this journey with his family until the very last moment. That he wanted to have them until the last possible moment, especially as he hadn't been there the moment his wife passed, having left the room for an emergency, hating himself for letting her go alone.
Now, he wondered if that was how she wanted to go, to be left alone with her thoughts before passing this realm and into the next. It wasn't so bad, really. It gave him the opportunity to remember memories without distraction.
He closed his eyes, bidding his life farewell.
Opening his eyes, Jareth found himself on a cloud, the twinkling stars above him, stretching beyond the cosmos. He looked around, finding that he felt no longer had pain in his body. Speaking of his body, he looked down, finding himself completely naked.
At the end, each us stands naked.
At the end, each of us stands alone.
They were words he heard many times in his dealing with the Realm of Dream, but knowing this did not make it any easier.
He felt heard a whooshing sound, though he felt it more than heard it. Turning, his eyes fell upon what appeared to be a petite young woman. She had midnight-colored hair, all-black clothing in the style of the fae, a silver ankh hanging from a chain around her neck, and the Eyes of Horus and Ra painted beneath her playful eyes.
She is Death of the Endless, come to guide him on his journey to the Sunless Lands. She extended a hand to him, all warmth and peace surrounding her. "Ready to go, Jareth?"
Jareth bowed before taking it. "Lady Death. An honor to meet you. I accept your gift." He took her hand, walking beside her.
"That's awfully kind of you to say, even though you don't technically have a choice," she said lightly. She was glad that he was not frantic or fragile as many of the dead were. "How are you feeling?"
He looked down, emotions welling inside of him. It hadn't really hit him that he was no longer alive until now. "A little sad. In many ways, I have been welcoming you for a long time, but I do miss life even if I experienced it for so long compared to mortals."
The ground became colder. The journey to the Sunless Lands was not a comfortable nor simple one. But, Jareth was glad to have a friendly face accompanying him. "I used to hate the rain, but now I miss it on my face. I miss the smell of flowers in my wife's hair and the laughter of babies. I miss the energy that comes from people when they dance. I miss the hugs my children would give me. I miss the sparkling stars, the radiance of the sun, gazing at the sky in awe. Life was beautiful and glorious."
"What was your favorite part?" Death asked softly, her attention solely on him.
Jareth didn't even hesitate. "My family. I met the most beautiful, enchanting woman with the biggest heart. She made my reign easier and reminded me of the beautiful parts of life. I made her my wife and we had children together. And they have children. I miss her tremendously."
His feet started to freeze, barefoot on the now snowy ground. Death held him up, giving him a reprieve from the pain. "Sorry Jareth, it gets really hard. I'm here for you."
"I suppose it's a good thing I can't die twice, right?" He groaned. "What if I choose to not move?"
"You'll get there, it'll just be way slower and more torturous," Death said nonchalantly. "I got you though. You said your wife reminded you the beautiful parts of life?"
At the thought of his wife, his heart got a little more sad. "Yes. Sarah's her name. She made me sit in the sun or listen to the sounds of nature, taking time to appreciate the miracle that is life instead of sulking my days away as I had been doing. My job as Goblin King was not easy."
"But you gave those children homes and the humans dreams," Death said kindly. She took off her shoes and put them down so that Jareth could wear them instead. When he hesitated, she insisted. "You did a lot for them."
"I suppose I did." He didn't question how the shoes fit his feet perfectly. "Using my power to delegate dreams, I sent mortals and other beings to dream of things. Some for ambition. Some for peace. Some for comfort. Some as a warning or to make them fear."
"And inspiration to create, right?"
"Yes, I suppose so. I did my best to inspire people to create art that only they can. To take the beauties of life and craft it in some sort of art-form that only they can create. My wife did that too, as queen."
He thought of all the stories and tributes people created to the world, and it made him grateful that he had the opportunity to do something so grand.
"But for a while, you took time off as Goblin King, right? And Sarah was the sole ruler."
Jareth grinned. "That's right. As a young man, I wanted to pursue music. I didn't get that chance until I married. This was before we had children. We still stayed together, using magic to transport back and forth to meet each other when the day was done. I enjoyed creative music and touring for a while. I still made new music up until very recently."
"And you sang for your wife, didn't you?"
"She is my muse, my inspiration, and my very heart. I sang to her often. Perhaps I can do it again."
Death did not correct him on using the present tense when describing his Sarah. Jareth noticed this and was glad that for once, someone understood that even the ones gone would always feel so present.
They made their way through the highest mountains, the lowest valleys, waded through water, scorching hot lava, mosquitoes, and more. Some areas were of psychological torment and others just made him feel horrible. And yet, it was still bearable but only because Death was there to make him feel safe.
"We're almost there," she promised. "Just one last-"
She paused, lifting her head up at a sound Jareth couldn't hear. "One moment, okay? You can rest here." She took off her jacket and laid it on the floor so that it would be a little more comfortable for Jareth.
She curled her hand around the ankh. "My brother, I hold my sigil and heed your call. You may come."
Jareth watched as an incredibly tall, pale man with raven-like hair and twin stars for eyes. His dark robes were dusted with live flames at the hem, swishing around his bare feet as he walked closer.
The man was not really man. He was Dream of the Endless, Lord Shaper, the Prince of Stories, and Morpheus among other numerous names. Every Goblin King or Queen was named the Delegator of Dreams as a pact with Lord Shaper, and Jareth had been well-acquainted with him.
He stopped in front of Death. "Sister, I have come to take the Late Goblin King to my realm."
Death raised an eyebrow. "He belongs in my realm now."
Dream lowered his voice so that Jareth couldn't hear them. "I made a pact with his wife and must honor it."
Death resigned, rolling her eyes a bit. "You could have told me that before I dragged him across the long journey. Like you did for Sarah."
"I know. I thought…" His voice trailed off uncomfortably. "I thought it would be easier for him to see you. It was quite traumatic for her to not see you. I am... not as gentle as you are."
Death tilted her head to one side, studying her younger brother. He usually did not care that much for whether someone was in deep distress or not. "Yeah, I guess that's true. But remember, everyone comes to my realm eventually."
Dream inclined his head towards her respectfully. "Of course."
Death looked at him one last time. "Well, I'll make myself scarce then."
She approached Jareth again. "Hey bud, I gotta go. I'll see you again one day, okay? Thank you for telling me about how your life was. I enjoyed listening to you."
Jareth couldn't even speak, panic settling in as Death held his hand once more then disappeared.
Dream approached him. "King Jareth."
Jareth stood, not caring about how he appeared naked and alone, very much not like the king that he was. "Lord Shaper."
Morpheus stared at him with unblinking eyes. "It is time."
Jareth folded his arms, scrunching eyebrows in a pout. Only he had the audacity to openly display such imprudence to one of the seven Endless while knowing exactly who they were and what they could do to him. "Where is Death?"
Morpheus raised his head, his chin angled out. Unlike his sister, he had far less patience. "She will not come. Your work here, with the mortals, it is done. Let us return to the Realm of Dream." He extended a welcoming hand to Jareth, waiting patiently.
The Realm of Dream? Now this was unexpected indeed. But he did not show it.
"She will not finish taking you today," Morpheus repeated, his tone impatient. "So you will either stay here in this barren wasteland or come with me."
Jareth looked at him with uncertainty one last time, then laid his hand upon Lord Shaper's.
In the twinkling of an eye, they disappeared from the space between worlds and inside Lord Shaper's throne room. He had been here many times before as Lord Shaper's ambassador to the Faerie realm or the mortal realm. As a king to another king. But never as one of the subjects.
For this reason, the throne room seemed much more large and grand than before. The long, elegant marble stairs lead up to the throne were gleaming with untainted beauty. The ceiling, if you could even call it that, was the sky itself. Planets long gone and stars that will come echo up high. The stained-glass windows had depictions of nature, beautiful things that he and Death had spoken to each other about. He looked down, finding that he was wearing clothing that he used to wear when he was alive.
As the Goblin King, he was granted the option to come to this realm when he died but he hadn't chosen to. From experience, he knew the Dreamworld was much more terrifying than that of Death's Realm. Would he have a place here? Or would he just waste away until he asked for Death to come back for him? "Why am I here, Lord?"
Morpheus sat upon his throne. "I have made a pact with your wife to bring you here."
Jareth didn't understand, a lump in his throat. "My wife?"
Dream nodded, angling his head to look behind Jareth. Jareth turned, mouth agape at the sight.
At the end of the stairs was the beautiful woman he had ever seen. A dark-haired beauty with loving jade eyes, rosy complexion, and a smile that made him enjoy being alive.
Sarah.
His Champion. His queen. His wife. His love.
He ran, arms outstretched. She ran towards him too, meeting him in the middle. They kissed, savoring the familiar feel of each other. She smelled like sunshine and lavender, her body fitting into his embrace like a piece of a puzzle. Jareth rested his forehead on Sarah's. "Oh, how I've missed you, my love."
Sarah rubbed her nose to him. She looked just as she did before she became ill. "I missed you too."
Still holding her, he looked behind, finding that Morpheus had disappeared. He turned back to Sarah. "Lord Shaper said you made a pact with him?"
She nodded, taking his hand and walked down the steps. "I know that you blamed yourself when I died. I wish you hadn't, I was fine."
Jareth frowned. "But you were alone when you died."
"No, not really," she smiled. "Because I always had you. You had responsibilities and I wanted to rest. Anyway, I asked Lord Shaper to bring me here so that I could see you and tell you myself in a familiar place."
How thoughtful she was, and how well she knew him. "Here you are, always thinking of me."
She hugged him again. "What do you want to do now? Do you still want to ask for Death?"
That was part of the Goblin Monarch contract: they could choose to go to Death's realm at any time, though they would eventually end up there once the world of dreams ended with the rest of the universe.
Jareth had thought he did, had wanted to fight Lord Shaper at first. But, seeing Sarah here and now, maybe they could do more work here in the world of dreams. To inspire more hope in the living. He stroked her hair with adoration. "Didn't we promise each other that we would have adventures together for as long as we can? Let us make the best of the world of dreams."
Sarah took his hand, pulling him down the stairs. "I knew you would say that. Let's introduce you to the citizens of Dream."
Iliana, the new Queen of the Goblins bowed her head. No tears fell from her face, but her husband and children knew that she would shed them once she was alone. She gave him one last kiss on his forehead. "Safe journeys, Papa."
She had to remain strong. She showed her emotions freely, but did not waver in her duties as the new queen or the oldest child of her parents, leading through the rituals as was required by tradition.
Iliana watched as her siblings and their children dressed her father. They cleaned him, speaking to him as if he was still there. He wore his favorite clothing. She applied makeup on his face, smiling at the light touch of glitter that he insisted on always wearing. She placed his horned sigil over his head. After her own coronation, she would receive this same sigil by Lord Shaper in a dream, accepting her as her parents' successor.
His body would lay in state for thirteen days. After that, he would be buried next to his wife between two peach trees in their Mini Paradise, as Sarah had called it. It was a hidden pond he had constructed for her when they married. The children had visited there a few times, but mostly kept out of it due to respect. In the coming years and months, they would enjoy this place where Jareth and Sarah had retreated for love.
She would lead the kingdom through mourning. No doubt many will weep, as the late king had done so much for the kingdom. Him and his queen. The Goblin King dwelled in between the Realm of Dreams and the Faerie realm, a place where those who did not quite fit came. Those who were rejected or cast aside from their own. The Lost and the Lonely, like their king had been. Here, they found that despite their differences, they could be one. They could find everlasting friendship and love. She intended to keep it that way and to improve upon it as best as she could.
She held a photograph of her parents, looking into each other's eyes with adoring love. She touched both of their faces. "I'll see you two in my dreams."
With Lord Shaper's permission, the late Goblin King and Queen hosted a ball.
That night, Jareth and Sarah spent part of their time entertaining guests, but mostly in each other's arms. The songs played were all Jareth's compositions. Everyone knew that while this ball was under the guise of introducing the late king to the Dreamworld, that its true purpose was to shower love upon his queen.
He leaned into her ear, singing a song he had composed for her. "But I'll be there for you, as the world falls down."
And that night, everyone that dreamed, dreamed of hope. Dreamed of life.
Dreamed of love.