201 Guilt And Regre

CHAPTER 201

*****

A while ago, a pair of eyelids blinked open, revealing a pair of green orbs staring into space. Immediately, Jareth got up with his hand on his head and scanned his environment.

'What a fall I had. Where I am by the way?' he asked himself.

He looked up, his eyes zeroing on the mist that looked as though it was descending. He widened his eyes as he looked around.

"Bloody mage! I can't believe she threw me right in," Jareth caused, lamenting to himself.

"Jareth!"

'I just heard my name.'

"Who is there? Come out."

"Jareth…" the soft voice called again.

"Astrid? No, that can't be right."

He held his bag strap tight, clutching it close to his chest as his eyes slammed shut.

'Do not listen to the voice. Focus, think straight, think straight and it would be alright.' He chanted in his mind as he took the first step forward.

"I need to find Astrid first, then we can look for a way out of this place or forge a path out. Either way, we must leave this valley alive. Please be safe, Astrid, please be safe."

About two hours later, there was no sign of Astrid or the beast, but Jareth kept on walking ahead, humming a simple melody in his mind. He tried his best to stay focused and blocked out the voice calling his name.

Unfortunately for him, the further he went, the more the voices became louder. In that chaos of voices calling his name, Jareth heard a soft one that broke his concentration and drew him in.

"Jareth."

"Brother? Is that you?"

"It is I. Don't you want to see me?"

"It isn't real. Brother can't be here," he lied to himself.

He knew it was his brother, but he had to refute his statement in hopes of still keeping his soul intact. Little did he know, that a simple answer was all it took to endear one in.

"A lie you tell yourself, like the many ones you tell others, isn't that right JARETH!"

"Go away. I am not lying."

"That is what you want to believe, but you and I know that is not the truth."

"You are dead."

"And you are in the valley of lost souls," the voice replied him, this time louder than before.

"By accident," he said countering the voice.

"Call it fate. Or was it also an accident that made your paths collide? Hahaha…"

The laughter and the voice suddenly faded away, but what was left, was an elf boy in his teens, standing at Jareth's back.

"BOO!"

Jareth immediately turned and moved away from the person in front of him.

"Still too slow. If it was a battle case, you would have been dead before you even had the time to attack or defend yourself," the elf boy said to Jareth while crossing his arms on his chest.

"Even after all these years, even as a spirit you are still bullying me whenever you get the chance to."

"Nothing like that."

"You still keep denying? Hmm, I see you love the name I gave you, the way it sounds when she calls it. You used to dislike me calling you that but now…"

"You left. You promised not to ever leave me. But you broke that promise, along with the many others you made," Jareth lashed out at him, as he interrupted his statement.

The boy only sighed and stared lovingly at his brother's eyes. Jareth's pair of green ones were laced with pain and sorrow as he let his emotions, his pain wash over him.

"I am sorry. Sorry I couldn't keep all those promises. Sorry for making you live a life full of sorrows and pain."

"I shouldn't be mad at you, but it felt so easy to be, then let the guilt take over. If I hadn't made that request then, you wouldn't have left and ended up being brutally killed. Why didn't you refuse my request? Do you know how much it hurt every single day without you, knowing fully well that I am to blame?"

Tears filled Jareth's eyes as he looked at the young boy in his front. So much pain coursed through his body as he stared at what should have been if not for his request.

"You blamed yourself every single day since then?"

"I tried not to, I tried to blame you for leaving me, us, but as the days passed by and turned to years and our family drifted apart… The guilt came stronger with each passing day. I am to blame."

"No. Do not ever blame yourself. I would never want you to leave a life full of guilt and pain. I never once blamed you. Everything I did. I did because I loved you, my little brother."

"It still hurts, till this day," Jareth confessed as he looked at the boy, mirroring the pain in his eyes.

********

Meanwhile, as Jareth was faced with his own pain, Astrid and Snow were about finding their way out.

"Jareth was right. This place is dangerous," Snow said, snuggling closer to Astrid's chest.

Astrid closed her eyes, ignoring the Snow's remark and tried to connect with her powers in order to find a path.

"Wait, Jareth…"

Astrid said as her eyes popped open and her gaze quickly left the little white Tiger-Phoenix beast and darted around them.

"Enh? What, is it master?"

"I… I feel him."

"What! Master, are you sure…"

Before Snow could complete his sentence, Astrid got up and walked in the opposite direction.

"Wait, master. Are you sure it is not the valley playing tricks on you? We left Jareth a while ago."

"No, I am sure. I could sense him, feel a thug in my chest at his pain."

As she hurried along, the mist began to clear, paving a path for her. Snow could feel the pounding of her heart against her chest as her heart raced and see the fear in her eyes when he looked up at her.

"Master."

"He is close, I can feel him…slipping away. This is bad."

'Jareth, I am coming, wait for me.' Astrid said inwardly and hurried away.

The more Jareth spoke to his brother, the more his soul was fading without his knowledge.

"I am happy you have found someone to take the pain away," Jareth's brother said to him, his face full of smiles.

"You must laugh at me now. I closed my heart to everyone but failed to guard my heart against someone from their race."

"No. It is fate. Stop holding back. Let go of the past and embrace true happiness," the elf boy countered him.

"I do not think I can ever find true happiness though. I am too far gone."

"Don't say that, brother." The elf boy growled as he looked at Jareth, his irritation growing worse at his brother's stubbornness. "You deserve better than what you are doing to yourself. Stop with the lies."

"Make me. It's your fault for leaving. This would be on you, I would exact my revenge, and they will taste my pain." His eyes suddenly became cold, as a sinister smile played on his lips.

"Why you stubborn brat!"

He had always masked his pain

Meanwhile, Astrid ran further, her eyes and mind focused on sensing him. She could somehow feel his energy and his pain surging towards her.

"Very close, Jareth is close."

As soon as she made that statement, she saw a shadow in the mist and came to a stop. Her eyes narrowed trying to figure out what it was.

The next thing, the shadow turned, looked at her and then faded away. It happened all too quick before Astrid could grasp the situation.

What really happened was that, while Jareth chatted with his brother, Astrid arrived.

"She's here."

"What!"

"Do not forget all I have said, brother. Give yourself a second chance and let fate take its course."

Just like what happened with Astrid, the mist enshrouded him and as a green light surrounded his head and he completely faded away.

"Brother, don't go yet. Wait!"

Immediately the shadow disappeared, Astrid saw the silhouette of a person stretching his hand.

"Jareth. Snow, it's him."

She moved forward as the mist paved way for them and came face to face with him. He had his back facing her with his arm stretched out.

She bent down a bit and dropped Snow on the ground before making her way to him. She moved to his front to look at him, her eyes raked over his body and finally came to stop on his face. His eyes felt distant as he stared at nothing.

"Jareth, Jareth. Hey, come on snap out of it. Talk to me."

She shook his shoulders, trying to bring him back as she felt him slip away the more. Astrid closed her eyes, trying to connect with his mind.

When she found the white line in her mind, she grabbed to it and called out to him in her mind.

'Jareth, answer me. Come back. Do not give in to the pain. Come to me, please!'