Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair
Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth or any of its characters. I do however own All's Fair in Love and War, its original characters and its sequel: Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair. Enjoy!
Prologue: The Scroll
The sky was black. Dark, ominous clouds gathered across the night sky, blocking out the moon and the stars' rays.
This was nothing new.
Every night, since that fateful masquerade, has been blacker than obsidian stone. At first, locals thought it was a dark omen, threatening havoc upon the Underground. But as the months progressed and the sky showed no signs of changing, people grew to either accept this sinister fate or forget the omen entirely. Either way this was the new 'norm'. They grew used to living under the threatening storm and forgot the stars.
A dwarf, garbed in all black, was crouching behind a sparse bush on this particularly bleak night. His eyes scanned the land for any signs of trouble or mischief. So far he had met none. But one could never be too careful, especially during times such as these.
The dwarf inwardly grumbled to himself. Why did that lady have to make him do this stupid mission? Why all this fuss over some damned piece of parchment? He had to go out and risk his life. And for what? A piece of paper he couldn't even read?!
The poor creature sighed. He was such a coward. His grubby hand automatically reached for the plastic beads on his wrist. If only she was here. She would be brave for him. Heck, if she was here, he probably wouldn't have to go on this God-forsaken mission at all. She'd do it for him.
Finally, convinced that no danger was coming, the dwarf scurried a short distance across the barren waste until he passed the safety mark where he finally relaxed.
He entered a hidden cave and crept silently through the tunnels so as not to wake anyone. At last, he reached the tunnel's end. He pulled a jagged stone, jutting out from the cave wall, down. Suddenly, a portion of the wall moved out of the way, leaving an arch in its place.
The dwarf stepped through the arch, entering a cavern. He wasn't alone in the subterranean bubble, however. In the center of the room were two figures, also shrouded in black. They were bent over a make-shift stone table and muttering to one another. As the dwarf entered the room, one of the figures abruptly stopped.
"You found it?" a man's voice asked as he lowered his hood.
"Yes, sir," said the dwarf as he reached into his cloak pocket and produced the dingy parchment.
At this point the second figure was looking up from their work too. They lowered their hood to reveal a woman's face framed by thick, auburn hair. A scar on her cheek marred the woman's once perfect, alabaster complexion. Now it gave her an animalistic appearance. Her mismatched eyes glinted at the dwarf.
"Thank goodness!" she exclaimed, rushing forward and snatching it from the dwarf's hand.
"Now leave me… both of you," she ordered. The dwarf complied without a word to her (he did, however, grumble complaints to himself) while the other man lingered by her side.
"Please…" he said, "please don't do this."
"I have to," she said without looking at him. Instead her eyes were focused on the unopened scroll in her hand.
"But what if something goes wrong? We can't do this without you!" he said, stepping towards her, his dark eyes earnest.
"And we both know that we can't do this without her either," she replied with just as much fervor.
He sighed. There was no other way around it was there?
He took her hand and pulled her into his arms, crushing her to him. She returned his embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. In unison, their hearts thudded in their chests.
"Promise you'll come back alive," he whispered ardently in her ear.
"My dear friend," she whispered back, "I swear I'll return to you." She tried to say this with as much confidence as possible but fear still coated her voice.
"Be safe."
"I will," she replied. "Now go!"
He let go of her and strode out of the cavern without looking back.
The woman now turned her attention to the old scroll still clutched in her hand. With the burden of what she was about to do looming towards her, it somehow felt ten pounds heavier. She broke the seal of the parchment and began to read…
Author Note: I originally planned on waiting to publish this but so many of you wonderful readers begged me to give you more story. So what's a writer to do? Well, who am I to deny such fantastic viewers? Thus, I give you this prologue. Please be patient with me, though for the next chapter. I implore you.