The Truth of a Lie

a/n: I do not own Labyrinth. I know, I'm late. I have been uber busy, and I am trying my hardest. Plus, the muses have been reluctant. Please bear with me. This chapter in un-betaed.

Chapter 3 – Asleep and Awake

Sarah felt like she had been running for days. As she stopped in the middle of a dense forest, she guessed she actually had been running for about two days now. She had projected it would take her almost five days of hard foot travel to jog the thirty leagues. A league is equivalent to about three miles. She could run a mile in about three minutes, the fastest of any of her colleagues. She had a long, ground-eating stride, and she did not tire easily. Her training had given her all the stamina she thought she would ever need. Supposedly, when she finally mastered her crystal magic, she would be able to use those crystals to move about as she wished, like the Goblin King could.

Now would be a good time to have that particular power, Sarah thought wryly as she sat down to eat a piece of chocolate. Chocolate was the one thing she always carried in her belt. It never rotted, and damn did it taste good. She rarely needed to eat. She liked to, but did not find it necessary most of the time. It had been over two days since she had eaten anything substantial, however, and it was beginning to wear on her. She would need to hunt soon, a prospect she did not like. Killing another animal just because she needed something to eat seemed wrong.

Sure, I kill for a living. But chances are, if I am sent to kill you, then you did something wrong. I was never trained to kill for rash reasons, or for sport. I kill because I am assigned to kill people who have done bad things, Sarah thought. So, killing an animal just to feed her one meal would be wrong. Plus, she was lacking her bow and quiver on this journey. She would never hunt any other way.

People who shoot animals are worthy of being shot themselves, Sarah thought in the recesses of her mind. She found a comfy space of ground and laid down, feeling the need for a short nap in the afternoon sun that streamed through the trees.

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The smell of cooking meat was what brought Jareth out of his unconscious state. That demon was spinning a charred husk of boar on a makeshift spit not fifty feet away from him. Jareth did not eat meat, but in this state, he would eat just about anything. He tried to move his head, or limbs, but to no avail. The iron that bound him was too strong for even that movement. Whoever had planned this was smart, they knew how to keep him alive. But for what purpose? Any other demon would have killed him and placed him on that spit already.

Jareth's head swam as he tried to recall what happened. He could remember bits and pieces. He had managed to wake up for a bit every few hours to reassess his situation, and to try to find a way out. Every time he work up he could remember a bit more of that night.

The first thing he had remembered was that he had been entertaining that night. Then he had remembered he had eaten culumus pie that night. Next he remembered that the company he had been entertaining had been named Morwen. Also, he remembered that he had invited Morwen to his study, as he had been doing for quite some time, where he used a secret passageway to get to his chambers with her. He remembered her using the restroom, and then she came out and kissed him.

That is where everything went fuzzy once again. He could see flashes of memory from then on: red skin, black leather, a haughty laugh, a roar, voices murmuring roughly, cold air, the pain of his arm catching on broken glass, and then blackness.

Jareth blinked violently, his mind threatening to drop off again. He wondered if he was going to die here. He wondered who had set all this up. He wondered about Morwen. His thoughts faded out, but a single frame stood out from the others as all went black on him: a girl with an aura like a living flame, with dark hair and gray eyes. Her eyes could be so cruel…

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It was evening when Sarah awoke, but she would not stay the night in this place. She packed her things and started to move again, feeling an urgent pull in the direction she needed to go. She was making her way through the dark forest, and it was slow going. She stepped over and under fallen tree trunks, and crossed more than one brook or creek. It was right after crossing a particularly chilly brook that Sarah came up against her first opponent, a fearsome centaur. His body was that of a white Andalusian, but his torso was black as midnight. His hair and tail were like burnished wire, and his eyes were like pools of blackness. There was no life behind those eyes, only darkness and death. This creature had been possessed by a dark force, and it sickened Sarah to know she would have to kill this creature, to put it out of its misery.

"You will go no farther," the centaur said in a disembodied voice. It was chilling, and the voice spoke with knowledge of great evil.

"Wanna bet?" Sarah said as she drew her wazikashi. The silver blade glinted in the moonlight as she took up a stance. The centaur reared and charged her, the dirt on the forest floor flying up as the hooves pounded fiercely. His mane streamed behind him, and Sarah felt a moment of pity as the foam fell from his mouth. This creature had no idea what it was doing. Sarah cleared her mind in an instant and jumped into the air just as the centaur reached her. She turned one hundred and eighty degrees, and landed behind the centaur. Her sword whistled through the air as she cut the tendons in the graceful and powerful legs. Bright red blood spurted from the wounds, and the centaur let out an inhuman scream as it collapsed. Sarah drew her tanto knife and approached the centaur's neck. With one quick motion she slit the throat, letting the creature bleed out onto the forest floor. It went limp almost immediately, it's soul finally dying and leaving the mortal plane. Sarah wiped her sword and her knife on the hide of the centaur, and then sheathed them both.

"May the Lord and the Lady watch over you, brother centaur. May you finally rest in peace, your soul untroubled. May you one day find your way back to the mortal plane, to live a better and unfettered life," Sarah prayed over the corpse, and then she left him there to become carrion for other predators of the forest. Such was the nature of things.

Every few hours she was confronted by some new, possessed creature of the forest. She knew this had to be Naroof's doing. She had not known he had such power. It was annoying, and her red leather suit was starting to look more like blood than every before. Her hair was speckled with it, and her skin was smeared with it in places. She was sure she looked like some kind of barbarian in a red leather catsuit with red leather boots. Her weapons were formidable, and these creatures presented no real challenge for her. Indeed, she felt guilty for their evident lack of prowess. It seemed wrong to kill those who had no clue who they were fighting or how to fight at all. But she had a job to do, ad she would kill anyone who got in her way.

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"This place feels so much more…serene since Sarah left," Morwen told her reflection.

How she hated that girl. It was always Sarah this, and Sarah that, as if the girl were worthy of such great praise.

Morwen stuck her pink tongue out at the mirror and then re-applied her blood red lipstick.

It was true, Morwen was more than likely the fairest of the Founds. Her hair was blue black, and her eyes as blue as the ocean. Her skin was as pale as ivory, and her lips were naturally red as roses. She was lucky that way. But what made her unlucky was that almost every other Found hated her. She was mean, spiteful, hurtful, and ignorant for the most part. It did not help that Morwen happened to think she was the best Found in the Order. She strutted about like she owned the place.

Most girls chose a uniform that covered the majority of their bodies once they passed their tests. Not Morwen! She chose to wear a skimpy outfit made of black leather. The skirt was tiny, and slit up to her hips, and the top skimmed her full breasts. She wore high black boots and purposefully sashayed as she walked, making men stare as she passed.

Morwen had been found outside a high school gymnasium, wrapped in a rough sheet. Founder Gabriel had brought her here, and been happy to oversee her training. He taught her everything she needed to know to not only be a successful assassin and warrior, but also a successful seductress.

As Morwen walked down the hall, she contemplated how he had approached her for her last assignment. She had been in bed next to Founder Gabriel, when he asked her if she would like an opportunity to become truly powerful within the Order.

"Mmm, yes," Morwen purred as she stretched her naked body.

"The job is seducing, and then poisoning the Goblin King," Founder Gabriel told her as he rolled one of her pink nipples between his thumb and forefinger. Morwen moaned.

"Is he ugly?" Morwen asked breathlessly. A flicker of annoyance passed over her Founder's face.

"My dear Morwen, he is Fae. They do not call them the Fair Folk for nothing," Founder Gabriel reminded her. Morwen shrugged nonchalantly.

"Why do you require me to seduce His Majesty?" Morwen queried.

"We need you to get close enough to poison him with that special lipstick you came up with. You will need a lot of poison. Get to know him, seduce him a few times, and when everything is in place you will carry out the order. That is your assignment. Top secret. No one else must know," Founder Gabriel told her.

Now she had been summoned to meet with all the Founders in the conference room. They were going to discuss the next step to be taken now that Jareth was in place. Her heels clicked as she walked, and then she reached the wooden door. She knocked twice and waited to be let in. The door finally swung open, revealing all the Founders sitting at a long table. Morwen knelt, observing tradition, and then took her place standing behind Founder Gabriel.

"Next time Found, please be on time," Founder Carson chided her. Morwen nodded her head in assent.

"So, everything is going as planned. Found Sarah is on her way to rescue Jareth. He will know who she is eventually, and then his natural weakness for her will reveal itself. Once she has gained his trust, we will have him disposed of, and then we will put Sarah on the throne to guide the Goblin Kingdom until she has outlived her usefulness," Founder Corsair stared at the dossier in front of him gleefully.

"What?" Morwen asked in shock, "I thought I was going to be rewarded for my service, that I would be of great importance once my job was done! You are going to put that wench on the throne?" Morwen was shaking with rage. Founder Gabriel stood up and faced her. As he looked her calmly in the eye, he brought his hand up and slapped her across the face with all his might. Morwen felt her lip split and her face become inflamed. She fell down with a thud.

"Do not ever speak out of turn like that, Found," Founder Gabriel spat, "You will go to your chamber and await my return"

Morwen ran out of the room, blood stinging her eyes. A Founder was still as strong as the Found he or she once was. Founder Gabriel had thrown every bit of his power into that slap, and Morwen felt it throughout her face.

That bitch! How could they want her? She is homely, and not nearly as talented as me! They promised me!

Morwen ran inside her room, and went straight to the bathroom. Her face was bruised and swollen.

"Gwneud wynebu wel," Morwen intoned, and then watched as her face repaired itself. Soon she was looking like her old self, and then she contemplated what she had heard.

They want to make her Queen? Let them. I will kill her, make it look like an accident, and then take it all over for myself. Let them blunder, let them fail. I will be there when it falls apart.

And then Morwen let herself drift off to sleep, waiting for Founder Gabriel to come and punish her further for her insolence.

Glossary:

Gwneud - Make (welsh)

wynebu - face (welsh)

wel – well (welsh)

- I can only find so many English to welsh lexicons on the internet that are free, so my vocabulary in welsh is very limited. If someone knows of a good one, shoot me an email about it.