The Truth of a Lie
a/n: I do not own Labyrinth. Really I don't. Chapter betaed (is that a word? I don't think so) by the darling AngelaScarlet. Arigato!
Chapter Five – Secrets and Lies
Just as Sarah had predicted, the king was ready to go in two days time. He still did not look his best, or feel his best, but he could move. Sarah knew he was not well enough to do anything more than walk at this point, and she would not allow it anyways until he had seen his own healers and they had given him a clean bill of health. Sarah had a responsibility, and she intended to see this responsibility through. Once they had reached the castle and she had made sure the king was quite well, she would go back to the Order and find out exactly what was going on. Why had Morwen done this? Was it orders? Was there something she was not being told? Sarah did not like to think about a plot against the Goblin King, but then again, they had sent her to rescue him, so they could not be behind this, could they? Sarah chewed her bottom lip as she watched the Goblin King rise from the floor of the cave they had been sharing for some time now.
"Your Majesty, we can leave whenever you are ready," Sarah told him. He looked at her, holding no pack and no water.
"Found, how do you propose we get back to my kingdom with no clean water and no food?" His Majesty asked her.
"I am quite capable of catching meals, and I have a way to purify drinking water," Sarah said simply as she started to walk towards to mouth of the cave.
When will you tell me your name?" His Majesty asked her. Sarah stopped in her tracks and did not bother to turn around as she answered.
"I am no one of any importance, Goblin King. Don't ask questions you probably would not like the answers to," Sarah disappeared around a corner, and the Goblin King walked to catch up to her.
And that was how they left the former home of the demon Naroof, its' sole denizen still charred in the fire.
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Toby may be small, but he is brilliant. A brilliant young boy with wisdom beyond his small number of years. And even he could see that something was up. He had been left mostly alone in the last few days. The whole place was buzzing with gossip and people trying to accomplish errands. It was big, whatever was coming, and Toby's naturally curious mind wanted to know the answer.
He spent the day searching through all the secret places he had found to hide over the years. The one behind the tapestry on the fourth floor of the castle, the hidden door in the kitchen. He checked them all, eavesdropping on numerous conversations. It was not until late into the night, when no one even suspected or cared he was awake that he finally hit the jackpot.
"She has reached him by now, and he is probably on his way back with her now," Founder Gabriel and Founder Corsair were discussing someone. Toby knew it had to be Sarah, his gut told him so.
"How long do we think it will take her to get back here?" Founder Gabriel asked his colleague.
"A few days at most. She will move them quickly. Do you think she has told him the truth?" Founder Corsair asked. Now Toby knew for sure they were talking about Sarah.
"I honestly do not know. It does not seem like Found Sarah to reveal that which is not important to her assignment. This is what makes her so valuable to us. Not only is she the most powerful of all the Founds, but she is a perfect puppet. Never question, never ask why, just do. She never did put up a fight when you finally took her virginity, nor has she had any fight in her since. The only sign of fight that ever came from her was when she returned from her test. When she realized what we had done, she was beside herself. I knew it was important to send her on that test. She is the only one we have ever done that for. We had to move heaven and earth to get that done. But that test gave us the ammo we needed to bring the Goblin King down. He fell in love with that Sarah, the Sarah with the white dress and the room full of toys. He may have forgotten by now, but when he finds out, getting him out of the way will be cake. Now, how do we get rid of Found Morwen?" Founder Gabriel finished his piece and set off down the hall from Toby. Founder Corsair followed, unaware of the honest ears that had heard everything.
Toby almost ran back to his rooms. He acted as if everything was normal and casually walked to his room. Once there, he sat on his bed and looked at the crystal Sarah had given him.
"How many days did they say she would be? A few? I will wait until I am sure she is at the castle. Bothering her now would only distract her from what she has to do. She has to tell him the truth. He has to know. And she needs to realize that her feelings did not go away like she wishes they did. She locked them away, but they did not disappear. She needs to realize that their love is real, even if the way it came about wasn't. Remember…," Toby let the words trail off, and he hid the crystal once again before lying down to sleep.
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Sarah led the way back the way she came, stopping every time she heard a hitch of breath from the Goblin King, making him sit and drink the purified water she carried with her.
The Goblin King looked into the Found's grey eyes as he drank. He released the water bottle from his lips and looked more intently.
"Where have I seen those eyes before?" he asked aloud. Sarah got up quickly.
"A lot of people have grey eyes. We must be going Your Majesty," Sarah said abruptly.
"You are avoiding something," His Majesty said to her. Sarah stopped.
"Don't ask questions when you are not nearly prepared to hear the answers, Goblin King," Sarah said as she started to walk. The Goblin King got up and walked after her.
When the sun started to go down, they made camp. Or rather, Sarah made camp while the Goblin King sat on a rough log in the middle of this godforsaken forest.
"I will be so glad to see the stone walls of the Labyrinth again," he sighed.
"I personally could care less if I saw another damned tree in my life," Sarah laughed gently. That laugh tugged on the Goblin King's heart, and he tried to shake it off.
"Do I know you?" he asked her.
"Does anyone ever really know anyone?" Sarah asked, skirting the issue.
"Damnit, tell me!" the king commanded. Sarah just glared at him.
"No. I will catch some fish. I hear a stream not far away," Sarah said as she turned away. In a flash she was gone.
After a few cooked fish on sticks from the forest floor, Sarah made sure His Majesty was comfortable before settling against a tree to sleep her half sleep.
"Isn't that uncomfortable?" he asked her conversationally.
"Of course it is. But I must remain alert," Sarah said with her eyes closed.
The Goblin King shook his head and damned her in his mind before drifting off to sleep.
He was in a park, a lovely city park. There she was, the girl he had been watching. Her white dress sparkled in the sunlight, and her hair was like a chestnut river down her back. He watched her recite the lines, as always, to the play from the little red book. When it started to rain she ran, her dog glued to her side.
"It's a piece of cake," the same girl told him, defying his will and tossing off the importance of his Labyrinth.
"I'll paint you mornings of gold…"
"Your eyes can be so cruel…"
Eyes. Grey eyes. Dark lashes. Small smile. Defiant will.
A black haired woman wearing next to nothing…
Lips against lips, burning sensation…
Laughter, haughty laughter…
"Take him away, Naroof. Such a pity, he was so good in bed…"
"Such a pity…"
Grey eyes, heart breaking grey eyes. Cold eyes, cruel eyes.
Ripping of skin, hot blood dripping onto window. Tough red skin. Flying through the air.
Grey eyes.
Grey eyes.
Sarah…
"Your Majesty!" Sarah shook the Goblin King, who was sobbing loudly in his sleep and thrashing about. All of a sudden he sat up and stared at her.
"What?"
"You were having a nightmare," Sarah told him.
"I was? I don't remember dreaming," he mumbled.
"Well, lay back down. It will take all day tomorrow, and tomorrow night, and most of the next day to get back to your castle," Sarah told him. He quickly feel back to sleep, and Sarah took up her post at the tree.
He said my name, Sarah thought to herself. Right before she had woken him, her name has escaped his lips. The sound of her name of his tongue, the way it sounded like a promise, a lover's caress. It had touched her soul. She could not afford those kinds of feelings. Not now, and especially not for him.
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The next morning they found themselves already quite a way from where they had been. Sarah knew that they would stop at a lake tonight, she needed a bath desperately, as did the Goblin King.
What she did not count on, however, was the surprise that came upon them when they stopped for their midday meal.
It came crashing out of the trees, a long, fierce snake demon. It was at least fifty feet long, and was strong enough to take down trees. Sarah motioned for His Majesty to move to one side of their camp while she dealt with the demon.
Sarah drew her wazikashi and set into fighting stance. Then she grabbed some flash grenades to stun the demon. When the grenades went off the snake demon thrashed, and a spike from his tail tore away the mask Sarah had been hiding behind.
The Goblin King had been watching intently when all of a sudden a flash of red came away from his rescuer's face. Her back was still turned, but he knew that when she did turn around he would figure out how he knew her. Another mystery solved. Another puzzle piece fitted.
Sarah had no time to worry about her mask. She threw two shuriken, hitting each of the demon's eyes. She jumped in the air and aimed her wazikashi at the forehead of the snake. It slid in, like a knife into melted butter. Sarah then drew her tanto knife and got behind the snake's head.
The Goblin King watched, fascinated with this girl's power. This woman's power. She resonated with it. She took her knife and looked forward as she drew it across the throat of the giant snake. As bloody foam and guts issued forth from the gaping wound her sharp knife had caused, the Goblin King wanted to faint. He was not one to faint either.
Grey eyes.
Your eyes can be so cruel Sarah…
You have no power over me!
You have no power over me!
"I'll paint your mornings of gold…"
"I'll paint your mornings of gold, I'll spin you Valentine evenings…," His Majesty sang softly. Sarah's sharp ears heard it, and knew he had found out who she was. He had figured it out. She jumped off the bleeding snake demon and awaited fate's judgement.
The king looked at the figure in front of him. She wore red leather from head to toe. Her chestnut hair was longer than he remembered, and held back in a braid. Her eyes were cold and calculating. Grey, like steel. She was covered head to toe in blood. And as her eyes met his, he saw that steel grey soften into a grey meant for gentle doves, before hardening up once more.
"Do you know how long I have searched for you?" he asked her.
"You would have never found me, Your Majesty. I am Found Sarah. Your Labyrinth was the test that allowed me my position," Sarah said bitterly.
"You were a silly girl with silly toys," the Goblin King told her.
"No, the life they created was that. They modified my memory as well as yours, Your Majesty. It was not until I passed the test that they told me everything. We were both kept in the dark. I was told I would be taking a test to become a Found instead of a Foundling. The next thing I knew, I was running in a park. I had no memory of ever being a Foundling. As far as I knew," Sarah paused to wipe her knife off and re sheathe it," I had always had the life of one Sarah Williams. After I arrived back at the place I believed to be home, and partied with the denizens of your Labyrinth, I woke up in my bed in our castle. They told me I had passed, and told me the only thing that had been truly real was you, the denizens, and the Labyrinth. Everything else was fake. Everything else was a lie," Sarah mocked bitterly. She retrieved her shuriken professionally from the eyes of the demon carcass, and cleaned them gently before setting them back in their pouch.
"You are a Found?" the Goblin King asked once again, not believing it. He shook his head. He had loved her. He had loved her for so long. Was the love he had felt a lie? A manipulation?
"It was all a lie, Jareth," Sarah said softly. She felt bad for him. She has been furious when she had found out. But that had been five years ago. She had been given the opportunity to stew about it for years. This powerful Fae was only just now finding out he had been duped.
"I loved you. I granted you certain powers," Jareth said, pointing at her fiercely.
"And I still have them Jareth," Sarah sighed, and conjured a crystal sphere out of thin air with a twist of her wrist, "Just a crystal, nothing more".
Jareth stared at the crystal like it was a monster, "I am the only being to ever possess crystal magic. There has never been another. I did not gift you with that magic. Everything I gave you had to deal directly with the Labyrinth. I didn't give you that power!" Jareth exclaimed, and Sarah made the crystal disappear.
"I think we had best get a move on Jareth. I want to make it to the lake before sunset. I desperately need to bathe," Sarah said intently, and then paused. She turned back to Jareth and offered him the only crumb of hope he could see, "If it is any consolation Jareth, I cared too".
"When did I give you permission to call me Jareth?" he queried.
"I never needed your permission, Jareth".