The Truth of a Lie

a/n: I do not own Labyrinth. This is the epilogue, and I have people I want to thank.

AngelaScarlet – my Labyrinth beta reader. She is prompt, and she is good. She always lets me know when something is off, and I am proud that she is my beta.

Lady Orchid – one of my most faithful reviewers. She gives great encouragement.

AmethystLainey – who never leaves me reviews, but constantly bitches at me to update. Without her, I would not feel guilty enough to update quickly.

And to each and every one of my other reviewers, thanks so much.

I do not know if I will be doing any other Labyrinth fanfics any time soon. I will always accept challenges and I will always do commissions, but my Labyrinth plot bunny and muse has hopped away for a time. I am now concentrating on the Gundam Wing fandom, with a little Inuyasha sprinkled in for good measure. But I want to thank everyone who has ever read any of my Laby fics. This fiction is my proudest piece of work, and the best one, IMHO. Please stay in touch, all of you.

Epilogue

You know, at one time, I told you it was all a test. And it was; but I think the bigger test was what came after, the events that have lead me to this day, my wedding day.

I know! Who would have thought that this girl would have ever gotten married? It was not something I was born for, or bred for. Certainly not raised or trained for. But I guess that, in a way, marriage may be the greatest test of all.

When we came back to the castle, Jareth wanted to start planning for the wedding right away. I would have been happy marrying him right then and there, but he wanted a wedding fit for a Queen, so I let him have his way.

So here I am, in our suite, dressed to impress. The gown is white, and off-the-shoulder. The duchesse satin is luxurious and slightly heavy. The beading is exquisite, and the diamonds I am wearing are making my neck cramp. I have the tiara for my office nestled in the curls that the maids have piled on top of my head, and I definitely look every inch a Duchess and a Queen-to-be. There is a long, sheer veil pinned into my hair where my tiara is secured, and it is very long. The skirt of my dress is full, and the train is even longer than the veil. Toby picked the dress out since I could not seem to decide on what I wanted. The courtesan part of me wanted to just go in naked with only the veil, but Jareth informed me that the other nobles would be shocked. Being shocked was not good for relations.

"Sarah?" Alis asks as she pokes her head into the room.

"I'm ready if you guys are," I tell her.

"Yeah. You look beautiful," she says, and I smile.

"Kind of feel beautiful too. Do you have the bouquet?" I ask her. She hands me a bouquet of wildflowers that I had asked Toby to collect.

"Good to go?" Alis asks.

"Good to go," I tell her.

The walk down the halls gives me time to think. You know, my whole life really has been a lie. And the truth of it is that I was just too blind to see it. I knew that something was off my whole life, and rather than confront it, I accepted it and what I thought was my fate. But when Jareth and I spent time in that bathtub together, I started to realize that my fate was what I would make it. I spent my life letting others make my decisions for me. Jareth allows me to stumble, allows me to fail; and yet, he is still there at the end to let me know it is okay to try again.

The doors are in front of me now. Toby is standing there, looking so cool in his formal clothing. He will be made Prince when I am made Queen. He will be Jareth's designated heir. The doctors examined me when I came back from the castle by the sea and found that I cannot bear children. My years of being abused and then the two rapes had pretty much destroyed any chance of me conceiving. Jareth did not mind. He told me that Toby could be his heir, and that he and I would be all the parental figures Toby would need to live out the rest of his life in a healthy way. We could enjoy Toby's kids when he had them.

And as for being Fae? Eventually, we will become Fae too. The magic of the lands will eventually become part of us, and we too will be one of them. I had been worried about that, but now I am okay with it.

Toby offers me his arm. He is going to be very tall when he is grown. I take it and the guards open the doors. Jareth is standing at the end of the aisle, resplendent in black silk. His face is expectant, and his eyes are excited.

This is it. No more lies. My truth and my future lies with him. I allow Toby to walk me down the aisle and towards the only man I have ever loved.

Breathe. Do not panic. It will all be okay.

It will all be okay.

- The End -