A/N: All right, I admit it: I have a problem. I'm just a girl who "cain't say no," and I have a terrible time ending my stories. The upshot of this, for my readers, is that this chapter isn't the last one. there are several more after this one because there were just too many loose ends to tie up.

So, for those who've complained about the brevity of my chapters, I hope to make it up to you by the length of the story itself! --grin--

Chapter 50: The Big Question

The song ended, and the dancers clapped politely. Then there was a fanfare of trumpets and Alia, the unicorn leader, stepped daintily up to the dais. Her voice sounded in everyone's head at once, though her mouth never moved. "I realize it has been so long since we've had a royal wedding that some of you younger ones may have forgotten…" Here she paused for the inevitable chuckles, from those who knew her as the oldest living being in the Underground. She tossed her mane—a unicorn's version of a smug laugh—and went on. "…It is customary on the twelfth day of celebrations to ask if any unattached monarchs wish to wed. I will therefore call their names."

A young boy ran up with a roll of parchment and held it in front of her to see. Alia thanked him very kindly, but didn't even glance at it as she began calling names. She knew them all, starting with her own daughter.

"Arien, Crown Princess of Unicorns and High Princess of the Underground." As High Princess, Arien was given the courtesy usually reserved for reigning monarchs.

Alia's slender, delicate daughter trotted lightly over toward the platform where her mother stood. Her mental voice rang out clear and crystalline in the minds of the audience as she said, "Having recently ended my former betrothal, I do not presently wish to wed."

A murmur of consternation arose from those who'd known of her engagement to Jareth, but Alia ignored it and went on. "Blug, King of Trolls."

The behemoth troll that Sarah had seen before, in conference with Jareth and Daxon, stood up and growled, "Having just sworn vassalage to Daxon, I do not wish to wed."

An even louder hum of mystified conversation arose, and Sarah stole a glance at Jareth. His lips twitched a little, but his face remained expressionless. He caught her eye and dropped one eyelid in a slow wink, and Sarah had to turn aside to hide her grin.

"Daxon, King of Dwarves."

The dwarf-king stepped forward with two impossibly long strides. "I do wish to wed." His voice was deep and booming. "I wish to wed Claro, of the house of Fossin." He beckoned, and a young dwarf woman approached. She was short and stocky, with far fewer wrinkles than her king. She was also very heavily armed. Daxon took both her hands in his and asked her formally, "Claro rin Fossin, I offer you my protection, my fidelity, my kingdom to rule alongside me, and half of my worldly possessions. In return I would claim your fidelity, your support, and your loyalty so that our kingdom may prosper. In the name of Taliu, do you accept my offer?"

Sarah remembered that Taliu had been the name of Alia's unicorn husband, the former High King of the Underground. Searching her memory, she found the little tidbit of information Jareth had deposited there about Taliu: ever since his death Taliu had been seen as a sort of guardian spirit for the Underground.

Claro's voice was also deep for a woman's. "In the name of Taliu, I accept."

Trumpets blasted a fanfare, and Claro and Daxon were nearly wed. Everyone cheered. Alia looked on approvingly and went on. "Edwina, queen of Elves."

A voice like the tinkling of tiny bells answered. "Being still in mourning for my deceased Lord Elwin for an additional ninety-five years, I do not wish to wed."

"Oberon, king of Fae."

A tall, dark, and somber man that Sarah had only seen a few times before in the last few days, stood up and announced, "Being in mourning for my beloved Tatania for the remainder of my life, I do not wish to wed."

Alia went on. "Jareth, king of Goblins."

The Goblin King stepped forward proudly. "I wish to wed." He waited until the furor that greeted his announcement had died down, and then went on. "I wish to wed the human woman, Sarah, of the house of Williams." He indicated for Sarah to join him.

Gasps greeted his announcement of his intent to marry a human. No one had ever done it before. Heart pounding, Sarah stepped forward and placed her hands in his outstretched ones.

"Sarah rin Williams," Jareth said formally, very much in Goblin King mode. "I offer you my protection, my fidelity, my worldly possessions, my kingdom to rule alongside me, and most of all, my heart. In return I ask you for your fidelity, your loyalty, your support…" and here he stopped and smiled faintly at her before continuing, "…and the strength of your will, so that our kingdom will prosper. In the name of Taliu, do you accept?"

Sarah remembered the words she had spoken to him as a child, about her will being as strong as his, and suddenly she knew what she had to say. "Through years of time and hardships unnumbered…" she began. The king's slanted eyebrows drew together in a quizzical frown, but he gamely held her hands and waited for her to finish. "…I have returned to your castle beyond the Goblin City to give back the dreams that I had stolen. Now I offer them back to you, and my loyalty as well, along with my will and my heart. What say you, Jareth, King of Goblins?"

The Goblin King bowed and answered, "In the name of Taliu, I accept your offer."

Sarah curtseyed back to him and said, "And in Taliu's name I accept yours."

A/N: Don't worry; there's more! But at least the Big Question has been settled.