A/N: My apologies for not updating sooner. Blame FFN, though, not me.
Chapter 54: Weddings and Betrothals
For an important political event with such a huge build-up, the dwarf-king's wedding was surprisingly short. They exchanged a simple set of vows; Daxon gave his bride a necklace with his symbol of office on it (the dwarf-king's symbol resembled a stylized hammer), and the wedding was over. The coronation took a little longer: the new bride had to kneel and recite a very complicated oath of office from memory, and then Alia motioned with her head for the king's aide to step forward with a large golden crown. Alia touched the crown with her horn, and then the aide lowered it onto Claro's head. The crown was quite solid; every inch was encrusted with jewels, and Sarah thought it actually looked a little gaudy. It did certainly look heavy.
Then Alia, as High Queen, stepped forward and touched the new queen's forehead lightly with her horn. She did the same to Daxon, and then wheeled around (mane and tail flying) to address the throng. "All hail their majesties, King Daxon and Queen Claro!" Her voice rang triumphantly in the minds of all the guests, and all at once everyone knelt. Even the other monarchs honored the newly crowned queen, just this once, by kneeling. Alia knelt too, bending one knee and lowering her head deferentially for a moment. Then she stood up tall and lifted her head. "Greet their Majesties!" she encouraged, and the hall erupted with cheering.
With a beaming smile replacing his usual scowl, the king offered his arm to his new queen and led her down the aisle. The crowd parted respectfully for them, and they exited through the doors at the back.
"What happens now?" Sarah whispered.
"Now it's our turn," he said quietly. "Be brave, sweet Sarah. I promise it won't be as bad as you fear." Sarah couldn't tell whether he was speaking as Jareth at that moment, or as the Goblin King. She was finding as she spent more time with him, that not only did he switch back and forth much more readily than before, but that the difference between his two personas wasn't as pronounced.
Alia waited till the hall quieted down, and then called then both forward. "Jareth rin Emrys and Sarah rin Williams, come forward."
The crowd parted once again, this time for the two tall figures clad in royal purple. "Rin Emrys?" Sarah whispered as they went forward. "As in, Merlin Emrys?"
He nodded. "You've heard of my ancestor?" he asked in a surprised whisper.
"Everyone in the whole world has heard of him! King Arthur's advisor, who fell in love with the Lady of the Lake and was entombed for eternity? I've read books and books about him. I even named my dog after him!"
Jareth smirked. "I'm sure he'd be flattered," he said dryly. "Many of those legends are significantly embellished, though. Remind me and I'll tell you the real story someday."
Sarah's eyes widened, and she nodded eagerly but said nothing. They had reached the dais. They climbed the stairs and bowed to Alia.
The unicorn approached and sniffed them both. She turned and announced to the guests, "Jareth, the Goblin King, desires to espouse the human woman Sarah Williams, who solved his labyrinth and defeated him twelve years ago. I have given my consent. Are there any questions?"
Sarah held her breath.
"Alia! A question," requested the swarthy little, grey-clad gnome-king.
"Yes, Narlon?"
"Why does Jareth seek to wed himself with evil?" Narlon asked.
A murmur rose through the crowd, and Sarah's chin came up. "I am not evil," she told him before Alia could speak. She ignored the rising rumble of consternation and continued, "Humans are not evil. I know that no monarch here has ever married a human before, but we are not evil. We're a mixture of good and bad, just like everyone else. Except perhaps the unicorns," she amended, seeing the High Queen's amused head toss.
"But—but, her hair—!" Narlon exclaimed.
With a dry and longsuffering tone, Jareth stepped forward and nodded to Narlon. "Narlon, if you were to crawl out of your hole more than once a century, you would learn that a human's hair color has little to do with his heart. Humans are not like gnomes. Sarah's hair is dark, yes, but Alia and Arien have examined her and found her to contain light within."
Alia nodded her head, her turquoise spiral horn flashing in the torchlight. "Jareth speaks the truth. Are there any further objections?"
Narlon bowed and withdrew in silence. No one else spoke.
Alia nodded to Jareth, who stepped forward and unclasped Sarah's golden crystal necklace he had given her before. He held the pendant in his hand for a moment, and then offered it back to her. The pendant had changed slightly in its design, but the crystal remained the same. He reached up carefully, so as to leave her coiffure undisturbed, and spoke in ringing tones of archaic English. "Sarah rin Williams, I promise to take thee to wife, exactly six weeks hence. I vow to share with thee my heart, my strength, and my kingdom. I shall require of thee thy strength, thy faithfulness, and thy heart in turn. I shall also require heirs of thee. Art thou willing to meet my requirements?"
Having been coached ahead of time, Sarah wasn't surprised by the formal and old-fashioned language. She was surprised, however, by the fact that her carefully-drilled response had disappeared from her brain.
In her nervousness, she had forgotten every word of what she was supposed to say.
She looked around in a panic. Jareth, firmly in his Goblin King personality, merely tipped his head back a little and calmly waited for her answer. Alia was impassive.
Desperately, Sarah caught Arien's eye, and was overwhelmed with relief when she heard the little unicorn's amused voice in her mind, prompting her. "Jareth rin Emrys," she began. She darted a quick look of thanks to the little unicorn, took a deep breath and continued, "I am willing to meet thy requirements. I promise to take thee to husband six weeks hence. I vow to share with thee my strength, my heart, and thy rule. I am willing to provide thine heirs."
"It is done," Alia announced. "They are betrothed. Neither may withdraw without my permission." She stamped a fore-hoof and said, "Let us offer King Jareth and lady Sarah our congratulations!"
Once again, the hall resounded with cheering, though it was much more subdued than for Daxon and Claro. When the noise died down, Alia directed, "Now, let us depart with glad hearts." Little by little, the hall emptied out until only Jareth, Sarah, and the unicorns were left.
Jareth knelt to embrace them each in turn, and then stood up. Sarah followed his example, with the addition of a grateful whisper of "Thank you!" in Arien's fuzzy ear. Jareth reached for her and drew her into his arms. Still looking very kingly (she could tell by the way he held his head), he transported the two of them back to his castle.