Chapter 39:The Coronation
On the day of Adina's coronation, the skies were clear and blue. Flowers bloomed everywhere, and once again happy people lined the streets in anticipation. Inside the castle, there was a cheerful buzz of excitement. Beautifully dressed Faeries and various guests headed to the vast chambers where the coronation was to take place.
In Adina's rooms, the maids fussed and fluttered around her as she finished dressing.
"Your Highness," one maid gushed, "you look wonderful!"
Adina was wearing a lovely silvery white sheath dress. Over it was a large white feathery cape, with silk gloves. On her head, Adina wore a simple silver tiara, to be replaced during the ceremony by the Realm's coronation crown.
I feel like a paperweight, Adina quipped, to stifle her feelings of nervousness. And with this cape, I probably look like Jareth. I wonder if he will come. She hadn't seen or heard from him since the funeral. I wish he would come, right now.
There was a sharp knock at her door. One of the maids answered it, and returned in a fluttered state. "Your Highness!" she all but squealed, barely able to contain her glee. "Your Highness, you have a visitor- King Jareth of the Goblins! He said he had to speak to you, right now!"
Boy, that worked! I hope I didn't pull him away from anything important, Adina grinned in spite of herself. Wait, do queens smile? I doubt it. Formally, she raised a hand. "Show him in, then leave us. I think it is almost time to line up for the procession to the Great Hall." Can queens use apostrophe s, I wonder? Maybe Jareth knows.
He entered, and Adina felt nervous all over again. What does he want? It has to be important for him to come all this way.
"Adina," Jareth began, "you left this, at the…………….castle." He held out the amulet, uncertainly.
She looked down at it. "A few weeks ago, it would have unnerved me to see that again, knowing what your father had in store." Jareth started to protest, but Adina firmly cut him off. "I know. He is my biological father, but he is not my daddy. That honor will always be with King Sylvan." She carefully reached out, took the amulet, and slipped it around her neck. "Besides, I know Mother would want me to wear it."
The trumpets sounded, and Adina's heart began pounding. Oh dear, here goes everything! "I- are you going to stay and watch?" she asked Jareth.
Skip your coronation? When that's what I came here for? "I wouldn't think of missing it," he replied, slightly amused at how nervous she was. Without a second thought, Jareth reached out and hugged Adina, to calm her worries and because she was his sister. "You're going to be fine." He started to pull away, but Adina yanked him back.
Just as Jareth's hug had been without thinking, Adina said, "I love you." And I really mean that, too.
"Good, because I love you too. Now then, I believe you have to be crowned Faerie Queen?" Jareth offered his sister his arm, and they walked out of the room serenely.
Adina stood outside the Great Hall alone, waiting for the signal that would let her inside. Mother, Father, I hope you can see all this. I'm fine, I'm at peace, and I hope you are too.
A vision appeared before her. She could see the whole Underground, and then focused on the Goblin Realm. There, at the official gates of the labyrinth, stood a girl. She had dark hair, wore and blouse, vest, and pants, and was trying to get inside.
That's her, the one who will break Jareth's heart. Be ready for her, the Mother's voice echoed throughout Adina's mind.
Adina glanced around, the vision gone. I will. I swear, I will.
"Adina, Princess of Seelie Faeries, and Heir Apparent, come forth!" The doors swung open, and she slowly walked down the aisle. Adina saw faces she knew, had known since birth. But where is………………
And there was Jareth, draped in black, near the front. Several goblins were with him, and directly on his left was…..
Master Beggar! The sight of them, her two best friends, filled Adina with radiant joy, and any remaining fears vanished. As she climbed the stairs to the throne, a favorite saying of Professor Boyce's came to her: 'Each of us has a special destiny. We must embrace it, as best as possible.'
Very true, old friend, Adina grinned. Time to embrace mine!
Author's Note: Well, this is the next to last chapter. I hope everyone's really enjoyed it, as much as I have writing it! And Labyrinth's still not mine. Ah well.