Ch 31

Sarah had a delightful time with her friends. They wandered around the castle grounds for awhile before settling themselves in the garden. Sarah brought them up to date on her life, and they filled her in on what had been happening Underground. They all forgave her for not keeping in touch, and it warmed Sarah's heart how nice they were being to her. They were even supportive of her decision to marry Jareth. "I knew it was coming, milady!" Sir Didymus said without surprise, and the others agreed. "We always knew ya'd come back," Hoggle added.

They sat and talked for hours, and the time flew by like only minutes had passed. Sarah hated to see them go, but it was time for them to head home. Sarah walked them back through the castle, and turned to them as they reached the main entrance.

"Thank you all for being here for me. It means a lot to me to have you as my friends, and I'm glad we had this afternoon to catch up on everything." She felt incredibly light-hearted; she hadn't realized how much she'd missed her friends until she saw them, and she vowed to never lose touch with them again.

She reached up and hugged Ludo, burying her head in his furry chest as he awkwardly patted her back. "Bye, Sawah," he said.

"Good-bye, Ludo, thank you for coming today."

She knelt down next to embrace Sir Didymus, thanking him for his vows to keep her safe as long as she stayed in the Labyrinth. "I'm glad you came today," she told him.

Finally she turned to Hoggle. Although she loved all her friends dearly, Hoggle had a special place in her heart. "Hoggle…" she began, "just…thank you, for everything. Thank you for being my friend." With that, she wrapped her arms around the little man and hugged him tight, slightly surprised to feel him return the hug. He wasn't usually one for displays of affection. When Sarah pulled away, he smiled at her. "Remember, Sarah, should ya need us…"

Sarah smiled back at him. "I remember, Hoggle. Don't worry-I'll call." With that, her friends headed out the door, back to their everyday lives. She stared after them until she couldn't see them anymore.

"I was beginning to think they'd never leave," she heard Jareth say. Startle, she whirled around to face him, and saw that he was teasing. "I missed you," he said with a grin, pulling her into his arms. She returned the embrace, lying her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you for bringing them here, Jareth. I hadn't realized until I saw them how much I needed them." She tilted her face up to his for a kiss. They stood like that for a moment, their lips locked together, savoring the feeling of being together.

"I know you did, love," Jareth finally replied when they broke the kiss. "I would do anything for you. I love you, and I want you to be happy."

She smiled happily, knowing she would do the same for him, and he saw that in her eyes. "I love you, Jareth," she said, then her stomach growled loudly. "Not again!" she said, telling her stomach to shut up. "I guess I forgot to have lunch today, we were so busy talking."

"That's not hard to fix, Herma just finished preparing dinner. That's actually why I came to find you," he replied, leading the way to the dining room.

When they entered, Sarah was surprised to see Julie and Bayron at the table, already eating. "Is she well enough to be out of bed?" Sarah whispered to Jareth, worried that her friend might still be too sick to be up.

"She's fine," Jareth assured her. "Neela and Shira spent most of the day with her, and they say she is almost completely well."

Sarah was relieved; finally, things could get back to normal. She smiled at the thought. Well, as normal as can be when you and your best friend are in love with immortal kings from a magical land!

"Julie, I'm so happy that you're better!" Sarah exclaimed as she and Jareth approached the table, sitting across from Julie and Bayron.

Julie smiled at Sarah, her eyes shining. "Yeah, well, apparently you get better a lot faster in magic fairylands than in normal hospitals." She looked like she had adjusted well to her surroundings, and she had. Julie was a person who just rolled with the punches, and she had decided not to question too much. She loved Bayron, and she trusted him, and she was willing to accept anything for him.

Perceptively, Sarah saw all of that in Julie's eyes, and she couldn't have felt happier. She loved Jareth, Julie loved Bayron, and things were looking up for both of them. So much had already happened that Sarah just knew fate wouldn't be so cruel as to play any more jokes on them. At least, she hoped not.

She put that thought out of her mind as she dug into the steaming dinner Herma had set down in front of her. It was delicious, and she ate hungrily.

When her hunger was somewhat sated, she looked over at Julie and Bayron. "So, I don't mean to pry or anything, but what are you two planning on doing? I mean, about being with each other?"

"I want to stay here," Julie said without having to think about it. Seeing the surprise on Bayron's face, she rushed on, "I mean, only if you want me too, I only want to be here if you want me to stay. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that without talking to you first, but I-" She was cut off as Bayron kissed her.

"Julie, love, of course I want you to stay! I love you, and you don't know how happy that makes me." His face was shining with joy, but it faded a bit as he realized what they were saying. "Julie, I don't know how to tell you this, but it's impossible for you to just stay here."

Julie frowned, hurt. "What do you mean, it's impossible? I'm here right now, aren't I?"

Bayron shook his head. "This is different, you were brought here under extreme circumstances. As it is, you can't stay here much longer."

Now Julie felt close to tears. "So what exactly are you saying?" she asked, trying to keep the tears out of her voice.

Bayron cursed under his breath. This wasn't how he wanted this moment to be, but he had to do it before he got Julie even more upset. "Julie, you don't understand. It's forbidden for humans to visit the Underground, or to live here, except under very special circumstances.You already know a few of those circumstances, like Sarah's journey through the Labyrinth and you being brought here to get well. But, for a human to live here, it's different. A mortal can only visit or live here if they are married to Fae nobility, or related to a mortal who married into nobility. Julie, I want you to stay here more than anything, but something would have to change between us for that to happen." He paused for a moment to see if Julie understood where this was going.

She did, and she was grinning. "Bayron, is this little speech gonna end with you asking me to marry you?"

Bayron smiled back at her, wishing he could have done this a different way, but trying to make the most of the moment. "Yes, darling, it is. Julie, I have fallen completely and hopelessly in love with you, I think I fell in love the moment I saw you. Nothing would make me happier than you agreeing to marry me and live with me, here, forever."

Julie laughed as tears of joy fell out of her eyes. "Oh Bayron, I love you too! I never thought it was in me to fall in love with a man, but I do love you, and I want to marry you and stay here with you and live happily ever after!" She fell into his open arms and held him tight, as he gently lifted her face up to his, and then they were lost in each other. They had completely forgotten that they had an audience.

Sarah and Jareth were staring at the happy couple, unable to believe what had just happened.

"I certainly wasn't expecting that," Sarah said, trying to absorb the fact that she and her best friend were now both to marry men from the Underground.

Jareth, however, had had a feeling thatthis was coming. He knew his friend well, and he knew that Bayron would do anything to keep Julie with him. He hadn't expected it to happen over his dinner table, any more than Bayron had, but he was glad it had happened. His friend was a good man, and he deserved happiness.

Jareth stood up quietly, and motioned for Sarah to follow him. As they left the dining room, he explained, "We should let them have some privacy." Sarah agreed, and he took her hand and led her down the hall to where they could finally have some privacy of their own.