As comfortable as Jareth was being surrounded by servants – in some ways it was like being entirely alone, though with all the convenience of not needing to fetch one's own refreshments – there was only so much admiration he could show his queen in such circumstances. So he left her to get changed again, not without a parting kiss, and went down to the courtyard to keep a watchful eye on her besotted brother.

It was common for half-beasts, like Beldych, to take much of their character from the animal side. And though his devotion to his wife was human, stags typically only visiting hinds during breeding season, his defense of Marlene could be as vicious as any stag in rut. None had tried his patience so far, and Jareth did not plan for Toby to be the first. The boy was charming, but an infatuated youth was a nuisance to his elders.

In the castle courtyard, Sir Didymus had assembled the nascent Queensguard, as Jareth had expected when he heard Neesk mention where they were. What he had not expected was to find the large courtyard packed wall to wall with goblins, in their closest approximation of orderly rows. Toby, with Neesk on his shoulder, was crowded up against the door in the little pocket of space around Ludo. Meanwhile the fox-knight was trying to drill his charges with his typical enthusiasm. "Left!" he cried. "Turn left, I say! No, your other left!"

"What is this?" Jareth said, eyeing him. There had to be several hundred goblins in the courtyard. He'd requested a guard, not an entire army.

"The Queensguard, as you ordered, Sire," Sir Didymus replied, and called out, "Attention, men!"

Most of the goblins clashed to some approximation of attention, while Jareth drew one gloved hand over his face and suppressed a sigh. The fox-knight continued, "You did ask me to choose the least ambitious, Sire, and it was a difficult task considering the typical lack of ambition amongst goblins. Without much ground to choose, I simply took all those who did not volunteer, as volunteering would indicate ambition."

"You…" Jareth trailed off, his eyes widening. "How many are there?"

"This is the first quarter," Sir Didymus replied. "All told there are seven hundred fifty-six, Sire."

Seven hundred and fifty six. That was an army. And would severely deplete the ranks of his actual army, since he recognized a number of his officers in the throng. "Do you think Sarah needs seven hundred guardsmen?" he asked.

The fox-knight looked puzzled. "Sire, she is a lady of courage surpassing even my own! Lady Sarah will surely need even more defenders, as they are likely to die heroically in battles on her behalf."

"I cannot fault your logic," Jareth admitted. "However, any true battles will be answered by the Goblin Army, which you in your zeal have plundered for her guard. We need only, hmm, two score guardsmen. None of which can be officers in the army, mind. Make your choices from this lot and dismiss the rest, if you please."

"But Sire…" he began, and Jareth cut him off. "Do it now, good knight. I would like to have a presentable force when Sarah arrives, which will be in moments."

"What of their armor?" the fox-knight said plaintively.

"Their armor?" Jareth asked, with a sinking feeling.

Didymus twirled his mustaches nervously. "I had ordered new armor for all of them, Sire, as you wished. Not all could be completed in time for the coronation, of course, but the first hundred will be done."

Seven hundred and fifty-some new suits of armor on order, with a hundred complete. Dear gods. Jareth sighed heavily; it was a very good thing that the treasury was full, and that their trading relationship with the dwarves gave them access to large amounts of iron. Since most fae didn't use it, it was relatively cheap. "Then the entire Goblin Army shall have new armor, and the Queensguard shall have it first, then the officers," he replied. This was something he should've known about as soon as Didymus ordered it, but with the chaos of the coronation, his steward had likely just seen that the fox-knight had been given authority to provision the Queensguard, and checked it off the list. He could not fault the man for that.

Instead he went to Toby, as Didymus sighed with relief and began making his choices for the more reasonable Queensguard. Jareth nodded to Ludo, who was happy to stand in the sun and look imposing, then turned his attention to the boy. "Sarah tells me you've fallen in love," he said.

Of course, Toby bristled. Ah, adolescence, all the petulance of childhood with all the certainty adulthood only pretended! He did not miss those days in himself, nor did he particularly appreciate them in runners. "I don't expect you to understand," the boy snapped.

"No, for I did not love your sister at first sight," Jareth replied, carefully. "I thought her a pleasant distraction. Then a great nuisance, then a true threat, and finally a worthy opponent – and partner. She is the perfect compliment to me, and to my very great fortune she agrees. I wanted her before I loved her, but the love that grows with time is often sweeter than that which strikes like a thunderbolt."

Toby was actually listening, so Jareth continued, "Love at first sight is very rare, you know. Desire at first sight is common, and the two can be difficult to tell apart, when they both strike a man off his feet and leave him stunned."

The boy shook his head. "This isn't like that," he protested. "I'm not an idiot, I know the difference between love and lust. Don't make it gross. She just … she's so beautiful. I don't want anything from her. I just want to look at her."

Jareth privately thought that sounded more like a very young man's description of first lust, rather than first love. He had not the experience to put his yearning into action. Jareth had known his desire for Sarah for what it was the moment it flared to life in him, and had known precisely what he would have done with her, had she been of an age and inclination to return his advances. Toby was still innocent, and all he felt was the magnetic attraction. Time – and perhaps an instructional visit to a brothel – would show him the difference between infatuation and true love.

But he would hear none of that, so Jareth told him only what was practical and necessary. "Then be wary of your eyes, young Toby. For her husband loves her dearly, and he is no fool. He may not trust your chivalry. You saw my chef, did you not?"

"The guy with the antlers?" Toby said, his eyes widening a little.

"The same. That is Marlene's husband. Have you seen stags at battle? They sometimes kill one another. And you have no antlers of your own with which to spar against him. Be careful. I do not wish to spoil your sister's coronation by having to save your skin in the middle of it."

"No," Toby said, appropriately shaken, and as far as Jareth was concerned that was the end of it. The boy did have some sense, after all, else Sarah would not love him so dearly.

Sarah came down then, and was presented with forty suspiciously well-trained goblins. Jareth realized only then that Didymus had chosen the best of this lot, which were evidently the best of the four groups, and as such Sarah's Queensguard would be the equal of his own private guard, if not the better.

She smirked at him. "Very nice. Thank you, Jareth, and you, Sir Didymus. I am honored to have such a devoted captain, and such fearsome guards." The goblins of her guard grinned toothily at that remark, and she smiled back at them.

Neesk had hopped back to her shoulder, making Jareth wonder if he ought to glamour the little goblin into a parrot, so Sarah might openly carry him about Above. "They will all be formally presented after your coronation, and Sir Didymus confirmed in his new rank at the same time," he said. "Oaths must be taken, to serve you as Queen of Umardelin. Please note, my canny love, that they serve you as queen, not as an individual. So you may not use them for an armed insurrection against the legitimate king of the realm."

"Sire, Lady Sarah would never do such a thing!" Sir Didymus protested, shocked. "Were you not my king, I would cry challenge for such slander!"

Sarah only laughed, casting the fox-knight an affectionate smile for defending her honor. "Oh, but I would. I meant to, on my second run. Kick him off his throne and leave his castle in ruins, just like last time. Only somehow he managed to talk me out of it, the silver-tongued wretch. Peace, my good knight, Jareth gives no offense."

Toby was looking at her curiously, having caught the difference in her phrasing. When Sarah was here, she spoke more like a fae queen than a New Yorker, and between that and the dress, her little brother was beginning to see her for what she truly was. "I am most fortunate you chose to join me rather than usurp me, Sarah mine," Jareth replied to her.

"Yes, you are," she told him, wrinkling her nose at him slightly as her eye sparkled merrily.

After the informal meeting with the new Queensguard, Sarah headed back inside with Jareth and Toby. The king was immediately accosted by his steward and head groom, and let them go with a weary look as the two servants discussed stabling and provisioning for tomorrow's guests.

Sarah was getting hungry, running back and forth across the castle was reaching the exhausting point, and she decided a visit to the kitchens would be instructive for Toby as well. The foot traffic near the main kitchen was as intense as that of the main corridor, but Beldych spotted Sarah and made room for her simply by stepping into the door. "My lady queen, how can we serve you?" he asked in his deep voice.

For the first time since they'd met, Sarah looked closely at him, seeing more than just the friendly and talented chef. Beldych's antlers framed his head like a crown of his own, their tines polished to an ivory tone that contrasted with the ruddy brown of the branches. "Just a quick snack, if you please, literally whatever you have lying around," she replied, glancing at the chaos they were all dealing with. "I've put all of you to enough trouble for one week, for certain, with all this nonsense."

"No trouble at all, for you," he said, dipping that grand head respectfully. "We've pies ready, if you like, of both meat and fruit."

"You're far too kind, truly. And that would be delightful," Sarah said with a relieved smile. "One of each for me, and if I know my brother, two of each for him. By the way, this is Toby. He's come Underground for the festivities. Tobe, you haven't quite been introduced to Beldych yet."

"Pleased to meet you, sir," Toby said, offering his hand. And as Beldych shook with him, he added, "Sarah speaks very highly of you."

"I am honored to meet you, and to hear that," he replied, and then one of the undercooks handed over the pies. The exchange soothed some of Sarah's worries, and with thanks, she let herself be swept into the flow of servants headed out, finding a quiet spot in the corridor to eat.

It was there that Della and Thiel found them, just as they finished the snack. "There you are," Thiel scolded. There was a gently teasing light in his eyes, though, as he continued, "It is hardly right and regal, Sarah Williams, for a queen to skulk about the back hallways when she ought to be memorizing her oath."

"I already memorized it," she retorted, smirking at him proudly. At this point, she knew his teasing for it was. He could be difficult, Thiel, but it was impossible for Sarah to be cross with him for long. Not all of Jareth's charm came from his mother's side of the family. "All those acting classes turned out to be useful after all. I know my lines, and the dress fits, and your clotheshorse of a son didn't go too crazy with it."

"And clearly your wit and sense of humor have not been affected by such a momentous occasion," Della laughed.

Sarah could only shrug expressively, keeping her expression utterly neutral, even as she fought to hold back a laugh. "The plan is to stay with him and this land for many years to come. I consider the humor to be pure, unfettered survival instinct." If she was honest, the nerves were starting to get to her. Thus far, staying busy had helped and she intended to not be alone with her thoughts for too long.

After a moment, Sarah remembered neither of them had yet been introduced to her brother. This was not as ceremonial as she would've liked, which really should have been his due as her sibling, but there was no real time and so it would have to do. "Tobe, c'mere. Thiel, Della, this is my brother, Toby. Tobe, this is Jareth's father, King Deruthiel of Etaron." Thiel offered his hand, which Toby shook distractedly. Beside him, Della offered her hand next, smiling warmly as Sarah continued, "And this is his mother, Queen Cadelinyth of Etaron."

"My friends call me Della," the queen added.

Toby took her hand, but didn't shake it, just staring at her for a long silent second. Sarah looked at him, puzzled, and even Della tipped her head slightly sideways in birdlike curiosity. Finally, awkward silence eating at her, Sarah lightly chipped him in the ankle, which Toby failed to even notice. At last, he blurted, "You are the most incredibly beautiful woman I've ever seen."

That was not what his sister had been expecting. At all. For a few seconds, Sarah couldn't believe what she'd just heard, or what it meant. Toby, what the hell? Then her face paled while her throat flushed as it hit her, a mixture of horror and embarrassment swarming over her.

It wasn't Marlene whom Toby had seen in the corridor. It was Della. And what surprise, really, for him to be so infatuated with the loveliest fae woman of her generation, who had once brought dozens of kings and princes to court her favor?

That was enough to make Sarah want to hit her brother.

And Toby could not be that stupid, not right in front of her husband, for the love of God! But he was, and he was still staring at her like a young artist in front of the Mona Lisa, like they were the only two people in the castle or the world. Thankfully Thiel looked as though he were stifling laughter, rather than an urge to box Toby's ears. Della smiled and said only, "Why thank you, Toby, that's very kind of you."

Oh my God, I'm going to kill him. It was all she had to keep from screaming in utter frustration. Bad enough the thought that he had been crushing on Marlene, but Della?Of all the foolish… "Excuse me," Sarah said, and grabbed Toby's arm, hauling him away as Thiel broke into amused chuckles. In a way, that was a hopeful sign, but that didn't help her embarrassment. Dragging her brother, who struggled and protested the whole way, into the closest empty room, Sarah shoved him up against the wall once the door was closed soundly.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" she yelped, looking at him with no small amount of horror. Of all the possible complications of bringing Toby Underground, she'd never expected this! "Never mind, you obviously weren't thinking, not with anything north of your belt anyway! Tobe, you've been down here for three hours; how are you already causing this kind of trouble?"

"What's wrong with you?" he snapped back. "I told you it's not like that! It's love at first sight!"

Normally Sarah was more than capable of dealing with her baby brother's whims, but this? This was a whole other level, one of potential inter-kingdom incident. Wars had been fought for less, she knew. And she was utterly mystified at how much Fate seemed to hate her at the moment. "Oh fuck that romantic bullshit! Stop it!" Sarah cried, utterly horrified. "Jesus Christ, Toby, you just hit on Jareth's mother! Right in front of her husband! Who she's been married to for like five hundred years! Down here they fight duels over shit like that, and trust me when I tell you he'd kill you in five seconds flat!"

"I wasn't hitting on her," he protested, looking wounded now. "She's just … Sarah, you saw her, she's unbelievable. No woman that gorgeous has ever walked the earth."

"Yeah, because she's fae, Toby, not human. It comes with the package. They're all some level of dazzling. And telling her how beautiful she is in front of her husband, before you even say hello, is pretty obviously and lamely hitting on her!" Sarah ground her teeth with frustration, and fought the urge to smack him upside the head until he saw sense. This is not happening to me, this is not happening to me today...

"No it's not!" he snapped back. "It's just the truth, I know you see it too! You just don't want to admit that anybody can fall in love without the two of you's level of drama!"

Now her green gaze narrowed, fighting the urge to throttle him. "Oh please, get over yourself! Wake up, despite all the damn fae around, this is not a fairytale and you are not in any kind of love at first sight with Jareth's mother!"

"Who are you to talk?" Toby yelled, pushing her back. "You went and fell in love with the Goblin King, in dreams apparently. Y'know, the freaking bad guy? The one who took me and scared you half to death the first part of your run to get me back? Yeah, him. And now you two are giving me diabetes every time I see you!"

"That was different and that took years. You first saw her half an hour ago! Also, there was no queen here, Toby! What part of she's married is not penetrating your thick damn skull, Tobe?!" Sarah shouted, resisting the urge to shake him.

"I'm not stupid, Sare! I don't want to marry her, and I don't want to sleep with her either! Jeez, give me some credit! She's just freaking amazing, I just…" Words failed him then, and he fell back against the wall with a sigh. "I dunno. I felt my heart go, when I saw her. There's nothing else. I don't want anything from her. I know … I know I'm not good enough for her."

Now that raised her ire in an entirely other way. No, she wasn't going to have that. "Shut up," Sarah growled, sighing heavily. "My brother is good enough for any-damn-body, no matter how royal. That's not what's important. She's married and she's completely madly in love with her husband. You think me and Jareth are gross, those two are ridiculous, even though they've been married five hundred years. I took her shopping in New York and she bought two grand worth of lingerie just to make his head spin."

Toby visibly paled. "I don't need to know that," he grumbled.

"No, you don't, you're fifteen freaking years old. You don't need to be picturing your soon-to-be brother-in-law's mother in lingerie, and you damn sure don't need to be setting yourself up as cougar-bait."

"Dammit, Sarah, I keep telling you that isn't what this is about!" Toby had never looked so angry, and for a moment Sarah realized he was taller and heavier than she was, now. She'd never thought of him as intimidating.

"You're fifteen," she said again, gritting her teeth in irritation, and he cut her off.

"So I don't have the capacity to feel anything but horny?" he shouted. "You were fifteen when you met Jareth; did you have that problem?"

She had to grace to blush, but a new voice spoke from the doorway, interrupting whatever response she might summon. "I have no idea what I'm interrupting, but it sounds horrific," Jareth said drolly.

They both stared at him, and Toby at least had the sense not to declare his love. Sarah sighed. If she was upset, Jareth was likely to be furious. Better to set this argument aside for now. "Long story. It's not gonna be a problem. Is it, Toby?"

"Of course not," he replied, nettled.

Jareth raised an eyebrow. "This relates to what we discussed earlier?"

"Yes," Toby said, and Sarah looked from one to the other. She didn't want to tell Jareth, not right now, just who Toby's obsession had fixed on. She could just imagine how that would go. But apparently they'd discussed this when she thought it was about Marlene, and now she had to hope that Jareth had given him some sage man-to-man advice that might actually be useful. "Okay, enough for now. I'm done with this craziness at the moment," she proclaimed. "Jareth, Toby is going to need some clothes to fit in down here. Good thing I warned the tailor ahead of time. Take him for me, please? I need a few minutes to talk to your parents." And maybe shore up this idiocy a bit more, God help me.

"Of course, love," Jareth said.

And as Sarah walked away, she heard Toby said, "I'm not wearing tights."

Jareth's response, which she wished she hadn't heard, was simply, "Ah. You prefer a gown, then?"

Sarah went to apologize to Della and Thiel, still utterly mortified, and saw the rueful little smile curving Della's lips. "I'm sorry, he's an idiot, I tried to yell some sense into him," she began.

"Oh, don't," Della interrupted. "It's not his fault."

Thiel just shrugged. "He's not the first, he won't be the last."

Sarah blinked at them both. This was … not what she'd expected. In her own eyes, Toby had offered a massive insult to them both. "How are you not mad at him?"

At that, Thiel scoffed. "Please. I haven't got the energy or the time to be furious with every man who falls madly in love with my wife. I can't blame him, either – I look at her every day. Give him time, he'll get his brain back eventually."

"We must be gentle with him," Della insisted. "I won't encourage him, obviously, because it would be cruel to lead him on. But I can't break his heart, either, for that would be just as cruel. He is young, he likely has never been in love before – at least, he thinks this is love. We all know love is much more than infatuation, and cannot come to life in an instant. At least you know I will be kind, and not take advantage."

Sarah sighed, rolling her eyes in annoyance before briefly closing them. "It's just … incredibly awkward, and so embarrassing, watching my baby brother drooling like an idiot over my soon-to-be mother-in-law."

"It's rather charming, and very sweet," Della replied. "As for awkward, darling, you are making quite vociferous love with my son on a near-nightly basis, and I have the hearing of an owl. If you must be embarrassed, you needn't be so on Toby's behalf."

Sarah's jaw dropped, her ears burning, as Thiel elbowed his wife gently. "You minx. Let the boy get an idea of what you're really like, besides beautiful beyond the power of words to tell, and he'll run scared."

"I doubt that," Della said archly. "If he has his sister's courage, running will be the last thing on his mind. But Sarah, if you want him to get over it quickly, I do have a maid who looks a bit like me, and she's quite free with her favors…"

"No!" Sarah squeaked, when she realized what Della was suggesting. "No, we are not gonna … no. He'll get over it in his own time. Jesus, Della, he's fifteen, we're not setting him up with a maid to take his v-card."

"Fifteen is no unusual age," Thiel said, and then with a touch of masculine humor, "Jareth was thirteen."

That made her eyes go wide, struck silent in disbelief, and even more so when Della explained with a sigh, "Crown princes are something of a prize, I'm afraid, and as soon as he began to express interest, there was something of a competition amongst the maids. The two biggest rivals eventually decided to share the honor. I had them both sent to the country estate, when we found out. No sense in encouraging the notion that the staff are there for such purposes."

"Great. I always forget there's no statutory rape laws Underground," Sarah muttered. "No wonder he was casting eyes at me when I was fifteen."

"Weren't you doing the same to him, despite him being so much older?" Della asked gently. "And a bride of that age certainly wasn't unusual not so very long ago, when he was younger. Love is love, Sarah. And yes, since we know it isn't truly love, lust is also lust. Remember that Thiel was one hundred and twelve, when I was twenty-one."

"And carried yourself like you were your mother's age," Thiel muttered, but she only smiled up at him. Sarah sighed, and decided to leave the whole mess with Toby at their feet. As long as Thiel wasn't going to demand his head on a pike, it'd have to wait. There were too many other things to worry about, like her coronation ceremony tomorrow and all that it entailed, plus the massive feast afterward where damn near all the kingdoms would have at least one representative.

She would be talking to Jareth about that little revelation, though. He'd lost his virginity at thirteen, in a threesome, for God's sake? No wonder he was so damn cavalier! And such a braggart!

Things didn't settle down until very late, and Sarah curled up with Jareth at well past ten. In a realm with only candles, oil lamps, and magic for artificial light, the waking and working day was more closely related to the sun. In the darkness and quiet, Sarah lay in the circle of her lover's arms, thinking entirely too much about the day ahead.

Toby had been given a room of his own, with Neesk keeping watch outside his door. Sarah was seriously regretting her decision to bring him Underground. He hadn't been driven insane, and it would be very nice to have one reminder of what she still considered her real life in the midst of her coronation. But then he'd gone and added a whole new complication to her life.

Sarah felt the weight of responsibilities pressing down on her. She had subjects to rule, people whose lives and welfare were her concern. And Above, she had her charges to consider as well. Even Umardelin itself, she felt the kingdom around her like an immense warm duvet, blanketing her in its confidence – and yet it too needed her.

So many expectations. She was Sarah Williams, she was a fighter first and foremost, she knew she would rise to the challenge and she never dreamed of backing down. But in the last night before her coronation, doubt plagued her. It was so easy to be a bad queen, so easy to fail in one of her many duties Above and Underground.

"I need a drink," she murmured to herself. Just one drink, to settle her nerves so she could sleep. Trying to get through the coronation without any sleep would be a nightmare.

But she knew the potency of fae liquor too well. One glass of wine down here might be one too many, and the only thing worse than staggering through her coronation sleep-deprived would be stumbling through it hungover. No, a simple human glass of chardonnay would do.

Sarah slipped out of the cushion pit with a gentle kiss to Jareth's hair, and left him a brief note in case he woke and found her gone. Needed to breathe the smog for a minute, she wrote. I'll be back in time, I promise. I'm not running out. And then she headed up the corridor to her own rooms, and the mirror spelled to take her back to her apartment in New York.

Except, she'd been walking up the corridor for twice as long as usual, and her door wasn't any nearer. Sarah glanced behind her, and saw she was only a dozen steps away from Jareth's door. She frowned, wondering. The castle did change itself at need … and then she realized why it would. Sarah sighed, and laid her hand against the sandstone wall.

"I'm not leaving you," she told Umardelin, and felt the whole kingdom listening, as if it held its breath in anticipation. "I will never leave you. The best part of me is here, in your Labyrinth. In your castle beyond the Goblin City, in the arms of your King, in the regard of your goblins. I am here, wherever I stand, and I always will be. I'll never leave you again."

The castle seemed to breathe around her, and Sarah felt as if there were many hundreds of eyes fixed on her. In that intense regard, she sensed a question. Promise?

Smiling, Sarah crossed her chest with her free hand. "I promise. Cross my heart. I only need to go Above for a little while and remember the other half of who I am. I'm coming back. I swear to you, I'm coming back in time for the coronation."

With those words, her own door was suddenly an arm's length away, and Sarah went to it with a whispered, "Thank you."