Chapter 26. Farewell Princess

The Kingdom went into mourning, hanging flags at half mast and draping in black and purple. The King ordered a glass coffin for his Princess to be placed in. Her body lay in state in the great hall. The nobility came to pay their respects. The gentry came; some were actually saddened by the passing of the gentle princess. The common folk, gnome, dwarf, goblin and the rest filed past to say one last good bye. Sarah stood with Ona and Breanna, a female honor guard on constant vigil. All three dressed in mourning gowns, all three stayed in the chamber.

Toby and Georgie entered the chamber accompanied by Zoan. They paid their respects as Sarah had instructed them to, moving to stand beside the King. Jareth looked moved by the small gesture of the two children. He was comforted by their being at his side during the long hours he kept.

Sarah was alone in the chamber, the sun had long ago set and everyone in the kingdom was home with their families. The long lines of mourners had dwindled and now just the Mortal girl stood in the chamber. Zoan had taken the boys back to the suite of rooms and was staying with them. Ona had been sent to her bed, Breanna had taken her personally to be sure the old maid was resting. Jareth had gone accompanied by Gandar to the throne room to see to Kingdom business, leaving Sarah alone in the great hall with the glass coffin.

Sarah ran a hand on the cold smooth surface. "It's not fair." She said in a voice that sounded much younger. "I had just gotten to know you." She leaned her head on the lid as she spoke. "Adrianna… I'm going to miss you so much." Sarah closed her eyes, pained.

"I've rarely seen such devotion." A voice in the darkness said quietly. Sarah turned at the sound, and looked into the darkness. Coming toward her, with an expression of tranquility and composure was the High King. He too was dressed in the dark garb of mourning. He looked past the mortal to the girl encased in glass. "She was lovely." He commented sympathetically. "She had a good soul."

Sarah nodded; "She had a good heart."

Reaching out, the High King tilted the mortal girl's face up so he could look into it. He read her eyes and her trembling lips. "She selected her friends well," he concluded. "I envy her that ability." He pulled his hand back, and looked again at the coffin.

"What will happen now, Sire?" Sarah asked. "Jareth has not told us."

Oberon nodded. "After the three days of mourning, the coffin will be taken to the King's mausoleum. It sits in a grove of oaks just at the edge of the Labyrinth. There sweet Adrianna will rest for all time."

"She deserves the best." Sarah sighed, "She set her people above her own needs and wants you know."

"I was aware." Oberon softly replied, touched by the mortal girl's homage to her friend. "You yourself, Sarah are part of the legacy she leaves behind."

"Me?"

"You and the child you will bear." Oberon stated placing a hand on her shoulder.

Sarah gazed at the King, "Everyone seems so sure that I conceived." Her voice betrayed a smidgen of doubt.

Turning to assess the girl, Oberon smiled softly. "We, the Fae, are very sensitive to the changes around us… we sense life in its earliest stages. Our women don't conceive nearly as easily as mortals… There have been other pairings of Fae male to mortal female. In some cases the human woman gifts the child to the Fae… and forgets it was ever there…. In your case, you will be expected to stay at the King's side, and help him rear this and other children. You are bonded to the King, and the Underground is now your home."

"Adrianna said she was gifting me, that she'd made me a changeling…." Sarah questioned the High King. "Will I really be Fae in time?"

"After a fashion," he admitted. "You will never be as one born to the Fae, but you will in time develop powers beyond the ones my Grandson gifted you with. If there had not been fertile ground, neither he nor Adrianna would have been able to sow the seeds of magic." The High King led her toward a long bench where he took a seat and bid her to sit beside him. "You have more questions; ask them now so they will not remain hanging."

"The child…will it be… Fae… or mortal?" She didn't dare look into the eyes of the Old King.

"Fae," he said unaffected. "Of course."

"Of course?"

He smiled a sad, slow but warm smile. "Sarah, you are living in the Underground…the child is nourished by the magic that is environmentally part and parcel of the nature of our world. If you were impregnated above, and remained there, the child would exhibit certain Fae talents, but little else. Here, the child will live, eat, breath and learn magic from the very start. In every respect this child shall be a Fae… much as all the children you bear the King."

"You make it sound like you and he expect that I'll have a number of children." Sarah looked alarmed.

"It is expected that you and my Grandson will have a large family." Oberon stated. "You are only newly Fae, and your mortal beginnings give you the ability to give him children to rule his lands."

"Lands?" Sarah gulped. "You mean there's more than just the Goblin Kingdom?"

"There are many parts of the Goblin Kingdom." The High King said calmly.

Sarah looked at the casket. "If she'd not been infected, would she have been able to bear him a child?"

"One perhaps, with luck two." Oberon said. "But it would have taken time and luck." He placed his arm about her shoulder once more. "Sarah, Adrianna picked you to take her place, she understood the importance of the King having heirs… not just appointed heirs, but one born of his blood. Just as she was born of Prince Stephan and his wife, so she understood that Jareth must have children to solidify his reign."

Looking down she lamented. "It should be her having his child… she was his wife, I'm only his…" She sought for the right word, and came up vacant.

"You are his bonded consort." Oberon said without emotion. "A woman who is not quite a wife, but not a mistress… All children born of a bonded consort are considered legitimate in the Fae Kingdoms." He tightened his grip of her shoulder. "You may never rule yourself, dear Sarah, but your children will…just as Adrianna wanted."

"She was his wife, and he'll take no other is what you're telling me." Sarah said softly.

Oberon gazed from her to the casket of glass, "Precisely."

She took a deep breath, "And yet you and he will both expect me to pick up the wifely duties she's vacated."

"You are his bonded mated consort," Oberon said firmly. "What would you expect?"

"I don't know." She sighed heavily. "I haven't really had time to digest any of this." She stood up and walked back toward the casket. "I understand what she did to me, and why… and I've made peace with that… But the rest is…" she shrugged. "I'm going to be a wife, without the title wife…"

"But with all the benefits." Oberon interjected quickly. "Your children will be legal heirs. You yourself will be looked after and taken care of beautifully."

"And loved?" She asked, "Will I be loved?"

The High King gave her a quizzical look, "I would think that goes without saying."

"None of it can go without saying, Sire…" She lamented. "Because of how she tricked us into… mating…."

"Surely you don't doubt that my Grandson loves you." Oberon stood up, moved across the floor in a swift few steps. "Sarah, never doubt his love for you. He married Adrianna at my request, no… at my command…. He was so deep in his lament of having lost you he imprisoned his heart in glass."

"He's said nothing to me since she…died." Sarah whispered.

"He's in mourning," Oberon acknowledged.

"So am I." She pouted, and cried into her hands. "So am I."

Taking her into his arms, like a father or grandfather, Oberon comforted the girl. "You and my Grandson have forever… given him this time to grieve over and weep for the loss of the Princess."

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Three days of the Princess lying in State were over. The funeral procession was long. Goblins carried the glass casket to the forest followed by Jareth and his mother. Sarah and the boys along with Ona were behind the King. Everyone who could in the Kingdom attended and followed the procession into the wood.

She looked like she was but asleep, and Jareth wished it was so. But the truth was there, and it would not go away. Adrianna was dead. He watched as the casket was placed on a pedestal. He placed a hand on the smooth surface and then turned to walk out of the little building that looked more like a temple than a crypt. It was light inside, and looked peaceful. Jareth walked to where his mother stood with the boys, and watched as the door of the burial chamber was shut. The gathered throng turned to leave.

Sarah stood staring at the door, silent tears being shed.

Breanna placed a hand on her son's arm and motioned him to go to the mortal. She took up the hands of the boys and led them away.

Jareth walked slowly until he came up behind Sarah. He placed a hand to each of her shoulders. "Sarah." His voice was raw with emotions.

"Yes, Sire?" She answered formally.

"Come home, beloved." He beseeched, "come home my love." Sarah turned to look at him. "I need you, Sarah… She knew it perhaps better than I my self."

She looked back at the burial chamber one last time. "Yes, Jareth, I'll come home."

Raising one of her hands to his lips the King kissed it tenderly. "Thank you… my dear."

She moved closer to him, placing her arms about his slender waist and held to him tightly. "Let's go home." She said in a long drawn breath that was barely a whisper.