Chapter Thirty-Six
Sarah stood on the dais before the throne, accepting the congratulations of yet another courtier on their new union. The Ughlánas and Othánas alike were determined to extend their welcome to her as their Queen, along with the members of other sentient species who lived under the protection of the Goblin Kingdom. Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus had long since embraced her, wishing her joy in her marriage, and expressing their pleasure that she would eventually be staying Underground permanently. Even Hoggle congratulated them with sincere good will.
Jareth stood beside her, smiling broadly, his happiness plain for all to see. The elation in the crowd was infectious, and she could see that to the people milling around her, having finally chosen a queen, Jareth had lent their kingdom an air of legitimacy that had perhaps been missing until now. Indeed, there were so many glasses being raised in celebration towards her that she speculated half the castle was going to wake tomorrow with a hangover of epic proportions.
Lily stood close to Garthan's side, holding his arm, her head resting on his shoulder with easy affection. The tangible delight in the room had affected even them. Garthan's normally taciturn expression was open and smiling, while Lily was even more bubbly than her usual self as she chatted with Jareth. Randel was simply beaming and made no effort to try to hide it.
Sarah had just finished exchanging pleasantries with another Othánas well-wisher when she heard Lily's soft voice, "I have had Her Majesty's belongings moved to your chamber, Sire." Jareth murmured his thanks. Sarah felt her thoughts come to a flailing, screeching halt as she took a moment to process what she had just heard.
Her Majesty.
His Queen.
His wife.
His chamber.
We really are married, thought Sarah. A shiver of desire mixed with panic worked its way through her. This is our wedding night. We are going to…
"Sarah, is something wrong?"
She turned her gaze to Jareth, who was looking down at her, a slight frown of concern on his face. Damn. She had forgotten that he could sense her mood.
Plastering on a smile, she replied "Oh, no. I'm just getting a little tired."
Jareth kept looking at her closely, skepticism plain on his face. Suddenly, there was a flash of understanding in his eyes and his expression cleared. "Garthan, we should probably take a few minutes to discuss our response to the Strigoi missive," he said quietly.
Puzzled, Garthan looked at Jareth before glancing at Sarah. At once, his bemused expression smoothed over, and he nodded at his King, "Yes, Sire. We should."
"Lily, I wonder if you'd mind escorting my queen to our chamber while we finish up."
Lily smiled at Sarah, "Of course. Shall we, Your Majesty?"
Sarah nodded with a tremulous smile and proceeded to follow her off the dais. The two women made their way out of the ballroom and into the corridor leading to the royal wing of the castle. Lily kept up a stream of inconsequential chatter, eliciting a few chuckles from Sarah now and again as they walked. Soon, they came upon the ornate double doors of Jareth's bedchamber. Lily opened the door and ushered Sarah inside.
Sarah wasn't quite sure what she had been expecting. She supposed that she'd anticipated a decadently opulent chamber, dripping with velvet, satin, and silk. To her pleasant surprise, Jareth's chamber wasn't much larger than the one she had been using and was just as inviting. There was a large bed, prominent in the center of the wall, flanked by two small tables on either side of it, with bedding very similar to what she'd already seen.
On the wall near one of the tables was a framed crystal picture of a couple, arms about each other and smiling, both with golden blonde hair. The man looked rugged, but kind. The woman looked serene, and remarkably like Jareth.
I bet those are his parents, she thought.
There was a low cabinet in the corner of the room which had various bottles of what she believed to be liquor or wine lined up atop it. On the near side of the room was a large fireplace, logs burning inside it cheerfully and a seating area in front of it. The seating area consisted of two armchairs, a settee and a coffee table grouped companionably near the hearth. Also near the hearth was a small bookcase with several well-worn tomes.
There were three doors on the opposite side of the room and a large bank of floor to ceiling windows on the fourth wall of the chamber, opposite the bed. The two center windows were actually a set of glass doors leading out onto what looked to be a balcony. Lily brought her through the second door on the farthest side, which led into a dressing room that dwarfed the largest walk-in closet Sarah had ever seen. On one side of the room were racks of masculine clothing, boots, and accessories, obviously Jareth's, while on the other was a collection of feminine garments, most of which she recognized from her own chamber. There was a long bench set in the middle of the room and several full-length mirrors and chests of drawers along the walls.
Curious, Sarah poked her head through the door on the opposite side, which apparently led to the bathing room. Here at least was a bit of the decadence she'd expected, as she took in the marble floors and the enormous bathing pool with a small waterfall in the center of the room. She chuckled to herself, remembering that he'd written about soaking his irritations away. With a bathing pool like that, she wasn't sure she'd ever want to get out. Looking along the side of the chamber, she saw two basins and cabinets, with a vanity and mirror between them. On the vanity sat her various cosmetics, creams, and toiletries. At the far end of the room was a large, glass enclosed shower and what Sarah surmised was the toilet compartment.
When she returned to the dressing room, Lily was able to get her out of her ball gown with an efficiency that Sarah envied. Freed from the pewter silk, she slipped into a soft, sheer embroidered nightgown with a matching robe. Curiously, she couldn't recall this item ever being in her wardrobe before and wondered if Jareth conjured it just for this evening. Steering Sarah into the bathing room and seating her at the vanity, Lily took the pins from her hair, brushing and smoothing out her dark locks until they fell in an inviting cascade over her shoulders. She noted Sarah's pensive expression in the mirror.
"Sarah, are you all right? You look as though you are frightened of something."
Sarah gave her a troubled grimace, "I am, a little," she whispered.
Nodding with understanding, Lily said, "This is your first time."
"Yes," she said, twisting her hands together. "Unless you count Shaun Carson back in 3rd grade, I've never even kissed a guy, except for Jareth. I guess… I'm just scared," Sarah muttered. She rose from the vanity and walked back into the bedchamber. Lily followed, watching as Sarah sat herself on the settee.
"What exactly is it that you fear?" she asked.
Sarah expelled a deep sigh, "The unknown, I suppose. I know that Othánas and humans are genetically compatible. There are still differences, though." She looked at Lily with haunted eyes. "Claws. Fangs. Those are just the differences I've seen." Sarah shook her head, "I've never seen… I mean, for all I know, it could have spikes on it!"
Lily looked at her incredulously. Sarah watched as a myriad of expressions flitted across her face before Lily lost the battle and burst into laughter. Sarah looked at her blankly for a moment before the hilarity of what she'd said struck her, and her laughter joined Lily's.
"Okay, so that was a little ridiculous," Sarah said, gasping.
Lily wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. Still chuckling, she moved to the liquor cabinet and retrieved a bottle of amber liquid. "Sarah, have you ever seen a naked male? An adult human male?"
"Not exactly," Sarah replied, wiping her own eyes. "I've seen drawings. I've seen a statue or two, some pictures and a couple of movies. Never in the flesh, so to speak."
Lily nodded, setting the bottle down on the coffee table in front of Sarah and moving back to the liquor cabinet. "Then you already know what you are in for. Othánas males are built just like humans, so there will be no surprises in that respect. The mechanics of the act are also the same between the species, so there should be nothing that would strike you as unusual."
Lily removed a couple of wine glasses from the cabinet and placed them on the table next to the bottle, then sat down beside her. "At least you have a notion of what to expect. I had never even seen a drawing and had no idea what a man looked like without his clothes." Lily shrugged, "My mother was quite thorough in telling me how babies were made. The problem is that she forgot to give me much of a description about the body parts in question. Oh, I had a basic knowledge of what males had… I'd observed the animal kingdom after all, but as far as what a man actually looked like… nothing. Apparently, she didn't realize that this information might be important." Lily then laughed softly, "Imagine if you will, my 'wedding night'. Things are progressing quite nicely, so much so that I am really beginning to enjoy myself. That's when I got my first look at a naked male. A naked, aroused male."
"Oh, God. What happened?" Sarah asked, snickering a little.
Lily snickered right back. "I… how would you say… I 'freaked out'."
"Oh, no…" Sarah groaned, laughing.
"Oh, yes," Lily responded, laughing herself. "I was frightened. I thought that there was no way that was going to fit inside me, that I would be split apart."
"Poor Garthan," said Sarah, trying and failing to contain her giggles.
"I know. Oh, what that man has had to put up with! Naturally, he realized that I was afraid, and he was so wonderful with soothing my fear. He jested that women were made to fit babies through there, and as flattering as it was to think he was so… endowed, he simply wasn't capable of tearing me asunder while I tried to accommodate him. Well, this made me laugh, as you can imagine, which was what he intended. He then assured me that we would go as slowly as I needed to, even that nothing had to happen at all that night if I wasn't ready."
"That was compassionate of him," Sarah murmured.
"Indeed. And he meant every word. That's what I'm trying to tell you, Sarah. They understand us on levels we cannot comprehend. Thankfully, I found my courage and our union was consummated most enjoyably. There was pain, yes. But it was minor, and it was brief." Lily then put her hand over Sarah's and squeezed gently, "I wish I could describe to you how wonderful it's going to be. I can't. There simply aren't any words. But I promise you, the fear you are feeling right now will seem so silly on the morrow that you'll wonder why you even wasted a thought on it."
At this, the door to the chamber opened silently, and Jareth walked in. His eyes moved over Sarah with a smile, then he gave Lily a look of silent gratitude. She smiled back, rising to her feet and dropping a shallow curtsy to him before turning to Sarah and doing the same.
"Your Majesties, I wish you joy of each other," she said, softly. Giving Sarah one last smile of encouragement, she turned and quietly slipped from the room, leaving them alone.