Chapter 67

Sarah awoke sometime later in a tangle of messy sheets half lying on the prone form of her husband, who was busy stroking her hair. She looked into his eyes, an "I love you" on her lips when a sharp rap at the door came, followed immediately by the door opening and Athienne bustling in carrying a breakfast tray.

"I thought I'd check on you myself…." She stopped dead in her tracks. At least she didn't drop the tray. Sarah scrambled to find enough sheet to cover herself but Jareth only laughed, as Athienne's eyes shot daggers at him.

"I ordered bed rest," she glared accusingly at the Fae king.

He laughed harder. "What did you think was going to happen, Athienne? You put my wife in the same bed…and nothing else to do…" he smirked; in fact he couldn't seem to wipe that self-satisfied smirk off of his face.

"You needed to rest," she insisted.

"And so I did. I let Sarah do all the work," he replied innocently. Sarah groaned and buried her face in the pillow. She was never going to be able to look the little Elven healer in the face again.

Athienne opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. In the face of Jareth's laughter what was there to say? "Very well. I release you then to light activities in and around the castle, but don't overdo it."

"Are you sure I'm well enough for that?" Jareth grinned mischievously. "I'm perfectly willing to go on an extended bed rest with Sarah." Sarah groaned again and wished she could disappear in a shower of glitter.

Athienne glared at him and slammed the door behind her. Jareth roared with laughter.

After he and Sarah had dressed, he went immediately to confer with Preussner and Ryvak, wanting to know the status of the prisoner exchange, the casualty reports, and the status of the rebuilding.

Sarah was on her way to see Hoggle and Didymus when she was waylaid by a messenger bearing the emblem of the High Fae Council. As he stopped his horse, Wego rushed forward to take the reins as the Elven rider approached Sarah and bowed. "You are summoned, My Lady," he said as he handed a scroll to her. Sarah opened it and read, her magic instantly converting the language to English.

"Thank you," she replied, as she turned back toward the castle. The young elf continued to stand there, and Sarah was becoming increasingly unsure as to whether she had committed a major faux pas. Was she supposed to tip him, or something?

"Was there something else?" she inquired.

"No, no My Lady," he stammered. "I just wanted to get a good look at the queen who used to be just a human girl." He smiled shyly then. "Tis said you are a force to be reckoned with. I shall take my leave." He bowed again and springing lightly to the back of the horse they vanished in a cloud of hoof beats and dust.

Sarah smiled wryly. Well, that was … interesting. She tucked the missive under her arm and went in search of Jareth.

"Whatever could the council want with us?" she asked after he read the missive. "I was under the impression that they would simply issue a judgment and that would be that."

Jareth looked at her, mystified himself. "That is usually how these things go. I have never seen the parties summoned back to court. Tis usually better to issue an edict and give the losing party time to cool off before putting them in the same room with one of the judges who ruled against them, let alone all of the judges." He paced for a moment. "Meep," he called. When the little goblin arrived expectantly, Jareth instructed him to summon Tieran to the castle.

As the little goblin vanished, Sarah arched a brow questioningly. "Why didn't you just use a mirror?"

"Because of the war, I bespelled all of the mirrors in the kingdom to connect instantly, time being of the essence and all. I haven't had the opportunity to remove the spell, and as Brigid and Tieran are betrothed, I can't imagine that they are being celibate. I didn't want a repeat performance of this morning with myself in Athienne's place."

Sarah nodded her understanding and suppressed a blush as the Goblin King winked at her.

When Tieran arrived, Jareth wasted no time. "What do you know of this?" he demanded as he held forth the missive.

"Nothing," Tieran replied, as he held out a similar scroll. "I received an identical summons just now."

"Curiouser and curiouser," Sarah murmured.

"Well, we best be off," Jareth said at last. The summons says we are to be there by 3:00 p.m., and it's a quarter 'til now."

Chapter 68

They reappeared in the courthouse square. As they waited, Sarah was expecting to see her father and step-mother, perhaps her mother as well as the other solicitors, but the lawn was otherwise empty and remained so. Perhaps they were inside. They ascended the steps and entered an empty courtroom. It was now precisely 3:00 p.m. At that moment, the small bailiff entered and called "All rise."

Sarah, Jareth and Tieran hastily rose to their feet as the High Fae Council filed in and took their seats. Sarah was surprised to see a new addition. In Erlinwar's place sat a much younger troll, an aura of frankness and competence seemed to surround him.

"Is that Denneth?" she whispered to Jareth. He nodded.

"Be seated," intoned the bailiff, and they sat, Jareth leaning back in the chair, stretching his legs and crossing his arms and ankles almost insolently as he stared at the court. Queen Titania raised a brow at him but said nothing. She called the court to order and got immediately to business.

"Jareth, King of the Goblins," she said coolly. "Take your place with us."

Jareth rose slowly and took the empty chair at Titania's side. Sarah slid over so she could confer with Tieran. She looked at him, brows raised. He shook his head slightly.

"As our first order of business…" Titania began. "The court will rise."

Sarah started to stand, but Tieran's hand pressing down on her forearm stopped her. Sarah stared in wonder as the members of the court rose. She looked at Jareth; he was barely suppressing a smile. He winked at her.

Queen Titania continued then. "The thirteen Kingdoms of the Underground acknowledge the Goblin Queen," she intoned with reverence. Sarah watched in shock as the monarchs of the High Fae Council bowed to her. She stood hastily and offered an awkward curtsy. Titania and several of the other members of the court smiled at her before resuming their seats.

"Now, to the next order of business. After much deliberation, we have decided in an eight to four vote to outlaw all contracts for marriage in the Underground." Ana had been right when she said that this was coming, that the younger rulers found the practice archaic and absurd. "However," Titania continued, "it has never been our practice to make our rulings retroactive. Therefore, all contracts entered into prior to today's date shall be dealt with on a case by case basis. This brings us to you, Goblin Queen, formerly Sarah Williams of the Above. You have earned the respect and gratitude of this court. We, who are now ashamed to admit that we failed to act when we should have intervened, wish to honor you. In spite of nearly impossible odds, with limited resources and almost no outside help, you managed to rally your people, defeat an invading army of superior size and strength, and save the life of another monarch of this realm. We thank you. Had the Goblin Kingdom fallen, the ramifications would have been catastrophic."

Sarah knew she was thinking of the wished aways and the abandoned children, the lifeblood of the Underground. She couldn't imagine Erlinwold giving a rat's ass about any of them.

"In acknowledgement of our respect for you, for you are truly the Goblin Queen, we afford you a right that has, heretofore, never been offered to another litigant. With regard to the contracts that pertain to you, you may choose, Goblin Queen, which contracts you wish to void and which to enforce."

All eyes turned to her then.

"With regard to the contract between King Folmar of the Gypsy Clan and the Lady Lindell of the Tuatha de Danaan regarding the marriage of Sarah Williams," intoned Queen Titania, "what say you Goblin Queen?"

"Void," said Sarah clearly and succinctly.

Titania nodded to Benthee, and the bailiff wrote something on the sheaf of papers before him.

"With regard to the contract between the former King of the Trolls, Erlinwar, and the Lady Lindell of the Tuatha de Danaan regarding the marriage of Sarah Williams, what say you, Goblin Queen?" Titania asked in a most perfunctory manner.

"Void."

Titania nodded to Benthee, and there was another scruffle of writing.

But Titania was far from finished. "With regard to the contract between Jareth, King of the Goblins and the Lady Lindell of the Tuatha de Danaan regarding the marriage of Sarah Williams, what say you, Goblin Queen?"

Sarah swallowed hard. She hadn't been expecting to be put on the spot like this when she came to court today. "Void," she rasped as clearly as she could manage. She heard a sharp inhalation of breath, and knew that she had hurt Jareth. There were several raised eyebrows in the courtroom, and Tieran was looking at her with shock in his eyes.

"Very well, Benthee," Titania said, as she gestured to him to record Sarah's decision.

One more to go, Sarah thought to herself. As soon as Titania began questioning her, she had known this was coming. Jareth had said he had figured out how to break the Faelium bond, but did she want to? She had hedged before, wanting to talk to Adin again. Now there was no time. They expected an answer. Could she delay, play for more time? The answer came to her then; whether it was her magic or her own mind, she wasn't sure. But Titania was speaking again.

"With regard to the issue of the Faelium bond between Sarah Williams of the Above and Jareth, King of the Goblins, what say you, Goblin Queen?"

There can be no love without trust, Sarah's mind whispered. "Enforceable."

Jareth looked at her in surprise as did several of the other members of the council. The simple fact was, when push came to shove, she trusted him—absolutely. Even if there was no defense to the Faelium, she would trust him to let her have privacy. In return, she would do the same for him. However….

As Titania began to nod toward Benthee, Sarah interrupted. "There is one caveat," she said. When no one challenged her right to speak, she forged ahead. "I want a real proposal, and a handfasting, with bridesmaids," she insisted.

Titania smiled. Several of the other members of the council outright snickered and Denneth laughed a hearty guffaw at the gumption of the Goblin Queen. He wondered idly what would have happened had his father contracted this young woman for marriage to him instead of his worthless brother. He looked at Jareth speculatively. Oh yes, he'd have given the pretty Fae a run for his money for this Queen.

"We have a demand before us," Queen Titania intoned, an amused note coloring her voice. "What say you, Jareth, King of the Goblins?"

"Agreed," Jareth stated, a wicked smile pulling at his lips. He was King of the Goblins, after all. He pictured Sprog cannonballing into the wedding cake and the rest of the goblins and their assorted chickens terrorizing the guests. Oh yes, this would be a handfasting never to be forgotten. It would be epic…legendary…throughout all of the thirteen kingdoms for all time.

Titania nodded to Benthee who dutifully recorded the decision.

But, Titania wasn't finished. "At this time, the Court issues an arrest warrant for Lady Lindell of the House of Tuatha de Danaan, also known as Linda Williams of the Above, for witness tampering, for attempting to suborn perjury, and for willfully attempting to perpetrate fraud upon this court. The Court further orders an arrest warrant be issued for Erlinwar, former King of the Trolls, for witness tampering, for attempting to suborn perjury, attempted bribery of a witness, and for criminal assault and battery for threatening and subsequently perpetrating bodily harm upon the person of Lady Lindell. This concludes the Court's business today. We are adjourned. This Court stands in recess." She struck her gavel and the members of the council began filing out, all but Jareth, who, when the other members had exited, leapt somewhat disrespectfully across the table to stand in front of Sarah. He grinned and offered his arm.

"Shall we go home?" he inquired. They said goodbye to Tieran, and Jareth transported them to the castle.

Chapter 69

"Dinner in the conservatory, please, Meep," Jareth called as he led Sarah down the corridor. "So, Precious, I'm curious about your decisions at Court today."

Sarah had expected this. "Well, the contracts with the Troll King and the Gypsy King, I think you kind of know why I said to void them." He nodded. "The marriage contract between you and my mother, well, that was an arrangement between you and her. I wanted something between us, so I wanted to void that one." He nodded again understanding her reasoning now.

"But the Faelium. You weren't ready to commit earlier; what changed your mind?" he asked as he seated her at the small dinner table.

Here she struggled, trying to find the right words to explain. "While you were in a coma, I realized that I had never given anything to you, never given anything back." He started to interrupt, but she held up her hand. "Just let me finish," she insisted. "I'm not wealthy. I don't have a kingdom or anything … tangible to offer. I didn't even realize that I loved you until I healed you. And the Faelium bond kinda scares me. But, I do know that in order for there to be love, there has to be trust. I trust you, Jareth. Every single time I've put my trust in you, you've never let me down. So, I trust you to leave my private thoughts my own. That's all I have to offer you, my love and my trust. Is it enough?" she asked, worry evident in her voice.

"More than," he said softly, as he pulled her out of her chair and into his lap. He kissed her then, a long, sweet kiss with only a touch of heat. "So, Goblin Queen, when do you plan to propose to me?" he asked, his eyes wide and deceptively innocent.

"What?" Sarah sputtered. "I thought you were going to propose to me," she insisted.

"Whatever gave you that impression?" he asked, a smirk quirking his lips.

"At court, you agreed to propose to me!"

"I most certainly did not," he replied, eyes now sparkling with mischief. Sarah replayed the conversation in her mind trying to remember exactly what had been said. She sighed when she remembered that she had only said that she wanted a proposal; she had not specified who the proposer and who the proposee would be. "Besides," he continued not missing a beat, "I've been the one carrying this relationship from the beginning." She looked at him, mouth open in shock. "I made a contract for you, gave a substantial amount of my magical energy, in fact, for first dibs on you. It was I who made love to you. If you recall, you really didn't seem to know what you were doing, Precious."

"I was a virgin," she sputtered.

"And I was the one who cast the Faelium bond," he continued smoothly.

"I couldn't cast it. I had no magic then," she objected, "and you were certainly no virgin!" she exclaimed, remembering the requirements for the bond.

He "tsk'd" noisily and shrugged as if that were of little consequence. Oh she was riled now. He pulled her head to his shoulder before she could see the grin that graced his lips. "Sarah," he cajoled softly. He smiled even more when he realized she was pretending to sulk. He almost laughed then.

"What?" came the snippy retort.

He pushed open the Faelium bond then, hearing her gasp as he poured his love through the bond. She reciprocated, and he basked in the warm glow of her love, let it fill the empty, lonely, aching places inside of him. "Will you handfast with me…fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave?"

Those words. She understood completely then. He had offered her this from the beginning. Fear me…love me…do as I say… Love, honor and obey…til death do us part. Ancient words of ritual from a time when women were little more than property. Even though it was no longer so, the words still remained, because that's the way it was done.

Sarah closed her eyes and smiled softly. A lifetime of this: teasing, love, laughter, games, fights, making up, abandoned and wished away children, crazy goblins, all with an arrogant, magical, vain, dangerous, loving, cruel, mischievous, generous, complicated Goblin King. What more could she want? "Yes," Sarah said simply as she snuggled deeper into Jareth's embrace. This was much better than all of that on bended knee crap. "But no goblins at the ceremony."

"Awwww, but Precious…."

THE END