Sarah hated corsets. She hated Court, Court functions, well-wishing missives from Noble Houses just sucking up to her, and most of all she hated that the Empress had planned her wedding. It was bad enough that she and Jareth had to have a prominent public event, without the entirety of the High Court being invited to the Labyrinth, which had grown a large pomegranate orchard just for the event. Even their goblins were there, riding chickens and on their best behavior.

Sarah rather liked referring to things as 'theirs'.

It had been a week after his kidnapping before Sarah had let Jareth kiss her. He was still trying to sufficiently apologize. It had been nearly a month before they had let the High Court know of their engagement. If Sarah had managed to get her way, their wedding would have been a small court event, with no more than three guests from each of the houses, and a reasonable white dress with a blessedly short ceremony.

Instead, Sarah was walking down the aisle in a dress that rivaled the one she had dreamt up over eight years ago, with a good three-hundred Sidhe and adopted humans watching what should have been a dear memory.

Of course, once she and Jareth were wed, they would have many centuries to give Caoilfhinn hell for relying on their support the way she did. They were the only ones in court who weren't frightened to death of the Empress at this point. It would be a good reminder of who had given her the power she now enjoyed.

But, slowly and majestically making her way toward Jareth and their handfasting, all Sarah could bring herself to truly look forward too were the moments when this was all done, and they could relax in the castle and just be two people deeply in love.

That would be nice.

A century and a half later:

Sarah poked her head into Jareth's study, still as curious as ever. She had seen, with her now well-trained magical senses, the letter from Eorlth come in. He wrote rarely these days, choosing to visit instead, so it was likely that the letter had some important information. After the sequence of events that had ended with their marriage, Sarah tried to keep up with the High Court's intrigue as much as she could.

There was another letter that she had been anticipating for the last century and a half, but it was slow in arriving, and every time Sarah attempted to broach the subject with Jareth, all she received were confused looks. Sarah honestly wasn't sure why she expected anything less of a Fae who had taken over eight years to properly woo her into marriage.

Sarah swung the door open wide, wider than she had to when she had come in last week, which made her frown down at the swollen belly that showed that Sarah was indeed very pregnant. One good thing about the baby being so visible on her physique was that Jareth watched her with proud, shining eyes and a smile, no matter his previous mood. Another not-so-fun side effect was that he was acting far too overprotective of her. Jareth already had a jealous streak a mile wide, which Sarah found endearing, but this was bordering on hovering. "Jareth, have you read Eorlth's letter yet?"

Jareth startled from the doodle he has been perfecting on the tax form. "Sarah? Oh, yes, I glanced at it. I suppose you wish to peruse it?" Jareth, shining eyes and heart-wrenching smile in attendance, proffered the letter at Sarah. "He wanted us to sign something or another to assist in his observational pursuits, so if you'll take care of that . . ."

Sarah was reading the letter with a smile. The thing Eorlth wanted them to sign was a release form for him to propose to someone outside their purview. This startled Sarah momentarily. She hadn't known that Jareth was Eorlth's liege. A wedding invitation was slightly more in accordance with her expectations. Sarah read a little further and smiled. Right about now Caoilfhinn would be looking over a very similar document. Sarah signed it quickly, before Jareth knew and could object. Then, using magic to make the signature true, Sarah turned her grin on Jareth. "Eorlth is getting married."

This drew Jareth's attention. "What?" This was not entirely surprising, as Eorlth had been nearing the end of the traditional years of eligible bachelorhood. "To whom?"

Jareth couldn't remember the last time Sarah had grinned this widely, and his heart thudded slowly as he waited for news he was beginning to dread. Allowing her husband's fear to peak, Sarah leaned forward before admitting, "Saoirse."

All that tension, for nothing. Jareth rolled his eyes at his silly darling. "Sarah, please be serious. Who is Eorlth going to wed?"

Sarah flipped the letter over and waved it in front of Jareth's nose. "I am entirely serious, Jareth. Your cousin is going to have the Empress as a sister in law."

A knock disturbed their peace even as Jareth blanched. A careful sniff from Sarah identified Caoilfhinn, who was always followed by a light scent of spring. Sarah opened the door and ushered the Empress in. She had mellowed a little with experience, though she was every bit as authoritarian as she had been as an adolescent Sidhe. A weary, worn, and frankly quite aged Lizabeth trailed behind the Empress, the little blonde sprite by her side looking as if she were training to be Caoilfhinn's next Guard Captain.

Worry lines around the Empress's eyes were evident as she thrust a parchment nearly identical to the one they had been reading before Jareth. "Did you have any idea this was going on?"

While Jareth shook his head in shock, Sarah nodded. "They've been enamored of each other since before Jareth and I wed."

Caoilfhinn sighed. "Happiness to them. I just would rather not lose my two best intelligence gatherers at the same time."

The expressions Caoilfhinn made gave a slightly different story. If anything, Sarah had become a master at reading Sidhe expressions, because none of them ever said the important things. "You're embarrassed," Sarah laughed. "Well, you oughtn't be. Saoirse has been hunting Eorlth for much longer than you have been concerned about marriage." The blonde child barely stifled a giggle at this, and Sarah smiled at the young Fae. "I think the best punishment you could give is to make the wedding a huge event. So, Labyrinth or Palace?"

A/N: Many thanks to you, all of our amazing readers. We're sorry for the numerous long breaks from posting as life got in the way, but at last we come to an end.