Chapter Six
They planned to marry in the Branegan's backyard despite the protests of the Royal etiquette advisor and Link's complaint that it wasn't good enough for the Heir to the Throne, but Bethie had dug in her heels and refused to budge. This was where she and Jack had come to their senses and it was also the place where his parents had had their second wedding, so as far as Bethie was concerned, if it was good enough for them, it was good enough for her. There would be no coronation despite tradition because she told her mother that she was afraid Jack would skip out on it if he had to commit himself to two things at once. Allura was not so sure about that, but she was not ready to give up rule anymore than Bethie was ready to take it, so that particular aspect of a Royal wedding was skipped over. This was a Royal House that was far from traditional, so not much noise was made about it. Bethie threw herself into the wedding preparations with gusto, with absolutely no help from her groom, and that suited them just fine.
Jack had sat around like the cat who ate the canary as the rest of Arus went ballistic that the Heir was marrying a commoner, completely ignoring the fact that the Heir's father was not exactly of noble birth. Link had been a trifle upset that her twenty odd years of service had been reduced to her son being 'common', but it didn't bother Jack in the least. He was finally going to marry the woman he loved and it would have taken a sharp blow to the head to get him to stop smiling. The four months it took to get everything squared away passed leisurely for him and it was usually spent in the company of Ethan, occassionally with his father or brother in tow. The two of them liked to just sit by the lake, talking about inconsequential things like worms and his grandmother's cookies and Jack was excited to see what kind of man Ethan would become. It was yet another benefit to his marriage that he would get to see this boy grow up from up close.
The night before his wedding, Jack was sitting in the living room, a bottle of ale in one hand and his feet propped up on the coffee table. He hadn't wanted a crazy bachelor party, just a quiet get together with those he cared about. He'd done enough hard living for one lifetime. Around the room were some faces that had come in and out of his life while growing up and other faces that he saw everyday of his life.
"It's about damn time," Jason said, raising his bottle. "That's all I have to say."
"Great toast from the future Mayor of Voltronia," Ian said dryly.
"If you can get your message across in twenty words or less, then the people will love you more," Jason retorted. "No one likes a babbler."
"You must have learned that one from your mother," Sven said.
"Thank God for that," Keith added.
"Alright, alright," Lance said, standing up. "Let the father of the groom speak. Are you all comfortable?"
Hunk threw back the remaining contents of his bottle.
"Can I get one more before you start?" he asked innocently.
"Old age is just making you funnier and funnier, Yearling," Lance said, making a face at him. "Stay where you are."
Lance looked around the room, a smile playing around his lips. He put the bottle he held down and pointed his gaze at his oldest son. Jack smiled, leaned forward on his knees and waited for what he was sure would be a memorable speech.
"What can I say? You make me proud to be called your father," Lance said. "When you were born, I was scared shitless because I was afraid I would screw you up by making one colossal mistake after another. I made mistakes, but you learned from them and that's all I could have asked for. You've wanted this a long time and I'm happy that you finally have all that you want. You and Bethie are as perfect a match as a couple other married people I know and all I can see ahead of you is happiness. What's behind is done and even though we'll remember Ethan's sacrifice and all that we lived through under Merla's...madness, we're going to move forward, keep moving forward because we fought for it and won. Tomorrow will be the first day of the rest of your life and I'm honored to be there to witness it."
He picked up his bottle and raised it in the air.
"To Jack."
"To Jack," the others toasted.
They clinked bottles and drank. Jack reached over and patted his father on the back.
"Thanks, Dad."
"I think Lance finally grew up," Sven said to Keith.
"Yeah and I think that's funnier than anything he's ever done," Keith said, chuckling.
"Nothing from our Great Leader and Noble King?" Lance prodded.
"Nothing at all. I thought we were here to party, not cry into our ales."
They stared at each other.
"We've been spending too much time together," Keith said.
"It's a little late for that," Pidge said.
"I suppose I should say something that fathers for generations have said," Keith said thoughtfully. "Jack, if you hurt her, I will hunt you down and break both your legs. Then I'll drop you off in the desert about three kilometers away from a canteen of water and leave you there."
"I believe you," Jack said somberly.
"We're in agreement then."
"Yes, sir."
"Hey, it's our first wedding," Matt remarked. "Shouldn't we do something other than sit around getting drunk to commemorate the occassion?"
"Actually, I was thinking that we should take a little trip to the lake," Sven said thoughtfully, sliding a glance at Lance.
Lance grinned.
"Oh, yeah."
An hour later, they burst back into the house, laughing boisterously as Jack's squishing boots squirted water on his mother's new rug. He'd put up a valiant fight, but the combined effort of eight men was too much of a challenge and he was thrown out nearly to the middle of the lake. He shook out his dripping hair and started to sit down on the couch, but Lance stopped him.
"The rug she might forgive, but not the couch," he said.
"Dad, I'm so drunk that I'm seeing double. If I don't sit down, I'm going to fall down."
Lance just shrugged. He let go and Jack made true of his words. He fell on the floor in a heap, a goofy smile on his face.
"Do you think maybe we should put him to bed?" Pidge asked.
"The boy's about to bind himself to Keith's family," Lance said. "The drunker he can get tonight, the better."
"Looks like I'll never be rid of you," Keith said, looking down at the laughing Jack who was kicking at his younger brother as Jason tried to wipe up his face.
Ian and Matt came in to hold Jack down, but they all ended up in a tussle as Jack tried to slip away from their hands.
"Nope," Lance said. "Never."
Sven laughed as he handed them two more bottles of ale. Hunk and Pidge followed him and the five former members of the Voltron Force stood in a loose circle, completely ignoring the curses and yells of the younger men behind them.
"Here's to new beginnings," Sven said, raising his own bottle.
"And old friends," Pidge added.
There was a muted crash as a lamp tumbled off an endtable and bounced on the rug. They exchanged amused looks and proceeded to untangle their boys.
The door slid open and she smiled when her mother stood in the doorway.
"You were sitting just like that the night we fought over the dress you were going to wear for your 18th birthday," Allura said. "Do you remember?"
"Of course. And you were sitting right next to me."
Allura walked in and Bethie saw that she'd brought the whole gang with her. Alana, Romelle, Link, Olivia, Gwen, and Jordan all trooped in behind Allura, each carrying various goodies and drinks that would be the centerpiece of her bacherlorette party. She grinned as her cousin took a flying leap onto her bed, letting out a laugh as she bounced in its soft cushions. Olivia did the same, her laugh still had a note of restraint in it that had been there since Ethan's death, but Bethie knew that Olivia was now seeing one of the castle guards and was slowly getting back into the swing of things. They had all been worried for a while when Olivia threw herself into her work and seemed intent on working herself to death, but with time came healing. Bethie smiled at them.
"Jack's gonna love this," Jordan said slyly.
"He..." Bethie began but she could sense her mother's glare and she just smiled. "Yes, he really will."
Bethie knew that her mother strongly suspected that Jack had been spending many a night in the castle, and in that she wouldn't be off the mark, but Allura would have been more surprised to find that all he did was hold Bethie as they slept. Despite the heat that had flared up between them the day they got engaged, Jack had been adamant about waiting until their wedding night before making love. It had touched Bethie and she did her best to keep temptation at bay but there had been more than a couple close calls, especially with him spending almost every night with her. When he held her in his arms and told her of all his plans, of the names of the children they were going to have, she wondered if it was possible for her to fall even deeper in love with him. In every aspect of their lives, they were a perfect match. When she listened to his even breathing and felt his arms hold her so tightly that she dreamt her own dreams. And he was in all of them.
Romelle handed her a glass of wine, clinking it with her own.
"Elisabeth, if you daydream anymore we'll just be sitting around her talking about you," she teased gently.
"Sorry," Bethie said, feeling herself blushing.
"She's got a lot of time to make up for," Jordan said, propping herself up on the pillows and trying to unsuccessfully cover up a grin when she could smell Jack's scent all over the sheets. "She should just start as soon as possible."
There was something in Jordan's voice that made Bethie look at her suspiciously, but Jordan just raised her glass.
"To Bethie. It's about time," she said.
"Not really, Jordan," Alana said, even though she'd raised her glass. "Now is just the right time."
"Who am I to argue with the High Priestess? Are you allowed to drink wine, by the way?"
Alana just shot her a look and took a sip.
"They're probably throwing Jack into the lake right about now," Gwen said. "If I know those men, they probably wanted to get to that as soon as possible."
"What is that?" Romelle said, shaking her head. "Everyone's gotten a dunking. I suppose it's because they can't help but use that water for evil rather than good. It's just too close to everything."
"What do you expect?" Link said. "And I'm sure a Branegan is leading the charge. See all this gray hair? I got my first one the day I accepted Lance's proposal."
"I'm sure Bethie is grateful to you for marrying that idiot," Allura said. "After all, without the two of you, there would be no Jack."
"Cute, Mom."
Allura laughed and kissed Bethie's cheek.
"Can I just say one thing?" Jordan piped up.
"What?" Romelle said carefully.
"How do you all feel about Jack being the future King of Arus?"
That made them all stop. All except Bethie and Allura.
"We have talked about that," Bethie said hesitantly.
"And?" Alana prompted.
"Jack says that he doesn't want to be king."
"I don't really think he has much say in the matter," Romelle said, frowning.
"Actually," Allura said. "He does. When Bethie is crowned, he'll be named Prince Consort and Ethan will be crowned King."
"Ethan's three," Olivia said, somewhat unnecessarily.
"By then he'll be older, but until he's old enough to take on the full responsibilities of his title, he'll be only king in name," Bethie explained. "It's what Jack wanted."
Link smiled wistfully.
"Damn. I thought I was going to be the King's mother," she said.
They laughed.
"At least you know he's not marrying you for your crown," Gwen said, chuckling.
"He might actually be marrying me for my son," Bethie said, smiling. "He and Ethan get along so well and I think it's because Jack still has the mind of a five year old."
"He'll be a good father to Ethan," Link said. "You should hear him when he comes home after he spends the day with the two of you. Lance asked him if you were even there sometimes because all he talks about is how smart Ethan is."
"That's good," Bethie said. "Very good."
"Okay," Alana said, standing. "I have something to say."
They got quiet and turned to look at her. Alana cleared her throat and smoothed down her skirt.
"First of all, I'd like to thank Bethie for coming to her senses because I got a delicious cake and a new pair of shoes out of it." She grinned cheekily. "Jason, Uncle Lance, and I had a long standing bet over who would crack first."
"Faith in your sister can do great things for you," Bethie said wisely.
"Actually, technically Jack cracked so I bet against you."
"Oh."
"Anyway, I'm so happy that this day has finally come," Alana continued before Bethie could argue. "I know that you were content with the way your life was going and how much your day is taken up with Ethan. You're a great mother, Bethie, and I would not have expected anything less considering where we came from."
"Thank you, Lana," Allura said, smiling.
"You're welcome. Like Mom, I knew that there was still something missing in your life and at first I thought that you were still mourning Skech. He was a great person and a brave soldier, and I thought that maybe you just could not let him go. But then, I realized you started to wilt after Jack left. Then, when I listened to you talk about how much you missed him and how you wanted to tell him every little thing that happens in your life, I realized that maybe you had let Skech go already. I know how much you loved him and that you saw Ethan as a final gift from him, but although he had your heart for a little while, he didn't have your soul. Jack did. He always had. I felt it in the magic that is still inside you and when he's near, you light up. He's it for you, Bethie. No matter what happens in the future, with him, you'll always be ready because he's at your side. Live your life the way you want to and enjoy it. We all know how precious it is...the time is right."
Bethie stood and hugged her sister, her eyes wet with tears. There were a few other sniffles in the room and even Allura dabbed at the corners of her eyes.
"I love you, Lana," Bethie said.
"I love you, too."
"Are we done with mushyness?" Jordan asked, rubbing at her eyes. "Because these cookies are calling my name."
"Pass them over," Romelle said after she blew her nose. "Let's get this party started."
