The Queen of The Goblin King
Chapter Two
The months passed by in the Aboveground, and soon Shophin and Sarah were in their last week of High School. Soon Graduation would be upon them, and the plan had been to have a simple sleepover after Sarah's graduation party. But, when Sarah's mother had heard that Shophin wouldn't be having a graduation party because her parents would be out of town on business trips, she had insisted that she have one with Sarah. So Shophin agreed to Karen's demand to share a party with Sarah and stay the night before summer vacations for the two girls started.
The joint party was scheduled to take place after the actual graduation ceremony, and Karen had gone all out in coming up with decorations and party favors. Shophin had offered to help pay for some of the party, but Karen would have none of it, saying,
"A young woman graduates from High School only once in her life, and for her to have to pay for her own party is not only unthinkable, but unacceptable." After that, Shophin was resigned to let Karen give her a party with Sarah. Finals came and went, and Sarah felt as though something big was going to happen soon, but she couldn't figure out what or when it would happen. She hadn't heard from her friends in the Underground in a while, the whole year in fact, and it was really starting to worry her. However, now was not the time to go and check, she still had graduation to think about, and her mom going nuts with plans for a joint party with Shophin. So looking in on her friends would have to wait for a bit longer.
Graduation day came around and everything was a blur of activity. Shophin made her way over to Sarah's to drop off her bag for the sleepover and Sarah's gift for the party. Also she planned to get ready with Sarah for the graduation ceremony, which was do to take place at eleven a.m. Shophin opened the front door, knowing she was expected. Karen was in the kitchen finishing up the last couple of hamburger patties for the cookout when Shophin came in.
"Hey Karen!" said Shophin excitedly as she set her gift on a small table that had been set aside for graduation gifts next to the dining room. Karen looked up from her patties and smiled saying,
"Hey honey! You ready for today?"
"You know it! I'm so excited to be done with High School, but I'm more then ready for college to start." said Shophin while she walked to the door way that lead to the main hall, wrapping around until it opened to the foyer and the stairs that lead up to the second floor. She turned to Karen asking if Sarah was upstairs. Karen nodded saying,
"Lord yes, and she's very eager to get you in her styling chair apparently. She went to Sally's Salon and Supply yesterday, so I'm guessing she has something special planned." Shophin shivered in mock fear, and headed upstairs with a giggle saying,
"See ya in a bit, Karen." Karen smiled and shook her head as she went back to work finishing her patties.
Sarah had just finished drying her hair and was now sitting at her vanity applying a bit of light make-up, when Shophin came in. Smiling at her through her mirror, Sarah turned to face Shophin as she set her bag on the floor next to the foot of Sarah's bed.
"So have you showered yet this morning?" asked Sarah, and Shophin shook her head saying,
"I wanted to wait until I had brought all of my things over before getting cleaned up. Besides, we have..." she paused to look at the clock next to the bed, and said,
"-two hours before we have to be there." Sarah nodded turning back to her vanity saying,
"Alright, well now that you're here go ahead and get cleaned up, and I'll do your hair and make-up when you get out, understood?" Shophin made a mock salute saying,
"Yes mamma!" Then gathering up her clothes and toiletries, she headed for the bathroom and a soothing hot shower.
An hour and a half, and a lot of primping, fussing, and hairspray later, Shophin was ready. Sarah's parents wanted to take them out for donuts and coffee before the ceremony, so everyone, including a grumpy Toby, pilled in the family car and headed out for a Lamar's Donuts and then the High School. After the garage door closed and the house was quiet, upstairs on the one clean space of Sarah's vanity a piece of wax sealed parchment lay with the hurried script on the front that said,
"URGENT!
To: Sarah
From: Your friends in the Underground." Hoggle had delivered the letter personally, though he had hoped to actually give it to Sarah. He knew he wouldn't have been able to stay long, but he wanted to see her.
Things in the Underground had taken a turn for the worst. Sure their King had been depressed after his loosing to Sarah, but he had at least kept things running like clockwork. Now that Sarah was growing up, and making new friends in the Aboveground, she rarely ever came to see the Underground. Jareth, of course to notice right away, still pining over his first real love interest in his thousand years of being King of the Goblins. At first he was concerned, but as the weeks turned into months, concern slowly morphed into full blown panic. Then his fears turned inward until he simply shut down. Now he barely left the castle to rome through the Labyrinth, check on the hedges, see to the woods, or mark sure the stone stayed well maintained. The whole of the Goblin Kingdom was now suffering from it's King's neglect. The Goblin City was overrun with junk and fairies, the castle and it's grounds were over grown with thistles and vines, and the Labyrinth itself...was in complete and utter dilapidation.
Hoggle sighed as he made his way through the many secret passages of the Labyrinth heading for the Goblin City to find Sir Didymus so they could patrol the outer lands of the Kingdom. Since their King had retreated to inside his castle as well to inside himself, there was no magic to protect the Kingdom from outsiders, or even worse, an invasion. And, it was no secret that their was at least one who would gladly take the throne from the current monarch, even if it meant prying the crown from his cold dead fingers. But Hoggle couldn't even bring himself to think about that.
'Let's just worry about the tasks at hand, and just hope that Sarah gets our letter in time.' he thought to himself as he finally entered the gates to the Goblin City.
...(Back in the Aboveground)...
'That's it, I'm going to fall asleep if this takes much longer.' Shophin thought to herself as one by one people of their graduating class were called up to receive the diploma. Shophin yawned and looked around thinking,
'I don't remember our school having this many seniors.' but then she and Sarah pretty much kept to themselves. Sarah had already receive her little rolled up slip saying she had graduated, but they still had yet to call out Shophin's name.
'If I were to fall asleep, would they hold my diploma for me, or hold me back a year?' she thought as they finally got to the Ms, and she shrugged thinking,
'Well, maybe I won't have to find out.'
They finally called her name and Shophin pried herself from her hard metal fold up chair and walked stiffly to the front of the gym to the platform. Up the steps and across the way, a hand shake here another there, a slip of paper, and it was back down the other side of the platform and back to her seat to wait for the rest of them to get their ticket to freedom. Shophin looked up a few aisles to Sarah, who was sitting with her back straight, looking just as Shophin felt. Tired, sore from the chairs, and board with all the pomp and circumstance, but they had to wait until the whole class had their diplomas. So Shophin closed her eyes thinking on the party that would be waiting for them when they got back to Sarah's place, and the sleepover that they would spend talking about all their plans for college, and where they were going for summer vacation.
At long last the ceremony came to an end, and with a final hurrah everyone threw their hats into the air with abandon in celebration to all they had accomplished and the adventures that waited for them. Shophin stretched and cracked her back, never really being one to sit in one place for more then an hour and a half at a time, but the ceremony had gone on for almost three whole hours, not including the entering performances of the band, choir, and one of the faculty singing The Star Spangled Banner. So being very happy now that she could walk around, Shophin quickly found Sarah, and the two of them made their way into the crowd looking for Sarah's family so they could head back to the house for the party. Again, Sarah felt as if something was about to happen, but she pushed it aside as they found her parents and headed for the car.
Everyone was excited, even Toby about getting the party started when they got back. Everyone was going to quickly change into their bathing suits and they were all going to head to the local water park for an afternoon filled with slides, rides, and waves. Then they'd head back to the house, get cleaned up and Karen would help start the grill for burgers and hotdogs, with chips, dip, soda, and Sarah's dad had even finished his fire pit out back for a marshmallow roast. All in all the idea was to kick back and have good time, nothing but clear skies and blue water in sight. However, Sarah just still couldn't shake the feeling that something was up. In the back of her mind she knew she should contact her friends in the Underground. Maybe she could write a note while she and Shophin were changing into their swimsuits, and send it through the mirror before they left for the day. After all, Shophin new of her time in the Underground and this would be the first, and probably the last in a long time, that she'd be able to see how Sarah kept in touch with her friends.
'It's settled then.' she thought to herself,
'As soon as we get back and shut up in my room, I'll write to them.' Having resolved that she would let her friends know what's happening and perhaps getting a quick reply filled Sarah with joy, and anticipation of getting home as quickly as she could.
