Disclaimer: I don't own The Labyrinth. It is the property of the Jim Henson Co. I am not making any financial profit from this work of fiction nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.
Trapped
Chapter 1 – Pursuit
The stout figure dashed down the tunnel pausing every few steps to listen for the sounds of pursuers. Water dripped down the walls to puddle stagnantly on the ground. So far, the night had been quiet and peaceful. But looks can be deceiving and he knew he didn't have much time. He had to get there first.
Quietly avoiding the puddles, he crept around a false wall in the tunnel and looked up. A ladder was propped haphazardly against the wall. He squinted at it in distrust; it looked ready to topple over at any moment. There was no doubt in his mind that it was older than the Labyrinth. It ascended endlessly into the darkness. His unease became overwhelming as he gawked into the unknown. He remembered why he avoided this shortcut. 'Too damn scary.' Now the emptiness stared him in the face, daring him to climb.
Bending at the waist, he set down his lantern. He was reluctant to leave his light source behind, but once he was out of the tunnel he couldn't risk being seen. He braced his weight on the slimy stone wall, breathing quickly through his nose. Nodding sharply to himself, he stepped onto the ladder. It creaked as if groaning. His limbs locked in place. They refused to move as he listened to the silence. "You's won't get nowhere standin' still," he admonished himself and began to scale the ladder again. The air of the abyss was stifling and sour. 'Just keep moving,' he commanded. 'Hand over hand. Hand over hand,' he mouthed over and over. He gazed longingly toward the top, than scowled. Shortly his muscles would be on fire.
"That's whatcha get for stickin' yer big nose where it don't belong," he grumbled to himself as he struggled. "Next time that ridiculous fuzz ball asks for a favor, friend or no, I'll push 'em straight inta the bog." Hoggle grimaced at the thought. Maybe he wouldn't. Sir Didymus didn't seem to mind the smell.
Finally after several minutes of straining, he reached the top. While clinging to the ladder the dwarf reached up a gnarled hand and blindly searched for the hidden latch. Decaying wood crumbled under his groping fingers. The air was stale with an underlying hint of mold that made Hoggle's stomach churn. He jerked twice on the rope before the trap door swung open. He had never been so happy to see the moonlight.
Slowly peeking his head up from the hole in the ground, Hoggle scanned the garden for goblins. His house was just past the trees, hidden among the overgrown vegetation. No one else lived in this part of the Labyrinth, that he knew of, and he liked it that way. However, tonight, the silence and isolation filled him with dread. Nervously, he gripped his sweaty hands on the top rung while his eyes darted back and forth. The garden was full of shadows and bushes for the goblins to hide in. Hoggle's grip tightened. The wood groaned.
Goblins were normally idiotic, bumbling, and unreliable creatures, but on occasion they could be cunning and stealthy. Hoggle suspected that fifty percent of their ineptitude was a facade and the rest was a result of their love of goblin ale. He shuddered at the thought of that vile drink. 'I's rather drink a bottle of bog water.'
The goblins' unique ability to walk the hidden passages between shadows was something to fear. And Hoggle, as a self-proclaimed coward, had a healthy dose of it. It didn't matter if the rest of the Underground deemed them idiotic and harmless; he always suspected they were more cunning then they let on. The goblin's affinity for shadow magic was unnerving. No other race within the Underground could walk the shadows. And those that tried never came back.
He waited. When his breathing was reasonably under control again, he took off for the hidden cottage. Dwarves were not built for running, but he pushed his legs to their limit. If he hadn't been so terrified he might have heard the menacing giggles and the shushing noises coming from the bushes at his expense.
Once he passed the threshold of his porch he breathed a sigh of relief. He may not be able to outrun a pack of goblins, but Hoggle, being a typical dwarf, knew a thing or two about protective wards. His hands still shook as he fumbled with the doorknob. After what felt like an eternity Hoggle wrenched open his door. Slamming it closed behind him, he mentally berated himself about inept, lovesick fools and unreliable spells as he frantically gathered every candle he owned.
It turns out that he didn't have that many and he swore colorfully. After the final one was lit, his house had a soft, hazy glow. It wasn't nearly enough to banish the shadows.
It was practically an invitation.
He turned nervously to face his reflection. It wasn't a large mirror, but Hoggle never really had a need for one, let alone anything bigger. Now he was cursing his practicality. He had no way of knowing if a mirror's size dictated who could travel through it. He and Sir Didymus had used this mirror, from time to time, but now it needed to transport someone much larger. He hated the idea of testing it on her.
Scratching claws and hushed chuckles just outside his window sent his heart beating even faster.
"Has he done it yet?"
"Shhhhh..."
Swallowing, Hoggle whispered hurriedly, "Sarah, I's need ya."
"Is the portal open?"
"Shhhh."
"I can't see."
"Shhhhh."
"Move over!"
"SHHHHH!"
There was a moment of silence.
"Is the portal open?"
"SHHHHHHHHHH!"
Inside the mirror a light turned on. Slowly the figure of a young woman ambled into view. She was pulling closed an oversized bathrobe to conceal a short sleeping shirt. She looked bewildered, innocent even, as she struggled to understand the situation while still half asleep. "Hoggle! What time is it?" she yawned with a smile as she rubbed her eyes. "You've never called before. Just about gave me a heartatt... aaah!"
While she had been talking Hoggle had flung himself into her room. He barely cleared the vanity, but managed to knock over the majority of Sarah's cosmetics. They landed together in a painful heap.
"Ugh...Hoggle? What on earth?" she groaned into the carpet.
From his position on the floor, Hoggle looked up at the mirror. Very faintly he could see the shifting figures in the shadows. Their once ridiculous helmets and makeshift weapons looked menacing with their new personas. Or had they always been this way? Disturbingly crafty and malicious? Hoggle wasn't sure.
Squeaking in alarm, he frantically looked around the room before grabbing a tube of lipstick. Throwing off the lid, Hoggle scrambled to the mirror and began drawing.
Sarah sat up and watched him in silence trying to piece together what was going on. She wiped at her eyes again as she questioned hesitantly, "…what are you doing?" He continued on as if he hadn't heard her. "… and that's my favorite lipstick," she protested when she noticed his symbols were in bright pink. Sarah looked at her friend from her bedroom floor. He was kneeling on her vanity, wildly drawing strange runic pictures on the glass. His hands were beginning to shake and his breaths fogged her mirror in a steady rhythm. Sarah leaned forward in concern, hoping her friend wouldn't pass out. 'I've never seen him so scared,' she thought as she stared at his back.
She pursed her lips. There was only one thing in the Labyrinth that she knew for certain scared Hoggle witless…the Goblin King.
"Hee hee hee hee..."
Sarah's mind ground to a halt. Panic exploded through her limbs, freezing her in place. 'That is NOT the Goblin King!' her mind screamed as she scrambled gracelessly across the floor. Clambering to her feet, she backed up and grabbed her vanity chair. Righting the chair, she crouched behind it. Whether she needed it more for support or as a make-shift weapon she hadn't quite decided.
"Silly dwarf... thinks a little ward can keeps us out,"snickered an eerie voice.
"We's just take the long way 'round," mocked another, "then we's takes what we's wants."
"Hee hee hee..."
After that, the voices continued to hoot and jeer together incoherently. It was the most horrifying sound she had ever heard.
Hoggle stepped back from the mirror and let the lipstick slip from his fingers. After an awkward silence he choked out, "Hi Sarah."
