The numb silence in the Williams family's kitchen was broken by the sound of the teapot whistling on the stove. Wordlessly, Robert rose from his seat at the kitchen table, where he and Irene had been sitting, to move the kettle off the burner. After transferring the water to two waiting mugs, he rejoined Irene, offering her one of the cups of tea. Irene responded with a forced smile, but her blank expression returned almost immediately afterwards.
At that moment, the sound of the front door opening was heard, making the pair look up in unison. They barely even realized they were holding their breaths until a voice rang out.
"Mommy? Daddy?" Toby called from the hall. A choked sob slipped out of Irene's throat as she leapt to her feet and dashed out of the kitchen, Robert hot at her heels. Sure enough, Toby and Sarah were standing in the foyer. While they both looked tired and worn out, they were clearly unharmed.
"Toby!" Irene cried, launching herself forward and gathering up the little boy in her arms. As she hugged him tightly, she broke down into tears.
While Irene was busy hugging and kissing Toby in relief, Robert approached Sarah.
"Hi, Dad," Sarah greeted, casting him a small smile. In response, Robert let out a relieved laugh, pulling Sarah into a firm but gentle hug. When they stepped apart, Robert was just opening his mouth to say something, but he never got the chance. Without any noticeable warning, Irene suddenly stepped between them, throwing her arms around Sarah. The unexpected show of affection left Sarah frozen in place for a few moments. In all the time they'd known each other, Irene had never hugged Sarah before. Especially not like this. It wasn't a hug of gratitude for bringing Toby back safely. It was one of affection, like the one that would be shared between a mother and a daughter.
"Sarah," Irene choked out. "I'm so glad you're both home safe."
"Yeah," Sarah replied, slowly starting to return the hug. "Me too."
The Goblin City was abuzz with activity. Everywhere you looked, there was someone hard at work. Even though the Agnostic's defeat had restored the Labyrinth to its natural splendor, there was still a good amount of structural damage within the city, and possibly within the Labyrinth itself. As such, everyone had banded together to do their part in handling the repairs. Ludo was making use of his control over rocks to assist with fixing the courtyard fountain and city gates. Wayne had become something of an unofficial foreman, using his skills as a carpenter to help with the damage that had been done to the goblins' houses. Sir Didymus was trying to get a team together to venture out into the actual Labyrinth in order to determine the extent of the damage there. The little goblin named Shinjee had even brought out the Humungous Two to help with moving heavy building material and reaching high places. As for Lady Bernadine, she had teamed up with Prometheus and the Fireys to assist the workers by providing them with warm food and drink, while Daedalus and a female goblin named Gürdy helped babysit Baby Reynard and a few of the youngest goblin children, keeping them entertained while their parents were occupied.
Out in a particularly rubble-filled corner of the Goblin City, Stacey was helping to prop up a badly damaged facade with a few heavy wooden beams, in the hopes that doing so would keep the building from collapsing and potentially injuring someone. When she was satisfied that the wooden beam she'd been maneuvering was firmly in place and wouldn't shift out of its current position, she stepped back a bit to wipe away a few beads of sweat that had formed on her brow.
At that moment, a sudden disturbance arrived in the form of a winged goblin, who suddenly fell to the ground nearby with a crash.
"Amåm!" Stacey exclaimed, quickly moving over to help the winged goblin to his feet. "Again? Perhaps you should look into getting lighter armor. Maybe you wouldn't crash all the time if you weren't so weighed down."
"No, my armor is fine!" Amåm insisted, shaking himself off.
"If you say so," Stacey commented, shaking her head in mild exasperation. "Now what's going on? I thought you were heading out with Sir Didymus to survey the Labyrinth for damages"
"I was," Amåm confirmed. But…"
"What is it?" Stacey asked, quickly noticing the way Amåm was shifting around nervously.
"We…came across someone," Amåm explained. "A short distance from the gates to the Goblin City."
"Came across someone?" Stacey blinked in surprise. "Who?"
"It's the female dwarf," Amåm announced. "Primrose. She said…she was requesting an audience with you."
Stacey immediately froze in shock. When Amon had said that someone was outside the gates, she had fully expected it to have been Jareth, showing his face at last. She never would have expected to hear the surprise visitor was Primrose. However, she pushed aside her surprise and took up a diplomatic air.
"Thank you, Amåm," she declared. "Please, lead the way. I'll go see what Primrose has to say."
On the edge of the Goblin City, Hoggle was busy aiding a handful of goblins in starting a vegetable garden. Because of the Agnostic's prolonged siege, most of everyone's food stores had started to spoil. While Stacey had sent out a decree to ration out the food stored up in the royal pantry to ensure everyone would have something to eat while they got back on their feet, it wasn't yet clear how long the food there would last. As such, it was decided to start planting a garden, in the hopes that the resulting produce could sustain the entire city.
As Hoggle steered the plow to till the soil, the sound of a squealing yelp caught his attention. Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed Theseus's lower half sticking out of a small hole in the ground, his back legs scrambling for purchase. Shaking his head, Hoggle stepped away from the plow to help Theseus get out of his current predicament.
"There you go, you silly furball," Hoggle said, setting the little gremlin down on solid ground. "Were you tryin' to help till the soil? You probably should leave that to the plow. But when it comes time to do the actual plantin' part, we'll certainly be able to use your digging skills."
"Cu-Chu," Thesus replied, beaming up at Hoggle while nuzzling at his hand.
"Yeah, you're welcome," Hoggle chuckled, scratching at Theseus' ears.
As Hoggle got back to his feet, he suddenly sensed someone's eyes on him. When he looked up, he immediately saw Stacey standing a short distance away, smiling warmly at the pair.
"Sorry to interrupt," she began, stepping towards them. "But…I was wondering if you could come for a walk with me, Hoggle."
"Of course," Hoggle agreed, feeling a strange sense of foreboding. Despite the fact that Stacey seemed to be giving off a good-natured demeanor, there was something off about her smile. Nevertheless, Hoggle headed off with Stacey.
"The two of us have really come a long way, haven't we?" Stacey stated as they made their way through the Goblin City. "I was just this outcast loner who no one outside of Wayne would even miss. And from what Sarah and Sir Didymus told me, you started off friendless, too."
"I wasn't just without friends," Hoggle commented. "I was a coward. Someone who betrayed the first person who ever called me a friend."
"You're certainly not a coward anymore," Stacey pointed out. "You've become a brave and loyal friend. Someone I know I can always depend on."
"And look at you," Hoggle continued. "You're not just no longer alone. You're the Goblin Queen. And, if you ask me, you're someone who's worth followin'."
"And we both have more friends than we could have ever imagined," Stacey concluded.
"That we do," Hoggle agreed. "But I get the feelin' that you weren't just lookin' to reminisce about the past."
"You know me too well," Stacey said, letting out an ironic chuckle.
"Stacey, what's wrong?" Hoggle frowned in concern. "You're starting to worry me."
"There's something I haven't mentioned," Stacey confessed. "After that final confrontation with the Agnostic, when I was lying unconscious, I…saw some things. You've heard the old saying of how your life flashes before your eyes when you're faced with death? Well, it wasn't exactly my life that I was reliving. I saw flashes of the past. The moment when Wayne wished away Jareth when they were just boys, the night Jareth met my mom, the day Mom was killed and I got sent away to the Aboveground."
"Stacey," Hoggle whispered, visibly sympathetic. "I'm so…."
"Please, Hoggle, allow me to finish," Stacey interrupted gently. "During these flashes, I learned a few things. I learned the reason why Jareth never bothered to come looking for me was because the Agnostic tricked him. That crescent moon pendant he always wore was infused with a portion of the Agnostic's being. It would have made it possible for the Agnostic to take control of Jareth's body at any given moment. Hoggle….while I was out…I learned the Agnostic took control of someone else in a similar way. It had absorbed itself into a pearl bracelet. The one Primrose always wore."
"Primrose?" Hoggle gaped. "Are you saying...?"
Hoggle's words cut off instantly. They had just reached the gates of the Goblin City, where Sir Didymus was standing guard over a remorseful-looking Primrose.
"She came to talk with me a few minutes ago," Stacey explained. "It would appear that her betrayal was not done of her own volition. The Agnostic took control of her body using her pearl bracelet. It seems Primrose is as much a victim of the Agnostic as the rest of us were."
"So…you're saying she didn't mean to betray us, after all?" Hoggle mused.
"She says she doesn't remember anything that happened after we all left for the Aboveground," Stacey confirmed. "The next thing she knew, she was waking up a short distance from the gates to the Labyrinth. Considering what I saw when I was unconscious, I believe she's telling the truth."
After a pause, Stacey spared a glance down at Hoggle, who was staring at Primrose in a mixture of shock and relief.
"Hoggle," she sighed. "I just want to make it clear. Whatever you decide, don't let your choice be influenced by a perceived obligation to the rest of us. Don't just stay because you feel you need to help us rebuild. If you want to go, then that is what you should do. Whatever you choose, I will support your decision."
Hoggle directed a questioning look at Stacey, trying to figure out what she was saying. But before he could ask, she turned and walked off in the opposite direction, instructing Sir Didymus to come with her. As such, Hoggle watched in silence as his friends walked away, leaving him alone with Primrose.
"Hoggle?" Primrose began, speaking timidly. "I…I just want to start off by saying that I am so sorry for whatever that thing made me do. You and the others were nothing but kind and welcoming to me. The fact that I was forced to betray your kindness…."
"It's all right," Hoggle insisted. "Stacey already explained. "It wasn't your fault. The Agnostic made you do it."
"Even so," Primrose said, wringing her hands in guilt. "I'm…it's probably for the best that I not exploit your hospitality any longer. Besides, I really miss my friends and family back home. And they're probably worried about me, too. I want to see if I can find my way back to my old village. Queen Stacey has already agreed to try and recruit some of the goblins to help escort me home."
"So," Hoggle responded. "That's why you wanted to talk with me? To say goodbye?"
"No, that's not quite what I was wanting to do," Primrose answered. "Actually….I was hoping that you'd want to come with me."
"Come with you?" Hoggle blinked, taken aback by the offer.
"Yes. I mean, I'm sure you must have lived among other dwarfs once. Haven't you ever missed it? If you come home with me, you could live in a dwarf village again. And I know everyone would be so happy to have you."
Hoggle could only blink in surprise, Primrose's offer turning over in his mind.
"Ye don't think he's actually going to go with her, are you?" Sir Didymus exclaimed, starting incredulously at Stacey, who had just confided in her friends what Primrose had wanted to ask Hoggle.
"It's Hoggle's choice," Stacey replied. "Not ours."
"But…Sir Hoggle is one of us!" Sir Didymus argued. "He can't possibly go."
"Yeah," Ludo nodded in agreement.
"If he decides that he wants to leave the Underground and settle down in the dwarf village with Primrose, we have to accept his decision," Stacey retorted. "If you consider yourself Hoggle's friends, then there's no other choice than to step aside and let him go."
"Stacey," Wayne spoke gently, placing a caring hand on her arm. "Are you certain you're okay with that? I've seen you with Hoggle. I've seen how close you two are. Are you really okay with the possibility of him leaving the Labyrinth?"
For a brief moment, Stacey's face betrayed her anguish at the very thought of Hoggle leaving, but she managed to reign it in a moment later.
"Regardless of how I might feel about it, I want Hoggle to be happy," she replied. "If that means him leaving for the dwarf village, then so be it."
"Cu-Chu," Thesuus chirruped, his ears drooping sadly.
For a moment or two, a mournful silence fell amongst the group. After a pause, Daedalus hopped up onto Stacey's shoulder, pressing his feathery head against Stacey's cheek.
"For whatever it's worth, Stacey," he announced, "your mother would have been proud of you."
"Thank you for that, Daedalus," Stacey replied, reaching out to stroke the owl's head with a finger. "That means a lot."
AN: So, how about it, everyone? Do you think Hoggle will decide to leave with Primrose? Let me know by leaving a comment.
Also, in case anyone is curious about the thee goblins who were specifically named in this chapter, the goblins Amåm and Gürdy were taken from The Goblins of Labyrinth, a book created by Brian Froud. And Shinjeee was featured in the Labyrinth 30th Anniversary comic, which I currently consider as canon.