Chapter Eight - Midnight Conversations
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A/N - Oh come on! I need some feed back here! *sighs*
******
That night, Arian sat up in bed reading an old volume by Tolstoy. It was a sad story.
Anna Kerenina's affair had just been discovered by her husband. She knew what was
coming, having read and re-read the book before, but she still secretly hoped that the
poor woman would get a happy ending. Her eyes hurt. There was not much light shed
by her tiny candle that stood uncertainly atop a looming column of books on her
bedside table. Perhaps she should get the place organised, or at least ask for some kind
of shelving unit.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a dark shadow moved across the room. With a
sudden rush of panic, she grabbed the crossbow that she kept under her bed at all
times. There was a rustling sound from the other end of the room.
"Who's there?!" she tried to say assertively but it only came out as a frightened
whisper.
"Me." said a gruff voice from the shadow and a short figure stepped into the tiny pool
of candle light. It was the dwarf she had met that day by the outer walls.
"Heggle!" she cried with relief and put the crossbow back in its hiding place.
"It's Hoggle!" the dwarf replied angrily.
"What are you doing here?"
"Just thought I'd pop in and see how you were getting on." said Hoggle, trying not to
sound too perturbed.
"Why are you so concerned about me?"
"Well, I am that's all! Nice young girl, cold drafty castle. Stands to reason don't it?"
"I thought you couldn't come here."
"Well, you disobeys one order, you disobeys them all." said Hoggle with mock
bravery which made Arian laugh.
"Why were you banished, Hoggle?" she asked curiously.
"It all started about fifteen years ago." said the dwarf. "I was like all the other
creatures of the Labyrinth. I did what I was told and looked out for meself. Then, She
came along!"
"Who's She?"
"I gettin' to it! I'm gettin' to it! Her name was Sarah and she had wished her baby
brother away y'see. At first his Majesty thought she would be like all the others but it
turned out she was made of stronger stuff. I was told to lead her back to the beginning
of the Labyrinth, but then she started calling me her friend. No one had ever dome that
before, never. And I just couldn't do it, I couldn't. It felt like there was something
better out there to strive for, so in the end she managed to get to the castle."
"What!" cried Arian "Somebody actually solved the Labyrinth! On their first try!"
"Not just that. She beat his Majesty as well. She even turned him down when he
offered her everything she could possible want."
"But no one's ever defeated the Labyrinth!"
"That's just what He's been telling ya. Would you really expect your old man to go
public with something like that. The goblins forgot about it, they don't have very good
memories and all the rest who knew were either locked up or sworn to secrecy. If it
ever got out that a mortal beat the Labyrinth, it would lose all its credibility, we'd be
invaded before we could blink!"
"I can't believe no one told me!" said Arian. "What happened afterwards?"
"Well, your dad took it all pretty hard. I think he must've fancied her or something.
Didn't do nothing for nearly a year. Then you came along of course and he cheered up
a bit. Found you in the middle of nowhere in Europe."
"What! I didn't know that!"
"Oh bugger, I've said too much!"
"Hoggle, tell me what happened!"
The dwarf looked around nervously as though he was being watched. Then bolted out
of the room as fast as his little legs could carry him.
"You coward!" shouted Arian, but he was already gone.
******
A/N - Oh come on! I need some feed back here! *sighs*
******
That night, Arian sat up in bed reading an old volume by Tolstoy. It was a sad story.
Anna Kerenina's affair had just been discovered by her husband. She knew what was
coming, having read and re-read the book before, but she still secretly hoped that the
poor woman would get a happy ending. Her eyes hurt. There was not much light shed
by her tiny candle that stood uncertainly atop a looming column of books on her
bedside table. Perhaps she should get the place organised, or at least ask for some kind
of shelving unit.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a dark shadow moved across the room. With a
sudden rush of panic, she grabbed the crossbow that she kept under her bed at all
times. There was a rustling sound from the other end of the room.
"Who's there?!" she tried to say assertively but it only came out as a frightened
whisper.
"Me." said a gruff voice from the shadow and a short figure stepped into the tiny pool
of candle light. It was the dwarf she had met that day by the outer walls.
"Heggle!" she cried with relief and put the crossbow back in its hiding place.
"It's Hoggle!" the dwarf replied angrily.
"What are you doing here?"
"Just thought I'd pop in and see how you were getting on." said Hoggle, trying not to
sound too perturbed.
"Why are you so concerned about me?"
"Well, I am that's all! Nice young girl, cold drafty castle. Stands to reason don't it?"
"I thought you couldn't come here."
"Well, you disobeys one order, you disobeys them all." said Hoggle with mock
bravery which made Arian laugh.
"Why were you banished, Hoggle?" she asked curiously.
"It all started about fifteen years ago." said the dwarf. "I was like all the other
creatures of the Labyrinth. I did what I was told and looked out for meself. Then, She
came along!"
"Who's She?"
"I gettin' to it! I'm gettin' to it! Her name was Sarah and she had wished her baby
brother away y'see. At first his Majesty thought she would be like all the others but it
turned out she was made of stronger stuff. I was told to lead her back to the beginning
of the Labyrinth, but then she started calling me her friend. No one had ever dome that
before, never. And I just couldn't do it, I couldn't. It felt like there was something
better out there to strive for, so in the end she managed to get to the castle."
"What!" cried Arian "Somebody actually solved the Labyrinth! On their first try!"
"Not just that. She beat his Majesty as well. She even turned him down when he
offered her everything she could possible want."
"But no one's ever defeated the Labyrinth!"
"That's just what He's been telling ya. Would you really expect your old man to go
public with something like that. The goblins forgot about it, they don't have very good
memories and all the rest who knew were either locked up or sworn to secrecy. If it
ever got out that a mortal beat the Labyrinth, it would lose all its credibility, we'd be
invaded before we could blink!"
"I can't believe no one told me!" said Arian. "What happened afterwards?"
"Well, your dad took it all pretty hard. I think he must've fancied her or something.
Didn't do nothing for nearly a year. Then you came along of course and he cheered up
a bit. Found you in the middle of nowhere in Europe."
"What! I didn't know that!"
"Oh bugger, I've said too much!"
"Hoggle, tell me what happened!"
The dwarf looked around nervously as though he was being watched. Then bolted out
of the room as fast as his little legs could carry him.
"You coward!" shouted Arian, but he was already gone.