the unshakeable tenacity of the black goblin part III

Gideon was standing in the door, about to join the lovely girl and the Black Goblin, when he heard a strange rustling coming from outside. He peered out the window, and saw an elf. She was the most beautiful elf he had ever laid eyes on. She motioned for him to go outside, so he sneakily crept out of the door and into the woods where she waited.

The elf gave him her brooch and a sack, containing a strange dust. "This dust," she said, "will bring to light what shadows try to hide. Just sprinkle it on whatever you seek truth from, and it shall be known to you."

"What of this brooch?" asked Gideon.

"That," replied the elf, "is for you to remember me by. I am watching." With that, the elf darted off into the woods, fading in the distance with the trees and thickets.

The boy didn't know what to do with the dust, so he walked into the house, putting the brooch on as he went. Not looking carefully at where he was going as he was pinning the brooch to his shirt, he tripped and fell, sending the satchel of dust flying into the air. The dust scattered everywhere. Gideon jumped up in a panic, thinking he had wasted the dust, but when he turned to the goblin, he could see that the goblin wasn't black at all. He wasn't slimy, or grotesque in any way. In fact, he was rather handsome, for a goblin anyway, and was a deep shade of blue.

"Oh my, look at all this dust everywhere! Gideon, we'll have to clean this up," said the lovely girl.

"Oh yes," replied Gideon. He turned to the goblin. "Excuse me, sir goblin, my apologies. I seem to have spilled dust all over you."

The Blue Goblin replied, "Not a problem, boy. Not a problem. I happen to be a fantastic duster. I was taught by elves."

"You mean, you lived with elves? You never lived in a cave?" responded Gideon.

"No, dear boy," laughed the goblin. "Caves are dank and dark, gloomy places. They suffocate one. There's no way to breath in those places. Everything gets all bottled up in there. In the forest, you have air. The trees breathe with you. It's much nicer out there." His eyes turned to the brooch on Gideon's shirt. "My, what a marvelous looking clasp you have, there. It looks somewhat familiar to my eyes; where did you acquire it?"

"A friend," replied Gideon as he smiled. "A friend."

"Well, this house is a mess, let's clean it on up, shall we?" said the lovely girl, grabbing her dusters.

The three cleaned the house, and spent the night laughing and talking about all manner of things. They had a wonderful night.