Hello my lovelies! I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update, however I did make this a considerably longer chapter to make it up to all of you. I can also promise you that the next chapter will probably be just as long, if not longer.

Please read and review. I always love when you give me favorites and alerts, but I really REALLY want feedback too. I love reviews...(are you getting my obvious hints?) I hope you enjoy this latest chapter-the upcoming chapter six should have more romance themes, but as for right now I am still trying to build the foundation for the "future" relationship. And yes it is my intention to make the lovely sexy Goblin King conflicted. Think "slow build".

Anyways a big thank you to all the wonderful readers who have reviewed and added my story. Thank you-it is because of those things that this story has not been thrown away, or left alone and abandoned in some dark corner of my mind.

Also please remember this story is rated M for upcoming chapters and despite my new Labyrinth/Goblin King tattoo and my desperate wishes I do not own, nor have I ever owned Jim Henson's characters. Also the song I reference is called; "Dream a Little Dream on Me", performed by the Mamas and the Papas. (and in case there's any confusion I don't own that either) The only thing I claim ownership to is the insanity that makes up this plot.

P.S. My other story "To Be the Mate of a Lord" should be updated this week as well. Love you, and hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter Five

Sarah released the breath that she had held and cautiously looked around the hall, taking in all the details that she previously missed while listening to her orders from the king. He was definitely a figure that she was going to have to try and avoid as much as possible. No sense in giving him any excuses to take advantage of her.

Suddenly out of nowhere a small goblin scrambled into the room and up onto the table in front of her. "Lady! Lady!" the small creature cried out while trying to clutch at her hands.

"Yes?" asked Sarah forcing back her initial reaction of revulsion to the strange ugly thing.

"Kingy says it's time to CLEAN!" he shouted jumping up and down anxiously.

"Oh—um…alright, where are the cleaning supplies?" asked Sarah with hesitation.

"Cleanie…supplies?" asked the goblin, while sticking his finger in his mouth, a puzzled look overtaking his features.

"Yes, you know…to clean?" Sarah persisted.

"Splob no know…never cleanied before…"

"…Wonderful…" muttered Sarah irritably, "Where am I supposed to clean?" asked Sarah with slight trepidation.

"Come Lady! Come! I's show you!" shouted the goblin known as Splob as he grabbed the front of her skirt and pulled her towards the doors.

"Alright, I'm right behind you…" Sarah fought a small smile as she followed the excited goblin, he almost reminded her of Toby, when he was enthusiastic about something.

They walked down a series of corridors, Sarah glancing at the tapestries and portraits that lined the walls, attempting to remember the way so that she wouldn't become lost on future jaunts through the castle's many hallways and rooms. Abruptly the tugging and pulling on her skirt ceased and Sarah looked forward, only to be horrified at the sight that awaited her. There in all its ghastly repulsiveness sat the throne room, its floor scattered with drunken goblins, chickens, and a multitude of other disgusting things that Sarah did not want to even take the time to contemplate. The pillars and windows were draped in cobwebs and splotches of unidentified substances. The tapestries that hung along the walls were weathered and beginning to unravel along their edges, while bits of the designs appeared to have been eaten out by moths. How she was supposed to clean the place, let along get the goblins to assist was beyond a mystery to her.

Stepping further into the room she spotted several empty pails and scrub brushes lying scattered across the floor, and a broom lying against another wall. Sarah sighed…there was no guarantee how long cleaning this was going to take, especially considering that she was severely lacking in the proper cleaning supplies. Rolling up her sleeves she grabbed the two salvageable buckets and turned to the small goblin named Splob, who was trailing after her anxiously.

"Is there anyplace that I can get water for the buckets?" she asked determinedly.

"Yes Lady! There's a well! Follow Splob, he will show you!" squealed the little goblin running towards another doorway. Tightening her grip on the buckets Sarah hurriedly ran after Splob, following him down a long series of stairs out into a small garden where a relatively small well stood surrounded by a variety of small and strange flowers.

Sarah sighed and walked over to the well, tying the rope to the bucket handle she slowly lowered each bucket into the well, bringing each one up overflowing with water. Bending over she lifted each bucket up and proceeded to walk back to the throne room, taking care not to spill the water. Splob danced around her feet as she climbed the stairs laughing giddily and grinning from ear to ear. Once she reached the throne room Sarah noisily slammed the water buckets down, sending water sloshing over the sides and onto the stone floor.

"Splob?" Sarah hesitated.

"Yes Lady?" asked the little goblin who was still jumping up and down enthusiastically.

"Is there any soap?" she asked looking around the room once again.

"What's soap? Is it tasty?" asked Splob licking his lips.

"No…it tastes horrible, it's used for cleaning…it makes bubbles when it is put in water." said Sarah hoping that the description would jog the small goblin's memory.

"Hmmm…..I think Kingy has that for his clothies…." replied Splob thoughtfully.

"Well, do you know where I could find some?" asked Sarah relieved. At least they used soap for some things.

"Kingy might know…" the small goblin answered.

"Where is his Royal Tidiness?" asked Sarah snidely. The very idea of having to go and ask the Goblin King for anything was enough to make her stomach roil. She wanted to limit the interaction she had with him to a minimum, the less he saw her, the less likely he was to try and devise new ways to make her life miserable.

"Looking for someone Precious?" the smug voice behind her asked.

Sarah took a deep breath, fighting the urge to gulp, and turned around to face the "man" she was quickly beginning to view as her arch nemesis.

"As a matter of fact I was your Majesty. You. I need soap, if I am ever to have any hopes of making this room, or any room for that matter clean, I need soap." She was proud of the fact that she was able to keep her voice steady and her gaze unblinking. The last thing she wanted was for him to realize how much he scared her.

"But of course Precious you're quite right." said the Goblin King summoning a crystal and tossing it near her other two buckets, suddenly an additional bucket appeared and inside it was filled with various bars of soap.

"Thank you." Sarah abruptly replied turning towards the scrubbing brushes.

"It was my pleasure…" purred the Goblin King. "Oh, and Precious—you might want to watch what names you choose to use to address your Lord and Sovereign…it would be a terrible shame if it became necessary for you to be punished because you were insubordinate."

Sarah fought the urge to glare and shout, and instead settled for giving him a sharp nod and turned her back. When no more words were said on the matter she looked back over her shoulder to find the king gone once again. She let out a sigh of relief and gathered up all of her cleaning supplies.

Splob, who had been hiding up until that moment peeked out from behind a tapestry and grinned at her, "I thought Kingy was going to bog you for sure! Stinky place that…awful place…" he made a face as he looked up at her.

"Bog me?" asked Sarah.

"Bog of Eternal Stench…smelly place…always stinky…" muttered Splob, before he turned and ran out of the throne room giggling.

Grabbing the broom, she then proceeded to sweep the entire throne room, removing straw and dirt that had been scattered all over the floor, as well as knocking down all the cob webs in the various windows and doorways. She chuckled as she noticed that simply by sweeping the floor had begun to lose its black tinge, and was now simply a shade of grey with the occasional black spot, from Lord only knew what.

She then grabbed a bar of soap and scrubbing brush and dropped the soap into one of the buckets of water, watching as it instantly dissolved turning the water soapy. It caught her a little by surprise but she shook it off and dumped it on the floor. Getting onto her knees she began to scrub, watching as the stones lost their awful black and grey discoloration, and began to return to their warmer natural shade of brown. Once she had managed to scrub that section to her satisfaction she grabbed the second bucket and dumped the clean water over the area, rinsing away all the suds.

Sarah looked over at the two empty buckets and then over to the size of the throne room, and then back to the small section she had managed to actually scrub clean. A scowl formed on her lips and she fought the urge to stomp her foot like a child throwing a temper tantrum. At the rate she was going she was going to be there all day and still be in the exact same spot. It was going to take forever to clean the floor, simply because she was going to have to go back and forth for clean water. And of course there was also the chance of tracking in more dirt and grime while she was trying to wash away the soap.

The Goblin King smiled as he looked into his crystal. Sarah was showing a surprising amount of determination. She had been hauling buckets of clean water up and down the stairs and back and forth for several hours, and she had yet to take a break. She was only a quarter of the way through cleaning the floor, but she was determinedly scrubbing. She had also been periodically taking the tapestries off the way, to beat the outside, he was going to have to do something about those, they were practically falling apart—what good did would it do if the banners and tapestries that hung by his throne looked tattered and old.

He had to smile though when he thought back to her nick name for him when he had appeared behind her in the throne room earlier. While timid around him when he "threatened" her, it seemed that she still maintained her spark and was more than willing to be her snarky self when she thought he wasn't around. To a certain extent he even had to admire her for it. His attention was drawn away from his musings when he heard Sarah start muttering to herself.

He laughed when he heard her curse the stairs and threaten to kill any chickens she found and turn them into dinner. She then proceeded to splash more water on the floor, kneel back down, and resume scrubbing. Her voice suddenly changed its tone, softening; and a melody floated through the crystal and to his ears;

Stars shining bright above you;
Night breezes seem to whisper…I love you?
Birds singing in the sycamore tree.
Dream a little dream of me.

Saying nighty-night and kiss me;
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me.
While I'm alone, blue as can be,
Dream a little dream of me.

Stars fading but I linger on, dear—
Still craving your kiss.
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear,
Just saying this...

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you—
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you.
But in your dreams, whatever they be,
Dream a little dream of me.

Stars fading but I linger on, dear—
Still craving your kiss.
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear,
Just saying this...

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you—
Sweet dreams that leave all worries far behind you.
But in your dreams, whatever they be,
Dream a little dream of me.

The Goblin King started in surprise; her voice was very pleasing to his ears. He jerked out of his thoughts, he was not going there. Not with her. Not ever. She was an entertaining enough distraction for the time being, nothing more. He looked back to the crystal and smirked. And while he was thinking about it she had definitely earned a reward.

Sarah scowled when she finished singing her song. Singing while she worked did not make the job more fun. Snow White was a liar. Her back ached; her hands were red and pruned from the water, and on top of all that she was not even half way through cleaning the room, how was she ever to finish cleaning the rest of the castle? Out of water again, damn it. She threw the brush down and stood grabbing the buckets, she needed more water. She jerked up in surprise when water sloshed out of the once empty buckets and onto the floor. How—What? She looked around, no smug or meddling Goblin Kings. Well she wasn't about to look that gift horse in the mouth, oh no.

The Goblin King smiled as Sarah continued scrubbing away, it appeared that she liked her "reward". She was definitely making much swifter progress on the floor now that she was no longer running back and forth from the well. It appeared that she intended to work at cleaning that throne room until she was finished. Perhaps he should—NO! No! No! She was not a priority for him. He gave her a job to do and it was her job to do it.

Sarah wiped her hands on her skirt and winced, there were blisters and cuts adorning her hands. The tapestries were clean and had been re-hung on the walls, and the floor, the cursed floor was completely one color. All of the soap that the Goblin King had given her was gone and the buckets, scrub brushes, and broom were stacked neatly in a corner. She looked out the open window that overlooked the labyrinth, night had fallen and the moon had begun to rise. Sarah sighed in relief and stretched her back. She suddenly felt the air stir behind her and the sound of clapping echoed throughout the room.

"Well done Sarah."

Sarah spun around, coming face to face with none other than the Goblin King. A wave of dizziness hit her at her sudden movement and she stumbled, when she suddenly felt a firm hand wrap around her arm stilling her.

"Precious?" asked the Goblin King unable to completely keep the concern out of his voice.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired." mumbled Sarah looking at the ground.

"For a moment I didn't even recognize the room Precious. I cannot wait to see what you're going to do with the rest of the castle." said the Goblin King smiling.

"Mmmhmm…" sighed Sarah yawning and stretching her arms, trying to alleviate the pain in her shoulders and back.

"Precious what happened to your hands?" asked the Goblin King, taking one of her hands in his gloved one.

"What do you think happened?" asked Sarah sarcastically, pulling her hand out of his.

The Goblin King scowled, while her tenaciousness was admirable occasionally, it was in this instance very irritating. "I don't believe I said you could take your hand away Sarah."

"Look your Majesty, if the throne room has been cleaned to your satisfaction, then I just want to go to bed." muttered Sarah.

"Give. Me. Your. Hand." growled the Goblin King extending his hand towards her in a demanding manner.

Sarah rolled her eyes and thrust her hand back into his grip. "Here."

"Hold still." the Goblin King ordered, bringing her injured hand to his lips, slowly brushing them back and forth over the wounds.

Sarah fought a blush and tried to tug her hand out of his grasp when a warm tingling sensation crept up from her fingertips and into the rest of her hand. However despite her tugging he held firm. When he finally released her hand she quickly wiped it on her skirt, scowling all the while.

The Goblin King fought back a chuckle and immediately grasped her other hand, administering the same treatment. And once again when he finished she rubbed her hand against her skirt. Catching her action in mid swipe the Goblin King brought both of her hands back to his lips placing a sound kiss to the back of each of them, then he turned her hands over, and placed a ardent kiss the center of each of her palms, followed by a light nip of his teeth.

"Thank you Precious the room is most satisfactory, I did not realize you were in such pain though, and for that I apologize." said the Goblin King giving her an innocent look.

Sarah blushed once more and quickly stammered out a broken response, followed by her tugging her hands out of his and fleeing the throne room as fast as she could.

The Goblin King watched her run from the room and as soon as she was out of ear shot he let out a boisterous laugh. It was so much fun to tease her. She was so sensitive about everything—making her uncomfortable was becoming a hobby he could learn to enjoy. She had become so flustered, and he found it was oddly endearing—her innocence so obvious. A large smile curved his lips and a chuckle escaped his lips as he vanished from the throne room.

Sarah ran down the corridors back towards her room. As far as she was concerned she couldn't get there fast enough. When her door came into sight she let out a breath she had been holding. She threw open her door and slammed it shut as soon as she was securely inside. Immediately she felt all of her energy leave her and she sagged against the door. All she wanted was a bath and her bed. Sarah dragged herself into the bathroom, prepared to begin filling the tub, only to find it already full of steaming water. Sighing in relief she quickly shed her clothes and sank into the warm water. Her tense, sore muscles instantly began to relax as the heat soaked into her skin, and as she lathered her hair, she looked down at her hands again; all the cuts and blisters were gone—even the calluses that she had gotten while she was working had disappeared. Why he had bothered to heal her in the first place was a mystery to her—and she had a sinking suspicion that the bucket "magically" filling with water when she had been working was because of him too. The thoughtfulness of those actions confused her to no end, why would he even care?

Having cleaned herself off to her satisfaction Sarah rose from the water, dried off, and dressed. Her stomach growled in protest as she moved towards the bed, but she was too tired to care. Her eyes grew heavier and she flopped down onto the soft mattress, sleep beginning to tug at her, her last conscious thought before her dreams claimed her—how was she ever going to survive tomorrow?