Jareth smiled mischievously at her obvious distress.  "Oh, it is not that bad, child.  At least I did not ask you to clean the Bog of Eternal Stench."  Then, he closed the door and opened the one who was located just in front of the kitchen.  "And, finally, this is your room," he said, stepping inside. Already tired, Lili swallowed, held her bag tightly and followed him.  She looked around and mentally sighed.  Just as Jareth's was a king's chamber, hers was... well... a maid's one.  In comparison of what she had seen, her room was small and simple.  It was furnished with a bed, a chair, a small table with a lamp and an old wooden wardrobe which had seen better days... a couple of centuries ago.  There was a closed door near it, surely the bathroom.  The floor and the walls were of cold stone, no carpets or tapestries.  It reminded Lili of a cloister, except for a small fireplace that caught her attention.  "The castle is really cold in winter," Jareth said, noticing her interest in the fireplace.  "And a frozen maid would not do her job, would she?  Well, I am glad you like your new home," he finished, amused. He snapped his fingers and a watch appeared in his hand.  He gave it to her.  Lili looked at it and, to her surprise, it had thirteen hours! "Time moves different here," he explained at her startled expression. "Well?" he added expectantly. Lili blinked and immediately put it around her slender wrist.  "Thank you... your Majesty," she said politely. Jareth nodded and found himself saying, "You are welcome."  A little annoyed with himself for his stupid reaction, he cleared his throat and shook his head.  "This is not a gift.  Never take it off.  My kingdom may hold some... dangers for you.  Not lethal of course, but still, I would not like to... lose my only maid," he told her.  "As magic does not recognize you, I will not be able to check directly on you, but I will be capable of seeing the watch.  In that way, I will always know your location," he finished. "Just like a beacon," Lili noted, examining her new watch.  She smiled.  It had a small goblin in the center, which indicated the hours and minutes with his short arms. Jareth looked a t her for a moment and then turned to leave.  "I want my food in five hours," he said from the doorway, not bothering to say please.  "Do you remember the way to the dining room?"  At her nod, he continued.  "Good.  Now I shall return to my duties... I have some... unfinished... business with Lili Williams," he added evilly. His sinister tone sent chills to her spine and, forcing herself to control the fear, she took a deep breath and asked what she wanted to know.  "Why... why do you hate... Lili Williams?" He looked intently at her and blinked.  "I do not hate her," he answered, shrugging.  "She is just the meas to ensure my revenge." "Revenge?" Lili asked, puzzled and unable to stop herself. "Yes, revenge!" Jareth exclaimed, excited, balling his hands into fists. "Sarah must pay!" he added, completely forgetting he was not alone.  "And her beloved sister will help me accomplish that!" Lili's eyes widened in shock and she paled.  He wanted to hurt Sarah!  Why?  Her sister was the gentlest -well, also the most stubborn- person she had ever known.  "Why?" she asked in a small voice,  "What did she do to you?  She would never harm you!" Lili added, completely forgetting she was supposed to treat him as a king.  "She is kind and- -" "You are wrong!" he barked angrily, causing Lili to back up a couple of steps and unconsciously bring her bag in front of herself in a protective gesture. "You are so wrong!" he repeated, walking menacingly toward her.  "Sarah owes me one!" he yelled, raising his arm. Completely convinced by now that he would hit her -and definitely not used to being yelled at- Lili closed her eyes and embraced her bag tightly.  She was deeply ashamed.  She knew Sarah would have fought back, but she ... just could not force her feet to move. "Sarah must pay!" Jareth shouted again.  "She--" He suddenly stopped as he realized the girl was scared to death... and his raised arm did not help.  He rolled his eyes and lowered his arm.  Did the child actually believe that he would hit her?  He sighed.  True, he had lost his temper, but then, that always had happened when he though of Sarah. He shook his head.  "What happened between Sarah and me is not of your concern," he stated in a calmer tone.  "Remember, I want to eat in five hours."  Without another word, he vanished. Lili opened her eyes and, once sure she was alone, she sighed deeply and dropped her bag. Shaking, she sat on her bed and braced her knees.  As the truth of her incredible situation sunk in, she bowed her head, but did her best to stop the coming tears.  "I will not cry," a miserable Lili whispered, biting her lip. "I shall not cry," she repeated, trembling even more, but to her despair and annoyance, the tears came anyway.   What a holiday... Jareth materialized in his study and sat on his favorite armchair.  As he pondered on what just had happened with his new maid, he let out a sigh.  It had not been his intention to scare Lucy, but she had just touched too... sore a subject for him...  Not to mention that she really did not seem to take shouts too well.  He shrugged and took a hand to his chin.  Oh, well, she would have to get used to his... kingly temper.  Slowly, a satisfied smirk played on his face.  Even though Sarah's sister had -momentarily- eluded him, his trip to the Mortal Realm had not been a completely waste of time after all, as he had gotten himself a maid.  True, Lucy was not like the other girls he was used to dealing with and her taste in clothing was pretty bad, but she was respectful to him-- and that pleased him-- a lot.  He titled his head.  Perhaps it was more fear than respect, but that did not matter.  After living for centuries surrounded by his stupid subjects, her soft voice and fair appearance were more than welcome... and he would finally get to eat a decent meal.  His grin widened as he remembered Lucy's memory sphere.  He had not told her the whole truth about the crystal.  Not only did erase the victim's existence in regards to other people, but also copied the true... essence of said victim, giving great advantage to the one who kept it. He waved a hand and the shining object appeared floating before him.  He blinked in surprise at its glow, only few and special humans could produce such a beautiful crystal.  Suddenly very curious, he took off his gloves and extended his palm.  The sphere obediently went to him.  As soon as the crystal touched his bare hand, an unexpected tenderness flowed through his body...  Tenderness and absolute despair.  He gasped at both emotions.  Despair was familiar to him -and understood why she felt it- but tenderness was completely new to him...  Being the all mighty Goblin King, he was not used to those kind of feeling, not even from his former lovers.  He could not help but smile in delight... and returned those feelings with his own... Lili's quiet sobs were abruptly interrupted by an incredible soothing sensation... as if someone were embracing... her soul.  Startled, she raised her head and stiffened, but soon she relaxed.  She dried her eyes and felt her despair somehow lightening.  With a small grin on her face, she leaned back on the bed.  It was such a comforting feeling...  After a while, and feeling much better, she sat crossed legs on the bed and began to think on her current -unbelievable- situation.  There was no room for self-pity.  Her beloved sister was in danger.  The truth was that, for a reason unknown to her, Jareth hated Sarah.  According to him, her sister had hurt him somehow and now, he would do anything to gain his revenge... in other words, getting to Sarah by harming her.    Lili shuddered as she remembered the dark tone he had used before and how he had yelled at her when she had asked him about Sarah. She cocked her head.  She really didn't understand how Sarah could have met someone like Jareth or how he despise her so much... but then, she really didn't understand how a being like him -and his world- could even exist.  She sighed.  However, it didn't matter what she believed; she was here, stuck in this weird place, with a temperamental and all too powerful king... not to mention extremely dangerous.  As strange as it was, he was convinced that Lucy -the real Lucy- was her... and so, he wanted to capture poor Lucy. Lili balled her hands into fists and bit her lip.  Under no circumstance she would allow Lucy to be harmed, but she would play her game until the end.  She would have to say good-bye to her dream of becoming a doctor... and just be Jareth's maid.  "Clean and cook, perfect.  The dream of every woman," she muttered sarcastically, picturing the huge -dusty- castle in her mind.  She knew it was her only chance, keep him... happy, so to speak.  "For how long?  Well until he finds out who I am," she added and shivered, not wanting to know what Jareth would do to her then.  "Great." Having made up her mind, she ran a hand through her hair and rose.  "I will had better arranged my room first," she said to herself, but then she blinked and rolled her eyes, a bit annoyed.  "Great, I have not been an hour here and I am already talking to myself.  Just great."  She shook her head, picked up her bag and started to take out her few things... after all, she was only supposed to be spending a couple of weeks with Sarah and Michael. She took out her books, the ones she had teased Sarah with, and placed them on the table.  Then, she brought out a pair of jeans and a couple of T-shirts and walked to the wardrobe.  She carefully opened it, almost expecting something nasty -like cockroaches-, to jump out at her, but thank God, nothing happened.  It was just an ordinary wardrobe with a broken mirror in one of the doors.  However, it was not empty; old dresses and hanging inside.  Curious, Lili left her clothes on the chair and took out a dress.  Even though it had seen better days -and parties- it was still beautiful.  It was long, with a tight bodice and flowing skirt.  The sleeves long and tight, except in the shoulders, which were puffy.  Once a vivid blue, it was now almost gray and torn in several places. To Sarah's and her mother's despair, she was not the dress type, but still, Lili could not resist holding the dress before her.  She looked at her reflection and chuckled.  With her chin length hair, her freckles and her favorite snickers, she was not the image of a princess or a Lady.  "Just the maid," she said to herself, morbidly amused.  She inspected the other dresses -one green and the other red- and then put her own clothes in the wardrobe, together with her bag.  Once finished, she realized her hands were covered with dust.  Rolling her eyes, she went to the door she had seen before.  When she opened it a relieved smile played on her face.  She had been right in her assumption; it was a small, fully equipped bathroom.  She washed her hands and, after drying them, she continued ordering her things. "Well I think that's all," she said. Then, realizing it was a little dark, she opened the curtains and, in spite of her sadness, a delighted smile lit up her face.  The enormous maze greeted her eyes.  It was simply... spectacular.  She widened her eyes, mesmerized and wondered what it would be like to walk through the labyrinth... and what sort of creatures would live there. She raised a hand to her chin.  Well, she had already met the goblins and, in spite of their odd appearance, they had not intimidated her.  In fact, she thought they were funny, even though Jareth-- Lili suddenly stiffened.  Jareth!  She had completely forgotten about his meal!  She quickly put on the apron she had seen inside the wardrobe and left her room... Jareth kept feeling the girl's crystal for a while, but then he suddenly remembered whom the owner of the precious object was.  He blushed slightly and shook himself.  It was his maid's crystal!  It was not the one of his summoners, not one of the unnumbered ladies that were always chasing him.  No.  It was just his new maid's.  What was wrong with him? With the sphere still carefully held in his hand, he rose and approached the bookshelf.  He touched a copy of Shakespeare’s "A midsummer night's dream" and waited.  A part of the wall slid to a side, revealing the hidden entrance to his secret lab.  He stepped inside and, silently, the wall closed behind him.  The place was the size of his study, without tapestries or carpeting.  Here, Jareth kept his magic books and unnumbered bottles containing all sort of herbs and other odd ingredients for the most complicate spells.  However, he never used them, as he really didn't need them, as his magic was just too powerful.  At the other side of the room, there was a delicate -and magical- crystal compartment.  He walked toward it and carefully placed the sphere inside.  With that, he returned to his study; he had an important task to complete.  With an evil grin, he sat in the ledge of the window and created a crystal ball.  He raised it to his eye level and his smile widened in a sinister way. "Show me Lili Williams," he commanded in a whisper.  To his disappointment, nothing happened, the sphere remained unchanged.  "Show me Lili Williams!" he insisted, this time in a louder voice.  Again, nothing happened.  He tried several more times and, in every occasion, the requested image was denied to him.  Annoyed to no end, he finally gave up and violently threw the ball through the open window. "This will not stay like this!" he barked, balling his hands into fists.   "Sarah's sister will not escape from me!  I will have my revenge!"  He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.  Yes, he would have his revenge.  He would seek Lili Williams out and seduce her, making her fall in love with him -an easy thing to do, considering that she would probably share her older sister's dreams and fantasies.  Then, once he had obtained what he wanted, he would banish her to his darkest oubliette...  He smiled, pleased with the idea.  And the best part would be that Sarah would witness Lili's misery again and again... *Oh, yes, revenge will be mine!* he thought, a satisfied and cruel look in his mismatched eyes. Lili stood quietly before the kitchen's closed door.  She could hear strange noises coming from the other side.  After a moment of hesitation, she opened it...  She dropped her jaw.  When she had seen it with Jareth, it had been empty, but now, the room was filled with hyperactive -and rather hysteric- goblins.  They were jumping, running, fighting, yelling, throwing things at each other -in fact Lili had to duck to avoid a dish- and even singing. Lili swallowed and tried to call their attention, but the creatures ignored her.  Suddenly, one small goblin distractedly ran toward her and, in a quick movement, Lili grabbed his arm, and carefully lifting him up, she closed the door. "Hey, calm down," she soothed the nervous and kicking little thing.  She could not help but smile.  The creature was... well... cute, with his round face and round nose.  He was a little bit fat for his size and was wearing purple pants, a bright yellow shirt -ripped in several parts- and a red funny hat with a furious green feather.  In fact, the goblin was a startling piece of color.  "I will not hurt you," she added softly. Not being used to gentle words and soft voices, the goblin finally stopped kicking and opened his eyes to see his captor. To Lili's amusement, he flushed like a tomato.  She placed him down.  "I am Li... Lucy," she introduced herself, forcing herself to remember her "new" name.  "What's your name?" she asked. He cleared his throat and smoothed his shirt.  "Pete," he said and then, tilted his head.  "Are you one of the girls?" he asked with curiosity. "Girls?" Lili repeated, puzzled. He nodded.  "Yes.  Do you have to solve the labyrinth?  Because you are in the wrong place," he explained. Lili blinked and was about to ask what he meant with that, when suddenly she remembered Jareth's speech about "dangers untold and hardships unnumbered."  She rolled her eyes and shook her red head.  "Oh, no.  I ‘m not one of those... girls.  I’m the new maid," she said, morbidly amused as how that sounded. "You mean you didn't wish a child away?" Pete asked, wide opened eyes. "Of course not!" Lili exclaimed, shocked, but then she shrugged.  “Anyway, can you tell me what's going on inside?" she asked, indicating the closed door behind them. Pete gave her an isn't-that-obvious look.  "They’re cooking." Lili stared at him and began to understand Jareth's bad temper.  "Okay," she muttered and, fixing her apron, she entered the kitchen...  The goblins were still hyperactive.  Lili looked at them for a couple of seconds and, annoyed she noticed Pete's mischievous gaze fixed upon her, as if he were waiting her to go insane right there.  However, she didn't lose it.  Placing a rebel strand of hair behind her ear, she stood straight and took two fingers to her mouth... and whistled. At the loud piercing sound, the goblins froze on their places and turned to the young woman, seeing her for the first time.  She cleared her throat and a satisfied smirk appeared on her face.  "Good.  Now that I have your attention, let me introduce myself.  My name is Lucy," she said seriously, looking intently at them.  "And no, I am not one of the girls," she quickly added, seeing their mischievous expressions.  "I am the new maid." "Our nanny?" one of the goblins asked hopefully. "No.  I am his Majesty's maid," she explained. "Ah, his Majesty's... nanny," another dwarf said in a wicked tone. Lili blinked and blushed.  "NO!" she exclaimed, realizing what he must have been thinking. She cleared her throat again.  "I--" "But you said you were his maid," a blue-faced goblin interrupted her. "Yes, but what I--" "He's right, I heard you," a tall creature added. To Lili's annoyance, all of them began to talk at the same time, except Pete, who stared intently at her, as if waiting for her reaction.  She rolled her eyes and took a hand to her forehead.  Jareth didn't need a maid... he needed an army!  Oh, but she would not be defeated by them!  Lili took a deep breath and whistled as loud as she could.  "ENOUGH!" she barked, and to her disbelief, it worked.  They kept quiet and looked at her.  She smiled sweetly.  "That's better.  As I told you before, I-am-the-maid-and-one-of-my-duties-is-to-cook," she said, speaking very slowly so they could understand her.  "But I can't cook here, this place is a mess," she added and, suddenly, an idea occurred to her.  Perhaps she could persuade them to help her, after all, they were... well, not so intelligent. "We like it this way," a cat-like goblin said defiantly. Lili just stared at her nails.  "Well, I guess you don't want cookies, then," she replied shrugging and turning to leave. "Cookies?" all the goblins repeated as one, suddenly very interested, their eyes shining. Lili faced them again and had to suppress a chuckle at their expectant faces.  She nodded. "Yes.  I was thinking of delicious chocolate cookies... but If you prefer to have the kitchen like this..." she left the sentence unfinished and gestured with her hands, indicating the dirty place. "If we clean... you will give us... cookies?" Pete asked suspiciously. "Yes, Lili said solemnly. As one, all the creatures hurried to the closet where all the cleaning implements were kept. Unfortunately, all of them tried to open the door at the same time... *Why me?* Lili thought, as she whistled for the third time. "Pete, can you open the door, please?" she told him, having already noticed he was one of the most intelligent goblins and, well, she liked him. Beaming with pride for having being chosen -as no one had ever chose him before- Pete nodded and did as he was told. "Thank you," she said, walking toward the closet.  She began to take aprons, brooms, soap and all sorts of cleaning supplies, until all the goblins were properly equipped for their task.  Once finished, Lili divided them by size into two teams.  The taller ones would take care of the walls and the smallest ones would clean the floor.  For obvious reasons she would take care of dishes, glasses and every breakable item.  She was about to start working, when suddenly realized they were staring puzzled at her. "Well?" she prompted.  "You may begin." However, they didn't move.  Annoyed, Lili looked questioningly at Pete, but he only shrugged.  She blinked and, don't knowing what else to do, she whistled.  Immediately, they moved.  At first, they were terribly confused, but she patiently explained them how to do their job, until they finally got it.  And so, for the first time in their life, the goblins began to... clean. Exactly five hours later, the Goblin King left his chamber and headed to the dining room with long, annoyed strides.  He had spent the whole afternoon thinking on his revenge and unsuccessfully trying to locate Lili Williams.  He was angry... and hungry.  Thinking on the delicious meal waiting for him and, with a roaring stomach, he entered the room.  To his utter disappointment, there was nothing set over the table, not even a fork.  He shook his head.  What was wrong with that girl?  Did she not hear him saying five hours?  He blinked.  Perhaps he had scared her too much...  NO!  He did give her enough time and he had not been that bad with her.  She should have had his meal ready by now!  Kicking a chair, he stormed out of the dining hall. A second later, he materialized outside the kitchen and was about to open the door, when a sweet, delicious and familiar smell reached his nose.  He inhaled deeply.  What was it?  He was sure he had smelled it before...  Suddenly, it hit him.  "Chocolate!" he exclaimed in surprise.  Then, he hard goblin's voices, but as strange as it was, they were not screaming.  They seemed to be just talking and, to Jareth's disbelief, he could have sworn the words "Thank you," were spoken.  The Goblin King immediately dismissed that insane idea.  Curious, he opened the door... and froze at the sight that greeted his eyes.  He blinked several times to assure himself he was not hallucinating.  The goblins - his idiotic goblins! - stood in a row, but they did not make any mess, they simply... stood there.  Each one carried a dish... and each one had a napkin tied around the neck!     Beyond amazement now, and wondering what was going on, Jareth followed the goblin row with his gaze and got his answer.  He stiffened...  Lucy -HIS maid- was giving them cookies... and each goblin patiently waited for his turn! He previous anger returned.  She had cooked for his stupid goblins... instead of him! With a deadly serious expression on his face, he walked toward them and stood behind the last goblin, his eyes cold as steel, his arms folded across his chest.  He cleared his throat. "Oh what do you--" the goblin said as he turned, but he abruptly went quiet and, slowly raised his head.  At his king's icy -and dangerous- stare, he decided the wise action would be to walk away. Jareth smiled, satisfied, and repeated his action until he stood behind his maid.  She was bent before the oven, taking out the cookies.  Completely unaware of his royal presence, she continued with her task.  He cleared his throat. "Just wait a second," Lili said softly.  "Here you go," she added, turning, but instead of a fat goblin, she saw a pair of shining, black, boots!  Lili looked up... and up, until she met his mismatched, annoyed eyes.  Her own eyes widened in horror as she realized... the five hours were gone!  She rose and nervously bit her lip.  "Your Majesty... I am sorry...  I..." At her terrified expression, Jareth's anger vanished, to be replaced by a hint of amusement.  Was he that intimidating?  Oh yes, he was!  "Can you tell me what are you doing?" he asked seriously, not letting his amusement to show. Lili sighed and briefly wondered how the Bog of Eternal Stench would be.  "I... was giving the goblins cookies.  They helped me to clean the kitchen and--" "They did what?" he interrupted her, unable to stop himself.  He gave a quick glance over his shoulder and only the realized the place was almost shining. "They helped me to clean and I baked chocolate cookies for them in return.  You never said I couldn't use their help," Lili explained, her gaze fixed on her bowl of cookies. The king blinked and looked at her as if she were a phenomenon.  Of course he never told her that!  Goblins were... well... goblins.  How could it be that a mere -magicless- mortal woman could have made his idiotic subjects to actually do something useful?  Could it be that kindness... and cookies... were better than kicks and yells?  Jareth thought about it for a couple of seconds, but then shook his head.  Of course not!  He was the Goblin King.  He had a reputation to maintain!  He just could not picture himself being... kind... with his minions.  Definitely not!   He rolled his eyes. "Lucy," Jareth began to say in his deep voice.  "I shall forgive you this time, but never make me wait again.  Understood?" Lili raised her head.  "Crystal clear...  I mean, yes, your Majesty.  It will never happen again.  I promise," she replied, feeling like a grounded child. He nodded.  "Good.  I want my meal in one hour." "Of course," Lili said with a small grin.  Then, realizing it would be rude not to offer cookies, she shyly raised her bowl.  "Cookies?" she asked, blushing a bit. Jareth's eyes widened in disbelief.  How dared she to offer him -HIM!- the same food she had given... the goblins? "Is it something wrong?"  Lili asked, puzzled, tilting her red head and wondering what she had done to upset him now. Annoyed, he opened his mouth to admonish her, but then, seeing her childish, innocent expression, something seemed to melt inside of him.  He shook his head.  "Nothing is wrong," he said, grabbing a cookie.  He took a small bite and could not suppress a smile.  It was delicious! "I am glad you liked it," Lili noted, feeling unexplainably... happy. Slightly annoyed for letting her know, Jareth quickly recovered his kingly mode and cleared his throat.  “Remember, one hour."  With that, he disappeared... together with the bowl of cookies. Lili blinked in surprise and shook her head; perhaps Jareth was not that bad after all, but still... better not to make him wait.  She quickly turned to the stove, but in doing so, she accidentally brushed the hot surface with her wrist. "Shit!" she exclaimed at her burned skin.