Disclaimer: I own nothing *cries* not even Jareth. Again – But I Wish I Did! But no – there is nothing I own... And I'm a poor student, so don't bother to sue me….

A/N: Wow! I have lots of reviews! =D Thank you all sooo much!

One of the questions that almost everyone is asking me, is *why* isn't she taking him up on his offer? The main reason is that in this fic, Jareth is cruel, and Sarah knows it so she isn't about to give in to ballroom fantasies – yet Besides, it would be a very short fanfic if she just said "Okay!" There will eventually be some J/S, but it's not going to be soppy…
The other question I keep getting, is whether Sarah is older/younger/what happened to her? She is the same age (late 60's), yet appears physically younger – about 23 in appearance. You're right if-666, if she wasn't young, then it would just be weird! But I wanted her to have a little wisdom that only age can teach.

Thanks to all who reviewed – Daemon faerie queen, Xelena, sheena, wolfariusorca, if-666, Rach6, Cherokeelady, scifimimi, Amythest Angel… =D.
~Cariah.

Too Late?
By Cariah Delonne.

Chapter 4

Sarah woke with a smarting headache. There was a pounding in her ears that would not subside, and her mind swirled with the last things Jareth had said to her. What had he meant? So he wasn't going to offer her a series of foolish dreams any longer? Why did that give her a sense of foreboding? They were, after all, only dreams – dreams she had refused many times in favour of reality…

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Her thoughts had run away with her, leaving her body to do as it wished, including the relatively normal function of waking up. Somehow, she felt as if she was not waking up, but re-entering a dream.

"Jareth!" She hissed, upon realizing her strange surroundings were no dream.
He appeared within moments, his mouth twisted into a satisfied smirk.

"Why – why am I here?" she demanded, her eyes hard and cold.

Unperturbed by her manner, Jareth replied simply, "That is where you fell. I thought it would do you no harm to stay here."

"It's an oubliette! Tell me, Jareth, how do people fall from seemingly dry, solid land, into a dark, musty, hell-hole such as this?"
He looked midly affronted at her description of his oubliette, but merely shrugged. "I wonder at you asking me – it was not I that fainted. I did not prescribe where you were to fall."
He disappeared.

Sarah growled in frustration at the empty space where he had been only moments before.

Remembering how she had escaped the oubliette last time, she called quietly, "Hoggle? Are you there?"

"Now, now, Sarah, no cheating!" Boomed a voice around the chamber, and Sarah swore, her hands clenched at her sides.
"Mind your manners…," he stated mildly, his voice trailing off into the thick blackness.

Some hours later, Sarah was still searching for the hidden door – or rather, she was trying to convert it from the broom cupboard into the hidden passage she had once followed Hoggle into. So far, she was having no luck, as endless brooms and dustpans, feather dusters and polish kept tumbling out onto her awaiting feet.

*****

Jareth watched her from his tower window, through a series of crystals, as she struggled with the door. He smiled at the futility of the effort – every time she opened the 'other side' of the door, he would snap his fingers, and the passage would transfer to the opposite side. Then Snap, and it would be the opposite, as she opened the would-be exit once again. Snap. Open door. Close door. Snap. Open door. Close door. Snap.

He smirked to himself. 

*****

Sarah was becoming frustrated. She knew he had something to do with this.

"Things are not always what they seem in this place…"

Perhaps he didn't have anything o do with it… perhaps she was just letting her imagination get the better of her. Going against the pattern of opening the opposite sides of the door, as she had been for the past few hours, Sarah opened the same side twice in a row. Jareth, not completely paying attention, swore when he saw what she'd done – what he'd let her do.

He frowned, and contemplated what to do next. She made her ay through the faces of rock, all warning her in the gravest tones to "Turn back" "This is not the way" and other such pleasantries, but she ignored them, and continued through the Labyrinth. Traditionally, this was where he made his appearance. Traditionally, if the victim had gotten this far through the Labyrinth, they would not survive to see the hedge mazes.
Sarah had.

Knowing where the Labyrinth would lead her, were she to follow her previous footsteps, and knowing where she would be if she did not, Jareth gave the crystals his full attention. He would not appear- the traditional hero, the romantic villain. He would leave her, watch her, let her form her own opinions of his intentions. He knew that her imagination would be up to the task – that she would be able to place him in any position other than that which he really was.

A/N:  Sorry this took so long! Please R&R!!
~Cariah