In truth, the coarse ropes were rather tight and they had begun to chafe the delicate skin of her wrists. Sarah risked another glance at him, only to find that the bastard had the nerve to look amused. He ginned wolfishly at her and drawled, "I might remove your restraints...IF you show me that you intend to respect my authority."
Sarah felt her eyes widen at his audacity, in spite of herself. She shook her head and hissed, "And exactly what gesture of respect am I expected to exhibit?" Jareth seemed to ponder the matter a moment before his mouth curved into a triumphant smirk. He slowly lowered himself onto his throne and drawled, "Come here."
Sarah tried to ignore the panicked voice in her head that warned for her to stay put. Endless possibilities of what he would demand of her flooded her mind.
It took all of her nerve to make her knees move as she shuffled closer to him. Jareth seemed pleased that she had chosen to obey. He let his eyes roam over her body as she knelt before him, her worried eyes cast to the floor. He took in the sight of her firm breasts. It was obvious that the girl wore nothing underneath the scant top. He dropped his eyes to her bared legs noticing for the second time that her thighs were well toned.
His appraisal did not go unnoticed by Sarah and she struggled not to let her trepidation show. Instead, she met his intense gaze with a fierce one of her own. Jareth smirked arrogantly and his voice dripped with confidence as he ordered, "Now...kiss my boots."
Sarah's expression changed from angry to dumb-founded in an instant. Her eyes widened as she protested, "Excuse me? You can't be serious?!"
Jareth leaned forward slightly, grinning viciously as he replied, "Oh, I assure you, I am quite serious." Still she made no move to obey so he added, "Do you wish for me to remove your restraints or not?"
Sarah sighed and the sound held a tone of disgust. Jareth warned, "Surly, such a task is trivial compared to an eternity of enslavement for your precious friend."
Sarah narrowed her eyes and snapped, "Fine!" She quickly ducked her head down, her lips just barely grazing the top of his left boot as she kneeled back up again.
Jareth was enjoying the petty torment far too much to let her get off that easy. He chided condescendingly, "Ah - Uh..." Sarah sighed and shot him a very annoyed look as he grinned and insisted, "Sarah, that is a pathetic show of devotion. Now d performing any task I deem fit o it again, like you MEAN it."
Her shoulders were really beginning to ache so she chose to humor him, even though he was a royal pain in the ass, so long as it would get her damn hands free. Without another word of protest or sigh of annoyance, she lowered her head, more reverently this time, as she firmly pressed her lips to the leather of one boot before bowing to the other also gracing it with a tender kiss.
As Jareth watched her something burned in eyes as his breath caught in his throat. He had no idea that so subtle of an act of submission would affect him so. He just barely managed to regain his composure, slipping back on that cold mask of indifference as she rose back up to a kneeling position.
He immediately noticed that her cheeks were hot with either embarrassment or anger. Jareth rose from his throne, pulling a tiny dagger from his belt as he cut the ropes from her wrists. Sarah quickly rubbed her wrists and rolled her shoulders in relief as he resumed his position on the throne.
He indicated a chair that had materialized behind her, "You may sit." Sarah was tempted to stay on the floor just to piss him off but her desire to sit comfortably won that dispute. Once she was seated, Jareth began, "I have decided that while you are in my castle you will act as my personal assistant. You duties will include acting as my personal scribe as well as attending my personal needs."
Sarah felt the blood drain from her face at the mention of personal needs. What the hell did that mean? To her that sounded like it could be anything from doing his laundry and preparing his food to bathing him. She pushed the that idea right out of head as she stammered, "Your...personal needs?"
Jareth smiled coldly, "Yes. Running errands, tending to my clothing, arranging meals, serving as my escort when it is required of you...in a nutshell performing any task that I ask you to do."
The words any task echoed in her mind, and it took a great deal of effort to keep her state of alarm hidden.
Jareth didn't seem to notice that she was barely listening as he continued, "I'll have the goblins take you to your quarters, so that you may rest and bathe if you wish, then you may join me for dinner and we'll get started with your training."
Sarah's head perked up when she heard "rest and bathe" but she cringed at the thought of sharing a meal with him...and training? He made it sound as if she was his new pet, and that irked her something awful.
Interrupting him, she jeered, "And what if I don't feel like eating with you?"
Jareth considered her bold query and replied, "Well, you can take your supper in the bog then."
Sarah dropped her eyes. On second thought having dinner with him didn't sound so bad. She felt him staring at her so she reluctantly raised her head, "No...I'll pass. I...I'll come to dinner."
Jareth smiled victoriously before she chanced a stolen glance at him and quietly protested, "...but I have nothing to wear. These are the clothes I sleep in. I...I'm not even wearing shoes."
Jareth overtly looked her up and down, grinning as he mused, "Yes, I'm aware of that."
Sarah narrowed her eyes at him and remarked coldly, "Oh I see...you find it funny. Well I'm not laughing. It's drafty in here, and my feet are freezing."
His mismatched eyes met hers as he flatly stated, "I will have some appropriate attire brought to your room."