by Envy Mercury
“Stop right there!”
Both of the girls went stiff and jumped slightly, stopping in their tracks. Valentine was about to make a break for it and try running when Mei turned around and bowed.
“Greetings, Lord Feron,” Mei said. Lord Feron was part of the King’s Court, the Curia Regis. One of his majesty’s advisors. He was also known as a perverted deviant.
“Does this one not know her place?” He barked at them as he pointed to Valentine. In her anxiety of being found out, she had not turned around and bowed. Not good.
“Forgive her, my great lord. She is new and also hard of hearing,” Mei elbowed Valentine sharply, causing her to turn and bow her head as well. “She will be a good servant once she learns the etiquette required here that is so difficult for most of the common folk to get in their thick heads.”
Lord Feron stood studying them a long while. He slowly stroked his mustache, breathing heavily. They would have to stay until he dismissed them, which hopefully would be soon. The longer this interaction lasted, the higher the odds of them being discovered and the princess not escaping.
“We were just collecting some linens that we hope to have cleaned. I personally wanted to see the task tended to,” Mei said.
“I want to see this one’s face, remove your hood,” Lord Feron huffed. Valentine started to sweat and tremble a little. Feron had crossed paths with her many times. He knew exactly what she looked like… unsure of what would come next, she slowly reached up to her hood. Maybe he wouldn’t see with it being darker out. There was little light. Mei pulled down her own hood.
“Mmm, nice to pull that down, so warm under there,” Mei announced dramatically. She opened the cloak a little more, so it revealed her breasts in her maid outfit. They were slick with sweat and glistening in the moonlight. “The princess has such heavy linens.”
Lord Feron looked towards Mei, obviously staring at her breasts and not caring that they knew he was eyeing them so intently. Valentine kept her hand on her hood but didn’t pull it down. She glanced at Feron. He was disgusting, greasy, smelly, and full of himself. His eyes looked predatory as he looked Mei up and down.
Lord Feron questioned Mei, “Why is this batch of linen so special?” He snatched some up to inspect it.
Mei fanned herself more, breathing deep so her breasts would expand, struggling to not spill out of her top. “I need to make sure this one here knows how to handle the princess’s personal laundry; she likes it washed and returned in perfect condition. Depending on how close it is to the moon, that can be, well, more difficult of a process.”
Feron’s face was covered as he had the linens pressed against his face. He was taking deep breaths in his nose, inhaling the scents that were on the princess’s sheets. After Mei said that, he abruptly stopped and dropped them back in the basket.
He waved his hand at them, “Go, continue what you were doing.” Even though she was embarrassed by discussing her bodily functions and cycles, Valentine was happy that Mei had the capacity and skill to scheme to steer him away.
Mei pulled her hood back up, and once Feron was away a bit further, they turned around and continued to the building.
“He is a disgusting man,” Mei muttered to Valentine.
“Yes, though apparently even he has standards with his sick desires.”
Mei giggled and covered her mouth with her hand, “I am sorry, but it is well known to the servants what he likes and dislikes from when he harasses them,” she frowned, “or had his way with them. That pig! It is known he doesn’t like it when things are red. Some of the girls would hint to that being the case when they were at risk of him molesting them up.”
They entered the laundry area, and Mei pulled an empty bag from the laundry basket she had been carrying. They stayed there a few minutes until Mei peaked out the back exit. She took her time for a few moments making sure they would not be spotted. Then they exited out towards the river. Mei pulled out the bag and opened it, setting it on the ground.
“I didn’t tell you this part, Valentine, but we need to strip down to cross the river. Unless we want to be soaked. This is a waterproof bag. I wish we had better options,” Mei said quietly while messing with removing her clothing.
“If it must be done, then it must.” They both began stripping off their clothes, folding them quickly to fit them in the bag. Valentine laughed lightly.
“What is so humorous, my lady?”
“I was just laughing about how if Lord of the perverts knew we were naked back here, he wouldn’t be able to sleep for weeks.”
Mei snickered for a few moments. “Yes, that is true.”
They both had splendid bodies. Mei had a darker complexion and smaller breasts than Valentine. Valentine had white creamy looking skin. Her hair was long and platinum blonde in color. Mei had the opposite with her hair, short and dark.
“It is so chilled,” Valentine said as they entered the water. It sent shivers through her body. Goosebumps covered her pale skin.
“We will get through it, my lady,” Mei said. She entered shortly after the princess did, all the while keeping an eye out for anyone suspicious that could be around. She gasped as she entered the water, causing Valentine to look back at her. They slowly swam their way across the river, it was freezing, but the current was slow. Taking care to not create sounds of splashing that anyone could hear with how quiet the area was. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally made it across. Mei made her way over to some foliage and pulled a second hidden bag out that she must have placed here earlier. Valentine shivered while covering her ample breasts with her arm. Her other hand kept her covered down below. Even if they were alone, it was awkward to be naked and wet outside.
Mei opened the other bag. “I kept our clothes dry just in case this other bag wasn’t here. It has some other clothes that will help us blend in more. Looking like servants would make us stand out more, I think.”
They took the clothes and got dressed. It contained simple cloth tops, leggings, and some shoes. After getting dressed, they donned some other cloaks that Mei had packed as well.
“I am amazed at how well you planned ahead, Mei,” Valentine said.
“I try to do what I can, my lady. I took my time and spaced things out as to not look suspicious. One never knows when someone could be spying.”
“Thank you, Mei. You have yet to fail me, and I believe you never will.”
Mei smiled at her while she pulled her hood up tighter to hide her features more. “You are so very welcome, my princess.” She curtsied in a mocking manner that made them both have a fit of giggles for a moment. She held out her hand to the princess. “Shall we get going? We need to keep moving and discard or burn our old clothes.” Valentine took her hand, and they made their way towards the city.
Chapter Seven
My eyes gazed towards my familiar. “Go ahead Mecci, I’ll be there in a bit and meet you outside to do our training.” I had some things I needed to take care of first. I had to feed the nagging voice in my mind, the voice that always required me to seek more and more. After Mecci went outside, I took a look around to be sure I wasn’t noticed by anyone. I headed to a secluded area inside the guild. I went over by the stairs. There was an area underneath them that would work well to hide my addiction. Everyone knowing I had even more faults could ruin everything we had planned. I planned to eventually get myself off substances, but with how well this bog marrow performed, I felt that maybe I didn’t need to. Nothing wrong with extra performance.
I pulled out my bog marrow and quickly took a pinch that I sniffed. I let out a sigh of pure bliss as I felt it enter my bloodstream, fortifying my strength and power. I rubbed my nose and returned the container back to my cloak with great care. Care that one would give to something so significant. I needed this. I knew it would be essential to keep me in good form.
I came back out from my hiding spot, returning back into the bar area. I did a secondary scan around the room to see if I was noticed.
Call me paranoid. Paranoia keeps you safe from whatever could threaten you. Mew was staring at me with cold eyes. Had she seen my whole routine? No, that couldn’t have happened. I was around a corner. After all, she couldn’t see through walls. Well, as far as I knew, she couldn’t. I didn’t know everything about her abilities. I didn’t know everything about anyone’s abilities.
“Hey Rezner, come over here,” Mew said. I did another sniff and wiped my nose a second time as I walked over to her. I was a little paranoid about what she wanted when I leaned my elbow against the bar. I stood there a while, just looking at her. She was looking at me like she was examining me.
“What’s up, Mew? Need something?”
Her expression turned deadpan. “What were you doing over there?”
“Over where?”
“I know you are stupid, but don’t be stupider than you already act. You went over to the stairs. Why would you do that?”
“I just wondered what was over there.”
She put her hand down on her hip and let out a deep exhale of breath. “Yeah, that is totally normal to do before training; decide to go look at the stairs.”
“I’m strange. What can I say?” I chuckled as I fidgeted a bit.
“No, you are stupid,” she stated while staring into my eyes.
“I better get out there and get started on my mana training. Bye, Mew.” I picked my arm up off the bar and turned. I was short with her, probably not my best moment, but I really didn’t enjoy being interrogated. I waved her off and noticed she was downcast. Her hands were in tight fists when we were talking, but now they were just open, her arms hanging below her slumped shoulders. What was with this girl?
“Please… please don’t be what I think it is,” Mew whispered to herself.
Outside I saw Mecci sitting in the grass by a tree. It was a beautiful tree that reminded me of a cherry blossom. It had pink pedals. Some were slowly drifting down from the tree onto the ground surrounding Mecci as she sat there, calmly looking at me. “Come here and sit across from me, Master.”
I lowered myself to the ground and sat like she was just looking at her. “We going to have a picnic instead of training?”
“What is a picnic?” She asked.
I forgot that I had slang that people didn’t know here and words they wouldn’t use. “It’s where you go outside and eat a meal with other people.”
“It would be nice to eat out here, but no. I need to help you sort your mana, Master. You can do a bit of your imagination magic, but you really need to learn to control your mana.”
“What does mana control have to do with casting? I mean, I can already do it. Right?”
“You can, but mana control is where you can control the flow better. If you don’t, a spell can be too weak… or too strong.” She looked at the sword that I had lying on the ground next to me. “A good example would be with your mana sword. You have to be able to direct your mana into it, but not too little or too much. If you use too much mana, you can run out. If you don’t use enough, you will be defeated.”
While I was listening, I was looking up at the tree. It was so beautiful. It just felt so peaceful, which was very pleasant. “So, I need to use the correct amount when I can do so.”
“Yes, you can adjust to what you are facing.” She reached out and touched my hand. “Sometimes you can be gentler, sometimes a bit more…. Harsh.” She winked at me. “This will also help your imagination magic, as that is visualization as well.” She held out her hands for me to take them, and I did.
“Ok, what now?”
“I will help guide you a little. You need to close your eyes and take time to find the mana in your body.”
I closed my eyes and tried to picture the mana. I couldn’t really imagine it too well. I tried to think of different things, what it could look like. Where it would be inside me. Where was it hiding? I pictured it in my blood, in my soul. I tried a few different techniques for a few moments. I felt a squeeze on my hand. “Try to feel for it master, to find it. Then visualize it after touching it,” she explained.
I tried the different approach of me trying to feel it within me, seeking it out. I felt it for sure, but it felt all over the place. Like my entire body was filled with it. It was surging like a raging river, but I also felt a bit disconnected from it.
“Your mana is stronger at this moment. I have noticed that it has gone up and down in strength a lot. Almost like you are leaking it out at all times, it is very out of control. You need to work on controlling that today.”
I nodded to her and understood the basics. I got to my feet and stood up, unsheathing my sword. “Now, how do I use this effectively?”
“It is simple, really, the hard part is controlling how much mana you use. You just visualize it transferring from your body into the sword,” Mecci instructed me. Watching her explain things to me made me imagine her as a sexy instructor, teaching a college course. That would have been a class I would have shown up to more often. “Try it, but just let the sword access a small amount at first.”
I closed my eyes and thought about the feeling of the mana in my body. I concentrated on its surface in my sword hand. I held the sword out in front of me, my fist straight out, so the blade was horizontal pointing to my left. I felt the strange tingle sensation. It felt a bit like static electricity when you walk on carpet, and metal gives you a spark. It was very similar to that but without the pain. I focused and released a tiny amount into it. I felt it flow from my body, through my hand, into the sword.
Faintly I heard Mecci shouting, it sounded like she was far away, but it got my attention. “Stop! No! Stop, Master!” I opened my eyes and saw the sword was a raging bright blue that was almost blinding, it looked like pure fire, but instead of flames, it was energy. I began to feel my energy drop and exhaust. I tried to disconnect my mana, but it took a second, and then the sword went dark. I then fell to my knees.
“That was something. I feel weak now,” I said.
Mecci put her arms around me and gave me a good squeeze like if you greeted someone, you hadn’t seen in a long time. More like a hug, you gave someone that was going to leave, and you wouldn’t see them, if ever again. “I told you to use a small amount! You have to be careful. Using too much mana at once can kill you, Master. You can die.”
“Die?”
“If you run out of mana, it draws your lifeforce. That is how you can die.”
“Well, shit, I’m sorry, Mecci,” I said as I gave her a hug back. “I will be more careful in the future.”
“Good,” she said, wiping a tear from her face. For being a badass, she could sure be a crier. “I can never lose you again, I can’t. I won’t allow that to happen.” She sat holding me for a while before she spoke again. “Just practice controlling it. After you get more stable with that, then you can try to use the sword again.”
It seemed that I had a lot to learn. It was hard learning things in a crash course. I didn’t know information that was probably known knowledge that kids were educated on and knew about. I had a lot to do, so I had to try harder. We had our mission tonight, my first planned conflict. I had that conflict with the guards, but the actions I took fighting them was all by the seat of my pants, and I really didn’t use my magic to fight. “I will work on that Mecci, I won’t use the sword again until you feel I am more capable of doing so.”
Much of the rest of the day I spent training. My mana had a blue color to it, and I tried to visualize that in my body. I would always end up finding it, but it was tough to hold on too long enough to put it to meaningful use. I was told that once I was able to, I would be able to use my mana in other ways. Sending it out in a blast for offense or making a shield out of it. This was a factor of my imagination magic. I could create things but also use my mana more freely. From what I understood, there were different types of mages. They had specific things I knew of, fire, ice, water, earth. Then a few that were rarer, like necromancy, shadow, and light magic. Mine was the only type
that could be used more freely without a spell. I tried doing only small surges of mana at a time. For a bit, I made a tiny blue ball of mana light in my hand. This could be used as a blast or projectile and accomplish different things. I created a mana shield that could be used to block attacks, including magic. As long as it wasn’t nullified with anti-magic, I had to watch out for that as well. Though mages with anti-magic were about as rare as me, there were still scrolls that people could use to accomplish the same desired effect.
I kept practicing, either using too little mana or way too much. It was hard for me to get control of my magic. I didn’t have those issues creating with imagination magic, as there was a set amount that I needed to use for whatever I started. If I created a pencil, it would convert the required amount to make it. Not as much. If I made something more extensive like a large sword, it would require more. Creating something like Mecci, a whole lot. I was told most didn’t even have enough mana to do such a creation. They would die. It was creating life. Apparently, I pulled that off. My past accomplishments drove me with the desire to remember my past memories and reclaim the power I use to have. I patted my hand against my little container in my pocket. At least I had the bog marrow to back me up.
◆◆◆
Later that evening, the place was busy with activity. There was so much going on, I had a hard time keeping track of it. The guild members were murmuring, making jokes, and discussing the future events of the night. They were sorting items and gearing up. Some of them had beautiful armor that had many intricate details. One larger man, he had to have been at least seven-foot tall. He was a tank of muscle and physical power. I wouldn’t want to fight him. His armor was well taken care of. I could see he had pride in it. He also had a massive sword, this he had on his back. It was about as tall as he was. I could then understand why he would carry it on his back. I could also see how it would be hard to get to in the heat of battle. I wish it were different. I didn’t like my sword at my hip. I wasn’t used to how it would extend out from my body, catching on things when I moved around. It was a pain in the ass now, but I was an amateur and figured it could be something to get used to overtime. I would need to get used to it quickly.
