Amethyst set her hand on the golem's shoulder and imagined the figure collapsing down into the ball of clay. Immediately, its features went rough and it started shriveling up, folding in on itself with the boiling motion that had spawned it, until all that remained was a featureless ball the size of Amethyst's two fists. The three stones were pushed out of the clay, landing on the wooden floor with dull thunks.
“Okay,” said Keeva, scooping up the clay and dropping it back into the leather bag. “That's done. I think it's time to get some sleep.”
Amethyst nodded. “I agree. I'm exhausted.” She picked up the gems and sighed. “It's been three days since I fled the Citadel. If I am going to return, it should be soon. Probably tomorrow.”
Keeva nodded, a disappointed look on her face. “Yes. That would make the most sense.”
They sat in the bakery in silence, neither of them speaking.
“I can come back to visit you some time,” said Amethyst.
Keeva sniffed. “I'm not sure how exactly that would work. If you're working closely with your master, I would imagine that your time would be well used up.”
“I'm going to have time to go visit Lonwick from time to time,” Amethyst said. “I could use some of that time to come back here. Once I master the ability to travel by magic, really, anywhere I've already been is going to be easy enough to get to.” She leaned back in her chair, smirking. “I'll make sure I wear boots and gloves next time.”
Keeva wagged a finger at her. “See that you do!”
~~~
10th Waxing Sap Moon, Year 4368
Amethyst stood on the platform that she and Giriraj had arrived on so long ago. The snow elf that had guided her there and helped her climb the ridge stood nearby, waiting for her to let him know that she was ready to proceed alone. She closed her eyes, dreading what she needed to do next.
She tucked the pouch that held the stones into her robe, against her skin. The clay had been rolled out thin and plastered to her stomach, spread out across her skin so as to not make a large bulge in her robes, to better conceal it. She had found a vine in the forest near Keeva's village, and used that to tie her robe shut since she wouldn't be able to match the sewn belt that would usually have kept it together. It was crude, but it worked and gave her a little bit more protection against the elements.
She slipped out of the cloak, the frigid air biting at her skin. Shivering, she took off the extra layers that Keeva had provided her and handed them to the guide, who watched her with a raised eyebrow. As she slipped out of her boots, setting her bare feet against the snow, he shook his head.
“I do not understand you southern wizards,” he said to her as she handed him the boots.
“Frankly,” she said, her teeth chattering, “neither do I. Please give these back to Keeva with my warmest thanks.”
He nodded, and she started sprinting towards the Citadel. She needed to move fast if she was going to avoid making the frostburn on her feet any worse than it already was.
By the time she got to the entrance of the Citadel, she was in agony. Her feet felt like they were both numb and on fire at the same time, and her fingers ached. She clutched them to her chest, pinning them under her arms as she danced back and forth in the snow.
“The Apprentice of Earth begs entry to the Citadel!” she shouted, having rehearsed the line a hundred times on the way back through the forest.
Nothing happened.
Anxiety gripped her as she looked to the southwest, the sun setting behind the distant mountains. Frantically, she screamed at the door again. “The Apprentice of Earth-”
The doors faded away, revealing the warm interior of the Citadel's library, and she leapt inside, the heat from the fires burning in the hearths like the warm embrace of a savior.
Farrokh waited for her inside. Standing next to him was Nasrin, and on his other side was Giriraj.
“Welcome back to the Citadel, Amethyst,” said Farrokh, his voice cool and polite, as usual. “I am glad to see that you survived.”
Shivering, she clutched her robe tighter around her, trying to retain what little heat she had. “Th-thank you, m-Master Farr-rrokh,” she said, barely able to speak through her shaking. She looked up at Giriraj and saw his eyes burning into her.
Amethyst dropped to her knees. “Master, I b-beg your f-forgiveness,” she said, her shoulders quivering from cold as she tried to hold still. “I w... was scared, and I sh-sh-shouldn't have fled.”
He looked down at her for a moment longer, then turned his back, walking out of the library. She stayed on her knees, watching him go with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. If he rejected her after all that she went through, she would have nothing. If they threw her out of the Citadel right now, she would surely freeze to death.
Giriraj stopped at the entrance to the library, half turning back to her. “Well? Are you coming or not?”
She leapt to her feet and ran over to him, falling in step as he walked down the hall. Her feet stung as she followed after him, the stone floor rough against her skin. They passed Adrik at one point, who looked at her disheveled appearance and smirked.
“Now, that is how an impudent apprentice should look. Maybe you should have left her outside longer, eh Giriraj?”
“Shut your damn mouth,” Giriraj snapped, not slowing in his pace. Amethyst could hear Adrik's malicious chuckling fading behind them as they made their way to the Master of Earth's quarters.
As soon as they were inside, he closed the door behind them, a sheet of stone sliding up over the exit. Amethyst's pulse quickened – was he going to punish her? She had been gone for four days and had run out on him in the middle of his ritual, after all, ignoring his orders for her to return.
“Sit down,” he said, pointing to a couch, his back still to her.
Limping, she made her way to the couch and sat, clasping her hands in her lap. He stood in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest. Slowly, he crouched and took one of her hands in his. He turned it over, examining it, and she held her breath. What if he saw that it had been treated? What if he questioned her on where she had been?
Giriraj lifted her other hand, pressing on her fingertips. She winced, and pulled back slightly, but forced herself not to pull away. He set her hand back on her lap and lifted her foot, his expression unchanging. He looked over all her toes, her heel, and her ankles, gently pinching each toe. She flinched each time he did, for both of her feet; the mad dash she had made up the hill had abused her feet, and they were frostburned again, though not as bad as they had been the first night.
Slowly, he stood and leaned over her. He opened her robe and looked over the fading marks on her chest where she had been hurt by the cold. When he started to pull it aside enough to expose her breasts, she caught the edge and held it firm. He paused, then released the fabric.
“Are you in pain?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, pulling her robe back to closed.
“I will ask Helena if her apprentice, Isaac, can heal you.”
“Okay.”
“Wait here,” he said and walked towards the door. With a gesture, the sheet of stone dropped into the ground, and he left the room.
As soon as he was gone, she scrambled to untie the vine around her waist and peeled the clay off her stomach, wincing as it tugged on the patches of tender skin. She patted it over the places where the clay had stuck to her, picking up any lingering bits, then rolled it into a ball and carried it to her room. She dropped it into the leather bag that contained the pouch of stones she had brought with her and put it carefully into her top drawer. She grabbed the belt from her other robe and replaced the vine with it as she quickly returned to the couch in the main chamber. She coiled the vine up as best she could, tucking the ends into the loop to hold them in place, then set it to the side, leaving it in plain sight.
As Giriraj reentered the chamber, Amethyst was busy tying the belt in place. There was a young man in a green robe following him, a
nd she recognized him as the Master of Creation's apprentice from the dining hall several nights before.
Giriraj gestured to her. “She has frostburn on her hands, feet, and chest, at least. You'll need to examine her.”
Isaac knelt in front of Amethyst. “Hello. I am Isaac. My Master is Helena. I hear you are in pain?”
Amethyst nodded. “It is as he said. My hands, feet, chest, and back.”
“May I see?”
She extended one hand to him, and he paused, glancing up at her, his eyebrow raising slightly. Turning to Giriraj, he said, “I am going to have to examine her more closely, to see what I will need to do. I think she may be more comfortable if she is less exposed. May we do so in her chamber?”
Giriraj waved his hand dismissively. “She is sensitive about being seen naked by others. If she agrees, then I have no problem with it.”
Isaac turned back to Amethyst. “Miss, I can assure you my intentions are no more than to ease your pain and heal your wounds. Can we continue in your room?”
Something about the young man's manner made her apprehensive, but she nodded, standing slowly. “Yes. This way.” She led him to her room, and he closed the door behind him. Once they were out of the main chamber, she heard Giriraj's chamber door close as well.
“You've already received some treatment,” Isaac said to her, “and you didn't tell Giriraj. This frostburn is fresh, and it is over an older wound.”
Amethyst sat on the edge of her bed. “No, I didn't tell him.”
Isaac knelt in front of her again. “Well, if you're not interested in sharing that with him, I will follow suit. It is none of my business, after all. However, I am confident that I can fix your wounds with no scarring.”
He lifted her hand, holding it between his, and there was a soft green glow. Her hand became very warm and itchy for a moment, but she forced herself to keep still. When he released her, he rubbed his fingers over where the cold had hurt her hands, and the outer layer of skin sloughed off, revealing fresh, healthy, undamaged skin underneath.
Amethyst held her hand up, marveling at her fingers. “Thank you, Isaac,” she said.
“There is a bit more to do,” he said. “Your master wants me to heal all of your wounds, and he said that your chest and stomach are burned as well. Let's take care of your hands and feet, then we can move on from there.”
One by one, Isaac purged the damage from the cold out of her other hand and both feet, passing his hands over her legs. Even the ankle that had been broken back at Mount Stromgard was feeling much better – it had been troublesome though Giriraj had done what he could to set the bones right.
“Alright, now, if you please, remove your robe.”
Amethyst hesitated, but Isaac waited patiently, his hands behind his back. She stood and turned her back to him, sliding her robe off her shoulders. She heard him step closer, then felt his warm hands on her back. The green light from his hands shone on the wall in front of her as he worked his magic, healing the parts of her skin that had been damaged by the ice and snow. He placed his hands on her shoulders to turn her.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and turned to face him. Again, he was very quick and efficient, running his hands over the burned parts of her flesh and healing them. Finally, he rested his hand on her bruised shoulder, where she had collided with the tree during the avalanche, and she felt her flesh mending under her skin, the pain draining away as if it were a liquid being drawn out.
“Were there any places below your waist that required attention?” he asked her.
She shook her head, keeping her eyes closed. “No. My trousers kept the ice away.”
She felt her robe settle on her shoulders, and she opened her eyes. Isaac had lifted the clean garment from her bed and set it on her, standing behind her again, with his back to her to give her some modesty. Once she had wrapped the robes around herself and tied the belt in place, he turned back towards her, tucking his hands into his sleeves and bowing slightly.
“If you have any other injuries, miss, then all you need to do is ask.”
Amethyst bowed back to him. “Thank you, Isaac.”
He smiled. “With my master's leave, I am happy to help.” He turned and left her chamber then, and when her door opened, she heard Giriraj's door open as well.
“Well?” she heard him ask.
“She has been healed, Master Giriraj. Her skin was not damaged very deeply, so she was left entirely without scarring. I also corrected her ankle, so she should be in excellent health.”
“Thank you,” said Giriraj. “Please extend my gratitude to your master as well.”
“I will, Master Giriraj. I will return to Master Helena now.”
Once Isaac had left the chamber, Giriraj called to her, and she left her room, still barefoot. He sat on the couch and gestured to the cushion next to him. “Sit with me.”
She took her place next to him, pulling her knees up and resting against the arm of the couch while he lounged back, facing her.
“So, you are healed now,” he said. “Would you like me to send you back to Castle Lonwick?”
She shook her head. “No, Master.”
“Then why did you run?”
She bowed her head. “I saw terrifying things. I saw the shadows reaching for me, I saw you turn into a dragon, and I felt my will slipping away.”
Giriraj frowned. “A dragon?” he asked. “I can assure you that I did not turn into a dragon.”
She shook her head again. “I don't know why I saw those things. I felt like I was going to lose control, and I was afraid, so I ran, and I just kept running. Before I knew it, I was outside, then I tripped, fell into the snow, and the avalanche took me.”
Giriraj nodded. “I see. And how did you survive?”
“When I regained my senses, I made a shelter of stone at the far end of the valley, near the other ridge, and created a heating stone, like Rasul gave us at the Temple of the Summit. It didn't work well, but it kept me alive.”
“I felt that,” he said. “The ritual, at least, was somewhat of a success. Your energies are now bound with mine, though I wasn't able to complete the tie, which would have given you a link to mine.”
She bowed her head again. “I am sorry, Master.”
He rested his fingers on his chin. “Perhaps the elixir reacted differently to you than it does in humans... it was supposed to induce a euphoria that would make it easier to sink into the energies.” He shook his head and waved his hand. “Nevertheless, we won't be using that again.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “I am going to assume that you are hungry.”
Amethyst nodded. “I am starving,” she said, enthusiastically.
Giriraj stood. “The evening meal will be ready in an hour. Rest until then.”
She got up, bowed to Giriraj, and walked back to her room, closing the door behind her. Once inside, she leaned against the door and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
It seemed like her plan had worked. She was back in the Citadel, Giriraj was not angry with her, and she was still his apprentice.
Chapter Sixteen
Full Sap Moon, Year 4368
Vernal Equinox
The bedchamber was quiet, except for the occasional sound of pages being turned. Giriraj had long since retired to his chamber, but Amethyst was awake, sitting in one of the chairs at her table, leafing through a tome. It was very similar to the one that her golem was currently looking through – the book without a title with the images of men and women and intimate situations – and seemed to be a handbook on how to be a pleasurable partner. There were fewer pictures in this one, but much more descriptive text.
The golem finished flipping through the book and stood up to get Amethyst's attention. She had directed it not to speak if it was in her room so that they would not alert Giriraj of its presence. She had left it nude, to make it easier to collapse it at a moment's notice without drawing any undue attention. She glanced up at the golem and beckoned it over.
It crossed the room and handed her the book, which she set on the table. “Did you learn how to have sex?” she asked it, and the golem nodded.
“Show me the hound.”
The golem crossed to the bed again, climbed onto it, and got on all fours, sticking its backside into the air. It hugged Amethyst's pillow to its chest and spread its knees.
“Now, show me the peasant.”
It rolled over, laying on its back, its feet pulled close to its buttocks and its knees apart.
Amethyst nodded and held the book up. “And you know all of these now?” she asked, keeping her voice low.
The golem nodded again, not moving from where it lay.
“And you can pleasure him with your mouth if he so desires?”
The golem shook its head.
Amethyst furrowed her brow. “Come here.”
The golem got up from the bed and crossed to the table, standing next to Amethyst. She continually marveled at how lifelike its motions had become in the last four days, so much so that if Amethyst hadn't raised it from a lump of clay herself, she would have mistaken it for a real person.
“What is keeping you from doing so? You may reply.”
“I am unable to try it. I cannot say yes because I do not know.”
Amethyst sighed, exasperated. “Do you create saliva?”
“Yes.”
“Then you can try when it is time for you to try. It would have been my first time anyways, so a lack of experience should not go amiss. Be sure to avoid touching him with your teeth... this book says they don't like that.”
“Yes.”
Amethyst pointed at the other chair. “Sit down.”
The golem pulled the chair out and took a seat, mimicking Amethyst's posture.
“So. What is your name?”
“I am Amethyst Leonus, daughter of Alberic Leonus, princess of Lonwick and apprentice to the Master of Earth, Giriraj.”
Amethyst nodded. “Good. And when I send you to Giriraj, what are you to do?”
“I am to obey his directives, but act hesitant the first time. I am to request that the lights be dimmed or extinguished. While he is inside of me, I am to breathe heavily and make small noises of pleasure. When he is finished with me, I am to let him know that I need to clean myself and get his permission to do so. I am to close the door and return to you.”
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