Familiar

by Roseau, Robin

  I prepared a sleep spell and settled it around her, but didn't pull it tight.

  I tried to wake her. It was difficult, but slowly she woke up.

  "Moira?" she asked. She tried to sit up. "Moira!"

  "Shhh," I said.

  "Release me," she said. "Right now!"

  I smiled. "No," I said. "I broke that spell. Now, we're going to talk. If you draw any magic from me, I will put you back to sleep. If you start to cast any spells, I will put you back to sleep. Do you agree to talk?"

  "Why are you doing this, Moira?" she asked. "I thought you were happy."

  "I was. I am. I have not dispelled the love spell. Or the devotion spell. Or the familiar bond. I only dispelled the obedience spell."

  "You shouldn't be able to do any of this."

  "I guess I'm not a familiar. I'm a witch. Call me a late bloomer."

  "How long have you know?"

  "A long time," I said.

  "You tricked me into teaching you magic." She closed her eyes. "All these last years were a lie. You were just waiting for your chance."

  "Will you talk? Do you agree to talk?" I asked her.

  "I don't have a choice," she said. "I will talk. What do you want?"

  "I have been happy, Arianna," I said. "Deliriously happy. I love you with every fiber of my being."

  "Then why are you doing this?"

  "I have one complaint," I said.

  "The obedience spell," she said.

  "No. That you don't love me back."

  She didn't respond right away.

  "The familiar bond is still here," I thought at her. "Do you want to keep it?"

  "Yes, but not like this," she said out loud.

  I caressed her face then leaned down and kissed her. She kissed me back.

  "Arianna, I had to use the spell we use when freeing people. I don't know how to break the spells any other way. Do you want to know what I agreed to as the terms for being free of the obedience spell?"

  "All right," she said. "What?"

  "I vowed to keep any promises I make to you tonight."

  "You could have left me to sleep and run. Why didn't you?"

  "I don't want to leave."

  "I don't want a familiar who isn't bound to obey me."

  "All right," I said. "Let us negotiate. What do you want?"

  "You let me go. You accept an obedience spell. We go back to how things were. I would forbid you from using your magic against me and reaffirm most of the other requirements about not hurting me, but I otherwise promise not to use the obedience spell, and I would treat you like a partner."

  "Hmm," I said, as if I were considering it. "No."

  "Please don't leave me," she thought at me. "Please don't break the familiar bond. I've been so lonely without you."

  "I have a counter proposal. I will free you. I will accept the obedience spell. I will allow you to again dictate the rules. And once you are done, you will accept a love spell and a familiar bond."

  She studied me carefully. "There's a trick."

  "No trick," I said. "You can rebind me first if you promise to accept my love spell and a familiar bond. You will have to help me get them right."

  "You know, my level of magic will grow as your familiar."

  "I know. I am counting on it. Oh, and you will teach me more magic. You may use the obedience spell to ensure I never use it against you, and I promise to never attempt to break these spells again."

  "There's a trick," she said again. "There has to be."

  "Why? I love you, Arianna. I love you so much. Do you hate my offer?"

  "No. I love your offer. It's too good to believe. You would be making me stronger."

  "I know. And I would be trusting you. I want the love spell because I want to know you love me. And I want the familiar bond because it would make you stronger. Do you agree?"

  "Yes," she said. "I would be a fool not to."

  "All right," I said. "Um. How do I get rid of the sleep spell?"

  She studied me for another moment. "Will you trust me?"

  "Yes, of course."

  "Let me draw some magic from you, and don't fight me. I'll do the counter. If you don't fight me, I can dispel your sleep spell. It's clumsily produced, and I can see holes in it."

  "Will you teach me to make it better?"

  "Yes. May I get rid of it?"

  I nodded. She drew on me. When I didn't stop her, she drew enough to top off.

  "Don't fight me now," she said. She did... something. I didn't quite see what, and my spell shattered.

  I smiled. "You will teach me that?"

  "Yes. I will teach you everything, Moira. Let me up, please."

  "In a minute," I said. "Do not panic." I began creating a new spell. Arianna began to laugh when she realized what I was making.

  "I know," I said when it was ready. "You're better at this."

  "You missed a spot," she said. "The green link."

  I pointed. "Here?"

  "No, deeper. Left. Up. Yes, do you remember?"

  "Green from there, down to..." I moved my hand. "Here?"

  "Yes."

  I added the link to the structure. Then I turned it around for her to examine. "Good," she said. "Are you really going to use that?"

  "Oh yeah. I've waited thirty years to do this to you." I threw the spell at her, and she arched her back while screaming my name.

  I'd just used the orgasm spell she used on me all the time.

  When she collected herself, she said, "Wow. Okay, that was nice, but you need to learn finesse."

  "Will you teach me?"

  "Yes."

  I began to unstrap her from the table.

  Casting the Spells

  I let her up from the table and helped her to sit. "You made me naked," she said.

  "I wanted symmetry."

  She smiled. "Now what?"

  "Replace the obedience spell. Take the magic you need."

  She built it quickly and settled it over me. "Do you accept this spell?"

  "I accept," I said.

  I felt it settle around me.

  "I don't know what to do now," she said.

  "Give me the orders you need to be comfortable," I told her. "I trust you."

  She looked away, not saying anything.

  "Arianna," I said. "Order me to never physically hurt you." She did. "Order me to never magically hurt you." She did. "Order me to never break the spells with which I am currently bound." She did. "Order me to kiss you." She did, and I kissed her deeply.

  "If there are others, I understand," I said.

  "I-" she started to say. "I'm afraid."

  "Of what?"

  "Making you angry. I know I just ordered you not to break the spells, but I'm not sure it will stick if I make you angry."

  "I promised. Now, order me to never escape."

  "No."

  "Yes. Arianna, you know we're going to fight again. It's a given. Order me to never escape. Just like you did last time."

  "You're sure?"

  "Yes."

  So she replaced most of her old orders. I felt them settle in around me, and I smiled. "Thank you."

  She pulled me into her arms and laid her head on my shoulder. "Thank you, Moira."

  I smiled and kissed the top of her head.

  "I want the love spell, Arianna. Will you accept it?"

  She smiled. "Can you wait until morning? I think it's going to be harder than you realize."

  "All right," I said.

  We headed to bed. She made use of the bathroom, and when she came out, I had the orgasm spell waiting again. I stood beside the door, and as soon as she appeared, I threw it at her.

  Every muscle in her body stiffened and she moaned. I had to catch her when she went limp, and we fell to the floor together.

  "Oh my god," she said. "I've created a monster."

  I giggled. "Am I doing it right?"

  "Well, yes, but it's a little like making love to a teenager. Lots of enthusiasm, but not
a lot of technique."

  "Practice makes perfect."

  She smiled up at me. "Help me to bed?"

  I nodded, and we climbed to our feet and settled into bed. We cuddled in each other's arms. "Please don't ambush me with that again until I teach you more control."

  I laughed. "All right."

  "What happened to the boys?"

  "I left them there."

  "We could have used new recruits."

  "I was focused on you." I paused. "I didn't intend to do it that way, but you saw me with that spell ready, and I panicked. I thought you might kill me, or forbid me from using magic on you. I wanted the power to negotiate."

  "I understand," she said. "For what it's worth, if all you asked was to cast a love spell and a familiar bond, I would have agreed."

  "I wasn't sure. I'm sorry."

  She kissed me, and we cuddled together more closely.

  We cuddled and murmured at each other. I was so tired, but I couldn't fall asleep, and I kept waking Arianna up.

  "I'm scared," I told her.

  "Why?"

  "I'm scared you'll change your mind. I'm scared, I don't know. That I've scared you, and that you are just waiting for me to sleep to kill me."

  "You may put me to sleep, if you like," she said.

  I thought about it. "You know, I don't want to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life. You may put me to sleep. If you are going to hurt me, please do it while I am asleep. You owe me that."

  "I'm not going to hurt you," she replied. "Never."

  "Please, Arianna. Make me sleep."

  "You're sure?"

  "Yes."

  "All right." She kissed me. Then she smiled. "Try to avoid this."

  She caught me with her sleep spell even though I tried to throw up a quick defense. I had no idea what I was doing, and I was asleep before I saw what happened with the magic I threw out.

  * * * *

  I woke slowly. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if I would find myself bound to the table. I didn't know how much magic I would have left. I didn't know if there would be more spells cast about me.

  But I woke with the same amount of magic I'd had when I had gone to sleep. Arianna was lying on her side, watching me.

  "Good morning," she said.

  I rolled to face her. "Good morning."

  "Surprised to wake up?"

  "I don't know."

  She leaned forward and kissed me. "I would like us showered, cleaned up, and to have eaten before we do this."

  "All right," I said. "Race you!"

  I scrambled from the bed but she yelled, "Freeze!" Arianna slowly climbed out of the bed and stepped around me to look at me. I was frozen mid-step.

  "May I put my foot down, Arianna?" I asked.

  "Yes, Moira."

  I put my foot down and smiled at her. "Cheater," I said.

  She laughed and caressed my face. "I will make breakfast while you shower. Enjoy. Unfreeze."

  Then she giggled as she put on her robe and headed for the kitchen.

  I hopped into the shower.

  "Is that okay?" she asked.

  "Using the obedience spell?" I asked.

  "Yes. Moira, I probably will still need cigarette breaks."

  "The only change I want in our relationship is for you to love me, and the familiar bond. That's all."

  "Why are you accepting this?" she asked me.

  "Because I know you need cigarette breaks," I told her. "And I don't want you to ever worry I would hurt you."

  "You haven't gotten mad at me for how I use the obedience spell in a very long time."

  "Not since you explained," I said. "I wasn't even mad about the punishments for those years, even when they were horrible."

  She didn't reply to that.

  I showered quickly, dressed just as quickly, and then took over in the kitchen. She finished just as the bacon was done, and we ate together, glancing awkwardly at each other. We both knew our relationship had changed, and it would take time to settle in again.

  We cleaned up afterwards and then she asked, "Where do you want to do this?"

  "Sofa?"

  "All right." She took my hand and led me there. "I am ready. You have plenty of magic for this."

  "You're going to accept?"

  "Yes," she said.

  I began making the spell. I was slow, but Arianna checked it carefully when I was done and said, "Perfect. Go ahead."

  I settled the spell over here. "Like that?"

  "Yes," she said. "I accept your spell."

  I smiled and tightened the spell. It slid off of her, but didn't disperse. I settled it over her again.

  "I accept," she said, smiling. I tightened it, and this time I worked to hold it in place around her. But instead of being absorbed, it fell apart.

  I stared at the crumbled magic and watched it disperse.

  "What did I do wrong?"

  "It looked right to me," she said, smiling.

  "Are you doing something then?"

  "No."

  "But it's not working." I constructed it again. "Are you sure it's right?"

  "Yes," she said. "I accept your spell."

  Again, I tried to merge the spell with her, and again it dispersed.

  I stared at her. "You promised to accept!"

  "I am accepting it, honey."

  "Then why isn't it working? What am I doing wrong?"

  "Nothing. You are doing it perfectly, and I am accepting it."

  "It's not working."

  "I know." She smiled. "Love spells don't work when the person you cast it on already loves you."

  I stared at her.

  "There's a similar spell, but it's a little different, when trying to make someone love another person. If you wanted to make me love, oh, I don't know. Erica, I guess. The spell would be different in a few places. And that spell can be cast more than once because you could make me love more than one other person."

  "You love me?"

  "Yes. I have since the day we met."

  "You didn't even know me."

  "I watched you. I watched you with Neal. You were so amazingly animated, and I fell in love right away."

  "You never told me. It's been thirty-four years, and you never told me!"

  "You wouldn't have believed me."

  "You could have kept telling me until I believed!"

  I turned away from her. She moved closer to me and rested her chin on my shoulder. "I love you, Moira. I love you at least as much as you love me. I always have. That's the reason I couldn't stand to ever let you leave. Even those years you hated me so much, hating me but being in my life was better than letting you go. I'm sorry I hurt you, but you wouldn't have believed me."

  "You're tricking me."

  "Cast the obedience spell on me," she said.

  "What?"

  "Go ahead. Cast it and order me to tell the truth."

  I built an obedience spell. She made me fix a few things, and then she accepted the spell. I couldn't believe it.

  "Arianna, I order you to tell me the truth. Do you love me?"

  "Yes, Moira," she said. "I do."

  I looked away from her. "How do I know the spell is really working?"

  "You can see it," she said. "And you can compare it to the one I cast on you."

  "I can't see your magic once it's absorbed in me."

  "Then we'll get Lydia, and you can look at hers." She got up and grabbed her phone, inviting Lydia to the house. I got up and paced while we waited.

  Lydia arrived, and Arianna said, "I want to show Moira something. Please hold still."

  Lydia stood at attention, and I stepped over. "She has two spells," Arianna thought at me. She gestured. "This is the remnant of the love spell on Stephanie. It has grown weak over the years, but it is still there. And this one is the obedience spell. Can you see it?"

  I nodded. I compared it to the one I had cast on Arianna. I couldn't find any differences.

  "Thank you, Lydia,"
I told her.

  She nodded.

  "You guys are going to be late for work," Lydia said on the way out.

  I sighed. "I suppose we are."

  "Work will wait," she said. "I called Sienna. She is handling the office for us today. We're both off."

  I cast the magic spell again, and it bounced off of Arianna. I tried once more, and it bounced.

  "You can't love me," I said.

  "Yet," she said. "I do."

  "No." I stormed out of the house, Arianna following me, and stepped into the bunkhouse. I knocked on Lydia's door. She answered after a moment. She was puzzled to see me.

  "If I cast it on Lydia, can you reverse it later?"

  "Yes. But it's going to bounce."

  I cast the spell and told Lydia, "This is the love spell that Arianna used on me. Will you accept it?"

  Lydia looked at me in confusion. "All right, Moira."

  I tightened the spell, and it shed from her like it had from Arianna.

  "Damn it!" I said. "It's not working. What am I doing wrong?"

  "Nothing," Arianna said. "Lydia loves you, too. Watch." Then I watched Arianna make the same spell and settle it around Lydia.

  "Lydia, will you-"

  "I accept," she said immediately.

  And the spell fell away from her.

  I stared at her. "You love us?"

  "Of course I do," she said. "Would I have stayed if I didn't love you?"

  I pulled her into a hug. "Thank you," I whispered.

  * * * *

  It took Arianna time to teach me the Familiar spell. Once she declared I was ready, I checked the calendar.

  "Will you let me do it three weeks from Saturday?"

  She laughed. "Yes."

  Our annual Familiar Day arrived. We made love in the morning, and then Arianna gave me a gift, a cut glass water goblet.

  "Thank you," I told her.

  We prepared a place for the spell. We told the staff to leave us alone. And then, after lunch, we began the ritual.

  It was hard. It was really hard. I had to draw the magic from Arianna very slowly. And slowly I filled the goblet with all the magic she held.

  I drank. She drank. I drank more. She drank the rest. I anointed both of us. And I felt the spell settle in. Magic flowed back and forth between us, and then Arianna said, "Oh wow. Oh wow. Ohh... Moira!"

  I looked at her, and I loved her so much. And I could feel that she loved me just as deeply.

  "You really love me?"

  "Yes, Moira, I do."