by Jacob White
“Source?”
“Yes, sources meaning from you or around you. When I say from you, that is how most mages would describe it, but it's not really true if explained that way. You are always drawing from around you. Imagine you are bathing.” Had to say bathing…
“If you decided to manipulate the water, it would come much easier because you are surrounded by it. Assume you were standing in a desert now, you could still manipulate water, but there is much less. You would be drawing it from the air around you, inside of your body and those around you. Since the moisture in the sky is less dense than a bathing tub, you strain your mind and body more trying to collect it. Therefore, emotional magic is dangerous, you can kill those around you for the amount of water in a cup. Does this make sense?”
“To a certain point. I understand how say you draw from yourself if substance is lacking. But what if I drew it over time? It couldn’t be harmful that way.”
“Yes it can. What happens to a flower after it is watered by the correct amount? It continues to bloom. Now let’s say you continuously water that same flower over three day’s time. What happens?”
“It would still die.”
“Correct. Just because you do something slower or incremental doesn’t mean your body doesn’t take a toll. If you reached for that water in the dry air over a three-day period. You are still using manipulation for three days. More water hasn’t been added to the air. You’re just spreading out the wear and tear. Not to mention once you let go to sleep it all dissipates back anyway.”
“Ok then. No romantic walks in a desert.”
“Okay. Tell me the difference using your own examples.” Of course, she would ask that.
“When I had killed Edmund, I could feel the water inside him.” I flashed back to the moment and saw Edmund’s face drenched in blood. Then the feeling of using ‘boil’ to kill him. I snapped back to the present. “Going through his arms and legs.”
“What you are describing is the blood going through his body.”
“Yes, what you said, even though it’s the same thing.” She gave me a scowl. “But yes, I felt it moving inside of him. Then a word came into my mind ‘Boil’ I'm not even sure why, it's not that I knew from previous use, but it was there. What is confusing me is if I can't control fire, how could I boil him alive?”
“Surprisingly, excellent question.” She smiled at my expression of annoyance. She stood up and walked outside and after a few seconds brought two cups with her. And sat back down again. ‘Move’ was all she said but nothing was happening I could see. Then a small bubble followed one after the other. It stopped.
“Weaver, put your finger into the one on the left.”
I did, and the water was cold. “Now the other cup.” As soon as I dipped my finger in I had to rip it out again just as fast flinging the cup onto Anna’s pants. She just laughed at my reaction. I kept my expression flat and just stared at her. Calming down, she began to answer my question.
“Okay, so what you did to Edmund was basically the same here. Think about rubbing two sticks together, or your hands really fast. What happens?
“They get warm.”
“How astute, yes they get warm.” My flat expression was becoming a normal reply to Anna.
“You were sarcastic just then, weren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you mean. Now the concept is the same with the water. You can make the water move as fast as you can, but you must imagine the movement on the smallest level. Another way is to think about the water, is as millions of droplets only pushed together. Thus, creating heat as if you were rubbing your hands. So, you are not controlling a fire at all, just controlling the movement within the water.”
“Can I heat up any source of water?”
“Yes and no. You could heat a small pool, or even maybe a small lake one day. However, if you try to go out to the sea, there isn’t enough time in your lifespan to heat that big of a source. More likely you would kill yourself from the exertion of the magic. Now, let's consider that you are at sea, or a lake, having the wind greatly helps this precise example. You can manipulate the wind into the sea into a circle of whatever you needed, and it would somewhat contain the water you separated. Then you could heat that chosen source, and then you have warm water. Do not forget, however, exerting two magic’s at a time will greatly decrease the effectiveness of the other. It's like writing in one hand and milking a goat with the other.”
“Neither action would be as efficient as if I just focused on one at a time.” She smiled at me and nodded, but I'm not sure why since I had just repeated what she said. I didn’t mind the praise.
“Also, this could also work in the opposite way as well. Ceasing movement to the water would create less heat, and the water would get colder, and possibly even freeze. These are things you should not practice right now. However, I know you will since you never listen, but you have to be careful. Know your limits, and practice small. When I was five, I didn’t have a great understanding of how to manipulate water, almost like you. I'm sure I was still smarter than you at that age.”
“I'm glad to have such a humble person in my life.”
“I know. As I was saying I had cups of water all over my room. At night, I would make the water jump from cup to cup. I would try to create animals with it, but one night I almost died. I didn’t know my limit at that age, and I exhausted myself. I didn’t even know I was drawing from myself. I had created too many animals crashing them into each other just to reassemble them again. All while keeping the jumping water in the background as if I was creating a story of my own.”
“Why didn’t you die?”
“I passed out, and my father found me drenched in water. He was furious.”
“Yes, I remember it as if it happened just yesterday.” We both jumped up because we hadn’t heard Master Hor come in.
“Hello, Papa.” Anna said.
“Master Hor.”
“Please, Weaver, just Hor.” I chuckled at his name but covered it with a cough.
“I thank you, but I think I will just keep Master Hor instead. I wouldn’t want to think of my former profession every time I said your name.”
“Ah quite right. Thank you for letting me know that whores are still on your mind. How is everything going?” I ignored his irritation.
“Very well, I think.”
“Yes, Papa, he is still learning the concepts, but he is understanding quite well.” Anna proudly said.
“Excellent Weaver. The concepts are the founding stone to being a mage. Without the knowledge of how things work, it’s like if you use the wrong stone and cause a building to crumble around you. Now I brought you some food as neither of you was in the dining hall.”
“I'm sorry, Papa. I hadn't realized the time.”
“It's all right. Please continue.” He walked to the back of the room to observe us. Instead we decided to eat the food he brought us. He must have left without a sound now that there was no teaching going on. I looked back up he was gone.
“Anna, how come he didn’t make any noise?” I asked while stuffing my face with pastry.
“My father keeps a subtle flat layer of water beneath his shoes. It helps him hide his movements from other students he claims. I think he just likes sneaking up on people.” We both smiled thinking of Anna’s father walking around the halls, catching cheating students, or students acting on their inner urges. We finished eating and talked about a few other things. After, she told me to stand and back up.
“Now I am going to teach you 3 exercises for the first week, then add one each week until we get to a month. If I deem your control is sufficient, then we can move on.”
“When is—?”
“Whatever I decide.” A grin came to her face showing that she liked having control over me.
“So never.” She ignored me.
“This is the first exercise. And I will show you first so pay attention.” She kept looking at me and said ‘Up.' The water shot up
from the cup, sending it spiraling on its side. The water just sat at the top of her head.
“What I want you to do is just send the water in the form of a ball, around in circles around your head. Once you get that, you will then make the circles bigger and smaller repeatedly. The speed will come naturally as you progress.”
Step-by-step, she focused on how to control where the water was and keeping it together as it moved to ensure I fully understand. The water suddenly stopped just above her head again.
“Okay, exercise two is to take the water and create an arc around your body. Foot to foot. Once you do that one time, you will bring it back together and stop it at the top of your head. Then repeat in front of your face to your back feet. Once that happens, we will continue until you progress far enough to do the transition seamlessly. After that—” I cut her off.
“To much direction. I can’t remember all of that.” An annoying huff of air left her. Once again she demonstrated thinking it would be better than actual words. I couldn’t find anything particularly hard about what she was doing. I was sure I'd regret that thought later, but I needed to say it to re-assure myself.
“For the last exercise, until I add more, you will be doing a version of my own water jump from when I was five. There will be cups on the ground, and you must make the water jump from cup to cup without leaving any water behind. We will continue to add water sources, and you would need to control them all at the same time. Any questions?”
“Are you sure this is hard? I mean it seems so simple.”
“I'm so glad you think that. I'm going to enjoy this more than I expected, just to see that ego get drenched as you will.”
“We shall see then, won't we?” I challenged.
* * *
I deflated after the lesson. Anna once again got the last laugh. I couldn’t even get past drill one. Anna had to even refill the cups again and again since I kept getting it all dirty from landing on the floor. Just as she said, I was drenched by the evening. Not only that, I was exhausted, mentally and physically. The only other break I had was when Dirk brought us a light snack in the afternoon that hardly filled me. I still took as much time as I could just for the rest. After the lesson, we were making our way to the Dinner Hall once again to meet up and properly fill my stomach.
“Could you please dry me off? If an assassin was around, I would have found an arrow in my face after the first step.”
“Of course, I can. However, I won't. You have the same capability.”
“Damn you.” Not caring, I dragged myself next to Les and put my head down. Anna made me eat. Saying I had to, or I would do no better tomorrow than I had today.
“Who said magic is amazing? I hate it.” I said with my chin tucked into my chest.
“No, magic is beautiful, dark, dangerous, and life giving all at the same time,” Anna said to me with a small smile and a look of love. “It's just you who is shit.”
The table erupted, hands slapped the table and drinks spewed from closed mouths. I didn’t hold back a smile at the successful insult. At the end of our meal, everyone had become silent, but all had huge smiles on their faces.
“What?”
“Oh nothing, love, I bet you need to get some rest. Come, I will escort you.” The smiles only got bigger. Anna was the only one who wasn’t smiling, but that’s just because she was lost as I. Dirk remedied her lost look with a whisper. Then she promptly joined in with the smiles.
“Umm, okay.” Then we started our long trek back to the royal wing. When we reached the first corridor, even the guards had been smiling.
“Okay, Les, what is going on?”
“Nothing, I just wish to care for you, wash your back, and get you in bed.” She gave me a small sad face and kept walking. Suddenly my confession of love came back to my mind. Shit... We got to the bedroom and walked in together. There was something beneath a sheet in the middle of the room.
“What’s that?”
“I'm not sure at all. Look.” Knowing something was wrong, I squinted and continued to the sheet. I lifted it up slightly. All I could see was a black bottom. I pulled the rest of it off and stood with my mouth open. Les could not hold back her laughter and was now on the ground clutching her stomach.
“Y…o…u…” What stood before me was an atrocious male attire. It was black with blue flowers embroidered on the side going up to the collar then dropping back down leaving a huge flower in the center of my stomach. Pants had vines flowing on both sides that would be covered at the top once I was dressed.
“How has this not been set on fire?”
“After your dar…” She had to breathe from laughing so hard. “Your daring profession of love. I met the tailor, Master Knobly, and let him know that your first dress had to be made from your favorite floral pattern. He looked just as you had when I told him. I just had to turn on that charm everyone so loves.”
I picked up the stand with the goal of to move it to my dressing hall and ignore it. That wasn’t the only surprise I received. I also had a set of leathers sitting on one of the back displays. I went to touch it. It was expertly stitched together, leaving gaps under the arms for movement just as Dirks. The pants that had leather around the top of the legs. Soft fabric wove around my dangly bits and knees, then forming back to leather down the legs. I could tell it was meant for movement. I walked out of the hall with a smile.
“I can just wear my new leathers tomorrow, so it looks as if you have failed.” Lifting my head, I walked towards the bathing chamber.
“Oh! I almost forgot.” I halted and slowly turned.
“What did you forget, my love?” I said through gritted teeth.
“Our first dinner with the royal family is in a week. I ensured the rest of your clothing wouldn’t be delivered until two.” Her laughing started again.
“You… scornful woman.” I looked for the water inside the bathing chamber and surprisingly felt it. “Soak.”
“What?” A massive amount of water slammed into her. Drenching her from head to toe. Then it was my turn to laugh.
“I guess magic is beautiful.” But my laugh was much shorter than hers. She stood and slipped the dress over one shoulder. Water dripped to the floor from the hair plastered along the sides of her face. She seductively grabbed her own breasts, while she bit her lower lip.
“Weaver…could you please help me?” She turned around. I hadn’t realized I was already walking towards her. My hands working without thought, began to loosen the strands to the dress. It slipped a little, and she gave a slight moan setting my stomach on fire. Then the dress slipped off, and only a slip remained.
“Also… with this, if you wouldn’t mind.” Looking over her shoulder. I just nodded like a good animal and grasped the center of the fabric in my hands lifting it to show her backside. I Lifted it off her, and she turned. Her lip was bleeding where she had bit it. I rubbed my thumb across her mouth and then kissed her. She stopped covering her chest, and I could almost feel them against me in my thin loose tunic.
“Could you come with me?” she asked as she put her head down.
“Anywhere.” She gave me a faint smile and led me to the adjoining door into her room. It mirrored my own, minus the many dresses that were on the bed. I didn’t look at them considering who I was following. We were now in her bathing chamber. I watched as she sank slowly into the small pool.
“Could you get me the soap from your chamber? Mine smells of old. Please?” I ran back out of the room to my own accidentally shutting the door connecting our rooms. I almost broke my neck slipping in the bathing chamber but managed to get the soap. I ran back to the door and slammed into it, hurting my nose because it didn’t open.
“Les, the door has locked! Come here! I have the soap!” I heard steps to the door, but it did not open.
“It’s okay. I have my own.” And then she was gone again.
“Evil!”
“I know!” Came beyond the door. I sank into my bed waiting for the maids t
o bring back clean water. They filled it back to the top, and I managed to warm it myself and stepped in. Les came back in.
“That was an incredible bath, how is yours?”
“Lonely.”
“I am so sorry, love, I didn’t know the door would lock. I will have someone look at it.”
“You were at the door when I called…”
“Was I? I can't seem to remember. Hurry up now, I'll be in bed, cold and waiting for warmth.” I only smiled as she walked out. She had won again, but I made a vow, that I would return her gracious favor. After a short while, I found myself behind her as she kept pushing her backside into my crotch. This time I wouldn’t buy it, and she knew it.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Princess of Ellipsis
The next day of training with Anna did nothing for my confidence. After the session, I would return to my room and blackout out on the bed from exhaustion. It didn’t help that every time I closed my eyes I only found Edmund staring back at me. It had become troublesome as it effected my sleep. Every morning I would find my clothing off and under the thick furs that lined my bed.
By the end of the week. It seemed Anna had a permanent scowl.
“You can stop teaching me if I'm such a big inconvenience.”
“I wish it were only that easy.” She mumbled a bit too loud.
“It can be.” I stopped trying to control the water and headed for the door.
“Wait! I'm sorry, that’s not what I meant. I'm angrier at myself for letting you down. Things were supposed to be much faster, and I can only blame myself.”
“I'm sure it's not you, Anna.” A sigh left me.
“No, it is, it has to do with everything I've done. You still resent me for what I did. I feel you fighting my instruction, and I am the only one to blame.”
“Your father was involved as well.” I tried for a small smile. “There is more than that, however. Every time I close my eyes I see Edmund’s dead body before me. I can’t seem to escape him.”
