"What are you doing here? Not that we want you to go. We missed you so much. When you disappeared, and we did not hear from you, we were so worried. Your father will be so happy to see you." Anna's mother continued to fire off small sentences while catching her breath in between. The tears of her kin freely flowed upon the realization that she was safe.
Willem said nothing, instead he stood there and watched the events unfold. He could feel the overwhelming amount of happiness from Anna, even when she tried to hide it. Willem slowly suppressed the array connecting his mind to Anna's and noticed that he no longer felt strongly about her family. While the family continued to hug, he took a few bear skin rugs from his spatial spell and placed them on the dirt floor.
Kinsey took four simple cups from her satchel and went to prepare the tea for her Master. Soon the crying was replaced by sniffling, and the chairs were moved from the table in the kitchen to the living room. The mother and children sat down on the chairs and anxiously waited to hear about what she had been doing at the Magic Academy. Anna sat down on one of the bear skin rugs and told them all about the things she had done in the Magic Academy, while leaving out the horrendous things she had suffered.
She also found time to explain that normal mages have to give up their old life when they enter the Magic Academy. She explained that there were only a few ways around it, and she was lucky enough to find a Master willing to take her in and teach her. She followed up by explaining that during a students time in the Magic Academy, one is given a mage name, and hers was Atla.
The children listened enraptured about the events that transpired within the Magic Academy. They did their best to envision what it was like, based off how she described the scenery.
The mother quickly realized that Willem was not just a nobleman. Considering how subservient Anna and the other girl was, she conjectured that he was in fact the Master Anna spoke of. That means he was the one who gave Anna the ability to come back to her family. In her heart she decided that whatever Willem asked, she would comply.
"I am afraid we do not have accommodations befitting such an esteemed guest." Anna's mother prostrated herself before Willem. The children began to prostrate themselves as well in response to their mother's actions.
Willem remained silent, and only after thirty seconds passed did Kinsey come from the Kitchen and ask them to stand. Kinsey passed the cup of steeping hot tea to Willem, then Anna and her mother, and finally took one for herself. She also handed out three cups of warm milk for the children, who graciously accepted them.
Anna looked at her mother and quietly asked, "is it okay for us to stay for dinner?"
"Of course, you are all welcome to stay for food. We would be delighted. Feel free to give suggestions as to what you want to eat." Anna's mother gave a quick reply.
"Kinsey." One word from Willem was all it took for her to understand.
"Yes, Master. I will go with you to purchase ingredients and help you cook." Kinsey looked at Anna's mother and nodded her head in affirmation.
"Okay, then we shall go immediately." Anna's mother grabbed her quilted scarf and gulped down her warm tea in one go.
Willem watched as Kinsey left the house quickly with Anna's mother. He sat back and began to coalesce the magic within his body. Now that Anna was connected to him, his own magical force had fused with hers and increased. Thanks to the life binding technique, he was now capable of using advanced level water spells that Anna had learned, when his limit before had been elementary spells.
Anna quietly distracted the children who wanted to play with their older sister after not being able to play for so long. Willem closed off his senses from the outside world, and compressed the haze of magical force. The dark haze that floated around his body began to thicken and coagulate to a sphere shape. At the same time, Willem connected more strings to the magical force while it merged together in his body. The kelpie fur he previously absorbed allowed him some mastery over the water magic he was now getting used to within his body. His own understanding of the components of water combined with the knowledge Anna had accumulated from her studies made him capable of quickly manipulating the water magic within his body.
The water magic circled around the new black sphere within his body and merged within the constantly fusing darkness magic. The dark sphere showed slight signs of resistance, but eventually gave in and allowed the water magic to join it. The sphere solidified and placed itself gently against Willem's heart. The palpitations of his heart pulsed in synchronization with the sphere as if it was a second heart beating.
Willem rotated his magical force along his body. He was now capable of manipulating sixty percent of his total power. The magic washed over his body like a tidal wave, pushing magical force to every part of his body. His muscles tensed, visibly slightly larger than they previously were.
After some time, Willem breathed out deeply and opened his eyes. Roughly an hour had passed since he began and Kinsey had returned with Anna's mother, but did not dare disturb him. The husband had yet to return, most likely because he was busy with commissions. Despite less than stellar forging, the father was the cheapest smith in the outer ring and was always working. Unfortunately he was also a prime target for thieves who had been forced out of the inner city for fear of being caught.
"Your excursion was successful?" Willem asked Kinsey.
"Yes Master, I elected to take a little longer for the special occasion." Kinsey replied.
"Very well." Willem gave an affectionate stare toward Kinsey.
In the outside world, they were Master and attendant.
Half an hour passed and the food had been prepared. Everyone gathered around the living room and talked about anything they could think of. Even Willem joined in the conversation, in much the same way he did as a child. Though the difference this time was that when he spoke, everyone listened. This was a peculiar feeling within Willem, but he could do nothing but disregard their obvious stiffness.
The roast that Kinsey had prepared turned out wonderfully considering they had to improvise with the tools being used. The side dishes turned out well, and everyone ate their fill for the first time in a long time. When the meal was finished and the extras were put away, they all sat around the fireplace and the adults drank wine while the children drank buttermilk.
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Eventually sun down came and the children were tired enough to warrant being tucked into bed. The rough linen that covered the children's beds were replaced by some nicer fabrics Anna brought in her bag. The children softly asked if Anna would be here when they woke up.
Solemnly, Anna told them that she had to return to the Magic Academy. If they worked hard and stayed safe, she would see them really soon. They quietly closed their heavy eyes and drifted off to sleep, but not before complaining about how the Magic Academy was a type of feces.
Anna attempted to telepathically tell her Master that the children were asleep, but she found that she could not hear his voice. When she sent magical force to him, she saw that he was there, but she could not tell what he was thinking. She quietly walked out of the upstairs bedroom and walked back into the living room. Willem was sipping on some red wine while Kinsey regaled a story about her first time hunting with her cousins.
Anna sat beside Willem and whispered to him that there was something wrong with the connection between them. Willem nodded but did not say anything. After a moment, a flood of information entered Anna's mind once more. During her elation with the family, she did not notice the discreet desertion of her mind. Willem used their telepathic connection to explain that if her feelings ever got the best of her, he would suppress the connection, but he would still be able to command her. Anna thought about the consequences of having ones feelings go out of control, but she could not control them half as well as Willem could. She asked some questions about what he can and cannot do, now that he had someone with the life binding technique.
Willem did his best to explain what he knew about the technique, but at this point it was all conjecture. More study would need to be done in order to understand the ritual and its effects.
After some time had passed, the door of the small house opened once more. A large burly man entered the house hold, where he saw two beautiful women and a strange boy sitting on his floor drinking wine. On his way in, he had to walk past the carriage, so he knew that nobles had come to visit his home. From his perspective, however, the two women were the nobles and the boy was most likely a personal attendant.
The man cupped his hands and offered a greeting to the exalted guests. While gesturing towards the two women, he gave them another closer look. At a moments notice he saw that the younger girl was his daughter. Dropping all pretenses, he immediately ran and bear hugged the girl within his large arms.
"You are home? How, I mean... I am glad you are safe, little one. Come, tell me all about it." He said while hugging his little girl.
"Husband, we have guests, her Master has come himself with business." The wife tried to hint at her husband in order to not make him look a fool.
The husband eyed the young boy again, and a profound sense of dread came over him. The boy was young, yes, but the feeling he gave was that if he wanted to, he could snatch the old man's life at a moments notice.
Willem took from his spatial spell a stack of papyrus. On each piece of papyrus depicted a unique item that the old man had never seen before.
"These are?" The old man could not understand what they were.
"Items I need made. I will prepare for you three high quality apprentices, and you will watch over them. I will provide you with security, so that your business and home does not suffer. Lastly, I will give you the materials you need to make these creations. If you are successful, you will receive compensation." Willem casually passed over the papyrus.
As if the papyrus was his lifeline, the old man quickly looked through the designs, engraving them in his mind, and put the papers in his work desk. He took from his neck a necklace with a key and locked the desk drawer before donning the necklace again.
"I will not pretend to know what these designs are, but as long as you deliver on what you say you will, of course I will do everything in my power to get it done." The old man cupped his hands toward the youth.
"You have at most, two weeks to get those designs finished, augmenting them must come with documentation on the changes made." Willem nodded back.
"Mom, Master has said previously that he will purchase the lands around the house for you to cultivate. He will also send workers here so that you will not have to work on someone else's farm anymore." Anna held her mother's calloused hands in her own.
The older woman quietly sniffled as she nodded her head in understanding.
"We must take our leave, you can expect your workers within the next two days." Willem spoke, then lifted his body from the bear skin rug. Kinsey and Anna lifted up from the rugs and the bear skin quietly disappeared into Willem's spatial spell. All three cupped their hands and bowed, and quickly walked out of the house.
The sun had already set, and the moon was already high in the night sky as they took the carriage back to the teleportation array. This was the first time Anna had seen the house they were going into.
Anna tried probing her Master's mind for information about the house, but found that she was blocked out. "Master?"
"This house used to belong to my father and mother before they passed. Think twice before remarking upon its shoddiness again." No word was said between the two, but Willem could tell what she was thinking.
"Forgive me, Master. I did not know." Anna looked like she had seen a ghost. There was a brief trace of anger in Willem's voice and this was the first time she had ever heard it.
"Kinsey, in the morning, I want you to get those things I promised prepared for the Atlee family. You will be the one to decide if the people are of a high enough quality or not. Hire assistants if it is too much work for you."
Willem and Anna stepped into the teleportation array and Kinsey remained behind to pay the staff for the night. The stagecoach remained within the estate while the driver went home with a pocket full of silver and copper coins. Once the pay was distributed, Kinsey stepped through the array and the night finally quieted.