As soon as it disappeared, a pulse of magic swelled again from Victoria which made the ice table to flow outward and rapidly expand to cover nearly the entirety of the lake below the falls. All that remained uncovered, was the point by the towering cliffs which allowed the falls to continue flowing into the reservoir below the ice.
Then as Monroe was heaving deep breaths with his back still turned toward Victoria and myself, the gorgeous elven apothecary with torn clothing began walking towards her strong protecting councilman.
“Monroe.” His name, spoken, almost whispered from her lips, somehow carried across the still ice into the far reaches of the mist enclosed space. Turning at her voice to his called name, he froze as he watched her form. Sashaying provocatively towards him, Victorias’s hips would have drawn any red-blooded males eyes to their sway. As she approached, with her left hand, she lightly tore free the remaining cloth strip which barely held her upper clothing in concealing her enticing assets.
With that simple move, her upper dress slipped free from its lightly constricting place. Revealing the pale white skin of her back, its droplet covered surface shone against the barely lit surroundings. Stopping just in front of him, she reaching up a small pale hand, brushing away a part of his wet hair somewhat concealing his widened eyes. Then slipping her hand behind his head, she drew him down to her chest. My heart was beating over a hundred times a minute and I had to struggle to keep my lower appendage from reacting to this highly provocative sight.
My dry mouth watered as if trying to will the last of the rags which barely concealed her lower form, to fall away. I was sadly to be disappointed. However, almost as if sensing my thought, with a slight tilt of her head, still concealing her frontal nudity from my view, Victoria met my gaze. Even from that distance, which I could see clearly with my temporarily enhanced vision, I watched as she gave me a quick wink. Then turning back away, her left hand rose as if to command the fog, drawing it in to seal away the view of her and Monroe’s sensual embrace.
“Ahem.” I was startled by the sound of someone clearing their throat nearby me. Who else was here . . . Oh. It was Monroe’s butler. My head drooped at that realization. He had been so silent after my two masters emerged from the water in the battle that his presence had completely slipped my mind. “Apprentice Andrew” he said, “We should probably be away, as they have their own . . .” his lips twitched into a wry smile “. . . indulgences to attend to.”
Indulgence is right! Dust it all! Monroe was one very lucky man at this moment. Shaking my own head at the last image burned upon my sight as the fog had closed in, I drew in a deep breath and let out a depressing sigh. . .
In this moment in time, I was made acutely aware of my single status. “Come.” Again, the voice of Dalton called out to me gently but firmly. “Let us return as they will most certainly wish to prolong their time together. Knowing my master, a simple accompanied walk home would greatly please him.”
I had to nod in agreeance at his judgement. Victoria too would enjoy the prolonged walk back as she would love to have any excuse to spend more time with Monroe. Together they shared quite the series of secrets which I got to see a little behind the curtain of today.
Monroe was certainly not the weak, ignorant, and easily swayed councilman that many of his fellow council members believed him to be. While Victoria, although already considered to be quite the mage, was obviously far more skilled than others had been led to believe. Both were powerhouses in a city full of intrigue and political infighting.
And at this moment, hidden behind a curtain of magical and icy mist over the beaten and subdued body of the kraken, those two newly budding lovers consummated their feelings for each other.
******************************************************************************
The next few days ended up being quite a change in pace. Victoria ended up closing the shop for an indefinite break and only occasionally coming home to leave me some money for meals, touch up on some projects hidden away in her private lab, and see to the needs of her backyard garden. Were I able to hold such a claim, I would say I felt like a jilted lover. Instead, I felt grateful that such amazing individuals as those two, were able to find love within the other.
I was happy to be left to myself as those two indulged in various activities in and around the city, deepening their bonds. The only problem that came with so much time, was the growing boredom. I could only study additional herbal pages, hack away at the wall, help out fellow Travelers with various tasks, or go out to eat at the many food stalls, before things began to become notably repetitive. I even entertained the though on more than one occasion, of making a visit to the red district to Madam Callestro’s, to see if the initial offer by the foxy vixen was still on the table. Bachelorhood can be very lonely when you see the joy of couples around you.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Shaking my head to dislodge that very tempting thought of losing my virginity, I soon found myself meandering down the path from the middle of the marketplace back to the apothecary shop. On the way, I caught sight of the familiar hulking shell of Victoria’s artesian friend just as she was leaving the locked door of the shop. “Gertrude!” I called out to her.
Pausing midstride to crane her long neck around to face me, her eyes brightened at seeing my approach.
“Ah! Andrew, I was actually just coming to see if you were free at the moment.” Lumbering as she turned about to face me more fully, she continued with a wry tone to her voice. “I had heard that Victoria was experiencing a spring time affair at the moment, and wondered about the possibility of her apprentice being neglected.”
I could almost picture a stern librarian peering at me over the rim of her glasses in sardonic disapproval at the current situation. “Haha!” I couldn’t help but laugh at the poorly hidden humor in her voice. She truly appeared happy for Victoria, and probably came to me for both company and someone to complain to about her friend’s justified negligence of her book group.
I’m sure that Victoria would settle down into a new and relatively steady rhythm shortly. However, she should certainly be given allowance to release several decades of sexual and emotional repression upon her very sturdy lover. I had heard that she had never entertained intimate relations with anyone since she had come to this city many decades ago, using only the literary imaginations from her romance book club to satisfy her cravings.
“I would like to invite you back to my shop for help on a certain project if you are interested.” She asked me.
My curiosity was certainly piqued, as anything Gertrude seemed to do reeked of potent magics and runecraft. “Yes!” I replied. “What kind of project is it?”
A shifty look crossed her eyes as she answered. “It’s best not to discuss the details out here in the open. Follow me back and I can share more with you when it is safe.”
An ironic thought passed through my mind at her words. This somewhat resembled the scenario of a naïve child being enticed to enter a stranger’s car with the promise of candy. With an inner laugh at the absurdity of such imagery at my age, I followed the wizened turtle lady with ‘candy’ back to her shop.
* * * * * *
Entering the confines of the darkened artifact store, I followed the bulky shell around the few displays laid out among the center of her open entryway. Gertrude stopped behind the front counter, rifled around a little among the chaos and debris atop it, then turned with a wand in hand. Waving it back and forth at the windows of the storefront with a look of concentration, she then set it down with a look of satisfaction.
“Good.” She commented. “We can now speak in peace.”
Turning to face me more directly, she pulled out my latest results of the affinity test from a spacial artifact. “I hope you don’t mind as Victoria loaned this to me to look into finding a solution to your problem of abundant compatibility.” Setting the test paper down on the counter between us, she paused for a moment in silence.
Raising her head to look me in the eyes more closely before speaking, she gravely said. “There honestly isn’t an easy way to shield results such as these once they get out. But . . .” She again paused as if weighing what to say. “There may be something we can do, to arm you with such skills.”
Fiddling with what looked like a coded latch behind her counter, she then opened the cabinet to reveal a highly ornate box, sealed heavily with various runes. Setting it almost reverently on the countertop, she heaved a sigh before facing me once again. “When I had first seen your affinity results, I had contemplated offering you the opportunity to assimilate these esoteric elements. However, now it appears that such will actually be necessary in order to have a chance at protecting you further.”
Seeing my confused expression she added. “If you couldn’t tell already, you are the project I want to work on.” She let that sentence settle in my mind for a moment, likely to give me time to process some of the implications.
My curiosity was certainly piqued, and I was intensely curious about the elements that she was speaking of. Was it the ever-hushed mental affinity elements or something else? As such I asked her regarding just that. “Does this have to do with the mental affinity that you and Victoria refuse to speak on?”
A look of regretful sorrow crossed her face as she lightly bowed her head. “Unfortunately, it is not such, although I wish it were so. I believe that you would benefit greatly were you to be given measured access to those elements. . .” The very air began shivering just like before whenever past taboo subjects were touched upon. Seeing that, Gertrude grimaced and closed her mouth, waiting together with me for the shivering to disappear into nothingness.
*Ahem* With a cleared throat she continued. “These elements are actually far rarer than those others.” Lifting the lid of the box, she revealed the incredibly bizarre contents. Within the box lay 4 different stones each separated by thick partitions engraved with multiple runes.
My eyes widened on their own accord at the display! It was honestly hard to say which one drew my attention the most as they were each incredibly unique in feel and appearance.
If I had to choose one that actually stood out the least, it would be the darkest stone. Within it, were little cracks which held a color of grey ash and gave off a feeling of grave like silence. It actually reminded me a bit of my second most favorite holiday of Halloween. The haunting ambiance it put off would have gone great with ghoulish festivities abounding.
The one that appeared to be its polar opposite glowed with . . . Life. That is the best term that I could give it. It was different from the light and nature stones, yet still felt akin to both, possibly even warmth. To me, it gave off the faint sense of a familial closeness which is most often deeply emphasized within the recesses of winter, huddled around the fireplace. It felt as if it would suit my most favorite holiday celebration of Christmas, the recognized time of birth and renewal.
After those two were a pair of stones which defied a steady sense of color. One of them appeared to shift between shades of yellow, green, and blue. Each pulsed, brightening into being before fading again into absence where another color would take up its place. It gave off a sense of indeterminate anxiety and calm. My very heart felt as if it sped up and slowed down with the alternating colors.
The last of them appeared to shiver and fade, much like the air did when the taboo topic was broached. Additionally, it alternated between a deep fizzling purple and white to an almost transparent purple and green as it flexed from feeling like it was there to not being as present.