UC:Fates Act1-Part2
“Then lie down and spread your legs.”
“Yes master.” Lisa sniped as she complied.
“Rest well.” Charles said angrily reaching out triggering the spell to darken the nerves in a particular way that left Lisa paralyzed, but awake, aware and able to feel everything that happened.
“I was going to offer to give you a minor massage after sleeping with you, but after that outburst I am going to try an experiment instead.” Charles continues disgusted, “I hope you enjoy this half as much as I will.”
Lisa is trapped as she feels him explore her. The feel of his hands on her bare breasts is electric as her body fairly sings it’s desire. She feels him enter and fill her, then pull out and push in gently at first. Then it builds to a thrust as she feels him bottom in her. Time is nearly impossible for her to determine while this happens. She regrets her tone and words long before he is done with her.
Then she feels him kneeling over her as she hears him using a spell to enhance male output for pleasure. She notices a slick feeling on her stomach just below her breasts then feels her own hands move to take it and spread it over her breasts. She is confused when she feels small dabs put into her nose, then she feels an itchy feeling like what is building in her breasts. It climbs up her nose until it joins an aroused feeling making her body horny, wanting him in it again.
The feeling then becomes a tingling sensation over her breasts as fluid is traced from her nipples to just under her ears. Next lines are made from her nipples again, this time down to join with where she strokes herself. One of her hands begins stroking herself and she feels the sensation everywhere the slick feeling went. The other hand begins circling her nipples, making her breath catch as the scent of him and his seed magic both blend into her arousal and her body’s desire.
Then she feels him in her again and realizes her hands are back at her sides. His hands grasp her now dry breasts and play as he moves in her. She hears spell after spell muttered as he keeps at her. Her body keeps responding. Soon the feel of his hands on her breasts changes. Eventually he stops and then she feels him enter her mouth and she begins sucking on him. What she feels as she swallows is hard to put into words. Even harder is the feeling of warmth that flows down her throat and outward into her body settling into faint lines along her limbs, though the bulk of it collects in her breasts. Then she is alone, unable to hear, her eyes are closed and her body is unresponsive to her though she can feel it, and raw physical hunger is driving her insane she wants eat so badly. The night passes slowly for her.
Just after third bell she hears Sinda and Sandy ask if they can join Charles on the bed, neither mention seeing her already there. She hears Charles having them, the sounds are as unmistakable as the girls’ enjoyment. Then she hears the chants used again, just like with her last night. They go on for half a bell and then Charles stops, obviously exhausted. Time passes as she can hear first Charles then the girls get ready to go and leave.
“Finally.” She gasps when her body is hers once again. She stops in shock when she realizes she had picked up the plug and was inserting it without thinking as she inspected herself in the mirror.
“Oh great chaos.” She whimpers in curse and prayer as she goes ahead and inserts it. The noise of the castle returns along with her powers even before she is done in the shower. She tries but can’t find the traces of his Seed Magic that she knows permeate her body. At breakfast she finds Sinda and Sandy eating an unusually large breakfast. Later she realizes she ate nearly as much as both of them combined.
“I hope this works.” Lisa said to herself as she went directly to the restroom to pull the plug when she arrived in the archive section of the library. Her powers fade away and the next bell passes in peace and quiet for her. The plug is reinserted at the last possible moment based on how long it takes for her powers to return. Then dinner which she doesn’t realize is bigger than lunch which had been only a little smaller than breakfast.
“May as well get this over with.” Lisa says to herself in resignation at tenth bell as she undresses and climbs into Charles’ bed. Making herself comfortable she tries to go to sleep. She ignores and tries to tune out Sinda and Sandy entering and sitting in chairs. She hides under the covers and tries not to hear Sinda assigned to sleep with Cole this time and Sandy with Marcus. Hearing their ready agreement to the assignments hurts her inside knowing they are doing this because of her. She desperately tries to sleep but it won’t come to her no matter how hard she tries. Removing the plug as Charles takes a late shower, she tries again but sleep still evades her.
“Still feeling like knifing me?” Charles asks settling into bed.
“Yes.” She says with resignation. She wants to, but knows she can’t.
“Want to try?”
“Definitely yes, but, no, I am not trying. It doesn’t work, I try to stab you and that is not what happens at all. I Can’t even bite when you while sucking you off and trying makes me start over and have to swallow again, so no, I am not going to try to stab you.”
“You should try thinking about blasting me with magic.”
“Look,” Lisa said grimacing, “If you want me, just take me. Obviously I will have sex with you and lots more on demand, just get it over with, have your jollies with me. I won’t even fight it anymore.”
“Goodnight then.” Charles says and Lisa is suddenly isolated again, just like last night. Even tears of rage are denied her as she feels him mount her. The feel of his hands on her breasts is different this time and she vows to remember. The night passes as slowly as last night, giving her as little rest as she had the night before. She waits through a second night like this without real sleep. Then it is morning and she struggles to tune out her friends asking permission to join him on his bed. She can’t tune out him having them both though. Then after they leave she feels herself moving to kneel bent over the edge of the bed and spreading her butt cheeks for him.
“Enjoy the day.” Charles says filling her from behind. She wants to cry or scream and then her powers are back on despite no plug. The orgasm coincident with him in her like that while he played with her nipples was disturbing as much for the fact that it happened as for the references her mind drew and the desires her body felt.
“Shit shit shit.” Lisa cusses a while later once she can move again. The plug makes no difference at all now. Breakfast is pure torture since she can’t get enough to eat, though her appetite is diminished at the sight of how happy Sinda and Sandy look. Lunch is hell, once again she can’t get enough to eat and the sight of her friends sickens her. She skips dinner walking the grounds scared because she had tried to use the deep archives again. Visiting time without the plug working was torture, she hadn’t been able to stand it for more than an eighth bell instead of full one. Her years of built up tolerance to the feeling of the place are gone with two days of a break. She knows she is dependant upon that plug now, which makes her dependant on Charles.
“For chaos name I play this game. For orders sake I do the same. In disorder’s name I pray to sleep this night, my soul to keep till makers light.” She prays as she lays down to sleep in Charles’s bed at ten bells. She has barely dozed when she wakes to her powers turning off like a candle in the wind.
“Please don’t do that to me again.” Lisa asked Charles when he finally came to bed. She hadn’t managed to sleep yet, but meditation had helped, “Please don’t isolate me like that again.”
“Ok.”
“Thank you.” Lisa said gratefully.
“I still can’t trust you so I have to do something else.”
“Where are Sinda and Sandy? They didn’t come by for their assignment.” Lisa asked, sickened by how normal it felt to ask.
“They are in their own beds.”
“Thank you.” Lisa said shocked at her own gratefulness.
“Your welcome.”
“Can I ask a favor please?”
“Yes.”
“Can I have the plug back instead of how you turned my powers back on this morning?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
“Your welcome. Now lie back and do as I say. I know another way to pacify you and be able to enjoy you until morning.”
“Yes sir.” Lisa said dejectedly. In a way she is disgusted, here she is literally nude in his bed at his beck and call and he is not laying a hand on her. She stares at the pendant, focusing on it and his voice as instructed, knowing now what will happen, yet helpless to stop. The whole process feels familiar after a while and then the world fades.
“Nice.” Charles says staring at what looks like a sleeping girl in his bed.
“You obey.” He states.
“I obey.” Lisa replies softly, eyes still closed.
“Good girl.” He says and she smiles as a shudder shakes her, “Now try to convince me you want to have sex with and make love to me.” And with that he turns her powers back on.
“Yes sir.” She cooed as she rolled over to kiss him. Charles soon learns that Lisa is quite skilled in the sexual arts. She kisses quite well and her hands explore him as much as he does her. Quick deft motions bring him erect, he lays back enjoying it as her kisses work there way down him until he is watching her tease his tip into her mouth. Her muttered spells spread the feeling of her touch, then she takes him bit by bit from tip to base a lip span at a time. He can feel her working magic on his erection as her head bobs up and down. Though he has never seen a silent spell up close before and tries to watch, he can’t concentrate on it enough to glean anything useful.
Charles is surprised when he orgasms in a sudden rush of heat gathering from around his body. Then she continues to work him in her mouth and he feels another rushing outward. Just as before, she swallows in motion and then begins working on his body further. He is lost in heaven as she works on him and then he feels himself in her. He sees that she is over him looking him in the eye with her hands on his shoulders as her hips move in a J like motion till he bottoms out in her. His massaging of her breasts becomes a grab.
“OH Chaos.” He mutters softly as he feels himself let go yet again. He is unable to fathom how this is possible until he sees her muttering spells in time with her breathing. He rides the wave of raw physical lust she exudes as he feels himself let go again. He knows his own limits and that he is beyond them, yet somehow she knows the spells to keep them both going. After a while he is unsure who is enjoying this more, him in ecstasy becoming painful or her in the pain of muscle failure. He thinks he is done when she moves his hands back to her breasts and kisses him, somehow without losing rhythm or even slowing. Finally even her spells can no longer keep him erect and in her. Her mouth is hanging open as she pants in exhaustion and ecstasy, obviously she had needed, or at least wanted that even more than he had. His last conscious acts were simple; To strip her powers again, to tell her fade to a regular sleep then wake rested and refreshed when she is ready. He tells her that there is no need to remember any of this when she wakes in the morning so she won’t. Finally he tells her to look forward to it happening again. Then she is curling into him and he is gone into an exhausted sleep of oblivion.
“Oh great chaos.” Lisa thinks to herself in the morning when she wakes before third bell. She is curled against Charles where he lay sleeping. From his look and feel as well hers it is obvious he enjoyed her last night and she must not have held much if anything back at all. Pity she remembers nothing of it at all, especially given how good she feels.
“What am I doing?” She asks herself as she enjoys listening to his steady breathing, “What did I do?”
“Chaos take.” She hisses to herself after gently wiggling loose from Charles, her first move when she left his bed was to grab ‘her plug’, without thinking.
“Focus Lisa, focus.” She tells herself as she enters the bathroom.
“He’s passed out, I could just go stab him right now.” She thinks to herself then listens in shock to herself answer, “Not really, apparently after last night there is nothing left to swallow so stabbing him won’t work. Can’t stab him if there is nothing swallow after all.”
“Chaos.” She cusses as even her thoughts of revenge are turned toward pleasuring him sexually.
“I feel great.” She cusses in frustration, “I could go for more nights like last night.”
“Be nice to remember the next one though.” She thinks then stops in horror, “The next one?” She mumbles knowing she really does want more like last night.
“I need to get going.” She thinks getting out of the shower inserting the plug in it’s ‘rightful place’ and stops in horror what she just thought, “That’s not my thought, that’s one he put there.” Who put it there doesn’t matter to her, the thought fits as well as the plug does.
“Maybe if I leave before he wakes.” She thinks on her way out. The snack at the kitchens turns into a double breakfast. The stop at her dorm room turns into torture as most of her clothes don’t quite fit and her bras have become a joke.
“Chaos take me.” She curses staring at herself in the mirror in her room. She is no longer a small B cup, she is well on her way to a mid C cup, no wonder half her clothes won’t fit, and none of her bras either. More muttered curses and some spells modify a bra to fit enough for now.
Arriving at the archive section instead of her classes she removes the plug and sets to work researching. Lunchtime drags her unwillingly to the dining hall for a large lunch. She now has a clue where it is going, but knowing disturbs more than being puzzled had. The afternoon passes in quiet as she studies further. Her families records, though extensive, are still smaller than the school’s, but even the school’s records don’t give any clues how to break the hold or holds Charles has on her mind, they only offer ways to prevent them. Dinner is a torturous affair of navigating gossip. It is bad enough admitting to honoring the deal for the draw. The student body and most of the staff think she is merely a high born, not third heir, so it is equally impossible to admit what she currently is, whatever that really is, or to ask for help getting free. Though she does find one possible way around the limitation of admitting what happened, more or less.
A long walk in the gardens follows dinner, the weight of events presses on her as she realizes how easily things could get out of hand if anyone knew. Tenth bells sounds as she undresses and climbs into Charles’ bed once again. Eleventh bell wakes her as a drunk Charles joins her clumsily. She is disgusted being in bed with him, yet he is harmless to her like this, being unable to speak coherently at least he can’t order her to service him. One lonely hand reaches out to her in his sleep and she allows it to touch her then sleeps herself. She wakes at first bell to find him curled around her or her into him. One of his arms is her pillow, the other droops over her, cupping a bare breast gently. His light snore is nice she finds much to her own surprise. It also demonstrates that she is altered since he couldn’t be working any magic to keep her obedient with him like this and she still can’t stab him. Cupping her hand over his she pulls it firmly to her breast, takes a deep breath and sleeps once more.
A nudging on her shoulders wakes her in the morning. Stretching, she realizes Charles is massaging her shoulders and working his way down her back.
“That feels nice.” She says gratefully.
“I’m glad.” Charles says smiling, “Thank you for making sure I got to bed last night. I barely remember making it back. Then this morning I woke with you there and I wanted to say thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything really. You made it to bed all on your own.”
“I’ll miss you.”
“Not likely.” Lisa jokes, “I don’t think I’ll be refusing any of your invitations for a while.”
“That was your last night, we’re even from the dance of wills. You can go back to your own chambers tonight. I’ll be making use of Sinda and Sandy now.”
“How long will you keep them?”
“Solstice. I figure if I told on them they would be expelled for the year. To me that means I can use them at least until the term is up.”
“You have a high enough social standing now that you don’t have to do the dance of wills again for a while at least.” Lisa tells him without mentioning quite how high of one he had now thanks to her.
“Thank Order and Chaos for small favors.” Charles laughed.
“Yeah. I take it I will be servicing you as well for the rest of the term?”
“Only for special occasions.” Charles said and leaned forward to kiss her. To Lisa’s surprise she leans into him as well and responds. He is amateurish, he knows little of pleasing a girl yet she gives in with a sigh and tries to guide him. When she begins taking him in her mouth and working on him with her tongue she gets a surprise.
He has linked his sensations to the network of seed magic he has laced her body with so when she works on his tip with her tongue she feels like she is stroking herself as she prepares to suck him off. The further she takes him in her mouth, the deeper she can feel him in her below. The feel of her hands on him is also on felt her. The brushing touch on his nipple raises hers with an electric-like shock. Silent spells to enhance his reactions do hers as well. The smell of him abruptly brings on a euphoria just as the taste of his body preparing rings a faint echo of the orgasm promised. Playing his body with her sexual skills is now playing with her own as well. Enhancement spells that bring him stronger reactions do her as well, leaving her reacting to her own sucking motions as though she were riding him.
The moment he orgasms so does she. Swallowing as fast as she can, she feels the warmth spread down her throat. She feels her own body reacting as though he were in her and then his taste and his warmth spread into her, diluting until it finally touches her own warm reactions merging with it. Her silent spells now enhance and extend his reactions and recovery even as his merge his magic deeper into her. Every time he orgasms the link gets stronger giving her stronger feedback to her own body enhancing her own reactions even further. She finds herself using her own energies to boost his, using what she had to prolong this dance. In the midst of this, trapped and helpless as her body responds dragging along what little volition and will she still posses. She realizes that she is not going to be free when his magic fades from her body. He will probably not need her permission again soon, if ever. Her freedom is now an illusion subject to his whim. He has, is, training her body to react to and welcome him regardless of her wishes or desires, and it is not only enjoying it, it is reveling in it.
After yet another double breakfast nearly inhaled on the journey from Charles’s chamber to her own, she stands nude staring at herself in her mirror. She has always been a little mousy, cute, perky, but never had the build to truly attract or hold the male eye. Now her small B cup breasts are mid C and firming into barely drooping half spheres, just like she has always wanted. Her nose, always a little lumpy at the base is becoming a fine aquiline thing above her now perfect lips. Her body is changing under Charles’s sustained magic, he is sculpting her into something, someone, new. She still looks like herself, only herself like she has always fantasized about. Beautiful, attractive, strong, athletic, and confident. The changes frighten her, she may come to like these changes and want to keep them.
Plans form and fall away as she decides on her course of action. Doing something about Charles directly for now is not possible, so she dismisses that. Sending notes to her teachers she takes time from classes for self directed study. In the archive section of the library she researches everything she can about the history of magic. Lunch drags her away to eat yet again, it also reminds her that she needs new clothes. The boys are admiring her new look greatly, and to her surprise a few of the girls do as well. While female on female does happen, it is exceedingly rare and normally involved a way of sharing a male they both liked. Lisa finds the new attention paid to her body somewhat confusing. She has always been known for the strength of her personality and magic, the latter coming first for a high born girl of the Thomson Familydom of course. The afternoon is consumed in town getting her clothes updated to go with what is apparently her new body. Or new take on her body since she does have a couple of aunts on her fathers side who look like this. Not this refined maybe, but a lot like this. She still looks like herself of course, but like a painter had had emphasized all her beauty and subsumed the merely good looking.
Supper is a grueling affair of knowing that her clothes, despite being in her old style, don’t conceal enough of her new body shape to feel modest. The harshest thing at first is the stares from other girls who are horror stricken at how much she is eating. Worse then are the whispers at how she is filling out. No one sees her doing any kind of workout, yet her muscles are filling out nicely and rounding out with little curves the boys, and apparently a few of the girls, like. She also can’t stop the three or four times a bell lithe full body stretches that just happen. Only Sandy joins her for evening study as normal routines begin to reassert themselves. Tenth bell brings her to her own bed for the first time in days. Morning brings an errant wistful thought of missing the warm spot behind her from yesterday. She hides the tears of rage and shame in the shower, she drowns them in the stream of water that carries her shout of loneliness, yearning and rage at her own bodies betrayal.
Breakfast is another double meal for her and one and a half for Sandy and the incredibly satisfied looking Sinda. There are whispers about her changing body, there are body sculptors of course, but they are vastly expensive and hopelessly out of reach of someone with her public profile. As who she really is, she could afford it of course, but the student body doesn’t know who she is. So now she has to come up with a reason for her sudden changes, especially since sculpts don’t happen this fast, or with this kind of sensual change at her age, and never at school. Seeing herself in a mirror passing by she realizes she is developing a better body than many athletes and clothes models she has seen here and at home. Her bottomless stomach drags her back to eat at lunch where father chaos and mother order attend in there own way.
“I’m taking the afternoon off to play.” Someone female says, startling Charles out of lunchtime reverie as his chair is slid away from the table, “Time to go Pinocchio.”
“I’m eating.” Charles says slowly as he looks up and then stops in cold shock. The speaker is Bren, more formally, Brenhar, a ten year a full fathom in height. She looks like burnt copper haired eye candy with high D cleavage and an angel’s voice. Slightly curly, nearly glowing, copper colored hair frames a vaguely oval face with nearly elven features. Her eyes are a pale to dark green depending on the light, contrasting the hair that frames her upper body to her waist in fluffy gentle curls. Her skin has the pale bronzing of both indoor and outdoor activities and nary a tan line in sight. No one besides her pinocchios have ever seen her undressed and she doesn’t allow them to remember clearly after she is done with them, however long she decides to keep them. Her breasts fill out a loose top so you only see the outline of her half, third, half fathom form that has no extra fat except where male observers, the only audience she cares about, want it.
“Aren’t I yummy enough for you?” She laughs reaching for him.
“No.” He says scooting away.
“What?” Brenhar asks confused. No one ever refuses her, every male drools over her and she has never been turned down by anyone before.
“You are not my type Brenhar. You’ll have to go get your jollies somewhere else.”
“What?” She repeats in shock.
“No thank you.”
“Yes you will little boy.” Brenhar says grinning ferally, “Arcanum.” She shouts in formal warning of a non dance of wills duel about to start.
“What?” Charles asks confused as he gathers his will and shields around him in panic. The air around him visibly distorts as his will hardens into a single block shield. The assault is silent on the verbal level, but a storm on the magical one. So strong is her first strike that he is literally pushed backwards, chair, shield and all. The distortions in the air around him, his desperately thrown up shields, bend and crack as they take the brunt of the attack.
“Change you mind yet, Pinocchio?” Brenhar asks as he feels her gathering for another strike.
“My name is not Pinocchio.” He grunts in either answer or denial. It doesn’t matter though, he can feel his shields being shredded, she is going through them like a grater through cheese. He knows he has a dozen heartbeats before she will own him by brute force. Desperately he borrows from his techist knowledge by making and remaking thinner floating shields intended not to stop her, but to deflect her instead.
Where her solid block of warping shields extrudes little bits and pieces to attack his singular solid shield, his, in response, begins dissolving and bending under the assault. By using the tiny shields outside his primary one that are designed to turn her attacks, his main shield never has to take the full brunt, buying him time. What to do with that time is another matter completely.
In panic he does what he did calmly with Lisa, only in panic and reaches out toward Brenhar looking for the physical and Magical both along with their loci. What he finds surprises him, Brenhar’s Magic is far more complicated and involved than Lisa’s. Darkening her body control spot makes the magical brighter in relation to the physical. He finds the spots he knows and darkens them as well, easing the assault somewhat. After that, he pokes at random bright spots since he doesn’t have the time to analyze anything right now.
Then he sees her eyes go wide in surprise when, as his shields begin collapsing for real, her assault loses most of it’s strength. He is able to withstand it and actually look at her closely. Everyone thinks her body is the result of sculptors, looking at her this way he knows it isn’t, she just has that good of breeding. Finally, he locates as many of her magic interlace points as he can and dims them all. Opening himself up to her at last, he can see the conflicting drives and emotions in her.
“Draw?” He asks out loud and is shocked at the strain in his own voice. Silence greets him of course since she can’t move and her powers are almost completely off.
“Don’t make me break you.” He pleads out loud for drama as he begins to feel why his voice is weak.
“Please.” He pleads again and allows his own body to go mostly limp in his chair as he connects to hers now that she can’t stop him. Grinning inside he uses her own hands to rip her expensive shirt and bra off her to expose what she has spent a decade keeping secret.
“Fine Pinocchio.” He shouts with her voice, “Draw. Next time I’ll be ready for you and I’m gonna lead you around like a pet till I’m done with you.” Then he turns her around proudly displaying her chest for all to see freely before kneeling her, facing him and then withdraws.
“Draw accepted.” He says once back in his own body. Then he dims the nerve connections in her body halfway so she should be able to walk but be left weak enough so she can be overpowered easily. Unable to resist playing with her as punishment he creates weak links from most of her body to the pleasure centers of her brain. Then severed the connection from her truly erogenous zones completely so that she gets aroused from any exertion at all, but can’t get her body more than mildly interested no matter how hard she tries. He leaves her powers crippled at a second year’s level and then releases the rest back to her.
Lisa had watched the drama play out not daring to move at all. She could feel the flair of Charles’s seed magic in her as the battle progressed, then he collapsed bleeding from his nose and ears. She also now knows how extensive his intrusion in her is by simple comparison to what just went out. Seeing Brenhar kneeling there she knew she should have felt sorry for her, but didn’t. She knew exactly how Brenhar felt, but couldn’t elicit any sympathy for her. The next eleven days pass for Lisa quietly, she spends every moment she can deep in the archives researching ancient arts looking for a way free herself. On day nine it takes several hearts for her powers to fade once she pulls the plug. The next day it took a dozen, then finally on the day he woke, it took three dozen and she was getting scared because her powers were also coming back faster as well. She needed the plug to work, with it she got easily ten times the research done that she did without it, and could stay many times longer as well. She had never considered how useful free association is to research before this.
The best part of the time was watching Brenhar. The healers announced that she had hurt herself during the fight and done nerve damage. Her magic was not simply weak, it was pathetic. Her body began to lose that super fit look because she couldn’t keep up the exercise routines anymore. Lisa’s favorite part though was the loss of confidence on Brenhar’s part. She moped about dejected now that her proud and mysterious chest had been exposed for many to see.
“Hi.” Charles mumbled as his eyes opened painfully. He is in the hospital wing in a bed and hurting everywhere. He is startled to see Lisa staring at him as he wakes.
“Your controls aren’t fading with your magic.” Lisa says without preamble. She still wants to stab or fry him, but her thoughts of doing that are still turning to sucking him off or mounting him, even doing it right here in the hospital wing.
“How long have I been out?” He asks shocked at her words.
“Eleven days. Whatever you did to Brenhar is holding though.” Lisa told him flatly, “She was in here three days before she got out. Got herself humbled three times in three days after that. She still feels like she is at full strength to herself, but she isn’t. The staff finally had to break up the last one, she tried to beat down a fifth year she used as a Pinocchio once in a while and he humbled her instead this time. He put her on his bed as punishment. She was ordered to have unlimited sex of any kind with anyone she had ever Pinocchiod by force if they got on the bed with her, even if it was more than one at a time. He also left her in a rutting haze instead of the normal low key relaxed state of the humbled when he did it. It had far less effect than anticipated though, which only goaded him on.”
“Brenhar took what happened calmly, just as the Humbled always do.” She told him, “But you know the way the Humbled are; always calm, always willing, always obedient. Nothing gets them really excited on their own, not even being in rut for days on end. No break, no rest, they may not get much of anything out of it, but they still get something. They’re almost asleep though responsive, but what ever you did, as she was, she could get excited, get aroused, but only on direct command. All guys, even the worst of them want to see the girl get something out of it, but she didn’t. She could want as directed to, but little to nothing happened for her.” Lisa went on, slowing as Charles face took on an odd expression.
“He had her there for four days except for classes she attended on orders. He and four of his friends would also take her at meals, in between classes, during free study and made a game out of making her guess blindfolded which of them had just had her in any of three ways. They finally had her one after the other while watching a play. She knelt on all fours as they took turns front and back. She finally broke down crying after being released because, in spite of having had five or six dozen guys in her repeatedly and swallowed chaos only knows how many times, She got nothing from it, no satisfaction at all. All while she was stuck in that rutting haze and couldn’t stop because of being humbled.” Lisa said feeling lost as she failed to see any sign of Charles understanding what she was telling him.
“Look, she got excited, well her body got excited, but nothing more, even as herself she kept tending back towards the calm sedate resting pace of the humbled.” Lisa stumbled onward then stopped as his expression changed yet again, this time reddening, “I’ll take your plate and tell then you are hungry on my way out.” She blurted and almost ran away as the redness of assumed rage spread.
“Wait, chaos take, I’m sorry.” Charles said, sickened at what had happened because he left Bren so vulnerable.
“Don’t sweat it too much, just be more careful in the future when you hand out punishments. She had it coming, pardon the pun, then again don’t, and more. You should know that what ever Magics are involved in binding Sinda and Sandy and I are going to be gone in another week or two.”
“Then you’ll be free.” Charles said wincing as he shifted position.
“Why do I look like a model now? I mean I still look me, but a fantasy me. I have more curves now than a Techist’s drawing set. Even some of the girls are looking at me like that now and it really kind of freaks me out.” Lisa asked even less certain she really knew what he had done now than ever before, “I mean I can understand making your sex toy more attractive. I had that coming for attacking you with your back turned, but the changes have continued in spite of you being in a coma.”
“So in a few days you get to keep your powers all the time.”
“And how long after that are you going to order me to your bed and take it all away again?”
“I promise not to. I just wanted you to, I’m not even sure I know what to call it.”
“You also know I’ll be back anyway. Whatever you did denies me any real pleasure with anyone else. It feels great but I can’t get off, not even by my own hand, damn it, at least not consistently.”
“Has Brenhar learned her lesson?” Charles asked, ignoring her last outburst.
“No, but she is way broken. Why didn’t you just humble her?”
“I have my reasons.”
“The healers don’t know what happened, they’re scared. Can you fix whatever you broke in her like you can on me?”
“Yes.”
“You should, you don’t want a real investigation of this.”
“Why?”
“Trust me, you need to fix her.” Lisa pleaded wanting this to blow over before her own state became known.
“Ok. Go now, I need to rest and concentrate.” Charles replied concerned more by her concern than caring about Brenhar at all. Once alone he withdrew into himself and tested his powers, they all seemed to work. Then he took time to compare himself to what he found in Brenhar. Making bright spots in himself that he had found in her, he found his range extended and his power level well up which pleasantly surprised him. Smiling inside he turned his attention to locating Brenhar. It wasn’t hard. He found her in the self isolation ward sitting in a corner. Tapping in gently he found she was crying, that shocked him until he remembered what Lisa had told him had happened to her.
Feeling sorry for her, he gently eased her into isolation inside herself then inhabited her body. He spent time practicing moving her until he was used to her and then put her on the cot. Only then did he begin studying the differences between them. He remembered all the little spots he had dimmed the same way he knew what steps to do when doing something Techist, you just remembered the steps, or else. One by one he turned them back on, then began comparing them to his own. Many looked a lot like his, only stronger. Some were near his and he noticed chains and linkages of bright tracks that made patterns, so he began filling those patterns in on himself always keeping mental notes of his changes. He missed the evening meal when they came to feed him. They left because they thought he was asleep. He took the meal they brought her, eating was good practice, using the bathroom afterwards felt funny though. Pushing something inside ‘himself’ to be sure she was clean didn’t have any words he could find to describe it.
After doing as much as he could matching his map to hers, he made sure she was dressed then headed out. The connection got less certain once she left the hospital area, but remained solid enough to use her. He tuned out the people staring at her as he walked the halls to her room to gather some needed supplies for charades. He passed Lisa in one hallway and even over the link he could feel her staring after he had passed by. The dorm he found when he reached her quarters was nothing like he expected. It looked regal. It had four beds like the dorm section indicated it would, but the dorm itself was two full ones joined into one. Her area took up one and the other was used by three other girls.
“Mistress?” One of the other girls, a double hand short of a fathom brunette, asked as he passed through.
“Sleeping draught,” He said in her best hollow haughty voice, “West garden pond, dusk.”
“Sleeping draught?”
“Did, I, stutter?” He asked one careful word at a time.
“No.” She answered fearfully.
“You.” He said pointing to the other girl, also brunette though she lacked a half hand of reaching a fathom and had nearly as good of a chest as Brenhar. Since they seemed to defer to her he simply ordered, “handful of loam from the eastern garden. Have it at the pond before dusk, use no tools.”
“Yes mistress.” She said fearfully.
“Good.” He said and headed into Brenhar’s sleeping area to search for a bowl. He was surprised to see the number of things she had that bore the sigil of the house Michelson, her Familydom. Soon he found a nice clear bowl of lead crystal then headed to the kitchens.
“Sea salt.” He said simply walking into the kitchens.
“Tubs are in the larder.” The old cook said puzzled. Charles actually likes her and they get along well, however this is not the time make nice.
“Thank you.” He said speaking as though it were drug out almost involuntarily after stopping and staring at her for several seconds.
“Your welcome.” The cook said staring as he walked away.
“Going anywhere special?” A small group of people he didn’t know but who obviously knew Brenhar asked in the hallway.
“No.” He said just staring at them as he kept walking. He was glad for the time he had taken to practice. Not only is it exhausting running another body, it actually gets harder over time as the body begins to reject the incorrect nerve impulses he discovers, it takes practice to overcome the rejection.
Finding the pond Charles sits Brenhar down in front of it. Withdrawing slightly, he waits the half bell until dusk is approaching. As Brenhar’s two hangers on from her quarters approach he reenters her fully, stands up and undresses. Laying her cloak out as a pad he assumes a meditation position with the glass bowl in front of him. Taking the loam, he adds it to the sea salt in the bowl.
“I need a hand full of water.” He says to the one who brought the loam.
“I also need a small knife.” He says to the one with the draught as he drinks it. He thanks her when she hands the knife over.
When the first returns, he indicates for the water to be placed in the bowl and then stirs the contents together. The moment the sun touches the horizon he begins murmuring meaningless words as he dips Bren’s fingers in the bowl and begins drawing lines on her body. Nipples to throat, Nipples to the spot she twigs getting herself off. At the half way point of the sun he stops the murmuring and speaks.
“Mother earth, Father sun.” He says as he begins hitting the arousal centers in her body. As he does he also pokes the base knuckle of the long fingers of each hand just enough for a few drops of blood to add to the bowl. Mixing the blood in the bowl he redraws the lines while continuing to speak letting her voice get soft and dreamy, “I gift my blood and I ask a boon. I give my chaos to the world and beg for order from your daughter the moon.” He finishes as he begins overloading her pleasure centers while he withdraws leaving her body writhing on the ground in orgasm until the sleeping draught takes it into a drugged sleep. Exhausted, Charles sleeps.
“Quite the performance.” Lisa says, waking Charles. The light in the windows tells him it is late afternoon and he is reaching for the cold lunch in front of him before he is fully awake.
“What do you mean?” He asks between bites.
“I don’t really know how to say this, but in the future you need to remember something.”
“What?”
“Even when you are one, you don’t walk like a girl.” Lisa laughs.
“What?” He gasps trying not to snarf his food in shock.
“I said you don’t walk like a girl. Otherwise, quite the performance. Have you ever considered theatre or the improv?”
“What?”
“No one who hasn’t experienced it would even think of it, but you put on quite the show in giving Brenhar her powers back. The library is overloaded with people trying to figure out what ceremony she used. I have to admit though to laughing myself more than a little silly watching her try to make sense of it all. She doesn’t remember a thing of it, to her she was in the hospital wing then in her bed this morning with her powers working as they were before.”
“It worked?”
“Oh yeah, Brenhar is back at full strength. Got some nice revenge on some of the assholes who abused her too. The staff stopped her revenge on the ones who used her on the bed, said they did nothing more than she did to them, but allowed her quite the revenge on the five who used her in public.”
“I didn’t mean for any.” He begins and she interrupts.
“I know. But now it’s over and you should feel thankful Brenhar hasn’t mentioned you even once. I doubt she has forgotten you, but for now you should be safe.”
“I hurt all over. Could I impose on you to summon a nurse please, I need more to eat.” He asked looking at the betraying plate now empty when it should have still been full.
“I’ll let one know on my way out.”
“Thank you.”
“Your welcome.” Lisa said leaving. Charles ate the food the nurse brought him and he slept. They released him for bed rest in his dorm late the next morning. He ate lunch in the dining hall.
“Hello Sinda.” Charles said sitting down next to her, admiring the rather nice changes in her as he ignored Lisa and Sandy.
“Hello sir. How are you?” Sinda replied. No one except the three of them were in ear shot so she acknowledged him as her lord.
“Good.” He replied reaching out to see how his magic was holding up, mostly gone, but the mental controls he put in place using it were working just fine it appeared.
“How about a massage tonight?” He asked.
“Of course sir, anything.” Sinda replied, “Tenth bell?”
“That would be great, thank you.”
“Happy to be of service sir.” She said as she and Sandy both got up for a small second serving.
“Massage?” Lisa asked unable to tell what she felt.
“We’ll see how it goes and how I do. Would you rather I ordered you to try?”
“No.” Lisa replied frowning, “I take it I should consider her ready reply to indicate these controls you placed on us are not magic based then?”
“That is correct.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t just order us all to join you for an orgy.”
“I don’t work that way.”
“Are you going to renew your seed magic in her?”
“Are you actually asking about yourself?”
“That too.” Lisa admitted, “Are you aware that you limited our options to you?”
“Limited?”
“Yes, limited. None of us can get a nice climax going without you now. I look great, as do both of them as well by the way, and feel even better. Yet no matter how hard I play I can’t get anything much out of it. I can get close but no finish, no reward, and the further your magic fades, the harder even that gets.”
“I can fix that I think.”
“Great, that way I can think about stabbing you with a knife and still hope to suck you dry so I can swallow for you and then go get myself off.” Lisa sniped angrily.
“You started it.”
“I know, don’t remind me. You intend to use them and make me wait don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Your plug trick is wearing off finally.”
“I could fix that to.” Chares grinned.
“Can we talk later please.” Lisa asked rising as she turns red.
“Sure.” Charles replied watching her leave.
“Would you like me as well tonight sir?” Sandy asks as the they sit back down to finish their slightly over sized lunches.
“No. Just Sinda.”
“Yes sir.” They replied in near perfect stereo, though Sandy sounded disappointed.
“Good afternoon princess.” Someone said, startling Lisa where she sat in the archives. She hadn’t heard him approach and thanks to the plug being in her pocket not in her, hadn’t felt him either which is unusual for a Magist since they almost always feel each other. It had taken nearly a half gross of hearts for removing the plug to work today, “I almost didn’t recognize you, you’ve changed so much. Quite the beautiful princess now aren’t we.”
“You must have me mistaken for someone else.” Lisa said as she fought down panic at being snuck up on and him knowing who she was.
“I was there at your first birthday naming, butterfly.” He said and Lisa was finally able to see him clearly. An older man with deep widows peak hair slightly graying despite being full. He was of solid build though his height was hard to determine since he wore a robe and leaned on a staff, “It is nice indeed to see you have come out of the pupa so well developed.”
“Umm.” She stammered at the familiar usage of an old family nickname no one here should know.
“This is the part where you deny your identity demurely while working one of the recognition phrases innocently into the conversation. Would work better if I was part of the spy network which I’m not so I should probably see about getting you some bonafides hadn’t I?” He asked smiling.
“Who are you?” Lisa demanded
“Why don’t you put that device in your pocket back in place and wait until your powers return then ask that again, wouldn’t want you to think I was going to attack the helpless.
“What device?”
“The plug if my guess is correct. I have been watching you for days now. Put it back in, I insist, you’ll feel better thinking you can defend yourself.”
“How did you know?” Lisa asked horrified but putting it back in place grateful at the moment that her powers were returning faster now, not that having him there watching made her feel any better.
“As I said, I have been watching you for days now. Each time you visit you use the bathroom first and come out with your abilities off, to reduce the headaches from the wards I think. I noticed that each time the last few days it has taken longer for them to fade.”
“Who are you?” Lisa demanded as her shields firmed.
“A friend.” Echoed through her mind as though her shields were a mere sunshade, though he did not speak.
“What do you want?” She asked panicked at the level of raw power with no trace of a ripple or strain or even apparent effort.
“Unfortunately I need to call in an old favor.” He said sadly.
“Old favor?”
“Yes.” He said holding out a ring for her to look at.
“Oh sweet chaos, order take me.” Lisa prayed in supplication as she looked upon that ring. The logo was common enough looking. A simple circular flat on a thick framed matte blue ring formed the base for the uncommon. Rings with UCA on them of this style, while not unknown, were rare, filthy rich collector or museum rare. No one knew what UCA meant anymore, but there were only so many in existence, just over six hundred, period. The secret to making the smooth though matte blue metal had been lost in the April Fall. Rings with just a UC on a smaller circle though, there are less than two dozen of them, though there used to be more than there are now according to rumor. They are all in the hands of the Legents. The Legents hold the balance of peace through raw power. They are the only magic wielders who can walk among the Techists and not break the machinery. While individuals have approached level of power they wield, none have the centuries of experience they pass on gen eration to generation.
“Take it.” He said holding it out.
“I can’t.” She said moving away from him in fear, “I can’t take, touch, that.”
“You can and you will Butterfly.” He said sadly, “You will leave here, contact your Mothers via mirror and inform them that no matter what they hear about they are not to panic. When they ask questions you will show them that ring and tell them you are not permitted to say. Inform them that your actions and words are constrained, that while you love and respect them, your actions are not your own for the time being.”
“Why?”
“You will soon have a chance to be free of the controls placed on you, to have your mind be your own once more.”
“I will?” She asked filled with hope of freedom and dread of his knowledge.
“Yes, and you mustn’t.”
“Why?”
“You will understand in time, but for now do as I have instructed. I know of the geas placed on you and how it was done. Removing it is not easy at all, and definitely not easy on you although the symptoms are easily treated while in place. There are as you have discovered for yourself, advantages to letting him lace your body with his seed magic.”
“The headaches I get in here?”
“Yes. The wards are designed to require concentration in order to remain. The headaches are designed to keep you on track and prevent free association among other analytical skills.” He said smiling at her in understanding, “As long as you allow him to lace you with his seed magic and have the controls he placed with them, you can be in here all you want and never get a single headache from anything more than poor lighting since he can take your powers.”
“The lack of headaches is nice.” She admitted.
“Let me give you a clue Princess. Ask yourself this, why even after he has been at you three like a rabbit with all of your help for days are none of you pregnant in spite of using no protection?”
“No one can get pregnant before they are mature. Everyone knows that, it’s no picnic after either.”
“Do you know what happens,” He says, tossing her the ring which she instinctively catches in spite of herself, “when you make assumptions?”
“Not really.”
“You make an ass out of you and me.” He replies moving away.
“Huhh?” She asks puzzled.
“Sorry, forgot that went out of style in the sync war.”
“What?”
“Sorry again,” He says stopping at another desk, “An ass is a slang term for a mule or really stubborn person and shorthand for asshole. A type of personality I’m told by my peers I do a good job of emulating.”
“Emulate?” She asks puzzled at the word.
“Sorry, another word you won’t know. Emulate, to work like or similar to in order to do the same job, it’s a techist thing. It goes on your left hand ring finger if you want to wear it, else in a pocket to keep it safe.” He said then started walking away.
“Is he one of you?” Lisa asked.
“No.” The legent said turning back to look at her, “He is not. I am however familiar with the technique he used on you. It works quite well without magic. If you can arrange to use it with magic, let’s just say that short of a miracle you are pretty well his for now. Your friends, or would they be maids? Really are his, it’s not that they lack any loyalty to you, but they will do what he wants for a long time.”
“Like humbling, but permanent?”
“Exactly, not quite permanent though, but unlike humbling, it allows you to use magic freely while bound or controlled. In fact, humbling was designed in part in order to replace those skills. I don’t think I need to tell you how it was used by the unscrupulous. Just look at what happened to Brenhar when those boys got a chance for revenge for the way she treated them while humbled. Even then, the only reason the staff interfered at all since they had her attending classes was the thing at the play. Had any of them had a clue what Charles did with you then the seed magic they used to enhance her reactions could have been used to make her just like you or your friends are. Be glad we made humbling to replace that.”
“Why do I have to stay with him if I am going to have a chance to get away?”
“Because you leaving him will result in much suffering and pain.”
“Oh.” Lisa replied softly in confusion as he walked away. The ring worried her and seemed to gain weight as she looked at it until she thought it would drop to the floor. Then she headed to the dictionaries that frame the entrance to the closed sections and war archives to check what the strange words were he used talking to her. Her doubts were laid to rest as she felt the wards protecting them simply part as she approached, offering her entrance, no need to ask for access, ‘The ring is real’ she thought to herself in panic. She was also delighted she no longer needed permission to use the originals.
“Land mother.” She said formally as the land holder of the Familydom Thomson appeared in the mirror half a bell later.
“Third heir,” Land Mother Thomson said gravely, “Or should I say Lisa? You look simply wonderful yet somehow terrible dear, are you alright?”
“Yes ma’am, no, I do not know how to answer that right now. Thank you for seeing via mirror on such short notice.”
“It is an unusual request but you are third heir, if I and my sister and our children fall without further issue, you will inherit the seat. I know our arrangements are unusual compared to many, but your father had to be permitted to marry for love as well as alliances. Your mother would have proven an asset in other ways as well, the lands will be in good hands if we have no issue of our own.”
“Thank you Land mother.” Lisa said formally. She is puzzled though, this is second time someone has mentioned children indirectly in the last bell and she has never had much faith in coincidence.
“You seem upset dear, what is it?”
“I can’t tell you land mother,” Lisa said formally, hating what she had to do next, “But I can show you as much as I know.” She said holding up the ring she wore on her left hand.
“Chaos Take child, what have you gotten yourself into?” The land mother hissed in fear.
“There is a situation. I have found myself in the middle. I was told to tell you that my actions may not be my own.”
“Which family?”
“What?”
“They only become involved to prevent war, or worse. Who are you involved with?”
“I am sort of seeing a boy.” Lisa admitted, “A third year, he is better than his year would indicate.”
“Are you with anyone else right now?”
“No ma’am,” Lisa said smiling, “I can assure you I am not.”
“Oh. How high born is he?”
“He’s a commoner from the town on scholarship, we have something of an arrangement.”
“Part of your instructions girl were to shop around.”
“I know and I have been ma’am.”
“Who did he challenge to rate you then?”
“No one.”
“No one? How long did he keep you humbled then?”
“He hasn’t ma’am. I do not believe it has anything to do with him directly. He always draws out of the dance of wills and leaves alone. He has had few partners and I have never seen him with anyone humbled.”
“Have you been in a fight with someone important then?”
“No.” Lisa and turned white, “But he has. I was with him eating lunch and Brenhar tried to make him a Pinocchio and he declined.”
“He declined? She insisted I take it?”
“Yes ma’am. They fought to a draw.”
“She’s a highly talented tenth year with a mean and vindictive streak. She won’t take that lying down. When did she attack him again in retaliation?”
“She hasn’t ma’am. They both went to the hospital wing. She got out in three days, he just got out this morning. Brenhar came out of the fight with her powers messed up.”
“How badly?” The land mother demanded.
“She was left with about a second year’s abilities and he spent eleven days in a coma. She did some kind of a ceremony invoking earth, sun and moon for balance, passed out thrashing and woke this morning with her abilities more or less back where they were.” Lisa explained giving her Land Mother the public version of what really happened.
“How did he learn to defend himself against her?”
“I don’t know. I know he studies history a lot, but nothing I know about him suggests how.”
“Is there any chance he’ll win?”
“Win? Win what?”
“The rematch girl.” The land mother chided, “Brenhar’s a vindictive bitch, she’ll attack from ambush, probably with friends, and try to kill him.”
“Oh.” Lisa gasped as the land mother unknowingly described most of her own actions.
“What time is it there?”
“Quarter past tenth bell.”
“To late to stop it then.”
“Stop what?”
“Get you, Sinda and Sandy into your rooms. The extra shield spells and tools I sent along that the school forbade, use them anyway.”
“What?”
“Brenhar’s going to kill either you or him first. Probably him, unless she wants to torture him first.”
“But that will start a war!”
“Not if you are dead and can’t contest what she says. Then it’s her word against a corpse. You can’t warn the school because that will drag them into it and force them to take sides.”
“I think Sinda is with him right now.” Lisa admitted with horror.
“She’s what girl?” The land mother yelled then turned yelled at someone out of sight, “Adrianna, summon the family council, full court, now. Also get the families of all our students at centerversity.”
“Land mother?” Lisa asks scared as a faint voice heard through the mirror confirms orders.
“Do what needs to be done.”
“That’s why I contacted you, I don’t know what to do.”
“When the time is right you will, now go protect your subjects as best you can, if it isn’t already to late that is.”
“To late?”
“If he got out the hospital today she’ll attack him soon, I suggest you run.” The land mother said cutting the connection. Lisa nearly made it, she was halfway to Charles’s room when she felt something dark slither by on her senses, then came the explosion on the magical and far more importantly, physical level. Worse than the magical and psychic buffeting were the explosions making dust dance in the halls as she tried to reach the fight.
“Chaos the taker, Order the maker.” Lisa whispered in shock as she rounded the last corner. Brenhar stood with four remaining friends in the hall way, the fifth, a seven year named Jack, lay on the floor in the wrong shape. They were facing Charles, each of their attacks rattled his shields, but each time his shield solidified, it was just a little bit better. His halo of magic was growing, It was Darwin’s dance in real time. Then she realizes he isn’t in the hall, he is in his room and the wall is missing, it is now the small pieces of rubble littering the hall. The air shimmers with heat, and stress on the fabric of reality. The remains of his seed magic in her sing with glory as she watches, she finds she can feel what he is about to do just before he does it, “Preserve me.”
“Moon on high protect us.” Lisa muttered in prayer as she saw one of Brenhars thugs, a seventh year if she recognized her properly, head twitch then her face went slack as she slid to the ground in a heap. Brenhar yelled something then and Lisa became aware the staff was gathering. She knew Charles was using his gift of tweaking their bodies and if the staff became involved it would get messy in a hurry. Only then did she notice the steady drip of blood from his nose, and the streaks of it from his ears and eyes. He is learning and adapting just a little faster than he is dying.
“Now what?” She asks herself as she feels a change from Charles’s attacks. Then a girl, another seven year beside Brenhar, started grinning and had an obvious orgasm crumpling to the ground in a limp giggling heap. Over the next half gross of hearts, Brenhar’s other companions crumple in one way or another, lowering the volume of the fight enough that Lisa finally realizes she is almost deaf from the noise of the fight.
Lisa has no idea where Charles got the strength to hold them all off, then she feels Brenhars shields begin faltering. She knows from intimate experience exactly what Brenhar is feeling again, as her powers simply fade away leaving her at his mercy once more. Then Charles moves his hand, she sees Brenhar’s head twitch like a puppet and knows what is coming.
“Don’t.” Lisa shouts as fear congeals in her stomach. Then overcoming fear from simple necessity, she steps into the storm tearing the hallway apart. To her and the staff’s surprise, it doesn’t try to tear her apart, she doesn’t have to try to protect herself from it, in fact it barely buffets her at all. She realizes the same seed magic that links her to Charles, also shields her.
“Why not?” Charles asks turning just his head to look at her.
“Please don’t kill her. There are worse fates for her kind.”
“Thank you Miss Thomson, we have this now.” One of the staff, an older man, says stepping their way as the look on Charles’s face begins to calm.
“No.” Lisa says holding up the ring to forestall them.
“What?” The man asks along with the rest of the staff.
“This is now a families matter. If the staff become involved, you will be required to investigate thoroughly and will not be able to remain neutral. The facts will force you to choose sides and that will upset things worse than this will.”
“Where did you get that ring?” He demanded.
“From an old man who speaks like a historical text. Where do you think I got it?”
“We can’t just walk away from this, there is a dead student.” Another teacher says.
“Actually,” Charles snarls pointing to his left, “There’s two. They attacked without warning from cloak in a premeditated ambush with full force killing spells. They intended to kill and did.”
“Sinda?” Lisa whimpers, then her mind clears as how far out of hand it already is hits home. They are already at war, but neither side knew it yet so it gave her time, for what she has no clue, but she has nothing to lose in trying.
“Want mercy for them now?” Charles asks savagely.
“Leave.” Lisa snarls at the staff as Charles’s storm of concentrated will and magic subsides now that he no longer has to battle his attackers to contain things, “Sandy, you stay, but the rest you out of here.”
“Perfect.” Charles whispers staring with rage at the now immobile Brenhar and company.
“You can’t break her like that Charles.” Lisa says as the seed magic link tells her what he plans on doing to them for fun and revenge, “Destroying her mind is the wrong thing to do. Just humble her and take your rage out that way.”
“No.”
“Why not? Helpless but cooperative not good enough for you? Organic puppets dancing on strings of will to your every whim not enough?” She asks derisively trying to drive his rage away from killing Brenhar, even if that meant focussing him at her.
“No. I can’t.” He replies startled.
“Why not?”
“I don’t know how.”
“You’re a third year.”
“I’ve never done it or had it done to me.”
“You always pulled a draw?” She asked.
“Yes, on purpose.”
“So you have never humbled or been humbled?”
“Correct.”
“I hate you right now.” Lisa said as her course of action became obvious.
“So? Why now?”
“I want you all to witness that I am demonstrating to Charles how to Humble of my own free will without persuasion of any kind.” She said speaking up so all who hadn’t made it out of the hallway yet could hear.
“You’re what?” He asked.
“I am going to lower my personal shields towards you and I want you to place your hand on my head as I humble Brenhar, then you do the same to me. Humbling me will enable you to rehumble Brenhar then the others once you know how.”
“He won’t have to release you.” A man from the staff observes still shooing students away.
“I know. I’m willing.”
“Why?” Someone asks.
“The staff know why. Now clear the hallway.” Lisa orders and watches as the staff hustle everyone out leaving only Sandy behind with them.
“Why?” Charles asks again as he places his hand on her head as indicated.
“Later, now pay attention.” She tells him and reaches out to verify he is linked enough to catch everything then proceeds to humble Brenhar. She can feel him in turn humble her and smiles as she feels herself withdraw to the dreamy state of blissful compliance.
“I don’t get it.” Charles says to himself after Brenhar’s companions are humbled in turn. He stares in sick horror at the body against the wall. His rage interrupted by Lisa, his revenge as well, he tries understand why she did it, “Lisa, why interrupt me breaking Brenhar.”
“She is the Michelson Heir Secondus.” Lisa replies speaking in the soft gentle tones of the humbled.
“Shit.”
“Yes sir.” She said in the same flat tone while rising.
“No.” Charles said frustrated as he realizes the hot burning rage of revenge is being replaced by thinking and reason, “Sit back down. Tell me who they are starting with the dead one.”
“Yes sir.” She replied sitting, “His name is Jack, he is the son of one of their Generals. The other boy is Terl, I don’t know him other than his name. The girls are Yen, Nicole and Sien of the Clan Yemel. Their Clan, male and female alike, have served the Michelsons faithfully for centuries, since the sync wars I believe.”
“Order make.” He whispers to himself looking at them laying there. Then he realizes there is still dust in the air and his breath catches in surprise. That dust means the fight had not taken very long at all, “Everyone but Lisa and Sandy, go to my bed, strip and lie down on it.”
“Yes sir.” They reply dully. While they go Charles releases the humbling on Lisa as he moves to Sinda with hope.
“Mirror, how long since the attack started?” He queries of the miraculously intact mirror. Lisa stares as she comes back to herself.
“What are you doing?” She asks as Charles turns over Sinda’s nude body so she lying normally on her back.
“Almost two gross heart beats since Sinda’s life signs ceased.” The mirror answers. This also startles Lisa, mirrors are very rarely interactive enough to understand the real question.
“Call time at Two and every Eighth there after. Lisa push down on her chest three times hard and fast like this in time with your own heart.” Charles orders demonstrating for each of them. “Three fingers worth, every third time check her pulse while Sandy breathes into her with a kiss once. Keep up breathing for her like that until she breathes on her own, same with her heart. Once she is breathing on her own, her heart will beat on it’s own as well.”
“Yes sir.” Sandy replied immediately.
“Yes sir.” Lisa replies as well and realizes it was as much her body as her answering, the feeling of the mixture of free will and obedience disturbs her, they aren’t supposed to feel the same, yet they just did.
“Begin now.” Charles orders as he lies down. Reaching out he locates the traces of Sinda beside him by reference to Sandy and Lisa. Delving into the Seed Magic he had left in her before and his fresh deposits from earlier he begins looking for her heart and other muscles. Locating them, he looks to see why they aren’t working. Finding lots of dull lines that should be bright, he begins tracing and filling them with his seed magic. He hears Two and Quarter hearts called, then a Half, then Three quarters, on Three he knows he has to take a different tack. Instead of trying to fix and then jump start Sinda, he forms a weak link from his own heart beat and breathing to hers, then joins it to her body via his seed magic. Not enough to run hers, but enough to guide it, then he withdraws when he feels her body begin responding. In her he has made a delicate web of his seed magic taking the place of nerves so her heart beats, her diaphragm breathes and her body knows what is happening.
“Every one stay calm.” He says calmly staying laying down, “Sinda remain laying there calm until you are told otherwise.”
“Yes sir.” Sinda replies weakly. Charles can’t see the tears in the other girl’s eyes and they have trouble seeing him through them.
“Lisa, I need your help please.” He says.
“What?” She asks.
“I need you to humble me, then Sinda.” He tells her, “I have linked my heart and breathing to Sinda’s. It will take some time but her body will heal enough to work on it’s own. Right now I am providing a synchronization signal that her body uses as a guide. What that means is if I get too high of a pulse or breathe too fast, we will get out of sync because she can’t keep and she will die, again.”
“You did what?” Lisa asked without looking at him, unable to look away from Sinda, breathing where she hadn’t been before, regaining color she had lost.
“I linked us.” He answered slowly and deliberately, “You know the way you explained the Humbled are always calm. I have to be that. I have to be and stay that kind of calm. If I don’t stay sedate then Sinda’s damaged body won’t be able to breath fast enough to keep up and she will choke. I need my pulse to stay at a resting pace, or once again, her body can’t keep up. It’s just like what you explained happened to Bren, I have to stay that calm and I can’t do it on my own, you have to make me.”
“Umm,” Lisa gasped in shock as she realized what had really happened the day he woke when she explained what had happened to Brenhar. He hadn’t been enraged, he had been embarrassed.
“You can do this Lisa.” Charles said firmly though softly, just as he had been speaking, “Don’t worry about the controls I placed on you. You are ordered to do what you need to do with me in order to keep Sinda alive, as is Sandy but you are in charge of this.”
“Yes sir.” Lisa replied lost, unable to truly comprehend how he could put that much trust, have that much faith, in someone who had done what she had done.
“Ok?”
“You would trust me with that after what you did to us?” Lisa asks staring Charles and Sinda’s chests rise and fall as one even when he speaks.
“With greater power Lisa.” Charles says fighting back tears, “I am the reason she was here when Brenhar attacked, her death is on my head, speaking of which, everyone on the bed. This is Lisa, you will obey her second only to me. The other two are Sinda and Sandy, you will obey them second only to Lisa.”
“Yes sir.” Are the dull replies from the bed.
“You trusted me Lisa, you let me humble you to know how. If you refuse then all it takes is for me to get excited once, get startled once, and Sinda dies. If I have any other automatic responses, she is dead, and stays that way.”
“How do you know I won’t free myself, us?”
“For your part, I don’t. For theirs, if you free either of them right now, they get excited and with the linkage of my magic in them, it will leak, killing Sinda.”
“Oh.”
“In order to free yourself all you have to do is have me give you a non revocable order to never obey me again unless you choose to. The compulsion remains, it’s expression changes.”
“Why tell me how?”
“That way if you do choose to, you’ll do it right. Once she is healed enough you will have to release the humbling for me to break the linking or wait until my magic fades from her.”
“I hate you.” Lisa told him hotly, unable to tell what she really felt inside.
“Sinda, Sandy, until I am released from humbling you will obey Lisa second only to me, after that things will revert to normal.” Charles went ignoring Lisa’s last outburst much to her relief.
“Yes sir.” They replied.
“What will the doctors think of your solution?” Lisa asks.
“That we were playing sex games and I used the seed magic to enhance her reactions.”
“You don’t want to do this so why are you?” Lisa asked able to see the throb of both hearts on Charles and Sinda’s necks beating as though they were one.
“She will die, she was dead, if I don’t do this she will be again. She was here because I told her to be, she had no choice at all, that makes it, what happened, her, my responsibility. I took her from you, so if I have to be vulnerable to you in order to keep her around so I can return her to you as I got her, so be it.”
“By chaos, you actually mean that.” Lisa replies shocked. She was lost, her instincts were to grab her freedom, but if she did she would be leaving her friends, her maids if she were honest with herself, at his disposal. Not to mention the warning that came with the ring.
“I won’t take a chance with Sinda’s life, but you already knew that. You win. I’ll even give my word not to take advantage of you.”
“Why not, I did you already, and you are a lot of fun by the way.”
“Not quite what I meant. I would like to try you that way sometime, but what I meant was I wouldn’t use your humbling to pry your secrets out of you.”
“Oh, thanks.”
“You didn’t even think of that did you?”
“No.”
“You’re doing the right thing, I won’t interfere. You have my word I will not attempt to use this to free myself or my maids from your control. I will make no such attempts until Sinda is healed.”
“Thank you, but I assumed I would lose you all.”
“Life is more complicated than that.” Lisa says. Her smile not as fake as she thought it was. She reached out and began the series of spells and Charles’s world became a pleasant blissful buzz as Lisa ensured he was as calm and settled as she could make him. The humbled are normally just calm, like a person simply standing there thinking, though the humbled don’t really think much. They just do whatever the person who Humbled them says, no real emotion unless told to have one, no hesitation since volition and will are not present. They are just a body that does as instructed.
“How?” Sinda asked staring at Charles, speaking in time with his breathing.
“He used seed magic to make his pulse your pulse and his breath your breath.” Lisa answered.
“He is a good man, I like having him as my lord.” Sinda said simply as she lay there relaxed.
“He just might be.” Lisa agreed as she reached out sadly to humble her friend, “Sandy, go get a pair gurneys to take these two to the hospital wing.”
“Yes my lady.”
“Remember Sandy,” Lisa reminded her, “I am just a high born here, not third heir.”
“Sorry.” Sandy said a she went.
“You on the bed.” Lisa said without looking up at them, “Get dressed. Go wait in Brenhar’s dorm room. Sandy or I will tell you what to do from there.”
“Yes ma’am.” They replied as they complied.
“Charles, while humbled you will obey Sandy as if she were me if I am not there.”
“Yes ma’am.” He answers in the dull manner of the humbled, happy to comply.
“He is currently humbled.” Lisa told the healer a short while later, “He did something to keep her alive, but it has limits. Sinda’s body isn’t working on it’s own. You’ve noticed how they seem to be breathing alike? That is because he made his breath her breath, his pulse her pulse. Her body can barely keep up.”
“Incredible.” The healer said feeling both pulses at once, easily able to tell they are as one.
“He couldn’t do enough for her keep up with more than the resting pace of the humbled. If he is released or even answers too many questions too fast, she will not be able to keep up and will end up gasping like a fish out of water until her body moves with his again, or she dies.”
“Got it.” He answered staring as Charles and Sinda’s chests rose and fell as one, “Questions and answers slowly, anybody rushes, and she’s a fish out of water.”
“Exactly.” Lisa says still staring as they moved Charles and Sinda away, unable to really grasp how someone capable of so much, could have such gaping holes in his knowledge.