[Original Novel] Mistress of Magic: Morgan's Apprentice - Chapter 2

A story of magic, love and loyalty.

Previous Chapters: 

Prologue 

Chapter One - A Girls' College

Chapter 2 - The Mistresses' Palace

I knew I was going to be summoned before a mistress long before it happened. I also knew I had to impress her because her opinion on my abilities and knowledge would mean a lot in my final evaluation. At that point, I was aiming at a scholar apprenticeship. My grades in history, small magic and science were good enough to get it, but I still had no idea how I would feel about the process of accepting power. I didn't aim at the role of a mistress mostly because I didn't think I was pretty enough or impressive enough in my presence. I was a mousy-looking dark-haired daughter of a peasant farmer and a midwife. Mistresses were… a legend of great power and dark, mysterious beauty. Some tales even claimed they used magic to alter their appearance and live longer while looking young and always irresistible to men. 

The mistresses did not reside in the college, but in the Mistresses Palace on the outskirts of the Citadel. On my appointed day, I waited at the college gates with one of the lady mothers, nervously clutching at the coat I wore against the cool wind of morning in the citadel. The gates opened, and a single guard knight stood there, in his ceremonial armor and his sword resting in its sheath. Gentle rays of autumn morning sun glistened against the armor decorations. 

"I am knight Draken, and I was sent here on behalf of Mistress Lady Morgan to escort Initiate Lady Lilith Sunkissed to the palace of mistresses," he said rather formally, not even glancing at me. 

The lady mother handed me over to Draken, and he escorted me down the streets of the semi-waking citadel towards the mistresses palace. I haven’t been outside the college since I arrived nearly five years earlier, but instead of taking in the views of the citadel of ladies, I found myself paying more attention to Draken, the knight beside me. He was light haired, tall, with wide shoulders and light gray eyes. He reminded me of the older boys back at the farm who would bully my little brothers, but he had more of a sense of dignity to him than the playful indulgence I saw in those farm boys. I haven't seen a man up close in years, and I could have sworn that I noticed a glimpse of a knowing smile flash across his lips when he caught me gawking at him. We didn't speak a word the whole way, of course. I was still an initiate and the rules still applied. 

When we arrived at the palace, I finally managed to focus on something aside from the male presence at my side. The palace was incredible. The tall windows, the marble floors, the ornate carpets and works of art that adorned the spacious palace wings astounded me. I expected to see a lot more mistresses and knights, but the place seemed deserted at such an early morning hour. Back at the college, my classmates had just started their morning lessons. 

Draken stopped me at one of the doors in the residential wing, and knocked gently against the polished ornate wood. I could see the owner's name glittering on the door, it was only visible from the right angle. Perhaps it was magical writing. 

"Oh! You're here already! I was just about done making myself pretty. Come in!" a woman's voice answered from inside. Could it be true? Were mistresses actually using magic to make themselves pretty? 

The door opened and Draken allowed me in before shutting the door behind me. And there she was – Morgan Ironfall, Lady Mistress of the Sisterhood. Her hair was raven black and her skin white like mine but it looked smooth and soft. Everything about her was kind of long and smooth, like a tower. Her neck, her arms and even though she wasn't much taller than me, she seemed longer somehow. Her bright blue eyes sparkled as she looked at me, smiling a smile that gave away her age – she looked older than me, but I couldn't quite guess how old. She wore a long wrapping dress from dark blue velvet decorated with gold strings and a wide jeweled belt. 

"Welcome to my home, Lilith," she said. "Well, one of my homes, but one you will be sharing with me for the next few days. You will leave a different woman, Lilith." 

"Thank you, Mistress Morgan," I answered, realizing my voice sounded croaky and loud compared to the sweet and melodic murmuring of Morgan's. 

I glanced around the room. It wasn't so much of a room as it was a house inside a castle. The space we stood in looked like a salon for entertaining guests, with comfortable looking couches and sofas and a large decorated fireplace. Everything was so lush and rich and impressive I felt a little dizzy. The room had two doors, steps leading to a second floor and an exit to a wide balcony that could be seen from the large glass windows. This place could be home for a family of twenty. I always thought only royalty lived in such luxury. I guess mistresses are royalty of a different kind. 

"Come, let's get you settled in," she said and walked over to open one of the doors in the room. "This is the guest room. You will be staying here," she stated. 

The room wasn't as luxurious as the rest of Morgan's home, but it was sure as hell better than the dorm. The bed was twice the size of the beds in the dorm and it looked softer, too. 

"The closet has clothes your size, and we'll go over it later to hunt you an outfit, but first let's get to know each other and have some fun, shall we?" Morgan said. I nodded. Words were hard at this point. "Take off your coat," she ordered and I instantly obeyed. I placed it on the bed and instantly felt like I've done something wrong. Was I supposed to put it in the closet? Morgan didn't react, just returned to the main room and I followed. 

"Have you ever seen real magic?" she asked unceremoniously, sitting on one of the large sofas. 

"No, Mistress," I replied and looked away from her inquisitive penetrating blue eyes. 

"You don't need to call me mistress here, Lilith. Just call me Morgan. Or Lady Morgan if you're more comfortable with formalities." I loved the way my name rolled off her tongue. I smiled nervously. "I haven't fed for a few days so I won't be able to show you much, but I do have a few parlor tricks to get you at least a little excited." 

"Haven't… fed?" I echoed her with a question. 

"I don't know what the prudes at the college call it. I haven't gotten my power reserves re-filled, if you know what I mean. Mistresses just call it feeding. Makes us sound a bit like scary vampires, doesn't it?" She smiled and I couldn't help but smile back. Her accent seemed foreign around the edges. "Sit down," she said, gesturing at the sofa across from her and I sat down, still upright and tense. "Now put your hand out, facing up." The palm of my hand felt somewhat warm, then a light formed in it, expanded and turned into a fresh strawberry in my hand. It happened in less than a second, like a flash, and there it was. My mouth opened in surprise. "You can eat it. Let me know if it's sweet enough. I've been working on that. I love strawberries," she said. 

I barely registered her words as I stared as the perfect fruit in my hand. It was flawless. Down to the seeds. I bit in and a flavor unlike any strawberry I've ever tasted filled my every sense. I closed my eyes and I am pretty sure I moaned a little. I ate it in a single bite. Stem and all. My head felt a little light when I opened my eyes and met Morgan's. 

"Everything is a little different with magic and there's really no limit to how far you can learn. A strawberry can be tastier than the perfect strawberry and metal can be harder than the hardest metal with magic. But it's all the same, at the heart of it." Morgan seemed to be looking me over as she spoke. Was she judging my looks, my clumsy posture and persistently messy hair? "But you've learned all this in the college," she added. "And we both know that another lesson in magic theory is not what you are here for." She smiled and her eyes seemed to darken. "How do you feel about sex?" she asked almost casually and my face instantly became very hot and probably very red. 

"Feel about it? I… I am not quite sure. I know all the theory, but theory is just theory. I guess I am… curious?" By the time I managed to finish that statement I had realized I was running out of air and so the end came out as a bit of a choked whisper. I inhaled perhaps a bit too loudly. 

"Are you more curious about the pleasures of sex or about the power you would be receiving and what you could do with it?" Morgan asked, carefully watching my face. I hesitated. 

"Can it be both?" I asked, as though inquiring about a test question. Morgan's smile widened and she seemed content with my answer. 

"We could sit here, and chat a while, but I am not a big fan of wasting precious time. You have questions, dear," she said as she rose from the sofa. "And I have answers. But perhaps another demonstration is in order. Let's go find that dress for you now and then we can call dear Draken back in. My reserves are running low as it is."

I tried to breathe normally as all the blood escaped my face at once. Magic or not, the Mistress had me nearly paralyzed.

Note: The next chapter is when things get naughty, so I am going to start tagging these posts as NSFW. The really hot parts will also be marked as such in the title.

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