Madeira did what she did best, and watched. She watched as Allister
stood to do as she asked, and watched him watch everyone else as he
walked away. But she wasn't the only one noticing him. Allister
collected stares like a rich woman collected diamonds, and wore them
just as proudly. His purple coat brushed the ground as he cast from
side to side, sussing out the aura's of those around him.
Madeira closed her eyes to the sight, and breathed deeply. She let the
chattering of students and teachers fade away, and reduced the
rustling of the leaves and grass in the courtyard become background
noise until she was centered in her own body. Her dijed moved
sluggishly through her as she coaxed it forward, infusing its power
through her eyes. When she opened them again the world had changed.
The colour of the grass and sky and the colourful robes all seemed
muted and lifeless compared to the aura that surrounded them. To
someone as unpracticed as herself, Allister's aura was a barest wisp
of what it could be. But even then it was bright and dynamic and moved
in colours she could barely name much less read. As he got further
away her eyes strained to keep his aura in focus, but step by step the
strain became too much for her, and she forced herself to let it go.
By the end her eyes were sore and webbed with broken veins, and a
mustard seed of a headache was pulsing behind her brow. But she was
proud with what she proved she could do, and excited to learn more.
Provided they ever go back to class.
As she was recovering Allister staggered back onto her lap, his soul
wrecked and whimpering in pain through their shared bond. Blood was
leaking through his nose, and his arms were shivering with muscle
spasms in a clear sign of overgiving. She slipped her hand under his
cheek to cradle his head and smoothed back his brindle hair.
"You have to be more careful", she admonished gently, peeling back his
eyelid to check his pupils and pressing her fingers against the
flutter of his pulse. While in the back of her head a voice that
sounded remarkably like uncle Frode was calling her a fool for not
keeping an eye on the crazy Kelvic. "If you use too much of your magic
you'll damage your soul. It's called overgiving, and its killed better
people than us." Or drove them mad. But between the two of them she
couldn't imagine how much more they could lose of their sanity.
It seemed he did well in working his magic, however. He spoke about a
lovers quarrel with hidden details he never would have found simply
from eavesdropping. All the while his hand had slipped under her skirt
and was rolling out the knots in her calves to her palpable relief.
He ruminated on the lovers he had witnessed for a moment, and when he
spoke next it was in a whisper so soft she felt the question vibrate
through the bond more then she heard it through his voice.
“I would never petch another if you asked it of me.”
"I know", she said, smiling sadly down on him, and said nothing more.
It was a lovely thought, that she could completely own that last piece
of him that was not solely hers. She would just as easily promise to
never let anyone touch her again, and she would be happy in his love for the rest of his life. But that would never happen, because she would never marry
him.
Her hand went to her belly, where their mistake was growing. She could
marry its father and raise the child as a legitimate heir to her
name... But she couldn't bring herself to do it. In the world she
wanted to revolve in, to marry Allister would be to throw everything
away. To attach her name to him would cheapen it in the eyes of
everyone who mattered. She would marry eventually, to someone
dignified and controlled and just as committed to the game. She would
do it to strengthen both their families and reputations, and to expand
her influence. She might even be expected to carry children by them,
so their name and hers could be passed on.
So she could never ask Allister to devote his body just to her. Not
when she was willing to give hers away for her ambitions.
"If we keep going like this we'll hurt ourselves", she dabbed at his
bloodied nose with her sleeve. "Lets go home, Allister."
stood to do as she asked, and watched him watch everyone else as he
walked away. But she wasn't the only one noticing him. Allister
collected stares like a rich woman collected diamonds, and wore them
just as proudly. His purple coat brushed the ground as he cast from
side to side, sussing out the aura's of those around him.
Madeira closed her eyes to the sight, and breathed deeply. She let the
chattering of students and teachers fade away, and reduced the
rustling of the leaves and grass in the courtyard become background
noise until she was centered in her own body. Her dijed moved
sluggishly through her as she coaxed it forward, infusing its power
through her eyes. When she opened them again the world had changed.
The colour of the grass and sky and the colourful robes all seemed
muted and lifeless compared to the aura that surrounded them. To
someone as unpracticed as herself, Allister's aura was a barest wisp
of what it could be. But even then it was bright and dynamic and moved
in colours she could barely name much less read. As he got further
away her eyes strained to keep his aura in focus, but step by step the
strain became too much for her, and she forced herself to let it go.
By the end her eyes were sore and webbed with broken veins, and a
mustard seed of a headache was pulsing behind her brow. But she was
proud with what she proved she could do, and excited to learn more.
Provided they ever go back to class.
As she was recovering Allister staggered back onto her lap, his soul
wrecked and whimpering in pain through their shared bond. Blood was
leaking through his nose, and his arms were shivering with muscle
spasms in a clear sign of overgiving. She slipped her hand under his
cheek to cradle his head and smoothed back his brindle hair.
"You have to be more careful", she admonished gently, peeling back his
eyelid to check his pupils and pressing her fingers against the
flutter of his pulse. While in the back of her head a voice that
sounded remarkably like uncle Frode was calling her a fool for not
keeping an eye on the crazy Kelvic. "If you use too much of your magic
you'll damage your soul. It's called overgiving, and its killed better
people than us." Or drove them mad. But between the two of them she
couldn't imagine how much more they could lose of their sanity.
It seemed he did well in working his magic, however. He spoke about a
lovers quarrel with hidden details he never would have found simply
from eavesdropping. All the while his hand had slipped under her skirt
and was rolling out the knots in her calves to her palpable relief.
He ruminated on the lovers he had witnessed for a moment, and when he
spoke next it was in a whisper so soft she felt the question vibrate
through the bond more then she heard it through his voice.
“I would never petch another if you asked it of me.”
"I know", she said, smiling sadly down on him, and said nothing more.
It was a lovely thought, that she could completely own that last piece
of him that was not solely hers. She would just as easily promise to
never let anyone touch her again, and she would be happy in his love for the rest of his life. But that would never happen, because she would never marry
him.
Her hand went to her belly, where their mistake was growing. She could
marry its father and raise the child as a legitimate heir to her
name... But she couldn't bring herself to do it. In the world she
wanted to revolve in, to marry Allister would be to throw everything
away. To attach her name to him would cheapen it in the eyes of
everyone who mattered. She would marry eventually, to someone
dignified and controlled and just as committed to the game. She would
do it to strengthen both their families and reputations, and to expand
her influence. She might even be expected to carry children by them,
so their name and hers could be passed on.
So she could never ask Allister to devote his body just to her. Not
when she was willing to give hers away for her ambitions.
"If we keep going like this we'll hurt ourselves", she dabbed at his
bloodied nose with her sleeve. "Lets go home, Allister."
