Chapter 3

As usual, Crissa's cooking, while uninspired, was of high quality and large quantity. Old Marrat, as often as not, took his meals in his study, and this evening, he did, as well, leaving the three young folks to the small kitchen table. Crissa sat across from Peris, wedging the unfortunate Wenn between them.

"What is it like being wizards?" asked Peris, looking from one apprentice to the other, her Hazel eyes darting between them.

Crissa coughed slightly into a hastily clutched napkin and Wenn smiled weakly. "We're not both wizards, technically," he explained. "I am studying wizardry, but my dear Crissa is studying mentalism."

Peris' eyes narrowed slightly. "There's a difference?" she asked.

The blond girl giggled. "Very much so," she said. "Wenn's powers are learned by formula, mine are inborn. I don't cast 'spells' per se."

The noble's daughter thought a moment. "You're a sorceress?" she asked.

Crissa's eyes fell slightly. "Yes, you could call me that."

"I won't though," pronounced Peris. "I know most who bear that name are dark creatures."

A smile came to Crissa's lips. "Thank you," she said.

They ate in silence for long moments. "What sort of natural powers do you have?" asked Peris, finally.

"I hesitate to say freely, Peris," said Crissa. "Many would grow uncomfortable around me if they knew. I will say that I foresee things on the occasion, and that I can sometimes make people act slightly against their nature."

"You can charm?" asked Peris, her entire face becoming animated.

Crissa laughed heartily, even Wenn smiled some. "Far from that," she said. "I can put one little piece of an emotion into a person's head that was not there, or amplify one that is. I cannot even do any emotion, only a few of them."

"Like?" pressed Peris, obviously determined to see how far she could pry into Crissa's mind.

"Well, let's see," said Crissa, "hunger, fear, anger, lust, trust. Maybe a few more, by combining those."

Peris thought for another long moment. "Then you did put those two lads up to buggery in the town square!" she declared, her face suffused with mirth. "They were asses, and probably deserved every dram of derision that befell them."

Crissa blushed deep crimson. "I overstepped my place," she said quietly. "Please do not spread it about."

The expression on Peris' face grew serious in an instant. "I won't, promise."

"Thanks again," said the apprentice sorceress. "It would cause me no end of grief if it were known I could perform such subtle manipulations."

Wenn smiled at the two young women. "I have finally learned a spell with some flair," he announced, hoping to bring the conversation back to happier things.

The young noblewoman's eyes turned to him. "And what is that, young wizard?" she asked.

With a few words, he lifted his hand above the edge of the table, and a glowing orb of light appeared in it. He held it before his face, the light casting odd shadows then blew it toward Peris. It wafted toward her, like a soap bubble, bobbing and weaving with the air currents.

Peris giggled in delight at it came near to her. "May I touch it?" she asked.

"There's a question Wenn loves to hear," observed Crissa, smiling.

Wenn flicked his eyes toward Crissa, winking mischievously at her. "Of course, take it, it isn't so frail as it seems."

Peris reached out, and touched the glowing sphere, it tried to move from the air currents from her hand, but she managed to catch it with her slender fingertips. "It's quite hard," she observed. Crissa and Wenn both broke out in laughter, immediately followed by Peris as she caught her own double-meaning.

Marrat meandered through the kitchen as they finished their laughter and dropped his plate and fork into the washbasin. He raised one bushy eyebrow at the snickering youths and continued on back into the study.

Crissa had been keeping her mind guarded against emotional feedback most of the evening, wishing to give her companions privacy of their thoughts. However, she was still new to the art, and as she giggled, her control slipped for a short time. Again, she felt a powerful wash of desire for her. It came, still, from Peris. This made her very nervous, for she did not think she desired the company of other women. Peris was also desirous of Wenn, and that she decided to work with, rather than let the girl's liking of her bloom into something she could never reciprocate.

The three cleared up their dishes after the tubers and mutton, then headed up to their tower room again. This time, however, Crissa led them further up a folding ladder onto the roof. Atop their room was a flat expanse of wood, with high crenelating about it. It was one of her favorite places. The view upward was uninterrupted by other structures, and the stars glimmered down upon them.

Light still flowed from Peris' hand, where she clutched the little globe. "How long will it last?" she asked Wenn.

"Perhaps three or four days," he said. "I will make you another if you wish it."

She giggled. "It's really neat to hold a ball of light," said Peris, holding it out at arm's length, then dropping it. It slowly descended toward the roof, wafting about in the currents of the outdoor breezes. She deftly snatched it out of the air, holding it beneath her chin, casting inverted shadows upon her pretty face. "I wish to see more of your powers, both of you, if you would."

Crissa jumped at the opportunity, thinking to nip the matter of the girl's attraction to her in the bud. "I can show you mine, but you must be warned that I will not be responsible for your actions."

The young noblewoman smiled. "Okay, ' she said, looking at Crissa. Even with her mind somewhat blocked, she felt the waves of desire flowing from Peris.

"Very well, I will use Wenn as my test subject," said Crissa, sitting upon the wooden rooftop and crossing her legs. "You two sit facing one another."

Wenn flashed her a slightly worried look, then caught her wink toward him. He sat slowly, following Peris' lead, who was already eagerly sitting and looking up at him with her large green-brown eyes and a larger smile.

"Look into one another's eyes," instructed Crissa, opening her mind fully and reaching forth with it. She brushed against Peris' mind, a mind of chaotic thoughts and turmoil loomed there. On the other side, she touched Wenn's ever more disciplined mind. It was regimented and growing more so by the day, she found. She liked the tidiness of his thoughts and memories.

Sifting through Peris' thoughts, she found one of Wenn. She traced it back along braided filaments to the seat of her attractions. Seeing herself there was disconcerting, once again, and she purposely did not look too closely, and only peripherally saw the varied fantasies that already nestled within those desires. Wenn's orderly mind she knew well, and immediately found the seat of his desires. There she was pleased to see herself, and memories of her own smiles and moans of pleasure. She found an image flickering of Peris, though, as she knew she would.

Grabbing the image of Wenn in Peris' mind and the image of Peris in Wenn's mind, she pulled them forth to the front and stretched them large. Any blemishes or things they saw which they found unappealing she blotted out or subtly changed to make each the very picture of something to be desired to one another.

It took longer to think of what she was doing than to do it. In an instant, to both the others on the roof, their worlds shrank down to a point, at the center of each's point was the other. She smiled as the expression on Peris' face became softer and her eyes started to glitter. Wenn's expression, too, became that of a smitten young man. Right now, to each other's eyes, each was the most beautiful person they had ever seen, and in this instant, would ever see.

Crissa, in a small way, wished the effect were permanent. People seemed so happy when they became besotted with another. It was fleeting though, a few hours at most, if she chose to let it slip away of its own accord. She could reinforce it, but it became progressively harder to do so over time, eventually reaching a point of diminishing returns that left her exhausted and the two subjects of her powers completely resistant to her for many days.

Wenn tentatively reached out a hand and touched Peris' cheek. "So beautiful," he said, softly, knowing he was ensorcled did not stop it being his truth for now.

She cooed at the touch and touched his cheek as well. He kissed her palm as it came into reach. Peris sighed at the kiss and leaned toward Wenn, his lips came up from the palm and met hers as she approached. A long, slow embrace followed, each of them pressing together from their knees to their lips, where they had risen from the timbers of the roof.

The little globe of light rolled in the breezes upon the rooftop, forgotten and neglected, casting odd shadows about as it bounced over the uneven boards. Crissa had thought she might feel jealousy actually watching Wenn kiss another girl, but found she did not, on the contrary, she was quite enjoying the sight of her lover taking pleasure in another.

Peris' hand slipped down between them and moved over his pants. Wenn pulled his hips back a little and she gripped his erection. Glancing down Peris said, "I've never touched a manhood before. Leastwise since I've been grown."

The demonstration had gone far enough, Crissa decided. Still she was not envious, simply did not wish Peris to embarrass herself afterward, nor blame Crissa for letting it go too far.

Slowly, to avoid shocking their minds, she untethered the perfected images of one another and let them fade away. In a moment, Peris pulled back from Wenn, smiling coyly and still holding his organ. "Oh, my, but that's a power, to be sure," she said, releasing his stiff member and blushing a dark crimson.

Wenn grinned at her. "I've to put up with her doing that all the time," he explained. "Not that I mind."

Crissa smiled and sat back on her haunches. "How far would you have gone, Peris, had I not stopped?"

Peris looked at her levelly. "I'd have given myself to him, fully," she said, "father be damned." She shook her head, sending her short cropped hair flying, then looked at Crissa again. "That's a terrible and wondrous power you have, Crissa."

The sorceress nodded. "Which is why I beg you to not to speak of it to others," she said.

"I will not, to be certain," said Peris, looking at the hand that had been gripping Wenn's shaft. "I cannot believe I became so emboldened."

Wenn chuckled. "She did not release the half of what she could," he said.

Peris' eyes grew round. "You can do more than that?" she asked.

"Much," said Crissa, though her eyes were looking at the orb of light. "I do not wish to unleash that upon you, though."

They sat quietly for a long moment again. "May I come back on the morrow?" asked Peris. "I know you two do not attend the academy then, but I wish to visit."

The briefest flicker of glances went between Wenn and Crissa. "Yes, we'd like that," said Wenn, rising and offering the two young women a hand to their feet.

"It grows late, and they will be securing the dormitory soon," said Peris, looking toward the distant clock tower and collecting her light sphere.

"We will walk you there," said Crissa.

Peris walked a short distance from the entry to the dorms with Crissa. "I'm amazed at your abilities, Crissa," she said. "I can't believe with but a though from you, I kissed and grabbed a man's parts."

Crissa giggled. "As you said, more could have happened, but I'd not do that to a friend."

"Unless I wished it?" asked the young noblewoman.

Crissa blinked a few times. "Why would you wish it, but be unable to do it without my help?"

Peris shrugged. "Just a thought. Good night, Crissa." With that, she leaned inward and kissed Crissa's cheek, then they returned to Wenn and she gave the young man a brief hug. "Good night, Wenn, see you tomorrow." Then she entered the massive bronze-sheathed doors into the dormitory.

The two started to walk back to Marrat's home. "What did you think of her?" asked Crissa.

"I think you almost let us go too far," said Wenn, a touch sourly.

Crissa took his hand, and brought it to her lips. "I'm sorry, lover," she whispered. "Would it help if I said I took pleasure in seeing the two of you together?"

Wenn blinked at her. "Did you?" he asked.

The apprentice sorceress said, "It was actually rather arousing to see two others in that state, perhaps my control isn't so fine as I thought and I felt some backlash."

The young man nodded. "Perhaps that's it," he said, sounding rather unconvinced.

They moved closer together and put their arms about one another, their paces matching and walking in step. "I love you, Wenn," whispered Crissa.

The apprentice wizard smiled and said words, summoning another little glowing orb to his fingertips. As Crissa's eyes glittered in the reflected light of the ball, he changed it to the blushing red of a rose, or more ominously, blood. "And I love you, beautiful Crissa," he said.

She took the orb from him and kissed it. The red highlighted her features in stark contrasts of red and black. For the briefest of moments, she was both lovely and frightening, her blue eyes turned violet and the whites crimson. Though he recovered quickly, Crissa saw a look of slight dismay upon Wenn's features.

"What?" she asked.

Wenn chuckled. "Red isn't your color."

She smiled and held the ball out to him. "Then turn it 'my' color, my lover."

He took it and with a single word, it changed to golden, like her hair. She smiled as she took it from him again and kissed the new color. This time no phantoms jumped from behind a mask of beauty at Wenn, and her smile was simply beautiful.

"Much better," he declared.

Wenn lay beside Crissa, wiggling his toes up at the ceiling. "Where'd you learn that trick?" he asked. "I've never had a girl put a finger up there before."

With a giggle, Crissa said, "Let a girl have her secrets, darling."

He sighed contentedly, smiling at the beautiful blond beside him. "You're so lovely, and need no glamor to be so."

"Easily said after you've taken me," said Crissa, smiling gently and toying with the glowing orb of golden light. "If but I were a real wizard. I could create little wonders like this light." She held it over her mouth and blew it upward and watched it descend toward her waiting fingers again, slowly bobbing and quivering on the warmth that came off her body.

Leaning up on one elbow, Wenn said, "Don't envy my powers, Crissa, for yours are greater, subtler, and far more worth respect."

Crissa held up the orb. "Don't give yourself short shrift, Wenn. I was born with these abilities, you worked hard and became able to manipulate magic by sheer force of will. I'm more than impressed."

Wenn leaned over and kissed her and she dropped the orb, returning his embrace. Slowly, and gently, they began making love again.

"I would advise you, Senior Lentan, to move aside," said Peris, glaring for all she was worth at the young man over a foot taller than she.

The tall youth chuckled. "Or what?" he said. "You're little wizard boyfriend will punch me?"

"Wenn might just do that," she said, "though I wager he could do far worse to the likes of you."

Lentan had caught her off campus, on her way to Marrat's house. There would be no faculty to stop him accosting her, she knew. It annoyed her that he would do so within sight of the old wizard's home, and yet she would get no help from passers by, not with Lentan being a nephew of the very Duke of Morrovale. Cherle's father may not pull much weight, so far from his domain, but Lentan's uncle certainly did.

The young nobleman laughed at her. "With any luck, perhaps your father will promise you to me, then I could show you what a man does," he said, menacingly. "I think I will write my father this very night about a girl who has caught my eye."

A clutching at her heart caused her to wince. "No," she said. She had no doubt the spoiled brat of Lentan would have his way if he were to write his father such a note. Her father was very old, and should he die, the man who married her would stand to become the heir, as he had no sons. No doubt, the cunning Baron Wennerlan, Lentan's father, would happily wed his son off to her to position Lentan to become the Baron of Westfold.