Part 1

Devan took a moment to wipe sweat from her brow and brush aside a strand of red hair that had strayed in front of her face. Taking a deep breath, she glanced around the room to relax her eyes, after staring at her worktable for several minutes to mix the ingredients of the fire-breathing potion.

Although she found potion making tedious and felt it was a distraction from learning real magic, she knew that she had little choice but to follow the curriculum of the school. Deep down, she understood the necessity of the study and how it would prove useful to her in time. The rigid instruction of the school was the price she had to pay in order to learn the advanced magic available here.

Taking another deep breath, she tried to chase away the edges of exhaustion still plaguing her. She should have completed this potion yesterday, but instead, she'd chosen to put it off in favor of finding some intimate companionship with a merchant passing through the town. Now she had just enough time to finish the potion before presenting it to her instructor at the start of his class.

Picking up the vial containing the final ingredient, she poised it over the bottle to add the two drops that would complete the potion. As soon as she tipped the vial, she knew something was wrong. A drop fell before the liquid reached the lip of the vial. Stifling a curse, she tipped the vial back upright — too late.

The bottle erupted in a hellish conflagration, obscuring Devan's vision and forcing her backwards into the wall of her room. As the flames died down, the twinkling light within a ring on her finger caught her eye. She'd only put on the ring of fire shielding because she liked how it looked. That bit of vanity had saved her from burns that would have penetrated the spell of fire shielding she'd prudently cast around her.

Unfortunately, her room didn't have the same protections. The table smoldered, and her bed was in flames. Quickly speaking the words of a spell, Devan smothered the fires with blasts of ice-cold mists.

Opening her hand, Devan examined the vial she still held. With the illusion now broken by the magical firestorm, she could see the carefully masked hole in the vial. "Aristel," she growled. One of her chief rivals in the school, he also had access to the storage cabinets each student used, due to his position as the instructor's assistant.

Just as she knew who had caused the accident, she also knew why. She'd mastered the chain lightning spell before him, and he hadn't even attempted to mask the hatred on his face. Likewise, she knew she would never be able to prove his guilt in this, his most dangerous retribution so far. Even though he had access to the cabinets, so did many others. The hole could also be explained away as an imperfection in the glass that she had overlooked.

Walking over to the table, she put down the vial on the scarred surface. The finish was ruined, but the table was otherwise undamaged. The bed, however, was a complete loss. She would have to replace that with her own funds.

The sound of laughter prompted her to turn toward her door. She wasn't surprised to see two of Aristel's bootlickers walking down the hall outside. He wouldn't allow anyone to see him in the aftermath of his revenge, but he wanted witnesses. When Devan narrowed her eyes and took a step toward the door, the two young men's mirth immediately faded, and they increased their pace.

By the time Devan stepped out into the hall, the mocking apprentices were already turning a corner at a speed just below a jog. She considered chasing them down and confronting them, but let out an irritated sigh and decided it wasn't worth her time.

"What happened, Devan?"

Devan turned at the sound of the familiar voice to see Mistress Lauren approaching from down the hall. A new instructor, recently arrived, Lauren was the only female on the staff of the school. She was also one of the few who understood — or cared about — the trials Devan endured as the only female student of the school.

"The bastards drilled a hole in my vial and my fire breathing potion blew up in my face. They masked it with an illusion, and I should have noticed it," Devan answered.

"It's fortunate that you're wearing the ring I gave you, then," Lauren remarked, nodding toward the band on Devan's finger.

Devan nodded. "I've got to replace the bed, though. This isn't some harmless prank. If I hadn't been wearing this ring..."

"We'll talk about it later. I'm afraid that a summons is about to sound."

As if on cue, the magical chime echoed throughout the school. This chime ordered every teacher and student to the central courtyard. Devan had never heard it used in earnest, and it didn't bode well.

Smiling, Lauren said, "I'll walk with you, and brush out your hair before we walk out into the courtyard. It's a bit of a fright."

Devan shrugged and said, "I'm not all that worried about it right now."

"I am. There are only two of us here, Devan. We always need to make an impression. Besides, you have such beautiful hair. It's a shame for it to look all frumpy."

Devan nodded her acceptance and sighed. Lauren then took Devan's hand and led her down the hall toward the courtyard.

"She looked like she was about to explode, too," one of the young men informed Aristel.

"Good. Too bad she didn't singe all her hair off," Aristel grumbled under his breath.

"I don't know. I think this is going too far, Aristel," one of the young wizards said with obvious caution in his voice.

Turning on his toady, Aristel fixed him with a hateful stare and said, "Are you going soft on me, Willard? If you breathe a word of this, I'll make sure..."

Holding up his hands defensively, Willard quickly responded, "No. I won't say a word, I promise."

"You'd better not. If I get caught in this, they'll start looking at other things. You'll all go down with me. I promise you that."

Quick promises to maintain their confidence from Aristel's court of hangers-on were cut off by the sound of the summons to the courtyard.

Letting out a little chuckle, Aristel waved and said, "Let's all go pretend to be surprised."

The Master of the school waited a few moments to give any stragglers time to reach the courtyard, and then ascended the dais at the head of the space to address the students and staff. "As you may or may not have heard, there has been a recent rash of theft within the town and surrounding area. All of the stolen goods are magical in nature, and the thief leaves no trace of his or her presence. Magical wards of all sorts have proven no more effective than common locks to prevent this thief from reaching his goal.

"What you likely do not know is that this school now stands in suspicion of those crimes. I have been informed by the mayor of Destindale that accusations against us have surfaced, and are deemed credible by the city council. While I truly believe that none here are guilty of these crimes, I have chosen to assist in proving that to the city council."

"He doesn't know some of his students very well," Devan muttered under her breath, staring daggers into the back of Aristel's head.

Without even turning her head, or appearing to move her lips, Lauren admonished, "Now is not the time. You'll have your opportunity to expose him for what he is."

Still fuming, but understanding the logic of remaining silent in light of the gravity of what she was hearing, Devan pushed her anger down.

Raising his hands to call for silence, the Master of the school continued as soon as the murmurs from the crowd died down. "Therefore, I am closing this campus. I and two trusted Masters will attain necessities from outside the school. Everyone else is to remain on grounds, and not leave under any circumstances. Everything — and everyone — going in or out of this school will now be carefully inspected. Even as I speak, wards are being established to prevent teleportation, illusion, and any other such magic which might allow someone to enter or leave without detection. Once we have proven that none here is involved in these thefts, we will resume normal operations."

Devan let out a frustrated sigh. She'd purposely avoided engaging any of the other students sexually, and had not done so with any of the staff since using her body to gain an audience with the Master in order to enter the school as a student. Now, she would have either to amend that personal rule, or suffer without any sexual satisfaction. In truth, virtually none within the walls struck her fancy, which only made the revelation all the more annoying.

"We will need at least this day and night to lay in the necessary supplies to self-sustain within the campus. Until that time, no personal requests will be honored. Additional information is provided in documents which each of you shall find in your rooms upon your return. I trust this necessity will not last long, but it will be strictly enforced so long as necessary." With that, the Master stepped down from the dais.

"Come, Devan," Lauren instructed.

"What am I supposed to do now? My bed is a burnt up husk. Something tells me that they aren't going to consider that a necessity right now," Devan grumbled as she followed Lauren out of the courtyard.

"You are correct. I do have a solution, however, if you are willing to share my quarters?" Lauren turned to Devan with a smile.

"You have an extra bed?"

Lauren chuckled. "No, but my bed is far larger than those provided to the students. I transported my own when I arrived here. It should be large enough for us to share until you can move back into your quarters. We could discuss magic and your troubles with Aristel more frequently, as well. I also have a bath — a real one that you can stretch out and relax in."

"That's a hard offer to refuse," Devan admitted.

"Then don't."

"Thank you, Mistress Lauren."

Reaching the door to her quarters, Lauren opened it and said, "I leave Mistresshanging on the door in my private quarters. Here, I am simply Lauren." Reaching inside to a table, she retrieved a key and handed it to Devan. "Until you can return to your own quarters, consider mine home. Go fetch what you need from your room, and then we'll work on completing your fire breathing potion before Master Clurent calls you to class again."

Devan accepted the key and said, "I'll be back in a minute. I'll just throw enough things in a bag to get through the night and worry about the rest later. I want to finish that potion so I can actually work on something worthwhile."

"I'll have everything ready when you return," Lauren said as she walked into her room.

"There. Finished with nary an explosion," Lauren said as she sat back in her chair.

"Thanks for the help. I'd have needed three hands to finish this so quickly."

"It is my pleasure. Why don't you take advantage of my bath? I should say that you've earned it — and you still smell a bit of smoke." Lauren's crooked grin indicated that the last was as much jest as truth.

Letting out a little laugh, Devan said, "I think I will. I haven't had a real bath in a long time."

"I believe I'll turn in and read for a while. I haven't taken much opportunity to relax of late, either." Seeing Devan walking toward a bucket, Lauren laughed and said, "No need for that. I only keep the bucket for carrying vegetables from the market. The tub is powered by magic. You only need to touch the red and blue rune marks to fill the tub with water of whatever temperature you desire."

"You'll have to show me how you made it. I'm going to have one of my own some day, when I've made a place for myself."

Lauren scoffed and said, "Such is not my area of expertise. This was a gift. I will be glad to tell you her name, however."

"That's even better," Devan said and laughed. It took only a few seconds of experimentation to discern the workings of the tub, and Devan soon had it filled with steaming water.

Turning back to her host, Devan saw Lauren turning down her bed after preparing a glass of water and a bowl of fruit on the bedside table. Reaching for the ties of her robe, Devan had to fight down a moment of self-consciousness. Inwardly, she chuckled at the absurdity of her feelings. If Lauren were a man, she wouldn't have even thought twice before removing her robe. She knew that her body had a power over men, and thus felt no hesitation in letting one see her unclad. Alone with a woman, however, she didn't feel the sense of power and succumbed to the natural feelings of awkwardness instilled in her by her conservative upbringing.

Finding the whole thing ridiculous, Devan fought through the feeling and removed her robe. Letting it pool to the floor, she then stepped out of her panties and stretched out the kinks in her muscles before ascending the two short steps to enter the tub.

Across the room, Lauren drank in the sight of Devan's body. From the moment she'd arrived here at the school to teach, she'd sought to find a way to discern whether the redhead harbored any attraction for members of her own sex. She well knew Devan's hunger for men, and wondered if she might have an equal appetite for a woman. Now, she felt she had the opportunity to look for those signs, and perhaps nurture them.

Beneath her robe, Lauren's nipples stiffened to pebble-hard points. Between her legs, an aching tingle assaulted her. The momentary glimpses of Devan's full, firm breasts and the fine view of the redhead's heart-shaped bottom stoked Lauren's passions to a roaring flame. When Devan bent at the top of the stairs to test the water once more — revealing her sex trimmed in short red curls in silhouette against a light beyond the tub — Lauren could not suppress a slight shiver of desire or the need to touch her own tingling sex.

As Devan sank into the water with a content sigh, Lauren untied her robe. As she let it fall to the floor, she said, "I know it isn't easy being a woman and using magic. I experienced much of what you are enduring when I was a young woman studying the Art. I believe you have the strength of character and skill to succeed, however." She dropped her panties to the floor as she finished.

Looking up as the older brunette spoke; Devan couldn't help but notice the woman's body. Though Devan knew Lauren was at least forty years old, she hardly looked it. Her perky breasts still rode high and firm, with the tips sticking out — from the sudden shock of the cooler air, Devan assumed. When Lauren dropped her panties and reached into a drawer for nightclothes, Devan's eyes were drawn to the brunette's smooth-shaven sex.

The sight was somewhat disconcerting, and yet somehow intriguing. Devan absently wondered how she might look with the carefully manicured curls removed from her own mound. It was only when Lauren turned back with her nightgown that Devan realized she was staring and hadn't responded. "I know I can do it. I'm better than half of the other students already."

Her first test having yielded a positive sign, Lauren smiled and pulled on her nightdress. The thin material did little to hide the evidence of her erect nipples. "That's the spirit. You have to have more confidence and skill than most to manage in such a male-dominated world."

Propping up a pillow against the headboard on one side of the bed, Lauren slipped beneath the covers and picked up a book. Putting on a pair of glasses, she said, "Just touch the silver rune when you're finished, it will drain the tub. You can stay up as late as you wish. I'm capable of sleeping through a calamity, let alone a guest."

"I'll probably just go to bed. I have a test in targeted spell casting tomorrow," Devan responded as she wet her hair.

"A wise decision. Enjoy your bath." Though appearing to read her book, Lauren actually watched each and every moment of Devan's bath, relying upon the enchantment of the glasses to mask her actions. As the magical glasses hid her eyes, so too did the mundane bed coverings and the bend of her legs hide her hand as it crept between her legs to massage her folds.

She knew that she would push the boundaries even more in the days to come.

In a hissed whisper, Aristel urged, "Hurry up."

"We're going to get caught. We should just wait until the Master lifts the restrictions," one of the other apprentices suggested as he oiled the hinges of the old cellar exit.

"I'm not waiting," Aristel replied. "We're not going to get caught. Nobody even remembers that this is here. The wards won't prevent us from using invisibility once we're outside in the bushes, and you can't see anything through them. Now stop acting like a woman."

"Fine, you go then. I'm not risking it," the other apprentice whispered.

"Me either, it isn't worth it."

"Go back to your beds then. Perhaps the Master will come tuck you in like the little girls that you are." Pushing upward on the cellar entrance, Aristel found that it made only a momentary squeak. Raising and lowering the door several times after the initial push confirmed that the oil had worked to silence the rusty hinges. Turning back to the other two young men, he said, "Don't forget to sweep away our tracks with a cantrip and put the boards back in place under my bed. If I get caught because of you two idiots, I'll make sure that you go down with me."

With that, Aristel climbed up out of the cellar and closed the door behind him. A few whispered words later, he crept through the night under the cover of an invisibility spell.

Word quickly circulated through the school the next morning that another theft had occurred in the night.

"So, do you think that the Master will let us out now?"

Lauren shook her head as she combed her hair. "No, I'm afraid it will take more than a single obvious example to convince those who accuse us."

Devan didn't suppress her exasperated sigh. "Wonderful."

"I know it's frustrating, but perhaps something positive can come of this unfortunate confinement," Lauren offered, hoping that something very positive might occur between her and the beautiful redhead.

"I'm not going to hold my breath," Devan muttered as she pulled out a clean robe and panties from the bag she'd brought from her chambers.

"Your nightgown is rather daring," Lauren couldn't help but say, loving the way the thin material hugged Devan's buttocks and breasts.

Now feeling at ease with Lauren, Devan twitched her eyebrows and struck an outrageous pose. "The boys like it, when they get to see it."

Lauren laughed and said, "Ah, to be young again."

"You're hardly a crone," Devan said in an offhand way as she pulled off the nightgown. "You're only as old as you feel, and I've seen more than one man watching you as you walk down the halls."

"Oh, I know. Some of the lusty glances I've noticed are rather distracting. There are several handsome young men studying here. Have any caught your eye?"

Devan smiled as she pulled on her panties. "I decided I'm not going to get involved with anyone studying here."

What about someone teaching here? Lauren silently wondered. "A wise decision, and exactly why I make a point not to encourage those glances, no matter how flattering. It has made for some rather interesting dreams, however."

"Well, dreams don't count," Devan said and punctuated it with a chuckle. She then sighed and said, "That may be all that I have for a while."

Not if I have anything to say about it. Checking her hair one last time in the mirror, Lauren then said, "I'll see you this evening when I've finished with my classes."

Devan nodded as she finished tying her robe. Lauren left for her classroom while Devan fixed her hair in preparation for her test. Even though the test would be outside in the courtyard, and her hair would likely be a mess by the time it was over, she had no intention of letting it start that way.

As soon as her red locks were in place, Devan picked up her sack of spell components and made her way to the courtyard. A few of her fellow students were already present, but the largest group was arriving at the same time as Devan. As soon as the stragglers arrived in the courtyard, the instructor in offensive magic ascended the dais to begin the test.

Student after student took their turn, most performing well, but none hitting every target in the timed test. Devan watched Aristel and his two hangers-on as much as her fellow apprentices hurling their spells. The three young men leaned in close, whispering and frequently glancing around to ensure nobody was listening.

Glancing about as well, Devan inconspicuously touched an earring she wore — a gift from a lover — activating its enchantment. She let out a little snort of frustration when some ward around the three young men prevented her eavesdropping magic from working. She noticed that Aristel looked weary, as though he had not slept well.

Devan's lips curled up into a smile. If her nemesis was tired, he might not have an easy time with today's test. Well-rested and confident in her ability, she believed that she might just have an opportunity to show up the arrogant wizard today as a measure of revenge for his vial-swapping trick.

When Aristel's turn arrived, Devan thought at first that she had somehow misread the young man, as he hit every target with skill and speed. Hope surged within her when his final magical missile missed the target, just grazing the edge. While no other student had managed to even touch the difficult target, which required the caster to guide his or her missile in flight through a series of obstacles, Aristel's miss was still unusual.

Devan's call came last, of course. This instructor shared the view of Aristel and many others in the school — women had no place studying the Art. He always made a point to call her first or last, to ensure that any mistakes she made stood out. Much to his chagrin, she usually disappointed him. He wore just the faintest hints of a smug smile today, as she had yet to succeed in hitting the final two targets in this test previously.

Devan took her place wearing an equally smug smile. She had been practicing — frequently — and had rarely missed a target in the last few weeks. The words of her spells tumbled from her lips in strong, confident tones. Her gestures were flawless, and performed with the grace of a dancer. Each of her missiles struck the target dead center, and she had extra time remaining to take care with her final two difficult shots.

She ignored the chance to take a breath and launched into her spell immediately.

Her next missile also struck the target in a cascade of sparks at the bulls-eye. Once again disregarding the time available to her, Devan launched her next missile. Concentrating, she guided the mystic bolt through the obstacles, striking the target. The shot was a little off-center of the bulls-eye, but easily as close as any strike Aristel had ever made.

Surprised — and in some cases reluctant — applause rose up from the gathered students. Devan nodded to her fellow apprentices, and then took a bow, ensuring that she made eye contact with both her instructor and Aristel as she did. Aristel's face was red with rage, and Devan could see the veins standing out in his neck even from across the courtyard.