Chapter 20: Conversations

“So, what do you think of my house?” Henry asked Moon Potter.

The art teacher sighed, “I’ve only seen two rooms, but they’re both big and drab, with gray walls and little decoration. The Thanksgiving decorations have been cute, but seem old.”

“They are old. I have a room that stores the items that used to fill this house.”

“Why were they removed?” asked Moon.

The sorcerer sighed, “You know little about me. Now is the time you learn.

“I have lived many lives, switching into a younger body when the old one wears out. Each time I do this, I like to start everything anew; a clean slate, if you will. So, before my old life ended I ordered June to remove all décor items from the house, and take them to that storage room.”

“Why haven’t you started redecorating?” asked Moon, after taking a moment to absorb what she’d just been told.

“I have many strengths, and only a few weaknesses. One of those is the fact that I have little artistic sensibility. I am perfectly happy with these gray walls. But as people besides me are starting to live here again, I need to put on a livelier, less dull appearance.”

The teacher nodded, “I agree.”

“That is where you come in. How would you like to work for me as my interior decorator?”

Moon was stunned, “Why me?”

“I like you,” said Henry, “And my girls like you. And I can tell that you are frustrated teaching art to students most of whom have little or no artistic talent.”

She could not deny what he said.

“I will give you an unlimited canvas to decorate rooms however you want. You will have plenty of time to work on all those art projects you have wanted to create, but haven’t had the time to pursue.”

The teacher tried to come up with an objection, “I have an obligation to my classes.”

“Until the end of the semester, yes; but a month from now, you can quit, and come work for me.”

Suspicion raised its head. “What is involved in me working for you? Am going to have to be part of your harem?”

“Definitely not; you will be working under the supervision of Maxwell.”

“That little boy?” she asked incredulously.

“There is more to him than you think. You will work with me in creating works of art in these rooms.

“You will be obligated to work for me for six months. After that you can quit at any time.”

“Let me think about it,” she said, finally.

“I’m going to show you my harem’s room. I’ve rebuilt it from memory of what was in it before. I think you’ll find it interesting.”

He escorted her out to the hallway, and down to room 4L. “I will let you use my abilities to your artistic advantage. I think you’ll find my magic a unique tool.”

Henry opened the door to a large white room. It was brightly lit, with a soft warm breeze wafting through it. In front of them were two rows of five white platforms. Each one was three feet high and twelve feet square. The space between the rows was only three feet, making it comfortable for one person to walk down the aisle, but two had to turn sideways to pass each other. On top of each platform were four white eight-foot-high poles at each corner. They supported curtain rods. Each curtain was sheer white gauze that was almost transparent. At the time, all the curtains were pulled back. In the center of each platform was a thick white mattress, ten feet square.

On the first platform to the right, May was lying on the mattress, testing it out.

“Do you like your new bed?” asked Henry to her.

His apprentice nodded, “Oh yes, Master. I just can’t figure out where the head is, though.”

“That’s the idea. You can sleep whatever way you want. Any direction you want to sleep is fine.”

Between each bed in each row was another three-foot gap.

“Isn’t it a little crowded?” asked Moon.

“I designed it so the girls can go from bed to bed without having to climb down then back up again.”

At the end of the fifth pair of platforms was another door. “Through there are their personal rooms, a game room and a small theatre, where they can watch TV and movies. There is also a large bathroom.”

The flat white ceiling had five large square holes, to let light in, and was held up by four large twenty-foot-high white pillars in each corner. While the front and back walls were solid white, there were no walls to the left or right. Moon only saw blue sky from both sides.

While the nine girls were all busy claiming their beds, Sylphonia, the elf, had done some exploring. She was standing by the right side of the bedroom. “Girls! Come look at this!” she called.

The harem responded to her call, and joined her.

The building, it turned out, was on the top of a hill, which was covered with flowers and bushes. A wide path curved to the left, down to the bottom of the hill. At the bottom of the hill was a large pond about fifty feet across, surrounded by palm trees, which shaded nine lounge chairs. Beyond this oasis, all that could be seen was endless sand. The afternoon sun blazed to the west, but the dry heat was not oppressive.

The girls let out a whoop and headed down the path. It was steep enough that you could not walk it slowly. It had to be descended at controlled trot.

“How much of this is real?” asked the awed Moon.

“All of it is real, except for the sky and the surrounding sand. I set the sky so it copies the positioning at home. There is no bad weather here, of course; always clear skies and soft breezes. At night, you should see the stars! With no outside lights, you can see thousands of them.”

“Where did you get those large palm trees?” she asked.

“The Sahara is slowly expanding, destroying lands that were once fertile. I rescued them from a once lush oasis near Timbuktu in Mali.”

“This is very impressive, I have to admit.”

“I am just copying what was here before. After my last harem died, I let the illusions fail and all the plants die. This place was a mess before I rehabilitated it.”

Several girls were shrieking as they splashed in the cool water. Sylphonia had stripped off her clothes and was joining the others in the pond.

Henry motioned to the teacher, “Come with me, you could join in the fun.”

Moon shook her head, “You have given me too much to think about, for me to frolic.” None the less, she did follow the sorcerer down the path.”

Looking up from the bottom, it was obvious that there was a path leading down from the left side of the building, mirroring the right.

“You will have free reign in all my rooms. Your creativity can run wild.”

The art teacher closed her eyes and shook her head, “I need to think.”

“Well, think quickly. As soon as you leave my house, this job offer expires.”

She sat down on a lounge chair, under the shade of a palm tree, and thought. “How much will I be paid?” she asked finally.

“In addition to free room and board, I will pay you ten times what you are making now, in either cash or gold bullion.”

The amount of money stunned her. Suddenly, her objections seemed to melt away. “I accept,” she said.

Henry held out his hand, and she shook it. “Very good; I will have a contract written up for you sign on the day of December twenty-fourth, the first day of winter vacation.”

Moon nodded and turned to walk back up the hill to the harem’s bedroom.

“When you go through the door leaving this room, you’ll find yourself back at school,” Henry called after her.

She nodded her head and waved in reply.

As she walked up the hill, the art teacher started to have second thoughts. Maybe her greed got the better of her and she had decided hastily. Still, with a child coming, she needed some extra money to get ready. Six months working for Henry would put her just a month or two before she delivers, and that would work out nicely.

Henry settled back in a lounge chair and closed his eyes. He sighed as he basked in the mottled sunlight, filtering through the palm leaves.

“Ahem,” said a feminine voice, looking down at him.

Looking down at him was his tallest slave, the senior blonde, Iris.

“Yes?” he said, with his eyes open just a slit.

“I-I need to talk to you,” she said.

“About what?” Henry asked, opening his eyes in full.

The blue-eyed blonde fell to her knees beside him, putting herself down at his level. “I’m getting stupider, aren’t I?” she whispered, keeping the level below the level of the shrieking girls frolicking in the pond.

The sorcerer did not change his posture or expression, “Why would you say that?”

She winced, “Everyone knows it. People are just too nice to tell me.

“All those advanced classes I am taking; I don’t understand what they are talking about any more. I look at the notes I had written before I ... don’t understand them. They are in my handwriting, but they might as well be in another language.”

Henry sat up, “Sometimes, when you use magic, there are unexpected side effects. Unfortunately, you are one of them.”

Tears started to form in her eyes, “Why me?”

He smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, “You were what they today call an Alpha Female. You were a born leader, head of the student council. You had a sharp and focused mind, destined to do great things.

“When you got enslaved by me that changed; you were no longer the leader. You were a member of a true democracy. You became a voice in a chorus, and not even a lead singer. The leader was nerdy girl you would never have given a second look.”

“I love May!” she protested.

“But think back. You must have seen her in the halls before. Did you ever think, ‘Gee, that girl looks like someone to know’?”

Iris, closed her eyes and shook her head. “No,” she whispered.

“As well you shouldn’t. She’s two years younger than you, and part of a different clique.

“This sudden change of status, as well as the fact that your vast fount of knowledge has little use in a harem, has had a bigger effect on you than the other girls. It has created a magical backlash that I didn’t foresee.”

“I-I think I understand,”

“This has happened before. The last time was four harems ago. It wasn’t as drastic as your case, but still similar.”

The tears finally burst. She bawled and fell into her master’s arms. “What am I going to do? I had applied to Harvard, Princeton, and M.I.T. Now, I don’t think I am ready to go to community college.”

Several of the other girls noticed Iris’s wail and headed toward their sister.

“It’s okay!” he called out. “This is between just Iris and me.”

The harem returned to the pond.

The sorcerer returned his attention to his blonde slave. “What use would a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics be in a harem?” Henry asked, whispering in her ear. “You need to forget all your former aspirations, and think only on what you have now?”

“Aspir- what?” she asked.

“Your former dreams,” Henry said smiling kindly. “You are part of a family. Your sisters love you dearly. Anyone of them would sacrifice their life for you.”

“And I’d do the same for them.”

“Of course, you would. And even if you were to become as dumb as a kindergartener, your sisters will still love you.”

“Do you love me, Master?” the blonde asked shyly.

This caused him to pause, “I am very fond of you all, Iris. But I will not allow myself to love anymore.

“I have lived dozens of lifetimes. I’ve see thousands of people I have known come and go. At first, I was devastated by the loss of loved ones. I soon realized that if I truly loved someone, they would always die on me. It was too painful. Since then I have never given my heart to anyone.”

“You poor man!” Iris exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek.

“It’s not so bad. Just one of the prices you have to pay when you’re immortal.”

Iris kissed him again, this time full on his mouth. Her tongue dove into his mouth, intertwining with his.

“Will you fuck me, Master?” she asked breathlessly.

“It would be my pleasure,” he replied. “This time, why don’t you be on top?”

This startled Iris, “That ... that would be a nice change.”

Even with her long legs, straddling the wooden lounge chair was not practical. So, the blonde got on her knees, with him on the chair. She had to raise a leg to get Henry’s big cock inside her.

The senior let out a moan, “Ohhh! You still stretch me, just like the first time, Master.”

“I know. Now, ride me hard, or I’ll have to take over.”

She nodded and started bouncing up and down rapidly.

“Deeper! You need to take all my cock.”

“I’m trying!” she cried.

Henry let out a sigh, “Lean back, I’m taking over.”

“I’m sorry, Master,” Iris said, lying back on wooden lounge chairs.

“Not your fault,” he said with a grunt. “You just don’t know how to please me yet.”

Leaning forward, the sorcerer started fucking his taller slave with long hard strokes. “You see? This is what I wanted from you.”

“I see!” she cried out, as her pussy was pounded. “I’ll do better next time. I promise.”

The constant assault caused Iris’ passion to rise. “I’m about to come, Master,” she moaned.

“See if you can hold it back. I don’t want you to come until I do.”

“I’ll try, Master.”

The blonde closed her eyes. Panting, she tried to hold back her orgasm, as Henry continued to pound her pussy hard and deep.

“Oh God! I’m sorry, Master.” She let loose. Her body shook as she came violently.

Right after her, Henry came, shooting his load deep into her.

“I really tried,” said Iris. Tears started to form in her eyes.

Her master pulled out of her, “It’s okay. You just need to practice more.”

“It is so much easier beating off. But when I’m with you, I get hot so quickly, it is hard to control myself.”

Another voice interrupted their conversation, it was Bonnie. The blonde freshman said, “Are you going to share your cock with anyone else, Master?”