A Scandal of a Magical Sort Ch. 02

A knock broke his concentration, and Mels looked in front of him to find the peep window still closed. Another knock drew his attention back toward the opened blinds. Leaning forward to look through, he saw a kobold with baby blue scales smiling back at him. She was wearing nothing but a tiny leather bra and loincloth, doing little to cover up his pear-shaped body. She waved at him through the window, and Mels shyly waved back. She then fogged the glass with her breath, drew a heart in it, then licked it off sensually. He could feel himself getting aroused at the sight, and he was saved from coming up with a response as the carriage finally started to move again. The kobold gave a pout, and blew him a kiss before walking away, putting an exaggerated sway to her wide hips, joining a group of similar-looking kobolds. Mels watched her wide, wobbling ass, which was absolutely not covered by her thin loincloth for a few precious seconds as she disappeared into the crowd. Mels slowly, watching the window, closed the wooden blinds.

--

The rest of the journey through the city was uneventful, stepping out into the courtyard in front of Gawain's Keep, Mels blinked and found himself ferried into an overly decorated waiting room. He, Christi, and Aylala sat on a sofa in the middle of the room in silence. They took in the enormous floor-to-ceiling window that bathed the room in sunlight, causing all the golden baubles, frames, and inlays on furniture to gleam brightly. 

Christi laid back far enough to let her head hang off the back. "Ugh, what's taking the King so long? I wish I could take Amber in here with me."

Mels thought for a moment who she was referring to, then turned to her with a knowing smile. "Mead?"

Christi grinned, before sitting up straight again. "And he hounded us to be on time?" she said to Aylala, who remained silent and stoic. Almost on cue, a door opened at the end of the room, and all three turned to see a pale-faced man in fancy robes and collar escorted by a caped guard. He walked towards them as if he was walking on water before sitting on the sofa opposite them.

"Madam Aylala, I'm pleased to see that you have no intention to disappoint the crown with tardiness" he spoke in a smooth accent. Mels resisted the urge to scoff. "And remind me, who are these two with you?"

"Grand Advisor Symon, these are my two apprentices, Melyssi and Christine. The House sent word ahead of time that they would be accompanying me."

"Ah yes, the House, never to turn down aspiring adolescents, in spite of the urgency of his majesty's request?"

"I assure you, Grand Advisor, that they only seek to help, not hinder. Isn't that right?" Aylala turned to Mels and Christi for a response, and both simply nodded in sync.

"You should count yourself lucky for His Majesty's generosity in allowing this bloat, despite my insistence on the discrepancy." Mels hoped Symon didn't notice his awkward glance to the window, thinking back to the kobold. "This matter involves nobles from both Terraminas and Erasoris, including Prince Lanmaine. In fact, he is the central victim of what we believe to be an attack."

Mels sat up at the mention of that. "An attack?" He asked. "Someone breached the castle?"

Symon felt no hesitancy in scoffing at the question. "Nothing so brutish, child. A few days ago a noblewoman from Erasoris came to visit His Majesty's court. She stated her intention to present herself and her sisters as a potential political marriage. Though the Prince, and his forsaken libido, fancied her and took her to bed that same night. He has not woken since, and the noblewoman is nowhere to be found."

Mels could hardly follow the politics of his summary but detected a hint of creeping anger in his voice. This is serious.

"Understand the following statement very carefully: your only task is to wake the prince," Symon said. "Our concern is not with the whereabouts of the noblewoman, only the assurance that the Prince can be recovered and any further attacks can be prevented. She is Erasoris' responsibility only."

This must be more dire than he's letting on if wants us involved as little as possible, Mels thought. He won't even tell us the noblewoman's name. He wondered what the Queen of Erasoris would have to say about Symon's comments. He turned to Aylala and Christi, who both reacted as if all this information was utterly familiar to them, though Christi glanced a few times back at him. 

The owlith mage nodded at Symon's summary. "Fully understood Grand Advisor. And I'm sure you and His Majesty would prefer we start immediately?"

"Indeed," Symon confirmed. "You will receive an escort to the Prince's chambers. Good day to you three. If you fail, we shall strongly reconsider the crown's relationship with the House of Sorisancta" With that, he stood up and walked back through the door with his guarded escort. 

With the room now empty, Christi leaned close to Mels to whisper: "He walks like he's holding in a golden shit." His snickers, despite his effort to muffle them, echoed in the large waiting room. Aylala looked at the two of them, saying nothing but giving the slightest smile. 

After several more minutes, two more caped guards entered the room and gestured for the trio to follow them. They stood up to follow behind the two guards as the group walked through several stone halls and up several flights of stairs. Eventually, they reached large double doors at the top of the tower, which was also guarded. Their escorts left back down the stairs.

"Greetings, mage," the left guard said in a gruff voice. "You will be allowed into the prince's chambers for as long as is necessary to wake him. Understand that this level of trust is rarely given to those outside of his majesty's inner court. Do not squander it." He punctuated his statement by stabbing the ground with the butt of his spear. 

"We don't intend to" Aylala responded cooly as she stepped between them to push through the doors. Mels and Christi followed behind, with Christi giving a playful salute to the right guard, who seemed to be younger and more awkward than his partner. When they entered, Mels noticed the theme of intricate golden designs repeat itself here as well, as the room was complete with a stone furnace and four-poster bed. The second thing he noticed was the strong smell of sex that hit his nose. The third, the nude prince lying on top of the bed.

"Damn, couldn't they have given us a warning?" Mels commented, trying not to notice how the prince's dick stood up like a stone pillar, hard and twitching, leaking pre-cum. 

"Now their discrepancy makes a whole lot more sense" Christi commented as he removed her cloak, appearing to enjoy the soft moans the long-haired prince was producing. 

"Without a doubt" Aylala stated. "Now, remember, I brought you two in hopes to teach you more about magic. Stand still and concentrate on the energy in the room. Do you notice something?" 

Mels stopped in place, curious at her question, but closing regardless. He almost didn't notice it as it was faint, but he felt an oppressive, heavy weight in the air. The sensation in his head was strange, the spells he usually cast burned softly in his mind, while the magic here seemed to be all-encompassing warmth on his mind. It was the difference between a fire and a thick blanket. When he focused on it, he almost felt drowsy.

"You can feel it, can't you?" Aylala asked, causing Mels to snap open his eyes. "That luring sensation, pulling on one's mind. Being mages you two are sensitive to it. I wonder..." Mels continued to focus on the strange sensation, and he wished he could give a name for how it felt. He looked towards Christi, who wore the most serious face he's ever seen on her. She met his gaze and quickly gave a warm smile. 

Has she encountered this type of magic before? he wondered, and almost missed Aylala removing her cloak with a flourish, exposing her skimpy silver mage uniform. Though he certainly couldn't miss the way she climbed onto the bed, placing the prince's head in her lap as she caressed his face. Mels blushed as he recognized a small pang of jealousy in his chest as he watched her rub his forehead and temple. 

Christi walked up to the head of the bed with a knowing smile and bedroom eyes. "If only the prince could wake up now," she said, watching closely as Aylala started to whisper under her breath and produced a golden glow from her hands. Mels was about to join them, but he noticed the faint voices of the guards from outside the door. Deciding to delay getting closer to the sleeping prince - who was now pumping into the air - and stepped silently up to the doors to press his ear against it.

"... Sure they didn't notice anything from that night?" a young voice asked.

"No, apparently the noble from Erasoris requested that the guards posted leave to give them privacy" the gruff-voiced guard responded. 

"And they just left? Just like that?"

"Wondered why you didn't see them the past few days? I heard King Lanmond was inches from executing them, equating their abandonment to treason."

"Damn. Too bad too, they wouldn't stop talking about some owlith girl they saw with the noble. You rarely see one of them enter the city. I think they were hoping to snatch her up for a few rounds in the barracks."

"Doesn't surprise me in the least that was on their minds. Those two I swear..." the gruff voice trailed off as Mels stepped away, thinking of his incredible luck in having managed to see the only other owlith in the city on their way to the castle. There's no way, right?

"Melyssi, please, come here," Aylala commanded, her voice giving a hint of desperation. When he looked back, he saw the strangest sight he'd ever seen. The young prince was louder than ever, his thrusts were growing violent, and he was endlessly spurting small loads of cum, his balls repeatedly growing and shrinking in size. He hesitated, understandably, until he saw Aylala look at him with pleading eyes. He quickly stepped over to the opposite side of the head of the bed and awaited her request.

"Mirror Christi and place your hand on the prince's head. Be warned, however, that the corruptive sensation before will evolve into a burning inferno. But I believe in both of you and your ability to resist. Please, I need your help to stabilize him." Mels saw Christi on the other side, closing her eyes and whispering under her breath, also producing a golden glow with his hands. Despite the desperation of the situation, he hesitated to place his hand on his forehead. When he touched his fingertips to his forehead, it felt as if his hand instantly caught fire. Mels groaned in pain, tightly closing his eyes. He took deep, slow breaths as he let the magic roll through his body like a raging river. It's just a complex scriptomancy spell he told himself in an effort to manage the sensation. It grew bearable enough that Mels opened his eyes to another incredibly strange sight.

The light in the room itself was constantly shifting as if entire days were passing in a matter of seconds. He could just fake out the faint figure of a woman on top of the prince, and even echoes of pleased moans and gasps. Behind her stood... something, though Mels could only make up glowing purple eyes obscured by shadows. The swirling energy and magic in the air became a whirlwind, ripping his cloak from his shoulders. But, most strange of all, he could hear whispers in his head, deep and ominous, yet Mels couldn't make them out. It was overwhelming, and yet Mels refused to falter, and closed his eyes again, concentrating. Eventually, he heard a large gasp and opened his eyes again to see the wide, manic eyes of the prince, sputtering and gasping. Mels had little time to take in it as Aylala stood up and stepped over the prince to the end of the bed. She pressed her hands against his left sole and seemed to be pulling something out of his foot.

"Melyssi! Christine! Here, now!" The two of them ran over to Aylala and brought their hands to his sole as well. He felt something there as well and fought it alongside the both of them. Together, the trio strained as they slowly removed a writhing, black form from the prince's sole. Eventually, however, the force relented, and all three of them fell backward. 

Mels took deep breaths and blinked away his blurry vision. He first looked towards the foot, seeing a scar in place of the black form. He then observed the rest of the prince, he was breathing heavily, but sat up, grasping at his chest. He looked around dazed and confused, staying silent. Finally, he turned to Christi and froze, who was also sitting up looking at the prince, adjusting her top as her right nipple was peeking out. She looked back at Mels - who quickly made eye contact - and smiled brightly as she chuckled awkwardly. 

"You alright?" she asked, soft and kind. Mels could only nod.

"Are you?" Christi similarly nodded, and the both of them then turned to their mentor, who started to stand up slowly. They followed, as they now see why she was so silent: floating above her hand in a golden bubble was a spasming, bug-like creature, colored a dark purple. It banged against the walls of the bubble. As if it was trying to escape. At last, Aylala broke the silence.

"What is that?" Mels asked, looking up at Aylala akin to a pup looking at its mother.

"This, Christi and Mels, is Corruption. The most dangerous force in all of Asisai."