Admission Ch. 02

The Path

There was plenty of time to think about the seven weeks since she came of age. The birthday party that happened a week after the fateful day was crazy. Of course, it ended with her and Trevor getting together, which was definitely memorable, but she'd never forget lounging, dancing, and cuddling by the pool with her girlfriends.

It was her first time wearing a thong bikini, and she was practically bursting out of the top. She'd ordered the right size, but it was a little too small when it came in the mail. Two of her girlfriends - Dasha and Nancy - loved it, and they also happened to be the ones that she ended up making out with on a dare. There was even a photo on her Instapic account of Dasha pulling a triangle of her top aside and sucking on a nipple. It wasn't the last time she fooled around with the pretty redhead. It was like a switch had gone off when Miranda came of age. Dasha and Nancy revealed that they often fooled around together when they slept over at each other's places, and they wanted Miranda to join them. She did, and things changed less than she expected. They hung out, shopped online, talked about pretty much everything except for magic because neither of them knew it even existed and went out as a trio when they all had time off. In addition, they sometimes kissed, cuddled and fondled each other, especially before bed. Things never went further than that though, and no one seemed to mind.

It was a whole new world, having that kind of intimacy with her friends, and Miranda hoped she could be just as close with a few people at school. Dasha and Nancy were going off to the University of California, so they would probably fade as friends, at least until the trio could get together again when they were visiting home at the same time. There were other things she was leaving behind, like her Stepfather, Davis, who was calmly accepting of everything over the summer. She was pretty sure he knew his stepdaughter was fooling around with her girlfriends when they slept over, but he simply gave them money to have food delivered, and gave them their space. He was a delight in the morning, cooking everyone breakfast and making easy conversation. Then, the week before Admission day, he left for a conference in Britain. It was for work, otherwise, he would have stayed and driven her to Reverie University himself.

Miranda would also miss the job she had over the last two years at the Steel Street Shop. It was a great place to work, with a crossover of normal and magical folk who needed old school weapons and armour. She also learned to use most of it, and enjoyed switching from part to full time during the summer.

One of the biggest perks about the job, when she was full time, was that she was allowed to read whatever she wanted, even if it was of a magical nature, and Davis gave her three that would prepare her for the special scholarship Miranda signed up for.

It was a Service Scholarship. Everything would be covered; housing, meals, books, equipment, and incidentals. Davis, her stepfather, was uncertain about it but had no say. Once she showed him that she's signed everything, he seemed relieved. Then he gave her three dusty books called; "Core Principals of Magic Using Sexual Energy," "Inspiring Salacious Excess," and "The Trials of Serine the Succubus."

The titles were interesting, but when she finished reading The Trials of Serine the Succubus in one night, her eyes were open. Serine was a succubus who willingly volunteered to be a demonstration subject in the early days of the Reverie School's Sex Magic program. It was nearly three hundred years ago to the day, and the professors used her to demonstrate every sex magic technique they could without doing real harm. There were explanations as to why each of the exercises was done by each of the professors, and they were as stuffy as they were short, but most of the book was comprised of Serine's journal entries. She frankly described every activity and sensation. I started simply, by her describing what it was like to help the massage professor with her demonstrations in more intimate care. 'I was a happy, relaxed creature by the end, and enjoyed returning to her class at every opportunity from then on,' read part of Serine's entry.

The most extreme demonstration that Serine helped the school with was at the end, where Professor Gervanshoots placed her in an invention he called The Sexual Essence Extractor, which she described as; 'This magically driven machine required that I be strapped in so my limbs were spread. A special oil was massaged onto my bosom, and while it smelled lovely, I was alarmed at how my mounds grew a little and felt full, I marvelled at suddenly being able to give milk. Then, using a crystal infused with magical energy, Professor Gervanshoots activated the contraption." she described how it tickled her, then became much more intimate. 'I was driven to near madness as little flippers, fingers and suckers made me feel marvellous, near finding my ultimate joy over and over without bringing me to the ultimate fulfilment. My bosom gave milk to the machine, which is of value since Succubus milk is so much rarer than that of a witch. I was fairly dripping in my nethers with want when a false finger made of smooth ivory rubbed me in such a way that I was finally filled by a fair-sized phallus. It plunged and plunged as the special finger rubbed rapidly, finally bringing me to my full joy, and I screamed with passion. This went on for some time until I could take almost no more, and when I was released from the machine, I was amazed to see a little jar filled with the drippings from my delicate place. It was the essence of a Succubus while she was in the throes, a highly valuable thing that was drawn from me without complaint since I was experiencing so much pleasure at the time. The witches who witnessed the demonstration shrank away either shyly or fearful except for two of them who wanted to try it as soon as possible. I suspect the Professor had many such volunteers, only most of them probably approached in secret.'

It was at the end of the book that she realized two things; There was an incubus providing the same kind of service she was during that same year, and their activities then and in the years that followed provided the blueprint for the Service Scholarship Students who would follow. The prospect was terrifying but titillating. She'd read several of the passages with her hand pushed down into her panties, after all. She wanted to talk to Davis about it but held off, and she wasn't sure why.

Over the next week, she read the other two books and discovered that the healing vocation she'd chosen included a kind of sensuality that she'd only seen the merest inference to. The beautiful healers she'd met over the years, which included her departed mother, also had a close and active relationship with sensuality. Many of them drew a great deal of extra energy from salacious sources such as arousal, flirtation, and sexual encounters. She one of the introductory spells for good health on the fern in her bedroom. The wand she used was her favourite hairbrush. It had a nicely shaped handle with wavy ridges that made for a very nice dildo. It also had plenty of sensual energy imprinted in it, which was surprising because it was plastic.

The elements of her simple wellness and growth spell came together easily and for the first time, she saw the pink-red haze of sexual energy becoming magic flow from her hairbrush to the fern in the corner of her bedroom. The next morning she found it flourishing, taking over a whole corner. Miranda repotted it and was happy to feel an affinity for the magic even though she was still unsure about how well she'd be able to draw on salacious energy unless it was her own.

That last book, Inspiring Salacious Excess, was the most shocking. It was a manual for men and women to create environments and situations that were meant to make people emotionally excited. It touched on all emotions but focused most on inspiring arousal and outright lust. It read like it was written in the sixties, so there was a lot about dressing in tight sweaters and slightly short skirts with silk stockings in the wardrobe portion. The flirting and teasing sections were also half outdated as well, but the mechanics of gathering free-floating emotional energy without harming people was still on point as far as she could tell. She'd managed to fill a little quartz crystal with her own lusty energy while daydreaming and rubbing herself a few times. It filled when she was having a particularly spicy imagining where Trevor threw her down on the bed, yanked her panties down and took her from behind. It dangled in the upper cleft of her cleavage, glowing just slightly with a pink hue.

The black stockings she wore on her way to Reverie were another thing inspired by that book. They worked. She caught Trevor glancing at the lace band that clung to her mid-thigh when her short skirt raised up to kiss the top of it. He was trying not to look at her at all, but that tease in the corner of his eye drew his attention more than once on the ride up.

That's enough, Miranda thought to herself. You'll never get over him unless you push him out of your mind. She looked up the cobblestone path and saw two young men about her age who looked at least fit from behind. They weren't massively muscular, but she imagined that they could be just as handsome as Trevor in their own way when she saw them from the front. They'd definitely be smarter, they're going here after all.

When she looked over her shoulder, she was surprised to see two short men drawing a cart. Well, they weren't just short, they were three feet tall, give or take an inch, and she wondered why she didn't hear it. There were pink, red and black suitcases piled on it. "Pardon me, Miss, would you like us to take your bags? We only need your dorm number."

"Oh, you take our bags so we can enjoy the hike? That's nice," Miranda said, smiling in relief at them as they nodded.

"Just put them on the cart," the one who was drawing it said. The other helped her put one up while she put her other suitcase.

"Sure you don't want to put your pack up too?" the one not drawing the cart asked. He had a smart-looking blue vest on over a long-sleeved shirt and matching trousers.

"No thank you, I'll keep my pack," she said, aware that it had a change of underwear, her bathroom essentials, favourite books and her tablet.

"Well, we'll be moving on then. Your bags will be there when you arrive. Go to Admissions first," the one that was more smartly dressed said.

"Oh, wait," Miranda said before giving them each a five-dollar coin.

"Oh, thank you very much, Miss. The tips haven't been overwhelming this year." The pair hurried past her down the path then, ignoring the young man ahead of her when he held up his bag. They stopped to collect suitcases from a redheaded fellow who was obviously carrying for himself and the taller blonde beside him.

The walk only lasted a few more minutes, and then she came to a clearing. A sudden wash of cool rain came down for only a minute, but she was drenched when it was over. Her nipples had hardened and were trying their best to push through her thin white shirt. The bags were gone, and she didn't have anything other than a spare thong in her bag, so she sluiced the excess water from her chestnut hair, then her shirt, and crossed her arms.

The mist brought by the sudden cool rain cleared and she stared at what it revealed. The main building was the greatest castle she'd seen anywhere, even in fantasy films. Tall stone spires reached for the heavens. Three tiers of walls and arched bridges connected the larger buildings that stood between them.

There were so many stony structures poking up from behind the walls that she didn't bother counting. A few of the broad towers were topped with gardens, and from each of them ran a silver strand of water until they emptied into a lake that was damned by a half-circle of stone on one side of the massive castle. Slim waterfalls ran down the cliffside extending down from there. "This is what magic can do. The Count and Countess Avalon built this place to celebrate their five children," a young woman with an English accent that sounded crisp and posh said. "They did it in three years, three days, and three hours, then they feasted for three nights."

Miranda turned to see that it was the pretty blonde and her redheaded companion. "All that in three years?"

"Yes, and look, I can see your little pink nipples," the blonde said, reaching out and gently pinching one between her thumb and finger then let go. "You're going to be popular here."

Miranda gasped at the gesture. She hadn't realized that she'd lowered her arms while she was busy staring at the castle, but raised them. "Easy," she said.

"Oh, don't worry. I can tell you're staring into the Salacious Discipline right away. I'm surprised you don't look the way you do to invite extra attention. I'm Priss, this is my friend Rodney. We've known each other since the first grade, you know."

"I'm Miranda," she said.

Priss was already moving on. "Very nice. I'll see you soon, I'm sure. I ended up in the first-year dorms, mixed in with all the disciplines no matter how much my family donated, so we'll probably know each other a little whether we like it or not. Come, Rodney."

Rodney was halfway out of his sweater as he said; "Wait a moment."

Priss looked at him and shook her head. "You must be joking. There's no way your sweater will fit her, not with those ridiculous breasts. She'd suffocate, or pop like a balloon, or something."

"It's okay," Miranda said. Priss was the rudest person she'd ever met, but she was right, there was no way Rodney's sweater would fit without it being permanently stretched out of shape. "I'll run up to the dorm and wait for my luggage before I go to Admissions."

Rodney pulled his sweater back down and smiled at her. He was only a few inches taller than she was, about five foot three, but he had the physique of a long-distance runner. "Okay, it was nice meeting you."

"Don't tarry, Rodney," Priss said over her shoulder as she moved on.

There were paths coming out of the woods to her left and right. The cobblestone courtyard was vast, with a grand fountain topped with a pair of elves in two panelled robes - front and back - like the one she saw on the woman who greeted her earlier. Then she looked more closely at the woman and saw that it looked exactly like the Priestess. "Did you take a dip in a pond I didn't see?" asked a deep male voice.

The creak of leather preceded the wrapping of a heavy jacket around her shoulders. "Um, there was rain," Miranda said as the large jacket settled on her and she looked into the dark brown eyes of a broad-chested young man wearing a Dark Sabbath T-Shirt and jeans with a thick leather belt. He was at least six feet tall, and in shape but not as muscular as Trevor, but very few people were. He seemed to have a natural swagger, and an easy way about him, and she liked his shoulder-length dark hair. "I can make my way to the dorms, I have a map."

"Someone got you with a local rain spell. A big one. There are a few teases and pranksters who like to mess with the first-year students. I'm Scott, can I walk you? Just to the ladies' dorm. I need to keep my eye on the jacket."

The interior was silk, and she enjoyed the feeling of it. He seemed nice too and stared into her eyes as though she was the only person he wanted to pay attention to. "Well, you'd better show me to the dorm then. It's a nice jacket, I might run off with it." she unclipped the shoulder straps on her backpack and caught it before it could fall to the ground then let him take it.

They walked across the courtyard up to a side stair that was broad enough to be the main entrance to any other castle. "So, what brings you to Reverie? What are you into?"

"Love and healing magic," she decided not to tell him that she was on a Service Scholarship.

"You know, that's what I would have guessed. We can use more love in the world, so, welcome. Are you going all the way to Priestess, you think?"

"Maybe, but there are a lot of branches in the arts. Why do you think I'm here to become a Priestess?"

"You were staring at the first one to graduate here, High Priestess Illa Sundrake," he replied.

"So, this school hasn't been open long? She met me when I was dropped off," Miranda said, and she watched is jaw drop.

"You saw her?" he asked in a whisper.

"Yes, she was really sweet, actually."

"She appears to students every once in a while, but no one saw her on the first day last year," Scott said. "It's a big deal. You should tell your Mistress today."

"I mean, she was nice and everything, and obviously powerful because she just faded away after..." then Miranda realized that she'd had an encounter with a spirit. "That was a ghost. Oh. Wow."

"Right?" he said with a chuckle. "You know that's really good luck, not just for you, but for the whole school year. What did she say?"

"She told me... Well, she said the things I want aren't bad, kissed me then said it would be a good year after wishing me luck," Miranda explained, watching Scott grin.

"Wait, she touched you? I mean, when she kissed you, it felt like something?" he asked.

"She even hugged me, it was really nice," Miranda said with a nod.

"I've never heard of that. This is only my second year, but still. I get the feeling you'll be a cool friend to have."

"We're friends now, huh?" Miranda teased as they continued up the stairs.

"Sure we are, you're the only other person to wear my jacket," he said with a smile that made her melt a little inside.

They were almost through a pair of massive double doors where three-foot-tall guards watched the students come in. They had long noses, green-tinted skin, and poles that were twice their height. Each wore a breastplate over black robes with the golden crest of a dove on them.

As Miranda and Scott were about to walk through the doors, one of the guards poked a woman her age back down the stairs, shouting; "No pets! Out with it!"

The young woman regarded the guard angrily for a moment, then belched loudly. A hawk flew out of her mouth and she waved. "Sorry, Plucky. You're going home with Mom."

"What in all the heavens?" asked a young man with black hair, wearing white healer's robes asked.

His father, a man who looked almost exactly the same but older turned to him and said; "An ancient spell going back to Zeus the Master. It's a favourite of Green Mages. Most of them grow out of it by now, though."

"I'm sorry, student," one of the goblin guards said to the young woman. "If we let everyone bring a pet in, it would be more of a zoo than a school. Please take this as a warning; no smuggling, and no unapproved pets."

"I understand," she said, picking up her backpack then her suitcase. "A warning's better than a black mark."

"It's busy, let's take a back way," Scott whispered. Once they were through the doors, he led the way into an alley and knocked on a slender door three times, then two, then three and said; "Sneak, I sneak. To visit a new love. Sneak, I sneak."

The door opened and she walked through into a hallway with hardwood floors and intricately carved wooden walls. Miranda lost her balance completely and almost fell.

Scott caught her and held her upright for a moment as she caught her bearings. The jacket fell open on one side, and she smiled up at him. Her nipple was still tense, struggling to push through her damp white shirt. "Enjoying the view?" she asked in a whisper.

He didn't blush or shy away. Instead, he regarded her with a crooked smile and looked into her eyes. "Now I am." His gaze wandered down to her breast. The cloth still clung to it, and she knew he could see a hard pink tip even in the half-light. It was as though he wanted Miranda to see that he was enjoying the opportunity to take her in. Letting him hold her, look at her, filled Miranda with a brazen kind of excitement.