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There was no applause, no reaction from her court. But they didn't seem displeased, either. None of them knew what to say. After a silence, Sasha spoke up.
"Mistress, we are very happy to have you back. I think I speak for all of us when I say that all I want is for thing to go back to the way they were. Before... her."
"Thank you, Sasha. It eases my aching heart to hear you say that. But another thing! Please don't call me 'Mistress' anymore. It's funny, but I never actually liked being called that. It never brought me any pleasure at all. It just felt like something I was supposed to do, some rule I had to enforce. Some precept of 'society' that I failed to leave behind. 'Morgana' will do perfectly well from now on. I never did anything to deserve the magic I wield. Not a single thing. I'm just the one that wound up with it. Therefore, I declare that this magic is not for me, but for all of us. Wielding it is not a privilege. It is a responsibility, and one I have been grievously failing at lately. All of you have faithfully been here for me, even when I was not here for you. Things aren't just going to go back to the way they were, things are going to be as they should have been all along! I hereby promise to devote myself to this family, and to do everything I can to make it the family you all deserve it to be!"
There was still no uproarious applause, though most of the attendees seemed to be smiling. They were smiling with happiness, joy, but also relief. Things were being set right again.
"So what will we do with Gwendolyn?" Cuthbert asked. "Can we banish her? Send her back home?"
"You know we can't do that," she answered with a tone of regret. "She knows far too much about us. There's a whole city just a few days from here. She'll tell them what I can do, and where we are. They fear our kind, so we have to remain hidden at all costs. That's why nobody can leave."
Adrielle's heart sank. She and Susan met eyes. Susan looked as hopeless as when she had first spoken to her.
"Don't lose heart just yet," she whispered in her ear. "Morgana," she announced out loud, "Lindis may find us anyway. This castle was the exact site Count Bastian sent me to investigate. It means he already suspects you live here. Sending us back with a cover story of where we've been the whole time may be the safest way to keep this place secret. But since neither me nor Gwendolyn have returned, he's certain to send his soldiers at some point. I'm surprised he hasn't already."
"He has, three times since your arrival, in fact. They found nothing but an empty castle, thanks to some magic tricks. They hardly made it past the entryway before deciding there hasn't been anyone living here for ages."
"He's still not going to give up. What about when they decide to investigate further inside?"
"The last group was under specific orders to do just that, so I scared them off. No, not with ghosts or anything like that. I made it look like the castle might fall down on their heads."
"So what ARE we going to do with Gwendolyn?" Sasha asked. "Can we punish her? I think we deserve it."
Morgana grinned. "I think that might be in order. She needs to learn her place."
"Are you going to stick her to a wall?" Adrielle asked, intrigued by the thought of Gwendolyn finally having to play the submissive.
"I don't know, that might not bother her enough. She needs to know that what status she once had here is done. She needs to be thoroughly humiliated."
Now there were finally sounds of agreement from the attendees. Even Adrielle was excited at the prospect of seeing Gwendolyn finally suffer for what she had done. Even Adrielle wasn't so pious that she couldn't enjoy a little revenge from time to time.
A few minutes later, once everyone had started on their dinner, and were starting to get involved into their own conversations, Adrielle quietly asked Morgana about what had been bothering her.
"Morgana, speaking of Gwendolyn, where is she?"
"Why? Does it matter?"
"I'm worried about her."
"She's probably still angry about yesterday. She's caused enough suffering here, and now it's her turn to suffer a little. Let her mope if she wants to."
"Not for her sake. She's devious. I'd just like to know that she's not up to something."
"How could she possibly hurt us?"
"I don't know. I'd just like to know where she is. Do you mind if I go check on her?"
"I can do it. She's probably just brooding all alone in her chamber."
Morgana's eyes ceased to focus on anything for a moment as she concentrated with her mind, then a quizzical look came over her face.
"Interesting. She's not in her chamber. Let me search for her for a moment."
Morgana stared blankly down at the table, her eyes only half open for twenty or thirty seconds.
"Huh. She's in my chamber. What's she doing? She seems to be rummaging through my things. What in the world for?"
"Let's go!" Adrielle said, springing up from her chair.
"Why? I haven't a thing in there I couldn't replace with a thought. There's no damage she can do. I'll confront her about it after dinner."
"But what could she be looking for? This doesn't bother you?"
"Somewhat, but if there's anything I wouldn't want her to find, she's not going to find it, and certainly not in there. My priorities right now are for the people here in this room: the family I want to keep."
***
Before supper was over, Morgana invited everyone to remain afterward if they so chose, promising to deal with Gwendolyn that night. "Disperse for now if you wish. Clean up or do whatever quick things you need. I'll be back in a quarter of an hour, with... her. I'm going to find out what she was rummaging through my chamber for."
Adrielle took her fifteen minutes to bring a plate of food to Guarin and Cateline, and to invite them to join Gwendolyn's trial, or whatever it was going to be. Guarin seemed interested in seeing her punished, but Cateline seemed reluctant. "Just tell us what happens," she finally decided, and that was that.
Back in the banquet hall, the small crowd immediately quieted as Morgana appeared in the doorway.
"Get in here," she commanded harshly as she turned to look back behind her. Gwendolyn grunted a couple of times, and walked reluctantly through the doorway. She stumbled once or twice, as if being pulled, which she probably was. Gwendolyn's look was angry and defiant, though maybe there was a touch of fear. She knew she was in trouble.
"Is everyone here who wishes to be?"
"They are," Adrielle answered on behalf of her absent friends.
"Good." The large doors, almost always kept wide open, swung forcefully closed by themselves with a bang loud enough to startle Gwendolyn. There were a few moments of utter silence in the room, until Morgana spoke again.
"Look who I caught rummaging through my things when she thought I couldn't see her. Tell me again, what exactly was it you were looking for?"
Gwendolyn stared at the rest of Morgana's followers as they glared back at her, awaiting her answer. For once, Gwendolyn had nothing to say.
"Do I need to loosen your tongue a little?" Suddenly, Gwendolyn's head lurched forward a bit, as her tongue was yanked out of her mouth by invisible forces. Gwendolyn gave a few mumbled protests before she was allowed to pull it back inside her mouth.
"Well?"
"I thought you wouldn't mind. I'm terribly sorry. You know I love you. I'll make it up to you any way I can."
"What were you looking for?"
"I just thought you might have some toys I might be able to use. Everyone was in her having supper, and I was growing bored. I just wanted something to do."
Gwendolyn almost sounded perfectly convincing, except Adrielle had seen enough from her to give her sincere-sounding words no credit whatsoever.
"Very well," Morgana answered, sounding not so much satisfied with the answer as uninterested in this topic. "You are forgiven for going through my personal things... if that's really why you were in there at all."
"But what else would I..."
"HOWEVER!" Morgana cut her off. "That's not what I brought you here for. Some of my family here thinks I've been giving you special treatment. And reason has forced me to see their point. And it ends. Now. You are the newest of us here, therefore you will treat those who have been here longer as your betters, until you have proven yourself to be worthy of more."
"What? Special treatment? But you can give anybody in here anything they want! At no cost whatsoever! Anything you have given me, you can give them as well!"
"What about freedom to live their lives here as they choose? THAT has been my gift to them! Until you showed up and wooed me with your flattery! With your lies!"
"Lies? But I love you! I adore you! I..."
Hassan, who couldn't bear any more of this, interrupted. "We all saw your true face last night! Morgana included. Don't give us that 'innocent' act anymore. You're sadistic! You enjoyed defiling what two members of this family held sacred! Simply because it was sacred to them!"
"Hassan is right," Morgana agreed. "I've been talking about what you convince me to do last night against my better judgement. What you manipulated me into doing! We are here to decide your punishment for it!"
"Punishment?" Gwendolyn scoffed, her pride and anger suddenly showing. "All I did was ask. You're the one who actually did it! You're the one who used your magic to immobilize those self-righteous prudes, knowing fully well what I wanted to do. If not for you, Guarin still wouldn't know what a real woman feels like. Why don't you punish yourself first?"
"She did!" Adrielle spoke up. "She basically demoted herself. She is no longer our mistress, just one of us. One of the family. Her magic is now for all of us! And do you know what else? I think she's happier that way!"
"I am. All this time, ever since you got here, you've been trying to convince me to rise up to my full potential, that with my powers I should strive for nothing less than to be Empress of the World! A god, even! And I was even starting to believe you. But last night, or maybe it was this morning, my real friends helped me to realize you were trying to move me in the wrong direction. I never wanted to rule. I don't even want to rule over this family. I just want to be a part of it. Nothing more. And the fact that circumstance has made me the provider for everyone here doesn't make me better than them. Your influence over me is DONE!"
The banquet hall echoed with Morgana's last word. All of a sudden, one of Gwendolyn's bracelets fell off her wrist and landed on the floor with a clink. It was fading from existence, and in another second in was gone entirely. Meanwhile, the rest of Gwendolyn's jewelry was similarly shrinking and fading away, seemingly dissolving into the air as sugar in warm water. A couple other pieces fell off, some evaporating entirely even before they could hit the floor. The ornate necklace over her breast fell next. She caught it, only to watch it disintegrate in her fingers until she grasped only air. At last, the tiara came loose from her head, bounced off her left shoulder, and clattered to the ground.
"No!" Gwendolyn screamed as she bent over and made a swipe for it. She picked it up by its retreating edge, and it fell from her grasp again almost instantly. By the time she grabbed at it a second time, only the large gem that had been at its front remained. She opened only an empty fist.
"Why?" she demanded! "Those cost you nothing but a thought to make for me! Give them back!"
"Why? Because you don't deserve them! You don't deserve to be any more beautiful than your rotten heart is. But I'll be generous. I'll let you be as beautiful as God saw fit to make you, but no more."
With that, Gwendolyn's body started changing next. Her breasts shrank to half their former size and sagged slightly. Her nipples changed shape and color. Her areolas darkened, and the left was now slightly smaller than the right. A small bit of fat appeared on her stomach, once as smooth as a statue's. The curls in her hair undid themselves until it hung plain and unremarkable over her shoulders, and the vibrant gold dulled to a sandy blond. The rose in her lips and cheeks faded. A few tiny blemishes and pimples appeared on her face, and several other imperfections appeared on her body.
Gwendolyn's radiance had vanished. She was still a young woman, still beautiful by most people's standards, but not enough to stand out in a crowd. She looked common.
"There, your natural body. I think that is about how you were when I found you. Minus your clothes and makeup and a few other things. But those things money and your noble status bought for you. And for now you are the farthest thing from nobility while you live here with us."
Morgana summoned a small mirror, which floated near Gwendolyn's head. She took one look, then grabbed the edges and tried to throw it aside, but found it immovable. This earned more than a few laughs, which only infuriated her even further.
"You've made me hideous!" screamed, her face turning red and her eyes tearing up.
"You've been hideous all along. I've just been helping you to hide it up till now."
"I'll get you back for this! Do you know who my father is? He has an army! I'll tell him you kidnapped me, and they'll slaughter all of you!"
"Sorry, Gwen," Adrielle answered. "Your father already believes that, and all he sent was me. I'm all you get." It was a bit of a lie, but it felt good to say.
"Shut up, Adrielle! Morgana, turn me back! Turn me back right now, you... BITCH! If you don't, I'll... aaaa AAAAA!!"
Gwendolyn's eyes shot wide open as her tongue was pulled out of her mouth again, this time not straight forward, but up. Her head tilted back as she tried to pull her tongue down and back in her mouth. As she continued to scream, now wordlessly, the tip of her tongue continued to be pulled straight up into the air, until her heels rose off the ground.
"I can put you down, or you can continue to scream at me. Take your pick."
Gwendolyn chose to keep screaming. Morgana lifted her tongue even further. Now she was completely suspended in the air. Her feet kickek for purchase, but could find nothing. Her arms flailed uselessly, batting at whatever was holding onto her tongue, but they hit only empty air. Guttural screams came from her throat, so strained and horrible they sounded as much animal as human.
"You'll get tired long before I will. I know this isn't hurting you. I can see your flesh. It's not injured. Your nerves don't even seem to be feeing much pain. That means you're only screaming in anger. Stop it, and I'll put you down. Or maybe I'll stretch your tongue out into a long lizard tongue. Then maybe you'll start to look as ugly as you are on the inside. Maybe some pig hooves in place of your hands and feet. A giant rat's tail coming out of your back. I could make your skin sag off of you in folds. How about a chest full of hair? A gaping cow's vagina in place of that pretty little cunt of yours? One that will leak rancid discharge down your legs?"
Morgana must have held her there for well over a minute until she got the idea. Her angry screams finally subsided into begging whimpers. Morgana set her back down on her feet. Immediately, Gwendolyn hunched over slightly, holding her hands over her mouth.
"You don't get to make demands here. Not of me, not of anyone else. You will earn our favor by treating us with dignity, and by respecting everyone else's rights. Now head to your chamber, before I decide your new chamber is the dungeon."
"Can you really do all those things?" Adrielle asked, once Gwendolyn had scampered away.
"A couple of them," she said with a shrug.
***
As she walked back to her own chamber, Adrielle was deep in thought. Morgana still seemed adamant against allowing anyone to leave, despite her declaration that she no longer ruled this castle. Her reasons did make some sense, but she wasn't buying it completely. Some part of her still didn't seem ready to relinquish all control over their lives.
Fulfilling the promise she had made to Susan seemed so close, but still just out of reach. But she had also made a promise to Morgana to help save her immortal soul. Yes, the woman had done some regrettable things in her extraordinarily long life, but even someone like her deserved a shot at redemption, her faith told her. Maybe by making good on that promise, Morgana would finally allow her to fulfil the other one. But how could she possibly go about saving a person's soul? She was no priest.
She paused mid-step, then turned right around. She decided she needed to speak to Hassan, and quickly found him relaxing in the Roman bath in the courtyard, enjoying the fading light of the evening next to his lover, Cuthbert. She asked him to meet her in the library first thing in the morning. She didn't tell him why, mainly because there were others within earshot. Hassan agreed without question, always willing to help a friend for any reason.
When Adrielle showed up the next morning, she found him already waiting for her.
"What's on your mind?" he asked, invitingly.
"I need your help. Truthfully, Morgana needs our help."
"What's wrong?"
"We have to free her. It's a regrettable deal she made a long time ago. She..." Adrielle debated whether she should really tell Hassan what Morgana had told her in confidence, but soon decided he had to know if he were to offer his help. This wasn't something she could do alone.
"Free her? From what kind of deal?"
"Hassan, do you know where her powers came from?"
Adrielle told Hassan everything she had told her about the entity she had named Verus and the pact she had made with him. When she was done, Hassan was sitting on the couch with his head resting in his hands. This had been difficult news for him to hear.
"Wow, I... What can I even say? I had no idea." He raised his head and looked her in the eyes. "Are you absolutely sure this is true?"
"Yes. Or, I believe Morgana was telling the truth, as best as she knows is. What I told you is what Morgana believes to be true."
"And you want me to help you convince her she's wrong? That her deal with the devil isn't binding?"
"If you can."
"Then I'll do everything I can to help. But where do we even begin? I didn't even know if was possible to sell your soul to the devil. I thought that was just something from folklore."
"Me, too. But I also used to think the same thing about sorcery. But here we are in the midst of this library. Maybe there's an answer somewhere in here. I've been getting good at reading, thanks to your teaching, but you are still better. And you've read so much! If anyone can help me find what I need, it's you."
And so the two of them got to work. Adrielle decided to start with the Bible, being the obvious place to start looking for information about Satan and his machinations. Adrielle had heard many passages from the Bible read to her in sermons, though she had never attempted to actually read it before. Eventually, she was able to find one written in Latin, which she had thankfully been learning. This Bible was a consolidation of all the canonical books, and it was enormous! Hassan had to help her heft it onto the desk where she could begin reading. She found reading it to be even more arduous a task. She reminded herself that she would happily take on worse hardships than lounging around in a library to help a dear friend.
Meanwhile, Hassan, being versed in several written languages, perused apocryphal tomes and manuscripts, anything he could find regarding demons and the like.
Adrielle actually started enjoying this work very soon, and working with Hassan only made it more enjoyable still. Hassan was an absolutely beautiful image of a man. His nude, tawny skin and trim muscles were very pleasing to her eyes, and she loved the way his flaccid penis, almost as long as when he was erect, would drape over one thigh as he reclined. She caught herself more than once looking away from the pages she was reading to sneak a glance at him. But even when he noticed, his only reaction was to smile knowingly back at her. She had learned well before that Hassan was not attracted to women, though he didn't seem to mind being admired by one.
