The Pearl Witch Ch. 03

Vera pressed herself into the blonde, running her hands through the girl's hair and down her body, exploring her smooth skin and the sloping curves of her hips. Ellise moaned as Vera nibbled on her lower lips. Snaking her arms around the blonde's waist, the witch suddenly yanked Ellise closer and pressed her hardness against girl's soft stomach. The apprentice let out a gasp and she leaned backwards, arms stretched out against the ledge to brace herself.

The witch hungrily explored her apprentice's warm mouth, letting her tongue dance across and under the other girl's and sucking greedily on the blonde's lower lip. She trailed kisses down the girl's neck and over delicate collarbones until she reached the swell of her chest. Here, the witch took one of the blonde's breasts in hand and sucked hungrily on the nipple. Her tongue drew circles and her teeth teased the girl, eliciting soft mewls which turned into sharp gasps as the witch playfully twisted a nipple with her teeth.

"You have such lovely breasts," groaned Vera; without conscious effort on her part, her voice had quickly dropped in pitch and taken on a husky quality. "And they taste good too," she teased. Ellise blushed and her eyes widened as she met her master's gaze briefly. Vera switched her attention to the other breast, taking the nipple into her mouth.

With her free hand, she eased her hands down to Ellise's rose bud and rubbed her fingers between her folds, teasing her again and again until she finally slipped a finger between the folds. Ellise cooed with pleasure and ran her fingers through the witch's wet hair appreciatively. "And I wonder how you taste down there..." murmured the witch as she pulled her finger out. She stood, grabbing a handful of the girl's plump rear and pulling her up as well. The witch slowly trailed her kisses downward.

With her face at eye level with Ellise's snatch, she planted a soft kiss on the girl's inner thigh before moving closer. With a flick of her tongue over the girl's pink lips, Ellise gasped. Another flick. Another gasp. Vera brought her mouth closer and gently sucked on part of the blonde's labia before moving upwards and licking lazy circles around her apprentice's jewel. The girl groaned and her breaths came faster as the witch lapped at her juices and lavished attention onto her clit.

"Vera..."

The witch glanced up and saw only the girl's heaving chest. She smirked.

"Yes, Ellise?"

"A-Ah! I—" Ellise's voice trailed off into nonsensical babbles and pants as Vera increased the tempo of her tonguing. Then, suddenly the witch eased off and pushed herself back up to face her apprentice. Vera stared unblinkingly into her apprentice's eyes as she pushed the girl down onto the stone floor which was now pleasantly warm to the touch thanks to the heat that infused the room. Her legs hung off the ledge and the witch grabbed these and placed them over her shoulders before pressing up against the edge of the basin and wrapping her hands around the girl's dainty waist. Ellise looked at her with pleading eyes and whimpered as Vera touched the head of her cock to her entrance.

"You were saying?" grinned Vera. And she gripped the base of her cock in one hand and ground her head in circles around the girl's entrance. Steam wafted through the chamber along with the scent of Ellise's juices.

"Please," murmured the girl weakly. But the witch waited with a wolfish grin on her face.

"Please what?" asked the witch as she continued to tease the girl, spreading her juices around and rubbing her head against the girl's clit.

"I want... you... inside me," she whispered. It was almost too faint to hear, but Vera heard it.

And she lost control.

It was as if a wall inside her crumbled. Waves of lust crashed through, completely overtaking her senses.

The witch pushed herself in. Ellise's eyes widened and her mouth gaped open wordlessly. The raven-haired beauty continued, slowly pushing herself deeper and deeper, enjoying the wet heat that now enveloped her cock. For a moment, Ellise sucked her breath in sharply, as if in discomfort but she quickly relaxed and her breathing returned to normal. The witch purred and began thrusting, slowly at first but soon in earnest. Soon she was burying her length as deeply as she could into the lovely blonde. Their wet skin smacked against each other loudly as she drove into Ellise. Slap. Slap. Slap. Slap.

"Ahh, anhh, anhh, anh!" Ellise moaned with every thrust.

The blonde's legs swung wildly as the witch ramped up her tempo, her efforts now devolving into a frenzy of grunts and short but forceful thrusts that left the smaller girl panting heavily in rhythm. As the pressure in her built, the moans and wails of her apprentice grew stronger and stronger until it finally peaked. Ellise let out a high pitched cry and the witch could feel the young girl's body tense and her walls undulate as she squirmed and convulsed beneath her. Shoving herself as deeply as she could into Ellise, the witch melted against her apprentice, shuddering, jerking, and crying out. Her rod trembled and pulsed as she spewed string after string of seed deep inside her blonde apprentice.

"Hnnngh! Ah! Ahhh! Ah! Ahhh!" she gasped before slowly pulling out, chest heaving. Her cock slipped out of Ellise's tight embrace and a few remaining spurts landed across the girl's stomach and face—with some falling into her open, panting mouth. She jerked in surprise but then closed her mouth and licked her lips.

After taking a few more breaths, Vera leaned forward and kissed Ellise. This time it was a slow, lazy kiss. They both took their time and by the end they paused and looked at each other. Ellise giggled and Vera smiled. The witch's senses gradually returned as the haze in her mind cleared, she stared down at her apprentice and blinked.

"Did that really just happen?" She asked, both to herself and to Ellise.

"I can feel you leaking out of me, so, yes. Yes, it did," replied the apprentice in a dreamy voice. She giggled again, as if still drunk on pleasure.

"Was that... your first time?"

The younger girl blushed lightly and glanced away from the witch. "Yes," she whispered.

Vera's mouth opened, as if to make a remark but then closed.

Ellise sat up and leaned forward, resting her fingertips gently on Vera's sternum. "It was wonderful. I enjoyed all of it." She smiled encouragingly and lazily traced patterns on the witch's skin, her eyes still half lidded and her voice soft.

"I can't tell if this was me or th—" Curse. Vera's sentence cut out mid-phrase as if all sound was sucked out of her throat. She frowned. Every time she had tried to explain to someone what had happened to her, her voice had conveniently disappeared. She was positive now that the curse was somehow preventing her from speaking about it. The blonde apprentice cocked her head to one side inquisitively, waiting for the witch to finish her sentence. "I just—this feels wrong, Ellise. I'm your master. I shouldn't be taking advantage of our relationship like this."

Ellise eased herself closer to the witch. Her legs squeezed the dark-haired woman's hips and her fingers found the witch's cheek and turned her head back to meet the blonde's gaze.

"You're not. I want this," she said quietly. She kissed the witch gently. "I want you." She rested her head on Vera's breast and wrapped her arms around the witch's waist. She stayed like this for a several moments, before pulling away with a sigh. "Now, if you don't mind. I think we both have some washing up to do," she said with a wink. She glanced down at Vera's cock—which was at half-mast and still slick with their combined juices—and bit her lower lip.

And staring back at the shapely blonde before her, the witch realized that her lust had, once again, not subsided one bit.

****************************

"Any more news from the capital?" asked Vera earnestly.

The keeper shook her head and looked out the window pensively. The two sat in silence. Maeryn took a sip of her tea. After their rather prolonged bath, Ellise had promptly jumped into her bed and dozed off. Vera had slipped quietly away to the library to do more research. The keeper had joined her with an offer of herbal tea and company.

"I just can't believe it all to be coincidence," said the witch.

Maeryn looked back at Vera and raised an eyebrow, as if silently asking the younger woman to expound. Vera took a deep breath and began to explain the series of events that had led to her and Ellise fleeing the capital being careful to leave out the part where she had succumbed to her lust underneath The Royal Library. Instead, she offered a shorthand version where she met Clarabel briefly and had been on her way. The keeper listened intently without interrupting, nodding at key parts.

"What's more, Ellise tells me that a royal courier had stopped by earlier in the afternoon to drop off a letter. An official summons by the king, according to the courier."

"Interesting."

"And then an angry mob shows up outside my shop demanding blood. We arrive here to find out that the king's gone mad and declared war on his own son? Something doesn't quite add up."

The keeper remained still and looked off into the distance, mulling over Vera's words.

"And Clarabel... gods, when I saw her, I could sense malevolent energy about her. A darkness that wasn't there before."

At that, Maeryn turned her gaze back to the younger witch.

"Your aura has changed as well," she said in quietly neutral tone.

Vera froze and a quiet wave of panic washed through her insides. Had the keeper seen it then? Seen what the curse had done to her? Would she think her a soulless deviant? The two women stared at each other for what seemed like ages when in fact it was only few seconds. Vera opened her mouth and then closed it, unable to find the words she wanted to say.

"Keeper, I—I didn't mean for it to happen," she finally blurted out. Her eyes pleaded with the older woman, hoping that she'd hear the truth in her words.

A faint sadness washed over Maeryn's features and for a moment she looked not like the wise and good-natured matriarch of the Academy but closer to a tired and weary old woman, who had seen too much ugliness in the world.

"When did it happen?" she asked softly.

"A few days ago," croaked Vera, shaking her head at her own stupidity.

"So. All this time you've been spending in the library..."

"I've been trying to find more information. Some way to fight it. Reverse it even," explained Vera.

"Have you found anything?"

The witch shook her head.

"No. Nothing. I'm at my wit's end. There is very little research or documentation done on the nature of dark magic or curses. It's all very surface level," huffed Vera.

"It is thankfully rare to encounter this type of magic."

"Is there anything that Nyla left behind that could be of help?" Vera blurted out suddenly. The keeper looked pensive for a moment before responding.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you know about that."

"I need to know, Keeper. If there's anything at all that she left behind..."

"There isn't."

The younger witch frowned at this. Surely there had to be something? Was the keeper withholding information from her?

"Nyla expressed the same difficulties," mentioned Maeryn, her eyes taking on a distant look for a moment. Vera sighed and a sadness crossed her eyes as they both took a moment of silence to honor the fallen professor.

"Please, Keeper. If there's anything..."

"We burned most of her belongings. If any items were saved, they are with Ennia now."

Just as Vera opened her mouth, the keeper cut her off.

"Absolutely not, Verena. You know the rules. None may know their location."

"But you could contact her on my behalf!"

"No."

"But... why?!"

"All communication except for the most urgent academy related business is strictly forbidden."

"But—"

"Do not push me on this, Verena. I cannot make any exceptions." The tone of her voice made it clear that it pained her to have to refuse but her eyes were resolute. She would not be able to help. Her tone softened as she continued, "Truly, I don't think Ennia kept anything aside from one or two trinkets of pure sentimental value. Even she was careful to relinquish any objects that held any traces of magic. However faint."

The witch was silent in thought.

"There is another way for you to find the help that you need."

"And that is?"

"Seek out the sylvans."

Vera blinked once before pursing her lips and frowning.

"You mean..."

"Kylvan."

Vera sucked in a breath of air. The sylvans were a mysterious race of ancient beings who resided deep within The Eldar Forest. Kylvan was their capital city—one of their last cities remaining in the world according to legends. Most common folk left it at that. Legends. However, any reasonably educated practitioner would tell you that the sylvans existed and that Kylvan was real place. They just hadn't been seen in a very long time.

"Nobody has made contact with them for over a hundred years!"

"And, if you are to have any success in lifting your curse, you must break that silence," said Maeryn in a patient tone. "The sylvans have a wealth of knowledge about magic. They are the most adept practitioners in the world. They, of all people, would know how to help you."

"Even if I somehow manage to make my way across the country unscathed and miraculously navigate through the forest successfully—" She held a finger up as if to emphasize the outlandishness of her statements. "—a forest, which even the most seasoned hunters refuse to venture into for fear of slow and painful death, but let's say I make it through and reach the famed heart of sylvan civilization—why in the world would they help me?!"

Maeryn smiled and very seriously said, "It is up to you to convince them, of course."

Vera sputtered, clearly not amused at how lightly the keeper was taking this situation. There was nothing remotely realistic about what she was proposing.

"The Verena I knew wouldn't shrink from a challenge like that," said Maeryn quietly. "What happened to pushing the boundaries?" She grinned at the younger witch and took another swig of her tea.

"I—this is..."

"I can provide you with some supplies to get started. You'll leave in the morning. Whatever you decide to do, you must do it soon. I cannot say how long the surrounding lands will stay peaceful. Best that you move quickly."

The younger witch stared into her cooling tea and moved her jaw slightly as if struggling to produce the right words.

"On a different note, your apprentice took to the training quite well this morning. She's a bit old, but I could transport her to join the others. I think she would do well with some formal schooling."

Vera said nothing but frowned slightly.

"I sense much confusion in her. She is lost," said Maeryn in an off-handed way. "Please let her know it is an option. Especially if she does not have the heart to venture into The Eldar Forest with you."

Vera winced. The keeper stood to leave. As she reached the doorway, her head turned back.

"Oh, and do tell her about your condition. She deserves to know," advised the keeper.

Vera's expression suddenly turned pained. Ellise did deserve to know. Especially given what had happened that afternoon. Vera was putting her at risk by just being around her.

"I—Keeper!" called the witch. The keeper paused. "Please, could you... speak to her... for me? I..."

The witch struggled to explain to Maeryn that she couldn't tell Ellise. That no matter how hard she tried, the curse prevented her from speaking about it. But no words came out of her mouth. Her grey eyes glinted in the light with moisture as she stared at the older woman beseechingly. She wouldn't get another chance for this. It had to be the Keeper. She had to understand.

The Keeper frowned slightly.

"It's really not my place to do that, Verena," said Maeryn before turning and disappearing into the hallway.

Vera slumped back into her chair, defeated.

****************************

Vera awoke to the sound of birds chirping and the bright morning light filtering through the heavy paned glass of her old dormitory room. The witch slowly sat up and looked down. Her apprentice was curled up beside her underneath the blankets. With each breath, the girl's chest rose and fell steadily. She sighed.

She had held off on telling Ellise any specifics about her plans, only revealing that they would have to leave in the morning. When peppered with questions, she had shaken her head sadly and retreated back to her room where she spent the evening locked away, trying to figure out a way to tell Ellise about her curse. She had tried to be clever and practiced saying things out loud but it was as if the curse could sense her intention and blocked her voice each time. She had even tried writing out a message but not even before the ink dried on the paper, the letters had faded away, erased by magic.

The witch slipped out of the blankets and stretched. Some of her muscles were still stiff from the training session the previous day. She tiptoed over to the chair where she had laid out clothes the evening before. She had worn a simple white shift to bed which she now stripped out of, letting the sheer fabric fall to the floor. Picking up a gray undershirt, she pulled her arms through the garment and started buttoning up the front. The high collar felt constricting around her neck but she buttoned all the way up anyway. It was the way these shirts were meant to be worn—though this one felt much tighter than usual. As if it were a size too small for her. The Keeper had dug up these garments somewhere; Vera suspected they were old pieces of student uniforms. Or spare pieces from the keeper's own wardrobe. She slipped on a pair of dark underwear and then stared at the dull brown pants laid out before her.

"If you're to venture across the country and into the Eldar Forest, you'd do well to put on a pair of trousers," the keeper had said in a matter-of-fact way the night before. When Vera had protested, the keeper had chuckled and simply left them in her room. "No dresses, Verena. One doesn't go adventuring in a dress."

Reluctantly, she snatched them off the back of the chair and started pulling them on, one leg at a time and finally buttoning the top closed. They fit surprisingly well, hugging the curves of her hips and legs rather snugly. Next, the witch pulled a long black tunic over herself. This particular type of tunic was a signature piece of Academy clothing. The collar was cut low in a v-shape and the sleeves were long. Rather than falling straight down in a box-like fit, the garment was cut closer to the body and loose fabric hung all the way down to the knees—though there were slits on both sides starting at the hips to allow for freedom of movement. The last piece of clothing was a wide, gray sash that was meant to be cinched around the waist, securing the tunic in place. Vera took the sash in her hands and muttered a word quietly. Within seconds, the sash changed color from its dull gray into a deep violet shade. Pleased with herself, the witch smiled and tightened the fabric around her waist. Next, she sat down in the chair and pulled on a pair of knee-length boots made of black oiled leather. And last but not least, she threw on her robes.

Now fully dressed, the witch slung her bag over her shoulder and quietly picked up her staff from its resting place beside the desk.

"Vera? Is it time to go?" groaned Ellise.

Vera paused and closed her eyes for a moment. Brows scrunched together as a sadness crossed her face. She had not intended to wake her apprentice. This would make things harder. She slowly turned to face the girl. Ellise had sat up in bed, the light danced and glinted off her golden strands and she rubbed her eyes gingerly and yawned.