I don't own any of the Tamora Pierce characters
Matthew woke up with sweat covering his body. He groaned with discomfort as his shirt clung to his chest. Turning onto his side, Matthew gasped, seeing Ivy asleep beside him. Her hair was slightly messed, fanning out behind her head onto the pillow. Matthew smiled and reached out to stroke her face, desire sweeping through him. Her skin on the back of his hand felt soft and smooth. He didn't want to take his hand away. He tilted his head slightly, looking at her straight on. Slowly, the part of him that was so out of control and so consumed by her mesmorising beauty took over. He leant down and planted his lips on hers. Fire roared in his chest, excitement swept through him, suddenly all he wanted was her. Nothing else could satisfy him, he needed her. He didn't feel her stir, and gently tried to ease her mouth open. It was then that Ivy woke up. At first Matthew thought that the hands on his chest were placed with love. He groaned slightly, attempting to open her mouth again. He was shoved away, caught by surprise he fell off the bed. Ivy jumped off the bed, gasping for breath.
"What the hell are you doing?" she managed.
Matthew jumped up and leapt over the bed, landing directly in front of her. His hands found her waistand pulled her to him. "Pyro wants to play." he grinned and leant down to kiss her neck. All of a sudden, her hand was wrapped around his wrist and his arm was locked behind his back, and he was being pressed stomach-down onto the bed.
"Pyro better stop, or Pyro will get hurt." Ivy said, applying more pressure. "And if Pyro trys anything, Pyro will learn what it feels like to have four limbs broken at once."
Matthew groaned in pain. When Ivy let go, he turned onto his back and smiled at her.
"But Pyro needs the exercise!" he said quietly. "And only you can help him get fit!" Matthew reached out for her hand, but she jerked it away from him.
"Behave yourself!" Ivy hesitated, then said. "Or I'll have to leave you on your own for ever!" A look of fear and sadness crossed Matthews face.
"You wouldn't would you?" he asked, his face that of the child he once had been, not the man he now was.
"Oh yes I would. So unless you learn to keep your hands to yourself and to control your stupid outbursts, I'm going to go!"
Matthew shook his head and crawled over to her, placing his hands on her waist. "Don't go. Don't do that. You wouldn't like it." He buried his face in her shirt, inhaling her scent. Ivy paused then pushed him gently away.
"Change your clothes." she ordered. "Then I want you to start controlling your Pyrotic frequencies."
Matthews eyes lit up. "I can be hot?" he said, excitement burning in his eyes. "I can burn again? I'm allowed?" Ivy nodded.
"Only if you promise to try and control it though. And only if you let me leave for half an hour."
Matthew hesitated. "Leave? But . . . you said if I behaved then you'd stay. . ."
Ivy nodded again. "I won't be gone long, I just need to go and see someone first."
Matthew stood up. "Is it a man?" he said, eyes narrowing in something between fear and anger.
Ivy immediately shook her head. "No. . .of course not. . . I need to go and see my mother about something. Something important. Will you behave?"
Matthew nodded. Ivy felt a sudden surge of guilt about taking advantage of his vulnerability, but smiled at him. "Then I'll be back in half an hour ok?"
Matthew nodded sulkily, then his eyes lit up. "Do I get a kiss goodbye?" he asked, jumping up and attempting to flatten his hair. Ivy hesitated, then sighed and nodded.
"Ok." she said, "but quickly, I'll be late." Matthew grinned and ran over to pull her to his chest. Ivy grimaced at the wetness of his shirt.
"Matthew, no, shirt off." she ordered. He nodded and tore his top off, pulling her back instantly.
"Now?" he asked. Ivy gulped, then nodded. She lifted her head slightly, and felt his lips meet with hers almost instantly. She noticed with interest that while he spoke and acted like a child, he kissed much like an experienced young man who knew how to please a woman. As he moved his lips over hers, she remembered that she had to go and reluctantly -though she wouldn't have admitted that it was reluctant- pulled away.
"Have to go now." she said, gently shoving him away. "Behave." Matthew nodded and somersaulted backwards to land on the bed. Ivy resisted the urge to laugh at him lying there half naked, and left.
Ivy went straight to Numairs rooms and knocked sharply on the door. The door was answered a few moments later by a drowsy looking Numair. His eyes filled with alarm at seeing her.
"Ivy, whats wrong?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing, I just need to talk to you about Matthew. Is Daine here?" Numair shook his head.
"She left last night, she needed to do some work for the King." Ivy nodded and entered her Uncles room.
"Whats wrong then?" Numair said.
"I woke up and he was trying to kiss me." she explained. "And I only got out of there because I kissed him. I told him I was going to go and see mum, he didn't look happy about the thought of me seeing another man."
Numair nodded. "I did warn you." he said.
"Yeah, I know, but I don't know what to do. I got him to agree to going Pyro later, but I don't know how I can help him control it."
Numair hesitated. "I think I know how . . ." he said carefully. "But it might be painful."
Ivy frowned. "How?"
"If you could hold his hands while he did it, it would burn you. If I'm right, the thought of you in pain will force him to control his power, or he'll lose his soulmate." Numair sighed. "But I don't know. I wouldn't like you to get hurt because of that."
Ivy was quiet for a second. "You think I'll be able to get him to control it by that?"
Numair nodded slowly. "But like I said, I don't know. If it means losing my niece I'd rather not risk it."
Ivy thought for a second, then spoke. "Couldn't you put a spell on me? So that I feel how hot it is but it doesn't hurt?" Numair stared at her for a second, then nodded.
"I could. But I don't know if he'd be able to sense magic acting on you. Its worth a try." he raised his hands and black fire flew from his fingertips, wrapping around her and sinking into her flesh. "There." Numair said. "With any luck, that will have worked." he looked out of the window. "You should go. He'll be missing you." Ivy sighed.
"Alright." she said. "Thanks." she gave him a small smile before leaving.
"Gods all bless Ivy." Numair muttered as the door closed.
Matthew was pacing the room when Ivy returned. A smile spread over his face when he saw her and he ran to hug her. Ivy rolled her eyes and let him hold her for a few seconds before gently pulling free.
"Remember you promised me something?" she asked gently. He nodded. Ivy smiled and took his hands in hers.
"Good, now remember what happened that first time." she told him.
Matthew closed his eyes, trying to remember what had taken place, but all he could think of was her, and the smell that wafted from her body to his nostrils was so pleasant. . .
"Matthew." Ivy said.
"Yes." he replied quietly.
"Can you remember?"
"No."
Ivy sighed. "Matthew, the spidren, he said he'd kill me, remember? He said he'd breed with me. Remember?"
Matthew stiffened, remembering instantly the spidrens disgusting legs, the way it had lifted and lowered its pincers. . . fire errupted around his body, anger flooded through his veins and forced more and more heat to leave him. Only when there was a shout of pain, did he remember that Ivy held his hands.
"Matthew!" she yelled. "Help me! Stop it!"
Matthew panicked, he tried to focus on a picture of her sleeping face, but each time it was replaced by her screaming. The noise continued and his mind roared. Immediately he focused on stopping the fire, trying to put it out. It didn't work, she continued to scream. Finally, after what seemed like hours of torture listening to his love screaming, he put it out. He saw her sweating, but not in pain, then smiled and fell forward to land in her arms.
Ivy sighed and gently moved him to lie on the bed. Her hands burnt, but it wasn't painful. Numairs spell had worked. That was sick, she thought, pretending to be in pain like that. She paused, then thought, it worked though, hes starting to control himself now. Maybe in a few weeks, he'll be himself again, gods know that'll be a relief.
It took Matthew two days to wake up again, and a further three before he was able to move and do anything. He was surprisingly normal now, back to his old self as long as he was not in Pyro form. Ivy knew that as soon as he started trying to control himself again he would turn back to the dependant person who was obsessed with her. Right now, he remembered very little about the previous week, which, as far as Ivy was concerned, was a good thing. She didn't want to have to tell him that he only let her leave the room because she had agreed to kiss him, and she definitely didn't want to tell him that she had enjoyed the kiss, or that he had held her when he was half naked. A few days after he began to get up again, Matthew locked himself in his room. Ivy didn't know what he was doing, so shewent to her Uncle Jonathan and asked him to scry his room to see what he was up to. Jonathan looked carefully into the mirror for several seconds, then smiled at her.
"He's fine. He's meditating, I'd guess he'll try and transform into a Pyro again when he is done, you should go so you're there."
Ivy frowned. "But hes locked in his room. How do I get to him?"
Jonathan thought for a second, then took her hand in his, a ball of blue fire errupted from his palm and merged with her skin. "Hold your palm to the door and it will melt the lock and allow you in. I'll sort something out so that we don't have to keep melting locks though, if he carries on doing this, there'll bea big problem."
Ivy nodded, then bowed and left him, going back to her room. She sat on the bed, waiting to see if she heard anything. It seemed like hours before there was even a noise from the next room, then there was a shout of anger, then one of pain, then there was a noise as if her knight master was talking to himself. When the room went silent, Ivy jumped up and held her palm to the lock. There was a hiss and a smell of melted metal, then the door swung open. She ran in and saw Matthew on the floor, steam rising from his body. She grabbed the jug of water on his table, and gently poured it on his forehead. His eyes fluttered open and he grasped the hand which she had carelessly placed on his chest.
"Ivy. Its you." he half laughed. "Did I do it?"
Ivy frowned. "Do what?"
"Beat it? Am I me? I can't think. . ." there was a second where he stared at her like the man she knew, then his eyes lit up again, just as they had before. "Can I have a kiss?" he asked sweetly. Ivy gulped, she didn't like just giving kisses out. He stared at her again, sweat dripping down his face. Ivy sighed and nodded. She helped him up and sat him on the bed. Matthew smiled and put his hands on her waist, pulling her down to sit on his knee. Ivy stiffened, then relaxed as Matthews hand ran through her hair and she was pulled to him, mouth meeting his swiftly. She felt Matthew sigh, and was about to pull gently back when he flipped her onto her back and lay on top of her, all the time keeping his mouth on hers. He briefly took it away to kiss her neck, hand stroking her leg gently. No, thats just too much Mr, Ivy thought. She shoved him off her and jumped up off the bed, giving him no chance to grab her again.
"Behave!" she ordered. "If I kiss you, it doesn't mean you can try and get me into bed!" Matthew stared at her in disbelief.
"But . . . "
"No buts!" Ivy snapped. "Remember I told you I'd leave if you tried anything? Well I meant it!"
Matthew shook his head. "Don't!" he begged."Please don't!"
"Behave then!" she ordered. "Now stay here, I'll be back soon."
Jonathan and Numair were in the palace library, luckily for Ivy nobody else was. She ran over to her two uncles and dumped herself in a chair at their table.
"Hes like a little kid!" she complained instantly, not waiting to be acknowledged. Numair looked at Jonathan for a few seconds then looked at Ivy.
"Of course he is." he smiled at her. "Now, how did he do when he changed?"
Ivy stared at him openmouthed. She ignored his question. "Hes meant to be like a kid?" she asked.
Numair nodded. "I told you, until hes in control he'll be dependant on you."
"But I feel like his bloody mother!" she whined. "I'm too young to be a mum." she put her head in her hands and sworeunder her breath.
"So how did he do?" Jon asked.
Ivy sighed. "He was alright at first, he asked me if he'd beaten it, then he went all stupid again."
"How do you mean stupid?" Jon enquired.
"He wanted a kiss. Then he flipped me over and tried to . . . " she trailed off.
"Tried to what?" Numair asked slowly.
"Feel me." Ivy muttered.
"What do you mean?" Jon said kindly.
She stared at her Uncles. "You know how men feel women, he did that. I shoved him off and told him to behave, but its bloody stupid, seriously, I can't keep kissing him, but if I don't he gets all stressy and he doesn't let me leave."
Numair looked down. "My offer still stands Ivy."
She looked at him. "Which offer?"
"I can make him forget about you and we can move him away from you so you don't see each other." Ivy could tell he didn't want to do that, and was touched that he would do it for her.
"I couldn't . . . I wouldn't know if he was going to live or not. And what kind of person would I be to get rid of him when he needs me? I just wish there was an easier way to make him control it." She looked at the polished table and sighed. Two hands rested on her shoulders. One was Numairs, one was Jons. She smiled at them.
"You're father would be proud if he knew Ivy." Jon stated. Ivy nodded numbly,then a thought struck her.
"What have you told him and mum?" she asked.
Numair grinned. "Jon's told them Matthews having trouble with his Gift and needs constant looking after. As far as your parents know, Matthews suffered a leaching spell and he is having more trouble than is usual regaining his magic." Mischief danced in his eyes."And I'm fuelling the fire a bit, telling them that one of the spidrens knew a local mage who owed him a favour." He patted her shoulder briefly,then took his hand away. "Now go, Matthews still going to act the same way, but keep on trying to get him tocontrol it. Try that thing you tried last week again." he held up his hands and wrapped her in magic once again. "Just make sure he doesn't go totally nuts, theres only so much fire protection I can provide." Numair left, and Jon smiled at his niece.
"You're coping with this better than I could have hoped Ivy, Thayet and I are both agreed that when he's in control, you will have full credit for it, and there may even be an award for service to the Crown." Jon said.
"But I'm not serving the crown. I'm serving Matthew." Ivy said in confusion.
"You're serving Matthew, who is a Knight. As a Knight he serves the Crown, and so -indirectly speaking- you are serving the crown, and you are doing a fantastic job." He briefly hugged her shoulders. "Now run along, he's going to be missing you."
Ivy smiled at him, bowed, then ran to her rooms.
Over the next few weeks, Ivy worked with Matthew, trying in anyway she could to help him control it. It meant more kisses, more threats of leaving, more attempts on her virginity, but she was getting somewhere. After two weeks of hard work, Matthew was able to stop his fire when he wanted to, and able to conjure it without passing out almost instantly afterwards. He was still learning how much to use at once, but Ivy could tell that they were getting somewhere, which, to her, could only mean good things. His clinginess was slowly fading out, there were times, mostly when he used far too much fire at once, that he refused to leave her alone without a kiss. Ivy was slowly coming to realise that soon he would try to kiss her with his tongue, something she had no idea how to do, and didn't want to do as a bribe to let her leave.
Three weeks into 'control class' as Ivy liked to call it, Matthew transformed fully into a Pyro, while still being able to control himself. He even managed to talk to Ivy, then he let the fire fallawayand fell down onto the bed with dizziness. Ivy went over and pulled him back onto his pillows, wiping a wet cloth over his forehead and then resting it there. Steam rose up from his head, into Ivys face. With it came the smell of sweat. After letting Matthew fall asleep in her arms, she left him to go and bathe. She was shocked when she brought her head out of the water to find Matthew leaning over the side of her tub, hand just about to reach out to touch her. She brought her legs up to her chin immediately and scowled at him. He smiled, and tilted his head, leaning in closer to her. Ivy instantly splashed him in the face, grabbed a towel and leapt out, locking herself in his room, leaving him to sleep in hers. She was just pulling a shirt over her head when there was a sudden sound of crackling fire. Spinning round, she saw the door burning and Matthew standing with a grin on his face. She also realised that it wasn't the boyish smile he had been wearing on his face for weeks now. It was the same grin he had given her the night they had found out they were soulmates, when he had tried to watch her change.
"That shirt is really too big for you Ivy," he stated. He held his hand up and the fire from the door flew back into it, leaving merely a pile of ash. He crossed his arms and leant against the door frame. "Maybe one of your own would be more useful." A blue shirt flew from somewhere in her room, right to her. Ivy stared at him for several seconds. "Its rude to stare Squire." he said playfully. Ivy opened her mouth to speak but her throat was dry.
"We did it Ivy." he said, walking over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "I can control it now. And I owe it all to you."
Ivy frowned, but she was still unable to talk. Matthew smiled at her. "Can I say thank you? Or will you push me away?" he placed his hand under her chin and waited. Ivy nodded nervously. Slowly, Matthew leant in, his warm mouth met hers and his arms wrapped around her waist. Ivy instinctively wrapped one arm around his back and another round his neck. Ivy noticed something wet probing at her lips and opened her mouth slightly. Immediately, Matthews warm tongue entered her mouth. She stiffened, unsure what to do. Matthew pressed a hand into the small of her back, calming her, reassuring her that it was ok. Gently, Ivy moved her tongue to meet his. Several seconds later, Matthew pulled back and smiled at her. "Thanks." he said, then kissed her gently on the cheek, leaving her in the room alone, still slightly out of breath.
"It's fine." she muttered as the door closed. "No problem at all . . . "
Hmm its a long chapter but I dont know how good it is. Please review, compliment/complain, whichever floats your boat
Mage of the Heart
