The Crow
(Third Arc: Another World)
(Part 27)
XxxxXxxxX
Violet could get used to waking up beside her sorcerer.
His warmth permeated the air, and she discovered that she grew clinger in sleep – an arm and both legs were thrown over her lover, and she was pressed against his back as her face burrowed between his shoulder and neck. 'Of course he isn't complaining' the witch thought dryly, feeling Clow's long fingers drifting up and down her right calf in a relatively sedate caress.
"Clow…?" Violet called hesitantly, pushing back slightly against his back.
Said sorcerer craned his neck so he could stare at her with lazy amusement. "Yes love?"
A shiver of pleasure traveled down her spine, making each of her limbs tingle pleasantly. 'I will never get used to hearing that!' the witch wondered, love blooming like a flower in her chest and undoubtedly echoing through their bond. "We need to wake up… it must be very late already" she remarked, looking at the light spilling in from the windows.
"You must be correct" Clow told Violet, enjoying her flustered state for a few more minutes before rising.
In all his naked glory.
'The shameless prat! He is showing off!' Violet's thoughts stilled to a halt as all cognitive functions of her brain decided to vacate down her circulatory system. 'But oh… he's glorious to look at, isn't he?' Her heart agreed vehemently with a jump.
His tall shape positively glowed under the natural morning light – pale skin marred only by her more enthusiastic kisses the night before – they peppered around his wide shoulders to his neck. Magic clung to Clow like an ethereal cloak, making all his edges more dangerous, and all his planes seem sharper.
"You had to throw my robes so carelessly… now it's all creased" the sorcerer had the courage to tease Violet. Both in words and in action as he leaned down to pick up said robe she's aware went somewhere over her head when she pulled out of him the night before.
The witch enjoyed the show he willingly presented, feeling her temperature rise… until what he said registered and her mind coughed back into awareness.
Clearing her throat, Violet glared without heat – the effect completely lost when her face was all flushed "Thankfully you won't be wearing that the entire day" she returned, glad her voice agreed and didn't falter even once. Her sorcerer smiled in amusement, waving a hand toward the closet as magic sparked in his fingers, and making his usual outfit float out perfectly pressed.
"Of course not… but you might want to find something else to wear if you want to leave these rooms today" Clow said with amusement, his eyes glinting with an otherworldly glee "Or you might want to start keeping some of your clothes in there…" He motioned pointedly to the still opened closet.
'So that's his plan!' Violet crossed her arm in answer, not at all objecting to his suggestion, but still feeling slightly embarrassed. She didn't care what people said anyway – her worry was about her own sanity.
So in return, the witch reached for her wand on the nightstand beside her side of the bed, and transfigured her own discarded camisole into a simple dress. 'It will do until I reach my room and have the chance to bath and change!' Clow didn't wait for her to summon the piece of clothing; he helpfully picked it up for her from where it laid on the floor and handed it over – a very nice smile on his lips.
Smiling back, Violet threw the transfigured dress over her head, sighing in relief.
Right on time as well.
For not a moment later came a knock on the door. The sorcerer looked at Violet, seeing her raised hand for time – he waited until she was done using her wand to style her hair in a semblance of order – Clow himself forgoing brushing his and letting the long, silken strands rest freely over a shoulder. 'He doesn't have Potter curls!'
When she was done, the sorcerer walked over the sitting room and opened the door, with Violet peeking through the door to the bedroom itself. Katya stood on the other side, a breakfast tray in hand.
'Oh…'
The students of the house usually shared a breakfast table, and though Violet received her own in bed, she still blushed a thousand and one shades of red when Katya inevitably asked.
"Should I bring mistress' tea to master's rooms from now on?" Was what the matronly maid questioned with a straight face, the only thing betraying her mask of blasé professionalism? – The mad twinkle in her narrowed brown eyes.
Katya always portrayed herself as a severe, no nonsense kind of person, so Violet was indeed shocked to realize that her plight offered amusement to the older woman. Were the witch anyone else, she'd have been offended. As it is, the green eyed woman is more than a little embarrassed. Clow was as amused as the maid, for he chuckled warmly under his breath and nodded in consent to the question.
"For another day or two, at least" He said, alluding to the fact that they had yet to catch the one behind the attack on Violet.
At least Katya was discreet.
…
The same couldn't be said about the students.
It wasn't hard to see how much Clow and Violet's relationship changed.
For the couple of days they've been back from China, it was obvious to anyone who witnessed their interactions that something shifted.
Violet didn't mind the curious, and even perhaps disdainful looks she's been receiving that day – any day which started with an eyeful of the sorcerer's simply gorgeous bum promised to be weird. Admittedly, that was the first time she's been privy to the view, often catching a peek or two of said bum whenever he turned his back, and it was through layers of clothes.
So laying on a bench around the fountain, simply enjoying this beginning summer's breezes and thinking back on her day so far – Violet has promised herself she wouldn't go overboard with magic, feeling the built up fatigue from a day of compensation dues. 'Thank Merlin I've reached my magical maturity last year' because it would be inhumanly worse if her powers were still immature.
And Clow… well 'A week's time travel to China, and a couple of days spent on leisure made quite a pile of paperwork he has to take a look at' the witch, from spending so much time around Clow, knew a bit about his income.
There were a number of rental contracts and agreements from a couple of properties around both Europe and Asia – living so long and having wandering parents, made sure the Reed family amassed a large amount of land. The sorcerer himself didn't have a particularly good head for business, so he did have a party of solicitors, a friendly attorney and a barrister to take care of legalities – of which there were plenty.
Aside from properties and land, Clow penned a number of books under multiple names over recent decades and owned a large orchard near Cambridge.
Violet has come to understand that her sorcerer was actually against Industrial growth, he'd argue with her when she'd point out the wonders of the Telly and telephone. "Industry takes out of the artist's hand the production of something… it is in the artist that magic lives, so something borne of cold machines can never match the wonders of a true crafter's labor" And was an avid fan of artists such as William Morris, having met in Oxford.
And then the witch would come up with counterarguments, giving start to a conversation that left both deeply satisfied and entertained for hours. "Handcrafts are too expensive for the poorer population… industry makes necessities cheaper and accessible to everyone, plus all the wonderful new inventions that come out every day!"
Violet yawned on her bench, soaking up whatever sunlight managed to stream through the curtain of clouds – her hair was a mess – since her bath a couple of hours ago, she hasn't bothered with tying it up, letting the curls dry naturally around her shoulders.
"You're not calling him Master anymore" A shadow hovered above her head obstructing precious sunlight. The witch's eyes cracked open a slit, and the first thing she saw was a halo of blond curls just as messy as hers.
"Charlotte" the green eyed woman greeted blandly, before blinking up and sitting properly on the bench. Charlotte understood the silent invitation and sat down beside her, hurrying to remove her shoes and soak up her feet inside the fountain's water pool. "No… I suppose I'm not" Violet allowed tightly, uneasy swirling in her stomach.
Charlotte grinned with amusement, before her eyes narrowed "It isn't proper, you're his apprentice!" she scolded lightly "You know what I wouldn't do to be chosen as apprentice?"
'I will bet the answer to that is everything' Violet thought, gritting her teeth as anger bubbled under her skin as the other insinuated something. 'Merlin! What is this girl thinking?!'
"Well, not really, and my relationship with Clow is our business, not anyone else's" the witch had to hold herself back from snapping. The blonde's blue eyes sharpened as all wry humor left them.
"Oh! So there is a relationship!" She crowed sharply, crossing her arms "Are you visiting his bed at night? I don't blame you; I'd warm everything of his if he asked me to!" the sneer was what got to Violet the most – green eyes positively glowed with power as she glared at the blonde.
"None… of your business" The witch told her firmly, keeping Charlotte pinned under the force of her glare for half a minute more before she rose from her seat and strode back to the manor.
XxxxxXxxxxX
"If I drink this…" Her hands enclosed around a small crystal flask filled with a burgundy liquid. Her brother has sent it to her through one of his acquaintances in Cambridge, and she's picked it up that morning.
'Confirming what I already knew from Violet herself… I need to hurry before Teacher decides to kick everyone out of the manor… he already has a magically powerful lover, getting a heir from her is the next logical step' And then he'd never chose a mere student over his own flesh and blood… 'Xiao Ling doesn't matter, not anymore… but perhaps she'll have some more uses'
Her magic surged, connecting to the mirror and sustaining it. It didn't take as much as it did when she first learned this type of magic from her family's library – she had a lot more control now, than she had then – It was still costly enough that the effort left her breathless.
Her brother's image formed behind the mirror. His long blond hair framing a face very similar to her own, only his eyes were brown instead of blue. "This potion will make you look like whoever's blood is mixed in it"
'Anton is a master of his field and father disinherited him for what? For marrying the woman he loves!? And big sister, marrying that disgusting pig just to keep the name in the family and title of heir… I will not be like them. Folding like wet paper under the elders' wishes…'
A voice that didn't betray any of her inner turmoil sounded light and clear, cheerful even. "Thank you, brother"
But Anton could read her like no other, even when he always turned a blind eye to her antics "Char… what are you planning? I thought you were studying under master Reed" He was always her favorite brother, the only one who'd give her time out of his day and listen to her troubles.
'Little Char is never good enough. She's not as smart as Anton, not as powerful as Amelie. What can poor Charlotte do?' Her tongue felt like lead in her mouth 'Throw her to that upstart magician, Reed… he might be able to teach her something useful… well, there is always a chance he will have little Char as apprentice'
"I am. This is to help me with some self-study" She blinked, breathing heavily. Willing Anton to see only what he wanted to. That's what people always did anyway.
"If you say so. Let us talk another time, I know how tiring it is for you to hold a connection for this long" She knew he didn't mean to sound so patronizing… 'It hurt to be looked down on, bit brother. But don't worry; it won't matter for much longer. I have a plan, you see?'
"No matter Anton. I might not be a good thaumaturgist, but mirror magic comes easily to me" She said instead of something scathing. She still needed Anton, and didn't want to alienate him to her cause. 'He is my favorite brother' she reminded herself. 'Don't feel jealous of perfect Anton, who threw the perfect life away for the woman he loves'
Anton's brown eyes creased with worry. It warmed her heart at the same time as it made her taste ashes in her mouth "However easy it is, your magic pool is not infinite. Fare well, little sister"
"Anton…"
The red liquid glinted under the lamp light as she bent the flask to inspect it further. 'Shame Xiao Ling didn't want part in this… I think I will have all the fun on my own'
XxxxXxxxX
Violet's head felt heavy. Her thoughts turned sluggish and her eyes ached.
'Maybe I didn't get enough sleep' the witch wondered at the sudden fatigue, a faint alarm going off inside of her but being ignored as an even larger part of her felt so tired, so spent. Lethargy made her consciousness slow, halting in process and forgoing deeper thoughts for immediate ones.
'Where can I lay down for a kip?' The library sofa was chosen.
The last thing she saw was Xiao Ling, admiring her own image in a hand held mirror.
XxxxXxxxX
TBC~
Note:
1) Back to shorter chapters…
2) Dundundun! What's Char's plan?