I just love writing about the Duchess' crazy household.
"Another Sorcerer"
The next few weeks flew in a blur. Sìnead was faced by days of absolute activity and days where she saw no one at all. The Duchess' manor was full of wonders...the crazy chef who used way too much pepper, the numerous frog footmen, and a mysterious cat who seemed to disappear into thin air. Sìnead could have been happy, but she still had the burden of magic, preventing her from enjoying the manor.
She made slow progress; uncertainties preventing her from truly making bounds towards control. As the days slipped by, her teacher grew more more impatient. He had begun to realize that Sìnead was holding herself back.
"You must try harder!" The sorcerer raged.
Sìnead shook her head, "I can't."
"Do you know what happens when you don't learn to control yourself?"
She shook her head.
"The Duchess will have you turned into a frog footman, or worse: a pig."
Sìnead glared at him, "and do you know what will become of your if I lose grip? You will die."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a fact," she said, without malice or concern.
The sorcerer frowned, "Try the next exercise."
Sìnead scowled and turned her attention to the frog footman who she was to be her 'guinea pig'. She raised her hands to command him and hesitated. In his wide, glassy eyes she could see her own fearful face reflected.
"I won't control this creature."
"You must. If you can fine tune your ability enough to control a single being, you will be in control."
Sìnead focused on the frog a moment longer, then lashed her will power onto the sorcerer."
"You will no longer teach me," her voice was like ice.
The sorcerer muttered a spell of protection a moment too late before Sìnead's magic pressed against his mind. Like the rest, he crumpled.
"Tell the Duchess I need a new teacher," Sìnead ordered the frog footman who obeyed without question.
An instant after he'd gone, Sìnead knelt beside the boy and sighed.
"I didn't want this to happen to you. But you people never learn until it's too late." Her eyes were sad.
As she waited for the Duchess to arrive, a gray and blue striped cat padded through the room wherein she practiced magic.
"Fine day for a nap," he said, gazing at Sìnead with eerie amber eyes.
"He's not napping," she regarded the cat warily.
"That's a pity," the cat smiled, the corners of its mouth lifting into a disturbingly large grin.
"Who are you?"
"Who is anyone?" The cat continued to leer.
Sìnead watched in amazement as the gray stripes began to fade, starting at its tail. The blue stripes gradually followed until nothing but its leering grin and glowing eyes remained.
A moment later, even these had vanished.
Sìnead didn't have time to ponder the strange feline because the door to the room swung open, accompanied by the blare of trumpets, four frog footmen in crisp powdered wigs and blazers, the crazy chef, and a pair of pis carrying a palanquin with the Duchess balanced haphazardly atop.
"You there, girl, what do you mean in giving me an order?!" The Duchess seemed more annoyed that Sìnead had ordered her to do something than the fact the sorcerer was dead.
"I meant no disrespect?" Sìnead offered.
"Well, I am offended."
"Aren't you upset about the sorcerer?"
"He was annoying," she paused dramatically, "you shall have another."
Fun Fact: The Duchess is described as someone who oscillates between a very childish demeanor and someone quite cruel.