Her Old Mage Mentor
This is Part Twenty Six in The Meeting of Breccan & Finbar. Trigger warning for mention of rape.
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Maris glanced at Nico. “Can you try not to look so -- excessively pretty? Your human disguise is painfully obvious.”
“But my eyes are blue, and I’m dressed correctly,” Nico said.
We were preparing to visit Maris’ old mage mentor, Master Clara. It would attract attention we didn’t want to have Nico wandering the streets of the city looking obviously like a god, so he had dressed in a mortal-style purple outfit. In dress, he resembled any other inhabitant of the People’s Purple Haven.
In everything else -- he didn’t. Nico’s looks were such that he stood out anyway. He just had an aura that he couldn’t easily disguise, fake sky blue eyes or no. Even Nico’s long hair, reaching to his mid back, was unusual for a man in this city, though he had at least pulled it back into a ponytail.
Isabel muttered, “I know he’s your new lover but there’s no need to stare so much. It makes you look stupid
Finbar chided, “Oh let him be, Isabel. It’s not like you’re going to stop him from acting like a lovesick fool.”
My cheeks prickled. I wasn’t staring; was I?
“Remember, Clara doesn’t need to deal with all your ridiculous personal drama, so keep it to yourselves when we actually get there, alright?” Maris grumbled. “She also doesn’t need to know that Nico is a god. Clara has a worse opinion of them than I do.”
And so, we headed out. I held Nico’s hand as we walked through the city, feeling uncomfortable with the stares we got. I thought they might be due to my and Finbar’s clothes, which marked us as foreigners. Everyone here wore some shade of purple, which still baffled me. How could the populace afford all the purple dye?
Royalty normally had a monopoly on all varities of purple, as royalty were the “eyes of the gods on Earth” and gods’ eyes were always some shade of purple. This city -- it defied everything I knew, and I still hadn’t adjusted to staying here. Even the strange appearance of the majority of the people sometimes unnerved me, though I didn’t share this feeling with Maris, who, after all, looked like an ordinary citizen of this place.
“We’re here,” Maris said.
The houses in this area were even bigger than in Maris’ neighborhood. They weren’t attached to each other like her house was attached to the ones next to it, and the residences here had green yards. We stopped in front of a house where wildly colorful flowers in many shapes and sizes grew all over the place. Those had to be the result of magical assistance, as nobody else had anything like that
Maris approached the door and knocked on on the flower-shaped metal knocker.
“This doesn’t seem the house of a proper mage,” Isabel said.
After a few moments, a woman who appeared barely older than Maris opened the door. As the house looked nothing like a stereotypical mage’s residence, neither did the mage herself. She wore her black hair in twin brains, along with a long flowing skirt and loose top. Both garments were decorated with beads. Everything was purple, even her pendant that hung from a leather cord.
I had to admit the woman herself looked odd, with strangely narrow and flat almost-black eyes and an unusually yellowish skin tone. She resembled some of the people I had seen in the market where I had met Maris.
Master Clara said, “Maris, how nice of you to visit and bring along your friends. And what a fascinating group they are.”
She noticed my staring at her and raised an eyebrow.. “Have you never seen someone who looked like me before? I assure you I’m as human as you are; I don’t bite.”
“I didn’t think you would bite,” I stammered.
She laughed. “Best not to stare at people, though.”
I could feel my cheeks heat up; I almost certainly had to be blushing rather obviously, though I wasn’t trying to stare. Isabel glared contemptuously at me, which I attempted to ignore.
That was when Master Clara’s gaze fell specifically upon Nico, whose hand I still held.
“Quite the odd couple, these two,” she murmured.
“I -- I don’t know what you mean,” Nico said.
“I don’t, either,” Maris muttered.
Master Clara laughed. “The lie is terribly obvious; his disguise is quite thin. Though, Maris, I thought you didn’t hold much faith in the gods? Certainly not enough to travel with one. Why don’t you all come inside?”
“I’m -- I’m not,” Nico said.
She murmured, “It’s not a problem if you are, though I’m curious as to how you ended up with my former student for a friend.”
Explaining all that might take a while and would likely involve secrets better left unrevealed.
We entered the house and took seats in Master Clara’s living room, which fairly exploded with yet more flowers, growing in a variety of pots. Nico and I occupied a small loveseat together, which caused Master Clara to smirk and chuckle quietly to herself. Isabel rolled her eyes and sat on the couch between Maris and Finbar.
Master Clara said, “You may all call me Clara. This ‘Master’ business is a bit awkward, isn’t it? I’ll make you all some tea, if you like. It comes from the petals of flowers grown right outside in my garden.”
After Clara left, Maris muttered, “I hope you all don’t embarrass me too much in front of my old Master. I would say to keep the dysfunction to a minimum, but I doubt that will happen. Still, it would be nice if you could try.”
“I’ll try,” Nico murmured.
Isabel snorted. “It would be hard for you to behave decently.”
“I’m sure he can do it,” I whispered.
She rolled her eyes again. “Of course you’re defending him because you’ve been addled by his seduction powers and don’t even care to try and fight them, weakling.”
Clara entered the room with a tray of steaming teacups. After handing each of us one, she put the tray on the table in the middle of the room and sat down in an armchair, her own teacup in hand.
“You all must have such stories to tell,” she said. Her eyes focused on Nico. “So, care to tell me your story?”
The question clearly unnerved him. “My -- story?”
Isabel giggled. “I can tell you his story, or part of it, if you’re curious. It starts a bit over fifty years ago, when I was only eighteen years old. I’m older than I look, because of the shadows.”
Clara appeared utterly unfazed by Finbar’s and Isabel’s shadows. Most people I had met feared them, but Maris’ odd former teacher didn’t seem to care.
“You knew each other from so long ago?” Clara murmured.
I stammered, “H-hey, we don’t need to go that far back.”
Glaring at me, Isabel hissed, “Defending your lover, are you? That’s sweet, I suppose, but you can shut up right now. I have a right to tell my story.”
Nico whimpered beside me, so I wrapped an arm around his shoulders. I knew it might not be so appropriate to hold him like that, but I couldn’t bear his distress. He leaned into me, turning his face away from everyon’es eyes. Maris remained silent, simply observing the proceedings.
Finbar said, “I think Isabel should speak up.”
“Yes, we knew each other,” Isabel muttered. “Nico, being just like any other god, decided he must posses me. And so he used his powers to seduce me away from my boyfriend. It worked, for a time. Eventually, though, I had enough and broke free, or tried to. Nico -- didn’t take my breaking things off very well. He forced himself on me. After that, I ran into the streets and gained my shadows when a monster attacked me. It was all thanks to Nico, I guess you could say.”
Clara’s friendly face hardened. “Nico, is this true?”
Nico just whimpered, seemingly unable to bring himself to confirm or deny it.
Maris sighed. “It’s true.”
“Then why in all the hells are you traveling with him? I thought if you were to associate yourself with a god, it would be someone actually decent. I was willing to welcome Nico into my house because I figured you would be more careful in choosing your companions,” Clara said.
Maris sipped her tea. “Nico’s grown rather attached to Breccan, and I’m -- hoping he can redeem himself like he claims to want. Quite possibly, I’m crazy for thinking so.”
“You are,” Clara stated flatly. “Now, I won’t entertain such a -- creature in my house, so I will kindly ask Nico to leave. I accept he may want to redeem himself, but I do not think it is possible.”
Nico whimpered yet again. I helped him stand up. “I’ll take him outside,” I said.
Clara looked at me curiously. “You don’t have to leave, though I question your taste in lovers.”
Isabel snorted at that.
I said, “We’ll be waiting outside.
With my arm still around Nico’s shoulder, I guided him outside. My stomach sank; I felt terrible for him. On some level, I understood Clara’s position, but I just wanted to hug Nico and tell him it would all get better.
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written for 500themes #177 - "Compassion's Shadow"
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previous chapter
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Maris glanced at Nico. “Can you try not to look so -- excessively pretty? Your human disguise is painfully obvious.”
“But my eyes are blue, and I’m dressed correctly,” Nico said.
We were preparing to visit Maris’ old mage mentor, Master Clara. It would attract attention we didn’t want to have Nico wandering the streets of the city looking obviously like a god, so he had dressed in a mortal-style purple outfit. In dress, he resembled any other inhabitant of the People’s Purple Haven.
In everything else -- he didn’t. Nico’s looks were such that he stood out anyway. He just had an aura that he couldn’t easily disguise, fake sky blue eyes or no. Even Nico’s long hair, reaching to his mid back, was unusual for a man in this city, though he had at least pulled it back into a ponytail.
Isabel muttered, “I know he’s your new lover but there’s no need to stare so much. It makes you look stupid
Finbar chided, “Oh let him be, Isabel. It’s not like you’re going to stop him from acting like a lovesick fool.”
My cheeks prickled. I wasn’t staring; was I?
“Remember, Clara doesn’t need to deal with all your ridiculous personal drama, so keep it to yourselves when we actually get there, alright?” Maris grumbled. “She also doesn’t need to know that Nico is a god. Clara has a worse opinion of them than I do.”
And so, we headed out. I held Nico’s hand as we walked through the city, feeling uncomfortable with the stares we got. I thought they might be due to my and Finbar’s clothes, which marked us as foreigners. Everyone here wore some shade of purple, which still baffled me. How could the populace afford all the purple dye?
Royalty normally had a monopoly on all varities of purple, as royalty were the “eyes of the gods on Earth” and gods’ eyes were always some shade of purple. This city -- it defied everything I knew, and I still hadn’t adjusted to staying here. Even the strange appearance of the majority of the people sometimes unnerved me, though I didn’t share this feeling with Maris, who, after all, looked like an ordinary citizen of this place.
“We’re here,” Maris said.
The houses in this area were even bigger than in Maris’ neighborhood. They weren’t attached to each other like her house was attached to the ones next to it, and the residences here had green yards. We stopped in front of a house where wildly colorful flowers in many shapes and sizes grew all over the place. Those had to be the result of magical assistance, as nobody else had anything like that
Maris approached the door and knocked on on the flower-shaped metal knocker.
“This doesn’t seem the house of a proper mage,” Isabel said.
After a few moments, a woman who appeared barely older than Maris opened the door. As the house looked nothing like a stereotypical mage’s residence, neither did the mage herself. She wore her black hair in twin brains, along with a long flowing skirt and loose top. Both garments were decorated with beads. Everything was purple, even her pendant that hung from a leather cord.
I had to admit the woman herself looked odd, with strangely narrow and flat almost-black eyes and an unusually yellowish skin tone. She resembled some of the people I had seen in the market where I had met Maris.
Master Clara said, “Maris, how nice of you to visit and bring along your friends. And what a fascinating group they are.”
She noticed my staring at her and raised an eyebrow.. “Have you never seen someone who looked like me before? I assure you I’m as human as you are; I don’t bite.”
“I didn’t think you would bite,” I stammered.
She laughed. “Best not to stare at people, though.”
I could feel my cheeks heat up; I almost certainly had to be blushing rather obviously, though I wasn’t trying to stare. Isabel glared contemptuously at me, which I attempted to ignore.
That was when Master Clara’s gaze fell specifically upon Nico, whose hand I still held.
“Quite the odd couple, these two,” she murmured.
“I -- I don’t know what you mean,” Nico said.
“I don’t, either,” Maris muttered.
Master Clara laughed. “The lie is terribly obvious; his disguise is quite thin. Though, Maris, I thought you didn’t hold much faith in the gods? Certainly not enough to travel with one. Why don’t you all come inside?”
“I’m -- I’m not,” Nico said.
She murmured, “It’s not a problem if you are, though I’m curious as to how you ended up with my former student for a friend.”
Explaining all that might take a while and would likely involve secrets better left unrevealed.
We entered the house and took seats in Master Clara’s living room, which fairly exploded with yet more flowers, growing in a variety of pots. Nico and I occupied a small loveseat together, which caused Master Clara to smirk and chuckle quietly to herself. Isabel rolled her eyes and sat on the couch between Maris and Finbar.
Master Clara said, “You may all call me Clara. This ‘Master’ business is a bit awkward, isn’t it? I’ll make you all some tea, if you like. It comes from the petals of flowers grown right outside in my garden.”
After Clara left, Maris muttered, “I hope you all don’t embarrass me too much in front of my old Master. I would say to keep the dysfunction to a minimum, but I doubt that will happen. Still, it would be nice if you could try.”
“I’ll try,” Nico murmured.
Isabel snorted. “It would be hard for you to behave decently.”
“I’m sure he can do it,” I whispered.
She rolled her eyes again. “Of course you’re defending him because you’ve been addled by his seduction powers and don’t even care to try and fight them, weakling.”
Clara entered the room with a tray of steaming teacups. After handing each of us one, she put the tray on the table in the middle of the room and sat down in an armchair, her own teacup in hand.
“You all must have such stories to tell,” she said. Her eyes focused on Nico. “So, care to tell me your story?”
The question clearly unnerved him. “My -- story?”
Isabel giggled. “I can tell you his story, or part of it, if you’re curious. It starts a bit over fifty years ago, when I was only eighteen years old. I’m older than I look, because of the shadows.”
Clara appeared utterly unfazed by Finbar’s and Isabel’s shadows. Most people I had met feared them, but Maris’ odd former teacher didn’t seem to care.
“You knew each other from so long ago?” Clara murmured.
I stammered, “H-hey, we don’t need to go that far back.”
Glaring at me, Isabel hissed, “Defending your lover, are you? That’s sweet, I suppose, but you can shut up right now. I have a right to tell my story.”
Nico whimpered beside me, so I wrapped an arm around his shoulders. I knew it might not be so appropriate to hold him like that, but I couldn’t bear his distress. He leaned into me, turning his face away from everyon’es eyes. Maris remained silent, simply observing the proceedings.
Finbar said, “I think Isabel should speak up.”
“Yes, we knew each other,” Isabel muttered. “Nico, being just like any other god, decided he must posses me. And so he used his powers to seduce me away from my boyfriend. It worked, for a time. Eventually, though, I had enough and broke free, or tried to. Nico -- didn’t take my breaking things off very well. He forced himself on me. After that, I ran into the streets and gained my shadows when a monster attacked me. It was all thanks to Nico, I guess you could say.”
Clara’s friendly face hardened. “Nico, is this true?”
Nico just whimpered, seemingly unable to bring himself to confirm or deny it.
Maris sighed. “It’s true.”
“Then why in all the hells are you traveling with him? I thought if you were to associate yourself with a god, it would be someone actually decent. I was willing to welcome Nico into my house because I figured you would be more careful in choosing your companions,” Clara said.
Maris sipped her tea. “Nico’s grown rather attached to Breccan, and I’m -- hoping he can redeem himself like he claims to want. Quite possibly, I’m crazy for thinking so.”
“You are,” Clara stated flatly. “Now, I won’t entertain such a -- creature in my house, so I will kindly ask Nico to leave. I accept he may want to redeem himself, but I do not think it is possible.”
Nico whimpered yet again. I helped him stand up. “I’ll take him outside,” I said.
Clara looked at me curiously. “You don’t have to leave, though I question your taste in lovers.”
Isabel snorted at that.
I said, “We’ll be waiting outside.
With my arm still around Nico’s shoulder, I guided him outside. My stomach sank; I felt terrible for him. On some level, I understood Clara’s position, but I just wanted to hug Nico and tell him it would all get better.
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written for 500themes #177 - "Compassion's Shadow"
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