First Witch's Tale

Chapter Five

I hadn’t been sure what to expect, over the next two days, but no one said anything about the incident. Nothing. Nothing at all. Cemburu and his cronies sat uncomfortably, and glared at me whenever they could, but they did nothing. I knew it wouldn’t last. Cemburu might be very different from the boys in the village, and he had certainly underestimated me, but at base they were the same. It was just a matter of time before he did something to strike at me, something to convince himself that I hadn’t beaten him with a single punch. His pride wouldn’t allow anything else.

The rest of the class seemed determined to stay out of it as much as possible. I wasn’t too surprised. They didn’t know who was going to come out ahead, or if I was even going to stay, and I suspected some of them were reluctant to take sides against their male peers. Men respect allies, not traitors, even when the allies are allied to a complete idiot who is likely to bring everyone else down with him. It was rare for someone, back home, to betray their friends or fellow villagers. Even if they were in the right, they would be in the wrong.

I stayed behind, after class, to talk to Master Falladine. It was nerve wracking. I had no idea what he thought of the whole affair. Did he see me as a weak woman, very lucky to escape being raped or molested, or did he see me as a student? Still a student? The thought made me grind my teeth in frustration. Back home, woman had a certain degree of protection, but that protection came at the expense of subordinating themselves to their male protectors, their fathers or brothers or husbands. Here … if I needed protection, I would look weak and unworthy of respect. And that I could not allow.

“Janis,” Master Falladine said. “What can I do for you?”

I was tempted to jump around the issue, but I suspected that would just irritate him. “I need to learn more combat magic,” I said. “Will you teach me?”

Master Falladine studied me for a long moment. It struck me, suddenly, that I had no idea how the rest of the tutors felt about the whole affair either. Were they on my side? Or his? I didn’t know anything about Cemburu’s origins, or where he came from. I was fairly sure he was an aristocrat, and clearly not one used to physical exertion, but otherwise … I just didn’t know. I didn’t know, either, how well I was doing compared to the other students. Master Falladine might consider me worthy of extra tuition, or he might not. It wasn’t as if I had any way to pay him, except … I tried not to think about it. I wasn’t going to give anyone my body in payment, even for private lessons. It was unthinkable.

“And how,” Master Falladine said, “do you propose to pay for these lessons?”

I swallowed. Was he implying …? Could he read my mind? I had been thinking about payment and yet … if he could, wouldn’t he know I have no intention of trading sex for anything? If I did that, no one would ever respect me again. Cemburu would call me a whore and he would be right. But what else did I have?

“You need an assistant,” I said. Master Falladine didn’t have a personal apprentice or even a servant, someone to clean up classroom, organise lesson plans and everything else a tutor normally had to handle himself. I didn’t know why - some of the other teachers had apprentices or assistants of their own - but it was all I had to offer. “Give me the extra lessons and I will be your assistant.”

“I see.” Master Falladine said nothing for a long moment, just long enough to make me sweat. “And why do you want to learn?”

I felt a hot flash of anger. Didn’t he know why I wanted to learn? He’d seen me on the floor, helpless, and at the mercy of a young man who thought me nothing more than a servant. Or a serf. Or a slave. The thought powered my rage. I didn’t know how far Cemburu would have gone, if he hadn’t been interrupted, but I didn’t want to believe he would have stopped short of actually raping me. If Master Falladine hadn’t walked in, I could have had my virginity stolen by a monstrous …

“Two days ago, I was nearly raped,” I growled. It was hard, almost impossible, to keep my voice steady. “I want to make sure it can never happen again. And that means I have to learn how to defend myself.”

“Cemburu does not have the nerve to rape anyone,” Master Falladine said, bluntly. If he was shocked at my choice of words, words aristocratic woman were not supposed to know existed, he didn’t show it. “I doubt it would have gone much further.”

His casual dismissal of the threat to my virginity and my life angered me further. “I still need to know how to defend myself,” I said. “I can’t count on anyone to protect me.”

“Unfortunately, you’re probably correct,” Master Falladine stated. His eyes bored into mine. “Understand this. First, I will push you hard and I will show no patience whatsoever if you are unable to keep up; second, I will be expecting you to assist me after you master enough skills to be an effective assistant. Right now, you don’t have enough practical magic to be helpful.”

I nodded, torn between relief and fear. Lessons had been hard enough in class, with the tutor splitting his attention between twenty students, but if I had his sole attention … he whipped out his wand, faster than I could blink, and cast a spell. My body froze, my muscles locking up and then cramping painfully. I struggled to free myself, but I could do nothing. Master Falladine looked me up and down, then undid the spell. I collapsed in a heap on the ground. The fall was so violent that I honestly feared he’d somehow vanished my bones. My entire body felt as if it had turned to liquid.

“Your reflexes need work,” Master Falladine said, as I staggered back to my feet. “You also need to master other techniques, such as wandless casting. Are you still willing to learn?”

I nodded. If Master Falladine could do that to me, it was only a matter of time until Cemburu could too. I didn’t know if he would have the idea of getting a tutor of his own, but I was sure he had something to trade if he wanted one. My legs felt wobbly, a grim reminder of just how helpless I had been. I needed to learn to defend myself before it was too late.

“Yes, sir,” I said. “I’m willing.”

“Very good,” Master Falladine said. “Make sure you eat as much as possible at dinnertime, then report to my office at sunset. We will begin at once.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, again. I would need to sneak to the office - I had no doubt that nasty rumours would start the moment Cemburu realised where I was going - but that wouldn’t be hard. I had no pressing engagements after dinner. The very thought was absurd. I had no friends at school and I wouldn’t ever, unless I proved myself. “I’ll be there.”

And I was. Master Falladine, true to his word, drilled me thoroughly in defensive magic, teaching me dozens of little tricks to get the best out of my growing powers and how to speed up my reactions when I was under threat. He showed me how to cast shields, then hit them with charms and curses to shatter them, then taught me how to discard a breaking shield or even turn it into a weapon. I had never considered the advantages of turning fragments of magic into projectiles, but it was clear it worked very well. The wave of sharp-edged magic could cut through almost anything.

“Don’t try to block a spell if you can evade it,” Master Falladine instructed, after hitting me with a charm that shattered my shield and threw me back against the wall. “Getting into a trial of strength with a stronger magician is a losing game. He will batter you down with naked force and then do whatever he wants to you.”

I glowered. “Is Cemburu really that strong?”

Master Falladine shot me a sarcastic look. “Do you think he’ll be your only challenger?”

I scowled as I wiped the sweat from my forehead. He was right. I had seen advanced students joshing each other for position and even junior magicians challenging their seniors. I had even heard a rumour that a magician had come to Whitehall to challenge Bernard for the school, although nothing seemed to have come of it. Magicians liked testing themselves against their peers, even at the cost of their lives or reputations. Cemburu might be a pain, but he was also very low in the hierarchy. My next challenger might prove a tougher case.

You have to beat the first challenger first, I thought. It was rare for older students to try to put the younger ones in their place, but if I beat Cemburu they might try to put me in mine. Worry about next challenger after that.

Master Falladine cast another spell at me. I dodged, raised my wand and tossed a spell back. The tutor nodded approvingly and then cast a second spell. My fingers twitched, dropping the wand. I grabbed for it, too late. His third spell sent me tumbling to the ground.

“You have to work on wandless casting,” Master Falladine said, bluntly. “If you succeed, you’ll be able to give him one hell of a surprise.”

It was hard for me to tell if I was getting any better, even as I mastered the art of casting spells so quickly I barely had to think about it. The lessons took their toll. He drilled me for two hours, then sent me back to bed; I collapsed into the sheets and then woke hungry, feeling as if I hadn’t slept at all, for morning lessons. I was surprised the other tutors didn’t thrash me for being inattentive in their classes. Perhaps Master Falladine had had a quiet word with them. Or perhaps not. It was difficult to tell what he really thought about me, and the lessons he was giving me. There were times when he was almost fatherly and times when it seemed he couldn’t wait to be rid of me. I suspected - I hoped - he was pushing me in a bid to force me to stretch my magic further than ever before.

The denouement came faster than I had expected. I had nearly fall asleep in Master Sake’s classroom, something that would normally guarantee me a thrashing with his belt. It was no idle threat. I had seen him thrash a student - a male student - for mouthing off and falling asleep in class was great deal worse. And yet he merely glared at me.

“Get more sleep,” he advised sarcastically. I was torn between relief and irritation. The boys already resented me. They’d resent me more if I got away with falling asleep in class. “What have you been doing after hours?”

“She’s been spreading for Master Falladine,” Cemburu said, nastily. “She hasn’t been sleeping with him. She’s been doing something else.”

The classroom went deathly silent. Even Cemburu’s cronies, who I would have expected to titter and laugh at their master’s joke, kept their mouths shut. It was so quiet I thought someone had cast a silencing spell, so quiet someone could hear a pin drop. I had no idea how many people had noticed I had been going to Master Falladine’s office after hours, but it was clear rumours had been bubbling for days, perhaps weeks, before Cemburu brought them into the open. And yet … I wondered, suddenly, just how bad the rumours would be for Master Falladine. If the staff thought he was sleeping with one of his students …

And until recently, that wasn’t even a possibility, I thought. But now …

I turned to face Cemburu. “You are a lying little shit.”

Cemburu smirked at me. “You are spreading for him,” he said. “Do you deny it?”

“I challenge you to a duel,” I said. I had the brief satisfaction of seeing a flicker of uncertainty cross his face before the smirk returned. “The gods will defend the right.”

“I could not possibly be such an unmanly buffoon as to accept a challenge from a … lady,” Cemburu said. The conceit in his voice made me want to hit him again. I couldn’t tell if he really meant it or if he was trying to evade the challenge. “As a man of honour …”

“As a man of honour, you must either accept the challenge or leave the school,” Master Sake said, coldly. “Janis is a fellow student. She has every right to be outraged at your ungentlemanly behaviour and demand satisfaction. So too does Master Falladine. If you refuse the challenge …”

I could practically see the sudden panic in Cemburu’s eyes. If he declined my challenge, it would be taken as an admission he was lying and he would probably be expelled. There was no way he could back down and apologise, not to a girl. It would secure my position at the cost of his own. His only way out was to win … and even then, no one would take it quite seriously because he had beaten by a girl. I smirked back at him. It pushed him over the edge.

“Tomorrow evening,” he said. “I trust you can make the arrangements?”

“The staff will see to it,” Master Sake said. It wasn’t the first honour duel the school had seen. “Until then, the two of you will be isolated from the rest of school. I suggest you spend the time practising.”

He summoned two older students, who escorted us to our rooms. I guessed Cemburu was pleased at finally getting a room of his own, even though it probably wouldn’t last. My thoughts churned as I lay down on the bed, wondering if I had done the right thing. I might win a challenge and yet … people would always talk. I knew from experience that nothing, not even a brutal beating, could stop people gossiping. The old men and women back home were still talking about events that had happened when my father was a lad, involving people who passed away before my mother had brought me into the world. I hoped Master Falladine wouldn’t be smeared, afterwards. But I feared otherwise.

The thought haunted me as I slept, ate my breakfast, then practised my moves until the evening, when Master Falladine arrived to escort me to the hall. I felt butterflies in my stomach as I walked down and into the chamber, catching sight of Cemburu on the other side of the room. Bernard spoke briefly to the pair of us, giving Cemburu a chance to retract his statement – his lie and me a chance to retract my challenge, then drew a circle on the floor and invited us to enter. Cemburu smirked at me as Bernard counted down, then raised his wand and cast the first spell. He’d clearly been practising. I felt a flicker of envy. He had friends who could help him master his magic.

But I had a proper teacher, I reminded myself. And he taught me well.

We traded spell after spell for what felt like hours. I kicked myself, mentally, for not eating as much as I should before being escorted to the hall. I hadn’t been able to eat properly and yet I was going to pay for it now. Cemburu was a challenging opponent, not least because it was very difficult to determine what he would do. Master Falladine was an experienced magician who would always go for the knockout blow, whereas Cemburu lacked his experience and often missed opportunities to win. And yet, as we traded spells, I felt myself getting worn down. I could see sweat on his forehead. It was turning into an endurance contest and I doubted I could win.

I gritted my teeth and hold a set of charms at him, using them to cover a spell that should have disarmed him. It wouldn’t guarantee victory, but it would cripple him long enough for me to land the final blow. Instead, he jumped to one side, dodging the spells I aimed and tossing back a spell of his own. It struck me hard, knocking me over and sending my wand flying into the distance. Cemburu laughed - the crowd hooted - and advanced threateningly, dragging out the moment of victory as long as he could. I shaped a spell in my mind – wandless casting finally making a degree of sense - and blasted him as he loomed over me. Cemburu stumbled backwards and collapsed as I staggered to my feet. The urge to just kick him in the groin was overpowering, but I resisted. It would be counted as cheating. Instead, I picked up his wand and stunned him. The crowd went wild.

“Congratulations on your victory,” Bernard said. He sounded genuinely pleased. His gamble of allowing me to study at the school had paid off. After this, I was sure, no one would question my right to be a student. “We will feast in your honour.”

Master Falladine picked up my wand and held it out to me as another tutor, one I didn’t recognise, levitated Cemburu out of the hall. “You did well,” he said, “but don’t get overconfident. The next challenger will be a great deal harder.”

I nodded in understanding. I had passed through the first hurdle, but there were more.

A lot more.