The Arts Ardane 03

"Oh, I know. Some of the lusty glances I've noticed are rather distracting. There are several handsome young men studying here. Have any caught your eye?"

Devan smiled as she pulled on her panties. "I decided I'm not going to get involved with anyone studying here."

What about someone teaching here? Lauren silently wondered. "A wise decision, and exactly why I make a point not to encourage those glances, no matter how flattering. It has made for some rather interesting dreams, however."

"Well, dreams don't count," Devan said and punctuated it with a chuckle. She then sighed and said, "That may be all that I have for a while."

Not if I have anything to say about it. Checking her hair one last time in the mirror, Lauren then said, "I'll see you this evening when I've finished with my classes."

Devan nodded as she finished tying her robe. Lauren left for her classroom while Devan fixed her hair in preparation for her test. Even though the test would be outside in the courtyard, and her hair would likely be a mess by the time it was over, she had no intention of letting it start that way.

As soon as her red locks were in place, Devan picked up her sack of spell components and made her way to the courtyard. A few of her fellow students were already present, but the largest group was arriving at the same time as Devan. As soon as the stragglers arrived in the courtyard, the instructor in offensive magic ascended the dais to begin the test.

Student after student took their turn, most performing well, but none hitting every target in the timed test. Devan watched Aristel and his two hangers-on as much as her fellow apprentices hurling their spells. The three young men leaned in close, whispering and frequently glancing around to ensure nobody was listening.

Glancing about as well, Devan inconspicuously touched an earring she wore – a gift from a lover – activating its enchantment. She let out a little snort of frustration when some ward around the three young men prevented her eavesdropping magic from working. She noticed that Aristel looked weary, as though he had not slept well.

Devan's lips curled up into a smile. If her nemesis was tired, he might not have an easy time with today's test. Well-rested and confident in her ability, she believed that she might just have an opportunity to show up the arrogant wizard today as a measure of revenge for his vial-swapping trick.

When Aristel's turn arrived, Devan thought at first that she had somehow misread the young man, as he hit every target with skill and speed. Hope surged within her when his final magical missile missed the target, just grazing the edge. While no other student had managed to even touch the difficult target, which required the caster to guide his or her missile in flight through a series of obstacles, Aristel's miss was still unusual.

Devan's call came last, of course. This instructor shared the view of Aristel and many others in the school – women had no place studying the Art. He always made a point to call her first or last, to ensure that any mistakes she made stood out. Much to his chagrin, she usually disappointed him. He wore just the faintest hints of a smug smile today, as she had yet to succeed in hitting the final two targets in this test previously.

Devan took her place wearing an equally smug smile. She had been practicing – frequently – and had rarely missed a target in the last few weeks. The words of her spells tumbled from her lips in strong, confident tones. Her gestures were flawless, and performed with the grace of a dancer. Each of her missiles struck the target dead center, and she had extra time remaining to take care with her final two difficult shots.

She ignored the chance to take a breath and launched into her spell immediately.

Her next missile also struck the target in a cascade of sparks at the bulls-eye. Once again disregarding the time available to her, Devan launched her next missile. Concentrating, she guided the mystic bolt through the obstacles, striking the target. The shot was a little off-center of the bulls-eye, but easily as close as any strike Aristel had ever made.

Surprised – and in some cases reluctant – applause rose up from the gathered students. Devan nodded to her fellow apprentices, and then took a bow, ensuring that she made eye contact with both her instructor and Aristel as she did. Aristel's face was red with rage, and Devan could see the veins standing out in his neck even from across the courtyard.

Oh, this is better than an orgasm, Devan thought as she swept the hem of her robe in a flourish while walking back toward the doorway into the school.

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"Well done, Devan," Lauren whispered as she watched the redhead stride confidently back into the school.

Turning away from the window, she crossed the room to her assistant. When she reached him, she said, "I have some private business to attend to this evening, so you will need to take over the last half of my final class."

"Of course, Mistress," he acknowledged with a nod of his head.

Lauren returned to her place at the head of the class, finding it difficult to concentrate in the face of the private business she had planned for this evening.

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Devan returned to Lauren's room after her final class in a fine mood. She carried with her a scroll scribed with a new, powerful offensive spell – her reward for her performance in the test. Though excited by the prospect of studying the spell, that feeling was overshadowed by the state of arousal she always experienced whenever she proved her abilities as she had in the courtyard at the start of the day. She had little doubt that her panties would require extra scrubbing due to her almost constant state of arousal since her magical missile struck the final target.

Normally, she would have dropped the spell scroll in her room and immediately sought out a merchant or other handsome man in the town to fulfill her sexual needs. Because of the order to remain in the school, this was impossible. Knowing that Lauren's final class lasted over an hour after hers, Devan planned to do something she had not found the need to do in some time – pleasure herself. She had contained her needs all day, and she could no longer ignore them.

Opening the door, Devan was surprised and slightly irritated to find Lauren already in the room taking a bath.

"Welcome back. I decided to skip my final class today and treat myself to a leisurely bath. I just need to shave, and then you can have the tub if you wish."

Managing to contain her irritation caused by sexual frustration, Devan responded, "Take your time. It's your tub, after all."

Hearing a slosh as she sat down her scroll and bag, Devan glanced over to see Lauren lifting one shapely leg from the water to shave it with quick, practiced strokes. Devan had to wonder if Lauren knew some magic that reversed the ravages of age, because the woman's legs were as toned and smooth as her own.

The second leg followed as Devan carefully stored some of her spell components that required special care. She couldn't help but look toward the tub on occasion, both fascinated and intrigued by the secrets that kept Lauren looking young. A stronger slosh of water caused Devan to turn toward the tub. Lauren stood up from the water and brought the razor to her mound. Though she couldn't see any from her vantage point, Devan assumed that the brunette was removing nearly invisible stubble.

Lauren's pink folds just peeked from beneath her labia, catching Devan's eye. Like he rest of her body, Lauren's sex looked fresh and young. Feeling a tingle between her own legs caused Devan to feel uncomfortable. She pointedly averted her eyes and said, "I don't think I could shave down there. I get nervous enough when I get close while shaving my legs."

"It's no different than that," Lauren argued as she parted her legs and manipulated her labia. "You just take your time at first, and it becomes second nature. I've fallen in love with the feeling ever since I was introduced to it. I just feel cleaner." She paused and looked around as though seeking eavesdroppers before continuing. "And the men absolutely devour it."

The irreverent tone reminded Devan of her friend and former employer in the city, Lorelle. "The look – or it?"

"Both," Lauren replied, and then laughed. She ran her fingers over her once again baby-smooth labia, parting them slightly in the process to reveal the pink folds beneath. "Much better." She then sank down into the water once more to rinse before standing up to exit the bath.

Devan suddenly felt very self-conscious as the older woman stepped from the bath, droplets of water running down her skin. Larger drops hung from her stiff nipples for a moment, before falling against her taut tummy to run down to her sex.

"You should try it, at least around the lips. If you've ever had a hair caught in your teeth, then you know how much of a treat it is for a lover not to worry about it."

"I'll think about it," Devan responded without much conviction. Even as she said it, however, the thought did appeal to her in a way. She knew she would never shave completely bare, but she couldn't help but feel curious about how a man would react and how it would feel.

"Feel free to use my razor. It's enchanted and will never lose its edge."

"That I'll probably do. Mine is getting dull, and I can't even get a new one right now. My legs will end up looking like I ran through a briar patch," Devan said and rolled her eyes.

"Well, we can't have that happening to such lovely legs. As I said, feel free. I'm going to relax and read something for pleasure tonight." Lauren smiled at Devan when the redhead nodded. She also had not failed to notice the slight flush in Devan's cheeks at various points during the conversation. Though she slipped into the bed with her book, she wanted nothing more than to cast caution to the wind and slip in next to Devan instead.

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Devan awoke, tingling all over. Opening one eye just a sliver, she glanced over to see Lauren still asleep and almost breathed a sigh of relief.

Sliding carefully out of the bed, she pulled on her robe over her nightgown and crept toward the door. The well-oiled hinges of the portal made no sound as she opened the door. Leaning up against the jamb, Devan had no idea where she was going – only that she needed to go somewhere.

While erotic dreams were far from strange to Devan, the one that had awakened her was. In her dream, Devan had writhed and moaned under the ministrations of Lauren between her legs. Having never even considered such a thing before, the dream left her disconcerted. She could not, however, deny the tingling that continued to raise goose bumps on her flesh, or the wetness between her legs. Thinking about the dream only caused those sensations to grow stronger.

Stepping away from the door, Devan walked toward her own room, having no real destination in mind. She simply felt the need to walk, and time alone to sort out her odd feelings. As she approached her door, the image of Lauren's tongue snaking out between her legs still flashing through her mind, Devan heard the hushed sound of voices.

Recognizing the voices, if not the words, Devan increased her pace to reach the corner of the hall a few steps away. Upon reaching the turn, she risked a glance to see Aristel's two lapdogs walking away from his room alone, whispering to each other.

Devan touched her earring, a wide smile spreading across her face when the enchantment worked. The two young men were not shielded by protective magic this time.

"I'm not risking it."

"We're missing out on our turns, though. Aristel might decide to cut us out completely. You heard him tonight."

"Aristel might be able to talk his way out of it if he's caught. We would just pay the price without a chance to even explain... Shh!"

Devan had heard the sound of a door opening as well, and ducked back around the corner. The action broke the spell of her magical earring, and by the time she peeked back out into the hall, the two apprentices were out of sight. She saw no sign of anyone else in the hall, and tiptoed toward Aristel's door out of curiosity.

She noticed almost immediately that the wards on her nemesis' door were not active. For some reason, he had not restored the protective magic when his two cohorts left the room. If he's even in the room, Devan thought.

Biting her lip, Devan glanced up and down the hall, carefully listening for any hint of a sound. When no evidence of anyone else presented itself, Devan whispered the words of a spell. With Aristel's wards down, she could spy into his room with a clairvoyance spell.

The magic worked, revealing that Aristel was not in the room. His chambers looked much like her own, utilitarian with little evidence of his personal taste. As she was about to dismiss the magic, something caught her eye. While the bed was made, one side of the coverings was rumpled and out of place, as if someone had recently rummaged under the bed. A closer look also revealed some dust and bits of cobweb on the floor near that side of the bed.

Raising her eyebrows and letting out an almost silent, "Hmm," Devan took one last look around the room. When nothing else struck her as out of the ordinary, she let the magic lapse and walked back around the corner to the door of her own room. Pausing, she thought, You're up to something, you ass, and I'm going to find out what it is.

With a goal in mind, Devan forgot about her troubling dream, and took the opportunity to mull over the possibilities as she gathered up more of her clothing. Once she finished filling the bag, she returned to Lauren's room and slipped into the bed, drifting off to sleep with all sorts of schemes running through her head.

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Feigning sleep, Lauren wanted to slide back beneath the covers to drink in Devan's scent again. When the redhead had awakened and left the room, Lauren had pulled the covers over her head to fill her lungs with the scent of arousal. When Devan's sounds of pleasure awakened her, Lauren knew that the younger woman was dreaming of something erotic.

Aroused to almost maddening levels now, Lauren could only lie next to Devan, feeling the younger woman's warmth, and wonder what sort of dream had sparked such excitement in her temporary roommate.

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A loud banging on the door awakened both Lauren and Devan a couple of hours before the normal start of the day. Lauren threw on a robe over her nightgown and answered the door. After a short conversation, she closed the door with a sigh. "We need to get dressed. Someone was just spotted skulking about in town, and our accusers want us all accounted for. I suppose we can hope they will find us all here and end this, but I doubt it."

Devan thought, I wonder if they will find us all here? I think I could live with seeing Aristel taken to task if he doesn't answer his door. With that pleasant thought in mind, she rose from the bed to hastily dress and fix her hair.

A few minutes later, she joined Lauren and several other heavy-eyed students in the hall. When the group turned the corner where Devan had listened the night before, she couldn't help but smile upon seeing one of the elder instructors banging on Aristel's door. From the small crowd gathering, including Aristel's two nervous looking hangers-on, Devan assumed that the instructor had been knocking for some time.

Damn, Devan silently cursed when the door opened.

"Why did you take so long to answer the door?" The instructor asked.

"I sleep deeply, and unclad. What is the meaning of this?"

While the instructor explained in clipped, irritated tones, Devan examined her nemesis and noticed a few cobwebs clinging to Aristel's robe. Pretending to walk past toward the room designated for the meeting, Devan glanced into Aristel's room and observed that the coverings of the bed were even more mussed than before on one side. One glance told her that the bed had not been slept in.

With even more evidence, Devan proceeded to the meeting with the edges of a wicked smile turning up the corners of her lips.

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As her final class wound down, Devan let out a little chuckle upon seeing Danell's stunned stare in her direction. She'd inconspicuously dropped a note in front of him as she passed, asking him to meet her near her room late in the night. While most young men would have thought the note pointed toward the possibility of a fine evening, Danell's expression revealed that he expected something far different.

Shortly after entering the school, Devan had discovered that she had a nocturnal visitor. The mouse frequently perched at her bedside, and sometimes crawled beneath the covers with her as she slept. This all culminated in her awakening to find the creature attempting to drag off the panties she'd shed before crawling into bed.

Casting a quick tracking cantrip, she followed the mouse back to its master, Danell. She'd found him stroking his fingers over the crotch of her panties and inhaling deeply of her scent. Upon confronting him, she'd agreed not to reveal his actions in exchange for the return of her panties and his performing some of the tedious tasks of the Art for her, such as herb grinding.

No doubt, he expected that she now planned to extract additional conditions in exchange for her silence.

Lauren offered a curious glance when Devan said she felt like walking for a while so late at night, but didn't ask any questions. Devan found Danell nervously walking near her room, exactly as the note had instructed. She crooked her finger and walked into her room, closing the door behind them when he entered to stare at the floor.

Moving in close to him, Devan quietly said, "Relax, I'm still not going to tell anyone what you did. I'm wondering if I could convince you to send your little mouse friend somewhere for me, and not tell anyone about it."

"Why?"

"I just want a good look around without having to actually go in there. It took me a while to catch your little mouse, and I should only need once to find out what I want."

Furrowing his brow, Danell said, "It wouldn't be easy to do because you would have to tell me what you want to see, and I'd have to explain it."

"You could give me the spell," Devan suggested.

"It's my brother's spell. He made me promise to never teach it to anyone."

From the tone of his voice, Devan knew that even blackmail wasn't going to convince him to give up the spell. Danell obviously held a great deal of respect – and fear – for his brother. Devan turned to her most potent weapon, lifting his chin and smiling at him.

Though she'd made a personal pact not to become sexually involved with any of the other students, she was willing to partially break that rule to get what she needed right now. "I think I can persuade you," she said in a soft, sultry voice. With her free hand, she reached down to untie her robe. His quick, hopeful glance at her hand let her know that she had him right where she wanted him.

"I'll give you the panties I'm wearing. You just can't tell anyone about this. If you do, I will tell everyone what you did. This doesn't mean anything, and it's never going to happen again. You have something I want, and I have something you want – an even trade – that's all. Deal?"

Danell's eyes popped wide open as Devan parted her robe to reveal her bare breasts and thin cotton panties. After a few days without any real satisfaction, Devan could feel wetness gathering between her legs as she tempted the younger apprentice. The thought of him sniffing her panties and touching himself only increased her level of arousal. Slipping her thumbs under her panties, she again asked, "Deal?"