Rebecca looked like most normal girls on the brink of her third decade. She was average height, with wavy light brown hair, almond eyes, a slight build, fair skin, and delicate hands. Her skin had not yet cleared from adolescent acne, but her hands were not terribly calloused. The sixth of seven daughters, she was allowed to learn reading and writing, given a chance to dust shelves for her uncle Ned the scribe and bookseller, and learn what she could from his inventory. When her father's eldest brother passed away from a fever two years before, a wizard came to pay his respects.
The wizard was not yet a man with a great mane of grey hair like Rebecca imagined a wizard. The hair of his head and beard were lightly flecked with white, and his face was starting to wrinkle. The way he moved suggested strength and grace, although he was no athlete. His hands were an artist's hands that knew no hard labor, and his eyes pierced her soul.
One morning, her mother told Rebecca she was to leave with the wizard. For a moment, dark fantasies flooded her imagination and she started to quiver uncontrollably. Her mother put them at rest immediately with a soft hand on the shoulder and a knowing look. "He thinks you can learn, he's not looking for a servant or a concubine. Your uncle Ned believed him a man of honor, for a wizard, never accused of practicing any kind of Dark Art. If you can't abide him, you can come home. Don't worry, my dear. This is a great opportunity, don't pass it by."
"But I'm afraid, Mother. What if he, if he, if he. . ."
"He's as man, don't worry about that my dear, but I trust him as much as your own father. It's said he could brew potions that can break anyone's will and bend it to his own, work magic through his eyes, but I've never known him to use that power. If he wanted, he could rule the kingdom, but he chooses not to. Someone seeking such insight is rarely distracted by fleshly delights." Rebecca relaxed a little bit, and the older woman put her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "We taught you how to defend yourself against attack, so you have knowledge that will keep you safe from anything ordinary. He wants you to go with him so he can teach you his arts, not make you his property."
So Rebecca went with the wizard, who promptly instructed her to call him Master. Their relationship was cordial, however as they settled into a routine, she grew to enjoy his company as well as his instruction. The first year's instruction focused on natural science, supplemented by trips to nearby farms and forests, to learn both animal and plant biology. There was also instruction on mathematics, astronomy, music and logic. The Master brought her back to his library the second year, leading her through works of history and myth, telling her of the gods and mortals, the rise and fall of empires, the development of technology. There were hints of deeper matters, the Master's main work, but that was left to the future. "You have to know all this first, Rebecca, before you can go deeper. Only after you understand surfaces can you probe within, move from How to Why."
The night of the equinox was chill as they stood on the balcony of the tower looking at the stars. "I'm always impressed by the heavens," she said.
"How?"
"The whole scope of it, stretching as far as the eye can see. Always a stability, yet always a change. The looking glass reveals more, and I guess if we could find stronger magnification, we'd see even more that's hidden. Yet all these new sights makes me wonder what's behind them. And that sense of wonder is a joy itself."
A chill wind knifed from the north, and she shivered under her cloak. The Master put his arm around her shoulders and held her close, sharing his warmth with her. Nothing more was said as the hours turned slowly on the wheel of heaven.