Switzerland - 1955 . . . 10 years with Rolf/Heidi
Wilhelm's tears fell on cheeks bruised and bloodied. His father held him close as his mother ran her fingers through his muddy hair. "Father please," he begged, pulling himself away to gaze into the eyes of the man he admired and loved. He looked to his mother, hoping she would help him sway his father's decision. When Rolf's hand swept his tears away and followed the action with a sigh, he knew his request was again going to be denied.
"I hate you!" he shouted at his father, pulling himself from the loving embrace and running to his bedroom. Rolf's chest gripped tight as the words his son used bore into his soul, making a little wound that would take many years to heal.
"He's just angry," Heidi said and kissed her husband's forehead.
"I know," Rolf replied, rising from his chair and encircling his wife in his strong arms. "Are we doing this right?" he asked.
"What? Raising a child? I think every parent worries about that. He's only ten Rolf. . .he'll be okay."
"I mean about Laresa. She could stop all of this. Heal him. Aid him in growing stronger."
"Yes," Heidi whispered, "but what type of man would he be?" Rolf released her and walked toward his son's room. "Rolf, let him have a few minutes," Heidi told him and then pulled him back toward their bedroom. "I think we've done the right thing. Laresa is used to improve our lives in gradual stages. If we raise Wilhelm to have whatever he wishes, whenever he wishes, then what kind of person would he be if we ever lose her? This bully. . . Aaron. . .he's just another boy that is growing up. Wilhelm will find a way to coexist with him. He doesn't need the power of Laresa."
Rolf sighed and opened the door to his bedroom. He pulled off the ring and slipped it into the box by their bed. "She's the answer to every man and woman's dream. It worries me how often he asks for her."
"He's a child Rolf, not a man. Come love, let's go for a walk and perhaps Wilhelm will accompany us. Maybe we all need a break from the power of the genie in the ring."
"You are probably right. Sometimes we all forget what it is like to just be normal."
The happily married couple moved back toward their son's room. Heidi knocked softly and then heard the shuffling of her son's feet. He opened the door and stared up at them both. "We're going for a walk; Want to tag along?" she asked.
Wilhelm looked up at his father, then shrugged his shoulders. He touched his muddy hair. "I'm going to wash up."
Heidi nodded her head and closed the door, leaving her son to compose himself. "I guess it is just you and me," she said, a soft smile on her lips.
Rolf frowned, and turned to head back to his bedroom. "Leave it," she whispered, pulling him along with her down the hall. "We're not going to be gone that long and he's never taken her before. She'll be fine."
Rolf sighed, but agreed to his wife's words as well as her gentle tug that led him out of the quaint home that Laresa had created for them. They walked silently at first, but eventually their conversation moved back to the bully that had been tormenting their son.
*****
Wilhelm watched his parents head down the path that would take them into the woods. His fingers were clenched into small fists. He felt the humiliation of the after school bullying rollover him and he spun on his heel. He'd seen his father's hand, absent of the ring and it was rare for his mother to be in possession of it. But her hand too was free of the amber adornment. He counted to twenty once his parents were no longer in his sight and quickly darted to their bedroom.
Without a moment's hesitation he pulled the ring from the drawer by his father's bed and slipped it on his finger. The familiar and comforting haze of smoke became the woman he often referred to as Aunt Laresa. He gazed at her confused expression and bit down on his lower lip. Deep down he knew his parents would be angry with him at summoning the genie, but he felt that he'd done all he could and no one had done anything for him.
"Laresa, I need your help," Wilhelm said, before he gave her any opportunity to question him. He wasn't sure how it all worked, but he knew that Laresa was powerful and she could grant him whatever he wanted. He also knew there were rules, but his parents hadn't told him all of them. The most important though to him was lying. He knew he couldn't lie to her.
"Yes Master Wilhelm, what would you like?" Laresa asked. To say she was shocked to see Wilhelm wearing her ring would be an understatement. She'd had children as Masters and Mistresses before. They were sometimes the most fun beings to be a slave too, other times they were trying, but almost always they never held her for long.
"Oh Laresa, you don't have to call me Master. As soon as we are finished Daddy will still be your Master. I just want to borrow you."
Laresa frowned, not liking the idea, but she was a servant to the ring and whomever possessed it, possessed her. "So your parents do not know you have the ring?"
"No and you will not tell them," he demanded in a scared, but strong voice. He squared his shoulders, puffed out his chest and tried very hard to look fierce.
"Yes, Wilhelm," Laresa said, already feeling the bond of Master and slave grow tight as Wilhelm made his first wish of her. "Wilhelm, I see you are hurt. I also can feel you are very angry with a young boy. I can read your thoughts, do you wish me to heal your suffering?"
Wilhelm bit his lower lip. "You've healed me many times, so once more won't hurt."
"It has never hurt; has it?" Laresa asked, suddenly unsure if she'd ever caused her Masters or Mistresses pain.
"No, it feels all warm and tingly. Like eating warm honey."
