The Librarian Ch 10 12

Lillian Finds the Castle Gallery

Within the dark void, the faint midnight blue light highlighted the corridors Katrina jogged around. The yellowish magic helpfully made sure Samir kept up the pace as it carried him along; the librarian wished he could fly in-front of her to light the way better. Despite the diminutive visibility, she was able to admire the architecture of castle interior the further the ventured into it; it reminded her so much of the campus' aesthetic in the real world, one of the few things that

sold her on attending there. After making it to a spiral staircase that descended much lower than where her library was, she stopped to catch her breath.

"Shit," Katrina complained, never having expected to run a marathon to catch up with a girl she thought couldn't move unless commanded to. As the brunette fell into a heaving crouch, the magic landed Samir gently on the ground as he awaited the next command from his Curator, breathing normally and comfortably.

"Fuck you," she told him, and by extension the magic that carried him effortlessly. She wanted to smack the carefree smile off of his face when she noticed the tome in his hands, carrying it for her, saving his face from a red palm print. Wiping sweat off of her forehead, she tried to force her pulse to slow down so it would stop beating loudly in her ear to track Lillian's humming better. Eventually she heard it clearly again, and something else underlying with it, in concert with Lillian. Looking up at the standing Samir, again, Katrina wondered if there was some magic elsewhere in the castle that carried Lillian. Taking deep breaths, she stood, began to move in the direction the humming grew less faint.

Katrina felt thankful in that an indicator of brighter midnight blue gave her some kind of lead, picking up the pace as she closed in. But she noticed the brighter her surroundings, and the clearing Lillian's song, an instrument was playing with it, something tickling at her earlobes, urging her forward. The sensation should've given Katrina pause, but she proceeded a little faster anyway.

Katrina and Samir eventually ended in a more open part of the castle. It was almost a balcony setting with the midnight blue of the sky surrounding the castle practically glowing, alit like a full moon was shining down on everything. At the balcony setting, there was a gathering of several people, sitting in chairs or on the ground, all of them lounging, circling Lillian who stood at the center. She was floating on her tip toes, as a glowing lime green-tinted energy hung Lillian above ground. The energy flowed through her ear canal in one way and wafting out the other, but keeping her mouth open as a gorgeous aria and the finally identifiable sound of a violin was produced. What came from Lillian flowed over the crowd in ghostly sound waves, driving their lolling attention ever-forward. Katrina felt her senses teased by the waves, but her attention span remained wired, and only had to follow the tangible path of notes to see who'd led Lillian away from the library.

"Mr. Richardson?" Katrina spoke aloud, confused.

She looked at her old elective choir teacher, sitting amongst the crowd in the most opulent chair present. Halting his violin playing, Yany Richardson, the lowly instructor from the music department, did a double-take at the appearance of Katrina who seemed to come from nowhere.

"Katrina...Brunig? How did you get here?"

"I...have the same question for you...?" Both former student and teacher looked at each other, and quickly surmised that unlike everyone else present, they were both clear-headed and conscious, and in possession of items they held close to, practically clung to the more they stared at one another.

"So...you're part of this too?" Katrina finally broke the silence.

"I seem to be, as I assume you are too," the music teacher answered back. Katrina noted the difference in the Mr. Richardson now as opposed to what she remembered a semester ago. He was a nice teacher she enjoyed, prone to knit sweater vests and measured temperament despite the arrogant stature half the class carried, some because of music skill that planned to ascend to Julliard or other big music schools, and some were just the entitled, standard assholes. And some of course were just both.

That day, in whatever measure time held in the, Yany Richardson was dressed in a classy green suit, surrounded by familiar faces, classmates that bore subdued, sedated smiles matching what Katrina produced out of Amber, Samir and Lillian thus far. Mr. Richardson's look was very Pied Piperish, with all the elements put together on the balcony.

"I...I thought I was the only one here, wherever here is, with...power," she took the tome from Samir's hand, suddenly self-conscious about her power.

"I thought the same, but I figured there was more to this castle than expected. I just haven't dredged up the courage to see who or what else is around."

"From where I started, the castle is bigger than you expect."

"Where did you start?" he queried.

"Campus library. Where did..." Katrina paused, looking up to see shades of the music department room she'd taken his class in. "Ah, yeah."

"Do you know why...uh..why you have power here?" He questioned.

"Honestly, no idea. I was just handed a book during my shift at the library, like last night. And the book...responded to me."

Yany Richardson blinked a few times, and laughed a little.

"Same here. Someone donated an old violin the department forgot it had; I played it a little to see if it was fine-tuned, and I drew the attention of a few of these students. They didn't want me to stop, and the more I played, the more I didn't want to stop. And the more I played, the more I just...transported myself here."

"Virtually the same story with me."

Katrina couldn't believe she'd be getting answers like this, that explained a lot yet made more unanswered questions.

Standing dumbfounded, scratching her scalp through her hair, Katrina had little idea of what to do after both empowered university-attendees met, but the sight of Lillian as spaced out as the rest of the violin-conditioned contingent, she felt a slight flaring of possessiveness.

"Honestly, not sure where to go from here, but I don't suppose I can get Lillian back?"

"Oh, I assumed she found her way on her own here," Yany admitted, stroking the bow string length as he looked at the singing submissive fondly. "She's one of the best singers in the department; I was hoping to make more music with her," he spoke, feeling his own flare of territoriality. The Librarian and Minstrel both exchanged looks reflecting their heightened personality traits, both unwilling to let go of a subject each had affected deeply.

"Sorry to say, Mr. Richardson, but she's not available for any more performances at the moment."

"Well, she seems to have wandered off the beaten path, maybe to one she likes better. Perhaps she has chosen what she wants."

The rational parts of the usually shy adults may have found a way to de-escalate the growing stand-off, but their domineering powers guided them further into a standoff.

"Her choices belong to me," Katrina stated firmly, gripping her tome, ready to open it and levy whatever spell she could think of.

"As you may belong to me, Ms. Brunig. You're on my turf now, and it's time to face the music..." He laid his bow against the violin strings, ready to conduct commands.

Mr. Richardson Subdues Katrina

The spine of the tome bent quickly, the pages flew open towards a spell that could be felt at itchy fingertips ready to respond. As they landed on the page they were looking for, the intensity of the ethereal text dimmed slightly, reflecting the soft utterance that left Katrina's lips. Her domineering speech faltered, grabbing her throat in horror as her incantation felt like more than attempt instead of a successful spell cast. She didn't understand what came out, the sound of Mr. Richardson's violin drowned it and whatever meaning she insisted upon. It took Katrina a long moment to realize that in their standoff, he was facing Lillian with his violin, but the sound hit the librarian instead.

Resting on his shoulder, playing that haunting tune that carried incredible tones of love, appreciation, and importance manifested in ribbons of green energy circling Katrina, beginning to play around her, trying to play through her. The beauty of his music effectively belied the evil smirk he brandish to his challenger as he turned to face her.

"I'm sorry Ms. Brunig, you were saying?" Yany Richardson asked cordially without stopping.

She tried to force out something else, but eyes widened as she heard no sound, and barely felt a breath leave her mouth to combat the musical assault. Every alarm bell inside of her told her to run, but they rang in vain as the each note kept her body rooted in place, legs unable to turn or do anything except stand and ensure her attendance for his latest performance.

"I guess you weren't saying anything; you were listening. Just listening. Nothing but listening," he spoke in a tone that frighteningly sounded attractive to Katrina. Yany's timid tone as an educator was an aspect he could be easily mocked for, but pre-tome Katrina understood his soft spoken demeanor, and always found it cute. Hearing a smooth, charming version of it made her want to grit her teeth as it overpowered.

Lagging arms managed to make it to her head, weakly diverting energy to her hands to block her ears from the violin's work.

"No, you don't want to do that, Ms. Brunig. Katrina, just let yourself listen."

Hands covering her ears didn't keep the stream of soft music out, it only helped to punctuate how it streamed into one ear and out the other. The realization of how compromised she was grew as what remained standing of her fascinated will paid attention to the streaming energy itself, carrying signs across it in what could look like notes on a music sheet. In the expanse of the ribboning energy, the strange notes came in tall, brighter waves. When the next one came to her head, her arms found the energy to lower themselves at her sides, fully exposing her. Barely fighting while comprehending the nature of his power, she theorized the waves signified spoken commands.

"See now? That's better, that's much better. But would make it even better than that is to let yourself sink to the floor, and enjoy this performance."

Feeling the invading green almost completely snuff out any flaring yellow, she already felt a foreign desire to do what he said, domesticating Katrina to his obedience. The incentive to acquiesce to it before was strong enough, but the wave crashing into her mind repeated his words against her skin, under her skin, all the way down to her bones as she let her legs give out. Despite her compromised position, it simultaneously impressed and confounded her how his wave of unquestioning obedience drowned any resistance almost instantly, but how it took so long to arrive in a tidal wave of green along the stream; Katrina might've laughed at the slowed speed of sound example ever if she was more in-control of her own faculties.

As Yany Richardson's violin-playing continued, several ribbons of green spread throughout the balcony audience, taking to being force-fed the music like a recreational drug. Every connection of the bow to her violin string not only produced music, but she could feel as if the strumming of different strings could affect individual parts of the body, limbs acting on his orders outside of the puppet's knowledge, breathing patterns automatically changing, genitalia rising to a zenith instantly...she fought the prospect of being that puppet while growing wet just thinking about it, unsure if he was the cause. Katrina wondered how much exposure it took to look so comfortably dazed as his converted students were, accepting his gift without any natural hesitation, contrasting it to the shock of one of her incantations she had yet to fully find the depth to.

"And now, my new dancer, why don't you slither your way over to your forgotten owner? Show her the fate awaiting her....

Glancing over in Lillian's direction from her hands and knees, Katrina watched as her mute roommate react to the green surging though her. She already began obeying before the cascading wave stuck, swaying slightly, lowering herself to the ground. But once the wave crashed against her mind, swallowing it, her back arched as she made an orgasmic sound, her body beginning to taking the "slither" command literally. Even with limbs, a normal vertebrae and the absence of scaly skin, Lillian easily rolled her body towards her target, an intense, lusty look greeted the librarian the closer she got, the recipient unable to tell if Lillian was someone else's prey, or her predator.

Her head stayed amazingly fixed no matter how her torso or shoulders shifted, until Katrina and Lillian were eye-to-eye. Lillian circled Katrina as if she had coils to wrap her bookish roommate in, keeping her on a weakened back heel that was still incapable of fleeing anywhere. Taken by what eventually could be perceived as a seductive dance, Katrina found herself not only reacting to Lillian's moves, but matching them, rolling her hips as she did, swaying and dipping her shoulders almost identically. The background music directing the scene guided both women into a dance that gripped the attention of the violinist, one of his hottest fantasies coming true yet again, seeing two attractive women lose themselves in lust permeated by his powerful music. Yany appreciated how strong his libido had grown since coming into possession of the violin, and was sure Katrina's was ever-growing, looking forward to regulating how much it might grow.

"See Katrina? Now you're getting into the spirit. Though I can still feel your resistance of it, which also greatly impresses me."

Too busy engaged in the dance to see the wave coming, the librarian followed Lillian's movements with moderate success, body more eager than her mind to be just as tantalizing a dancer. Once the full weight of Yany's words hit her, Katrina's movements faltered a little, slowing. The resistance she still harbored felt put into a spotlight, highlighted just because he mentioned it; his being impressed with it became a platform for her to rebuild her will upon. Despite most of her still moving to the tune of his will, she began concentrating on her lips and her throat, willing energy into them to counteract a spell; unfortunately, the energy needed to felt leagues away, merely able to move her lips to mouth words.

Yany noticed from his vantage point Katrina growing stiller, but her mouth forming words quite easy to read. "Oh god," "so hot," "need it," rang through the air when her mouth wasn't opened to sing a silent solo of ecstasy.

"Ohhh, I see you may be more of a bard than dancer, dear Katrina. I'll allow you to sing a row for me, in reverence to me. Tell me what you desire."

Katrina's gambit seemed to pay off as Yany's words gave her mouth and throat the strength she needed. But as control flowed back into her lips, there was an unsurety of what she would say. She wanted to free herself with an incantation, but there felt just as much incentive to speak something in furtherance of his control, in reverence as he'd spoken.

As her lips pressed together in preparation, she began to speak the first word coming from her conflicted mind.

_T^URN/A//B^O-U_T

Moments before command to speak the word, a flicker of color ran across the lining of the tome's pages, reaching out to Katrina at her fingertips. Like rain drops falling back in the direction of the sky, the energy trailed up her palm, traveling upwards to her forearm, shoulder, and running over her back to shine brightly at the base of her spine, out of sight of Yany and everyone else's attention. As Katrina's body wavered in her struggle, her lips finally began muttering something.

"REV..."

Katrina's awareness of what began leaving her mouth made her sigh deeply, taking the heavy sign of capitulation with less surprise than expected. She leaned her head back, feeling defeated, feeling an urge wash over her.

"Speak up, Ms. Bard," Yany crooned. "I know you want to say it; that resistance you've clung to has made you too tired to hold onto it any further. Let go of it now, and let your thoughts and body and lips dance to my tune. Speak as you have been instructed," he added firmly, intensifying his playing to drive Katrina over the edge.

The flicker of energy went off in her eyes, the only part of her body she could feel other than her lips shaping words she couldn't hear, and could only begin to feel.

Hearing the sound of an incantation obviously gleamed from her magical tome, and watching her body succumb to magic, a sinful smile crossed his face as the violinist turned jubilant, feeling deep satisfaction in taking another member of the student body. Not just any member, apparently, but one imbued with the same amount of power as her. He would've never expected a student, especially a lowly student like Katrina Brunig to be any kind of privileged in a place like this. Defying expectations he didn't know there were to defy seemed to guide his hands and skill to playing a victorious note, a round of his own to celebrate. Passionate fingers thoughtlessly gripped his bow and put energy into his shoulder to hold it tight, the resulting notes danced across the space in melodic waves.

Paying less attention to the attuned slaves and more to his masterful performance, it seemed natural and unalarming to him how his energy grew to a lighter green, more lime than before, watching the waves dance outwardly, followed by the tide coming back in. The push and flow of the notes only seemed to give the music more soul. It occurred to Yany to say something at that moment, to issue a command, but his mouth merely parted in awe of the music that spoke to his soul more than anyone else's. He was falling enamored with his own music, reverently, and didn't want to stop. As more waves crossed over him and through him, he could care less about what excited the bodies of others or kept their puppet strings firm, or the lime green bleeding into a yellowish tint.

Bleary, eyes reflected against the glowing sight of Katrina standing tall, book open and energy surging over it, feeding it to Katrina. Golden-yellow flared into her eyes, a purposeful, almost twisted smile responded to the tune meant for an audience of one.

"I can see why you were so confident in your own skills, Mr. Richardson. Such a powerful performance, who could say no to that? Not even you could," she answered her own rhetorical question, laughing at his need to smile stemming from the pleased curator.

"Turning me into a bard? You really should've barred me from speaking, as I seem to have inspired me to contribute to your passionate concert most profoundly." It occurred to her that she did apply a counter spell to upend the control that almost made her a part of his little harem; and though she couldn't remember what was said, it remained on the tip of her tongue, and invoking it again could reinforce the control she's already subverted. With a broad smile, she let her lips give an encore.

"TURNABOUT"

This time she felt the power within the utterance, happy to see the tangible energy leave her and infect the stream of music now made yellow, captivating him further. Katrina's ears tingled as Samir behind her translated without fail.

"Tumult invites a cry for change to occur. Unilateral acts draw a call to respond. Recipients giving back as they have received. Nothing shall obstruct the returned, revitalized energies. Allurement persuades the giver to receive what they have wrought. Benign or belligerent, the forces return as they are delivered. Overestimation leading to understated effects. Understanding where power firmly lies. Truly a result of extended power exchanged."