Winston awakens to a knock at his door. Veronica lays naked in his arms. Her pale skin is highlighted by the contrast of her crimson red hair, which is draped everywhere in a tangled mess. He slowly slides away, attempting to not wake this beauty as he rustles around looking for his pants in the dim light. Another knock on the door gets him moving faster, as he hops around sliding his feet into the pants. He finally reaches the door and opens it as he sees a slim hand reaching out for another knock. Before him, standing in the darkness is Emma. The odor of stale ale drifts into his nostrils masked by a strong perfume imitating the scent of flowers. Her tall slender silhouette stands out against the darkness of the hallway behind her.
"Get dressed and hurry. You and I are expected at the tower before dawn." He can hear her foot tapping beneath her long slim legs.
He grumbles to himself as she turns and walks away down the hallway. He stumbles around until he finds his shirt and boots, and then loses his balance, nearly falling out the door as he attempts to move about, quietly. He again awkwardly stumbles at the top of the stairs as he feels for his footing. The steep steps slide around the back of the tavern which sits in near darkness except for the pale moonlight filtering through the windows. Emma is standing at the door waving for him to follow.
Winston rubs his eyes, as he is jolted awake by the cool morning air. He looks around at the surrounding shops as he sees her quickly striding ahead. He stumbles forward trying to catch up. Yesterday, he, Emma, and Veronica, arrived in the city of Griffonmere as part of a gypsy caravan. Several weeks before that, he and Veronica was somehow, mysteriously, transported to this world from their modern day location. Since then, they have both been struggling to fit in.
He rounds a bend and approaches a guard post. Several soldiers stand in armor. Winston observes the metal plates connected by strips of leather, layering their bodies. The appearance is even more imposing as they hold long pikes at their sides. He quickly spots Emma speaking to them. He thinks back to how he met her by chance, his first day in this world. Since then, she has begun to teach him magic but the meaning of this morning's trip is unknown to him..
Her blue eyes look at him in the lamp light as he approaches. She pulls back her hood exposing her coal black hair and smooth, light, skin. A cloak hides her figure of which Winston is well aware. She is tall and slim with a nice round ass, but her most striking feature is her huge breasts. She nods to the guards and then begins to walk away again at another brisk pace. The guards stare at her and comment to each other as Winston races again to catch up.
His legs are shorter and less muscled, although the muscle is quickly changing as he thinks about how many miles he has walked since arriving here. He almost loses sight of Emma as she ducks into a dark alleyway. He follows a dark shadow that he hopes is her and arrives on the other side in a large courtyard. He catches up long enough to take a big gasp of air and then she moves forward towards a door. She quickly gives it a rap, as Winston again catches up.
"Where are we?" He gasps again searching for air, and leaning on the wall for support.
She looks at the sky, noting they have arrived on time. "This is the Tower of the Wizard's Academy. Where else would I bring you?" Again she looks at him as if he just asked another dumb questions of which, he should have already known the answer.
He is about to ask another question as the door opens. A short grizzled old man waves them inside and guides them to a chamber containing several chairs. Emma has a seat and looks at Winston expectantly. Realizing he should follow along, Winston sits down beside her.
Within minutes another man, who appears even older than the first, enters the room. "Ah, Princess, it's so nice to see you again."
Emma frowns at the comment, but proceeds. "Gavin, I have taken on a student and I would like permission from the guild to continue his training."
Gavin nods while closely inspecting Winston as if he is a rare vase and not a living person. "An apprentice you say? Don't you think he is a little old?" Winston can smell the strong smell of tobacco on his breath. Gavin then walks over to a shelf and begins to write in a book with a long quill.
"Yes, Uhm..." Emma stammers, which takes Winston off guard. She is always far more confident than this "Yes he is older than we like, but he is far smarter than he looks and he has shown quick progression in his learning."
Gavin doesn't even look up from his book as he asks, "boy, what have you learned to do so far?"
Winston looks at Emma as she nods to him. "Yes Sir, I can make people fart." A silence then runs through the room as Gavin continues to write. It is hard to hide the smirk on his face over Winston's answer. When he stops, he looks Winston in the eyes for a long moment.
"Do you see that feather on that shelf?" He points to his side, to a shelf a couple feet away. "I want you to have the feather fly into my hand."
Winston stares at him, uncertain, as Emma again nods and smiles to him. Emma has never taught him how to do anything like this. Winston stares at the feather, uncertain of what to do. He raises his hand and begins to concentrate. Nothing happens. He closes his eyes and tries to recall what Emma had taught him. He needs to convince the feather to fly, but how? A feather works a lot like the wing of a plane, so it requires wind to create lift. A shiver passes through his body as he feels a breeze running through the chamber. There is a slight sound of paper fluttering as he realizes he is holding his breath again. As he begins to exhale, he opens his eyes and notices the breeze has caused the feather to slide towards the edge of the shelf. His mind races a little more as his breath catches in his throat. Then he leans back exhausted. The feather blows off the shelf and lands at Gavin's feet.
Gavin returns to writing again and then asks for Winston's name. At this point, he looks at Emma and informs her that her request is granted. Winston has experienced this feeling before. It is obvious the feather moved due to the wind, and not due to anything he had done, but he apparently passed the test, if that is what this was. As Emma stands up she walks over and whispers something into Gavin's ear. He nods and points towards the front door. She nods and walks out, returning a moment later staring at Winston. Awkwardly, Winston jumps to his feet and follows her. She quietly speaks to the man at the door and then motions Winston up the stairs. When he reaches the second story she turns into a room and sits him down. "Now we can really start your training."
*****
Veronica walks down the stairs and into the tavern. Several people sit around the room at various tables. She pushes her braided red hair from her face. Her hands travel down the dress she is wearing and rests on the hilt of the sword at her side.
The Innkeeper points to a seat and then brings a bowl of cold porridge and a cup of warm milk. She sits and begins to eat. She had awakened this morning to Winston being gone. Emma also appeared to be gone, so it made sense that they must be off conducting a lesson. She takes another bite of the cold substance in front of her, wishing it had been warmed before she ate it.
A tall man that is also nearly as wide as the table walks up to her. She looks at his hawkish nose as he sits down beside her. He puts his hand on her leg and takes a huge swig of his ale. When he finishes, he sets the empty cup down wipes his mouth with his other hand, and then leans towards her, inches from her face. She can smell a stench of ale and body odor overwhelm her senses. She pushes his hand off of her leg wondering if he has been drinking all night or if he awakened early to drink?