Tales of the Apprentice 01

Tales of the Apprentice - Book 1

Chapter 5

Serana looked thoughtfully at the two small bundles sitting on the table in the living room. The shutters on the window were open to admit the first warmth of the spring sun. The air was still cool, but the winter's chill was definitely gone. It was a good time to travel. Somehow spring always seemed to stir up a certain wanderlust in her.

She had done a lot of traveling over the long years, and she'd always traveled light. She had learned to pack efficiently, not omitting anything that was really necessary, but also not taking anything that wasn't essential. And Galen wasn't bad at it, either, she noted with approval. The lad hadn't brought much with him when he arrived at her house, but he had made some sensible suggestions on what to take and what to leave behind. Not that she had needed any from him, of course, but she had merely nodded in agreement. Independent thought was always a good thing and it should be encouraged.

The only thing she had corrected him on was the amount of food to pack. Galen had mainly been traveling from village to village, and even on the longer stretches he had usually managed to make ends meet by stopping at farmsteads and the like, and working for a meal here and there. But Serana had learned the hard way that she shouldn't trust her fellow man's generosity, and she preferred to carry as much in the way of provisions as she could.

Which brought up a point.

"Galen, can you ride a horse?"

"Somewhat," he replied. "I've done it a few times. I'm not what you would call an experienced rider, though."

"But you can manage to make a horse go more or less where you want it to, without falling off?"

He chuckled.

"Yes, I should be able to do that. At least most of the time."

"That's good enough for now. You'll get better at it as you go along. I'd like you to go into the shed. Somewhere near the back, just under the roof, you will find a bundle of burlap. Inside it is a saddle and some other things. Bring them."

He did as she asked, and a few minutes later he returned, sneezing.

"It was rather dusty, so I shook it out a little before bringing it back into the house," he explained.

"I trust you'll check the direction of the wind first, the next time you do that," she said dryly. "Alright, let's see what shape it is in."

He put the bundle on the table and unwrapped the coarse textile. He took out a pair of horse blankets and spread them across the table. They looked alright, although they did smell a little musty. The saddle was next. It looked huge on the relatively small table. Serana examined it rather critically.

"Not bad, given how long it's been in there," she said. "Galen, please fetch some oil from the kitchen, and an old cloth from the laundry. We'll have this back in shape before you know it."

"You mean

I

will have it back in shape," he chuckled.

The look she gave him spoke louder than words, and he left without further comment to fetch what he needed. Less than an hour later the ancient leather had regained most of its former suppleness and even some of its shine, and while some of the reins and straps were a little worn and cracked with age, a good oiling and buffing had restored most of them.

"It will do," Serana judged when she inspected the result of his labors.

"I suppose so," Galen said dubiously. "Except for the fact that there's two of us, one saddle and no horse. Or am I missing something?"

"The horses will be here any moment now," she said. "I called them early this morning. And don't worry about a second saddle. I won't need one. I learned to ride long before saddles were invented."

"Was that what I felt this morning?" he asked. "I didn't want to mention it, but..."

"Probably, yes," she said calmly. "I masturbated before I got up, and I cast out my Intent to call on a pair of tame but free-roaming horses. There were bound to be a few around; there are always horses that have wandered off or that have left their pastures for whatever reason. From an ethical standpoint I'd have preferred wild horses, but there aren't any in this part of the land, and it would take far too long to break them."

She was interrupted by the sound of a soft whinny coming from just outside the window.

"Ah, right on time," she said, smiling. "Let's go and see."

Galen looked at her, not sure what to say. While he had seen evidence of her magic since he had become her apprentice, there was no denying that he was impressed.

Two horses were standing in the meadow beyond the kitchen garden, nibbling at the first green shoots of spring grass. One was a chestnut stallion, his reddish-brown coat shiny in the morning sun; the other was a white mare, somewhat smaller and lighter in build, but with a grace and beauty that clearly spoke of a more than just common ancestry.

"They're... beautiful," Galen said. "And they just came when you called them?"

Serana nodded.

"More or less. Let's just say I put out a general request and these two chose to answer. Let's go and make friends with them, shall we?"

They slowly approached the horses, who calmly looked at them as they came closer. Both horses were unsaddled, but they seemed quite at ease with their human companions. It wasn't long before the mare nuzzled Serana's hand. Galen put his hand lightly on the stallion's neck, and the animal gave him a "You'll do" sort of look.

"Let's see how they'll respond to a blanket, " Serana said. "If you will fetch them, and the saddle, I'll stay here. They'll be more at ease that way, I think."

Galen went inside and returned with the saddle, on top of which he had piled the blankets. He put them down and handed Serana one of the blankets which she spread across the white mare's back. The animal looked at her trustingly, apparently quite used to having something on her back, which Galen took as a good sign.

"I see you've brought the bridle and reins as well," Serana noted. "Good. Let's see how this goes."

She put the other blanket onto the chestnut and laid the saddle on top of it. The animal stood there calmly as she did so, and if any of it bothered him he didn't show it.

"That looks alright," Serana said. "He seems quite familiar with it."

She secured the saddle, fiddling with the straps and buckles until she was satisfied with the result. The bridle and reins were next.

"Right," she said then, looking at Galen. "He's looks like he's ready to go. Are you?"

Galen smiled and shrugged.

"I suppose we're about to find out."

He put his hand on the stallion's neck. He couldn't help looking at the horse with undisguised admiration. Compared with the old hay burners he had ridden so far, this was a truly magnificent animal.

"Don't worry," he said softly into the horse's ear. "Everything will be fine."

He put his foot into the stirrup, lifted himself up and swung his leg across the saddle. Once he was seated properly, he took the reins and shook them lightly. The horse took a few slow steps forward.

"Yes, that's the idea," Galen said. "You're doing fine."

Serana nodded at him approvingly. Then she whispered something in the mare's ear and without any further ado she hitched up her dress, put both her hands onto the mare's neck and swung her legs across the horse's back in one swift, gracious move. Galen blinked. He had never seen anyone do that, and certainly not with so much grace.

"You've done this before, I see," he remarked dryly.

"I told you: when I first learned to ride, there were no saddles," she said with a smile. "You'll also note that I don't ride side-saddle, even if there would have been a saddle. I'm not exactly a well-bred lady, after all."

She put both her hands on either side of the mare's neck to steady herself. Then she whispered something, and the mare calmly stepped forward.

"I think we're going to be fine," she said. "They're obviously used to being ridden. We can leave tomorrow morning. They can stay here and graze until then."

She dismounted. Galen followed her example. Then he began to unsaddle his horse.

"Won't they stray?" he asked.

Serana smiled.

"They didn't come all this way for nothing, Galen. They know why they're here. They won't wander off."

They spent the rest of the day in preparation for their journey: sorting, packing, cleaning and preparing to close up the house. The vegetable garden would not be planted in time this year, Serana noted regretfully, but there was nothing they could do about that. They would simply have to make some other plan after they returned, whenever that would be.

* * *

That evening saw Serana lying on her stomach, face-down on Galen's bed. Galen straddled her from behind, sliding his cock in an out of her hot, slick, sopping wet pussy with long and steady strokes. This was one of the more challenging positions for him; the feelings as he slid in and out of her were incredibly intense. He had to fight with every stroke to hold back his orgasm.

"A little slower, Galen..." Serana said softly. "Yes, like that. That's right, that's perfect. A little deeper..."

Galen complied, his flushed face a study in both concentration and arousal. He felt he was on the verge of losing control, but then he had been feeling exactly like that for what had to be almost an hour now. After several weeks of this he had learned to keep himself right there, on the edge of orgasm, until Serana would tell him it was time to let go.

Serana, meanwhile, needed all her skills as a sex mage to retain the proper focus on what she was doing. Hers had been the more difficult part during these exercises lately; she simply could not afford to have an orgasm before Galen did. If she climaxed now, he might accidentally channel her Energies, and everything could easily spiral out of control again. Hence their current position with her on her stomach and Galen behind her, straddling her hips and entering her from behind. Because that automatically pushed her thighs together and her pussy closed, she was tighter than ever in this position, and the stimulation he received this way was just about as intense as it could possibly get. The sight of her lovely bum and the feeling of those firm, round buns under his hands also contributed to pushing him over the edge, while she still retained a certain amount of control.

While she had centuries of experience in maintaining her arousal and not let it run away with her, this position was a bit of a two-edged sword: the stimulation was far more intense for Galen, but her experience was also affected. He felt so much bigger and harder inside her this way, and somehow he managed to hit all the right places inside her with every stroke. The wonderful feelings his cock liberated within her would be denied only for so long, even for someone as experienced as she was. The lad was rapidly becoming better and better at what he had already been doing quite well, and with both her rock-hard nipples and her engorged, equally hard little button sparking with pleasure almost continuously, the challenge of keeping herself under control during these sessions was becoming increasingly difficult.

And that was only the physical side of it. Somehow with Galen she found it much more difficult to stay focused and retain control. There was something about him that surpassed skill and physical sensation, and it had nothing to do with any spells that he might have accidentally cast; she had been sure to check for any trace of that at least once a day. He did something to her that she was entirely unable to explain, something that made her want to surrender to the pleasure and just let him take her.

The way his Energies had been steadily rising over the past few weeks had also been reason for some small concern. Fortunately they had reached the point by now where they were ready to be released, and judging by the way his thighs had grown tense around her hips and he seemed to be making a conscious effort not to speed up his thrusts, she had better get ready to receive what he was about to give her. She began to formulate her Intent, and a few moments later she felt how his cock swelled up and grew even harder inside her. He was right on the edge, and she was ready for it

"Galen... Now!" she whispered.

He responded by driving himself even deeper into her hot, tight, wet opening as his final few thrusts suddenly came faster and faster. His cock was a hot bar of steel within her, the muscles in his thighs suddenly taut as cables and his hands gripped her shoulders...

And he exploded inside her.

His Energy erupted within him as the full force of his orgasm hit him, and she felt the muscles in his cock contract inside her, again and again, as the first thick spurt of his seed boiled up from his loins, followed by the blue-white flash of his Release. His Energy filled her, streaming from him into her, while his pulsing cock spurted its hot, thick, white load into her pussy.

This was the best way for her to deal with him. Whereas women usually let their Energies escape outward in every direction during orgasm, men tended to direct the flow of their Energies along more or less into the same path as their physical ejaculation, which was exactly what she needed him to do right now. The best way to keep his Energies under control was by having him transfer his output into her so that she could deal with it safely. If recent events were anything to go by, his power had an enormous potential, but his control over it was almost nonexistent as yet.

He continued to thrust his hot, hard cock into her as it pumped out the juices of his Release, spurt after thick, hot spurt jetting from him as he drove himself as deeply into her hot, wet depths as he could. She let the dual flood of both his seed and his Energy take her, fill her, engulf her, until the pleasure exploded within her as well, and the level of her Energies suddenly increased by several orders of magnitude.

The world around her vanished until only the Energies and her awareness of him remained, while he continued to pour himself out into her as they rode out their Release together. With her inner Vision she saw the Energies inside her circulate through their proper channels, powering her Intent. Then the blue-white light expanded within her until it exceeded the boundaries of her body. Suddenly she and Galen were at the center of a rapidly growing sphere of blue-white ethereal light. The bubble grew and grew until it passed the walls of the room, the house, the garden, the edges of the valley. Then, when everything was ready at exactly the proper moment, she cast the warding spell that should keep the house and the surrounding area safe from any harm or mishap during their absence.

She knew the moment lasted only mere seconds, but it always seemed a lot longer to her. Gradually her orgasm ran its course, the pleasure subsided, the final Energies spent themselves until finally her awareness returned to normal. The first things she noticed were Galen, sitting astride her, panting and spent, and the wonderful sensation of being young, energized, and thoroughly ravished. For a few moments her nipples tingled with delight. Keeping up with her apprentice might be hard work at times, but it definitely did have its rewards.

"Not bad, Galen," she complimented him once she had caught her breath. "Your timing has definitely improved. We're not quite there yet, though. It still takes you a few moments and two or three thrusts to reach orgasm. We need to work on that. Precise timing can be everything for a sex mage."

She heard his chuckle.

"Letting go is the easy part," he said. "It's holding back that's difficult. Great Mother, it just feels so good when I enter you this way."

"That's the whole idea," she said, turning her head and smiling at his unconscious use of her favorite expression. "Holding back to let it build as much as possible, then releasing it at the exact moment when the Energies are at their peak and you're ready to use them. That's what sex magic is all about. But you, my young apprentice, are still a few seconds late. A good sex mage must be able to switch from holding back to letting go in an instant."

"Well, I'm doing the best I can."

"I know. And don't worry. You will get there," she promised. "By the way, you saw what I did?"

"Yes. For the most part, at least. That was some kind of protective spell, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Although the intricacies of casting it are something I'd rather you didn't try to look into right now. You're not quite ready for that sort of thing yet."

"I couldn't if I wanted to," he admitted. "I saw something of how you did it, but most of it was... confusing."

"You'll get there, too, Galen. I promise. But don't try to do too much too quickly. That can be dangerous."

"I understand that," he said. "Don't worry, I won't. But for now..."

They both moaned in union as he slowly withdrew his cock from her hot, soaked pussy. Because her insides squeezed his cock so tightly in this position, it had remained hard after his orgasm, and she savored the feeling of his thick length sliding out of her. Almost automatically she absorbed his cum and the rest of their combined juices into her body to avoid making a big, wet and sticky mess on the bed.

"I'd better go and prepare your bath," he said as she sat up. "I'll be right back."

"Thank you, Galen," she replied. "I appreciate it."

He stood next to the bed and bowed with a flourish, although the effect was marred a little by the fact that his cock was still at half-mast. It also didn't help that his recent expenditure of Energy had left him a little shaky. But his spirits remained unaffected, which told her that everything was alright with him.

"Just doing my job, ma'am," he said with a mischievous look on his face.

"Yes, and don't you forget it, young man."

He smiled, wrapped himself in a blanket and left the room. Serana sat on the edge of the bed for a minute, then rose and put her dress back on. While a sex mage had her tricks to keep sex from getting too wet and sticky, a final bath before they traveled was definitely in order. Having a bath at least once a day would be the thing she'd miss most on the road. Or would it? With a small shock she realized how much she had come to enjoy these training sessions with her young apprentice. She supposed he would miss them too while they traveled.

Once they arrived Irya would be able to give him a run for his money, though. She smiled at the thought. Maybe it was time for her to see if Ayden had retained the skills she knew he used to have. Their visit was likely to be an interesting one.

* * *

Galen shifted uncomfortably in the saddle. While he had ridden horses in the past, those occasions had been few and far between, not to mention quite a while ago. He was fairly certain that his backside would be quite sore by the end of the day. But the horse was calm and steady, and the unhurried clip-clop of the horses' hooves was more relaxing than anything else.

Far behind them in the distance the little cottage looked rather forlorn, with its door and shutters closed and the vegetable patch bare. But this was a time for looking ahead rather than back. The morning was still a little nippy with the crisp cool of early spring, but the sun was doing its best to improve on that. The sky was clear, the road was good, and the horses seemed to know what they were doing.

"Where exactly are we going?" he asked. "I mean, where do your friends stay?"

"Ayden and Irya live just over a hundred leagues to the south. If we make good time we should be there in a week or so, but let's see how it goes."

"I've never been that far south. What is the land between here and there like?"