Three Boons
by Nobilis
The heavy doors opened at a touch, and she stepped through the narrow gap, her bare feet making soft sounds in the otherwise silent space. Her body, unencumbered by clothing, swayed provocatively. She did so even though she had no intention of it, simply from the way her joints and muscles moved.
"My Lady Sorceress," she said, bowing gracefully to the figure enthroned before her.
"Do you know why I have summoned you?" The sorceress sat with one bare leg thrown over the arm of her throne, casually swirling a goblet in one hand. A black gown revealed as much by clinging to her body as it did from the deep slits in hem and neckline.
"Yes, my lady sorceress. Today was the last day of my service to you. I have served for a year and a day, and by the terms of our compact, I may ask of you three boons."
"That is correct. You may begin. Ask your boons." She set down the goblet and rose from her chair.
"First, I wish you to return me to the state in which I arrived."
"Indeed! That is unusual. Most people come here seeking some perfection or alteration of the body. To request a return to the exact shape you were before... I can only interpret this as a comment on my skill. Are my transformations so hideous?"
"It is no slight upon your skill, my lady sorceress. The bodies you impose upon your servants are truly works of art. This form is not only beautiful to behold, but has brought me moments of exquisite pleasure. Still, I ask you to return my body to the state it was in when I arrived."
"Very well. Let it be so."
A grinding noise filled the hall, and a dense rain of dust fell over the servant's body. When it cleared, a muscular man stood in her place.
"There you are," said the sorceress, "Your body, as it was when you arrived."
He stretched and flexed, enjoying the return of the body that had been so long kept from him. "That's better. Thank you, sorceress."
"Feh. Muscular, but you are too short and your nose is misshapen. And as for your manhood..." She hrumphed. "I've seen tomcats with greater endowments."
"It may not be perfect, but it's mine. My nose got broken in a fight with the dark knight of Chelten Downs. This scar is from the battle of the Dun Witch's glen. They are mementos of victory. As for my manhood... well... your opinion may change."
The sorceress waved a hand dismissively. "Ask your second boon."
The corner of Rickhelm's mouth crooked but he kept his voice as calm as he could. "My second request is that you entertain me as your guest, in your chambers, alone and uninterrupted, from now until dawn."
The sorceress barked a short laugh. "Are you serious?"
"Completely. Will you honor my request?"
She laughed heartily. "Oh, you are funnier than I thought, sir knight. How is it that I never noticed this sense of humor in this year past? Do you mean to seduce me, then? You would not survive the night!"
"I have learned much in my term of service, milady. While I remain a guest, rather than a servant, you cannot harm me or direct your magic at me in any way I do not permit. To do so would mean an end to your power. You cannot threaten me."
The sorceress leveled an icy glance at Rickhelm. "If you do anything to break the guest-bond, if you steal from me or take advantage of me, you will pay for this insolence, Rickhelm."
"I think you will find me the perfect gentleman, milady. I ask you a second time, will you honor my request?"
"Oh, very well. Let it be so."
Dust swirled about them, enveloping them in a cloak of charcoal gray. It passed after only a moment, transported to the spacious apartments of the Lady Sorceress. A cheery fire crackled in the fireplace, throwing warm light across the wide four-poster bed and luxuriously upholstered furniture.
"Here we are," said the Sorceress. "The doors are sealed. No one will interrupt us until morning." She sat in a tall wing-chair and took a thick leather-bound tome onto her lap. "I hope you don't mind if I sit and read before bed? It helps me sleep."
"It is a bit premature for that, milady. I still have one more boon to ask."
She rolled her eyes and blew out a frustrated breath. "Yes, by all means, let us get this done."
"Cast the same spell upon yourself that you cast on me this morning, and leave it in place until dawn."
"What?"
"You know the one. I ask you a second time, will you honor my boon?"
"Ask something else. That would be humiliating. Beneath my dignity. Ask for something else."
"You may not refuse, milady. If you do, you will break the contract, and the very magic you wield will turn against you. I ask you a third time: Will you grant this?"
The Sorceress gritted her teeth. "Very well. Let it be so." She braced herself, but even so the blast of dust entering her nose and mouth rocked her head back against the back of the chair. When it was done, she coughed once, and spat. "There. Are you satisfied?"
He chuckled. "No, but that is my last boon. As long as we are not interrupted tonight, and the spell remains in place, our contract will be done."
"Good. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to read a while. Do what you like." Her voice became tight, the words forced between her teeth. "You are my guest."
She turned her attention back to the book, idly turning pages.
Rickhelm sidled up beside her and watched. "Ah, Pulatto's Treatise on Transfiguration. I find him a bit overwrought, don't you? His incantations always seem so bombastic."
The sorceress peered up at him. "How does a mere knight like you know anything about Pulatto?"
"I apprenticed to Master Winterthorpe for a year before my brother died and I was forced to return home and take up the role of the Heir Apparent. I learned a bit."
"Really." She squirmed in her chair, and flipped a few more pages.
"Is something wrong, milady?"
"You know damn well what is wrong."
"I suppose I do, at that. Your spell has granted you the sexual appetite of a rabbit in springtime. Did you laugh when I begged for relief this morning, when you offered me the services of the stablehand to sate me?"
"My will is stronger than yours."
Rickhelm ran his fingers, gentle in spite of the callouses, down the line of her jaw.
She stifled a sharp breath. "I am unbreakable."
His hand moved to the line of her neck, and he slipped down alongside her chair to trail kisses in the wake of his fingertips.
"I am the terror of the black tower." Her voice shook in a way he had never heard before.
He pushed the satin of her gown down over her shoulders, and the garment pooled at her waist. Hard nipples invited his attention.
"Grown men... tremble... in my presence." The confident tone drained from her voice.
Leaning down further, he brushed his lips across her pink buds.
A soft moan escaped her lips. She ran her fingers over his scalp. "If you... force yourself on me... you will break the guest-bond. I will... Ooh... turn you... into... a goat..."
In a low voice, he acknowledged her challenge. "Tell me to stop, and I will stop." Still nuzzling her chest, his hand drifted lower, slipping under the filmy fabric of her gown, coaxing her thighs apart to give him access to her most intimate places.
She closed her eyes and gripped the arms of the chair firmly. "No."
"What's that?" He flicked his fingers against the folds of her sex.
"Stop! Oh, by the powers... Take... your... hands... off... me..."
"Yes, milady." Impressed, Rickhelm pulled away and took a seat on a nearby ottoman.
The sorceress closed her eyes, struggling to master herself. "You... know my secret."
"Yes, milady, I do. Every sorcerer has one. I spent a year waiting and watching, suffering every humiliation, to learn the thing you gave up in exchange for your powers, but I now know what it is; the one pleasure you deny yourself—the sexual pleasures of men. You will succumb to the feelings your spell has awakened, and beg me to take you.