Pacts and Witches

Rumius found himself waking to his Mistress's face. She was shaking him. It was so shocking that for a moment, Rumius thought that he was dreaming. Mistress is shaking me awake? Where am I? Where is that accursed wooden parrot? 

And that was only the first on the list of weird things happening that morning. 

As he splashed cold water on his face, Rumius remembered how strange it was that he didn't get any calls to hurry the hell up or any threats to get breakfast prepared. In fact, this entire situation was off. It was already well past daybreak by the time he was awake. It was that late already. And when he had scrambled out of bed, panicked and sorry for waking up so late and promising to have breakfast ready immediately, Mistress Isadora had told him to 'take your time.' 

' Take my time? Who the hell are you and where is Mistress?' He was tempted to burst out saying.

He had swaggered utterly dumbfounded to the washroom and closed the door. 

And when he came out, he found the common table an already set up. And breakfast was ready and waiting. Rumius's was stopped dead in his tracks in shock.

The mouthwatering smell of freshly grilled bread wafted to his nose, almost like a tickle. There was meat and cheese as well! He could see the steam still wafting from the top of the baskets, which held the delightful goods. The smell made it even more irresistible. 

Mistress Isadora was already at the table, and seeing him, gestured to the spread. 

" Help yourself."

Rumius took a seat. 

" Did something happen?" He asked suspiciously.

" Indeed." Her response made Rumius look up from his plate that was already becoming stacked high with meat and bread. 

" Indeed?" Her next words shocked his soul out of him.

" You made a breakthrough, hunted your first quarry, and blew my expectations away." She raised her cup of tea in a kind of toast. 

" Usually, your family would celebrate this but since they're not here, I thought I should do something for you." 

Rumius froze. But his heart melted nearly instantly when he heard her words. 

Mistress Isadora continued. 

" Go on. Eat to your heart's content. You deserved it." 

The moment was so surreal that Rumius couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

' She said…..I deserved this? I didn't hear anything wrong right? She said that I deserved it right?'

Rumius kept his head down and ate in silence for the rest of the meal, chewing carefully and swallowing bite by bite. If he said something, he knew that he would choke. But it wouldn't be food that he choked on, but it would be the emotions that made his heart felt like it wanted to flutter out of his heart right this instant. 

He hoped that she didn't notice the unsightly smile on his face that was mixed with tears and unchewed food. The extra salt made the food a little mushier and a little saltier, but it still ended up being the most delicious breakfast that he had had in a long time. 

After clearing the dishes and keeping the food that they couldn't finish, Rumius followed his Mistress outside at her command. He walked with sore legs and a spring in his step while his Mistress mounted steady strides that couldn't be seen, as they were completely covered by the blue robe she wore. It was so long that it dragged on the ground. 

Rumius's wounds had completely healed overnight. He was still wearing the bandages around his chest since there hadn't been a chance to remove them but Rumius was as good as he could be except for a terrible sore all over. 

" Mistress, where are we going?" He asked, his tone still giddy and light hearted from the morning's events although he tried to keep it under control. Isadora didn't reply as she weaved under a low branch and stepped onto the other side. 

" You'll see soon." She said, after Rumius had followed suit. They walked for several more minutes before suddenly, Rumius felt as if he had passed through some sort of fluid. The scenery trembled for a moment and changed. The dense forest was no more and suddenly, Rumius found himself standing on a desolate rock, high up and surrounded by the sky with the wind roaring in his ears.

Rumius felt the temperature drop instantly as the frost bit into him, tearing away his body heat. 

" M-mistress? What are we doing here?" 

As usual, Mistress Isadora didn't reply right away. She walked a distance away from him and looked into the distance. 

" I wanted to have a serious conversation with you. I thought that this would be as good a place as any. Let's begin. Have you ever given it some thought as to why I've taken you as a disciple, Rumius?" 

"…Because.. of favour for my mother?" He answered uncertainly. ' Where was this coming from all of a sudden? The atmosphere is different. And we're high up-p-p. Of hod it's cold.'

His answer was replied with a short bark of laughter. " A favour? Pfft, like I'd ever." 

Rumius kept his silence awkwardly and Isadora went on. 

" Well, I suppose you could consider it a kind of favour since she's benefiting so much more from this than I am. You see, I'm actually bringing this up even earlier than I'd planned to, but given your incredible growth, it would be such a pity not to." She turned around to face him with a stern look in her eyes. 

" I chose you because of that ability of yours. " 

" Ability? " he asked, slightly puzzled. 

" Don't you know? That special one that you were been born with. The one where if word of it were to get out, which, may I add, is the last thing your 'Maman' wants, I dare say you could be considered a genius by every mage on the continent. 

Isadora's lips curled up into a chilling smile. 

" You can understand every incantation that I've ever said, can't you?" 

As he heard her words, it all became clear in his mind . Of course this was it. But there was no reason to shy away from the topic. Inwardly, he was quickly smiling in return. 

He welcomed her bringing it up. Rumius wanted to use this advantage as soon as possible. And although Maman had forbidden him to talk of it to outsiders, this was Mistress Isadora, not some random stranger. 

" You took me in because I can read and understand the script that magic is written in." Rumius nodded. 

"Good. Now can you tell me why this is so special?" 

" Because every other person can't seem to make sense of the language even after thousands of years." He paused, remembering something. " Maman told me that it is a restriction placed on humans by the gods to maintain balance." 

Isadora snorted. " No need to believe that crap. It's basically just a cognitive barrier. But you're right, humanity has been unable to comprehend Elder speech despite thousands of years of research and study." 

Her smile widened so much that it was like she was baring her teeth." Well..that is until now." 

Rumius frowned. 

" Why?" He asked, and Isadora smiled. 

" Because of you, Rumius." 

Her response took him by surprise, but he had always caught on to things quickly. Surprising people with it was one of the things he had always secretly prided himself on. 

" Because I can act as a transcriber and as a translator." He said with wide eyes. " And I can also analyse the similarities in sentence structure between the elder tongue and the common tongue. Once I can do that, publishing a sort of dictionary won't be difficult." 

" And the cognitive barrier can be bypassed." Isadora finished. " Correct." 

Rumius's heart bloomed. ' How had he not thought of that? This is incredible! That means I'm super valuable doesn't it?' His mind was going wild. The possibilities were infinite! He could make money with this! Or maybe get a position. He could be so much stronger if he learnt how to use it properly! 

Finally, he understood why Mistress Isadora had brought him up here to talk about this. She was going to help him learn to use this! "Wait, then won't I be able use this as-" he started excitedly but was quickly cut off.

" Do you know why your mother sent you to me now?" Mistress Isadora's voice had an iron to it that made him step back in surprise. She advanced on him. " It's because of the people that would come for you otherwise." 

Rumius's eyes widened.

"Your mother knows she can't protect you and she knows that she can't keep the secret within your little domain in the south. Sooner or later, word will spread. People will come. The royals will definitely be interested and you know who will be the most interested? That filthy, hypocritical church of yours."

When she talked about the church, she spat the words so hard Rumius was taken aback.

" The Solarian church? What is so bad about it? " He stammered. 

" Bah! What's so bad? You haven't the faintest idea! ...Though that is a story for another time. In any case, I think you understand the situation you're in."

" When you go back, you will be hunted down. Your mother won't be able to protect you and in the end, you will end up enslaved or a brainwashed drone of the church." Mistress got up in his face. 

" Is that how you want to live your life?" Mistress Isadora asked, one of her fingers jabbing into his chest.

Rumius took in the information in silence, shaken. Any retorts died in his throat. His perception of his newfound power had been instantly turned on its head. It undoubtedly overpowered. Indeed. He'd known that for awhile since the time his mother revealed the nature of his gift to him. But now, the same gift was going to make him a Guinea pig. 

Rumius honestly hadn't thought that it things would turn out this way and he almost cursed his naivety. How could he not have seen?

This was another world! It made no sense to apply the common sense of earth here! If this was earth, there would be laws to protect him. But against spells of mass destruction and a monarchy, laws probably didn't mean shit once the big dogs got in the fight.

The chances of him getting rich with this skill and getting enslaved for it were just about as high. And the more he thought about it, the more he began to see. Mistress was right. As she was about of most things. That was the perception that he got from living with her and now, her theory was completely sound as well. 

" Then..Then what about my father?" He asked hopefully. " Surely he could do something about it, right? " 

Mistress Isadora snorted. Arbelest Eldmich? He'd sell you away in a heartbeat." Rumius's heart sunk. Was he doomed?

" That is why I'm here to offer you an alternative." Mistress Isadora said suddenly. Rumius looked up quickly. 

" An..alternative? There's a way out of this?" He asked.

Mistress frowned at his question. " There is always a way out of everything. You just have to look hard enough. Instead of letting your mother protect you, I will train you so that you can protect yourself."

" Not only that, with your talent and ability, I will I'll bring you to new heights. Heights of which no mage had ever reached before." Mistress Isadora declared. Her voice was not loud but it was filled with conviction and confidence. 

" Let's do it." Rumius immediately said. Isadora smirked.

" There is only one problem, dear. This wasn't in the original contract that I had with your mother. And that means that I will need something in return."

Her sudden calculativeness took Rumius aback for a moment. He thought for awhile before asking tentatively. 

" What do you want?" To which Isadora smiled. 

" Leave the Eldmichs, Rumius. I want you to leave your mother, leave everything behind and dedicate yourself to being my apprentice.