Wizards of Winds and Waves, chapter 25
This concludes Part 1.
The overall structure of the Wizards is a three-part story. This is the final chapter of the first part. Right now, I have written about the first half of the second part, and a few chapters of the third part. Yes, things are sort of sappy right now. But there’s some good action coming up.
Wizards of Winds and Waves
Chapter 25
When I awoke, Pierre and I were wrapped around each other still, amid a tangle of damp sheets. But something was different. Then I realized I had some sort of double vision. As Pierre opened his eyes to look at me, I saw him, but I also saw me from outside myself. He shifted his arm, and I felt as if I were the one doing it. After a moment, I figured it out. Somehow, through our joining, our senses had overlapped. I was seeing, hearing, feeling not only my senses, but also Pierre’s. With a little effort, I could concentrate on one person or the other, almost like adjusting vision for near or far distances, making the other fade from mind and view.
“Pierre, are you …?”
“Seeing double? Yes.”
“Is this what joining does to wizards?”
“If it is, I never heard of it. I think our joining must have been something special, since joining is supposed to diminish powers, not augment them.”
“I wonder how far this power extends. Will we be able to touch each other even when we are far apart?” I shifted in the bed and became aware of the lingering burning in my groin.
Pierre winced. “Oh! I’m sorry I had to hurt you …”
“No, it’s all right. The pleasure was so great, even the pain was part of it.” My lower body started pleasantly pulsing with ecstasy at the mere memory.
“Ah.” He smiled and winked at me, and we settled back down into the sheets.
I had an itchy spot on my back, and Pierre reached an arm around me to scratch it. “Hmm,” I said, “there seem to be advantages to our new condition.” Then I realized that we were both very hungry – we had missed supper the night before, and I hadn’t even had much for lunch before that. “I’ll get up and get us some breakfast.” I slipped into the plush bathrobe that I found laid out on one of the armchairs – Pierre had really prepared well for my arrival – and went to the kitchen, where I whipped up a couple of omelets with cheese and mushrooms.
After breakfast, Pierre and I had a shower together, as we gradually got used to our new sense of each other while scrubbing and shampooing. We both ended up using Old Spice, and it seemed appropriate for us to match in yet another way.
We went down to the marina to go sailing together. Coming back to my own little boat was a welcome return to the past. “Wanna race?” I asked.
“Sure,” Pierre said, as he hoisted sail. “Down to the buoy by the bait barge and back!”
“You’re on.” We took off, much as we had that morning so long ago – was it really only three months? – tacking toward the mark, in close tandem. But before too long, we weren’t really racing any more. Instead, we were sailing in close parallel to each other, or turning our boats about each other, in sheer jubilation at the feeling of skimming over the water, part of the wind and the waves, and part of each other too.
When we returned to the marina, Runyon and Sylvia were waiting for us. “Wow,” Sylvia said. “Watching you two sail is like watching dancers dance – you are so graceful, and so coordinated with each other.”
“I brought something for you,” Runyon said, holding up a manila envelope. “It’s the title to your boat. I figured it would be a good joining gift for you.”
“Thank you, Runyon,” I said. “Thank you very much!”
“Well, it really has been your boat all along. This just makes it official.”
“Speaking of making things official,” Pierre said, “what about getting officially married, Sarah? Get the piece of paper so the state recognizes what we already did?”
“Works for me.”
Sylvia laughed. “I think that’s about the most ridiculously casual marriage proposal and acceptance I’ve ever heard!”
Pierre pulled a box out of his pocket. “Not so casual as all that,” he said. He opened the box to reveal a set of matching wedding rings and an engagement ring. “I had these custom made for the occasion.” He slipped the engagement ring onto my finger and handed the box containing the two wedding rings to Runyon. “I don’t suppose I need to tell you not to lose them.”
“Let’s have lunch at the tavern,” Runyon said. “We have some things to tell you.”
Once we were settled into the wizard cave at the back of the tavern, Runyon said, “There were some big disturbances in the aura last night, but this time I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the Others. It was powerful, though; we spent the night at the school, and it came through even there. Sylvia and I had a great night, but the staff of the school had to post sentries in the hallways to keep the boys from getting into the girls’ dorms and vice versa. Then this morning, we caught Edna coming out of Jackson’s apartment.”
“At least they didn’t have anything to lose, since they’re both widowed,” Sylvia said. “They’re planning a formal joining as soon as Edna graduates. And, oh, yes, at breakfast this morning, Betsy’s face was completely restored. She looks astonishingly like you, Sarah.”
“Anyhow,” Runyon continued, “you’re going to need to learn better control so you don’t disturb the aura so much. Sarah is very powerful, but she’s still a beginner, so you will need to help her to learn, Pierre. And you, yourself, as one of the most powerful wizards ever …”
“Wait a minute,” Pierre interrupted. “I’m not as powerful as you, or Sylvia, or any of the teachers at the school!”
“Check again,” Runyon said. “You gained power last night. So did Sarah.”
“That’s not all we gained,” I said. “We now each see, hear, and feel what the other does.”
“We still need to check on how far that extends,” Pierre said. “It may not work when we’re far apart.”
After lunch, Runyon and Sylvia took us to the courthouse, where we took care of paperwork and found the judge who was working marriages that day. The ceremony was routine, except that when we followed the judge’s directions, “You may kiss the bride,” all of the people in the room gave out a startled gasp.
“Control, honey, control,” Pierre whispered in my ear as we left the courtroom to seek out a travel agent to plan our honeymoon in Paris.
The overall structure of the Wizards is a three-part story. This is the final chapter of the first part. Right now, I have written about the first half of the second part, and a few chapters of the third part. Yes, things are sort of sappy right now. But there’s some good action coming up.
Wizards of Winds and Waves
Chapter 25
When I awoke, Pierre and I were wrapped around each other still, amid a tangle of damp sheets. But something was different. Then I realized I had some sort of double vision. As Pierre opened his eyes to look at me, I saw him, but I also saw me from outside myself. He shifted his arm, and I felt as if I were the one doing it. After a moment, I figured it out. Somehow, through our joining, our senses had overlapped. I was seeing, hearing, feeling not only my senses, but also Pierre’s. With a little effort, I could concentrate on one person or the other, almost like adjusting vision for near or far distances, making the other fade from mind and view.
“Pierre, are you …?”
“Seeing double? Yes.”
“Is this what joining does to wizards?”
“If it is, I never heard of it. I think our joining must have been something special, since joining is supposed to diminish powers, not augment them.”
“I wonder how far this power extends. Will we be able to touch each other even when we are far apart?” I shifted in the bed and became aware of the lingering burning in my groin.
Pierre winced. “Oh! I’m sorry I had to hurt you …”
“No, it’s all right. The pleasure was so great, even the pain was part of it.” My lower body started pleasantly pulsing with ecstasy at the mere memory.
“Ah.” He smiled and winked at me, and we settled back down into the sheets.
I had an itchy spot on my back, and Pierre reached an arm around me to scratch it. “Hmm,” I said, “there seem to be advantages to our new condition.” Then I realized that we were both very hungry – we had missed supper the night before, and I hadn’t even had much for lunch before that. “I’ll get up and get us some breakfast.” I slipped into the plush bathrobe that I found laid out on one of the armchairs – Pierre had really prepared well for my arrival – and went to the kitchen, where I whipped up a couple of omelets with cheese and mushrooms.
After breakfast, Pierre and I had a shower together, as we gradually got used to our new sense of each other while scrubbing and shampooing. We both ended up using Old Spice, and it seemed appropriate for us to match in yet another way.
We went down to the marina to go sailing together. Coming back to my own little boat was a welcome return to the past. “Wanna race?” I asked.
“Sure,” Pierre said, as he hoisted sail. “Down to the buoy by the bait barge and back!”
“You’re on.” We took off, much as we had that morning so long ago – was it really only three months? – tacking toward the mark, in close tandem. But before too long, we weren’t really racing any more. Instead, we were sailing in close parallel to each other, or turning our boats about each other, in sheer jubilation at the feeling of skimming over the water, part of the wind and the waves, and part of each other too.
When we returned to the marina, Runyon and Sylvia were waiting for us. “Wow,” Sylvia said. “Watching you two sail is like watching dancers dance – you are so graceful, and so coordinated with each other.”
“I brought something for you,” Runyon said, holding up a manila envelope. “It’s the title to your boat. I figured it would be a good joining gift for you.”
“Thank you, Runyon,” I said. “Thank you very much!”
“Well, it really has been your boat all along. This just makes it official.”
“Speaking of making things official,” Pierre said, “what about getting officially married, Sarah? Get the piece of paper so the state recognizes what we already did?”
“Works for me.”
Sylvia laughed. “I think that’s about the most ridiculously casual marriage proposal and acceptance I’ve ever heard!”
Pierre pulled a box out of his pocket. “Not so casual as all that,” he said. He opened the box to reveal a set of matching wedding rings and an engagement ring. “I had these custom made for the occasion.” He slipped the engagement ring onto my finger and handed the box containing the two wedding rings to Runyon. “I don’t suppose I need to tell you not to lose them.”
“Let’s have lunch at the tavern,” Runyon said. “We have some things to tell you.”
Once we were settled into the wizard cave at the back of the tavern, Runyon said, “There were some big disturbances in the aura last night, but this time I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the Others. It was powerful, though; we spent the night at the school, and it came through even there. Sylvia and I had a great night, but the staff of the school had to post sentries in the hallways to keep the boys from getting into the girls’ dorms and vice versa. Then this morning, we caught Edna coming out of Jackson’s apartment.”
“At least they didn’t have anything to lose, since they’re both widowed,” Sylvia said. “They’re planning a formal joining as soon as Edna graduates. And, oh, yes, at breakfast this morning, Betsy’s face was completely restored. She looks astonishingly like you, Sarah.”
“Anyhow,” Runyon continued, “you’re going to need to learn better control so you don’t disturb the aura so much. Sarah is very powerful, but she’s still a beginner, so you will need to help her to learn, Pierre. And you, yourself, as one of the most powerful wizards ever …”
“Wait a minute,” Pierre interrupted. “I’m not as powerful as you, or Sylvia, or any of the teachers at the school!”
“Check again,” Runyon said. “You gained power last night. So did Sarah.”
“That’s not all we gained,” I said. “We now each see, hear, and feel what the other does.”
“We still need to check on how far that extends,” Pierre said. “It may not work when we’re far apart.”
After lunch, Runyon and Sylvia took us to the courthouse, where we took care of paperwork and found the judge who was working marriages that day. The ceremony was routine, except that when we followed the judge’s directions, “You may kiss the bride,” all of the people in the room gave out a startled gasp.
“Control, honey, control,” Pierre whispered in my ear as we left the courtroom to seek out a travel agent to plan our honeymoon in Paris.
posted by Carol Anne | 2:16 AM
2 Comments:
Hmmm - synchronized sailing? Maybe there's a new Olympic sport there? Actually I did try to get the more advanced kids in my sailing classes last summer to invent and perform some choregraphed sailing maneuvers as a team but they didn't really have the skills to pull it off.
Maybe a couple of skippers at about the same skill level who have sailed with each other for many years could pull it off? CA never sent me the tail end of chapter 24, by the way, but maybe she can catch me up when I get back home from the northern lake tonight.
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