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  With a contented sigh, she slipped her arms around Aurelai's waist and pulled her close, submerging her face in a fragrant sea of black.

  When she surfaced, the first thing she became aware of was being slumped against the wall. That, and there being another Aurelai in the room. Both had identical frying pans in their hands and the same wide-eyed look of surprise on their faces.

  "Vimika!" the Aurelais exclaimed, dropping their pans onto the stove and rushing forward. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry! I've never been snuck up on before! Oh, oh, what did I do to you?"

  "I think you hit me," Vimika said, blinking as slowly and deliberately as Aurelai did while trying to remember if they'd used the pans or their fists.

  Is that why Aurelai blinked that way? Why would she hit herself with a frying pan? Were all legitimate questions thought by someone who had just been knocked across the room by a blow to the head.

  "Oh," Aurelai said, and began fretting with Vimika's hair, searching for a bump or bruise, but her hands were quickly stayed.

  "It's all right," Vimika said as Aurelai coalesced into a single individual once more. There was a stray thought about what Vimika would have done with two, but it healed over as well, sealed within a sarcophagus made of the sense to never mention it to anyone.

  She was still holding Aurelai's hands.

  "Good morning."

  Whatever lingering pain there might have been was instantly dispelled when Aurelai kissed her on the forehead. Vimika may have melted a bit. Or maybe it was the contented sigh that made her slump a little lower.

  "Good morning. I'm sorry."

  "No, I should have known better," Vimika said, somehow managing to stay in the sheets while finding her way vertical again. "What were you making?"

  "Nothing very special I'm afraid, but I thought you would be hungry after…" Brilliant scarlet cascaded down Aurelai's features from the crown of her head to plunge below her neckline.

  It was all Vimika could to not go chasing after to find out where it stopped. "I am, thank you. But… aren't you cold?"

  Aurelai barely glanced down at the gossamer sheath that ended well above her knees, hanging from her shoulders by straps so thin they looked like they could be snapped with a thought. "You made me feel beautiful last night. I wanted to look it when you woke up."

  Within Vimika's chest there was a great big thud, which resulted in a little puff of disbelief rocketing out of her parted lips. "You… are beautiful," she said. She hoped. Words were harder now than before she'd had her head caved in. Or perhaps easier.

  "Thank you. So are you," Aurelai said.

  She leaned in for a proper kiss this time, which Vimika returned enthusiastically. In daylight, with the sobriety of proper sleep, it was a different, better kiss. It was more real. It wasn't driven by curiosity, longing or mere lust, but because it was what you did in moments like this, one that made it a moment like this. A kiss that was new, but wonderfully familiar, a kiss that tingled with magic...

  Then Vimika started giggling and had to pull away. "You taste like basil."

  Aurelai licked her lips, looking down at her fingers in that fascinating way she had, a bird peering down at a bit of seed it hadn't expected to come across. "I thought you would like it."

  "I do! I just… didn't expect it. Nicking from the pan while I was still asleep?" Vimika teased.

  "I had to see if it was any good. I've only ever cooked for Father. I doubt you share the same palate." Aurelai turned back to the counter, where she speared a steaming mushroom with a fork. When Vimika reached out to take it, Aurelai shook her head. "Let me."

  Vimika opened her mouth gratefully, and let herself be fed the little morsel without a second thought. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a cooked mushroom that had been made that way in anything other than oil, butter or lard, leaving it considerably more mushroom-y than she was used to. Flavorful would have been a better word, but her higher thoughts were preoccupied with the look of nervous anticipation on Aurelai's face and her continued lack of real clothing.

  "Ish qua' good." Vimika said as she chewed.

  A new, brighter light came to Aurelai's eyes and she came back with a chunk of tomato the size of her thumbnail. When she turned for a third time, Vimika suggested that perhaps the table would make breakfast slightly less laborious. She would still obediently open her mouth when there was food aimed at it, but there, at least, she could return the favor.

  Without cheese, bread, butter or oil of any kind, it was the healthiest meal ever put away by someone who had a tavern owner as a landlord. By the time they were done, Vimika was full but not full, and had the kind of energy that she imagined people were supposed to have after eating, and insisted on doing the washing up.

  With a kiss of thanks, Aurelai left to change, leaving Vimika with the thoughts she should have had much earlier. What was happening here? And now that she was allowed to have rational thoughts again, they handed her a note that said 'You barely know this woman, she's quite possibly older than your grandmother and has been living alone for upwards of two centuries in a prison built by her own (dead) criminal father, and you still can't access your magic. Make sure you can clear that pit before you try to jump over it. And that there aren't a bunch of snakes at the bottom.'

  All good points, but Vimika had already finished the dishes and still wasn't wearing any clothes, which made them invalid.

  Somehow.

  Something bright caught her peripheral vision and she looked over to see Oliver staring up at her.

  "Good morning. I... uh, don't know what she usually gives you. And I... already did the washing up. Do you even need to eat?"

  As he was an animal, Oliver said nothing, but there was something to his eyes that made it feel like an insult to reduce him that way. For a split second, she had genuinely expected an answer.

  "You really are a little miracle, aren't you?"

  Vimika sucked in a deep breath at that thought, only realizing after she'd done so that she'd held the sheets to her nose while she'd done it.

  "So's this," she said with a smile.

  Oliver padded over to sniff at the unfamiliar fabric. Cocking his head in either approval or confirmation, he trotted away the way he'd come.

  Unsure of what to make of the encounter, Vimika returned to the bedroom to find Aurelai just doing the ties up the side of a different dress than the one Vimika had had the privilege of removing. A deep green trimmed in black lace, it was in perfect repair, the same as the towels and blankets had been, and for the first time, Vimika found herself glad that her magic was on the fritz. The amount necessary to maintain the preservation spells on the textiles alone must be near blinding, to say nothing of something like the stasis slab.

  "How do I look?" Aurelai asked as she did a little twirl, the hem of her dress fanning out to reveal that she was doing so on the very tips of her toes.

  "Wonderful," Vimika said a hair too absent-mindedly.

  Aurelai settled flat on her feet, her dress swishing about before settling as straight as her hair. "What is it?"

  Vimika looked up and around, running her fingers down the door frame as if she expected something to happen.

  "I just saw Oliver. But I can't See him. I can't sense any of the magic that's saturating this place. If what you've said is true, it's been... marinating... for centuries. It must have a life of its own by now, but I can't feel it. Just like I couldn't feel that other me in the forest. I know it's the magic shock, it has to be. The alternative is... Aurelai, is any of this real?"

  "Real enough," Aurelai said brightly.

  "Don't. Please. After the Forest, after last night… I don't want this to be a dream or an illusion. Besides, you owe me for hurling me into the wall."

  Aurelai met some success in stifling her grin. "You're right. Vimika, to the best of my knowledge, everything you've seen and experienced since waking in the lab is real. Yes, Father's magic is... intense, but I've never known it to do anything unless I leave the
clearing. It's like a- a moat. Do castles still have those?"

  "The tackier ones do," Vimika said.

  "A moat. Or a wall, since it's powered by hundred-foot trees."

  "A prison with golden bars is still a prison."

  "Yes. But at least I've finally been allowed one visitor," Aurelai said.

  "As much good as I've been thus far."

  "I've quite enjoyed our time together." Aurelai's eyebrows bowed upward, her brow furrowed in sudden thought. "Haven't you? I... I'm sorry. If you want to sleep in the den, I can unlock some more blankets. You probably need more rest, I've made you exert yourself too much. I will go fetch some of the most promising books for you so you have something to read. There are candles if magelight is too difficult, I just have to remember where I put them."

  Aurelai made to leave, but Vimika snatched her by the wrist and spun her back, pinning her to the wall with a look. "Don't apologize to me anymore. If I think you've done something wrong, you won't have to guess, all right? I regret nothing of what has happened since I arrived here. Do you?"

  "No. No, I've enjoyed every moment," Aurelai replied.

  "Good." Vimika let go of the bed sheet and snaked a hand around the back of Aurelai's neck.

  "Oh! It's not even dark!" Aurelai exclaimed with a trill of nervous laughter, nonetheless plunging her fingers into Vimika's hair as lips closed on her shoulder.

  Silken hair gliding along her chest and over her ears, Vimika didn't break the chain of kisses she laid down Aurelai's arm. Magic tingled. "All the easier for you to see what you've been missing."

  It was for the best that Aurelai was barefoot, as she quickly found herself standing in a pool of emerald.

  ~

  "I think I may need to borrow something to wear," Vimika said as she shrugged into her tunic and trousers again. Creeping into the library completely naked to fetch them had been far more intriguing a prospect than it was an exercise. Windowless as both it and the laboratory were, there was something about doing so in broad daylight surrounded by magic she couldn't sense that made it feel as though windows weren't entirely necessary to be seen by someone, or something.

  But the someone who definitely had seen her was nothing but appreciative. Aurelai's eyes were wide and completely unselfconscious about staring as Vimika thought better of doing up the tie that would close her collar, revealing a subtle shadow in the deep 'V' of a neckline that hadn't been there before.

  Aurelai had slithered back into her emerald dress while Vimika was gone, looking good enough to attend the coronation of the next king in the time it took for Vimika to walk across the house and back. As she had no plans to ever take part in anything so formal, she told herself it wasn't jealousy she felt at the sight.

  "You can try on anything you wish," Aurelai said, crossing to the nearest closet. Pressing her palm to the wooden door, she whispered a few non-words and it consented to open. Inside were several substantial chests stacked on top of one another. Aurelai hauled out the top one with an ease that meant in addition to the null time, it had also been cast with Lightness, otherwise it would have been impossible for Aurelai to move by herself.

  That Vimika was having to deduce such things and not See them soured her mood for the brief moment it took for Aurelai to throw open the lid and reveal what was inside.

  Color. Vibrant, shimmering colors from rich amethyst to brilliant amber. Sapphire, jade, pearl, the trunk might as well have been a treasure chest. Aurelai took out the topmost garment, a dress as nice as the one she was already wearing, only an amethyst so vibrant and deep it shamed any gemstone that could be dug out of the Dragonbacks.

  Aurelai held it to the light, turned it this way and that. "I... er... rather like this one. Do you mind if I...?"

  "Go right on ahead. It's yours, after all. Besides, I can't see needing anything like that around the house. Or ever, really, " Vimika said in spite of the fact it was the only kind of thing she'd ever seen Aurelai wear.

  "Thank you!"

  But further pillaging, all the way to the bare boards of the bottom of the chest, revealed that formal was all there was. So did the next one. The lack of any real options beyond ostentatious gowns laid to rest any lingering doubts about just how long they had been sealed up. Women hadn't worn anything else back when they'd been shut, even wizards. Before the robes, before the hats, this is what the titular Polite Magical Society had actually looked like, and Vimika couldn't decide how she felt about it. The garments were all gorgeous, more costume than clothing, but having no choice in needing to put them on to go outside struck a raw nerve. The only thing that had changed in 200 years was the quality of their uniforms.

  "What did you wear before I got here?" Vimika asked as she ran decadently soft sleeves of amber fabric between her fingers. Say what she would about how it may appear in modern times, it was nice.

  "I never had guests or anyone to impress, so I mostly wore sleeping clothes. Usually until they fell apart. They were quite comfortable," Aurelai said.

  The embroidery sparkled! "So you dressed up this way for me?"

  "It only seemed polite when hosting a guest, especially when I had something to ask of her. Besides, I rather like the way I look like this," Aurelai said, sweeping a hand over her dress, hair falling forward in curtains.

  "Me too," Vimika said.

  A grin of genuine appreciation touched Aurelai's eyes. "Thank you. Now, you've been clutching that one like a blanket, would you like to try it on?"

  Vimika held the dress up to the light, trying to picture what she would end up looking like in something so ridiculous and old-fashioned.

  Aurelai. You'll look like Aurelai, idiot.

  Though chastising, the thought was both helpful and accurate. "I suppose I do. Is there a dressing screen I can use?"

  Aurelai's head quirked to one side. "I've seen you naked already."

  "That- that's not the point!" Vimika brandished the dress, with its dangling strings and myriad folds and layers. "Most magic is less complicated than this thing!"

  And I don't want to look like a fool in front of you, any more than I already do, she didn't say and tried to will Aurelai into understanding without having to.

  But Aurelai's long isolation won out. "And?"

  "And!" Vimika took a breath. "And, I feel stupid not knowing how to put it on."

  But there was no judgment in Aurelai's look, only compassion. "So I'll help you. Most of these were never designed to be donned alone. Why do you think I left them packed away? Come."

  Aurelai touched a seam between two of the wood panels that made up the wall and pushed. The panel spun around, revealing a full-length (if narrow) mirror.

  Vimika approached it tentatively, peering at it from the side to avoid her own reflection. "I've never seen a mirror this good before. There's no warping or fogging..."

  Then she touched it. "It's glass!"

  Every mirror Vimika had ever seen was highly polished metal. Magically, as was found in those owned by the wealthy, but mostly by regular old time and effort. Why hadn't Kalinostrafal tried to get rich selling these instead?

  Aurelai demurred. "Do you like it? It used to be a table. But with no guests to entertain, I... repurposed it."

  "You made this?" Vimika said, which was impressive, since she'd done it with her jaw on the floor.

  "I had a lot of time on my hands."

  Vimika ran her edge along the beveled edge. It was perfectly smooth. "No, I mean... how?"

  "Silvering is just another type of metalsmithing, is it not? Surely you've done magical metalwork before. It's so thin, it didn't take very much. Less than a single earring's worth, in fact," Aurelai said with only the faintest trace of pride.

  She could have shouted it and not been out of line. "I've never heard of anyone turning a spell on its head like that. I've re-shaped silver, but you... transformed it," Vimika said, turning the mirror to run her fingers along the back. Just as Aurelai said, there was barely anything there, the precious metal
reduced to something more like a film than a sheet.

  "Well, it pleases me that you're impressed," Aurelai said. "Now kindly remove your clothes."

  By the time Vimika was dressed again, she didn't recognize the person looking back at her. Aurelai stood behind with a look of complete satisfaction on her face.

  Vimika wanted it to be from the quality of the mirror, but looking down at her sleeves put paid to that lie as fast as it took her to blink. She'd chosen the amber dress accented in gold, and it had indeed taken both of them to wriggle her into it. The fabric shone as it gripped her arms and swished around her legs with whispered rustling. The neckline was modest, but left little doubt as to the shape of her waist.

  Aurelai, in her dresses, looked stunning. Radiant. A wizard from another age, when they were proud and respected.

  Vimika looked like an impostor playing dress up. Aurelai's alterations had been as masterful as they were swift, and though the dress fit perfectly, it didn't fit. The tightness made Vimika hunch, and her hair was nowhere near as elegant as Aurelai's, bound in braids more suitable for flying or just staying out of the way than attending Court.

  Her ears drooped at the sight. The Vimika in the mirror wasn't a wizard, and in her state of magic shock, she didn't feel like one any more than she looked. At least the hat had let her pretend.

  Aurelai was still smiling, and set a hand on Vimika's shoulder. "You look very nice."

  "Do you think so? I feel like a pillock."

  Aurelai shook her head. "You don't look like a fish at all. I think you're lovely."

  Vimika was too flattered to correct her. "If you say so."

  "I do. And I mean it," Aurelai said. "But if you don't like it, I can try to find some more sleeping clothes, at least. There should be more buried somewhere..."

  "You think I'm lovely?" Vimika suddenly asked their reflection. It had taken a moment for it to sink in that Aurelai hadn't included 'looked' in her compliment. There was flattered, then there was 'lightheaded with ears on fire,' and Vimika's were distinctly pink, right out to the tips.