Open Window
Inn Love
Love Notion
They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul.
What do you see when you look into my eyes? Do you see a beautiful soul?
Why not stare deeper? Stare deep into such a lovely, beautiful soul.
They say the eyes are the mirror of the soul.
Why not let your eyes mirror my beautiful soul?
Stare into my eyes until you perfectly mirror my soul.
Let me open your eyes and pour my soul through until your soul is a perfect mimic…
A perfect mirror of your master’s perfect soul.
“I don’t see why we have to go all the way out there,” I say.
“The training you can get there is invaluable,” my mentor says. “You can only go so far training at home.”
I slump against the bed at the inn and cross my arms.
“My training is fine. I’d rather stay home.”
My old mentor sighs in their bed across from mine. I swear I can hear their bones creaking as they settle into the bed.
“I know you think that, but trust me, your outlook will change soon enough.” They yawn and pull the covers over them.
“Just try to get some sleep,” they say. “You’ll learn soon enough just how little training you have so far.”
I grumble in the bed. Uprooting me from home, my friends… and the girl I was so close to asking out. All for some training in the middle of nowhere…
As I hear my mentor start to snore I ruminate on my options. I could just quit and go back home. All in all though my training isn’t so bad. It just seems like a particularly lonely life.
I turn as the door to our room clicks and slowly opens a crack. A pink gloved arm emerges.
I stare at the arm, a heart printed on the back of the hand and a heart-printed collar on the wrist. I recognize the arm; it belonged to an absolutely gorgeous lamia I’d seen near the back of the front sitting room.
My thoughts race as the hand beckons me to the door.
My mentor told me not to trust lamiais. They said they were tricky and controlling.
I slowly slide out of bed and stand, glancing at my dozing mentor. That’s probably all hearsay, superstitious beliefs from a time long past. I’m sure there’s no harm in seeing this beautiful lamia
As I quietly head for the door her arm retreats back out. I slowly open the door wider and slip out without waking my mentor, shutting the door behind me.
I see her down the dark hall, her tail trailing from our door. The big, round pods on her shoulders give a small glow.
I stare at her fit body, her tight clothes, her thick tail. Her heart motif, the heart pattern on her tail, screams intentions at me. She looks back with a smirk, her hot pink eyes practically glowing. With a flick of her finger she beckons me to follow.
Should I?
I can feel desire sparking between us, but is that really what she’s after? Can I trust her? Can I trust myself? What am I after?
She grins and extends her tongue out to beckon me, longer than her beckoning finger.
I swallow and follow. No harm in… in anything, right?
She slithers to a closet which she enters, and with one last wordless flick of a finger invites me inside. I enter, and with her long tail filling the small closet she shuts the door and clasps me in her arms, planting a deep, long kiss on my lips. The closet spins around me.
The sudden rush of passion and emotion scrambled and muffled my thoughts, although I can feel as the lamia’s tail strokes around me in circles. Where her scales touch my skin shivers. Now I’m glad I came out here–I never would have experienced this back… somewhere else.
I realize I’m lolling in the lamia’s grasp after she ended the kiss. Wait, when did my shirt come off? Her tail has several coils around me, each a hug inviting me to let my body and mind go limp.
I’m having trouble thinking. The memory of how I got here is… spotty.
Did I come here myself? Or did she force me here? I think… I’m sure I wanted to come… how did my shirt…?
I speak to ask where my shirt went but she puts a finger to my lips, and for the first time I hear her speak.
“You made a wonderful choice to follow me.”
Her voice sounds angelic, tickling my mind like feathers. Her eyes glow. I see hearts. I see love. Yes, I made the perfect choice to follow.
When I blink she has her tail coiled over my chest, binding my arms, thick around my thighs, snugly wrapping my legs. Where are my pants?
I’m about to ask her to stop so I can gather my thoughts when she plants another kiss on my lips. I try to pull away for a moment before I go limp in her embrace, her tongue snaking into my mouth and practically wrapping around it like her tail around me. My eyes flutter.
“… pet for your mistress, absorbed in utterly divine love.”
When I snap away from the lovely fog in my head Jb is whispering into my ear, her breath tickling my head.
Wait, Jb? How did I know her… name…? She’s coiled me all up, enveloping me in her lovely scales.
But that’s what I wanted, right? That’s why I followed her. I want her lovely tail all over me, squeezing me as she caresses my face with her gloves hands, the lovely hearts on her fingers snatching away my attention as she whispers lovely words of adoration and passion…
Lovely words of devotion and desire and obedience and servitude and–
Something doesn’t seem quite right, but every time I begin to worry she squeezes me and those thoughts evaporate. I wanted to follow her. I want to serve her. That’s why I came out here, right?
Vague memories of training or traveling somewhere seem to bubble up, but my head is so fuzzy. All I want to do is listen to my perfect mistress, let her lovely voice wash away my worries, and stare at her lovely figure as I imagine how good it feels to serve her, give in to her.
A special word passes through her lips: worship.
Worship…
Love goddess…
Yes, of course… Yes, someone so perfect must be divine. I could experience divine love. Jb was granting a mere mortal like me a glorious opportunity.
“I just need one thing from you,” she says.
“I just need you to worship me.”
“Yes.” I smile. There is no other answer. She is a goddess. I must worship her.
“To serve me.”
“Yes. I will serve and worship you.”
“To give me control.”
“Yes! I will give up control to you.”
“Let me have my way with you.”
“Yes! I will let you have your way with me!”
She slips something around my neck and senses twist and swirl. I feel a numbness over my senses quickly overshadowed by a new intensity. Swirling colors cloud around me, red and pink and blue and yellow.
Pink and red hearts pulsate around me as Jb’s tight, thick tail feels like it’s absorbing me. I hear Jb’s voice call to me, clearer than my own scant remaining thoughts. Her warm scent becomes intoxicating, and I grin widely at realizing she’s taken me to her dimension of love.
All I can taste here are her lips, a desire to taste them again propelling my tongue out. Jb laughs.
“Welcome to your new life, my worshiping love slave.”
I mumble, “New life… Love slave…” as my thoughts drain into collar around my neck, and my love goddess thinks for me.
I strolled down the sidewalk, a gentle breeze keeping me cool. It was a lovely day for a stroll, clouds filling the sky preventing that pesky sun from casting a glare and heating things up too much.
You think I joke, but I really do prefer cool, gray days.
Maybe that was why my friend asked me to pick up some herbs at a local potion shop. What were they, Whipweed, Hag’s Crown? Who names herbs, and who got the idea to name video game enemies after them?
Of course, my witchy friend could have been busy, or not have the spoons then.
Or maybe she wanted to spend time with her polycule, heheh. Regardless, I was happy to help her out, get out and take a walk. I don’t get much fresh air anyway.
She had warned me not to be upsold on a potion, though. Anything they’d have there she could prepare for me, too.
She didn’t really have to tell me, though, considering I was an impulse buyer the way lava might leave your feet cold.
I reached the potion shop and picked it out from the buildings pretty easily, considering it looked like it had walked there from a swamp.
It was certainly a fitting theming! I entered the shop and saw glass cases and cabinets full of jars and beakers and a rainbow of potions.
Potted plants were dispersed throughout the shop floor, and it looked for a second like they turned towards me when I entered.
I wondered if I could feed one. I wondered if they were the shopkeeps, actually. No one else seemed to be in the shop. A witch hat sat on the front counter, but no one seemed to be under it.
I perused the stock on display for a bit. Potion of Strength… Bush Potion…
I couldn’t look at the Light Potion directly it was so bright.
It became quickly clear few herbs were on display. I would have to talk to someone, my biggest weakness. Worse, no one seemed to be around. I wasn’t going to talk to a plant unless I was sure I was supposed to.
I approached the front counter and looked at the witch hat. The top curled light a chameleon’s tail with wavy pink, blue, and black horizontal stripes. Someone would surely come back for it; stuck in a pink band around it were glass tubes, herbs, papers, fur, a knife…
It looked like the hat version of a junk drawer. Some pockets had crystals and bars sticking out of them, and some bright red foliage stuck around the bottom of the–
Wait a minute.
“Excuse me?”
“Hm?” The hat shifted. “Oh!” Someone stood up from under the hat. “I’m sorry.”
She was quite small–I estimated I could use her as an armrest standing, although under the correct assumption she was a witch she would probably have a cursed response to my trying that. Despite her minute size her quiet presence filled the room.
She looked young with her bright red hair and smooth skin (she’d later say she had potions for this, although I’m pretty sure at least the hair potion is just… hair dye?), her wavy hair trailed around her like a jellyfish’s tentacles.
Her dark dress flowed down and fluttered, trimmed with lace at the sleeves. She certainly dressed the part of witch.
She grinned and leaned up to me, adjusting her glasses. She gave the bearing of someone much taller.
Even without her big hat I imagined she would strike an imposing presence.
“I was so distracted, I didn’t hear you come in. My name’s Erada, welcome to my shop. Can I interested in in some bottled shine today?”
I paused at her reference to her shop.
I thought she might just be a clerk, not owning the whole shop. That was impressive, I thought.
(Later she’d prove way more impressive than just owning her own shop.)
I pointed to the jar of light on display. “You mean that bright stuff over there?”
“Ah, no, that’s bottled light.”
“Bottled shine is different, it’s very good for cloudy days like today.” She leaned to the side, as if on air. “Only thing better for a day like this is curling up with someone under a blanket.”
For a moment I thought she might’ve insinuated something there.
I shook my hand before she started suggesting other potions.
“No, no, um, I’m here for a friend, I need some Whipweed and Hag’s Crown.”
“Oh.” She seemed off-put. “Yeah, I got some. Is your friend a witch?”
I nodded. “Mmhm.”
Her tone lightened after I mentioned my friend’s name.
“Oh, yeah, her!” she said. She pulled a paper out of her hat and looked at it. “She’s the cutie in the polycule, isn’t she? Out doing her a favor?”
“Yep.” I grinned. “Letting her spend the day with the polycule, heheh.”
Erada placed her hand under her chin and smiled.
“Glad she has such a kind friend, then. Wait right here and I’ll come out with the Whipweed and Hag’s Crown.” She left into the back, looking at the paper.
I relaxed, alone again. Assuming those plants weren’t sentient.
I found my thoughts strayed to Erada’s smile, her wild hair.
She was cute. Okay, now that I’d thought that I would stop thinking about it and ignore it.
Erada came back with the herbs in a bag. She smiled and softly placed a flask of bright orange liquid on the counter.
“Here are the herbs, and, just for you, half off some bottled shine.”
I chuckled and looked outside at the gray day. “Oh, um, thank you, but honestly, I kinda like the gray type of day.”
Erada laughed. “Okay, all right, you drive a hard bargain.”
“I’m not trying to drive a–”
“I like you.”
I blushed. “Wh-What?”
“You’re a good one,” she said.
“You’ve got a strong streak despite being quiet. Like a wallflower that would leap off the wall for someone.”
“Um. Thank you, I think?”
Erada pointed a finger at me. “Hang on a sec.”
I flinched as she seemed to disappear in a flash. A moment later she reappeared in a flash.
She held a small glass with a red liquid.
“On the house.”
“Oh. Uh?” I placed my hand near the glass. “What is it?”
“Clears out your respiratory system,” Erada said. “Makes it a lot easier to breathe, should make it easier to walk back.”
I picked up the glass and looked at it.
Well, my friend trusted this shopkeep for herbs. I drank the liquid and immediately coughed. For a burning second my airways were on fire, and then they cooled. I could breathe better than ever in my life.
“Wow!” I breathed. “That’s strong!” I breathed.
Erada laughed and grinned.
“I’m glad to hear it. Think you’ll come by again soon?”
I picked up the bag of herbs and looked at it, then Erada.
She was pretty, her eyes like warm gems. I did want to see her again, be a patron and buy things from her to help her.
“Sure, I’ll come by another time!”
After I brought my friend the herbs I mentioned the free sample. She was surprised! That must have meant Erada thought I was kind!
Or she thought I was a sucker who would buy stuff. My friend meant that in an amiable way, though, Erada just operated that way.
It wasn’t like Erada scammed people–her prices were fair–it was just a way to advertise.
I wanted to see her again, anyway.
So soon I visited again. I visited under the pretense of a potion that might make my legs better, they were generally fairly weak.
And she had something.
Oh, yes, my friend could have made something for me any time, but… it never felt right to ask. I was giving Erada something in exchange for the potion. I was helping her shop. And the potion helped my legs, too!
I did more errands for my friend so I could see Erada more.
Every time I visited Erada’s shop I bought another potion. Something for a cut on my hand, and she held it gently. Something so my face wouldn’t be such an oil field, and she tapped my nose. A special shampoo she made, and she somehow patted my head despite being a foot shorter.
My polycule friends got a wild notion that she was flirting with me. They thought it was adorable, but I didn’t see it.
Right?
That wasn’t… It was just…
(Look I’m very bad at social cues, especially flirting, okay?)
Regardless, she soon had a special announcement for me…
“My shop’s had the greatest month since I started!”
“That’s great, congratulations!” I said.
“I was planning on celebrating,” Erada said. “Would you be able to come to dinner sometime this week?”
“What, like a party?” I asked. I was no good at parties. I wanted to go, but…
“No, just the two of us,” she said. “You’ve been my best customer and I’d like to celebrate with you.”
“Oh! Sure, yeah, that sounds great.” I was relieved; I could handle it being just the two of us.
My friends had a different interpretation of it, though…
“She asked you on a date!” “You’re going on a date!” “Date! Date! Date! Date!” “Aww you’re going to be adorable together!”
I tried to tell them it wasn’t a date, I was going to celebrate her fortune with her!
I think really I knew it was a date, I was just in denial.
When I arrived at her shop I headed around to the back, where she opened the door for me. Her normal shop dress was swapped for a dark blue, dark orchid dress swirling down like a layered sea anemone. Her makeup, her deep pink eyeshadow and lipstick was stronger than I expected.
She still wore her hat, of course.
“Thank you for coming!” Erada held my arm and practically pulled me in, leaving me balancing the small cake I brought. “Oh, you brought something?”
I looked at the cake. I was afraid my heart would flutter if I looked at her too long.
“Oh, yeah, my friend baked a little thing for me to bring.” I smiled to her. “Congratulations again on your success!”
She took my hand and held it close. “Thank you. I’m so glad I could celebrate with you.”
I chuckled, about all I could do as she held me close.
She led me to a table, and after a moment arrived with two full glasses of red wine.
“Oh. Oh, uh…” I sighed. “I’m sorry, um–I don’t drink alcohol.”
She stopped at the table and grinned. “You don’t drink alcohol? Not even a bit of wine?”
“No. I’m sorry, I’m sure you went to the trouble and all…”
Her grin grew wider. “Not even for a special occasion?”
“I’d rather not, if you really don’t mind.”
She placed one glass on her side of the table. It shook. “No, no, it’s fine, I understand.”
She took the glass away and brought me a water.
Other than that brief awkward moment the dinner was splendid. The salmon was delicious, the cake was delicious, and we had a wonderful chat. We’d never talked about ourselves that much.
Erada loved being a witch, mixing potions, developing spells, although she also had an interest in film directing she had little time for. I suggested (in jest) that I write a script for her to direct.
Magic was in her blood, though, although she had trouble finding a familiar.
We eventually settled on her sofa after dinner to talk more. I was nervous sitting close, so big compared to her she could probably use me as a chair. I felt like I was radiating heat. Apparently I started blushing, too. Erada frowned.
“Oh, you look warm. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said. “I guess I’m warm.” I swallowed. “I guess some more water would help.”
Erada perked up. “Ooh, actually, I could get you one of those potions that helps disperse heat. Free, of course, you’re my guest.”
I smiled. “Oh, sure, that sounds great.”
“Just a moment.”
After a moment she brought back a glass of dark red liquid, a different color from the others I’d had but I assumed they came in different colors. I thanked her and drank the liquid down.
At least, about a quarter of it, then I coughed. It didn’t taste like the others!
She patted my back, but the cough only lasted a moment and I cleared my throat. “Sorry, it tastes different. Almost like… um…” My train of thought got lost as I looked at Erada.
She looked different.
She looked pretty before, but now she was beautiful, her color radiant.
She smiled to me and held her arm around me, shuffling closer. “Almost like what?”
I ran my tongue through my mouth. “Kinda like grape. But salty? Can grapes be salty? I know they can be sour…” I shook my head. Erada’s smile fell. “It probably doesn’t matter.”
“It’s not really helping the heat.”
“Well–you should drink all of it, that’s it,” Erada said.
I looked at the glass and gave a small groan. I didn’t really want to. But if she suggested it…
I drank it quickly and gasped. “Eugh. What did you… did you… What, uh…”
I stared at her. She seemed to practically shine and glow. It felt so nice just looking at her–but then, it always had. She smirked. It was nice seeing her smile, her golden eyes looking up into mine.
“So what are you feeling now?” she asked, as if guiding to a certain answer.
“Still warm,” I said.
She stared at me as I looked at the glass. I held the glass in front of her.
“Oh gourd, you didn’t get the wrong potion, did you?”
Erada huffed. “I’m starting to wonder. You really aren’t feeling anything different?”
I placed the glass down and looked at her.
“What did you try to give me?” I asked in a deadpan voice as if responding to a prank.
She placed the glass aside and reached up to stroke my face, her soft skin like a massaging cream on me.
“I love you.” She directed my head down so she could hold it closer and speak softer.
“I gave you a love potion so you’d love me. I’m sorry, but I guess it didn’t work.”
I laughed and nuzzled into her hands. “Ah, that explaaains it.”
She tilted her head. “What?”
I snickered. “Do you have any idea how much I just want to kiss you right now?”
Speaking that thought magnified how soft her lips looked. I squeezed my mouth tight.
“Wait, what?” Erada asked. “But when someone drinks that potion they fly into a passion and express their newfound love!”
I snickered again. “Too shy even for the potion, then. Although…”
“Maybe it’s like trying to make wine stronger by just pouring more wine into it,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
I nuzzled closer to her. “Does the love potion have an effect when the drinker already loves the person in question?”
She smiled. I smiled. We both smiled wider.
Erada pulled me down like a paper towel and locked our lips together. She clung to me like a starfish, and I let her lead like a puppet. I never imagined it would be so intense. All my thoughts and senses swirled around Erada and I only wanted more, and more, and more…
I had to ask afterwards as Erada cuddled me like a big plush pillow (her hat never fell off, but I felt like half her makeup had rubbed onto my face) how much of the intensity was caused by the love potion. She snickered.
“Who’s to say? I’m a witch. I have more ways than drinks.”
She kissed my cheek. All my other senses seemed to dull except for my sense of touch on my cheek alone. I lazily laughed.
“Doooes it wear offff?”
She held my chin. “Don’t worry, I’ll make an antidote before you leave.”
“Mmmm,” I muttered. “You’re a good witch, Erada.”
I sighed and gazed into her eyes. “How hard are they to make?”
“Not hard. The antidote is easier than the love potion, actually.”
“Oh, I meant the love potion…”
“Oh. Why?”
I grinned. “I wanna feel like this every time we date.”
She giggled and squeezed my cheeks.
“Don’t worry, my big dear plushy, I have lots of fun potions to make our dates more vivid and wild than anything you could imagine.”
If you liked these stories, check out my Sponsus and consider donating! You can get weekly WIP updates and read more secret stories!
Duth Olec's Cuckoo Cosmos 