Ruby bounced down the stairs to the bottom of the tower. Past the other levels like the library, her guest room, and the kitchen as the redhead made her way out. She was greeted with the candle-lit living quarters and tea room at the bottom level. It was more like the coffee room with all of its deep lush hues of greens, purples, and of course a plethora of brown shades and textures like the caffeinated beverage itself. All the wood had been stained a marvelous shade of different types of roasted beans. Since the weather was so pleasant Ruby didn't take her jacket and it hung limp on the coat rack. The warm apparel was the only red object in this room. She approached the door, double-checking that she had her coin purse, shoes tied, and presentable hair. The student didn't realize that she had left her wand back in the study, closing the sturdy door, and excitedly heading for town.
The redhead bounded down the trail skipping with tremendous grace. She was so excited at all the wonderful progress she had made and it was all thanks to her amazingly cute and beautiful... Wait no, she couldn't think about her teacher like that. Her heart fluttered as she thought about the way those eyes sparkled with such encouraging kindness... The way she truly cared and had so much passion in what she taught. How could she be so lucky to have such a smart and professional and gorgeous-
No I'm not allowed to do that! She suddenly stopped and almost spoke the words out loud. I have no idea if she's even into girls, but that doesn't matter. It's very inappropriate to think of your master that way. She is so powerful... What if she accidentally found out by a simple thought-scanning spell? Did she have that ability? Could she read minds? Maybe that was for later lessons. Ruby groaned with such tremendous feelings of lovesickness.
“I like her so much, and she deeply cares about me... It makes it just so stupid hard to tell her... I mean, I just want to tell her how I feel. But what if that makes things awkward... Or worse?! What if she throws me out and gets a different apprentice?! One who would be more professional and wouldn't let feelings get in the way.” She groaned again really loudly, “What am I going to do?” She finally continued on the dusty dirt trail. “I just need to go do some shopping and clear my mind. I'll figure something out eventually... I have to. I can just keep cool... Yeah, I'll just keep my cool, do my lessons, and be super grateful that I have such a cute and adorable little mage teacher... That I can sometimes hug-” She froze thinking back to a little while ago.
“Oh my gods! I even gave her that hug just now, and like, I didn't mean to... But I totally put her face right between my tits! That's not appropriate behavior at all! I could be kicked out just for the unwanted, borderline sensual touches. Gods! I got to be more careful... What am I thinking?!” Getting annoyed with her own thoughts, Rudy started off again. Marching with great speed, hoping some exercise might help sweep these thoughts away.
She got to town surprisingly quickly with how far away the tower was from the humble little village. Middle of the day always held the most hustle and bustle. The sounds of commerce were plenty as people tried to sell or buy wares, from street vendors or the bountiful assortment of shops. Some soft notes were floating through the air and she turned to see a bard on a street corner, strumming a lute for a gathering of folk. Nobody seemed too terribly excited but there was a couple gracefully nodding their head and humming, certainly knowing the tune being played. Holding hands, both seemed whimsically lost for a spell.
Ruby walked past most of the vendors on the street as spell components were a bit more rare. They would be found in a moderately sized shop further down this particular street. The student would gather those before shopping for dinner. A few glimmers caught her eye and she was drawn like a leaf downriver to the window of the jewelry shop. Beautifully cut gemstones and precious metals adorned the display case. Silver and platinum bands along with plenty of fine necklaces. There were dozens of dazzling jewels marking one plush plateau display. She noticed a couple very close to one another, side by side gorgeous stones of the same name as her and her crush. She rolled her eyes at the sentiment which simply brought her gaze to a sign claiming, "Perfect engagement rings!" Why did fate have to be so cheeky?
Immediately behind her a pleasant commotion of satisfied customers had exited the bakery.
“These chocolate muffins are the greatest thing ever!” one fairly round fellow proclaimed holding a pair.
“You said it,” his lanky friend remarked back already wearing some of the chocolate and stuffing his face with more dessert. Must have been a fresh batch as everyone seemed to be leaving with the delightful chocolatey treats.
Maybe I should get some for Amethyst, show her how much she means to me or, I mean, that I'm grateful for her, or that... Am I really unable to get her a gift without thinking it means something more? She slowly strode across the street to peek into the bakery. Sure enough, a few individuals in stained aprons were icing pastries and cupcakes, drizzling plenty of chocolate across the muffins she just witnessed. Focusing her attention to the foreground she realized she had overlooked a display case.
There were many pink pastries with fine-crafted white icing and frosting... And in the middle a three-layered wedding cake. Squinting hard, she then rubbed her eyes at a ghost-like reflection. Almost positive she could have seen the purple and red gem reflecting just above that pastry pedestal. A pure white platform where people announced to the world, 'I do.' She slumped forward until her forehead hit the glass.
“What am I going to do?” She asked nobody for the hundredth time, bumping her head a few more frustrated thumps.
Suddenly, a bizarre sensation flowed throughout her body. Tingling tiny tickles started to tap dance across her skin...
“Huh?”
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Outside the tower in the garden, Amethyst inspected the ripening crops and foliage of flowers. She grew many delicious vegetation, some for the mouth and some for the eyes. There were tasty fruits and vegetables of all shapes and sizes. The decor of sweet-smelling petals and vibrant leaves ranged from rich hues to even more fantastic. There were some with a sparkling translucence and iridescence that could captivate and make anybody forget what they were doing. Having spent so much time here, she was no longer victim to that sort of hypnosis. However, all the elegant beauty reminded her of someone else...
"Look at these rich roses... Just like her stunning hair... Look at how the purple irises seem to drift toward them, as if they longed the same way I do for your touch... To feel... To... Ugh! I have to stop this nonsense! Get a hold of yourself... You're not some hormone-ridden adolescent anymore!" The purple-haired woman took a deep breath and shook that lovely multicolored mane of hers. "Okay... All right. Time to get some bigger fruits and vegetables with this new growth spell I want to try."
Taking out her wooden wand with a fine embedded gem at the end, she prepared to practice a little bit more complicated spell. Changing the size of things is not really difficult, but making that change more tangible and permanent is. About to work on some of the beans for a better batch the mage stopped and looked over to the flowers.
"Perhaps I should try this on things we don't intend to eat first... Nothing wrong with having some larger flowers around." She gracefully walked up to the gorgeous roses in bloom. Swinging those wide hips as she approached and then rolled her shoulders back, bringing her wand up towards the flowers. "Okay, now I just need to focus and..."
A gentle breeze picked up for just a moment, causing the delicate arrangement to bob and twirl ever so faintly. The moving red brought images of one beautiful woman spinning and dancing, lush vibrant hair flowing out in all directions. Picture perfect smile once she had turned enough to stare back, bright twinkling eyes that you could swim in. The musing mage caught herself engrossed in such a fantasy and tried to just stare at the flowers that lay before her instead.
"Here we go... Now with everything in my soul, I make this command... Grow bigger." Her wand had a weak glowing aura to that purple gemstone... But nothing happened. "Come on, grow. Get bigger." Once again a shimmering highlight from the magical tool but it dimmed out again, yielding no effect. "Oh for crying out loud! Enlarge! Get bigger! Grow? I command you to grow and grow and grow!" The pale purple light pulsed as she tried to will some kind of change...
Little did Amethyst know that high up in the tower...
The massive keystone also began to burn with prowess.
In frustration, she moved over to a weave of ivy. Aggressively pointing her wand at it, her hand fell a little as the pattern reminded her of the cozy sweatshirt Ruby would wear on cold evenings. The two of them outside, looking up into the infinite cosmos. They talked about the constellations, magic's reach in the universe, what it means to wish upon a star, and even occasional philosophy on the meaning of life. She often thought about trying to find some excuse to get her hands on and accidentally wear the sweet-smelling garment that would be several sizes too big for her.
"Bigger," she whispered again, mind actually thinking about how much taller her cute apprentice was. "Work with me here plants... Grow. Grow larger... Grow bigger... Just grow please!" Her arms fell limp in defeat, smacking her hourglass figure. The aggravated woman leaned forward to inspect her supposed work. Noticing no change, she wheeled around in a huff to find some fruits for test subjects. A fine-yielding bunch of bushy tomatoes caught her attention. The big plump juicy ones were some of Ruby's favorites... Of course she would have some affinity to red.
"I'll make some humongous ones for her as a gifts, well, I mean, maybe a thank you or something..." Striking a ridiculous pose with her feet spread wide, her arm flared out hand up and her other hand holding the wand threatening the sun ripe treats, she tried again. "Grow. Grow so much bigger, grow so much faster. Please grow! Do I need different words to make something happen? Enlarge... Embiggen. Swell. Expand! Taller..."
Tall... One of her favorite things about Ruby. How graceful she was with the height she had. Something so pleasant about having to look up to take in her majesty. So much of that brilliant woman to take in. Holding such talent, such intellect... And plenty strong enough to just pick Amethyst up and spin her around... Or hold her close... Feet dangling, as the two were entwined. The preoccupied mage realized she had been staring at the same shiny red fruit for an unknown amount of time.
"Nothing?! Really? What could I possibly be doing wrong? Are you needing more repetition? Grow. Grrrow. Grooow. Groowww.... Grow some more... Grow even bigger, Just keep growing and growing, and don't stop growing. Grow even more and then keep growing and growing!" Amethyst had to catch her breath after talking so fast, speaking such a ridiculous mantra.
All it would have taken, would have been a slight twist and look upward...
For the mage to see how much light her tower emitted.