The Sorceress's Apprentice
She'd been careless.
Maybe careless was an understatement, given the severity of the consequences. In an ideal world, what Amelia had done wouldn't be a cause for concern. In fact, it might even warrant some kind of celebration! Certainly, it was a talent at worst, and incredible at best.
So, what had she done?
She'd been caught...
In the realm of Verdethra, magic wasn't something to be taken lightly. It was a rare gift, and dazzlingly powerful, albeit with the proper training. At the age of 15, Amelia’s gift had first manifested. For many, this original view would demonstrate what natural gift they had. Those attuned to elemental magic may find themselves with fire spurting from their fingertips, while those with a penchant for necromancy may suddenly find themselves in the presence of a once beloved pet. Instead of these, Amelia awoke one day with a few noticeable differences. Her eyes, once brown, had shifted to a lilac. Her breasts, once on the smaller side, were now full and round, while her hips had branched out in a fantastic fashion, accentuating a beautiful femininity. Any blemish on her skin had all but disappeared, with her hair seeming to fall perfectly across her shoulders, no matter how she tried to ruffle it. Her lips were full and soft, almost causing her to pout seductively at herself in the mirror. It was clear – She’d shifted her form. As such, it would seem that her gift was illusory, and magic of the physical form. There was one other rather surprising shape to her figure. Where female genitalia had once existed, she now appeared to possess a smooth, hairless shaft, and equally clear balls, both relatively impressive in size.
She wasn’t a stupid girl by any means, knowing what consequences this carried. Even her parents wouldn’t be forgiving. She remembered well what her father had once said: “Pffff, bloody magic users. The lot of ‘em can fuck off. I’d sooner fuck a donkey than have one of them in our village.” The words, while almost comedically crude, echoed in her head painfully.
She fled that very same morning, daring not to travel through the small house lest she bump into her parents. Instead, she packed a small bag of whatever she could, threw on a dirty robe, and fled out of the window. She traversed the rest of the village with ease, tiptoeing through the dirt. The sun was only just rising as she reached the outskirts, where she then fled across the fields to a nearby forest.
And there Amelia stayed for a few hours. She cried a little, at total remorse of this terrible curse. She cried in mourning of the life she’d now lost – Granted, a simple, poverty stricken one. She knew she wouldn’t be missed too badly. Disappearances weren’t too uncommon, and her parents would likely just think she’d headed for a nearby city. They’d get over it in a couple of weeks.
Eventually, she found herself outside an old cabin. It wasn’t much to look at, but would serve as a roof for the time being. She was probably about 5 miles from her village now, and the local area was ripe with berries and woodland creatures. Chances were that she could survive here, at least for a little while. Amelia made do for a couple of days, even finding a small stream to bathe in – Not that she really needed such a thing, as her new gift seemed to keep her body in a perpetually freshened state. Great.
Soon, she begun testing what she could now do, marvelling in amazement as she sat outside her hut. She watched her reflection in a bucket of water as seemingly at will, her skin changed from it’s pale hue to a striking red, and then back again. She tried again, this time shifting to an azure blue. She couldn't help but let out a giggle at the absurdity of the situation. For the next hour, she stared at her reflection. Her hair shifted through different hues along with her skin. Plumper lips, longer hair, and then right back again to normal. Despite seeming able to shift many of her features somewhat, she struggled to alter her eyes from their new lilac.
That was then she heard a twig snap behind her.
“Bet yer parents have been lookin’ all over for you.” A gruff male voice spoke behind her, an unkempt drawl of an accent. She turned with a shocked expression on her face, the bucket she held splashing down to the groun, Amelia almost falling off the log she sat on. She hurried to her feet, eyes wide as she span around to face the man.
He stood there with a broad grin on his face. He stood at over 6 feet tall, mostly bald, with a large scraggly beard falling off his face. He was dressed in hunting gear, with a large crossbow slung over his shoulder. Large boots crunched through the dirt as he stepped a little closer to Amelia, who was too stunned to reply. She thought she recognised this man – Perhaps one of the local merchants?
“I wondered where you’d got to, Amelia.” He continued as she backed away towards her hut. “Neat little gift you have there, ain’t it?” He grinned a little wider. “I bet I could turn you in and make a fortune.” He knew her name, and her secret.
“N-No. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She interjected. The panic in her voice didn’t do much to help her lie.
“A young sorceress, just in our very own village. What an honour it is, my love.” He continued his toothy grin in his sarcasm, a couple of browned teeth obvious in his smile. Amelia remained silent, her eyes narrowed. She briefly thought about making a run for it but noted the large crossbow on his shoulder. This man was a hunter, and likely wasn’t about to miss a moving target…
“I… I just wanted to get away, that’s all. I’m n-not a sorceress.” She did her best to be convincing, but her display fell flat. So much for ‘illusory magic’. Suddenly, the man stepped towards her with surprising speed, prompting her to step back in time with him. Her back bumped up against her hut – nowhere else to run.
“Listen ‘ere, girlie. You’re a bleedin’ witch.” He growled at her, stepping up close and towering over her. She looked like she was about to interrupt before he cut her off. “Don’t try to deny it, I just watched you for the last hour.” He continued, the aggression in his tone obvious. He waited a little for it to sink in, eliciting a silent, hurried nod of the head from Amelia. “Good… Now…” He leaned in a little closer to her. “I ain’t gonna turn you in, as long as we come to an agreement. Understand?”
Amelia’s heart pounded in her chest. She should’ve known what this man wanted from her from the very start… It wasn’t uncommon around here. He didn’t seem to take kindly to her panicked silence, reaching up to roughly grab her by the chin.
“I said, do you understand?” He growled loudly.
“Y-Yes! I understand!” She whimpered, eyes clamped shut in fear.
The man paused, a large hand resting on the wood beside her face. Slowly, his mouth curled into a wicked grin as his hand came beneath her chin, pointing her face up towards him. Her lilac eyes opened, staring at her captor. "Yer very pretty now, aren't you?" His voice was gentler now, but the malicious bite was still evident behind it. She could smell his breath now, musky and unclean. "Only... Thing is, I think I preferred you a few years ago." His grin only grew wider as understanding slowly came over Amelia's face. Disgusting as it was, once again she wasn’t particularly surprised at what he was telling her. Disgusting older men like this one had often ogled her, even as a young teen. With a slight lump in her throat, she slowly nodded her head, chin still clamped in his dirty fingers.
“Good girl.” He replied, withdrawing his hand and taking a step back.
Amelia took another look at the disgusting man. His teeth looked like they were about to fall out, and his breath reeked. Despite living alone in the middle of the woods, she still made sure to chew mint leaves at least thrice a day. A sole tear runs down her left cheek as Amelia took a deep breath. She’d always been a brave girl. She just needed to be brave a little longer. She’d figure out her shapeshifting power and turn into something small and nimble and escape.
As commanded by the repulsive hunter, she began to change. Her hair retracted a little, while her facial features softened, betraying an innocent youth. The breasts she’d only recently seemed to develop reduced to something closer to a flat chest. Her waist slimmed as she lost height, standing at a measly 5'1 before the enormous man. She swallowed, nervously.
Her 13 year old self was nothing exceptional, but there were very few young girls in the village. It was a small place, a stop off point for hunters and merchants to stock up. The few permanent residents made a living by providing for the merchants, buying goods off of the hunters and making rope from a plant that grew in a nearby river.
The man stared at the transformation as it took place, clearly impressed by the feat of magic. When Amelia was finished, he gave a slow but sincere clap.
"Bloody 'ell!" He roared, his excitement evident by his tone, if not for the slight twitching in his trousers. He took a step closer to Amelia once again, towering over her even more so than before. "What a talent you 'ave..." He chuckled, before his face once more turned serious.
"Younger."
Amelia's eyes widened, shocked. But really, how could she fight this?
She clamped her eyes shut, fighting back tears as magical energy coursed through her once more. Her height diminished further, her figure once more depleting. When she opened her eyes again to look up at the hunter, he was now even larger compared to her own tiny figure.
"Much better..." He chuckled, grinning down at the 8-year old form of Amelia.