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I placed the fork into my mouth, glancing at my professor who sat beside me. His hand rested gently beside his plate, his fingers still clutched onto the fork as he spoke to my parents across the table.
“Miss L/N has shown exceptional levels of knowledge so far in her apprenticeship, you should be very proud of her.” His eyes glanced at me, but I was more focused on my parent’s reaction. My younger brother, who sat to my left, seemed to rejoice. He had always been proud of me, he too wanted to be a dark mage.
He had been sucking up to Lord Viren this whole visit, hoping perhaps that when it came to next year’s apprentice, It would be him.
Then, I looked at my parents.
Unlike my brother, my parents weren't as easily pleased. My mother held a soppy smile, looking me dead in the eyes. My father was much the same, holding a blank expression with his eyebrows furrowed. He didn’t dare look me in the eyes, his fork exploring around his food. He had never encouraged my idea to pursue dark magic, purely because he thought it was a “man’s” job. I was too weak and precious to have control over it. I gritted my teeth and looked up at my mother's eyes.
I froze with the sudden eye contact that greeted me. It was held for a few absent seconds, only being broken by a new cold feel to my lower thigh. My fork that was absent mindedly resting at the side of my lower cheek, was now smashed back into the plate. My professor flinched at the smack, his eyes squinting. At the same time as the sensation on my upper knee tightened. This was when I realised, it was Viren’s hand on my thigh.
“Y/N!” My mother blurted from across the table, slamming her fork into her plate in frustration. I looked back up at her, “Sorry, mother.” An irritated sigh left her mouth, recomposing herself and looking to Lord Viren.
“Are there any areas where our daughter hasn’t been the strongest?”
My eyes were frozen on my plate, the words around me becoming a blur as I could only focus on Viren’s hand itching further up my thigh. Was this happening?
I could feel his ring drill into my thigh, his thumb grazing over my outer thigh. The idea of focusing on this conversation soon vanished, I could only focus on it.
My eyes scanned down to my skirt, seeing his wrist peeking out from the black material. My eyes followed it back up to his body, I couldn’t understand why this was happening. The muffled voices of Viren quickly came back into hearing, “Mrs and Mr L/N, I don’t think you’re giving your daughter the credit that she is due.” He paused, his thumb rubbing further along my thigh as he reoriented himself to the chair.
Was he trying to reassure me?
“Y/N is my first female apprentice. I was hesitant at first, but she is only 2 weeks into the course and knows much more than any of my prior students.” He paused and looked at me, his eyes meeting mine. I quickly darted my eyes toward my parents, thankfully theirs’ being more fixed on my professor.
My cheeks were flushed red, stuck rigid on the spare rice on my plate. Viren continued, “Say, for example, I ask Miss L/N about an intricate spell, she is able to identify and swiftly gather all the resources needed without a single word from me. None of my past students have ever done that.”
I finally bought my eyes up to meet my parents, but instead of the usual discomfort and disapproval in their eyes, they held a small smile and now seemed more relaxed. “Y/N is an exampleary student…”
His words began to muffle once again, I could only fixate on his hand drifting further up my thigh. By now, he was verging on the hem of my underwear. His hand seemed to stop, I could only feel his ring gliding smoothly along my outer thigh with each rub of his thumb. I could now see the veiny back of his hand, as well as his thumb.
This was out of the ordinary for Viren and I. It was hard for me to tell whether he was being genuine, just trying to reassure me in front of my rigid and stern parents. Or, he was trying to fluster me.
“Y/N? Did you hear that?” An unusual high pitched call darted from my mother. My eyes darted to her, seeing her now smile. The corner’s of her mouth were upturned, as well as my fathers. In comparison to how she was before, she looked jolly.
“What— Sorry?” My eyes twitched around, looking to Viren beside me. He held a small chuckle, focusing on my parents.
“I was just saying how, if you continue to excel throughout my course.. I will offer you a permanent place inside the castle as my assistant.” He paused, his eyes intricately scanning the reactions of my family before moving his eyes to mine.
I was taken aback, blinking and swallowing the saliva that had gathered in my mouth. I couldn’t tell whether he was just trying to suck up my parents or was being genuine. I looked at him, forcing a large grin onto my face. I placed a bit of salmon into my mouth.
“That will also mean, once I retire, you will take over as the dark mage of Katolis.”
I almost choked on the salmon, sitting forward on my chair. My brother patted my back, as I looked at my professor in disbelief. “— What?” I couldn’t help but exclaim, watching a satisfied smirk drift over his face.
My parents tapped the table, forcing my attention to them. “Y/N!! We are so proud of you.” This was the first time they had ever been proud of me, their daughter. I was awkwardly frozen, feeling Viren’s hand glide away from my thigh. He stood up and readjusted himself.
“This was a lovely evening,” He paused and looked at me, “But me and Miss L/N should be off. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
My family stood up aswell, passing a small bouquet of flowers to Viren. They both shook his hand, as said goodbye to my brother.
“I’ll bring you back something, promise.” I grinned at him, kissing his forehead. Instead of his usual smile, I was greeted with a blank stare. My head tilted at him, something was off.
“Y/N? are you ready?” My professor called to me, but I stayed frozen on my brother.
I watched his mouth curl up as he mouthed, “I saw his hand under the table.”