Chapter 18: 18. A Safe Bet

After our first big commission things felt a lot more positive for both my sister and I. We didn't do anything outrageous though, and in fact we barely touched that money. Almost all the platinum coins were hidden away for now as savings, while we continued working with the money we were earning from ongoing sales of our healing potions.

The very next day we were back to work same as usual. I was the apprentice, she was the master alchemist, and we both had our tasks and duties to take care of every day. And one of my tasks still involved hauling water up from the well on a regular basis. I had a bucket in each hand as I walked into the workshop, and I set them both down to the side of my sister's work table.

Thanks to the strength potion my sister gave me a while back I didn't have to worry about being exhausted or getting sore muscles from my trips to the well, but it was still a chore. And we were up to four buckets now, so I had to make two trips. Plus it still took longer than before, because my smaller size meant I didn't walk as fast as I used to.

Thinking about how much the strength potion helped out led me to consider all the other potions Cat had given me. Or at least, the ones where I knew what they did. I still didn't know anything about that purple one she gave me alongside the strength potion. And for that matter, I was positive she hadn't told me everything about those first potions I took. She all but said so herself.

Out of all the potions she'd given me, all the things they did to me, I had to admit I didn't regret any of them. I was still overjoyed with my new body, and pretty much everything else had practical benefits. Even if they did seem strange to begin with. In fact, out of everything, there was just one that seemed kind of wasted.

All that was temporarily forgotten though when I noticed Cathryn was reading what appeared to be a letter, with a fancy-looking wax seal at the bottom.

"What's that sis?" I asked as I stood next to her.

She glanced at me and smiled, "It's a letter of thanks and recommendation, from Lord Olivier. He and his wife are extremely happy with the potions we provided them, and he says he's going to let his friends know that our work is top quality."

I felt my eyebrows creeping up, "That's good news right? Endorsement from a noble is always important."

"Indeed," she nodded. "I'll put this away somewhere safe, as our very first recommendation letter. Hopefully the first of many. If we're lucky, we'll soon be hearing from some of Lord Olivier's friends, looking to order their own expensive custom potions."

I grinned, but her mention of custom potions reminded me of what I'd been thinking about earlier.

"Speaking of custom potions," I commented, "I was thinking earlier about all those potions you gave me? And I realized one of them was pretty much wasted."

Cathryn frowned as she looked over at me, "How so? What potion do you think was wasted?"

I shrugged, "The obedience one. I get why you gave it to me, I haven't forgotten what you said when I first asked you about it? But in all that time, you've never actually needed to use it on me right? Maybe once or twice at the very beginning, but there hasn't been anything you've asked me to do that I haven't willingly done."

She raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? How do you know you're not willingly doing what I tell you because of the potion?"

"Because I remember what it felt like the one or two times the potion kicked in," I replied with a smile.

My sister had a thoughtful expression on her face as she stared at me for another second or two. Then she smiled and teased, "What are you saying cutie? Do you want me to start giving you more commands, so the obedience potion won't go to waste?"

"No," I stated a little too quickly while I felt my cheeks heating up. Then I smiled and teased back at her, "Anyways even if you did I'd probably just do what you said regardless. Unless it was something really unpleasant, then I'd just refuse. You said that was always an option right? If I really wanted, I could resist the potion."

"Hmm," Cat gave me a look that reminded me of an actual cat who'd just spied a mouse. "That sounds like a challenge to me. Care to make it a wager?"

Her offer surprised me and I frowned. "What sort of wager? What are the terms, what are the stakes?"

She looked thoughtful again, then her expression slowly shifted into an amused grin.

"The terms are from now until tomorrow when we've finished breakfast," she explained, "I'll be giving you things to do. Some will be part of your normal routine, some might be new or unusual. You win if you last till after breakfast tomorrow without the potion kicking in. Meaning, either you do what I want willingly, or you resist completely. But if you end up doing what I say because of the potion, then I win."

"And the stakes?" I asked warily.

Cat shrugged, "If you win, I'll do all your chores for a full week. If I win, I get to continue triggering the obedience potion on you for a further twenty-four hours. So until we finish breakfast the day after tomorrow."

I thought it through a couple times, but I couldn't find any obvious loopholes or traps. And I felt pretty confident I could win, considering I'd done everything she said right from the beginning without the obedience potion being activated. And by her own admission, if she asked me to do something I was truly opposed to doing then I'd be able to resist.

Plus if I misjudged the situation and lost the bet, the stakes weren't that bad regardless. I was already under the potion's effects forever anyways, and the whole point of the wager was that the potion was wasted on me. So her ordering me around for an extra day wasn't any different than any other day.

Still, I decided to try and bargain with her a bit more. "If you lose, you do my chores for two weeks not one. And you tell me in detail every effect of all the potions I've consumed so far. I know you've been keeping a few things secret, but if I win you have to tell me everything."

"Oh and one more thing," I added before she could respond. "During the wager you can't order me to drink any other potions. That could change the terms or stakes after all, and it wouldn't be fair."

Cathryn narrowed her eyes as she thought over my terms. Finally she replied, "I'll agree to the no additional potions term. But your extra stakes are too greedy. I'll agree to one week of chores and revealing secrets, or two weeks of chores but no secret answers."

If she'd agreed to my stakes without a second thought I might have balked on the whole thing, but the fact that she was taking it seriously told me she didn't think this was a shoe-in. Which meant I had a chance, so it was probably a fair bet.

It wasn't hard to pick which of the two options I wanted, "One week of chores plus telling me all the effects."

My sister nodded, "Agreed."

"Then we have a wager," I said with a smile.

Cat held out her hand, "Shake on it to make it official little sister. Then the terms will begin immediately, and last until we've finished breakfast tomorrow."

I got up and moved to stand next to her, and we shared a handshake to make the bet official.

As soon as we were done she ordered, "Strip naked. No more clothes until I say so."

That just made me smile and roll my eyes. The only reason I put anything on in the first place was because I had to go out to the well. For that matter she stayed naked half the time too, since taking her own warmth potion. Today she was wearing a light sleeveless sundress, but I was confident she had nothing on underneath it.

So I had no hesitation at all as I pulled my dress off, then I placed it on the stool for now.

"Sandals too," Cat added. "No clothes means no clothes."

"Yes big sister," I smiled as I slipped my sandals off as well. I left them under the stool.

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She smirked and ordered, "You will address me as 'mistress alchemist' until I say otherwise."

"Yes mistress alchemist," I replied as I rolled my eyes again. I couldn't help thinking this was going to be an easy win.

My sister still had that smirk on her face as she looked me up and down. Then she made a dismissive gesture, "You may go and finish your chores now Valeria. I'll see you back here at noon sharp."

I picked up my dress and sandals then headed for the workshop door as I replied once more, "Yes mistress alchemist."

The rest of my morning went by pretty much the same as most other mornings. After putting away my clothes I did some laundry, cleaned and tidied up our small home, and dusted the empty shelves in our still-unused storefront. And I did it all completely nude, but even that wasn't unusual for me.

Through it all I couldn't help but smile at the knowledge that Cat was basically wasting a few hours of the bet. And even more time would be wasted tonight while we slept. Like I figured right from the start, it wasn't going to be that hard for me to win this one.

It wasn't quite mid-day yet when I finished the last of my chores. I thought about taking another break, but I figured rather than risk being late I was better off reporting to Cat's workshop right away. While I doubted it would be an issue, I couldn't risk her trying to claim I'd violated the terms of the wager by being tardy.

"You must be eager to get started," she grinned when I showed up ahead of schedule. "Pull the stool over here next to me sis, and make yourself comfortable."

I did as she asked, and as soon as I was seated she got started teaching me more about alchemy. The odd thing was apart from addressing her as 'mistress alchemist' it really wasn't any different than the other days she'd focused on my education. In fact if anything, I started to get the feeling she was going easy on me. I wasn't going to complain though, or even mention it.

So I paid close attention as she taught me more terminology, advanced alchemical formulae, and demonstrated some of the complicated methods and techniques that were necessary to craft the more-challenging potions.

Finally she showed me the ingredients and method for brewing the contraceptive potion, and told me brewing up a batch of that would be my next big project.

I was so focused on the lesson and the stuff she was teaching me that I lost track of time, to the extent that I was almost surprised when she suggested "I think that's about it for today little sister. Tidy all this up for me, then we'll retire upstairs."

"Yes mistress alchemist," I replied with a grin. I wasn't the least bit bothered with how she phrased the command, I knew she was just doing that to tease me about our bet.

It didn't take long for me to put away all the tools and supplies for her, then I wiped down the work table, and put my stool back against the side wall where it belonged.

When I was done I followed her up the stairs, and she took a seat at the table as she instructed me to fetch her a cup of wine.

"I suppose you're wondering why I've been going so easy on you today," Cat commented as I handed her the wine.

I nodded, "Yes mistress alchemist, I guess I have? I certainly noticed you haven't been making any effort towards winning the wager anyways."

She had a gulp of her wine then her calm relaxed expression shifted to a smirk. She admitted, "I've been going easy on you because I wanted to save it up till after work. I want to savour the moment when I win the bet."

That gave me pause, but after a moment I teased "You sound pretty confident you're going to win, mistress alchemist."

"I am," she agreed. "Because I will."

I just smiled back at her. I was confident too, and so far it felt like everything had gone my way.

After another gulp of her wine she ordered, "Kneel on the floor there in front of me, make sure to position yourself where I have a good view. You may fetch a towel first, so your knees don't get sore on the bare wood."

"Yes mistress alchemist," I replied with a grin.

A minute later I was kneeling about a meter or so in front of her. I let my hands rest on my lap as I watched her with an expectant look on my face.

Cat's eyes drifted up and down my small body, as she enjoyed another sip of wine. Then with an amused smile she ordered, "From now until the wager has ended, you will answer every question I ask with the truth. If I ask you to elaborate on an answer you will give me full details. You will not hold anything back."

That made me pause again. Not that I made a point of lying or trying to deceive my sister, but there were always things you didn't necessarily want to talk about. And the fact that it was an open-ended command meant I'd have to keep it in mind until tomorrow morning.

I probably didn't sound as confident as I finally replied, "Yes mistress alchemist."

That amused smile on her face got a little wider as she asked, "Do you enjoy following my orders?"

My cheeks coloured slightly but I replied honestly, "It would depend on the orders. So far you haven't ordered me to do anything I disliked."

Cat's eyes narrowed for a moment, then she rephrased the question. "Yes or no, do you like the idea of obeying my orders?"

I felt my blush grow brighter as I admitted the truth, "Yes mistress alchemist."

"You're not worried I might take advantage?" she asked next.

I shook my head, "Not really. I love you and trust you and I know you love me too. I know you'd never make me do anything really terrible."

Cathryn smiled slightly as she pointed out, "Perhaps not. But I am going to win this bet little sister, which means I may end up pushing your boundaries here and there."

She must have noticed my little gulp as she gave me a wide grin and demanded, "You like that don't you Val? Is that the real reason you enjoy obeying me? You're hoping I'll push you in directions you already want to go but are afraid to do on your own?"

My eyes widened and I felt my cheeks burning as my mind raced. I needed to come up with an answer, and I either had to tell the truth or I'd have to fight the obedience thing in order to come up with a convincing lie.

There was a lurch in my stomach as I suddenly wondered if this was her plan all along, to make me lose the bet with a couple questions who's answers I was too embarrassed to face.

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