Chapter 24: 24. Risky Business

The next three weeks were almost a blur. Cat and I still slept together, we took breakfast together, but she rarely joined me for dinner. And I knew she didn't always eat at night because some mornings I found her food untouched when I got up to make us both breakfast.

For a while I wasn't even sure how she was still functional, until I found her chewing leaves of a particular herb she had me purchase. Apparently it had the effect of mental and physical stimulation, and chewing a couple leaves would provide a short boost of energy and wakefulness. It wasn't a long-term solution though, it just meant you were even more tired and weary later on.

I couldn't help but worry about her health as she pushed herself so hard. She refused to tell me what exactly she was doing, but at one point when she seemed half-asleep she admitted she was trying to do two months work in the span of twenty days.

Still, it was that or do what Marcus wanted. And whatever Cat had planned I knew it couldn't be as awful as what the young nobleman desired.

In the meantime I did my chores, I practiced my cultivation, I had to take care of milking myself each day, and I handled the rest of the work around our shop. I also made frequent trips to the market to purchase whatever supplies Cathryn required, she'd leave me lists whenever she needed something.

Sure enough the herb merchant Danielle soon had more stocks of the ingredients we needed for healing potions, and the price was a fraction of the usual rate. So I made a point of buying an excess of that, then went about the process of preparing and drying it.

I also visited a furniture merchant our father used to do trade with, and through him I procured a matched set of four fancy comfortable chairs along with a sturdy wood table. Lucas supplied me with a half-dozen fine crystal goblets and a fancy decanter, and a well-to-do wine merchant provided a half-dozen bottles of a strong imported wine. I also hired a carpenter and had him carefully remove some of the excess shelves around our new client sitting area.

Ideally we'd add a wall or some sort of divider, to separate the sitting area from the actual store-front, but I decided that kind of work would have to wait. I didn't want to risk any significant disruption that might disturb my sister's work.

All in all I spent over eighty-five of the hundred sovereigns Lord Marcus gave us in advance, though to be fair we still had all the coins Lord Olivier paid us too. So it wasn't like we were struggling for money. The bigger limitation was time, which ran out all too soon.

Twenty days after his first visit, Lord Marcus was back along with his bodyguard. As before Serge took up a position just inside our front door, but this time instead of prowling around our shop the young lord moved to relax in the provided seating.

Marcus looked more or less like he had on his first visit, a clean-shaved young nobleman in need of a hair-cut, dressed in expensive clothes and with a fancy rapier hanging at his hip. And the bodyguard was about the same as well, a tall strong muscular brute in fancy clothes and carrying daggers and a sword on his belt.

With the guests both waiting Cat curtsied then settled into the chair across from Marcus, while I remained on my feet ready to act as waitress. Because of course he accepted when my sister offered him a glass of fine wine.

I struggled at first to open the bottle, then carefully poured two glasses. I placed one before the lord and set the other in front of my sister, then stood quietly by the counter again to wait until I was needed. And of course I was watching and listening to everything.

One thing I noticed Marcus didn't actually drink his wine until after he saw Cat sip from her glass first. I realized that made sense, like you don't threaten an alchemist then just drink whatever beverage she puts in front of you. Seeing my sister drink it was enough to convince him, so he sampled his as well. He seemed pleased with it, which was a relief to me.

"So enough pleasantries," Marcus stated. "Have you done what I asked?"

Cathryn did a good job of hiding how tired she was. Or more likely she chewed on a handful of those leaves before Marcus arrived. Either way she appeared alert and maintained a calm and polite demeanour. She nodded, "I have. Against my better judgement and despite my protests. I'm not happy about it, but you left me with no choice Lord Marcus."

That put a satisfied smile on his face, which faded as my sister continued to speak.

"I told you in advance twenty days was tight," she explained in a sort of lecturing tone. "I guarantee the results, but rushing the potion meant using excessive amounts of certain ingredients, which in turn means the price is going to be higher than you might like."

Marcus made a dismissive gesture, "My father owns this town, the money won't be an issue."

"Fine," Cat sighed. She slipped a hand into a pocket of her dress, and produced two vials full of elixir. One was pale blue, the other pale pink. She carefully set them both down on the table in front of her, then fixed her eyes on the young lord across from her.

"Please listen closely your Lordship," she stated quietly, "Because it would be an utter tragedy if you got this wrong. The two potions work in concert with each other. Similar to a lock and a key I suppose? Or in this case, a master and a slave. Blue for the master, pink for the slave."

His lips curled into a smile, but he nodded for Cat to continue.

"I suggest you use them in the evening," she explained, "As it's best to ensure you and Lady Philippa will have a few hours alone together to enjoy the effects. See that Lady Philippa takes the pink potion first. It will taste like summer berries, you could present it as a syrup on some fruits, perhaps as a dessert after a meal. Once she's taken it all, drink the blue one yourself. Then allow fifteen to thirty minutes for both potions to reach their full potential."

"And then?" he asked. "What happens when they're at their full potential?"

Cathryn looked a bit uncomfortable as she answered, "Then you consummate the new relationship between the two of you. Don't worry, she'll be most agreeable to the act. And that's all there is to it. When you've finished with her, the elixir will have completed its work."

Lord Marcus' eyes almost seemed to light up, he was obviously eager to get his hands on the potions. "If this works as well as you say..."

"It will," Cat stated with all the confidence in the world. "But first there is the matter of payment. As I've said, this kind of quality work on such short notice doesn't come cheap. The price is seven hundred and fifty sovereigns. Less the hundred you paid up front, means you owe me six hundred and fifty more."

Marcus's eager smile faltered slightly, and for a moment I thought he might argue or protest. Instead he pulled out a few more little bags of coins and placed them on the table, "Four hundred now, the other two hundred and fifty afterwards. You'll have the rest of your payment once I'm satisfied with the result."

I saw my sister clench her jaw, she obviously wasn't happy with that. But she held her tongue, and finally nodded "So be it."

The young lord drained the last of his wine then got to his feet. He picked up the two vials and carefully tucked them away, then without another word he and his bodyguard left our shop.

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I moved to close and bar the door as soon as they were gone, while Cat let out a long weary sigh and slumped lower in her chair.

"That was exhausting," my sister mumbled as she drained the last of her fancy wine. "And we can expect him back some time after he's used the potions."

"To pay the rest of what he owes?" I asked, in a naive but hopeful tone.

Cathryn smirked, "Unlikely, but maybe we'll get lucky."

I moved to sit in the chair next to hers and asked quietly, "So what do those potions really do? And is this going to help us, or are we going to have to deal with his father or bodyguard or something?"

Instead of answering my questions she dragged herself upright then got to her feet. She slipped an arm around my shoulders and suggested, "Let's go upstairs cutie. We can talk in bed."

She forgot to grab the bags of coin so I scooped them up, then followed her up the stairs. Cat didn't even bother taking off her dress, as soon as we were in the bedroom she slumped down onto one of the beds and sighed again.

I slipped out of my clothes and helped her undress as well, then folded our dresses and put them aside. I finally joined her and the two of us cuddled, while I asked again about the potions she gave the Lord-Mayor's son.

"Like I said," she half-whispered in my ear, "They're a matched set. The pink one is a blend of two effects, the blue one shares those two and adds a third."

"So what are they?" I asked again. "What do they do?"

Cat replied, "They both contain a dose of the arousal potion. So Marcus and the young Lady will have no trouble coupling after they've consumed the potions. The blue potion contains a dose of the same limited obedience potion you drank. So Marcus will be inclined to do what the young Lady says."

"And the last effect," she continued softly, "Was the most complicated. It's a modified Transformation potion. In this case, after they've worked off the effects of the arousal and enjoyed a light nap, Lord Marcus will awake to find himself transformed into the likeness of Lady Philippa. And the young Lady will wake to find herself in Lord Marcus' body."

For the next few minutes I lay there staring at my sister in shock, while my head tried to process why she thought this would be a good idea. And what might happen to us when the couple woke up and discovered what had happened to them.

"Cathryn what in the world possessed you to do that?!" I finally demanded. "And how do you think that's going to help us?"

She sighed, "I couldn't do what he wanted Val. I just couldn't. I didn't want that on my conscience, and I didn't want him or anyone else holding that over me. I don't want to go down that path. I know other alchemists would, some of the profs at school would even flunk me for having morals. But there's lines I won't cross. And I couldn't think of anything else? If I sold him a dud, he'd have us killed. If I poisoned him or transformed him or did something else to him, either he'd have us killed or his bodyguard would report to his dad and the mayor would have us killed."

"But how is this going to be better?" I asked. "Turning him into Lady Philippa is going to be even worse than just poisoning the guy, he'll be furious!"

Cathryn shook her head, "Lady Philippa will be furious. There'll still be a Lord Marcus, alive and well and healthy, but very confused. Sure he might be freaking out, but the two of them will be alone, in private. And the former young Lady will probably start demanding answers from the person in her old body. And that person will be under the effect of the limited obedience potion, so she'll be inclined to answer them."

"The daughter of a count is probably quite well-educated," Cat added. "She obviously doesn't want an arranged marriage, if she's gotten herself out of more than one of them. She might even see this as an opportunity? Either way I expect them both to show up back here asking for a remedy, and maybe we'll be able to negotiate with Lady Philippa. While she has Marcus' body she'll be the one in charge right? Serge won't know it's not really his boss calling the shots."

"I don't know Cat," I shook my head. "This sounds like a huge gamble."

She sighed again, "You're right Val, it is. But it's all I could come up with on such short notice. We'll talk to Lady Philippa in Marcus' body, make some sort of deal, and see where it goes. Meanwhile Marcus in Philippa's body will get a taste of limited obedience, and hopefully learn a valuable lesson about respecting other people's right to their own free will."

I suppressed a sigh of my own as I tried to relax in Cathryn's arms, but I still had concerns. And more questions too.

"You didn't mention permanence," I commented quietly. "So the effects will wear off on their own right? How long till that happens?"

Cat nodded, "Both of them ought to switch back to their normal shapes after about thirty days. The limited obedience won't last as long. That'll wear off after seven or eight days. Ten at most."

"I don't imagine it'll take anywhere near that long for the two to show up at our door though," she added. "I'd be surprised if it took a full day before they're here demanding to see me."

I sighed again, "All right Cathryn. I still think it's a massive risk, but I admit I can't think of any better solution. Apart from packing up shop and fleeing town, anyways. I just hope your gamble pays off."

"It will cutie," she mumbled. I could tell she was already half asleep though, and her words slurred a bit. "I promise, I'll look after you."

That made me smile, and I tried to relax as my big sister drifted into a deep sleep while we cuddled.

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