“Come,” Tabitha said again, walking further into her home, the strong stone walls a sanctuary.
Pandora frowned. She didn't often get to visit with the others. To her delight, almost none of them moved. Magnificent and Pandora entered the practice room, the only room without any magic built into it. Any magic done here would stand on its own, unaffected by the spells that abounded everywhere else. Plants, preserved animals and stones were each in their place around the room, filling jars, drawers and cupboards.
Tabitha didn't direct her to any of them. Instead she took a seat in one of the two chairs in the room, pulling it away from the spinning wheel.
“You know why your mother sent you here,” Tabitha said.
“To protect me.”
“And who do you need protection from?”
Pandora pressed her lips together, thinking. “Other kingdoms?” It had been so long since her mother brought her here, she couldn't remember who they'd run from. Tabitha had never brought it up, only making sure she was able to protect herself.
“Yes. Kings. All kings.”
“Even my father?” she asked, surprised.
“Even your father. They all know you were born with this gift and that it can, and will, breed true. They all want their heir to be as magical as you. They are willing to kill one another to get to you.”
Pandora shifted in her chair. Although she knew she was capable of having children, she had no desire to do so yet. She didn't feel comfortable with herself sexually, although Tabitha had given her instruction on that with everything else. She knew where the erogenous zones were on herself and a man, how to copulate, however, neither raised any desire in her. The only time she had touched herself was when Tabitha taught her a special vein of magic that used sexual arousal as its fuel. She had been clumsy with it, barely managing a spark. Rather than berating her, as Tabitha would at any other failure so abysmal, she reminded Pandora that it was more important to know of it. Use would come in time.
