The Crown's Entrapment

Jayra was beside herself as she prepared everything she could for the arrival of Master Kasper. She knew just how fickle the man could be in terms of his accommodations, and as such, she made sure that everything that might fancy him was always at arm's length of the room where she would receive him in.

"Is this all really necessary, wife?" Bartos asked as he watched her fuss over the simplest of things like the availability of some random roses.

"It is when it comes to Master Kasper," she grumbled out as she set yet another vase right beside the nearest table. "You don't know him like I do. He's very particular about placements and all that."

And she wasn't even kidding as well. For the longest time, Jayra had thought that the master was wholly serious whenever it came to the placement of furniture because it fancied him. No, he said that even the simplest of angles could alter the flow of energy within the said room and that he could tell if the room was bad just from walking into it.

"I honestly don't believe that a mage could be that sensitive to the energies of the world," Bartos scoffed. "Don't you think he might just be joking?"

"Bartos, you don't understand. He's the oldest there is, and that's saying something," Jayra insisted. "You don't get to grow old and not grow stronger as a mage."

It was almost an anomaly just how strong the old master really got. Even she was confused as to how it happened. All she knew was that Master Kasper had been a genius and that if there was anybody that knew the answer to anything, it would be him.

"Anyway, I'm sure you've done more than enough by now," Bartos reassured her, waving off his wife's worries. "He must be arriving any moment now. You should prepare yourself. I'll go ahead and contact Clara and Gilas as well."

"Thank you, Dear," Jayra smiled at him. "You go ahead and do that. I'll just-"

"Just what, my student?"

Both occupants of the room stilled as a new voice suddenly made itself heard. Turning to the open window, Jayra could only shake her head as Master Kasper casually entered the room, his staff clicking against the floor as he smiled at her.

"You're looking radiant, Jayra," Master Kasper greeted with his usual smile. "I got here as fast as I could, and dare I say, I like what you've done with the place."

"T-Thank you, Master," Jayra respectfully bowed, fighting the urge to tell off the old man for using the window instead of the door like a normal person. "I apologize for the suddenness of my summons, but it couldn't be helped, unfortunately."

"Nonsense," the master chuckled. "It's always a pleasure to help out my former students, especially if it involves a bit of travel."

Jayra smiled as she turned her attention to the other occupant in the room. Quickly grabbing Bartos's hand, she all but pulled him to her side as she introduced him to her old master.

"Master Kasper, this is Bartos, my husband," she stated with a bit of amusement on her face.

"Ah, a werewolf for a husband," the old mage hummed in approval. "I can see it happening. Your union would produce strong mages, I'm sure."

Jayra blushed at the compliment. Really, the old mage was just a fountain of straightforward observations.

"Why, if you would allow me to perhaps examine you, young man, I might even be able to help you completely dominate my student."

She almost choked at her master's words. Then again, she knew she should expect such words from the old man… Well, at least her husband's reactions were making it easier for her to enjoy what was happening.

"Uhh, Jayra… Are you sure this is the old mage you're referring to?" Bartos asked, a hint of awkward fear coloring his face.

"Whatever do you mean?" she giggled, feeling his confusion through their Bond.

"He doesn't even look a day over thirty," Bartos pointed out. "And he just went and entered this room through a window. Jayra, we're dozens of floors off the ground."

"Yes, I did all that," the master chuckled. "It's a simply matter to fly, don't you know?"

"Only you say can that, Master," Jayra sighed. "Nobody has figured out your flying spell in a long while."

"Then they're just not reading it hard enough," Master Kasper scoffed. He then turned to Bartos once more and reassuringly waved his staff at him. "And don't worry, young man. I announced my arrival to the castle guards by the gate. I wouldn't want to offend the nominal King and Queen here with my sudden appearance, after all."

Jayra chuckled at her husband's sigh of relief. She had already felt his growing confusion warring with his worries the moment her master entered the room. Still, it was fun seeing his reaction to her master's eccentricities.

"So, where is this young man that I need to treat?" Master Kasper asked, lackadaisically twirling his staff while leaning on the nearest wall. "I have many things to do, Jayra, and even your cute face won't stop me from leaving the moment I feel like you're wasting my time."

"I-I'll go and get them," Bartos stammered out, barely having composed himself from the old man's mannerisms. "They'll be here shortly."

From there, Jayra simply watched as her husband disappeared from the room. He really didn't have to, seeing as he already offered to simply telepathically message the couple, but she supposed that he needed the space to at least try and center himself after being exposed to her Master Kasper.

Really, even she was starting to get some overexposure to the old mage's tendencies.

"While your husband is fetching my would-be patient, would you mind telling me what you've learned so far in terms of his illness?" her master asked, his jovial tone replaced with a more serious one. "This poison from the snake…"

"I've already taken care of that, Master," Jayra replied. "It's only that his connection to his inner wolf had been severed."

"I see," Master Kasper hummed, rubbing his chin as he thought through the case. "That means the energies within him are out of balance, yes?"

"That's what I thought," Jayra nodded.

She then began to explain her findings in full detail, sparing nothing until her husband returned with Clara and Gilas right behind him.