Alchemist’s Apprentice

My life once had a sort of routine to it, up until our father gambled and lost the family fortune then got himself and our mother killed chasing after more gold to try and fix his mistake. That led to a few months where life was anything but routine.

Now that Cathryn and I were living and working together I had a routine again, although it was a very different one from what life had been like before. Different, but also so much better.

My sister typically spent most of her time in her workshop, from after breakfast until just before dinner. The only exceptions were when she needed to go out and buy more supplies, or to visit Lucas or another craftsman to procure more tools or equipment.

My routine tended to be a lot more varied. I made us breakfast in the morning, then spent the first half of my day doing various chores. I took care of all our cooking and cleaning, went to market to buy food, fetched water from the well, and eventually converted a dozen large men's shirts into loose short dresses for me to wear.

The second half of the day was usually spent with my sister, watching her work while she lectured me on various aspects of our craft, cleaning her equipment and tools, or sitting on a stool or the floor and practicing my cultivation techniques while she observed and gave me tips and pointers. Although as far as I could tell I really hadn't made any progress on that front yet.

We also continued to enjoy each other in bed pretty much every day, and I even got used to the idea and the experience of producing milk, although that was a gradual process. My sister continued helping with that chore like she promised, and her involvement definitely made the process a lot more fun.

And that's how things continued for the two of us over the next couple weeks.

During that time my status as Cathryn's half-sister also became known, as she mentioned it to Lucas during one of our visits to his workshop. And when the glassmaker asked after Cat's brother, she told him the old me had elected to go out and take an apprenticeship in another town.

According to her story, I didn't want to be a burden who depended on my sister to earn money and keep us fed. So I turned the last of the money and the home over to her, then left town for somewhere I could learn a trade on my own away from anyone who knew me.

Word spread from Lucas to other merchants and tradesmen who knew our family, and Cathryn had a few people drop in to greet her and meet me.

I even drafted up that letter we spoke of, as a precaution. If anyone challenged my sister's story for some reason, we could produce a very convincing document bearing my father's signature, that confirmed my identity as the illegitimate daughter of Luis Mercier.

On the other hand, over the course of those couple weeks we didn't make a single sale. Meanwhile our funds seemed to be dwindling at an alarming rate. We had a growing stock of vials and bottles and jars and ingredients, but so far nothing appeared ready for market. And that was starting to worry me.

It worried me enough that my sister finally asked what was on my mind, as the two of us were eating a breakfast of coarse bread and left-over stew.

"Valeria you've had that same little frown on your face for the past two days," she said in a concerned tone. "You're much too pretty to be frowning all day long cutie. Please tell me what's troubling you?"

I sighed, "All right sis. I didn't want to say anything, I didn't want you to think I was doubting you, but I'm worried about money again. It's been less than three weeks and there's barely forty silver steeds left out of the budget we set for the business. You've spent almost two hundred steeds, that was to last us four or five months. And we've not earned so much as a single copper shield in the meantime."

She gave me a sympathetic look, "Sorry Val. I tried to lessen the blow by spreading it out, but I could just as easily have spent every last shield in the first few days. I know you'd have had a fit though if I'd done that."

After a sip of her weak wine she continued, "The simple fact is, we need the supplies and equipment to produce my potions, and brewing potions takes time. You'll be happy to know the first batches are nearly ready, so very soon you'll see our purse growing heavier again rather than lighter."

"Thanks Cat," I replied, and I was sure she could hear the relief in my voice. "I hate that I worry so much about this stuff, but..."

She shook her head, "Don't apologize Val. And I'm sorry that you have to worry about such things, but it's perfectly understandable after everything that's happened."

Her words helped, but despite her confidence I remained concerned. I had a feeling I wouldn't feel better until we did make that first sale. Until that happened, it didn't feel real to me.

After breakfast she descended into her workshop as usual, while I tidied the kitchen and cleaned the dishes. We needed water again, and at some point our two buckets had become three so I needed two trips to fill them. That was still an ordeal, and it took me over an hour to complete the task.

When I was finished there were two buckets upstairs in our kitchen and I delivered the third into my sister's workshop, then slumped into the stool in the corner for a short break while I rested my arms and shoulders.

"Perfect timing little sister," Cat announced with a grin. "Let me know when you're ready, I have something for you."

I suppressed a groan, I had more chores waiting for me and wasn't expecting to have to help her for another couple hours. Instead I nodded, "Ok Cathryn. What did you want me to do?"

She gave me a sympathetic smile and asked, "How about you pull your seat over here and sit with me?"

I was surprised but didn't question or argue. I dragged the stool over then climbed back in and sat beside her, facing her workbench. And that's when I finally noticed the little array of potions she had arranged before her.

They were in the new inexpensive vials, sealed with the little stoppers I'd made. There were two filled with a clear viscous liquid, two more seemed just as viscous but had a faint orange colour to them. One was a deep red hue, and another was soft pink. The next was a darker blue, and the last a pale purple.

I knew she used colours to identify what her potions did, but the only ones that I thought I could guess at were the two clear ones and the darker red one. I remembered clear was the permanence potion she gave me at the end, and the darker red reminded me of the very first one I drank which was the warmth, arousal, and obedience blend.

After staring for a few moments I asked, "What are they? Who are they for?"

"They're for us Val," my sister replied. She carefully separated them into two groups, one in front of her and the other before me. She was also careful to put them in a specific order.

Finally she indicated the four in front of her, "Dark red is a warmth potion. I figure you've already got it, I should take it too. That'll come in handy when the weather turns, we'll save money on firewood. Orange is strength. The dark blue one is a secret. And clear is permanence."

Before I could comment she gestured at the four she'd placed in front of me, "Soft pink will ensure you won't get pregnant. Orange is strength. This lilac one is another secret. And again, clear is permanence."

"Ok?" I asked as I looked at her. "You want me to drink these? And you're going to take those?"

Cat nodded, "After finding out how much you've been struggling with some of the chores, I felt bad that you'd lost so much strength. The orange potion should replace that and perhaps a bit more? I also decided to do the same for myself. After all, we're a couple young women living alone, and we're both attractive. Some men will see that as an invitation. This will ensure we're strong enough to defend ourselves. Normally the effects would last a week at best, then it wears off."

She continued, "The pink one is self explanatory. It simply ensures that you won't conceive a child. Normally you'd need to take that every month. But thanks to the permanence potion, you won't have to worry about either of them wearing off."

"So what are the blue and purple ones?" I asked. "Why are they secret?"

My sister smiled, "The blue one is for me, it's none of your concern. All I'll say about the purple one is it's helpful."

She added, "I won't force you to take it, or any of them for that matter. I simply make them available to you little sister."

I frowned as I stared at them, then asked "Why not mix them together into one vial, like you did before? Why four separate ones?"

"Blending potions is very tricky," she replied. "It's delicate work. You can't just dump them all together and stir. Ingredients react, effects cancel out or become more potent, or change completely. I did that before because I had the time and it was part of my advanced education. Now I'm just looking to get the results, as quickly as possible and at the lowest cost."

"Speaking of cost," she added, "Don't expect these to taste great. I didn't bother worrying about that, I saved those ingredients for our paying customers."

That almost made me smile. She knew I'd approve of that part, cutting corners and saving coins wherever possible.

"Ok," I sighed. "I assume you put them in this order for a reason? This is how we're supposed to take them?"

She grinned, "Good girl, I'm glad to see you're paying attention. Left to right, leave at least ten minutes between each one."

To punctuate her words she picked up the dark red one in front of her and twisted off the stopper, then drank it back.

I picked up my pink potion and removed the cork, then hesitated. I couldn't help feel a little flutter of anticipation, and my eyes briefly glanced towards Cathryn's skirt. Despite all the sex we'd had together over the past few weeks, she'd never once entered me. I was positive she held back because of the risk, and once I drank this potion that risk would be no more.

After a second's hesitation, I drank the pink liquid back. Then immediately made a face and forced myself not to gag. Despite the pretty appearance it tasted utterly rank.

"Sorry Val," my sister apologized with a grin. "I'm afraid they don't get much better."

"Here," she added as she held out a bottle. "A few sips of this should get the taste out of your mouth."

I reached to take it then froze as I stared at the familiar white creamy liquid that half-filled the bottle. "That's my milk. I'm not going to drink my own milk Cat."

She shrugged and put the bottle back, "Suit yourself."

I put up with the foul taste in my mouth, till eventually Cat picked up her orange potion and motioned for me to do the same. We both drank them back together, and while it tasted gross it wasn't as bad as the first one.

After another ten minutes she picked up her blue one, while I stared at the purple one she'd made for me.

"You still won't tell me what it does?"

My sister shook her head, "Nope. You can take it or leave it. I'll promise it's nothing bad and that it will be beneficial, but that's all."

I frowned as I picked it up and examined it. "I feel like it's a test. You're testing to see how much I trust you, or you're testing my loyalty or something."

After drinking back her third potion she shook her head, "Not really. I trust you and I know you trust me. I just like playing little games and I like surprises. On the other hand, you know I'm a naughty girl who spent three years at that perverted school, so maybe keep that in mind as well."

I smiled at her half-hearted warning, and I couldn't help thinking it was meant more as a temptation than a warning. And it more or less worked on me too.

I pulled out the stopper and before gulping it down I stated, "I'm pretty sure I'm as naughty as you are sis, and I like surprises too. At least when they're the nice kind. Maybe it runs in the family."

The purple one didn't actually have much taste to it, and it was even kind of sweet which was a surprise after the first two potions.

"Good girl," Cat grinned.

As we waited for the required time I commented, "I don't actually feel anything from any of those potions. When will I notice something?"

"You won't feel anything from the contraceptive potion," she explained. "You'll notice the strength one next time you try and lift something heavy. And that last one... I don't know. Maybe you'll notice something whenever. We'll see."

I pouted, "We should have done this before I lugged all that water back from the well."

Cathryn smirked, "Sorry sis. At least you'll be all set for next time."

"True," I replied. And I realized I shouldn't complain, considering she basically did me a big favour with the strength potion. And all the others too, for that matter. I didn't want to seem ungrateful after everything she'd done for me.

When it was time we both took our last potions, to make the other three permanent. That one tasted like I remembered, except without the sweetness.

And I recognized the flavour immediately, it had me licking my lips and glancing down at her skirt once more. Cathryn said that was another important ingredient, but I hadn't expected it to be so blatantly obvious.

Finally, my sister got back to work while I returned to my chores and duties.