Project ZEAL

Scene 15 - A Routine Checkup (Symmetry)

Having shown the last student of the day the door, Sessimine sighed a sigh of relief as she stared blankly at her office. Unlike most of the rooms within the college, hers was quite spacious. Scattered strategically through the office were several exquisite pieces of furniture, including her desk, several couches, and a small army of bookshelves. The most eyecatching feature of the room -- excluding herself -- however, was a elevated platform that extended into a small, windowed nook that overlooked the school's quad. Not finding her couches comfortable enough, Sessimine had amassed hordes of pillows and placed them in the nook so that the sea of cushions swelled nearly waist-high at their watermark. Deciding that she had earned a well-deserved swim, the instructor removed her subfusc and tossed it aside before gracefully diving into the prismatic ocean of pink and scarlet. After coming up for air and deciding that there was still more comfort to be found, Sessimine motioned for her recently acquired aid -- who was currently standing on the other side of the room, as lifeless as a decorative suit of armour -- to massage her back. Fussing briefly at the young man for pushing too hard, then not hard enough, and lastly for doing "that tickling thing", the enchantress finally began to relax and peered through the curtains upon the courtyard below.

Sessimine's office, or rather, the office that had been held by the school's Provostia since its foundation, resided on the second floor of the complex and lay directly across from its entrance, an ornate set of translucent crystal doors that complimented the ivory stones that composed the building. Directly above her office was her bedroom, a palatial room that still managed to impress her, a member of the aristocracy and well-accustomed to lavish surroundings. After living at the school for the nearly fifty years she had served as its headmistress, Sessimine had begun to loathe returning to her home in Enhasa as it now seemed terribly unrefined in comparison. Zeal had a habit of treating its educators well -- too well, perhaps.

Exhausted from work, the instructor had nearly drifted off to sleep when a solid knock on her door grabbed her attention. Pretending to ignore it, Sessimine grabbed a pillow and covered her head; her refusal to acknowledge the sound did not make it go away, however. After the third round of knocking, the enchantress called the mystery guest into the room and motioned toward the couches without looking at her visitor.

"Just seat yourself over there. I'll be with you in a minute. You really should thank me for this, as office hours ended at least thirty minutes ago." Sessimine couldn't have spoken more nonchalantly had she tried. The guest merely coughed in response.

Great. Its not that I mind tutoring students on top of the rest of my responsibilities -- quite the opposite, in fact! It gives me a chance to interact with them on a more personal, one-on-one level. But really -- there's a time and a place for everything. With a couple of slow waves of her hand, Sessimine dismissed her attendant, rolling onto her side as she spoke, returning to her usual sultry, expressive tone. "Well, how may I assist you this lovely evening, my dear-" Upon realizing precisely who stood before her, the instructor cut her inquiry short and jumped to her feet before falling back down upon her knees and crossing her arms behind her back as the appropriate customs of respect dictated, for she was in the presence of none other than Prince Aias, heir to the throne of Zeal. Mortified, she began praying to her patron deity. Dearest love, I beg of you! If I have offended one of divine decent, please intercede on my behalf!

"Prince Aias! I had no idea! I'm terribly sorry... I beg you to forgive me for being so horribly disrespectful!"

"Make no more mention of it." Aias dismissed the offense with a wave of his hand. "I have come here for a personal matter and would prefer to foster a more... natural environment. Let us do away with unnecessary formalities for the time being." Although he had not an ounce of arcane potential in his body, Aias spoke with a deep, commanding voice that would be expected from a man confident in his power. Attempting to shift the subject to a less formal topic, the prince looked around the room, noticing several paintings and sculptures of an undeniably handsome man. "I take it you're particularly fascinated by Montlasalle, or does that come with the territory?"

Sessimine stood to her feet and regained her elegant composure as she made her way towards her desk. "I suppose it does tend to come with the territory, although I take my devotion to his eminence quite seriously... and I would like to think Montlasalle is particularly fascinated by me, as well."

The prince cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? And why would you think that?" Aias was legitimately curious.

Having reached her desk, the enchantress pushed aside a few trinkets and books and seated herself on its corner. "Why? Because he told me so! Dearest Montlasalle isn't like all the other gods and goddesses who sit upon their thrones lifelessly, only interjecting on our behalf when humanity has fallen into some morass from which we cannot free ourselves. No, he isn't like that at all! Montlasalle comes to me frequently in my dreams!"

The mentioning of dreams piqued Aias' curiosity even further. "Dreams, you say? Go on."

Sessimine giggled. "Prince Aias! You can't expect me to share something so personal with you on our first meeting, can you... Although I assume that's why you're here. You've got a dream you want to share with me, correct? Perhaps several?"

"What gives you that idea?"

"Intuition, mostly." The enchantress smirked. Aias merely stared back with a confused look on his face. "I just know. Why else would you be here?" Sessimine hopped off her desk and made her away toward the nook, motioning for the prince to follow. "That's a rhetorical question, by the way - I don't really expect you to answer honestly."

Aias watched the instructor seat herself on the cushions, somewhat hesitant to join her. "Is this really necessary? You have several couches here that should suffice."

"No, its not; but I'd much rather be comfortable as possible. Don't be so shy!"

Still having reservations, the prince laid out on the cushions, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible per the enchantress' request. After a moment of silence, Sessimine coughed in an obvious attempt to grab his attention. Looking to his side, he noticed that the instructor was sitting Indian-style with a pillow in her lap.

"Do you want me to read your dreams or not?"

Aias sighed and repositioned himself. "So how does this work, exactly?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've never done this before. Should I just start telling you everything I can remember about my dreams?"

Sessimine laughed. "Of course not! If that was all an enchantress could do, there would be no reason to see me, would there? Well, at least no reason to see me for dream-related problems. No, no... You're going to lay here and try to remember what you can about your dream, but you'll remain silent. Talking about it would only serve to ruin my concentration. I'm actually going to enter your mind. Together we'll experience your dream at our own pace as if we were exploring a museum or perusing an art gallery. Now close your eyes and clear your mind of everything save your dream."

The prince closed his eyes and began to relax as the enchantress placed one hand over his heart and two fingers on his eyelids. Before he realized what was happening, Aias drifted into unconsciousness. Quickly following suit, Sessimine took in one last breath as she began clearing her own mind. This should be interesting... I've never had the chance to delve into the mind of royalty before. I'm sure his dreams will have all sorts of amusing decadence to wade through! He's probably just here to clear his conscience...Oh well. Dearest Montlasalle, bless me with your divine insight!

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