The Pudding Lane Witch, page 15
The weeks of peace in the evenings meant that Gweneviere could finally begin to heal. Her and Kambili would enjoy late nights together with wine and cheese after Thomas was abed. They got to know each other on a deeper level, with Gweneviere confessing to Kambili the guilt she felt about her parents passing, as well as sharing her happy memories of them. Kambili loved hearing the tales of Gweneviere’s old family life, it was comforting, in a way, as she’d never had the classic family dynamic herself. Gweneviere kept trying to ready herself to slowly become more intimate with Kambili again, until one night she was indeed ready.
After a usual evening meal Thomas retired to bed early. Gweneviere placed an enchantment on the remainder of the cleaning up and dragged Kambili to what they now referred to as their room. They had both been dreaming of the moment that they could finally enjoy each other’s bodies after so long, and now that Gweneviere was ready, there was no holding back. They quickly ripped off layers of each other’s garments and ridiculous corsets until there was nothing left but the beauty of Gweneviere’s ivory complexion, and Kambili’s deep ebony skin. Gweneviere’s body had finally freed itself of the bruising that Thomas had caused, meaning that there was no longer a physical reminder of his touch. They climbed onto the bed and playfully threw the covers over their heads, kissing each other in the darkness, often missing their lips and butting noses. Their hands glided along each other’s curves, both gently grasping one another in their hands.
It was everything Gweneviere had imagined sex should feel like – sweet, tender, and loving. Nothing like what Thomas did, which was selfish and cruel.
With her eyes closed, Gweneviere went in for another kiss but missed Kambili completely this time. She opened her eyes to see Kambili’s face level with her breasts. Kambili dropped her lips onto them as she softly nuzzled her face against them before slowly working her way down Gweneviere’s body with nothing but her tongue. Kambili reached between Gweneviere’s thighs and kissed her, making her whole body shiver and tingle. Gweneviere lightly placed her hand on the top of Kambili’s head to let her know she was doing all the right things – Kambili already knew that, from the moans that emanated from Gweneviere’s mouth. Kambili dipped her tongue inside Gweneviere and began flickering it faster than a candle flame in the wind. She was hitting just the right spot, and Gweneviere was getting hot and sweaty to the touch as her body thrashed about in pleasure. Kambili gently covered Gweneviere’s mouth as her pleasure might’ve been loud enough to wake Thomas. Gweneviere certainly didn’t mind having Kambili’s soft fingers covering her lips. Kambili used her other hand to pleasure herself, slipping her fingers inside. She became in rhythm with Gweneviere, and she brought them both to a harmonious climax. Gweneviere was in a euphoric state, they both were. Neither of them had experienced anything like it. Kambili had some experience pleasuring herself before, but even she had no idea that she was capable of doing that for them both. Gweneviere was extremely grateful as Kambili arose from beneath the sheets to greet Gweneviere’s face once more.
“That was incredible,” Gweneviere panted, almost out of breath.
“You’re incredible.” Kambili smiled back, also breathless.
The two of them fell asleep wrapped up in each other’s arms. It was the best night sleep either of them had ever had.
CHAPTER 9
The Poppy Predicament
The next morning Gweneviere woke to the cute sound of Kambili’s snoring. As she laid there watching Kambili’s face squished against the pillow, Gweneviere knew she was falling for her. Not even the high-pitched steam train whistle emanating from her nostril could put Gweneviere off. Gweneviere didn’t want their blossoming love to be forever in the shadow of Thomas, and knew she needed to come up with a plan to get out soon. They deserved to be free. They deserved each other.
Gweneviere woke Kambili by showering her exposed cheek with kisses, then softly whispering her name into her ear. Kambili rubbed her eyes awake and began shivering a little. Even though it was summertime, Kambili seemed to be one of those people who was always a little cold. Gweneviere noticed Kambili’s wincing, chilly face and pulled her in for hug. Due to her powers, Gweneviere was like a human radiator, therefore their bodies complimented each other rather nicely.
They stayed in the warmth of their embrace until one of them heard Thomas coughing himself awake – probably choking on his own drool. As they heard him begin to shuffle about his room, they sighed, knowing that it was time for Kambili to leave and pretend like nothing had happened. It was truly the worst part of their day, but they knew it had to be done not to raise any suspicions.
The rest of the day played out rather normally, Thomas went off to work in the bakery, and the girls went to the market for the day’s dinner and completed all their chores. Upon completing their errands, there was a knock on the front door. Neither of them was expecting anyone, especially not Kambili, as being a slave meant she had no means of making any friends of her own.
Gweneviere crept up to the door and tried to peer through the keyhole. At first, all she could see was a man in shorts, but as he impatiently wriggled around and knocked once more, Gweneviere caught a glimpse of his hand. She saw a letter in it. Gweneviere opened the door and smiled at the postman, who wasn’t keen on the fact he’d been kept waiting.
“Hello,” Gweneviere exclaimed.
“Special letter delivery for a Mrs Gweneviere Farriner,” the postman said.
“Yes… I am she.” Gweneviere smiled back, though she hated the fact that her letters had to be addressed to her as Gweneviere Farriner. That’d be the first thing she’d change once they’d escaped Thomas.
“Great, here you go,” he mumbled, handing Gweneviere the letter and turning on his heels before she could even say thank you. Clearly, he was a very busy postman, unless he was just rude.
“What is it, Gwen?” Kambili called out.
“A letter for me, I think it’s from Poppy,” she replied, closing and locking the door behind her.
“Oh, your old school friend, right?” Kambili asked, remembering her name in one of the stories that Gweneviere had shared with her during their pillow talk.
“Yeah,” Gweneviere answered, wasting no time in tearing open the envelope.
Dear Gwen,
I assure you there is no need to refer to me as anything but Poppy. The whole ‘Lady Hammersmith’ title is really rather dramatic, though, it does make me sound like a princess sometimes, and I do like that.
I’m truly sorry married life hasn’t gone well for you thus far, and that Thomas does sound like a right knob. I wish I could tell you that my life is but a mirror of your own and that I hate it, alas, my husband has indeed been amazing. He treats me so kindly and really values my opinions, which is hard to come by. He also treats me like a very naughty girl when he needs to, if you catch my drift.
Anyway, enough about that, I’m so glad you wrote to me. I had been debating sending you a letter for a while, but I just didn’t know where to start, so thank you for making the brave first step.
Now then, I have spoken to my husband and discussed your situation with him, and he has graciously agreed that you can come stay with us anytime you like. Whenever you need a break from him, just come on down, and we will put you up in one the guest bedrooms. So, please don’t suffer alone, and come see me soon. I really do miss you, Gwen, some days I’d give anything to have another night in our dormitory together playing tricks with the twins. Besides, none of my new fancy friends are as fun as you are.
Lots of love,
Poppy
P.S. You are welcome anytime except between the 10th and 17th of August, as were swanning off to Cornwall. How exciting!
“What does it say?” Kambili asked, as Gweneviere had silently read it at least twice by now.
“It just says that she’s really happy and that I should go visit her. Though, I obviously won’t be able to do that.” Gweneviere tried to hide her disappointment.
“Why not?”
“Well, I can’t leave you alone with him,” Gweneviere answered, with a deathly look to the door joining the house to the bakery.
“Gwen, I’ll be fine. I can handle a few days’ worth of chores on my own. In regard to him, I’ll just make sure that I keep him topped up on our little potion until you’re back,” Kambili said, in a bid to reassure Gweneviere. After everything she’d been through, she deserved it.
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to do this just to be nice to me,” Gweneviere asked.
“Of course, I’m only doing it for you. I mean, no one in their right mind actually wants to be alone with Thomas, but the point is you do stuff like that for your girlfriend.” Kambili smiled.
“Girlfriend, huh?”
“Yeah,” Kambili replied, confidently.
“I didn’t know that you were ready to be my girlfriend,” Gweneviere teased.
“Hey, you’re the one who’s still got a husband,” Kambili joked, causing them both to laugh.
“Yes, well, I promise that after my visit to Poppy, that will all change.”
Kambili simply responded with a hopeful smile. Of course, she wanted nothing more than to live with Gweneviere somewhere far, far away from there, but she also didn’t want to set her hopes on dreams and fairytales that may never come true. Though, she did live in a world where magic existed, so anything was possible.
When Thomas returned home from work, Gweneviere filled him in on her plan to take a trip to see Poppy. She didn’t leave much room for questions, and had already explained that Kambili was happy to take on the extra workload for a few days, but Thomas did have one major question in an attempt to throw a spanner in the works.
“Who is going to start up the bakery while you’re gone? Kambili’s a half decent cook and cleaner but she’s no witch! I need my bakery operational,” he said with a smug grin, thinking he had foiled Gweneviere’s plan.
Gweneviere paused for a moment before realising the answer was much simpler than she had imagined. “Easy, I’ll just leave the spell active, it should last for a few days, as long as you don’t put it out manually,” she responded, with a rather smug look of her own as she stood, folding her arms and dropping her hip, contently knowing she’d answered his only query.
“Fine,” he grunted, crossing his arms in frustration.
Later that night, Gweneviere packed a bag and was ready to set off on her journey come sunrise. She had arranged a carriage to take her all the way to Poppy’s estate using Thomas’ extra profits, which he couldn’t have made without her, of course.
Gweneviere laid beside Kambili in bed and double checked that she was going to be okay without her.
“Are you sure you don’t mind me going? It’s not too late, I won’t go if you don’t want me to, just say the word.”
“Gwen, shh. It’s okay. I’ll miss you, obviously, but it’s only a couple of days. I’ll survive,” Kambili assured her, calming Gweneviere’s slight frantic state. Kambili was great at that.
“Yeah… I know. Oh, by the way, I found this spell in my mother’s book that you can use to contact me if anything happens while I’m away.”
“Ooh, more spells. You know, I could really get used to this whole having-a-witch-for-a-girlfriend thing. We may have to start a coven together,” Kambili joked. Though, on a more serious note, she would’ve actually been open to the idea.
“Okay,” Gweneviere chuckled. “One day we will start our own coven. Now then, I copied this symbol from my mum’s book so that you can actually see it. All you have to do is draw the symbol on your palm with your finger and think clearly of me when you do it.”
“What will that do?”
“It’s like an emergency calling. When you do it, it will sear a raised rash into my palm in the design of the rune. Then I’ll know you’re in trouble,” Gweneviere explained, showing Kambili the rune drawn onto a piece of parchment.
“Oh, so it’s a one and done kind of thing, not for sending cute goodnight messages,” Kambili said, in jest. “Also, that sounds like it’s going to be painful for you. Why can’t it just burn something into Thomas’ hand instead, surely you’d be able to smell the searing bacon even from Poppy’s house,” Kambili said, almost causing Gweneviere to wail in laughter. “But seriously, won’t it hurt you?” Kambili asked, once the laughter had died down to a cute smile on both their faces.
“Well, it wouldn’t come close to the pain of losing you, so in the grand scheme of things it’s most definitely worth it.” Gweneviere smiled, gazing lovingly into Kambili’s eyes.
“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Kambili teased, giving Gweneviere a swift kiss on the cheek.
“Alright, alright, now, come on, we need to test it out to make sure it works. Draw the rune on your palm and concentrate on me when you do it.”
“Okay,” Kambili agreed, enthusiastically.
Kambili began slowly drawing the symbol on her palm, making sure to meticulously match every stroke. Once she had completed it, they waited a minute or two and watched Gweneviere’s hands – nothing appeared. Her hands remained unscathed, signifying that the spell hadn’t worked. Kambili had a slight look of worry on her face as she realised that she had failed. Noticing it, Gweneviere reassured her.
“Hey, it’s okay, there’s plenty of spells that don’t work the first time for me, and I’m an actual witch. Now that you know the symbol, try and close your eyes as you finish it and clear your mind of all thoughts except those of me. Let your mind express its desire to see me,” Gweneviere explained, feeling extremely cheesy as she said it.
“Okay, I’ll try.” Kambili once again drew the symbol on her palm, following the exact path she did before. This time, however, as she came to the last few strokes, she closed her eyes and thought of all the happy moments they had shared together. Keeping those in the forefront of her mind and imagining seeing Gweneviere’s return from her trip, she completed the rune. After a mere few seconds, she heard Gweneviere wince in pain. Opening her eyes, she saw Gweneviere’s palm searing with a red bubbling rash raising from her skin. It was truly disturbing to look at, but Gweneviere assured Kambili she was okay; it was worth it to know that the spell worked.
“Gwen, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be all right, the main thing is that it worked. Promise me you won’t hesitate to use it if something happens. Now, I’m not teleporting there because, well, I don’t know where it is, and I need to at least have an idea of where I’m going to use the teleportation spell. But I can certainly use it to come back in a jiffy if anything happens to you,” Gweneviere professed, seriously.
“Yes, I promise, though I’m quite sure I’ll be fine.” Kambili smiled, stroking the side of Gweneviere’s cheek to once again calm her. Taking her calming touch a step further, Kambili took Gweneviere’s searing palm and sensually kissed it. The tender touch sent Gweneviere’s eyes rolling into the back of her head. Kambili carried on kissing it gently in order to not hurt her. She glided her tongue up one of Gweneviere’s fingers before sliding it into her mouth. She released it, only to do the same to the next finger along. Gweneviere couldn’t resist the playful teasing any longer as she pulled Kambili in for a passionate kiss. They became, once again, intertwined in one another’s bodies, and spent the following hours reaching climax after climax. Their hands trailed across each other, as did their lips, making the most of their last night together – for a couple of days, at least – though you’d have thought it was their last night on earth. They pleasured each other deep into the night until finally they passed out, with Kambili folding up nicely in Gweneviere’s arms, which kept her warm.
The morning of Gweneviere’s departure had arrived, and she started up the bakery hoping that her theory was right and that it would stay alight for next few days. Upon returning to the house, Thomas brushed past her as he headed into the bakery without so much as a goodbye, not that she expected anything more. Kambili, on the other hand, stood with her arms wide open, ready to receive a lasting hug from Gweneviere.
“Hey, we could always say goodbye in the bedroom,” Kambili suggested, with a sultry wink as Gweneviere edged closer to her open arms.
“God, Kambili, don’t tempt me. You know my carriage is already outside waiting.”
“I know,” Kambili sighed, with a forlorn expression on her face.
Gweneviere finally reached her and embraced Kambili tightly. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you too,” Kambili exclaimed, pulling out of the hug so that she could plant her lips against Gweneviere’s.
Gweneviere ended the kiss with a smile, rubbing Kambili’s arms for reassurance. “I’ll see you in a couple days, okay?”
“Yeah, okay. Have fun, and have some fun for me, too.”
“I will, and I promise everything will be different soon,” Gweneviere vowed, with a peck on Kambili’s forehead before heading out on her trip.
Gweneviere set off in the back of her carriage, where she would journey for just over four hours to Poppy’s house. Not far from the outskirts of London, Gweneviere couldn’t help but notice the beautiful meadows that littered the land. She made sure to take a mental note of where they were, as it would surely make the most romantic place for a picnic with Kambili upon her return. She could imagine it so vividly: both of them sitting together, with a wicker basket on a checked tablecloth amongst the plumes of multi-coloured wildflowers. She’d lived in the grey, cramped city streets for so long by that point that she hardly remembered what life was like back in the country. Though the people were no better, she did miss being amongst the wildlife and nature. She could quite happily see herself and Kambili in a farmhouse, much like her parent’s, but hopefully without the hateful, incompetent men waltzing about the town. No, Gweneviere would definitely try take her father’s advice and live somewhere even further from a town, unlike her mother. Gweneviere didn’t need pesky locals ruining everything. She was more than happy for it to just be her and Kambili for miles around.
