Capítulo 39: Auntie's Cookie Prince
Anaxarete stood by the side of the bed, her hands on her waist. Her voice broke the silence of the night. "Get up and go get dressed. There's no spell or rune on you. You're clean."
Ru stretched for relief. "Are you sure? Did you examine every inch of my body?"
Anaxarete rolled her eyes and went over to the makeup desk. "I'll spank your ass if you dare to get horny, kid," she said, pointing her finger at him.
Ru sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes. He gave a lazy smirk. "Easy, priestess. I'm not going to jump on you."
Anaxarete stopped, looking surprised. "Priestess?"
Ru leaned back against the pillows and gave a little grin. "Wow, holy witch! I don't think witchcraft is a prerequisite for putting on a display like that. It seems like you're more focused on sharing moral guidance anyway."
Anaxarete stood there, arms crossed, and a slow, calculating look appeared in her eyes. "Look who's talking. Now, get up, the dishes are piling up."
Ru sat forward, his enthusiasm waning. "You were supposed to teach me magic..." He sounded a little disappointed.
Anaxarete softened her expression slightly as she approached the bed. "I will, don't be impatient." She sat and ruffled his hair.
"We'll see."
"Don't be impatient, kid."
Ru got out of bed, grabbed the clothes he had thrown around, and left the room. His destination was the café's kitchen. After the dishes, he'd mop the floor. Then he'd put on his apron and work as a waiter. Just like every day.
"I've worked enough, now teach me magic," he said the next day.
"No, you haven't worked enough. The laundry is still there. Go wash it," said Anaxarete.
"To hell with you and your training," Ru had started to say, but Anaxarete chased him with her broom.
A few days later, Anaxarete caught Ru rifling through his personal belongings. She showed off her magic broom with impressive speed and precision and demonstrated its attack power by testing it on Ru.
On the tenth day, Anaxarete caught Ru applying black nail polish.
"You stole my nail polish, little thief."
"Just the nail polish," said Ru, grinning.
"Don't think I didn't notice the money missing from the cash register," said Anaxarete.
"You lost one of your earrings about five minutes ago," Ru said with a smile, pointing at his ear. He was wearing an Anaxarete earring.
"They say I'm the wicked one, but you're the one who's downright evil," Anaxarete said, exasperated.
"Don't exaggerate, my dear. I just wanted to show you my sleight of hand," Ru said.
And he continued applying the nail polish. Anaxarete was watching him.
"That's not how you do it," she finally said, unable to bear it.
"What do you mean?" asked Ru, and Anaxarete said, "Give it to me."
Then she took the polish and sat next to Ru.
"We'll start here. Our first lesson is charm spells," said Anaxarete, indicating where Ru should put his hand.
"Yay," said Ru excitedly.
Anaxarete was busy taking care of Ru's nails with acetone and a nail file. She was talking all the while.
"You're not a witch, you're not a woman. But you have a natural charm, a cuteness. We need to add some charisma to that cuteness. And some muscle too. We'll start by bulking you up a bit."
"Oh, you're going to fatten me up and eat me."
"I'll muscle you up and eat you, sweetie," said Anaxarete, with a seductive smile.
"Okay," said Ru eagerly.
Anaxarete had a critical look in her eyes. "Your thing is your innocent look and voice. First, you need to stop talking like a fool. A soft answer turneth away wrath, remember that."
"Ha."
"No 'ha,' you'll say 'yes.' You'll read books, out loud. And of course, poetry. By the way, the nail polish is done. But your hair," said Anaxarete giving him a concerned look and roughly tousled his hair. "You need to take better care of yourself."
"You make me work all day cleaning, what do you expect?"
Anaxarete ignored his complaint. "That was nothing, dear. Now you'll work nights too." Out of nowhere, she grabbed Ru's nose and started squeezing the pimple there.
Ru jumped, his hand flying to his face. "Ow! That hurts!"
Anaxarete's expression was unyielding. "Oh, shut up! Your pimple is red and swollen. Do you know how to apply nail polish but don't take proper care of your skin? But is the Great Ru like you?"
"How so?" Ru asked, holding his nose.
"He is a lowly whore," Anaxarete said with a dirty grin.
"You really love the original me," said Ru, frowning.
"Calm down, sweetie. I hate him, not you," said Anaxarete. She was currently in the process of creating a unique care cream.
"What?"
"Sweetie, haven't you figured it out yet? My goal is to strengthen you and have you take his place."
"Why?"
"Because, my dear," said Anaxarete, gently wiping Ru's face with cotton. "He's a misogynist. He proved it by ruthlessly exploiting his daughters."
"Care to elaborate on that a bit?" asked Ru.
"Of course," Anaxarete said, also putting the care cream on Ru's face with her fingers. "Your original self is an ancient king. And a very bad one. Someone who would turn his people into monsters and enslave them."
"His people? How? What is he?"
"I'm not going to tell you what he really is. If you knew, any spy that infiltrates your mind, especially vampires, would figure everything out immediately. It wouldn't be fun for you. So you have to discover it yourself, sweetie."
"Oh, come on!"
"Don't worry, it won't take long to discover. But as I said, you need to strengthen yourself first, especially your willpower. Otherwise, you'll just be a whore, that's all," Anaxarete said.
"Priestess!"
"You were a sex slave in the past, so I'm warning you, kid."
Ru scratched his head in confusion. "How could I be a sex slave when I was a king?"
Anaxarete locked her eyes with his and explained, "You made a big mistake. You didn't follow my instructions, and then you were captured."
"You sold me to a succubus for an artifact, didn't you?" Ru asked solemnly.
"Oh, are we back to this topic again?" Anaxarete asked, taking makeup cotton from the nightstand drawer.
Ru said, "The vampire in the cat mask said so," as Anaxarete wet makeup cotton with a lotion.
"As I said, my senile child, this vampire is a damned patriarchal type and he knows how to blame me," Anaxarete said, gently stroking Ru's cheek with the cotton.
Ru, who was being petted, was gradually becoming warmer. He liked being shown affection and was smiling. Then he said in a soft voice, "Don't worry, I got rid of him."
Anaxarete caressed him a while longer. "You killed him in your mind. He will reappear, but I can handle him. I can protect you if you want."
When Ru felt a rush of warmth, his heart started racing. He looked into Anaxarete's eyes, his own filled with a mix of gratitude and vulnerability.
"I... I trust you," he replied softly, his voice barely audible.
Anaxarete said as she placed her hand on Ru's chin and slowly lifted his head, "Once this mask is done, I'll put together a diet plan for you. I'll also get you some lotions. You should use these regularly and bathe in the moonlight, sweetie."
"OK, honey, I get it!"
"No honey, you must call me Auntie."
"OK, Auntie."
"Just a heads-up: You'll be waking up early to go for a run and doing weight training. I'll also be preparing a special potion for your voice. But you'll also be singing and performing live in the cafe at night. Sound good to you, cookie?"
"Exploit me all you want."
"Don't say that, in return, I'll teach you spell reading and potion mixing. And I'll make you quite handsome. So handsome that no one will be able to say no to you."
"Let's do it!"
"Take this book," said Anaxarete, and the thickest and largest book Ru had ever seen came out of the closet and onto the bed.
Ru's eyes opened wide, "What is this?"
"Everything about demons."
"This is so thick..."
"Demons are very dangerous, what can I do? You'll devour this book, there's no other way."
"Okay, Auntie. What else?"
"I ordered a few instruments for you. There are sheet music books and a microphone too. You're lucky to have such a generous aunt like me."
"Huh..."
"Don't 'huh' me! I'm trying to make you a prince."
"I want to be a rockstar."
"If you work hard, that can happen too."
"I will work hard."
"Good boy."
"Good for me, yes."
"Don't worry, I'll prepare amulets and potions to give you power. Like this," said Anaxarete, pulling out a vial she had tucked between her breasts. "This potion provides super mental energy. When you drink it, you won't need to sleep. Your intelligence points will increase by +2. Which is already high. This will be child's play for you."
"Give it to me," said Ru, immediately standing up and reaching for the potion.
"One sip, just one sip. I don't want you to go crazy," said Anaxarete, handing over the vial.
"Deal," said Ru, taking the vial from her hand. It contained a pale blue potion.
"Remember, one sip."
"Okay."
"Put on your swimsuit, go up to the roof, apply the potion, and bathe in the moonlight. Then drink the intelligence potion and start working," said Anaxarete, turning towards the door.
"Wait! Will you give me the formulas for these potions?"
"Of course not, you're not a witch."
"But I want to be a witch..."
"You can't because you're a man. Most importantly, you don't carry witch blood."
"But but... can I be a druid or a shaman? Or maybe a warlock? A sorcerer could work too."
"You were going to be a rockstar..."
"I can be both, can't I?"
"If you could be everything at once, let's make you a god then."
"Great idea!"
"Ru..." said Anaxarete, pointing at the twitch in her eye. "Don't push your luck."
"Okay, Auntie."
"That's better. Oh, I left a special toothpaste and brush for your teeth in the bathroom. Use them and quit smoking."
"Okay, Auntie."
"Good!" said Anaxarete, leaving the room.
After she left, Ru opened the potion and sniffed it. He had a crazy idea of drinking it all and uncovering the secrets of the universe.
As he was about to chug it, his hand moved on its own. And his lips moved on their own.
"Don't be ridiculous," said a raspy voice coming out of his mouth.
"Huh?"
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