Initiation Rites

"Does the book say to do that? I don't imagine I can just say 'Maisie, you're a witch' and expect to--"

The sisters interrupt your question by breathing in sharply and arching their backs. Their hands begin to faintly glimmer with otherworldly energy...

...but then they abruptly slump back onto the couch. "Figured it wouldn't be that easy", one of them remarks.

The other one adds, "There's an initiation rite on one of the later pages. It doesn't require a witch to be performed, just a person with the right ancestry."

"Good. We're trying that tomorrow then." You have to suppress a yawn. "It's late, and we have the whole day tomorrow. Unless one of you has something planned, that is." You couldn't think of a way you'd rather spend a Saturday right now than learning actual magic with two soon-to-be witches who are also obeying your every command.

"I think my job search can wait for a little bit", Holly grins.

"And you can have me catch up on studying really easily, as we've already seen", Maisie adds.

"Very good. Also I think as much as I like looking at two Maisies, Holly please change back into yourself."

You're briefly confused as the sister that's changing back is not the one you were looking at as you gave the command. Both of them break out into giggles.

"I just have to say something about job search and Simon assumes I'm you!" Maisie titters.

"Alright, Maisie tell me, whose idea was this?" You're not mad, but you're feeling a bit mischievous yourself.

"It was mine. We conspired a bit before we went showering."

"Alright. For that, I'm sleeping in your bed tonight." The two give you a look of confusion. "With Holly. And Maisie, you can spend the night in Holly's room if you want to pretend to be her."

Maisie looks slightly dejected but still smiles at you, taking the command in good fun.

The three of you decide to call it a night and retire to bed, where you have fun whispering dirty things back and forth with Holly before finally falling asleep in her arms.

The next morning, you're woken up by movement beneath your head. The soft pillow you're resting on is shifting... wait, that's not a pillow, it's Holly's boobs!

You lift your head off of her chest and look at her face, watching her slowly rubbing the sleep from her eyes as well. "Mmmmh, I could use such a good night's sleep more often. Thanks for giving me that command when we went to bed."

You don't remember what commands you gave her exactly, but her chest pillows have to be the result of another one. You shift to a more comfortable position and start kneading one of them with your hand. "Wanna keep those as well?"

"I'd love to, but we can't change my clothing. Grandma always complains about that at family reunions when she thinks the kids aren't listening."

"Then I'll give you something I gave to Maisie as well. Holly, whenever you wear something that doesn't fit quite right, your body will change to fit it perfectly. And physical changes will no longer make you horny, they'll just feel pleasant. Remind me to give that one back to Maisie as well."

Holly nods happily and stands up to try her hand at Maisie's wardrobe. She quickly closes in on the red dress that Maisie and you discarded after your first lovemaking session. "Oooh, I've never seen this one before! Looking spicy!" She tries it on, her figure quickly shifting into the same proportions you had admired on Maisie. "That's so cool! And it even makes me a bit taller as well!"

You stand up to compare heights, and notice that she now reaches up to your nose instead of your chin. Also you realise that you really should get some fresh clothes, after the second consecutive night of sex without access to your own wardrobe. In the end, you decide to just put on the bathrobe you borrowed yesterday, and the two of you go to have breakfast.

Maisie isn't at the table yet, but Mary is there and smiles as she sees you coming down the stairs with Holly. "Good morning you two! I heard quite a bit of you last night, but I could have sworn Holly was involved as well?"

Holly is confused at that. "What do you mean, I'm right here? Simon made Maisie sleep in my room."

Mary laughs out loud at the misunderstanding. "Oh sorry, I assumed he made her look like you." She takes another critical look at Holly, especially her chest. "Although... Holly, did something happen with your curse?"

Holly looks down on herself in the gorgeous red dress and blushes. "It turns out Simon can control both Maisie's curse and mine, because he's part of Rosalind's family."

"Really? How did you find out?"

An extended recap later, during which Maisie also joins the table, Mary seems to be deep in thought. "Do you think you could take control of my curse as well, Simon?"

"Your curse? But you're already taken!"

"And we've seen how much the rules of the curse matter to one of Rosalind's descendants already. You also shouldn't have been able to control more than one curse carrier."

You have to admit there's a certain logic to Mary's reasoning. "I guess so, but even then - would you even want me to?"

Mary looks a bit hurt. "I look at my daughters thriving together with you, the genuine joy they're experiencing, and I can't help but imagine what it could be like. That's what I wanted from my husband, the father of my children, but he was too afraid of losing control to ever do anything with it. I was always left wondering, and now he's gone. No longer part of my life, even the child support payments stopped when Maisie turned eighteen. I don't even want anything sexual from you, just the power to change the life I'm so bored of." She sighs heavily.

"Alright, if that is your wish then I will at least try it. Mary, you have red hair."

She holds her breath, then expectantly pulls a lock of her still brown hair in front of her face. "I guess it was too good to be true", she says deflatedly.

Maisie gets up and pats her mother on the back. "Don't worry Mom. We found a book about witchcraft in Simon's attic. We're going to try to use the knowledge that's in there to defeat this curse. Maybe we can even turn it into a blessing, who knows."

Mary nods hopefully. "Just promise me you'll be safe. Don't take any unnecessary risks, okay?"

"Promise, Mom."

Half an hour later, the coffee table has been pushed aside, and a large black blanket with a chalk pentagram drawn on it has been laid in between the couch and the TV. Holly has molded some Plasticine into improvised candle holders and placed the black candles from your inheritance into them at each point of the star. You doubt there's anything special about these specific candles, maybe apart from their colour, but they're what you have and the description of the ritual calls for nothing more.

Holly reads aloud from the instructions in the book. "Okay, so now 'The candles are to be lit and the initiate is to stand in the centre of the sigil, without any obstruction to their body. The initiator', that's you Simon, 'is to position the initiate's hand above each lit candle in turn, so as to capture the flame's emanations. At each point, the initiator is to utter the phrase 'I bestow upon thee the power of my ancestors', to which the initiate is to respond with 'I receive thy power'. After each of the flames' emanations is received in this way, the ritual is complete and the initiate is counted among the ranks of the Coven.' Also, it doesn't say this anywhere, but I strongly feel like we should draw the curtains and dim the lights for this."

After darkening the room and lighting the candles, Maisie asks the important question. "So, who of us goes first?"

"I think you do. You were the one to offer yourself to Simon, and I guess according to this you will lead the new coven afterward."

"Really? And you don't want that position for yourself?"

"I promise you that you're the right one for it, sis", Holly says with a smile. "Now you have to strip, it says here 'without any obstruction to their body' and I think that's what that means."

"I'm a bit scared of the heat. Are you sure I won't get burnt?"

That's a thing you can definitely prevent. "Maisie, you're not going to get hurt or injured by the burning candles."

Maisie nods, then slowly takes off her clothes, careful so as not to disturb the candles' flames too much. She steps onto the mark. her curves are lit with a soft yellow light from all sides, leaving her face in relative darkness. "I'm ready."

As directed by the book, you take Maisie's hand and move it above one of the candles. She makes an upside-down cup which you both guess should be enough to catch the flame's "emanations", then it's your turn to speak.

"I bestow upon thee the power of my ancestors."

"I receive thy power." As Maisie says the words, the candle's flame is pulled into her hand and vanishes. Smoke rises from the glowing wick, but it doesn't rise straight up like normal, rather heading directly towards Maisie's head, to be breathed in through her nostrils. "Whoa, that feels weird."

"Can we continue?"

Maisie exhales, and you think you can see a bit more than the reflections of the candlelight sparkle in her eyes. "Yes. Continue."

You lead her hand along a line of the pentagram to the next candle. Cup. Words. "I bestow upon thee the power of my ancestors."

"I receive thy power." This time both of you are ready for the flame, and you notice the pulse in Maisie's wrist spike right as it is absorbed.

Next line. Next candle. Next flame. "I bestow upon thee the power of my ancestors."

"I receive thy power." As Maisie breathes in the smoke this time, the glow in her eyes is definitely not just from the candles' reflections anymore.

She leads you to the fourth candle more than you do her. "I bestow upon thee the power of my ancestors."

"I receive thy power." Maisie's voice seems louder now, and even though you still look down at her head from the same angle, she gives the impression of being physically larger.

The last candle almost seems to be magnetic as Maisie's hand locks on to its flame. "I bestow upon thee the power of my ancestors."

"I receive thy power." As Maisie's voice booms across the pitch-black room, you feel your hand being **** to let go from her wrist. Her brown irises are burning in her eyes with a soft amber glow akin to the candle flames she absorbed, and you can just make out the contours of a grin on her face in the darkness.

"Now that... felt good."