In the days following the second round of the competition, Valentina found herself in a whirlwind of congratulations, envious glances and being the topic of some whispered conversations. But amidst the hustle and bustle, she couldn't forget Professor Horne's strange behavior and remembered that she wanted to investigate it further after the second round of the competition. What she had heard in the library and in the lectures, his nervous looks, the stuttering when he called on certain female students – it gnawed at her.

  On a cold, rainy afternoon, when the library was filled with the muffled sound of the falling drops outside, Valentina decided to take action.

  "Why don't you use your eavesdropping skill, little Weaver?" whispered Vyxara in her head. "You could so easily find out what our good professor is hiding."

  With a suppressed sigh, Valentina gave in. She waited until the librarian, Matilda Ravencroft, had disappeared into another aisle and then crept to the back shelves where she had spotted Professor Horne. Her heart pounded wildly as she activated her Essence hearing ability.

  At first she only heard the usual mumbling again, but then, very faintly, she heard Professor Horne's voice. He was muttering quietly to himself under his breath, as he usually did.

  She crept closer cautiously, always careful not to be discovered. She hid behind a high bookshelf and concentrated on the professor's voice.

  "...oh yes, so obedient..." she heard him murmur. "...you'll learn your lesson..."

  Valentina frowned. What was he reading? She concentrated harder, letting her Essence hearing ability penetrate deeper.

  Suddenly she heard the sound of a book being closed and hurried footsteps. Professor Horne was obviously leaving his seat. Valentina held her breath as he walked past her hiding place, his face flushed and his eyes darting around nervously.

  Once she was sure he was gone, she crept over to the table where he had been sitting. There was a book there, half hidden under a pile of parchments. Valentina pulled it out with trembling hands.

  The title made her frown: "The Art of Submission – A Guide to Dominance." She opened the book and began to read. With growing astonishment, she realized that it was an ancient collection of erotic stories about dominance and submission. Back during the Martyr's lifetime, literature was a lot more... permissive than it was today.

  "Oh, that's delicious," Vyxara giggled in her head. "It seems our honorable professor has a very... special preference."

  Valentina wanted to slam the book shut, throw it away and forget all about it. But then she noticed something. There were notes scribbled in the margins of the pages. She read them with a pounding heart.

  "Elara would be perfect for this part..." it said. And: "Valentina could play this role well..."

  She felt sick. Professor Horne had inserted the names of his female students into these perverse fantasies.

  "Ooooh, little Weaver, that's a real lucky find," Vyxara whispered excited. "That's power. Power you can use."

  Valentina shook her head, not wanting to hear the demon's words. But a part of her, a part she didn't want to acknowledge, a part that was very similar to Vyxara's way of thinking, began to ponder. What could she achieve with this knowledge?

  Under this larger book, Valentina saw a smaller book. A simple, roughly bound notebook. Heart pounding, she pulled out the notebook and opened it. What she found inside made her mouth drop open and her face flush. There were detailed fantasies in which Professor Horne described how he dominated various female students. And… her own name appeared as well.

  "Now, little Weaver," Vyxara purred, "what are you going to do with this little book?"

  Valentina swallowed hard. She knew she had to make a decision. Should she take the notebook with her as proof? Or should she ignore it and pretend she had never seen anything?

  She heard footsteps and had only seconds to decide what to do. She took the notebook. Just in time – Professor Horne returned, his face now composed, but his hands trembling slightly.

  Valentina ducked behind a shelf and watched as he packed up his things. He didn't seem notice that the notebook was missing and hastily left the library.

  At that moment, she heard Crispin calling for her. "Val! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. We were supposed to study for Professor Horne's test together, remember?"

  Valentina winced and dropped the notebook. It landed open on the floor, the treacherous words pointing upwards.

  "I... I'll be right there, Crispin!" she called back, her voice trembling.

  She hastily picked up the notebook and stared at it. She could still just leave it here.

  "The clock is ticking, little Weaver," Vyxara urged. "What will it be?"

  With a final, guilty look, Valentina put the notebook in her bag. She would examine it more closely later. Now she had to get to Crispin before he found her here.

  As she walked away, she felt the weight of the notebook in her bag like a heavy burden. She knew she had just crossed a line. But was it for better or worse?

  With a quick smile, she approached Crispin, ready to pretend that nothing had happened. But inside her, a storm of doubt and possibility raged.

  Immediately after the afternoon lectures and dinner, she went to her room, eager to read what was inside. She took a deep breath and opened the book, her curiosity winning out over all moral concerns.

  "Oh my goodness," Vyxara muttered in her head with a giggle, "now it's getting interesting."

  Valentina flipped through the pages, her heart pounding wildly. Most of the entries were short and cryptic, but some contained detailed descriptions of fantasies in which Professor Horne appeared as a dominant lover.

  "Read that one there, between the entries about Schate resonances," Vyxara whispered to her inwardly, "He has an entry about Elara: 'She would fit perfectly in tightly strapped restraints. Her pale skin and innocent doe eyes...' Well, at least he has taste."

  Valentina felt heat rising in her cheeks. She tried to imagine shy Elara tied up, but it didn't quite fit her picture of her.

  "Here's one about you, right after the note about the appointment with the tailor," Vyxara said. Valentina read: "Valentina would handle punishment with a riding crop well. Her body is small, but she is resilient. I could easily put her over my knee..."

  She suppressed a snort. "As if I'd ever let him do something like that."

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  "Oh, I don't know, don’t be to dismissive," Vyxara purred. "You have your little fantasies, too. I even remember some in which a certain Professor Horne played a role..."

  A blush rose to her cheeks, but Valentina continued turning the pages.

  And then, an entry about Innogen – and herself:

  "Innogen and Valentina together... I'm sure they could make such wonderful playmates, I'd teach them respect for authority. Perhaps a punishment with the riding crop would be just the thing..."

  Valentina's breath caught at the thought of what Professor Horne had written.

  "Or maybe not," Vyxara giggled in her mind, "Can you imagine? You and Innogen playing good little kitten for Horne?"

  Valentina closed her eyes and tried to push the image out of her mind. But it was like an annoying fly – she just couldn't get rid of it.

  She imagined Professor Horne laying them both across his knees, Innogen and herself, their dresses pushed up, while he struck their bare bottoms with the riding crop. She could see Innogen's eyes widening, her lips opening to stifle a scream.

  "Oh yes," sighed Vyxara, "that would be a sight to behold. Two well-behaved students learning their lesson."

  Valentina felt anger rising inside her. How dared Professor Horne have such fantasies? About all of them?

  "He's an old, perverted man," she hissed.

  "And you're a little Weaver with a talent for manipulation," Vyxara replied. "You should make use of this information. You must see that it's worth its weight in gold!"

  Valentina bit her lip. She knew Vyxara had a point. But the thought of using Professor Horne in this way to achieve her own ends... it felt wrong.

  "Think of all the possibilities," said Vyxara. "You could blackmail him. Get him to give you better grades. Maybe even give you access to better study materials. Or easier still, you could just give him what he wants – a little of it, at least."

  Valentina took a deep breath. She had to make a decision – either she used this information to her own advantage or she quickly forgot that she had ever heard of it.

  She glanced at the notebook in her hands. "What... what if he won’t let himself be blackmailed?" she asked, hardly believing she was even entertaining the thought.

  "Of course, it would be easier if you just chose the alternative," Vyxara admitted. "Then he'd also have every interest in nobody finding out about it."

  Valentina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she got up and walked up and down her room, still clutching the notebook tightly to her chest.

  She couldn't do that. But she couldn't deny that there was a small part of her that wondered... what if?

  "What's the big deal?" Vyxara asked in her head. "As desperate as he seems to be, I'm sure he won't be stingy. Maybe he'll even give you access to the restricted part of the library."

  Valentina shook off the thought and continued to pace back and forth. She wasn't going to let her decision be undermined so easily.

  But she also knew that the temptation would remain there – like a juicy apple just waiting for her to pick it.

  ~

  For Valentina, the following days were like a balancing act on a thin rope. The weight of Professor Horne's notebook in her bag seemed to get heavier with every step. During the lectures, she could hardly take her eyes off him, watching his every move with a mixture of fascination and disgust.

  "You must act, little Weaver," Vyxara urged. "This information is worthless if you don't use it."

  Valentina sighed softly. "I just don't know if I can do this, Vyxara. It feels... wrong."

  "Wrong?" the demon snorted. "Wasn't it also wrong of him to have such fantasies about his students? If you take advantage of that, at least you'd get something out of it."

  Cursing inwardly, Valentina decided to give it a try. After the next lecture on advanced Essence theory, she stayed behind while the other students left the room.

  "Professor Horne?" she addressed him, her voice softer than usual. "I have a question about the... hidden aspects of Essence Weaving."

  Horne's eyebrows drew together, his gaze flickering nervously as she addressed him so directly. "Hidden aspects? What do you mean by that, Valentina?"

  She stepped closer, lowering her voice to a confidential whisper. "Well, I've heard that there are techniques that aren't in the official curriculum. Techniques that allow to... dominate... Essence beyond what we learn here at the University."

  The professor was visibly taken aback. "I-I don't quite know what you're talking about. I'm not familiar with such practices."

  Valentina smiled gently, but there was a cold glint in her eyes. "Oh, I just thought if anyone knows more about this, then it has to be you, Professor. Perhaps we could discuss this sometime... more privately?"

  Horne stared at her, his mouth opening and closing like a fish on land. "I... that would be... I mean, you can come to my consultation... um... of course, Valentina."

  Smiling kindly, she nodded to Professor Horne and left the room feeling triumphant. Crispin was waiting for her outside, his expression worried.

  "Everything all right, Val?" he asked. "You're not in trouble with Professor Horne, are you?"

  She smiled at him. "I'm fine, Crispin. I was just asking him something about the upcoming test."

  "Well done, little Weaver," Vyxara praised. "Let's see how far we can take this."

  In the weeks that followed, Valentina played a dangerous game that she found – she had to admit it – immensely entertaining. She dropped subtle hints at every opportunity, watching Professor Horne become increasingly nervous. He called on her more frequently in his lectures, praising her answers effusively.

  "How does she do it?" she heard Elara whisper one day in the dining room. "It's as if she suddenly has a direct line to Professor Horne's thoughts."

  Innogen defended her: "Val is simply brilliant. She's always worked hard, now it's just starting to pay off. Since the Greystone Competition, everyone is just realizing how good she is."

  Valentina felt a stab in her heart when she heard how loyally Innogen defended her. If Innogen knew what she was really doing...

  In one of Professor Horne's consultations, she ventured even further. "I recently read a fascinating book, Professor," she said casually. "About the importance of control and determination in Essence Weaving. It reminded me of some of your... teaching methods."

  Horne froze, his face a mask of apprehension and suppressed desire. "Valentina, I... I don't know what you're implying, but..."

  She leaned forward, her voice barely more than a breath. "Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm implying, Professor. The only question is what you want to make of it."

  As she left his office, Valentina felt simultaneously powerful and a little... dirty. She found it amazing and also more than a little amusing that with just a few words here and there, he was like putty in her hand – but where exactly would that lead?

  "You're doing great," Vyxara purred contentedly. "See how he wriggles in your hand? That's real power, little Weaver."

  But despite Vyxara's encouragement, doubt nagged at Valentina. Was this really the right path? What would her parents say if they knew what she was doing? What would Innogen and Crispin think?

  One evening, as she sat alone in her room leafing through Professor Horne's notebook, she was suddenly overcome by a wave of shame. She threw the book on her bed and buried her face in her hands.

  "What am I doing here?" she whispered. "This isn't me. It can't be me."

  "Oh yes, it is you," Vyxara replied softly. "This is the Valentina who will do anything to win. The Valentina who will lift her family out of poverty. The Valentina who will become the greatest Essence Weaver of all time. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

  Valentina shook her head and felt tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes. "But what if I lose myself in the process?"

  "No, little Weaver," the demon contradicted. "Quite the opposite. You are finding yourself. You're discovering what you're really capable of."

  At that moment, there was a knock on her door. Valentina hastily wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and hid the notebook under her pillow. "Come in!" she called out.

  Smiling, Crispin entered and was about to speak when a worried expression suddenly appeared on his face. "Are you all right, Val? Have you been crying?"

  Valentina forced herself to smile. "I'm fine, Crispin. I really am. I'm just... Stressed about exams. You know how women can be a bit emotional sometimes."

  He sat down next to her on the bed, wanted to take her hand, but then changed his mind. "You know you can talk to me, right? About anything. I hope that... you know what… hasn't changed that?"

  For a moment, Valentina was tempted to tell him everything. To take the weight off her shoulders. But then she heard Vyxara's voice in her head, "Careful, little Weaver. Trust no one."

  She reached for Crispin's hand herself and squeezed it, much to his delight. "I know, Crispin. Thank you. But really, it's all right, I think I just need to give myself a study break today."

  Afterward, they talked for a while about a funny rumor that Crispin had heard and that he had actually come by to tell her. When he had gone, Valentina stared out of the window for a long time. She knew that she was once again at a crossroads. Either she stopped now, or she might have to go all the way.

  "You can't go back, little Weaver," Vyxara whispered. "You have experienced success and recognition, fought for the chance to help your family. You have tasted power. Do you really want to give it up again?"

  Valentina sighed deeply. No, she couldn't go back, she didn't want to go back. She had invested too much, risked too much. She would see this path through to the end and she mustn't fail.

  She pulled out Professor Horne's notebook again and began to read. She would use every detail, exploit every weakness. If she was going to sell her soul, she would damn well demand the highest possible price for it.