Nox took Luna's hands. “I feel exactly the same. Have you… saved yourself for me?”

 

Luna nodded eagerly, “Of course I did. I’m so excited to share my first kiss with you after we have ascended. It will be so special!”

 

She was over the moon. She dreamt about this for years, and now he finally reciprocated her feelings. It was like a dream. Nox didn’t look too happy now, though. He shook his head. “I think we should do it now.”

 

“Now? But… that’s against tradition. We are not supposed to!”

 

“I thought you wanted it to be special? What is special about doing what everyone else is doing at the same time?”

 

“Well… I guess I didn’t see it that way before. But I mean. It’s just one more week, right?”

 

“Luna…”

 

Nox stared into her eyes and caressed her cheeks with his hands. It made her feel so good and safe. Yet she felt under pressure suddenly. Kissing before ascension was shunned!

 

“If you really want to wait…”

 

He came closer as Luna’s breath rose again. Her face felt hot, and her desire for Nox was growing more than ever. On a superficial level, she did want to wait, yet she was unable to resist his beautiful, charming eyes. His face came even closer, but he didn’t force anything. If anything, he seemed to be waiting for her. Luna‘s heart was racing fast, and all she wanted now was to finally kiss Nox. Nobody had to know. Besides, she dreamt of this moment for so long. It seemed ridiculous to wait, just to please the coven. She couldn’t take it anymore. It was like a force slowly drawing her towards him. Luna finally closed her eyes and gave in to her first kiss with Nox.

 

It was magically romantic as their tongues explored each other. The second she gave in, she embraced the rush. She couldn’t stop herself.  Luna often imagined what it would feel like to kiss him, and nothing came even close to the reality. It was wet, and it made smacking noises, but the sensations she felt with her tongue were incredibly arousing. His hands were on her hips now, and she caressed his face and chest as their kiss grew more passionate. She never wanted to stop. It was like a flame lit up inside her, and it was burning with desire for more. Her whole body felt warm and fuzzy now. 

 

Nox abruptly ended the kiss and pulled back from her. Luna caught her breath for a moment but was ready for more. Nox grinned at her, and Luna couldn’t help but grin back at him. She didn’t regret giving in early. If she had known what it actually felt like, she wouldn’t have waited at all. As long as nobody knew, she had nothing to worry about.

 

Nox was the first to speak. „I wanted to do that for such a long time.“

 

Luna was touched, but at the same time, something stung.

 

„You mean with me, or my mother?“ She blurted out, surprised by herself. This was not what she wanted to say, but she couldn't just ignore it either.

 

„Listen. I‘m sorry if I hurt your feelings, but I had to go through your mother to get to you. I knew she would give you the antidote right away. That’s why I had to slip her a potion first.“

 

Luna shook her head. „That’s nonsense, Nox. You don’t need my mother’s approval to be with me. I can make my own decisions. Also, do you really want me to believe that you gave my mum a love potion, just to have her accept you ascend with me?“

 

Nox looked a bit confused at first and then smiled. „Oh, no. I think you didn't understand everything I just said. That’s not what I meant at all. I gave your mother ‘Secret Service’, so she could slip you ‘Amorous Adoration’. Without that, you wouldn’t even consider doing anything with me besides studying.“

 

Luna shook her head. This wasn’t true. It couldn’t be!

 

She felt shock and embarrassment. If she drank ‘Amorous Adoration’, she would have noticed, wouldn't she? It dawned on her that there was actually no sure way of knowing. Luna felt completely normal and unchanged in every regard, especially about Nox. That is exactly what 'Amorous Adoration' would make her think, though. Were her feelings not real? Her memories of being in love with Nox since basically forever? But then again, why would he make this up? Why would he lie about something so horrible?

 

„Stasis!“ She chanted and made the gesture to freeze Nox in place. He was unable to move his arms or legs now and was left with breathing and talking. If this was really happening, she had to act fast, even though all she wanted was to kiss Nox, just one more time. Nox was clearly taken aback by her spell, his eyes wide in surprise.

 

„Hey! What are you..." He scoffed.

 

"Luna, listen," Nox began again, his tone now soothing. "I tossed out all of your mother’s antidotes yesterday, and you certainly have no time to brew a new one now. Soon enough, you will unfreeze me and beg me to use your body in any way I want. You’ll love me forever, and you’ll be grateful that I turned you into my adoring love-slave.“

 

Luna broke out in a cold sweat. She couldn’t believe that Nox, the most genuine guy in the world, just said that, yet a significant part of her craved him even more. She wanted this. She wanted him. Wanted him to use her body in any way- „No!“ She shook her head.

 

„This is not happening. I can’t let this happen. I’m sorry, Nox,“ she jumped to her desk and opened a drawer, „but I have to inform you that I carry my very own collection of antidotes right here.“

 

She pulled out her antidote for ‘Amorous Adoration’ and looked at Nox. She was still not convinced that she was actually under the spell of a love potion, even though the evidence was technically all over the place.

 

„Wait! Don’t do this, Luna. I love you. We can be happy forever if you don’t drink this. Just put it down, and we can be together. That’s what you want, right? It’s our destiny.“ 

 

Luna replied with sorrow, „If it is destiny, then this won’t matter.“

 

She drank the little bottle. Now all she had to do was wait. Luna would be back to normal within a minute. The difficult part would be getting her mother to drink her antidote as well.