I knew that when I conquered my mother, it was going to be a special experience, but what I didn't expect is that it would be so easy.
Any other mother would have been outraged, upset, or outright punished for what I did no matter how well-intentioned they were.
But mine? As long as I didn't do something directly outside of my apparent mental age, she seems to have no problems, and although she hides it as best she can, the truth is that she has mixed feelings every time I show her that kind of "love", and over time the scales only tip more towards the side that suits me best.
Still, even a woman with fantasies like her has her limits, so it's just a matter of going slow to be sure.
… Or so I thought until Mom told me about the magic of this world.
Magic, which is in a nutshell the use of mana, is far more versatile and powerful than I imagined.
You can do pretty much anything, if you have enough control of the mana, plus the mana needed to cast the spell.
Mom didn't want to start with the most theoretical part to let me enjoy the "magic" of... magic, which I appreciate anyway.
Casting spells is a piece of cake, even an idiot could, the difference between a powerful mage like mom or a mediocre one like most, besides the amount of mana, is the imaginative way you use it.
Mom, although she has not innovated anything regarding the magic of this world, she has shown a control when casting her spells never seen before, but rather than being attributed to natural talent, mom has attributed it to her control as well as her fluidity, which sounds contradictory until she explains it in her own words.
"Your mana is like a lake, Max. Almost all the time it is peaceful, and if you want to draw water from it, you have to make an effort, you have to use a bucket. In the process of drawing water from the lake you lose a few drops of water and your body as well as your mind make a small effort every time you extract water from your lake."
I nodded to my mother's explanation, who had decided to bring a bucket for her explanation today.
"[Water]". She cast a spell to fill the bucket with water.
"I, like everyone else, have to draw water from the lake to cast spells... But instead of using a bucket, I'd rather try harder today so I don't have to work so hard tomorrow. So I make the land around the lake, either to expand it or to take a part of the lake with me to where I want."
Mom began to move her hand in the air and the water around the bucket began to move in tune with her movements.
"Can't you accidentally leave the lake dry, Mom?" I asked somewhat concerned about what his analogy suggested.
"Yes, the lake can overflow and become dry, you may get tired before time, and you may not have the strength or the desire to draw more water... That's why you must be very careful when using the technique I want to use... but before I help you increase the mana that your Max body can hold. You have to learn to control it like I'm doing right now."
The water inside the bucket, which was moving with such speed that a whirlpool had already formed, stopped as my mother's hand stopped.
It went from being a whirlpool to just still water so fast it was hard to believe.
"I invented this exercise myself Max... I tried to teach it to others, but they didn't have the time or desire to try so hard despite the benefits. It took me a few months before I could have this level of control even though I'm very talented. So, you can understand why people preferred to use their time in other techniques to be better magicians."
I nodded this time without so much confidence in myself.
I had the upper hand when it came to understanding how my spells worked, hence Mom saying that I was quite talented, but now that she told me how long it took, I felt calmer knowing that even if I took my time, Mom wouldn't be disappointed in me for it.
"You have already mastered the most basic spells, I have no doubt that if I teach you more complicated spells, you will master them in just one afternoon Max. But the difference between all the mages and me is the control demonstration you just saw... So if you want to be as strong as your mom, you first have to master this exercise like I just did." Mom looked at me with expectation and gave me a small smile. "What do you say Max? Do you want to be as good a magician as mom?"
"Of course I do!" I responded immediately
"Good. Since you are quite young, even if it takes you a year there will be no problem. When you master mana control at my level, you'll see a whole new world of possibilities open up for you."
I excitedly approached the bucket of water, and Mom nodded giving me permission to start.
[Mmm.... Controlling mana from a distance is more complicated than my own mana]
Not to mention, the fact that Mom used magic to create the water in the bucket only makes my task even easier.
I decided that the best way to start was to imagine a third hand with which I would make the water spin, and as I expected, the water moved, but despite the speed with which my third hand was spinning in my mind, the water barely moved.
"It's okay Max. You're doing very well even if it doesn't seem like it. You're trying to do this exercise just learned the basic spells and with only the most basic notion of mana control. Many older wizards have struggled just to achieve what you're doing right now."
It was good to hear that, it was motivating, and it made me want to try harder.
I guess this is how you learn to draw, even if you have a complete idea of what you want to do, you still depend on the dexterity of your hand which can be as clumsy and rough as an elephant in a glass shop.
So instead of moving my hand faster in the hope that the water would move faster, I decided to try to synchronize the mental movement with that of the water to synchronize myself better.
So, for an hour I swirled the water in the bucket with my right hand until I got tired of it, and I took almost another hour doing the same exercise with my left.
"Uhhh... Haaa... Mom." I wiped the sweat from my forehead, finally giving myself up for good service, at least for today.
[After doing it for so long, it now feels weird to only have two hands instead of three]
My mother had stayed by my side all this time, sitting on the grass, she did not hesitate to take me to her while I felt how my mind began to give way and fall asleep due to the mental effort.
"You are extraordinary my love. For you what you just did is not a big deal, as a mother I can't help but feel proud of you, but as a teacher...".
I heard her sigh somewhat frustrated.
"I can't help but envy you my love... even if it's just a little. Maybe I taught you the exercise, but all the credit goes to you alone."
"Sorry mom...". I said without even thinking about it.
"No, no. It's okay Max... That just means that you'll be strong and very skilled even sooner than you can imagine." I noticed the not-so-happy tone with which he said it. "Just don't forget that even if you're stronger than mom, I'll always know a thing or two that you don't. Do you agree my love?"
[Ah, so that was his frustration. NOT to be outdone, but to run out of things to teach me pretty quickly]
"Mom you will always be the best teacher of all, and even if you are not in some things. I will always ask you for help first." I assured him and from the way he hugged me, I can tell that I said what I wanted to hear.
"Thank you Max... Mommy really doesn't deserve you." She said moved.
"But I deserve a mom like you." I commented amused by his self-contempt unfounded.
"Mouu....". My mom made a childish sound. "E-Enough Max... s-you make me feel even worse."
Despite his words, he was quite happy.
"Hehe... mom is very funny."
"Do you find your mother's worries very funny, son?"
"Quite a mommy. Please never change."
Mom made a rather adorable squeal at my answer.
[Ahh... I'm very serious, Mom. Never stop being as cute and kinky as you are now]
So, without much effort on my part, I fell asleep again in my mother's arms. At that point we finally returned home and called it a day of today's lesson.
[This is life...]
And the best part is not yet beginning.
.
.
.
Mom wasn't lying when she said it might take a year to master the mana control technique.
Shit, even when I could do the whirlpool, it was hard to get me to go from moving to leaving it completely fixed without feeling my brain boiling.
It took me 6 months to move the water so that I didn't feel tired after doing the exercise and that it really formed a whirlpool. It took me another 3 months to get the whirlpool to stop abruptly and although not completely still as I would have liked, it was already a great advance according to my mother's words.
It took me an extra month to achieve such a result, and mom would have learned the technique, but I told her that I wanted to do it like her and better, after all one day it would be my turn to take care of her.
Words that had a mixed reaction, but at least he let me continue practicing the technique for a few more weeks.
Two months later I did what I wanted to do.
[Waterbending!]
"Wow...". Mom couldn't help but watch in amazement as the water floated around me forming a ring, all done while I had my eyes closed trusting only in my "sixth sense" that allows me to feel and visualize the mana.
I can definitely improve my control a lot more, but for more complex movements I will definitely need to move my arms and visualize how I force the water to follow the direction of my hands, or else I will go crazy with mental effort.
But to form a floating ring around me that moves just thinking about it? That's a piece of cake.
I may never be the Avatar, but considering that magic and martial discipline are considered complete opposites, I am confident that I will take many by surprise with my fighting style.
Shortly after Mom let out that sigh of amazement, I opened my eyes and then the ring broke, the row of water slowly but elegantly returned to the bucket, and by the time the last drop filled the container, the water was as still as the earth.
"Ahhhh...". I sighed a little mentally tired, but nothing that a nap while drinking mom's milk can't fix.
As soon as I wiped the sweat from my forehead, I looked at Mom proudly and asked for her opinion.
"How was that mom?! Great, right?" I asked proudly.
"….". He blinked out of his disbelief before smiling with great pride and great sadness.
"Cooler than you can imagine Max." Mom knelt down and stretched out her arms ready to greet me
"I love you mom!" Without hesitation I threw myself at her and hugged her with all my strength.
"I knew you would make it son... but to think that you would surpass yourself in that way..." She exhaled moved beyond words, almost on the verge of tears
She made me look into her eyes as she gave me a huge smile.
"You are a miracle made my little baby." With that said, he hugged me again with all his might.
Since I was still growing and probably at a faster rate than an ordinary child, in a couple of months I grew a few centimeters and I also became more resistant, which mom loved a lot as she could now really use me as if I were a stuffed animal.
"Ahhh.... Very good Max! Tomorrow I'll start teaching you more complicated spells, and the theory of magic..." She said quite excitedly. "I'll even teach you how to enchant things with your own magic using magic circles!" -
"Really?!" I said with emotion from the heart.
[That would be seriously convenient]
"Yep! The limit is imagination Max!" Mom recited
"The limit is the imagination!" I recited without hiding my ecstasy because Mom was basically going to teach me how to literally hack the world with something as broken as magic.
"But that will be tomorrow Max. For today the lesson is over." Mom said, burying my feet in the ground again. "Now all that's left is to have fun and have a good time with the family"
"Even better than learning magic with mom!"
"Max! Little rascal! Your compliments will not change my mind!" She giggled in amusement.
"But is it working?!" I asked boldly.
"Of course not..." He covered his beautiful smile. "Very good! Enough talk! The last to reach the lake must bathe the loser!" He shouted before running with surprising speed.
With the help of magic without a doubt.
"Wait! Mum! It's not fair!" I screamed with false indignation at the same time that I couldn't help laughing at the situation. "You always win!"
"Loooooooseeer!". She screamed at the top of her lungs to be heard even from a distance.
"Cheater!" I tried to answer but he was too far away to hear me.
[Damn! Why can't I grow faster?!]
I couldn't help but complain a bit mentally, after all even if my magical ability was simply that of an adult magician at this point, the rest of my body had the physical stamina of a child's.
There is magic that can strengthen the body but being so focused on refining the mana control technique, I had no idea how to even start using it.
So in spite of everything, I had to resign myself to going to the lake like every ordinary human: on foot.
I ran at least halfway, at which point my body couldn't take it anymore, and I had no choice but to walk at a brisk pace.
"Mom! I'm here!" I screamed wearily once I got to the lake, but I couldn't see her anywhere.
[Huh? Is he playing hide-and-seek? As if making me was nothing more than enough punishment for me¡]
Aware that my mother was behind a tree waiting to jump me "off guard," I decided to play along.
[This is new... and interesting]
Until now mom had never really left me "alone", whether it was with her, Maria or my childhood friend, the truth is that I have never been alone, and I think mom also just realized and now wants to test my character by being alone.
[Let's see if you like what you see mom]
POV Gwendolyn
I see it and I don't believe it.
Max on his own has refined his mana control to levels I never expected from him.
Yes, I could repeat his feat of moving water or anything else with my eyes closed. But a child? My max?
At this rate, I'll run out of nothing to teach him in 6 months, 1 year if I teach Max the theory behind creating magic circles in depth.
[He's still far from puberty, but by then he's probably already created a dozen new magic circles with apps that I can only dream of imagining...]
I'm so proud and I'm so sad.
I thought I had more time, I thought I would be his teacher a couple of years before Max could be called a full-fledged magician, and even then I would know some tricks which I would teach Max sporadically.
[But now... it almost seems that I will be the one who ends up being the student and he will be the teacher]
Sigh... Why couldn't my son be a normal child like any other?!
I love that it shines so brightly, but I also hate it. I wish only I could appreciate its brilliance... I wish I hadn't needed help from Maria or anyone else to raise him.
[Sigh... but it was not like that, and the past can no longer be changed. But I still have control over the future.]
And that's why again, I've decided to challenge Max to a race which he can't win.
[Fortunately he doesn't seem to take it the wrong way, that's good. You can't go through life believing yourself invincible Max]
"Fufufu... and apart from teaching him humility, it also motivates him to exercise." I said to myself as I watched him push himself until he couldn't take it anymore.
[Even when he is tired, he refuses to delay his arrival]
I quickly used my magic to make myself invisible and fly towards the lake, where I would wait for him with a mocking smile, but at that instant an interesting idea came to my mind.
[What would Max do if he was left alone by the lake from one moment to the next]
I would have dismissed it immediately, if it weren't for the fact that actually... I didn't have a concrete answer to that question.
Max has never really been alone, and I'm glad about that... But it also worries me.
And even if it hurts, one day I won't be there for him anymore.
[No matter how much I love him... Love means nothing to the passage of time]
Sad, but also aware, I decided that even if I never really left him alone until my day came, I should let him experience what loneliness was.
Or well... let him think he was alone.
[I love you Max... but even I can't protect you from yourself...」
So behind some bushes, I sat down to wait to see how my little one was going to handle the situation, and if necessary go out to comfort him in case he started crying.
"Mom! I'm here!" I saw him declare with a triumphant smile before seeing him bewildered at nowhere to be seen.
[I'm sorry my love... But this is for your good]
I couldn't help but tense up, even if it was for his good, I couldn't help but feel guilty for deliberately making my baby feel bad.
"Mom? Where are you?". He asked, turning around quite confused.
I suppressed the urge to jump out of the bush to hug him, surprise him, and tell him I was proud of him for being so extraordinary.
[Gods... Why is it so hard to see his worried little face? It's not fair...]
I swallowed my emotions and continued to watch him attentively.
"Oh, oh! I already understood it! Hide and seek! Hehe!" He didn't even think anything bad and then he started happily looking for me around the lake. "You can run but not hide from my mom!" He commented cheerfully, which perplexed me for a few moments.
[… I think it was to be expected.... I never took into consideration how equally innocent Max is despite being such an extraordinary child]
No longer the weight of guilt eating away at me for making my little one suffer, I appreciated the sight of him looking for me tenderly.
"You trust Mommy Max too much..." I said regretfully. "… And still, I can't deny that I love that it's like that."
[Sigh... I'm a terrible mother]
It took a few minutes for Max to now look in my direction with a certain face, and my heart couldn't help but beat with some excitement.
[Come with Mommy Max...]
I undid my invisibility spell, and just as I was about to search the bushes I was in...
"Ahhh... I give up." He sighed in defeat.
[Ehhh~? Max giving up?!]
In that instant, I almost got up just to make it clear to him that I had almost made it, but I stopped in time.
After all, he would never have seen Max's look of sincere sadness at that moment.
[My little one...]
I watched him walk around tired before sitting on the lake and dropping lazily down.
"Mom... you win... I don't want to play anymore...". I heard him implore, on the verge of tears.
[Max! My love!]
I couldn't believe it... until my mind clicked, and I began to understand why.
[He's tired.... So tired]
As soon as I understood it, I almost slapped myself for what I did.
"Max!" I quickly came out of hiding to comfort him. "I'm so sorry! Mommy is here!"
As soon as I was within reach, Max hugged me tightly and sobbed lightly.
"Mommy... sorry." Max was getting ... Apologizing?
"Max?" I suddenly went blank, I just couldn't understand why he was apologizing.
"Sorry mommy... I didn't want to make you feel bad for being so good at magic."
[He thought I was punishing him...?]
"I saw you very happy, but also very sad... I couldn't think of anything to comfort you, Mom... sorry... I shouldn't have cried... I wanted you to enjoy winning too... but...". I could not finish his prayer, for tears came out of his eyes again.
"Max...". I could barely say his name, unable to say anything because of the guilt I was feeling.
"I don't know... I guess I was so frustrated that you always won like that mom... sorry for not letting you feel good mom...". He said once he calmed down again.
"My baby...". I hugged him with my whole body to show him that I wasn't upset. "Sorry my love... Mommy wasn't sad that you were better than me... I just wanted to try to teach you a lesson..."
"A lesson?" He asked confused.
"Yes... but I don't think I thought about it too." I sighed disappointed in myself. "You were supposed to understand what it was like to not be so good at something, but I think I overdid it by not letting you win once..." I took him by his adorable little face, stroked his hair delicately, getting lost in the violet of his eyes identical to mine and smiled sweetly at him. "Mommy is not upset with you Max...".
"But you were sad..." He said still worried.
At his comment, I couldn't help but bite my lip and having to give in at that point.
"You really know your mommy well, don't you Max?" I gave him a kiss on the forehead full of love. "And you're right my love... Mommy was sad that you were so good... but not because I felt bad did you surpass me..."
"Were you sad because you would no longer be my teacher?" And as always, Max hit the nail on the head.
I could only nod to him with melancholy.
"But mom... I never want to leave you." He said insistently but also with confusion. "Why does that make you sad...?"
[Because your mommy is very insecure Max]
Obviously I didn't tell him that... I couldn't do it, my baby doesn't need to carry the weight of my own guilt.
"Because your mommy loves to teach you everything she knows.... But I can't teach you anything. Then that joy will be gone forever."
Max opened his eyes in surprise, for a few seconds I saw him processing the information.
At that moment Max hugged me tightly and buried his head between my breasts.
"Then you will be my only teacher in life mom!"
"E-Ehhh~!"
[Not again!]
"But Max-"
"I've decided Mom!" He said confidently, "I love you more than anything in the world! Never forget! And don't feel guilty because that's what I desire from the bottom of my heart! I've told you before, right? Remember! Please don't forget that I want your happiness above all else, Mom!"
"….". I looked at my son with growing concern about his future, but a part of me, a tiny part, couldn't help but think... that was good.
[No! Damn Gwendolyn! S-Just put those ideas aside! You can't be so selfish! Think about Max's well-being!]
But unlike many other times, one idea came to me at that moment that made me shudder, and that I wanted to repress with all my might... because of the corners to which serious consideration might lead me.
And it was because of that indecision that Max decided to take my silence as an acceptance of his statement, because when he separated from me and began to undress me to bathe my body (which he basically did several months ago, so I was not alarmed), I could see his victorious smile, as if he had just solved a very difficult riddle that everyone but him had been able to solve.
Deep down I knew that I should have told him no, to stop being so naïve and accept that even if he kept his word, I would never be happy to see him ruin his life by being a mama's child despite being destined for great things.
A painful lie but told for the good of both of us... things that become clear to one when you think about it in depth, and in retrospect... I honestly wasn't really thinking as I felt his hands swaying over my body.
I wasn't upset when I saw him wash my breasts innocently having special dedication when it came to cleaning my nipples
Simply… I let it be.
And I think that's why, when I came back to my senses and he asked for his approval, when I gave it to him I couldn't help but ask something strange for Max... but what was the key to finally falling or not on the path I am on today.
"It was a good bath Max...". I said as I put on my clothes and turned my back to her for fear she would see my face at that moment. "You really are the best son a mother could wish for my love."
"Hehe... Thank you mom! And I always will be!"
"….". I bit my lips this time harder than usual, and simply asked. "My love...". I called out to him in a light, soft voice, but full of uncertainty.
"Huh? Yes mom?" He asked somewhat confused, surely detecting part of my emotions at that moment.
"Will you still love me...? Even if I'm not the best mother...? Would you still love me Max?"
I heard him laugh, almost as if he had asked a silly question.
"Of course mommy. Why you ask?"
[Yes.. Why do I ask...?]
"… My little miracle is not important for anything." I finally decided to turn around and face him, offering him my hand to go back home.
[After all... Max had long since given me his promise]
"So... let's go home, yes Max?"
"Of course mom!"
Ignorant of my state of mind, he and I walked home, enjoying every little step, every little sight, every little moment.
And in my particular case, I couldn't help but especially enjoy the warmth of Max's small hand... and how one day it will be yours that completely covers mine.
[Sorry Max... but mommy loves you too much...]