Chapter Three- Training
"Now, any other questions?"
"Just one. How can I still talk?"
"Part of being a werewolf. Now, I suspect there will be guards to face next month, so your training tonight is to attack these targets as though they're real guards. Oh, and try not to bite them and still leave them alive. Bite only to kill."
Jasmine said nothing, merely looked at the targets, trying to discern where the throat would be. Even if she bit the throat of the "guards", she knew she wouldn't do it for real.
"Jasmine, attack."
At Mozenrath's order, her eyes glowed and she lunged at the first target, claws on the front and back paws bared. She tore at the "skin" before clamping onto the "throat" and pulled it off. Snarling, she turned to the next one and simply clawed it to shreds. She toyed with the third and final one, but it too was soon tore down.
Mozenrath laughed with delight. "Excellent! I was correct in choosing to make you a werewolf. You're an efficient killer."
Jasmine's eyes stopped glowing and she stared at the remains of the targets in shock. She couldn't believe it. She heard the order to attack and suddenly the wolf half of her took control and obeyed. She couldn't stop herself. She had no control over her wolf form when given an order!
She was barely aware of Mozenrath stroking her head. "You're a better companion than Xerxes. A good thing I got rid of him."
This comment caught her attention. When she thought of it, she realized that she hadn't seen the flying eel since her capture. "Got rid of him?"
"I killed him. The thought of another companion made him jealous. And I have no use for jealousy."
He killed his pet? All because it was jealous? She swallowed hard. Good thing she decided to stay on his good side.
"Get some sleep, princess. I plan to give you some daytime training tomorrow."
Jasmine obliged. She had a feeling it was giving to be a rough month ahead.
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She awoke the next morning to find herself lying in a bed. How did she get here? She fell asleep in the dungeon. Perhaps Mozenrath moved her. Last night's full moon was the third night, so it made sense for her to sleep in a bed without worrying about torn bed sheets.
Getting up (clothes melded into fur and returned at dawn), she padded into the hall. She sensed that Mozenrath was waiting for her at the dining table. She was right. Feeling it was the right thing to do, she bowed to the wizard before taking her seat. She chanced a glance at him and she noticed that he looked quite happy. She knew she was the source of his happiness. He had control over her and she had given him her word to obey to avoid silver torture.
Mozenrath set his goblet down after both had eaten and announced the nature of her daytime training. Simply put, they would explore her supernatural abilities. Since they started with pain through silver, Mozenrath put her through other tasks to test her endurance. Aside from silver, fire and electricity caused a great deal of pain. Arrows hurt, but could be easily pulled out. Any man-made weapon could inflict injuries, but the wounds would quickly heal. That included injuries sustained by animals or nature's elements.
Her strength was another field to test. It was soon realized that rope could not hold her neither could any chain that wasn't silver. By slightly flexing her pinned arms, her bindings would break. She could also pick up twice as much as a normal human and could bend metal with ease.
On and on the tests went over the next couple of weeks. In addition to pain and strength, her senses of smell, hearing, and sight were tested. Jasmine would receive three meals and ordered to sleep after dinner. Dawn prompted her awake and training began after breakfast.
Mozenrath took care not to push her too far. He didn't want his weapon to be too weak to fight. However, there was one last task that would probably take until the full moon to work.
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"I'm sorry. What did you say?"
"I want you to transform. I want you able to change without the full moon. Conquering Agrabah won't amount to anything if it's taken from me between full moons."
Truthfully, Jasmine was intrigued by the notion of changing whenever she wanted. If she could accomplish this, she could find a way to kill Mozenrath without killing herself. Maybe if she bit him, he would be allergic to silver as well and would be unable to wear his cross. Then, she would tear his throat out. The imagery was very pleasing to her.
Mozenrath took her silence and hesitation as fear and said, "You're afraid I'll punish you if you fail on your first try."
"Yes, I am," she lied, though she was a little afraid.
"Don't worry about it. I don't expect you to succeed immediately. I do, however, expect success before the full moon."
She nodded. She planned to succeed before then, too. Mozenrath gestured with his left hand, indicating that she should start. Closing her eyes, she focused on how she looked two weeks ago. She focused on the strength and grace. Focused so hard in fact, that she fell to her knees, gasping. Nothing happened.
The sorcerer shrugged. "We'll try again tomorrow. And every day afterwards if we have to."
'I will master this,' the princess thought. 'Then Mozenrath will pay.'
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Three Days Later
Jasmine struggled to her feet. She had been very close. She could feel it. "Tomorrow's another try," her captor sighed.
"One more try," she pleaded. "I think I almost got it."
Mozenrath rested his chin on his hand, considering her request. She claimed to be close to succeeding. Should he allow her to try again, instead of waiting for tomorrow? 'She might have found a rhythm. To make her wait, might cause her to lose it.'
"Very well. One more time and then we wait if nothing happens."
Nodding, Jasmine focused on the feeling she had sensed earlier. She felt a ripple of strength flow through her and her fingers turning into paws. Fur covered her body and she dropped to all fours before letting out a howl of triumph.
"At last. Success. Agrabah is as good as mine. We'll practice once more tomorrow and then we attack Agrabah the day after."
'The day after tomorrow1' she thought in horror. She mentally counted up her training days and realized that the full moon was a week and a half away. That meant that Mozenrath would rule Agrabah for that long until she could curse him. Perhaps that was best. She needed to completely gain his trust in order to succeed.