Alchemist’s Apprentice

"You know our meagre budget isn't even going to last us four months if we have to spend a chunk of it on additional sheets and towels," I grumped. "Maybe that 'volume' potion was a little over the top?"

Cathryn suppressed a smile as she responded, "It's not that bad Valeria. We can just wash the bedding, it doesn't need replacing. And you'll thank me for the volume potion when it comes to collecting base ingredients for our alchemy work."

I looked over at her and stated, "If you have me doing that two or three times a day we'll need to wash the sheets daily, and that will wear them out in no time sis."

"Ah," she grimaced. "Ok, point taken."

I rolled my eyes then turned back to focus on the watery stew I was preparing for our dinner, as I stood naked in front of the small stove.

Since my sister didn't seem to care whether or not I dressed I figured there was no point worrying about it myself. Thanks to that 'warmth' potion I was quite comfortable without anything on. And from a practical viewpoint, my skirt and blouse would last longer if I only wore them when absolutely necessary.

My sister had her simple dress back on again, and she was sitting at the table as we talked. There was a cup of wine in front of her, and another waiting for me at my spot across the table from her.

I sighed as I continued stirring the food, "I know you're probably not used to this, but since our parents died I've basically had to budget everything. Even things I didn't even know about? I've had to learn, then learn how to use less. That includes doing laundry. Even the firewood I'm using to heat up our food, I've measured out how much we can use each day."

My big sister sighed as well, "You've done amazing things Val. You should be very proud of yourself. And you should know I'm proud of you."

Her praise left me blushing but smiling. I didn't respond though, I kept my attention on our meal since it was nearly ready.

After a sip of her wine she admitted, "And you're right, I hadn't thought about laundry. They made us do our own laundry at school, but even then we didn't have to worry about purchasing soap or about the linens being worn out. Neither did we have to worry about our next meal, or the fuel to cook it. The only thing they limited was access to ingredients for our potions and elixirs, and even then most were available if you asked and could justify the reasoning. Only the rarest and most expensive were denied us."

"It's ok sis," I replied as I ladled our dinner into a couple bowls. I placed them on the table, along with a half loaf of bread before taking my seat across from her. "I still don't think I've done anything special though. All I did was survive, and hang on to as much as I could. Which wasn't much at all."

She thanked me for the meal, then shook her head "You did much more than I ever could have. Thanks to you we have a roof over our heads, a warm safe place to sleep, and food to keep us going. Now it's my turn to chip in, I need to earn us some money as quickly as I can."

I tore off some bread then dunked it in my stew to soften it, but before I started eating I asked "So what's our next step? And what will we do tomorrow?"

Cathryn looked thoughtful as she took a spoonful of the watery stew. After a few moments she decided, "We still need to address some immediate issues. You're right to complain about your bedding Valeria, and perhaps we will need to spend some money on more sheets and blankets."

She added, "I think we can skip towels though. You have a drawer full of cotton pants you won't be wearing anymore, we'll use them as towels and rags. And with a bit of needle-work we can turn your old shirts into dresses for you. You're small enough now, they should provide enough material. Perhaps we can sell or trade your old shoes, for something small enough to fit your little feet?"

I blushed again but stayed quiet as I ate.

My sister continued, "My bed's still clean so you can sleep with me tonight. If the firewood situation is as dire as you say, we should probably get used to sharing a bed regardless. We can keep each other warm that way."

My blush continued unabated. And Cat went on making plans as the two of us ate.

"Tomorrow we'll visit the markets," she decided. "I need to see what sorts of things are available and at what prices, then I'll figure out the best potions to brew to make us some quick money. Whatever profit we make, we'll set half aside in the budget for food and other necessities, the other half will go into more ingredients. And as that grows, we'll also invest in more equipment and tools and so on."

She paused for another sip of wine, then asked "Does that sound like a good plan Valeria?"

I was momentarily surprised she was asking me, until I remembered we'd agreed to be partners in all this. And she obviously appreciated how I handled things after our catastrophic change in fortune.

"Yeah I think so," I agreed. "Though I'm probably going to stay stressed about money, at least until we start seeing some coming in again."

"That's fair," she gave me an understanding smile. "And thank you for preparing dinner again tonight."

I smiled back, "You're welcome sis."

After that we were both quiet as we continued eating. The stew was thin and watery, with little taste and even less meat. The bread was dry and hard, but soaking it in the stew made it palatable, and even helped the stew taste better. The wine was thin and weak, but it helped as well. It was nothing like the luxurious meals we used to eat, but it was warm and filling and would keep us going.

As I ate, I could even feel a warmth in my chest. It was a new sensation, but I'd had a lot of those over the past twenty-four hours so another brand-new thing wasn't that surprising anymore. I didn't put much thought into it, and it was quickly forgotten as I realized I'd had enough to eat, while my bowl was still almost half-full. I couldn't finish my half of the bread either.

On the one hand I absolutely hated the thought of wasting food, but on the other hand I knew better than to make myself sick by forcing it down. And as usual, I couldn't help but see another practical benefit to my new circumstances. My smaller body needed a lot less food than I used to.

I decided that tomorrow I wouldn't prepare as much stew. Then I found myself smiling slightly as I played with some numbers in my head, and determined we might actually save a silver coin each week. Maybe even one and a half, just based on me being so much smaller than before.

"What's got you smiling cutie?" Cathryn asked.

I blushed as I realized she was staring, but I admitted "I was updating my budget numbers. Ten silvers a week for food was based on my original shape. Now it takes less to fill me up, we might get by with nine silvers a week. That's like the two of us eating free every tenth week. It means our budget will last longer than I originally figured."

She grimaced, "Or it means we can afford an extra set of bed linens or two, without putting that big a strain on things after all. Either way though I'll start earning us an income long before the funds are critical. That's my promise to you, Valeria."

"Thanks sis," I responded with a warm smile. I was still worried, but at the same time I trusted her. I knew she wouldn't let me down.

Rather than let my uneaten food go to waste my sister finished it off for me, then I took the empty bowls and spoons and started cleaning them up. As I was doing that I noticed that sensation in my chest again. It wasn't painful, but it felt strange. Like there was a pressure and a heaviness that seemed out of place.

After a quick glance to ensure my sister wasn't looking, I gave one of my boobs a curious poke. I stifled a yelp as I found it was a lot more sensitive than it had been earlier, and the spot where I'd poked myself stayed tender for a few seconds.

I put the dishes aside once they were clean, then sat back down across from my sister. I figured I'd better ask her, since I had no idea if this was a regular womanly thing or if it was a problem caused by one of her potions.

My cheeks were pink again as asked, "Um, Cathryn? There's something odd going on with my chest. They feel a bit tender, and kind of heavy. And it almost seems like there's a pressure... Oh no!"

I stared at her with wide eyes as it suddenly dawned on me what the problem was, and my sister's smirk all but confirmed it.

"Oh yes," she nodded with a grin. "Don't worry cutie, it'll be fine. I'm sure you'll even enjoy the experience."

I gulped, "How do I...?"

Still grinning she replied, "I'll teach you of course."

Cathryn drained the last of her wine, then got up from her chair. Before approaching me she took a few moments to clean and rinse her cup, then she returned and set it on the table in front of me while she stood immediately behind me.

My heart was racing with that blend of nervous excitement as she reached around from behind. At the same time she whispered in my ear, "Watch, pay attention, and learn how it feels and how to do it. It's not difficult, and nothing to be scared of."

I gasped softly as her hands cupped my large, heavy boobs. And I couldn't help thinking, this was the kind of hands-on training I'd been secretly hoping for earlier.

My sister began to massage them, but it was a light and gentle touch. Thanks to how tender they were the sensations she was giving me danced along that line between pleasure and pain, while staying mostly on the side of pleasure. My nipples quickly hardened, and I felt myself getting wet again down below.

Meanwhile Cat continued whispering in my ear, explaining what she was doing. "This is new for you Valeria so a little massage is helpful. It'll relax and loosen things up... Well, apart from those beautiful fat nipples of yours, they've done the opposite of relax. That's ok though cutie. Believe me, it'll make the rest of this so much more fun."

I bit my lower lip to stifle a moan, as she continued to gently massage my breasts. And part of my mind was still reeling at that thought. My sister, my beautiful gorgeous sexy sister, had her hands on my boobs as she whispered exciting things in my ear.

The massage continued for another minute or two before I noticed it. Droplets of liquid had appeared on both my nipples, and as I stared more of the fluid gathered. Soon there was enough that it began running down, over Cathryn's fingers and eventually finding its way down my belly. At the same time I was aware of how wet I'd gotten between my legs, I was almost positive there'd be a little puddle on my chair if I stopped to look.

"There," my sister whispered, "Now we're ready to begin."

Once again I was caught off-guard, I thought we'd already started.

She remained behind me as she reached out with her left hand and grabbed her empty cup then slightly repositioned her right hand. Her thumb and first two fingers began to gently pinch and pull at my hard sensitive nipple while her remaining fingers and the palm of her hand continued massaging my boob.

I let out another gasp as her actions sent shocks of pleasure up and down my body. I squeezed my thighs together and flexed my internal muscles as I felt my need increasing. Meanwhile Cat continued what she was doing and on the third try she was rewarded with a squirt of milk, which she caught in the cup.

"Holy shit," I gasped as I stared.

It was like some part of my brain finally short-circuited as it all sank in. I was being milked. My sister was milking me. She was squeezing and pulling at my teat and streams of milk were squirting into that cup that she'd been drinking out of earlier. And every squirt of milk was accompanied by a shock of pleasure through my body.

For the next few minutes I felt like I was held right on the verge of climax while I was lost in the sensations. I didn't notice she'd actually stopped until Cathryn nudged me slightly.

"Your turn Valeria," she whispered in my ear. "Take the cup in your right hand, use your left hand and get to work. Just like I showed you."

I nodded slowly as I moved to take over.

It took me three or four tries to get things started on the left side, probably due to my inexperience. But it worked, and next thing I knew I was milking myself while my sister watched. The sensations were still amazing, but not quite as good as it felt when she was doing it.

And after a few more minutes things tapered off. When I was done we'd collected about a quarter of a litre of milk, which didn't seem like much considering the size of my breasts.

As if reading my mind Cat commented, "Don't feel bad cutie, it takes a couple days to reach your full potential."

I gulped as I looked up at her, "How often will I have to do this?"

She shrugged, "Probably just once a day."

My eyes widened and I gulped, "What do you mean, probably?"

"Everyone's different Val," she replied. "Everybody responds differently to the potion. It might end up being every other day, maybe once a day, maybe a bit more?"

I frowned and said in a half-whisper, "Whatever it turns out though, it'll be forever..."

My sister smiled, "Don't be so dramatic. You enjoyed it, and eventually we can reverse it with another potion."

Before I could protest she added, "Anyways let's get tidied up, then we'll get some sleep. We want to be up bright and early for market tomorrow!"

"Right," I nodded slowly.

The thought of spending the night in Cathryn's bed didn't actually calm me down, and I wondered how much sleep either of us were really going to get.