Something Extraordinary

Chapter Seventeen - Strong Emotions

It had been over a month since Azalea had first arrived. To her shock, she had actually started feeling like she was settling in. Considering that she had absolutely no idea how long she would be here for, that was good news.

Renée had been giving her lessons on how to handle her magic. Although they initially just worked on control, the queen had relented and taught her some other things too. As simple as Renée made them seem, Azalea was still having trouble catching on. She was frustrated to say the least. Azalea had kept her word and only practiced under the supervision of the queen, but this meant that she could get no practice in between sessions, and every time that they did practice together, she had managed to do something dumb. Azalea also didn't want to disturb the Queen in any way, but due to the nature of the Queen's duties, their lessons never followed a schedule.

Renée, on the other hand, was finding it quite interesting to observe the girl as she attempted the spells. As much as she tried to deny it, she was slowly opening up to the girl. Dare she even say that she enjoyed her presence? She hadn't given up on trying to figure out the origins of the girl's magic, but so far she had been satisfied that they weren't related.

Despite her initial attempts to vehemently deny the attraction between her and the girl, she settled for spending time with her in their lessons. The girl was unskilled though. It was like attempting to teach a frisky baby rabbit to do tricks. Several times in, she wasn't sure if she wanted to grab Azalea by her shoulders and shake her or hold her in her arms. The second thought was often ruled out rather quickly though.

"You're not focusing on the runes."

Azalea turned to face Renée. "I'm concentrating as hard as I can..." she protested, feeling drained from the last attempts.

"It's a simple summoning spell." Renée spoke with the slightest hint of sarcasm which irked Azalea just a bit more.

"Like I said, I'm concentrating as hard as I can." Azalea ground out in obvious frustration.

Renée uncrossed her arms and stood up from where she had been seated on the couch. "You're focusing on your hand movements, not the runes, and I can sense your hesitation from here. What did I say?" She quipped.

"Be confident." Azalea groaned.

"Then try again. Properly this time."

Azalea closed her eyes for a second to concentrate on the rune, visualizing the symbol and letting the power fill her. Then, she traced the rune in the air. There was a whooshing sound and something flew into her outstretched hand. When she opened her eyes and saw what it was, she flinched automatically before turning to face the queen with a sheepishly expression.

Renée looked none too amused as one of her shoes dangled from Azalea's hands. "Just what were you trying to summon??"

Azalea blushed furiously and handed the shoe back, to which, Renée quickly slipped on. "I-I don't know. I was just focusing on the rune and trying to perform the spell. I didn't really focus on a target."

Renée sighed in exasperation. It was strange how the girl could make her feel, even if it wasn't always positive feelings. "The first thing I instructed you was to always focus on a target. When you don't, that's how magic gets out of control!"

Azalea balled up her fists in frustration, at the situation and herself. She was trying as hard as she could. "I'm sorry that magic doesn't come naturally to everyone, your highness." She grumbled.

Renée's eyebrows shot way up high on her forehead. "Excuse me??"

Azalea froze. She had let down her guard around the queen tremendously in the past weeks but it would do her good to remember that they were not friends.