\u201cI\u2019ll try,\u201d Adelia said.\u00a0 After an uncomfortable elongated silence, the girl turned to her new tutor.\u00a0 \u201cHow do I start?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d Lucinda said, placing her hand to her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt isn\u2019t second nature to you.\u00a0 I should have been more aware.\u00a0 Adelia, when you look at me, you can see the purple of my dress.\u00a0 With magic, you can reach into an item like it is a river.\u00a0 And in that river, you can feel<\/em> the purple, the same way you\u2019d feel its texture.\u00a0 Before your hand leaves that river, you can move it about until the color changes.\u00a0 Reach into the flower, Miss Kreegan.\u00a0 Feel its properties.\u00a0 Change them as you will.\u201d<\/p>\n The pupil narrowed her eyes, and focused on the closest flower.\u00a0 She stared at it for some time, as though she would see the river that Lucinda spoke of.\u00a0 Just as she was about to concede, she felt a response from the flora, as though it knew it was being meddled with.\u00a0 It was as if a door had opened, and Adelia was invited in.\u00a0 Beside her, the plump sorceress watched as the apprentice scanned every aspect of the flower.\u00a0 Adelia felt its texture from within: its moistures, its age, its scent.\u00a0 And then, she felt its color.\u00a0 It was warm and bold, and it sat with pride above the other properties.\u00a0 Still, it quivered when the girl\u2019s hand drew in around it.\u00a0 Try as she did though, she couldn\u2019t change that element.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter, girl?\u201d Lucinda asked.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2026 it doesn\u2019t want to be changed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell of course it doesn\u2019t want to be changed.\u00a0 It\u2019s a red flower.\u00a0 That\u2019s what it\u2019s always been, and that\u2019s what it endeavors to be.\u00a0 But you have to want it to change more<\/em>.\u00a0 Use some of that impressive will I felt earlier.\u00a0 Tell it that it will change back, if you have to.\u201d<\/p>\n Diving back into that open door, Adelia found the color once again, and placed her hand upon it.\u00a0 When it was not so apprehensive, the girl invited her magic upon it.<\/p>\n Her eyes widened at the sight of the bright crimson turning into a muted blue.\u00a0 But her brow furled as she felt it change from within.<\/p>\n \u201cExcellent work,\u201d Lucinda praised.\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps Gaston did right by taking you under his wing.\u201d<\/p>\n Adelia felt gratified in that moment.\u00a0 The sorceress had offered that encouragement without bemusement, and she seemed distant from her usual risqu\u00e9 train of thought.\u00a0 But she did remain focused on the girl, which had Adelia cocking her head.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is this?\u201d Lucinda asked.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with your face?\u00a0 Why\u2019s it gone all\u2026 sour?\u201d<\/p>\n The pupil felt her brow still furrowed then, and bowed her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt didn\u2019t want to change, and when I forced it so, I could feel its pain.\u201d<\/p>\n Lucinda nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYou changed it from its innermost being.\u00a0 Without the skill or experience to know how to ease that transition, it will always sting a little.\u00a0 In time, you\u2019ll find you can erase that pain and discomfort the same way you can change its color.\u00a0 And in any case, it will eventually return to form as good as new.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s not always the case, is it?\u201d Adelia asked.\u00a0 \u201cI mean, if you turned a man into a mouse and a cat ate him\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf he was whole, the mouse might survive, but the cat would certainly not.\u00a0 Think of it this way.\u00a0 You could change the color of a rose, and pluck it from the ground.\u00a0 While the color may revert back, the flower will never again be one with its stem.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s do away with all of this dreadful talk of death and dismemberment, shall we?\u201d she went on.\u00a0 \u201cAfter all, we\u2019re here to show you how interesting and useful and entertaining this power is.\u00a0 Now, you wouldn\u2019t be able to turn this flower into gold right now, because you don\u2019t understand the properties of gold.\u00a0 Every item, every creature, every person has a unique composition, and you\u2019ll need experiences with each of them before you can change something to reflect what you know.\u00a0 Now, you have me here, so you\u2019ve got the benefit of someone who has seen it all.\u00a0 Use the flower as the canvas, and my experience as the brush.\u00a0 Go on dear girl.\u00a0 Think of anything you\u2019d like.\u201d<\/p>\n Adelia stared at that flower then, and thought about what her teacher said.\u00a0 \u201cCan you turn it into gold?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStarting simple, then, are we?\u201d\u00a0 Lucinda snapped her fingers, and between the pupil\u2019s blinks, the blue and green had been encased in gold.\u00a0 \u201cPick something a little more challenging.\u00a0 Flex your imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n Nodding, Adelia cast her gaze about the gardens. \u00a0She spotted a butterfly that flittered about the flowers then\u2014perhaps the same one that Merlin intended to hunt that morning.\u00a0 \u201cThat butterfly there,\u201d she pointed.\u00a0 \u201cCan you change it so that it becomes a dragon, but it remains the same size?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh!\u201d Lucinda exclaimed with pride.\u00a0 \u201cDelightful.\u00a0 Now remember: what will be will always be.\u00a0 It may look like a dragon, but it\u2019s still a butterfly at heart.\u201d<\/p>\n A little puff of smoke encompassed the butterfly, and when it cleared, a dragon was in its place.\u00a0 Adelia couldn\u2019t hide her smile, especially as the confused creature came close.\u00a0 \u201cSo, I don\u2019t expect it to breathe fire, but could it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn theory,\u201d Lucinda said.\u00a0 \u201cIt has the necessary anatomy to do so, but being that it\u2019s never had those organs before, it wouldn\u2019t know how to use them.\u00a0 Consider this: if I was to transform you so that you had wings, you couldn\u2019t fly\u2014at least, not right away.\u00a0 You had to learn how your legs worked, and it would be the same for wings.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd your squirrel\u2026 when you turned him into a human, I\u2019m guessing he couldn\u2019t speak.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that\u2019s a bit trickier.\u00a0 Speech is inferred knowledge.\u00a0 That poor squirrel couldn\u2019t speak any better than a backwoods yokel.\u00a0 But a city mouse that heard humans talk every day?\u00a0 He\u2019d be able to reproduce dialog before he\u2019d change back, I\u2019m sure.\u00a0 And you\u2019ve already toyed with advanced properties.\u00a0 Our little dragonfly here is the product of two different concepts, but we could give him the ability to speak if he were human.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike Gaston\u2019s bluebird,\u201d Adelia surmised.<\/p>\n The sorceress groaned.\u00a0 \u201cHe still keeps that thing around?\u00a0 Gaston isn\u2019t sure what he wants to be, I\u2019m afraid.\u00a0 A wizard?\u00a0 A cleric?\u00a0 A druid?\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t be altogether surprised to hear that he\u2019d dabbled in necromancy.\u00a0 I admire his pursuit of knowledge, but he\u2019s let his life pass him by.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re off track again.\u00a0 Let\u2019s try one more.\u00a0 Make this one a good one.\u201d<\/p>\n Again, Adelia took account of the area around her.\u00a0 She stepped away from Lucinda, and bent low to scoop something up.\u00a0 \u201cAlright, this one might seem a little strange, but when my mother gathered the first fall harvest, she always made a delicious blueberry pie.\u00a0 Now, I know you won\u2019t be able to make that<\/em> pie, but I\u2019m willing to bet you\u2019ve had your fair share of delectable foods throughout your travels.\u201d\u00a0 She uncovered her hand, and displayed the rock she held there.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI\u2019ll try,\u201d Adelia said.\u00a0 After an uncomfortable elongated silence, the girl turned to her new tutor.\u00a0 \u201cHow do I start?\u201d \u201cOf course,\u201d Lucinda said, placing her hand to her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt isn\u2019t second nature to you.\u00a0 I should have been more aware.\u00a0 Adelia, when you look at me, you can see the purple of my 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