Magic Can Be Fun if You're a Master Mage

Thalia skipped over to the full bathtub. Then, she abruptly turned to face Alara. “Princess, tell me your favorite flower, and the animal that you think is the cutest.”

Alara smiled awkwardly and scratched her blonde hair. She couldn't fathom a reason why this information would be important to Thalia or even the slightest clue what she could be planning to show Alara. But she thought about it for a second and replied, “I think my favorite flower would be a white lily, my favorite animal is probably a little cute ferret like Yotaro.”  

Thalia gave a wide smile, “I want to show you that magic can be a beautiful thing and much more than a tool for fighting or defending oneself. Forgive me, I'm a little rusty. The last time I put on a show like this was for my Elias.” She dipped her hand into the water and splashed some into the air with an exaggerated wave of her hand. Midair, the water froze in the shape of a lily which she handed to Alara. With a charming smile, Thalia took the same stance as a puppeteer and drew some water out of the full tub. She twirled her hands around and an exact copy of Yotaro's ferret form emerged from the ice. The creature ran in the same sinewy motion as Yotaro and did flips through the air. Thalia carefully guided it across the walls and ceilings of the bathhouse. It came to a stop on the princess's lap then turned into a bunch of lillies. 

Alara started clapping and giggling, making an uncharacteristically girlish expression and a lovely smile. Thalia bowed and Alara stood up in a standing ovation. “Wow! That was amazing. I have never seen magic used that way before. Did you learn that from Elis?”

Thalia gave a confident smile, “You've never seen magic like that before because I am the one that invented it. I don't think that anyone else has ever been skilled enough to use it.” Playfully, Thalia tapped Alara's shoulder and before whispering in her ear. “Maybe you can become skilled enough to use this technique one day.”

Alara's body moved a bit closer to Thalia of its own accord. She could definitely feel that there was this sort of instinctual attraction towards Thalia, and she couldn't fathom why. It was like there were forces drawing them together that were bigger than either of the two women. Alara's new favorite person was becoming the priestess even though just a day before she sought to take the woman's life. She felt like Thalia secretly felt the same way, but was holding back. Alara guessed it was from fear of loss or maybe because she was a part of the Elding family who she had become estranged from. For the sake of impressing her master, Alara decided that she would rise to the occasion and try her very best to master water magic. 

Alara figured that if she could show Thalia that she wouldn't die easily the priestess would be more likely to let her in. Alara wasn’t sure what she was feeling was love yet but she did feel drawn to the brown haired beauty. She wouldn't let the potential love of her life ignore her or leave their feelings unexplored. She could tell that Thalia was into her at the very least because of how her body reacted when they touched. It was subtle but she often felt Thalia lean into her or linger while they touched. 

Alara was so lost in thought that it took her longer than it should have to notice Thalia waving her hand in front of her pale green eyes.

“Yo. Wake up princess! Are you ready to move on in your training?”

Alara blinked a couple times before quickly Nodding her head yes.

“Okay, you know about the Isaz and their reputation as ice users? Well some of them can use water as well. The trick to it is how quickly your mana moves. Moving mana slowly will cause water to freeze, the faster you move your mana, the hotter the water becomes. It's easiest to use slow moving mana which is why most Isaz only use ice. Allow me to demonstrate.”

Thalia gathered some water into an orb. “Place your hand over mine and feel the change in how the mana changes speeds. Alara closed her eyes and faced Thalia. When she placed her hands over the master level mage's she felt the flow of her mana dramatically slow as the orb turned to ice, and the opposite when she boiled the orb into mist. She had never seen anyone from the Isaz do something like this and had mainly seen a few healers and many using ice projectiles or weapons. Water was truly more versatile than Alara's experiences dictated.

Thalia wanted to show Alara what true mastery looked like in battle so she could understand some practical applications. “I'm sure you are wondering where I'm going with ine importance of being able to phase shift water. Let me show you. Come with me outside for a moment.” 

The two walked to the dirt road. Thalia quickly assembled what earth uses called Golem. Golems were highly aggressive creatures that could act on their own but often behaved with increasing aggression towards all things. She shoved its lumped and muddy body back. The thing was pissed and started attacking her full force.

 Thalia sprung back flipping several times out of the attack path. She flung spikes of ice all around the creature then burned them all into steam. The creature's view was obstructed and while it was searching for Thalia she did yet another phase shift and froze the mist trapping the golem in an icy prison. With a light tap, the golem and ice prison shattered. Thalia looked at Alara and let out an icy breath, before her vibrantly glowing blue eyes returned to their natural shade of purple.

“You see princess, if you can master phase shifting in water, you can overpower most foes. Plus, you'll never be thirsty or dirty due to lack of water,” with that last comment Thalia gave an awkward thumbs up and eye-balled the bath water.  

Alara followed her eyes to the tub full of cold water. “Oh shit, sorry. You want me to warm that right? I don't think it will be a problem since lightning magic is all about the speed of your mana flow. And, as you may know, I am regarded as the fastest lightning user!”

Thalia smirked, “Getting over confident are we?” Thalia sat back and crossed her arms. “How about we make a little wadger then? If you can heat the water on your first try I'll do whatever you ask me to do, but if I win you have to let me have the bath all to myself. Deal?”

Alara and Thalia shook on it. This was her chance to decipher Thalia's feelings towards her. She knew Thalia and her both felt the connection so she would force her immortal counterpart to confront her feelings head on.

Alara's smile grew larger than she thought possible, “Anything I want? Literally anything? No take backs?”

Thalia smiled brightly, “Yup literally anything. I mean, as long as it's actually something that can be done. I can't teleport or rewind time. So, yes, anything as long as I can do it. Doesn't matter anyways because it's impossible to heat water on your first try,” the little woman shrugged her shoulders exaggeratedly

Alara cracked her knuckles. This was getting serious. “Ok Thalia, deal's on. I'll show you that nothing is impossible!” Alara walked up to the tub and thought to herself, “If mother Elis can hear me, I need this to work for Thalia's sake. Please lend me a hand.”

Alara concentrated harder than she ever had, so hard that the rune on her neck began to glow and her hair began to float up as she drew out most of her magical power. The intense blue that shone from her eyes made her look fierce and gorgeous at the same time. She let out a final battle cry before placing her hands close to the water.

At first nothing happened. Alara wasn't discouraged by this and instead gritted her teeth and tried even harder. Her arms shaking with effort, steam rose from Alara's body as her sweat was heated to steam.

Thalia gave a defeated smile then flipped over onto her back and gazed hard at the ceiling. With a sigh, “Ok princess you can stop now. You win!”

Alara stopped, confused.

Thalia rolled her eyes dramatically. “Just touch the water.”

Alara's eyes faded back to their normal pale green eyes and she dipped her finger into the tub expecting to feel the sting of cold water, but instead yanked her hand back and winced. “Holy shit that's hot. Gonna leave me with a scar.”

Thalia bowed to Alara, “ Dear Princess, what is it you request of me? I shall do my best to grant whatever you desire.”

“I want you to spend the evening with me.”

Thalia scoffed. What a waste of a request. “Ok we were going to do that anyways, so no problem.”

“No, I meant umm, ehh. Like a date.”

Thalia's face turned red. She did not expect a request like that from Alara. Afterall, she was a princess of the surface. She had to have grown up with discriminatory beliefs about dungeon people and creatures. Thalia was one of the original dungeon inhabitants so that had to be a turn off. Even worse, what if the two really fell for each other. Then what? They spend a mere 50 or 60 years together before Thalia had to bury her lover and mourn for all of eternity? No. It wouldn't be worth the heartache. But Thalia swore that she would honor the princess's request so hesitantly Thalia agreed.