Chapter 112-Secret training

Chapter 112: 112-Secret training

Maisa read the manual a couple of times, constantly putting putting it down and refusing to follow its guidance for a while.

However, after the midterms were done, and she had gotten through almost all the books in the library, she got bored. So she picked it up and began practising, secretly in the late nights on days that Sapphire would hand out with her other friends.

She would do it far away from the academy’s main buildings to avoid getting caught. She followed the instructions. At first, nothing happened for a long time.

After several nights of relentless training, something finally changed. Maisa stood completely still as the earth beneath her feet shifted.

It was barely noticeable at first. It was a faint movement beneath the soles of her boots, so subtle that she almost convinced herself she had imagined it. But then the soil moved again, answering the concentration she had poured into it night after night.

A small smile slowly tugged at the corner of her mouth when she succeeded. It was a small win but a win nonetheless.

The earth had actually responded to her. Happiness surged through her so suddenly that she almost laughed.

For nights, she had struggled to understand the element, forcing herself to return again and again despite the frustration of watching nothing happen. Now, at last, the earth seemed to recognize her presence.

Maisa looked down at the ground beneath her. She couldn’t help thinking of Varitreya.

Learning earth had never been about becoming powerful simply for the sake of power. Somewhere along the way, the element had become another thread connecting her to the princess.

If Varitreya could command the earth, then Maisa wanted to understand it, too. She wanted to stand beside her someday and know that she had earned her place there not because of the zing, not because of protection, but because she had become someone worthy of standing beside her.

She slowly raised her hand. "Again," she motivated herself. Her concentration sharpened, and the earth responded.

A tiny movement travelled through the soil, spreading outward like a ripple across still water.

Maisa stared at the ground beneath her feet. Her heart began pounding with pure excitement. She had actually moved it. A breathless laugh escaped her.

"The earth can bend at my command," she looked down at her hands, barely able to contain her excitement. "It seems I’m on my way to becoming the first redblood to have magic."

A bright smile spread across her face. For the first time, the impossible didn’t feel impossible anymore.

The following night, Maisa moved on to fire. She expected another struggle, but instead, the moment she extended her hand, a tiny flame flickered above her palm.

Maisa nearly dropped it. Her eyes widened as she stared at the little flame dancing harmlessly above her hand.

"You’re actually listening to me?" she was surprised.

The flame flickered in response. It was strange. Her mate of the fire element hated her to the core, and yet her fire was the easiest to master. The contrast was astounding.

A delighted smile appeared on her face. It was almost funny. For so long, fire had been something she feared as the element had seemed determined to burn anything she touched back when Addessa first pulled away from her.

Yet now, instead of scorching everything around her, a small flame obediently danced above her palm as though it belonged there.

Maisa slowly curled her fingers beneath it, watching the light illuminate her face. Then, her amusement faded into a mischievous smile.

"It’s fun watching you form for me instead of burning everything I touch," she whispered.

Her thoughts immediately drifted toward Addessa. Maisa’s smile sharpened. "You want to ruin me, don’t you, Addessa?"

She watched the little flame dance across her palm. "You hate me, but your fire burns for me now... hahaha..." A quiet, almost playful laugh escaped her. "I wonder what look you’ll have on your face when you finally learn the truth."

The flame flickered brighter. Maisa stared at it, her smile growing. She had spent so long being underestimated because of the colour of her blood. Perhaps it was time she showed everyone just how wrong they were.

Mastering water came next, and unlike fire and earth, it refused to yield to Maisa’s will. Fire had responded to her emotions, while Earth had answered the steady strength in her body, but water was different.

It moved according to its own rhythm, flowing away whenever she tried to force it into obedience. Even creating something as small as a single bubble proved to be an exhausting challenge.

Maisa stood before the shallow pool, both hands extended, her fingers trembling from the effort. She focused until her head began to ache, trying to sense the water beneath the surface. Nothing happened.

She tried again and again, but still nothing happened. On the ninety-five attempt, a tiny ripple spread across the pool, but the water still didn’t bend to her will.

Maisa’s eyes widened. "Come on..." she pleaded and concentrated harder.

The ripple grew, and then, after several agonizing seconds, a tiny sphere of water slowly rose from the surface. It was barely larger than a marble, wobbling unsteadily between her palms.

For one glorious second, Maisa thought she had finally succeeded, but then the bubble collapsed, and water splashed across the ground.

Maisa stared at the puddle in silence. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and took a slow breath.

"Again, Maisa," she encouraged, picturing Zolani’s friendly face and recalling her hateful tone on Addessa’s blood mirror. "You can’t give up. Not on water," she said, even though she meant "Zolani" instead of water.

She tried over and over, each attempt demanding more concentration than the last. Her arms grew heavy, her breathing became uneven, and sweat dampened her clothes, but she refused to stop.

Sometimes, she managed a ripple. Sometimes, she lifted only a few droplets. Once, she succeeded in forming another tiny bubble, only for it to burst almost immediately.

It was frustrating and exhausting, and it was nothing like the effortless control she had expected after mastering fire and earth.

However, every failure taught her something. Water could not simply be commanded. It had to be understood in the same way she needed to understand Zolani.

So, Maisa stopped trying to overpower it. She closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, and allowed herself to feel the gentle movement beneath the surface in the ways she would feel Zolani’s kindness, laughter, and support.

For the first time, the water didn’t resist her as a small bubble rose from the pool, and then another before long, she was surrounded by bubbles of water.

Maisa opened her eyes. They floated quietly before her and around her, fragile but perfectly formed.

A tired smile spread across her face. "Finally!" She exhaled deeply.

It wasn’t much, but after all the sweat, effort, and failed attempts, those tiny bubbles felt like a victory that her soul dearly needed.

"I feel like I have taken a step closer to you today, Zolani," she plopped down and took a break from practising. "I know that I did you wrong concerning Zoe... there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t regret what I did. But I was a different person then... with a different life and expectations..." she sighed.

She wasn’t looking for an excuse to justify what she had done. She just hoped Zolani would one day understand that she had never meant for things to turn out the way they did.

"I will tell you the truth and earn your forgiveness," she folded her fists with determination. "No matter the cost, I will win back your friendship and love."