As Waterlord Azurilina tours the Military District with General Isabel, they meet Professor Alexis.
“Agh, Zu-wel! Relax, unwind. Be yourself! You want to cast a spell. I know you do! Watch this!” Isabel shot a strange ice bolt at the water—I had never seen a ball of snow sparkling in white particles before. When it hit the surface, a small circle cooled and condensed into a thin ice layer.
“Woah. Seriously? You can shoot that now?”
“Training does a lot.” She tightened her hand, causing the frail ice to break and rapidly melt back into liquid once more. She put the palm of her hand close to mine, showcasing an ice glyph. “You?”
I lightly smiled while I conjured a water glyph. It spun feebly in my hand. Hers was brighter, larger, and thicker than mine. I closed my palm. “What else is there?”
“Uh…” She looked around and pointed at a woman with impeccable shoes. I wasn’t exaggerating; they shined an exquisite tropical blue which, while gorgeous, only served to make the rest of her outfit feel dull in comparison. On second glance, everything else really was mundane: a plain gray vest, mediocre wool mittens, and a ghastly choker that, frankly, choked me the more I looked at it. What is this fashion sense? What kind of person wears… whatever this is? I couldn’t get past this drastic contrast: the boots were undoubtedly alive, but the woman inside seemed dead somehow. Who is this person?
“Alexis!” Isabel flagged her attention.
The woman—Alexis—was with a student who backed off with a hand gesture. She was so bizarre. She didn’t even approach us, hardly even acknowledged us. Instead, she waited for us, standing there with her hands behind her back. With a blank look on her face, she blandly asked, “What can I do for you?”
“I want you to meet Zul!” Isabel pushed me forward. “Alexis, meet Waterlord Azurilina—she prefers to be called Zul. And Zul, meet Icelord Alexis, Head Professor of all the trainees here.” Oh. Classes must be a pain in the ass if she’s the head professor.
“Good to meet you.” I stuck out my hand. She stared dully down at it and blinked once.
“Likewise.” Her grip was feeble, almost nonexistent. This was the head professor?
“Professor Alexis,” Isabel started, “is the best there is! She has helped us understand Jaiharan magic and is regarded as the very best Icelord on the continent.”
Not a yes or even a smile of approval. Alexis simply nodded dryly.
Isabel continued, “Zul here wants to expand her knowledge of Water-Lordship. Do you think you can help her, Professor?”
“Her?”
Isabel nodded, but how hadn’t she caught that tone Alexis used? Her. Excuse me? What did she mean by her? But I bit my tongue. There was no time to react. Alexis stared at me as if my soul was on the other end of my eyes. Yes, I was mad at Isabel because that’s not why I was here at all, but for some reason, I wanted to know what Alexis thought of me. Sure, it’d been some time since I’d last trained, but I had been a Waterlord for years—Alexis had to approve of me. And why did I want her approval so bad? From the woman who looked like all the wealth, fame, and power would never make her happy? I wasn’t sure. But no matter the case, I was undeniably approvable.
Alexis’ hands glowed even from inside her mittens. Behind me, she summoned a double—a reflection of herself—which walked around me clockwise. Alexis followed the doppelganger until it and herself completed a semi-circle. Then, without a word, her hands stopped glowing, and the apparition faded into a puff of mist. I almost scoffed, narrowing my eyes, but caught myself just in time.
What a glamorous presentation. Please, what a showoff.
Alexis drawled, “No.”
No? What in the hell does that mean? No? The nerve of this woman! Isabel stuttered, “Uh—” She could tell that I was fuming. Professor dead-eyes, soul-starer had done an entirely unprompted, irrelevant, and absurd little presentation, had asked me nothing, and I’m the one at fault? No. She couldn’t just do that. For what reason could she have disregarded me? Was I not worthy of her strange, weird, and absurd standards? Sure she might be the best Icelord on Jaihara, but not the best professor if she rejected me. Did she hear about how I saved that ship yesterday? Hell, I know I’m good at magic. I just can’t stand her disrespecting me.
“Why?” I scoffed, my voice, high-pitched, squeaked out in astonishment.
At first, I thought this woman would feed off my anger. It wouldn’t be the first time. I thought it would make her happy, but no… Apparently, nothing can give her joy. Not even an inch of satisfaction was on her face. Simply, she turned away from me and called her trainee back to continue their session.
“What?” I gaped at Isabel, my words still squeaking. “What in Trianite’s name was that?”
Isabel dragged me away from her, muttering to herself, “Maybe meeting her was a bad idea.”
“Why the hell did she do that? What even was that? Is she even okay? What in the hell is wrong with her? Why is she like that? Isabel!”
“That’s Alexis for you,” Isabel placed her hand on my head and turned my face toward her so that I’d stop staring at Alexis. “She’s different,” she murmured, not quite meeting my eye.
“You think? Am I not good enough for her or something? Is that it? Is that what she’s trying to say?”
“No, no. Zul, that’s not it. Everyone here understands that Alexis is just… unconventional, and a bit… shy.”
“Unconventional?”
“She can only teach one student at a time, see.” Isabel sighed. “She folds at the sight of a whole class. It’s—it’s how she functions. I don’t know why.”
“I’m done.” I swatted Isabel away. “Thanks for the tour, but don’t ever take me here again. I’m going back to work.”
“Zul, no.” She grabbed my shirt. “Stay, there’s better places!”
I swiped her hand away. Me being disrespected again? Like hell, I’m staying. “Ugh,” I whipped my head away, eyes like daggers, angled toward the staircase exit. “I’m going. Bye.”