Lesson number one

Ava stared at the beautiful redhead as she explained.

"Let's talk about the Weilders first" Aurora arranged Ava's hair "you can sit there so you'll see the garden at a glance" she pointed at the swing seat at the side.

"Okay" Ava briskly walked and took her seat, she was really interested in what she was saying. Aurora sat beside her.

"The Weilders or the Element Weilding clan's power specialize in controlling the elements. Like water, fire, wind and some others. Their powers are very dependent on the availability of these elements. So without them, they cannot do anything."

Ava raised her brows and nodded.

"Shapeshifters are more powerful" Aurora continued "the shapeshifters can take the shape of any form they think of. Although, they don't take the shape of objects or non-living things."

Ava smiled remembering the strange girl she'd first encountered who turned into a snake. She was a shapeshifter.

"So then, comes the last and the most powerful" Aurora blinked her long lashes "Spellbinding which is ours"

"The Spellbinders enchant and hypnotize. We work with the mind and that's why we're the strongest clan. We can use the mind to our advantage, so it doesn't matter what powers you have. We use it to get what we want"

"Wow" Ava whispered. Intrigued.

"That's not the only thing we can do. Should I do something cool?"

"Yes" Ava was excited.

Aurora pulled out her hand and did some movements, a glint of blue light surfaced from her fingers. Ava saw what she was doing. She was using her mind to pluck out one of the flowers from the garden and then the flower appeared to her hands.

"Do you like roses?" Aurora handed the rose to her, she was stunned.

"So you used your mind to pluck the rose from the bush. And made it appear here?"

Aurora nodded.

"What you can do with your powers regardless the clan depend on your Level" Aurora continued. "So you have to cultivate more power to increase your level, there are ten levels"

"Yes I know" Ava said "and it's because I haven't cultivated any powers that's why I'm in level one"

"Correct" Aurora smiled "And that's why you're here to learn"

Ava smiled back. She was the first person in this royal family to speak nicely to her. She really loved the company of this princess and looked forward to making friends with her. She'll be a good guide especially while she'll be taking training from Prince Neville-

Oh My Goodness! Training!!

"Oh I have to go" Ava stood up "I'm probably late"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Hurry up, Neville is not very patient"

Ava nodded and walked out of the garden giving it a final look. She saw Aurora wave at her and waved back. She walked through the stairs and had barely gotten up before she bumped into Neville.

Her beloved white flute, Sweet fell in the process.

Ava bent to pick it but he was faster and he telepathically moved the flute to his hands and examined it. His grey eyes looked keenly, Ava thought they were mystifying. His hair was well arranged this time complementing his impeccable appearance and unreadable countenance. Ava gulped.

"Please, that's important_"

"You're late" Neville cut her words ducking his head to the side.

"Yes, I woke early but you were not around so I_"

"Where is this from?" He asked his gaze diverting Sweet.

"It's mine, my mom left it for me before she died"

"Oh, it's pretty" he complemented

"Yes" Ava motioned to collect it from his hand but Neville teleported it to his other hand.

"You'll only get it back when you can take it from me" he said and she watched as he made it vanish.

He was kidding right? This was bullying, how on earth could she take the flute from him? He was definitely using this to punish her for being late. Where in the world did the flute go?

"Okay" Ava didn't want him to see her look disappointed or sad, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of spoiling her mood "So, where are we training?" Ava asked.

"Follow me" Neville simply said, and they walked to the wide open backyard of the compound. Ava was amazed by the huge mural of a lantern made with thousands of coloured marble that stood on the wall. The place was like every other corner in the palace, neat and salubrious. Beside the mural was a row of armed guards and a few carefully displayed weapons. Ava was surprised that they needed weapons- they had magic, wasn't that enough?

Neville waited for her to observe the place. Then he spoke.

"This is a mini training ground. There are many like this one here in the palace. But we'll use this one for your training."

Ava simply nodded.

"So" he walked towards the mural "there's a lot to learn about magic and you have a long way to go"

Ava looked at his arm and saw eight black dots arranged in a straight line. He was a level eight spellbinder. Impressive!

"I'm going to give you three tests" he continued "If you don't pass them, I'll assume you're not capable and will probably take you back from where you're from. I don't like slow learners"

Ava raised a brow "If I pass?" she asked.

"Then you're lucky. No one gets the opportunity to be personally trained by Prince Neville"

Again with the arrogance, tsk!

"I'm ready for the test" Ava walked to his side. "What's the first test" She wasn't some duffer, she wanted to prove that.

Neville observed her glimmering hazel eyes that stood above her small rosy lips, wondering if she had any ideas of what kind of tests he'll give her. She looked so fragile, she'll probably even loose at the first one.

"Okay" he said "You see these tiles that make up the lantern, I want you to tell me how many they are"

"What!" Ava spun and looked at the huge mural, the wall was even taller than her and there were hundreds or even thousands of the marble tiles that formed it. "You want me to count them?!"

Neville ran his hand through his hair, partially disarranging it. "I don't care how you do it, I just want to know the exact amount of tiles on that wall. That's all for today, tell me the answer by this time tomorrow"

Ava took a deep sigh. She was determined to pass even if this was the stupidest test she had ever heard of.

"Okay, Prince Neville. I'll count them"

He raised his eyebrows, paused for a moment and said

"Okay, I'll see about that"

And then he left.

Ava watched him leave and heaved a sigh. She bent down and looked at the almost endless tiles.

"One, two…three…four…" she counted silently.

Oblivious that he watched her every move.