Ellie’s magic finally awakened, and Sophia took her back to the castle in the capital because of that. Naturally, their parents deserved to know about this important change in their daughter. Once Kira and Menzor calmed down, to some degree at least, the blonde told them that she was going to pick up the princess on the following day to start her magic training.

"So…phia!" Just as promised, the blonde returned the day after and was immediately greeted by the princess the moment she arrived.

“Ellie~.” Sophia caught the rapidly approaching girl, who leaped at her during the last few steps and tightly hugged the little tiger. “Ready for some magic?”

“Y-E-S!” She was very ready.

“Is there anything I need to keep in mind?” Once she finished hugging the princess, the blonde let go of her and faced Kira, who had been there as well.

"A few things.” She nodded. “First of all, before you start with the practical side of your teaching, you're going to explain the potential dangers to her. Don’t just go look at this amazing thing before telling her what could happen if it goes wrong.”

“Fair enough, I can do that.” Sophia nodded along. It wasn’t her way of doing things, quite the opposite actually, but for the sake of the little princess and her safety, the blonde had no issues with following this approach.

“Thank you very much.” The queen was glad she understood. “Adding to that, no fire magic or other types that could easily harm herself or others for the time being. I’m not against having her learn it, but save it for last. Losing control of a little bit of water or wind can be quite a nuisance. Losing control of even a tiny flame can end up in a catastrophe, especially if she’s alone when it happens.”

"A reasonable demand.” The blonde saw no flaw in her logic. "While fire is my forte, water—and air-based magics are the easiest to teach, so I planned to start with them anyway.”

“Good.” Kira was relieved that Sophia was listening to her.

“Let’s get going already!” While the two were laying the groundwork, the princess was getting impatient. “Ellie wants to learn magic!”

“Don’t worry, we’re almost done.” Sophia smiled at her before looking at Kira again. “Is there anything else?”

“No, Menzor and I are most concerned about her safety, so we would be most grateful if you followed these points. Also, please remember that she’s still a princess of this nation and only four years old. Try not to teach her anything too eccentric.”

“Hey!” The eccentric tiger got loud.

“LET’S GO!” Ellie was having none of this, grabbed Sophia’s hand, and started to drag her out of the entrance hall of the castle.

“Have fun~.” Kira just smiled at them while she waved at her leaving daughter.

----------------

The duo returned to the blonde’s domain and went to the floating island with the weeping cherry and hammock above the massive cherry blossom forest.

“We should be allowed to enjoy a bit of a view while training, right?” Sophia smiled at the princess before looking off the island.

“Yes!” Ellie felt the same. “Teaching first, though!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get to that soon~.” She had to chuckle at her impatience. “Before we get to the action, we have to do some talking, though.”

“Boo!” The princess wasn’t a fan of that.

“I get the feeling, and I’m fully behind you on that, but it’s one of the conditions Kira gave me. If I don’t tell you about possible dangers and other things to keep in mind, I’m not allowed to teach you.”

“Mhmm…” Her face scrunched up. “Make it quick, please!”

“You really are the best.” Sophia was liking her even more. “Your mom has a point, though. Magic can be quite dangerous, you know?”

“Really?” Ellie tilted her head.

“Yes.” She nodded. “We don’t want you to get hurt, right?”

“No!” The princess nodded in return.

“Perfect!” The blonde was glad she understood. “Blu, would you like to assist me?” As she said those words, the parakeet flew out of the weeping cherry that was on the island and landed on her shoulder before rubbing its head against her cheek as usual.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Ellie didn’t even see Blu!” She smiled at the bird. “Such a good hider!”

“Yep, one of the many talents our Blu has~.” As if agreeing with the tigers, it puffed out its chest while waving one of its wings, as well.

“But how does Blu help with explaining?” The princess looked at the bird. “Blu can’t talk, right?”

“Not in words, but it’s a very expressive parakeet." Sophia patted its head, and Blu raised a wing to agree with her.

“True!”

“Also, for now, Blu is emotional support.” She was still patting its head. “I’ll do the talking. After all, if Kira finds out I let a bird explain it to you, I’ll be executed. The fact that Blu’s stronger and more intelligent than all of us combined likely won’t matter.”

“Ellie loves moral support!”

“Do you even know what that is?”

“Doesn’t matter!” Her mood was excellent.

"Fair enough." Sophia had no intention of going into detail, either. "Alright, let's get comfortable and talk a little~." The blonde sat down on the grass below her, and the princess promptly did the same.

“Let’s go!”

"First of all, your mom is right. Magic can be incredibly dangerous if you don't know what you're doing." She jumped right into it. “I’d know because I have no idea what I’m doing, and it’s gotten dangerous many times already.”

“Really?” The princess tilted her head.

“Yes, but if you’re diligent, nothing bad will happen.”

“Okay!” She nodded a couple of times. “Ellie will be the dilligentest!”

“You’re already the bestest, so it should be easy for you.”

“Yep!”

“Anyway, two very important things about using magic are your imagination and being able to control your creations. If you can master both, everything will be alright.”

“Okay!” Ellie kept nodding.

“For example, the ball of water from yesterday,” Saying so, the blonde created another waterball with a diameter of ten centimeters above her palm. “I thought about the size before it appeared. What do you think would’ve happened if I didn’t?”

“Hmm… nothing?” The princess looked confused.

“That’s one of the options, but it also could’ve resulted in this.” The ball on top of her palm turned into a tiny droplet.

“Ohh! Right! If there’s no size, it can be everything! Ellie understands!”

“Good, but here’s another possibility and the real catch.” Sophia pointed up, and a couple seconds later, a massive mass of water formed above them that was many times the size of the island was on. It hovered above them a little while before the tiger let it disappear again.

“W-WAOH!” Ellie’s eyes grew wide. “Amazing!”

"It is, but what do you think would've happened if this amount of water had appeared somewhere inside, like your room?"

“O-Oh!” The princess froze. “Not good.”

“Indeed.” She just nodded. “It could’ve been even bigger, too.”

“Is Ellie’s magic even strong enough for that…?”

“Ah, you don’t really know how strong you are yet, huh?” Sophia scratched her cheek. “Do you know that Anna got really strong when I gave her some of my magic?”

“Yes! Mama and papa told Ellie that Anna became the strongest! Beside So…phia and friends!”

“Yeah, Anna and Ari became the strongest in the capital outside my group. By far, I have to add.” Sophia smiled at her.

“So cool! Wait, has Ellie also become as strong?!”

“You’ve become as strong as Anna and Ari together!”

“WAOH!” She got excited. “Really?!”

“Really~.” Sophia smiled at the little tiger. “You’re the strongest in the capital now?”

“Ellie’s the strongest?!”

“You’ve always been, but now you’re officially, too!”

“So cool!” She was liking her new position. “Does that mean Ellie could really make so much water with magic.”

“M-u-c-h more.” The blonde looked right at her. “If you want to, you could flood the entire capital!”

“Nuh-uh!” The princess vehemently shook her head.

"Do you see now why it's important for me to tell you about the dangers of magic?

“Y-Yes…” She hung her head.

“There’s no need to be scared, though." Sophia reached over to her and gently patted Ellie's head. "Magic is something wonderful and not scary at all when used right. You’re very young and able to learn a lot, not to mention very clever. You’ll be able to master it without any issues! I’ll guarantee it!”

“Okay!” The princess cheered up again.

“Magic, roughly speaking, has three steps. One, think of what you want. Two, think of how you want it. Three, concentrate on it and make it a reality.” The blonde held up three fingers while doing so. “Each of them is equally important. All three have to be taken care of to make your dreams come true.”

"Does So…phia also do that whenever she uses magic?" Ellie wanted to know how she did it.

“This is a strictly do as I say, not as I do scenario.” The blonde awkwardly scratched her cheek. “The difference is that I know how to deal with the consequences of my actions. Every now and then.” She only whispered those words. “You, at least right now, don't have enough experience to be lenient."

“Ellie understands!” She reacted with a big nod.

“Good~.” She smiled at her again. “Okay, tell me in your own words what’s important with magic.” Sophia wanted to see if the princess really paid attention.

“Imaginanation, details, focus!” Her reply was instantaneous.

“That’s a good start.” The taller tiger nodded. “As you mentioned details, please add some in your explanation." She felt it was a little lacking.

“So mean!”

"Is it mean to make sure you understand what it means to use magic, how it works, and avoid hurting yourself and others?” Sophia gave her none of it. “I can understand you want to get to the action already, but this is important.”

“Okay.” There was nothing the princess could say. “First, Ellie needs to come up with something she wants to do! Like a ball of water! Then, Ellie has to make sure to think about the details! Like size! Maybe temperature, too? Dirty water? Clean water? Where it should be? All of this, right? Afterward, Ellie needs to concentratate and use magic to make it real? Ellie doesn't really get that part yet…"

“That’s a very good explanation! Excellent with the details!” The blonde smiled at her. “We can get to the concentration part later when we start using magic. That will be the time where to learn that staying focused is important, too."

“Yay!” She was happy she got it right.

Afterward, continuing with high enthusiasm, Sophia kept telling her more things about magic, how to use it, and potential dangers for about an hour without going into too many fine details to keep it simple and understandable for the little princess.