Outside the school and at the grassy fields, Bridget stood on a hill and shut her eyes. Her palms opened and lowered as she tried to concentrate on her energy. The wind blew around her as Cynthia and Lauren watched her from a considerable distance. Bridget slumped her shoulders in defeat and sighed.

“It’s no use.” She said, looking down at her hands. “I can’t seem to harness the power of fire.”

“Is that so?” Cynthia scratched her chin and hummed. “Do you remember what caused that to happen last time?”

“Well, I got angry and let it all out.” She shook her head and massaged her temples. “But I don’t want to try that destructive method again.”

“I don’t get it either.” Lauren shrugged, resting on the grass cross-legged. “But there’s got to be a way to get it to work.”

She was right. Bridget had never had something like this happen before. She considered the element to be the opposite of how she operates. Normally, she’d learn the spells in quick succession. At most, they’d only take a day or two. But this was out of her element entirely, and she didn’t know how to process any of it.

Cynthia walked over and placed a hand on Bridget’s shoulder. “Don’t fret. This experience is new for you. We know this is hard for you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. I’m sure it’ll take a while, but let’s try to make some progress, shall we?”

“I don’t understand!” Bridget cried. “I’ve handled my other powers well, so why? How come I made that fire appear from my body, and why does it hurt?”

“Calm down!” Lauren exclaimed, getting up and holding out her hands. “If it hurts, then stop thinking about it and don’t—”

“I don’t know what to do!”

She buried her face and hugged her knees, trying to hide her muffled screams. The clouds formed around them as they darkened, and the winds grew sharper. Lauren and Cynthia stepped back and tried to keep their balance from the fast winds. Bridget’s body floated in the air as a force field emanated from her body. Cynthia's and Lauran’s eyes widened as they backed away from the sparks of lightning that shot out from above. Water and ice shards flew down and hit the ground.

“What’s going on?” Lauren looked up and called out to her friend. “Bridget, stop this, please!”

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“She’s too far gone!” Cynthia thundered. “We have to do something!”

Cynthia ran towards her, blocking each of the attacks from above. She planted her feet on the ground and looked up from under the shield. As her hands made a green glow, targeting the ground, vines popped out and held her by the legs and feet. The vines propelled her towards the sky at charging speed. Cynthia wrapped her legs with an encased metal before readying a kick. She leaped in the air and delivered a swift kick, landing on top of the shield. The bubble broke apart into pieces as the two fell towards the ground.

Cynthia skydove and extended her arm to reach and grab Bridget, holding her close as the winds hit their faces before bracing for impact. Bridget’s hocks and freezer burns hurt Cynthia through her skin, but she did her best to resist the pain.

Lauren ran over from below them and threw out some soft magic pellets to soften the blow as she watched their descent gradually slow down before landing safely on the ground. Bridget’s body put up a fight as it struggled to break free from the teacher’s grasp.

“Now, Lauren!”

Lauren tossed a magical chain to tie and restrict Bridget’s limbs from moving. Cynthia blew out mystifying dust around her hands until an aura glowed and applied its force onto Bridget’s chest. Soon, Bridget calmed down and took a couple of breaths. Her body still shook after what had happened prior. After a while, Lauren released the chains, and Cynthia helped the girl to her feet.

“Are you alright?” Lauren asked after running over to her.

“I think so?” Bridget rubbed her head and wobbled, nearly losing her balance. “I don’t know how that happened or why.”

“I have an idea on why that might be the case.” Cynthia brought up. “Chances are, your powers are based on emotions.”

“What? Are you serious? That’s so clique!”

“Well, it’s either that or psychic powers? Well, it’s a hypothesis, anyway. There’s got to be some reason you freaked out earlier.”

“Maybe it’s harder for you to learn this specific type of magic?” Lauren guessed, shrugging.

“Bridget!” The group turned as Benjamin and Isabelle ran over the hills to check on them.

“Are you ok?” Isabelle asked.

“We heard a commotion over here,” Benjamin added. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, it’s—” Bridget took a step and nearly stumbled over. Cynthia and Lauren caught her before she fell.

“You don’t look so good though...” Isabelle pointed out, clasping her hands together.

“Thanks for checking up on me, but I think I need some rest.”

“Let’s get you to the nursery, then.” Lauren told her.

“Sorry for dragging you guys to do this for me...” Bridget said weakly.

“It’s nothing,” Cynthia assured her. “Don’t stress over it and wait for the power to flow naturally through your body, like how you learned your other spells.”

“Alright...”