"Is it really okay?" Marina asked me as I led her through the castle grounds.

"Un! Lux herself said she'll personally assess your magic power," I said. "Whether you'll get someone to teach you depends on the outcome though."

We entered the mage's building and I greeted the familiar faces in the hallways. By this point, pretty much everyone in the department knew about me. It had been a couple of months since I started showing up regularly after all, and a little eight year old girl would stand out here. I followed the usual path to the spare room and waited for Lux.

I ran up to her when she opened the door. "Look! Look!" I held up the crystal ball that I borrowed from her, the one with the bead inside. I showed her the bead floating completely still.

"Wow that's very impressive Tiana! Not many people can do that so quickly, and at such a young age." She pat my head.

"Nyahaha~" I grinned and nustled into her hand.

"Is this the girl?" Lux asked and looked at Marina.

"Yup!" I went to Marina's side. "She's my dear friend, Marina."

Marina pinched up her dress and curtsied. "M-marina Lauset, of Baron Lauset's family. I am grateful for your time."

"Lux Macedine." Lux smiled. "You don't have to be formal with me, I don't like that kind of stuffy atmosphere."

"B-but-"

"The mage department is made up of free spirited weirdos." Lux laughed. "So don't worry about it. We're lax around here."

I nodded to confirm.

"Okay..." Marina hunched her shoulders in.

Lux brought out the large crystal ball for testing affinities again and placed it on a table. "Well, here you go. Put your hands on it and try to infuse what magic you can."

Marina looked at me again, and I pat her back. She slowly stepped forward and reached out her hands. When her fingers touched the surface she jolted back and closed her eyes for a bit, then held her hands forward again. The crystal ball lit up. Bright flashes of red flew around inside the ball and illuminated the room.

"This brilliance, you have a lot of fire magic in you," said Lux. "Really high to-"

A purple mist swirled into the ball from Marina's palms and turned the inside into a chaotic mix.

"What?!" Lux slammed her hands on the table.

"Kyaa!" Marina screamed and jumped backwards, landing on her butt. "W-w-what was that?!"

I rushed to her side and hugged her.

Lux pursed her lips. "Dark magic. Really strong, too."

Marina went paler than she already was. "Dark... magic?"

"Is it that bad?" I asked. "Having dark magic sounds cool."

"C-cool, you say?" Lux blanched at me. "Dark magic can only be used to hurt others."

"So?" I raised an eyebrow. "Humans have been hurting each other for all of history. We do that even without magic. We have entire armies that wield swords and other weapons."

"But..."

I shrugged. "I mean, I can use my light magic to reinforce myself and then punch you in the face."

Lux's jaw slacked and she scratched her head. "You're one hell of a kid, Tia." She sighed. "When you put it that way I can't really get worked up about it anymore."

I pat Marina's head. "Besides, Marina is a pure girl, she won't hurt anyone."

Lux frowned. "Protocol dictates that dark magic users are to be pulled into the mage department if possible. There's a lot of things you can do with dark magic, and it would usually be undetectable unless by another dark or light magic user, or a very experienced mage. Marina's power is really high too. If her magic runs out of control a lot of people can be harmed."

Marina buried her face into her hands.

I kept rubbing Marina's back. "That means you should teach her. Teach her with me so that she won't go out of control."

"That would be acceptable, yes," said Lux. "But it would still be preferable to have her stay on castle grounds until she becomes a full fledged mage. It's for her own protection too. If other people find out, nefarious forces would go after her."

"Then have her live with me! I'm her polar opposite. If her magic runs out of control, I can cancel it out with my light or water magic."

"You're not strong enough for that yet." Lux smiled. "But you two would make a good pair. Got it, I'll teach you two together to take care of each other."

"Isn't that great Marina?" I hugged Marina.

"Y-yeah." Marina smiled. "But, where will I live?"

Lux crossed her arms. "I would prefer if you live here for a while, at least until Tia is strong enough. I promise that I'll make you as comfortable here as I can. I am the director after all, no one here would go against me."

I blinked. "Eeeeh?!"

"You never knew that?"

"You never said anything about it!"

Lux chuckled. "Must have slipped my mind. So, Marina, what do you want to do?"

Marina gripped a fist against her chest. "If it'll get me closer to Tia..." She stood up with a determined look on her face. "I'll help out around the department however I can, so please make me an apprentice. I want to become a mage that can stand beside Tia!"

"I know it's not my place to ask, but will you miss your family?" asked Lux.

Marina shook her head. "My family never cared for me... Tia is more of a family than any of them."

I threw my arms around Marina and hugged her tightly. "Awww I love you too Marina!"

"Tia..." Marina nuzzled against my cheeks.

I turned to Lux. "I still have my training with the knights and lessons from my father, but if you're okay with that I would like to be an apprentice mage too."

"Got it." Lux grinned. "I'll work you two to the bone!"

"Eeeeehhh…"

"Don't worry, I'll turn you both into splendid mages." Lux laughed.