She held her right hand out in front of her and desperately hoped no one noticed how badly it was shaking. In her head, she pictured the flames from the tree coming alight in her palm. Maybe if I just focus…

Without warning, the pressure behind her eyes flared, and a spark ignited, hovering just above her skin. The spark burst into a bright flame, and she stumbled backwards. Her instincts told her to run, that she would be burned, but she felt nothing but a soft warmth coating her fingertips. It danced in her hand, the tips of the flame flitting in every direction. It felt like it was ages before it glowed a bright white and extinguished in a tint of blue.

The feeling behind her eyes vanished quickly and she remembered that she could let her arm fall to her side again. She tilted her head up, and met the astounded gaze of Leader Vordur.

“Amazing!” he exclaimed. “Turn around and do it again so the court can see!” he was giddy, obviously captivated with what he had seen.

“Oh-oh, ok.” Evelyn complied. She did as she was told, and faced the court. Knowing that she could actually perform the spell helped her relax. This time, she cupped her hands together, allowing herself to imagine she was cradling the baby flame. It would be much easier this time; she knew all she had to do was picture the fire from before. She focused on her scooped hands, leaning in close.

When the ache behind her eyes started up again, she heard the court gasp. Chatter erupted, but she could only catch snippets of it.

“Oh my goodness…”

“How is this possible?”

“I was wondering what it would look like!”

Unnerved by the comments, she lost her concentration. Instead of a soft orange flame, Evelyn’s fire sparked into a blazing blue inferno.

“AH!” she yelped. She reeled backwards, the ends of her hair singed. The flames felt like they were scorching her skin, the complete opposite of the gentle warmth from before. She yanked her hands apart and shook them, trying her best to extinguish the fire. It evaporated immediately, allowing Evelyn’s pounding heart to calm down. She stood there for a second as she inspected her hands for burns, relieved to find none.

She looked up to examine the faces of the court. Both Presidents looked shocked along with everyone else. Or at least what Evelyn assumed was shock. It was hard to read these aliens’ expressions. Hillary was staring at her, concern written in her features. It warmed Evelyn’s heart to see that at least one person actually cared about her safety.

“Well then. Let’s try not to burn our face off next time, alright?” Leader Vordur said behind her. She whipped around, her expression devoid of all humor. He chuckled at the look on her face, and the sound grated on her nerves.

“Thanks,” she deadpanned.

He only smiled wider. “You’re welcome,” he replied, sincere. It only made her angrier, which was his intention.

She crossed her arms, fully facing him. “What would you like to do now, sir?” she mocked his title, a petty form of revenge.

“Announce my decision.”

“Oh! Can I stay here or…?” she trailed off with raised eyebrows, allowing him to fill in the blank.

“Please, return to your place behind the gate,” he requested.

Evelyn nodded in understanding. “Yes Leader Vordur.” She bowed and pivoted on her heel, trying her best to be the image of grace and poise to make up for her rudeness. Before she reached the gate, she halted, and turned towards The Leader.

“Um, sir?” she asked.

He blinked, mildly surprised at her stopping. “Yes Evelyn?”

“Do you mind telling me what you and the entire court was so surprised to see? I can’t imagine that it was the fire, I mean you’re Magicians, I’m sure you see that stuff all the time,” she estimated.

Leader Vordur nodded. “Of course. I forgot that you couldn’t see it,” he took a breath and continued. “As I’m sure you have noticed, magician’s eyes glow a certain color and start smoking when they perform magic. There are twelve colors. Green, Light Blue, Dark Blue, Purple, Pink, Teal, Peach, Red, Maroon, Orange, Yellow, and Copper. Your eyes glow white. It’s never been recorded before. It’s very fascinating.” Evelyn didn’t know how to respond. It did make sense though. Since all visible light waves combined made white light, and she was the culmination of all magic, it made sense that her eyes would glow white.

“Oh-oh. Thank you, I guess?”

Leader Vordur smiled. “Anytime.” He coughed into his elbow before he spoke again. “Please, return to your place so I can announce my decision.” He didn’t appear to be annoyed, just very excited.

“Yes sir.” She opened the gate and stepped through, the hinges swinging it back into place once she passed through. She gave Hillary a sheepish smile, and felt a little surge of happiness when she smiled back. She turned to face Leader Vordur, straightened her spine, and clasped her hands together.

Even though her back was to the court, she could tell that every person in the room was staring at her, and it was giving her a sense of claustrophobia. Her body language exuded confidence, but on the inside, she desperately wanted to disappear.

No! She shouted at herself. You’ve been through too much to feel scared now! That time is gone. Stand tall and prove that you’re strong, that you belong here! Thinking about it, she had performed magic on the fly, without any instructions or previous knowledge on how to do it. She was strong! She belonged here! And no matter what school she would end up going to, she knew that her skills would improve and she would fit in. Even if she would much rather attend Epiwiths than Bosany.

That’s the spirit! She encouraged herself. She just needed to think more positively.

“This has been a fun afternoon! Thank you all so much for coming! I hope everyone has enjoyed themselves as much as I have!” he sounded like the host of a game show. All he needed was a microphone and a laugh track to complete it. He stood up and shook out his arms, shivering with excitement. Rubbing his hands together, he shouted, “Drumroll please!” she saw the entire court roll their eyes but she couldn’t figure out why. All of a sudden, everyone was either stomping their feet or hitting the edge of the wooden boxes to make a makeshift drum roll. Even the guards were participating. Evelyn wanted to laugh, but instead she just joined in by pounding her feet on the carpet. This was one of the weirdest trials she’d ever seen, but at least it was interesting. Leader Vordur started to announce his decision, arms spread wide,

“Evelyn James shall attend–”