Again, under different circumstancesMajizzywould have been hilarious, but not right now.
“What does this mean?” I asked. “I have no clue how to be a princess… or an elf for that matter. Wait… do I have earth magic now?” Probably.
The nods from everyone else confirmed it.
“And… bindings?” I murmured. “I can do those?”
Myel tensed. I felt his trepidation, but I didn’t know why. Did he think I’d bind him somehow?
“Yes,” Safir confirmed. “Your mother was very strong in earth magic and you most likely are as well. The fact that you wore down your mother’s binding — enough to start showing your true form — withoutanyclue what you were doing, is proof enough of that.”
Huh… I had done that, hadn’t I?
And…
I shifted around a little, stretching and rolling my joints. I ignored the odd looks from the others as I confirmed… no pain.
My lingering body pain — from healing Vyns, who’d been on the brink of death a few hours ago — had vanished. It had dissipated the instant Saldrea had broken the binding on me. That seemed significant.
I worked it out slowly, talking it through. “Would that binding… would it have potentially caused me pain if I did anything which might have modified my form? Would a workout or strain, where the body usually grows… would the binding have resisted that?”
“That seems logical, yes,” Safir confirmed. “If the binding was keeping you as a human, it may have resisted growth in that manner, causing pain.”
“But then why didn’t I remain a two-year-old, I did grow…?” There was so much I didn’t know.
“Your mother was extremely proficient, as I mentioned,” Safir said. “She would have accounted for regular growth, so she wouldn’t have to constantly redo the binding on you every few weeks or months, especially when you were young.”
That explained my chronic body pain every time I’d worked myself too hard: my muscles had been trying to grow and the binding had shut it down.
I looked at Safir. “Since we’re stuck here and I’m not the least bit tired.” Despite it being quite late at night. “You’re going to tell me everything. Everything you know that I don’t. Go.”
He nodded. “As you wish, Izzy.” He’d finally managed to say my name.
Safir told me everything he knew about my parents, which was a lot. Most of it, I probably could have read about in some history book, but the little details were fascinating. My mother’s love of plants, nurturing them with her magic, helping them grow. She’d been a florist in the human world and done well for herself. My father’s quiet and contemplative nature, which I hadnotinherited. How both had been truly beautiful people inside and out and how much I looked like them.
“Wait…” I stopped him. I rose quickly and went to the small mirror hung on the wall to one side of the room. I hadn’t looked at myself since the binding had been broken.
Seeing my real form… took my breath away.
“Oh…” I sighed, lost for words.
My eyes were the same, at least the same color — that rich sea-green, with a ring of emerald around the iris and a circle of darker blue around the edges — but they were also a little larger. Wow. I didn’t need makeup to make my eyes pop now! My nose was more refined, a bit smaller and sharper. My hair was no longer dirty blond, but a rich, deep golden blond and my ears were so much taller and very pointy, peeking up through my hair. Gone was my slightly tanned complexion, I was quite pale now. And I looked more like a model, my figure leaner and slimmer, which included my bust. Huh… I didn’t know how I felt about that. Being chesty had been one of my prime attributes, even if it hadn’t always been a blessing.
To distract myself, I moved my mouth, stunned at the plump fullness of my lips.
This new look was a little too freaky though, so I tried changing myself back to how I’d been before. As a half-nymph I could change my form, but it took a lot of concentration. I was able to fill out my body — back to being chesty and not model-thin — and returned my hair to dirty-blond. But I couldn’t control my ears and eyes for some reason. Perhaps I didn’t have enough practice for smaller things like that.
I breathed out slowly and let the changes go again, returning to my elven form.
This was going to take a lot of getting used to.
“I can’t go out like this,” I whispered.
“Saldrea already knows,” Koar said from across the room.
“Yeah, but… still…” I traced my cheek and jawline, now much sharper, more defined.
“It will probably be best if you… don’t return to your classes,” Safir said stoic. “At least until you’ve learned to control your features, learned your powers.”
