Running up the stairs as quickly as she could, Lorraine didn't stop to catch her breath as she ran to the doors of the entrance test hall.
"Halt!" a man said, wearing the robes of the academy and Lorraine ran straight past him.
"Stop her!" the man said but Lorraine dodged everyone who tried to get close.
Slamming open the entrance doors, Lorraine ran straight into the room that contained Princess Marina, a young looking man with white hair and light green eyes, a male and female blessed by the spirit of water, two shining ores and a shattered ore.
Flashback
After the first overload incident in Princess Marina's workroom
"Does this happen often?" Lorraine asked as she and Princess Marina cleaned up Princess Marina's work station.
"No." Princess Marina said with a shake of her head.
"This is new." Princess Marina said, as she dusted off her old projects.
"Refining," Lorraine said, as she cleaned a rather large shield.
"How does it work exactly?" Lorraine asked, tentatively.
Clearing her throat, Princess Marina said "Unlike the rest of the blessings that are displayed outwardly, the blessing of fire is displayed inwardly."
Looking at Princess Marina in confusion, Lorraine didn't say anything for a few seconds before Princess Marina sighed and said "We are fire itself."
"Like the heat needed to prepare meals, the heat we use to refine ores comes from deep within our bodies and what keeps a constant flow of our energy is our memories." Princess Marina said and Lorraine nodded
"When you think happy thoughts, what do you do?" Princess Marina asked Lorraine.
"I smile?" Lorraine asked in confusion, wondering why she was suddenly thrown a question.
"Yes, you do." Princess Marina said, chuckling at Lorraine's confused expression.
"But you also reminisce." Princess Marina said with a small smile.
"And that's what we use to concentrate the energy in our bodies." Princess Marina said as she moved to her other projects.
"But what if you see a bad memory?" Lorraine asked tentatively and Princess Marina took in a deep breath before sighing loudly.
"Then the heat becomes hard to control." Princess Marina said as she continued cleaning in silence.
Flashback end
Forgetting reason and ignoring everyone in the room, Lorraine tried to reach Princess Marina only to be pushed back by the heat.
"Don't get any closer!" Alec Rain warned Lorraine.
"Judging by your attire, you seem to be a maid tied to Princess Marina but the situation right now is too dangerous for you to insert yourself." Alec Rain said in worry.
Turning his attention to Princess Marina, Alec Rain thought "She is showing no signs of tiring out." as he looked at the shattered ore at his feet.
"I was hoping to used this ores to buy time but the heat I syphoned out of her purified two ores and caused another to shatter in twenty minutes." Alec Rain thought as he looked at Princess Marina with a mix of fear, worry and awe.
Looking at the male and female pair who were blessed with the spirit of water, Alec Rain thought "Although the cold will regulate her temperature, the heat needs to be syphoned."
Looking at the shattered ore at his feet once more Alec Rain began to wonder "If I send for more ores would they be brought in time and if they were, when will she tire out?"
While Alec Rain was thinking of what to do, Lorraine was battling with herself.
"Do I call her Estania again?" Lorraine thought she she watched heat roll of Princess Marina.
"It worked before." Lorraine thought as she watched things around Princess Marina shatter from the heat.
"It has to work." Lorraine thought as she shouted "Estania!" but unlike last time nothing happened.
"Estania!" Lorraine shouted again but instead of Princess Marina's eyes opening, Princess Marina began to convulse.
"Why?" Lorraine thought in fear as she held the hem of her gown.
"Why isn't it working?" Lorraine thought as she watched Princess Marina violently convulse.
"Did the shock of having her real name called lose its effect?" Lorraine thought in worry as her mind began racing.
"Think of something else!" Lorraine thought as she stared at Princess Marina's pained face.
Deciding to call the only name she knew that could wake Princess Marina, Lorraine had almost said the name "Gale" before she realized that she wasn't the only one in the room.
"Calling out a female's name to bring Princess Marina out of that state can be explained but calling out a man's name gives people room to question her character." Lorraine thought as she suddenly became self conscious.
"For the name Estania, a lie can be formed that Princess Marina had a doll, a friend or liked to be called that by her associates but what sort of lies could be made if I call out the name Gale?" Lorraine thought in fear.
"There you are!" Auralith Kane said as he grabbed Lorraine's arm from behind.
"We tried to block the door as well as we could but this little girl,"Auralith Kane said, pronouncing the words little girl like a slur.
"Managed to slip through." Auralith Kane said, as he twisted Lorraine's arm to her back out of spite.
"I will be escorting her out now." Auralith Kane said as he tried to play the part of a dutiful instructor but Alec Rain wasn't paying attention as he desperately syphoned the heat from Princess Marina into the room in panic.
"No!" Lorraine thought as she was being dragged away by Auralith Kane.
"Think of something!" Lorraine thought in desperation.
"Anything!" Lorraine thought before saying "The Gale is blowing from the East" and Princess Marina's eyes snapped open.