Another failure

Grand Master Valoi just rolled his eyes as he heard the all-too-familiar sound of yet another explosion coming from outside. "Again?!" he groaned as he angrily descended down the stairs. This was the fourth in as many as 2 days. And it even managed to slightly shake his tower. Good thing he had anticipated this and had confined Fiora's 'practices' to the garden shack instead of the basement. Didn't make it any less annoying though. The lass was a walking disaster. And even diespite his centuries of vast knowledge of the arcane, he could not find a way to teach her anything. "The bloody oblivion did you do this time, girl?!" he screamed as he exited his tower.

The sight before him was quite extraordinary. Though, as painful as it may seem, he was starting to get used to it. A sizeable crater was in place of the former shack, pieces of smoking planks scattered across the garden, and hedges and leaves smoldering in the vicinity. Fiora herself was hanging from a nearby tree seemingly unharmed, her pale legs dangling as she held onto a thick branch. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed between pants.

"You fool of a girl!" yelled the gnome. "Blow yourself up next time, along with your stupidity!" He assessed the garden and was relieved to see the gardener boy and other servants being unscathed by the unfortunate but foreseeable explosion. As was his tower, apart from a few scortch marks here and there. Strange, considering she was restricted to practicing the simplest of spells. It was a good thing the child was merely a beginner, as any advanced level spells could cause tremendous destruction in her wake. Still, he couldn't just leave her on the tree. She was her apprentice, after all. And she lacked the skills to get herself down safely. After a deep breath to calm himself, he addressed the girl. "Hold still. This might tingle a bit."

The gnome closed his eyes to focus, then waved his hand in front of himself. Fiora could feel air wrap around herself like she was floating in water. Soon she was held firmly by the invisible energy around her and no longer needed the branch. She slowly started levitating towards the gnome. Just the thought of how gently he held her reminded her of the old master's legendary mastery over the arcane. She had a rough time levitating apples, let alone a human. Shame this same gentleness did not affect her master's strictness one bit. She dreaded what punishment he might inflict upon her this time. She had already earned more menial tasks than she had actual trainings. And she had a feeling that list was about to get even longer...

That was when she heard snickering from bellow. She looked down, and saw the young gardener looking up at her. For a moment, she wondered what he could find so damn funny when he was almost blown to bits along with the garden. Then Fiora's eyes widened as the realization hit her. He was looking up her skirt. "Eeeek!!" she screeched as she started struggling to close her legs and adjust her skirt, as impossible as it may seemed.

"I told you to hold..." started Valoi, but he was interrupted by the young girl falling on him. "...still... Ouch..." he groaned. "You can't even hold still when I specifically tell you to? What good are you then?" he burst out as he dusted his robe and got to his feet. "I do hope this time you have a good reason for doing the opposite of what I just told you to."

"He looked up my skirt!" Fiora tried to reason with a deep blush descending on her pretty face. "He saw my... he saw my bloomers..." she whined as the young gardener kept laughing behind her.

"Your bloomers? Your bloomers? So what? I'm sure he had seen many a bloomers before." shrugged the wizard angrily.

"Not mine, he hasn't." fumed Fiora at her master's disinterest in her modesty.

"Big deal." grunted the gnome, and he nonchalantly waved his hand again and flipped Fiora's skirt up with levitation. The gardener boy got another eyefull of the young apprentice's scrawny backside clad only in a flimsy pair of white bloomers.

"Eeek!" wailed the girl again, and with an inadvertent move of her hands, she sent the gnome flying back a few feet and landing on his behind. "Oh, I - I'm so sorry, master. Are you alright?" she asked while rushing to his aid.

The old gnome slowly stood up without a word. He stared into the girl's blue eyes for what felt like an eternity. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm. "I'm fine, thank you. It wasn't your fault, Fiora. We are done for today." Then he turned heel and went to leave the garden. "Don't worry about the shack. We'll continue your training tomorrow in a different place."

Fiora didn't know what to say. Not only did she not receive a punishment, this was the kindest her master had ever treated her. Maybe he was finally on the trail of being a real sorceress. The thought filled her heart with glee.

"And I might just have an idea how to motivate you." Valoi added as an unsettling grin crept to his wrinkly face.