"Worth it. He really thought I would sit quietly on your shoulder for him while he tried to touch your hip like he was your man. Hmph. I really should have removed his eyes," Alice grumbled.
I laughed.
"You're too much for your own good."
I really loved Alice's personality.
"I'm only amazing because of you." She winked.
I smiled back at her before laying the dress on the bed. I went over to my black drawer, opening it to retrieve a red strapless bra and matching panties. Since the dress was strapless, this bra would be perfect, and matching panties were always fun.
"I'll switch back to my owl form before you leave," Alice reassured me, sitting back on the bed.
She crossed her legs yoga style and stretched.
"You don't have to. My mana is more than enough to sustain you," I admitted, not even a bit winded. Mana was what we liked to term as energy needed to conduct magic.
The higher mana you had, the easier it was to cast spells.
"That's because you're a PRODIGY! Your magic is endless," she declared with pride. I raised an eyebrow at her as I placed my bra and panties on the bed.
"Uh huh. The prodigy that just wants to go to a normal school," I pointed out, pulling my shirt off and putting my bra on.
Everyone had been calling me a prodigy since I could crawl due to my high mana levels.
The more mana you had, the stronger your magic was. It also gave you a boost in stamina. Some people had low mana but had fast recovery speed, replenishing mana at a quick pace.
In my case, I had all of the advantages: a large amount of mana inherited from both my mother and father, fast mana recovery from my mother, and high-casting caliber from my father.
Combined, I was a triple threat, which was one of the reasons why Alice, my familiar, could stay in her human form as long as she pleased.
She didn't like staying in it often simply because she loved to fly about our little town and steal jewels from our neighbor, but she was an awesome companion, especially when I needed fashion advice.
Alice was quiet as I changed, eyeing me carefully. "Do you really not want to go to a magic school?" she questioned finally.
I frowned. "Just reminds me of my brother," I whispered.
"Jewel. You weren't the reason for his death," she reminded.
"I know. It still doesn’t stop me from thinking about it whenever I do use magic," I replied, walking over to my vanity and plugging in the curling wand.
"Then you're okay with not using your magic for good? You would be helpful to our community if you did use it," Alice acknowledged. I was silent as I combed my hair, letting her words sink in.
We lived in a small town called Natala, which was the closest town to Brighten Magic Academy.
Mother and Father moved here because of the convenience, and the small town was filled with many of their friends and fellow mage warriors.
Mage warriors were individuals who were sent out to different countries across the world in an effort to reduce crime and break up major organizations that used their magic for evil.
We had a government and a council in each major country, but mage warriors were a part of an international organization, and it was extremely difficult to become one.
That was exactly what Father had been, and everyone assumed because of my magic capabilities, I'd follow his lead. Too bad for all of them because I wasn't interested. I couldn't deny that I loved the feeling of using my magic, but each time I did, it was a reminder of how I failed Gabriel.
After all these years, I still blamed myself for what happened that day. It didn't matter how many therapy sessions I went to or which psychiatrists I saw.
My mind was set on the idea that it was my fault, and I had to live with it.
Alice sighed, realizing I wasn't going to answer her.