Keeping quiet was the hardest part of it all, Merelyth thought as she watched the half-breed maid try her damnedest to fix her broken vase with magic. She sneered in something familiarly close to contempt as the young, auburn haired woman frantically went through all the (wrong) motions of a fairly simple cantrip and butchered nearly every word and every somatic component along with it. To a trained and talented mage, the very way that this short-ear all but wrangled and choked the very magic out of the Aether surrounding them was nearly heinous. It was suffocating,  witnessing the frantic maid abuse her art so blindly but just as the headmistress was about to end the little charade and explode with a fury that not even her most unruly student had yet to see, an unusual thought crossed her mind. With a forced exhalation through her nose, the finely featured full blooded elf settled back down on her heels and brushed quietly at the front of her robes as she watched the short-ear's second attempt. Now, it was amusing, watching her tire and scramble meekly-- the struggle with which the green haired whelp tried to stay awake after exhausting all of her energy on such a trivial task. If it were one of her untalented kin, Merethyl would have simply taken pity on the wretch but in this young bastardization of her people, she saw a toy to quell her boredom.<br/><br/>With a glance down toward the silvered band on her ring finger, the gray eyed elf  raised her chin up and shook her head. She could have her fun without betraying her vows, she supposed. Oh how she could make the dear little girl squirm. There was another glance down toward the ornately engraved band and this time she  turned her palm up, dainty fingers curled inward toward her palm so that it caught the light filtering through the thick, leaded windows. Clear as day she recalled the last letter from her husband... and clear as day she could recall the frustration she felt when her mate had yet to write her after weeks of waiting. Anew she started to seethe. Frustration built up in her gut and rose up towards her throat before she let her hand fall to her side and finally spoke up. The volume of her voice was low, but like any skilled orator  it may as well have been a boom at which she spoke.<br/><br/>“Girl, just what are you doing?” There was no attempt to veil the venom in her voice. “I've watched you strangle the life out of the Aether for three attempts now. Does the short-ear not know magic is simply just out of her reach?” The click-clack of her heels was muted as she transitioned from the wooden flooring, to the carpet that her heavy wooden desk sat upon. From Rai's point of view, only the hem of her extravagant robes and the shine of her shoes could be seen as the tall, willowy woman circled her and crossed her arms over her slim chest. A moment later she cleared her throat , practically demanding the other woman's attention with the action. “ Up! Up on your knees-- and look at me!”  Though Merethyl may have likely complied anyways, it did not stop the talented magi from further adding insult to injury. An arcane gesture followed the words, the boundless energy of the Aether given form as she compelled the other woman with the potent suggestive spell. The urge to follow the command would have been powerful-- almost magnetic-- in its intensity.<br/><br/>Once Rai was seated on her knees the headmistresses' eyes found her own and she stared long and hard, appraising the other woman's worth like a fence might a petty trinket. Her fine features contorted a few moments later, lips curling downward ever so slightly in dissapointment and her jaw setting hard. Silently, she shook her head and then composed herself as she steepled her fingers in front of herself and again spoke. “Well, what do you have to say for yourself? I personally do not even know where to begin. We let a poor wretch like you into the academy as an act of charity and here you are trying to hide evidence of your crime?” A fine blonde brow was raised in question before she continued. “And what's worse-- with knowledge of the arcane that you have all but apparently stolen from us. You know you're not supposed to practice the art. Have you paid for a tuition without my knowing, short-ear?”<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>