[color=lemonchiffon][h3][center]~~~Lainie~~~[/center][/h3][/color]

[i]Light, all she could see was light, blazing, blinding, consuming everything. Screams pierced through the roar of flames. Her fellow students' screams. She desperately tried to draw on her magic to put out the fire, only succeeding in further fuelling it. [color=lemonchiffon]"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."[/color] she whimpered as smoke billowed all around her, choking off her words...[/i]

Lainie opened her eyes, her panting breath ragged in her ears. The sweaty sheets were bunched around her. Just a dream. Her relief was short-lived; a faint orange glow appeared at the end of the bed, hissing and crackling. [color=lemonchiffon]"No, no, no..."[/color] she muttered to herself, pulling her knees up to her chest, struggling to tamp down the rising panic. It was no use. With a whoosh, a flame leapt up at the corner of the bedsheet.

The young witch gasped, throwing all her mental focus into picturing the flame shrinking to nothing. She'd used this spell before, she could use it again... Thankfully, it worked. The fire sputtered out, leaving only a blackened patch of fabric and a thin wisp of smoke. Lainie took several deep, shuddering breaths, wrinkling her nose at the smell. In for a count of five, out for a count of six. It was a breathing exercise her mother had taught her, and calming herself as much as possible was of utmost importance.

When the shaking that ran through her body subsided, Lainie pushed back the charred covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed, looking around the room to make sure no additional damage had been done. She wondered how the person who would be sharing a dorm with her would feel about doing so, and could only hope she never ended up harming them.

The first rays of morning light had only just started to stream in through the window, but there was no way she was going to get back to sleep. She hurriedly washed and dressed before heading down the hallway, a can of water tucked under her arm just in case. It was unlikely that many other people would be awake. Even so, she would have to talk to Miss Bertram as soon as the witch advisor was up and about. Incidents like this were the reason Lainie had stayed at the academy over the summer, to keep learning control. With classes starting again in a week, hopefully she would gain even more of a hold over her magic.