The forest was still around Melissa, the only sounds the faint burbling of the stream in front of her and the chirps of songbirds flitting overhead. It was a good place for the novice water mage to practice her magic: away from the distractions of other people, connected to the world around her, the living stream attuned with subtle magic of its own.

       Concentrating, Melissa focussed on the magic within her, feeling the flow of it down her arms, extending out to the water in front of her, willing it to flow upwards and around her. For a moment, the surface of the stream started to rise, splashing and bubbling. Focusing on the stream, Melissa started to rise and draw the stream upwards with her, her blue dress shifting like the water in front of her as it rose from the riverbed in whirls and splashes. Moving her arms in familiar motions, she tried to draw the flow of water around her, the same spell she’d rehearsed dozens of times before. For a moment, the stream seemed to obey her commands, spirally up towards her before crashing down in the ground, soaking through the hem of her dress.

       “Okay-” Melissa sighed, slumping down slightly, kneeling back before the rebellious stream, “let’s try something a little lighter this time.” Shifting her stance slightly, she focussed on a small drop of water, hands raised above it, drawing it from the stream. So far so good. Moving her hands around, keeping the water drop swirling in front of her, she drew her hands slowly outwards. The water drop started to expand outwards, small bubbles starting to fizz inside, merging and growing larger within, the surface of the water gleaming in the dappled sunlight. Melissa couldn’t help but smile - drawing a droplet out into a large bubble might not have been the most difficult spell, but it was still an achievement.

       The sound of rushing water snapped Melissa’s attention back to the stream before her, the bubble still floating about above it. The stream was surging, a torrent of water flooding the narrow riverbed, waves spraying up as it crashed over roots and pebbles. She’d barely had to time to register what was happening before the torrent rose up, curling around in front of her, hundreds of small waves crashing on its surface forming the appearance of scales. Twisting around, it morphed into the shape of a serpent, coiling around her bubble, the end twisting and morphing into a serpentine head. Faintly glowing eyes stared at her, as if studying the mage, before the jaw opened wide. Icicle-like fangs bared down on her, devouring the bubble before the serpent crashed against her body, knocking her backwards and soaking her dress through.

       “Sorry, I couldn’t resist!” a mocking voice came from behind her, the tone anything but apologetic, “I heard there was a new witch practising out here. If I had known all she could do was make pretty bubbles, I wouldn’t have bothered showing up.”

       “I’m a mage, not a witch,” Melissa spun around, forcing the water from her dress with a quick wave of magic, determined not to look drenched through, “and I happen to enjoy working with bubbles.” It sounded a little more badass in her mind.

       “Of course,” the newcomer replied. A tall figure in a black dress fringed with gleaming orange, her hair brilliant cerulean, her whole appearance in stark contrast to Melissa’s. With a flick of a wrist, a shower of glittering bubbles burst from her hand, cascading up into the air, “you know, I could teach you a thing or two, if you ask nicely.”

       “I don’t need your help,” Melissa huffed, cheeks flushed red, not enjoying being upstaged, “I was doing fine before you showed up.”

       “Oh, I’m sure you were, Melissa,” the witch walked beside Melissa, smiling a wicked grin, “and yes, I can read minds.” It wasn’t strictly true, but the witch didn’t want to spoil her fun.

       “Hmph-” Melissa glanced at the witch, trying to figure out exactly what she was after, “so you know my name, what are you even here for?”

       “As I said, I just want to help out,” she flashed that wicked grin again, “and my name’s Amber, by the way… There’s a lot more you can do with water magic than just streams and bubbles.” Amber reached out, placing a hand on Melissa’s wrist.

       For an instant, Melissa could feel a chill running through her arm, the searing heat of the witch’s skin against her own. Recoiling back, Melissa shook her self free, and for a moment she could have sworn she saw glowing orange horns arching from Amber’s forehead.

       “Hey!” Melissa cried in weak protest, rubbing her chilled arm with a hand, unable to nurse any feeling of warmth back into it. If anything, the chill seemed to be spreading, running deep in her body, a wave of fatigue washing over her. Under her fingers, she could feel her arm turning strangely smooth, slippery with moisture, and unnaturally solid as she tried to squeeze her flesh. Looking down, her eyes widened with alarm as she saw the brilliant blue of ice her wrist had become, the rippled sapphire of an iceberg, the forest beyond faintly visible through it. “What the hell are you doing to me?”

       “Just a little demonstration, the kind of magic I can teach you,” Amber grinned, perching herself down on a rock, crossing her legs as she settled into the watch the show, “don’t worry, it’s harmless.”

       It wasn’t very reassuring.

       Feeling the cold spread, her freezing arm turning numb and sluggish, Melissa watched as her hand slowly changed. Colour drained from her skin, replaced with the sheen of blue ice, barely able to move her fingers as they slowly locked into place. Staring closer, it looked as though she were a carefully sculpted statue of ice. Panicking slightly, Melissa tried to will some movement back into it, restoring some life to her frozen arm as the ice spread up and past her elbow, locking it into place. It felt as though she was drained, the same magic she’d used to raise the stream earlier now used against her, changing her own body.

       “Now’s about the time you want to get into a heroic pose,” Amber added, unhelpfully, munching on some popcorn conjured from nowhere.

       “Now’s the time you change me back!” Melissa cried in response, her frozen arm hanging awkwardly from her shoulder, feeling little more than dead weight. A moment later and her shoulder froze over, the sudden shift in her balance tugging her forward.

       “Maybe later, this is all too much fun to watch. You should really see yourself,” a wave of her hand and Amber conjured a mirror in front of Melissa, revealing the creeping advance of blue ice spreading under her dress.

       Melissa’s face paled as she watched the ice spreading under her dress, untouched by the changes. It became harder to breathe, the chill cold spreading deep in her chest, slowing her heart. It felt almost calming, in a way, like her whole body was relaxing as she froze. Even the weight of her arm seemed to lessen, more of her body freezing solid, the ice supporting the weight of her. One leg grew numb, then the other, her thighs protesting as she tried to move them. The more she tried to move, use what muscles she had left, the more her icy body strained in response. Cracks started to form, hearing and feeling the vibrations cascading and echoing through her solid body.

       “This feels so… strange,” her voice was faint and strained, her lungs barely able to move in her freezing chest. With one arm still free, she traced a hand down her body, feeling the shape of her stuck solid under her dress, now slick from the condensation forming on her body. A moment later and her shoulder started to lock in place, that all-too-familiar sensation of advancing ice creeping down her arm, fixing her hand awkwardly against her chest. Her legs now firmly planted in the ground, all that was left was her head, veins of ice already travelling up her neck.

       “Not the pose I could have chosen, but you do make a nice sculpture, all the same.”

       Melissa tried to speak, no sound escaping her lips, her face soon feeling as numb and cold as the rest of her. She watched in the mirror as the blue ice spread up and past the edges of her cape, frost covering her cheeks, lips turning a deep sapphire to match her eyes, now glowing faintly as the water serpent’s had. Her skin grew pale, her whole head turning as translucent as the rest of her. Dappled sunlight gleamed through her, a thousand slight imperfections inside glistening. Even her hair froze in place, frost dancing across it, her vibrant orange turning to strands of faint blue cascading over her shoulders. She was cold and frozen, locked in place in the middle of the forest, at least until her body warmed and melted…

       “A very nice sculpture,” Amber spoke softly, standing from the stone to walk around Melissa, admiring her every angle. Melissa was powerless to respond, unable to even speak, eyes fixed forward at her reflection in the mirror. Amber traced a finger lightly across one shoulder, the same brilliant warmth spreading into Melissa’s chilled body, a gentle trickle of water running down her arm, “of course, you’re far less fun, all frozen in place.”

       Watching in the mirror, Melissa saw Amber taking a step back, hands raised in front of her. The witch’s body surged with brilliant light, those arching horns appearing above her head once more, a graceful golden tail stretching out behind her; even her hair seemed to shift about as if aflame. A brilliant warmth filled Melissa’s body, forcing the cold from her. She could feel the trickle of water across her frozen skin, her body starting to melt in the intense heat, the sensation of her body flowing apart from itself.

       Her dress began to slump on her body, more and more of her melting and running down the rest of her. She could feel parts of herself slipping, soaking into her dress, weaving in and out of the fabric. A knee gave way, her right leg tumbling and splashing into the puddle of her body below, feeling her droplets flying through the air and come cascading down. The rest of her started to tip, slowly at first then crashing to the ground. The shock of impact thundered through her body, her whole self suddenly torn apart into fragments of ice crystal. Her dress slumped with her, catching fragments of her body, spinning and dangling, slowly settling amongst her fallen body. The sensations almost overwhelmed her mind, the feeling of her body shattering into myriad pieces, her vision splitting into dozens of facets, the fragmented image of Amber staring down at her.

       The warmth suffused every part of her body, icy fragments of herself melting in the puddle of the rest of her body. They quickly melted, flowing out, mingling and swirling together until she could no longer tell what had once been each part of her. Gradually, her body settling into a puddle on the ground, she regained a sense of her own body: feeling the wind playing across her surface, sending ripples through her; the feeling of cool rocks and leaves beneath, the dress settling on top of them, her body conforming around their shapes. Her vision drew together, uniform but rippling, staring up at the tree canopy above her.

       “How’s that, feeling any better?” Amber’s voice sound muted, the vibrations carried through Melissa’s body as though she were underwater, softened by distance, “though you’re a lot less pretty as a puddle than a statue.”

       “I… I guess…” Melissa tried to speak, the surface of her body splashing slightly, though the sounds were little more than the babbling of the stream beside her. She tried to focus on herself, willing herself to move the same way as she tried to move the river. For a moment, she could feel herself rising up, parts of her flowing in what might have been arms, only to collapse in on herself again. Her vision blurred again, parts of her swirling back into herself, her body mingling again.

       “Just say if you want any help,” Amber grinned down at her, eyes glinting.

       “I- I can do this,” Melissa babbled again, concentrating on the magic swirling and flowing through her body, willing it into a roughly human shape. Amber watched as Melissa’s face slowly emerged from the water, gaining form and definition, “almost… got it…” Melissa’s voice was clearer, the lips of her water face moving, rising further from the water, rivulets of water cascading down to form her hair. Just when it seemed like she might emerge, she could feel the magic slip from her control, her body collapsing down into the swirling puddle. Melissa sighed, the surface of her bubbling, “... help?”

       Melissa felt another wave of heat surging through her body, the ethereal tendrils of Amber’s magic weaving with her own, effortlessly lifting her from the puddle. She could feel her body rushing through the air, vision swimming as her form flowed effortlessly under Amber’s control, the trees around her blurring. Then the touch of smooth glass, her body flowing through the stem of a bottle, impossibly shrinking down to fit inside. Melissa felt herself crashing into the sides of the body, swirling and splashing as more of her flowed into it, feeling every edge and ripple in the glass around her. As the last of her flowed inside, she heard the squeak of a cork, sealing her inside.

       “There, a pocket-sized water elemental,” Amber teased, holding up the bottle Melissa was trapped in, gently sloshing her about, “what? You didn’t expect me to stay out in the cold woods all day? Besides, you’ll like my place, I’ve got a nice spot on a shelf reserved for a puddle you…”