And then came the most gruelling weeks of her young life. 
Lord Daro was charming and patient with her, even when nerves left her quiet, but Edwina managed to dress to attend her own gallery as if she had the confidence to be selected. It wasn't the experience she'd expected. In the Capital, a gallery involved all the artwork being displayed by theme or artist, instead Edwina was the discover that Master Gentileschi and the other Masters wanted to review ALL of her skills; art, singing, dancing, and magic alike. The primary focus was still her art as expected, but this was a degree of inspection like nothing Edwina had prepared herself for. 
Master Gentileschi wanted to go over every art piece carefully, closely, and in excruciating detail. She was asked about the paints she used, the brushes, the techniques, what her mindset had been, even the time of day if possible to recall. And then they got to the actual content of the paintings themselves. Master Gentileschi asked her about intent, focus, subtext, and emotional states, seeing depths and confessions in Edwina's works that she hadn't been fully aware of including. And then they went over how her magic had been used, requiring an active demonstration of a paining she could 'pull' from, and one of the exact same item but with no magic applied. And then Master Gentileschi decided to test on whether or not her magic worked on unfinished pieces at various stages. All while the other Masters were trying to vie for time to test her other skills, the Master of Song even going so far as to bold request that she sing while painting for Master Gentileschi.
Combined with testing her magic, it was an endeavour that left Edwina actually fainting from exhaustion and heat sickness.
Lord Daro had been quite upset by her malaise, insisting she be given a day to rest before Master Gentileschi, and only Master Gentileschi, continued her testing. And for the entire length of that day he refused to allow any of the Masters to interrupt her rest, and stayed at her side to keep her from exerting herself. It was almost loving, and Edwina's silly heart read all manner of fantasy into it despite her understanding of reality. She gave herself a little forgiveness for focusing on such a doomed crush to avoid the embarrassment of her hysterics. Ever her protector, Lord Daro insisted that it was no failure on her part, magical backlash had dropped every Master in that room at least once. It was an inevitable part of finding the utmost limits of their magics; a part of becoming a Master and one of the reasons Lord Daro had never pursued Mastery. 
"The level of masochism required to map out every inch of your magical limits is greater than I wished to give. I am an adept artist, I do not require a Master's title to feel complete," he'd confessed, as if to ease her shame. "My art and my magic cannot be combined as yours is though, a factor I failed to consider for your gallery; I deeply apologize."
Edwina had held his hand while she weakly forgave him, sleeping like she's had some great trauma instead of a little effort. As if a week of mental intensity, followed by two weeks of painting, singing, and dancing, and using all of her magical focus, in the heat that increased incrementally every day, was no exacting task. Edwina had always excelled when she applied herself, so it'd been a humbling reminder. Hearing that her precious Lord Daro hadn't dared attempt this level of scrutiny himself mollify her a bit. 
In the end, her fainting hadn't been enough in the detriment to stop Master Gentileschi from proclaiming that she would be the next apprentice she took. 
There were two ways of enrolling at the university; as an apprentice selected by a Master, or as a general student. The university produced the best academics in Taroton, so there was no respect difference entry types, and some students could be selected after their first year, to have a specific Master if they had a clear speciality. Edwina would be an apprentice though, so Master Gentileschi would be leading her learning curriculum, though she could still attend any courses the other Masters hosted if there was no schedule conflict.