Chapter 3 - part 1: "Atenarte"

The arrival in Atenarte's capital, Riviera, was spectacular: the princess and the army were welcomed in the middle of the streets by thousands of people who celebrated their return and threw flowers on us. I had never seen anything more beautiful: the capital was truly huge and splendid, as described by Keira, and its walls were visible even more than a kilometer away. The palace was located in the highest part of the city and had towers decorated in gold, gates shining in the sun and a very large green space. The building was made up of many blocks and shapes, but the main one spanned more than the others and featured a white marble staircase, accompanied by lions of the same material that must have represented the symbol of the royal family. I didn't know many details yet but Zeyana during the remaining time of the trip, had taken care of illustrating the fundamental things I had to know to survive in the imperial court: first of all she told about the code of behavior, excessively mangy for me, then she mentioned her closest enemies, such as his half-brother Yurik.

Zeyana had described Yurik as a skilled manipulator and a flatterer, who had been able to win the favor of many nobles and reach the top in a short time: surely he had used threats and violence to be able to make his way to achieve power. Zeyana was convinced that he was behind her attempted assassinations at the palace, as well as the spies she had discovered in her group of people she trusted and had attempted to kill her.

The more she told me about life in the palace, the more nauseous I got and the more I wanted to teach this bastard Yurik a good lesson. Who did he think he was? He was nobody without the help of his supporters and he'd find out very soon…

I had decided that playing with the court would be too risky but how could I give up the challenge of making Yurik green with envy and putting him at a disadvantage at the same time? With my charm I could conquer anyone, including him if I wanted, but I had already chosen to stay by Zeyana's side and although it seemed strange to say it, I was a person who remained loyal when I formed my alliances.

I had some principles too.

Princess Zey, as I had been calling her for a few days since I had arrived Atenarte, had decided to introduce me to the coronation ceremony and not before then, so as not to risk that the competition would find a solution to fight back. She had already discussed with her father, the emperor, about my coming and he himself was interested in verifying my powers before making a choice: he was aware that having a powerful witch at court would stabilize the power of the future emperor and also it would have been an excellent diplomatic weapon against adversary countries.

Things were getting very complicated and I found myself more and more annoyed at the idea that it would be difficult to escape from Atenarte; first of all I'd have to complete the mission, but for now I had to focus on the most pressing objectives, which is to make Zeyana empress and prevent Yurik from turning the situation upside down to his advantage.

"Choose the one you prefer."

" What if I wanted everything? "

"I'll give you everything."

I looked around, enjoying the beauty of the clothes they had presented to me and imagining how good they would look on me. I had never seen something so luxurious and I was speechless: the princess had taken me to a high-class shop to buy me some new clothes and prepare me for the presentation at court. She'd even take me to a beauty salon!

I didn't even know these things existed, but after all, how was I supposed to know? I was born in a remote village and had to work in a dirty tavern to survive, with rough and drunk men always around.

"The princess is as wonderful as ever..." I overheard a girl who worked in the shop; she had been staring at Zeyana for too long now. I wasn't jealous of her, I just wanted all her attention for me! Well... at least the guy who wore the clothes had already fallen madly in love with me:

"Owen? " I called him, smiling innocently.

"Does this dress fit me? " I showed him the midnight blue dress I was wearing, richly decorated with white gold powder. The boy immediately blushed and nodded vigorously, also seeking the approval of those present and avoiding my gaze: "You are perfect with everything."

The rest of the shop staff who were helping me with the fitting of the clothes also began to compliment me in a genuine way and I saw it from their adoring eyes; perhaps also thanks to my magical ability to recognize the emotional states of others.

"I agree."

When the princess spoke, I decided to have some fun with her and see to what extent I could irritate her without making her burst. Would she really give me everything?

"Princess Zey, which one suits me the most? What do you imagine me wearing?"

She narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth, but she pretended nothing in front of the others. Not only had I called her by a nickname in front of other people, which I could have afforded only in a very intimate relationship, but the second question I had pronounced in a quite allusive way, just to make everyone believe that there was something underneath.

"I have already answered this question ... Come on, we don't have time to waste. I'll take everything she tried today. Alex, let's go."

The princess always seemed in a hurry: she took me around, she bought things for me without even looking at them and she always had her eyes wandering around. Despite being escorted by two imperial guards, it was clear that Zeyana still considered herself too vulnerable.

"Zey? "

"I never gave you permission to call me that."

"How boring..."

I remained silent without asking anything else, looking around and appreciating the view of Riviera market, a little too crowded, but lively and colorful. The only market I knew was the damp and stuffy Clevwood market, the one held on Thursdays with the influx of a few vendors from neighboring towns, the one I couldn't stand because it was too noisy and even dangerous. It was not uncommon for the mass of people to bring trouble to Clevwood; from fights to the spread of diseases.

I really didn't miss my town.

Still, I didn't belong to places like Riviera... much less to the imperial court! I had a deep hatred for all those people lucky enough to be born safe and rich, without doing anything for it, without constantly having to fight to survive.

I sighed and turned my eyes to the hooded figure walking by my side: Zeyana had decided to show me the market by hiding her identity and taking with her two guards who had secretly infiltrated the crowd; I understood the reason behind her choice and I didn't want to catch people's attention in such a place either, but I couldn't help but continue my game with her. My next move would definitely make her annoyed, I was sure!

I loved seeing that exasperated look she always gave me when I messed up. I had become addicted to it!

Without warning I took the princess's hand and ignoring her protests, I dragged her into the first alley I saw, running and laughing like a little girl after seeing the guards disguised as passersby getting alarmed and starting to chase us. I wanted to show other aspects of my powers to Zeyana and I wanted to do it to amaze her..

"Alex stop" if she had wanted to stop me she would have done it right away since she was stronger than me, but apparently with my actions I had awakened her curiosity.

Running down the alley reminded me of my escapes from Father Donovan's followers as I wandered from village to village to find a place to stop, a refuge.

"I did this to throw off those idiots who wanted to capture me..." I said aloud, stopping suddenly and turning back, to look the princess in the eyes. I smiled and when I heard the screams of the guards telling us to stop, I recited the spell I was thinking of. A second later, a glowing magic circle appeared under our feet and carried us to the flat roof of the adjacent building.

In the alley the guards looked around confused, not finding us and not understanding how it was possible that we had evaporated into the air. I held back a laugh and returned my eyes to the astonished figure of the princess: "So? What do you think about it?"

"This... is spectacular."

"Spectacular? Wait and see some more tricks! You'll beg me on your knees to grant your every wish!"

A slight blush began to spread on her white cheeks and I was stunned: I had never seen her make such a face and it was strange, but I found her definitely adorable. I approached her without even noticing my actions and when I found my lips a breath away from her, I became aware of what was happening.

" We should go, before your dogs start crying for losing you..."

I took us back into the alley and into the storm that knocked on the doors of my thoughts: I glimpsed an awareness that was too bitter and that I immediately drove it back into oblivion.