Chapter 7 Strong Powers

"I have to say, your personal guard truly is handsome." Shai said as she combed Azalia's long white hair, a dreamy sigh escaping her lips at the thought of the knight.

As every morning, she and Temira were taking care of Azalia, helping her to bath and to get dressed. It had been a few days since Azalia had arrived in the Adom Kingdom, and the Lavan princess was slowly getting used to her new life. It was easier with Melech currently being too busy to see her, thus allowing her to relax, even if only a little. She was still in enemy's territory, after all. She hoped this calm would last but knew it was only a matter of time before Melech would ask to see her again...

"Emet?" She asked in response to what Shai had just said and the Yarok intendant immediately nodded. "Yes, he must be almost as tall as the King." She continued to speak in an excited voice. "You're so lucky to have such a knight protecting you."

Azalia couldn't deny the fact that Emet was handsome, because the white-haired knight certainly was. He was strong and toned, his azure and emerald eyes only adding to his natural charm.

"He's been with me since I can remember it. I trust him with my life." Azalia murmured. Emet was a few years older than her but, with her being the daughter of the Lavan Queen and Emet being the son of the Lavan general, the two of them had basically grown up together. Emet had always protected her and always treated her with care. Azalia couldn't possibly ask for a better personal guard.

"You've always been close to the other." Temira said with a low hum. She had became close to Azalia later on, during their early teens, but knew what kind of bond Azalia and Emet were sharing.

"If you want my opinion, I think he fancies you." Shai stated with a small giggle.

It didn't come as a surprise to Azalia since Emet had never truly tried to hide his affection for her. "He surely does." She agreed in a soft voice. One had to be blind not to see it.

"Have you already been with him?" Shai couldn't resist asking her. She seemed to be the type that liked gossiping, an excited smile on her lips as she tried to gather more information about Azalia and Emet's relationship. "Did you ever kiss?"

"Maybe once or twice..." Azalia revealed.

"Definitely more than once or twice." Temira chuckled and Shai gasped, her reaction dragging an amused laugh out of Azalia. She had to admit her and Emet had kissed more than a few times during all the years they had known each other, always late in the night when no one could see them.

"Did you do more than kiss?" Shai eagerly asked but Azalia thought twice before answering. Shai seemed like a nice person, she was kind and easily excited and fun to be with, but Azalia had to remember she had been assigned as her second attendant by the Adom King himself. All the things she told Shai probably were repeated to Melech...

The Lavan princess let out a soft sigh before finally answering: "It doesn't matter anymore as I'm going to marry the Adom King anyway." Emet's love for her would never see the day since they couldn't be together. The past held no importance when Azalia already knew what her future was.

"Isn't it even better?" Shai curiously inquired at Azalia's sigh. "He's handsome, too, and has to be one of the richest men of the land. Anyone would kill to have your spot."

"Maybe." Azalia agreed. "But he only sees me as a prize to show off and a way to have powerful heirs." Melech considered her as his property and nothing more. It unfortunately was the truth and it angered Azalia to think Melech didn't see past her title or her beauty.

But it wouldn't last forever, Azalia would make sure of it. Melech was going to see her for who she was whether he wanted it or not.

"He's also quite unstable." She added with a slight frown. "I can feel all the hatred burning inside him whenever we make physical contact."

It actually concerned her a lot. Each time her and Melech had made physical contact, Azalia had only been able to feel wrath, anger and turmoil coming from the Adom King. It was worrying but also made Azalia feel curious about why it was the case. She wanted to know the reasons behind Melech's utter anger.

"So it is true, then?" Shai asked her with wide eyes. "Lavan people can feel and send emotions through touch?"

"It's one of our powers, yes." Azalia confirmed.

"Some Lavan people are better at it than others." Temira explained while helping Azalia to put her jewellery on. Today was a set of diamonds that looked absolutely gorgeous against Azalia's white skin. "The princess is particularly good at it." She revealed with a smile.

"But I struggle to heal the smallest injury." Azalia said, causing Temira to let out a small chuckle in response. "You can't be perfect at everything."

It was true, Azalia supposed, although she would have liked to. "Do you want me to try it on you?" She asked Shai once her two attendants had finished to get her ready for the day. She had small braids hidden between her long white hair, pretty pearls scattered among them.

"It's not dangerous, right?" Shai hesitantly asked.

She was right to be careful, as one could never know what would happen to them. "It's not." Azalia reassured her. "Unless I use it to hurt you, which I obviously won't do." Not without any reason, at least.

"Okay. What do I need to do?" Shai asked and so Azalia reached out to her. "You can just give me your hand." She intertwined their fingers together, the Lavan princess closing her eyes as she felt Shai's current emotions: curiosity, excitement and slight nervousness. Azalia had gotten so good at it she didn't even have to focus anymore, feeling other people's emotions had became as easy as breathing for her.

"What do you want me to make you feel?" She asked Shai.

"I'm not sure..." The Yarok attendant murmured. "Maybe sadness then happiness, to see the difference?"

"As you wish." Azalia replied. She just had to think about it to send waves of sadness, sorrow and despair, the emotions spilling into Shai's whole being through their joined hands.

"Oh." Shai probably hadn't expected the emotions to be this strong, because a loud gasp escaped her lips at the sensation. A tear slowly rolled down her cheek, the young attendant suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the emotions Azalia was sending her.

"Let's move on to happiness." Azalia said before turning the sadness into waves of joy, bliss, and delight. The change was almost immediate, Shai's whole body relaxing in response. "Wow." She couldn't help but let out a laugh at the pure happiness she was feeling right now. "It really works."

"Of course it does." Azalia smiled before finally letting go of Shai's hand. It cut off their connection and stopped the effect of her powers, thus forcing Shai to go back to reality. It could be quite confusing after having felt such strong emotions.

"My powers are way less impressive." She said once she had managed to fully recover.

"What can you do?" Temira curiously asked her while continuing to clean up Azalia's vanity. There were so many beauty products it was primordial to always store them in the right place.

"I can feel the life force going through plants, I guess." Shai began to describe her powers. "I also naturally get along with most animals but that's not much. Some Yarok people can communicate with all types of animals, you know."

Azalia had heard of it. Some Yarok people, the most powerful of them, could understand and speak with animals. They were in symbiosis with the nature, and could control some of its elements if they really wanted to. It was rare, but was a power everyone would dream to have.

The Lavan general Barak, Emet's father, had wanted his son to have those kinds of power. That was the principal reason why he had married a Yarok woman instead of a Lavan woman, so that their child could have both Lavan powers and Yarok powers.

It did work but only to an extent. Emet could feel and send emotions just like all Lavan people, and could also feel a special bond with everything related to the nature, like plants and animals. Azalia had already seen him understand what birds said, but that was all he managed to do. Still, Emet didn't need such powers when he already was the most talented knight of the Lavan Kingdom.

"That must be amazing." Azalia hummed at the thought of being able to communicate with all types of animal. That was a power she would like to see one day.

"Are you ready, princess?" Someone knocked on the door and Azalia easily recognised the voice of Emet coming from outside her quarters. It made her realise she and her attendants had spent a lot of time talking and that it was already time for her to start her day.

"Yes, you can enter." She answered then smiled as Emet opened the door. Both Temira and Shai greeted him before taking their leave, Shai discretely giggling as she walked past the handsome knight. They had finished dressing Azalia and styling her stunning white hair for the day: their work was done here.

"You look as beautiful as always." Emet told Azalia as he walked closer to her. His bicolored eyes took in sight her beauty, the Lavan knight noticing how her long dress hugged her slim waist and her wider hips just right. Even with seeing her everyday, Emet still couldn't help but always find Azalia absolutely breathtaking.

"Thank you, Emet." Azalia replied with an amused smile. "You look quite alright yourself."

It made Emet let out a small chuckle, his gaze fond as he looked at Azalia. "Are we going to the library, today?" He inquired as they began to leave Azalia's quarters, the two of them walking side by side close to each other.

"Yes. I'd like to do some research." Was Azalia's answer.

The truth was that she had some questions about the Adom Kingdom. She had learned about its politics and its customs in the Lavan Kingdom, but a lot of things still were unclear to her. She needed to know more if she wanted to fit in, and was curious about quite a few things.

Mainly, why was Melech the King at such a young age? She had never learned why and hoped she could find some answers in the Adom library. There had to be some reports about the Adom Kingdom's history.

She also wondered where were the former Adom King and Adom Queen. Nobody ever talked about them, and so Azalia assumed something must have happened to them for Melech to take their place on the throne this young. There was also the matter about Adom women becoming less and less numerous, as well as the murders the high council had talked about...

So many mysteries Azalia couldn't wait to figure out. Maybe it would explain all the hatred Melech was constantly feeling. Knowledge was power, as they said, and Azalia was determined to know everything she needed to.

"Let's go, then." Emet stated as they started to head into the library's direction.

It wasn't too far away but getting lost in the Adom castle was quite easy with how many corridors it had. Azalia was allowed to wander anywhere she wished as long as she stayed in the castle. She had to ask for permission if she wanted to go past the gardens, so that an Adom could accompany her. It was quite infuriating, but she fully intended to make the most of it by reading all of the books she would find interesting.

However, before she and Emet could reach the library, a man belonging to the Adom Kingdom interrupted them.

"Princess Azalia." He greeted her with a polite bow of his head, and Azalia immediately recognised him as the man she and Onan had talked to when she had first stepped into the Adom castle.

"Amos, was it?" She asked and Amos smiled at her acute memory. "Yes. That's my name." Most royals didn't bother to remember people's names, but Azalia always made sure to never forget one. She could never know when it would become useful, after all.

"I apologise for taking some of your time, princess." Amos said and Azalia hummed in response. "That's quite alright." It wasn't like she was in a hurry, but she did feel a little wary of Amos. She didn't know why but there was something about him that was bothering her.

It probably was the fact that she remembered his eyes to be red, but they seemed to be yellow today. She also remembered his eyes turning black the last time they had seen each other, even if just for a few instants.

"What do you need me for?" She asked him even though she already knew. Amos was one of the King's most trusted men, Onan had said, and so what else could he want to tell her except that Melech wanted to see her?

Sure enough, Amos' next words were the ones Azalia had been expecting to hear: "The King has asked for your presence." He told her.