Chapter 4 - part 1: "Trial"

"Oh yes... right there! Harder!"

"Could you stop panting? You'll make this seem stranger than already is" the whipped voice of the princess boomed in the great hall.

"When will I have my back massaged by the future empress again?"

She was upset, but she had to do it, she owed me after all.

"I'm sorry about last night, but don't take advantage of it."

"Ah! With more delicacy...! "

" Didn't you want me to be rougher?"

"Oh. You must have heard wrong..." I laughed leaning my head on her arms. We were by the pool and I was lying on soft towels, while the princess was on my back taking care of my reddened skin.

"I don't usually lose control that way…"

"I love cats, do not worry" I replied thinking back to the night before. A wonderful and fulfilling night! Doing dirty things in the middle of the flowers, with the risk of someone seeing us, had aroused both me and her, to exaggerated levels. Especially her: Zeyana had scratched my back with her nails, leaving red marks that I didn't mind wearing on her body.

The bath room was a huge room: the light came in from a large skylight in the center of the area and when the sky got dark, many candles were lit, giving a pleasant aroma to the area.

Zeyana explained that in the main cities there were places called "sauna" where people could take warm baths and massages.

I thought that the imperial palace's bath hall was too large, but saunas could take a whole building.

"I think that's enough" the princess moved away from me, getting up from the ground. I watched her getting undressed, dropping the remaining garments she was wearing onto the pavement, and entering in the warm water.

"You are really sexy, you know? "I affirmed, devouring her sensual and desirable forms with my gaze. Zeyana snorted, but I saw the small smile she had tried to hide.

"So you like me madly" the princess said with irony, inviting me to enter the tub with her: her playful eyes were irresistible.

" Let's not exaggerate now."

I went into the water with her, leaning against the wall of the tub. I stared at her movements, watching droplets of water on her bright hair: she was divine, with her shiny naked skin, that reflected the sun's rays.

"I can say I'm madly in love with your body…" I joked, trying to provoke some reaction in her, but the princess ignored me, lost in her thoughts. After spending a few minutes enjoying the temperature of the water in the tub and admiring Zeyana's beautiful lips, I had decided to take action.

"I want to have sex" my sentence almost made her jump on the spot! She turned to me staring at me as if I were crazy and I laughed at her embarrassment: "I can request your body when I want, right? Didn't you tell me you would give me everything I desired? "

"Yes but"! she"she tried to oppose but I stopped her immediately: "No buts. Are you perhaps exhausted from last night? The future empress has so little resistance..? I expected more from you " I stretched my arms over the edge of the tub, sat down on one of the steps, and looked at the woman I wanted so badly.

"I see... I'll save you the effort and I'll take care of my needs alone" I narrowed my eyes ready to see her even more embarrassed: I bit my lip and let my hand down along my bust and lower still, spreading my legs that were hidden under the surface of the water, then with the other hand I touched my breasts, starting to pant just to make a scene. Zeyana sighed but she joined me right away, covering my mouth with her lips.

"Stop making strange noises, we are never completely alone in this building" she brought her hands to my hips, squeezing me, stroking my skin with her fingertips. Her eyes, her ocean eyes, sometimes made me lose myself in an impossible reality, they carried me away and I imagined the sensation of the sand in contact with my feet and the smell of the salt water.

My grandmother showed me the ocean a long time ago and I will never forget it.

"And that's a problem?"

"You are impossible..."

That said, I finally got what I wanted and it was spectacular, as always.

***

The day that followed the start of the ceremony, the emperor would hand over the scepter to the heir, but before he could announce the winner's name, there would be one final confrontation: Yurik was furious about what I had done, he wanted Zeyana's head and probably mine too.

The idea of ​​someone wanting to kill me didn't bother me at all: it was natural for me to receive death threats and have enemies to deal with. Besides, the prince was just an idiot: he decided to show up in the throne room with accusations, false evidence that Zeyana and I were planning a betrayal or something. I was sure my ally would sort things out without too much difficulty, anyway, I wouldn't have minded lending a hand and standing up for myself.

We were in the majestic throne room, placed in front of nobles, imperial guards, Prince Yurik and the emperor himself, watching us closely.

Geez, I felt the pressure now.

Meanwhile Zeyana seemed fearless, almost untouchable: she had chosen a direct attack, trying to destabilize the opponent from the start.

"Brother, I believe your behavior is inappropriate and unmotivated. Could last night's blow have left you stunned? Otherwise why would you dare to insinuate that I, the princess, would attempt to attack my country, Atenarte? Those present will understand that more than once I have personally accompanied the troops to extend the territories of the empire and safeguard our population. Nothing is more important to me than the good of people."

I watched the princess sit on a throne, small compared to the emperor's but just as gorgeous, and she spoke holding a golden goblet filled with a red blood"like wine. On the opposite, in similar conditions was Yurik, flanked and supported by his noble allies.

Zeyana was holding up well, especially as many of the guests had become wary of the prince after the crazy scene the night before.

I never thought that my little game would have such an impact on the noble crowd and when the princess learned of the events caused by me, she was pleasantly surprised, deciding to take full advantage of the opportunity I had created. After discussing it privately, we had established the plan to follow for that important day: Zeyana would deny any accusation of Yurik, then at his signal I would have the prince ridicule himself again, and at that point it would not be difficult to pass all his statement as insane.

"My dear sister, just because I care a lot about you and the people, I have to make sure that your witch has not bewitched you, manipulated you to her liking. I wonder if you'll be willing to cooperate... unless you're really hiding something" he smiled knowing that his implications would generate a reaction in the crowd. Many nobles had begun to chatter with each other.

"Silence!" It was the emperor who restored order and let Yurik go on.

"I called an exceptional man today, a wizard from another realm, capable of using magic himself! And he will surely be able to identify the act of witchcraft"! "

I held my breath after being struck by the revelation: magician? Was it possible that Yurik had found a man capable of using magic in such a short time? It seemed unlikely, but to ascertain what to do, I approached the princess, to pour the wine into her glass: "Princess..? "

"Don't worry" she whispered grabbing my hand and bringing it to her lips, smiling at me to pretend an affectionate exchange and not a conspiracy as it really was: "... I know his strategies, I also have trusted people who have taken care of informing me of his moves."

When I moved away from her, to return to my initial position, I lowered her head so as not to show the admiring smile that I hadn't been able to hold back: the princess apparently had already thought of everything, as always; she truly was an exceptional woman.

"A magician?! " exclaimed a noble, staring at the man wrapped in a coat who entered the hall by prince Yurik's orders. The stranger bowed and introduced himself to the royal family and the rest of those present, removing the padded hood that covered his face. He was quite young, with an innocent look, maybe even friendly, but I knew he couldn't be trusted.

Usually the nicest ones were traitors or bastards.

I say this from experience.

"His majesty, sun of the Empire, I have come to help you. It is a very high honor for a miserable magician, I will do my best" he bowed and finished the useless courteous speech, then he turned to me.

Princess Zeyana motioned me to approach her: "Alex can you feel his magic..? "

"Yes... but it's weak. Just like him! " Probably my eyes shone the wrong way because the princess ordered me to control myself and respect her plans; I sighed reassuring her that I would not jeopardize our position, but I thought it was the best time to prove how unbeatable I was, especially after winning the favor of the local nature, which had given me unimaginable strength.

In this way it wouldn't have been difficult to use the Eye of Time as well: I had to be patient, wait for the right opportunity to take action. I was sure I could get my hands on the artifact and I'd be willing to wait years to save my family. It was the only thing that kept me alive after all.

"Now, with your permission, princess, I would like to submit you to an examination which the magician will take care of. A trifle, no need to worry" Yurik said holding back a victorious smile. Zeyana amazed everyone by getting up and grabbing my hand, holding it elegantly as we walked down the steps to reach the man who called himself a wizard.

"I hope it's not a problem if I keep my witch by my side" she announced, raising her eyes to Yurik and then bringing them to the man placed in front of me. The prince nodded but did not seem happy with his sister's decision. I still did not understand how they could be siblings, but I came from a different life from theirs, surely my reality was not about a race for the throne and I could not fully understand them.

"Alex" the princess signaled me to take a step back and I smiled at her. I heard some nobles behind me, hidden among the mass of people, talking about me and the princess, whispering comments of admiration and envy: "It was obvious that the princess would bring such beauty to Riviera, a treasure of the conquered kingdom! "

" Don't you think they are lovely together? "

"There are rumors that the princess has certain tastes ... it seems to be true! "

"We can start" the wizard announced after looking for something in his leather bag. He took out a bottle containing a purple liquid and drank it in one gulp, then He was enveloped in a light with the same color as the drink: his eyes lit up and he raised his arms to the sky.

"Princess, honorable princess, please give me your hand" so did Zeyana, although she was obviously annoyed. As soon as the magician came into contact with her, a light enveloped both of them: it changed hue several times then became completely red.

"The verdict? " asked the curious emperor and the magician stepped back from the princess, exchanging a glance with Prince Yurik before starting to speak: "His Majesty, I can say with certainty that"! "

Prince Yurik was waiting for his victory, but he'll get only despair. He was so dumb. So naive.

"Shouldn't he check me out too?" I asked before he finished speaking and the wizard froze, confused by my request. I stared at him with an innocent smile, but my eyes were already tearing him down.

"Not needed"! "

"If my witch requests it, I propose it should be done. Your admirable skills work like that, don't they? The magician should consider whether my witch really practiced an act of such contempt towards me."

The magician or should I call him, the swindler, seemed to be agitated, but nodded either way. We had cornered him and he couldn't take the pressure.

"No need" Yurik interjected and the princess silenced him immediately: "The wizard has agreed and I want to trust the talented man who has won the prince's trust."

Yurik held back his anger, gritted his teeth and clung to the armrests of his throne. His blue eyes had grown dark and anxious, while his red lips trembled nervously and his body bowed in our direction made him look ready to leap from his seat.

Maybe he would have jumped for real shortly after.

I concentrated, breathing deeply and when the magician took the hand that I had raised towards him, I squeezed his and fixed his eyes: "These games are an insult to true magic. " I whispered these words and saw his pupils dilate and his lips part: now he was mine.

If there was an art in which I was unbeatable, it could only be enchantment.

I commanded the wizard to use the same procedure he had used with the princess on me too, but when the time came to declare the result, he followed the script I had imposed on him: "The princess has not undergone any kind of spell... " I stared at him, squinting and the puppet"wizard continued unfinished speech.

"The witch Alex did not influence the princess in any way."

I smiled in satisfaction and saw Zeyana relax, while a certain person was going crazy as expected. The nobles looked at us completely fascinated by the magic tricks used by the scammer and I couldn't stop my witch ego demanding even more attention, claiming glory for itself and wanting to show off in front of everyone.

"Your highness, please allow me to show our audience what's real magic."

Zeyana seemed to reflect and after a few seconds of silence, she spoke to everyone: "My formidable witch would like to show everyone what is truly spectacular about magic, I ask the emperor's permission to allow her freedom of execution.

The princess turned towards his father, making a small bow and maintaining a resolute attitude. She wanted at all costs to show how much power she had acquired and she wanted to do it by crushing Yurik, to take revenge for all the cruelties she had had to suffer in that stupid race for the throne.

I paused for a moment to take a closer look at Zeyana, who for that occasion had worn a long white dress, adorned with royal cloth, decorated in gold that announced her belonging to the imperial lineage, and on her head she wore a brilliant tiara studded with precious gems. Her eyes looked like stones far more precious than the ones she wore.

"I concede… I'm also curious to see other performances by your charming witch. " The emperor raised his hand in a gesture of consent and it was time for me to ridicule not only the swindler but also Yurik.

" Since I was a child I was fascinated by the flames… they are so devastating, chaotic, but also necessary for the life of every man and I envied their power. Their movement managed to capture and hypnotize me... I spent long nights watching them dance " thinking back to those moments, a veil of melancholy enveloped me, but I stopped the sadness before it could take over: "Today I want to show you what fire is and this through the eyes of a witch" I announced looking around and showing my brightest smile.

I was so used to lying, I almost convinced myself when I talked in front of everyone about my passion for flames, but I would not have fooled my unconscious: he was too good at hiding things and then blowing them out, ready to kill me when I didn't expect it.

Zeyana had remained a few steps away from me, she was watching me fascinated, silent, and I longed for her to hang from my lips alone and from no one else. I called the fire back to me and it danced from its large vessels in the room, snaked in the air and around my body, to that of the princess, almost caressed the frightened Yurik, then flew over the mass of nobles. Like a faithful ally, it came back to me when I asked for it: my palm raised to the sky marked the beginning of a whirlwind of flames, which rose almost touching the ceiling of the hall, but I was careful; I did want to burn everything down, but it wouldn't help the situation!

The emperor was ecstatic, he had risen from the throne to better observe the scene, taking a few steps forward and stopping when he saw the fire too close. I entertained them for a minute longer, then returned the flames to their place, finishing my performance, lowering my arm and returning my eyes to Princess Zeyana.

"Alex" she tried to tell me something, it seemed important, but Yurik interrupted us shouting: "A being like that at court is just a big risk! Don't you see that father?! This woman could destroy everything you have built, she will be the downfall of our empire, just as it was the downfall of her kingdom! Did you know that witches are wanted in Fokranstad? They are impaled, hanged, burned, buried alive, tortured..! And as religious men then we cannot ignore the facts. You are bringing a monster into father's house! She should have the end she deserves! "

I felt the rage boil and looking at the face of the imbecile prince, I was about to kill him, but the princess quickly advanced towards him and hit him in the face, with a loud slap that knocked Yurik to the ground.

Holy smoke!