Survive This Change

Duke Aiden Salvador walked into his study when a shadow appeared behind him.

"Duke .."

"What is the reason that you look so worried?" Aiden looked back as his eyes narrowed. "Blazh."

Blazh looked down as he thought about whether to say his mind or not.

"Blazh, you never thought before speaking. Why think now?" Aiden asked as he walked towards his table and sat down on a chair.

The work after the war was time-consuming. Duke Salvador knew that he had to start working now if he wanted it to not get piled up.

Blazh looked at the Duke. Soon his eyes shook but he still said with a trembling voice. "Duke, the Princess …"

Aiden looked at Blazh as his hand halted. "What about the Princess?"

"They say that she doesn't have any power but …"

Aiden's gaze shivered. His eyes narrowed as his hands on the pen tightened. "But what Blazh."

"I … I felt like my powers were …" Blazh stopped mid-sentence as he looked at Duke Salvador who was looking at him with his red glowing eyes.

Blazh swallowed hard as he continued. "I mean when I was healing the princess, it felt like the power was slowly getting absorbed in …"

Aiden put his pen down as he folded his hand and leaned back on the chair. "Are you sure?"

Blazh gaze moved down towards the floor. His hands were sweating and he was unable to think straight. Duk Salvador's gaze had suddenly turned dangerous like a predator waiting for a wrong move from him.

"I am not fully sure. I have stopped before if I could be sure but my powers felt weird.

Aiden was deep in thoughts as he thought back at what he had seen. "Blazh do you know how to concentrate all your powers into a single point?"

Blazh eyes widened. The power which they felt was shattered around. There was not a start point or endpoint to it. The people who were strong mages had a large area of power like a huge diameter surrounding them through which they could manifest the elements.

As a mage, they could only use power at a particular point pushing it forward. But concentrating on a single place? No one has done it. Many mages have tried it but failed.

"Master …" Blazh's throat ran dry. He had seen some old records that said that if it was tried doing so might lead to the death of the mage.

It was a dangerous practice that was avoided.

"I know what you are thinking but what if I told you that I have seen it with my eyes."

Blazh was silent. He could not believe his ears. "That …."

"And do you know who made it into reality?" Duke Salvador raised his eyebrows as he asked with his lips turned up.

"Was it the Princess?" Blazh choked on his words but his intuition told him that he was right. And Duke's answer confirmed his thoughts.

Aiden nodded as he thought back. The things he had seen were not light. He was a person who could sense the energy and what he had sensed had made him speechless.

"So that means the fifth Princess is not powerless." Blazh looked at Duke Salvador with excitement.

Blazh was confused why Duke Salvador would dance with a Princess like her.

'But if the Princess does have such power then …'

'The Princess is very dangerous …'

'Maybe more than any other Princesses we have seen ..'

But Duke Salvador's next words brought back Blazh's excitement.

"She is not."

"Uh ..?" Blazh was confused. Wasn't it the Princess? If not then who? Who could it be that could control their powers in a way that was frightening.

"It is her Lady-in-waiting," Aiden said as his eyes blurred. He could still see the flying rocks and sense the energy locked on a particular place.

"So is sire interested in Princess lady-in-waiting? Do you want to recruit her?" Blazh asked as his eyes widened. A person who could teach them such a skill. Their army will be undefeated.

"No, the one I am interested in is the Princess."

"Uhh ..?" Blazh could not understand but when he looked into Duke's gaze, Blazh swallowed his words.

"Blazh none of these words should leave the room if you want to keep your head attached to your body." Aiden pulled out a fire blade from his fingers. The blades danced around with the Duke's finger movement as if it might attack immediately.

It was a warning from the Duke. A warning that if ignored will cost him his life.

"I understand." Blazh's voice turned serious as he left the room in a hurry. The Duke was the deadliest when he was ignored, and Blazh wanted to live a little longer.

Soon the study became quiet as Aiden closed his eyes to rest. He didn't want to tell anyone about the fifth Princess. Even though the flush of power was from her lady-in-waiting, he knew who was guiding her.

'It was you the fifth Princess.'

'The one that knows a lot but is powerless.'

A smile formed on Aiden's face as he tapped on the desk. He did not know why he could not feel any sense of energy from the Princess. Maybe that's why he danced with her. A touch of skin could make him sense the energy in the other person, but the fifth Princess was powerless.

Her energy was like a blank paper. No matter where one saw, everything was empty.

'And yet she survived in the palace.'

'Or was it because she had no power that she survived?'

Aiden was confused. He did not know why he was so interested but he wanted to know a lot of things about her.

Duke Salvador knew that the fifth Princess was not completely useless. Maybe she might be the most important one of them all.

Aiden rang a bell calling his butler in.

"Get me all the information on the fifth Princess and the people close to her."

The butler nodded as he left in silence to carry out his job.

'Let's see what you are hiding ..'

------------------

"Amy, tell me what you saw."

As soon as Cassandra's words were spoken, Amy's eyes were filled with tears.

She didn't know why she was feeling so helpless. "I was going to dispose of the dress that you wore at the party. I had just washed it and buried it n the woods behind the palace when I heard some noises."

Cassandra nodded, as she listened. "Then .."

"But I could not hear anything. So I started practicing what you had taught me. Some rocks were levitating when I heard people talking." Amy's voice turned slow, almost whispering in fright.

"Were they the guards?" Cassandra asked as she looked at Amy who was about to cry.

Amy nodded. "Yes, and they were talking about the dead bodies. They were burying it inside the ground. I could feel them digging and it hurt me, Princess. I never felt like that and then the rocks that were levitating came down suddenly with a bang and I could not sense anything .." Amy's tears started rolling down. "I thought they saw me so I ran away."

Cassandra moved towards Amy as she rubbed her eyes. "It's okay. They do not know it was you. It's okay."

"But …"

"Amy, you saw to them, but they did not see you. Just make sure when you go out tomorrow you cough a little and no one will know it was you." Cassandra told Amy as she touched her head. "You sleep quietly. Everything will be okay."

"But Princess …" Amy's voice choked.

"Amy, trust me. Just sleep." Cassandra could feel Amy's body relax a little as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Cassandra, who could not sleep no matter what walked towards the window and looked at the moon shining brightly in the dark night.

'Things are changing fast.'

'I hope we survive this change.'