Confrontation

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"..."

Finished with her threats, Azula moves away from the mirror, leaving her chambers. The spirit on the other hand continued to remain silent, confirming the princess' guesses.

Leaving her chambers in only a dressing gown and slippers, the princess silently walked through the spacious corridors of the palace, cleverly avoiding encounters with patrols of guards, who did not want to be seen in such an inappropriate form. The demon remained silent, watching her every move. Azula realised much from her little conversation with the spirit. She was not going to forgive the attempts to take over her body, and she was not going to even think about tolerating a stranger in her mind and body, no matter what he offered her. Since the unknown demon hadn't had the strength to take over her body earlier, she had time to find a way to get rid of him. The palace library held a wealth of knowledge, including various spirits and stories of people who had encountered them. That was exactly where she was headed. She had learnt the patrol times and routes as a child, so she had not encountered any guards along the way.

There were a couple of yawning guards at the entrance to the library, and they looked up as she approached. The princess quietly closed the door behind her and lit the lamps, entering the temple of knowledge hidden in the darkness. The blue flames illuminated the numerous shelves full of books and scrolls. In them she hoped to find a way, or at least a hint of it, to get rid of the extra voice in her head. The demon guessed the princess's goals and made himself known again.

"Books, scrolls, parchments, and other knowledge... you have read all of them, or most of them. You will not find what you seek in this place. Only disappointment awaits you here, a waste of effort and time, the latter being very valuable."

Azula paid no attention to the demon's voice, pacing the library in search of the books and scrolls she needed. Yes, she knew a lot, and had read most of the contents of the palace library. She even knew the location of some of the secret books and scrolls not for public access. Navigating perfectly, the girl walked among the racks of books, stopping in front of one unremarkable bookcase. Taking one of the books, quickly flipping through its pages, putting it back.

"Read slower, I'm in no hurry to get anywhere, but you should be," the demon retorted after the first book, which Azula quickly flipped through, remembering its contents.

The demon's words were habitually ignored, and the princess reached for the next book.

And so time flew by. The princess, forgetting all her needs, such as sleeping or eating, searched for any mention of spirits in the books, to the frequent snide comments of the demon, who was rarely silent for more than a minute. The books changed in the girl's hands, which, disregarding the time, continued to search for the information she needed.

However, everything she came across was not what was required. Knowledge of the various spirits did not help, because the interlocutor did not introduce himself, and from his actions she could not understand who he was and what kind of spirits belong to. Azula didn't think of giving up. Every now and then she would stumble upon something useful and new to her that she had previously taken for useless information.

Spirits are beings from the spirit world that exists parallel to the human world. Most of them live in their own world, but sometimes, for various reasons, some of them invade the human world. There are different kinds of spirits: animals, plants, people or even abstract concepts. Some treated humans with hostility, some not, it depends entirely on the spirit. Generally spirits were divided into light and dark, but the differences between these types were not written, nor were there any ways to resist them.

Azula had learnt all this in one of the very old scrolls, which she had not read before, considering the information useless. The same scroll also mentioned in passing a variety of abilities that spirits had, some of which could be absorbed into humans. The latter interested Azula the most, except....

"How little did you get after spending almost a whole night," the inner spirit said ironically, as it curiously followed all the princess' actions, seeing through her eyes everything she saw.

"People don't know anything about us, ah..." - mimicked the demon's feigned sorrowful sigh, "It's a shame the Avatar isn't here, he'd have no problem solving your problem. Probably hehehehehehehehehehe..." - The demon added one last time, laughing wickedly at its own irony.

The parasite felt his superiority, but it wouldn't last long, there were people in the capital who had such knowledge at their disposal that wasn't even mentioned in the palace library. Azula did not despair in the slightest, still genuinely believing that she could, if not make the spirit suffer, at least get rid of it without any problems. Not feeling the slightest bit tired, she headed back to her chambers. Glancing out the window on the way, letting the time be determined by the morning sun.

The blue sky, the clouds slowly creeping across it and the light breeze carrying the pleasant smell of the street and nature. To all this splendour the princess paid not the slightest attention, glancing briefly at the rising sun and continuing on her way.

"What a beautiful morning! You know, and you are keeping well, but how long will you last?" - the spirit remarked in a cheerful voice, not feeling any fatigue.

Once again she decided to ignore him, perhaps if she ignored his words he would at least shut up, or even leave her body? However, it was too naive to think about it that way, and the girl had never been naive.

Almost reaching her own quarters, still dodging the patrolling guards, she suddenly saw the floor approaching.

Azula manages to put her arms out in time to avoid sprawling straight down the corridor with her nose split open. It wasn't until she was on the floor that she realised she had suddenly stumbled to her feet! This had never happened to her before! The girl quickly recalled the strange sensation in her leg before collapsing on the floor in one of the palace's corridors.

"Oops...I'm not-cha-ya-no, hehehehehehehe," the demon's tugging voice involuntarily sent a crowd of goosebumps down the princess's back this time.

From the realisation that she couldn't fully control her body, Azula started to become truly terrified. Crumbs of fear began to fill the princess's heart, as did the possible consequences of such a spirit's antics. Training sparring, real combat, routine, eating, and that's only if the demon didn't gain even more influence over her... and if it did. The princess' heart knew true fear for the first time in her life.

Only by doing a breathing exercise, Azula was able to pull herself together, and quickly run to her chambers. Concentrating with all her mind on controlling her own body.

- You..." she glared angrily at her own reflection, her lips tightly pressed together, her eyebrows shifting menacingly, her eyes burning gold as they threw lightning bolts, she was now ready to kill and burn, but her opponent was out of reach.

"Yes. I did it. Did you really think you could threaten a spirit so easily and it would do nothing in response? How much the tone of your voice has changed, I guess you've already realised the power I have over you? Let me tell you what you are thinking: an accidental misfire in a training fight, the consequences of which will last a lifetime, just like your brother's scar, or a small bone that accidentally went down the wrong throat, or maybe indecent behaviour in a very serious society? The consequences of the latter you know very well from the example of your own brother."

- I'll get rid of you! - Azula replies with real hatred, clutching the frame of the mirror until it cracked, threatening to break it.

"Perhaps, but you know, a person can live without sleep for a little over ten days. And as soon as I fall asleep, I gain control of your body. A princess jumping off the palace roof and being left crippled, that would be fun."

- You're lying! You wouldn't dare to harm your future body! - Instantly, she instantly discerned the demon's next lie, feeling a crumb of her superiority.

"Yes, that would be a bit foolish of me," the spirit easily admitted to her statement, then just as easily continued.

"Instead I could run around the palace naked, or seduce several guards at once, oh, I've got an idea! I'll insult your father in public! I'll destroy your reputation! I'll make you an outcast like..."

- Shut up! Don't you dare compare me--

"...to your brother, whom you despise so much. It would be very amusing and wouldn't hurt my plans at all, in some places it might even be good for me. Of course, a scar on the face does not make a lady pretty, but I don't care about your appearance."

- I-I will destroy you! - The princess promised with trembling lips, feeling cramps all over her body. No, it wasn't cramps, but a barely contained rage that made her body shake. The desire to burn had never burned so brightly in Azula.

- Breathe, breathe, calm down. We need to...

"Stop talking out loud, they'll think I'm still crazy. I think I heard a guard..." - the demon added to her words. This time she listened to the demon's words, continuing to breathe already silently, until she regained control of her emotions. Calming down, the girl looked at herself in the mirror, wanting to tidy herself up, she habitually threw off her dressing gown, casting a brief glance at the mirror.

"The shapes aren't bad, thanks for the introduction, flaunt yourself in front of the mirror one more time, I didn't look at everything," the demon's words habitually poured oil on the princess' fire of hatred that she had to stop at the wardrobe and resume her breathing technique. This time genius played a bad role, allowing Azula to realise how many times, the unknown demon could have observed her naked in front of the mirror during this week.

The interlocutor was excellent at pissing her off, making his victim feel her weakness, waste energy on controlling her emotions, get helplessly angry... She realised his purpose almost immediately. To weaken her, to do everything possible to make her start to make mistakes. There was nothing Azula could do about it, all she could do was breathe and imagine what she would do to this thing if he were human. Would she kill it personally?! No, too merciful. Disabled him, stripped him of two legs and one arm and sent him to prison. No. Personally torture him, savouring every second of the creature's pain! Build a prison for one prisoner!

Pondering her retribution, Azula performed a breathing technique, regaining control of her emotions. Mental representations of her interlocutor's torture helped. The spirit tried to speak, telling her more and more ways to destroy the princess's familiar life. She tried not to pay attention, keeping the images of torture in her mind, bodily, psychological, long and agonising.

"Did I tell you that you have beautiful breasts? So soft and good in the palm of your hand, it was nice to touch them," - the princess's hand went under the dressing gown without her will, massaging the said breasts.

- No!" - hitting the hand that tried against her will to open the recently worn dressing gown, regaining control over her body.

"How stroppy you are, shouldn't we go to the servants?" - Cursing everything in the world Azula realised he was right. Gathering all her strength, tense beyond belief, she set off towards the staff of her maids.

The corridor flew by unnoticed. The maids were already waiting for her near their quarters. Deciding not to break out of her usual behaviour, Azula went to the hot springs. Where she once again provoked the demon into making vulgar comments. Ignoring the spirit's next words, for which the man would at best be killed in a duel, she quickly finished her business. Turning back to the maids, allowing them to begin tidying her up. Doing her best to make sure that the demon couldn't even for a moment seize control of any, even the smallest part of her body. Azula was so focused on her lesson that she gave up her favourite dessert, seedless cherries.

"You're doing well, but your condition is starting to be suspected, and you promised a couple of guards a sparring session today, will you keep your word? Little liar, hehehehehehehehehehe," the spirit reminded her of another problem, but there was still time before the meeting with the offending guards, and she was going to make the most of it. And the day was just beginning...

Clad in her armour, made perfect by her maids, the princess had skipped her training that morning. Instead, she decided to visit a place that held more knowledge than the palace library. A fire sage needed to be questioned. The same one who had performed the ritual she was still dealing with the consequences of. The sage lived in the capital, so it wasn't a problem to get to him. Everything would have been perfect if only one voice hadn't commented on everything Azula had seen.

"A palanquin? Are you afraid of getting your boots dirty on the blackness? Or are you uncomfortable with the sight of your subjects? Pity, I would have liked to see the capital of your realm. The very slaves who are forced to endure your cowardly father's shoddy rule," the spirit's further insults went unanswered. Only the gnashing of teeth showed the effort it cost Azula.

The princess climbed into her means of transport, travelling to one of the temples located in the capital city. She didn't like this way of travelling before, but it was the only way she was supposed to travel. Now paying full attention to the control of her body, she was expecting any trick or mischief from the spirit, ignoring everything it said. Luckily for her the way to the temple of the fire sages did not cause any problems.

"Beautiful building, you can see the style right away, I wonder how it was built? Maybe you know the answer? Ah yes, how would you know it..."

There was neither time nor desire to admire the great architecture of the structure. Ordering her servants to wait outside, she entered the temple. It didn't take long to find the elder she was looking for.

- Your Highness," with these words the old man showed a perfect bow befitting his status. Azula met him in one of the corridors of the temple.

- ''What brings you to the temple of the fire sages?

''Another waste of time. It's alright, I'll wait for you to realise everything, there's no hurry for me. It will be an unforgettable pleasure to watch you despair," the spirit said, which was habitually ignored.

- I had recently read a book about spirits. However, the information in the book did not satisfy my curiosity. Perhaps you can fix that," the princess lied without blinking an eye. She had thought of several stories on her way to this temple, despite the constant pestering of the spirit that tried to stop her.

- Of course. The sages of fire know a lot about the various spirits, our temple holds quite a bit of knowledge about it. Should I tell you something specific or provide you with a list of necessary literature? - The Sage replied calmly.

- I am most interested in the spirits that are able to inhabit people. Do you know anything about it? - Without showing too much interest, Azula inquired discreetly, as if her life did not depend on this information.

- Hm? May I ask... - the old man was confused, not expecting such a question. But before he could finish his sentence, he was quickly put in his place by the stern voice of the princess.

- I asked a question, sage, - a pressurising look perfectly demonstrated what was wanted from him. The old man only had to lower his gaze and bow his head.

- Yes, Princess. I know something about it. Some spirits can actually enter people's bodies. Their victims are called possessed. Sometimes the spirits absorb the real personality of the body, turning the person into a real monster," the old man continued in a somewhat guilty tone, not realising what was being asked of him.

- A monster?

- Yes. It happens because there are two souls. Two souls cannot fit in one body, so even the slightest presence of an extra spirit in the body will inevitably change it, making it a monster at best, and at worst it will kill it, twisting the body beyond recognition. Even if the spirit is weak and harmless, the effects of possession will be visible on the person's body.

- I wish to learn as much as I can about it," Azula said with an outwardly calm expression, though a veritable gehenna of feelings raged inside her.

- My memory is less than perfect, and sages rarely deal with spirits. May I provide you with a list of the books and scrolls you need? I can also send out hawks with your order to search other temples for such information, but that will take time.

- Yes, do so. However, I wish to familiarise myself with all available information as soon as possible. I have too much to do at the palace to devote my time to this. I hope it won't take too long.

- No, not at all, Your Highness. Shall I escort you to the temple library, or shall I bring the necessary scrolls to the palace?

Feeling an advantage over the hostile spirit, Azula's mood began to improve. Confirming her hunch, the spirit remained meaningfully silent. Soon she would be rid of the demon and live the normal life of a princess of the best country in the world again.

Having travelled with the sage to the temple library, she was confident of her imminent victory over the unknown demon...