"..."
Having finished her threats, Azula moved away from the mirror, leaving her chambers. The spirit, however, remained silent, confirming the princess's suspicions.
Emerging from her chambers in just a robe and slippers, the princess moved silently through the spacious palace corridors, skillfully avoiding encounters with patrolling guards, as she did not wish to be seen in such an unbecoming state. The demon remained silent, observing her every action. Azula had learned much from their brief conversation with the spirit. She had no intention of forgiving the attempts to take her body and had no desire to tolerate a stranger in her mind and body, no matter what he offered. Since the unknown demon had lacked the strength to possess her body before, she had time to find a way to get rid of him. The palace library held a wealth of knowledge, including information about various spirits and stories of people who had encountered them. That was precisely where she was headed. Fortunately, as a child, she had studied the times and patrol routes, so she encountered no guards on her way.
At the entrance to the library stood a couple of yawning guards, who quickly assumed an appropriate demeanor as she approached. Without difficulty, she entered the temple of knowledge, hidden in darkness, quietly closed the door behind her, and lit the lamps. Blue flames illuminated numerous shelves filled with books and scrolls. In them, she hoped to find a way, or at least a hint, to rid herself of the extra voice in her head. The demon guessed the princess's intentions and made his presence known again.
"Books, scrolls, parchments, and other knowledge... have you read all of them, or most of them? You won't find what you're looking for here. Only disappointment, wasted effort, and time await you here, and time is very valuable."
Azula paid no attention to the demon's voice, striding through the library in search of the needed books and scrolls. Yes, she knew much, and had read most of the contents of the palace library. She even knew the location of some secret books and scrolls not for public access. Navigating expertly, the girl moved among the bookshelves, stopping before an unremarkable bookshelf. Taking down a book, she quickly flipped through its pages and put it back.
"Read slower, I'm not in any hurry, but you should be," the demon responded after the first book, which Azula had quickly skimmed, recalling its contents.
The demon's words were habitually ignored, and the princess reached for the next book.
Time flew by. The princess, forgetting all her needs, such as sleep or meals, searched for any mention of spirits in books, under the frequent sarcastic comments of the demon, who rarely remained silent for more than a minute. Books changed hands, and the girl, paying no attention to the time, continued to search for the necessary information.
However, everything she came across was not what she needed. Knowledge about various spirits was unhelpful, as the interlocutor did not deign to introduce himself, and from his actions, she could not determine who he was or what kind of spirit he belonged to. Azula had no intention of giving up. From time to time, she stumbled upon something useful and new for herself, which she had previously considered useless information.
Spirits are beings from the spirit world that exists parallel to the human world. Most of them reside in their own world, but sometimes, for various reasons, some of them invade the human world. There are different types of spirits: animal, plant, human, or even abstract concepts. Some were hostile towards humans, others were not; it depended entirely on the spirit. Mostly, spirits were divided into light and dark, but the differences between these types were not written down, nor were there any methods to counteract them.
Azula learned all this from a very old scroll that she had not read before, considering the information useless. This same scroll briefly mentioned various abilities found in spirits, some of which could possess humans. The latter interested Azula the most, but...
"You've learned so little, having spent almost an entire night," the inner spirit ironically noted, observing all the princess's actions with curiosity, seeing everything she saw through her eyes.
"Humans know nothing about us, ah..." the demon feigned a mournful sigh. "What a pity there is no Avatar, he would solve your problem without any trouble. Perhaps, heh-heh-heh-heh..." the demon added at the end, chuckling sinisterly at his own irony.
The parasite felt its superiority, but it wouldn't last long. In the capital, there were people who possessed knowledge that was not even mentioned in the palace library. Azula was not discouraged at all, still sincerely believing that she could, if not make the spirit suffer, then at least get rid of him without trouble. Feeling no fatigue, she headed back to her chambers. Along the way, she glanced out a window to determine the time by the morning sun.
The sky was turning blue, clouds were slowly drifting across it, and a light breeze carried the pleasant scent of the street and nature. The princess paid no attention to this magnificent sight, taking a brief look at the rising sun, and continued on her way.
"What a beautiful morning! You know, you're holding up well, but how long will you last?" the spirit noted cheerfully, feeling no fatigue.
She decided to ignore him again. Perhaps if she didn't pay attention to his words, he would at least shut up, or even leave her body? However, thinking in this way was too naive, and the girl had never suffered from naivety.
Almost reaching her own chambers, still avoiding encounters with patrolling guards, she suddenly saw an approaching obstacle.
Azula managed to raise her hands, thus avoiding landing face-first on the corridor floor and smashing her nose. Only when she found herself on the floor did she realize that she had unexpectedly tripped! This had never happened to her before! The girl quickly recalled strange sensations in her leg before collapsing onto the floor in one of the palace corridors.
"Oops... I didn't mean to, heh-heh-heh-heh," this time the demon's drawn-out voice involuntarily sent a shiver down the princess's spine.
From the realization that she could not fully control her body, Azula began to experience real horror. Crumbs of fear began to fill the princess's heart, as did the possible consequences of the spirit's outburst. A training sparring match, a real fight, routine daily life, meals, and this is only if the demon doesn't gain even more influence over her... and what if he does? The princess's heart experienced true fear for the first time in her life.
Only after performing a breathing exercise was Azula able to regain control of herself and quickly run to her chambers. Focusing all her mind on controlling her own body.
"You..." she glared furiously at her own reflection: tightly pressed lips, menacingly furrowed brows, golden eyes that darted lightning, she was now ready to kill and burn, but the opponent was beyond reach.
"Yes. It was me. Did you really think you could threaten a spirit and it would do nothing in response? Your tone of voice has changed so much, I think you already understand what power I have over you? Let me voice your thoughts: an accidental misstep in a training fight, the consequences of which will last a lifetime, like the scar on your brother's face, or a small bone accidentally getting into the wrong throat, or perhaps indecent behavior in very serious company? You already know the consequences of the latter from your own brother's example."
"I'll get rid of you!" Azula replied with genuine hatred, clenching the mirror frame until it creaked, threatening to break it at any moment.
"Perhaps, but you know, a person can live without sleep for a little more than ten days. And as soon as you fall asleep, I will gain control of your body. A princess jumping from the palace roof and becoming a cripple, that would be amusing."
"You're lying! You wouldn't dare harm your future body!" she instantly saw through another of the demon's lies, feeling a sliver of her own superiority.
"Yes, that would be a bit foolish on my part," the spirit admitted easily to her statement, then continued just as easily.
"Instead, I can run around the palace naked, or seduce several guards at once, oh! I've got it! I'll publicly insult your father! Destroy your reputation! Make you an exile, like..."
"Shut up! Don't you dare compare me..."
"...your brother, whom you despise so much. It would be very amusing and wouldn't harm my plans at all; in some ways, it might even play into my hands. Of course, a scar on the face doesn't suit a lady, but I don't care about your appearance."
"I-I will destroy you!" the princess promised with trembling lips, experiencing convulsions all over her body. No, these were not convulsions, but barely suppressed rage that made her body tremble. The desire to burn had never burned so brightly in Azula.
"Breathe, breathe, calm down. We need to..."
"Stop talking aloud, they'll think you're crazy. I think I heard a guard..." the demon added her words. This time, she heeded the demon's words, continuing to breathe 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 took off her robe, casting a quick glance at the mirror.
"The shapes are not bad, thank you for the show, strut in front of the mirror one more time, I didn't see everything," the demon's words habitually added fuel to the princess's hatred. She had to stop at the wardrobe and resume her breathing technique. This time, her genius played a negative role, allowing Azula to realize how many times the unknown demon had watched her naked in front of the mirror during the week.
The interlocutor was excellent at provoking her, forcing his victim to feel her weakness, spend energy on controlling her emotions, and helplessly get angry... She immediately understood his goal. To weaken her, to do everything possible to make her make mistakes. There was nothing she could do about it; all she could do was breathe and imagine what she would do to this creature if it were human. Would she kill it personally?! No, too merciful. Would she cripple it, deprive it of two legs and one arm, and exile it to prison. No. She would personally torture it, enjoying every second of the creature's pain! She would build a prison for a single inmate!
While contemplating her revenge, Azula practiced the breathing technique, regaining control of her emotions. Mental visualizations of torturing the interlocutor helped. The spirit tried to talk, telling her new and new ways to destroy the princess's accustomed life. She tried to ignore him, keeping images of torture, physical and psychological, long and agonizing, in her mind.
"Did I say you have beautiful breasts? So soft and fit well in the palm, it was pleasant to touch them," the princess's hand, on its own volition, slipped under her robe, beginning to massage the mentioned breasts.
"No!" hitting the hand that tried to open her newly donned robe against her will, she regained control of her body.
"How stubborn you are, isn't it time we went to the servants?" cursing everything in the world, Azula understood that he was right. Gathering all her strength, tense to the point of impossibility, she headed to her staff of servants.
The corridor flew by unnoticed. The maids were already waiting for her near their chambers. Deciding not to deviate from her usual behavior, Azula went to the hot springs. Where she once again provoked the demon into vulgar comments. Ignoring the spirit's further words, for which a person would have been demonstratively killed in a duel at best, she quickly finished all her business. Returning to the maids, she allowed them to begin attending to her. Exerting all her efforts so that the demon could not seize control of even the slightest part of her body, even for a moment. Azula was so focused on her task that she refused her favorite dessert, cherries without pits.
"You're holding up well, but people are starting to suspect your condition, and you promised a couple of guards a sparring match today, aren't you going to keep your word? Little liar, heh-heh-heh-heh," the spirit reminded her of another problem, but there was still time before meeting the offending guards, and she intended to use it wisely. And the day was just beginning...
Clad in armor, perfectly groomed by the maids, the princess skipped her training sessions that morning. Instead, she decided to visit a place that held far more knowledge than the palace library. It was necessary to question a fire sage. The very one who had performed the ritual, the consequences of which she had to live with to this day. Fortunately, the sage lived in the capital, so getting to him was not difficult. Everything would have been perfect if only one voice hadn't commented on everything Azula saw.
"A palanquin? Are you afraid of getting your boots dirty on the commoners? Or are you disgusted by the sight of your subjects? Too bad, I wanted to see the capital of your empire. Those very slaves who are forced to endure the pathetic rule of your cowardly father," the spirit's further insults remained unanswered. Only the grinding of her teeth showed the effort it took Azula.
The princess got into her mode of transportation, heading to one of the temples located in the capital. She had never liked this method of travel before, but her status demanded it. Now, paying all her attention to controlling her body, she expected any trick or mischief from the spirit, ignoring all his words. Fortunately for her, the journey to the temple of the fire sages was uneventful.
"A beautiful building, the style is evident immediately, I wonder how it was built? Perhaps you know the answer? Oh, yes, how would you know..."
There was neither time nor desire to admire the magnificent architecture. Ordering the servants to wait outside, she entered the temple. Finding the elder she needed was not difficult; it did not take much time.
"Your Highness," with these words, the old man demonstrated a perfect bow corresponding to his status. Azula met him in one of the temple corridors.
"What brings you to the temple of fire sages?"
"Another waste of time. It's fine, I'll wait until you realize everything, I'm not in a hurry. Watching your despair will be an unforgettable pleasure," the spirit responded, which was habitually ignored.
"Recently, I read a book about spirits. However, the information contained in the book did not satisfy my curiosity. Perhaps you can correct this," the princess lied without batting an eye. On her way to this temple, she had thought up several stories, despite the constant harassment of the demon, who tried to hinder her.
"Of course. Fire sages know a lot about various spirits, and our temple holds a lot of knowledge about this. Shall I tell you something specific or provide a list of necessary literature?" the Sage replied calmly.
"Most of all, I was interested in spirits that can possess people. Do you know anything about this?" Azula inquired reservedly, without showing excessive interest, as if her life did not depend on this information.
"Hmm? May I ask..." the old man stammered, taken aback, as he did not expect such a question. But before he could finish his sentence, he was quickly put in his place by the princess's stern voice.
"I asked a question, sage," her imposing gaze clearly demonstrated what was expected of him. The old man had no choice but to lower his gaze and bow his head.
"Yes, Princess. I know something about this. Some spirits can indeed possess human bodies. Their victims are called possessed. Sometimes spirits consume the original personality of the body, turning the person into a real monster," the old man continued in a somewhat guilty tone, not understanding what they wanted from him.
"A monster?"
"Yes. This is due to the presence of 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, turning it into a monster at best, or simply killing it, distorting the body beyond recognition at worst. Even if the spirit is weak and harmless, the consequences of possession will be visible on the person's body."
"I wish to know as much as possible about this," Azula said, outwardly calm, although a veritable hell of emotions raged within her.
"My memory is not that perfect, and sages rarely deal with spirits. Allow me to provide you with a list of necessary books and scrolls? I can also send hawks with your order to search for similar information in other temples, but that will take time."
"Yes, do that. However, I wish to familiarize myself with all available information as soon as possible. I have too many affairs at the palace to dedicate my time to this. I hope it won't take long."
"No, Your Highness. Shall I escort you to the temple library, or bring the necessary scrolls to the palace?.."
Feeling an advantage over the hostile spirit, Azula's mood began to improve. Confirming her suspicions, the spirit remained significantly silent. Soon she would get rid of the demon and live the normal life of a princess of the best country in the world again.
Leaving with the sage for the temple library, she was confident in her impending victory over the unknown demon...