"They're spies, young Zeron," said Zeitok, catching his astonished and fascinated gaze.
"I've more or less guessed it. Could I be one someday?"
Zeitok raised his eyebrows, then smiled at him, a rather vague smile.
"These beings have undergone very special training in addition to their natural talents, but above all they are selected on the basis of their personality, which must possess an asse...specific characteristic."
Which you apparently don't possess, so you'll never become a spy. The implication was more than clear.
Zeron merely bowed his head and continued walking.
They now came to a park whose tenants were as eclectic as Gaazal's. They seemed to be happy, in good spirits. They seemed to be happy, fit and living in harmony.
The man in charge of the park, Professor Tengo, was a reflection of his passion. He was lean and had skin like an old bark, hair as long and lively as a hundred-year-old tree, and his outfit was a long tunic under which numerous creatures appeared and disappeared.
He didn't talk much, but as soon as someone started a discussion on his favorite subject, no one could stop him, so much so that Jiide and Zeron exchanged an amused glance.
There were many students of various ages in the park. Zeitok announced in a light tone that, starting next week, some of them would become his classmates. Some were curious about their presence, but others were not. There was, however, a group of boys who regarded young Zeron with sly, mocking eyes. The leader, who clearly stood out, turned to a huge, usually boisterous creature with beige fur, turned red and cast a spell on it, causing it to run wildly in all directions towards the young prince, who was brutally pushed back by the beast.
Professor Tengo intervened in time and calmed the beast. The culprits rushed to the scene and played innocent, claiming that they had only wanted to test a new spell that had unfortunately gone awry. The chief even helped Zeron to his feet.
"Sorry again."
Zeron smiled at him and accepted his help.
"It's nothing..."
The chef shook the hand of the newcomer who had come to crush him, then added, sibylline.
"Alas, this kind of incident will be repeated. I apologize in advance."
Jiide too heard the words of this insolent, deceitful kid, and his heart tore at the thought of leaving his young nephew so weak at the mercy of this kind of cruel, obstinate predator, but there was nothing he could do. He had to leave him here and hope again it would all be worth it.
The group continued their tour for a while, then at one point, as they crossed a huge bridge linking two gigantic buildings, explosions were heard. Curious and excited, Zeron looked around, then finding the source of all this chaos, ran to the railing. It was an open-air training exercise by two soldiers backed by their beasts.
"These creatures are called Gournouk. Specific beasts that are the companions of Gaazal members."
They were beasts three times the size of an individual, robust, fast and intelligent.
"Will I get one too, Master?" inquired Zeron, not taking his eyes off the battle scene.
"Of course, young Zeron."
This time, he turned around, all smiles.
"You hear that, Uncle, I too will have a Gour..."
But his voice died along with his smile when he realized his uncle was gone. He was gone.
Zeitok felt sorry for the lonely young man who had little to make up for it. He would never understand how such an untalented being could have been born into the galaxy's most illustrious family, whose power and magic, especially of its ruling members, was legendary.
Fate was sometimes cruel beyond description. And perhaps worst of all, the child seemed unable to accept this reality.
The ruler of Gaazal straightened up, vowing to use everything in his power to fight this fate, then took his protégé by the shoulders and consoled him.
"Come, young Zeron, I'll show you to your room myself. It's a privilege", he added jokingly, which relaxed the young boy a little.
The next evening, after dinner, Zeron went to the building where the Gournouks were kept.
He admired them with a pensive air, not noticing that the chief and his gang had followed him there and, after a quick good-night, pushed him violently to the ground.
"Why do you keep attacking me?"
"Why do you keep attacking me?" repeated the chief in the same tone, "do you hear that, guys?" he gestured to his henchmen, who sniggered along with him.
"I've done nothing to you!" insisted Zeron, who tried to stand up, but the chief pushed him back down hard.
"True, but knowing you're getting privileges simply because you're of Imperial blood makes me want to murder, so..."
"It's not my fault!"
"But it's probably your fault for being such a loser. Yes, little prince," he confirmed, seeing the young boy's expression, "everyone knows now. That you're such a loser that your uncle had no choice but to get rid of you by sending you here."
"That's not true! My uncle loves me!"
"He's ashamed of you, yes!" they refuted, bursting into laughter.
His face contorted with rage, Zeron got to his feet and threw himself at the chief. It was a fight lost in advance.
Tengo, who, as usual, was the last to check that the animals were settled in for the night, was the only one to hear the suspicious and worrying noises and ran as fast as he could. But when he reached the building of the masterless Gournouks, the sight he discovered was so abominable and distressing that he knew he'd never forget it.
"Oh no, young Zeron," the master of Gaazal's flora and fauna could only say.
"But what have you done to him?" he added in a dismayed whisper.
He never spoke of this incident to anyone, to protect his students no matter what their crime, and above all to protect himself.
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CHAPTER 2
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The royal garden of Aedor castle was famous throughout the system for its beauty and richness, to the point where it was open to the public during the warm season.
Now it was the cold season, so residents could enjoy this quasi-sacred place during these short moments of the year.
It was dusk, and the garden was peaceful as usual in the early evening, when a small grey animal ran like mad, obviously trying to escape from something...or someone.
He finally stopped his mad run by taking shelter in a beautifully trimmed bush.
He thought he'd escaped his pursuer when a shadow suddenly covered him and vengeful hands grabbed him before lifting him to her full height.
It was a sublime young girl of around twelve, whose long hair was as flamboyant as the twilight that illuminated the entire royal city with its glowing veils.
"I've got you now, you little thief. Did you really think you could get away with this?"
The little thief crouched on top of him, trembling with fear.
"For once Mom made me a snack herself, you had to eat the rest. I'm going to..."
"Come now, Your Highness, it was only crumbs, you can't blame him for that."
The girl was Princess Aidine Koroth, heiress to the throne of the kingdom of Aedor.
The one who intervened was an earth giant who resided in the garden and ensured that it remained as sublime and bewitching as it was meant to be.
"I don't care if they were just crumbs, because they were my crumbs, I'll do what I want with them like not wanting to share them!"
"Careful, highness, you're going to get into trouble if you go on like this, people and especially boys hate women with bad tempers! Remember what happened last time!"
"I don't care!" she repeated before turning back to the culprit who was almost crying, so at this pathetic sight, the princess's heart melted.
"Well all right, I'll let you go this time, because you're too adorable."
After one last look of warning, the young girl set the creature down, who ran off without asking for a rest.
"There, you're happy!" she asked the giant, before turning away and heading for the castle.
"If you like. Why are you out earlier than usual from your classes, your highness, still with your bad manners?"
"Ah ah! Very funny, Ogel. And no, it's not because of my bad manners, which, by the way, are very infrequent," she corrected, earning an immediate sneer from her interlocutor, "but because I've been working well"
"And on what, if I may be so indiscreet."
"On the enchanted waters of Geley "
The giant frowned.
"The sacred waters that reveal the truth?"
"Yes. Precisely."
"Then is it only a legend, or do these fantastic waters really exist?"
"My teacher says they do, but this time, I'd really like to see to believe."
She crossed her arms.
"Between you and me, I doubt this planet even exists."
The giant raised his eyes to the sky.
"What a temper!"
"Not at all!" she denied, sulkily.
"One day, you'll meet a being you can do nothing against."
Disdainful, the young princess merely shrugged her shoulders and spun away.
"Beautiful and reckless as you are, you won't be able to escape it," murmured the giant again, following the heiress with his eyes before returning to his "kingdom".
The young princess had every intention of joining her beloved mother in her chambers. She crossed the great hall, all marble and precious wood, climbed the monumental staircases and crossed a long corridor at the end of which were the queen's apartments.
One of the corridor's doors was open, two servants were bustling about, and on hearing what they were saying, Aidine stopped dead in her tracks to listen in.
"So what I heard was true!"
"Oh yes, since my sister's husband's cousin works as a gardener in the Obel ducal family. The youngest of the family is, as everyone knows, friends with the princess. So she spent some time there, in their manor. And on the next day she left, the manor burned to the ground."
"Were there any deaths?"
"Only one, that of the duke's nephew, the latter's father was himself a marquis."
"Only son?"
"No, he was first in order."
"I see."
"This created a terrible conflict between the two families!"
The two servants shuddered.
"Ah, just seeing that ostentatious hair especially burning under the light makes me tremble from head to toe!"
"And do you remember the incident with her pet?"
"Oh yes, I'll never forget it."
Neither would Aidine, and maybe those two women and everyone else who thought she was cursed because of her hair were right, but that didn't mean she'd put up with them saying it out loud.
She put her hand on the door, closed it with her magic, blazed and then created a dust storm in the room that made the two chatterboxes scream in fear and pain. Aidine then ran to take refuge in her mother's suite, which, to her great disappointment, was empty.
She winced, and decided to do a little snooping while waiting for her return.
What she loved most about her mother's estate were the chandeliers, occupying almost the entire ceiling, like a moving river of diamonds and emitting different light.
She contemplated them for a moment before going to play.
She knew her mother's secret place, an invisible cupboard at the head of her bed. So she climbed in and knocked eight times, a magic screen appeared demanding a password. She knew it, her name Aidine backwards. The closet door opened, and what she found inside surprised and fascinated her. A sparkling blue stone in the shape of a hexagon. Aidine hesitated, then reached out for the stone, which glowed at her approach.
"No, don't," shouted someone behind her in a worried voice. But too late, the blue stone shone brightly and released magical waves that violently pushed the princess away. Fortunately, the person who had been shouting at her not to touch the stone was there, and caught her in mid-air.
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