-Victoria-
The rest of the day, all the way through dinner, was a blur. I did end up telling Ani and Annamorith, who had agreed to let me shorten her name to Anna, the first person to do so, about the letter from the prince. They were both skeptical but ultimately accepted after I reminded them that I'd be attending classes with the Aivorians and having the prince on my side would be beneficial. Mostly, I was just excited to have some alone time with him. Just the thought of being beside him, of him helping me, filled me with a sense of joy that seemed to come from somewhere else. As dinner winded down, he caught my eye, nodding slightly before leaving with his crew.
Turned out, I had my own crew as Ani and Anna escorted me to the library with the intent to stay and supervise. I laughed a bit, reminding them I was an adult and could take care of myself. Anna just pinned me with a stern look.
"You can never be to careful with those people," She said.
"Aivorians?" I asked, a little shook by some potential bigotry.
"No!" She looked offended I had even asked, "Men!"
I broke down laughing with her while Ani just stood chuckling awkwardly. Their intentions didn't matter, however, when we arrived at the library door. There was a wall in front of it. Not an actual wall, but a man who looked like a wall. His blue uniform barely fit over his massive body. He let me through with a nod but stopped Anna and Ani before they could follow.
"Sorry the library's closed for the night." He said, "By order of the prince."
"Our friend's going in," Anna argued, "And we intend to make sure everything stays proper."
"I'm sorry, prince's orders." The wall crossed his arms, "Only the young lady goes in."
"The prince can't just say who can go in and out of the library!" Anna continued to argue, her voice getting louder, "We have a right to this library whenever we want. And if we want to keep an eye on our new friend while she has her "study" session with the prince we will. If only to make sure he doesn't try anything funny. I've heard the rumors. I know what he was like before. If you think I'm gonna put my friend in that situation, you've got another thing coming."
"Anna!" I yelled, trying to cut her rant off before she got hurt trying to punch the wall.
"What!?" She was panting in anger.
"I'm perfectly capable of going in alone," I assured her, "You guys can even wait out here for me. Once I'm done, I'll be sure to tell you everything that happened."
"Everything?" Her eyes narrowed.
"I'll even bring you down to my room for girl talk." I sweetened the deal.
"Fine." She conceded, "But you only have an hour, then I want my girl talk."
"What about me?" Ani asked, feeling excluded.
"Be quiet, Ani," Anna said, waving him off, "You're practically a girl."
"Hey!" He was bright red and offended.
"Ok you two," I laughed, "I'll be back in one hour."
"We'll be waiting!" Anna yelled after me, as the door closed.
The massive library was dimly lit and there was not a soul in sight. I roamed through the empty tables, peering down row after row of books, trying to find the prince. I stopped in front of a large staircase at the end of the library which led to the second floor. I thought it was rather rude the prince would make me climb all the way up there when he closed the entire library.
"Your friend is rather spirited." A male voice said, right next to my ear.
I must have jumped a foot in the air, my fist pulled back and ready to wack whoever it was behind me. The person I found was the prince with an amused look on his face, chuckling lightly.
"Don't do that!" I breathed heavily, my hand over my heart, "You're gonna give me a heart attack."
"Apologies," He was still laughing, "It was too good an opportunity to pass up."
"Yeah well, next time maybe don't seize the opportunity." I slowed my breathing.
"Of course," He bowed a little, "Come. I think we'll be more comfortable on the couch."
He led me over to an alcove nearby with a couch, some comfy chairs, and an unlit fireplace. I thought how nice it would be to have a fire going. As if he read my mind, the prince waved his hand and the fire came alive. He motioned for me to sit, joining me on the couch one I was comfortable, our legs lightly brushing against each other.
"Before we begin our lesson," He said, "I want to apologize for what happened during lunch and in Professor Zekora's class. Ustrea is very...childish."
"Your highness..."
"Azax." He interrupted me, my heart skipping a beat, "When we are alone, please call me Azax."
"Azax..." I tested the name, putting my hand on his knee, "You have nothing to apologize for. She did all that, not you."
"I should've helped you." He covered my hand with his, my heart beat faster.
"I had friends there who helped me," I said with a comforting smile, "Bullies are more annoying to me than scary."
"Nevertheless, next time I will intervene." He assured me.
We sat like that for a while in complete silence. His hand on mine resting on his leg. Just staring, lost in each other's eyes. We shifted to be closer, our legs now fully touching. We seemed to just get closer and closer until a loud noise from beyond the library walls startled us. Our hands retracted as our heads shot behind us to locate the sound. I caught sight of the clock. 20 minutes had somehow gone by while we were sitting there. I coughed to get Azax's attention.
"I promised my friends an hour," I said sheepishly, moving away.
"Right." He said, straightening himself, "We'd best get started. Now, I know Professor Zekora had you looking inside yourself for your magic but you couldn't seem to locate it."
"Yeah," I admitted, ashamed of myself, "Seems like there's nothing there."
"That's where you're wrong." I furrowed my brow at his words, he continued, "When I used my magic to feel if you were Aivorian, I felt your magic respond to mine. I think your magic just needs stimulation in order to wake up."
"Guess it's worth a shot." I shrugged.
"Close your eyes and reach for it just like Professor Zekora told you to." Azax said, holding up his hand as blue energy began to surround it.
I did as he said, focusing on the spot where I knew I had felt something building inside me before. I felt nothing. I peeked out one eye to see myself covered in blue energy and Azax's eyes closed in concentration. I closed my eye again, putting all my focus into that one spot. Still nothing.
"Stop thinking so much," Azax said, "You have to relax. You can't force it forward."
Trying to make my body relax was impossible. I was riddled with nerves and anxieties about not being able to do this. If anything, him telling me to relax had just made everything harder. I felt someone enter my body space, pushing me back onto the couch more. My eyes flew open only to meet Azax's own. He was inches from me. One hand braced on the back of the couch while the other hovered between us.
"I know you can feel your magic when it swells, looking for release." He breathed, "Where do you feel it?"
Instead of telling him, I grabbed the hand between us, guiding it onto the lowest part of my stomach. A wave of pleasure came over me as his energy penetrated my body. Azax body seemed to meld with mine as he whispered in my ear.
"Reach down...find your magic." I felt the energy build deep inside, coaxed out by Azax's magic, "Now let go and open your eyes."
My eyes flew open with a gasp. Surrounding us were hundreds of bright, shining lights, like stars in the night sky. Azax just looked at me with such intensity it left me more breathless than the lights.
"It's beautiful," I whispered.
"This is your magic, Victoria," He responded gently, "Do you feel it?"
"Yes..." I breathed, knowing he meant more than just my magic.
A fraction of a second later, his lips were on mine. I moaned into the kiss, as the energy between us grew. The surrounding lights grew brighter and multiplied. His hand on my stomach began to move upwards, lightly brushing my breasts before coming to cup my cheek. His thigh came to rest between my legs as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him ever closer. Our need for air soon took over, and we broke apart with a gasp. His lips began assaulting my neck, a string of moans fell from my lips. His free hand made the trip down along my body, barely stopping to hold my breasts, it's destination much further south.
I moaned my approval, spreading my legs wider the lower his hand got. He reclaimed my mouth in a bruising kiss as his hand past the top of my skirt, coming back up along my inner thigh. He gathered the skirt more and more until it bunched around my waist. Azax's hand stopped at the waist line of my underwear. He broke the kiss, staring me deep in the eyes, asking permission. I just dragged him back into another searing kiss, showing my approval. He slowly moved in, seconds away from pleasure, and...
"I ORDER YOU TO MOVE ASIDE!!" A voice I unfortunately recognized screeched from outside the library door.
We froze. The lights disappeared. The interruption severed the connection we had formed. Azax stood up off me as I moved to fix my skirt. We were both a little flustered at how carried away we got. We could still hear the princess yelling at the wall guarding the door.
"I'm sorry," Azax said, helping me to stand up from the couch, "I got rather carried away."
"We both did," I replied, blushing. "I'm just sorry we got interrupted."
"She has a tendency to do that," He laughed, "Ustrea has been following me around since the engagement like a whiny, lovesick dog."
"Engagement?" Saddest and fear gripped my heart.
"Well, not really engagement," He assured, "More like a promising,"
"You're promised to her?" Shock took over my body. I felt sick to my stomach.
"It's fate," He looked at me confused, "Didn't you know that?"
"I've only been here two days," I reminded him, getting angry, "I don't know anything about this place."
"Victoria, I'm truly sorry, I thought you knew." He reached to comfort me, but I shoved him away.
"And that would make it ok?!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "If you're meant to be with her, then what was all this!?"
"I don't know," He looked down ashamed.
"Well, thank you for the lesson, your highness," I said, tears overflowing my eyes in anger and embarrassment, "But I think it's best we don't do this again."
"Victoria..." He tried to grab my arm, but I just shook him off, storming my way towards the door, "Victoria, wait!"
I ignored him and pushed through the door, shocking everyone gathered there. I barely glanced at any of them as I ran away from the library. I heard Ani and Anna calling my name as they chased behind me, but I didn't care. I felt used and never wanted to be near the prince again.