Everyoe knows now

Moniri could feel her heart pounding inside her head.

“Moniri, please. The best thing you can do is explain yourself.”

That made her realize there was no room for excuses in this situation. Before answering, she tried to think of all the possible responses she could give and which one would be best. But she gave up on that pretty quickly since she had to answer right away.

“W-well… I… when I came here… on the day of the coronation… I didn’t do it on purpose…”

“What are you talking about? We don’t understand you.”

Moniri took a deep breath.

“I have these powers… I didn’t have them before; they awakened on the day of the coronation. Honestly, I didn’t lie to you on purpose from the start. I was just… afraid.”

Her head drooped even lower. The fear she’d been suppressing for so long came to the surface, and though she tried to hide it, it was now obvious that she was trembling.

“Moniri, I understand that you were afraid, but you shouldn’t have hidden something so important.”

“I agree with your mother. As your parents, we need to know everything that’s going on with you, whether it’s simple or dangerous. And this could be very dangerous.”

Moniri looked up. In a desperate attempt, she began to speak nonstop, recalling something she had heard some time ago. Desperately searching for something to say so they wouldn’t send her away, she remembered the drought that was spreading more and more throughout the Empire.

“You don’t have to send me away. I can be of use to you. If you give me a chance to prove my worth, you’ll see just how capable I can be. I practice every day, and although I’ve made little progress so far, I’ll keep working on my powers… These powers could provide a solution to the drought.”

The Emperor and Empress were stunned by her words. Nothing had ever indicated to them that the girl thought this way. Shocked, Empress Tchanna set down her fork, took a deep breath, and looked at Moniri, who had turned bright red.

“My dear, you don’t have to—”

But Moniri didn’t let her finish.

“I’m telling you the truth now. Use me however you wish. If you want to get rid of me, why not just send me to the countries suffering from drought? Think of it as an opportunity—turn something bad into something good and beneficial. I won’t let you down—”

“Enough!”

Emperor Kaspen raised his voice.

“I think we’ve all heard enough.”

~~~~~~~

The atmosphere was unbearable as silence spread, but fortunately, it didn’t last long. Or unfortunately, as Emperor Kaspen took the floor again.

“Tchanna, Almond, leave us alone. And have the servants leave as well. Leave us alone with Moniri.”

When everyone had left the room, the Emperor sat down in the chair next to Moniri and, in a low voice, began to speak to her.

“If that’s what you want, then do it. If you want to help the Empire in this way or any other, then I’ll support you. But tell me, Moniri, have we ever asked you to do anything for us while you’ve been here?”

Moniri didn’t answer.

“Did we give you the impression that we wanted something in return when we adopted you?”

Moniri lowered her head even further. She tried to speak, but for some reason the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth. She felt a huge lump in her throat, and although she had stopped trembling, she thought she was making a serious mistake.

“Moniri, we adopted you because we wanted you to be our daughter, not some associate we can use.”

She felt her eyes sting.

“I didn’t mean it that way! I—I—”

“I know, you wanted to show that you’re grateful. You wanted to thank us somehow and show that we did the right thing by choosing to adopt you. But didn’t you realize that all of this would hurt your mother and father? Really, all of this is unnecessary.”

“I-I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean it that way…”

“Then, do you really want to go and end the drought?”

The question caught her off guard. It seemed sincere, with no hidden intentions.

Moniri raised her head and looked at him. The truth was that until then she hadn’t thought about it at all, it was simply the first thing that came to her mind.

But did she want to use her powers for that purpose? To help the Empire? These were some of the questions flooding her mind at that moment.

I’d like to live without these powers. I didn’t even ask for them. But since I have them, why not use them for good? If that’s what the Empire, of which I am now a princess, needs, why shouldn’t I be able to do it?

“I-I think I can help end the drought. I can’t bring water, but at least I’ll make the flowers come back to life.”

“That would indeed be quite helpful. But you won’t go alone. Two of the most capable knights of the Imperial Guard will accompany you.”

“Can Dee come with me, too?”

The Emperor paused for a moment to think.

“Who is Dee?”

“An elderly servant.”

“Just a simple servant?”

“She’s not simple at all! She knows a lot about my powers and has helped me a great deal all this time. I believe she’ll be a great help.”

Emperor Kaspen agreed, but before he could say anything, a loud knock on the door interrupted him.

~~~~~~~

“I’m going with Moniri, too!”

Almond burst into the dining hall, running.

“I’ll protect her, so let me go with her, too.”

The Emperor, seeing his determination and realizing he wouldn’t take no for an answer, agreed with a sigh. He knew that his children had formed a strong bond, and although he feared this was a rather dangerous journey, he had faith that they would do their utmost to protect one another.

Almond was holding her in his arms while Moniri tried to break free from his tight grip.

“Did you let them go?”

Asked Empress Tchanna, who had just entered the room as well.

“They’ll make it. I think so.”

“Aren’t two knights enough to escort them?”

The Emperor laughed.

“If I could, I’d go with them myself. If you’re that worried, I’ll send three knights on the journey. What do you say?”

“You increased the number by just one? Why? Don’t we have any other knights?”

The atmosphere had eased considerably. Moniri tried to calm herself with reassuring thoughts. After all, a long journey awaited her shortly.