After successfully deciphering the information on Wikipedia, I finally finished this chapter. Oh, and sorry if the Aztec names are kind of hard to pronounce. That's why I used nicknames. Enjoy.
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I was first summoned by an Aztec prince named Cuauhtémoc in 1519, my first year of existence. Back then I was known as Quiyahuitl, a very simple name. I got along fairly well with Cua, as I called him.
Cua was very independent and would sometimes play tricks on the servants that followed him everywhere he went. I was often asked to sneak into their rooms while they slept and place cockroaches in their beds, or take the form of a jaguar and chase them around the palace when they woke up in the morning. I was never asked to do anything dangerous, so I enjoyed my job
However, the fun didn't last. It was around this time that the Spanish arrived. They brought diseases such as smallpox with them. The smallpox soon began to infect and kill the people of the empire. Not even Tenochtitlan, the capital, was safe.
Things went from bad to worse. A Spaniard called Cortes, who had allied himself with different tribes he met along the way, attacked the city of Cholula. There, he murdered thousands of unarmed humans and burned most of the city down.
He then arrived at Tenochtitlan. The emperor allowed him into the city, hoping to learn more about his enemy. But he was kidnaped and some time later, he was killed. Cua's uncle was made emperor. Only eighty days later, the new emperor died of smallpox. My master replaced him.
For awhile, Cortes became preoccupied with more important matters, and the Aztecs were able to relax. But that soon changed. One day, a marid showed up at the palace. It had a message for the emperor.
I stood next to Cua's throne in the form of a slave girl and watched the spirit approach. Several of the advisors took two or three steps back. It had taken the form of the sky god, Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent. "I am Necalli," it hissed. "I come with a message from my master."
"You mean Cortes?" my master asked.
"Yes. He suggests that you let him into the city before he has to kill anymore of your people."
"Tell Cortes that he can stick his suggestions up—" Everyone in the room, with the exception of Necalli, flinched. I had never heard Cua use such language.
"Oh dear," Necalli sighed. "Now I have to kill you." Then he smiled. "Oh, and did I mention that Cortes's whole army is waiting just a mile away from here?"
All the advisors began talking at once. I ignored them and became a jaguar. Necalli's smile grew wider, revealing a pair of three-foot-long fangs. Just as I was about to attack the marid, Cua stomped on my tail. My yowl silenced the room.
"That's better," the emperor said. "My ears were starting to hurt."
"What did you do that for?" I shouted.
"That marid would have killed you in an instant, Quiyahuitl."
"I'm nearly as strong as an afrit!" I protested. "I can handle one oversized snake!"
"'Nearly as strong' isn't enough." Cua waved his hand, and four guards walked into the room. Following behind them were two marids, each at least as strong as Necalli. "Please leave my city, spirit. And tell Cortes that he should leave as well, or he will regret this day for the rest of his life. If he survives."
Necalli let out an irritated hiss. "Very well, human. I will tell him, but it is you who will regret this day."
As soon as the marid was gone, I turned back into a slave girl and left the room. Cua was wrong, I could have killed Necalli. I was strong enough. That night, I waited until midnight for my master to return to his room.
He was somewhat surprised to see an irritated girl lying on his bed. "Shouldn't you be guarding the gates?"
"What use would I be? I'm just a weak djinni who you summoned out of pity."
"Quiyahuitl—"
"You don't have to waste words on a pathetic creature like me, Emperor Cuauhtémoc."
"I—"
"No, don't bother. I'm—"
"You're an annoying djinni who can't keep her mouth shut!" Cua shouted. "I've never said you were weak. However, you cannot stand up to a marid and survive. Maybe if you'd stop whining like a child and start acting like a djinni, I would take you more seriously."
"Whatever."
"Could you please let me sleep now? Cortes will most likely attack tomorrow."
"Only if you promise one thing."
Cua suddenly looked very tired. "You're not going to ask to fight the marid, are you?"
"Allow me to guard you during the battle."
My master smiled. "Of course. What other djinni is as reliable as you?"
I became a fluffy jaguar kitten and purred happily. Cua scratched one of my ears before picking me up and dropping me outside the door. "Goodnight," he said, and then slammed the door shut. The happiest kitten that had ever existed pranced away down the dark hall.
