She was quite content with the situation. She didn't have the man she wanted, but she got an architect. Not only that, but she was very excited to start the construction of the Golden palace for Archanium.
The next day, she grabbed Alejandro and pulled him like an object through the encampment to the former elders' tent. Once inside, she met the different leaders of the raiding groups she formed. She dropped the man on the floor in the middle of the tent with a large smile, and she spoke with a strong voice.
"This is the architect we found for our palace."
Everyone stared at her, even the man. He was not a courageous man, and he would not resist. He saw enough horrors in such a short time to not pretend to try to run away or fight back and take the risk of being tortured. For now, he was cooperative. He never saw any conflict in his life. He was desperate. She crouched in front of him and stared him straight in the eyes. Her golden pupils were looking like they were going to wound his soul. She whispered slowly to be sure he would hear her.
"You don't want to know what will happen if you don't do your best. Believe me."
Alejandro nodded, trembling. Anyway, he would never have the courage to tell her no, even if he wanted to. She didn't have to menace him, he already had no willpower anymore. She smiled with all her teeth. Everything was going smoothly according to her plan.
"Tell me what you need, and we will provide." She said calmly.
He stuttered, the situation was critical. Building a palace or any other big structure in this place was almost impossible.
"I... Can I visit your forges? I need to see what you have."
She laughed and the other raid's leaders joined her at this moment, she took the hand of the architect and went outside. She raised the fabric of the tent, and she raised a hand in front of her.
"This is what we have for now."
The man was in complete chaos. They had nothing. He had to build a palace while they had nothing but spears and swords. He panicked.
"But but but... But I need a blacksmith to make the metal parts, I need stone, I need foundations and you have only sand. And most importantly, I need water."
Zaelia watched him with a lot of interest.
"We will provide, don't worry."
She said, and she did. She sent raids to the oasis nearby, the only source of water in the land they were. Her men transported the vegetation, they replanted, dug, and brought the water through canals. That was tremendous work. Zaelia was the first one to work on it. The Architect was surprised and somehow in admiration of this leader that was ready to carry trees and stones. Zaelia was a bloodthirsty monster who had wrecked her life, and yet she had this strength, this willingness to help her men, that brought a certain respect. They needed a few months of hard work, but they eventually managed with success to move the oasis to the middle of the desert. The other good surprise was that by digging so deep in the land where they were, they discovered another source. Zaelia didn't know a lot about the forges, but she understood that they would need a lot of water to make them work. To build Archanium's palace to its full potential, they would need a lot of gold and therefore a lot of forges.
The next step after having water was to manage the creation of the golden columns, and melting the gold was not an easy thing to do. Together, they made plans for the palace and after six months only, the tribe could see the foundations of the future most beautiful palace in the world.
They started by a large white stone path crossing the tribe and leading to a dune. There, they built the stairs leading to the first room. The throne room. At the end of the day, Zaelia climbed the stairs and sat on top of them. She hadn't doubted once in those months, and her determination was at an all-time high. The palace was taking form and she was content. She admired the main path leading to it, there were a lot of building materials all along the sides. The architect also had the idea to build canals all along and plant trees there to refresh the zone and allow it to keep the humidity better.
She contemplated what was in front of her, and raised her head to the sky. While dreaming, she let herself fall on her back on the white stone looking like marble and she smiled. She whispered in the way only the shadows hidden in the night could hear her.
"Are you content, my god?"
Her heart was beating, she placed her hands crossed over her shoulders and embraced herself. Everything she did was for him, to please him, and she was pushed by this extreme sense of devotion always further in her quest.
She was stargazing, the sky was so beautiful in the desert. She took a deep breath as she thought about the Golden city in the sky.
"Heaven's not enough, my god. I will make the Men's realm bow in front of you."
In the sky, in the golden city, Archanium surprised himself to smile after hearing her. Zaelia's golden eyes stared into the sky, he could swear she was watching him directly. He was taken aback by his reaction, slowly, he felt something more for her. Something more than just a simple liking for her devotion.
He was watching this favorite, and he was now observing her with a new look. She was different from any other creature he could have seen. Her long hair, her fin waist, her powerful features. Everything about her was attractive, and he started to see her for what she was as an individual. She was laying on the floor and for a second that seemed like an eternity, he felt like they were staring into each other with intensity.
His heart was beating in excitement to see what she was about to do for him, she surprised him a bit more every day.
He couldn't turn his eyes on the tribe, as it was becoming so much more. The first foundations of the palace were placed. The architect worked hard, and the first walls appeared.