The Poison Prince

When Xylia opened her eyes again she was on the ground still, but she could detect the smell of amber close to her; Taiden’s scent. Slowly sitting up, she pressed a hand to her aching head and realised that Taiden’s heavy cloak was draped over her as well as her own.
“Yours didn’t look so warm.” His voice startled her and she groaned, closing her eyes as the jolt wobbled her head. “You might have hit your head when you fainted. I tried to catch you, but it was all rather quick.”
She opened her eyes again and this time realised that they were inside the ice dome again. The exit was still visible, but she was more amazed that none of it seemed to be melting.
“How long was I out for?”
“A few hours. I started to make us a fire,” Taiden gestured to the fire pit he had dug out in the middle of the ground and filled with sticks and kindling. “Then I remembered that you always made our fires and I haven’t a clue how you did it.” He admitted awkwardly, but honestly. He scratched the back of his neck in slight embarrassment and looked at her with a small smile.
Slowly, still shaking a little, Xylia moved out from her blanket of cloaks and made quick work of starting a fire with the flint she always carried on her and her dagger. Flames roared to life within the pit in seconds, and the fire reflected off the ice to brightly light up the dome.
“Wow.” Taiden mumbled, glancing around at the ice hut.
“Why did you bring me back in here?” Xylia asked, pulling her knees up to her chest. She still felt weak and didn’t trust herself to move far.
“I thought it would be the safest place for both of us until we decided what was next. Your ice can repel Devanna’s magicks. If anything else was to follow those arrows, then it wouldn’t get through these walls.” Taiden explained simply as he warmed his hands by the fire, his eyes fixed on the flames as he spoke.
Xylia only nodded in understanding. It made sense, all of it did, but she didn’t want it to. She didn’t want to be some weapon against the queen, even if she had set out with Taiden to stop her. It had been different when she was just a girl with a dagger and a poor aim with a bow. Now she was…well, she didn’t even know what she was.

“Are you hungry?” Taiden once again startled her from her thoughts. She blinked at him and he pulled his bag around to show her four freshly caught fish inside. “I’m not much of a hunter, but when I was a little boy I used to fish with my father.” A sad look of nostalgia crossed his face as he speared one onto a sharpened stick and positioned it over the fire to cook. “I remembered just enough to catch dinner – though it took several attempts and I fell in the water more times than I care to admit.”
The image of Taiden trying to fish with nothing more than what the forest provided brought a smile to Xylia’s face and then a chuckle. He smirked, too, glancing across at her.
“Yes, well, I’m glad you weren’t awake to see it. I had this horrible vision of you waking up and stumbling through to me just sitting in the stream holding onto a stick with just some weeds on it.”
“You might have been able to use those weeds as a garnish.” Xylia said seriously, though she was still battling off her laughter.
“Are you mocking the prince, Xylia?”
“If I am, he’ll never know.” She suddenly grew serious again. “Because there’s a strong chance we won’t live to see the Castle of Lyris if we have to keep dodging enchanted arrows.”
Taiden turned the fish over on the flames and then looked at her. “You can save us. You’ve got more of a fight in you now-“
“I am not some hero. Stop picturing me in armour and running out on a battlefield for you.” She cut in, shaking her head.
“You’ve saved my life twice from her wrath. Once with your own hand, and a second with ma-“ Xylia’s eyes narrowed at him, “Whatever not magicks you have.”
“I don’t even want to think about that.” Her eyes glanced around the result of her mysterious abilities and her stomach knotted.
“Magicks died out in the world a long time ago. Only Nephille held onto their own abilities. No one else has them or else I’m fairly confident that they’d be challenging the Nephilite to a hoard of contests to dominate the power.” Taiden explained to her softly.
Xylia let him describe it, despite knowing her history well. How many people could say they had a lesson from the mad prince himself? Plus, she was tired, and she didn’t want to talk about magicks and her manipulation of ice. Keeping quiet and listening might have just granted her the chance to sleep again once they had eaten.
“Do any other…mutts…have abilities?” Taiden pulled a face as he forced himself to say ‘mutt’. He hated the word, almost as much as he hated calling Xylia one. She was not a mutt to him.
“Not that I know of. Most die in their youth. We get sick due to the blood mixing in our veins. Almost all mutts die because of it.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No, but I have my scars – so to speak.” She took a breath and twisted her head, pulling her hair back to show him the trail of black scales on her neck. It was the best and quickest way to explain herself.
Taiden dropped the fish to the wooden dish and moved closer to look at them. She felt a little uncomfortable with him near enough that she could feel his breath on her skin, but Xylia held her position and let his eyes gaze upon her.
“I always wondered what these were. I caught glimpses but felt it impolite to ask.” He admitted. “May I?”
She nodded and then felt his fingers against her collarbone, slowly moving up along the curve of her neck to where the scales stopped at her hairline. Xylia shivered at his touch and bit her lip to hide her nerves. “I tried to pick at them when I was a child, but it caused me more pain than I dared repeat again.” She admitted, recalling the memory when she had thought that her scales would be like scabs and just flake away if she pulled at them. They were fused to her skin, and she screamed something horrific when she tried. Later she was scolded by her uncle for attempting such a thing and he threatened to put mittens on her if she ever did it again.
“I think they’re stunning.” Taiden told her, his hand coming to rest still against her neck.

Xylia turned to face him, shocked a little by his words. He was so close and he didn’t move away. Instead he just smiled softly and started to gently move the very tips of his fingers against her skin, tickling the flesh where the last of her scales ended.
“You’re incredible, Xylia.” Taiden whispered, “and forgive me, but if I don’t do this now, I may regret this moment for the rest of our lives.”
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, eliciting a sharp gasp from Xylia. He was warm, and his kiss tasted like salt and earth. She shocked herself by kissing him back, though she was awkward and rigid and didn’t know what to do with her hands which she kept fisted by her sides.
Suddenly though Xylia ripped herself away from Taiden and took her head roughly.
“I can’t.” She wheezed, bringing her fingers to her lips.
“I’m sorry-“
“No. I’m sorry. There’s too much happening. I can’t do this, and find out who I am, and be some Queen slayer, and figure out this ice thing, and protect you, and save my uncle, and do everything else I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be doing anymore and-“ She stopped, taking in deep breaths and just closed her eyes. Everything was just starting to overwhelm Xylia and after bottling it all in for so long it was all beginning to pour out of her.
Taiden ran his hand through his messy hair and tentatively reached out to touch Xylia’s shoulder. When she didn’t flinch away from him he rubbed it reassuringly. “We’ll figure it out – together. Julius is going to have helped your uncle by now, and the rest will be dealt with in time. I promise I won’t just leave you without answers. I owe you that you that much already. We’re a team, Xylia, and I want to help you.”
She nodded and sniffed, blinking back the tears before any of them could fall. “I need five minutes outside. Alone. I just need to get my head together.”
Taiden let her go reluctantly, watching as she slipped through the ice gap and into the darkness of the night.