The Poison Prince

XYLIA never came back to him. She walked ahead the whole time, occasionally breaking Julius’ own wishes and storming before the horses. Taiden watched her sadly, wishing he had kept his mouth shut. If he had then maybe he could have done something at the castle to hold her back and protect her. Maybe Julius would have calmed down and agreed to keep her safe while Taiden devised another plan that included spiked wine and concealed poisons. It was too late for that now. Xylia had looked at him with nothing but contempt when he asked her to walk away from Devanna. She blamed him for everything that had happened and everything she had become; and she was right to do so. It was entirely his fault. He had pulled her away from the village of The Draca, desperate to use her as a weapon. He hadn’t cared then if she lived or died. That selfish attitude when he first met Xylia was the reason the fates were making him suffer now. He might be forced to watch her die and it would be because he didn’t care in the beginning when it ought to have mattered most. As the prince and heir he should have cared about Xylia when she was a stranger to him, but he had only seen her as a way to stop the queen. His mother had always told him to treat everyone with respect and remember that they needed him to protect them, but he had taken one look at Xylia and had instantly been willing to throw her into the line of fire without even warning her. He tricked her into making that decision herself and now he couldn’t talk her out of it as much as he longed to.

“I warned you; you cannot control a wild heart.” Julius had slowed down to allow Taiden to catch up with him. Zechariahs and Xylia were still ahead and safely out of earshot.
“I didn’t mean to tell her.” Taiden began, shaking his head sadly. “She just told me how I’d made her feel like she could achieve something and then it poured out of me.” He admitted, sighing and twisting anxiously at his sleeve; a habit he thought he had abandoned in his childhood.
“Guilt does that to a man.” Julius said with a curt nod. “I have to say, your highness, I am proud of you. In less than three weeks that girl has changed you for the better. You no longer seem trapped in delusions of madness, and you’re aware of your conscience.”
“She’s been good for me.” Taiden agreed, but his heart was still tight with the thought of letting her walk into danger. “But I don’t want to throw that away.”
“If she can defeat the queen though-“
“But it might cost her everything.”
Julius glanced up to be certain that the northern two were still a safe distance out of earshot. “It sounds to me as though she’s already lost everything.”
His words hit Taiden like a punch in a gut. He had wanted to be something special to Xylia. He longed to see this whole battle over and to hold Xylia when it was done. He wanted to promise her a future where people didn’t look down on her in disgust because of where she had come from. He wanted to hold her high and announce to Lyris that she was their hero. More than that though he wanted her to be alive and safe.
“She can stop Devanna’s magicks.” Taiden whispered, his eyes cast to the earth.
“What?” Julius bent down from his saddle, convinced he had misheard the young prince.
“We were being chased by enchanted arrows sent by my step-mother. Most certainly we ought to have been killed, but in the moment when I was expecting death Xylia encased us in a dome of ice. It completely absorbed the magicks from the arrows and rendered them harmless. She had no idea she had done it until I convinced her otherwise. Later, we confirmed it; Xylia can summon up and control anything she wishes from ice.” He looked up at his bewildered captain. “I’ve never seen or read anything like it, Julius. It’s remarkable, and I’d bet my life that it’s stronger than magicks.”
“But it’s not magicks? Are you certain?” Julius furrowed his brow in doubt. He was a man of logic and reason, and he usually frowned upon the prince reading up on sorcery and magicks art.
“Positive. I’ve studied it enough in my quest to stop my step-mother that I would know. Plus, the dome was the first time Xylia had ever done anything like it. She fainted in shock when she realised it was truly her own power.”
The captain glanced ahead at the tall waif of a girl. She still didn’t look like much to him and he had continued to doubt her role even when the prince had pleaded with him to protect her. Now he was certain that he couldn’t do it; not if she was a match for the queen’s magicks.
“Then she must fight.” He concluded firmly.
“But-“
“Your highness, the queen wants you dead more than anything. If we don’t launch an attack the moment we are prepared to do so, she will not hesitate to strike you down. She has already made two attempts on your life. Swords and daggers will not deter her, and we might be up against an entire castle of her allies; Nephille’s nobles have been invited to the banquet, I believe. We do not have the numbers to stage a coup. However, if what you say is true, then we have Xylia. She is our weapon and our best shot at your survival.” Julius saw the pain behind Taiden’s eyes, but pushed on before the prince could beg with him to find another way. “Forgive me, but if you’re dead then Lyris will fall. There is no other way.”

Zechariahs watched as Xylia stomped through the undergrowth. Her boots crushed weeds and wildflowers and she showed little care or consideration for either. He was tired atop the stallion, but he didn’t want to complain. He didn’t want to come across as weak or sick. He knew he was, and he knew he didn’t have long left in the world, but Xylia could go out into the kingdom and have an adventure so he had wanted one, too. All his life he had watched people die around him, and then Xylia was there, fighting each day just to be accepted or thanked for something she had done. Each day she was snarled at, or kicked to the ground, but the sun came up again and she picked herself up. She was resilient, and Zechariahs was just too proud to tell her that he admired her for it. Instead he had begged with Julius to allow him to tag along when he was leaving the village of The Draca in the desperate hope that he might see Xylia again and watch as she fought on some more. Her fighting filled Zechariahs with a hope that he might be able to fight his own battle against the disease that was cursing his body. Xylia expelled his fears, even though he knew that his fate was inevitable.
“We’ll be able to see the castle soon.” He said dumbly, though he just wanted to hear her speak. For too long she had been moodily stomping along in silence.
“Hm.”
“Do you think it’s going to be full of people for the banquet yet?”
Xylia shrugged her shoulders and crushed a patch of daisies beneath her feet.
“They’ll never let you in looking like that. You’re covered in filth.”
She spun around and glared up at Zechariahs with a fire burning deep in her eyes. “I don’t exactly care that I’m not dressed in my finery. I’ve had to survive enchanted arrows, Adavale guards, and a mad prince for the last two weeks.” She hissed angrily at him.
He had never seen Xylia so enraged before. She had always kept herself together even when she spat a sarcastic retort at him or spoke about the dangers of the forests.
“You might not need finery, but you’ll need armour.” Julius said, catching up to them with Taiden close behind. “We’re not breaching the castle walls without it.”
Xylia flicked her eyes to the captain who stared back long and hard. He held her focus until she softened ever so slightly. “As long as it doesn’t slow me down or cover my hands. I don’t know if I can fight with my hands covered.” She hadn’t worn gloves when practicing her abilities. The last thing she needed was to be forced into gauntlets and find herself rendered useless as she squared off to the queen.
“I can work with that. But we’re not crashing through the front doors and screaming down the hallways.” Julius told them, once again taking his place at the front of the group, sitting tall and proud on his steed.
“You have a plan?” Taiden asked curiously, skipping a step to keep up with his captain.
“I’ve had a plan since you decided you wanted to usurp the queen from her throne.” Julius confessed confidently, holding his head high. “Someone needs to ensure we don’t all run straight to the executioner’s block.”
“So what is it?” Xylia was eager now, running up to walk on the other side of Julius. She was careful not to be too near Taiden, placing the captain and his stallion between them.
“We’ll use the city tunnels. They’ve been abandoned for years – since the last great war, I think, but they’re still operational. The royal guard ensure that there is always a clear route through them from the castle to the boundaries of the city in case of an emergency. They’ll get us into the castle easily enough.”
“Then what?” Zechariahs asked excitedly. The thought of this actually happening thrilled him. He never dreamt he would be a part of anything like this, but now it was real and he was going to change the future of his home kingdom.
Julius sighed. “Then it gets difficult. We need to wait for the banquet to start. That way we guarantee that everyone’s focus will be on that. It means parts of the castle should be less guarded and easier to move around in.”
“But we need to get to the banquet to get the queen.” Xylia pointed out impatiently, readjusting her bow across her shoulders and fiddling with her cloak.
“I know, but that will require some fighting. At no point should the prince be involved in that.”
Taiden’s eyes grew wide and he opened his mouth to object. “What? But-“
Julius ignored him and continued, not even looking over at him as he pressed on with his explanation. “His survival is too important. If we kill Devanna and the prince also dies then Lyris is left without a ruler or an heir. It will be shambolic and we’ll have worked for nothing. Not to mention that his highness is the only one who can pardon any of us once this is through.”
“So where am I hiding while you storm the castle?” Taiden asked dryly. He folded his arms and glared up at Julius.
“You will stay in the tunnels. That way if things turn sour you can still run back out and find somewhere to call sanctuary. I’m sure you have friends in the world, even if they must be mad to take you in.”
Taiden remained silent, but continued to glare up at the captain. There was not a single part of this plan that he liked.
“If I am able, I shall recruit some of the guard into joining us. I know there are at least a few who dislike the queen, but whether they have the courage to stand against her is something very different. I guess we’ll soon know about that though. We’ll cut a path to the banquet and there Xylia can face Devanna-“
“And a hoard of Nephilite nobles if she has indeed invited them!” Taiden snapped.
“I am hoping that Xylia’s gift will stun enough people long enough that she can do what she’s here to do.” Julius spoke with restrained anger.
“No one will be expecting it.” Xylia added, nodding in agreement with the captain.
“No, but when they come to their senses and see their queen dead, they might suddenly find it in themselves to do something about it! You can’t fight a whole room, Xylia!” Taiden shouted, peeking over the horse to look at her.
She glared back at him and pursed her lips. “The queen will be gone and that is what matters. After that there is nothing to stop you claiming the throne. My job will be done.”
“That doesn’t mean they get to rip you apart.” Taiden whined, grabbing at his hair and wishing he could pull it out. Julius and Xylia were so comfortable to let her die to stop the queen and it was tearing him up inside.
“I’m with the prince. Can we not fight the room, too?” Zechariahs asked with uncertainty. He felt like he was missing something, but at the same time he didn’t want Xylia to die. Too many people had died in his life already.
“They have magicks, possibly. We wouldn’t last.” Julius said, ruling it out immediately.
Taiden roared in frustration “Neither will Xylia!”
It was Xylia’s turn to cry out in anger. “It’s not your choice to make! I told you that already! Look, we’re going to make you king, but that comes with a price and if that price is me then I’m already willing to pay that! We’re out of time to argue about this. You never should have gotten close to me when you knew this was likely to be the ending! You never should have kissed me!”

Silence fell between the group and everyone came to an abrupt standstill. Taiden blushed a scarlet hue as he stared at Xylia and she looked down at the ground, slightly embarrassed that she had admitted in front of Julius and Zechariahs that the kiss had taken place. She was trying so hard to block it out herself.
Julius cleared his throat awkwardly and dismounted, kicked at the ground and making everyone jump when the grass clanged. “Well, now that’s happened, we’re at the tunnels.”