The Poison Prince

THE tunnels were pitch black, dank and smelt of sour mould. Xylia reached out in the gloom to feel for the wall, and her fingers brushed against slime covered stone. When Julius lit a lantern she saw the brown ooze coating her palm and quickly wiped it off against her worn and already dirtied tunic. An easy drip, drip, drip echoed back from deeper in the shadowy tunnels, sending shivers down Zechariahs’ spine.
“This place is creepy.” He whispered, but the walls bounced his words back louder, startling him.
“I’m afraid the rats have had the run of the place, along with the elements.” Julius lit more torches, lighting the way for the group. It became apparent that the tunnels were lined with them, ready for whenever the route might be used for a fast escape.
The sandstone walls were crumbling in places where the mysterious dark brown gunk hadn’t coated the square slabs of yellow rock. The rats and mice had made their own pathways through the walls, holes burrowed where the walls met the wet, slippery floor. Taiden stepped into a puddle of stale water and crinkled his nose as he looked down at his wet boots.
“I take it maintaining these tunnels didn’t fall under the city budget?” He asked drolly, shaking as much of the foul smelling water from his foot as was possible.
“No one could know about them for obvious reasons,” Julius explained, glancing back over his shoulder at the three following him, “it was imperative that they remained secret from the people. Only the royal guards and the king himself were ever aware of their existence.”
“So not even my step-mother knows of them?”
“Not to my knowledge, no, your highness.” With another torch lit, the group found themselves at a crossroads. The tunnel they stood in branched off in three directions, each path equally dark and unappealing. The dripping sound came loudest from the right, but the left reeked of rotting flesh and made Taiden baulk the second he stepped close to it. Straight ahead of them the path was ominously silent, and the brown sludge on the walls looked as though it was tinged with crimson one moment and then the next it was gone. Xylia didn’t know if it was a trick of the torchlight, or if blood was infused in the thick, inscrutable slime.

Julius, who had been down in the tunnels countless times since he had joined the royal guard, did not seem phased by the condition of them. He had seen them decay, but he had also seen them worse than this. Six years ago there had been a dreadful start to the spring season, and a month of rain saw the tunnels flood. He had waded through waters up to his thighs, worrying with the other guards about what they would do to drain the water from the escape routes. If anything had happened to the castle back then, the royal family would have been trapped beneath their own kingdom during an evacuation.
He glanced down each possible path, peering into the darkness and reacquainting himself with the routes of each one again. The right led to the kitchens and the servant quarters, the left to the gallows and the courtyard, which meant to go straight would bring them to the private chambers of the royal family. Further along that one branched again; one path leading to Prince Taiden’s tower and another which came out in the King and Queen’s own room.
“I suspect no one will be watching your quarters, your highness.” Julius decided, turning back to see if the prince had an opinion.
“I wouldn’t be all too surprised if my quarters had been burnt to the ground.” Taiden scoffed, a cheeky smirk dancing on his lips. Although a huge part of him regretted the consequences of taunting Devanna, another part of him still enjoyed pushing her buttons. She would never be the true queen of Lyris.
“If they had I’m sure folk would have been talking by now,” Zechariahs grinned, lacing his fingers together behind his head, “we do love to gossip out there in the world.”
“So we’re going through my room?” Taiden asked, looking to Julius for clarification.
The tall captain lit the first torch along their chosen path and shook his head once before he glanced over his broad shoulder at the prince. “No. We’re going through your room. You’re staying in the tunnels. I’ve told you already; I won’t risk the heir to the throne.”
Taiden opened his mouth to protest, but Xylia stepped in front of him. “They’ll be expecting you. They won’t be expecting any of us. Let them run wild searching every nook and cranny for the mad prince. It’ll buy me time if they’re running about looking for you and not trying to fight me.” It was a cruel trick. She knew Taiden wouldn’t argue if he thought the plan might spare her life.
He sighed, slumping in defeat. He gave a weary shake of his head and looked at Xylia with sorrowful eyes. “I can’t protect you when I’m down here.” He whispered shamefully.
She smiled ruefully at him. “But keeping you down here protects the kingdom. That’s what matters now.”

Taiden wanted to disagree. His heart wanted to fight and scream and yell at her for sacrificing her life so willingly! Yet he just stood there and crumbled a dampened piece of sandstone under his boot. It was all he could do. They might win against Devanna, but Taiden felt like he had lost no matter what. She would have allies at the banquet and they wouldn’t stand aside while some strange girl with enormous power killed the queen. They’d rush her, and as much as he believed in all that Xylia was, he wasn’t some foolish optimist; he knew they’d tear her apart for the treason she was about to commit on his behalf.

The tunnels veered off to the left and then forked. Without hesitation Julius continued down the left path, lighting the torches as he led the way. The damp tickled the back of Xylia’s nose and she sniffed in a vain hope to get rid of bothersome itch at her senses. She reached up and scrubbed harshly at her face with the heel of her hand, wanting nothing more than to get out of the shadowy tunnels. They were messing with her mind, playing tricks with her faculties. She could taste the rancid mould at the back of her throat; the stench of it festering in her sinuses and choking her out. She had already seen how Zechariahs hid his face beneath the collar of his thick tunic, breathing through the fabric in a desperate attempt to filter out the rotten air. She was starting to wonder if this tunnel was intended to protect the royal family or kill them.

A dead end faced them sooner than she expected it to, and Julius reached up to unravel a rope ladder that missed a few key rungs.
“Rats.” He grumbled, letting his gloved hand run over the missing pieces.
“I told you I heard noises beneath the floor!” Taiden remarked, squeezing by Xylia to push his way to the front of the group. He couldn’t help but grin at Julius. The ‘noises in the night’ had been another symptom of his madness, but they were one that Taiden had not faked or exaggerated. At one point he had wondered if perhaps he was truly losing his mind after so long of pretending. Rats, it seemed, were now his saviour.
Julius shot the prince a resigned look and then tested the durability of the ladder by tugging on it three times. “It looks like it should hold.” He decided, glancing towards Xylia and Zechariahs. “Are you ready? Once we go up there is no coming back down.” His warning was accompanied by a matching expression that sent nervous butterflies racing through Xylia’s gut.
“Until you’ve won, of course,” Taiden added hastily, “then you need to come and get me.”
Julius gave him a soft nod, but Xylia caught the look in the captain’s eye first; he didn’t expect to win this. Julius was going into this believing it was his last battle. It strengthened her resolve and she steeled herself, gripping her dagger tight.
“I’m ready.”
“Then let’s go. Your highness, stay here until someone comes for you. If no one comes by tomorrow, run and find safety elsewhere.” Julius commanded in a firm tone. His eyes softened as Taiden nodded reluctantly and then he broke from his strict protocol to pull the prince into a proud and protective hug. “Stay safe.” Taiden blinked in surprise before hugging Julius back, his arms tight around the man who had all but raised him since the death of his mother.
“You, too, Julius.” He whispered softly, fighting back the tears of affection that threatened to fall. For all the frustrations he caused Julius, Taiden considered him family. No one had cared so much about him as the captain of the royal guard had done.
Julius stepped back and composed himself, switching in just a second back to the sombre, serious man who they had been traveling with, and who Taiden knew too well. Without another word he climbed the precarious ladder and at the top unlatched a secret hatch which led straight into the prince’s chambers. From where Taiden was standing it looked as though the hidden tunnel had been disguised all these years by a square of carpet he had spilt ink on as a child. He remembered it because it never quite matched the rest and Julius and his mother had both told him the reason for the dissimilarity was his own clumsy behaviour. He had to smile now at how easily he had bought the story and never questioned it as he grew older.
Zechariahs climbed wordlessly up after Julius, though he exchanged a look with Xylia which she sniffed at, choosing to look away rather than acknowledge the silent suggestion from her old friend. Still, she paused before she placed her foot on the dangerously thin bottom rung and looked over her shoulder at the prince.
“I’ll stop her.”
“I know you will.”
“You shouldn’t worry about me.”
“But I do.” Taiden smiled at her, his dark eyes alight with mixed emotions. He didn’t want to let her climb that ladder, but he didn’t want to hold her back when this was what she wanted.
Xylia sighed and started to climb. She was out of things to say to him. Just before she reached the top she looked down, glancing back once more at Taiden. He was pleading with her not to go and she could see it clear as day in his wide, sad eyes. Twisting, she hooked her legs through the ladder and held on tight, leaning down to press her lips gently against his. It was a brief, sweet kiss, light as air.
“Goodbye, Taiden.” She breathed the words against his mouth, but before he could read into their heavy meaning, she was gone. Xylia had hoisted herself back up and through the hatch while he still had his eyes closed, lingering in the moment of that short, magical kiss.
There was a creak and then the hatch above Taiden closed with a heavy thump. His dark eyes opened again and he realised that he was alone now with nothing more than the drip, drip, drip in the distant tunnels.