The Poison Prince

THE sheer size of the castle made it impossible to sneak silently through. Every other footstep echoed behind them. There were moments when Julius stopped suddenly, holding his arm out to block Xylia and Zechariahs because he thought he heard something. Each time it turned out to be something far, far away from them. The castle was playing tricks on them, throwing sounds towards them when there was nothing remotely close to them. Xylia caught herself wondering just how anyone could live in a place this big without getting lost in the maze of hallways. She already had no idea where Taiden’s chambers were in relation to where they were going. Without Julius to lead the way she would have been completely lost. Thankfully, the captain didn’t even hesitate when it came to directions. He knew his way around the castle blindfolded. He was familiar with the shortcuts and the secret passageways that were reserved for escape plans and emergencies, and right now he was utilising all of them to ensure that they snuck past the watches and the areas that were always heavily guarded. Julius wanted to find more people to ally with them, but it was risky to run into some of the thicker patrols in case they were outnumbered. He had trained most of the men in the royal guard and he didn’t wish to go up against them in a fight if the odds were not in their favour. They had to be at their strongest when they reached the great hall and the banquet, else all of this would have been for nought.

Julius paused at a sharp corner and looked towards Xylia and Zechariahs.
“Prepare yourselves. After this we cannot avoid the guards anymore. The great hall is close and it will be impossible to reach it without fighting now.” He warned them, pulling his sword free and gazing upon the polished blade. The thought of possibly running some of his own soldiers through with the steel sickened him, but Julius reminded himself that it would be for his prince; the man he vowed to give his life for if he had to.
“I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be for this.” Zechariahs said on a sigh. He took a deep breath and steadied the short sword in his hand, turning it over a few times until he seemed comfortable with the grip.
Julius looked uneasily upon the tiny dagger in Xylia’s right palm. “Trust me, I can do more damage with this than I can with anything bigger.” She assured him, meeting his uncertain gaze with one of steely confidence. She had never handled a sword properly in her life, but her dagger filled her with a feeling of safety and certainty. She could go into battle clutching this and be of more use than she ever could be if Julius shoved a sword at her and told her to thrust it at an enemy.
“I hope you’re right.” Julius mumbled. “There’s no turning back now.”

He took a deep breath, and strode around the corner summoning all the courage he could muster. He reminded himself one more time why he was doing this and then braced himself as he saw the trio of guards with their backs towards him. The clinking of his armour drew their attention and they spun around, eyes widening as they recognised their recently absent captain. All three hesitated, confused about how they should react, and Julius took his chance. If he was going to win them over it was now or never.
“Men, I don’t know what your orders are should I return to this castle, but I’m here to free Lyris from its tyrannous rule. I’m back on behalf of Prince Taiden, who is safe and well.”
The tallest narrowed his eyes and stepped forward. “Our orders are to take Prince Taiden into custody. His madness has caused the queen a great deal of distress and she wishes to have him examined by a healer.”
“That won’t be happening. The queen shall not lay a finger on the prince.” Julius said firmly.
The other two guards shuffled their feet gawkily and exchanged glances, their fingers twitching towards their weapons. It was clear that they were torn between the captain who had taught them loyalty and trained them from the day they had been recruited, and their orders.
“He has been branded a traitor, Captain.” One offered up weakly, earning himself a shove from the first who clearly wished to lead the conversation.
“It’s treason to say such a thing, I’m sure.” Xylia spoke up, stepping out from behind Julius. She wouldn’t hide behind him for all of this when she was the one who was supposed to take down the queen.
“And just who are you?” The one with narrowed eyes wrinkled his nose in disgust at the filthy state of Xylia. Her hair was in tangles and her sleeves were stained with the dirt and grime from her travels. She definitely did not belong in the royal castle, but she wasn’t worried about dressing in silk or velvet. Julius had forced a chest plate and chainmail upon her from his own secret armoury, but Xylia had rejected the rest. Zechariahs was already weighed down by metal too heavy and hot for him to be wearing, but she wanted her speed and she wouldn’t sacrifice it just for the sake of protection. Xylia would rather trust in her agility than put all her hope in armour.
“She can save us all from the queen.” Zechariahs chirped up, stumbling out with a rough cough he had desperately tried to fend off.
“We don’t need saving from the queen.”
Julius was about to respond when another guard did it for him. “Yes we do. She’s starving our own families for no reason. My wife is pregnant and she’s living off scraps.”
“So you’d commit treason?!” The first guard spun back around with a venomous look in his eyes. “What kind of life would that be for your wife and child, knowing that you were a waste of a man who died turning against his king?”
“I’d do what I needed to do so they could survive.” He argued back strongly.
“No one needs to starve like that again if you let us by.” Julius said gently. In truth he didn’t want to have to fight his own men; nothing would hurt him more than that.
That one bitter guard reeled back around again, this time pulling his sword out and pointing it at Julius’ face. “I will not sentence myself to the gallows for you!” He shouted, despite the quiet pleas from his partners. “You’re just as mad as the prince is.”
Xylia pushed herself between Julius and the sword, staring icily at the guard. “The prince is not mad.”
“I still don’t know who you are, rat.” He spat.
She fixed her gaze on his sword and smirked as slowly his blade turned to ice. The gasps and stammers echoed for just a moment until Xylia reached out with her hand and snapped the sword clean in two. She dropped the half in her hand to the floor and fractured it under her boot until only glittering silver dust remained on the dull, grey stone.
“I am the one who will stop the queen whether you let me pass or not.”

Taiden led Allela through the castle, peering around corners like he had never done before. He was the prince; there had never been a need for him to sneak about in his own home before now. The pastel haired woman didn’t seem to approve of his hesitance though. She huffed each time he stopped to peek down hallways or pressed himself up against the chilled stone walls to listen out for voices or footsteps.
“I don’t have time for caution.” She told him when he waited to be certain that two maids were going into another room and not turning down the hall towards them.
“I would prefer to keep my head. I need it if I’m going to rule.” He glowered, quickly moving across the hall to another before there was a slip of a chance of anyone coming by and spotting them.
“You won’t be ruling at all if Xylia dies.” Allela reminded him for what felt like the hundredth time. Almost each time he spoke Allela seemed to find a way to bring that up again. Taiden didn’t like it one bit.
“Don’t you think I know the risk she’s putting herself in?” He hissed, pushing open a door and gesturing for Allela to go ahead of him.
She stopped, staring slightly down at him and quirked a razor sharp eyebrow. “You thought the only risk tonight came from divine Devanna. She’s barely a threat.”
“She almost killed us with arrows.” Taiden glared.
“That wasn’t her handiwork.” Allela revealed, watching the confusion wash over the dishevelled prince. “It was Loreina. And the second she realises why her magicks failed to kill you she will stop at nothing to destroy Xylia.”
“How do you know all of this?” Taiden asked curiously. He never stopped moving while they spoke, suddenly very aware that Xylia could be close to the grand hall when they still had a lot of the castle ground to cover.
“Let’s just say that I’ve been looking for Xylia for a very long time. There’s little I don’t know by this point.” Allela smirked and cocked her head. “You’re also not the only one who employs the use of seers. Only mine is a little more specific than brown hair and eyes of ice.” She flashed a brazen grin of white, sharp teeth at Taiden’s shocked face.
After a moment, Taiden clambered his wits together. “You’ve been looking for Xylia? She’s always been in the same place in the kingdom. I don’t understand.”
“I’m not from the kingdom.”
He turned around and stared at the unfamiliar crest branded on her armour. It was a dragon with raised wings ready for flight, and three stars overhead. “I don’t recognise the insignia.” He said quietly, searching through his memories of textbooks and history of all the courts he had studied as part of his royal education.
“Good. You’re not supposed to.” Allela pushed Taiden behind her suddenly, and in one swift motion she had drawn her claymore and neatly decapitated a guard who was already wielding his sword and positioned to charge at them.
Taiden hadn’t heard him coming, but he stared in horror at the bloody head rolling by his feet, the eyes open and lifeless now as they stared dully up at him.
“He was trained well. I heard only his breathing.” Allela commended, wiping her blade on a priceless tapestry before sheathing it again. She showed no remorse or emotion whatsoever to taking the guard’s life. Instead, she glanced back at the horrified Taiden and shrugged nonchalantly. “I said I would fight for you, didn’t I?”
“That was not a fight, that was just murder.” He said, aghast.
“He would have killed you. A man does not draw his sword for nothing.”
“He may not have known it was his prince here! Maybe he thought it was some common thief.” Taiden suggested hopelessly.
Allela looked far from convinced. “I am sure that the royal guard recognise your voice, prince. I am also sure that many of them will follow divine Devanna’s orders to slay you without any immediate thought simply because they fear her more than anything else.” She glanced down at the headless corpse and blinked slowly as she gazed upon it. “I am sorry if it upset you; I have no quarrel with your men, but I will slaughter a thousand of them if it means I get to Xylia before it’s too late.”
Taiden managed to nod, though his stomach still churned in horror. Allela was unlike anyone he had ever met before and she terrified him. Still, she was here to help protect Xylia, and to Taiden that meant that she was good. So he swallowed the terror she instilled in him and glanced out to see if any more guards were running towards them – to their deaths – but he saw nothing.
“This way. They can’t be too far ahead of us now.”