The Arsenic Widow #Wattys2015 (mxm)

Chapter Twenty Four

We have an extra long chapter today!! This is in thanks of everyone who has been reading this or who might come across this in the future!! <3

Also, it's possible that there won't be a chapter next week. On Friday I'm having an operation to get my wisdom teeth removed on my right side, so in case my face swells or my pain meds make me super weird, I might not be able to write the chapter. I will if I can though!!

We had to leave our horses tied to the trees as we walked up the mountain. Their hard hooves were too loud on the rock beneath us and it would have scared off any small creatures such as the Gorzac bird that we so desperately needed. Well, what I needed anyway.

"What do we do when we find it?"I panted. Sweat was already dripping from my face even though we'd barely done any walking. I hated being sick!

Acorn gave me a small smile, "You don't want to know."

I played with the bandage around my arm which covered up the burn marks. I knew they were bad and I would be embarrassed by them for the rest of my life, so I was glad I didn't have to look.

"Are we going to kill it?" I asked. "If it's rare, why would we do that?"

Acorn laughed softly and shook his head, "We're not going to kill it. We just need something from it."

"The fruit it eats, from its stomach. Are we going to cut it open?" My face went a little green.

"Stop asking questions," he hushed me, noticing I was playing with my bandage. "Do you need me to do that for you again? Is the bandage coming loose?"

I stared at him in horror, "It's the poo. It's the poo!" It all clicked in my mind.

Acorn tried to stop himself from grinning, "Yeah, it is. But I'll mix it with something so you won't taste it. Now, keep a lookout for it."

"The poo or the bird?" I snapped, my mood deflated. I was going to eat poo in front of a prince. This wasn't exactly ideal.

"The bird!" he exclaimed, laughing softly. "If we're lucky it's got a nest with its faecal matter on it. If not, we catch it and wait for it to do its business."

I sighed, "I don't even know what I'm looking for here."

"Just look for gold," he smiled. "You can't miss that colour here."

We both began climbing again and looking up into the trees. The strange shapes of the leaves and branches were beginning to feel familiar to me. I hadn't been home in so long, and it felt like a weird memory to me, as if it wasn't my life to begin with.

I reached out and touched one of the trunks with my hands. The wood was so rough under my fingers so I pulled a little bark off it. Unlike the trees in my Kingdom which were a gentle green underneath the bark, these trees were a very distinct pink. It was a nice colour, but felt so surreal to me. I ran my finger over the pink sap and smiled. It felt so soft, like how I imagined clouds to feel.

Slowly, my smile faded into a frown and I stared at the tree in judgement. I must have been standing there for a while because Acorn came up behind me.

"A bit stuck, are we?"

I tried to yank my finger away from the pink sap but couldn't. "Yes," I muttered.

"You know," he gripped my arm and wrenched me free, "this stuff makes a fantastic chewing substance. But you have to let it dry for several weeks first."

"Oh yes," I said dryly. "I bet you give it to kids with wobbly teeth. I'm sure it tears them right out!"

He smirked and shook his head, "Stop being grumpy and come with me."