The Horse in the Prince's Stables

Chp. 18

          And then I remembered those evil little red eyes and the stark white, scaly body. One of those snakes had bitten me. My instincts had warned me that the reptile was dangerous. It probably had injected venom inside of me, and I didn't know how fatal the toxins were. I could die very soon, or I might just feel incredibly ill for a certain time. I didn't know, and that's what scared me the most.

          If I knew that death would be waiting for me sooner than I had hoped, then I could prepare myself for it. If sickness was all that was to be expected, well, that would be simple enough to take in stride and get well eventually. But I didn't know. My life could be spiraling downwards to death or discomfort, and it was beyond any control that I might've had if I wasn't so ignorant. 

          Not that that was my fault...

          Realizing that Philip hadn't said a word about my lack of movement, I turned my head to check on him. His head slumped down on his shoulders, and I could tell he was dozing. He couldn't have been fully asleep or he would've fallen off by now. His hair hid most of his face behind tangled strands of his black hair.

          I really wanted to kiss him again. 

          Pushing those wistful thoughts away, I marched on ahead. Any romantic future that I had dreamed of having with him died last night. It wouldn't do to think about what could've been. 

          All I have to do is walk straight. Straight. Straight...

          And then my mind wandered away again, my sanity and logic just outside of my reach. 

          I can't focus...

          The next moment I opened my eyes, I'd realized the forest had swallowed us whole. The black trees rose far above us, touching the clouds and waving wildly back and forth, zooming in and out of focus. The ground wouldn't stop moving. There very sight of it was unnerving and it gave me a headache. The sounds of the night were beginning to start, and were amplified by a tenfold in my ears, drowning out any clear thoughts from my head. Orange and yellow streaks in the red sky danced wildly, like the whole atmosphere had been lit on fire.

          Fire.

          A wave of heat overtook me, instantly making my body start sweating. Dimly aware of the prince's voice speaking behind me, I tried with all of my last scraps of coherency to understand the streams of words that poured forth from his mouth. His heels dug into my flesh, which felt like a feather brushing lightly across my body. 

          The path ahead curved into a zig-zag path, the ground on either side sloping steeply. 

          Follow the path, follow the path...

          The ache in my brain intensified, and each step forward felt like a huge burden. 

          I have to keep going... almost there...

          Then my knees buckled under the heavy weight that I'd carried for only a few moments. I tipped over the path, ready to topple down the steep depths, and crash into the rocks below. I couldn't even express my fear, my voice had disappeared...

          The impact of hitting the ground came too soon. Before my thoughts faded away to madness, I discovered that the cliff had merely been an illusion...

***

           The constant heat slowly wore me down. I needed something cool, but the river was a long ways away. How did I even stray from it? How was I still alive? Too many questions and not enough of my brain still functioned properly enough for me to think through this.