The Poison Prince

Chapter XXVIII

"IT'S going to scar some." Allela said gently as she doused Taiden's shoulder and part of his back in thick ointment. "But you won't be the first king with battle scars."

Taiden breathed in deeply, feeling the pain begin to subside. He was still tired though, and nothing could be done for that. At least not until he had a bed and half a dozen goose feather pillows. His shirt had been cut from his back to grant Allela access to his burnt flesh, and now he twisted it between his fingers, staring down at the bloody, pus smeared finery. White silk was not supposed to scream with the slaughter of innocent, loyal men. Yet it was all Taiden saw upon it. He didn't know how many had died as they fled. More would likely be killed because of it, too. He groaned, wincing as Allela tied the bandages around him, fixing them tight so they wouldn't slip or chafe his skin when he moved.

"I've bandaged enough of my own men to know you'll survive, prince." She told him with quiet confidence, her hands greasy with ointment and his blood.

Taiden mumbled his thanks and cautiously attempted to move. He was extremely stiff, and everything was still very tender, but now that he was free from his ruined shirt and had been treated, he felt a little better. His skin still stung as though a thousand wasps had swarmed him, but the burning had been extinguished; that he was most thankful of.

"I'm sorry, but I need answers before we reach wherever it is that we're going." Julius sat beside Taiden, but since the cart had left the castle tunnels, his hand hadn't moved from the sword he had taken from the fallen guard.

Allela looked over at him and arched a thin eyebrow. "I'm a little pre-occupied cleaning myself up right now. Maybe it can wait- "

"No. I want answers before my prince ends up dead."

Allela stiffened and fixed Julius with a glare so cold that Taiden was certain he'd turn around to see the captain frozen beneath a layer of ice. "No one will end up dead. I promised you safety. Xylia assured you aegis." Her voice was hard like stone.

"It means nothing without the proof to guarantee it."

Xylia lifted her head from where she had been sitting with it resting against pulled up knees. She had neglected the seat and sat on the floor, falling there after the cart hurtled through darkness. She hadn't moved or spoken since then, and aside from the occasional sniff to clear her blocked sinuses, she had been mute.

"I'm the proof." She croaked, her voice dry and hoarse after all the silent tears she had cried for Zechariahs. Her bloodshot eyes matched the state of Taiden's ruined shirt, and her face was puffy and pink from the crying. "I don't want to be, but I guess I am."

Allela tossed a rag of fabric out of the cart after scrubbing her fingers clean with it and turned to Xylia. "Do you still have the letter from your uncle. I believe his words might best explain matters right now." She said gently, frowning as she spotted some missed cream between two fingers. She wiped it on the edge of the cart and sighed.

"How do you know about that letter?" Xylia's face was scrunched into an expression of confusion, an ugly look when combined with the aftermath of her sobbing.

"I was there when he wrote it." Allela confessed softly, "When I heard about the firestorm that hit the village I knew something was afoot. I returned to see if you were a part of it. And then I met your uncle. He had so very little time left and he knew that you needed to go back to where you truly belonged. So he wrote the letter, and told me that you had left with the prince. I raced ahead hoping to stop you long before you reached the castle, but you did not take the route I expected." Allela shook her head gently, thinking of how so much could have gone differently if she had been quicker, thought her actions through better. "Do you have the letter?" She asked again.