TRUSTING STRANGERS
Known Also As...
{THE POISONED CHALICE :: Part Two}
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The rolling green countryside of Camelot soared past me as I raced against time- Sorry, as we raced. I almost forgot that the bratty Prince Arthur Pendragon was eating my dust.
Jaime's hooves hammered against the ground like the worry that pulsated in my mind. He huffed heavily, but hadn't yet lost his pace.
My own exhaustion made my breath ragged in a concerning inconsistency, but if we stopped now, there could be no telling what would await us back in Camelot.
Towering mountainsides caped with snowy white peaks surrounded us as we made for the dark green forest in the distance. Terrifying creatures surely hid in the shadows, ready to fest on our flesh- but, if there was anyone here who could handle them, it was me.
And the prince I suppose.
I pulled a tired Jaime to a stop at the top of a hill several miles from the forest and sent a blessing up above for the privilege of having riding pants. Should I be wearing skirts, my legs would be a bloody mess at this point.
Shortly after, Arthur pulled up beside me as he searched the outlying trees as I did.
"What do you suppose we might find in there?" He asked.
"Nothing enjoyable, I'm sure, your highness." I answered, suppressing a glare. "Maybe a mighty Minotaur for you to slay and bring its head back as a trophy for your valor, sire."
Arthur frowned as he gave me a mocking smile. "I'm sorry, did I do something to offend you?"
I raised my brows in mock surprise. "Why, my lord, nothing at all. I mean, you're only here to prove to your father that you're a big prince who can make his own decisions. What would be wrong with that?" Before the prince could retort, I gently kicked at Jaime's sides to ease him on.
Before I could get too far, Arthur brought his horse around, cutting me off.
"If you don't mind-" I hissed through clenched teeth. "I'm trying to save my friend."
"I am too-" The prince paused and shook his head. "My servant, I mean. He sacrificed his life for mine. I'm not going to let him die just because my father tells me so. Do you have any idea what I'm risking? It is not beyond me that some severe punishment awaits me if I come back alive."
I bit down hard on my bottom lip as I fought back a retort. Yes, a day or two locked in your room with good food and a warm bed. Such a severe punishment. We would no doubt sit here, arguing in circles, if said what I wanted. Merlin didn't have that kind of time.
Beside, to an extent, the prince had a point. There would be trouble, no matter what was awaiting back in Camelot. But if I returned without Arthur...
"Agree to disagree, my lord." I said stubbornly. I pushed Jaime past Arthur's steed before anything else could be said.
As we entered the outskirts of the dark forest, we dismounted and continued on foot. Traveling on foot would allow the horses to rest and give us the advantage of tracking our destination.
Cenred's balls, what I would give to be familiar with these woods. I was too used to the chaos of city life, where you could hide in the crowded shadows and cover your tracks with a million others. But here... these weren't ordinary woods. Despite the towering trees that pressed in on us, I felt too out in the open.
It didn't help that Arthur's horse was about as loud as he was. While his royal highness's chainmail shook with every step, his steed seemed determined to break every twig it came across.
Caw caw!
My bow was notched and drawn as a crow swooped down in front of me. With an irritated sigh, I gently let the tension out of the string as I watched the bird hop across our path.
"Bit skittish, are we?"
I shot a, hopefully chilling, sneer to the prince from over my shoulder. "If you weren't so loud, sire, I wouldn't be so worried about being set up upon."
The prince scuffed as he passed me. "I haven't said anything."
"You don't need to."
"You want to know what I think?" Arthur halted and turned to face me with a forced smile.
"Not particularly." I matched.
"You sound like someone who isn't as brave as they say they are."
I bit down hard on my tongue as Arthur turned his back to me once more. Who the hell did he think he was? The bloody prince of the forest- telling me right from wrong on my own terrain?
Irritation clawed at my chest as he sauntered onward. Screw him. Screw his title. Screw his jingling armor, and screw his annoyingly loud footsteps.
Without a second thought, I pulled back my bowstring and released. My arrow flew right between Arthur's legs and embedded itself into the wet ground a foot or two in front of him.
"Are you bloody stupid?!" He yelled, startling his horse and several other birds as he whirled around to face me. "You could have shot me!"
"If I had wanted to shoot you, I would have, dear prince!" I yelled back, pulling a reluctant Jaime behind me. "What now? Going to throw me in the stocks? I know woods better than you ever will, princeling. You ride around on your hunts," I scrunched my face mockingly, "while your servants stir up a beast for you to casually shoot. I'm the one who knows what to do in the woods. I've tracked beasts bigger than you've ever imagined. Fought off men three times your size. And even survived on nothing but turtle and winter root for three months! So, how about you follow my advice- and be a damn bit quieter!"
"You are the most-"
Wait- what was that?
I held up a hand, cutting off his words. The prince pushed away my hand with a sneer, but kept his tongue- although he looked like he might combust.
There. As the quiet stretched on between us, an odd sound met my ears. Something far more interesting than the trouble I was causing.
Someone was crying.
The fog near the bottom of the hill had cleared to reveal a young girl sitting in a tattered red dress. Her long dark hair was knotted and unkept like she had been lost in the woods for days. Worst of all, it looked like her arm had been wounded. Slowly, I raised a finger in her direction.
"Is that-" Arthur advanced toward the girl.
Unlike the prince, I hesitated at the crest of the hill. There was definitely something not right about this. Why was there a crying girl in the woods? Nonetheless, these woods- told to be full of terrifying creatures; Somewhere not even the most desperate of hunters would travers.
"Arth- My lord, wait!" I skipped half way down the hill and grabbed at his shoulder. "Don't you find it strange that there is a random girl in the middle of no-where?"
To my surprise, he nodded. "Of course I do. But I'm not going on before seeing if she needs help."
"But-"
"Elwynna." The prince didn't raise his voice. He didn't glare or shake with rage. He met my gaze with a stubborn insistance. "I'm not leaving an injured girl in the woods."
His words curled in my mind in a irritating manner. It was like he was holding up a mirror for me to see how much of a hypocrite I was. But didn't I have a point? There wasn't a village in a hundred miles- that I knew of.
As the prince tied his horse to a fallen tree I, reluctantly, followed with my bow close at hand.
As I set Jaime next to the prince's steed, I watched as Arthur knelt before the girl. He muttered soft words as he tried to ease her weeping. She seemed harmless... for now.
Although I couldn't see her face, there was something familiar about the girl... but I couldn't put my finger on it. Surely she wasn't from Londinium; the city was more than three days from here. There were a number of better places one could run to than these woods.
As I made to round the girl, a pounding pain pulsed through my skull. I squeezed my eyes against the world as a sharp ringing met my ears. My feet stumbled back as the pain ebbed away like nothing had... had...
What had I just been thinking? It was something... important. About... what about?
A high pitched scream and a loud roar broke me from my haze as the young girl suddenly pointed toward a scaled creature climbing up the distant edge.
For the bloody sake of Albion! It seemed our adventure was determined to be a hard one. First Prince-Eating Lizards from Gaius' book, next we'll come face to face with a bored sphinx.
"Stay back." Commanded Arthur as he came up from his crouch. With eyes locked on the creature, the prince unsheathed his sword and stocked slowly toward.
Curse him. He's going to get himself killed before we can even get to the cave.
Swiftly, I pulled back a notched arrow. All it would take is one precise shot into its underbelly... if only Arthur would get out of the bloody way!
Lunging forward, the prince swung his sword faster than I had even seen him. It was impressive- more impressive than I cared to admit. But he wouldn't do much if he didn't get closer- which would put him at risk of being killed. So instead, he danced around the creature, getting in my way.
The creature cried angrily as its long vicious claws met nothing but the wind as the prince dodged its attacks.
I forced my breath to steady as I stared down the shaft of my arrow, waiting patiently for my opening to come...
The creature pushed off its back legs and jumped into the air. The prince, having enough common sense, rolled underneath it as the creature leapt in my direction, exposing its underbelly.
I released my breath as my arrow left with a twinge and a whistle, sailing threw the air. With a thick thud, my arrow found home in the space where the creature's neck met it's torso. A second arrow quickly followed.
It let out an angry screeched of pain. The beast swung its head around as it lost interest in Arthur and instead found me to be a much more enticing target.
I quickly notched another arrow and released it. But it was a smart creature. It carefully angled it's armored hide toward me as it charged. It knew my tricks and simply took my arrows where they wouldn't do much damage.
When the creature's sharp teeth were a hair's width away, I rolled to the side, counting on it's size to be a disadvantage to its dexterity.
Instead of hooking me within its massive jaws, the creature went barreling by. Unable to turn, it rammed its head into a large oak tree that creaked and cracked.
I watched in blunt shock as the tall tree slowly tilted and crashed onto the forest floor. The lizard shook its head angrily- somehow more angry than it had been a moment ago.
More enraged than ever, the beast spun and released a deep, ear splitting growl as it made to charge me again.
"Do something!" I yelled to Arthur as I notched another arrow. I would be a fool to think that I could take it down by myself. Obviously, climbing a tree and shooting at it from there would be a death wish.
Out of nowhere, a giant rock hit the creature squarely on the side of its head. The enraged creature turned on its heels, having lost interest in me in favor of gutting Arthur. The beast might be smart, but it sure did have a short attention span.
As it reared up on its back legs, Arthur threw his sword, hilt over blade. With a thunk, the weapon embedded itself into the beasts flesh, right next to my first two arrows. It fell backward, laying lifeless at my feet.
Blood rushed past my ears as my heart raced. The forest was too loud as my adrenaline wore off. Bones, I needed to sit down. It'd been too long since I had to fight anything more dangerous than a squadron of guards.
Without a hint of amusement, Arthur pulled out his sword and my arrows from the beast. "I guess he didn't quite fancy princeling, now did he?"
"At least you have your trophy, my lord." I sighed out. Hopefully, my sarcasm covered the sound of my racing heart.
The sound of rustling leaves sent me whirling. With bow drawn and notched, I turned on the spot- to find the girl a foot or two behind me, now backing away with a yelp on her lips.
Yes, the girl. I had nearly forgotten.
I lowered my bow and extended a hand to her. "It's alright. We aren't going to hurt you."
The girl didn't seem too sure.
Arthur's clanking armor drowned out the crunching leaves as he shuffled forward. "Allow me," he whispered as he passed. "Even a grown man would be scared of you. The girl needs a touch of nobility."
Sneering, I hissed, "I am a noble, Blood Back." It was rather hypothetical of me to say, but I didn't really care at the moment.
"Who did that to you?" Arthur asked as he pointed at the girl's wounded arm.
The girl winced as she tucked her arm closer to her body. "My master." She whimpered. "I ran away from him, but than I got lost. Please, don't leave me..." She took a few hurried steps toward Arthur before hesitating once more.
"I'm not-" Arthur shifted his gaze toward me. "We aren't going to leave you."
The girl's eyes clouded with tears while a hopeful smile formed on her lips. "You're going to take me away from here?"
"Not yet," I answered, stowing my bow across my back. "There's something we have to do first."
"I'll get the horses. Try and get our bearings." Arthur instructed.
As our conversation settled, and the prince went to gather our horses, I took in our surroundings. The trees here were much darker and closer to each other than when we had first entered the woods. The damp air made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle- as if the wind that blew softly was trying to warn us. There were birds- I knew there were- but they didn't sing.
Bit of a stupid warning. We already knew we were most likely going to our deaths.
As I skirted the clearing, a comforting warmth gently brushed past my ears. It was a stark difference from the cold fog.
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. A hollow whistling drowned the silence in a comforting manner.
Look.
As I opened my eyes, I saw a cave, on the cliff side, at the base of this hill. Root ends swayed gently over the mouth of the cave as the lifelines led further into the tunnel.
"Strange..." I whispered into the wind. Then louder, I called back, "I think I've found the entrance."
I turned toward Arthur, and instead found the girl watching me without any of the fear she had once held. For some reason, I wasn't surprised by this.
"Why have you come to the caves?" She asked nonchalant.
"Something. No need to worry." My voice was sharper than I had intended, but the girl's sudden ease put me on edge.
Setting my mind on ignoring the girl, I moved past her and grabbed Jaime's reins from Arthur without an apology to the girl.
Arthur gave me a pointed look as he passed me, leading us down the rest of the hill. He obviously wasn't impressed by my manners. "It can only be found in these caves." He said, answering the girl's question.
"What is it?"
I glared as Arthur glanced at me from over his shoulder. I tilted my head to the side slightly, and hoped that he understood my meaning.
"I know this place," The girl continued eagerly. "I could help you."
Hadn't she told us she had gotten lost? How could she be lost and yet know what's around this area?
Before I could voice my concern, Arthur answered, "It's a type of flower that only grows within the caverns. Its very rare."
"The Mortaeus flower?" A grin spread across the girl's lips. "I know where they are. I'll show you."
I knew it didn't hurt to tell the girl these things, but I couldn't help but feel like there was something more to this situation. Something was wrong; Call it intuition, experience- or maybe even magic, I don't care. I didn't trust her.
Lunging forward, I grabbed at the prince's arm. To the girl, I said, "Thank you, but I think we can handle ourselves."
With a smirk, the girl moved past us and entered the cave.
Exasperated, I sighed heavily. "Is she deaf? Or just stupid?"
Arthur shook his head as we watched her walk into the darkness, pausing only a moment to wave us on before disappearing from view.
"It's no use." He decided. "We can't stop her, and we can't make her stay here."
Shutting my eyes, I shook Arthur's arm in frustration as I tried to convey what I was feeling. "I just- something doesn't feel right about this, your highness."
As I opened my eyes, I caught his wide smirk. "What part? The dark cave? Or the mysterious girl out in the middle of the woods?" He laughed softly before I could answer. "It's not ideal, but it's all we have. Beside," Arthur pulled my hand off his arm as he gave me a patronizing smile. "You can always shoot her if she turns into another one of those lizard beasts."
Arthur patted my shoulder before following after the girl, his horse forgotten before the cave's mouth.
I sneered and muttered, "I'll shoot you both if I feel like it."
"Heard that."
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The trek through the cold cave was less than satisfactory and made me long for the bed I had taken for granted; the warmth from our torches did little to chase away the chill. The sooner we found this flower, the sooner we could leave, I reminded myself.
Either we just entered the cave or we'd been here for days. The darkness and winding tunnels were disorienting and did nothing to help my nerves. Willow would be beyond worried about my lack of steadiness lately.
My breath felt sharp as the mystery girl led us further into the cavern- with my spare cloak wrapped tightly around her shoulders. I don't remember offering it to her, but I was too tired to truly care.
The girl was far too at ease with this whole ordeal. All that caution she had first displayed had completely vanished. Arthur chalked it up to our charming presence, but I found that hard to believe. Either the girl was too stupid to keep her guard up around strangers, or she was hiding something.
At long last, our torchlight extended past the same stone walls and opened up into a tall dead end where a stone ledge led to a far wall over a deep abyss.
"There they are." The girl stopped in the middle of the stone landing and pointed at a cluster of yellow flowers, several feet above, sitting on an even smaller ledge.
I moved past the girl to look over the edge in hopes of seeing the bottom. A small rock bounced off my boot and disappeared into the darkness. A heart beat passed, than five. A minute, and still only silence chased after it.
"Well, we best not lose our footing then." I mumbled, as Arthur approach my right and glanced down beside me.
After surveying our surroundings, the prince turned and said to the girl, "Keep back from the edge. Hopefully we'll be out of here soon."
With a roll of my eyes, I passed my torch over to the girl and reached underneath my cloak to make sure my bow was tightly secured to my quiver- and that my quiver was tied to my belt.
"Alright then," I inched toward the stone point. "Don't take too long."
"Hold on," Arthur grabbed onto my shoulder, stilling my steps. "Are you sure you can make that jump?"
If the situation wasn't so dire, I would have made a joke about the prince having a heart. But, as it was, now was not the time. Especially with my friend on Death's Door.
"While I appreciate the concern, we don't have time to debate who goes first, my lord. Besides," I turned back to the dark chasm and inched my way onto the point. "Your father would have my head if I came back without you. It would be best if I check the wall before you jump."
I had jumped across a number of roofs in my time, far too many to count. The only difference between this cavern and those houses was that almost all the roofs in Londinium had room to spare. I trusted myself to make it across. What I didn't trust, was sticking the landing on the thin slick ledge of stone across the way.
Well, there was no time like the present to practice my footwork and little time to wait around. So, with a deep breath, I took the last few steps at a jog and leaped.
For a moment I was convinced I had misjudged the distance completely and was destined to fall to my doom. Then my feet landed on the damp ledge and my body connected with the cold stone wall, barely missing my nose.
"You alright?" Arthur called.
"Splendid." I hissed out through clenched teeth as my heart pounded against my chest. "Come see for yourself."
I took a moment to collect myself, then climbed up the wall a few feet so that Arthur could land without my being in the way.
From over my shoulder, I watched him step onto the stone point as he cautiously held his torch aloft.
As he reached the middle of the point, a shift from underneath the ledge caught my eye. Then, a loud crack. As the noise faded, I gave way to chanting that reverberated throughout the cave.
Behind Arthur, the servant girl held her hand out toward him, but her eyes were focused on the stone as an ancient language spilled past her lips.
"What are you doing?" He shouted. Another thundering crack echoed through the cavern as the stone below Arthur gave way.
"Arthur!" I yelled, my heart leaping to my throat. My instincts screamed at me to do something- anything.
But there wasn't enough time to formulate a plan. The prince turned on his heels, dropped his torch into the abyss, and jumped for the ledge just as the stone broke apart beneath him.
I watched helplessly as his body slammed against the slick ledge. His hands scrambled against the stone, looking for purchase, right before skidding over the edge.
"Arthur!" I cried into the unknown.
A strained grunt responded to my pleas just as I caught sight of his chainmail reflecting in the distant torchlight. He hung freely below the ledge, everything but his fingers dangled before the chasm.
"Mother of Avalon," I hissed. "Just hold on." With a deep breath, I lowered my right foot but found only a sheer wall. It was as if all my footholds had been erased.
"I expected so much more."
The girl's voice stalled my movements. Her voice. Her voice seemed... seemed what?
I looked back over my shoulder and found an innocent girl no more. Whether she was the one who lifted the magic, or by my own dumb luck, I now knew where I had seen this girl- and why I hadn't known before.
"Who are you?" Arthur commanded, choosing the worst time to ask questions when his biggest concern should be pulling himself up.
A smirk grew across her lips, accentuating the crazed look in her eyes as she pushed down the hood of the cloak.
"She's the girl from the banquet!" I spat. "You're the one who got Merlin poisoned! You bloody pig-screwing hag!"
A rattling hiss cut off whatever words the maid had been about to return. From the shadows of the cavern, a spider the size of a wagon wheel scuttled across the ledge a few feet above Arthur.
"It seems we have a visitor." The witch drawled.
Forced to hug the wall with both hands, there was little I could do but watch as Arthur shuffled his hands across the ledge, trying desperately to create distance between himself and the creature.
The spider, eager for a hunt, leaped down onto Arthur's lifeline. If hissed as it stalked toward him.
I forced my eyes to stay on the spider as it reared back and leaped. Right when I thought Arthur was done for, the prince brought up his sword with so much force that he cut the spider in half, sending it lifeless into the darkness.
As he threw his sword onto the ledge above him with a gasp, the maid chuckled bemusedly. "Very good. But he won't be the last." She glanced down into the chasm wall as the clicking of hundreds of scurrying spiders rose toward us. "I'll let his friends finish you off, Arthur Pendragon. It's not your destiny to die at my hand."
With little more than a smirk, the maiden walked toward the tunnels. Then she paused as if reconsidering. Over her shoulder, she called, "Oh, It's been a pleasure, Solas, but also a shame. Uther should have killed you while he had the chance." Without another word, she disappeared into the darkness.
My heart stopped as I took in the weight of her words. How do all of these barmy fools know who I am?
"Who are you!" Arthur shouted once more, nearly startling me out if my wits.
"Arthur," I strained out, my fingers growing numb from gripping the cold wet wall. "Arthur, I can't help you. You have to pull yourself up."
The prince grunted in desperation. "Don't you think I'm trying?" A strained gasp for breath. "I can't see the bloody stone that's right in front of my face."
A roaring began to build in my stomach as anger pulsed in my veins. Ever since I joined Sceadwian, I had always known I would die with my boots on, but I had thought that Catina would at least know what happened to me.
"Elwyn?" Arthur hissed. "You still there?"
I sniffed and chuckled dryly. "Asks the man who's dangling over a thousand-foot drop... I don't want to die here, Arthur." I rubbed my cheek against my shoulder to rid myself of a stray tear. Then, I cleared my throat. "I won't die here." I glanced below me, hoping to see him, to reassure myself that at least I wasn't alone.
What I found instead, was a faint glowing something rising from the fog below us. "What is that?" I mused.
I heard the sound of shuffling armor before I heard Arthur say, "It can't be good."
The glow grew until it broke through the fog, blinding us momentarily. When my eyes adjusted, I discovered an illuminated orb floating toward Arthur's form, reflecting off his armor.
"Come on then! What are you waiting for?" But Arthur's challenge was only met with silence.
I listened helplessly as he spat out a curse, followed by the scrapping of armor against a rock. With a mighty grunt, the prince swung himself up onto the ledge above him.
I wasn't sure what it was about the orb, but there was something about it that seemed... friendly. A separate kind of magic from the maiden's.
Satisfied with Arthur's new standings, I looked for the ledge that the first spider had come out on. My hands were beginning to shake and I didn't know how much longer I could hold on.
"We have to climb out before those spiders catch up to us." I hissed. "Try to follow me up."
The light illuminated the footholds above me and revealed that the ones directly below had indeed been eradicated. I sucked in a deep breath before swinging my right foot up toward my elbow. Then, with a mighty leap, I pushed off the rock and grabbed onto the ledge, my fingernails scrapping painfully against the stone.
"Bloody hells!" I exclaimed, pulling myself up onto my knees. Examining my hands, I found them coated with blood. The skin on my fingertips must have been torn open by the sharp rocks. What I would give for my boar leather gloves right now.
"Everything alright up there?"
I looked down to see Arthur a few feet below me, sweat dripping down his brow. Although his tone sounded non-concerned, I could see the worry in his eyes.
"I'll be far better once we get out of here." I answered as I pushed myself onto my feet. "Can you get yourself to this ledge?"
Arthur chuckled without humor. "I have to if I want to live." He paused long enough to hear the rising hiss of spiders. "Or avoid getting eaten alive."
I turned back to the wall and watched as the orb floated above us- passing the cluster of yellow flowers. I sighed in relief. I had nearly forgotten about the flowers.
"I'll grab the plant," I shouted down to the prince, "Just concern yourself with getting up here."
Before Arthur could protest, I shuffled across the ledge until there was nowhere else for me to go but up.
What should have been second nature to me was suddenly taxing. Scaling the wall was far more difficult with my blood making the damp stone slicker. But I would either get this flower or die trying.
A large crack was carved into the stone, several feet above my previous ledge. I grunted through the pain as I wedged my arm, up to my shoulder, into the hole. As much as I depended on its support, I knew it would do me little good if I fell backward.
From here, the flowers were little more than three feet to my right. I would have to hold onto the outside of the crack if I wanted to reach them.
So, sending a prayer to the Lord above, I pulled my arm out from the crevice and bit my tongue against the pain as my raw fingertips dug into the rough stone. With my other hand, I felt my skin skim the leaves as I stretched over the dark chasm below.
"Please," I hissed under my breath. "Please."
The sound of metal against rock cut through the clicking of the spiders, bringing my nerves to a boiling point.
"Elwyn!" I risked a glance over my shoulder, and saw Arthur with his sword drawn, standing on the lower ledge I had shuffled across. "I'll hold them off as long as I can, but we need to hurry!"
Turning back to the flowers, I sucked down a deep breath that tasted of wet stone and blood. My heart pounded against my chest.
I pulled my right leg from its foothold, knowing I had to risk the move for a chance to at catching my quarry. The Maker must have heard my prayers as I felt my fingers grasp the flower's stem long enough for me to pull it free.
But my celebration was short-lived.
As I leaned back into my original foothold, I felt the thin stone crumple beneath me. My hand slipped from the crack as my bloodied fingers failed to find purchase. As my last companion, the air in my lungs too, abandoned me.
Then... I was weightless
✧✧✧
Irritation clawed at my chest as he sauntered onward. Screw him. Screw his title. Screw his jingling armor, and screw his annoyingly loud footsteps.
Author's Note
I had the BIGGEST writers block with this STUPID chapter for a straight two months. And yet, I think it's some of the best writing I've had in awhile and that INFURIATES ME. But brooooo, I'm so glad I fricken finished it. I was tempted to finish out the episode in this chapter, but it would have been around 10,000 words