For the next two days Elysia worked nonstop, pretending to evade her guardian. She had a plan. Part of the plan involved pretending to have other plans, and allowing herself to get caught. She climbed out the window of her bedroom three different times, went for a ride only to urge her horse to sprint away from her guardian, tried several distractions on Shade, and even attempted to shoot him with an arrow. None of these plans worked, though one could say that would mean they all worked.
Elysia had no intention of escaping her guardian at this point. She only wanted him to think she was genuinely trying. That way, his guard was up. If his guard was always up, then it was never up all the way. Had Elysia not tried to escape, Shade would be on high alert all the time. Instead, he expected it from her. This made him think her best efforts had already failed.
"This is getting ridiculous," Shade commented as he dragged the Princess back to her bedchambers. She pretended to fight him off. He held her tighter, his grip practically breaking her. He shoved her inside the room, a little too roughly in her opinion. "Enough of this. Your efforts are futile."
"We won't win the war if I don't go," Elysia whined. "Come with me, I would be safe with you."
"While your confidence in my abilities is flattering, you fail to understand the difficulty of the task you so desperately wish to accomplish. Niebla is crawling with patrols, people who are paid to keep Lyrans out of the kingdom and capture anyone who looks like a royal. They also have dragons keeping watch from the sky, looking out for anything suspicious. Not to mention they are on high alert searching for your brother. It's too dangerous, even for someone like me."
This was the first time Elysia had ever heard Shade sound doubtful in his abilities. It almost made her question her plans to go alone...almost.
Her plan was already in motion. She only had a few more steps to carry out. First, she needed to get Shade out of her room.
"I need to take a bath," she stated.
Shade narrowed his eyes. "Are you done trying to escape?" he looked ready to secure a cloth around her mouth and tie her to a chair in the corner. No doubt he was fed up with her attempts to run. The Princess had already made numerous efforts to rid herself of her guardian, to slip from his grasp. The longer she stared at her guardian, the more she noticed his eyes looked tired. It was draining him. Good, she thought to herself. The more tired he was, the more her plan would work.
"For now," she conceded. Fortunately, her guardian granted her wish and left the room. She was certain he was just outside her door, listening in for any more schemes. Little did he know her biggest scheme was already happening.
Yesterday she had slipped a note to Gavin, one of the knights that fawned over her. She made sure to do it when Shade was distracted and made sure she slipped the paper into the knight's hand smoothly and secretly. She had practiced the maneuver for hours the night before, making sure Shade wouldn't have the slightest idea she had done anything.
The note she gave to Gavin had simple instructions. She asked him to retrieve a substance that was deadly to most people. Noxious to some. It was a chemical that dissolved in water, leaving no trace of itself behind. No scent, no powdery residue, only a faint metallic taste. Something most people would overlook.
Fortunately, the knight was head over heels in love with Elysia. Despite having few interactions with her, he would do anything to gain her favor. The Princess decided this would be the very last time she used her beauty for her own benefit.
In the note she gave him, she provided specific instructions for him to put the vile in the dresser in her bedroom while she and Shade went out for a walk. She specifically requested he speak to no one of this note, and make certain he was not seen going into her room. She also added that his quest would not be in vain. She promised him something he could not resist and something she didn't plan on doing.
While she pretended to bathe, Elysia searched her drawers for the glass vile. She caught her breath as she found it tucked away in one of her nightgowns. Next to it was a note from the knight who did her bidding: Your wish is my command. I look forward to my reward.
Elysia shuddered. She took the vile and the note into the bathroom with her. She tore the note to shreds, letting it burn in one of the lit candles around the bath, destroying all evidence. While she cleaned herself in the bath, she stared at the vile on the counter. She didn't have to do this, she told herself. She could stop right now. Toss the vile out the window and pretend it never happened.
She finished her bath, taking longer than necessary. Decisions weighed down on her. She thought back to the visions she saw in the Great Memory Tree. How Prophecy had said she would either be the triumph or ruin of this kingdom.
As she dried off and dressed for bed, she only hoped what she was about to do next would be for the benefit of Lyra and not its demise.
Shade pinned her to the wall aggressively. She winced from the contact, both from the wall and from her guardian. He was mad once again. She had been caught, her plan foiled. Shade was no longer allowing her to roam freely. If she was going to keep trying to escape, he was going to make sure she couldn't go anywhere.
While he led her to her room, his grip tightened around her wrist. She fought against him, thinking back to all the times she had been in this situation in the past two days. She was really trying his patience. This time he was done letting her have this long of a leash.
She had expected him to throw her onto the bed, to tie her up and keep her from moving. Instead he simply took a seat in the corner of her room and glared at her.
She watched him curiously. "That's it?"
"What would you rather I do, Princess?"
She shrugged. "I thought you said I would be tied up." She was almost disappointed. Her plan depended on him tying her up, thinking she had no chance of leaving. She needed his guard lowered.
He let out a long breath. "I'm tired, Princess. It's been 48 hours of nonstop catch and release. I would like to rest. Unfortunately, that means I'll have to remain in here. Propriety be rot."
Having a man in her room was far from acceptable, but she was sure an exception would be made for the King's hired guardian. At least, she hoped it would be. She hated to think of the rumors that would spread otherwise.
She needed to think quickly. Her plan depended on Shade tying her up, specifically to the bed, as he had threatened earlier. She walked over to where he was sitting and paced back and forth.
She roamed the room, then grabbed a book and pretended to read. She laid on the bed, her eyes staring blankly at the words in the book. All the while her thoughts raced on how to get Shade mad enough to tie her up.
He remained sat in the corner, his hood pulled far over his head, his eyes closed. She knew he was doing his relaxed state of consciousness, exhausted from having to keep an eye on her at all times. For him he could finally relax, knowing she was within his grasp if he needed to stop her.
Elysia started humming to herself, hoping it might disturb him. She began humming louder and purposely out of tune. He opened an eye and glared at her. She continued.
"Will you stop that?"
"I'm bored," she answered, and kept going, her humming morphing into the sort of noise made when one's fork accidentally grinds against a plate.
Shade groaned from his corner. Elysia grew louder, more defiant. Eventually he stood up and approached her.
"How do I get you to stop making the world's most annoying noises?" he asked.
She stared up at him, her eyes big and blue. "I'm bored. Sit with me, talk to me."
"Talk about what?"
Elysia shrugged, sitting up in her bed, her back resting against the bed frame. She thought of questions that would annoy him. "Have you ever been in love?"
Shade scoffed. "Of course not."
"Why of course not?"
"I don't enjoy repeating myself."
Elysia rolled her eyes. She thought back to what he had said in the caves. About how he was raised to see love as a weakness. "What if you met the right person?"
"You already know the answer to this." He crossed his arms, his voice perturbed.
"Are you really going to spend your entire life following me around?"
"If you continue to require protection, yes."
"Tell me something," she turned until her legs were dangling over the edge of the bed, her body facing her guardian. She motioned for him to come closer. He remained where he was. So she got up and walked over to him. She stared at him, trying her best to capture the image of his face, shadowed by his hood. "Why do you always wear your hood up around me. No one else is around. Why not let someone see who you truly are?"
He said nothing. His right hand clenched by his side, then opened again. She waited for him to reply. When he said nothing, she let herself step closer. Slowly she reached a hand up, towards the fabric of his hood, suddenly curious to see if he would let her.
Just as she started to pull the hood away from his face, he grabbed her wrist, the motion causing her to gasp. Faster than she could comprehend, he twisted her around and tied her to the bedpost.
She tugged hard on the rope, testing its durability. It was secure. She turned to her guardian, her mouth open, eyes accusing. "Untie me this instant!"
He gave her no reply, simply walked back to the corner and took his seat in the chair. He released a heavy sigh and relaxed for the first time in 48 hours.
After an hour, Elysia decided to finish executing her plan. She had Shade right where she wanted him. Clearing her throat, she caught her guardian's attention once more.
"How long do you plan to keep me tied up?"
"As long as you continue to behave foolishly."
She adjusted her position in bed. It was hard to get comfortable when the rope only allowed her to move so much. "I'm getting cold," she complained.
Her blanket was on the other side of the room, neatly folded by one of her maids. It had been washed recently and was yet to be placed on her bed. Her maids had been instructed not to enter her room for a while, per Shade's orders. Such an order had flustered the poor ladies greatly, but they obeyed nonetheless. She hated to wonder what they must think.
To add to the effect, Elysia started shivering, her teeth chattering. It was in fact getting cold in her room. The fire had not been kept up since her maids were turned away. Shade got up and tended to the fire, then brought the Princess the blanket she requested.
"A glass of water would be nice too," she added wistfully.
Shade's body tightened; he was less than thrilled to be ordered around, tending to her as a servant would. Regardless, he poured the Princess a glass of water, handing it to her firmly.
She had every intention not to drink it. After all, it was poisoned. She needed Shade to willingly poor himself a glass.
She held the glass in both of her hands, eyeing it. "It's not very cold is it?"
Shade exhaled. "Does it need to be?"
"I don't like stale water."
He frowned at her. "It's water, how can it be stale?"
She sat up straighter. "Water can certainly be stale, especially if it's been sitting all day like this has."
"Sirey brought you fresh water a few hours ago, it's not stale."
The Princess shook her head. "I can't stand that taste of it. I don't think I can drink this."
"I struggle to understand how water can be stale."
"It tastes different," she explained.
"It's water, it doesn't taste like anything!" the more frustrated he became, the more Elysia could see her plan unfolding. He was so tired, so sick of her, that she was sure he would take the bait.
"Regardless, I can't drink that. Perhaps you could request some fresh water be brought to my room."
Shade put a hand up to his temple, his head pounding. He looked ready to either throttle Elysia or jump out a window. She was quite pleased with the effect she was having on him.
He grabbed the glass from her hands and guzzled the water down. "There!" he exclaimed. "It tastes just fine." Then he stopped. Elysia could tell he was focusing on his tastebuds. Did he notice the metallic taste? Could he feel the effects of the drug already? She had put twice the lethal dosage in the pitcher. Knowing Shade, he would have some sort of tolerance built up to a small amount of different poisons. She couldn't be too careful.
His eyes stared at Elysia in disbelief. Then he looked at the empty glass in his hand. "What did you do?"
A few moments ago she had been proud of herself. Excited to finally have bested her guardian. Now she was horrified, scared. Had she put too much in?
He staggered forward a little, then moved until he was on the bed, as if he knew he was going to pass out and might as well land on something soft. The Princess scooted over, making room for him to lay down. He stared up at the ceiling, his breathing fast. His pupils were dilated.
She leaned over him, watching his reactions.
His eyes struggled to stay open, his vision fading. He looked at her one last time. "Don't...do...anything stupid."
She smiled sadly at him. "It's what I do best." Then his eyes closed and his breathing stopped.