Chapter 12

The next morning, the prince doesn't show up for breakfast. I can tell that everyone has heard about what happened last night by the looks I'm getting from everybody.

I sit down at my table and after a few minutes, a very tired looking Zander joins me. He looks at me with concern, "I heard about what happened last night. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

He looks at me doubtfully but doesn't question me. My head feels like it's going to pound out of my skull but I have to ignore it. I head outside where the knights are training. The prince still hasn't shown up.

I grab a sword and practice on some wooden dummies. I continue like this until I partner up with Zander. He's good, but nearly as good of a partner as the prince.

The rest of the day goes by quickly. The weather outside is warm all day. Zander and I train together, but the prince never shows up.

When we head into the dining hall, there's still no sign of the prince. Finally, I can't stand it anymore. I get the courage to walk to the queen's room. Gently knocking, she allows me in. Her expression is surprised when I walk in.

"Iris! I didn't expect to see you."

"I came wondering if you know where Ashton is."

"Why, I haven't seen him all day. In fact, I thought you were him because he checks up on me at least once a day."

Then it dawns on me. "He ran."

"What?"

"He left to get you the antidote. He didn't listen to you!"

The queen gasps. "You must go after him. He's my son and I won't let him put himself in danger. I'll send some guards to prepare a horse for you. You do know the location right?"

I nod, recalling what was on the note.

Just then, she begins coughing. I start to hurry to her side, but she just waves me away. She's so thin and pale that I can barely look at her.

I head out to the stables where a horse is waiting for me, just like the queen said. Quickly, I hop on and gallop away.

The forest is different at night. I whip across branches, not caring about the scratches that I'm getting. All around me it's dark and silent. The only sound is the beating of the horse's hooves and occasionally a hoot from an owl. As I get closer to the location, I stop the horse and decide to continue by foot. Hopping down, I run as silently as possible.

After about a mile of running in the dark, I begin to loose hope. I could easily have be lost. Just as these thoughts are creeping into my head, I see the lights of a camp up ahead. I stop to catch my breath and wonder what the best way to do this is. I have a pack of arrows and a bow slung across my back. I decide that my best plan is to climb the trees and approach from above.

With the slender and agile figure I have, I'm able to quickly climb up the rough trees and over into the next ones until I stop right next to the camp.

Looking down, I see Ashton who is tied and gagged. He has a nasty cut down the right side of his face, and he looks exhausted and dirty. Getting slightly closer, I see another man. He is tall and gangly with graying hair. I strain my ears to hear what he's saying.

"You really thought that we were going to give you the antidote. I have it, but clearly you aren't that smart," the man says.

He walks over to Ashton and kicks him in the ribs a few times. I hear the prince groan and I flinch at the sound.

"Now, you have no one to save you. Tomorrow we head out. I'll get handsome amount of money for you."

With that, the man walks into his shelter that is made out of torn fabric. Inside, I can barely hear him whispering to someone else.

I wait a couple of hours until the people in the makeshift shelter have gone to sleep. It appears that no one else is around. Without making a sound, I drop to the ground and head over to the prince. I begin cutting at his ropes and he wakes up.

"Iris?" He asks groggily once I remove his gag.

"Shh."

Quickly, I finish untying him and he unsteadily stands up. Once he gains his balance, we start to leave the camp quietly. All of a sudden, a candle lights in the shelter and a voice yells out, "Stop!"

The prince and I take off, sprinting as quickly as possible. An arrow whizzes by and skims my ear. I touch it and my hand comes away with blood on it.

We get to my horse and we both hop on, galloping away. It's not until we get to the safety of the castle that I talk to the prince.

"What were you thinking?" I start. "First you let down all of your knights, you make me wonder where you are, and then you scare your mother like that? If you think that you were trying to be brave and noble, you weren't!"

I can't even look at him as he responds.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry? Is that all you can say?"

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry that I tried to save my own mother from dying!"

I turn around and he right next to me. I look up into his face, breathing heavily. The pain and sadness in his eyes makes my anger dampen. We stand there staring at each other until the prince sits down on a nearby bench. I join him and we look into the sky.

"I'm sorry I snapped. You scared me," I say softly.

A small smile forms as he replies, "You were concerned about me?"

I'm glad it's dark out so he can't see my blushing cheeks.

"Of course I was. You're the prince. Everyone has to be concerned about you.

He frowns a little at my words and looks away from me. We sit there until the sun starts to rise in the distance. Getting up, the prince says, "Thank you for saving me. You should probably go get some sleep now."

"What about you?"

"I need to go talk to my mother."

"Okay."

We say our goodbyes and head off into our own directions. When I get to my room, I find another note on my bed. It reads:

I gasp. Who could have done this? Falling asleep proves difficult. Thoughts are running through my head. It had to be one of the knights who did it. No one else has access to my room. Finally, I'm able to fall asleep just as the sun is coming up.