Flower's Curse

by Madison Keller

  “Oh.” Sels stepped back.

  Roel’s expression turned thoughtful as she contemplated Sels. “Look, Prince Sels, I have friends who owe me favors. I can arrange to have this Yaka hidden from the guards.”

  Sels glanced at Roel hopefully. “You’d do that for me?”

  “But,” Roel came to stand face-to-face with Sels and rested a hand on Sels chest and gazing into his eyes, lips quirking.

  “But, what?” Sels gulped, his face heating up. Roel’s blue eyes stared into his; her lips were parted, ever so slightly.

  “I’d need you to do something for me, in exchange,” she leaned in towards him as she said this, until their lips were almost touching.

  “Anything,” Sels scarcely dared to breathe, his blossoms were curling open in his excitement.

  “The party at the palace next week,” Roel said, her lips brushing his. “It sounds so lavish and ... stimulating. I’ve never been to something so elegant. I want you to take me.”

  That would be was his and Sesay’s engagement party. But he’d promised Arara and he knew how much it meant to her.

  “My,” Sels panted, his blooms were all straining, fully open. “I’ll have a servant deliver you an invitation in the morning. And arrange a carriage the day of the ball.”

  “I was hoping you could pick me up.” Roel pouted.

  “I’m actually, uh, not supposed to be out of the palace right now. It’s why I had to sneak out to see you,” Sels flushed emerald and bit his lip at the confession. “But I’ll see you there, of course.”

  Roel grinned. “You’ll introduce me to all your friends and take me around, too?”

  “Yes,” Sels choked as he said it. Besides, Sesay might even be happy that she wouldn’t have to spend the whole evening at Sels’s side since he suspected she wanted out of this wedding as much as he did.

  “I’ll start the arrangements for your fugitive.” Roel picked up her lantern. “When should I expect them?”

  “Tomorrow night. Late.” Sels wished he could stay here with Roel, but he’d already been gone too long.

  “Poy and Niq will be waiting here, with further instructions. It’s better if you don’t know where he is, just in case.”

  Roel leaned in and kissed Sels deeply on the mouth. Sels wrapped his arms around her shoulder and tried to tug her in closer, but she pulled away, yanking gently on his bottom lip with her teeth as did so.

  She slipped out of his arms. “Good night, sweet Prince.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  PRISON BREAK

  Yegra relaxed on a pillow, eyes tracking Arara as she helped Sels into a snug set of pants and tunic in preparation for his nightly lesson with Elric. Sels yawned as he shrugged his arms through the tunic sleeves. After getting back from Roel’s the night before he’d gotten less than a claw mark of sleep before a page had come in to wake him at dawn. In addition to the lessons with Elric, Sesay had set him up with a scholar on Empire law, and they’d spent the day together looking for a way to block the execution. From the dark circles under Sels eyes and his foul mood which was leaking through their bond, Arara knew they hadn’t had much luck.

  “How do I look?” Sels turned and extended his arms. The black silk clung to Sels like a second skin. After he’d caught his own robes on fire the night before, Elric had suggested the change of clothing.

  Arara shrugged.

  “Very nice, your Highness,” Yegra murmured from across the room when Arara didn’t respond, although she couldn’t have known that Arara had given her feedback silently through the bond.

  “Good luck on your—” Sels flushed and glanced about. They’d been careful what they said aloud. Sesay or the Queen could have placed any number of spells about the room to spy on them, with them none the wiser. “Good luck, anyway.”

  Arara nodded, on impulse throwing her arms around Sels’s middle. He ruffled the hair between her ears before pushing her gently away. He strode out of the room confidently. Yegra stood and stretched, trotting out behind the Prince. Arara made sure to stand in view of the two guards at the door, wagging her tail as she waved Sels and Yegra goodbye.

  As soon as he’d shut the door behind him Arara dashed over to her pile of bedding. She’d pre-fluffed some pillows to make her general size and shape and now she covered them with a blanket. The blanket was coated with her fur from long use, and the scent would mask the fact that she wasn’t actually in the bed if anyone came in to check on her. Arara touched the wall and the sun flower above her curled closed, extinguishing the light.

  The last few rays of twilight sun lit the room up pink as the sun slipped behind the horizon. Arara waited impatiently for a time after, until it was full dark.

  While she was waiting Arara pulled on a thick gray cloak. It would disguise and hide her distinctive white fur. She’d thought about dying her fur, but wasn’t sure she could remove the dye before having to be seen around the palace tomorrow morning. After a moment of thought she stuffed a second cloak into her bag for Ottont to use. Then she tiptoed to the balcony, making sure to latch the doors firmly behind her.

  The plan was simple. She took a deep breath, trying not to hyperventilate. The guard wouldn’t catch Yegra letting Ottont out of his chains and Ottont would cooperate. Everything would be fine. Yegra would be safe, she had to be.

  However, the other complication was Arara’s ability to get out without being seen. Together she and Sels had settled on the balcony as the best point of exit. Getting back in would be trickier, and involved Arara using her powers to sneak past the guard at the door. She’d thought about doing that going out as well, but without training she wasn’t confident in her ability to cloud the guard’s mind without knocking him unconscious or hurting him, as she’d accidentally done before. Hopefully Ottont would be able to at least provide her minimal instruction before she returned.

  From the corner of the balcony Arara retrieved a set of climbing hooks. In the north during the winter sometimes the powder got very deep, and if you fell through it you could freeze to death before you could claw your way free. So they used these special hooks on the trees to pull themselves up and out of the snow. Arara’d had a hard time finding some at such short notice in the city, but luckily she’d discovered that Yegra had packed some for her trip. They were a bit too big for Arara’s smaller paws, but they’d have to do.

  Arara climbed up on to the railing and reached out, digging the hook into the bark. It was thicker and tougher to penetrate than she’d expected, but she managed to get it set well enough to hold her weight. The climb was slow going and by the time she’d reached the halfway point her arms were trembling with exhaustion from pulling out and resetting the hooks in the thick bark.

  Yegra gefired her as she reached down to secure the next hook.

  Arara dug in the next hook. It caught on something, only going in partway, but she swung over to it anyway, impatient at knowing she was already late. The hook jerked as it took her weight, but held. Arara reached out and pulled out the other hook, but as she did the hook she’d just set shifted, then popped free.

  Arara felt herself falling, sliding down the outside of the tree. She let go of the hook, tossing it aside as she dug her claws into the tree in a desperate attempt to slow herself down. It worked, to a degree; wood chips pelted her face as she gouged at the bark. She landed hard on her rump, her tail partially caught under her. Agony radiated out from the end of her tail and she had to clamp her paws around her muzzle to keep from crying out.

  Clouds blocked out the light of the moon, and she hadn’t brought a lantern with her, so she couldn’t see what was wrong. She curled onto her side and pushed up to one knee, reaching behind her with a paw to feel her tail. Each brush of her paw sent a fresh wave of pain up her tail until she reached the place it had been broken. The la
st half of her tail hung limp in her grasp, and pulling on it made her want to scream. But there was nothing she could do for it now. At least her misadventure had gotten her the rest of the way down.

  Arara sent back to Yegra, each step jolting her dislocated tail. Keeping one paw on the tail and holding it steady seemed to help, but it meant she couldn’t drop to four legs to run. By the time she’d reached the small garden where she was to meet Ottont her back legs were buckling and her tail was a throbbing, screaming mass of pain.

  Ottont stepped out of the shadows of an old oak tree as she staggered through the arch. His white fur shone ghost-like in the misty rain that Arara only now realized had begun to fall sometime during her miserable walk through the maze.

  Arara bobbed her head at Ottont and pulled her cloak aside to get to her pack. The edge caught on her tail. Next thing she knew she was curled on her haunches, shaking uncontrollably while Ottont held one of her paws. Her hood had fallen off and the rain was soaking into her fur.

  Sels sent a surge of comfort and love through the bond.

  The bond had been quiet since she’d fallen from the tree, but perhaps she’d reflexively pulled her shields tight with the pain.

 

  Arara relaxed her shields. As Sels promised the shooting pain from her limp tail faded away to a dull ache. Ottont silently helped pull her to her feet. She shivered, nearly falling again. The rain carried a biting chill that penetrated down to her bones. She pulled up her hood before getting her spare cloak out of her bag and offering it to Ottont. He was naked except for the iron-wood cuffs that still bound his front paws together, and he gave Arara a gefir of gratitude before awkwardly pulling the wool around his shoulders.

  Arara got Sels’s amulet of her pocket and carried it over to the oak tree that dominated the center of his part of the garden, pressing it against the bark. A section of the tree slid away to reveal a stone staircase leading down. The tunnels were spelled to only allow the Royal Family entrance. The amulet was one of the same ones that had been used by the rebels to break into the palace. Inside was a piece of Sels’s vines, which tricked the magic guarding the passages into opening for her.

  The rest of the trip to Roel’s was quiet. Despite Sels’s assistance, her tail still ached and screamed at her with each step. A couple of times she gritted her teeth and tried to strike up a conversation with Ottont, but he merely shook his head and refused to talk to her. Without lanterns they had to feel their way along the tunnel and it was slow going. Once they reached the end they faced an even longer walk across districts, since they’d been forced to use a different tunnel than the one Sels had used the previous night. It had been too well guarded and they didn’t want to raise suspicions by trying for it again.

  Roel’s clinic was dark as they limped up. The sky was the deep dark of night; dawn would be soon. With Arara’s injury and Ottont’s chains they hadn’t been moving fast and they were well behind schedule. As promised the door swung open at Arara’s touch, unlocked.

  Claws clicked on the wooden floor as they filed into the dark vestibule. Water dripped from their sodden fur and cloaks to pool in muddy puddles on the scuffed floors. Poy shut and locked the door behind them, standing on his tip-toes in order to reach the high wooden bolt. Ideally placed for a full size Jegera or Kin, but too high for such a small Jerling. Arara had a flash of sympathy for him until she remembered that he still had a lot of growing to do and in a few years he’d be taller than her.

  “What’s wrong? Why is he all covered in iron-wood chains like that?” There was movement in the dark that was probably Poy pointing at the Yaka.

  “So many questions,” Arara bit back a snarl; he was just a puppy after all. “This is one of the Yaka that the Queen ordered killed. Didn’t Roel tell you we’d be coming?”

  “Yeah,” shuffling in the dark and a sun flower lantern lit up in the corner. Poy lifted it up and studied them. “But you’re late. And she didn’t say nothing about cuffs.”

  Ottont settled down onto his haunches, cuffed paws held out before him. He was panting hard and she knew this effort had cost him. He was malnourished and must be near the end of his strength, but he hadn’t uttered a single word of complaint.

  Actually, sitting sounded nice. Arara crouched next to him but her tail brushed the floor and she was unable to hold back a yelp.

  Poy jumped and stared at her.

  Arara winced and grabbed her tail, pulling it from under her cloak. “Could you splint my tail before I leave?”

  Poy nodded and cocked his head. A moment later Niq rolled a cart towards them, its wooden wheels clacking on the floor.

  “Now, I suggest you lay down. This will hurt.” Poy cautioned her. Tools rattled together on his cart. Arara gulped and lowered herself gingerly down to the floor, onto her stomach, trying not to jostle her injured tail. Her wet cloak tangled under her, but she left it there, not wanting to move more to fix it. The lump pressed awkwardly into her stomach and the wet fabric smelled.

  She wished Yegra was here to hold her paw. To her surprise Ottont shifted over and took one of her paws between his. The cuff on his wrists made it awkward, but Arara appreciated the gesture.

  A paw gripped her tail and Arara bit back a scream, squeezing Ottont’s paw with all her might as pain shot through the dislocated section. Sels’s gasp could be felt through the bond, and Arara knew he was keeping yet more pain from her. She’d owe him big after this.

  “Niq and I are going to set the tail back into place.” Poy warned her. “It will hurt, but you need to keep still.”

  Agony shot through her as another paw grabbed the end of her tail and pulled. Her claws popped out involuntarily and she shuddered; her paws convulsed. Then it was over and she felt the boys strapping her tail to a piece of wood with a thick cloth bandage. Arara almost wept in relief, but her body took over and vomited all over the floor in front of her.

  Ottont pulled his paw free of Arara’s grip. Blood dripped from it; the smell made her oddly hungry.

  “I hurt you. I’m sorry.”

  “You brave. Keep your word. Small hurt worth,” Ottont’s sullen expression softened as he looked around the clinic. “I am safe.”

  A BURST OF PAIN STABBED through the bond and caught Sels by surprise just as he was gathering magic in his palm. Sels cried out and fell back to the ground. The ball of magic tumbled through the air, exploding as it hit the ground with a crack. Chunks of mud and rock pelted Sels.

  Sels shook the debris off of himself and opened his eyes. Dead petals dropped from his vines and were quickly whisked away by the wind. A light rain had begun while Elric had been walking him through that night’s exercises and he’d landed in a puddle when he’d fallen. His pants had quickly soaked through at the rear and his hands were coated with mud.

  “You must pay more attention!”

  Elric continued to berate him from the edge of the circle, stamping his cane as he spoke, while Sels wearily pulled himself to his feet.

  “Arara contacted me through the bond and broke my concentration,” Sels bit back saying any more.

  “You think that Recka does not speak to Sesay while she casts? No excuses. You and your bonded are one. Her thoughts should be as yours. It should not be possible for her to break your concentration.”

  Sels lowered his head and wiped mud from his face with the back of his hand. Honestly, it had never occurred to him before since Arara’s thoughts caught him off guard all the time.

  Even now the bond convulsed. Sels winced and mentally reached out for Arara, but a wall of agony pushed him back. She’d been hurt. He closed his eyes and counted to ten, breathing in a steady rhythm, trying to calm his racing heart. He had to pretend nothing was wrong, lest he give away their plot and get Ottont caught. The pain subsided, just a bit, enough to allow Sels to know that she was still moving. A painful injury, but not a serious one.

&nbs
p; “Sels, attention!”

  A pine cone smacked Sels in the nose as he glanced up at Elric. Sels ducked and threw a hand up to protect his face from a second missile.

  “Hey!” Sels glared at the Elder.

  Elric casually juggled a third pine cone up and down in one hand. “Got your attention, didn’t it? Now, again.”

  He was cold, tired, and irritated with Elric, close to snapping. On top of that Arara’s phantom pain came in waves whenever he let his guard down, tormenting him and straining his control. Many of his shots exploded before hitting the target or went wide when he was caught by surprise by a stab of agony.

  After long claw marks of work Elric was finally satisfied. Sels trudged through the mud, weary to the bone and knowing he still had to walk all the way back up to his suite before he could rest. As he left the circle, however, Elric motioned for him to stop.

  “Yes, Speaker Elric?” Sels said, swaying slightly as he stood before the elder. Arara was still in a lot of pain and Sels was having a harder time keeping it at bay.

  “Prince Sels, you understand I push you for your own good.”

  “Of course, Speaker. I appreciate all you’re doing to help me.” He really did. Even after just a couple of days Sels could already see the improvement he’d made and marveled at how much easier it was to get the magic to do what he wanted.

  “Good, good.” Elric shuffled his feet and reached into a pouch at his side, pulling out a small wooden box, no bigger than Sels’s palm. “Now, you are to keep this a secret. Especially from the Queen.”

  Sels raised an eyebrow at this. “I can’t promise you that. Mother has uncanny ways of finding things out.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Elric grinned and winked at Sels. “But if you reveal what I tell you now, I will inform the Queen about your part in tonight’s little jailbreak, hmm?”

  Sels felt like he was fainting and his eyes widened. “What, I, I, I don’t know what you-”