Discovering Reality
by RikugouStandard Disclaimer: No part of this story may be reproduced anywhere else but here. The characters, plot, language, names and spells belong to the author. This is an original story people. All of the characters are MINE!
Notes: Thanks for some of the 'spells' Kit!
Chapter 4A rather familiar teal colored crop of hair popped into view followed by a pair of wide dark blue eyes covered slightly by the long bangs. The entire body of whoever was hiding behind the bushes appeared. A lithe, slender build was fitted onto his slim frame and as usual, he was taller than Myterinth.
"Brendon!" Alexius shouted, sheathing his sword in one smooth motion before bounding over to his brother and enveloping him in a bear hug. "Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be waiting for us within the gates of Mitemp?" he asked.
"You're an entire day late, lunkhead," he said flatly but his eyes still twinkled with happiness at seeing his brother again.
"A-An entire day? B-But that's not possible!" Alexius stuttered, silver blue eyes opened wide in shock.
"It's been three days since you left for the Human World," Brendon said grimly.
Alexius had thought he had left merely two days ago. His plan was to spend an entire day looking for Spartye and then spend another walking from the meadow he deemed appropriate for a landing of a dimensional gate to Mitemp. Then, he remembered his unexpected capture. The Fendricks had put enough tranquilizers in the darts to put an elephant under. The silver-blue eyed Elf groaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"Sorry. Got captured by some Elf fanatics in the Human World," he sighed. "Have we lost much time in our plan? We still have time to get Lynk and his Life Bonded right?"
"Fortunate for you, yes," Brendon said, tapping Alexius on the nose. Myterinth cautiously looked around Alexius to observe Brendon. The teal haired Elf spotted him and looked at him curiously. "Who's the cutie?"
"Prince Myterinth," Alexius said absently as he recalculated the distance their group would have to make each day for the lost time.
"That's the prince? He looks no older than fifty!" Brendon exclaimed.
"I-I'm seventeen actually, almost eighteen in a month," he stuttered.
"S-seventeen?!" Brendon nearly shouted.
"He would be considered an adult in the Human World when he reaches 18," Spartye intervened. Brendon never noticed he was there the entire conversation. His clothes made him hard to spot around the foliage as did his hair. Also, he was too silent to be detected even with the acute hearing of an Elf.
:Hello nurse,: Brendon purred across the link he shared with his younger brother.
Alexius blushed as bright as Myterinth's hair. :Donnie!:
Myterinth frowned in confusion. He was very much aware that none of them had said anything but he swore that he heard voices in his mind. He tugged on the sleeve of Alexius' tunic. "How do you test for psychic powers?" he asked.
"You have to ask a Psychic gifted being to test you but they can only tell you whether or not you have the gift, not what it is," Alexius said.
"Well, I can tell you that you DO have the gift," Brendon said, preferring to study Spartye. "Back to matters at hand, I brought friends with me!" he said cheerfully. Running back through the bush he came from, he returned a moment later with four white animals with a shape similar to a horse with a golden horn and silver eyes.
"Syrval!" Alexius exclaimed.
:Well, look at what the cat dragged in,: said a jovial mind-voice.
"Unicorns?!" Myterinth squeaked. He wasn't sure how many more shock and surprises he could take. First he had discovered that he was a Elf about a day ago and he was also a prince. Next he found out that he was some powerful mixture of Mage, Warrior and Healer. Then, the beliefs that true magick did not exist also disappeared. He swayed on his feet.
"Woah there. You okay?" Alexius asked, steadying him by letting the smaller Elf lean against him.
"I think...I need to lie down before I collapse. This is too much for me to process in two days. It makes me dizzy thinking about it," Myterinth mumbled against his chest. "Please? I'm too tired," he said, looking up at the silver haired Warrior-Mage with pleading eyes.
Alexius mentally sighed. He knew that the prince was talking about the weariness of the mind and not the body. That was much harder to get rid of. Flipping the smaller boy into his arms, eliciting a small but tired squeak from him, he bounded into the saddle with his precious bundle.
"Donnie, I'm going to get him into bed before he gets himself hurt," he said. The unicorn whirled gracefully on her hind legs as soon as he was settled into the saddle and went into a full gallop all the way to Mitemp.
"My little bro finally found his fated," Brendon sighed dreamily.
"Myterinth-sama will depend on the bond in the future to save his mind if not his body," Spartye said mysteriously.
"Do you always speak in riddles?" Brendon asked.
"It shows life as the strange obstacle course it is, elfling," Spartye smirked.
"Elfling? I'm probably around the same age as you," Brendon said, poking at his chest with a finger.
"How old are you?" Spartye asked.
"Several years over seven hundred, you?" Brendon chirped.
"Same as you," he answered. After living in the Human World for so long, he learned that it was always safer to keep all of his senses opened. Also, he was eternally hopeful that he would find that certain someone his parents had spoke to him about when he was young. When he had confronted Alexius' brother, he had felt something. Possessing a cynical view towards life in general, he wasn't quite sure whether or not that certain feeling was the Lifebond he had been searching for.
"Found your fated yet?" Brendon asked, deciding to go straight to the point. He usually never abused his powers but this Elf was intriguing and he couldn't help but lower his shields to skim through the thoughts at the surface.
"I think I just did," Spartye said, holding up his right hand. The palm glowed with glimmering stars. Brendon gasped sharply as he did the same, meeting the held up hand tentatively. Something akin to a mild electric shock traveled through him. Spartye twined their fingers together.
"You do know that you might die if I get killed in this war right, now that we acknowledged the Bond?" Brendon asked meekly.
"Then we die together, Life Bonded," he answered, crushing the smaller Elf to his chest. "I lived for this day and I will die willingly for this day, Brendon. We should start for Mitemp. We've stayed here idle long enough."
"Yup," Brendon said, skipping over to one of the unicorns. He swung gracefully onto the saddle and gripped the bitless bridle with both hands. "Coming?"
"Of course," Spartye said, jumping into the saddle without using the stirrups. He smirked when he saw Brendon roll his eyes and tell his unicorn to start for Mitemp. They went into a gallop towards the village, the dark blue eyed Elf taking the lead.
:Show off,: Brendon said in his mind.
:I know I am but what are you?: Spartye said, giving him a mental grin.
:What am I going to do with you?: he sighed.
***
Alexius looked down worriedly at the precious bundle in his arms. The young prince was heating up profusely and his face was flushed. He looked as if he was sick. But Elves never got sick unless magickal poisons manage to get into their systems. That was impossible, right? Those kind of things didn't exist in the human world. However, Myterinth had all the symptoms of an Elf in a poison fever.
The Warrior-Mage put the smaller Elf onto one of the beds and stripped him until he was only in a light shirt and breeches. The red haired Elf whimpered and curled up shivering. Alexius pulled the blankets up to his chin but it made no difference. Taking the sheets from the other beds, he put them on the boy as well. Alexius then went to get something cold.
As he was walking back to the room, he worried at his lower lip with a fang and put the cold compress on top of the red haired boy's forehead. Where was Brendon? What was taking so long for them to get here? he thought as he sat down on a chair next to the bed. Alexius' Healing power was not great. He could only cure small hurts. Anything else was out of his league and power.
*BRENDON!* he shouted in his mind. At this point, he didn't care if the thought bounced around in his brother's cranium. If his teal haired relative didn't come quick, he wasn't sure if Myterinth would survive much longer in a poison induced fever. Elves didn't last longer than a day without treatment when they got hit by poison.
"What is it?" Brendon shouted, skidding to a stop at one of the doors of his house. He had spurred his unicorn friend faster when he heard his brother shouting his name. He felt suppressed panic lurking at the edges of the call and he feared the worse. Alexius was never panicked.
"It's Myterinth. I think he's poisoned," Alexius said in a small voice.
"What? That's not possible!" Spartye said from behind Brendon.
Slivers of green appeared and Myterinth managed to get enough strength to yank lightly on Alexius' sleeve. The silver haired Elf bent down when he couldn't hear him. "Burning..." he whispered before falling back into unconsciousness.
"What did he say?" Spartye asked. Brendon immediately went into action and sat on the other side of the prince. He touched Myterinth's forehead and went into a trance.
"He said burning. I'm going to kill whoever did this to him!" Alexius growled as he shot up out of the chair. Spartye knocked him back down.
"Sit. It's not going to do his majesty any good if you go to the Human World and go knock some skulls. You are blinded by your anger and you might not shield well enough to keep the Gate out of Jespherus's notice. You do not want the entire village of Mitemp to be in danger, do you?" the dark haired Warrior-Mage growled.
Alexius slumped in defeat and clenched his hands. Sighing, he shook his head. "Good," Spartye said as he released him. "What's the verdict?" he said, turning to the teal haired Healer.
"Unfortunately, the poison is very strong. I'm amazed that his body managed to fight it for so long," Brendon said through his Healer's trance. "In one of the marked bottles on the top shelf in my study, there is the sap of an Elvesbane tree. Bring it to me along with the pouch of Sicrus leaves. Quickly!"
The silver blue eyed Elf shot up out of his chair and sprinted all the way to Brendon's study where there were shelves upon shelves of various jars, pouches and chemist instruments. Knowing that his brother alphabetized his herbs, he found what the Healer needed in only a few moments time. Returning shortly with the items along with a bowl and mortar, he let his brother work his gift.
Pouring out a bit of the viscous liquid into the bowl, he took a handful of the Sicrus leaves. With deft movements, he mixed the two items together and mashed up the leaves. Taking the water flask attached to his belt, he added some water to make it into a liquid for Myterinth to drink. The only reason the prince was not deteriorating so fast now was because of his Healing energy holding the illness at bay. He had to work quickly.
Rousing him enough to make him drink the medicine, the red haired Elf fell into a deeper sleep. "He's going to be sleeping for the rest of the day in order to regain his full health," Brendon said, standing up and wobbling a bit. Alexius merely sat down in his place and held one limp hand in his grasp.
"You should rest yourself," Spartye said as he led his new Life Bonded to his own room.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he grumbled. Nonetheless, he was grateful that Spartye was there beside him.
Half stumbling, half walking to his room, he collapsed onto the soft feather bed. Vaguely, he felt the bed sink to one side and warm arms enclose him before he fell into the peaceful embrace of sleep.
***
Myterinth's sleep was not so restful as Brendon's. He found himself on the psychic plane with miles upon miles of empty space. Green eyes scanned for any sign of life but found none, not even the comforting white glow which was with him since he was born.
Where am I? he thought. He began walking in a random direction for what he thought was several minutes before he fell into a dark hole. The prince felt himself falling for what seemed like forever, almost expecting it to extend into eternity.
He sat up gasping for breath in...his bed? Myterinth looked around his room and frowned. There were his duffel bag with his fencing equipment and his schoolbooks. On top of that was his finished homework. Were Alexius, Spartye and Brendon all a dream? It seemed too real to be one. He raked a hand through his bangs, grimacing when he encountered snarls. Sighing, he grabbed a comb from his night table.
"Terry! It's time for breakfast! You better get down here now or else you'll never get to school in time!" shouted a voice.
Was that...his mother?! Myterinth abandoned the task of brushing his hair and ran downstairs to the kitchen. There, standing patiently by the stove was Alian, his mother. "M-Mom?" he stuttered.
"Y-Yes?" she said, imitating his stutter. She laughed and turned off the fire on the stove. Taking off her apron, she neatly hooked it onto a peg attached to the wall. Taking the frying pan, she scraped off the blueberry pancake to add to the pile in the middle of the table. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.
"Oh, he's okay, aren't you, my boy?" said a deep, soothing tenor. Myterinth whirled around to see his father smiling down at him.
"Dad?!" he nearly shouted. "Oh Ashia, I missed you," he said, throwing his arms around his father.
"Woah there sport. I was home yesterday and you saw me last night," he said, clasping a friendly hand on his shoulder.
"You were? I don't...remember," Myterinth said, his brows furrowing.
"Who's Ashia? Is it that pretty girl you've been talking about a lot recently," his mother said.
"She's the Goddess of Light, the primary deity that Feryngale believed in," Myterinth said absently as he tried to sort through his memories.
"Ah, you're stumping me with history again!" his mother giggled.
Wait a minute, his mother never giggled.
"Terry, I think you should finish your breakfast. Jasen will be over shortly to pick you up. You wouldn't want to make him late for school as well," his father said.
"Of course not," Myterinth said as he sat down and mechanically ate his breakfast. His parents didn't even seem to notice. There was something seriously wrong with this picture.
The doorbell rang and his father went to receive it. Several seconds later, Jasen walked in with him. "Hey, Terry, ready for school? You don't want Miss Samisin to skin us do you?" he asked.
"Just give me a minute," Myterinth said. He ran upstairs and grabbed his bag before joining the blonde. "Bye!" he yelled to his parents as he walked out the door.
"Have fun in school!" his mother yelled after him.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Jasen asked.
"Hm? Oh, nothing in particular. I just find today a bit weird. What day is it?" he asked out of the blue.
"It's Thursday, didn't you know? You're usually very informed about what day it is," Jasen asked, his tone concerned.
"Oh, nothing. I just had a weird dream last night. I don't even remember it very clearly anymore," Myterinth said with a laugh. According to my dream, I had left yesterday to go to another land. It was too real not to be true, but how to prove it? he thought to himself. I've had dreams before and none of them were as vivid as this one.
As if in a trance, he walked to class with Jasen and sat down. Taking out his books and writing instruments, he prepared for the beginning of class.
"Hey, Terry. Are you going to the school dance tomorrow night?" said a rather unfamiliar voice. Myterinth looked up into a pair of silver blue eyes. His own eyes widened when he recognized the color. It's Alexius! Then, he looked into the face and hair. This particular person had dark purple hair. Not Alexius. Besides, it was a girl.
"I'm not sure yet. We'll see," he said, giving him a smile. The Fendrick twins walked through the doors with wide grins.
"Hey, everybody! We taught the Elf how to be obedient. Miss Samisin said I could bring it to school," one of the twins said, yanking on a leash. At the end of the leash, it was none other than Alexius, broken, beaten and without his own will.
"A-Alexius," he whispered to himself. The silver haired Elf whirled around to look at him, daggers in his eyes. It can't be him, can it? He would never look at me that way.
The teacher walked in. "Class, sit down and we may begin today's lesson."
Myterinth couldn't concentrate at all. Every so often, he would glance over at Alexius and wonder whether or not the whole journey towards Feryngale was really a dream. As he thought about it, it seemed more and more like a nightmare rather than a dream. Being ripped away from his parents, brought to a world that he was not at all familiar with, and all of a sudden possessing great amounts of an alien power that overwhelmed his mind.
He went from class to class with a lighter head and clearer thoughts until lunchtime. One of the Fendrick twins, Scott if he wasn't mistaken, confronted him. "Hey, Terry. Can you watch the Elf for a bit? I need to go make up a chemistry lab during my lunch and I can't bring it with me. Would you mind?" he asked.
"Um, sure," Myterinth said numbly as the leash was handed to him.
"Good. Beat him if he misbehaves," he said as his parting words.
The red haired boy looked at the kneeling Elf. "By chance, would your name happen to be Alexius?" he asked, proud that his voice did not catch.
"What would you make of it, nature-destroyer?" the silver haired Elf growled.
"Um, nothing. Why did you come to the human world anyway?" Myterinth asked, voice trembling on the last syllable.
"Not that you know anything. I'm here to kill Myterinth, the son of a poor peasant. Any child with power that exceeds Jespherus-sama does not deserve to live," Alexius hissed.
"W-What?" the redhead gasped. He nearly let go of the leash.
"You wanted the truth and I told you, Myterinth. You look too much like the vile king of Feryngale not to be," he growled. Alexius leaped at him in an attempt to kill him. Luckily, the redhead reacted fast enough and ducked quick enough to avoid the pounce.
Myterinth then noticed that there were differences in the appearance of the Alexius in his dream and the one in reality. The tips of the ears, for example, were longer. The canines were also more prominent and the rest of the teeth seemed to be sharp. The eyes did not possess a pupil to speak of. They were entirely silver. It was downright frightening.
"Stand and fight you coward," Alexius growled. The students in the cafeteria scattered in fear when the Elf started to throw lightening bolts at him from his hands.
He dodged only to land straight in the path of another levin bolt. His green eyes widened in fear as the magick came closer and closer. Instinctively, he threw his hands over his face and clenched his eyes shut.
Myterinth winced when he heard a loud boom reverberate within the cafeteria. When he didn't feel electricity burning through his body, he tentatively cracked open a leaf colored eye. He gulped down a huge breath of air when he saw the glowing silver shield in front of him. When he put his hands down, the shield instantly disappeared.
Taking that chance to run, he decided to cut the rest of the day. His parents would understand, he hoped.
***
"Terry! What are you doing home so early?" his mother exclaimed. She gasped at his disheveled state.
"The Elf that the Fendricks caught attacked me," Myterinth panted.
"Why would it do that?" she asked herself as she let her sun inside.
"Alexius, that's the Elf, thinks that I'm some bastard Elf prince that he was sent to kill."
"Illegitimate...child?" she asked, a hard light coming into her eyes. "Terry, go to your room and stay there until your father comes home," she said coldly.
"What did I do?"
"Go to your room, now!" she ordered, pointing a slender finger up the stairs.
Wondering if his mother had gone crazy, he reluctantly walked up. After taking half a step into his room, he heard the front door open and shouting start. Creeping towards the first staircase, he cautiously looked at the source of the noise. It was his father and mother. But his father never came home this early from work. Myterinth pulled up his sleeve to look at his watch. It was already six o'clock.
"What in Ashia's name is going on?" he whispered to himself. He was sure that he had left the school at eleven thirty. Being careful of stepping over the squeaky parts of the floor, he went to one of the spare rooms, looking around frantically for the sword he saw in his dream, if it was one. Events from his dream were slowly coming back to him and they were much too clear to be a result of imagination.
He could still feel the crunch of leaves under his shoes and the heat of the fire that he had conjured under Spartye's watchful eye. If he could find the sword, he could find out once and for all if any of the day was real. Things seemed too perfect. Myterinth felt memories battling for dominance in his mind. Those from his 'dream' and those from the reality he lived in now.
A glow from a corner of the windowless room caught his eye and he walked over to see a long cloth wrapped package. His breath speeding up in excitement, he unwrapped what he suspected was the sword. The hilt of an ornate sword sprang up, the twin emeralds of the dragon's eyes winked up at him.
"Was it all a dream or the true reality?" he asked himself. Myterinth pulled the blade out slightly, seeing the wicked edge glint off the feeble light behind him. Slamming it back into the sheath, he ran downstairs to get the biggest surprise of his life.
His mother, at least he thought it was his mother, had fangs generally people found in vampire movies and a pair of wicked looking nails on her fingers. Her ears were pointed and her eyes possessed no pupil to speak of. His father looked in a similar state and both had ripped clothing where their claws had ripped through the material and the skin underneath.
Myterinth froze at the stairs when two pairs of barely sane eyes fixed their sights on him. A low growl sounded in the mad creature he thought used to be his mother. That snapped him out of his trance and jumped down the rest of the way. He frantically twisted at the locks, panic rising. He banged on it and kicked it futilely but nothing would make it open. He clenched his eyes closed when he saw his now unrecognizable parents stalk him.
The redhead heard a screech of pain and opened his eyes to find his parents' doubles fighting each other. His 'mother' looked at him. "Run, Terry!"
He unsheathed his sword and destroyed the door, running through the hole he made. His day was definitely not going his way. Myterinth cursed some more when he saw a crowd of people start running in his direction, Alexius leading them. He immediately started running the other way. Behind him, he heard shouts of 'Kill the Elf!', 'Give him to the Fendricks!' and 'The bastard prince must die!'.
From then on, his surroundings began to fluctuate madly as the sky turned pitch black. The head of a rather beautiful man with dark blue hair and black eyes cackled in the sky above him, the sound reverberating in his skull. The path in front of him seemed to twist and turn, making him dizzy. Myterinth could see something in the darkness reach for him but luckily miss. His mistake was turning around to look at the crowd behind him. A sudden crumbling in the ground caught him in its clutches and he felt himself falling.
Falling...
Falling...
Falling into the darkness.
***
Myterinth sat up quickly in bed, breathing heavily as if he had ran a race. He touched his pointed ears with a shaking hand and ran his tongue over his slightly prominent canines. He turned to see Alexius sleeping with his head on his pillow and one of his hands linked with his own. He smiled softly and brushed a tendril of silver that fell over a pair of closed eyes.
This was the true reality. Running his fingers through moonlight colored silk, he thought to himself, I wouldn't have it any other way.
***
Alexius groaned as he forced his eyes open. His neck was hurting like nobody's business from sleeping at such an odd angle and his arm was just about falling asleep. He smiled however when he saw that Myterinth was doing much better. The pale pallor of his skin from the previous night had faded to be replaced by a slight blush. His grin widened when he saw emerald eyes flutter open.
"G'morning," Myterinth said with a sleepy smile. He sighed softly and curled deeper into the covers, pulling Alexius' hand to his cheek. The prince fell asleep once again.
The silver haired Warrior-Mage blinked in surprise, desire starting to inflame his senses through the simple touch. Ruthlessly he forced it down. It would do him no good to scare the young Elf so soon. Humans generally did not believe in love at first sight, it was usually lust at first sight. And Myterinth was raised in the company of humans so he probably had the same idea. He would have to ease the Elf prince slowly into the idea of Life Bonds.
He raised his eyes from Myterinth's visage at the soft knock. Brendon walked in, his footsteps making no sound. Strapped to his back was a quiver full of arrows and a wayfarer's bow. He had exchanged his gold fringed robes for something more conspicuous in black and allowed more freedom of movement. :He's looking better than he did yesterday afternoon. So do you,: he said, conversation under tight shields.
:He woke earlier but fell asleep again,: Alexius said.
:Good,: Brendon said. Worrying at his lower lip, he reluctantly added, :That poison was made to lower his mental shields in preparation for possession. The plants used to create it is found only in Shiriden--:
"Who is backing Jespheras," Alexius growled. Taking care to pull his hand from the red haired Elf, he stood up only to be stopped by a gentle hand on his arm before he could rise to his full height. Luminous emerald orbs peered up at him from beneath a fringe of blood red hair.
"Don't leave," Myterinth pleaded.
"As I said yesterday, acting in anger will only blind you!" Brendon growled.
Alexius sighed and sat down with an audible thump. He rubbed his hand tiredly over his face. What was wrong with him lately? He was never this hotheaded before, although Brendon would not agree with him. Then he remembered one of his fathers mentioning something similar to his attitude for the past two days. A newly discovered Life Bond forced one of the pair to act protective towards his intended and if the other did not acknowledge the bond, that feeling would grow stronger with each passing day.
"I'm sorry. The past three days have been stressful for me, brother," he murmured.
"Forgiven. Before we go any further, I need to give the prince some more of that medicine from last night. He may look better, but there may still be traces of it in his bloodstream. We wouldn't want you to succumb to the poison again, now do we?" Brendon asked, winking rakishly at Myterinth.
The redhead flushed prettily. Silently, he cursed his fair skin and his inclination to blush easily. Alexius chuckled and made a point to find other ways to make the pink appear on Myterinth's face. He received his wish when he saw the prince turn redder at his laugh.
"If his majesty will turn his attention to me rather than the silver haired lunkhead over there," Brendon said pointedly. Giving him a weak smile, the green eyed elfling took a sip of the liquid given to him. His face screwed up in a grimace.
"What's in this stuff?" he nearly gagging at the taste of the medicine.
"Elvensbane sap and crushed Sicrus leaves with a bit of water mixed in to dilute it. If I put anything with sugar in it, the antidote is neutralized," Brendon shrugged.
"Be hopeful that you don't take any of his headache medicines. They may work rather quickly but they taste like roadkill," Alexius added, ducking at the pillow thrown at his head.
Spartye opened the door just in time to catch the pillow. "Am I going to expect such a welcome from you each time I walk into a room Bonded?" he said, eyebrow nearly touching his hairline.
This time, it was Brendon's turn to blush. "Ho there! The King's Champion is your Life Bonded?" Alexius laughed loudly. "Someone has finally come to put the Warrior-Healer in his place!" Myterinth politely muffled his giggles but they were immediately stopped by the decanter of bitter medicine.
"Quiet brother-dear. Spartye told me a bit about your apprenticeship with the prince. I know how many gifts his highness has and I'm sure you will get a headache along the way. I'll be right there with a batch of extra bitter shimthew tea just for you," Brendon growled.
Alexius closed his mouth immediately. Mentally, he shivered. Shimthew was a plant found widely in the meadows. A naturally sweet smelling violet flower, the leaves of the blossom were very bitter when steeped. However, it made a tea that cured headaches instantly and like most poison antidotes, the effects were dampened when a large amount of sugar was added. Fortunately, there was a certain amount of honey you could put before it damaged the antidote. It didn't fully mask the bitterness but it was better than nothing.
Unfortunately, only fully trained Healers knew the secret and how to use it.
"We have to start for Empth if we want to reach Narsis within two weeks time. Master Lynk and his Bonded await us. Get ready to leave within a half hour," Spartye said, bringing Alexius out of his self-made nightmare. Turning on his heel, he walked out of the room.
"I need to go see our friends about a bit of transportation," Brendon said, walking after his Life Bonded. "Make sure his majesty does not over exert himself. That poison often leaves the victim weak for several hours after their fever has broken," he yelled over his shoulder. Alexius turned to the red haired prince.
"Go. I can take care of myself," Myterinth said, waving him away. He kicked off the covers in defiance and attempted to stand. The room began to spin and he idly wondered why the floor was getting so much closer. Before his face could impact against the floor, he was caught by Alexius.
The silver haired Elf gave him a look that clearly said 'You were saying?'.
Sticking his tongue out childishly at his teacher, he sighed, "So I was wrong. Can't blame me for trying."
"Let's just get that mass of hair untangled and into that armor. I don't think the people of Feryngale want to see their future king full of arrows," Alexius said, flipping the smaller body into his arms.
"Arrows?" Myterinth squeaked.
"Oh, Spartye didn't tell you about the bandits that are notorious for hanging around the outskirts of Empth? You didn't think that Elves were angelic did you?" Alexius remarked with a fangy grin.
***
Myterinth held on as tight as he could to Alexius' neck as the Elf carried him out of the small house. He was dressed once again in the dark green lightweight armor of his transformation although he had a new set of breeches, courtesy of Brendon. However, they were a bit big since Brendon was taller. But for now, they would do. To his surprise, Alexius had found a hidden sheath in his boots and happily equipped both of them with two of his spare daggers. His coronet was carefully hidden under his thick hair. It seemed that it provided some mild protection for him if he wore it. With him still weak from the poison, he would need every little bit he could get.
Strapped to his waist was his sword. It had some Healing properties so it would hopefully speed his recovery. Looking around, he was able to get his first glimpse of a town in a new dimension and land. The entire village seemed to be made up entirely of green plants and multicolored exotic flowers. The line separating buildings from forest was nearly invisible, not able to be found unless one was very determined to find it.
To the prince, it seemed exotic and otherworldly. To everyone else in this world he was in, it was how they lived.
He found four new persons by Brendon and Spartye's side. All of them possessed long flowing white hair but their faces were young. Their eyes were an unbelievable metallic color. Each one wore white clothes which set off their pale skin in a strange cut. What made Myterinth look twice was a tiny golden horn in the middle of their forehead and their slightly pointed ears. All of them were impossibly beautiful.
"Alexius!" cried one of them.
"Syrval," he answered.
"And here is the Elf who stole our hero's heart," the man said with a smile. Alexius glared at him.
The red headed prince looked around in bafflement, wondering where the noise was coming from. It was causing an annoying buzz in the back of his head. In fact, the entire town seemed abnormally loud and he was beginning to get a headache. He tugged on Alexius' sleeve. "Why is it so loud here?"
"Loud?" he frowned. He then exclaimed with a little 'oh' when the answer dawned on him. Alexius furrowed his brows a bit and blissful silence came with it. He then proceeded in trying to burn a hole through his friend's head.
"Fine, I'll behave," Syrval sighed all of a sudden.
"Good. Now change so we can get out of here," Alexius half snarled.
Syrval rolled his eyes and clasped his hands together as if in prayer. The other three did the same. Their bodies began glowing and changing right before his eyes! The tiny golden horn on their foreheads lengthened to a wicked point as hands and feet changed into hooves. Together, they fell forward to land on four feet.
"Amazing," Myterinth breathed.
:Thank you,: winked one of the unicorns.
Brendon and Spartye immediately began attaching saddles and bitless bridles to the four white creatures. :Hey, not so tight!: the Syrval now turned unicorn said indignantly.
Alexius snickered. "Getting fat in your old age, eh Syrval? You used to be able to wear that with the girth pulled all the way to the 12th hole comfortably."
The other unicorns whickered in laughter. Myterinth never knew animals could blush but obviously the legendary horned 'horses' could. Alexius laughed harder.
:See that I make sure my gait is as uneven as possible. You'll be so sore by the time we get to Empth you won't be able to sit down,: Syrval snarled mentally.
"Can both of you stop fighting? We need to get to Empth. We are already behind schedule," Brendon said, hands on his hips. Spartye was already in the saddle, his expression clearly saying 'Are we leaving anytime soon?'
The silver haired Elf helped Myterinth into the special saddle they had found for him. Because the prince was still weak, the stirrups were removed to be replaced by straps binding his calves to the saddle. They belted him once around the pommel and high cantle with the rings made especially for that purpose. None of them wanted to lose the heir to Feryngale because he was accidentally trampled when he fell off the saddle due to his weakened state.
Myterinth looked down in shame at the effortless grace the other two Elves exuded as they mounted. :Do not worry. Once you are better, I can show you how to jump into the saddle without using the stirrups. By the way, we have not been introduced. I am Cyris son of Thrysi son of Psythe of the herd Entherksa,: the unicorn he was riding said, one metallic green eye angled towards him.
"Myterinth," he said with a small smile.
:I see that you have untrained Mindspeech of both types. Alexius has asked of me to train you in those abilities. You may be weak in the body at the moment but not in the mind. And so we begin,: Cyris said.
The prince mentally groaned and sent a small ball of energy towards Alexius' head. The yelp of pain that came after it was very satisfying.
Chapter 5