[Story will be available on Radish] Prince Benedikt is on a mission to find his True Love, but more so, he has a duty to his kingdom to fulfill. As a prince of Stalvart, he must find his True Love by his twenty-first birthday. At twenty-one, he will...
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The following afternoon, they reached the river Torir without incident. Under Benedikt's instruction, they filled everything they could find with water, and even soaked their clothes for good measure. Grielle wasn't thrilled with the prospect, as it would make travel laborious at best. But even at the river, the smell of old eggs hung in the air. If there was any a time to take extra precautions, it was when you were about to face down a dragon.
"Do you know any water spells?" Benedikt asked both Talitha and Yorick.
"I can summon water," Yorick offered.
"Really?" Talitha turned to Yorick in surprise. "How much formal training do you have?"
Yorick cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. "Not too much. My father and mother taught me bits here and there."
Talitha's face lit up as Yorick spoke. "That's amazing." She leaned in close to him, her eyes wide with excitement.
"O-okay." Yorick stammered as he tried to take a step back.
"It's just that water is one of the hardest elements to control. It has a mind of its own." She folded her arms and gave Yorick an approving nod.
"Keep that spell at the ready," Benedikt said. "I've not had a wizard or an elf on my side to defeat a dragon, but I expect you'll come in handy."
The river that ran through Bleakwood was not the slow and wide kind, but narrow and fast. It rushed out of the mountains, dashed over rocks and leapt down waterfalls. The Liberators found a place to cross at the base of a tall waterfall that slowed the water at its base. Since they'd already soaked everything they carried with them, they decided to swim it. Jumping between rocks wasn't an option due to the slippery moss that clung to everything within a mile of the river.
Grielle joined Benedikt at the river's edge. Her hair, tucked into a braid as usual, was already soaked. The wind created by the waterfall pulled wisps of her hair out of the braid. She struggled to keep it from her eyes. Her stomach was an entanglement of endless moving knots, and every now and then she got the sudden urge to vomit.
Benedikt must have noticed her unease. He took her hand in his and gave it a small squeeze. "It will be all right. I've done this before."
To resist the urge to hug him, she only squeezed his hand in return. The Liberators were of the sneaking-around type. While their profession had its proclivity for the occasional skirmish, they had never before intentionally sought out such a dangerous beast. "Just go over the plan with me. I like schemes. They calm me."
They crossed the river in a single file line, one after the other. Talitha led the way, her superior elf instincts drawing her towards the signs of the dragon. When they emerged, Benedikt recited his plan for Grielle. She kept close to him, hesitant to stray too far in front of him.
When he finished, she murmured, "Again."
He told her again the best course of action, this time adding contingency plans for worst and best case scenarios. Grielle found his voice soothing to listen to — like he might have a beautiful singing voice. She wondered whether the prince ever sang.
