The Tower of Nearness

Chapter 7: What was Battled

The all-encompassing blackness necessitated him closing his eyes to allow them to adjust to the darkness. His body noticed the immediate shift from morning warmth to refreshing cool in an instance. He'd expected the cave to smell musty and dank with rot, but instead, he couldn't detect a discernable odor. The air was crisp and clean, like water from a mountain. He kept his left hand to the wall of the cave as a sort of guiding measure.

I've gone crazy, he thought, this whole quest is pointless.

He could have done what one of his father's foreign friends had done and secured the allegiance of his people and the throne by waging a long and, unfortunately, bloody war.

Lucian frowned. Was that how desperate he'd sunk? That he would consider breaking the promise he'd made? He remembered when his sister came to him and begged him to never put the kingdom to war, unless absolutely necessary.

"We are not a kingdom made for war, Lucian." She told him.

He'd heard both the concern and wisdom in her words. She often knew more about the kingdom and its people than the entire court, himself included, gave her credit for. It was a crazy thought, but sometimes he felt that she would be far suited to the crown and all that it stood for then he was.

He sighed and kept going. It wasn't really the time or place to be wishing that things were different. Besides, as a prince, he had to accept that it was his duty to live up to his birthright, even if it didn't appeal to him.

"Woah!" he lost his balance, landing for the second time on his rear after his feet gave way on something slippery. Probably moss, if he had to guess. More trouble befell him when he tried to get up, only to slip again and this time fell face first into an icy, muddy puddle. He groaned. This was exactly why he wasn't fit to be king. Could he be any more of a klutz?

He wiped away the mud and dirt from his face with his forearm. Blinking, he noted a small amount of light shining a little ways ahead of him. Was it a trick? Some sort of enchantment on the cave?

Curiosity compelled him to follow it and find its source. He forged ahead and as the beam became brighter he realized what it was.

Sunlight. Sunlight in the cave. He looked up and noted a large hole in the cave's otherwise black ceiling. He stopped to appreciate it. Nature always knew how to make him smile and this little ray of sunshine was no exception.

Strengthened by the pale golden light, he went on. Now that his eyes were fully adjusted to the barely lit cave, he searched for anything that could even remotely resemble a lily.

He kept glancing up at the light, trying to use it to direct him. His preoccupation with the light made him slip on the mossy floor again, this time crashing to the floor with a hard whack. He groaned as stinging pain ran up his backside. Rolling onto his side, he took a deep breath in and then let it out slowly. His eyes shut as he repeated the process a couple of times until the pain subsided. He pushed himself to his knees, took another breathe and returned to his feet.

He brushed himself off and started walking through the cave again. His hope of ever finding the damn plant started to wane until a soft, yellow glow in the darkness caught his eye. It emitted from the far end of the cavern.

Lucian decided to head towards it. A small voice in the back of his mind and his gut both said to go slowly. What if this was the secret lair of the dragon? The glow could be coming from the dragon. He steeled himself, forcing himself to remember that he was a prince and a warrior. He would face the dragon as the man he knew he should be. He drew his sword; creeping along the narrowing tunnel. Dark green moss growing on the walls brushed onto his jacket as he pressed along the wall.