"No,"I gritted out, catching up to the white stallion that shone with the rays of the Apollon sun, the prince rounded me suddenly making my horse heave its front into the air. I clutched onto the reins tightly and forced my horse to go back down with my weight.
"What is wrong with you?! I was nearly thrown off my horse," I said exasperatedly, wide eyed and slightly annoyed.
"We're here," was his answer.
"And where's here exactly?" I couldn't help but show weariness even though we had forged a new friendship.
"A place I like to bring my friends."
"And how many friends have you brought here?" He didn't seem like the type to take friends for joy rides on stallions... or have many friends of that matter.
"You would be the first. Feel free to feel valued," he snorted.
Dread filled me. "You haven't brought me here to kill me... right?" Is that why he had requested I not bring my blades?
The prince looked at me wide eyed, as if seeing my thought process and then burst into laughter. "And you believe I'd be able to walk away from a fight with you?" I was unsure if he meant it seriously or as a compliment, but it made me smile. We approached a dark cave that was surrounded by large boulder rocks. He jumped off his stallion and tied the rein near the water feeder stationed next to the cave. It looked so dark, I could barely see anything further from the entrance where the prince stood. "I swear; I’m not trying to kill you." He chuckled and stepped into the dark, disappearing. My shadows perked in animated interest, craving to be in the embrace of its kin. Before I could think it over and become anxious, I followed his steps,tying up my reins and then following him into the abyss of the cave. To say I was in shock, was an understatement. Because when I stepped in, it was not darkness. The small patches of sunlight seemed to hit against the gold embedded into the cave walls, making the light reflect and illuminate. It was absolutely breath-taking... I reached out my hand to touch the raw gold, and my fingers came back wet.
"We're in Crosshaven. This is where they used to mine gold until it had become too much of a hazard for the miners. The walls inside kept crumbling and eroding because of the free flow of water." He pointed up to where a steady stream of water cascaded onto the walls.
"It's beautiful," I breathed out, looking around us. The prince only stared at me.
"This isn't all," he said just then.
'What?" What else could there be? This on its own was magnificent. He crouched down, tunnelling into a small gap within the walls that could have been easily hidden from the eye. My shadows could not be seen within the cave yet I could feel them bounce in excitement. I was beginning to have second thoughts about following the prince into the mysterious space. Anything could happen if I followed.'You can't always fear the unknown.'A hushed whisper brushed against my ear as if it were a flitting breeze. I clenched my fist once and then exhaled, crouching down and pushing into the gap. We delved deeper into the cave where the gold shone brighter and the sound of water dropping became blaring. The waterfall looked as if it was pouring gold into the water. The gold had shimmered and reflected so magnificently into the waterfall that it looked like a pool of gold. "How... how did you find this place." I struggled to find my voice, I was astonished.
"My mother used to bring me here whenever I was sad, but... I stopped coming after a while." The prince picked up a nugget of gold and skidded it across the water.
"Why did you stop?" I couldn't imagine ever wanting to stop coming to this place. It was so... serene. It looked as if the Gods had built it themselves, a place where they could have dwelled or even have been worshipped.
"I stopped when I realised none of this gold would touch the hands of the poor in Gilda." His voice sounded emotionless. And immediately, a solemn feeling settled in my stomach. It was true... all this gold and yet there were starving children and poverty-stricken folk within the kingdom.
"Did none of the gold mined go to Gilda?" They must have received something.
"No, we have a mine near the border. Still, no gold goes to them. It immediately gets polished and shined to be taken to the minister of coin at the castle," the prince explained while shrugging off his boots. My eyes followed the movement.
"And why does the castle of gold... need more gold?" I asked myself, but I am sure he must have heard me since he answered.
"My father is under the impression that it is needed for impending wars to come, yet I have yet to see where this war shall come from when we have nearly all the lands under our control. We have no quarrels with the sea folk, the Corvus has never been deemed a problem after recent studies. So I am bound to assume it is just greediness for power," The prince countered with a snort. The hair behind my neck rose when he mentioned the Corvus.
"Your people have studied the Corvus?" It was nearly impossible to study it, even if you could travel past the storm of oceans to get there.
"Our alliance with the abraax demons served the king well in his questions regarding the Corvus." Was all the prince saidbefore stripping off his shirt. I blinked fast in disbelief, his skin glittered against the water's sparkly reflection and I instantly looked away.
Shadows dimmed the heat creeping up my neck. I heard a loud splash and then looked to see the prince come up for air, pushing his silver white locks back from his face, abs flexing with the movement. He submerged deeper until he was directly under the waterfall. I was not in full control of my actions when I pulled off my tunic and nearly stumbled when taking my boots off. My feet touched the water and I nearly jerked back from the chillness of it. I then forced myself to plunge in, the chilled water enveloping my body like a tight prickle upon my skin. It felt refreshing after being wrapped up in the humidity and heat of Apollo. Suddenly an image flashed in my mind. It was of the dream I had long ago, there was a waterfall and there was a mysterious man... and we—
'No.’I took all thoughts of that out of my mind and used it to concentrate on keeping myself afloat, rhythmically kicking my legs against the smooth current of the water. A swift slippery shiny scaled thing flitted across through my legs and I couldn't help the surprised scream that echoed through the cave walls, thrashing away from the creature. Firm steady hands gripped my waist and hushed me.
"It's okay, it's a serpentine gill. Just fish that dwell and nibble on kelp." He grazed his teeth along the tip of my ear, trying to playfully show the harmlessness of the fish compared to him. He chuckled and pulled away, and I was glad he couldn't see how his action had made my body shiver and catch aflame.
"You should have warned me," I breathed out, calming myself yet still on edge whenever the fish came near.
"The only thing here that bites would be me I'm afraid." The prince smiled, truly smiled, and looked into my eyes. He lookedso much younger, his hair tousled and wet accompanied by a dimple that graced his cheek.
"You’re not funny," I admitted to him.
"It wasn't a joke," he retorted in all seriousness. It took my breath away, when he looked down to my lips and as if he had noticed, he turned away. To cut through the sudden tension, I resorted to cure my curiosity. "Without trying to pry, do you truly want to rule the kingdom of light one day?"
Perplexity graced his face when he turned to me. "Without any doubts. Not only is it my birth right, but I wish to rule with no greed. Yes, it is power that I require and will always crave but I will not let another day go by where a child starves to death all because food and coin need to go toward a war that is not here." He leaned against the hard encasement of the pool. "I do not simply want to be a better king; the kingdomneedsa better ruler. And I may be brutal and ruthless, yet I will never ever have my people starve and go unprotected because of poverty."
