An Old Grimoire

Arlo's foot felt like it was made of glass, and the fall had shattered it. Every movement shot lightning through him and forced tears out of his eyes.

Eventually he managed to stand on his left foot and took a look around. The lack of light didn't affect him and he was able to see clearly. He had fallen inside a small hole that lead to this tiny cave-like room.

Bones of animals that had fallen in previously were scattered throughout. He even fell on a few that shattered easily due to the passage of time.

There were only a few worms and other harmless insects left inside, probably because the other animals learned that there was a hole here and stopped falling in.

At the far end of the room was a skeleton of a man leaning up against the cave wall. Arlo hopped along using the wall as a crutch as he approached.

Clutched in one of the skeleton's hands was an old book. It looked like nothing special but still seemed to be in good condition. Arlo reached down and gently pried it away. The finger bones chipped and shattered just from this action, leading Arlo to believe that this book was far older than it seemed.

He leaned against the wall to balance himself as he dusted the book off. Taking a look, he could barely make out a name at the bottom of the cover.

'The Winds of the North, Rasmus Rumley.'

Just as he was about to open the book out of curiosity, something was thrown down the hole and the veteran Gerhardt yelled from above.

"Prince Arlo! Are you okay? Are you able to climb up?" Apparently, the veterans had worked together to rip a vine off a tree, and threw it down the hole hoping to use it like a rope and pull Arlo back up.

Arlo shoved the book into his robe and hobbled over.

"No... I can't. I think I broke my foot, I'll need you guys to pull me up."

Arlo wrapped the vine around his waist and tied it off before giving out the all clear. They pulled him back up with ease, but visibly cringed when they saw his foot.

They were veterans of the battlefield where men died in gruesome ways everyday. They were desensitized to most wounds, but not on a four year old. After seeing his foot which was misshapen and already turning purple, they wanted nothing more than to return to camp and have him treated by the medics.

Gerhardt had one of the veterans carry Arlo and he started to lead the way back.

"Stop!" Arlo yelled, gathering the attention of the group.

"We already came this far, have you forgotten the reason we came out here!? Go back and grab that flower!"

He spoke through gritted teeth. The pain was too much for him, but he was also thankful for it. He had heard that after a traumatic experience, people can fall asleep for days without waking. He still had to make the antidote afterwards and was focusing on the pain to keep him conscious.

"Prince Arlo your wound is too severe. I've seen men on the battlefield get similar ones. They didn't seek treatment immediately either and were forced to amputate. So unless you-"

Arlo's eyes were bloodshot as he interrupted him. "Go back and grab that flower!"

Gerhardt didn't even look back as he continued to lead the way through the forest. 'Nothing more than a four year old boy in the end.'

Gerhardt was upset. Arlo didn't even try to see it from his perspective. When he returns to camp with such a bruised and battered Prince while he and the other veterans are unharmed, he would definitely be blamed. Maybe even beaten to death for endangering the Prince's life.

Plus the Prince's life is worth much more than those few soldiers who were affected by the poison. Everyone knew that and nobody would be to blame when they died. All of these things destroyed Gerhardt's good opinion of the so called 'genius Prince'.

Seeing that Gerhardt was disobeying, Arlo was seething. 'Isn't it the number one duty of a soldier to follow orders? Here I am trying my best, putting my life on the line for this antidote, and he just wants to return empty handed? Useless!'

Arlo turned his head towards two of the other veterans, and gave the order personally in the most authoritative voice he could muster.

"You and you. Go back and grab a baskets worth of that flower growing on the tree."

The two soldiers he was talking to were much more simple. As soon as he gave the order, they turned back to retrieve what he wanted.

Seeing that two of the veterans had gone back and the other two were waiting there with Arlo, Gerhardt was forced to stop. He wanted to go back and have this spoiled Prince's wounds treated so that he wouldn't be blamed, but he couldn't return by himself without the Prince could he?

After a few minutes, the two veteran soldiers returned with their burlap sacks filled with those star flowers. Arlo nodded in approval, and they started their journey back.

-

Back at camp, the servants had moved all the poisoned soldiers into tents and were taking care of them. They encouraged them to hold out until the young Prince could return. They all believed that Arlo would succeed and return with the antidote to save them.

One of the servants was changing the wet towel on Westley's forehead when someone outside shrieked excitedly.

"They're back!"

The servant rushed out of the tent to welcome Arlo, and Westley's heart skipped a beat. He was excited that the young master was able to return safely but also felt shame at sending him in the first place. He wasn't thinking right at that time and was too worried about his own life, thus sending the one he should have been protecting into a dangerous place.

He tried to keep his breathing stable and his pulse slow so that the poison wouldn't spread too fast, but he was still filled with anxiety. Cries erupted outside, and the tent flap was held open letting the sun spread into the tent.

An unconscious Arlo was carried in and layed onto the fur bedding. He had held on just long enough to return to the camp and explain the antidote recipe before the pain finally overtook him and left him unconscious.