25 A creepy lesson in herbology.

The last thing Aidan wanted to do was discuss his scars with anybody, much less with the Prince. When people noticed his wrists in his own world, they'd be tactful enough not to push the topic. One couldn't, of course, expect such courtesy from the Emperor-In-Waiting. Still, Aidan forcefully removed his hand from the tight grip and said: "An old injury, Your Highness. Not something to worry about."

"Did he do this to you?" the Prince asked in a low voice.

The ominous "he" was, without a doubt, the Regent himself. Aidan sighed. He felt like Jake's plan had backfired. The Regent wanted to lure out the slave smugglers and possible hidden enemies, but all he ended up doing so far was angering this firecracker. Who would have expected that the Prince would suddenly care so much about Aidan's injuries and honor?

Aidan even felt a little uncomfortable about the lie. At first, he thought it could be fun to play the victim of horrible injustice but now facing earnest concern, he was a bit embarrassed. It was like a college prank that had gone too far.

Besides, suddenly Aidan didn't want the Prince to think of him as a man who... doesn't have all his parts. It was a very irrational thought, and Aidan himself wondered what had gotten into him. He usually didn't give two shits what other people thought. Why would he now care about this spoilt rich kid's opinion?

Unwillingly Aidan had to admit that the Prince had somehow managed to get under his skin. It didn't hurt that he was really good-looking with his flawless skin, beautiful blue eyes, and that damn dimple. Also, the intoxicating acacia smell... It seemed so familiar. But Aidan couldn't remember anyone else in his life who smelled like this.

This evening the Prince had asked a very good question – why did Aidan call him "sunshine" at times? The scary thing was that he himself had no idea – it just seemed like a natural thing to say. What was it about this kid that made Aidan's heart soft?

"I will kill him," the Prince's voice tore Aidan out of his confusing thoughts.

"Please, don't!" Aidan exclaimed. Oh no, Jake had really underestimated this boy's temper! Before the Prince left, Aidan had to talk him down, so he didn't plunge a dagger into the unsuspecting man's chest upon his return to the palace.

"Why shouldn't I?" the Prince's voice got louder. "He did awful things to my father, he spread horrible rumors about my mother, he did unspeakable evil to my sister. And now you... He deserves to die. I only regret that I haven't killed him earlier."

Aidan didn't know what to say to that. Technically, Jake was only responsible for what he did in the last five years, but he couldn't tell that to the Prince for obvious reasons. He wrecked his brain for anything that would make the Prince stall off his bloodthirsty vengeance, but only very lame ideas came to his mind.

"You can't kill him...because...if he dies, I will also have to die," Aidan said finally. He thought about spinning a whole convoluted story about how the Regent made an order to execute him if something were to happen to His Excellency Reo Atarian. Aidan was aware that this was a paper-thin narrative, but if he could get Jake to corroborate, then it might work.

The Prince's eyes widened in shock.

"Did he use the Double-Death Fern on you?"

"Very likely..." Aidan nodded seriously but left some room for plausible deniability. Whatever that was, it seemed like one of those magical plants they had in this world. Aidan really needed to start cracking at General Minn's books if he wanted to be in the know on all this mumbo-jumbo.

"It's a black fern. Did he burn it in front of you and make you breathe in the smoke?"

Aidan moved his head in a non-conclusive way. The Prince still interpreted it as a "yes" and covered his face.

"That bastard..."

Aidan thought for a moment that breathing in some smoke was not as bad as sewing his own mouth shut and let out a heavy sigh. He had no idea what he had just gotten himself into, but he knew that this web of lies was getting a bit too thick for his liking. On the other hand, a fake magical explanation was no worse than the one he came up with. As long as it got the Prince off Jake's back for a while, it should be fine.

Unexpectedly the Prince pulled Aidan into a tight embrace and whispered to him: "Don't worry, I won't rest until I find a way to break this curse. And then he'll pay." The Prince's breath fell on his neck, and the sensation made Aidan feel numb all over his body. The acacia fragrance was overwhelming his senses yet again, and soon enough, Aidan couldn't stand this anymore. He tried to push the man away, but the Prince held on to him like a drowning person to a lifeline. Suddenly Aidan didn't have the nerve to ruthlessly shove him. He swallowed his discomfort and didn't move anymore.

After a while, Aidan realized that he actually didn't feel too bad – no usual panic, no cold sweat, no nausea. Was he finally getting better?

As the Prince let go of him, Aidan noticed tears in his eyes. And at that moment, the guilt hit him like a sledgehammer. The young man was so sincere that it felt scummy to lie to him like that. Maybe he could ask Jake to let the Prince in on the plan? That would only make things easier... But what would he do if the Regent disagreed?

"I'll come to visit you soon?" the blond man asked before leaving.

Aidan nodded absent-mindedly, too deep in his ruminations to even see his guest out. It was his servant who finally woke him up from his thoughts.

"General, are you all right?"

Aidan was, in fact, not all right, but he gave this poor one-armed man a reassuring smile nonetheless.

"Forgive my insolence, but are you displeased with His Highness for some reason?" the man suddenly blurted out.

"Why would you say that?" Aidan was a bit shocked by the question. At this point, he was just mostly displeased with the situation at hand.

"You didn't offer any refreshments to His Highness, General," the servant lowered his eyes. "It's not my place to say anything, but it's better if you had at least one ally in the Imperial Palace. I mean, with how difficult things are with the Regent at the moment..."

"Great," Aidan thought to himself. "Now, even my dismembered servant is worried about my fate and is giving me political advice. Shouldn't he be happy that "General Minn" finally got his comeuppance? Or maybe he's scared that if I completely fall out of favor, he'd go down together with me? Man, this world is brutal."

Out loud, Aidan just asked: "Do we even have any refreshments? Except for water and lettuce, of course."

The servant shook his head. Aidan couldn't help but laugh. "I think if I offered him that, he'd slap me."

And who could blame him for that?

"Should I send people to buy other food, General? I've noticed that you haven't been eating properly... And if you want to heal soon, then you should...," the servant mumbled.

Aidan carefully examined the man in front of him. Why didn't this guy hate him? Did all Minn's servants have Stockholm Syndrome or something?

"Never mind, I'll take care of my own food from now on," Aidan dismissed him with a wave – it was too weird to look into this man's worried eyes.

Just as he had planned before, Aidan left to do some shopping at the city market. He bought as much wine as he could carry, two loaves of bread, and a block of cheese. Aidan figured it would be enough to last him for a couple of days. When he returned back to the manor, he locked himself in the library and, maintaining a steady level of alcohol in his blood at all times, spent the next week going through the books that had anything to do with magical plants.

It took him a while, but soon he found some information on the Double-Death Fern. It was used to tie two people's lives together. If one got an injury, the other one would become injured too. If one died, the other would die too. According to the book, it was rarely used for warfare or punishment and rather was something that passionate lovers would perform to swear undying love and dedication to each other.

Aidan didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the fact that the Prince seriously imagined the Regent performing this impractical and obscure "lovers" ritual on him.

Aidan looked for possible ways to reverse the curse but didn't find any in the books he had. Same with the Iron Vow – once performed, it lasted for a lifetime. Well, at least Jake's life was in no danger so far.

He also looked up the Reed of Regret and read about kingdoms and empires that had been wiped out entirely due to that plant. Aidan shuddered, remembering what he had witnessed in the village.

The books mentioned, however, even more dangerous plants than the Reed. For instance, the Puppet Grass. It looked entirely inconspicuous but, if secretly fed to someone, it could make any person into an obedient slave. Savages would spike the food of entire enemy armies and ordered them to annihilate their own people.

Aidan almost had to hurl when he read about the Demon-Spawn Root. All the soldiers in the savage army would consume it before invading a city. This way they ensured that every woman they r*ped would give birth to a demon baby. A baby that upon birth would kill and consume his own mother and then go on a senseless killing spree, destroying anyone and anything in its path.

If the Regent was right and the war with the savages was indeed coming, Aidan saw no way how one could win against the people who wielded this kind of magic. Of course, if the savages had no more organs to use for fertilization, they would become much less dangerous. Thus, Aidan understood Jake's plan to destroy the black market of slaves before he started an open war with the savages.

After reading, drinking, and thinking for such a long time, Aidan's head hurt, and he fell asleep right in the library chair with his head on the desk.

This time, he was woken up by a loud knock. Quickly wiping the drool off his face, Aidan opened the door. As expected, it was his reliable servant.

"General, you're being summoned to the palace immediately," the man announced.

Aidan rolled his eyes. "What is it this time?"

"Haven't you heard, General?" the servant gasped. "The whole city is buzzing with the news."

Aidan doubted that the news was good, yet he asked anyway:

"What happened?"

"For the first time in 300 years, the savages have sent their envoys to the Imperial city, General!"

"I hope they're here to discuss a peace treaty," Aidan mumbled to himself.

"Something like that, General," the servant now sounded excited. "Rumors say that they are here with a marriage proposal for the Regent to unify our two nations."

In response, Aidan choked on his own spit.