A Prince's Pride

*Milo*

“So wait,” says Exavier, sitting beside Aaron on his bed in the tent. He looks up at Milo, once again disguised as Ti’mon. “You faked your own death so Piper go could undercover and sneak into Phoebe’s lair? That’s crazy.”

“That’s what I said,” I say. “But she insisted.”

“Piper knows was she’s doing,” says Aaron. “And this is the best way to discover what Phoebe is up to.”

“So Piper is actually on your side?” asks Exavier. “How do we know for sure?”

“What do you mean?” asks Aaron.

“What if Piper is only pretending to go undercover for Phoebe when she’s really joining her?” 

“I trust Piper,” I say, grabbing Aaron’s hand. “We both do.”

“I’m just so relieved you’re alive. Even if I walked in on you two…you know.”

“Yeah, why did you walk into my tent without permission?” asks Aaron.

“I heard you groaning. I thought someone was stabbing you or something.”

“Well, technically—” I begin with a laugh, but Exavier throws his hands up.

“Nope. Don’t even say it,” he says. Aaron and I bust up laughing.

“So what now?” asks Exavier.

“You can’t tell anyone that I’m alive,” I say. “We’re still going to try and find Phoebe down here and stop her, but that's not our main goal."

"So what happens if we stop Phoebe before Piper figures out her overall goal?" asks Exavier. "As of right now, nobody but the people in this camp know you're dead. If the Southern Tribespeople and Midoorians return home, they're going to spread the news of a dead Theo emperor far and wide. Piper will have a target on her back."

Aaron and I stare at him. This was something neither of us had considered. What if Piper doesn't figure out what Phoebe is doing before we leave the Southern Tribes? If she keeps pretending to be Phoebe's agent, she'll be stuck. 

I'll be stuck, too. I can't reveal myself as Milo if Piper is with Phoebe. She'll know Piper is really on our side. She'll do something to Piper. That can't happen. 

When I first came into Aaron's employ, the other servants hated me. From my first day, I was given a nice apartment in the Upper Ring of Crown City. I had a cushier job than them. Even as Aaron's Royal Attendant, I didn't have to do the nastier jobs as the other servants, like cleaning toilets, other than Aaron’s. 

I didn't have friends. 

I grew close to some of them over time, but it wasn't real friendship. It was just coworker friendship. That was only exacerbated by the fact that I couldn't tell anyone what Aaron really meant to me. I couldn't tell anyone the most important part of my life. That I had finally found a man I love.

Once that information was public, I still didn't become friends with the other servants. They never said it, but I could tell they were less than enthusiastic about serving me when I became a member of the Royal Family. I was hired above them, I rose further above them. 

Ever since I moved to Crown City, I've been alone. My parents died right before I moved, I didn't make friends once I did. Aaron and Riley were the only ones who really knew me.

Until Piper. She knew who I was. She accepted me. She trained me to use my powers. When Aaron left for the Lower Reach, we spent a lot of time together. 

Piper is my best friend. I will unleash every ounce of my power, magical and imperial combined, to protect her. 

Exavier stands up and walks towards the door to the tent. He turns back and looks at me.

“I think it’s best if we act like I don’t know you’re still alive,” he says to me. “We shouldn’t talk about it, even to each other.”

Aaron and I nod as he leaves us alone.

*Piper*

Piper looks up at the sound of knocking on her door to see Phoebe standing in the frame. 

"Are you still mad at me?" asks Phoebe. 

"You erased my memories," says Piper, turning back to the book on her bed. 

"What is that?" asks Phoebe, stepping forward. She looks down at the phial on Piper’s bed. Inside, red-orange smoke, similar to the color of fire, swirls inside. It looks like an attempt at a transportation phial, but the smoke isn’t thick enough. Just by looking, Phoebe knows it won’t work.

“I told you I’d teach you how to make them,” says Phoebe.

“How do you expect me to trust you when you don’t trust me?” asks Piper. 

“I do trust you. It’s him you need to convince,” says Phoebe. “And to that end, he has a job for you.”

Piper looks at her sister curiously. “What is it?”

“He wants you to find a way to give this,” she answers, pulling a small vial of yellow liquid from her pouch, “to Olivia Rendara.”

Piper’s breath catches in her throat. “The mother of Aaron’s child?”

“The very same.”

“What will it do to her? To the baby?”

“I have no idea. He gave it to me; I didn’t mix it myself.”

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes, but I’m not going to kill a child, Phoebe, and neither should you.”

“Don’t worry,” says Phoebe, rolling her eyes, “it won’t kill the child. He assured me.”

“And you really trust him? This mysterious benefactor?”

“He can’t lie to me. You’ll understand soon, I promise.”

“And how does he expect me to get it to Olivia when she’s in Kr’fait? I thought they put up protections against you?”

“Against me, yes. But not against you. The Goddess Tree is special. Something about it allows Queen Allandra to keep me from entering Kr’fait. But the emperors haven’t gotten word back to Kr’fait about your treachery yet. They’ll let you in and you can approach Olivia. She should still trust you. You’re the only one who can get this to her.” She shakes the vial slightly, causing the liquid to slosh against the side. As she does, Piper notices small black pellets floating at the bottom of the potion.

“And I’m supposed to, what, walk there?”

“Of course not. I used your magic from our collective to make these,” says Phoebe, reaching into her pocket and pulling out half a dozen red-orange transportation phials. “I’m nearly out of your magic.”

Piper was secretly glad about that. She’d retained almost all of Phoebe’s magic that she stole from the collective. Having that magic is useful for counteracting her sister’s spells. Once Phoebe ran out of Piper’s magic, Piper could cast spells her sister would have a harder time undoing. Knowing her sister still had some of her own magic was one of the reasons she’d had Milo reinforce her protection spells over the Grand Palace.

“So transport myself to Kr’fait and convince Olivia to take the potion,” Piper said. “That’s all I have to do? He’ll trust me after that?”

“That I don’t know. I’m only delivering the instructions, but I’ll ask him.”

Piper nodded as she took the potion and phials from her sister then stood up.

“Once I get back from this, you’ll show me how to create a transportation phial?” she asks.

“I promise.”

Piper nodded at her sister and tucked the potion and all but one of the red-orange phials into her pouch. She took a step back and threw one of the phials at the ground while thinking about her destination. The last thing she saw before the cloud of smoke rose around her was her sister’s smiling face. 

When it vanishes, she’s standing near the border of Urtakodishzyinotto, deep enough in that she can’t be spotted by the soldiers of Aaron’s camp, though she could see them. She reaches into her pouch and pulls out a phial. This one is white as snow. She clutches it tightly in her hand and feels it grow warm. Though she can’t see him, she knows Milo feels the same-colored phial in his pocket grow warm.

As she scans the camp, she notices a dark-skinned Southern Tribesman approach Aaron and tap him on the shoulder, then whisper something to him. Aaron shakes his head at him and seemingly dismisses him, then waves for him to follow him into his tent. 

A moment later, the voice of Ti’mon comes from Piper’s fist.

“Piper, are you okay?” it says.

“I’m fine. But there’s something weird happening. I tried looking for what magic Phoebe used to block Queen Elaine’s visions. I found our Book of Shadows in the attic.”

“What’s a—” Aaron begins, but Milo cuts him off.

“I’ll explain later. Continue, Piper.”

“I found out that Phoebe has a powerful benefactor and I found out who it is, but…” she pauses, just for a moment, “...he, whoever he is, suppressed my memories. I don’t remember anything about it.”

“I thought you said memory modification, implantation, or removal is impossible,” says Milo.

“I thought it was, but it turns out the normal rules of magic do not apply to this benefactor. That’s worrying. If he can do that, what else can he do? But that’s not the main thing. The benefactor gave Phoebe a potion he wants me to give to Olivia. He assured her it won’t hurt the baby, but even she doesn’t know what it’ll do.”

“You can’t give it to her,” says Aaron, almost at once.

There’s a moment of silence, then Aaron insists, speaking as though Milo is giving him a look. “She can’t, Milo. Who knows what it’ll do. How can you even think it’s okay?”

“I believe Phoebe when she says it won’t hurt the baby,” says Piper. “So far, I don’t think she’s lied to me.”

“I don’t want Olivia to get hurt either,” says Aaron in a voice of finality.

“Aaron, this is about the entire kingdom—the entire empire.”

“What if Piper gave Olivia a fake potion?” asks Aaron.

“It’s possible Phoebe would be able to figure that out, once the effect doesn’t happen,” says Piper. 

“We’re pulling you out,” says Aaron. “We’re abandoning this mission. We’ll reveal Milo and tell everyone the truth. Piper, come back to camp right now.”

“With all due respect, Your Majesty, I can’t. Phoebe told me she’d teach me how to make the transportation phial when I returned after giving Olivia the potion. I haven’t discovered her plans or how to cure Queen Elaine. I can’t.”

“Well you can’t give that potion to—”

“Maybe we should ask her,” says Milo, cutting off Aaron’s words. “Let’s ask Olivia what she wants. Piper, go to Kr’fait and explain the situation to Olivia. See if she wants to drink the potion. If she does, great, you can return to Phoebe. If not, come back to us.”

There’s a long moment of silence until Piper hears a sigh. She can’t be sure, but she thinks it’s Aaron.

“Very well,” he says. “Just go. And Piper, if anything happens to Olivia—”

“I won’t let it,” Piper assures him. “I promise.”

Piper lets go of the phial and drops it back into her pouch before picking up one of the transportation phials. Thinking of Kr’fait, she throws it at the ground and vanishes in a swirl of red-orange smoke.

*Aaron*

Once the now-dormant phial is back in Milo’s pocket, he looks at me with worry on his face. 

“You said Piper could handle this,” he reminds me, “and I’m trusting her. Why aren’t you?”

“Milo, this isn’t about trusting Piper. We’re talking about a potion that we don’t know about being drank by the woman carrying my only child. How can you not see how dangerous this is?”

“I do see it, Aaron, I do. But we have to look at the bigger picture.”

“You just want something to happen to Olivia because you’re jealous of her.” As soon as the words leave my lips, I wish I could take them back. Milo’s mouth falls open, his eyes widening in hurt.

“Of course I don’t want that,” he says. “I’m trying to repair my relationship with Olivia because she’s going to be in our lives from now on.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Look, let’s not fight.”

“No, let’s not. In fact…” Milo pauses, wagging his finger like he’s just had an idea. “What if we have Exavier ride back to Kr’fait and protect Olivia? He knows about Piper being undercover. She’ll beat him there. In fact, she’s probably there already, but he can watch over her.”

Milo and I leave the tent and begin looking around for Exavier, but don’t find him. Oswald, however, is standing right next to the entrance. Due to the magical protection on the tent, I know he couldn’t hear anything we were saying.

“Oswald, where’s Exavier?” I ask.

“I don’t know, Your Majesty,” he says, but he isn’t looking me in the eye. In fact, he looks very shifty, his face drawn in worried concentration.

“Oswald,” says Milo, “you need to tell us whatever it is.”

“And what concern is that of yours?” Oswald snaps at him. I almost admonish him for speaking to an Emperor of Theo that way when I remember he’s seeing Ti’mon.

“Answer us,” I say instead. “Where is he?”

“He led a group of soldiers into the woods to find the witch. They’re going to kill her for what she did to Milo.”

That doesn't make any sense at all. Exavier knows Milo is fine, so why is he risking his life and the lives of several soldiers to hunt down Phoebe?

“Men!” I shout, and several of my soldiers turn to me. I start pointing out certain ones. “You, you, you, and you, come with me and Ti’mon and Oswald. I know Exavier went into Urta…uh…the woods to find Phoebe. We have to stop him!”

“He didn’t go in for Phoebe, Your Majesty,” says Mulan, the only woman I pointed at. “He’s going after Piper.” The other soldiers glare at her as if she’s betraying one of their own, which I suppose she is.

“I don’t care. We’re entering the woods and bringing him back. Right now. On me!”

Without a backward glance, I start running toward the woods, knowing my soldiers are following me. Whatever plan Exavier has concocted, whatever his reasons, I won’t let him die for this.

We enter the woods and an unnatural silence falls over us. 

“Join hands and form a chain,” I instruct, “or else we’ll get lost. If we are attacked, do not lose sight of the others.”

We barely move a hundred yards before the first beast attacks us. Or should I say beasts. No less than thirty birds, hummingbirds if I had to guess, divebomb us from above, but they don’t look like hummingbirds anymore, except for their tiny beaks. They’re fat and round, like cannon balls, with six wings, their feathers sticking out in sharp points all over their bodies. As they fly toward us, I see the sun glinting off the edges of their feathers. It reminds me of the edge of a blade and I know, even before one buries itself in Mulan’s shield, that touching them would be deadly.

I swing around as one barrels for my head, swiping my sword through the air. When my blade slices through it, it explodes, blood and I don’t even want to know what rains down upon us. Another one explodes as an archer fires an arrow into its body. Then another as one of my soldiers swings his blade.

I know we’re really in trouble when four of them rise directly above us and shoot down toward the ground, causing us to scatter. Two of my soldiers falls behind trees, vanishing instantly. Another one I’ve already lost track of. 

It’s just Milo, Oswald, the Mulan, and me left. 

“Gather close and duck!” shouts Milo. We all obey and cluster under him. He raises his hands into the air and incants. Lightning arcs from his palms, shooting up into the sky, bouncing from bird to bird. Oswald and Mulan hold up their shields to protect me from the fragments raining down upon us. 

When all is quiet, I look up and see Milo is drenched in thick, gelatinous blood. Almost by instinct, it seems, the three of us move away from him, Mulan looking disgusted. With an incantation and  wave of his hand, Milo pulls the blood from all four of us and sends it splattering against a nearby tree.

“Where did the others go?” asks Mulan.

“They got lost in the woods,” I say. “We don’t have time to find them. We have to make our way to Exavier.”

I wish we had the amulets Piper had enchanted, but I didn’t think about it. We’ll just have to find him on our own. We grasp each other’s hands again and begin to move through the trees.

*Piper*

“What’s going on?” asks Olivia. She and Piper stand in a bedroom of the Kr’fait palace, a room Olivia has been given permission by the mother to use until Milo and Aaron return. “Is Aaron okay? And Milo?”

“They’re okay,” Piper assures her. “But I have to tell you something.” She quickly explains to Olivia about her mission from Milo and Aaron, then the subsequent mission from Phoebe.

“You want me to drink this?” asks Olivia, holding up the potion. She turns it upside down and watches the pebbles float to the cork in the top of the bottle.

“Only if you want to. I don’t know what it’ll do, but Phoebe assured me it won’t hurt the baby, which makes me think it won’t hurt you either.”

“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m drinking this,” says Olivia, shoving the bottle back into Piper’s hand. Olivia’s hand automatically goes to her stomach, rubbing back and forth. 

“It won’t hurt your baby, I’m sure of it. I don’t think Phoebe was lying and she said her benefactor can’t lie to her. I don’t know what that means, exactly, but I’m still sure.”

“I can’t believe Aaron even agreed to this,” Olivia says. “What if it turns me into one of those beasts? What if Phoebe’s lying and it kills my baby? I’m sorry, but I don’t give a damn about the entire kingdom if it means I lose my child.”

“I truly don’t think that’ll happen,” says Piper. She holds the vial up to the light and looks through it. “It doesn’t appear to be poison. I’ve tried using magic to discern what it does, but I can’t. It doesn’t seem to be magical in any way, honestly. I think this is just a test. Something that Phoebe or her benefactor is doing to get me to prove my loyalty. I don’t think it’ll do anything to you at all, honestly.”

This was the truth. Nothing about this vial seemed magical in any way. Immediately upon her arrival to Kr’fait, she tried to use magic to figure out what the potion did, but nothing happened. That didn’t mean much, however. If Phoebe’s benefactor was powerful enough to suppress her memories, he could hide his true intentions with the potion.

Olivia reaches out hesitantly and takes the vial. 

“Are you sure about that?” asks Olivia. 

“I am,” Piper replies. She knows she’s putting Olivia and potentially the baby at risk, but she believes her sister when she says it won’t hurt the baby. She grew up with Phoebe and can usually tell when she’s lying. Even still, she knew it was risky.

Olivia shakes up the potion so the pebbles inside float freely within the glass. She pulls the cork off and holds it up to her lips. Looking into Piper’s eyes as though she can tell Piper isn’t sure what’s going to happen, she tilts the bottle back, and drinks the contents inside.

Ten seconds pass. Then thirty. Then a minute. 

Nothing happens.

“That was anticlimactic,” says Olivia with a smile. Piper grins.

“I have to get back to my sister. And, Olivia, you can’t tell anyone about our plans. Too much is at stake with this.”

Olivia nods as Piper takes a step back before throwing a transportation phial at her feet. Moments later, she’s standing in the foyer of the manor and sees Phoebe sitting at the table in the dining room.

“Well done,” says Phoebe, standing up. 

“How did you know I did it?” asks Piper, walking toward her sister. 

“I didn’t,” she says, “but he did.”

That’s when Piper notices the mirror sitting on the table. Phoebe must have been in communication with her benefactor. 

“And now, I’m going to teach you how to make your own transportation phial,” says Phoebe. “Meet me upstairs in a couple of minutes. I’m going to get everything ready.” Then, she leaves Piper alone and ascends the stairs, heading for the attic.

Piper walks up to the mirror and places her hand against the glass, whispering an incantation, hoping to get a glimpse of where it projected to last. If she can find out where the benefactor is, maybe she can go there, figure out who he is.

The spell works, and she’s able to see through the mirror. It’s in some kind of tent with a cot, a sword, and shield visible. She leans closer, looking through the opening of the tent. A soldier dressed in the livery of Midoor walks past the opening and Piper snaps her head back, fear shooting through her.

The benefactor is inside Milo and Aaron’s camp.

*Milo*

It takes us three hours to find Exavier. He’s alone, meaning the three soldiers he convinced to follow him into Urtakodishzyinotto have all vanished behind the trees.

“Your Majesty,” he says, sounding surprised, until his eyes fall on Mulan. “You told them?” he asks her.

“I’m not going to disobey an order from the emperor,” she says defiantly.

“What is that?” asks Oswald, pointing. I follow his finger and see we’re standing on the edge of an enormous clearing. In the center is a dome of what is clearly magic. It’s a haze, similar to heat rising from a road in summer. It seems to be reflecting the woods and sky surrounding it, shielding what’s inside.

“It’s a protection spell. A powerful one,” I say.

“I think that’s where the witches are,” says Exavier. “You’re a druid, right?” he asks me.

“I’m a warlock,” I tell him, which is true. I’m a general warlock and an lightning elemental. But I’m confused by the way he’s looking at me, like he has no idea who I am. I know he has to pretend for Oswald’s and Mulan’s sake, but they’re behind him.

“Oswald, Mulan,” says Aaron, and I can tell he’s picked up on the same thing I have, “patrol the area for us. I need to speak to Exavier. I’m going to keep Ti’mon nearby so we have a defense against the witches.”

“Sire, we might get lost,” says Oswald.

“You won’t,” says Exavier, looking defiant, like he’s steeling himself against a scolding from Aaron. Which doesn’t make any sense. He should realize we just want to talk about the situation with me. “I was with Eric and Ariel just a few minutes ago. They didn’t vanish until they got three yards back. This entire ring of trees isn’t affected by the magic that makes people get lost.”

“I still think we should stay with you, Your Majesty,” says Oswald.

“You have your orders, Sir Oswald. Now carry them out.”

Oswald gives him a nod and he and Mulan begin walking away from us. Once they’re out of earshot, I turn to Exavier.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Exavier?” I ask.

Exavier looks like he’s just been slapped. “And what’s it to you, anyway? I don’t even know you.”

“What?” asks Aaron, echoing my thoughts precisely. “Exavier, that’s Milo.”

Exavier pulls his head back, his eyes widening in disbelief, then his jaw drops when I pull the ring off, transforming back into myself.

“I know we said we should act like you don’t know,” I say, “but we can talk about it when there’s no one else around.”

“You’re…you’re alive?” asks Exavier, reaching out a hand to touch my shoulder.

“You saw us. You walked in on us last night and we told you about everything. About me faking my death. About Piper being a double agent.”

“Piper’s a double agent?” asks Exavier, looking even more confused. “Wait…so she didn’t kill you? You guys never told me that.”

“Yes we did,” insists Aaron. “You walked in on Milo and me having sex last night and—”

“Woah,” says Exavier, holding up his hands for silence. “I would definitely remember that. Look, that didn’t happen. I went to bed early last night.” 

“If it wasn’t you in our tent,” I ask, looking from Exavier to Aaron, “then who the hell was it?”