The Cursed Prince

"We struggled so hard to find enough dry branches to make a fire for me…" Harlow whispered quietly to herself. "Is he currently shivering somewhere and I just can't see him?"

An ebb of guilt coursed through her heart and she felt a bit more concerned about the adventurer's state. Since Julian was also human like Harlow, the chances of the man suddenly dying of hypothermia struck her mind.

"I can't let him freeze out here." Harlow decided and stood up. She looked at her ice dragon and came to a decision. "And well, I do have Icecube with me to protect me if I fall asleep so if Julian tried anything weird, I don't have to worry that much."

Since Harlow came to that decision, the princess eventually grabbed a remaining branch and turned it into a makeshift torchlight for her to move around in. She threw one last look at Icecube and decided to make him stay on guard.

"I'll be back soon, Icecube, so watch the fire and keep it burning, okay?" Harlow instructed.

Without another word, Harlow delved into the darkness.

.***

When Harlow stepped away from the campfire that she made, the princess found herself in a state of sudden shock. The barren wasteland that she traveled through the day of scorched lands suddenly became entrenched in gigantic thorns, thistles and other plant life.

Everywhere around her seemed to be clustered in huge and dangerous-looking plants enough to make any person wary. One wrong move and it was possible for one to get impaled by a giant thorn in one's chest.

"Wha…What happened?" Harlow stammered. "How did this place turn into... this?"

The princess didn't think that something like this would happen in just one night. She was unsuspecting and unaware of the sudden growth… The barren wasteland now looked so eerie and it made Harlow want to step back and return to the campfire. At least, she would be safer with Icecube with her.

However, Harlow already made a decision to look for Julian and her worries for him suddenly increased again. Carefully, the princess decided to navigate the labyrinth of thorns and thistles, making sure that her torch fire didn't touch anything.

"It would be too dangerous to ignite a fire and burn everything by accident." Harlow whispered to herself as she carefully lowered her head and passed through an arch of thorns. 

The princess attempted to look through her surroundings, but the plants were all very clustered together and made it hard to see through anything.

Harlow bit her lip and glanced back. She gasped when she realized that she had already walked so far away from the campfire that she could barely see the back of Icecube and the glow of the fire. She needed to remember the way back, but she needed to keep on moving.

"Julian!!!" the princess called out to him. "WHERE ARE YOU??"

"Are you okay???"

"Julian!"

There was no immediate answer and so Harlow kept moving forward, remembering the route she took as she tried to find the place where the man was staying. The princess hoped that Julian was okay and unhurt.

She would never be able to forgive herself if she accidentally put the man's life in danger.

"Julian, please! If you're nearby, shout back at me!" Harlow shouted and realized that it was so hard for her voice to echo because the thick flora were blocking her voice from being heard at all. 

She realized that she needed to find him and not rely solely by calling his name. Now she became more worried that something bad really happened to the man. If Julian was okay, surely he would have responded to  her calling his name… right?

Before Harlow took another step forward though, the princess thought she saw something move in between the cluster of plants in the distance. Her heart thundered loudly because the shadow's movement was fast.

Unnatural even.

"Is that human…?" Harlow gulped slightly but then decided to stop speaking at all. Her nerves were tingling, but bravely, the princess started to make her way to the path that led to the shadow.

If Julian was in any sort of danger… What could Harlow do? She cursed herself for not bringing her bow and arrows, but at least she had fire with her and could potentially scare any predators from coming close.

Or, if she could find his sword, she could also use it to protect herself.

Slowly, she found herself only one step closer and there was actually a small crevice in between the plants. It was an opening for Harlow to look at and it was something that the princess gathered her courage for.

Harlow peeked through the plants and saw something that sent her stepping backwards. 

It was a monster…!

Her heart pounded so hard. Harlow's brain was quick to process what she saw.

Maybe it was a demon?! There were two sprawling horns over the demon's forehead and its body was huge, bulking, and unnatural.

It was unlike anything the princess had ever seen before and it seemed very dangerous.

How could the creature be here? This was not yet the demons realm, wasn't it? Did it enter the elven realm through a portal?

Harlow immediately stepped back. She realized that whatever creature was in there, she shouldn't put her life at stake just to save another man. Her parents and brothers would be so sad if she died here in the wasteland and didn't manage to go home.

No that can't do. Harlow must get out of here alive.

When she moved away from the plants, she accidentally tripped on a vine. The princess fell flat on her butt and barely stopped the fire from falling and accidentally starting a forest fire.

.

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From Missrealitybites:

I commissioned pictures for Harlow and the ice prince and will share them with you in a few days, but I managed to edit one for Harlow and Julian today. You can see it in the comment. Julian, Harlow, and Icecube.

You can get the pictures I commissioned for my books in HD if you become my patrons in P a t r e on. 

p a t r e o  n..com/missrealitybites (remove the space). ^^