Chapter 12: "An Accursed Beast"

They made camp on the forest edge next to the falls. The roiling water of the falls and spiral rock formation, bathed in the pale red-purple moonlight hues, made quite the surreal scene.

Arabella had busied herself with rinsing and applying fresh herbs and salves to Psaltria's wounds, but she cast a nervous glance over at Caseus's discarded clothes. His patchwork kaunakes, as well as the singed remains of a cloak she had managed to salvage, were neatly folded by the campfire. Shawk had fetched them back, his master having gone further into the forest to disrobe and undergo his transformation. He had promised to keep his distance for the night, for the sake of the girl, as she only had her mental fits at the sight of large theropods.

Arabella had lit a small campfire. Only after lighting it did she panic, as if realizing her mistake.

“I am so sorry, I did not realize! It is only that, for whatever reason, Mother does not fear the Flame like Beasts are supposed to!”

Shawk made a noise that was the closest approximation to a chuckle he could. “Girl, do I appear even remotely afraid of the Flame? Think nothing of it!”

“So,” Psaltria asked eagerly, “how did the Prince come to be in such a condition?” Her voice was still incredibly hoarse.

Shawk sighed. “All I know is what m’lord has told me. I have only been traveling with him for the last three years; he has been afflicted with this curse for a decade by now.”

“What?” Arabella was incredulous.

“By the Gods!” Psaltria’s exclamation was punctuated by another bloody cough.

“Indeed,” Shawk said. He paused, swatting away a mosquito that had taken to biting at the base of his dome.

“As the Prince told me, he was but a boy of 14 years when it occurred. It had been mere months since the fall of Petraz, and things were just returning to normalcy in the Capitol.”

The two leaned in over the fire as he spoke, eager and anticipating.

“All he can recall is going about his usual routine in his chambers for the night. He felt a sudden pain in his shoulder, as if he had been stung by a bee. Then, he recalled the pain of his bones and skin contorting.”

“So whatever stung him was the cause of his curse?” Arabella asked.

“He believes so. Regardless, he was promptly hounded from the Capitol that night. His own guards, who had watched him since childhood, chased after him with blade and spear.”

Psaltria gave a sigh. “I knew the tale from the palace was just too unbelievable! To think a Tyrannosaur could infiltrate the palace and devour the prince undetected… and yet so many mourned his death.”

“But Mother,” Arabella piped up, “what about the talk of the prince abandoning the throne? I've heard many rumors that he had fled, to abandon his responsibility.”

“Hmph!” Shawk snorted. “I can make an educated guess as to the origins of such rumors.”

“Really? Who?”

“The same one almost certainly responsible for Caseus's curse. Queen Mirabella herself.”

***

In truth, Caseus had not gone far. He had gone several dozen paces into the forest, behind a dense patch of ferns and pomegranate, to allow the curse to take its course. And there he had remained, calmly resting on his laurels, listening to their conversation.

While Arabella sounded shocked at Shawk’s revelation, Psaltria was much more subdued, and not at all surprised.

“I suppose that does make sense,” she said. “The Queen was born and raised in Filliana before the King took her as a concubine. Surely she wouldn’t want to allow the child of another woman, and a devout friend of the Beasts, to take the throne instead of her own child.”

“Indeed, Second Prince Phillipi’s inheritance ceremony is scheduled in just a few months as well,” Shawk snorted. “The Capitol is supposedly a buzz with preparations even now.”

Caseus heard Arabella ask, “Inheritance ceremony? Does that mean the prince is already going to take the throne?”

“Nay, it is merely the first step on his path to the throne,” Shawk explained. He stood, and approached the campfire. “Tell me, as you are not from here, what do you know of the God Flame?”

“Oh, that is a royal heirloom, yes? A piece of the flame the Gods punished all Creation with. The royal family and clergy have kept it kindled and burning for all these ages since.”

“That is a basic summary, yes.” Shawk bent down to the fire. With his beak, he deftly plucked a long, smoldering stick from the fire, and stirred it slightly. Sparks spluttered, and a few small tongues of flame licked up.

“But,” he let the stick drop back into the flames, “that is not all it is. That flame carries divine embers within it, the very essence of the God’s ability to create and destroy. Whoever wields it, wields the power to alter the rules of Creation itself.”

“The rules of Creation… You don’t mean that is how the rule of Beasts fearing Flame came about?”

“Precisely.” Shawk nodded, staring intently at the fire.

“But, then… why has it not affected you both?”

“I have been wondering about that as well,” Psaltria said. “I remember the day the decree went out from the Capitol, but not once did I notice any newfound fear of fire. No more than common sense, at least.”

“If the Second Prince has not yet inherited the Flame, then its authority still rests with the King, right?” Arabella had picked up a twig from the fire herself, gazing at the singed end.

“Indeed, and therein lies the answer. King Caleus has always been an ally of Beasts, like generations of kings before him.”

“So, why create such a rule at all?”

“Because,” Caseus snarled, “my father has a soft spot for the treacherous strumpet!”

He could hear Arabella yelp in surprise at his outburst; he could not see her cower behind Psaltria, though he could envision it.

“Pardon my interruption, but that is the truth of it.” He made sure to lower his voice. “Even though his heart was not in it, that whore played the frightened damsel, beset by trauma from the Beasts, and convinced my father to banish Beasts, not necessarily from the presence of all flames, but more specifically from the presence of the God Flame itself. I am sure she would have enjoyed inflicting such a fear on all Beasts, but such a command must be made with a king’s whole heart and soul. The current rule lacks a true mandate.”

“Wait a moment,” Psaltria interjected, “but with the prince under this curse, would that not mean-”

Shawk sighed. “That is correct. In his current state, not only can he not enter the Capitol, in the presence of the Flame, but he can never inherit it either. What a stroke of pure misfortune, purely coincidental, that the rule was made days before the Prince was cursed.”

With that, the fire finally fizzled out, and darkness eagerly followed.