The Arsenic Widow #Wattys2015 (mxm)

Chapter Twenty Three

Thanks to everyone on Wattpad for your constant support. I wanted to give a huge thank you to TylerHerondale and HeatherDiley who commented like crazy and kept this book numbered for an entire week!! I have this story on Wattpad and FictionPress and I've noticed so many people on Wattpad are willing to gang together to support authors :) It's a shame that FictionPress isn't the huge website it used to be! However, I love both sites and the people on them! And if you're reading this on FictionPress, I'm not dissing you! I love your support just as much!

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was cold.

Not the usual chill in the morning that makes you want to snuggle into your blankets, but the shivering uncomfortable kind. The shakes that ran through my body ended up waking Acorn up and I felt bad about it. He gave me one look and asked why I hadn't woken him up earlier.

I shrugged and gave him a noncommittal reply. Judging by the severe look he gave me, that was the wrong answer. We got up and Acorn handed me a strip of dried meat. I gave him a confused look.

"Where did you get this?" I asked softly, chewing on what tasted like dried rabbit.

Acorn gave me a small smile, "I brought some along. I thought it would be useful to keep us awake when we ride if we ever can't stop for the night."

I nodded slowly and chewed more. It was very gummy so I knew it was going to last me a while. I helped Acorn pack up the area and finally ended up on my horse, ready to leave. Before I could get my horse to take a step, Acorn reached over and settled several blankets over my shoulders.

"We need to keep you warm and fed. We're nearly at the base of the mountain. Soon we'll find the bird."

Biting my lip, I stared at him as we set off. "What if we don't find it?"

"Don't say that," he replied softly. "We can and we will. It's rare, but I'll find a way to get it."

I sighed softly and set my eyes forward. Acorn was right, we were closing in on the base of the mountain and I shivered again. The mountain was dark and looming, the sun unable to cast light over its large shape. The forest its shadows touched had darker leaves, as if deprived of colour. It seemed to be an ominous look and I didn't feel quite safe.

"Are there demons on this mountain?"

Acorn nodded, "Yeah, but closer to the top. Hopefully we won't have to go that far."

My gaze ran up the mountain to the tip which was covered by clouds. I couldn't imagine going all the way up there. Would I be able to breathe? Would the clouds be wet?

"What are you thinking about?" he asked softly, looking at my gaze into the sky.

I sighed softly, "Have you ever felt clouds?"

"Excuse me?"

"Clouds. Have you felt them?" I probably didn't need to re-word what I had said, but I wanted to make sure Acorn answered me.

"You can't feel clouds," he chuckled. When he realised I wasn't laughing, his face fell. "Do you know what clouds are made of?"

"Water," I answered quickly. "But... it's fluffy."

Acorn laughed softly again, "You know when you boil water and steam comes out? It's like that, but cool."

"Ohh," I nodded. "So I would get wet."

The Prince smirked and looked away. "Not by the clouds you won't be."

"You know what? I'm ignoring you!" I motioned my horse to walk in front of his, but I could hear his laughter sounding behind me. It wasn't making me angry, but most of the time I wasn't getting his sense of humour.

All my life my major focus has been demons and clothes. Not because I particularly likes either, but I killed demons for a living and clothes cost money. I didn't earn that much from my demon slaying, so I tried to keep my clothes clean and wearable so I wouldn't have to buy more.

Suddenly Acorn entered my life, with his wise cracks and his little smirks while he flips his annoying blond hair over his shoulders. He was trying to kiss me and was awakening my body up to new experiences. I should be happy; I wanted to be happy. But I was stuck with a raincloud over everything, remembering the task my King had sent me on. If I didn't do it, he'd send someone else, and they'd kill both of us. If I told Acorn, it would mean war. Or would it? His mother probably wouldn't care enough to start a war over her son's life.

"Hey Acorn," I turned my head to look at him. He looked up at me, a sly grin on his face. "What would happen if someone threatened your life? A human, I mean. I've only ever seen demons and they are killed."

Acorn shrugged, "No one's ever tried. People kind of forget about me. They know more about my brother. Now that he's gone, I'm just the awkward little brother no one cared about. So no one ever thinks about killing me."

"But you're smart," he murmured. "If someone knew that, wouldn't they try to stop you?"

The Prince rode his horse up beside mine. His face had changed from the huge grin he had been wearing to a harder look. "Why are you asking me this? Do you know something?"

I paused for a moment before looking away, "No. I was just thinking about the demons that attacked us. They were smart; possibly too smart for demons. Maybe a human was telling them what to do?"

Acorn nodded thoughtfully, "It's a good idea. Maybe they're trying to get rid of everyone? Like a serial killer?"

"Yeah," I echoed softly. "Like a serial killer."

We trotted in silence. I stared at my dark hands on the reigns of my horse. They shook slightly, but that was no longer because I was cold. It was pure fear. If Acorn found out what I was there for, what would happen? Would I be killed? Or would Acorn simply send me back to my Kingdom, hatred in his eyes? Hatred would be something I could never get over.

"Incent," the voice came and I stopped my horse in surprise. We had roughly reached the base of the mountain. The air had become cooler and the sky much darker. I was surprised I hadn't noticed before.

The warm dirt beneath the horse's hooves had turned to stone, making the noise more clipped and sharp in the air. I looked up at the looming mountain and gulped.

We had reached the mountain. Whether I lived or died was going to be determined. All I knew was that we either found the bird and I survived, or we wouldn't and Acorn would have to find a way to dig through the stone beneath us to bury me in.

Things are going to get a little bit more intense in the next chapter, and you just might find out the colour of the bird. Only issue: will they catch it?