Page 11 of The Pastel Prince

“The kind that speaks her truth. But don’t fret. I made a promise to you, and I shall keep it.” She darted about, finally landing on my muddy knee. She had a round face, large eyes,and long lashes that were clumped from rain and guts. Her hair was short, dark, and also coated with entrails. “My name is Tezen Plumwax, and I am now your guardian until the end of days. So, I have sworn my allegiance to you, my lord Minty Fresh!” She pounded her tiny bosom. I sat in a puddle and gawped. “Speak what you wish of me.”

“I want nothing of you!” I seethed, my head spinning from such a large surge of magicks that I was not used to expending.

“But you saved me, so a debt is due.”

“A debt? There is no debt. I had things well in hand, thank you, so your murderous—”

“Pfft.” She sniggered behind a teensy hand covered with blood.

I dashed at my face, flicked a chunk of spider from my upper lip, and glowered at the pixie.

“There is no debt,” I repeated, louder, so that she would hear me well. “We both saved each other. You are freed from any responsibility to me.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“I…wish…what is happening?” I pushed to stand, the pixie fluttering upward from my knee then zipping about my head like an anxious warbler. The trees moved slightly in the strong wind, branches snapping, each crack followed by a groan of pain. I moved through the woods, touching each tree, pushing a small bit of my flagging healing energy into them until we reached my sodden bedroll. I sat down on it, glancing to the left to see that the horses were sleeping standing up while Beirach snored soundly in his woolen chrysalis, unaware of the battle that had just taken place nearby. I wished I felt half as calm as Atriel or the man sawing wood in his sleep. The woods began to waver.

“You look funny,” Tezen said, flying in front of my face, her purple wings a blur.

“I look fine,” I snapped, exhaustion overwhelming me. I’d grown weary of people telling me that I was odd or strange or funny looking. “I just need a moment.” I’d given so much of my meager magicks to the suffering trees after that fight that I’d left little for myself. “I feel perfectly goodly.”

With that, I tumbled to the side, my cheek slapping my wet bedding.

I awoke at dawn to a small but roaring fire. My clothes were still damp.

My sight touched on Beirach seated beside the fire, stirring something in his small cook pot, chatting away with our newest camp guest. Tezen sat between my mare’s ears, sipping something from a tiny gold mug, her bright brown eyes darting to me as I roused.

“Good morn, my liege. I made tea.” She flew down to the fire, hovering above the flames where a pot of tea the size of my pinkie nail sat off the side. “It’s howling good. So, drink up, take a piss, and find the nearest stream for you reek like a wild boar’s pucker, then we will continue on our quest.”

My mind was still foggy but seeing the pixie brought the previous night back in a flash.

“I hear you had quite the adventure during the storm last night,” Beirach commented as he sprinkled some sort of dark brown spice into the bubbling pot suspended over the fire.

“We will talk once I am clean,” I informed them and rose, slowly, my legs wobbly. My poor prick still ached slightly. I shot the pixie a stern look that she merely lifted a shoulder at, then went ahead to drain the teapot into her mug. I grabbed one of the saddlebags from Atreil’s back, patted her haunch, and limped into the woods, skirting the area where the spiderslay dead, and found a small brook that looked clear. Not that muddy water would worsen things. Given my state, an offshoot of a city street would be an improvement over the dried mess covering me.

I stripped down, peeling off my wet clothes and dropping them into a heap at my feet. My toes were thick with mud and blood, I noted. I waded out into the brook, the water cold as it danced around my ankles. Weary and sad at heart for the death of the spiders, I sat down with a splash, inhaling sharply when the water burbled around my balls. I shuddered but began scrubbing, using the fine silt along the stream’s edge instead of soap. Lye would foul the pristine water. I rose to my knees to examine my genitals. My cock was hiding way up inside my foreskin, and my stones had climbed upward as well. I frowned at the set of four thin scratches on my prick before gently rubbing them with my gritty fingertips. I would apply a small bit of willow wort balm when I returned to camp. That would ease the discomfort.

Once I had the worst of the dirt freed, I set to work on my braids. They were dark brown with blood and mud, so I carefully undid them, the process taking some time. I shook the mass of white hair out, using my fingers to rub at my scalp. I had to confess that I missed long hot baths. Even as a child, we bathed daily using the hot springs that bubbled near the bosk. I’d not yet found any of the springs that were so prevalent deeper in the wilds but those would come soon. My mind flitted about as I worked water through my hair, using my short nails to dig at the flakes of dark blood caked at the roots. We had seen no signs of any blight either, which was good news. I was sure Umeris would be pleased. Glancing skyward, I noted that Nin had not returned yet but given the storms last night, he may have spent the night in the rookery. Danubia knows I would have if given the choice.

My thoughts flew to home, to the bosk, where my family and kinsmen were hopefully on the road to recovery. Umeris had not mentioned much in his last missive. No further sightings of creatures turned to stone. The ranger who had touched the bird had lost his arm, sadly, and the healers were now worried the sickness may have spread. That was the extent of news from Renedith.

Eyes closing, I sat back on my heels, the stream babbling around me, and whispered a plea to my goddess.

“Mighty Danubia,

Steel my heart against those who would bring pain to the lands,

Guide my steel and my magicks to protect those who dwell in the coppice, the mighty forest, the gentle glens,

So that I may be of service to you and those who reside in each copse and hedgerow.”

I paused, then added more even though asking for one’s own needs was frowned upon.

“Goddess of my heart, please let those who I call family and kin be well, and if it pleases, guide me into clarity for my dealings with Beirach befuddle me.”

I touched my cold fingertips to the soft white spot on my brow, pleading with all I possessed that the symbol of her divine touch meant she would give me special dispensation.

“Your balls will soon freeze and fall off if you don’t exit the water,” a high-pitched voice called out, shattering my prayerful state. I glanced behind me to see Tezen perched on a branch that hung over the stream, her round cheeks drawn up into a grin. “Not that I’m complaining about the view. You have a lovely ass. When it’s wet, it’s the same color as the moss thathugs the trees on the shady side of a glen. Your prick is quite nice too, far too large for me mind, but a pretty piece of meat, nonetheless. That’s why I only frolic with lasses and pixie men with generous cocks. What? Oh look at your face. It’s as red as a cherry picker’s tidbits!”

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