Free The Poison Princess by J. Stone Page B

place. She traced her steps
back the way she had come, where the top of the cave wasn’t so far
up in hopes of finding some lower hanging fruit.
    Eventually, she did come upon one that was
almost within her reach. She was just a bit too short to grab it,
outstretched and on the tips of her toes. Surveying the area, Ruby
saw a large boulder that she thought she would be able to shift.
Rushing over, she crouched down and leaned against it, managing to
push it closer to where the blissroot was extending down. Jumping
back atop the rock, Ruby reached up and grabbed the toxic fruit. It
was wedged into the earth pretty well, but she shifted and pulled
at it until it fell out with chunks of earth alongside it.
    The princess held the large fruit in her
hands, as she stepped down off the boulder. The blissroot was warm
to the touch, and she could smell the hot spices permeating off it.
Overhead, the roots and vines of the fruit released the toxic gas,
but it drifted up through the earth and away from the princess.
Wiping away the dirt and rocks from the surface of the white
blissroot, Ruby actually began to think that this was what she
needed. She could feel it inside her. It was right. The princess
bit into the fruit, taking out a large chunk and swallowing it
almost whole. The fruit was exceedingly spicy, but it was good.
Everything was good. She felt restored. Ruby breathed a sigh of
relief and turned to sit down, leaning against the rocky wall.
Everything was going to be fine. She had what she needed.

Chapter 9. The Other Road
    Ruby woke up with a sense of Deja vu. She felt like that day had
already come once before, even though she knew that was nonsense.
Her father had an important announcement that day regarding the
future of their kingdom, and though she was afraid of what it would
mean for her, she was still a willing participant. She roused
herself from her comfortable bed and prepared for the day.
    An attendant entered her room to help her,
but Ruby didn’t quite recognize the young woman. She must have been
new. At the same time, the woman struck her as someone she somehow
knew, though she ultimately conceded that she did not. She had
long, orange hair that ended in ringlets, and the princess thought,
at first glance, that the woman’s eyes were red. When she looked
back, they were an ordinary green, so she shook her head, laughing
at her own imagination.
    “Good day, my princess,” the woman greeted
her.
    “Hello,” Ruby politely replied.
    “Did you sleep well?”
    The princess thought about that for a moment,
when she realized she didn’t really remember going to bed the
previous night, nor did she remember any dreams. That was odd for
her, as she recalled almost all her nightly visions. She shrugged
it off and answered. “Yes, it was fine.”
    “That’s good, my princess. Shall I help you
get ready?”
    Ruby nodded. “Please.”
    With the attendant’s assistance, Ruby slipped
into a fancy yellow dress. Afterward, the woman helped weave her
light brown hair into a braid of crowns. When she was ready, the
princess left her quarters and the servant, walking toward the
dining hall. Inside, she found one of their court wizards, Durin,
drinking a big heaping of wine. When he saw her enter, he wiped the
red liquid from his face and beard with the sleeve of his grey
robe, staining the fabric. Again, the princess couldn’t help but
feel that all of this had happened once before.
    “Princess,” the wizard greeted her.
    She shrugged the sensation off. “Hello Durin.
How is the food this morning?”
    “I can’t say. I’ve only just tasted the wine.
I’ve left the strawberries for you to try.”
    “Right,” she said with the same feeling
nagging at her. Ruby walked to the table and selected a sampling of
the various foods. Strawberries, her favorite fruit, were chief
among her selection. She returned to the table where Durin was, and
she sat across from him, joining him for breakfast. For a moment,
she was