My Princess

Chapter 11

Three days I managed to get by without a hitch, finding mildly convincing excuses for anything that may reveal my true predicament. While the gash in my leg did not bleed or ooze infection, it did not appear to be closing itself as a normal flesh wound should either.

The venom had now made its way into my hips, the putrid liquid trickling through my veins across my lower stomach. It had become more visible, a sickly greenish hue to the webbing of veins spiraling underneath my skin.

The flesh within the entry point appeared to be dying, the muscle turning a faded grey while the skin around it remained strangely unchanged. It almost looked like it was drying out from being unable to suture itself shut. I could still see the faint pulsation of my heartbeat in a vein running inside the greying muscle and up the leg, giving me some hope that I had a bit of time before the limb completely died and began to turn dark with gangrene. 

Narcissa was becoming increasingly more suspicious as I avoided bathing, undressing, and even her touch. I wanted nothing more than to crawl into that cold water and allow it to soothe the heat emanating from my infected leg but that would mean showing her my wound and I wasn't in the mood to deal with her fussing.

As it slowly worked it's way through me I was becoming increasingly more tired, my body trying in vain to fight back against the disease. Narcissa had taken notice of my sluggishness today and enforced more rest periods as we traveled and for that, I was grateful.

The sun was dropping behind the horizon once more and I was currently sat up against a large tree watching the other girl try and work out how to spear a fish. The past two days I had been able to do it, the icy water helping to numb the pain for a bit, but today I was just far too exhausted. I had to find someone soon, I didn't have more than a few days left in this state.

"Stop moving! You're scaring them away." I laughed half heartedly, trying to teach the former princess how to successfully fish from the comfort of the shoreline.

"I got it I got it." She mumbled, eyes focused on the water below her in intense concentration.

Finally she just barely managed to spear one of the slimy, grey buggers and tossed it onto the shore before it could escape, the creature flopping around as it tried to get back to the water. Narcissa splashed towards me hurriedly, awkwardly spearing the fish again to finish it off and looking at me proudly as she held up her trophy.

"Bravo." I clapped with a laugh and making the other girl roll her eyes at my slight sarcasm.

"Yeah yeah. It's the first time I've ever done that so I'd say I did a pretty good job." A triumphant grin spread across her face and I handed her the stick that would hold it over the fire to cook it on.

"Alright princess, if you're so survival savvy let's see you gut it and cook it then."

"Gut it?!" She looked between me and the fish mortified.

"Yes, gut it. Do you want to eat fish intestines? Cause uh- those will kill you. Or at the very least make for a very unpleasant night."

"Will you.. I don't think I can do that without vomiting."

"Gimme it." I grinned at the other girl and took the fish by the tail, dragging my knife down its belly and letting all of the internal organs spill out onto the grass below. Narcissa made a face of disgust as she watched the goo hit the ground with an unsavory 'splat'.

"We've been out here for nearly two weeks. Have you not seen me do this yet?"

"Clearly not. I've been a bit occupied with keeping our water supply full."

"Fair point. Hand me the stick." She did just that and I situated the fish on the fire to cook and pulled out the last of our remaining bread from the basket. From here on out we would be relying solely on the forest for our food, at least until we found a town to restock.

After a peasant's meal of bread and fish we cleaned up our campsite for the night and let the fire warm us as the cool night air began to surround us.

"Perhaps we should wash in the river before it gets too cold." Narcissa suggested, nudging me.

"I'm too tired." I replied with a sigh. It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth.

"It's been three days, at least. Did something happen that I don't know about? Did I do something?" She asked that last question with hesitancy, fearful that my hesitancy to undress in front of her was due to the kiss we almost shared.

"No, no. You did absolutely nothing wrong Cissy. I'm just exhausted today."

"I'll help you. Come on, it'll make you feel better to be clean."

"I just don't want to today alright? Soon." I knew my voice portrayed frustration and I tried to reign it in, not wanting to unintentionally snap at her for caring.

The other girl simply pursed her lips and released a huff of air, irritated that she couldn't figure out what was going on with me. She stood up quickly, walking to the edge of the water and turning to face me. The low light made the blonde in her two toned hair stand out and frame her face, dark eyes shimmering as the moonlight reflected off of them.

I quirked one eyebrow as my gaze rested on her, curious as to what she was up to.

One side of Narcissa's lips turned up in a small smirk, eyes narrowing as she confidently met my gaze. One hand disappeared behind her back to release the ribbon holding the bodice of her dress together, the luxurious material loosening around her shoulders.

The other girl's arms crossed to have her hands on opposite shoulders, slipping the top of her dress down off of her shoulders. Without her shoulders and the ribbon to hold it up, the entire dress fell around her feet, undergarment going with it and leaving her completely exposed to the elements.

I looked on in curious awe, admiring every inch of her form much like an artist. My eyes took in the gentle curve of her waist and the soft sway of her hips as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. A long inhale put emphasis on her rather sharp collarbones, the soft curvature of the bone highlighted by the moon overhead.

The princess's limbs were delicate and slim, however our time spent in the forest had given her a bit of toning in the muscle making them harder.

While I wasn't inherently looking at her in a sexual way my eyes couldn't resist roaming over her perky breasts, pink nipples hardened by the cold air. The fatty pad of her lower stomach poked out a bit which I found oddly cute for some reason.

I didn't spend much time looking lower, knowing what it would do to myself if I did. Even so, I tried to casually cross my legs as I set my jaw and allowed my eyes to harden as she teased me. I knew I had failed at making her think her actions had no affect on me when a proud chuckle escaped her throat and I glared towards the other girl.

In response she simply turned on her heel and stepped down into the water, incredibly slowly to allow her hips to swing and give me a long look at her heart shaped ass.

I had to fight the urge to follow her as I watched the former princess wash the dirt and oil from her hair, chest arching upwards towards the sky as she wrung the water out in her fists. Droplets ran down her body between her breasts and with every move she made they would bounce and I could see her shooting glances towards me every now and then to make sure I was watching.

As much as I wanted to I simply could not tear my eyes away from the scene playing out before me. I had to, quite literally, bite my tongue to keep from calling out to her, hands clenching at the soil beneath me in order to keep myself seated.

'If only I didn't have to keep up this bloody facade..' I wanted to have those crimson lips on mine, to cup those perfect breasts in the palms of my hands. I had never even entertained the possibility of having thoughts such as these about another woman, and now I was lusting after one of my King's own daughters.