A Prince's Prophetic Switch

Christian (@gradientava get your sassy assy over here rn)

"When you arise in the morning,
think of what a precious privilege it
is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to
enjoy, to love." ~Marcus Aurelius

Christian slept peacefully, unaware of all that was said between his two companions the night before. He was just dreaming about his rule over the Empire, ordering the armies to attack Athens, when someone shook his shoulder.

Lazily, Christian dragged an arm out from underneath his bed sheet, and swatted the area the hand had come from. He opened his eyes, only to see it was still fairly dark. Even through the closed tent, he knew the sun wasn't yet up.

"Hey!" Jade shouted, as Christian's hand came in contact with something. He jolted awake, alert. "Sorry," he said, once he realized the situation.

"I'm not a great morning person." he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. His fingers got caught in his messy, tangled blonde hair. He hadn't washed it in days. He was planning on it—in fact, he was going to yesterday—but had been, though the word choice belittling, sidetracked.

"I had no idea." Jade said with a smile. It was a sweet, sincere one, too. Even though she was being sarcastic, it quite didn't seem like it. At least, it wasn't her normal, exaggerated movements and drawn-out phrases.

He sat up in bed, the sheet falling to the side, exposing him entirely. He quickly wrapped it around him, flushing, though Jade had seen him naked many times before. (gradientava, Yes, I do show this to my parents. And?)

He asked for Jade to leave so he could dress. She did as was asked, and he put on his toga, slipping on his, usually, glittering golden sandals, which were now no shinier than the mud covering the ground outside.

Once he walked outside, he saw Jade and Ishan sitting together, side by side, on the grass. Christian had a strange feeling that of which he'd never experienced. From descriptions of the word, he supposed it must have been jealousy. But why?

Jade must have sensed Christian's presence, because she stood up. Her rosy pink stola (usually hanging low along with her dress), was knotted at the top, going down to her upper thighs. Her tunic was higher than normal as well, as she had rolled the area covering her chest over three times, bringing it up to just above her knees.

"What happened to your clothing?" Christian asked. It wasn't that he didn't like it, he was just genuinely curious.

"I fixed it. We didn't get any further yesterday than we were the day before, so I thought it best to adjust for our journey ahead. We don't have much time."

"Yeah," Christian said moodily, "because someone got hurt before we could leave." Jade gave him a cold glare, one that could control an entire room if that was what was required for the task at hand. But right now, it had no affect on Christian. He glared back, staring, daring her to blink.

It took two full minutes before Christian could no longer take the sting of his dry eyes, and he looked away, blinking. Jade moved her head back slightly, and only once she was sure Ishan and Christian both knew that she had won did she blink.

"I need you," she pointed to Ishan, "to summon Ariel." Out of the corner of his eye Christian saw a large grey owl swoop in, propping itself on a tree branch a few yards away. Yes, it was still dark, but it was also nearly morning, making Christian slightly curious. For a moment, he thought back to a time in his childhood when a similar event had happened, but he quickly brushed it off.

Ishan let out a loud, high-pitched whistle, and Ariel immediately came charging in, whinnying happily. Jade muttered something under her breath, and when Christian looked back, the owl was gone. Ishan ran up to the black stallion, and it lapped at the water in his hand. He whispered something to her, and she lowered her head, bending at the knees to let him on.

Ishan trotted over to them and helped Jade on, heaving her up with his left hand. When it was Christian's turn to get on, the horse merely turned it's head away, flicking her tail, and Christian had to try multiple times before he was finally able to settle on the horse's front croup near her hip. Still, it was quite uncomfortable for the three of them to fit, despite the horse's long flank.

"Ishan?" Christian asked before they started moving.

"Yeah?"

"Can you... I don't know... summon up another horse or something?" Christian asked, desperate to get off this horse who, clearly, didn't want him there any more than Christian did.

Ishan scoffed, looking back to Christian. "Really?" he asked, clearly annoyed, but Christian didn't know why. "What?" he responded, confused.

"You really think that just because you're a demigod or whatever that you get your own ride?" he said judgmentally.

"No! No, that's not it at all!" Christian replied defensively. "I just don't think the horse--" he corrected himself, "Ariel-- wants me here. It's too crowded."

Ishan complied, but he didn't look too convinced. When another, white this time, horse appeared, Ishan said, "Fine. But you two are sharing--" he pointed to the horse, thinking for a moment. "Bosc."

Jade ran over, hopping off Ariel and onto Bosc, steering him towards the two boys. Christian heaved up onto the horse, who, oddly, smelt less earthy then Ariel. He smelt of citrus, vanilla, and greens. The new horse quickly trotted over to Ariel, nuzzling her neck, but she stepped back. Bosc wasn't too fond of this, and kept following her around, giving Jade no control over the animal.

Christian placed his hands on the mane of the horse along with Jade's, arms on either side of her waist. He flushed a light pink, but couldn't for the life of him figure out why.

Ishan steered Ariel North, and Bosc, being head over heels, proved to be quite helpful, as he followed her without orders.

After about two minutes, Christian asked, "Have you rode before?"

Jade looked startled that he had suddenly spoken. Christian could tell by the way her eyes unclouded while turning to look at him that she had been deep in thought. She nodded, and turned back around. He figured now might be the time to ask what he was wondering about earlier.

"Did you see that owl earlier?" he asked, hesitantly.

Jade coughed, taking one hand off the horse's mane to cover her mouth. "Owl? You saw an owl?"

"Yes... did you not?" Christian asked, suspicious.

"No, that's not it, I just... I thought it was bright out by the time I woke you up! I guess not."

"Jade," he said, leaning forward to look at her. "It still isn't bright out."

He had her trapped, cornered.

Jade let out a sigh, looking before as if she had just woken up. Her expression now, though, was full of mischief. Full of wit. She smiled, laughing slightly, and said, "Yes, I did see an owl this morning. I just supposed I was going mad, as I could have sworn I'd seen it before."

Christian wasn't convinced.

"But it appeared right when you--"

"Guys!" Ishan called, cutting Christian off.

They both looked up to see a cyclopes about 20 yards away. A cyclopes... with a club.

Christian's eyes widened. Luckily for him, this time, he was prepared.

The cyclopes took a swing at Ishan, missing only because he had rolled to the side. He was curled up on the ground, clutching at his feet. He was in pain, or so Christian thought, but he was proven wrong when Ishan got up, dagger in his right hand, sword in the other, and struck at the cyclopes' heels.

It was a, generally speaking, small cyclopes, but still incredibly dangerous nonetheless. It reminds him of a tale his father once passed on to him. As if reading his thoughts, Jade shouted out, "The Odyssey! His eye! Shoot him in the eye!"

He got out his bow quickly, and Christian shot an arrow, piercing, as Jade said, the cyclopes right in the eye. It fell back, screaming out in pain, into the water behind them. Jade tensed, eyes squeezed shut, as blood trickled from her nose. The cyclopes got up, and before anyone could attack, it walked into the seas.

Finally, once the beast was out of sight, Jade collapsed.