The Scarlet Phoenix and the Prince of Winter

Chapter Fourteen

We, the people of Aure only know what fire looks like from legends and myths and texts that came from the time were there were still flames on this kingdom. Several published books from more than a hundred years ago have described fire in an attempt to preserve its memory from our collective consciousness. I believe the last King of that time when flames finally disappeared tried his best to bring back the flames but eventually failed.

All the next kings after him did the same. I guess it is hard when you don't even know where to start. School had taught us that many times in our history a lot of renowned people--- especially people who were good at science, ha tried to create fire using a lot of different methods but obviously none of them succeeded. There was even a time where people went on to a specific place in search for the elusive fire--- believing that there were places where you could make it. Historians called that particular period of as Flame Rush, as everyone was going into places in search for fire as the Royals had offered a great deal of rewards if ever someone discovers the flames.

The search went on and on but still no fire was discovered or found. But everyone needs warmth and heat especially with the kind of cursed weather that Aure has, so naturally people find ways to still have it despite the absence of fire. The solution was the discovery of Coalstones, a mysterious volcanic rock that is hot in itself and emits heat for a long period of time. Of course, it was not as good as the fire itself because the coalstones' heat gets used up but it was better than no heat at all, so the next few years revolved around us people trying to live our daily lives with the new source of heat on our side.

It was difficult at first, and there were even rebellions and political unrest back in the early years of the discovery of the coalstones. Issues on its usage such as unfair rations and the abnormal flow of supply and demand came into light as the main problems that this new source of heat became the headache for the next few generations of Kings and all of these were written in our history. But all in all, we did manage to survive without fire itself and we are still hoping that one day it will appear and come back again to our lives.

So naturally, when we describe something using fire as a description it confuses us as fire was something that my generation doesn't even know if it was real or not. To us, it doesn't make sense, so when Mitaur told the Crown Prince that there was a flower which looked like a bird on flames, I could not picture how that would look like. In my mind I could not see the logic of it, so I just thought of it as something like a metaphor.

"There is a flower that looks like that?" said Prince Kao who looked like he just heard the most ridiculous statement in the whole world. "I don't believe you."

"So do I, Your Highness," Mitaur agreed. "It was just part of those legends, you know. Some old books describe that flower as a flower that only the deities can grow, and I have never even heard of someone who can tell anyone that they have seen that type of flower. But your mother had it. She came to me saying that she found the flower."

"And you think that what she had with her was the same flower that you use in making that elixir that you are talking about?"

Mitaur nodded. "I was sure that it was the very same type of flower, Your Highness. I have read enough descriptions of it in books, ever since my childhood so if I ever see one of those in reality I would definitely recognize that it is the one. And your mother had it."

Prince Kao took a long pause to digest this, while I remained silent because I don't want the Crown Prince to glare at me like that again. But if I were to say my opinion on that, my hunch is that there might actually be a flowering plant in existence that looks exactly like the flower in the descriptions, but I don't believe that they are really from the deities or something like that. Maybe they are just shaped like that and the people who first discovered it were amazed by it so they thought that it came from the deities when it actually is not.

Mitaur had said that this flower that the deceased Queen brought with her was called Phoenix Petals and that it used to grow on the fields back when fire was still existing and that the winter still just one season a year. That, I can say that it could be true, as lots of things used to be abundant in Aure before this Eternal Winter happened. For example, the different types of crops that our ancestors used to grow, even the animals that used to live here before were all now gone. The plants and animals that we have now are the ones which were able to adapt to the harsh weather conditions, but I could say that back then flowering plants just like the Phoenix Petals could have actually existed.

But, it is a different thing when you use it as an ingredient in a potion that we don't even know if it could be really be made or not. That's the part that is making me dubious.

"So you are saying that my mother somehow managed to find an elusive and almost mythical type of flower and she gave it to you?"

"That's correct, Your Highness. She asked me to concoct a potion out of it, the potion in the legends that said to replenish the drinker's body with renewed energy. It was said that whoever drinks it will have a longer life. A person who is dying, or who has an incurable disease in them, if they drink that ancient elixir they were said to get fully healed and will have a second life."

"And you were able to make that potion?" I said, unable to stop myself from asking her that because if she did make an ancient elixir that was just supposed to be a myth, then isn't Mitaur something? She might be the best potioneer there is, if that is the case.

"That was my great mistake. I followed her orders," said Mitaur miserably. She wiped the wetness in her eyes and I almost feel sorry for her if not for the fact that I am in a worse situation. "I should have just lied to her that I could not make it. Or I should have told her it was not really effective, that it was just a dud. I think that would have made a difference. Maybe your mother might still be alive right now."

I could see that Prince Kao was starting to slowly get what Mitaur was trying to say all this time because his facial expression hardened considerably. "Why did my mother died? Tell me. Do you know what exactly caused her death? Do you have an idea what 'sacrifice' she was talking about to Rainha's mother in that letter?"

Mitaur slowly nodded her head and I saw that her hands were shaking, almost spilling her tea. "What you should know, Your Highness, it that even then, I was a firm believer of these legends about ancient elixirs, the deities, the curses, and everything mysterious and mystical. I am one of those who studied the folklore of this country just to find clues on how we can stop this winter... One of the things that I firmly believed in was the ancient elixirs that can change one's life when they drink it. And one of them was the mythical elixir made from the Phoenix Petals. Your mother knew about my fondness over this, so she asked me if I can make that particular potion."

"Did the Queen never doubted you, Mitaur?" I asked again. "I mean, was the Queen that confident that you can really make a legendary elixir just like that?"

"Like I said, she was desperate. Her son was dying. She would have thought of other possible cure for her child's sickness but have failed in obtaining them. It was like it was one of her last options."

"Oh. Okay. I'm sorry---"

"I did not know how exactly she found that flower. It drove me crazy thinking how on earth did she manage to find such a rare plant. Just imagine the scenario. There are lots of dedicated people like me who have used their time in search for these rare plants but have failed, but the Queen, of all people, was able to have it."

"Did she not told you how did she obtain it?" the Crown Prince asked. "If it was that rare, maybe she had connections that you also don't know of?"

"That's what I also thought," Mitaur answered. "Although I did ask her where she got it. But her answer was vague. She just told me that it came from the 'outside.' Back then I did not put much thought in it. But after all these years I think she was referring to the places beyond Aure's borders."

"What? But that's crazy!" I exclaimed. "No one's been able to go outside of our borders and come back here alive---"

"Except your parents," Prince Kao said, interrupting me. "So what my mother said is believable."

"Yes, but I'm curious how exactly did she do it. Did she went outside the borders herself/ Or did she ordered someone, probably a royal guard---?"

"It matters not," said Prince Kao to me. "That doesn't matter to me any more right now. All I want to know is how she died. So just cut to the chase and tell me what happened to her..."

Mitaur gulped and nodded again. "The Queen wanted the ancient elixir, so I did make it based on my knowledge about it. It took me three days to make it, and I almost failed. The potion I made from the Phoenix Petal was very poisonous--- it was so toxic that one drop from it was enough to poison the whole of Aurville. One drop to a public well would have killed the entire population of the village."

"What? Is that how the Queen died?"

Mitaur was silently crying again. "There is an ancient practice among us potioneers on how to detoxify an already poisonous liquid. We call it Blood Purifying. It is called like that because with some key ingredient one can remove the toxins in a poisoned liquid with the help of someone's blood. And it was not just a random person's blood. It has to be the blood of a relative of the person who would drink the said poisoned liquid---"

"That's messed up," I honestly said to her story. "In the first place, who would drink something that is already poisoned? If you'll just not drink it then the problem will be solved. You will no longer need to purify the poison, right?"

"That's not how the logic in potion-making works, Rainha," Mitaur explained. "With potion-making, to negate the effect of a potion is to make it the exact opposite concoction. This means that let us say, for example, if you accidentally drank poisoned drinking water, to cure you from it you have to drink the purified version of that poisoned water. The same logic goes for an ancient elixir. It was a deadly potion to drink but the Queen's son needs it so I have to purify some of it---"

The Crown Prince suddenly stood up. I was taken aback because he looked furious. His eyes were bulging and he was glaring at Mitaur with such hatred that even myself could feel the intensity of it. "So you are saying that the ancient elixir you made from that flower was extremely poisonous, but my mother still let me drank it?"

"Y-Yes, Your H-Highness---"

"But it killed her!" he bellowed and both Mitaur and I cowered in fright. "I think I know now what happened! You made me drink that poisonous potion because that would cure me from my disease! But since it was poisonous, you also needed me to drink the 'purified' version of it, which was purified through my mother's blood! Am I right? Answer me!"

"Yes... Your Highness, you are right... That was what happened... I objected to what the Queen wanted... But she insisted on doing it... I told her that it could fail and the two of you could both die... But she did not care about her safety. All she cared was to cure you of the disease that was slowly killing you---"

"Did she die because she ran out of blood?" Prince Kao asked and I gasped loudly. I just realized what he was talking about, and tears started flowing from my eyes.

Mitaur nodded while crying. "Yes, Your Highness. Your mother purified the ancient elixir for you. But it needed a lot of blood from her, so she died from too much loss of blood days after you drank the elixir."