The guards were only a temporary obstacle. At the end of the day the outside guards at the Nalor Estate were human. Prince Ettrian had his own personal guards, as all the princes did, but when visiting human cities they chose to keep human guards in full view to ease the tensions between the races. Even the alliance between humans and elves, which was far smoother than the one between humans and orcs, was still susceptible to conflict.

At his above average height among humans, Vom was easily able to push through them and continue his sprint for the estate doors. He slammed them open to throw himself across the threshold into the spacious entryway. His shouts for the prince echoed off the walls. Members of the household staff blinked like startled owls at the shouting half-orc.

That was when the first of the prince's personal guards arrived with their weapons drawn. They leapt over the stair's banisters and charged for him. Big as he was, Vom was not a fighter. Light flashed off the swords that were rapidly moving towards him.

The human guards from the gates shouted from behind him. Both the way forward and the way back were barred and Vom was no closer to finding the prince than when he had started.

Smaller, faster footsteps approached the doors in an uneven pattering. Hettie barreled into one of the human guards and dropped them both to the floor. Her chest was heaving but she managed enough air to raise her hand and shout, "Ventorum." A gust of wind whipped through the room from the doors and slammed into the two elves advancing on Vom.

Hettie struggled to her feet and flung herself at Vom, urging him to run for the stairs. With his help she ran alongside him up the stairs and into the hall lined with doors on either side. "Where is he?" she asked.

"I didn't get a chance to ask with the swords and all," Vom huffed.

Clattering on the stairs urged them on. They divided the hall and began throwing doors open. The guards were shouting for them, spells crashing in the walls by their heads.

"Wait, let us explain," Hettie screamed over her shoulder. A red streak brushed against her cheek, leaving behind a similarly colored scratch. "The prince is in danger. Not from us!" She hastily added the last part when a second spell grazed her hand.

Vom threw open another door towards the middle, throwing the door open so hard it cracked against the wall. He froze in place but moved to drag Hettie in to pull her out of the magic's path.

Inside, the thief was hovering over the unconscious prince spread across the floor. The potion vial was in her hand at an angle. One drop of the brilliant pink liquid hung from the lip of the bottle. An overturned tea cup was sitting in a puddle of a paler pink liquid.

"Dammit," Vom hissed. He launched himself across the room. The glass bottle was cold against the back of his hand as dove past it. Failing to grab the bottle, he shoved the thief away from the prince.

Hettie was right behind him with her hands outstretched.

Glass shattered. Jasmine overtook the air, undertones of patchouli and vanilla filling every remaining space. Hands grabbed at the three unwelcome guests and hauled them away from the prince.

Finally, Vom was able to take a proper look around. The first thing that caught his eye was Hettie pinned to the ground by the two human guards. One had his hand tangled in her hair to keep her face pushed down into the floor. Panic, fear, and anger threatened to overwhelm Vom. If it hadn't been for the sword point held close to his neck he'd have thrown himself at the man.

Across the room the prince was being lifted and given a full inspection by a healer. His eyes were still shut but his chest rose and fell in regular breaths. That was the last Vom was able to see before a guard stepped in front of him, blocking his view.

The human guard was fighting to fully catch his breath. "You are both under arrest for intent to harm a member of the royal family of Amsherik, and if I find out you had something to do with that woman," he paused to point an accusatory finger at the thief held between two guards, "I'll have you locked away forever."

Three sets of hands clamped down on Vom's arms to haul him up while two dragged Hettie to her feet. The sudden movement made her stumble and forced the breath out of her in something like a whimper.

"Unhand them." Prince Ettrian was still half in the arms of his elven guards. Color was returning to his face now that he wasn't as close to the spilled love potion. "Have you all gone deaf? I said, unhand them." Ettrian pointed at Hettie and Vom.

The guards reluctantly released them and took a step back. Their hands rested on their weapons at their sides. Only the two guards holding the thief stayed where they were.

Vom sidestepped to place himself between Hettie and the guards though his gaze remained in Ettrian. "Are you alright, your highness?"

Ettrian closed the distance between them and took both Hettie and Vom's hands. "Thanks to the two of you. Now, why don't you explain what all this is about, my lady." He rubbed a thumb over the back of Hettie's hand while she took a deep breath.

"That woman stole a vial of love potion from my store. She came in the other day asking to buy one and when she refused to bring her partner in, I refused her right back. Now I see why she couldn't bring someone in with her," Hettie explained quickly. She shot a dark glare towards the thief. "I believe her intention was to make the prince fall in love with her, but she didn't have the common sense to realize what I sell isn't a true love potion."

"Oh bravo." Ettrian squeezed both their hands. "Isn't she amazing? So clever."

Color flared in Hettie's ears. "Unfortunately, the prince was exposed anyway. I can craft the antidote but the herb I need won't arrive until my next shipment and that's not for two weeks." She looked down at her hand in the prince's and then Vom's hand on her shoulder. "I think I'm going to have to make a bigger batch than usual."

"How are we supposed to fix this then?" Vom gestured at the three of them, quickly understanding the true depth of their predicament. If the look the prince gave him wasn't a big enough sign, he had his own hammering heart to remind him.

"I just need to go fetch the herb myself. It's a few days there and a few days back, I've done it before," Hettie explained. She gently pulled herself free but only moved a step away to get the attention of the elven guards. "You'll have to keep his highness...contained. I doubt it will make a good impression on anyone if they catch him fawning over this guy." She patted Vom's arm, her hand settling on his bicep to trace the muscles there.

"But, my beloved, how can you leave me behind?" Ettrian reached for her hand again. "How can I allow you to wander from my presence and throw yourself into danger for me?"

"Don't worry, I'll go with her," Vom volunteered without a second thought. Just the thought of letting her go off on her own made his throat close in on itself. Even having her a foot away pulled the breath from him.

"With you there I might get there faster. You have... good legs," Hettie mumbled. Her eyes glazed over for a second and she shook her head to clear her head. "Which would be good because we really need that antidote as soon as possible. The longer it's in a person's system the stronger the effects will be."

"What's the longest it's been in someone's system?" Ettrian asked. His thumb made lazy circles over the back of Vom's hand.

"Twenty-four hours."

Chapter WC: 1345
Overall WC: 5555