Serve The Duke or Escape With The Prince? (Choose Your Path)
The Apothecary, Chapter 7: "The Warning"
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The Apothecary is an interactive story in which your choices determine your fate. Don’t read the sections in order. At the end of each section, make your choice and click on the corresponding link to be taken to your next section. Will you choose to save the duke from a fairy curse, or will you aid the prince in a darker quest?
Start Here: Fire and Shadow
(continued from Chapter 6, find all chapters here)
At the duke’s orders, the guards take you into the depths of the castle and leave you in a stone cell lit by torches.
As you watch the torchlight flicker, troubling thoughts scurry through your mind…
“All this time, the duke was only using me to figure out what he needed for an antidote.” Go to Unveiled.
“The duke’s sickness has overwhelmed his mind and he’s no longer himself.” Go to Corrupted.
“The duke doesn’t trust me and will keep me here until I brew an antidote.” Go to Twisted.
Unveiled
You shiver in the chill emanating from the stone walls. In such a dark and lonely place, you’re not sure if you can trust your own thoughts.
Footsteps sound in the passageway. You shrink back in dread. Suddenly, the prince’s form fills the doorway.
You tighten with anxiety. Is he here to help you or to taunt you?
“I thought I saw the guards drag my apothecary down here,” he says as he rushes in to wrap his cloak around you. “I came in through the other end of the passage.”
You pull the cloak tightly around you. It still holds the prince’s warmth, which you find comforting despite your surprise at seeing him.
He gives you an anxious look. “Did the guards catch you in my mother’s garden?”
“I managed to get what I needed from the garden,” you tell him. “But the duke had the guards bring me here.”
The prince’s wry smile seems to shift in the flickering light. “Now you see my brother for who he really is. Clearly, he recognized your talent, and he knew that you could find out which ingredients the queen uses to make his antidote.”
“He only wanted me to find a way into the queen’s garden?”
“You’re not the first person he has manipulated,” the prince replies, his voice edged with contempt. “He often uses his sickness to get his way.”
Go to The Cryptic Contract.
Evade
You step back against cold stone. “I only ever wanted to save you from the queen,” you tell him. “And I still will, if you let me go.”
He seems pained by your withdrawal from him. He steps away, and the torchlight illuminates the regret on his face. “I’ll take you to a room in the castle where you can brew the antidote.”
Anxiety knifes through you. “Why not let me go back to my apothecary?”
He frowns. “I can’t let the ingredients leave the castle grounds, not now that I finally have them. I need you stay here until the antidote is finished.”
You sensed this would happen. He isn’t going to let you go.
“I hear the guards,” he says. “I will go and send them away. Then I’ll show you to a place in the castle no one will find you.” He sweeps out of the room.
Go to Dark Passage.
Challenge
“He told me you mean to keep me here,” you say, “to brew an antidote for you whenever you need it.”
The duke shakes his head, glowering. “You can’t trust my brother. You’ve seen the way he treats me. Even that first day I saw you, in the woods, where he had trapped me.”
“And yet, you’re the one who has trapped me.”
“No—I only mean to keep you safe. From the fairy queen…” The duke takes in the sight of you draped in the prince’s cloak. “And from my brother’s scheming.”
The prince was right: the duke sees schemes everywhere at court. “You think the prince is the one who’s scheming? The moment I found the crystals for you, you took them and called your guards.”
The duke wrings his hands. “What has the prince been telling you? Do you know he wants you to brew a potion for him? He’s obsessed with getting through the door to the fairy realm.”
“What does that have to do with my potions?”
“He’s needs a potion to get through the door. And he’s been trying to stop you from helping me because I want to destroy the door. I can’t let the fairy realm continue to be a threat to my kingdom. If the queen should decide to gather allies and take my father’s throne…”
“I could never brew such a potion. You have nothing to fear from me.”
“The prince thinks otherwise. He knows, as I do, that you have great skill. But listen—the potion he wants would be a very dangerous potion for you to brew.” The duke sets his jaw. Is he afraid for you, or angry at having to share you with the prince?
“What do you mean, dangerous?”
“It would change you,” the duke says. “I don’t know exactly how. But I wouldn’t have him do that to you.”
You study his expression.
He seems to be telling the truth? Go to Together.
You’re not yet sure whether you can trust him? Go to Troubled.
Tricks By Torchlight
You wrench a torch from its bracket and hold it out before you.
The next moment, the duke draws into the doorway of the cell. He eyes your torch in surprise. “Don’t worry. You’re in no danger here.”
You’re not so sure of that, but you know the duke isn’t strong enough to hurt you in his weakened state, so you let him take the torch and replace it on the wall.
“Why did you call the guards?” you ask. “Why did you have them bring me here?”
The duke seems surprised by your accusatory tone. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
His concern confuses you. You’d almost think it pains him to see you in this cell.
“When I saw you materializing near the queen’s garden,” the duke says, “I suddenly understood what had happened, that you had used some kind of potion to sneak past the guards. And that the enchantment was wearing off.”
“So you called the guards to make sure they saw me?” you ask bitterly.
Somehow, the duke looks even more slight in the glow of the torches, as if one touch would fell him. “Everyone in the castle is against me. The guards would have seen you trying to leave, and they would assume I had helped you trespass.”
“Then you betrayed me to save yourself,” you say, your face heating.
“I won’t let any harm come to you,” the duke says, drawing near. He reaches for your arm and notices your cloak for the first time. “My brother’s cloak,” he says, brows knit. “Then he has been here?”
You consider what the prince told you earlier, and what you believe to be true.
The duke is using you? Go to Accuse.
The duke’s mind isn’t well? Go to Pity.
The duke doesn’t trust you? Go to Challenge.
Corrupted
You shiver in the chill emanating from the stone walls. In such a dark and lonely place, you’re not sure if you can trust your own thoughts.
Footsteps sound in the passageway. You shrink back in dread. Suddenly, the prince’s form fills the doorway.
You tighten with anxiety. Is he here to help you or to taunt you?
“I thought I saw the guards drag my apothecary down here,” he says as he rushes in to wrap his cloak around you.
You pull the cloak tightly around you. It still holds the prince’s warmth, which you find comforting despite your surprise at seeing him.
He gives you an anxious look. “Did the guards catch you in my mother’s garden?”
“I managed to get what I needed from the garden,” you tell him. “But the duke had the guards bring me here.”
The prince’s wry smile seems to shift in the flickering light. “Now you see my brother for who he really is. Once, he might have been kind, but the curse my mother placed on him has changed him.”
Your heart heavy, you ask, “But the antidote will bring him back to himself, won’t it?”
The torchlight dances in the prince’s eyes. “I can’t say. But I wouldn’t trust him. Besides, there’s nothing to be done.”
Go to The Cryptic Contract.
Accuse
“He told me you only ever wanted to use me to get the right ingredients for your antidote,” you tell the duke. “And now what? You don’t want anyone in the kingdom to know about your curse, so you’re going to lock me away?”
The duke shakes his head, glowering. “You can’t trust my brother. He hates me. He’ll say anything to get what he wants.”
“And what do you think he wants from me?”
The duke takes in the sight of you draped in the prince’s cloak. “More than one thing, perhaps. But I know he wants you to brew a potion for him. He’s obsessed with getting through the door to the fairy realm.”
“He says you plan to destroy that door. That you want to trap him here forever, where he’s miserable.”
The duke turns toward the torches and lets out a hiss of anger. “I don’t care what happens to him. But I can’t let the fairy realm continue to be a threat to my kingdom. If the queen should decide to gather allies and take my father’s throne…”
He shakes his head. “He told you that to set you against me. He wants to make sure you’ll agree to brew a potion for him. But you need to know—a potion that would help him get through the door would be a very dangerous potion for you to brew.”
The duke sets his jaw. Is he afraid for you, or angry at having to share you with the prince?
“What do you mean, dangerous?” you ask.
“It would change you,” the duke says. “I don’t know exactly how. But I wouldn’t have him do that to you.”
You study his expression.
He seems to be telling the truth? Go to Together.
You’re not yet sure whether you can trust him? Go to Troubled.
Unsettled
The truth is that you’re nervous about what potion the prince will ask you to brew.
The prince watches you wrestle with your thoughts and then bursts out with, “Fine. You’re right–I don’t want to see my brother get well. But I have good reason for that.” His voice is laced with bitterness. “In the past year, his only aim has been to destroy the door that leads into the fairy realm. If he does that, I’ll be trapped here.”
“But you’re trapped here already,” you say, “since the queen won’t let you return there.”
The prince suddenly locks his gaze on yours, and something in his eyes frightens you. “But there is a way through the door even without my mother’s help,” he says.
He steps toward you. “I just need the right potion.”
Breathless, you say, “And you want me to brew it.”
The prince is about to respond when footfalls echo through the passage. He hurries to the doorway and peers through.
“I will see you again soon,” he says over his shoulder, and then slips from the room.
Go to Tricks By Torchlight.
Kindled
“I don’t think you heartless,” you say, touching the prince’s hand. A spark goes all along your skin.
He looks down at your trailing fingers in consternation. “Then I’ve convinced you that my brother is not as innocent as he seems?”
“You’ve convinced me,” you say, pressing your hand against his palm, “that you don’t want to see him get well.”
The prince steps away, smiling bitterly. “But I have good reason for that. In the past year, his only aim has been to destroy the door that leads into the fairy realm. If he does that, I’ll be trapped here.”
“But you’re trapped here already,” you say, “since the queen won’t let you return there.”
The prince suddenly locks his gaze on yours, and something in his eyes frightens you. “But there is a way through the door even without my mother’s help,” he says.
He steps toward you. “I just need the right potion.”
Breathless, you say, “And you want me to brew it.”
The prince is about to respond when footfalls echo through the passage. He hurries to the doorway and peers through.
“I will see you again soon,” he says over his shoulder, and then slips from the room.
Go to Tricks By Torchlight.
Twisted
You shiver in the chill emanating from the stone walls. In such a dark and lonely place, you’re not sure if you can trust your own thoughts.
Footsteps sound in the passageway. You shrink back in dread. Suddenly, the prince’s form fills the doorway.
You tighten with anxiety. Is he here to help you or to taunt you?
“I thought I saw the guards drag my apothecary down here,” he says as he rushes in to wrap his cloak around you.
You pull the cloak tightly around you. It still holds the prince’s warmth, which you find comforting despite your surprise at seeing him.
He gives you an anxious look. “Did the guards catch you in my mother’s garden?”
“I managed to get what I needed from the garden,” you tell him. “But the duke had the guards bring me here.”
The prince’s wry smile seems to shift in the flickering light. “Now you see my brother for who he really is. Raised at court under the shadow of a queen who he can’t trust, he has become suspicious of all.”
With your heart in your throat, you say, “How long does he mean to keep me down here?”
The prince brushes his hand over your cloaked arm. “As long as he keeps you here, he can rely on you to brew an antidote for him whenever he needs it.”
Go to The Cryptic Contract.
Together
“Please,” the duke says. “You must believe me. The prince isn’t trustworthy. I am.”
“Then you don’t plan to keep me here?” you ask. “I’m free to go?”
The duke frowns. “I need you to brew the antidote. Isn’t that why you found a way into the queen’s garden?”
“I can more easily brew an antidote for you in my apothecary.”
“And I trust you,” the duke says, brushing a hand over your face. “I know you have gone to such great pains to help me.”
Lean into his touch? Go to Embrace.
Step back? Go to Evade.
The Cryptic Contract
Your mind reels. “I only ever meant to help the duke.”
“And you’ve done very well.” The prince’s gaze glimmers. He knows now that you can brew powerful potions. Is that what he’s thinking of?
You look to the dark tunnel. “Can you help me get past the guards?”
“Of course.” The torchlight lends the prince a burnished look so that you would almost say he’d been dipped in gold. “In time.”
His tone makes you anxious.
“First, I need you to brew a potion for me,” he says. “But until then, I can keep the duke away from you.”
You look up into the prince’s glimmering gaze. Does he really mean to keep you safe, or does he only want to keep your prowess for himself?
“The duke will expect me to brew his antidote,” you remind him.
The prince’s smile fades. “Consider yourself released from that contract.”
Your suspicion grows. “Why don’t you want me to brew an antidote for the duke?” you ask.
“Are you going to accuse me again of being heartless?” the prince asks, shifting away from you. “Even after you’ve seen what the duke is really like?”
His fiery stare transfixes you.
Drop your gaze? Go to Unsettled.
Touch his hand? Go to Kindled.
Troubled
“Please,” the duke says. “You must believe me. The prince isn’t trustworthy. I am.”
“Then you don’t plan to keep me here?” you ask. “I’m free to go?”
The duke frowns. “I need you to brew the antidote. Isn’t that why you found a way into the queen’s garden?”
“I want to help you. But I don’t know if I can trust you.”
The duke brushes a hand over your face. “Whatever my brother told you, you must forget. I wouldn’t hurt you.”
Lean into his touch? Go to Embrace.
Step back? Go to Evade.
Embrace
“I only want to save you from the queen,” you tell him. “I know she thrives on your misery.”
He draws you closer to him, and you feel the warmth of him through your cloak. “How can I thank you?” he murmurs.
He draws a hand under your chin and lifts your face to his. The torchlight at the edge of your vision is suddenly dazzling. He brushes his lips against yours, and heat blazes through you.
He leans back, but his arms are still strong around you. “I’ll take you to a room in the castle where you can brew the antidote.”
Anxiety knifes through you. “Why not let me go back to my apothecary?”
He frowns. “I can’t let the ingredients leave the castle grounds, not now that I finally have them. I need you stay here until the antidote is finished.”
You try to understand. He can’t bare to lose the chance at getting the antidote.
“I hear the guards,” he says. “I will go and send them away. Then I’ll show you to a place in the castle no one will find you.” He sweeps out of the room.
Go to Dark Passage.
Pity
“He told me the curse has changed you,” you say. “That you’re not the person you once were.”
The duke shakes his head, glowering. “You can’t trust my brother. He hates me. He’ll say anything to get what he wants. It’s his mind that’s twisted.”
And yet, it’s the duke who had you dragged to this cell. “Is the prince so manipulative?”
The duke takes in the sight of you draped in the prince’s cloak. “You must know.”
Your face heats. “I’m not a fool. I know why he’s kind to me. He wants me to brew a potion for him.”
“He’s more fairy than human, at least in mind. He thinks he can find a way to open the door to the fairy realm, but I can’t have that.”
“He says you plan to destroy that door. That you want to trap him here forever, where he’s miserable.”
The duke turns toward the torches and lets out a hiss of anger. “I don’t care what happens to him. But I can’t let the fairy realm continue to be a threat to my kingdom. If the queen should decide to gather allies and take my father’s throne…”
He shakes his head. “Whatever you do, you must not agree to brew a potion that will help him open the door to the fairy realm. A potion like that would be a very dangerous one for you to brew.” The duke sets his jaw. Is he afraid for you, or angry at having to share you with the prince?
“What do you mean, dangerous?”
“It would change you,” the duke says. “I don’t know exactly how. But I wouldn’t have him do that to you.”
You study his expression.
He seems to be telling the truth? Go to Together.
You’re not yet sure whether you can trust him? Go to Troubled.
Dark Passage
Your stomach is in knots. Will the duke really keep you from leaving the castle? But he’s only gone a few moments before the prince steals back into the room.
“I was waiting in the passage for him to leave,” the prince says breathlessly. “I heard everything.” He gives you a dark look.
“The duke means to keep me here until I brew an antidote,” you say, your throat tight.
“You see,” he says, “you can’t trust him.”
“But I have no choice.”
“You do have a choice.” The prince draws closer, his eyes glittering with greed. “You can choose instead to brew a potion for me.”
He holds out his hand to you. “Come with me.”
Your breath thickens in your lungs. You have a choice to make…
Will you go with the prince or stay with the duke?
End of Chapter 7.
Return to the beginning? Go to Start Here: Fire and Shadow.
Come back soon for Chapter 8: The Prisoner. You’re kept in the castle to brew a potion for either the duke or the prince, but if you can’t get the potion right, you fear what will become of you.