Briar woke up feeling the cold air brushing his skin and the trembling person in his arms. He frowned as he brought his hand towards her forehead.
"Looks like she has a fever." He muttered as he adjusted the blanket to cover the girl. He then got up and walked to wards the edge of the falls. He dipped a hand towel.
After squeezing the excess water, he came back towards their makeshift bed and carefully placed the wet towel on the girl's forehead.
"You should have agreed to take my offer." He said in a quiet voice while brushing the stray locks away from her face.
Earlier, he had offered to share his mana to the girl so that she could recover quickly. But Atropa declined.
"I apologize… but I cannot take away his highness's mana." She said while a blush marred her cheeks. "I haven't shared mana from anyone, not even from my own master."
Briar was disappointed with her refusal. But he smiled inwardly knowing that Atropa was not the type of witch who would take mana from someone else.
There are three ways of sharing one's mana. One is through physical contact which requires most intimacy-which was sexual intercourse. The other one was through a kiss and the last was using a magical tool.
The first one was the most effective way to share mana, since it has the maximum contact and the person sharing it could give the receiver an ample amount to augment their mana level.
Whereas the second one was commonly used, but not as effective as the former. The mana which could be shared through a kiss is minimal. It works as a first aid at best.
And the last one which was using magical tool could only be utilized through emergency cases. A person would store his mana in the magical tool and the receiver would use the magical tool to get the shred mana.
The magical tool is quite expensive and only a selected few has it. Unfortunately, though Briar is from the royal family, he was not able to acquired such item which was reserved for military purposes.
Briar had offered to share mana through a kiss knowing that his companion has been depleted. He had wanted to offer the first option since it would be more convenient.
They could keep their bodies warm through the physical contact and he could give Atropa the mana that she needed.
However, he knew that she would reject such an indecent proposal. Besides he is not in top shape.
Due to the injuries he obtained during the fight and the brunt of the impact he received from plunging into the waters, he knew that he could only share a little bit of his mana.
He had opted to offer the second option, but the girl still refused.
"Let us just hope that you could recover your mana once the sun is up." He said as he nursed her.
The chirping of birds and the warm rays of the sun greeted the prince when he woke up. He was a bit bewildered when he allowed his eyes to roam the place.
"I thought we were still inside the labyrinth. How on earth did we get to the forest?" he asked himself as he looked at the waterfall which they had emerged last night.
The falls was breath taking as the waters cascaded down.
"We were quite lucky that we did not bump into those huge rocks." He shuddered as he focused his sight towards another area.
Briar's eyes drank the luscious green that seemed to have enclosed the place. The sun was not that harsh and only a few rays peek through the thick foliage.
The trees were towering around them and the even the thick roots that were intertwining above ground had reached almost twenty feet.
Obviously, the prince could not see the path leading outside. Unless he would climb the gigantic roots and trunk, he would not be able to scout the area.
His interest shifted towards his companion when he felt her stir.
"Finally, you are awake." He then greeted her. "Good morning! How do you feel?"
Atropa rose and greeted him. "Good morning, your highness! I am okay, I think… "
"It looks like you haven't recovered your mana yet. Are you sure, you are okay?" he asked while giving her a once over.
"I am quite fine, your highness." She answered weakly and tried to get up. However, she fell down while clutching the blanket.
Briar blushed as he noticed that he was still undressed. But the prince did not hesitate in catching her.
"Be careful. It seemed like you are still depleted. I think it is a bout time, I share my mana to you. I can still manage to share-"
"But, your highness!" she protested.
"If you stay weakened like this, we may not be able to get out from here." He reasoned out. "I will be needing you to cast high level spells if the situation calls for it, so you need to be prepared."
With his reasoning and as well as his coaxing, she eventually had given in. They needed to get out of the place and return to the palace.
Briar gazed at her while giving her time to decided. Atropa took a deep breath as if to calm herself. She blushed as she whispered, "okay."
"Accept!" Briar shouted and a pentagram formed underneath them. The prince closed the distance and held her gently. He lifted her chin and brought her close.
At first, he just brought his lips to her and made little teasing contact as if gauging her reaction. At the slight contact, he could feel some of his mana flow towards her.
He knew that Atropa was hesitating at first, since she refused to open her mouth. So, Briar teased her by nibbling her upper lip and then her lower lip. He then licked her lips as if asking permission to open for him.
Closing her eyes, Atropa finally opened her mouth and granted him access.
Briar took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. At the same time his mana had burst forth and was transferred to the girl.
They were both breathless after they had separated.
"Feeling better?" He asked while holding her. He was a bit tired from sharing his mana to her. But he did not have any ounce of regret.
"much better, I will be able to cast spells now." She said after she had assessed herself.
"heal!" the first spell she had cast after recovering was to heal the prince.
Briar was taken aback from the sudden regeneration of his wounds.