SECTION III - The Stories

The Forest Prince
Chapter One - The Path

        It was a quiet morning, broken only by the tiny chitter of chipmunks and the brazen calls of the birds. The wind picked up, a slight spring breeze, with a hint of warmth to single the coming of summer.
        The air spanned out, a deep cerulean blue deepening into sky blue with wisps of white clouds spread far and wide. The trees rustled, voices echoed, as children appeared, running out of a schoolhouse, the yard long since beaten by the many feet into the earth. The crowd merged and then separated, groups forming of good friends. The last one to leave was the oldest there, a young woman by the age of sixteen. Her auburn hair was placed up in a bun, tendrils trailing out from it by its messy posture, her bangs curled and long against her eyelashes, spreading to pull out from her ears. Her green eyes twinkled as she stood poised.
        She was a sight to behold. Not by the beauty of her but by her decor. Clad in menswear, she wore a white, long-sleeved shirt cuffed by black buttons. Her vest was as black as her pants, though it was more tight fitting against her chest then it would for men.  This she left unbuttoned, the right side having a free breast pocket. The vest ended in a point on both front and back but the back was the one to have twin tails. She wore pants that were tucked into heavy brown, leather boots, old and worn, tied by black, thick lace. Her belt was brown, to match her boots, the clasp a simple silvery gray rectangle. Against the world, she was acting far from what was expected and accepted.
        Not that she cared.
        "Hey!" She shouted to another girl, a good four years younger. However, knowing they were at least on speaking terms with each other, she thought she´d ask to join their game. "Can I toss the ball?" She asked hopefully.
        The girl was a round girl, her face jolly with bright brown eyes, pink cheeks, and a red nose. She sniffled as she looked toward her companion, a slight, pale girl with black hair and black eyes. "I don´t know, Savannah.." The girl began hesitantly, spying the group of boys whispering to themselves. "I don´t want to get into trouble.. again." She added the last purposely, raising an eyebrow slightly.
        "I´ll be leaving this place by summer´s coming. Surely you can allow me a moment of my last childhood?" Savannah asked reasonably. Once more the other girl looked at the other behind her. "So, Matilda?"
        "Fine..." Matilda threw her the ball, nodding to her friend. "Minnie, head on out, okay?"
        "I´ll throw it easy!" Savannah said brightly.
        "Yea.. right," Matilda rolled her eyes as Savannah aimed for Minnie. She reared back, grinning widely as she threw with all her strength.
        Minnie didn´t even bother to capture, she jumped to the side with a shriek, watching the ball fall over the short cliff. "I told you, didn´t I? Why do you always have to bother us!?" Minnie glared at Savannah. Though all of the children were younger than her, they always acted like they were the older, the higher status grouping.
        Savannah grinned. "I´m sorry. Guess I don´t know my own strength but I´ll get it for you."
        "It went over the edge," Matilda began.
        "It´s a short fall," Savannah pointed out, moving toward the edge. She peered down, the slight steep having the landing about eight feet below. There was a gushing stream, the ball caught in a pile of rocks. "See, it´s not that bad!"
        She jumped down only to trip on her feet, falling into the stream. She was splattered in water and dirt, her slippery fingers attempting to grasp that ball. But it slipped and took her with it, her face landing in very cold water. She gave a shout of surprise before she shifted, finally standing up. She was half-soaked, caked in mud as she held up the ball. "I got it!"
        There was a soft muttering as Matilda peered down. "You´re a mess. The school marm is going to have a fit again."
        Savannah shrugged. "She´ll be happy that I´m going to be gone soon. I´ll bet.." She began to climb, her wet hands making it a touch difficult to move up. "That she´s..." She nearly lost her balance, falling forward to dig her nails in. "Counting the minutes, don´t you think?"
        She rested on her hands and knees, breathing deeply. "Wow.. that was difficult but I suppose it was cause I was wet, huh?" She offered the ball again. "Here, you want me to throw it again?"
        "No!" Minnie snatched it. "Go play by yourself. You should be acting your age!"
        "Yea..." Savannah stood up carefully, watching them with half-closed eyes. "People always tell me that." She looked over toward the forest, as if by habit and frowned before turning toward it, studying the landscape.
        "Hey," she said slowly. "Does that look like a path?" She jutted her finger out, toward the forest. To the others´ eyes, there was nothing but wilderness, not even a hint of a path.
        "There´s no path there," Matilda said tiredly. "The recess is almost over, let´s go, Minnie."
        "There´s a path!" Savannah argued but with no one to argue with, she realized how useless it was to talk to herself. "Fine. After class, I´ll check it out."
        She was about to enter when the school marm slowly marched out. "Ms. Eunice, I was playing catch and.."
        She stopped talking as Ms. Eunice methodically moved the cane against her palm, the smacking echoing in the air. "I would´ve thought that when you reached your sixteenth birthday, there may have had been some sense in you. And yet, here you are, a childish burden. How can I teach such a filthy mongrel, Ms. Lewis?"
        "I was trying to catch myself, I fell..." Savannah faltered as Ms. Eunice approached with deadly calm. "In the front of the class, now."
        She flinched as she moved forward. She kept her back straight and she even winked at Charles, who glared at her with aggressive hatred.
        "I think ten lashes will do, don´t you? Make sure you count," Ms. Eunice stated. She raised the cane and it flew against Savannah´s back.
        "One.." She wheezed, refusing to close her eyes.
        "Two...three.... four.." It was getting harder to talk. ‘For an old lady, the woman had a strong grip on that cane,´ Savannah thought darkly.
        "Five.. six...se..seven..." She felt pain climb up her spine, her head was dizzy.
        "Eight... nine.. ten.." The last number came out  as a whisper, her face had gone white from pain as she straightened again.
        "Go to the corner and stand there until I tell you to not do so," Ms. Eunice turned to the others. "Let´s get on with our lessons, shall we?"
        Savannah stood alone, counting in her head until she lost all concept of time. It took a loud, "You can leave now," from her teacher as she picked up her books. The wetness and dirt had dried, clinging at her clothes as she walked out bravely.
        "Hey, hey," Charles was a tall boy, just around a year younger but he loomed over all the others. He was the head in all the games, and that included making fun of Savannah. He lurched toward her, smirking darkly. "How do you feel?"
        "I´m fine," Savannah answered coolly. "Not that you would personally know, being the teacher´s pet and all."
        His eyebrows slowly knitted together. He had filthy brown hair, messy brown eyes, and olive skin breached out in hives. He wasn´t lean but he was well-muscled, something he proved in instants like this.
        He wasn´t any sort of gentleman as he slugged her, sending her spiraling down the stairs. However, once was usually enough as him and his friends chortled, leaving her to lie on the ground. She moved to rest on her back, her eye throbbing. She was going to get a black eye, no doubt about that, she mused.
        She moved her gaze toward the forest and remembered that she wanted to investigate the path. She hid her books from sight in a safe place near school, thankful for a free day without homework. She took off, climbing down the cliff and running across the narrow stream, following her eyesight.
        It didn´t lead very far, that path she had envisioned. She was soon pushing against bushes, tripping on tree roots, and jumping at the sounds of cracking twigs only to realize it was her doing.
        She finally was near a wide clearing, opening up in her front. Before she could see more ahead, her foot hit something that gave a clear ring before there was a whoosh of air, as a twined net flung up into the air. She shrieked, her heart leaping into her chest as she ran around it. She heard various snaps, hopping from foot to foot, praying she wouldn´t be killed by anything.
        There was a hidden rope that she tripped just right over as she heard the snap of it´s break and something crashed around her as she screamed in terror. She looked around, metal bars surrounding her as she attempted to lift the man-made cage. To no avail, she began to panic as she heard footsteps coming closer.
        "I have to hide.." She whimpered, looking around widely. She had nowhere to hide so she decided that if she at least couldn´t see the last few moments of her life, that would be all right.
        She curled into a tight ball, hiding her head in her arms as she shivered, giving off a frightened whimper as she prayed for a quick death.
        She felt a whip of wind, as the sound of movement echoed dimly around her before there was a lengthy grunt and then steps closing in on her.
        "Are you all right?" She peeked up, her eyes wide before she blinked, taking in the prim looking man. He was old, his white hair pulled back into a tight tail, but his features were still youthful, his dark gray eyes glittering with nearly concealed mirth. "I´m sorry about the traps. Please, come inside to clean up?" He offered.
        "All right.." Savannah smiled weakly, her heart finally slowing down. She followed slowly, her eyes widening more and more as the land opened up, to reveal a hidden plain deep into the bowels of the forest. And at its center was a mansion, a three-story, old building made of wood, metal, and stone. The porch wrapped around one side to the other, the trees behind it dotted in flowers of colors. She found the path she had thought she´d seen, visible until it reached the beginning of the forest trees, melting from sight the farther away from the large home. It was an off-white, the rims dipped in a dark yellow, nearly gold as the man opened the door.
        "Please, rest your feet," he offered her into the parlor room. "I will be right back," he promised.
        Savannah´s curiosity was too much to handle as she tiptoed out and found the stairs. She climbed up the stairs and wandered till she found another set of stairs upward. The air was getting cooler, the air becoming slightly stagnant as she peeked in the heavily decked rooms. She found herself in a young boy´s room, looking around in interest at the various toys and books.
        She spied the child´s bed, looking underneath to find even more collected down there. She pulled out in bunches, more toys than she had ever imagined, let alone seen. She was so engrossed, it took a moment for the sounds of steps to register before she panicked, climbing underneath the bed to hide from the person.
        The first thing she saw were heavy, black boots, tied tightly around strong looking calves as the toes moved away from her before slowly turning to face her eyes straight on.
        "You´re all right, you can come out now," The masculine voice was gentle, soft as Savannah mused her options. She only had one as she scurried out, crawling out carefully before straightening.
        His expression delighted her as his own startling blue eyes raised his eyebrows, the look of sudden shock before it melted into a brooding look. His raven black hair was pulled back into a tight braid, trailing just past his shoulders as his toe tapped unceremoniously.
        "Ah..." he stated before turning. "Henry, who is this.. child?"
        Henry, she fast learned, was the man who had helped her. She butted in though, wanting to clarify something. "Just so you know, I´m not a child."
        The man eyed her. "Awfully small, aren´t you?"
        "I didn´t eat all my vegetables," She growsed. "Not like I was fed it. I´m sixteen, by the way, so I´m not a child."
        The man rolled his eyes. "Henry?"
        "Sir, she was.." Henry coughed delicately. "Captured by the metal trap."
        "Well, at least we know it works," the man mused before turning toward her. He crossed his arms, looking as if he wanted to yell but he spoke roughly to her. "I´m sorry for the problem. But now that you´ve proven you´re all right, I think perhaps you should..."
        Henry coughed again, a delicate ‘a-hem´ as the man stared at him. "What is it, Henry?" He asked through slightly gritted teeth.
        "Perhaps the lady would like a wash and bite to eat before leaving?" Henry offered.
        The man took in the disheveled look. "I suppose that would be all right. You take her then," the man wove his hand, gesturing for Savannah to be led out.
        "So, Henry, right? I´m Savannah Lewis.." She began as she was led out and away. The man stood there for a moment before he turned, his toe hitting a small box. He knelt down, taking notice of it as he opened it, a soft lullaby echoing, etching into the room as he rested on the heels of his feet, watching it with an almost hungry look.


....Return to Section I - The Beginning?
....Return to Section III - The Stories?

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      Worlds Within (title/site) 2003 - 2009 Wildnature. All stories, characters, writings by and (C) Wildnature.