because I was so small, and able to run in between the cracks of boulders in the forest. Finally I ran into a rock that had a large space underneath it. He tried to claw at me, but couldn’t reach inside the rocks. He stood up on his hind legs, and growled pacing back and forth.
Finally I thought that he had left, and I started to move out from my hiding spot, when his long arm reached into the space and clawed my shoulder. I screamed in agony. His claws were still in my shoulder trying to pull me out, as I tried to kick and hit him with my arm. Nothing I did was working. I was screaming frantically hoping that someone would hear me. Finally I bit into the arm that was holding onto me as hard as I could. He let out a large snarl and let me go. I sank back into the space far out of his reach. Then the rock began to move. I screamed, horrified as he tried to move the rock. My heart was beating fast, and I struggled for breath as I started to become light headed. Before long, I found myself fighting against the darkness that seemed to be engulfing me. “Don’t fall asleep,” I kept saying to myself, “Don’t fall asleep.”
William
I had been forbidden from the study of becoming a knight. I had first learnt of my fate the same night that my father died. I had pretended to fall asleep that night, because I wanted to be alone, and the Queen was intent on soothing me. I finally realized that if she thought I was asleep, she would let me be. So I pretended to sleep, as she and the King discussed what they would do with me.
The thought of being raised as a prince wasn’t so bad. I loved the King. In many ways, he had already been raising me since I was a baby. But I wanted to be a knight like my father. I came from a line of knights, and I was proud of my family history. I tried to muffle my cries. My whole world was being destroyed so fast. First I lost my father, and now I was going to be forced to give up my dreams, and live a life that I did not want. The Queen rushed in as soon as she heard me crying. I pretended like I hadn’t heard what they were talking about, and let her sooth me back to sleep again. But I couldn’t sleep that night.
When the king finally did tell me what my fate was going to be, I pretended once again like I hadn’t heard what they were talking about the night before. I begged and pleaded for him to change his mind. I told him, how much it meant to me, and how I had never wanted anything else.
But he wouldn’t hear of it. He said that he owed it to my father to raise me this way.
The first couple of years were the worst. I missed my father, and the life that we had together. The King and Queen had been good to me, but nothing could compare to what I had with my father.
My mother had died when I was a baby and my father had raised me. I grew up idolizing him, dreaming of the day that I would become a knight . Becoming a knight was all that mattered to me. I had no interest in an education, or court life. I’d rather be out riding, and working in the stables, then sitting at a boring banquet, talking to people that I had no interest in talking to. But the King gave his orders, and I would obey them. I tried to enjoy it, I really did. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. The King had said that maybe I would marry one of the princesses. I hope that if I did, it would be Catherine.
Isabel and I didn’t get along. I could tell she wasn’t happy having to share her parent’s attention. At first she tried to play with me, but I had no interest. She was bossy, and arrogant, and she was always trying to act like she was better.
When I first began my education, we were in the same class. She rubbed it in my face that she was younger, and more educated than me. I hated the classes, but the King ordered me to go, so there I was. I learnt quickly, which I think egged her on.
The King would often come to our class to talk with our tutor. I liked our tutor, he was smart and he encouraged me even though I was behind. He always made a point of telling the King how well I was doing. But it irritated me that Isabel could never hear someone compliment me in front of the King, without pointing out how much further ahead she was.
It was during this time that I became friends with Catherine. I was embarrassed my first day in class when I didn’t know how to read at all. Isabel made fun of me relentlessly for it, and I felt ashamed. It was after that first day that Catherine approached me and offered to help.
“Why do you want to help me?” I asked her.
“Because you helped me in the stables,” she replied.
I used to meet with her after every class, and she helped me with my lessons. Before long I was catching up to other children at rapid speed. I had always gotten along well with other children that resided in the palace. But suddenly, once I was officially a member of the royal family, none of them wanted anything to do with me anymore. I was lonely. I had no friends that lived outside the palace. I had been raised with the children of the palace hands, and they now resented me.
It hurt. I tried to make friends with some of the other children in the class, but they didn’t want anything to do with me either. Catherine quickly became my one and only friend.
I often wondered if that was way Isabel hated me so much. Catherine was her only friend as well. Sometimes, some of the other children pretended to be her friend, but they were only using her to get close to the King. I felt bad for her at times. I had always disliked her before, but part of me felt bad for her. I now knew what it was like to be trapped in different worlds. Part of her was just an ordinary child, who sought acceptance, but she was the princess. A child in the royal family can never really be an ordinary child. I guess that’s what drew me to Catherine. She understood that. I was at least happy that I had an ordinary life for the first seven years. I missed it greatly. The King and Queen lavished me with praise and gifts, as if they were trying to make up for the loss of my father.
The Queen quickly became the mother that I had never known. At first I hated her because she smothered me so much, and it seemed like she was always reprimanding me for some lack of protocol. But like my studies, I dedicated myself to learning quickly. Before long I was forgetting what it was like not to be prince, and as time went on, I began to see the King, not as the King, but also as a father. Like any child, I sought their acceptance and approval, and relished in it.
As time went by though, I always maintained my love for the stables. I didn’t know why, but I felt drawn to the horses. I was working in the stables the day that Isabel took off into the forest. She had been arguing with her father, and ran off. I saw the King yell to her as she ran towards the stables. He turned his back, and threw his hands up in the air. It was a rare thing for the King to do-as if admitting defeat. But I knew that he was frustrated with Isabel, and must have been at the end of his patience. I’m sure he assumed that she was running into the stables, and not the forest. He began to walk away, and I was starting to go back to work. I expected Isabel to come running in every second. That’s what she always did when she was upset.
She used to run into the stables, and hide in the stacks of hay for hours. It annoyed me, but at least she didn’t bother me. After a few minutes, I couldn’t help but wonder why I hadn’t seen her come in yet. I poked my head back outside the stables and glanced around. That’s when I saw her running into the forest. I panicked, and my eyes searched for the king. He was walking back towards the palace.
I yelled to one of the other hands in the stable. I told him to run to the King, and tell him where the Princess was heading. I could see her running deeper into the forest. Within a matter of minutes, she would be completely out of sight. I knew that I had been forbidden from being a knight, and that I would be in great trouble for picking up a sword, but I did it anyways. There was no time to wait. By the time the other hand got the King, and they got help, it might be too late. I grabbed what weapons and armor I could find in immediate sight, and ran into the forest after the Princess.
I panicked when I couldn’t find her right away. Then I heard her scream. I ran towards the sound of the scream. I reached a stream, and found her hair ribbons laying on top of some sticks.
My heart sank, and I felt sic
k. It was too late. Then I noticed a tear of her dress on a tree in front of me and walked towards it. My heart raced, had she been torn to pieces by an oar demon? I noticed another one up further ahead, and followed it. I continued to follow the pieces of the dress, until I heard more screaming. She was still alive. I readied myself for attack. I couldn’t see her, but it was obvious where she was now. I jumped onto the back of the beast, and began stabbing him with a dagger. I caught him off guard, and I knew I was lucky for that.
He began to thrash around, trying to throw me off his back. I silently prayed that the commotion wouldn’t get the attention of more demons. The demon turned his back and suddenly slammed up against the rock, crushing me and knocking the wind out of me. I screamed when he dug his claw into my leg. The hand that I had the dagger in, was crushed up against the rock.
I began to furiously beat him with me other hand, as he continued to throw his back against the rock. I reached around his face, and dug my fingers into his eye. He let out a blood curling yell, and fell forward. I fell off his back, and onto the ground. Blood dripped from his eye. He snarled and move back towards me. I backed up against the wall of the rock,