The days I could roam free with my animal friends in the forest were some of the best days. In some ways, I was granted freedom that some people dreamed of having. No responsibilities, no worries or stressors weighing me down, and a world I could run outside and explore.

But like most things in life, there were limits to my freedom. I was, at all times, to stay where I could see the tip of the tower.

But like most people, I would stretch the rules a bit. Most days I would ignore the rule altogether. Nobody ever checked on me- at least I didn't think they did- so no one ever knew how far away I really was.

Besides, most of my animal friends weren't comfortable being so close to the palace, so it was simply easier for me to join them in the woods.

If you knew your way around, the forest was nothing to be frightened of. It was a beautiful place where, if you stopped and focused hard enough, you could see the magic it had to offer.

Today the air was warm and the sun bright as it shone through the trees. Rays of gold filtered through the branches and created a beautiful sight on the forest floor.

Fox was leading the pack today, scurrying ahead of me and Squirrel, who scampered along side. Bluebird and Dove sang above us merrily. I didn't know where Fawn was, but he usually showed up later.

We reached the meadow and tumbled down the hill till we arrived at the bottom.

"So what should we play today?" I pondered aloud.

Fox and Squirrel chased each other playfully as Bluebird and Dove settled on a nearby tree branch.

"Calm down you two," I told them. "Maybe we should play tag."

Fox and Squirrel quieted down a bit, giving me time to think.

"We played that yesterday. How about hide-and-seek?" I suggested instead.

There was silence from the crowd. Fox yawned and Bluebird and Dove stopped singing.

"Fine," I said crossing my arms. "What do you want to play?"

Fox perked up as if he thought I'd never ask. It seemed that he had an idea in mind because he darted from his spot to the edge of the meadow and back.

"You wanna have a race?" I asked.

Squirrel and the others seemed excited by this, so I agreed and we took our places.

"Ready?" I asked, preparing myself.

I was worried that I wouldn't be quick enough, seeing how I wasn't the fastest one here, but this was mainly all fun and games.

"Go!"

We took off towards the edge of the meadow, where the forest began again.

Starting off, Fox was in the lead with me and Squirrel trailing behind. Eventually, though, I began to catch up. Sweat began to form on my brow and down my back as I was right on Fox's tail. Bluebird and Dove cheered from the starting point, encouraging us on. If I could push myself a bit more, I might be able to be neck-and-neck with Fox.

The edge of the meadow was approaching and I wasn't close enough to Fox yet, but my stamina was low and I was beginning to fall back. By the time I reached the forest, I had to stop and catch my breath.

Though I know I lost, it was entertaining to watch Fox snap at Squirrel when he turned around earlier than he was supposed to.

I was just about ready to race back to the starting point and accept third place when I heard something behind me.

Startled, I whirl around but relax when I realized it's a friendly looking man.

"Hi." I smiled.

"I didn't mean to scare you." The man said apologetically.

He was tall and well built- he looked like a stone mason or a blacksmith.

"That's ok." I gave him a questioning look. "Are you lost? We don't get many strangers around here?"

"Oh no, I'm not lost. Just passing through." He flashed a white smile at me. "What are you doing out here?"

"Playing with my animal friends," I replied brightly.

"Oh, you've made friends with the animals, have you? It's nice to have friends, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Do you have any friends?"

"I sure do, they aren't with me right now, but I have 'em." He grinned at me. "How old are you?"

"Eight." I beamed coming closer.

"That's a nice age. Maybe we could be friends." He offered.

My face lit up in eagerness. "Really!? My name's Xalale. What's yours?"

"Oh, that's not important. Besides you won't need to use it."

Confused, I was about to ask him why I wouldn't need it if we were going to be friends until I was yanked by the hair.

"Ow! What are you doi-" I asked trying to break away.

"Shut up." He barked.

I was more confused than ever. Why was he being so rough now? He was smiling at me a second ago. My mind just couldn't wrap itself around the situation.

I tried to loosen his iron grip on my hair, but to no avail- he was much stronger than me. Kicking and thrashing didn't help either, it only agitated him, making him grip my hair that much tighter. 

"Let me go! You're hurting me!" But he wasn't going to listen to me.

I didn't know where he was dragging me to, but by now my mind had caught up and I knew I was in trouble. This stranger didn't want to be my friend, he wanted to hurt me.

Finally, he had enough of my resistance and pinned me to a tree.

"Listen up, because I'm only gonna say this once. Be quiet or I'll make you be quiet. I don't wanna hear a peep from you. Got it." He growled.

The once bright, friendly smile on his face was replaced with a cold snarl. He seemed much more threatening now than just a few minutes before.

"You're not my friend, you're mean," I yelled at him.

An explosion of white, hot pain erupted across my face as I fell to the ground in shock. That was the first time anyone had ever hit me. The world spun for what felt like forever before settling down. The side of my head throbbed in unbearable pain and I couldn't stop the tears from coming, even though the man told me to shut up.

Yanking me to my feet, he grabbed my hair again and continued to drag me along.

After a while, I quieted down to a low sob and stopped writhing so much. My feet were killing me, but I didn't say a word.

We arrived at what must be his horse. He picked me up and put me on top then mounted the horse himself and took off.

As we rode, I tried to keep track of the area we traveled through, but after a while I couldn't recognize the area because I'd never been this far.

We must've ridden for about an hour and a half before we stopped for a break. I don't get off the horse until he orders me to.

"You got three minutes top to do your business. Go."

It took me a second to realize what he was talking about.

"I'm not gonna give you another chance, now go." He shoved me toward the nearby bushes.

As I snuck behind the bushes and pulled down my pants, I couldn't help think of the heroes in my bed time stories. This was the kind situation that they would often come across. Brave and fearless, they dealt with people like that man.

If I didn't feel like a hero before, I definitely didn't feel like one now. Defenseless and weak, I was nothing like the strong warriors in my stories. This situation wouldn't faze them, they would fight back.

"Finish up and come on." He ordered.

Though I'm sure it hadn't been three minutes, I pulled my pants up and came out of the bushes.

We climbed on top the horse again and began to wherever he was taking me. I lost track of time and dozed off a bit, waking up to the sun beginning to set. My legs had fallen asleep and my butt was hurting.

I wanted to ask where we were going but kept my mouth shut- my sore head a present reminder. Fortunately, I didn't have to ask. We veered off to the side of the path, over to a small clearing in the woods. The man instructed me to stay on the horse until I'm told to get off.

The forest was beginning to get dark and the temperature dropping. I watched as the man built and lit a small fire. He took out some supplies from the bags that were on the horse. Laying out a thin blanket and putting a pot over the fire, filled with water, he finally ordered me to come down.

The only remaining light in the sky was a few streaks of pink and purple.

My mother was probably worried now. What was she thinking? How would she find me?

I watched as the man boiled some water then added some meager ingredients to it. The broth didn't look appetizing at all, but I didn't complain when he handed me a bowl.

I guess I stared at him too long because he snarled at me.

"I thought you were raised in a palace. Didn't that tyrant mother of yours teach you any manners."

I glanced down at the fire but looked back up.

"Sorry."

He continued eating his broth as I surveyed the forest.

"My mother's not a tyrant. She's really nice."

He scoffed. "You must be seeing a different person then because that's not what the rest of us witness. But what would I expect? You're her son."

The way he said this confused me, as well as the rest of his statement.

"What do you mean? Who's the rest of us?" I asked.

Setting down his bowl, he shook his head in a disapproving manner.

"I know you're young, but are you clueless too?"

The question was rhetorical, but I felt the need to answer it. He cut me off though.

"I guess a bastard child like you would be a bit slow."

I felt like what he said was suppose to be insulting, but I couldn't help my curiosity.

"What's a bastard?"

He gave me a hard stare.

"A child who doesn't have a father."

"Oh." I looked at him. "Are you bastard too?"

It was an innocent question. I didn't know it was the wrong thing to say- I didn't feel that the word was bad. It was true, I didn't have a father- none that I knew of.

But the man didn't feel the same, he reached across the small fire and grabbed me by the shirt. His face was twisted with anger as he spoke.

"Watch your mouth, boy." He shoved me back.

Glancing away again, silence settled over.

"I don't know my father, but I know that he's not anything like you."

I knew I shouldn't have said it, but I couldn't hold it back. I may never know my father, but I could hope he was nothing like this man.

Reaching across the fire, he grabbed me by the shirt again and another sharp explosion of white hot pain erupted across my face.

I muffled my cries the best I could, so not to upset him, but this only made him more agitated. He walked over to me and grabbed a fistful of my hair. He made sure to yank me as he drugged me over to a tree. Leaving me there for a second, he returned with some rope which he used to tie me to the tree.

"There. Now I don't wanna hear a word or noise coming from you the entire night."

Only silent tears flowed and I gave him a weary nod.

The man returned to the fire and began setting up a blanket to sleep on. I watched, cold and scared, from where I was tied.

"What are you going to do with me in the morning?" I asked him tearfully.

He took a second to sit up and glare at me but didn't respond.

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked softer.

Silence was my only answer. He laid back down, staring up at the night sky.

"Go to sleep."

This gave me no comfort throughout the cold, dark night. It also didn't help that I was tied to a tree and expected to sleep. Instead of trying to sleep, I was formulating a plan on how to escape before morning struck.

I looked around for any useful objects on the forest floor that could possibly be used. A nearby stick caught my eye. It was thick and sharp looking. I tried unsuccessfully to stretch my legs and get the stick closer to me. I failed each time, but I was determined so I keep at it until my legs finally captured the stick. It took a few more attempts to drag the stick up to the rest of my body- in particular, my hands.

Throughout the entire process, I kept my eyes and ears open for if the man was about to stir. Not knowing whether or not he was a light sleeper, my movements had to be of low volume.

The process took an entirety and on top of that, I was getting hungry and feeling quite drowsy. The rope tied around my stomach was also very tight and every time I moved or leaned forward, it would cut into me.

Eventually, though, my hard work paid off and I got the stick to one of my hands and managed to begin cutting the rope.

Even though I didn't cut the rope completely, I could pull my hand out and try to free the rest of me.

I was exhausted and terrified as the sky began to warm with pale colors that filled it. Morning was almost upon us. The man would be waking up soon and I needed to put some distance between us.

Finally, I could snap out of the restraints of the rope and get on my feet. Now I needed to get out of there.

I thought about riding the horse back, but I didn't know how to ride a horse yet. Secondly, I wasn't entirely sure how to get back. I decided to just follow the path we had previously been on and hopefully find a nearby village or town.

As I began to sneak off into the woods, I cautiously watched myself since the floor was littered with noisy obstacles.

Just as I'm about to dash off into the woods, a loud 'snap' underfoot broke the treasured silence I was so desperate to keep.

I thought about taking off right there but instead looked back to see if I woke him. I should've taken off.

The man groggily, at first, stirred from his sleep, looking around to see what made the disruption. Finally, he came to his senses and glanced over at where he had tied me up. All this time, my body had frozen up and I didn't breathe until he glared at me.

"Hey!" Quickly getting up, anger rolled in his eyes.

I didn't wait a second longer to take off into the woods.

Dawn was approaching and the light was starting to break through the trees' branches, though much of the darkness remained.

My body felt heavy as I tried to outrun the man. But the lack of sleep, terror gripping my body, and soreness finally caught up with me and I couldn't escape him.

The crushing feeling of defeat and doom is all I could think about as he firmly grabbed me. I knew I was done for- I had crossed his patience the last time.

"You little bastard! I'm gonna slit your throat."

In one quick action, he pulled out a sharp knife and held it to my throat. No words or screams came out of my mouth as I was frozen in fear. I didn't want to see him drag the knife across my throat, so I squeezed my eyes shut.

Suddenly I heard a something sharp hit something else. I waited for the blade to be dragged across my skin, but nothing happened.

"Xalale?"

I opened my eyes and was greeted by an ice statue of the man. He had been frozen.

I looked from behind the statue and rushed over to where my mother stood.

She held me as I cried and shook- she always did. I couldn't even say anything to her, still shocked, terrified from the near death experience.

"I'm so glad you're safe. Are you ok, are you hurt?"

She pulled back to inspect me. I cringed in pain when she touched the tender side of my head.

"Come on, we're going home."

Home, the word was so warm, I couldn't wait to get back. I wanted to see Swethyna again and sleep in my own bed and have a regular meal. I felt the safest of all holding my mother's hand again.

I don't know how she found me, but I thanked the fates she did and at the right time.

Swethyna was just as relieved to see me as I was to see her. I could tell she was close to tears when I rambled through my terrifying event, but she was just happy that I was safe.

My mother was scared about me, I couldn't tell, but she tried not to show as much. She kept saying how much calmer she felt now that she had me here.

As I went to bed that night, she held my hand as she read a story.

"I love you, momma," I told her before she got up to leave.

"I love you too."

She paused before she left my side.

"Xalale. I would feel better if you didn't play so far from the palace now on. Stay where someone can see you."

"Okay, momma."

She nodded then left.

I never wanted to be so far from the palace and my mother again. I could still play outside with my animal friends but, it would have to closer to the palace.

Experiences like this scared me, but they also reminded me of what a wonderful mother I had.