Where The Willow Grows || The Princes
The sun was setting on the second day of this New World-- a world of dark and fire. The Prince stood by the window of the home he’d been assigned to, looking out at the trees and their shadows, and he felt sick to his stomach for his real home-- the one that was stolen from him. The forest was weaponized with the demons who crawled through its branches; not even the Prince could go there after dark now.
He craved the stars, the grass, the river, the trees, more than ever. He longed to go outside and sleep with the fresh air tickling his face.
Inside, all he could hear were the ghosts.
Since he’d woken in this strange world, there had been whispers. He’d first thought it was the trees, calling for him, but when he’d listened, he could not make out the voices nor the words. They followed on his heel, a second shadow that he could not see. They came to him to the bathhouse and the market and lingered at the dinner table. He tried to ignore them. But like the rest of this world, it was becoming very very difficult to ignore. The Prince knew that he could not wait forever to figure out some alternative-- just as the voices, whoever they were, would not wait forever for Prince to answer them.
And his family was waiting for him to figure out the answer, he knew this was true. He’d told all of his slaves, on the first day after Urania’s speech at the Agora, that they needn’t worry. In the house, they could move freely and he would not order them. He had asked them for this gift of time, so he could figure out what to do. On this eve of the second day though, looking out at the sunset, the Prince was nowhere closer to knowing how to overcome this.
He wanted… to talk to Friend Owl. Or Clarion or Grandmother Willow. He wanted-- to talk to his son.
So he moved through the house toward Bambi’s room, the whispers on his heel. The door was closed and he knocked gently before he pushed it open. Bambi was inside, his lantern near his bed was lit. For a brief moment, the Prince’s heart did not ache so. Because at least Bambi was still safe, and above all else, he must protect his son.
“I was... just coming to say good night,” he said, still lingering just inside the door.
Behind him, a shadow moved.
