After the little stunt he pulled, his fear had struck him hard. Dread wore him down, and he barely left his room. How can he hide from his father if he can't even stand up to a cloak? His thoughts were loud as they argued day and night, sending echoing voices to his ears.

…”You are weak. You are pathetic. You will never amount to anything!” The voices screamed.

…”You will never make it. When Sir Gorou get's back you will surely die.” They hissed. He sat in the corner and covered his ears, but it didn't work. The voices only got louder and ridiculed him over and over again.

"Master Tsugi?" A soft voice could be heard behind all the screaming. "Master Tsugi?" Tsugi opened his red teary eyes and looked up. Xeni was kneeling in front of his cowering body with a bowl in her hands. The voices started to fade away. "Here, you'll feel better." She handed him the bitter tonic. "Drink slowly so you don't throw it up."

"Xeni." His voice cracked. "X-Xeni...make it s-s-stop..." He cried. "P-please, make it s-stop." She only smiled sadly and handed him the bowl. He took it with his shaking hands and drank it.

"Come here. You should go lie down, and try to get some rest. I will come back and give you some more tonic later." He nodded in response, and made his way to lie down on the bed. Curling up into a ball, he wrapped his arms over his head.

The voices continued for the next few days and Xeni visited him every day without fail.

A knock came at the door. Tsugi flinched and ran to cower in the corner, "H-he's here, he's h-here." He mumbled to himself. "Hide, I n-n-need to hide." He rocked back and forth with his head between his knees.

The door creaked open and footsteps approached. A big hand touched his shoulder and he flinched, letting out a yelp that led into a loud muffled cry.

"Young Master Tsugi, it's alright, it's just me."

"M-M-Mare?" He looked up with big dark bags under his eyes, his hair tangled, and his eyes so red and puffy you could barely see his sclera. He started to bawl into a blubbering mess. She took him in her arms and held him in her lap, rocking him back and forth...back and forth with soft shushing sounds.

"Shh...it's okay Young Master Tsugi, it's okay. I'm here, I will always be here. Don't be afraid, I'm here. For as long as you need me, I will always be right here." He sobbed into her big warm chest, as she continued to rock him.

For the next few weeks, she stayed with him and never left his side, only leaving to grab food for him to eat. She cared for him and slowly, his complexion started to return. The smile had yet to appear, but he no longer screamed in the middle of the night, nor cowered in the corner.

She talked to him, and encouraged him, slowly lifting his spirit little by little. "When you feel up to it, let's go back into the woods and do some more target practice huh? It'll be fun." She would talk to him about all the training she's done and monster's she's seen. "We can even go visit Rygo, Ryna, and Yahni..." She went on and on.

"I wish I was as s-strong as you Mare. Maybe then I will be b-b-brave and I won't be so s-scared all the time."

"You think I'm not scared?" She chuckled softly. "Of course I can get scared. Just because I'm brave doesn't mean that I don't get scared. It's facing your fears that make you brave. There will be times, when it's so hard, that you feel like you can never do it, but sometimes, just taking that one step is all it takes to take another, and another. Then soon enough, you will have faced your fear." She spoke very softly. "Will it come back? Yes, probably, but then you already know how to face it, so it will gradually get easier over time."

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"But I'm so s-scared right n-now, my f-feet won't m-move."

"It's okay. That's why I am here. I'm here to help you take that step." She smiled. "I will 'never' leave. Even if you can't always see me, I will always be right here." She pointed a giant finger to his little chest.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Thank you Mare." She embraced him in her enormous arms, and he almost disappeared into them. "I think I'm ready to go do s-some target p-practice now." He smiled at her.

"That's what I'm talking about." She smiled and fought back joyous tears.

***

Mare stood by his side, watching and coaching him. Slowly he was able to move further away from the target. His confidence built up little by little. As always, Mare brought a potato for them to share.

Gradually, day by day, Tsugi's smile returned more and more. Soon enough, his laughter had lit up the castle again. He even started practicing hiding again.

Walking down the path, he can see Mare filling the tubs with water. A wide grin forms on his face and he sneakily moves closer to her, hiding his presence.

"Hello, Young Master Tsugi." Mare said lifting the tubs of water with ease.

"Awe."

"You need to control your excitement, young master. You start to lose control, the closer you get to achieving your goal." She started heading back to town. "Don't forget to fill your buckets with water."

Tsugi ran to the lake and filled his buckets before running back to her side.

"I see you're able to run with full buckets now."

"Yep! I promised you I will be s-stronger than you one day." He gave her a big grin.

"Keep it up and you will achieve it soon enough, Young Master."

"I was able to get c-closer to a boggledin last week!"

"Is that so?"

"Mhm! I will keep working hard so y-you won't even be able to tell I'm standing right n-next to you!"

"I love your enthusiasm, Young Master." She poured the tub of water into the well. "I hope you never lose it."

"I won't!" Tsugi poured his buckets into the well after Mare.

"I believe that's it for the water. You should go and help Mister Jember."

"Okay. See you next time, Mare." He ran through town to Mister Jember's. He's getting old, and hasn't been able to take care of his farm and horses, so Tsugi's been helping out.

***

The snow had begun to melt and birds started to return as the forest turned greener and livelier.

During the day, he continued to help wherever he was needed. Whether it be in the castle kitchen, hunting, assisting in the village with farming duties or blacksmithing, he always made sure to also practice harnessing his energy. The more he practiced, the easier it got. He didn't tire as fast and was able to recover from fatigue quickly.

Tsugi woke before the sun and made his way down to do some target practice before starting the day's work. He was now able to quickly maneuver around the castle in silence as he raced down the stairs and traveled through the shadows of the castle halls. He stopped by the kitchen to pack a little food before leaving the castle grounds.

Tsugi ran through the dark and out to the forest just as dawn approached. He lined himself up and threw the ax as it sliced through the air and plunged itself into the splintered tree, twenty meters away. His aiming and precision had improved.

Tsugi raised his ax into the air.

"Young Master Tsugi." Mare approached from behind him. Tsugi lowered his ax and turned to face her. She sat down on a log beside him, reached into her giant pockets and pulled something out. "Happy Birthday Young Master Tsugi."