Cozy Forest at night was an abyss of bark, leaves, roots, creeping plants and soft soil. One of the things Mallory had forgotten to pack was a lantern. He trudged through the thick woods, using his hands to pat the darkness for any obstacle. He was still holding the chicken liver stick but soon dropped it when he tripped for the first time on a root that stuck out of the ground. He hadn’t bothered looking for it. It was spoiled and never appetizing in the first place, anyway. He got up and pushed on deeper into the forest. He tried to keep a straight line, but it proved harder than he fought. There was no path and the forest vegetation was very dense. Those trees were big and ancient; their trunk so wide Mallory could not reach his other hand if he tried to embrace it.

It’s alright. Le t’s not hurt ourselves. I’ve got time. I’ve got all the time in the world. Nobody is going to find me here. Nobody… what was that? Is that a scream? And… what’s this light? No. They’re coming!

Whoever they were, they were coming indeed. The lights coming from behind the prince alerted him of potential pursuers. When he heard his name being called repeatedly, he knew. The castle was already after him. They wouldn’t let him go. They wanted him to be King.

“Prince Mallory! Are you here? Answer us. Prince Mallory. Prince Mallory.”

There’s no one here. There is no more prince Mallory. Please go back. Please go back.

Mallory watched the light agitating themselves outside the forest wall. He was paralysed, too scared to move, stamp on a twig and make a sound that would give him away.

“Prince Mallory, hey-ho!”

The light was getting brighter, the screams louder. The castle folks, probably a bunch of guards, had entered Cozy Forest.

I need to go. Fast. The hell with making a noise. They’ll think it’s a hare or something. But I’ve got to lose them, before they see me.

And so Mallory ran. Fast. Into a tree. Bang! His chest hit the trunk of a tree covered in moss and then he fell backwards with a thud. Behind Mallory, maybe forty yards away, the guards were chattering. Soon, they hailed him up again. “Prince Mallory. Is that you?”

Run. Don’t think. Run.

Mallory got up and ran, throwing his arms left and right to break the darkness. With the guards’ lantern lights he could see a few yards in front of him. That helped him stay on his feet until he gained a substantial advance on the guards and the visibility became null again.

As soon as he hit the darkness, Mallory stopped for a breather. He wasn’t used to such strenuous activities. He was panting, his fear barometer sky-high, draining all his strength. His chest and knees were hurting too, probably due to his crash and fall.

His breaths were so deep and loud, Mallory couldn’t hear anything but himself. Hands on his knees, he watched with horror the light intensifying in the distance. He took a deep breath and locked it. The voices still called up to him but it seemed they were now saying something else.

“Over here, guard. Over here. We think we saw him. The prince is ahead. Prince ahead. Prince Mallory? Do you hear us? It’s us, from Castle Bartack. We’re here to help you get home. Prince Mallory!”

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I’m not going to make it. I’m not… I can’t even breathe. I… Mallory clenched his fist and stood up straight. I’m going to make it. Come on. I can make it.

Mallory resumed his escape from the benevolent guards who only wanted to help him get home, back to Castle Bartack where he could be crowned King in the coming weeks. The guards kept calling. They refused to give up. They outnumbered the prince and they had lanterns. Once they were certain the prince was indeed ahead of them, they quickly gained on Mallory. He didn’t need to look back to know they were coming, he only had to witness the brightness growing around him to know they were.

I need to do something, or I’ll get caught. I can hide… or… I can change path. That’s it. There, this way.

Mallory took a right, breaking his straight line. He prayed the guards would not hear him as he tried to lose them. The forest was less dense on his new trajectory. The soil was relatively flat and obstacle-free, he could see it. Mallory could actually see the path ahead. Everything was blue and gray but it was visible.

Oh, no.

It hit him. The day was rising.

If I don’t lose them now, they’re going to see me. If it’s not already done. Come on, this is my last chance. I’ve got to make it.

Mallory ran harder and faster than he ever did in his life. He could see the trees ahead and he didn’t fear crashing into another one. He ran so hard he dropped his satchel behind. By the time he realized a weight had been lifted off him, the satchel was twenty yards behind. He stopped, saw the lantern lights still preying on him and resumed his escape.

Now I have no food. Can I really make it? Is this still worth it… is it… I’m getting tired. No. You can’t give up now.

He hushed the pace until his lungs were burning. Spit drooled down his chin, he made animal sounds each stride he took.

I can make it. I can make it. I’m breaking away. I’m breaking away.

A first sunbeam broke through the foliage of the thick forest. The guards were still behind him, but they were far, and he heard fewer voices calling him home. Maybe he had lost of handful of them, but he couldn’t risk turning back to make sure. Mallory kept running; running from Castle Bartack and its people; running from its future and the cold throne that awaited him; running from a life he never wished for himself.

Mallory ran, and ran… until he couldn’t anymore. Until he fell on his knees, exhausted, beaten, face to face… with a little cottage, standing by itself before a clearing. A little cottage and a little woman standing beside it. She watched him in the pale obscurity of the morning. She had big blue eyes. They were shiny. Hypnotizing. She held his gaze until she heard the guards chasing after their prince. She took a step back and folded her arms across her chest.

“No. Please, don’t leave. Help me. Help me hide.”

“Hide?” she mouthed. She was twenty yards away; Mallory couldn’t hear her. The hails of the guards hunting covered all sounds in Cozy Forest.

“Please help me, I beg you.”

She heard him or she took pity for him, because slid her way to Mallory, gliding on the fallen leaves and sparse grass. She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the cottage. The guards were coming. Mallory was afraid to look back, so he ran with her until she came to a standstill. They both reached the cottage door, but she didn’t push it open. In fact, she kept the door shut and gently thrusted Mallory’s back against it. Then he watched her pull out a pomegranate-like fruit and bite full-teeth into its hard skin. Dozens of juicy red balls painted her face red. Then she placed both her hands on Mallory’s shoulder, still pushing him hard against the cottage door.

“Be silent. Dead silent. And don’t move.”

Behind her, Mallory watched the guards coming, not straight at them, but at an angle. There were three of them. They still called his name except that… something was wrong. They didn’t see him. It was light enough and they were close enough to see him, the girl and the cottage. But… they didn’t. They ran right past them, not to the clearing but to the denser part of the forest.

Mallory still held his breath and position. He only dared talking when the sounds of the guards were getting muted by the forest.

“What…”

“Pfffiu. We made it. I wasn’t sure it would work.”

“What just happened?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing. I just made you invisible.”