This is my first Fanfic so please be gentle. And a special thanks to "Kuzco Pride" for encouraging me to write.

Oh yeah and I don't own Kuzco and the rest yeah bla bla.

Shivering, tired and hungry, Kuzco lay curled up in a ball shivering, big tears trickling down his face. His heart felt heavy enough to break. His frame jerked as deep sobs wracked his body. He wanted to die. And his great fear was that he would not die; but that he would be killed,

Killed by the ruffians that had grabbed him and forced him with them into the deepest darkest part of the jungle where now he trembled tied with thick ropes at their dirty campsite.

Kuzco could feel just the slightest hint of warmth that was their campfire but was too far away to gather the warmth. Kuzcos feet ached and he was hungry and cold. What did these brutes want from me? Well, besides the obvious.

Kuzco took a deep breath and tried to sit himself up, he knew he must look a site his face splattered in mud, but he had to try.

"Um excuse me...um Mr. Captors?" Kuzco raised his voice getting the attention of the whole camp; they glared back at him with beady ugly eyes.

"Um...I-I'm a little hungry and if it isn't too much a bother…" but before Kuzco could finish the burly leader of the gang stomped over to Kuzco and swiftly backhanded him, sending Kuzco slamming into the ground. The camp roared with laughter as the leader spat.

"No talkies from the prisoners see!" the rowdy men continued to laugh as the leader returned to the fire leaving Kuzco face down in the dirt his face burning with pain, His thoughts reeling to earlier that same day, and the choices he had made that had brought him to this horrible level. He rolled over on his back.

"Oh why cant I just learn my lessons."

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"Kuzco...why can't you just learn your lessons?" Pacha sighed as he plopped down next to the young man sitting at the breakfast table.

"Lessons are hard, besides I don't have time for stupid homework anyways." Kuzco said with a smirk. "You always worry too much about me, I am the Emperor. I will always come out on top!"

"Not if you don't do your homework Kuzco. Life isn't full of cherry pie."

"But I love pies!"

"No Kuzco, someday your going to be faced with real choices that will not only effect you but others, I am only trying to look out for you Kuzco."

"Yeah, yeah heard it before." Kuzco waved his hand around. "Gotta go or I'll be late for school." Kuzco said smiling his princely smile and grabbed his book bag.

"Oh Kuzco, make sure you are home before dark tonight." Pacha said making sure the boy was looking him strait in the eye. "Its spring time now and the path from here to the Kuzco Academy can get dangerous this time of year."

"Yeah, yeah sure whatever." Kuzco said feeling that Pacha was being a bit too paranoid. He was the emperor, what could possibly happen to him.

The school day had gone fairly well, at least what was normal for Kuzco. with Malinas help the young emperor managed to pass yet another class and defeat Yzma once again.

"Hey Kuzco!" Malina said as she started gathering her scrolls for the end of the day. "Want to come over to my house and study for the big exam next week?"

"YEAH, a DATE?"

"No, study date" Malina said firmly.

"Oh well, Pacha said he wanted me home before dark, he's such a llama mama!"

"Oh well then I shouldn't keep you. see you tomorrow then?"

"No I didn't say I couldn't come over, I just said Pacha wanted me home early. I can make my own decisions, Pacha even said that this morning...I think." Kuzco scratched his jet black hair.

"Are you sure Kuzco? Maybe you should just go home."

"You can't get rid of me that easy Malina. Somebody should walk you home. You know its dangerous on the path this time of year."

"Oh well, alright then." Malina said still not quite sure if she should let Kuzco win this particular argument so easy.

She soon regretted asking him over to study and thought that the 2 hours he has spend over there felt like 2 weeks. Finally it was time for Kuzco to head home, and that's when it happened; bandits on the dark path, they recognized Kuzco at once and kidnapped him in hopes of getting a kings ransom for him.

Kuzco sobbed on the jungle floor. He knew that with Yzma still at the palace she would not pay the ransom and that he would surly be killed. Why had he not listened to Pacha?

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Chicha was busy stirring a pot of potato beetle soup in her rotund kitchen. The smell of the spices wafted through the whole house making everyone know that super was going to be extra delicious tonight. Tipo and his sister clamored down stairs and started giggling as they set the table. Pacha stepped through the door of the cottage and was greeted by the happy faces of his children.

"Mmmm, something smells good, I'm so hungry I could eat a whole Llama!" he joked, his children giggled.

"Good, because that's what were having! " Everyone laughed again. "Tipo!" Chicha said as she brought the soup to the table. "Go tell Kuzco dinners ready."

"No mom." he replied cheerily. Everyone in the kitchen suddenly stopped. Tipo hadn't said what they thought he said did he?

"What did you say young man?" Chicha said finally finding her voice.

"I said no mom, I cant. Kuzco isn't upstairs. He hasn't come home from school yet!" Pacha and Chicha let out a small gasp and looked up at each other with worried looks etched on their faces. Pacha suddenly grimaced as he turned and grabbed his green over-tunic and headed for the door.

"Pacha!" Chicha called after her husband as he ran out the door. "Why the rush? he's probably just at Malina's!" But Pacha knew better. He didn't know how he knew, but there was something inside Pacha that told him that Kuzco was in trouble, big trouble, and it wasn't because he had disobeyed him either.

Meanwhile back at the camp of ruffians, Kuzcos situation was not improving. The kingnappers where arguing over how the ransom message would be written. Finally, the head leader decided that they should send it with proof that they really had Kuzco. The leader turned on evil glinting eye at Kuzco and pulled out a knife from his belt, and started toward Kuzco. The young mans blood ran cold as the rough brute inched forward, Kuzco knew what he was going to do. Kuzco began shaking his head as he trembled.

"N-no...No" he said just above a whisper, all his strength was sucked out of him at the sight of the gleaming blade of the knife. The thug leader then stood towering above Kuzco and smiled a dirty-toothed smile and grabbed Kuzco by his hair, and yanked him to his feet. He could feel the sour breath of the bandit puffing onto his face. Suddenly there was a shrieking cry of pain. Kuzco thought it was himself. He looked up in shock as he saw it came from his captor. The thug let go of Kuzcos hair and let him drop. Kuzco looked down in surprise and saw Bucky the Squirrel there with a sharp tooth full of the thugs big toe in his mouth. The leader hollered, danced around trying to shake the rabid squirrel off of him. Kuzco suddenly heard a twang and his ropes instantly fell off of him he look up in surprise to see Pacha standing tall with a bow and arrow aimed directly at the ring leader.

"Let the boy go!" Pacha bellowed as he released a volley of arrows and pinned each of the ruffians neatly by their clothes to the trees, including the leader. Everyone was taken by surprise, even Kuzco who knew that Pacha was good with a bow and arrow, but didn't know he was quite that good. Kuzco leapt up and ran to Pacha and threw his arms around him. "Pacha!" he said happily then he turned to face his one-time captors.

"Uh-hu!..thats right! You don't mess with Kuzco! Cause when you mess with Kuzco you mess with Pacha!...and Bucky…Uh-huh...let that be a lesson to you...don't EVER mess with Kuzco!" the young prince was only half way through his glorifying speech when Pacha primly grabbed Kuzcos collar and yanked him away from the campsite before the Brutes could re-collect themselves.

All the way home Kuzco got quite a sever tongue lashing from Pacha that almost made Kuzco wished that he was back at the thieves camp. Its one thing to be treated badly by strangers but to be corrected by someone who cares can sometimes feel much worse.

By the time they got home Kuzco was much subdued and truly sorry for no listening to Pacha. Pacha was only looking out for his best interest and he knew it. It was just so hard to get used to the fact of actually having some one who cares about what you do. Kuzco decided right then and there that in the future he would take Pacha warning more seriously, because for once he realized that he really did care about him.