Good evening readers! I hope you all haven't abandoned me! I apologize for the long delays in updating and I hope you won't hold it against me! I know I promised a chapter of AOA the first week of August and I have good reason. The night I was going to start working on the chapter, I fell off a horse and broke my elbow and wrist. That put me behind a whole eight weeks because I couldn't type.

I will try to update most of my stories this month, starting with Arrows of Aslan!

Now, about this story, I have been rereading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader before the movie release and decided to take on yet another fan fiction. If you would like to know where this idea came from, read chapter four. I'm not sure how long this fic will be, but hopefully I will have it done soon.

Now, without further delay, I present a story in honor of the Dawn Treader's release on December 10th. (Oh and do please forgive me if there are any misspellings…my spell check hasn't worked for months.)

To be a Prince

Little caught Truls off his guard. He was always there, his dark eyes always watching –watching for danger, watching over his younger twin brothers. Nothing, or not much, fazed him. He was a steady reliable boy, doing a man's job.

He was not a warrior, nor a great hero. His name meant nothing to the average individual. His friends called him friendly, enemies called him fierce, but his brothers simply called him 'brother'. He was a brother who was a father.

Truls figure was strong from working endless hours in the fields in which he spent his days, providing food for his small family. By night, he slept lightly, always ready for the sound of an invader.

Truls brothers, Bade and Baden, were too young to work in the fields. Instead, they explored the forest around their home together. They often set traps to catch a few rabbits and other such beasts. They had heard stories of talking animals in Narnia and one day hoped to catch a talking animal. Thus far, they had no such luck.

When they were not catching creatures, they set their minds to making arrows for their brother's bow. Often the arrows were out of balance or crooked, but Truls accepted them anyway, for he had little time to make his own arrows.

On a summer evening, Bade and Baden (Baden was the elder of the two) were out checking their traps in the wood when Bade whispered.

"Did you hear something?" The boy whispered to his twin.

"No," Baden said as he reset his trap. "What did you think you heard?"

"Someone is nearby. I can sense it." The ten-year-old said seriously.

Baden laughed. "The village is more than a league away, why would anyone be around here? The people stay in the village or go down to the shore. No one ventures into this forest."

"But I heard something… someone," Bade insisted.

"Your jus-" Bade clamped his hand down onto Baden's mouth.

"There," he whispered, "There's a man watching us over there."

Baden's eyes went wide as he spotted a gruff looking man peering at them from behind a tree. Both boys slowly turned away, pretending they hadn't noticed the man. They began chattering loudly.

"We need to split up and meet back at the house." Bade told his brother in a low voice, "When I give the signal, run."

Baden nodded his agreement. A split second later, both boys ran off in different directions. Baden was the faster of the two and took the long way home.

As soon as Bade lost sight of his brother, he looked back over his shoulder. To his horror, he saw the man running breathless after him. He darted around a tree and changed his course. The man cut off his corner and gained more ground on him. Bade was so focused on getting away, he accidentally tripped on a log and fell into some thick, prickly bushes. The branches of the bush tore at his clothing, but he didn't make a sound for fear he would be caught.

The man stopped near the bushes and looked around. "Where has that blasted rat got to?" He muttered to himself.

Bade didn't dare breath, for fear of his being found. The man looked malice and the boy knew this stranger wouldn't treat him kindly if he was found. The stranger kept scanning the tops of the trees to see if Bade had climbed one. Finally, he gave up his search, cursing. "I'll come back for them."

Bade stayed in the bushes for another quarter of an hour and then quickly ran home. He arrived winded from his run and found that Baden had shut himself up in the house. The older twin came out looking ashen.

"Are you alright?" He asked his brother.

"Yes," Bade nodded, "I'm fine."

"Did that man follow you?"

"Part of the way, but I hid and he couldn't find me," Bade left out the part of falling into his hideout.

"Who was he?" Baden wondered aloud.

"I've never seen him before in my life, but I'm sure he intended us no good." Bade entered their little house that stood on a bluff, overlooking the coast.

"We need to tell Truls of this incident." Baden said sensibly.

"Yes, I think we do."

…

"A stranger?" Truls said as the three boys ate their meager dinner.

"Yes," Baden spoke, "He was watching us in the forest and then he follow Bade part of the way home."

"Did he look Therebinthian?" Truls questioned. "You know, not Calormene?"

"I think so. He didn't have dark skin," Bade said. "He could have been from any of the islands around here though, or he could have been from Narnia."

"I doubt he was a Narnian." Truls frowned. "Narnian's don't look evil, nor do they have evil intent. He could have been a Telmarine that escaped Narnia after Miraz's fall. Alternatively, he could be from Galma, any of the Seven Isles, or even live here in Terebinthia. I want you boys to stay home for the next week. No adventures in the wood."

"But Truls, we have to keep looking for talking animals and we have to learn how to talk to the dryads that live in the trees!" Baden protested.

"No," Truls stated firmly. "No more adventures for now. You will just have to stay home and imagine your adventures for now."

"What about tomorrow morning's breakfast?" Bade inquired quietly, "What are we going to eat?"

"I don't get any grain from the Lord until the end of the week." Trulssighed. "We will have to go hungry in the morning. Tomorrow evening I shall go hunting with my bow."

Bade nodded bravely. Running out of food at the end of the month was pretty normal. The stingy Lord only paid his workers in grain and it was divided among the workers by how many people lived in their house. Most of the families ran out of food, but most scraped together enough money for a little food or if they had no source of income, they went hunting or fishing.

The sun faded to the west as Truls sharpened his arrowheads outside. He worked until he couldn't see his arrow. Sighing, he stopped and watched the stars peek out from under the navy blanket of night.

Everyone knew that the Lord treated everyone unfairly. Truls had tried to get some of the other workers to say something, but they had been too afraid. If only I were strong like King Caspian of Narnia. He saved Narnia from Miraz's cruel reign. If only I had been born a prince or the son of a knight, then I would have courage. I would have the courage to stand alone, to say what needed to be said. But I was not born a prince, therefore I must accept who I am and live life the way I am. Truls thought miserably. Deep in his heart, he knew this was not true, but he was at a loss for what he could do.

…

As soon as Truls returned from his work the next evening, he strung his bow and set off into the woods, hoping to find something to eat. Bade and Baden made him promise to make sure none of the animals he caught were talking animals.

The evening was sultry. The only thing that stirred the leaves of the trees was a refreshing breeze that blew in from the ocean. Truls walked silently through the grasses as his ears listened for anything that moved. He spotted a few birds and a mouse scurried across his path. For an hour, he saw nothing that he could take down that would be enough for his family.

He finally decided to sit down in a glade and wait for an animal to walk by. His efforts were rewarded with a deer that came out from among the bushes to graze on the lush grass that grew in the clearing.

Silently, he sat up on his knees and strung an arrow. His heart fluttered, for he realized this deer would be enough to feed his family for half a year. He was so intensely focused on his shot he didn't think of anything else.

Suddenly, a strong grip seized his mouth. His arrow released with a dull thump and he dropped his bow to grab the hand that grasped him. He felt something cool against his neck and realized someone held a blade to his throat. He stopped struggling.

A deep laugh sounded behind him, making his ears ring. "The master will be quite pleased with this one." A man's voice growled. "Put your hands behind your back, boy, and don't move."