Princes of Grimm #10
"First to Last"
The Kingdom of Enchancia
12 Years Ago
Twins Amber and James had just been born to King Roland and his Queen, who had died during childbirth before having met the children she and her husband had brought into the world. It was King Roland's hope that the children would grow up to be loving and just rulers of the Kingdom, but it was the night of their birth that a wicked green flash had shot through the sky, as if had with every Prince since Maleficent's altering of the timeline.
While Princess Amber had become adored by the kingdom, her twin brother James had become very accident prone. All manner of bad things happened in his presence, including starting an international incident by accidentally sneezing in a foreign diplomat's direction; Shattering a priceless stained glass window that had taken years to make for the King's castle; Burning the kitchen to a charred husk while attempting to get himself a glass of water; and worst of all, inadvertently spooking the horse that his father's new intended bride was riding to the castle, nearly killing the woman and her daughter, Sofia.
It didn't take long before the boy's accident streak had been connected to the death of his mother during childbirth, but still, the king loved his son very much.
"Your Highness," the royal advisor Cedric said one day, shortly before the twin's 7th birthday. "The boy is getting older, and his luck is getting worse. He is on the verge of destroying the kingdom. How long before he causes the dam to break and drowns Enchancia? Or brings dragons to our doorstep? Or causes the death of your beloved, this time for real?"
"James is my son, I will no longer listen to talk of banishing him, or your personal suggestion of poisoning him," King Roland told him. "Now be gone."
"Yes, Your Highness," Cedric said as he bowed before leaving the room. Roland stared out the window into the courtyard, where James was playing by himself. No one in the village wanted to be near him, and other royal families refused to come to Enchancia in fear of the cursed Prince. King Roland sighed as he thought about his new love. She had already had one close encounter with death, what if Cedric was right? What if James did cause something worse to happen as he got older?
"This is the hardest decision I have ever had to make," King Roland told Cedric. "Are you sure this will work?"
"The boy's memories will be completely erased upon drinking this vial of magic elixir," Cedric told him. "He will not remember you, his sister, or his royal life. He will never return once you have him taken to a new kingdom."
"Then we will take the boy to King Stephan's kingdom and leave him on the outskirts, near the Moors," King Roland said. "Someone in Stephan's kingdom will surely take pity on the boy and give him a proper home. Perhaps in a simple village, his luck won't be as bad for those around him."
"You asked to see me, Father?" James asked as he walked to the dining room late one night. "Am I in trouble? I didn't mean for those monks to go over that cliff."
"I know, son, please sit down and join your father for some milk and cookies," King Roland said as the boy sat next to him, seeing the large plate of freshly baked cookies. He had poured the elixir into Jame's glass before the boy had even stepped into the room. "I know you can be a bit... accident prone."
James reached for a cookie toward the bottom of the plate, but when he pulled at it, the whole plate fell off the table, shattering on the ground. "Sorry."
"That plate was a family heirloom, but- but it's okay," King Roland said, forcing a smile. "Drink your milk, at least. James, I love you very much. Even though you won't remember this conversation."
"I love you, too, Father," James said as he drank his milk. "Of course I'll remember this. I could never forget my father saying he loves me. It's the only bright spot of my day."
Roland immediately felt guilty, but it was far too late. James finished the milk and started feeling dizzy. He stood up and stumbled, falling to the ground, unconscious to the world.
"Make sure no harm comes to him," King Roland said to the guard who was to take the boy to Stephan's kingdom. The boy had been dressed in peasant clothing, with a purple amulet hanging around his neck. It was another family heirloom, passed down over the years. Normally it was meant to be passed from mother to daughter, but Roland wanted to give his son something special before sending him away forever. It would be the last gift Roland would ever give to the boy. "Goodbye, James, my beloved son."
A tear fell down the King's cheek as the chariot headed out of the kingdom to deliver the boy to his new home. The King would tell his kingdom that James has passed away in his sleep, so that the mystery of the missing Prince would never be questioned.
Halfway to Stephan's kingdom, the chariot stopped halfway through the woods. The guard hopped out of the driver's seat and opened the door to the chariot, where James was still fast asleep. The driver pulled out a long dagger.
"My apologies, Prince James," the guard said. "Cedric paid me handsomely to make sure that you never return to Enchancia."
The guard dragged the boy out of the chariot and threw him to the ground. He raised the dagger, but as he was about to strike, the sound of wolves howling caught him off-guard. He looked around, seeing the yellow eyes of the forest creatures all around. The guard quickly jumped back into the driver's seat and grabbed the reigns of his horses.
"Let's go!" the guard shouted. "The wolves will finish what I have sought to do!"
The chariot quickly raced out of the woods, leaving the boy laying on the ground. The wolves soon came out of the brush and started sniffing at him. James started opening his eyes and saw he was surrounded by the wolves.
"Where am I?" James asked weakly as he looked around. "I am so dead."
One of the wolves got closer as James noticed it was limping. He carefully reached out and saw it had a thorn in its paw. The boy carefully pulled it out, not realizing the amulet around his neck was starting to glow. The other wolves starting getting closer, ready to strike as the wolf that James had helped started growling, which soon began turning into human speech.
"Nnnnoooo," the wolf said as James realized he was hearing the wolf speak. "Leave the boy be, he has helped me. We will find food elsewhere."
"Where?" the other wolf asked. "The only other food is the fruit hanging from the tree."
James looked up at the trees over them as and started climbing.
"See? The boy runs away in fear, we have lost a meal!" the other wolf said as it suddenly started raining fruit, enough for the pack to eat. "The boy is helping us?"
James climbed back down, with an apple for himself.
"You have helped us, even though we were going to eat you?" the wolf asked.
"You were hungry," James told the wolf. "I couldn't let you starve. How can I be talking to you like this?"
"This we do not know, boy," the leader of the pack said. " But you have earned our gratitude this day. We will not forget this generosity."
The wolves ran back into the brush after eating as James looked around, not knowing where he was, but then realized something much worse.
"Who am I?"
It didn't take long before the animals of the forest learned of the boy having helped the wolves. Soon, other animals were coming to the boy for aid, whether it was help gathering food, building shelter, or just keeping the peace between fighting animals. James soon became a friend to all the creatures of the forest, and ultimately, their guardian.
Every time James had helped an animal, the necklace around his neck began to glow, something he hadn't noticed until the day he stopped wearing his shirt due to it becoming torn and ragged. Soon after that, he'd taken his ragged pants and made a pair of knee lenght shorts from them, with a strap going from his left hip over his right shoulder, where he kept a hand made bow and arrow on his back. Having outgrown his boots, he'd made a pair of open toed shoes out of leaves and vine, while his blonde hair had grown longer and more shaggy.
With each good deed done to the animals, he would gain the ability to communicate with that species. When he had gained all of those abilities, he soon began aquiring the abilities of the animals he had helped. Soon he was able to run as fast as a wolf, swing through the trees with ease like a monkey, and had the strength of a bear.
Not knowing his own name, the animals began just referring to him as "Boy'. James had accepted the name, as well as his role of protector, with pride. Hunters soon learned to fear the forest, as James had become known as a phantom, avenging any animal who was put into harm's way. Over the six years he had lived in the jungle, no animal had ever come to any harm. With the Amulet of Avalor in his possession, his bad luck streak had been blocked, and would continue to do so as long as the boy held onto the amulet.
Late one night, James was sitting in a tree fort that the other animals had helped him build. He was splitting a piece of fruit with a monkey as they stared out at the stars.
"What'cha looking at, kid?" the monkey asked as he ate his half of the fruit.
"Just wondering about, you know, where I really come from," James said as he leaned back. "The forest is all I've ever known, but sometimes I wonder if I have a real home out there somewhere. With a mom and a dad."
"What about us? We're your family, too," the monkey told him.
"Yeah, you are," James smiled. "And I love all of you like a real family. But I'd just like to know how I ended up here. I want to know why my real parents would abandon me in the middle of nowhere," James sighed as he noticed a strange fog rolling into the forest. It was covering the ground and making it hard to see. "That's odd, I've never seen such a dense fog."
"Boy! Boy!" a bird said as it flew into the fort. "Something strange is happening to the animals! They're going crazy!"
"I need to see what's going on down there," James said as he grabbed a vine and swung out of the fort. He landed in the fog, and tried to make his way through. "Where is everyone? Hello?"
James was met with dead silence as he headed through the fog. His foot stepped on a twig, breaking it in two, alerting a wolf, who pounced him through the fog. James fell onto his back as the wolf snapped at him.
"Why are you attacking me?" James asked as he struggled with the wolf. "I'm your friend!"
"You are food!" the wolf shouted as he howled. He continued to try to bite James, who grabbed a stick and stuck it in the wolf's mouth to keep his teeth from sinking into the boy's neck. James managed to toss the wolf off, just in time to be swatted at by a bear. James flew face first into a tree, which would have killed a regular person. Luckily James had enhanced strength thanks to the amulet.
"The animals really are going crazy!" James said as the monkey he'd been sharing fruit with jumped out of the fog, attaching itself to his face. "Are you kidding me?"
James had managed to escape the monkey and quickly ran for his life, taking shelter in a nearby cave. He hoped that whatever was affecting his friends would soon pass. He looked down at his amulet.
"My friends are in trouble," James said. "Please, help me."
A fog appeared in the amulet, giving way to the image of Phillip, Hansel, the Huntsman and Thomas headed towards the Beast's castle. The image disappeared as James looked out into the fog.
"They must be the ones who cursed the forest," James said. "I'll make them pay for harming my family."
Dawn soon came as James opened his eyes, having fallen asleep in the cave. He yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he headed for the cave's entrance, where he saw the fog had disappeared.
"Hello, Boy!" a rabbit said. "Did you sleep well?"
"Are the animals okay?" James asked as he stepped outside. "Did anyone get hurt?"
"What are you talking about?" the rabbit asked as it stared up at him. The wolf and the bear soon came by as James reached for his bow and arrow.
"Why didn't you tell us you were sleeping in your old cave?" the wolf asked. "We would have brought you some fish for breakfast."
"Last night, the animals went crazy," James told them. "The fog, it did something to all of you."
"Humans have such crazy dreams," the bear laughed. "If you wait a few moments, Boy, we will gladly bring you a fish. You look famished."
"Last night wasn't a dream," James told himself. "It couldn't have been. You!" James shouted toward a few blue birds. "I need you and your friends to put the word out. I'm looking for a group of humans who have entered the forest, and I wish to take care of them before they cause further harm."
It didn't take long for the birds to report back to James that they found a group of humans walking through the forest. James took to the trees and swung through them as he followed Phillip and his group of adventurers. Grabbing a hand made spear he used to catch fish, James prepared to attack the intruders.
"The castle is less than a day's walk from here," Phillip said as he looked at his friends. "We'll rest up, get some supplies and begin our quest in a day or two."
"Your quest has come to an end," James said as he landed in front on them. "You will pay for what you have done to my friends."
"Great, another runt," the Huntsman said as Adam and Hansel just looked at him. "Well, it's true."
"Look, kid, if you're talking about that stuff with the fog, that wasn't us, but we know who-" Phillip started to say as he ducked the spear. "Alright, that does it!"
Phillip grabbed the spear, but James used his strength to toss Phillip across the grass. The Huntsman pulled out his sword and prepared to fight.
"Alright, child, prepare to-" the Huntsman was cut off by James knocking the sword from his hand. "Tha- that wasn't supposed to happen."
Hansel jumped onto James' back as the two thrashed around. James finally tossed Hansel off as Cameron tackled him to the ground.
"Did I get him?" Cameron asked as James struggled.
"Alright, I'll end this," Thomas said as he punched James unconscious, before pulling his hand back in pain. "What is this kid made of? It's like punching a bear!"
"Now what?" the Huntsman asked. "Do we...finish him?"
"What? NO!" Phillip shouted as he looked down at James. "Get some vines and rope, strong ones. We'll take him with us, but we'll make sure he can't harm anyone. If we left him here, he'd surely be food for the wolves."
"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Hansel asked as the Huntsman tied the boy's hands.
"Hansel, I don't think we've made a good decision since we left for this little adventure," Phillip said as he picked James up and slung him over his shoulder. "Hopefully when he wakes up, he'll be a bit more willing to listen."
As Phillip put James over his shoulder, the amulet around his neck fell to the ground. Thomas picked it up and looked at it. "What would a boy living in the forest be doing with a fancy trinket like this?"
Grimhilde was watching the group through her cauldron, getting angrier by the moment.
"I have had enough of these troublemakers," the witch said. "Let them find their way to Rapunzel's tower. I'll be waiting for them with some very special surprises..."
Next: Journey to Rapunzel's Tower!