Chapter 3.

It had been an entire month since Robyn's punishment for his so-called treachery of painting. He hadn't seen Gothel, but Robyn wasn't about to complain. It was a pleasant change for once that he needn't worry about the sharp-faced woman storming into the manor, screaming her head off about frivolous matters.

"Robyn, I believe you should be fine to walk around now," Hobie smiled and hopped off the bed after he thoroughly examined Robyn.

Robyn nodded at Hobie and took a deep breath. He used his arms to scooch himself to the edge of his bed. The adolescent tentatively placed his feet on the cool, dark brown oak floor.

"Go on, take a few steps," the rabbit encouraged and motioned his paws towards the door.

"O-ok, I'll try," Robyn cautiously took a step forward, and then another. He paused for a few seconds and repeated.

"Very good, very good," Hobie praised and clapped. A smile lit up on Robyn's face. He felt like he was a child in the books he read about children taking their very first steps. Then the smile was wiped off and Robyn paused. He realized: he had no memories of being a child. His oldest memory was when he was seven and Gothel was dragging him towards the manor... and before that... there was wind, it was cold...

"Robyn, Robyn!" Hobie's ears flattened in distress and hopped towards the still adolescent as fast as he could.

"Oi, Robyn," Hobie anxiously patted the right foot of his friend, whose face was almost as white as snow. His sapphire eyes were glazed over and his lips were slightly parted. Suddenly Robyn blinked and he slowly sat himself down on the floor.

"Robyn," Hobie attempted to catch the boy's attention again by prodding his shoulder.

"Oh, sorry Hobie, I didn't notice you were there," Robyn murmured, still looking straight ahead at the hallway that led to his room.

"Thank goodness you're alright! For a second I thought a devious spirit had stolen your soul," Hobie sighed and he shook his head.

The blond went quiet again, and he looked like he was submersed in deep thought. Hobie decided it was best to let his human friend be. He waited patiently by Robyn's side and leisurely looked out the window with his paws behind his back, like the man he used to be.

"I don't have any."

"Sorry?" Hobie turned around to face Robyn, who had buried his face in his arms.

"Hobie, do you have any memories of being a young child?" Robyn lifted his head to look at the rabbit.

Hobie tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Hm, well... I remember when I was the mere age of three, I stuffed myself with all the berries my mother had picked that day. She never noticed that the berries were gone or that I was under the table with the basket. When she finally found me she gave me the worst scolding of my life. My mother could be terribly frightening when she wanted to, but she always had good intentions. She was a good woman," Hobie sighed. A poignant atmosphere settled in the room.

"Ho-Hobie, is it normal to have no memories of being a child?"

"I believe some of my friends didn't have half as good of a memory as I did, but most were able to recall their childhood," The rabbit frowned slightly, "Robyn, is this what's troubling you?"

"Yes, I cannot remember anything other than Gothel taking me to the manor when I was about seven from somewhere. Maybe she took me out that day, but anything past that is just... not there," Robyn sighed miserably.

"Oh- Hobie, maybe you can remember what I was like as a baby in the manor?"

Hobie's eyes lit up for a second, but then the rabbit's expression turned more and more dismayed as the seconds ticked by.

"I-I'm not entirely sure why, but I cannot remember," the rabbit rubbed his head.

"I really hope this isn't because of my old age," Hobie groaned and knocked his noggin.

"Hm..." Robyn sighed and stared at his bedroom's plain ceiling in contemplation.

"Where's Penelope?" the adolescent grabbed his bedpost and hoisted himself up with a little difficulty.

"In the garden practicing flying," Hobie answered, "Follow me."

The rabbit hopped out of the bedroom at a comfortable pace. Robyn followed Hobie who would look back occasionally at his friend to check on how he was faring. When they reached the garden Robyn was a little out of breath, but he reasoned that it wouldn't hurt to exercise especially since he hadn't left his bed for more than twenty days.

"Penelope!" Hobie called and waved his paws furiously over his head as he hopped up and down.

"Oh-oh wait a second, I'm coming," the dragon stuttered and hastily opened her wings. She jumped off the tree branch of the tallest tree in the garden and gracefully glided down. She nearly hit the fountain, but managed to maneuver out of the way just in time. Robyn watched her in awe and grinned at the dragon cub.

"That was a stupendous landing!" he grinned from ear to ear.

"Thanks Robyn," Penelope grinned back.

"So what's up Hobie?" she turned to the rabbit who was frantically trying to evade being hit by her swinging tail.

"Oh, not much, just trying to avoid being hit by your terrifying tail you big oaf," the rabbit jested as he patted his fur clean, causing Penelope to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, other than that."

"Well, Robyn and I were wondering whether you could remember what he was like when he was a baby here."

"Ah, I see, let me think," the dragon cub scratched her neck.

"Hmmm..."

Robyn and Hobie looked at the dragon expectantly. Finally the Penelope spoke.

"Uh.. I got nothin' sorry... But that's really strange. I have a clear memory of everything before Robyn came, but when Robyn was younger... Nope, just have memories of him when he was older," she blinked.

"This can't be a coincidence, the only explanation is that Gothel wiped everyone's memory," Robyn muttered and paced around the garden.

"Yeah, sounds like something she would do alright," the dragon frowned.

"But why? Why would she do this?! Unless-" Robyn stopped in the middle of his step and turned towards Hobie and Penelope on one leg.

"I had parents that cared for me, and she lied" he finished. He felt an excited flutter in his stomach. There was a possibility that someone, or maybe two people out there loved him- and maybe even missed him right now.

Before Hobie could say something that had to do with insulting the sorceress, the sound of great, powerful wings beating against the still air broke the silence.

"Yikes! My father!" Penelope yelped and jumped.

The magnificent dragon landed with a loud thump in the courtyard. The ground shook a little and Robyn had to cling onto the birch tree in the center of the garden to prevent himself from falling down. Hobie wasn't so lucky and ended up being shaken off his feet. On the other hand, Penelope didn't seem affected at all.

"Stay here," the Penelope whispered to Robyn and Hobie before she scurried away to meet the intimidating thousand year old dragon otherwise known as her father.

Robyn hid behind the rose bushes but peeked through the small gaps in between the thorns. Although Hugo was a menacing and powerful figure, dragons never ceased to fascinate the adolescent.

"He-hullo father," Penelope stuttered and bowed.

"Why aren't you training?" Hugo completely ignored his daughter's greeting and looked down at her with scorn. Robyn could feel Hugo speaking as the dragon's deep booming voice vibrated the air.

"I was- just not in the courtyard, I was practicing in the garden," Penelope looked in the direction in garden and tapped her index fingers together nervously.

"Hmph, very well. Now, why don't you show me what you've learned? Try flying over the magical wall," the great dragon bent his neck so that his eyes were leveled with his daughter.

"Ah-OK," Penelope shifted her weight from her right foot to her left. She began by flapped her wings a little to warm up. A few moments later she increased the speed of her wings and managed to hover a few inches above the ground. Gradually, she started to rise higher and higher. Soon, the little dragon was as high as the tallest pine tree by the manor, but then she stopped and frantically glided down.

"It's too high, it's really too high I can't do it," Robyn noticed that his friend was shaking like a leaf. He felt a wave of sympathy lap at his heart.

"What? A dragon cub that cannot fly over the magical wall? Preposterous!" Hugo scoffed and sneered at his daughter.

Robyn felt his blood boil and he glared at the larger dragon. He rose from his squatting position and stalked towards the great dragon despite Hobie's protests and attempts to keep Robyn still.

"Penelope tried her best, she has been practicing everyday. Can't you at least be a little proud and praise her instead of putting your child down?" he hissed at the dragon who turned his head and narrowed his eyes at the human.

"That human boy... Penelope, I told you to never associate with his kind!" Hugo snarled at the cowering dragon cub.

"Father, Robyn is a great friend and we have fun together."

"Enough! I've had enough of you today Penelope. You don't know how much you disappoint me," and with that, the dragon took off and soared over the magical wall. The three watched the dragon in silence until he disappeared over the mountains.

"My goodness, some father he is," Hobie's nose twitched as he hopped towards Robyn and Penelope.

"Don't you say Penelope?" the rabbit looked up at the dragon who was nearly in tears. Robyn hugged Penelope.

"Sorry, I just made things worse for you didn't I?" Robyn murmured.

"Nah, it's fine, he probably would have said something along those lines even if you didn't come out," Penelope forced a laugh and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"There, there," Hobie pet Penelope's foot and tried to sound as reassuring as he could.

"Why don't we go back to the manor, I can make something for you and Hobie. It's the least I can do for you two," Robyn smiled and patted Penelope's back.

"Does that include cookies?" Hobie's ears perked up. Penelope snorted at the rabbit.

"Yes, lots and lots of cookies," Robyn laughed.

Man, this chapter took a lot longer than I thought it would take to write. I guess it'll be a while since anything exciting happens *sigh*. Sometimes I wonder what Gothel does when she's gone... I'm not entirely sure if I'll explain that later on...