Happy December 1st everyone :) Only 23 more days to go before we can open our presents :) Here's a little present form me - a new chapter. I hope you'll like it, even though it's still a bit short.
Chapter 3 – Her eyes
When the evening came and the sky went dark he went to get Bambi. When he reached the place where he knew the groundhog lived he did not see Bambi but his scent was lingering in the air and he soon followed his son's scent to a corner where there was signs in the snow that somebody had been lying down there, Bambi without doubt. So Bambi had taken a nap while waiting for him. But where was he now? Where could he have gone?
Suddenly some crows flew by. "Man! Man!" they screamed.
Realization dawned upon him. "Bambi," he cried, following his son's scent. It led him to the meadow, which only increased his fear. Bambi wouldn't be that stupid, to go out on the meadow alone in winter, would he? When he stepped out from the woods he saw hounds. They were approaching something under a cliff. It looked like a fawn.
"Run Bambi," he yelled.
The fawn didn't move.
He sighed and ran towards the cliff at high speed. When he got there he threw himself at the hounds in front of him, keeping them at bay with his antlers. After fighting for a time he finally managed to scare the hounds away.
"Run Bambi," he said to his son who stood as stiff as the cliff behind him, just staring at the scene. The Great Prince looked ahead, seeing something shiny and he immediately knew that now was the time to escape if they wanted to make it out of this alive. "Run Bambi!" he tried again, but the fawn was completely frozen from shock and so he pushed his son with his head. It worked, Bambi was able to move again and both immediately ran for their lives back into the forest.
"But it was mother," Bambi said when they were both safely surrounded by the trees of the forest, "I heard her voice".
"It was one of Man's tricks," the stag said angrily.
"I'm sorry," Bambi said.
"What if I hadn't gotten there in time?" he shouted. "You could have been…" he stopped himself from fulfilling that sentence, there was no point in ending it since Bambi already knew what Man did to deer, having experienced a loss himself, plus a part of him didn't want to complete the sentence because he didn't want to think about what could have happened if he had not been there to save him.
"When I tell you to run you run," he said instead, "never freeze like that, ever". The last word might have been too loud but he didn't care, he wanted Bambi to get the message and learn from his mistake.
"I'm sorry," Bambi said again.
He sighed. "Let's go home". This time his voice was back to normal.
It did not take long for them to get back to the den. They hadn't exchanged a word on the way and when he looked back at his son he could see the regret displayed on his face, the fawn's head was lowered and his ears and his tail were as well. Bambi's steps were heavy, it more seemed like the fawn had dragged himself along.
He stopped a few feet from the opening of the den and looked at Bambi expectantly. Bambi understood and made his way further towards the den. But just as he had reached the opening he turned back towards him and looked at him.
His heart ached at the look in his son's eyes; it was filled with sadness, that kind of sadness that came with great disappointment and loneliness. But there was something else about those eyes that brought pain to him. Those eyes were an exact copy of her eyes. Bambi had taken his eyes after his mother. He wondered why he hadn't noticed it before.
Looking into his son's eyes reminded him that Bambi was also her son. And no matter how many times he tried to pretend otherwise he would never stop missing her and there wasn't a day where he did not think of her. And every time he did he felt a piercing ache in his heart.
Bambi looked at him with deep sorrow in his eyes; his big crimson eyes were filled with pain. "She is never coming back, is she?" his son asked him, a question he had expected but also dreaded. And now, hearing this question, the pain in his chest increased.
He remembered the sight of her lifeless body. He had found her just before he found Bambi and he almost cried at the sight, the shot had killed her and hence there was nothing he could do for her and hence protecting her from the hounds was pointless. He remembered all too well how she looked, still beautiful as always, even in death and the light gone from her crimson eyes.
"No," he said sadly and then immediately turning away from the vision of his son looking at him with his big sad red eyes.
He walked away from the den with heavy steps. He went to the edge of the cliff and looked down on the meadow. That was where he last saw her alive. And that was where she was killed. Had he just been quick enough and reached her in time Bambi would still have his mother and then he would not be left alone and then he would not have been in danger today and the guilt would not be eating him up from the inside right now.
Slowly he walked back to the den to make sure the little fawn was sound asleep. He watched him for a while before heading off into the forest. Friend Owl's tree was not so far away from his den.
"Friend Owl," he said, waking the old owl from his sleep. The owl gave a jump at the sound of his voice.
"Winter is almost gone," he continued," it should not be any trouble to find a new home for Bambi".
"So you're sure about this?" the owl asked him. "I mean..." "Yes I am," he interrupted and Friend Owl had no choice but to nod.
"I want this matter solved as quickly as possible," the Great Prince told him before walking away.
When he reached the den he laid down next to his son. He eyed Bambi's sleeping form for some time before he lowered his head to the ground and laid there, waiting for sleep to take over him.
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