Thanks for all the reviews I got for the last chapter, it really warmed my heart. I have mixed feelings about this chapter. I kind off feel like I just rushed through it but it was a little difficult to describe the things happening during the song ´First Sign of Spring,' but it is a happy chapter where the Great Prince finally is starting to get the hang of this fathering-job. Anyway I hope you enjoy reading it.
Chapter 6 – Spring
The rest of the day Bambi tried to feel the forest as his father had instructed him but there was no success, the only thing the fawn accomplished was to walk right into a tree and hence hitting his nose.
The next day the Great Prince took his son along on his daily patrol through the forest.
Now the water was warmer and hence Bambi managed to walk through the river without any problems. He walked proudly behind his father until they reached the cliffs that he had never managed to climb. Bambi eyed them nervously before trying to force himself up. The Great Prince watched his son with patience. After a few failed attempts he realized that Bambi would never make it by himself and hence he gently gave his son a helping push with his snout. He helped Bambi to climb the rest of the cliffs and with his help they were both on the top. Bambi was very proud of himself even though he had received help. The Great Prince didn't reproach his son for not being able to climb cliffs anymore as he now remembered the troubles he himself had gone through with it when he was a little fawn himself.
When the pair came to a fallen tree that crossed their path the stag easily jumped over it and went to look at his son expectantly though this time he just gave his son an encouraging smile and the fawn walked backwards until he was standing a few feet away from the tree before he leapt towards it and jumped over it. Bambi smiled proudly and walked past his father with pride and the buck smiled.
After that day Bambi went with him every day and he kept improving and with each day the great Prince's pride grew.
One day they stumbled upon a spider web with a ladybug trapped in it and a spider slowly crawling towards it. Bambi didn't hesitate to help it so he put one leg between the two bugs and hence he let the ladybug crawl away from the spider via his leg. The Great Prince smiled with pride.
Bambi also learned to listen with his hooves. Bambi was standing still, in deep concentration while his father was watching. Suddenly the little fawn looked up at him with excitement. "I hear it! I hear it".
The Great Prince of the forest was smiling contently, proud of his son's achievements and he followed his son to the meadow where, just as Bambi had predicted, stags were racing each other. Suddenly the look on the fawn's face went sad and he asked his father, "When will I get my antlers".
That question made the stag chuckle. He remembered asking his own father that once, being impatient after becoming a grown buck. "That won't be long now," he told his son, "if you're anything like I was".
"Am I?" Bambi asked him.
"Well," he said, smiling. "Let's find out". With that said he raced out to the other stags and joined them in their marathon, quickly running past all of them of course. Not long after that he saw his son running among the stags as well, currently he was stuck a while behind him alongside some other fawn, whose spots were missing and whose first pair of antlers were already growing on his head. He lowered his head and made a forward motion with his mighty antlers, gesturing for his son to run up to him. That made Bambi increase speed and son father and son were running side-by-side, far ahead of the other deer.
One day when they watched the meadow they saw a bunch of stags sparring with each other. The Great Prince got an idea and positioned himself in front of Bambi with his head lowered, antlers pointing towards him. Bambi smirked playfully and ran towards him, head lowered as well but because he didn't have any antlers he was just thrown backwards when his head collided with his father's. But that didn't stop Bambi and he kept trying until he got exhausted. He was glad that his son was starting to show some guts. Whenever the fawn would face a challenge he never backed away and he kept trying until he had succeeded, but in this case he had no chance, not when he didn't even have a set of antlers. But he thought with a smile that in a short time, maybe by the end of spring or the beginning of summer.
Over the weeks he did a lot of things with his son, he chased crickets, ate blossoms and played with water. With Bambi with him on his daily patrols it was never boring and on the way Bambi picked up new things and he was amazed at how much his son had learned the past weeks. The strange feeling inside him kept growing, day by day it grew stronger. What the feeling was exactly was still unclear to him but he knew that it was somehow connected to Bambi, because every time his son learned something new or looked at him with those adorable eyes that he inherited from his mother the feeling returned. The Great Prince didn't mind, he liked the feeling, but he wished that he knew what it meant.
One nigh he laid in his den, exhausted, just waiting impatiently for sleep to take over him. But it was impossible he could not fall asleep with an energy bomb named Bambi next to him. His son was not showing any tiredness and he was currently lying beside him, giggling madly.
"Bambi," he said hoarsely, too tired to raise his voice like he would usually do when he was being reproachful.
The little fawn just continued giggling.
"Try to sleep," the Great Prince begged sleepily.
"But I can't sleep," Bambi said, "I'm wide awake".
The Great Prince was more than unhappy with that information, he was so tired that he almost considered killing himself just to get peace, and yet he was not tired enough to ignore his son's cheerful giggles filled with energy.
"Try," he said, unable to utter any more words.
"Okay I'll try," Bambi said and the stag closed his eyes in contentment, thinking that now he would finally be able to close his eyes and fall asleep. But he was wrong, mere moments later Bambi let out another series of giggles. "It was just so funny when I got you to chase that cricket, and then there was one more, and one more," his son babbled excitedly.
"Yes, now go to sleep," he ordered the fawn and closed his eyes again, desperately praying for sleep to take him.
"Flower sleeps all winter".
The Great Prince sighed in discomfort.
"Why do we sleep?"
"We all must rest some time," he told the fawn, "some during the day, and others at night, some not at all". The last part was referring to his son and Bambi giggled.
He let out some chuckles himself. He was glad to have his son beside him, even though he lost sleep because of him. He found himself thinking how in the world had he managed to survive without Bambi for so long? And he felt the strange but good feeling return.
"Mother is resting now isn't she?"
That question made the feeling disappear and be replaced by a terrible ache in his chest. He did not know what to say, the last couple of days had actually been surprisingly peaceful, not a single thought about his lost mate, but now the aching longing for her returned and he just looked at their son, his mouth slightly opened but he was not able to utter even a single word.
"Oh I forgot," Bambi said, "a Prince leaves the past in the past, right?" His son looked up at him. On his face there was a smile, it was like Bambi did not miss his mother at all, like he had taken his advice and left her in the past. It was almost unbelievable, his son had accepted her death and moved on and he was still trying to but could not.
He sighed. "That's enough questions for today, now get some sleep," he told the fawn.
"Okay," Bambi said and yawned.
And then there was finally quiet in the den. The little Prince had finally fallen asleep. But the Great Prince was still awake; unable to fall asleep. Why was it so hard? Would her memory really end up haunting him forever? Would he never be able to get over it? Was it to punish him for neglecting her and their son when she was still alive? Even before their fawn was born he saw little to her. All that because he was the Prince, the protector of the herd. He never had time for her and still she loved him and after she died he neglected their son too. What kind of father was he?
After a couple of more hours had passed the Great Prince could finally be relieved from his thoughts and be claimed by sleep.
So? What was your opinion on this chapter? Did you like it? I hope so.
This is the last pre-written chapter, I'm currently stuck in the middle of chapter 7, where we'll be introduced to Mena. So There may not be an update tomorrow.
Please review this chapter, it is true when authors say that reviews make them write faster, it gives them motivation and determination to continue writing so that you readers can have something nice to read. I'll do my best to update as fast as I can.
Thanks for reading.