Excerpt: The Forest Prince (or Dragons and Other Humble Creatures)

It would be more dramatic to say it was exactly one year to the day that the prince was found after his disappearance, but like the horrors that happen every day to people everywhere, it was really just another day and the event of finding him was just as unexpected and confused as the day he was lost. It was not a story of any legendary significance, but it soon became one. Heartbroken at losing their precious little crown prince, the people had lamented and mourned his loss with a religious vigor. And when he was found again, the celebrating was only surpassed by the lavish embellishments placed, during drunken parties, on the story of his discovery .
It’s not entirely true that his discovery was completely mundane; there was one unexplainable fact. The prince had gone missing when he was only five years old; not in the least old enough to care for himself, especially outside the confines of his elaborate palace home. When he was found on the large property of an unimportant noble, he was a little leaner, tanner, and taller, but reasonably well fed and healthy. People passed around tales that various forest creatures –real and mythological- had taken care of him and kept him alive. Various cults of animal worship sprang up, based on these tales, but there was no truth behind any of them. But when asked about his disappearance, the prince would say nothing. Eventually, he learned witty little phrases to divert these questions, when some unlucky noble was so bold to ask. And it seemed to almost everyone that the prince had forgotten what had actually occurred in his fifth year of life.
In fact, Eric had never forgotten; he was simply buying his time.