The False Prince

03 | An Overly Protective Mother

After many hours of unsuccessful searching, Oliver was cold, tired, and hungry. He wanted his mother, and he wanted to go home. Without thinking, he sat down on the ground to take a quick nap. He instantly regretted his decision and jumped up in surprise. The grass was covered in a trail of thick, gooey, green slime. Curious, Oliver chose to follow it and discover where it lead to since he had nothing better to do. As the witch's son stuck to the mysterious path, he soon reached a large, dark, and malodorous culvert. Leaving absolutely any commonsense he had left behind, the young man entered the gloomy metal tunnel and hoped for the best.

Once he had reached the end of the culvert, he was shocked to find that he had accidentally discovered the domain of a phoenix. He was so excited, that he did a quick happy dance. The legendary bird was roosting in a nest of glittering, golden hay on one of the branches of a gigantic elm tree. Did Rumpelstiltskin make that hay? Oliver did not know. What he did know was that he was just a few more meters away from collecting the next component of his potion. Unfortunately, getting his hands on one of the phoenix's feathers wasn't exactly going to be easy. It would take deftness, which the young man didn't have. The bird could instantly burst into flames whenever it wanted. The most dangerous thing that the witch's son ever did was catch a fish. All of a sudden, Oliver came up with a plan. It wasn't a very good plan, but it was a plan nonetheless.

The sorcerer in training took out a long grappling hook from his satchel. With the greatest strength possible, he flung it at the branch closest to the nest. Then he climbed the massive tree. Carefully, he tiptoed toward the sleeping creature, not wanting to wake it from its peaceful slumber. His fingers were just about to grab a hold of the soft, fluffy, orange feather laying in the golden nest, when his boot crunched loudly on the hay. The majestic bird woke and burst into fiery flames. She turned her neck to glare with her bulging, bloodshot eyes at Oliver. He looked down at the nest to see silver eggs the size of an ostrich's. The young man began to tremble. Nobody should ever mess with a mother animal.

He want to get too convivial with Mamma Big Bird. Her fearsome beak could remove his head instantly. The phoenix let out a blood-curdling squawk, showing her obvious rage. Oliver thought quickly and grabbed the last smidgen of beef jerky he had in his pocket. He threw it at her flaming face, grabbed a feather, and climbed down the elm tree as fast as he could. Distracted by the random piece of food, the mother bird paid no attention to the witch's son's escape. There was only one thing on her mind: food and food only.

After this little near death experience, Oliver was going to take things more seriously. He recited an incantation that created a trail of violet mist which would lead him home. He was going to get a map from the witch's hut so that next time, he wouldn't get lost, but before he continued his quest, he was planning on having a nice, long, cozy nap.