He lived through the same memory every night. The forest was lit in flames and he was scrambling to get past them. The more he looked for an escape the more the smoke continued sucking the air from his lungs. He was terrified, and to make matters worse, he wasn’t a fast runner. He was surrounded and the walls of heat were only coming closer.

“Mamma!” He screamed. A figure soon emerged from the other side of the flames and picked him up. He felt himself being tightly carried away by his mother. His face pressed up against her chest so tightly that he couldn’t breathe. He was soon thrown onto the safer ground where his father was waiting. He looked around the scene. Villagers and forest animals raced away for safety as the fire spread, but his father remained planted staring at where his mother stood.

“Lucia…” His father covered his mouth as his eyes flooded with tears. A flaming log tumbled down to his side reminding him of the dire situation as he took his son’s hand and began the race to safety.

The young boy looked back as he was pulled away. There his mother lay as the fire fed off her flesh. She had sent herself into the flames to save him and had forced herself to get him to safety until her last breath. The smell of burning flesh rose quickly as it finally hit him. “Mamma!” He screamed. The fire began to cover her entirely as he squirmed and battled against his father’s grip. They couldn’t leave her there!

“Come boy! Don’t let your mother’s death be in vain!” He took one last look at the burning corpse before running with his father.

As the wildfire spread panic only rose. Some tried to stop it from reaching the village, but most were running away in fear. Past the screams and fiery destruction, he could hear people try to figure out what happened. A fire like this was too destructive to be an accident, so they began to ask who started it. Who would threaten them like this?

“It was the Rhioninians!” He heard his father yell. “I saw them, it was an act of war!” The boy listened in further panic. It wasn’t the Rhioninians. He knew it wasn’t! It was his turn to make sure the fire was out that night, but he had fallen asleep. He had caused this!

“They’ll believe it easy. Keeps us safe.” His father whispered to him.

His legs ached as he tried his best to run faster. He had done this. He was responsible for burning the forest and part of the village. He was responsible for whatever punishment came to the Rhioninans.

Hansel winced guiltily in his sleep. War had followed because of his mistake. His mother was gone, and without her amazing treats to assist the baker he and his father plummeted into poverty. With a large part of the forest gone a desperate need for wood from the farther sides followed, and his father thrived as a woodcutter. Hansel would often help, growing faster and stronger without the endless stream of sweets his mother would have brought home.

As he grew and rumors became bolder so did his guilt and self-loathing. With every comment on the war he wanted to scream out the truth but he knew that it was too late for that now. If he did he would be labeled a traitor and be punished for siding with the enemy.  So Hansel at seven years of age, already considered himself to have blood on his hands. He held all the Rhioninan deaths in his heart along with the death of his mother. He often wondered why he hadn’t done something at the start of this. Would his mother still have saved him if he knew what he would end up hiding? There was no redemption until he met Guinniverre.

Guinniverre banged on the doors.

"Papa! Maman!" The loud yells and sounds of clashing swords outside scared her.

"Princess Guinniverre. I have received orders from King Eudes to not let you outside. They may soon invade."

Guinniverre kicked against the door. "But how do you know that he is safe?” She cried out.

"The King is willing to die for honor and your safety." Her protector called out. She heard loud noises and shouts. "Princess Guinniverre, you must go to the area we discussed!" The princess immediately knew what this meant. The castle had been invaded. Panicked by the yells of war Guinniverre crawled into a basket hidden under the floors of the closet. Held by ropes and pulleys it was meant to lower her down to a locked room and bring her outside secretly where she’d head to a meeting spot. As she lowered herself she realized something was wrong. The basket was stuck midway and would not budge. There was only one reason why her escape would be hindered, the invaders had gotten to the lower quarters first.

The princess sat there in the dark, eyes watering as she waited for the battle sounds below to fade away. Time became torturous as she heard soldiers fall. She couldn’t cry, if she wanted a chance to see her father again she had to stay quiet. The princess soon forced herself to sleep and when she woke up the voices were gone. Only the sound of the wind beating the curtains remained. She crawled out of the basket and climbed down on the ropes landing on the fireplace. Poking her head out she saw no one. She broke out into a run to escape but froze at the steps of the castle.

Bodies were thrown chaotically, coating the ground in red. Some bodies were trampled or sliced beyond recognition by the swords that still were in them. Guinniverre could hardly breathe. She walked slowly until she reached the center of the yard. The king lay there with a sword through his chest. His lifeless eyes caused the princess to fall to her knees. It was over so soon? She looked around, it was obvious what had happened. The different flags showed that this was not only one enemy that had attacked. The Rhioninans had been grossly outnumbered. A sudden shout rang out.

“The Princess of Rhionine lives!” Guinniverre looked around in a panic. She saw no one, but it didn’t matter. They had found her and she was going to die.

Guinniverre ran behind the castle, looking behind her. She heard steps but was unsure of their whereabouts. She raced into the forest. They could easily get lose her there. “MAMAN!” she screamed hoping her mother would find her. An arrow zoomed past her and her mouth shut in panic. She needed a hiding place. Looking around again, she saw no one, but there was a large stack of wood. If she could hide behind it maybe she’d be able to live.

Guinniverre rushed to hide behind it. She heard heavy chopping in the distance and couldn’t help it any longer. She shoved her face in her sleeves and began to cry. “Princess show yourself!”

Another voice began to echo as another person approached, getting closer to her. Could they see her? Had she been caught?

“Hey!”

“Move out of the way boy!”

“I won’t! This is our work area. You can't bring the battle to public spaces without warning! You could hurt people!” There was a silence. “I heard we were winning the war. So why are you here?”

“We didn’t realize work areas stretched so far into the forest. A member of Rhioninian royalty has escaped, we believe her to be hidden nearby.”

“Who, the princess?” He scoffed. “She’s only a child! The King and Queen were killed, the princess is unnecessary. She will starve to death on her own, or be brought to you. I assure you. You don’t want to harm any workers and have your name stained by the people.”

“Hansel!” A man called running to his son. Hansel quickly took his jacket off to cover the back of the woodpile and princess from view. She had been caught.

“splinters…” he muttered as an excuse for the sudden movement as he searched his arm.

Seeing the soldiers, Hansel was grabbed and his father bowed. “I’m so sorry, Signori. He’s still young at times and doesn’t know his place.”

The soldiers stood, the captain observing Hansel as he attempted to squirm out of his father’s grasp.

“No. he’s quite right. You have a clever boy.” The captain then turned to his party. “The battle has been won, we can post signs for the princess’s capture.” There was a pause before the man laughed. “We have been victorious! The king and queen have fallen and with it the grand city of Rhionine!” An excited yell overcame the soldiers as they discussed their later plans and began to walk away into the village.

Despite what the captain had said Hansel was reprimanded when they were out of sight. It wasn’t okay for someone as insignificant and young as he was to talk to someone in power as if they were equals. After a dull lecture, the woodcutter went away to continue his work. He sighed and waited to be completely alone.  At this Guinniverre caught her breath and began to let herself grieve.

She heard the slices of a thin blade. “I’m not going to hurt you. You didn’t do anything wrong. They did.” After a while, she felt him get closer to her. “I’m going to take my jacket off of you, is that okay?” She remained silent. Hansel slowly bent down and gave her a piece of wood, carved into it was the Rhioninian symbol of life. “I’m going to protect you…” He tried to stay seem as gentle as possible to not scare the princess further.

Guinniverre stared at the piece of wood, holding it tightly as a promise. “Merci.” Hansel nodded in response. She took a good look at him. Hansel was much taller than her with brown overgrown curly hair. He had to have eyes, but she couldn’t see them past his mane. He had light skin that clung to his bones showing off his poverty. His clothes were another indication of his status, not fitting well at all. He was deep in thought. The princess remembered something as he stood up and began to pace in concentration.

“Will you get in trouble for saving me?” She asked.

“Yes.” Was the quick response that left Guinniverre surprised. This boy chose to save her, despite the consequences.

“Then why did you?” She stood up to head away from him for his safety.

“Stay down” he commanded as he grabbed his knife and began checking a tree. He tried to act normal from a distance. “It was the right thing to do.” He responded. “You’re innocent, only a child.” This left Guinniverre without words, so there were still good people left in the world that didn't completely hate her and her people. Quickly he stopped moving and froze in place. He made a loud clicking noise between his teeth in what seemed to be a massive idea.

“Guinniverre, I can keep you alive and safe, but not like this. My plan involves living in poverty.” He admitted. Guinniverre nodded in understanding. He seemed like an angel, one who had known her for a long time. It nearly seemed like he was waiting for such a time as this to love and care for her when she needed it the most. Despite being older he wasn’t an adult, but still, he stood up to the soldiers and faced consequences for her! She couldn’t find herself doing anything but agreeing.

It was easy to say, but Hansel knew the princess didn’t fully understand what she was agreeing to. “Okay! okay.” Hansel exclaimed in a bit of nervousness. “Stay here, I have a plan.” He took his knife and tools and ran off to speak to his father. Afterward, he returned with a cart being pulled behind him “Get in, I’ll put the wood on top of you leaving some space for you under.” At this, he let out a brief smile. “We’re going home.”