I wanted to update as quick as I could. This chapters differs a lot from the other story. I realized it made more sense this way.

Chapter One

The Great Prince of the Forest woke up at dawn, well rested.

The worst part of the cold season was over, the weather had gotten less chilly and the forest had started to wake up again after a long winter sleep.

The first thing he did was go down to the creek to drink some water. It was nice to drink real water again. It was mere days ago that it had been frozen solid like every other water surface in the forest. Now with spring coming closer and the temperatures getting warmer he and the rest of the deer did not have to eat snow or ice to get hydrated.

He had some tweaks for breakfast. He had long since gotten used to what most animals might call 'less desirable food items'. For him there were more important things to worry about than what he put in his mouth. Food was food.

He looked up to the pink morning sky and gazed in amazement as a group of ten to twenty crimson-colored birds flew above him. This was one of the early signs of the coming of spring. This was good. The last couple of months had been very harsh. It was about time something good happened. Not to mention that the sooner the spring came the sooner his son, who despite having received clear instructions to rise early in the morning still was asleep in the den, could be moved to a new and better home.

It had been weeks since he had taken charge of Bambi, and though he had been inconsolable at first he now seemed to have realized, that he could not be with his mother again. He was like he would expect any fawn to be; he was playful, loud and still very dependent on the guidance of a parent. Apart from those aspects he was little trouble. He had been raised well.

The Great Prince quickly forced himself to think of something else. He did not want to cause himself unnecessary pain by dwelling on the past.

He went back to the den, hoping that his son had woken up from his sleep by now. He was disappointed to discover that the fawn was still curled inside the den, fast asleep.

The stag sighed. He could just wake him up himself of course but he wouldn't. If Bambi woke up late he would just have to deal with the consequences. He could not be the one to push his son out of the den every morning, no he would simply have to learn how to get up early the hard way. Whatever previous arrangements he had been used to would have to be put behind him.

The Great Prince decided that he would have to do his observing here for a while, until that lazy son of his woke up.

It didn't take long after that however, that the stag heard a sneeze coming from inside his den.

About time, he thought and turned to face the opening of his den just in time to see a shocked little fawn come running out of it.

Not watching out for where he was going he ran straight into the front legs of his father. The collision sent the young deer on his back into the snow and he gazed awkwardly up at the stag with his four slim legs pointing in every direction.

The stag cleared his throat, looking down on his son with a look of disapproval.

"G-good morning," Bambi stuttered as he rose from awkward position.

The Great Prince sighed.

"Bambi, a Prince awakens before the forest does. If you're late again I'll have no choice but to-" he was suddenly distracted by a strange sound.

"What was that?" he wondered.

"What was what?" his son asked, his voice shaking.

The sound repeated itself and he lowered his ears in embarrassment.

"Uhm, I guess it was my stomach," he said.

"Then you should eat," the stag said. That seemed to him to be the most obvious solution. But the fawn just looked at him, dumbstruck as if he had said something utterly ridiculous and then Bambi's gaze moved to quickly scan his snow-covered surroundings before it went back to the stag. That was when he realized what he had said.

He should be well into the routine now. Bambi had been staying with him for weeks. He knew that Bambi was still too young to find food on his own. He should know better, he couldn't afford to look stupid in front of his son.

"I suppose I should find you something to eat," he said, quickly scanning their surroundings for anything eatable.

After digging in the snow with his hoof he managed to find the remains of a bush.

"Here," he said, stepping back to allow the fawn access to his meal.

His excitement turned into disappointment when he saw it.

"Uhm, no thank you".

The Great Prince became slightly irritated. It was still winter. Food was hard to come by; Bambi couldn't afford to sort out the things he didn't like.

"Have you ever tried it," the stag asked.

"No," Bambi admitted.

"Then how do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it?"

He sensed that Bambi knew he had lost and he reluctantly chewed on some twigs. When he swallowed his breakfast the stag was satisfied.

"Come along, we have to check on the other deer in the south forest".

"WOOHOO! WOHOO!"

The fawn stopped and fell silent the third time his name was called.

"A Prince does not woo hoo,"The Great Prince said.

Bambi looked at him oddly.

"He doesn't?"

"He most certainly does not," the stag said. "He displays control of all times. Maintain dignity. Walks with pride".

He made demonstrations as he spoke.

Bambi obeyed and did not say another word but no sooner had they walked two steps before he suddenly went sliding down the hill they were walking on with a surprised cry followed by a muttered "I'm okay," as he had fallen face down into the thick layer of snow.

The Great Prince sighed but said nothing else. It was like this every day. He was always delayed because of his son's clumsiness. Of course he knew that as Bambi still was a mere fawn his legs were not as strong as his own so it was only natural that he shouldn't be able to keep up with a fully grown buck like himself but still he found it extremely tiring and annoying. He was no do for crying out loud, he did not have a doe's patience to deal with a fawn.

As he expected Bambi screamed as soon as his hooves touched the icy cold water when they crossed the creek and he ran to the other shore, as fast as his legs could carry him then jumped around, complaining about the cold. And again he squeezed himself under the trunk of a big, fallen tree that was in the way of their daily path.

At last they reached their first stop - the meadow. It was completely covered in white snow like the rest of the forest and the contrast to the light brown color of the deers' fur made them a lot easier to spot than had this been mid-summer. They'd be a lot easier for Man to spot, should he choose to show up. But at this moment there seemed to be no danger.

"Don't you think it'd be better if we got a little closer?" his son asked him.

"The distance makes it easier to spot danger," he simply answered.

"Oh," said Bambi. "But it sure makes it harder to play with them".

He gave the fawn an odd look. Surely Bambi knew that there was no room for playtime on his agenda.

"Playing is a healthy part of a young deer's development," his son explained.

"Is that so?" he said in a non-caring-tone.

"Mother says so," the fawn said.

The stag sighed as his son began a tale about a past encounter on the meadow. Bambi it seemed had never fully understood what had happened to his mother. He still spoke of her as if she was still alive. As if she could come back any moment. He didn't understand what the mere mentioning of her did to him. Of course he had never tried to talk to him about it. Bambi was far too young to understand it. The Great Prince had done a good job at masking his true feeling anyway so it wasn't necessary. But this wasn't good for Bambi either.

"Bambi!" he said sternly and the fawn looked up at him in shock and stopped talking.

His expression softened.

"I think it's best to leave the past in the past," he said gently. "A Prince does not look back, only ahead".

"Oh," Bambi said, seeming disappointed. "Yes sir".

"Come, we still have a lot of ground to cover today, don't fall behind," the stag said.

It was only a short while later though that he discovered that the fawn was no longer trailing behind him. He had stopped to talk to the rabbit family about the groundhog.

So it was that time of year already it seemed. He sighed and cleared his throat. Bambi looked embarrassed and ran back to him quickly.

They continued walking until they came to a small mountain. As Bambi tried to climb it he kept sliding back down until the stag was about ten feet ahead of him and they were not even close to reaching the top. He realized that Bambi would not stand a chance at climbing all this way so taking him along would be pointless.

"Why don't you go with your friends to see the groundhog?" he decided. At least then Bambi wouldn't be alone and Friend Owl and a bunch of other adults would also be there if anything should happen. And he was sure that Bambi would prefer that than to go back to the den.

"But I want to stay with you," the fawn said.

It was always something that his son actually wanted to go with him on patrol but as it was at the moment it was not possible but he could not be as blunt as to tell his son that he would not make it. He may not have known much about parenting but he certainly knew better than to discourage his young one, especially when that young one would one day take over his duties, so instead he said, "I have to check on the deer in the south meadow, it's very far. Go with your friends to see the groundhog, I'll meet you there later".

"Okay," Bambi said, looking a little disappointed. "I'll meet you".

The Great Prince said nothing more and continued on his way.

The next update might not be as quick. I have a lot of stuff to do, I have to finish an original short story that is going to be part of an anthology and I have to study for finals. But please post a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter.