I wrote this throughout the summer! A long time ago my mom said that if I ever put a fanfic on here, then I'd have to write the entire story out before putting any of it on, so I've finished the entire thing already. I'll probably post a part each week. Thanks to my parents for editing! Feedback is always appreciated!! Hope you like, The Rise of Good !!!!!!😁

Part One: Too Late

The smell of smoke was in the air. He stood on a precipice, looking down at the valley below. What had once been a village, was now a pile of ash. He clinched his fists, why does my father let such terror run rampant on this land? When will the wild wolves stop burning villages, killing innocent does and children? When will this nightmare end? He whispered to himself, “It will not be so in the Mended Wood.” 

He was standing alone, cape and long ears whipping in the wind, when, suddenly, he heard a presence come up behind him. He turned to see one of the young bucks he was traveling with. 

“What is it?” he asked, looking back down at the ruined village.

“Your highness, we should move on, it’s destroyed, no one could have survived.” 

“No, I’m going down to the village.”

“But, Prince Walter, it’s still burning, you ca-”

“And you can’t change my mind, Bobson, so you might as well drop it,” 

Prince Walter motioned to his bucks, and then started trudging down the slope to the valley below. His bucks followed.

Dark days had come over Natalia. The Great Wood was not a safe place, in fact nowhere was really safe from the wild wolves and birds of prey. All the small villages and warrens were slowly being destroyed, including the rabbits there as well. The rabbits who managed to escape ran to the protection of the walls of First Warren. But even there they weren’t safe. Walter’s father, King Henaphiz, taxed the refugees unfairly, even after they had lost everything, not to mention that there was a lack of homes and food in First Warren. First Warren had become a hole of beggars and lepers, while King Henaphiz sat in the palace, with sacks of gold all around him. Walter had advised his father times without number to send out the army to save the villages, but to no avail. Henaphiz dismissed the thought immediately. The only protectors Natalia had now were Prince Walter and his private guard. But they could only do so much. And most times they were too late. Like now, thought Walter as he walked to the mess of homes in the valley. 

The stench was horrible. The smell of ash and smoke mixed with the smell of the remains of the rabbits who once lived there. The wolves had done their business. Walter gagged at the site of bones and fur on the ashen floor. All the buildings were falling apart. Maybe Bobson was right, maybe no one survived. But something inside him pressed him to go on. As they walked among the ruin, Walter thought he heard a whimper. He turned to where it had come from. The house had only two walls remaining. A part of the roof lay on the floor, smoking. Walter approached the house looking around warily. 

“Sir? What are you doing?” asked young Bobson as Walter searched the wreckage. Prince Walter lifted the piece of the roof off the ground. A shot of pain went through his fingers, it was still hot. Walter chucked the burning roof away, revealing a hole to what once had been a cellar. Sunlight streamed into the hole and there, on the ground, were two battered rabbits. A doe in a dirty dress and a young buck clinging to her with eyes wide full of fear.

To be continued...