eventually The Great Prince realized that Odin was no longer running by his side. The young stag came to a sudden halt and following his example, the hinds paused, glancing nervous looks at the other.

"Why have we stopped?" asked one doe.

The Great Prince turned his head and saw Odin facing the way they came. The smoke was becoming more prominent. "Odin, let's go!" snorted The Great Prince.

"Brother... I'm going," said Odin.

Feeling that his brother was challenging his authority, The Great Prince rushed over to him and stamped on the snow. "Are you a fool? Do you wish to die?!"

"Man will not stop chasing us, and soon he'll be on our tails," said Odin calmly. "I can buy us some time, distract them for a while while you all run away."

Mina let out a low moan; the other hinds stared at each other in shock. "Odin, no..." whispered Ena.

Odin's offer to sacrifice himself enraged The Great Prince. He huffed out his chest, and said, "No! I refuse to allow this!"

"Brother, you've always one-upped me in everything. Becoming Prince of the forest, winning the hinds' hearts..." Odin pulled his gaze away from his brother and faced Ena directly. "Allow me to have my one moment of glory. Let me prove my strength."

"Odin-"

"Some of them are pregnant," said Odin in a hushed whisper. "Mina, and some of the others... they're bearing my fawns. Don't punish them for my stupid mistake."

The Great Prince's anger ebated immediately. Odin flicked his ears. "Please take care of them. They won't know I'm their father - pretend that you are their father. They need a good role model to look up to." Odin's nostrils curled, and he ran off in the direction where Man was. The Great Prince watched him go, unable to come up with a coherent response to what his brother said.

As his brother's form disappeared behind the trees, The Great Prince decided to return to his does and continued to lead them onward. The herd only stopped once when the sound of thunder pierced the air. The Great Prince felt a cold shiver run up and down his spine, but his sadness was brief and he resumed leading the herd along.

The herd traveled on and on, slower this time because there was no longer a threat from Man. When the Great Prince finally stopped the herd, he moved to the direction from where they came to see if there was anything following them. The hinds looked nervously from one to another, except for Mina who looked utterly destroyed. She knew Odin wouldn't have acknowledged the fawn as his in front of his brother, but she still would've liked to have him around once the fawn was born. Now she would have to raise the fawn alone.

Ena leaned in and rubbed Mina's head, consoling her troubled friend for reasons she did not know. "We will be okay," she said. "The Great Prince will always protect us."

But that made Mina only more depressed.

The great stag returned to his herd and told them that they would rest here. The hinds relaxed and settled in, except for Ena who went off to talk to him. "Are you okay?" she asked as she timidly approached him. "It wasn't Odin's time but he was a hero."

Instead of comforting the stag, this only made him angrier. "He was too young!" declared The Great Prince. "And stupid! How smart was he to think he could fend off Man?"

"He knew he couldn't," said Ena smoothingly, "but it was not all in vain. His sacrifice kept Man away from us. You're beginning to blame yourself for not stopping him."

The Great Prince's head drooped. "I should've stopped him, but when he told me..." The stag froze as he stared into Ena's eyes. "When he told me that he wanted to succeed me in something... I never knew..."

Ena nodded agreeingly and leaned into her mate. "He will now be regarded as a hero..."

Still, there was one thing on The Great Prince's mind that he could not get rid of. "Yes... a hero..."

When night finally cloaked the skies, and Ena laid herself down to rest, The Great Prince decided to take it upon himself to talk to one of the hinds who had not yet fallen asleep. Mina was compliant with The Great Prince's request and together both trotted out of the view of the herd.

As soon as he knew they were well away enough for no one to hear them, The Great Prince faced Mina and said lowly, "It's Odin's isn't it?"

Mina faced The Great Prince with dull surprised. "Odin told you didn't he?"

The great stag nodded.

"You won't kill him will you?" asked Mina timidly.

The Great Prince's heart wretched. Under different circumstances, he probably would've exiled the young fawn if he was fathered by a rogue stag. But here was a case where his own brother mated with his does. Even if Odin did not sacrifice himself for them, The Great Prince knew he would've never had it in his heart to banish his brother's heir. In response to Mina, The Great Prince shook his head. "No. He will live and be taken care of well in the herd. I will keep my eye on him."

"Will you... tell everyone else?"

"No. And you mustn't tell him who his real father is." The Great Prince stared down at her sternly, openly asking her if she was willing to defy his orders. "I will pretend to be his father."

Mina broke down into tears to which The Great Prince quietly comforted her, wishing that he had the same ability to comfort her as his brother perhaps did.

It was not long before spring arrived. Along with spring came the birth of many fawns in the herd. The Great Prince had disappeared, reappointing his position of looking out for his herd. Word quickly traveled throughout the entire forest about the birth of the baby Prince. Every animal raced to meet and greet The Great Prince and Ena's newborn son.

Mina had her fawn sometime before Ena's, and no one came out to see her. As he promised, The Great Prince acknowledged Mina's fawn as his own even though it was obvious the fawn had features from neither parent. He was dark-colored, just like Odin, but no one said anything about it, nor did anyone ostracize Mina. The Great Prince claimed the fawn as his own, therefore the other hinds believed him.

Ronno was what Mina named the fawn, and as she licked his face over while he rested alongside her, she wondered if Odin could see this moment from where he now resided.