Prologue

The Pegasus horses were once free to roam the earth, their purpose only to be looked upon by man as they fought side-by-side protecting the Kingdom of Acaytlan. That was until the King, King Gerek, decided to wipe them out. One-by-one the Pegasus' blood was shed, each one's blood oozing into the ground. The once proud and powerful creatures were extinct, their wings being ripped from their backs to be made into feathers for the bows and arrows. Why had they fallen from grace? Why, the people they had fought beside suddenly were turning their backs on the creatures and began killing them. Why had they betrayed them? This was the thought of one lone foal black as night laid in waiting of his impending doom. The young Pegasus ducked down, hearing sounds of hooves coming from the other end of the forest, the blackness of night covering the sounds of the footprints coming from the trail. That's when a young girl came to his rescue, stepping off of her horse, holding a lantern. The young foal began to back away, ducking his wings in tighter against his body. That's when he heard her speak. "Hello?" she asked, softly. The young foal's ears perked up, and he began to slowly make a descent towards her. All his doubts soon faded away as he began to slowly move toward her. This was the Princess. Princess Kateryn of Acaytlan. She looked, watching the young foal make his way towards her and she smiled, grabbing some oats and holding out her hand allowing the horse to eat.

"Why are you all alone out here?" she asked, patting the top of his head.

He was too busy eating to notice the touch and hear the approaching footsteps. They were coming for him. The Princess knew that without a doubt, she'd have to protect the horse so she did the only thing she could do and hid him behind her cloak, blowing out the lantern as the guards from the castle walked along the trail. She was careful not to make a sound for she knew that the guards would surely tell her father she was protecting a Pegasus and that'd make her father angry. They walked past her in procession and she sighed, looking at the horse. "Come on young one. I'll take care of you," she said, tying a string around the foal's muzzle and tying it to the reins of her pony. She kicked the pony on the sides gently and they began moving, quietly at first. She had to sneak into the castle without being spotted. And that would be easy to do when they were hidden in the shadows. She walked with the pony and headed for the royal stables, where she put her pony up and led the young foal to the empty stall at the end. There, she took off her cloak and covered the young horse and began to bottle-feed it. She had a good chance to look at its wings, the blackness tucked into his body. He was magnificent. She smiled; petting the young horse's mane and watching him suck on the nipple of the bottle almost pulling it out of her hand. "Easy, easy. There's plenty of it to go around."

He soon pulled his mouth away and curled into a little ball, falling fast asleep. He was a dark spot against the hay. She blew the lantern out and patted the horse's head. She smiled and stood, walking out of the stables. She looked back at the newest addition and sighed. "Good night," she whispered, walking out of the stables and leaving the lone Pegasus alone to sleep. He felt safe. For the first time in his life, he felt as if he were able to live. The foal slept soundly, knowing that the princess would protect him. She would keep him safe, and she would return the favor. However, he was very wrong.