ALT The prince went down through the trees and emerged at the edge of a river. He dipped his fingers in the icy cold water, the bitter feeling shot up the nerves of his arms to his elbows. “Ah!” It was painful, but soothing. After splashing his face with water, he took off his boots and strode out over the smooth river rock, the water rushing around his calves. Under the perfectly clear stream he could see a landscape of round stones in myriad colors: gold, yellow, white, orange, and black. The cold bit deep, but it calmed his sore muscles. For a time he closed his eyes and simply listened to the white sound of the water as everything else melted away in his mind. His feet and legs were growing numb from the cold now, and he turned to step out of the river. There on the shore stood the officer of the royal guard. She had tracked him all this way, waited for him to be vulnerable. Now the prince stood alone against her.