Chapter 505 - A Near Death Experience

The King of Austria stood in the mountains outside of the Capital City of his realm. Beside him was the young Prince Hans, who was the age of five this year. In this child's hands was a rifle, specifically constructed with the purpose of training youth in the operation of firearms. 

This rifle was a scaled-down version of the G-22 Service Rifle chambered in a unique center-fire cartridge modeled after the .22 Hornet from Berengar's previous life, the primary difference being its use of black powder. The King corrected his son's shooting stance before taking a step back and instructing the prince in the proper use of the firearm.

"Hans, you must line up the rear notch with the front sight post. After both are in line with your target, take a deep breath and squeeze the trigger. Make sure the stock of your rifle is embedded firmly in your shoulder before firing."

Hans nodded to his father's words before doing as instructed, after a few moments of preparation he took a deep breath, and squeezed the trigger, in doing so a loud bang resounded in the air, and the .22 projectile flew down range and towards the steel target.

Berengar looked through his binoculars to witness the projectile impacting the target and boldly declared his success.

"Hit!"

A smile formed on the Prince's face, as he heard the feedback of his successful hit shortly after his father's declaration. Having achieved his first successful shot, the boy looked over at his father with a wide smile in doing so, shifting the muzzle of his rifle toward the King. 

"I did it!"

Despite the boy's achievement, his father was far from pleased, and he immediately reacted by disarming the boy and shoving him toward's the ground. After doing so, he cleared the weapon to ensure its safety before tossing it onto the grass beside his child. 

"Never point your weapon towards something you don't intend to destroy! I don't care if you just fired your shot, and you think it to be safe. Do not point your weapon at me unless you intend to kill me, boy!"

A tear formed in the Prince's eye as he gazed upon his father's cruelty, however Berengar merely sneered in disdain before lecturing his son further.

"Hans, you are my son, and one day you will be a man. Listen well to my advice and take it to heart. Men do not cry in the presence of others, we do not have the luxury to show such weakness! If you wish to cry, do so when you are alone... Now get up and prepare to fire another round down range!"

The young Prince immediately wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded his head towards his father, after dusting himself off, he grabbed ahold of his rifle, and pointed it in a safe direction before pulling out a cartridge from his bandolier and placing it in the chamber. After shoving the bolt home, he aimed the rifle down range once more. 

However, this time, a white rabbit showed up on the range, and rather than shoot an inanimate object, Hans vented his frustration by shifting his aim towards the furry critter. After acquiring his target, and taking a deep breath, he squeezed the trigger, sending the .22 projectile down range and through the rabbit's eye. 

After successfully killing the prey, Hans pulled back the bolt, ejecting the round before shouldering his rifle and staring at his father with a stern expression. This time, Berengar was far more pleased with the boy's actions and patted him on the back.

"Good shot! It looks like we will be eating rabbit for dinner tonight. I'm proud of you, killer!"

Hans smiled as he heard his father's praise before glancing toward the slain rabbit. There was a tinge of remorse in his heart after killing the creature, but after hearing his father's praise, only pride remained. 

Berengar ushered his son forward to collect his prize.

"Hans, go pick up the beast and bring it here. Afterward we will send a few more rounds down range and bring this bad boy home for your mother Yasmin to cook!" The five-year-old prince had an excited smile on his face when he heard this, he always enjoyed his foreign mother's exotic cooking. Thus, he did as instructed and retrieved the rabbit. 

However, while Hans approached the slain rabbit, he overheard rustle in the nearby bushes, shortly thereafter a wild wolf jumped out from its covering and pounced on him, instantly knocking him to the ground. The foul creature spent no time and immediately tried to tear at the young princes neck, however the boy reacted on instinct and shove the stock of his rifle into the creature's jaws, preventing it from claiming his life. 

Face to face with a wild wolf, which stood atop him, desperately attempting to claim his life, Hans felt his life flash before his eyes. He struggled to prevent injury. His father ran towards him, and grabbed ahold of the wild wolf, picking it up into the air and slamming it into the ground as hard as he could. 

Berengar pinned the wolf to the ground, before pulling out his dagger and ruthlessly slicing its throat. Blood poured onto the ground as Hans gazed in horror at his father's vicious actions. Yet the violence did not end there. Enraged by the beast's attempt to murder his son, Berengar continued to repeatedly stab the creature long after death, until all of his anger was properly vented.

By the time he was finished with the mut, the young King of Austria was drenched in its blood, his otherwise handsome face coated in the viscous red substance. It was only then that he gazed over at his son, who looked at him in horror and checked on his condition.

Berengar's expression instantly shifted from a sadistic psychopath, to a caring father as he grabbed ahold of his five-year-old son, who was shivering in fear after what had just transpired. The king searched the boy's body for wounds while inquiring about his health.

"Hans! Are you okay? Did it bite you? Did it scratch you? Are you hurt at all?"

The young prince shook his head. Miraculously, not a single scratch existed on his body after such a frightful counter. In fact, he was more afraid of his father's actions than that of the wolf. Upon seeing that his son was okay, Berengar grabbed ahold of him tightly, and kissed his forehead, hugging the boy as he struggled to contain the tears in his eyes.

"I thought I lost you... This is my fault. I should have been there with you to prevent something like this from happening. I won't ever let you down again..."

It was at this moment the bushes rustled once more. Berengar quickly pushed his son behind him as he wielded his dagger, preparing for another conflict. However, in the next moment, a small wolf pup appeared from the bushes and gazed upon its dead mother. 

Berengar picked up the pup and was about to end its miserable existence when his son stopped him.

"Wait!"

When the king heard this, he shifted his gaze towards his son, his knife already at the throat of the infant wolf. 

"Hans, this creature won't survive on its own. It is better to kill it now, then let it starve to death..."

A determined expression appeared on the Prince's face as he nodded his head before making a request of his kingly father.

"I will take care of it!"

The Austrian Monarch could not help but scoff when he heard this.

"You? You are but a child yourself. Do you have any idea what kind of responsibility that is?"

However, Hans did not waver. Instead, he brought up solid reasoning to his father about why he should care for the wolf pup. 

"I am the reason its mother is dead, therefore the responsibility to ensure its survival falls to me!"

Berengar could tell his son was serious, and thus lowered his blade before tossing the infant wolf to its new master.

"You will feed it, walk it, and look after it. When it dies, you will be responsible for burying it. I will have no part in this. Make sure it has better manners than its mother, or I might just kill it after all..."

Hans nodded his head and grabbed hold of the pup, stuffing it under his arm. As he carried the creature with him. As for the rabbit, Berengar picked it up and slung it across his back before giving his son an order.

"Pick up your rifle. We're going home. I am sure your mother will be furious when she finds out about this, and I am the one who is going to have to suffer."

Hans did not disobey his father's orders, and did as he was instructed. Thus, the King and the Prince made the long trek back to the Palace, this near-death experience, and the violence his father was willing to engage in to ensure his protection would forever linger in the boy's mind. 

Such a memory was bound to influence the boy's mind on the lengths a man should go to in order to ensure the safety of his family and his people.. Future Historians and psychologists would look back on this day, as a key event in the Prince's life, one that helped shape his personality.