Don't Forget (Old Version)

(A/N I honestly should've just wrote this story from Max's perspective)

     It's been so hard to keep going without Ross. Our parents died just a few years after he was born. I didn't know what to do at the time, and so as a seven year old, I ran away from my home town with Ross. I was so scared that they'd take him away from me. I remember almost dying that same night. A pack of wolves seemed to think I would make the perfect midnight snack. I had climbed up a tree with Ross on my back, barely saving our lives.

     I eventually woke up to Ross's crying. I tried to calm him down, but I didn't know what to do. I felt so helpless when I couldn't help him. They must have heard Ross's crying, because a group of people snuck up on us while I couldn't hear them walking. I nearly fell out of tree when I heard a women's voice. "W-Who are y-you", I frantically asked her, spinning around on my branch. "My name's Amphu, why are you guys out here? Are your parents nearby?", She asked me. I couldn't help it, I broke down and cried after she said that. All I had left was my little brother, who'd never get to know are parents like I did. Amphu managed to get me down from the tree, holding me while I continued to cry. She held the now quiet Ross in her other arm.

     It turns out that Amphu was part of a preforming group that traveled around all of GoldenEye. A couple of the people were even wolf hybrids. Ross really liked playing with their ears. Once I told Amphu that he and I were alone, she refused to leave us there. We went with the preforming group as they traveled. She even helped us learn math and how to wright. Everyone had to earn their keep. I learned how to help everyone with their performances during the shows. I would get the props, or open and close the curtain, sometimes I'd join in on the plays they'd put on. Ross would make or paint little art crafts to sell. He also liked to help with costumes when he got older.

     We spent four years with the group, who had become like family to us. I was 11 by then, Ross was five. It was just a normal night when we lost them forever. Performers like us made just enough money to survive, so it still enrages me today about what happened. A group of bandits found are camp. They didn't even give us a chance to settle things peacefully, they just immediately attacked everyone. We weren't fighters, we didn't know how to defend ourselves. But most of us tried. Me? I ran. I took Ross and we ran for are lives. It was the coward's way out and I knew it, but Ross's terrified face was all it took for me to leave behind everything once again.

     I remember running almost all night, carrying Ross on my back at one point. We slept for a few hours in another tree. We found a large city at noon of the next day. I didn't realize that it was the capital until I saw the castle. Ross thought it was the prettiest thing he had ever seen, and I was just happy that we were safe. The next year was pretty terrible as I learned how the city worked. I was way too young for anyone to give me a job, and there was no way I would ask for help when they might separate Ross and I. I ended up stealing for a lot of what we needed. It is wrong to steal, but I didn't see any other option at the time. I found an abandoned building that was almost falling to pieces. Ross and I slept in the cellar, and that's where he stayed while I went out. I never had the heart tell him exactly how I got the food and other supplies I stole, no matter how much he asked.

Things looked up one day when I was walking a few blocks away from the castle. I saw a paper sign on on of the buildings, and I was just able to read the words 'help wanted'. The flier went on to talk about how the castle needed someone to help clean something called the 'dungeon'. All I paid attention to was the part about getting paid. I nearly sprinted the entire way to the castle gates. I'm sure the guard was very confused when he saw me hurdling down the road. Once I explained to him why I was there, they told me that those signs had been up for two weeks already. "Nobody wants to work in the dungeon, I suggest you scram, kid", they said to me. But I didn't give up. He eventually said to come back in the morning in if I was serious, just after sunrise. I had eagerly agreed and ran home to tell Ross.