From out of nowhere, a young boy appeared at the side of the road. Aiden pulled back on the reins and said, “Whoa.” He looked down at the boy, who didn’t seem in the least bit disturbed by the fact that Aiden had almost run him over. “Are you crazy?” Aiden said. “What are you doing?”
The little boy laughed. “I’m looking for my foxes.”
“You're looking for what?” Aiden asked.
The little boy bowed and raised his hat in salute. He wore a dark green suit that had a wide belt around the waist. His hat covered most of his head and had fuzzy tree branches sticking out of it. Zachary noticed everyone looking at his clothing. He patted himself and said, “I’m Zachary—keeper of the foxes. I dress like this to disguise myself.”
“Disguise yourself from what?” Alyssa asked.
Zachary snorted and shook his head. “From the escaped foxes. This suit allows me to camouflage myself among the trees. Three of my foxes got away. Did you see them on the road?”
“We didn’t even see a single fox.” Aiden narrowed his eyes at him. “Are you telling me the truth? I’ve never heard of a keeper of the foxes.”
For a moment, Zachary felt annoyed and pursed his lips. Aiden thought he might cry, but he only drew back his shoulders, puffing out his chest in the process. “Being a keeper of the foxes is a noble profession. The title has been in my family for many years. My father was a keeper of the foxes, and his father, and his father, and his father, and his father—”
“Okay, we get it,” Alyssa said. “A lot of your ancestors have been keepers of the foxes. That doesn’t change the fact that we haven’t seen them.”
Zachary frowned. “I’ve looked everywhere,” he said.
“Not everywhere,” Trystan said. “If you’d looked everywhere, you would have found them by now.”
Zachary put on a huge smile. “That is true. You have filled me with new hope. I shall carry on.” He began to walk away.
He was ten feet away when Trystan said, “Where are your other foxes?”
Zachary turned around. “Pardon me, Sir?”
“Your other foxes,” Trystan said. “Where are they? You told me you lost three of your foxes. So, where are the rest?”
Zachary’s mouth opened wide, and his face turned red. “Oh dear,” he said. He threw his arms in the air. “Now they’re all lost.” He rushed on, eager to find his missing foxes.
Trystan giggled. “I don’t think he’ll ever find them.”
Aiden sighed. “Probably not.”
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