((Hello, reader. Before you read, I would just like to say that this fic was based off of a wonderful game called The Path by Tale of Tales. I highly recommend playing the game, which you can buy relatively cheaply off of the website. OKAY, anyway, this fic is also supposed to be read like a bedtime story, or a child's fairytale.))

Fey Children:

Kyle

Once upon a time, there was a small clearing up in the mountains. And, in that clearing, sat a small town. Everyone in this town new the other and no one was left a stranger, even if they wanted to be. But, the town was small, and only one road existed. This one road was the only road that led you safely in and out, and those who were wise did not dare stray from this road. For those who were wise knew that off of the road was only a dark forest, and in the darkness of the forest would linger misfortune and agony. Those who went into the forest where nothing short of doomed.

In the small town lived young boy named Kyle. Young Kyle was a lean boy, with pale skin and orange curls that he kept tucked under his green hat. He was blessed with outstanding morals and it was never in his head to wrong the innocent. He could always do well in his schoolwork and would always be home before his curfew. He'd care for his infant brother and watch after his younger soul, and tend to his mother and father when they fall ill.

But, young Kyle was cursed with a temper, and would roar at those who dared to wrong him. His enemies knew him as rash, and onlookers thought him to be explosive. Perhaps some even thought of him to be a tad bit too harsh, but those who thought so would never say so. It was not uncommon for the young boy to scream and raise his fist.

Present, young Kyle had a clear head, and was given a small basket full of candies made by his mother to deliver.

"My son, won't you run to the next town and give these candies to your aunt?" his mother asked.

"Of course, mother," young Kyle said.

"Remember not to stray into the forest, my son," his mother said. But Kyle was deemed wise, and promised not to stray.

With the basket in his hand, the young boy set out on his journey, true to his word. He made it outside of the town by the road and did not dare consider treading into the forest. The sky above him was clear, and not a single cloud lingered in the blue, and the sun lit the way outside the trees.

But then, when he was far from the town on the road, a rock struck his arm and the basket of candies from his mother fell to the ground. Young Kyle looked all around, only to find no one in sight. He stepped over to the direction the rock came from, peering into the forest with a boiling anger.

In the forest stood a figure, cloaked by the fog that lingered in the darkness. The figure reached down to the ground to pick up another rock, and threw it hard at the boy's leg. Kyle took a step towards the figure, but the figure turned and ran away.

Enraged, Kyle sprinted towards his attacker. He entered the darkness of the forest, where fog hung in the air and the only light poked in through small breaks in the tree tops. Squirrels and other small rodents crawled along the forest floor, running from young Kyle as he hurried by.

He continued to chase after his attacker until he lost sight of him, only to find that he no longer knew which way to go. His anger subsided upon this recognition and was replaced by unsteadiness. He looked all around, but everywhere looked the same. He ambled confusedly around the forest, but the trees seemed endless and the darkness never turned to light.

When his feet grew tired and his legs grew sore, he sat down on the cold ground with his back against a tall tree. His temper grew hot and he began to shake with rage. He threw stones from the ground beside him at a nearby tree and cursed under his breath.

When young Kyle looked up from his feet, he could see another young boy standing before him. The other boy was dressed in a large orange parka, much too big for his small body, with the hood pulled over his head, which hung like a dead man's. His hands were bloody and his eyes were vacant as they lingered on the ground, half closed. Young Kyle sprung to his feet upon seeing him and screamed, "It's you who threw rocks at me!"

The mysterious boy said nothing, but turned around and hurried away. Young Kyle, angry and impatient, ran after him, screaming, "Come back here!" But the boy in orange didn't stop, and he kept running and running, until finally, the road was back in view.

Kyle stepped out of the forest and turned to face the boy in orange, but he was already gone. The young boy frowned hard and stepped out into the sunlight. The road was still just as empty as it had been throughout his journey so far, and not even a bird stood in his sight. The boy, having realized he lost his mother's basket of candies, began to hurry back the way that he came with the hopes that, perhaps, he might be forgiven by his mother and be able to find the basket still on the road.

But, when he finally did find the basket, when his feet grew blistered and his legs moved painfully, and the sigh boiled his anger. The basket had been emptied out onto the pavement, each candy crushed and torn, with shoe prints embedded onto the sweets. Young Kyle gave an angry cry at the sight and looked around for who could have done this. He spotted no one at first, but then his eyes finally settled on a black figure that stood motionless in the trees. There was no doubt in young Kyle's mind that this was, indeed, the one who had ruined his mother's candies, and quite possibly even the one who had thrown stones at him.

"Hey, you!" Young Kyle cried out, sprinting towards the figure. But, the figure moved swiftly against the trees, and his black attire and dark hair blended him in with the darkness inside the trees. That didn't stop the young child from sprinting into the forest after him.

Frustrated, the boy was blind to his surroundings, and didn't notice the small, weak fence before him, and ran into the flimsy wooden structure. He and the portion of the fence tumbled down and many splinters poked into young Kyle's cheeks, hands, and arms. He gave out a sharp cry of pain and crawled along the dirt, only to evoke an even worse pain in his left leg. The young boy looked down to his leg, only to discover a large, pointed piece of wood tearing his trousers and scraping into his flesh. He tried to pull his leg away from the wood, but only succeeded in widening his injuries.

He looked up from his wounded body, and saw two young boys standing side by side before him, too far to touch. One was the boy in orange with the vacant, dead eyes and a hanging head, and the other was the boy he chased, a young boy of the same height as the one in orange, and dressed in all black with dark hair contrasting pale skin, his eyes thoughtful. The boy in orange sang a mysterious song with strained "la la la la la la la,"s and scared "ha, ha, ha, ha,"s.

Young Kyle looked back to his leg, which had begun to gush out blood onto the dirt. With tears in his eyes, the boy looked back to the other two, but they were already gone, and the young boy was all alone in the forest with his wound.

Quietly, a mysterious voice sung out from nowhere, "La…la."

((Thank you for reading!

1,323 words

3 pages))