"Alfred honey, I know you don't want to leave this place after just making friends, but you know we have no choice because of your father's job," a short plump woman said with honey blonde hair, which curled towards the end when it reached her shoulders.
"I'm fine mom. Really," a dejected Alfred said as he kept his gaze at the suitcase he was packing, rather than looking at his mother.
He really had no qualms with leaving England after living here for only a year. Not to mention when they returned, he could finally show his younger brother all the cool things America had to offer instead of the sometimes boring England. It was just, that he would miss the friends he made here, especially one in particular, who he could not just write a letter to or anything of the sort. In fact, he still had to tell his friend he would not be returning tonight, which was why the usually ecstatic grinning boy, had his brows knitted and a look of utter dejection on his face.
"Alright. I'm going to check on Mattie. You almost ready for bed?" his mother asked patting his back in small soothing circles. It was something she had always done when Alfred was upset, and he greatly appreciated his mother for doing so.
"Yeah, almost. You gonna read a story tonight?" he asked, looking up at his mother with expectant ocean blue eyes.
"Not tonight," his mother said with a small grin and shake of her head. "I'll be telling you one that my Gram used to tell me."
The boy stared at her wide eyed for a moment before shouting in joy at the prospect of hearing a new story. It had been the same stories for the past few nights, and Alfred was honestly tired of it. Now he would have to make sure to hurry and get done for bedtime. But he knew he had to keep out a set of clothes for later since he would have to out into the woods. He just hoped he could do so without alerting his mother; the last time he went, he almost got caught .
"I'll go and get ready. What kinda story is it tonight?" Alfred asked as he gathered up the clothes he would be sleeping in.
"A story about a knight and a dragon," his mother replied, walking behind him. Once they left his room, she went to talk to her other son, Matthew, while Alfred went into the bathroom.
Alfred made sure to change into his sleeping suit before he brushed through his hair once, and then brushed his teeth. It was the normal routine for him since he fought with his cowlick constantly. He learned that if he brushed his hair before going to bed the night before it usually tended to not be as bad. Once he was satisfied, he back to his mother, who was helping Matthew with a few small items to pack.
"Matthew, I know you want to take your polar bear with you, but you'll have to pack it tomorrow in your bag before the flight. Once the plane is high enough, I'll get him out for you. Okay?" his mother explained as Matthew only nodded his head, not trusting himself to speak. "Alright then. Go get ready for bed and meet me in Alfred's room."
Again, Matthew nodded before taking his polar bear into the bathroom with him. Alfred only watched the transaction since he knew better than to get in between Matthew and their parents. Since Alfred could remember, Matthew never really spoke up about anything and hid behind the polar bear he had gotten from one of their relatives. Ever since he got the bear, it never left his side besides to get washed. It was one of the main reasons why Matthew got teased in school as well, but Alfred made sure to stick up for him.
It was their parents wish though that Alfred not always fight Matthew's battles since Matthew needed to find his own voice. Yet the smaller of the two boys just never said anything unless he had to. Even in class, when he is called upon, he just mumbles into the fur of the bear. After half a semester, they stopped calling on Matthew. It got to the point where people literally forgot he even existed, which was not something their parents wanted to hear. Now Matthew was being forced out of his comfort zone. Alfred hated not being able to come to his brother's aid, but if his parents deemed it so, there was nothing he could do.
"You all set?" their mother said, when Alfred only stood there quietly.
"Yeah, all set," Alfred grinned at his mother before going to his room. "We gotta wait for Mattie first."
"Yes, I know. I told him to meet us in your room," his mother assured him as Alfred climbed into bed and she tucked him in. "Good?"
"Yup!" Alfred said knowing he had to scoot over since Matthew still needed room for when he came.
The two had shared a bed since the two could remember. Most people confused the two boys for twins, but really Alfred was older by a year. Not to mention, Matthew was born in Canada on one of their trips to family up there. He considered himself to be Canadian, which they never really corrected since everyone thought it was cute. Alfred teased Matthew about this constantly by telling him America was so much better. The two would fight a bit, but after a few minutes, the two would be the best of friends once again. The two were nothing alike, except they both ate food as if they were constantly starving. Alfred would more than occasionally see Matthew sneak into the kitchen in order to get something to eat before dinner or shortly after it. Of course, Matthew never told on Alfred when he went to sneak food out either. At times, the two even stole food together.
"Oh, Matthew. You all finished?" his mother asked as Matthew was suddenly in the doorway and moved towards the bed. He nodded at his mother before crawling in with Alfred, knowing that his brother had made room for him. "Did you both brush your teeth?"
Both boys nodded in response. Matthew cuddled his polar bear safely as his mother tucked him in.
"Very well done. Now, who's ready for a story about a knight and a dragon?" their mother asked as Matthew nodded and Alfred gave an excited shout. "Here goes. Once upon a time..."
It always started that way. The tradition of any fairy tale, and Alfred had never forgotten that, even when he grew older. But it was the belief in magic and the fae, which he had grown out of in the coming years. For now though, Alfred enjoyed the story of the knight who befriended a dragon who was not all that scary after all. It was a different story from most of the ones their mother had told the boys since she had started telling those tales, but it was nice. Especially since the two would end up having to make new friends once they moved back to the United States after living in England for a year.
Once the story was done, she tucked them in one last time before turning off the night, leaving only the night light on for the two. Matthew was a heavy sleeper, and so when he was finally snoring, Alfred made his escape, putting on the clothes he had kept out for the trip. After he was dressed, he crept down the stairs and past his parents' bedroom.
This was always the hard part, since his mother had what he liked to call a sixth sense for when he was going to get himself into trouble. Normally she would come to rescue and he would never understand how she knew where he was on more than one occasion. Thankfully though, when he went out to meet his friend, he was lucky enough to have avoided such encounters with her. But still he crept past the door trying desperately to not make a sound. When he was past the door it was home free all the way to the kitchen door.
Cracking it open slightly, he called out into the night. The two had decided that before Alfred came out into the night, he would call and his friend would come to escort him into the forest. Neither wanted the golden haired boy to be spirited away just because he was trying to meet with his friend. Within a few seconds of calling out into the dark, small light flitted across the backyard toward him. Instantly, Alfred knew it was him. The slight green glow to the light only confirmed his suspicions.
"Arthur!" Alfred said rather excited to see the small fairy as he made his way towards the boy.
"Hush, or do you want your mum to hear you?" Arthur said with a smile and a tone where he was not necessarily scolding Alfred, but rather teasing him.
Arthur looked to be in his early teen years, but on a much smaller scale. With messy wheat blonde hair, the green eyed fairy, could have blended in almost perfectly with the rest of the word, except for the strange wings that filled his back. They started at his shoulder bone and fanned out into four sections. They were not like the usual image of fairy wings, but Arthur had explained the wings most people believe fairies to have were actually the wings that belonged to the pixie, which he clearly was not. Alfred learned rather quickly that to call a fairy such as Arthur a pixie was a great insult, resulting in getting his ear cuffed or the one strand of hair that like to stick up, pulled on.
"Sorry. Listen I really need to talk to you about something important!" Alfred watched as the small fairy's rather large and thick eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but nodded all the same.
"To the fairy circle then," Arthur said with a nod of his head. His voice soft in Alfred's ear as the fairy flew up to it and spoke, knowing humans could not hear as well as most creatures.
Normally a fairy circle would not be considered a place a human would be safe, but honestly, Arthur used it as a place to make sure Alfred stayed safe from the more dangerous creatures who roamed the woods besides the usual fairies. Thanks to Alfred's cheerful disposition, he had befriended many of the fairies who called that circle their home and so was able to use it when he needed to without having to fear the wrath the fairies. In fact, on more than one occasion, the fairies had protected Alfred and Matthew from some of the more powerful creatures who still decided they needed to hunt down humans. So when Arthur said they were going to go to the circle, Alfred knew Arthur would listen to anything he said.
Arthur quickly led Alfred through the backyard and into the forest which surrounded a small part of his house. The forest was the first place Alfred and Arthur had met. And it had quickly become their playground unless it was at night. The only times they met so late was if Alfred had something important to discuss with the fairy, who he just needed some to give him advice when he couldn't tell his parents. To Alfred, Arthur became a big brother figure, something his parents could never replace. It took another ten minutes for Alfred and Arthur to make their way through the forest and to the fairy circle. Arthur magicked a light for Alfred, lest he fall on the roots or other plants. Although normally Alfred told Arthur he was old enough not to need help, Alfred was oddly silent tonight.
The circle was rather large compared to most of the fairy circles people were warned to stay away from, but when Arthur explained how old the fairy circle was, Alfred only sat there in awe. It was composed of different sized rocks, which were moved every year if needed be, considering it seemed the fairies in this particular area had grown slightly over the years. After a few minutes, to allow Alfred to settle down in the grass, Arthur flew to his shoulder and stood there, waiting for the other to start saying whatever was needed.
"I know we've been friends, but I'm going away," Alfred said rather bluntly, knowing that it was the only way to get out what he wanted to say. "I don't want to leave, well, I mean I do. But I don't want to leave you! You're my best friend!"
Alfred allowed the fairy a few moments to let the new information sink in before watching him set off into the air. He could see the hurt in the other's eyes as he sat there. Tears threatening to overflow in the Alfred's face. Within seconds, Alfred felt small hands begin pat his check before going back to Alfred's shoulder.
"It's alright lad. I understand. Why not make a promise with me? Let's promise to always remember one another and perhaps if the world allows for it, meet again?" Arthur suggested, hoping to make the boy feel better.
Sniffling, Alfred only nodded before stopping in mid-nod. "But mom said not to make deals with fairies."
"Yes, you don't want to make a deal. But a promise is different. A deal is something along the lines of you getting a sort of gift, if you will, from me and I get something in exchange. Here we just promise to remember and not forget our friendship. I would never lead you astray," Arthur explained before he flew back towards Alfred's face. He held out a tiny slender hand to the boy, who looked even more on the verge of tears.
Alfred then nodded and placed one of his fingers into the fairy's hand before breaking down into sobs, which raked through his body. The fairy then spent near an hour comforting the poor boy and telling him all the wonderful fun the other would have in his new home. When Alfred was finished wiping the tears from his eyes, Arthur took the boy back to his home safely before saying one final good bye and good night. He never forgot the dark blonde haired, ocean blue eyed, boy who played with him. But the same could not be said for the boy.