Tumble

by GydroZMaa

After a series of chance events, Mathias sets off on an adventure into the woods where fairies and winged sprites reign. A strange spin of Hans Christian Andersen's "Thumbelina" with a twist or two.

Hello, everyone. It's GydroZMaa, here. I normally don't put my notes at the beginning of a story, but I should do it here because the story is one long shot—I'm talking over two and a half week's worth of sixty-four pages and 29k words. I chose not to split it into parts because I initially intended for it to be formatted into something that could be read in one sitting like a bedtime story, the story being a twist of Hans Christian Andersen's "Thumbelina." Some parts are written like a story; some parts are written however else I chose to write them as. There are parts that delve deeper into the characters and others that are glossed over. If you manage to get through it all, thank you in advance for your dedication. I hope you enjoy.

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Once upon a time, at the edge of the woods where the seasons changed as quickly as the mood of the winged sprites, there lived a couple who longed to have a child of their own. Now, this was no ordinary couple, for no matter how hard they could try, they could no produce a child alone, that being because they were both men.

No child aside, however, the couple lived happily along the edges of a river that flowed past their farm and filled the spring nights with crickets and lovebugs and the autumns with passing birds and harvesting beetles. All was well on the couples' farm for many years, as they always had a decent harvest in their fields, and people would visit far and wide to see the extension of their workshop, which was filled with the most colorful of dolls, little wooden soldiers, and modeled homes and castles. Even the finest of collectors could appreciate such work from two humble people, and in time, their work soon became recognized to lands far away where curious bulbs and spell-inducing leaves grew.

One such man from these lands was a merchant, and he was determined to have a doll and a polished model train engine from this couple. The doll would make the perfect gift for his little sister, whom he adored, and the train engine an ideal gift for his little brother who admired him. For many days, he traveled on foot, trekking road by road and crossing rivers narrow and wide until he managed to find the humble farm where the couple lived.

Now, this merchant had plenty of money, but he was also crafty and stingy. He had heard words from the townsfolk nearby that the couple, while happy, wished for a child. With a little bit of quick thinking, he devised a way to easily obtain what he wanted for cheap. On the same morning he visited the couple, he purchased a pouch of millet from a passing peddler and went on his way.

As expected, the price of a single toy from the couple did not come cheap, while not exactly expensive. It was difficult for two people to run a farm and workshop together, and they could not bring their price down any lower.

In an attempt for the couple to take pity on him, the merchant told the couple of his misfortunes, of how he had been cheated out of his money when trying to buy fish to sell, and ended up with the scraps from the leftover catch. The couple did not, however, know he was lying. It was actually the merchant, himself, who had cheated inexperienced buyers into purchasing cheap fish for a high price. He was very crafty, indeed.

"Please, sirs," begged the merchant in as humble of a voice as he could manage, "my sister is very sweet and my brother kind and good-spirited. I have no money to buy them nice gifts, but I had hoped that you would find it in your hearts to spare a simple man but two gifts. In exchange, I would be willing to offer you something that might interest you." He pulled out the pouch of millet he had bought for no more than a single copper piece out for the couple to see. "This is no ordinary bag of millet, for I received this from a fairy whose life I saved. She told me if you plant the millet in rock-less soil, water it with water never boiled, and bathe it in the light of the full moon, a child will sprout from the pods of these seeds."

The couple, astonished, had never heard of such magic before. They had heard of tales from the fairies who could bring good fortune to those who deserved it, but never had they heard of an ordinary man bestowing such an opportunity upon them.

Excited, Tino, the younger of the two pleaded with the older one to consider the offer. "Berwald, just imagine!" he excitedly clapped his hands. "A child of our own! And for the price of a doll and a toy train! They are such simple gifts to make. Will we not help this merchant out?"

Berwald loved Tino very much, and for the price of two toys, seeing his beloved so happy was more than enticing. With little else to consider, he agreed to make the presents for the merchant. As their timing would have it, the merchant planned this out ahead of time. He calculated that by the time the couple finished with the toys and planted their millet under the next full moon, he would have been long gone by then. He was truly a sly merchant.

It came to pass that the toys were soon finished, and with his business with the couple done, the merchant thanked the two for their charitable work and set off to return home to his siblings, two toys in tow and a sack of ordinary millet lighter, wearing a triumphant smile all the way.

In the meantime, the couple had planted the millet right away. Day by day, Tino tended to the grains in a personalized pot and hand-sorted each fleck of soil with his own hands to ensure there would not be the slightest pebble in the soil. He and Berwald took turns watering the soil, awaiting the night a full moon would rise into the sky. Their hearts swelled with excitement as the moon grew fuller and rounder with each passing night in high hopes that they would soon have a child. There was still the question of how a simple pouch of millet would produce a healthy child, but fairies' magic was unusual stuff, so they trusted that the merchant's words would ring true on the night of the full moon.

Finally, the long-awaited day arrived. A full moon as round as a pearl was rising into the sky. Together, the couple, having retired from their work for the night, sat together in front of the open windowsill where the potted millet lay bathed in the growing moonlight.

"What should we name the child, Berwald?" Tino asked in pure delight. He was all bounces and smiles in contrast to the silent giant who was perplexed over how something so small could produce something so miraculous. He had his doubts as to whether or not they had been tricked, but for all this was worth, the energy and time spent in grieving would not be worth their labor and love. So, holding Tino's hand, they began to think of names together.

"For a girl, it should be something sweet and delicate and appealing," Tino pondered aloud. "Strawberry Dreams or Ticklepink Poppy. And for a boy, Andersen Mathias Bartholomew the Fourth sounds gallant, does it not?"

Berwald would have said something about his Tino's choice of names, but seeing how alacritous he was, he could not help assisting him in his choices. In the end, they settled on "Tina" for a girl and "Mathias" for a boy.

However, it would seem that perhaps they would not have to decide on either name, for as the night went on, their spirits wore thin. The soil did not stir, the millet did not grow, and no child appeared from the pot. Eventually even Tino with his big heart and high spirits had grown tired of sitting and began to drift off to sleep. Berwald would have stayed awake to observe the pot well into the morning had he not worked the entire day. So, one nod at a time, the couple drifted off to sleep, unaware of the peculiar events unfolding right outside of their barn.

While the couple was falling asleep, a winged sprite, clutching her recently born child to her breast, was trying to escape from a flock of fairies who happened to spot her wings flickering in the moonlit night. Winged sprites were the long-time enemies of fairies, and no matter how many times they encountered one another, they felt a strong need to fight the other. The winged sprite was utterly exhausted from flying for so long, and she knew if she did not act fast, she would lose both her life and her son's.

It did not take long for her to spot none other than the couple sleeping in front of the open windowsill. She faintly remembered these two as being kindly and caring, and she thought they clearly did not deserve any trouble the sprites might cause to their farm. Surely if she left her son with them, he would be safe from the sprites' harm or at least until she could lure the sprites away from this place.

"Forgive me, my son," she whispered and kissed him warmly as she recited a quick mist spell into the air, giving her just enough cover to slip out of the fairies' view and onto the couple's idle flowerpot. The winged sprite then recited another spell, one that made a flower sprout from the soil and wrap its dainty petals over her son for protection. "You will be safe here," she whispered with a heavy heart as she heard the angry chimes of the fairies' wings. "Farewell." And she flew off into the night, drawing the fairies farther away from the good couple and her child.

Not too long after the events that unfolded, Berwald's head slipped from Tino's and stirred him awake. His eyes were weary from the lack of sleep he had received and was confused when he thought he saw a flower blooming in the pot.

It must be a dream, he sleepily thought and nearly dozed off when he thought to take one last look. Adjusting his glasses, he peered ahead at the contents of the pot and blinked multiple times. When the image of the flower did not disappear, he shook Tino awake.

"Tino. Tino, wake up," he whispered. "Somethin' happened."

Tino soon awoke to the sound of Berwald's voice and gasped when he saw the flower in the pot. It was the most beautiful flower either of them had seen. It must have been fairies' magic, for never had they seen such a lovely and exotic flower blooming so late into the autumn.

"Why, it must have grown when we fell asleep, Berwald!" Tino exclaimed. "This is wonderful! The seeds worked!" His heart trembling with excitement, he bent towards the flower and cupped its soft petals in his hands. How wondrous it was that it could bloom so quickly and quietly, he thought, and he kissed the bud so gently that it began to quiver. With the touch of a human's kiss breaking the winged sprite's spell, the flower opened its petals, revealing a tiny baby boy barely the size of their fingernail sleeping in a bundle of what looked like spider's thread and bluebird's down.

"Berwald!" Tino whispered with a high pitch to his voice, for he was extremely elated. "It's a boy! We're parents!"

"So we are," Berwald kindly smiled. It may not have been a fully-grown child, but this little one was theirs now and their responsibility to keep.

"Welcome to our family, Mathias," Tino cooed at the child. "We're your parents. I'm Tino, and this is Berwald."

"Tino, I dun' think he can understand us yet."

"I know, but I just want to make him feel comfortable," he sighed, trying to control the smile on his face. "This is so exciting! We'll be the very best parents, won't we, Berwald?"

"We will," he agreed. "And nothin's gonna happen to him so as long as we are."

It turned out that being a winged sprite raised by humans had its advantages and disadvantages. Having never been properly reared by his true mother who had never returned for him, Mathias never grew wings and was therefor a flightless sprite, unbeknownst to Tino and Berwald. But having worked in his parents' workshop and running around their house, he became strong, handsome, and healthy, complete with sky-blue eyes and unruly thistle-like blonde hair that was as soft as a chick's down.

In order to give him easy mobility around the house and workshop, the couple designed and built pulleys and carts that could operate with simple pulls of thread. Mathias soon learned how to operate these contraptions to get from one place to another.

For the most of his life, he grew in a happy and sheltered lifestyle, watching his foster parents making toys in their workshop during the unusually long winter and tending the fields in the spring. With his growing presence, good fortune smiled on the humble family, bringing healthy amounts of rain and sunshine for the crops and smiles on the customers' faces who wanted to see the tiny person with their own eyes.

In that short half of a year, the child had grown into a young adult, and his innate magical instincts had begun to kick in. No longer did he enjoy the comfortable solitary lifestyle that he was kept in. He felt a thirst for adventure into the unknown and beyond. Knowing how small and prone to trouble he was, Mathias' parents refused to let him beyond the farm unless they were personally accompanying him into town. As their one and only precious child, they refused to let him out of their sights, and that was a feat in of itself, for Mathias was very small.

"It's not fair!" he exclaimed one day as he watched the sparrows singing and flying so freely among the trees. "All of the other kids get to explore the woods behind the town or go skipping stones in the river. I'm already an adult, and you still won't let me go out to explore."

"But Mathias," Tino said, "if you go out, surely you could be gobbled up by a hungry bird or torn apart by a dog."

Mathias pouted and crossed his arms. "But Hanatamago doesn't do that. She's a sweet dog."

"Hanatamago is tame," his father reminded him. "She will not bite or attack unless threated or told to. And she is small compared to most dogs out there. The world is not always kind to small things."

"Then I wish I wasn't born so small," said the frustrated young man. "I can't do anything. I can't reach the cupboard with a simple reach of my hand; I can't walk across the house without using the pulleys; I can't even finish a tiny slice of cake!"

Berwald, overhearing Mathias' bantering, went over to join the two. "Mathias, bein' small has its uses, too. There're creatures that are many times smaller than you, but they all have a part to play in this world. The bees pollinate flowers that bring us fruit for the autumn; the tiny snails eat the dead leaves in the streams that would suffocate the plants b'low; an' the ants clean our crumbs an' even protect plants in exchange for shelter. Even you have yer uses. Yer able to find secret places that Tino and I can't see, and you can fit into cracks of the house and machines that we can't reach with the finest of tools."

Tino looked to his son. "See, Mathias? Being small can be useful, too. As for the cake thing, it's not something you should be ashamed of. It just means there's more for Berwald and me!"

"Tino…" Berwald exchanged a bashful look with him. "Maybe for that, I do wish Mathias had a larger stomach, so you wouldn't overindulge yourself."

"Oh! You're teasing me!" Tino exclaimed. And for a time after that, Mathias had been happy in his position until one summer night.

Normally Mathias slept in a beautifully built bed complete with his own tiny house that overlooked his family's farm. However, tonight there was something different about the air. He thought he heard loud whispers and laughter unlike those from his parents. Curious, he left his bed and went to the window where he saw flickering streaks of light dancing across the sky. He first mistook them for fireflies, as they were small and gave off an otherworldly light, but upon closer inspection, he thought he saw arms and legs that were too long to belong to any firefly.

And their wings! Their wings were dashing shades of the prettiest greens, blues, and purples he had ever seen complete with dust that sparkled and trailed behind them. These must have been the winged sprites that sometimes frequented his parents' farm, he thought to himself as he watched in total awe. How he wished to fly with them so carefree like that. He was just as small as they were, but without wings, he felt alienated from them just like he was to his parents, he sadly thought.

While he was busy watching the winged sprites play, one of them tossed a silvery ball too hard and went sailing into the air and straight for Mathias' open window. Mathias cried in surprise as the ball barely missed him and landed on the windowsill a few paces from him. Stealing himself from the winged sprites, he turned back to see a beautiful ball that appeared to be made of transparent glass but shone with a silver glow. He could not help picking it up and staring at, and as he did, it jingled with the sweetest ring of bells he had ever heard.

Apparently it was just a prized object to the winged folk as it was to Mathias, for one of them flew over to windowsill looking greatly displeased.

"Give that back," he demanded. "That is my brother's ball."

But Mathias would not respond, for he was too captivated by this winged sprite's beauty. He had fluffy, wavy dandelion hair and blue eyes that shone like one of the gemstones a rich customer had once given Berwald for a well-crafted train set. His wings matched the beauty of his eyes as they seemed to vibrate in midair and scattered dust wherever they carried their owner. They were so thin and transparent, Mathias thought them to be made of gossamer dyed blue. Even his clothes were exotic, as they were noticeably grander than the other winged sprites, complete with a glittering spider web robe and poufy cotton ball cuffs. Curious of all, an odd curly shape and a dot floated idly to the side of his head like accessories, only these ones were detached. Having been raised by two men, Mathias thought nothing wrong of finding this winged being attractive.

The sprite, however, had grown impatient of Mathias simply standing there with the silver ball. Shattering his beautiful image, the fairy snapped at him with a velvety voice that sounded too sweet for his harsh words.

"You're as dense as a log! Did you not hear me when I demanded my brother's ball back?" He flew closer to the transfixed Mathias. "What are you supposed to be, anyway? You're as small as we are, but you don't bear any wings." To inspect him further, he flew twice around Mathias' body before returning outside of the window.

"As I thought," he now smirked with a condescending expression. "You're a sprite who's lost his magic. It's no wonder you have no wings. I expected no less from your inferior species."

Mathias blinked, confused. "Are you a not a winged sprite, then?"

"Me, a winged sprite!" the winged being exclaimed as if insulted. "How dare you put me with those lesser gnats! I'm a fairy, can you not tell?"

"I'm sorry," Mathias sincerely apologized. "I hadn't known."

Seeing that he was hopeless, the fairy crossed his arms. "Well, now you know. But if you really are a wingless sprite, then I wouldn't recommend associating with us again. Such an existence such as yours is a pox to us." He wrinkled his nose as if smelling something gross. "If that was not my brother's favorite toy, I would tell you to keep the tainted thing, but I wouldn't dream of making him cry. Now give it here."

Mathias was hesitant about returning the ball to this fairy. If what this fairy said was true, then they would be long gone after he gave them what they wanted. But he wanted them to stay and hear about their stories of flight and their people. This was the first time he had seen beings as small as him, and while he bore no wings, he felt that he was closer to these folk than his own parents. Again, the fairy grew impatient, but before he could take the ball by force, a different voice arose in the night.

"Mathias?" It was Tino. He must have woken up from the conversation Mathias was having with the fairy.

Before Mathias could react to either person, the fairy had taken off in a flash and was gone by the time Tino came to Mathias' windowsill.

"Wait!" he cried out, nearly falling from the ledge after running foolishly out into the open air.

"Mathias!" Tino cried and caught him by his little nightgown just in time. "What are you doing out at this hour? And what was that just now? You could have killed yourself!"

"Tino!" Mathias gasped. "There was a spri—No, a fairy! There were fairies here!"

"Fairies?" his father repeated. "They showed themselves here?"

"Yes, one of them talked to me!" His voice was high and full of a newfound energy. "They were so amazing, Tino! They were flying, and—" He heavily sighed and looked at the object in his hands. "This belongs to them. The one who spoke with me said this is his brother's favorite toy. Tino, I don't think they're going to come back. We should return this to them."

Tino had to laugh. "Mathias, like the kingdom of winged sprites, the fairies have their own secret hiding place we cannot see. The fairies have powerful magic, too. Surely they will be able to make another ball."

"But…" Mathias stared out the window with a heavy heart. "I was hoping to see them again. Are we really not capable of finding them?"

"Mathias, they have wings," his father reminded him. "As handy as we are, we cannot fly."

At that moment, Mathias remembered what the fairy had told him. "Wings! Tino, the one who spoke to me told me of wings!"

"Oh?"

"He told me I was a wingless sprite and that I had lost my magic. Is that true? Am I a sprite?"

Tino was filled with mixed emotions. Never did he imagine his son to be a sprite, only someone whom he loved very much. The thought had never crossed his mind before, while the merchant told him it was fairies' magic that brought him and Berwald their son. He was too caught off guard to formulate a proper response to those questions.

"Oh, Mathias, who or whatever you are, you're our son and you always will be."

"But that's not what I wanted to hear," he frowned. "It makes more sense. What if I was supposed to be somewhere among them all along? I could have had wings and flown with beautiful people just them like."

"But Mathias, you weren't given to us through fairies or winged sprites," Tino reminded him, while he had told his son this story many times before.

"I know, but I can't help but feel I belong with them," he said with a deep longing in his eyes.

"Oh, Mathias…" At a loss for words, Tino hurriedly shut the window and tucked his son back into bed, allowing him to at least keep the silver ball by his nightstand. When he returned to bed with Berwald, he told him everything Mathias said about the fairies and the possibility he was a wingless sprite.

"What he said might make s'me sense," Berwald considered, "but there's no proof Mathias is a sprite. He would have had to be born from the sprites. We know he wasn't born like that. He's just our son."

"Right, that's what I think, too," Tino agreed, relieved Berwald felt the same way as he did and found sleep in that comfort.

The very next morning, however, the couple woke up to a heart-breaking sight. When Tino went to open the window for some fresh air, he noticed that the tiny windowpane Mathias would venture in and out of was wide open. His nerves a wreck, he removed the roof from his son's little house and saw that Mathias' bed was empty. Laid out on the made sheets was a note with letters just big enough for Berwald to make out with his glasses. Tino brought the note to Berwald not a moment after discovering it and asked him to read it aloud.

Tino, Berwald, Hanatamago, the letter read, for many months have I been your son, and I have been a happy one. You have all brought me such joy and finding ways to make me feel like one among you. However, after hours of pondering last night, I truly believe I have always belonged somewhere else. I am going on a journey to find that place where I belong.

Do not look for me. I will be alright. I know that I will return one day. The rivers run through your farm, and the songs and laughter carry back to your workshop. Know that you are always with me in heart and spirit.

Love,

Mathias

"Mathias, that reckless fool!" Tino burst into tears upon finishing the letter. "Berwald, he'll die out there! There's no possible way he will find his way on foot! The woods belong to the fairies and sprites! It's impossible not to get lost, and there are so many things that will go after him! Berwald, please, we need to find Mathias!"

Berwald could not stand seeing someone he loved being in tears, but it was common knowledge that entering the magical woods was a certain doom to humans. He wanted to tell Tino everything would be alright and that Mathias would return to them as he said in his letter, but he was also rational. There was no guarantee Mathias would be able to come back to them alive, even if they did happen to search for him. For someone so small and unaware of the world's outer workings, it could be a dangerous place for a large adventure.

As the couple was grieving over their missing son, the said young man had successfully trekked across the farm and along the river's stream. On his back was a light knapsack consisting of the fairy's silver ball and his favorite cakes and dried fruit, believing he would need nothing else once he arrived at his destination. He decided to stay close to the river so that he would not get lost so easily, and the journey home would be an easy one.

"A simple hop on a leaf will carry me like a boat straight back to the farm!" he proudly thought aloud as he looked past the water's edge and saw many healthy, waxy leaves that would all make suitable boats. Perhaps being so small was not so hard, after all.

He knew that the river ran through the woods and straight across the countryside. Considering how casually the fairies were playing last night, he deduced wherever their home was had to be nearby. He wondered how they would treat him if he were to ever come across them. The sprite he spoke with had an impatient temperament about him for not being able to fly, but Mathias hoped that with the right amount of presentation, the fairies would realize how good a person he could be and accept him.

"I should sing a song or build them a lovely toy," he said to himself. "That will impress them for sure!"

But any hopes of meeting the winged folk would have to wait because someone else spotted the tiny man strolling along the river. A squat male frog saw the young man whistling and thought what a lovely tune it was.

"He will make a good husband for my daughter. She has only set her eyes on humans since that boy saved her from that fisherman's net," he croaked to himself and hopped over to meet with the tiny young man. Odd that he was so conveniently tiny, for the only other folks he had seen wandering about were those graceful fairies and those pesky winged sprites. This one had no wings, so he thought it must have been just a tiny human.

"Croak. Little human who sings so sweetly, to where are you going?" the frog asked, hopping in the young man's way.

"I am off to find the winged sprites or the fairies," he announced to the frog. "I will go to whichever I find first."

The frog was not as fast on his feet as he once was, but being old had made him wise in mind. "If you are looking for the winged ones, I can take you there," he told the young man.

Mathias raised his eyebrows. "You can?"

"Yes," the frog croaked. "It's across the river, though, and you will have to find a way across. The next bridge isn't for at least another kilometer away. It would be much faster to cross right now. I could let you sit on my back, and we will ride across if you want."

"That would be very kind of you!" Mathias beamed in good trust. Having always been told the sugar-coated truth by his parents, he had little concept of what it meant to lie so harshly to someone, for in truth, the frog was not going to bring Mathias across the river; he was going to take him right back to his home and daughter where they would soon be married.

"Yes, very good," the frog nodded, quite pleased that his plan was going so well. "Let us go to the river bank, then." Mathias eagerly followed him to the river's edge where the currents were not as strong. "It is a dangerous crossing, so take care not to fall off."

Cautiously, Mathias sat atop the frog's back, slightly disturbed that it was not dry and smooth but wet and slippery. Holding on only seemed to make his grip worsen, so he had to settle with keeping as much balance as he could.

"Are you secure?" the frog asked his traveling companion.

"Y-Yes, quite," he responded in a wary voice.

"Croak. Then we are off." The frog waddled into the water and began to swim through the currents. He allowed the waters to carry him down the banks in a diagonal pattern until they came to a bed of reeds squarely in the middle of the river's fork. Mathias was confused, but he trusted the frog and allowed him to take him deeper into the reeds until he could no longer see either side of the river.

"Good sir frog, is this truly the way across?" he finally asked when the cattails towered above his head.

Having seen that the young man was trapped, the frog gleefully croaked in triumph. "Foolish young man, we are not going across the river. Why, you are going to live among us in the reeds. I will introduce you to my daughter whom you will marry."

Mathias was horrified at the thought of marrying a frog. They were not soft or appealing creatures, and he certainly did not much care for eating bugs all day long. "I would have never agreed to hop on your back if you were going to force me to marry your daughter," he told the frog.

The frog only merrily croaked a laugh. "That is exactly why I tricked you, silly boy. You would not have agreed to give up your adventure, otherwise, so I lied to you."

Now Mathias was upset. This would put a halt in his journey. He looked at his surroundings. Even if he knew how to swim, the currents underneath would sweep him down and drown him—that or he would make a quick meal for the fishes.

Completely hopeless to what was to come, Mathias could only sit on the frog's back and hope he and his daughter would have mercy on him. He would need to figure a way out of this predicament before the rest of his life was boiled down to eating bugs.

"Good daughter, see what I have brought you!" the frog suddenly called out into the reeds. As the natural stalky barrier parted away, Mathias could see the frog's home was built around a still-moving pond, safe from the currents outside. There was even a small patch of muddy land and lily pads in this place, so at the very least, Mathias would not immediately drown.

A smaller frog came out from the still pool and blinked its boggling eyes at Mathias. At the sight of him, the frog hopped out of the water and onto a lily pad and began to ribbit in joy.

"A human!" she delightfully croaked. "Father, this is a wonderful gift!"

"Indeed," the frog, whom Mathias presumed to be her father, agreed. "This young man is to be your husband."

"I am not!" Mathias was quick to protest. "I am looking for someone! I have no time to be meandering with you water folk, and I have no intentions of marrying a frog! They are slimy creatures that eat insects and worms!"

This did not help the situation at all. Hurt by his tone and words, the frog's daughter began to weep, making Mathias feel slightly sorry for the creature; she did nothing to deserve get her feelings hurt, as her father only meant to make her happy. This made her father very angry, however.

"Making my daughter cry like that! For that you will sleep on the lily pads tonight without dinner!" He swam to the lilies far from the muddy bank and threw Mathias off his back. He then went to comfort his daughter, leaving the young man with little sense of direction and idea of what to do next.

"As if I would want to eat bugs for dinner!" he angrily snorted and went to wash the frog's slime off his pants and hands. "I never would have thought frogs of all creatures could pull such trickery!" Feeling hungry now, he dug into his knapsack and ate a dried candied peach slice. He still had plenty of food, so until he figured a way out of here, he did not have to worry about eating the frogs' food just yet.

A day passed since Mathias was first stranded on the lilies. In that time, he saw the family of frogs decorating the mud bank with flowers and china lanterns of fireflies and inviting all of their amphibian friends to the reed cove. All were in attendance for the upcoming wedding. Ms. Salamander had a spitfire personality that matched her bold yellow and black spots. Sir Toad was pompous and gruff and somehow uglier than the frogs. The one fellow Mathias liked was Mr. Turtle, for he was wise and patient; he listened to Mathias' tale and how he hoped to one day return the silver ball to the fairies and become their friends.

"Ah, good Mathias," for he was the only one who had bothered to learn of Mathias' name, "the fairies are a very proud folk. They are unlike the winged sprites who possess clever magic and mischief. I cannot imagine someone as pure-hearted as you making friends with the winged sprites, even if you were to express a high level of kindness to them. Your luck is best kept with the fairies, that is, if you can find them."

"Why?" Mathias asked. "Are they hard to locate?"

Mr. Turtle rested his tiny head against the lily pad. "Both are elusive creatures. From what I've heard, I can say that the seasons here are ruled by the mood of the winged sprites. If they are feeling festive, the springs are long; generous, and their summers and autumns will reign for extended weeks; and there are times when they experience grief and sorrow. That is when winters are the coldest and harshest. A long winter is never a good sign where winged sprites are."

Mathias scratched his head. "I remember my parents telling me that this year's winter was longer than it should have been, but the springs still came. I don't remember too much, though. I was an infant back then."

"You would not have wanted to remember this winter," Mr. Turtle rapidly shook his head. "It was dreadful, dreadful. I had to hibernate a long time last year. I was afraid I wouldn't make it."

"Oh, Mr. Turtle…" Mathias did not wish anything ill upon the turtle, for he had heard from Berwald that turtles could live a long time. He wondered how old this one was.

"Hmm, I do wish I could help you continue your journey, good Mathias, but I am too cumbersome and slow. I have not seen a fairy or a winged sprite in quite some time, over ten years now. I would be of no help to you. Besides," he looked to the muddy bank that was starting to look quite beautiful now, "helping you would put me in an awkward spot between you and my friend."

"It would," Mathias agreed. "Very well, then. I will leave you to do as you please, Thank you for listening to me, Mr. Turtle."

"Think nothing of it," he replied. "It's always nice to hear stories from different folks around the woods." And with that, the turtle swam away to rejoin his friends while Mathias huddled around the lilies. He had eaten through a fifth of his provisions now, and his knapsack was starting to feel light. He did not want to stick around to resort to eating bugs and had to think quickly if he wanted to escape.

In his thought, he reached into his knapsack and pulled out the silvery ball. Its magnificent glow and gentle jingle soothed his spirits and helped clear his mind. It had a lovely color to it, and he could see why it would be someone's favorite toy.

As it turned out, perhaps the ball would not be a favorite to just one individual. Stalking in the reeds outside, a grand heron was stalking through the water looking for little fishes and perhaps an unfortunate tadpole to eat. As it reared its head to observe its surroundings, it saw a peculiar glint in the middle of the cattails and thought to take a closer look, for it loved the way it glimmered in the sparse sunlight overhead.

Picture its surprise when it craned its neck to see a family of tasty frogs all gathered in one location! It soon forgot about the pretty shiny thing it saw and started pecking away at its new meal. Happily, the heron began to jab at the frantic amphibians with its mighty beak and swallowing bits and pieces one by one. What a feast it was having!

Meanwhile, down below in the same clearing, Mathias saw frogs being eaten left and right. The toad had long since buried itself deep into the mud, and the turtle was out of sight. The salamander had no need to worry, for its bright colors indicated a heavy poison to the heron should she be eaten. The turtle, however, was calling Mathias over in the ruckus.

"Mathias, here!" he shouted from a short distance away. Seizing his chance, Mathias hurled his knapsack onto his back and jumped from lily pad to lily pad until he leapt right onto Mr. Turtle's back.

"Thank you, friend," he breathed and took one look back at the chaos unfolding. He could not remember which frog was which, but he wondered if the frog who had brought him here was eaten or not. Whatever the case, he was finally free from the confinements of his watery prison and getting out of these reeds.

As Mr. Turtle swam, he gave a hearty chuckle to the events that were unfolding behind them. "That is nature running its course, young Mathias," he told him. "The frogs were good friends, but I've come to the age where I've learned that nothing lives forever. They were bound to become a meal at some point. That is how things work. It's best not to become attached to the woodland creatures here. The hawk must eat, and the trout must swim. The woodcutter must chop trees for warmth, and the beaver needs shelter."

"I-I see…" Mathias' body gave a little shudder. "The world is so big. My parents have told me of what is out there, but never did I think it would reach out in so many vast ways."

"Indeed, that is something you would do well to learn," the turtle nodded. He soon brought Mathias to the other side of the river where the currents ran lightly. "Now, I may not remember this exactly, but that last time I recall spotting any fairies was one autumn past the thick trees beyond this river. The denser the woods, the likelier you are to find mysterious things, but know this, Mathias: not all mysterious things are good, not all are bad."

The young traveler took note of that. "Thank you for all of your help, Mr. Turtle. I am…sorry for your friends. I wish there was some way we could have worked this out without things becoming the way they were."

"Bah, I am too old for such intimacy. If you do find what you are looking for, however, be sure to stop by the pond in the other farm sometime. I do love a good story every now and then."

"I will be sure to remember that. Thank you again." And they parted ways, Mathias venturing deeper into the woods, and Mr. Turtle returning to his watery home.

As he walked, Mathias felt an unsettling air about the place. No longer did he have a good sense of direction. While he trusted the turtle, he was not sure what he would find beyond the deep, dark trees. The river at least led back to Tino and Berwald's farm; here, there was no telling what was in store for him.

"But I will not get anywhere by being prudent," Mathias told himself. "I must go onward!"

He continued to walk for a long time. The hours drew into the night, and with the night came many days after that. He had since gone through his provisions and resorted to other means of getting food. There were mushrooms that grew at the foot of fallen trees that he knew were safe to eat, and in the morning, he harvested the dew from grass in his little glass jar. Soon, however, Mathias' spirits were starting to dwindle. The turtle had not lied to him when he said the fairies and sprites were elusive creatures.

"This is too much!" he tiredly sighed as he lay on a bed of moss. "I will never find the fairies now!" His clothes were dirty and his stomach hungering for more than mushrooms. He missed his parents and the warmth of his bed. "And I had promised that I would see them again…" He wanted to cry because of his misfortune. He was hopelessly lost, cold and hungry. He would have done anything to be able to eat and sleep comfortably at this point. The night being young, he wallowed in his misfortune, searching for a speck of optimism to cling onto for the waking morning. It was only until he gazed upon his silver glowing ball that he finally drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the beautiful fairy he had spoken to for what seemed like an eternity ago.

When Mathias awoke, he nearly jumped out of his skin. There, staring at him with long antennae and goggling eyes, stood a giant black beetle with a dark shell and a hefty-looking pair of mandibles.

"Ack! A beast is here to devour me!" he cried in alarm and sprung back to fend off the creature with a dead twig.

"Peace, strange one," the beetle clicked and chirped. "I noticed how thin and weary you have become. Would you not take shelter in my home?"

Mathias had never seen such a creature before; his knowledge of the insect kingdom was limited to ants, butterflies, ladybugs (to which he did not know belonged to the same family as this fellow), bees, mosquitoes, flies, and a few others. He had never seen a bug so large and unsightly. At least spiders had their uses, but he could not imagine what a beetle's uses were. That was not to say he was quick to judge based on appearances; he simply had too little energy to fuel his curiosity or patience with a stranger.

"That's very kind sir…er…"

"Beetle," the beetle said. "I am a beetle, can you not tell?"

"No. Sorry."

The beetle chirped. "That is alright, though I cannot imagine why you would not know what a beetle is. We always scavenge the ground looking for food as you must be doing." Mathias' stomach growled almost as if on cue. He embarrassingly looked to the beetle and thought perhaps any food was better than none. Just to be safe, he thought to ask of what the beetle ate.

"Should I go with you, what sorts of things might you be able to offer me?"

"Lots of things," the beetle answered, wriggling his antennae. "We, beetles, eat several things, as you see, we aren't too picky. We enjoy a variety of bark, dead leaves, fruits, nuts, and tender roots." Bark and dead leaves Mathias could do without. The fruits and nuts sounded enticing, however, thus he agreed to go with the beetle.

"Splendid," the beetle happily clicked. "Ah, but if you are going to accept my hospitality, you need to offer some sort of compensation."

"What sort of compensation?" Mathias asked.

"Why, you are an exotic creature among these grounds. I would love for you to sing and put on a show for me, if you can."

Mathias was not exactly the performing type, but if the beetle was so kind as to take him in, he saw little reason to refuse. "Alright, I'll do that for you then."

And so, Mathias was treated to a feast of stashed fruits and nuts. He ate until he thought he would burst. Even his once empty knapsack was packed to the brim. The beetle offered him what he proclaimed was the tastiest bark and detritus, but Mathias had politely refused and left those to his host. Afterwards, the beetle decorated his guest with various flower petals and spider's thread. Looking in a pool of water, Mathias thought he looked quite ridiculous, but the beetle insisted that he was presentable.

"A few songs will do. Put on a show to entertain us in our final days. We do not have long to live, so we must rejoice."

"Not long to live?" Mathias quietly muttered. He wondered if they were like some spiders and butterflies that lasted no more than a single season. It was an unfortunate and rather short life to live for creatures so fascinating. Compared to Tino and Berwald and even Mr. Turtle, such bugs were gone within the blink of an eye. Holding onto new determination, Mathias proceeded to the stage prepared and gazed upon his audience.

"What a strange bug he is!" exclaimed a centipede, a frighteningly long bug with several pairs of wriggling legs and an even larger mandible than the beetle's.

"Ssss!" a cockroach hissed. "It is soft, this one! The colors are strange, too!"

"Soft is good. Better to get the juices flowing." The one who said this was the creature far in the back and away from everyone else. This was a praying mantis, and she was quite the elegant and formidable member of the audience.

These and many other colorful folk were who Mathias would be performing for. He stood in complete shock at what he could do to entertain them until they began to grow impatient at him and their host.

"Hey, beetle, you promised us a show, so give it to us!" a cricket chirped. He was the most impatient of all since he believed to be the star of the night. There was no possible way anyone could outperform him.

Seeing that the guests were growing antsy, Mathias rummaged in his knapsack for his ball and brought it out in front of the stage with little ideas to go off on. In an instant, the heavy atmosphere in the theater lifted, and all were transfixed on the ball's mysterious silver glow.

Seeing that he had their attention, Mathias began to wave and shake the all in the air, tossing it from one hand to the other and performing small acrobats. He was no professional, but never had the bugs seen such a wonderful light before, so they were completely mesmerized.

Adding to the show was a jumpy tune Mathias picked up from Tino. He could not remember the exact words, but his audience did not care. The energy of the show was so addicting that soon, the theater became alive with a medley of squeaks, chirps, scratches, and buzzing. Mathias had long since tired out and stopped dancing long before they were able to settle down.

"It was a pleasant show!" the centipede clacked. "It would do well in our underground holes to have something so lovely to listen to!"

"No! He would make a good addition to our den!" the cricket chirped. "The jingle will compliment our nightly songs well into the autumn!"

"He was mine to begin with, and he shall stay mine!" the beetle cried.

The praying mantis had other thoughts. "No matter those fellows, strange one," she spoke in a seductive voice. "How would you like to stay with me? I would surely enjoy your soft flesh more than these rapscallions."

However, before Mathias could refuse any of them, for he had his own agenda to attend to, the theater broke out into a ferocious fight. Mandibles and legs locked in a battle to the death as limbs and wings were torn and devoured. It was a hellish sight and not of one Mathias wanted to witness the end. Without bothering to stay any longer, he packed his ball, strapped down his knapsack, and ran past the wrestling bugs towards the exit.

The praying mantis spotted him escaping after crushing the thorax of a cricket. "You are not getting away from me, my juicy meal," she hissed and flew straight for Mathias' legs. With her razor sharp claw, she hooked into the leg of his pants and gave a hard tug. Mathias screamed at her to let go, but she was stubborn and determined to sink her mandibles into his soft flesh.

That was when a bright light shone into the bugs' eyes and blinded them all, Mathias included.

"Grab on!" a voice shouted. Mathias was practically blind, but he reached wildly out until he latched onto what felt like a hand. He had never held anyone's hand of his size before; it was a new kind of feeling and one he liked.

In an instant, his body rose up with his arm and sailed far and away from the beetle's den. Mathias finally dared to open his recovering eyes and saw a world of falling leaves and grass zooming past him. He must have been flying, he thought and looked up to see who his rescuer was.

"Y-You!" he gasped. It was none other than the fairy he had conversed with many days ago.

The fairy said nothing and instead hurled him at a bundle of dead leaves. Mathias landed on the soft cushion and studied his surroundings. Had he missed something when he slept, he wondered? He did not recall the leaves being this color. They were starting to fall from their branches. The seasons appeared to have progressed from summer to fall in a blink of an eye.

"Heavy oaf…Alright, where is it?" the fairy asked with his hands on his hips. "And don't try to lie to me. I recognize the sound my brother's toy makes meters away. Now hand it over."

"Buh—Can't we talk for a moment?" Mathias first said. "I've been looking for you for so long and here you are right in front of me!"

A strange expression washed over the fairy's face. It was close to the same expression Tino wore whenever Berwald would kiss him. "Why would such a low life form such as yourself want to look for me?"

"To talk to you, of course! I don't even know you're name yet, but I've never stopped thinking about you."

"Pah!" the fairy held a hand to his mouth and laughed. "You're too much for a wingless sprite. And to think that you don't know my name. I'm the eldest prince of the fairies in these woods. For you to address me by my royal title would only taint it, so you may simply address me as 'Lukas.'"

"Lukas," Mathias repeated. "That's a lovely name."

Again the same expression showed through on the fairy's eyes. He seemed very annoyed that he was acting this way. "Regardless," he cleared his throat, "you are a thief. I only saved your life so that you may have the opportunity to redeem yourself. Consider yourself lucky, for I would have left you to be torn apart by those foul beasts."

"Oh, I'm very grateful, Lukas," Mathias widely smiled. His heart was fluttering. He had finally learned of the fairy's name and learned he was a prince! Seeing him was already enough, but talking to him made him feel light and fuzzy. "But before I return your ball, can you perhaps tell me where your realm is? Or maybe the winged sprites' kingdom?"

This made Lukas smirk. "Are you telling me you want to look for us? Even the winged sprites are hard to find for someone so incapable like you. Look at you: you're flightless, clueless, and hopeless. You're lost and clearly have no sense of direction. I'm surprised you lasted this long and made it this far. These woods are no place for a flightless sprite. You should give up and return to your human family."

"That's another thing!" Mathias spoke up, completely ignoring Lukas' venomous words. "Am I truly a wingless sprite?"

The fairy raised an eyebrow. "Are you that much of a dolt to see you aren't human? There are no such things as humans your size. Any fairy in my kingdom wouldn't be ignorant enough to leave her child unattended outside of our realm, so the only natural answer would be to say you're a wingless sprite."

"But if that's true, then where might my real parents be?"

"How would I know something like that?" Lukas frowned. "I have no time to waste keeping track of every child born to the winged sprites. They are unlike us, deciding to birth and rear their children elsewhere like birds. The way I see it, your parents are either very poor at raising you, or they're dead."

"Dead." The last word struck Mathias like a spear in his heart. He could not bear to think the people who brought him into this world were no more. To even think that something would happen to Tino and Berwald brought his sprits down. Thinking of them, he hoped he did not cause too much pain to them after he had chosen to leave.

"Hey. Nut head." Mathias lurched up to see Lukas right in his face. He could see every shade of blue in his deep eyes. They appeared to bear no pupils, making his eyes all the more hypnotic. "Are you done asking questions?"

"I-I…" Mathias searched through his head. He wanted to think of something to make the fairy stay, but he could not think of any such thing to persuade or stall him any longer. "Perhaps…how much does your brother miss his ball?"

Lukas' stern face suddenly softened upon bringing his brother up. "Enough that I would be willing to abandon my royal duties to personally search for it. It is my fault that he isn't able to sleep soundly with it, and so it is my responsibility to retrieve it. If you would just return it to me, it will make him very happy—provided that I thoroughly clean it first."

Mathias, moved by Lukas' brotherly dedication, took his knapsack off and dug for the toy. He never had siblings of his own, but he could imagine that he would deeply care for her or him the way Lukas was for his brother.

But before he could take the ball out, a loud shriek pierced their ears, and dark wings cut through the sky, knocking Mathias to his feet and Lukas into the air. Mathias was able to recover to his senses just in time to see a tiny yet swift hawk pursuing after him.

"Wait!" he cried and ran after them when the earth gave way beneath him. He fell helplessly at the mercy of a cliff and rolled round and round until his clothes and hair were messy and his back full of bruises. When he recovered, he could no longer see Lukas or the hawk.

"He couldn't have been eaten," he convinced himself. "Lukas is far too fast for it. If he's the prince of the fairies, then he should know his way around the woods. He will be alright." He could not completely say the same about himself, though. When rolling down the cliff, his knapsack had snagged on a loose root and tore open. All of the food he had received from the beetle and the silver ball had fallen out. Now not only was Mathias lost, but he was without food and Lukas' brother's toy.

"It must be close by. It has to be." Frantically he searched for the glow of the ball, but he could not find it or hear its sweet sound no matter how hard he looked. "Funny, it glowed so much when I was holding it. Why won't it reveal itself to me now?" Try as he did, he could not find it. He managed to retrieve some of his lost food, but it was nowhere close to sustaining him for more than two days.

Night had fallen over the woods, and Mathias needed to find shelter. As he searched for a place to sleep, a chill wind blew through the trees and froze him to his bones. As a child he had been sheltered by the cold in the hands of his parents and the warm fur of Hanatamago. This was a young winter's wind, he realized. How could winter have fallen over this place so quickly, he wondered? Had he really been away from his parents for almost half a year now?

Whatever the answer was, it would have to wait. Mathias needed more than just a simple shelter; he needed a place that would shield him from the biting winds and possible frost. For one so small, such a place was not too hard to come by. He managed to find a knot in a fallen log and crawled inside, clutching at his torn knapsack.

"I'll have to fix this and find the ball soon," he shivered. "Lukas may be able to hear it, but without someone to make it jingle, it is pointless." His teeth were starting to chatter. The sun had set early that day, and the temperatures were fast dropping. Sleep was the best thing for Mathias to do right now since he had no means of making a fire without flint and tinder. Curling into a tight ball and wrapping himself in his sparse clothing, he shut eyes and prayed for sleep to quickly come to him.

The next morning, Mathias thought he had passed on to another world. The entire ground was coated with a fresh sheet of sparkling frost. Any dew that once served as Mathias' drinking supply was frozen on the grass and dead leaves. The sound of the birds singing had vanished, leaving the woods dead and quiet. With so much glittering, Mathias was afraid he would never find the ball now.

"Oh…Winter must be nearing." However bad this might have been for his travels, he was still curious. After taking his things and stretching, he hopped onto the ground. The thin frost gave way without any hard crunching noises and melted under the soles of his boots. "This isn't so bad," he thought aloud. "If the snow melts under my feet, too, then I shouldn't have to worry too much." On that note, he went to find a needle-like leaf and some stringy bark to patch up his knapsack. He would resume his search for the ball once he finished.

Far and wide, Mathias searched around the area he fell from. The only times he stopped were to eat and relieve himself, and this search continued well into the evening. He did not remember the days being so short. As he looked to the sky, he saw gray clouds closing in. Berwald once told him when the temperatures drop and the winds stop blowing, the first snow would come. But could it have come so quickly?

"What did Mr. Turtle say again? That the seasons change with the winged sprites? If this is winter that is coming, then that must mean the winged sprites and grieving." As for who they were grieving for, he did not know.

A fresh blanket of snow cloaked the forest the next morning. Mathias had seen snow plenty of times, but this was through the stained glass windows in his family's house. He had never set foot in it since Tino was afraid he would freeze to death.

"Will I really freeze to death?" He reached out and tested the temperature. It was definitely colder than yesterday, though he thought if he could sleep through it, he should have been fine. Berwald and Tino were able to resist the cold, too, so he mustered up his courage and jumped from his knot. This time, a muffled crunch and "Oof!" could be heard. Mathias sank feet-first into the soft white powder. The snow pulled its way into his sleeves and slipped onto his belly. At first he yelped, never having touched something so cold, and quickly started to dig his way to a clearing.

The areas underneath the trees were decent. Even without their leaves there was still some clearings to gaze upon the whiteness. It would be impossible to find the silver ball now.

"I can't waste my time here anymore," he sadly said to himself. "I need to find the winged sprites. If the seasons are changing so quickly here, then perhaps they are close by."

He could only go on that deduction and headed in the opposite direction of the cliff. With a twig and a leaf in hand, he labored to dig a tunnel through the snow. The snow was fresh, and thus it was easy for him to plow. He would not be able to do this so easily in the coming days.

As the week progressed, Mathias had run out of food and nearly his spirits, too. There were no fruits, nuts, or mushrooms to eat in this unforgiving season, and any easy places to take shelter in were buried deep within the growing snow. Mathias' arms had grown sore from digging his way out of the wretched stuff many times, and the cold sapped whatever energy he had left. His skin was turning blue, and his nose and ears were a bright red. He could no longer feel anything in his fingers, and his toes were as hard as rocks. The falling snow brought forth splintering winds that stung his face and froze him to the core.

"This is too much for me," he tiredly breathed. "I can't go on like this." In desperation, he sought shelter under anything. Even a small ledge of bark would suffice. He just wanted to be out of the cold and wind. After some searching, he found himself underneath a tiny shoe. That someone had trekked here before gave him some comfort, that he was not alone out there. His thoughts went to his beloved parents and little white dog.

He had been so happy. Why had he left them alone in their cozy and comfortable house? He never thought before how foolish and selfish he was. He had gone off on a silly little spiritual journey to find himself and where he belonged, but after traveling through the woods, he found nothing but more reasons to show how different he was from everyone else. Even if he found the winged sprites, there was no one saying they would accept him with open arms. Lukas was right: he was flightless, clueless, and hopeless.

Hope. If he gave that up here and now, he would never be able to continue. If nothing else, he had to carry that with him. He did not want to die here. He made a promise that he would see his parents and Hanatamago again. He wanted to return the silver ball to Lukas. He wanted to find the winged sprites' kingdom. He wanted to know who he really was and why he was this way. There were so many questions he had. He could not give up here. He had made it this far and seen so much. He did not want these memories to flicker out like a candle. As he clung to these thoughts, Mathias found sleep drawing over his eyes. Covering himself with dead leaves, he curled up in a ball and let the dreams come to him.

When Mathias awoke, he was no longer shivering and alone. He heard something that was once lost on his young ears: the crackling of flames in a fireplace. Something smelled delicious like boiled roots and stewed corn soup. In the warmth of his new location, he heard someone working in a separate room, a kitchen perhaps or a laundry room.

"H-Hello?" he called out. His throat was dry and sore from enduring the bitter frost outside. It hurt to talk for very long.

A shuffling noise came through, and Mathias' host came crawling through, a pointy nose, long whiskers, tail and all. It was a brown mouse. "Finally awake, are you?" he squeaked and twitched his whiskers. He spoke with a country accent. "I found ye near frozen under that shoe. Thought you were dead, but heard your heart was still a-beatin'. So's I dragged ya back here. Yer welcome to stay, o'course, but if I'm gonna have one more mouth ta feed, you'll need ta do some housework around here. My eyes aren't what they used to be, you see, 'nd I could use the company."

Mathias found the strength to sit up, warmed by the nearby fireplace. "Thank you, kind mouse," he gratefully said. "If you will be able to provide me shelter from the winter, I'll be more than happy to do anything you want."

He and the plainly named Mr. Mouse lived together for some time after that. The mouse with his protective fur and sharp nose was able to trudge through tunnels he built in the snow and look for food. In exchange, Mathias cooked the meals, swept the floors, and told Mr. Mouse stories of his childhood and of his travels. He even salvaged enough scraps of cloth to make himself an appropriate set of warm clothes to last him the entire winter. For the first time since last seeing Lukas, Mathias found his spirits recovering, and he was able to smile more frequently.

One day, Mr. Mouse told Mathias to put on some good. "I think there's someone who'll enjoy yer stories more than I, Mathias. Ms. Mole, is an old and very rich neighbor of mine. She don't get too many visitors these days, an' it'd be nice to give her some company as you've done for me." Mathias saw no reason to object and put on his newest winter coat and gloves and went with Mr. Mouse deep into the tunnels.

The tunnels were a vast system dug by many rodents over the seasons. Mr. Mouse carefully instructed Mathias to stay close to him or he might be lost forever. Along the way, Mathias saw many hidden treasures collected by the various inhabitants, some lost, some forgetful. Shiny broaches lay embedded in the dirt, and pearls and gems lay carelessly strewn about in the frozen ground. Strings of necklaces hung above the ceiling like decorative streamers that sparkled in the dim sunlight above. And even though they were not part of anyone's collection, a stream of frozen water made Mathias feel as if he was in some enchanted little kingdom.

"Here we are," Mr. Mouse said, poking his nose into a tunnel slightly larger than the rest. "This is where Ms. Mole lives. Be on yer best behavior, now."

"I will," Mathias nodded and went in after the mouse.

Ms. Mole's home consisted of a large but homely chamber adorned with gold and jewels like the outside of her tunnels. Her entrance was more noticeable than Mr. Mouse's, for she hobbled and crawled along the sides to see. Mathias heard a wet sniffing noise unlike that of Hanatamago's curious sniffing, but this creature was not white and cute.

"Mr. Mouse, what a pleasant surprise," said a hearty Ms. Mole. "And who have you brought with you?"

"Ms. Mole, this is Mathias, a friend of mine," the mouse informed her. "I found 'im nearly frozen in the early winter and took 'im in. He's a wonderful companion to have, very useful and such. He even sings and gots many stories to tell."

This interested the mole. She drew nearer, allowing Mathias to see what sort of creature she was. He had heard of moles in stories Tino used to read to him, but he never found out what they were. Now he knew. They were gray and fat rodents with beady eyes and terribly dirty pink noses that did most of their "seeing" for them. Ms. Mole used her nose quite often to study Mathias.

"He's not like any mouse or vole I've smelled before," Ms. Mole said. "Mr. Mouse, what is he?"

Mr. Mouse was not entirely sure. "Truthfully I don't know that. He's like one of them fairies or winged sprites you might've heard about, but he don't got no wings."

"Piffle," the mole sniffed. "I never understood what was so lovely about having wings. That means having to use them to flutter about in the open where there are hawks and filthy badgers and that dreadful sunlight. All such things I dislike." She testily sniffed again and turned her attention to Mathias. "Forgive me, Mathias. My eyes are terribly poor, so excuse me if I seem to get too close. But as for these stories, would you care to sit with me and tell me of some?"

"C-Certainly," Mathias agreed and went with his escorts to find a more comfortable place to share his tales. He told him of his struggles in the winter and how he escaped a marriage with frogs. He shared his encounter with the beetle and his friends and how he was nearly eaten when Lukas rescued him. For a great length he spoke about Lukas. He described great attention to the color of his wings and his ornamented robe. He talked of his velvety voice and his soft dandelion-colored hair. He disclosed his feelings for the fairy, of how he wished to see him again and find and return his brother's ball to him at last.

"Just once I would like to see him sincerely smile," Mathias wistfully sighed, a longing in his bright eyes. "He is already a beautiful prince, but if he would smile, I don't think any amount of words would be able to describe how lovely he is."

Both Mr. Mouse and Ms. Mole exchanged silent looks before speaking. "Mathias," Mr. Mouse said, "it would seem to me that you take a strong liking to this Lukas."

"Why wouldn't I?" Mathias smiled. "He's unlike anyone I've ever met. There's something about him that makes it hard to get him out of my head."

Ms. Mole wriggled her splotchy pink nose. "Young love, that's what it is and nothing more. Fairies are not ideal creatures, and they most certainly don't enjoy affiliating with anyone outside of their own kind. They are too prideful. You, however, Mathias…You deserve someone better."

Mathias merely blinked. "You think so?"

"Oh, I know so. You know, you seem very capable from what Mr. Mouse has told me, and your stories are more entertaining than what the other mice and voles have to offer. What would you say to staying with me, instead?"

"You, Ms. Mole? As in like a housemate?"

"No, no, silly young man. As in my husband." Mathias was speechless. "Together, we can liven things up at our parties. You can tell the same stories you told me to my friends, and we will be the stars of the night."

Mr. Mouse happily pressed his paws together. "A wedding for the two of you!" he squeaked. "Why, that'd be downright splendid, now wouldn't it, Mathias?"

"I-I can't possibly marry Ms. Mole," Mathias said. "I've things I need to do. I have promises I need to keep. This place is so far from my home, that I can't imagine I'd be able to live up to what my journey started as."

"An' that's what you've gotta make new goals, my boy," Mr. Mouse said. "Ms. Mole is a fine mole. She'll take darn good care of ya, better than what I can offer, at least. C'mon now, think about it."

But Mathias was still undeterred. "I don't want to. I've barely known her, and we like different things. I like the outdoors and the freedom. Ms. Mole likes the darkness and the ground. We cannot be compatible."

This made Mr. Mouse upset. "Oh, you, boy," he snapped. "You best be excusin' the boy, Ms. Mole. He's a little winded from the cold still and just needs some time to think on it. We'll be back, and when we are, he'll say yes to you."

"I await that moment," Ms. Mole said and bid them both farewell.

The entire way back, Mr. Mouse was scolding Mathias. "You're a blind fool to not want to marry Ms. Mole," he angrily sniffed. "She's a powerful mole in these here parts, and that she takes a likin' to you is no light matter."

"But my heart doesn't belong to her," Mathias protested. "When I remember Tino and Berwald and how much in love they are, it is far stronger than anything I could feel for Ms. Mole."

That was when Mr. Mouse started to become suspicious. "You…I know what you're up to. You're in love with that Lukas boy you were yammering on about."

Mathias had no reason to deny it if it was true. "And so what if I am?"

"Are you deaf, boy? Didn'tcha hear what I said about fairies not mixing with the other folk? What makes you think you've got a chance with someone who's only seen you twice?"

"Well, I've only met Ms. Mole today, and she already wants me to marry her," Mathias brought up.

"But she's got less time to live than any fairy would. Same for all of us. Why do you think we don't rest too often? Even when she's gone, she'll leave behind plenty for ya. That's enough reason for me to take up her offer."

Mathias felt his voice rising. "I'm not a mouse, nor am I a mole, Mr. Mouse! I don't love Ms. Mole. Marrying someone should be an act of love, not some foolish thing you fall into right away. You can't possibly expect me to accept on that mindset!"

"Then I'll change that mindset of yers!" Mr. Mouse angrily squeaked and pushed Mathias into the back end of his home. When Mathias was all the way through, he shut the door behind him and locked it. He refused to unlock it no matter how hard Mathias yelled and punched at the door. "Now you sit in there and do yourself some thinkin'. In the mornin', we're going back ta Ms. Mole, and you will say yes. By gosh, I've saved yer life for this entire winter. You'd best remember that, or I throw you out and you can kiss your little adventures goodbye!" After that, he left Mathias to cool his head and think.

"Me marrying that blind oaf!" he frustratingly whispered to himself. "That's almost as absurd as marrying that frog!" Sighing, he tried to settle down, but his feet were restless. He needed to pace around and began to wander in the back. Now, this was not a room, per say, but rather a different extension of Mr. Mouse's tunnel routes. Mathias did not want to get lost, but he thought his chances of finding something in these routes were better than agreeing to Mr. Mouse's terms. So, taking a last deep breath, he ventured deep into the back tunnels.

The tunnels behind Mr. Mouse's den were not as glamorous as the ones leading to Ms. Mole's place. These were bare, and the air was damp with mildew and wintery fungus. There came a point where Mathias felt a draft blowing at him, and his spirits soared.

"Where there's a draft, there must be an opening," he breathed, hardly containing his excitement. He felt his feet carrying him over the routes and through intersections until he came across an opening. It was not exactly the exit he had hope for; instead of an actual tunnel out into the open world, there was a gaping hole blasted in the ceiling. In the center of the hole, lying lifelessly on the cold ground, was a bird Mathias had never seen before. It was black with a white belly and large circles around its closed eyes. A striking splash of color lay on its orange beak with a red tip. The most peculiar thing about this bird was the little pink bowtie it wore under its beak, making Mathias believe this was once someone's pet.

But who, Mathias wondered? Bending down to the bird, he stroked its feathers and looked sadly at its lifeless state.

"Poor thing," he pitifully whispered. "The underground is no place for a bird to die, especially not one who doesn't belong where it should." He wished to give it a proper send off, but the bird was far too large for him to move. Try as he did, wherever he pushed and pulled, the bird would not move. Its stone-cold body was stuck in the ground.

Then, as he pushed on its chest, he felt a pulse of movement inside. Pressing his ear close to the bird's breast, he heard a faint thump-thump thump-thump. Why, its heart was still beating! The bird was alive!

"I have to do something!" Mathias gasped. He did not know what was ailing the bird in the first place: the cold, hunger, exhaustion, a sickness? He first tried to warm the bird up; however, after reaching under its wings, he found it to be surprisingly warm. This bird must have been adapted to the cold despite how frigid it appeared on the outside, he decided. As for hunger, he miraculously found his way back to Mr. Mouse's hole and took with him his ration of dinner, stewed carrots, potatoes, and a little bit of fish. The bird only responded to the fish by slightly stirring its head but nothing more. Either it was not hungry or it could not eat. Mathias decided the bird was not sick, and he had little means of curing it so all that was left was exhaustion. He watched over the bird for hours until the sun went down, but the bird had not moved a muscle.

"If only you would say something to me," Mathias sighed. "I wish you could speak."

Almost as if by magic, the bird suddenly shook its head. It jerked back and tried to open its beak and flap its wings, but no sound came out. The birds voice was gone; all it made was a slight raspy noise that made it go mad.

"What!" Mathias cried, trying to shield himself from the bird's sudden rapid movements. "Calm down! Show me what's wrong!"

The bird only choked with its beak wide open now. Its eyes were also open, revealing two desperate black orbs beckoning for some hidden pain to stop. Again and again it coughed and sputtered until Mathias believed he found where the problem was.

"Is there something stuck in your throat, then?" he asked it. The bird said nothing and shook its head. Determined to help it, Mathias sprung on the bird's beak and forced it open. He had to be aware of the bird's clamping power that could easily snap his arm clean off or any other part of him for that matter. He had to be brave and calm.

"Please, I'm only trying to help," he grunted as he slipped inside the bird's beak and braced himself at its throat. It was stressful trying to remain focused when the bird was shaking its head about and trying to flap away in pain, but Mathias wanted to help it. With a forceful lunge, he reached deep into the bird's throat and began to blindly search for anything that might have been lodged inside.

That was when he heard a soft jingle. Gasping, Mathias dug further inside. He knew what it was. It seemed like too good a coincidence, but he could not stop here. With a final lunge, he pushed his arm as far as he could and made contact with something round.

"Got it!" he shouted and grabbed onto the object just as the bird spat him out.

"Squawk! I thought I'd never get that blasted thing outta there!" it screeched. When it recovered, it looked at its rescuer. "So you're the little bloke that took this from my pal, aincha ya?"

"Excuse me?"

"Crazy hair, annoying voice, weird size, I think it fits the bill, no pun intended." The bird cleared its throat. "A-hem. Butcha did get me out'f a tight spot there, so I'm glad fer that."

Mathias was confused. "Are you meaning to tell me that you know me?"

"Not me personally, but my pal's snarky brother does. He said you were foolin' around with my buddy's toy, so I went to go lookin' fer it." It stopped to preen its nubby feathers. "Thing was, when I finally found it, some large gust of wind knocked me back so far that I crashed here and swallowed the ball by accident. That's when you came along, and the rest is history."

"Then that means you must know where the fairies are!" Mathias jumped up. "Please, I'm begging you to take me to them!"

"Whoa, whoa, little brat! Settle down fer a second! I didn't promise nothing for saving my life! What d'ya think I am, a personal courier? I'm the proud companion o' the prince'f fairies!"

"That's Lukas!" Mathias exclaimed. "Please, you have to take me to him!"

"Lukas?" the bird snorted. "Lukas is my pal's brother. Emil's the one I'm talkin' about."

"Emil? So that's the name of the owner of this ball?" Mathias held the silvery toy out to the bird.

"Yes! And he's been crying over that thing for a long time—ever since you went and took it! I'll be taking that back now!" Without another warning, it opened its orange beak and dove straight for Mathias' hand.

Mathias yelled when the bird shot out and stumbled back into the tunnel. Try as it might, the bird could not fit its plump body into the deeper ends, and its strangely webbed feet were no use for digging.

"Confound brat!" the bird spat. "Give it back! My buddy's been washed up over losing that thing! I'll bite your head off!"

"Then your precious ball will be 'tainted' even further!" Mathias proclaimed. "If you would take me to the fairies' realm, I will give you your ball back and never bother you again."

The bird angrily fluffed up its feathers to look more intimidating, but since it could not reach Mathias, it had little to no effect. "Fine!" From the tone of its voice, it sounded like it was getting impatient. "I'll take you to the stupid fairies! But after this, we're done! And if I see your face 'round these parts again, I'm gonna chop it clean off, ya hear?"

"Perfectly," he said, pleased that things were finally going his way. Just as he approached the bird, he heard someone calling back to him.

"Mathias? Mathias, what on earth are you doing?" It was Mr. Mouse. He had finally learned of Mathias' disappearance and had traced his scent all the way back here.

"Farewell, Mr. Mouse!" Mathias waved to him and hurried forth to the black and white bird. "You've been very kind to me, but I'm afraid this is where we part ways. My heart belongs to someone else."

"No!" the mouse squeaked, but he was too slow and too wary of the bird with the intimidating beak. He could only helplessly watch as Mathias clambered onto the bird's back and took off from the ground. As the pair grew further out of view, he wondered what he would say to poor Ms. Mole who was looking forward to the wedding.

"I'm free!" Mathias happily cried and opened his arms to let the cool air whistle through his wild hair. What was once splintering and icy to him was now inviting and exhilarating. He worried little about losing his balance and loved flying through the air. Though this bird's wings were short and poor in flight, he loved the feeling of being in the air. How small and fast everything appeared from such a height. Soon he found himself laughing at his change in fortune and kissed the bird.

"Thank you very much, my friend," he gratefully smiled. "I never thought I'd be able to escape from there."

The bird huffed. "You seemed to be doing pretty well if you asked me."

"Oh, no. It was complicated," he laughed, "but now that I'm away, I can put that behind me. By the way, I don't believe I've ever learned your name. What sort of bird are you?"

"Squarrk! You mean you've never seen a puffin before, boy?"

"Sorry, I haven't."

"Well, take a good look, buster, because I'm the authentic variety! An' my name is Mr. Puffin to you!"

"Mathias," Mathias introduced himself, though the puffin seemed less than interested. Although both companions were the talkative types, neither felt too comfortable opening up to the other. After what Mathias had endured, he decided it was best to keep quiet if he wanted to keep his head.

It was fortunate that Mathias came across Mr. Puffin. After seeing how far he had to fly, he was sure he would have never been able to travel this great distance on foot. There were streams, thick brambles, and towering trees they needed to cross until they came a peculiar row of shrubs not even Mr. Puffin could fly through.

"Under here," Mr. Puffin said and landed in the snow. Here he snapped at Mathias to get off of his back and start walking since he had two feet of his own. What Mathias saw when coming through the clearing was a thing he could only label as extraordinary.

Towers of glass, orbs, and sparkling crystal sparkled in a mystical light with every color of the rainbow. Groups of fairies zoomed above his head and chattered here and there with the occasional snickering or hushed remark. Some spotted Mr. Puffin and waved to him, while others noticed Mathias and looked on with faces of disapproval and disgust.

"Why is there a wingless one here?" a fairy sneered.

"Yes! He doesn't belong here! Mr. Puffin, why have you brought him here?" asked another.

"Shaddup, you gnats!" the puffin screeched, silencing those around him. "I'm just here to deliver somethin', and he'll be outta your feathers real soon! Sheesh!" The fairies were not happy to hear such a tone, but Mr. Puffin was their prince's friend, leaving little room to be hostile towards him.

Mathias all the while was completely oblivious to the strange looks the inhabitants were giving him. He had never seen something so wonderful and magical before. And to think that this was all concealed under a few shrubs! He could hardly believe it!

"Is this all done with magic?" he asked his puffin companion. "How do they keep this place safe from the winter? Are there other kingdoms like this? Can humans find this place?"

"Zip it with your questions!" the puffin impatiently snapped. "I'm not your mommy, shrimp, so shut yer trap and keep walkin'! The sooner I get you over to the castle, the sooner I can get something to eat."

"Oh. What is it that you eat?" Mathias asked, despite being told to stay quiet.

"Fish. Plenty of it." Mathias got his answer, so he let the fairy kingdom do the talking for him. Up until they reached the castle that was equally as magnificent did he finally manage to speak again.

Stationed in front of the crystalline castle doors were two burly guards with sharp glass tridents for weapons. Like the citizens they protected, they were not easily inclined to let Mathias through to their ruler.

"And what business does a wingless sprite have with our queen, Sir Puffin?" a guard asked.

"He's here to return something to Emil," the puffin answered. "Just a quick exchange, an apology, and he's outta here. If you don't believe me, I'll snap his head off myself if he doesn't behave."

Mathias nervously swallowed and tried to make as presentable an appearance as he could to the guards. He was not sure how serious the puffin was being, but he hoped he could reason with him should he accidentally step out of line.

"If you're going to, er, decapitate this individual, please do so outside our realm," the guard told Mr. Puffin. "Her Majesty won't take kindly to having dirty blood on our castle grounds."

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. Now lemme pass." The guards simultaneously stamped their tridents into the ground, and the doors parted, revealing the inner rooms.

"Oh…" Mathias was breathless. Had he the words to describe the inner castle, his dictionary would have run dry. Every little corner and column had great attention to detail with more colors and patterns than he could imagine. Each step leading to a new corridor or hall spiraled like the insides of a shell and glittered like fresh snow in the morning sun. Mathias wished he could remember all of the designs he came across, for if he could show them to Tino and Berwald, they would be rich beyond belief from the castles they could build. But even so, such creations could not have been done by human hands. This was pure magic.

"Mr. Puffin!" a young voice echoed down the hall.

Both Mathias and the puffin turned their heads. "Oi, it's the little tyke!" Mr. Puffin cried and waddled into the hall to meet the owner of the voice. Mathias looked to see a short young fairy with silvery hair and lavender wings and eyes. Like Lukas, this fairy was adorned with fancy robes and laced with silver frills. This must have been Emil, Lukas' little brother.

"Hey!" he called to the young prince. "You're Emil, right? I've got something that belongs to you!"

The young prince had never laid eyes on someone so wild before. He had never seen someone wingless. Even his puffin friend had wings. The man approaching him had untamed blonde hair that stuck to the sky in uneven tufts, a strange coat made from scraps of cloth and pebbles for buttons, and a noticeably loud and distinct voice that none of the royal guards or his family dared to use around him. The ordeal of seeing this man startled the young prince so much that he became petrified. Even when the royal guards pulled the wild intruder back, he could not move.

"What's your problem?" Mathias cried, trying to break free from the tridents. "I'm trying to return something to him!"

"You will do nothing of the sort!" one of the guards growled. "Further resistance will force us to use violence to detain you!"

Mathias was about to open his mouth in protest when the voice of the heavens reached him. "What's going on here? Guards, why is there—? Oh, no. It's you again."

"Lukas!" Mathias burst through the guards' strength and wrapped his arms around the unsuspecting prince. He did not know what overcame him in that instance. Perhaps it was the sight of someone familiar after seeing so many new faces; perhaps it was the cold that did funny things to his head; or perhaps it was just his heart overflowing with emotions he could not quite explain.

Lukas did not much care for the reason. He just wanted the insufferable intruder off of him, and he removed him personally with a hard shove to the face. "Release me, you!" he seethed and dusted off his dark blue sleeve. "You have some nerve coming all the way here, entering my kingdom and tormenting my brother. What more could you want with us?"

"Emil's ball! I have it!"

The prince flinched. "How do you know my brother's name?" He quickly put the pieces together and looked at the puffin. "You must've done something. You brought him here, didn't you?"

Mr. Puffin ruffled his waterproof feathers. "This bloke saved me life an' promised to leave soon as he returned Emil's ball here. The kid's been crying about it, so I didn't see how it was a problem."

His explanation helped Lukas calm down slightly. "So you've some nobility, do you? Very well. Return my brother's toy, and you may go with your neck in tact."

Mathias ignored Lukas' threat and spoke out. "No, Lukas, there are two more things I came here to do."

The prince impatiently sighed and crossed his arms. "And what might those be?"

"The first thing is that I was hoping you could direct me to the winged sprites."

"Oh, that again," the prince huffed. "And pray tell what is the other thing?"

"The other thing, the one thing that kept me going this entire winter, is that perhaps I might be able to see you again, Lukas. I had a feeling you were able to escape that hawk from out last encounter, but seeing you safe puts me at ease."

Hearing these words, the prince had to still himself from making any sort of reaction in front of his royal guards. He needed a moment to recover from hearing such absurdity before responding to Mathias.

"Right…" He sounded rather flustered. "Well, it'll take more than a little trouble with a hawk to get rid of me. In any case, you've taken care of seeing me again. As for the winged sprites, I'm afraid that's not something we can help you with. We're not exactly on the greatest terms with them right now—not since certain events occurred last summer."

"What happened?"

"Things you don't need to concern yourself over, wingless one," Lukas dismissively said. "If you would return my brother's ball, I'll send someone to escort you outside."

Mathias held his ground. "W-Wait! Just like that? But you don't understand. I need to find the sprites!"

But Lukas would not allow the outsider's words to deter him again. "For fairies such as us, it is not best that we get involved." He reached his hand out. "Now for the final time, please. Return my brother's ball."

"Lukas…" All heads turned to see the little prince who had since recovered from his initial shock of seeing Mathias. "Is this man really from the outside?"

Mathias saw Lukas' hard eyes melt into deep blue water at the very sound of his brother's voice. "Yes, my little brother, and that is why he must go. You needn't concern yourself over his affairs. He's here as a delivery boy. He will be gone and not trouble you anymore."

However, this only seemed to pique the young prince's interest with the wingless man. "Sir, y-you look weary. Perhaps you'd like a place to rest?"

As much as he would have loved to stay, Mathias knew his presence was making too many people uneasy. Quietly he reached into his knapsack and pulled out Emil's silvery ball that gave off a radiant glow and jingled as it moved towards its owner. "Forgive me, little prince, but I have a feeling I'm not welcome here," he softly smiled. "It's very kind for you to offer me some time here. I believe this belongs to you. It's brought me great comfort and many adventures. If I could tell you about my journey with it…"

The little Emil gingerly took back his ball and stared at his favorite toy. It seemed to glow more brilliantly than before, far brighter than when he had accidentally thrown it too far that summer night many days ago. Seeing the ball gave him comfort, but it also made him feel that there was more to this young traveler than what met the eyes.

Mathias shortly thanked the princes and Mr. Puffin for their time and was about to be escorted when a messenger stopped him at the front door. "Wait! You are the outsider, correct?" He looked as stiff as a board and as white as a sheet. Mathias could not tell if this was because of his presence or because something else was afoot.

"Yes, I am. I have a name, you know. It's Mathias."

"Mathias," the messenger repeated. "Very well. I'm ordered to bring you forth to the throne room. Her Majesty, the Winged Queen, would like to speak with you."

Mathias' heart began to race. Him speaking with a queen! He had no idea how to present himself or how to respond to that statement. If the queen wanted to see him, would that mean meeting the mother of Lukas and Emil? All these emotions stacked up and turned his legs into near jelly. Even after he agreed to be escorted, he could hardly walk or pay attention to the growing adornments and wonderful architecture building up the center of the castle.

The Winged Queen sat in an intricate chair of precious stones, twigs, and leaves. Lukas was standing precariously beside her as if wondering why he, too, had been summoned. The queen was a delicate and graceful being. Her wings spread larger than any of the fairies surrounding her, and her hair trailed in rivers of silk and silver down to the throne floors. Every bit of her looked beautiful down to her thin lily petal skin and her crystal-like eyes. As she spoke, it was as though the entire room echoed with the sound of glass chimes.

"You are the kind man who returned my youngest son's toy, are you not?" she asked.

Mathias who was a bundle of hiccups and nerves wondered if he should bow before answering or not. A quick kick to the back of his shin took care of that, and he collapsed, kneeling on the floor on a single knee. "Y-Yes, Your Majesty," he confirmed. "I was the one who came across his ball many nights ago, but I hadn't the chance to return it to him until now."

"So I've been told," the queen smiled graciously. "And I've also heard from Lukas that you wish to have an audience with the winged sprites in these woods?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Mathias repeated.

"Then the very least I can do for returning my son's treasured toy and saving his friend's life is granting you that wish. My son, Lukas, will be the one to escort you there."

Hearing this, the prince turned uncomfortably to her. "Mother, please," he spoke in a hushed voice. "Does it really have to be me to accompany him? We could easily send a captain or even a few guards with him. Think of our current relationship right now."

Lukas' mother, the queen, did not move from her place. "That is all the more reason why you should accompany this traveler, my son. Sending anyone from the royal guard will raise suspicions and cause the winged sprites to turn hostile. Perhaps seeing an authoritative figure in their presence will allow them to show some reason. This winter is too early and too long. We cannot allow another long year of frost to come. Our magic grows weaker and our hunger stronger by the day still."

"Mother…" The prince loved and admired his mother, though his feelings towards the winged sprites were anything but affectionate. Long had they fought over territory, food, and negotiations with the seasonal changes. While fairies had stronger magic, they lacked the ability to govern the seasons and were at the winged sprites' mercy. That little tidbit, alone, made Lukas frustrated that because of that, they could not be considered more powerful than the winged sprites. "Please, Mother, I'm asking to you reconsider this proposal."

"Lukas, my son," the queen sighed an airy sigh, "you're forgetting one piece of this puzzle. You've told me Mathias could be a wingless sprite, have you not forgotten?"

"N-No, I haven't, Mother."

She smiled. "Then that should be all the information you need to agree with me."

The prince stared blankly in thought for a few seconds, and then everything became clear. How had he been so blind? The answer was right in front of him all this time. "Very well," he finally said. "I will accompany him to the kingdom of the winged sprites." He turned to the young traveler. "You, there. We'll set off in the morning. Do not cause any trouble here during your stay, understand?"

"Completely," Mathias nodded and thanked the queen for showing him kindness. As he was escorted out, he took a last look at Lukas before he exited to a different corridor.

The room provided to Mathias was simple but still more comfortable than any hole, stump, or lily pad he had slept in since starting his travels. Before being allowed to go to bed, someone came in with a new change of clothes to wear for the following day. He was to look presentable in front of the winged sprites, and thus, he needed to bathe and groom his hair out. Try as the attendants did, they were unable to tame his upright hair, and the fairies eventually gave up on trying to flatten it.

As Mathias was preparing to go to sleep, a knock came to his door. Thinking it was another attendant, he answered it, surprised that it was the young prince whose ball he returned.

"Little prince, what are you doing up at this hour?" he asked Emil.

The silver-haired prince looked nervous, but his lavender eyes were full of wonder at seeing a wingless being. "Is it true you're going to visit the winged sprites tomorrow with my brother?"

Mathias smiled. "Yes. I hope to find the answers of where I might have come from if I go there."

"Um…" The little Emil tugged at his gown. "If it's alright with you, may I come in, traveler?"

"Of course, little prince," the traveler welcomed and let him take a seat in the room's only chair. Mathias sat himself on his bed. "It's not much, but I can tell you it's a whole lot better than what I've been used to. I've slept in places where you can't imagine."

Emil curiously stared at him. "Do you think you could tell me of some of those places? Or your travels, perhaps?" His eyes saddened. "Ever since I lost my silver ball, my brother refused to let me venture outside of the castle. I've been stuck here ever since. The guards won't share stories with me because they think I'm too young."

"Oh, Emil, you're never really too young for an adventure. Here, make yourself comfortable, and I'll start from the beginning." All through the night, Mathias told the young prince of his upbringing and his adventures that started with a simple throw of a ball. The entire time, Emil sat quiet and awestruck, never speaking a word. Mathias painted worlds and characters that Emil had never dreamt of seeing before, and it made him wish that he could venture outside once more.

When Mathias was about to finish with how he flew on Mr. Puffin's back, Emil's brother opened the door looking very worried and angry.

"Emil, what are you doing here?" he asked his brother. "And what nonsense are you feeding him, traveler?"

"Brother, he was telling me stories about the outside," Emil told him. "They're really wonderful. Is it true there are bugs twice as tall as we are? And tunnels that bury deep underground with treasure?"

"All in a traveler's head, Emil," Lukas hastily said and took him into his arms. "Come now. It's too late, and I have business to attend to in the morning. Don't make me worry anymore."

Emil looked back to Mathias with a sad longing. "But I was hoping he would tell me how he came here on Mr. Puffin's back."

"Mr. Puffin can tell you that personally, little brother," Lukas cooed to him. "Let's get you back to bed."

"I'm not…" Emil yawned. "I'm not tired yet."

"Sure you aren't," his brother humored him. "We're going now." Carrying his brother in his arms, he proceeded to leave Mathias room just as Emil whispered a sleepy goodnight to him.

"Goodnight, little prince," Mathias softly responded back as Lukas closed the door and left him to himself. Despite missing the company of someone else, he slept rather comfortably that night.

When morning came, Mathias had never felt so energized and prepared. He was finally going to meet the winged sprites and hopefully get some closure to his possible origins. After a wonderful breakfast of roasted mushrooms and baked oaken fruit cakes, he rejoined with Lukas who was dressed as brilliantly as ever. Seeing how he was seeing to an audience with the winged sprites, he looked even more regal than before with golden patterns of leaves and flowers Mathias had never seen. He felt humble just standing around his presence, and he had originally thought his provided clothes were spectacular.

"Morning, Lukas!" Mathias greeted him with a cheery smile. "You look lovely today."

The prince shied his face from him. "Be on your best behavior," he hissed, not bothering to thank him for the compliment. "You'll be traveling with me, so I'm technically responsible for your actions. Do not speak out of line. In fact, do not speak at all unless I permit you to."

Mathias thought that foolish. Tino and Berwald always encouraged him to say what was on his mind, though perhaps it was only because he had little people to speak to in the past.

"We'll be traveling via flight," he continued with his plans. "Since you do not bear wings, our mages will be casting a temporary spell of lightness, so you will be as light as the air to anyone who touches you. We will not be using any birds to fly us there. We will have not guards escorting us. It will just be the two of us."

"That's great!" Mathias was excited with being able to have some time alone with the prince. There were still questions he wanted to ask him on their journey to the winged sprites' kingdom, and he was sure it would help the prince relax his nerves with some idle chitchat.

Not too long after, the mages brought Mathias over and cast two spells over him, one of lightness and one of warmth. He felt nothing during the process, but only after Lukas held his hand to him did he start to float in the air like a hot-air balloon.

"I'm flying!" he exclaimed and excitedly tried kicking his feet off the ground. "Lukas, I'm really flying!"

In the presence of the mages, the prince had to refrain from making an exasperated expression. "You aren't flying, you fool. Your body's just so light that it appears to be floating, though you have no control of where you float. But if I let go of you…" He released his hand and watched as Mathias dropped to the earth like a stone. "…you'll fall like a rock just like when I last rescued you. There are advantages and disadvantages to a spell like this. Do not let go of me and you should be fine. As for the warmth spell, it will last an entire day, so you will not have to worry about getting your ears frozen off."

"I'll remember that," Mathias said and dusted off his coat.

The send-off was a very small one. The queen and the prince did not want to make a big scene out of this whole ordeal seeing as how Mathias was not exactly welcome into their realm in the first place.

"Lukas, please take care, and try not to let your position get the better of your judgment," she told her son.

"Yes, Mother," he nodded.

"And you, young traveler, I know that my son may act cold sometimes, but he is really a shy and sweet young man when you familiarize yourself with him." Lukas became embarrassed when hearing that from his mother and wished to go quickly and be done with this. With a quick few farewells to Emil and the Winged Queen, he and Mathias were off to the fairy realm alone and unarmed.

As they flew through the trees and glided over the wintery landscape, Mathias found himself staring more at the prince than of the beauty down below. "You know," he broke the silence, "I don't think I ever told you my name."

"I care not for it," the prince coldly responded, but is statement was ignored.

"I'm Mathias," he introduced himself.

The prince sighed and tied to focus on the route. "It matters not. After I deliver you to the winged sprites, I will have no need to know your name. Still…I'm surprised you've been the source of all this trouble all along."

Mathias did not know the context of his words, but he thought perhaps it had something to do with last night. "Your brother's a good child, Lukas. He looks like he wants to know more about the real world. Maybe you should let him venture back outside the realm sometime. When spring arrives, perhaps."

"Ha…spring…" the prince bitterly smiled. "If things go well, then I can only hope it will arrive."

"It will!" Mathias assured him. "It always does! That's what my parents told me."

"And what simple people they must be." But Lukas agreed. "Yes, spring does arrive, but the warmer months have been unusually short this year, so said my mother. It shouldn't be like this." Again he sighed. "As for keeping my brother protected, I would like him to see the world that is his kingdom as much as it is mine, but until this winter subsides, I cannot afford to do that."

"And that will be soon, won't it?"

Lukas' eyes softened. "I would hope so." He paused. "My brother thinks fondly of you. He shared with me of the stories you told him. To think that he would miss someone like you. Curious, that story you told him of your birth. That is not how winged sprites are born. You're sure that's how you came into this world?"

"By flower, you mean?"

"Yes. We'll go with that."

"Yep. My parents told me that story many times when I was growing up. They wanted a child, so they planted some millet. On the light of the next full moon, out I came through a flower like magic."

"Like magic…" the prince's voice trailed off. "Could it be…? The pieces are fitting too perfectly…"

"What?" Mathias perked his ears.

"Nothing. It will not matter once we go to the sprites' kingdom."

"How far is the kingdom, Lukas?"

"Farther than it is from my home to yours," he answered.

"Is it as wondrous as your realm?"

"Ha," Lukas dryly laughed. "I would think not. The winged sprites are closer to nature that they reside over than we are. Being that they are fond of nature, they have natural elements to their home. Where we focus on the preservation of magic, they focus on the preservation of the woods. It's a shame that cannot be said about their king right now."

"Why? What of their king?"

The prince was tired of Mathias asking questions. His brother never bothered to ask him so many, though he wished he did. Why did his brother not express the same curiosity towards him that he did to Mathias, he wondered? Was he not as good as Mathias in some ways? He was so enveloped in this thought that he failed to notice a thick branch they were headed straight for.

"Lukas, watch out!" Mathias shouted.

Lukas had no time to react. His head struck the branch dead on and blacked out in mid-flight. Mathias, having let go of Lukas' hand, started to fall immediately to earth without the light momentum the spell carried him though.

"Lukas!" Hands reaching out, he tried to grab onto the fairy, but a fierce gust blew him away. Mathias landed through and bundle of thing twigs and fell into the soft snow which broke his fall. He could not see where Lukas had landed being that the space was thick with flurries. The only thing he could think of doing was calling out his name while trying to look for his companion.

"Lukas!" he called again and again. "Lukas!"

It must have been a miracle. Somehow amidst the thick snow, Mathias found a small clearing below the branch Lukas had struck. The fairy was completely unconscious, his eyes shut and his wings ripped to tatters. He must have torn his wings from snagging on the branches while falling. Mathias would have been worried about their lack of flight had it not been for the trail of blood running down the prince's forehead. With nothing else to use as a bandage, he began tearing up his own sleeve and wrapping it around Lukas' forehead.

"Lukas, please be alright," he desperately whispered. "Please wake up." He had little knowledge of what to do. He had never been injured to the point of becoming unconscious before. Had Lukas not been breathing, Mathias might have feared that he had died on impact. This was not the case fortunately, but where they were, this was not a good place to be stranded. Seizing what strength had had, Mathias dragged Lukas to the foot of a tree trunk where at least they would have some shelter from the cold.

By the time the prince came to, it was well into the afternoon. Mathias was watching over him the entire time, hoping he would finally wake up. "Lukas, you're awake!" he cried in relief.

"I am…" the prince muttered and tried to sit up when a sharp pain shot into his forehead. Clenching his teeth, he had to force himself back down. There was a wrap around his head that had not been there before, and this was not the fairy realm. He cursed himself for letting his thoughts get the better of him. This was supposed to be a simple drop-off task. He had let down everyone back at the realm. Most of all, he had let down his brother and mother. He thought he was a terrible prince.

"I failed," he miserably said. "I can't fly like this. We'll never be able to get there on foot. There's no method of contacting my people out here. We're doomed. I'll never see my brother or mother again. I—"

"Lukas, no," Mathias cut him off. "I'm here. The odds may be against us, but there's always a possibility that we'll find the winged sprites." He leaned over him and stared deep into his eyes. "We're alive. We'll get through this, just you see."

"We won't. It's hopeless."

Mathias insisted that they would be able to find their way to the sprites' kingdom. Until then, he suggested Lukas rest for now.

"Rest? No. We can't." As much as it hurt to stand, Lukas somehow managed to balance on his two feet with Mathias' help. "The spell the mages cast on us will wear off in the morning. We are not equipped for this kind of weather. We will surely freeze to death in two days' time."

"Lukas, if I can survive a week in the cold sleeping in logs and under rocks, we can pull through together," the weathered traveler told him. However, the prince did not like the idea of sleeping anywhere that involved the ground or in the cold.

"Just think…me freezing and dying out here—and with a wingless fool no less."

Mathias tried to think of something to say to keep Lukas' spirits in tact, but the prince looked too weary and worn to listen to anything. He ignored his words and trudged aimlessly through the snow as if drawn by an invisible thread.

"Lukas, wait for me!" Mathias called after him, always sure to stay close. For the next few hours, they tunneled through the snow without any gain. Lukas did not look the part, but he had a surprising amount of stamina and determination to make headway. Mathias did his best to follow behind, though he wished he could find a way to make Lukas feel better.

As time pass on, the pair eventually tired out and had to rest. They had no food on them, and the attendants threw Mathias' patched knapsack away after believing it would ruin the rest of his appearance. Appearances were the last things on Lukas' and Mathias' minds. Both were exhausted and left without direction. From the ground, it was hard for Lukas to gauge which way was north and south. The fact that it was constantly snowing and overcast did not help them, either.

Finally they came to rest under the base of a fallen log whose center was moist and hollowed out. Lukas rested near the outside in case something should come crawling out of the log while Mathias stared out at the white sheets of snow.

"How did you do it?" the prince asked the traveler as he gathered his thoughts together.

Mathias turned back. "Do what?"

"Keep going. The chances of you even finding us were so slim, yet you never stopped believing you would find what you were looking for. You even came so close until…" He let out a heavy sigh. "…until I foiled everything. How could you keep going even after everything you went through? Are you really that determined, or are you just that naïve about how the world works?"

The traveler had no real answer to that. He tried his best. "My parents…they're toymakers, you see. They believe going to extreme lengths to bring someone's vision to life is worth it. If it means being able to see just one smile or knowing they made someone's life a little brighter, they are always willing to put their hearts into something. I guess you can say some of their dedication rubbed off on me."

Lukas was honestly surprised someone could have such pure intentions. While beautiful, intelligible and sensible, he was never greatly liked by his people for his reserved and cold nature. He supposed he became too caught up in thinking he would always be thought of that way, not accounting for his mother and brother. "You were really that determined to return my brother's ball?"

"Of course!" Mathias replied without a second's thought. "You said it's his favorite toy. If I lost my favorite thing, I'd be upset about it, too. And, well, it wasn't just returning the ball or trying to find my origins that kept me going—it was also seeing you again, Lukas."

The prince did not know why he was so flustered by the traveler's words. He wanted to push that memory away, but his curiosity pushed harder. He feared that if he did not satisfy his curiosity, it would eat away at him until the end of time. "Can you tell me why you wanted to see me again?"

Now it was Mathias' turn to look flustered. With a crooked and bashful smile he answered, "Well, because to me…you seemed kind of lonely."

"Lonely?" the prince echoed.

"Yes. You seemed like you needed someone to be around, and I wanted to be that person. Call it selfish if you want, but that's how I felt."

Hearing this closure, the prince felt more relaxed in mind, but his heart was pounding in his chest. "No, that's not selfish. No one's said that to me before." He stood. "We should continue moving. Maybe we can cover some ground before night falls."

Mathias eagerly followed alongside him. As they walked, he continued to talk to fill in the silence. "So, Lukas, do you know any magic, yourself?"

"Spells that wouldn't be useful here," the prince answered. "They're more used for defense, those I inherited from my father. I also know spells that enhance certain emotions, but those aren't very helpful, either."

"Oh. So no warmth or repairing spells?"

"No. Don't you think I would've used them otherwise?"

"Er, I guess you would've." Mathias stared at Lukas' wings that were like limp blue threads of silk that trailed behind his back. Though not as majestic, they were still pleasant to look at. "Did it hurt when your wings tore, Lukas?"

He shook his head. "No more than a bird molting its feathers. No blood runs through them."

"Then…will your wings grow back?"

"In time," he replied. "The healing process is fastest where magic is strongest. Back at the kingdom of fairies, the healing process takes almost no time at all. But since we're closer to the winged sprites' kingdom, I must take my chances there. I don't suspect the sprites will be so inclined to assist me on my way back."

A wide smile spread across Mathias' lips as he heard this. This meant Lukas still had some hopes that they were going to make it to the winged sprites. They still had a chance.

Along the way, the conversations became more plentiful. Mathias retold the tales of his adventures to the prince while he listened, and further in the prince began to ask him questions of his upbringing. Mathias was more than happy to answer.

"How were you able to get around the workshop? I recall your house being fairly large for someone as yourself."

"For you, too, Lukas!" Mathias laughed. It felt wonderful being able to travel with someone again, he realized. He wished it could have been this way all along. Time seemed to stop when he was with Lukas. "They built a whole bunch of pulleys and little carts for me to take. I would zip from one end of the house to another in seconds! It was really fast. Of course, it's nothing like flying. On the pulleys, there's something under your feet, but being airborne is…there's nothing like it."

The prince could agree with him there. He could not recall walking this much in his lifetime. Most of his means of transportation had been revolved around flying from place to place. Even in the castle the walls were built high and spacious enough to fly across. Seeing how Mathias managed to walk all this way was a stubborn feat in of itself.

Time passed, and night fell upon the woods. The shelter Mathias and Lukas came across was barely big enough to house a resting turtle, but it would have to do for them. Both of them were exhausted and had little desire in traveling in the darkness.

To give them some visibility, Lukas conjured up a soft light that bathed him and Mathias in a sphere of blue. "It's not much," he admitted. "It will not be enough to get us through the woods at night, but perhaps it will give us some insight to our surroundings."

"This is fine," Mathias smiled. "We're too exhausted to travel right now, anyhow."

"Agreed," the prince said as he tried his best to make do with the makeshift pillow his companion provided for him. Mathias had fashioned a cushion out of his rolled-up jacket. Since they still had a few hours before the spell wore off, they did not have to worry about getting cold yet.

"By the way, how's your head?" Mathias asked as he made himself comfortable beside Lukas.

"Better. I don't think I have a use for the bandage anymore." He looked to Mathias' sleeve that was torn at an uneven length. However presentable he might have been, it was negated by the fact that his clothes had a missing sleeve. "You shouldn't have been so rash like that. If we manage to make it to the winged sprites, your new look will raise some eyebrows."

Mathias thought nothing of it. "You mean when we make it to the winged sprites, Lukas. And it's no big deal. I was worried more about your head than some scraps of cloth. I don't want to hurt your lovely face."

The prince thought to lash out at the traveler for thinking he was too delicate, but he withheld himself. He thought to attempt showing some gratitude. "Thank you…" He searched for his words. "It was thoughtful of you to think of me before yourself."

"Hey, that's the first time!" Mathias suddenly burst out.

The prince was confused. "First time for what?"

"That you've thanked me, of course, Lukas!"

He scoffed. "Those are just words."

"True, but words still make you feel something, don't they?" When the prince did not reply, he continued talking. "Sure, you're a prince so you might be able to get away with things, but I still felt good hearing you say something nice to me. Thank you for that, Lukas."

To this, he quietly replied, "Think nothing of it" and promptly fell asleep.

Upon awaking, the two of them were hungry. They had not packed any food or supplies, believing this would be a quick journey to the opposing overseers of the woods. It did not help that it was wintertime, and food was scarce and hard to come by. The only thing they could do until arriving at their destination was stave their thirst off with the melted snow.

"The water here tastes different," the prince noted as he finished taking a drink.

"In a good or bad way?"

"I'm not sure. It cannot be tainted having just fallen, but its taste it still different than the purified water I'm used to drinking."

"Oh? You won't get sick drinking something else, will you?"

The prince nearly laughed. "Don't think me so fragile just because I do not appear as oafish and rugged as you. I was just making a passing comment on how even with things are their natural purest state, there aren't always consistent results. If anything, it isn't a bad taste."

"That's good, then, because I never grew up around magic," Mathias smiled.

"You're a strange one…" the prince muttered and continued forward.

Roughly a few hours in, the two of them suddenly experienced a shock unlike any other. What was once a normal temperature seized up their bodies and turned their skin a pale washed-out hue against the snow. The spell had worn off.

"L-Lukas?" Mathias shivered through his robes. "The spell must've worn off. Are you cold?"

The prince was stubborn and refused to wholeheartedly admit he was cold, too. However, being thinner than his traveling companion and unused to rough conditions, he was faring worse than Mathias. "I'm fine," he lied and continued walking. The only things pushing him forward as his toes grew numb were the hopes of seeing his family and bringing an end to this unconventional winter—that and Mathias' voice egging him on and keeping him conscious.

"Come on, Lukas, take my hand." He offered out his hand so they would not lose sight of each other as they made they way through the snow. "At least we'll be able to share some of our warmth this way." But as he took the prince's hand, he realized how drastic of a state he was in. Lukas was faring terribly: his very touch was as cold as ice, his eyes were nearly closed, and his steps faltered. "Lukas! Lukas, hey, say something! Can you hear me?"

"Of course I can…" the prince barely spoke. What little energy he had left resorted to leaning on Mathias for support. He felt faint and sick. He could barely keep his thoughts together. Mathias' voice came to him in choppy blurs.

"Lukas, we're going to make it. I know we will. We've come this far." In desperation, he sling Lukas over his back and started to carry him to the side. From below, he studied the bare trees overhead and headed for the largest trunk base he could spot. Both he and Lukas were completely out of energy once he reached the base and stopped in a narrow clearing just between the bark and the snow.

The snow had since stopped falling, and the entire world was quiet. Mathias could hear his own heart pounding in his ears as he looked to Lukas and searched for signs of life.

"Lukas…please…don't fall asleep. Keep yourself awake. Lukas?" He never stopped talking for fear that once he did, all would be lost. He hugged the prince close to his chest and hoped his body heat would compensate for the two of them.

"Hey, when we get there, we're going to ask the sprites to take care of you. They can't be that heartless, right? They'll feed you and take you someplace warm. And I'll be able to talk to them about who I am. And when this is all over, I can return to my parents back at the farm, and you can see your mother and brother again. And…And…Lukas?" He heard no response, but he stilled talked. "Do you think when this is all over…perhaps you'll come and visit me sometime? I-I would visit you, but it took me so long to find you. I don't think I'm ready to go on another adventure just yet—but in the case of your curiosity, if you do want me to stop by and visit, I wouldn't mind doing it again. There will be a whole different set of stories for me to tell your brother."

Just as he was running out of things to say, he felt a slight nudge against his chest. The fairy was barely breathing and hardly conscious, yet he managed to chuckle. "I'm sure my brother would love to hear them." He paused to cough a spell. "In all my life…I've never come across such a hopeful fool like you. You're unbelievably stubborn."

If it was meant to be an insult, Mathias did not care. He clutched Lukas close to him like he was a precious toy and kissed his soft hair. All that mattered was staying together now.

Lukas coughed again. "This is it, isn't it? I'm never going to see my brother again. What will become of him if I'm not there to guide and protect him? I failed him. I failed my entire kingdom." And he wept. His warm tears trailed across his icy cheeks in rivers as Mathias clung to him, whispering comforting words to him.

"It isn't over, Lukas. It can't be. There's so much more to see and do. I have many more things to say if you would just stay awake and listen."

Amidst his tears, the hopeless fairy asked "What? What could there possibly be for you to say to make everything suddenly better?"

"That…" Mathias swallowed his empty words and let his heart do the speaking. "That I love you, Lukas. And to anyone I love, I'd never wish for anything bad to happen to him—you, especially."

"Love!" Lukas hoarsely gasped, baffled. "And you think that will help us prevail here?"

"If that was what kept me looking for you all of this time, then that is what I believe will carry us through now, yes."

The prince had to laugh and wipe away his tears. He did not know if he was crying out of self-pity or amusement now. Mathias' claim sounded too convenient and romantic to be true, two things he never came across so commonly. Still, for someone to confess that love had been the driving force of his journey and for his sake touched him. He could appreciate Mathias' innocent dedication and perseverance. It was something even he as a prince of the fairies could admire.

"You really are a fool," he smiled through icy, chapped lips. "Very well, I'll humor you, then. If by some miracle we make it to the winged sprites' kingdom, then I will return your love."

"Lukas, love isn't something you can give and receive like a toy."

Mathias' response amused the prince even more. "And you would be an expert on it. But I never said I would return your feelings because I simply said a few words on a whim."

He did not understand. "Then what do you mean?" He waited for Lukas to answer, but it never came. The prince had long since drifted off to sleep, exhausted and drained from the cold. With a heavy sigh, he held him close and craned his neck above to the towering tree trunk. His thoughts became engrossed in counting the snowflakes as they fell, surprised at the delicate and beautiful patterns that melted on his robe. With each passing moment his energy depleted until he, too, found it harder to stay awake however much that scared him. He wondered if they would awake again, whether in this world or the next. Perhaps it would be like before when he found himself waking to a winter's morning.

"Will spring be here tomorrow?" he wondered aloud as Lukas slept. The gentle rise and fall of his chest against his faintly reminded him of his childhood when he had slept on Hanatamago's soft, warm belly. He wondered how she and his parents were faring. They must have been drinking warm mead and carving little figurines by the fireplace. He hoped, for their sake, they were happy and well. He would not have wished anything less for them. With these fond memories and lull of Lukas' soft breathing surrounding him, Mathias could no longer keep conscious and soon fell asleep beside the tree trunk.

To the relief of Mathias' worries, he was able to awake the morning after. The woods were still covered in a thick sheet of snow, time continued to move along, and life with it. From a full night's of rest, color had returned to Lukas' cheeks, and his strength allowed him to fully open his eyes and speak, despite the burning sore in his throat.

"Lukas, good morning!" Mathias greeted him to the new day. "Are you feeling better?"

The prince blinked open his eyes and rubbed his head. Having felt that he was healed, he removed the bandage and fluffed his hair out. He was glad to have the torn sleeve off, seeing how it was irritating him through the night. "I'm definitely better than yesterday—in more ways than one," he told him.

"That's great! Now, since it doesn't seem to be snowing, we can press on, can't we?"

"Of course…" Lukas sighed and stared at his traveling companion. "Sometimes I wonder where you get all of that energy, you—" He stopped. Without warning, he seized Mathias and planted the front of his body towards the ground.

Taken by surprise, Mathias cried out. "Lukas! What's wrong? Is there something coming after us?"

"No…" the prince breathed. "This is…Take a look at this. Behind you."

"What? What's behind me?" Try as he did, Mathias, while fit in stance, was not the most flexible of people. Lukas had to take the liberty of telling him just what was behind him.

"Wings!" he exclaimed. "You've had wings this whole time. And these patterns—You really are a winged sprite…!"

"I am?" Mathias excitedly perked up. He attempted to look back and admire his wings, but he still could not see them. "This is great! Lukas, we can fly the rest of the way to the winged sprites' kingdom now!"

Lukas, however, was not so quick to celebrate anything just yet. He knew that in order for him to keep Mathias afloat in the air, the mages at the fairy realm had to cast a spell on him. He doubted that these wings would be able to carry the both of them, and even if Mathias was strong enough, there was nothing to say that he could fly at all. Flying was something built on instinct and learning. It was not something learned through a single day, let alone a few hours. He had several questions to ask, but none of the answers would get them off the ground. He would have to see if Mathias was first capable of flight before anything.

Digging out a clearing to practice took a shorter time than Lukas had initially expected. Mathias was so excited to try out his magically procured wings that he seemed to be alive with boundless amounts of energy, so much so that the dreary fairy could hardly keep up with his spirits.

The prince had to first see if the wings on Mathias' back were real or not and not some illusion conjured up through the strength of willpower. He instructed Mathias to first see if he could flap his wings. He explained that like the fairies, winged sprites had wings that produced a fine magical powder to help lift them into the air despite their mismatched proportions. Once being able to control these powder-filled flaps, the hard part would be out of the way.

"Getting off the ground is harder than landing," Lukas explained as he watched Mathias attempting to move his wings. "Flying is a matter of adjusting the air to match your mobility. Generate movement under your wings. Ease up and let your magic guide you." He also cared to add under his breath, "Though I won't say your magic is too potent to begin with."

Attempt after attempt after attempt, Mathias came tumbling to the ground. "Can't you explain it in words that I understand?" he asked after rubbing his neck. His entire body was sore and cold all over, however much he barely noticed it. "I can't fly with you telling me everything in technical terms."

The prince was growing impatient and more hotheaded by the hour. They had been practicing well into the afternoon, and while there was no wind or snow, he was starting to get dizzy from frustration—or perhaps it was something else?

"Do you want me to tell you that believing in yourself and trusting in your heart will guide you to the heavens, then?" he humored his pupil. "I can very well say that, but that's not being specific. Those are just things that come with the experience of flight, and those things quickly become trivial. Need I remind you that we are trying to find our way to the winged sprites' kingdom—also very likely your real home?"

"No, you don't, but that sounds exciting, doesn't it?" Mathias smiled in high spirits. Lukas was not faring any better than his winged counterpart, unfortunately. He began noticing how his words were slurring and his movements involuntary and sloppy. It came to pass that he could no longer bear to stand and watch over Mathias as he practiced and had to sit down. His head felt like it was on fire, yet he was breaking out in a strangely cold sweat. Finally, after managing to lift his feet off the ground, Mathias went over to him to see if he needed anything.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," the prince replied, as he was used to making such a response so as not to worry his family or his subjects. "Just keep practicing. I'll be fi—" But he never finished speaking, for in that moment, a heavy wave of nausea swept over him. He would have collapsed onto the ground had it not been for Mathias catching him in time.

"Lukas!" Mathias cried. "U-Uh, do you need some rest? You were just fine a second ago. Hey…" He held his breath when he placed a hand to Lukas' forehead and felt just how hot it was. Sometime in the night, he must have caught a deadly fever. This was not good. The fairy's breath was growing short and his body violently shaking. Occasionally his lips quivered as if beckoning for something, though he would not say what.

"Please, no…Lukas…Lukas, did you remember what I said last night? That I love you. We're going to get through this. I promise I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." Yet try as he did, he could not stir the ailing prince to remain conscious.

There was only one hope left for the two of them. Out here where resources and shelter were scarce, Mathias concluded that their only means of surviving now was to fly to the kingdom of the winged sprites. Granted, Lukas was under no circumstances to give directions, but Mathias would have to try.

One could have called it an act of sheer willpower, some a miracle. The events that followed were not something that could have happened out of the ordinary. A rush of energy surged through his body that made him cling tightly onto Lukas' frail body and hold him closer than he had ever dared to. Like build-in instincts suddenly coming back to him, he felt his wings twitch slightly, then flap, then kick him off the ground. Above all odds, Mathias' wings were able to carry the two of them. His heart leapt at this achievement, but now was no time to be celebrating just yet. He had to get Lukas to someone who could help him. But to where?

And just like that, as if pulling him like an invisible string, the answer came to him like a light instantly flashing in his head. Mathias knew where to go. He knew where his home was, where he belonged. Keeping Lukas close to his body for warmth, he pushed at the air with his wings and sent them flying through the thick layer of snow and into the air. He did not even need to survey his location to know where to go. Away he went.

Through the two fallen trees, past the frozen river, and over the prickly brambles. Past the log with moss and lichen and over the ring of mushrooms that unveils itself in late spring. Mathias had never been to any of these places before, yet he knew exactly where to go as if flying through these landmarks like clockwork. He eventually arrived to a frozen waterfall, its waters frozen solid in an immobilized sheet of cascading ice. Behind the waterfall was an opening leading into a cave, coated with moss that was as soft as a rabbit's ear. The smell combined with the electrifying air of magic made Mathias feel as though he had been to someplace here before, not quite the same location, but someplace extremely similar.

Five winged sprites with beetle shells for armor and sharpened mantis claws for spears stood positioned at the entrance of the cave. They pointed their weapons at Mathias and Lukas as soon as they saw them, as they had never seen these individuals before.

"Halt!" one snapped at Mathias. "Who are you to intrude at the entrance of our domain?"

"I-I'm Mathias," the now-fatigued winged sprite panted. "Please, sirs, my friend is very ill. Won't you let us through so you may treat him?"

One good look at the prince's wings told the guards everything they needed to know. "This is a fairy, and no ordinary fairy at that. He is royalty, is he not? What business do you have bringing someone like this here?"

Mathias struggled to swallow his breath. "It's too long a story to tell you. We mean no harm. If you would just take pity on my friend and shelter us, we will be eternally grateful."

"We don't need gratitude from outsiders, especially not that of the fairies. Away with you—"

"Wait," one of the older guards stopped his comrade. "His wings. Do they not resemble the king's?"

Baffled, the guards studied Mathias' wings closer with wide eyes. "No one's seen the king in so long, we've practically forgotten what he looks like. Young man, who are you?"

"Mathias!" he cried. "I'm Mathias! That's all I'll ever be! Enough about me! My friend is deathly ill!" He waited in a tense silence as the guards' senior stared at him with stone-cold eyes. After a moment's pass, he nodded to them.

"Take the fairy to the healers," he instructed them. "As for you, young man, come with me."

"Y-Yes." Mathias' heart was about to burst from relief. "Thank you so much."

The winged sprites said nothing as they took Lukas from him and led them deeper into the cave. Mathias absorbed every detail, every sensation, every emotion. The air was colder down here, but at the same time, the air sizzled with a mystifying spark laden with magic unlike that of the fairies. Venturing through many twists and turns, the end of the tunnel opened up to a vast cave-like structure with tree roots supporting the surrounding walls and flowing water that ran through an intricate city-like system. Unlike Lukas' home, there was no grand castle but, rather, series of tunnels and glowing balls of twine and reeds that embedded themselves in the largest strain of roots in the realm. Seasons were unbalanced here: flowers of the summer would bloom along the moist ceilings, yet a winter's frost would coat the edges of water lilies in a pond. Mathias saw flowers and fruits of all different regions and seasons, from countries far away and those he did not believe could coexist alongside humans. Fluttering in short bursts of speed to and fro were the winged sprites, similar to fairies in size and stance save for their wings and bright patterns in contrast to the subtle hues of fairies. Mathias had yet to see his wings and wondered what could have struck the guards' fancy to permit him an audience with the monarchy here.

"Mathias, you said your name was?" his escort asked for clarification.

"Yes," he confirmed. "I-If I may ask, where exactly are we going?"

"To see our king," came his answer. "I only hope he will have an audience with you."

"Why? What happened?"

"The long and early winters have been a result of his grief. Roughly a year ago, his wife, our queen, passed away after venturing off to birth their child. We suspect something must have gone wrong, an unfortunate encounter with a predator or even the fairies. Whatever the case, two lives were thought to be lost that day. The king shut himself away, and with his magic being the central focus of how the seasons pass in these woods, the winters have been bitter. You must have seen the results.

"And now you come along, you with those wings. I have only seen those wings once as a young man, but I should not have forgotten them so easily. Your patterns make up our queen's: a swallowtail's tear."

Mathias was stunned. "Y-You don't think that I could be king's missing son, do you?"

"That I do not know. I have many questions, myself, but I believe those should be asked by the king." He stopped at a grand door that appeared to be part of the tree roots, itself. "We have arrived. You could look more presentable at a time like this, but time is precious." Situated in front of this door were two formidable winged sprites. Though he was nowhere as impressively built as these two, the guards allowed Mathias and his escort to pass through with a simple nod.

Through the door was yet another tunnel, only this one was alit with strange blue mushrooms sprouting in asymmetrical patterns along the walls and floors. Mathias walked with the winged sprite, his head ready to explode with so many questions bottled up. At the end of the tunnel were thin vines that magically parted as they approached. Beyond that lay a lone winged sprite, the color of his wings faded and his back arched forward like an aging old man's.

The guard cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, I have someone who you might want to see," he announced. "This is Mathias. He has just come out from the outside in this winter. Please permit an audience with him."

In a worn, creaky voice, the king spoke. "Leave me be. No one you bring could possibly interest me. Take your guest away."

It hurt Mathias that the king would not even turn to look at him. Fortunately the guard was persistent. "Your Majesty, please, I implore you. He…His wings have your wife's patterns."

At that, the king instantly whipped around like a revolving puppet, his head straightening out with a snap. His eyes, while tired and sad, brightened at the mere sight of Mathias, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to disappear in a glowing light.

"You…" His hands shook as he approached Mathias. "Could it be…?" Mathias first winced at his touch that was as cold as ice, but upon cupping his cheeks, they were as warm as any loving parent's. Such a sensation could only be felt by those who had been separated for so long. "You have your mother's eyes…" Tears streaked down his eyes and melted his frozen heart. "My son…you have returned to me."

Mathias wept, too, for even having never set eyes on his real father, he knew this was where his home was supposed to be. The guard had long since left the reuniting father and son to reconnect and share their stories and memories together. Mathias learned of his mother, a headstrong yet beloved queen who loved her subjects and husband. In exchange, Mathias told his father of his earliest memories and of the kind humans who had raised him to be a healthy and ambitious young man. The king was saddened to know that he had not discovered what had become of his queen, but knowing that at least his son was alive offered him some relief. They had become so engrossed in their conversation that Mathias nearly forgot about Lukas and his condition until telling his story.

"Lukas!" he suddenly gasped. "I left him with the guards at the front. I need to see if he's gotten any better!"

The king of the winged sprites saw a light he had long since lost with his departed queen. Seeing how fond of Lukas his son was negated any prejudice he might have felt towards the fairies. "Mathias, you love him, do you not?"

Mathias did not deny it. "Y-Yes, Your Maj—Yes, Father. I believe it may have been because of it that helped us arrive here at all."

His father could wholeheartedly agree. "It may have been your very act of love that allowed your wings to finally grow. No magic is stronger than love, and yours is no less powerful. That you have wings now is proof of that. Then you should go to him. I would like to meet with him when his health returns."

A wide smile spread over Mathias' face. "Thank you. He'll be shy at first, but he means well to those dear to him. I know you'll adore him." It pained the king to see his recently reunited son leave his side, but he was still recovering from the shock of losing his wife and now just seeing his son for the first time. He bid Mathias farewell and watched him set off to find the fairy he had brought here.

A team of winged sprites led Mathias to a healers' hut fashioned out of soft moss and lichens. Overhead, the ceilings smoked with various herbs, spices, and incense that emitted sweet and musty fumes to the outdoors. Here, Mathias entered the hut and saw various winged sprites here for treatment, whether from illness or fatigue. Lukas was one of the more severe patients and had to be taken to a room separate from the rest in the back. The healers in the hut also noted that not everyone would be comfortable seeing a fairy here, as relationships were not well with them. By the time Mathias was able to see Lukas, his breathing had returned to normal, and he could manage to open his eyes just long enough to see his visitor.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're alright," Mathias breathed and knelt by the fairy's side. "I didn't know where they'd bring you, but they told me you're going to be alright. They said if you weren't seen to within an extra day's time, you might not have made it. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling so ill when you were teaching me how to fly?"

Lukas' voice was soft and raspy, yet he could still form sentences. "Had I stalled, would you have been able to take us here?"

"I—Perhaps not," Mathias caught himself, "but I wouldn't have been able to do all of this without you here, Lukas."

The prince softly laughed. "It may be in my nature to hide my state of being from others. It has been that way with my people, and from what I've gathered, it should be that way for you, too. A strong king should not make his subjects worry."

"But I'm not one of your subjects," Mathias reminded him. "I've always just been me."

"That is true. Then perhaps I thought of you as someone else." He attempted to sit up only to have his body falter from exhaustion. Mathias helped him support his back against his cot's edge. "Do you still remember the words I exchanged with you just last night?"

Mathias weakly smiled. "It's hard to believe it was but a night ago. But, yes, I remember what I said to you."

"As do I. And I said I would return your feelings if we managed to make it out alive."

"O-Oh. Lukas, if you don't feel the same way for me, I won't force your feelings to change."

The fairy smiled. "That's good, then, because the feelings in my heart are ones I choose to feel on my own accord. It's very possible that I had experienced these feelings far before we set off, though I did not realize what they were at the time." Mathias' heart leapt. "No one has ever been so thoughtful to me before, never a winged sprite at that. As strange and naïve as you are, those are qualities that suit you and fascinate me. It could not work for anyone else. That and many other things are why, Mathias, truthfully and undoubtedly, I love you."

"Oh…Oh!"

Lukas nearly screamed when a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his waist and took his breath away. He wanted to cough but he did not want to alert the healers or make Mathias worry. "Does it have to be…so tight…?" he grunted.

Seeing that Lukas was struggling to breathe, Mathias apologetically released him. "I'm sorry. It's just that…it's the first time, you know?"

"First time what? Saying how I really feel about you? Because if you're going to act this way every time, then I might as well not say it at all."

"No, not that!" Mathias corrected him. "My name! You've never said my name before!"

This struck the prince as odd. He had never noticed before. "You've really kept that into account this entire time?" he asked, both flustered and perplexed. "Huh. It's so like you to get excited over hearing your own name."

"But I can't help it. It's sounds nice when you say it. Would you say it again for me?"

"No," he immediately responded.

"Please, Lukas?"

The fairy was not impressed. "You've practically worn out my name. Do you want me to wear out yours?"

"It if means hearing you acknowledge, me, then I don't mind."

"Ah, you…" Lukas knew it was impossible to wear down Mathias' spirits. He was invincible. "Very well, then, Mathias. It would seem that I've really picked a fool to fall for."

The spring that year came earlier than the last. Narcissi popped in bright yellow blooms all along the receding snow and dotted the woods with sunny splashes of color. The migrating birds began to visit and filled the once soundless void with sweet songs and chitchat. News of the winged sprites' prince return had reached all over the kingdom, and the woods flourished with abundant warmth that melted the snow and pushed away the winter wind. As the woods filled with life, so, too, did the king until he finally left his chambers and had the chance to meet the prince Mathias so fondly talked about.

"You must be Lukas," the king said. "My son has told me much about you and your time with him. It is because of you he managed to return to us. I cannot thank you enough for your contributions."

"There's no need for your gratitude, Your Majesty," Lukas spoke. "Being able to reunite the two of you and restoring balance to the seasons that govern my people's way of life is all that I intended to come here for."

"But from what I've been hearing from the healers, that is not the only thing you are going away with," the king lightheartedly joked, which made the fairy prince blush.

"N-No. I've learned many things from your son, and I hope I can carry this new knowledge with me to guide my own people. Perhaps we will even be able to improve our relations with you once I return." He also had to bring a topical mention up. "About your wife, I cannot say I was born at the time her disappearance took place, but know that I am sorry for your loss. Having recovered in your realm this whole time, I know now that she and your son did not deserve what happened to them."

Mathias, who had been quiet this entire time, looked anxiously to his father who was lost in thought. To his relief, the king was able to forgive the fairies. "It is time we settle our differences peacefully. You and Mathias, from completely different backgrounds, have been able to look past your qualities. Why should we not be able to? We can all learn something from your love for each other. If it means the well-being of both realms and the state of the woods and inhabitants, then it should be in our best interest to move forward. This bitterness and sorrow has brought upon such a terrible winter, and it nearly claimed both your lives. For that, I should apologize."

"Your Majesty, please, there's no need," Lukas replied. "That we were able to come through with this while learning something valuable is something that is worth remembering. Had it not been for this calamity, I may have not had a different opinion about the winged sprites."

"Then all is well," the king warmly smiled. "Now that you are well and with wings restored, you may return to your people and tell them of the news."

The fairy prince agreed. "That is something I will not hesitate to do." Since spring had arrived, his recovery had gone smoothly. His wings were now restored to their former beauty, granting him flight once again. "Mathias, will you see me out?"

His eager companion followed him to the exit behind the waterfall. Having seen warmer days, the ice had since melted and began pouring flowing water back into the river. Mathias had never believed that such a place could have been his home all this time, and yet, he felt a sense of longing for his old parents. He had yet to see them and tell them of his adventures and his origins. How he came to tumble into their cozy workshop was something no one was certain of, but he could not have asked for better people to raise him. He thought he owed them a visit, at the very least.

"Lukas, wait, before you return, do you think you could show me the way back to my home?"

The fairy was confused at his request. "Your home is here, is it not?"

"No. My real home, the one where I grew up in. Tino and Berwald must be worried sick about me. I want to make sure they have been faring well this whole time I've been gone."

Lukas could understand. He had long missed his home back by his brother's side. Not a moment passed when he hoped to see his family again. "Funny that you would know where this home is but not your real one. I suppose that's just winged sprite instinct for you. Very well, I'll show you to your farm." With a spring and a bounce to his step, he managed to take flight for the first time in weeks and waited for Mathias to follow. Just like the fairy, Mathias was able to kick off the ground with little effort and trailed behind his good friend through the leafing trees.

In not time at all, Mathias and Lukas had flown through old landmarks in the woods back to his farm. Along the way, Mathias spotted the old shoe he had once taken shelter in, the hollowed tree trunk where he had once performed for an audience of bugs, and the grove of reeds that had since been trampled and ruined by the heron. From here, Mathias knew the way back. He traveled along the riverbank that ran to his parents' farm and through the newly sown gardens straight for the stained glass window. The same panel he would come and go through was open as if expecting him all along. Lukas initially wanted to stay inside, but after some persistence, Mathias was able to convince him to follow him.

"Tino! Berwald! I'm home!" He bellowed as loud as he could into the cozy house expecting someone to run up to him in joy. But it was not a human who first saw him. A ball of rumpled white fur, a black button nose, and a pink tongue greeted Mathias with a sloppy kiss.

"Argh!" Mathias let out a startled cry as his body was covered in saliva. "No! Stop!"

Seeing that his friend was in trouble, Lukas flew down to fend the beast off. "Away with you, fiend!" he hissed, but he stopped as soon as he saw Mathias was smiling.

"Lukas, no! This is Hanatamago! She's our dog!"

"A hairy white mongrel, no less," Lukas sniffed, trying to conceal his embarrassment. "If the beast is here, where are its owners?"

"Perhaps in the workshop," Mathias assumed. "Hanatamago, will you take us there?"

The little white dog gave a short yip and scampered off to the workshop. Mathias and Lukas followed her to where Tino and Berwald normally made toys. Not a moment after entering the room, they could hear Tino mindlessly talking to himself or Berwald. It was hard to tell which.

"…And he would love the trains when we finished them. Berwald, do you remember how he would ride the trains and call our names?" If Berwald made an attempt to respond, Tino did not hear him, but he continued to go on. "He was so happy. And he would always shout to us. What I would give to hear his voice again…"

"Tino!" Mathias called to him.

"See, Berwald?" Tino sighed. "I must be going mad. I've been starting to hear his voice in my head for some time."

"Tino! It's me!" Mathias shouted again.

That was when Berwald looked up. "Tino, I don't think that's yer head talkin'." When he saw Mathias flying, he was confused at first. The moment was shortly over in a flash as he realized that their son had finally come home. "Tino, look."

"What?" Tino looked up and jumped at the two winged beings hovering in their workshop. "Oh my goodness! Mathias! A-And another one! You're a fairy! B-Both of you are fairies!"

Under his breath, Lukas muttered, "One of us is, anyway."

"No!" Tino cried, his tongue and thoughts in knots. "What am I getting at? Mathias, you're back! All of this time! I was so—A-Again, no! Do you have any idea how much you've made me worry? Why, Berwald and I were thinking of locking you in the attic once you came back! Even if we meant that in jest, you've had us worried sick! How could you be so foolish? Where have you been all of this time? And you have wings!"

Mathias and Berwald tried to calm Tino down the best they could, but he was a bundle of fits and nerves. Mathias could understand what he must have been feeling, as his heart was beating faster than his wings. "Tino, Berwald, I'm really sorry I left on such short notice," Mathias apologized. "I know I was being selfish and foolish, but it worked out for the best. I have many things to tell and show you. And before I forget, I should introduce you to someone." He flew to Lukas who had since gone into hiding up in the rafters and beckoned him to meet his parents.

"Please don't make me do this," Lukas nervously shied away. "The one with the squares on his eyes is making me feel uneasy."

"Who, Berwald?" Mathias laughed. "He's the nicest person I know! He's nicer than Tino! He won't hurt you. Come on, Lukas, we've flown all this way. I'm sure they'll be happy to meet you."

"But…"

"Come on!" he smiled and dragged his friend out into the open. "Everyone, this is Lukas! He's my friend, and he's also the prince of the fairies!"

Tino and Berwald were already trying to get used to the fact that Mathias had returned to them and had somehow magically sprouted wings to be anymore confused. Still, that their son had found someone similar to him to call his friend made them happy.

"We've been through so much together," Mathias told them. "He's the reason I went out on the journey in the first place. He's also who led me to realize who I am, where I've been, who I've met—"

"Mathias, slow down there for a sec'nd," Berwald stopped him mid-sentence. "It's nice that you've found so many things, but maybe you should settle down and start from the beginning."

"O-Oh." The winged sprite sheepishly looked to Tino whose head was spinning from all of the information and to Lukas who was still nervous about exposing himself to such large humans. "Right. That's a good idea, Berwald. Lukas, would you care to sit with me?" After some additional coaxing, the prince eventually agreed and sat among some tiny cushions.

It felt like hours since Mathias first began talking. Many times he was interrupted throughout the story for questions from his parents and little remarks from Lukas. He never minded the interruptions and was happy to answer any questions he was asked. When he reached the part about meeting his real father, the king of the winged sprites, Tino and Berwald's eyes saddened, for it was then that they realized Mathias was never truly their child to begin with.

"So you've always been a winged sprite this whole time," Tino quietly murmured. He stopped to wipe a tear away from his eyes. "But you've found who you belong with at last. I…I'm glad that you've found your real father, Mathias."

But their son thought otherwise. "What? No! Tino, Berwald, no matter what, you'll always be my real parents! I was always happy. You took care of me and raised me even when I wasn't what you wanted."

"You're wrong there, too, Mathias," Berwald said. "We've never minded that you were small. You were always ours."

"Oh, you two…" Now it was Mathias' turn to shed a tear. "Thank you so much for everything. I could never wish for better parents."

Tino looked to Lukas with a wide smile. "And I could have never wanted a lovelier fairy for you to fall in love with." Lukas blushed at the comment and hid behind Mathias' wings. "We're so happy and proud for you, Mathias. And…as much as it pains me to say this, we know your place isn't with us. There are many things for you to learn with your people, but if you should ever want to visit us, our windows will always be open to you."

"Thank you both," was all Mathias could say. It saddened him to leave, but his parents were right. His heart now belonged elsewhere. It was not under the roof of a workshop or inside a little dollhouse with two humans; it was out in the woods where there was magic sprinkled here and there with an adventure always waiting to begin. Before leaving with Lukas, he kissed Tino and Berwald each on their cheek and little Hanatamago on her black button nose. Mathias promised he would visit whenever he could and set off with Lukas back to the fairy kingdom.

Imagine everyone's surprise when the long lost prince came flying back to the entrance of the fairy kingdom and headed straight for the castle. Everyone thought Lukas had perished in the cold after never hearing from him again, but a search party had never been sent out since all believed he had long since perished. So when the prince promptly entered his brother's room, Emil thought he was seeing a spirit.

"Brother!" he gasped, his face as pale as a sheet. "Is it…Are you really here?"

"Of course I am, Emil," he replied, holding him as tightly as he could. "Look at you. You've grown so much when I was gone." He was right: Emil was no longer the tiny little fairy he was in the winter. He had grown tall and lean, though still not as tall as his brother.

"Where were you?" There was pain in his voice. "I waited for days all the way until weeks for you to come back. Everyone thought you were dead. I thought you were dead! Why would you make me worry like this?"

"Emil…" Lukas' feelings were troubled. He had always thought of his brother and what might have become of him in the passing weeks. Though he was alive and well, he could not bear to imagine what might have really happened had he and Mathias not made it through the winter alive. "I'm really sorry for making you feel so worried for me. That is something that should have never happened. It was all my fault. I was careless. You have every right to be upset with me."

His little brother wiped his eyes and sniffed. "No, Lukas. That's something…You're alive. And that's what matters most of all. I'm just happy to know you're finally home."

Lukas could not help smiling. "You've really grown, haven't you, little brother?"

It was then that the young prince noticed Mathias standing behind his brother. He had been so caught up seeing his brother alive that he had not had the time to notice how different he looked. Aside the fancy garments and shimmering robe, he had a pair of sharp, fiery wings with intricate yet bold patterns that could only belong to winged sprite royalty. "Mathias…" he breathed. "You really are a…?"

"A winged sprite, yes," he nodded. "I would have never found out if it wasn't for your brother, Emil."

One question answered after another, Emil slowly began to get a picture of where his brother and his friend had gone during the winter. At long last, when Mathias reached the end of his explanation, Emil could see how they had managed to survive together—it was for the sake of each other. While he listened to the conclusion of Mathias' tale, he wondered just how Mathias would fit into their lives now. Most likely oddly and energetically, he decided.

"Lukas, we should go see your mother!" Mathias suddenly suggested after finishing.

"Now? She must've gotten word from one of the guards by now. We don't need to see her just yet."

Mathias appeared confused. "Why? You haven't seen her for so long. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you!"

"That's not what I was concerned of…" Lukas softly muttered, but Mathias could not hear him and dragged him down the crystalline corridors. "Mathias, wait! Not yet!"

As sounds of his brother's protesting began to echo further into the corridor, Emil wondered just how well their meeting would go. From the way Lukas and Mathias looked into each other's eyes, he had no doubt that he would be seeing the winged sprite several times after this, and quite honestly, he did not think he would mind getting used to him.

The End

Thank you very much for reading!

-GydroZMaa