Humming quietly, _ (f/n) made her way through the thick forest. She loved walking beneath the leafy canopy, it was so quiet and peaceful compared to the hustle and bustle of her small village. She was particularly eager to escape today, she didn't want to go back and face her grandmother for another lecture. _ had reached the age where she should be married but she was completely disinterested in any of the young men she knew or knew of. But her grandmother was relentless. _ sighed and twitched the hem of her dress away from a bush to prevent it from getting caught.

Then a noise caught her attention and she stopped humming so she could hear it better. It was faint, she wasn't really sure it was there at all. At first she thought it was a bird or small animal but she knew of no bird or beast that sounded like this. She crept towards the noise. As it grew louder _ realized it was the sound of someone crying, possibly a child. This thought made _ hasten her search and soon the sound was quite loud. It was a child. An enormous fallen tree trunk was now all that blocked her view. She scrambled over it and found herself looking into the shadow of a nearby tree. She peered and stepped closer until she could discern the trembling shape in front of her.

It was a little boy, a toddler really. He had a thatch of soft looking tangled blonde hair and he wore a dirty white tunic and a small green cloak. She couldn't see his face because it was downcast. _ saw his tiny hands petting something in his lap. She was so close to the boy that she could have touched him. "A-are you all right?" she asked softly. The boy looked up and gasped in shock. Now _ could see his face. It was an adorable one with large emerald eyes that were overflowing with tears, large chubby cheeks and wobbling lips.

He shook his head and looked down at his lap again. "M-my fwiend…" he sobbed. _ looked at his lap. It was a small white rabbit with brown ears and feet. It was completely still, it didn't even twitch. Was it… dead? Several seconds passed, now _ could see that the rabbit's chest didn't rise and fall with breath. "My onwy fwiend!" the toddler wailed.

This was too much for _. She held out her hands, "Oh, poor baby! Oh, oh, oh. Come here darling, poor, poor baby!" She scooped him up and pressed him close to her chest. He still held on to his rabbit but he nuzzled his face into her neck and cried. _ kept whispering words of comfort as she slowly rocked him in her arms. Finally he calmed down a bit and looked at her. _ realized that it was getting late and that she should get him home. "What's your name?"

"Arthur," he said. This puzzled _, she knew of no one with a child named Arthur in any of the surrounding villages and surely she would have remembered such an adorable face.

"Who are your parents?" Arthur shrugged and _'s heart sank. Was this poor baby an orphan? "Don't you have a family?"

"I have big bwothas but thew're never around." He focused his attention back on his friend and his eyes filled with tears again.

"Where do you live?"

Arthur shrugged again. "The fowest."

"I mean, where is your house? You know, the place where you sleep and eat," _ explained patiently.

A third shrug. "I sweep unda da twees and eat here too." _ eyes widened in shock. Arthur was homeless?! _ thought about what course of action she should take before nodding firmly,

"Would you mind staying with me for the night Arthur?" she asked gently. Arthur looked at her for a few seconds before nodding and curling back up onto her chest.

As they walked _ pressed kisses to his hair, forehead and cheeks and often paused to wipe any tears from his eyes. She couldn't persuade Arthur to let go of the rabbit, he clung to it with all the determination toddlers are known and dreaded for. Arthur suddenly peered up at her, "Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm _, _ _ (f/n) (l/n)."

Soon enough they left the forest behind and reached her small cottage on the outskirts of her village. She shifted Arthur slightly in her arms so she could open the simple latch and push open the door. On the table was a note from her grandmother informing her that she was out to help another lady in the village whose daughter was sick with fever and that she likely wouldn't be back until tomorrow noon.

_ set Arthur down on a seat in at the table and walked over to the small chimney, a small pot hung over the fire and _ could see it was filled with a thick chicken and potato stew. Obviously her grandmother had prepared it. "Are you hungry Arthur?" He nodded and his stomach grumbled in agreement. She grabbed a bowl and quickly ladled some of the hearty broth into it. She set it before Arthur along with a spoon. She then remembered the rabbit. "Arthur," she began as gently and persuasively as possible. "May I… will you let me have your friend? I'll take him somewhere safe."

Arthur blinked, "Safe?"

"Yes, safe. I'll take him somewhere he'll be safe and happy."

"Will I see him again?"

_ had to fight back tears of her own now, "I-I'm so sorry baby, you can't see him again." Arthur whimpered and buried his face into the rabbit's fur. Then he slowly relaxed his grip and with one final kiss he held it out to her. _ quickly took the bundle and walked out the door. "I'll be quick," she promised.

_ ran to the outermost fringe of the forest and stopped. What should she do with it? She certainly couldn't just dump it somewhere and let the carrion birds have it. She finally decided to bury it far beneath the ground so no foxes or other predators could dig it up. She sank to her knees and laid the rabbit on the grass. She remembered how Arthur had said he never saw his brothers and seemed to have no knowledge of his parents.

"You really were his only friend weren't you?" she choked out. She reached out a hand to begin digging up the soft turf when the sound of hooves stopped her. _ looked up and gasped.

The face of a pure white horse was only inches away from hers, and that wasn't even the strangest part, _ also noticed that a white horn protruded from its forehead. She gaped at the fantastical creature and it seemed to look right back at her. Then it dipped its head and touched the little body of the rabbit with the tip of its horn. There was a brilliant flash of light and _'s eyes were blinded for a few moments. When she could see clearly again, the horse was gone. She looked at the rabbit and couldn't stop another gasp from leaving her throat. The brown and white fur was now minty green and tiny wings could be seen on its back. The creature stirred and squeaked before suddenly flying into the air. It circled _'s head and cuddled up to her cheek. "I'll be back soon!" A tiny voice said and then the bunny flew into the forest.

_ sat there completely stunned until she recollected that Arthur was all alone in her house. She ran back to the cottage and found him still at the table. His bowl was empty and his head bobbed tiredly. He looked up as _ entered but didn't say anything.

"Are you still hungry?" she asked. Arthur shook his head and yawned. _ wanted to immediately put him to bed but she changed her mind when she saw his wild, tangled hair and dirty tunic. She heated some water and poured it into a wooden tub. Then she picked up Arthur and quickly stripped him of his tunic and cloak before placing him butt naked in the tub. He murmured with pleasure at the warm water and didn't object to being scrubbed with soap. He complained a bit when she cleaned and detangled his hair but he loved it when she rubbed his back. After that she dried him off and dressed him in a clean tunic her grandmother had saved from her childhood.

Arthur was practically asleep now, he swayed on his feet and it was becoming almost impossible to keep his fluttering eyelids open. _ tenderly cradled him in her arms as she carried him to her bed. She laid him down and covered him with the blanket. He snuggled deeper into the warmth and was asleep seconds after. _ hastily downed a bowl of stew and changed into her night clothes before joining Arthur in the bed. She wrapped her arms around the toddler and pulled him close. Pressing a kiss to his forehead, she was about to drift off when-

"_?"

Arthur's eyes were open. "What is it dear?" _ asked.

"Is my fwiend safe?"

_ thought about the extraordinary events earlier. "I'll be back soon!"

"…Yes Arthur, your friend is safe." Arthur smiled and promptly fell back asleep. _ looked adoringly at the baby in her arms before she too drifted into sleep.

This little story was inspired by a picture on DeviantArt called "Poor Bunny" by Takiei. Seriously, go check out her work, it's absolutely amazing! I can't believe I made the bunneh die! DX But he turned into Flying Mint Bunny so it's all good right? /shot/ Well maybe now that I have this out of my system I can write about other nations instead of just America and England (probably not).

Please Review!