AN: Writing this little thing in attempt to get my mojo back for Time Mistress.

HELLO WELCOME TO THE FUCK TRAIN. I should note that this fic is heavily, HEAVILY based off of the story from Sound Horizon's 7th Horizon, "Märchen," and their maxisingle "Ido e Itaru Mori e Itaru Ido," which, in turn, is based off of various German fairytales, such as Snow White and Hansel & Gretel, to name a few. While it isn't necessary, I do recommend listening to the album just to get a better context of the story. The audio isn't available online, but I've put a link to the live performance of it on my profile. I try my best, but they do a much better job telling the original story, naturally. Also, the music is fantastic; it's all done by Revo, who composed works such as the Bravely Default soundtrack, both Attack on Titan theme songs, and Sailor Moon Crystal's theme song.

While I want people to understand the basic storyline, I've intended to write this as cryptic as I can, as per tradition of Sound Horizon's style of storytelling. Don't worry if you can't understand some things that well, just try your best and interpret it however you wish. To quote Revo, any interpretation is true.

On with the show!


The siblings were dashing along their way to the court square. There was to be a witch burning today, and the older brothers were too excited to stay still and wait for the little sister to catch up.

"Brother wait up!" the little girl cried as the two brothers ran along, giggling and screaming. When they passed by the village well, she tripped and skidded into the cold cobblestone of its shaft and began to cry.

The oldest brother took notice and ran back to her side. "Ohhh, sorry, sis, that must've hurt real bad." He wiped off the beading blood with the hem of his shirt, then was quick to kiss the injury, just like his mother told him too.

The younger brother sighed, irritated at the events and how they were going to be late to the burning. His eyes glazed over to the well, but soon saw something fall over the rim and into the dirt below. "Hey, look, something fell out of the well over there!"

The notion distracted the little sister enough for her to stop crying and wipe away her tears. "Really?" the oldest brother questioned as he sat the little sister up against the cobblestone. "Where?"

The younger brother picked up the object, a leatherbound book dyed in a deep, dark red and inscribed with an unintelligible set of words in gold. Perhaps he was too young to understand them, since he was only but a child, or perhaps it was a different language than his own, beyond his comprehension. He wasn't too sure. He brought the book to his siblings, but the oldest brother didn't seem to understand the writing either.

The little sister sniffed and opened the book with her small hands as it plopped into her lap, a cloud of dust billowing into the air. The language was a little more legible now, though the sister would probably have to ask her older brothers what a few of the words were. There were pictures of many ladies of different colors, most notably one with brown hair and a purple dress. She was really beautiful, but looked very sad and lonely as she looked out a window into the moonlit sky. Another picture was of a man in black and red, his ears slender and pointed, as he held a doll in scarlet and smiled serenely.

The younger brother gasped. "I know what this is! It's a fairytale! With princesses and dragons and stuff!"

"I don't see any of that…" the little sister whined, sniffing once more.

"We can find out if there are some there, though," the oldest brother said, and turned to the very first page for the little sister. "Here, I'll read it for you. 'Once upon a time...'"


"Man… this village is desolated! It's almost like a graveyard!"

"Didn't you know, though, that all fairytales start in a graveyard?"

The village was indeed quiet. Tucked away in the deep green forest in some far away land, the area was laced with a silver fog in the dark shades of the newly night sky. The buildings were almost entirely in shambles, from scorch marks slashed across the roofs to the caved in wooden walls that were once poorly constructed from twigs and mud. The floors and paths were littered with crumbling stone, perhaps a buried ivory bone once in a while. In the center of it all was a cobblestone well draped in moss and mist. Beneath the earth where the well laid was the faintest hint of a rumble, as if a silent language was spoken and the well was its mouth.

A man dyed in black lounged on the rim of the well, combing the ashen blonde hair a petite, porcelain doll in red with his fingers. His tailored suit was pinstriped with red undersides and adorned with dull chains and triangle buttons. His slender, pointed ears were pierced with red hoops, and his ink hair shaded his piercing red eyes and sadistic, content smile.

The doll creaked her head towards her groomer, a stagnant smile plastered on her glass face. "Why isn't anyone in this village anymore, though?" she asked in a sing-song, innocent voice.

"Everyone who lived here all died a very long time ago," he simply responded.

"Why did everyone die?"

"Something called the Black Plague killed everyone."

The doll turned towards the edge of the forest, where a woman in turquoise and her child with pointed ears in tow walked towards one of the abandoned huts, their giggles and smiles brightening the dark painted village.

"Then why is that mother and child living in this village?"

The man's gloved hands stroked the cobblestone of the well. "That's because the Water Well called to them."

The doll turned back to the man with that unsettling, permanent smile of hers, as if the two were exchanging a humorous joke. "Why did the Water Well call to them?"

The man smiled back. "Because the Water Well was born to do so?" He hummed a soft tune while he continued to brush her hair.

"Humans are such dense creatures," the doll giggled. "Their basic needs, their Id make them fall for these kinds of temptations."

"Isn't it natural for them, though?" He gave words to the tune he was humming. "Don't you hear its song? 'Life is to live, to multiply, to kill, and to raid.' Every human believes this and lives by this, deep down. The Water Well just helps them realize this."

"We'll help them realize this, too, right? We'll grant them their sick revenges, right?"

"Of course, Sheik."


The child Link was lonely, even if it was hard to admit to himself, or if he hadn't even realized it. His doll that his best friend gave him was supposed to compensate for her absence, but every time he stared at it, he was reminded of her likeness and of her kid, cute nature, and he grew sad once more. He couldn't really help it, since the doll was made to look exactly like her with her brown hair and porcelain smile.

But his mother said that they had to move away deeper into the forest, into the abandoned village they now called home, for their safety and for his happiness. So he had to at least act happy for her. Playing with his doll was the best way he could act the part, even if it made him sad.

Echoing voices interrupted his monotonous routine, and he saw two men wandering through the trees of the deep green forest. His mother warned him to be wary of strangers, but his adventurous curiosity was strong, and he couldn't help but follow them, though he was cautious to remain hidden.

When he got a closer look, he noticed the beautiful white wings sprouting from one of the men's backs, and Link thought that he could've been a real angel from heaven if he wasn't so atrociously fat. The stranger was even currently eating, his white tunic stained and his bushy brown hair greasy. He munched away on a butter-greased loaf of bread while the other man, a tall, spindly man with a strange red hat and striped peasant's clothes was complaining in a harsh, squeaky voice.

"Goddesses, are we even on the right path?" the man in the red hat scoffed, his beady eyes watery from the profusive sweat the fat angel released. "You're no help here, anyway, Angel, all you're doing is eating. Man, will you ever stop…"

With bread in his mouth, the angel murmured something incoherent in retort.

"Can't understand ya, big guy. Goddesses, this bounty that Agency put up better be worth all this." A snap of a twig in the nearby wood caught his attention, and when the man laid eyes upon the ruffle of golden hair, the long and slender ears, and his startling blue eyes of Link, he gasped and whispered something into Angel's ears. The child gasped as he met the eyes of the man in the red hat, clutching his doll for dear life.

"Hey, it's ok!" the man soothed in his razor voice. "There's no need to be scared, we're just a couple of guys looking for help! Come over here, kid, we just wanna talk."

Link hesitated, but they seemed trustful enough, especially since the man started acting nice. His mother kept him isolated from the rest of the world, so he really didn't know what was and wasn't evil in this place. Besides, he had said that they were looking for help, so perhaps they were one of his mother's patients!

Link stepped out from behind the bark, his doll in tow. The man laughed as the group made their way to the child, patting Link's golden head of hair. "What a good kid. Your mother taught you well, yeah?"

Link only nodded his head, unable to find his voice.

The name flashed a toothy grin as he got on his knee to meet the child's line of vision. "My name's Ness, and this is my partner, Angel." The fat winged man waved a chubby hand, a large piece of bread hanging from his mouth. "You don't happen to know where I can find the Priestess of the Stars, right?" When Link didn't respond to the title, Ness corrected himself. "Rosalina von Sterne? You know who that is?"

Link's eyes lit up upon the recognition. "That's my mother's name, mister."

"Aha, I knew it! You have that same rumored eyes of hers, yeah. The beautiful blue with that twinkle." Ness rubbed his nose. "Now, my friend and I are looking for some sagely advice from her. Would ya mind leading us to her, so that we can get some help? We'd really appreciate it."

A smile traced Link's face as he nodded. His mother loved helping others with their ailments, and he loved making his mother happy, too!

The man bursted into a coarse, vulgar laughter, but Link couldn't tell that it was bad. "Smart kid!" He rose from the dirt of the forest, slapping his partner on the back. "Lead the way, boy!"

The trek through the forest was a near silent one. While Link wanted to ask questions on who the strangers were and what they wanted to ask his mother, Ness brushed away any inquiries with a simple grunt. He was too busy laughing quietly at some joke, so Link didn't mind. It was rude to bother someone, anyway!

They finally made it through the forest and into the abandoned village after a long journey. While Ness and Angel looked around curiously with gawked expressions and wide jaws, Link led them to his home, the most structurally sound hut in the vicinity, where a pillar of smoke and the scent of his favorite pumpkin soup was wafting through the air. That meant dinner was almost ready, since it was almost sunset. His stomach growled in anticipation.

"Wait here," he ushered, and the two men waited by the mossy well in the center of the village. He wrapped around the house to their backyard where they kept their small supply of livestock, and his mother, beautiful and as radiant as ever, was gathering herbs once more.

"Link? Where've you been, my dear?" Rosalina questioned as her son ran to her waist and embraced her tightly. The movement made her lacy, turquoise robes billow.

"It is late," she chastised as she stroked his head. "Dinner is almost ready. Why were you in the forest so late?"

"Mutti, there are some men here looking for you. They said they needed your help."

"Really…? At this hour?" The woman looked onward to the dark forest that cloaked the descending sun. "Lead me to them. It is late, but I can see what I can do."

With a pleasant, innocent smile, Link led his mother with his free hand around the house and to the well where the men waited, taking care in making sure that his doll didn't drag against the dirt road. He scampered to the well, sitting on its rim and began playing with his doll, as his mother was now going to do her important business and he didn't want to distract her.

However, Rosalina felt a twinge of unsettlement in her stomach as he gaze upon the strangers, the white shroud that was like a bride's concealing her suspicious eye. "Link… who are these men?" Her hand reached inside her sleeve, where a dagger was safely concealed in case the situation called for it.

"Fraulein Rosalina," Ness sneered as he bowed flamboyantly, "thank you for your time. And as for you, kid…" He turned towards the child on the well, a sinister grin creeping into his expression. "Thanks for the help!"

Before Rosalina could even react, before she could even utter a word, the man in the red hat outstretched his hand and shoved Link aside and into the well.

"LINK!" She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, shoving the two men out of the way, and leaned into the well with an outstretched hand in hopes of grabbing him, but it was too late. His echoing screams traveled farther and farther away as the darkness of the well consumed his form. Rosalina felt her very heart rise to her throat as an audible thump from something colliding with the bottom of the well made her jump and her eyes widen in horror.

She wasn't even spared a moment to process what was happening before the larger man with wings grabbed her arms and pulled her away from the well.

"Rosalina von Sterne, Witch of the Forest, we are here under the orders of the Agency of the land and the Goddesses to apprehend you for your heretic actions!" Ness accused, pointing a bony finger in her direction. "At high noon of the next week, you will be tried for your crimes against the Holy Goddesses!"

"You…" she muttered, her face obscured by the white veil that seemed to glow in the atmosphere of the twilight. "You BASTARDS!" She retracted her hidden dagger and sliced the greasy arm of the angel man, freeing herself from his grasp. The man dropped the bread from his mouth as he screamed in agony, clutching his bloody arm.

A newfound fire in her eye, she pointed the bloody dagger at Ness. "I may fall today," she spat, "but you've killed my son, so your head will remain severed from your body for all eternity!" With a cry, she threw her entire body at him, the knife aimed for his heart. The coward screamed in fright and rolled out of the way of her terror. Realizing that she missed, she chased him with the dagger in a slothful movement, wild and uncontrollable, unable to see straight from the hot tears clouding her vision.

Ness screamed again as he narrowly dodge a shank to the stomach. "W-Wait! Wait wait wait! Lemme explain myself-!" He screamed again as she missed his eye.

She could not allow him to stop. She couldn't allow herself to stop. All she felt was anger, and all she saw was red, Link and his smiling, beautiful face, his golden threaded hair, his bubbling laughter, his terror-filled eyes as he fell into darkness, his screams echoing throughout her mind.

She paid no mind to Angel, who was on his knees, clutching his arm and mourning the fallen bread. A quiet anger filled his thoughts, and while Rosalina was distracted, he grabbed the bucket hooked to the wells post and slammed it across her head while she was turned away.

She released a quiet grunt as she collided with the hard dirt, and as the world faded away to black, the image of Link burned behind her teary eyes.


As the faint echo of a child's scream drifted from the bottom of the well, the doll laughed to herself. "Humans are so troublesome. We need to punish them, don't we?"

"That we do, my dear, that we do." The man in black finished braiding the doll's ashen blonde hair. "It's about time we start this play of revenge, yes?"