They warned me, but I was never the one who listened from the start. I should have listened, I should have never have crept out during the night, I shouldn't have followed the sweet trail; I shouldn't have gone into the forest. I shouldn't have done many things, but I did; and now here I am, face to face with my death, his violet eyes and large, pearly smile gleaming with a malicious promise.
~XoX~
There were things worse than death and this was definitely one of them. I watched as his mouth opened and closed, not really paying attention to the words he was yelling at me, if there was anything I hated worse than waking up with a hangover; it was Arthur's lectures.
I never paid attention to them, who does? But just having to sit there nodding like an idiot to everything he says for an hour, it kills me. Today's lecture was nothing different from the usual ones I receive. I had accidentally left the well running, it was honestly an accident, I had to chase the crows away from the crops, but of course Arthur wouldn't buy that.
So here I am now, Alfred F. Kirkland, a thirteen year old blonde headed heroic, amazing- you get the point, being lectured by my annoying, bushy browed, know it all, elder brother. I honestly think if Arthur knew half of how annoying he was and boring, or even listened to himself talk, he wouldn't be as snobby and uptight as he is.
"Are you even listening to Me, Alfred?" Arthur's voice cut in mid thought, I rolled my eyes and nodded stupidly at his angry expression, my chin and face resting lazily in my hand.
"Mhm" I mumbled, fiddling with a stray piece of my golden locks, I felt his green eyed glare but paid no mind to it, he would eventually sigh and tell me to go to my room or set the table for dinner, I could already smell the delicious aroma drifting from the kitchen, I felt my mouth salivate at the mere thought of Francis's cooking.
"Tck, just go wash up for dinner" he ordered, pinching his bridge. I nodded once more knowingly and stretched myself, huffing as my back popped from the hour of hunched over posture. I ignored Arthur's obvious rage at my ignorance and stood up from my seat on the stool, trudging off to the restroom.
Our home was nothing special. It was mainly like most of the other homes in my town; small, candle lit, and with a fireplace. It's ok during the spring, not so cold, but the winters here get down into the negatives, usually Matthew, my twin brother, and I sleep beside the fire while Francis and Arthur use 'other' tactics to keep warm.
Mattie and I sleep in the same room, it's the smallest in the house, only able to fit our bed and a small wooden dresser Arthur had made for us. I don't mind sleeping together with my brother, he is my twin after all, albeit he does drool too much, but other than that I rarely notice he's there beside me. The window beside our bed was nice to have during the warm spring and summer nights, but horrid during the winter.
Francis and Arthur's room is beside ours, unfortunately, and even more dreadful for me and Matthew is the fact the Francis never fails to show his 'love' for my elder brother weekly, sometimes even on a daily basis.
The fireplace was located in the living room, which was the largest room in the house; it was where we all usually sat down and played games or talked after a long day of work and cleaning. It held most of our memories, from the blood stain on the old wooden floor where Arthur had hit Francis with a frying pan to the marks on the front door frame from me and Mattie growing up; I was always a smidge bit taller than him growing up. Opposite the living room was the kitchen; it held the dining table, a fire powered oven, and cabinets to store our food.
And finally the restroom, I reached for the door handle and pushed it open, walking in and shutting it softly behind me. It was nothing special either wooden like the rest of the house with a tub for bathing and a toilet for shitting, Arthur had placed a small mirror on the wall and a basin full of water on the floor for whenever we needed to wash up before dinner or after the usage of the toilet.
I bent down and dipped my hands into the used water, rubbing the muck and dirt from in-between my fingers, I didn't really care much, not like Arthur at least, about hygiene. I do take care of myself but I don't scrub my arse five times a day, then again, I don't have a sex crazed French man up mine twenty-four seven. I never understood sex, I've seen plenty of common peasant whores prancing around the market with a new man daily attached to their sides and I've heard plenty of things from Francis to know it's both a bad and a good thing. I'll admit that I have 'experimented' before, but nothing as far as sex. Even if I were to get a girlfriend, Arthur would more than likely insult her or criticize her, but he still thinks I'm too young for those kinds of relationships.
I glanced up, my sky blue eyes reflecting back at me, a frown covered my gorgeous features. I flashed a smile at my reflection and winked before finally heading out to the kitchen.
"Ma Cherie, calm down, it was just an accident" I heard the heavily French accent coo, I walked in, ignoring the two by the counter and plopped myself down on my dining chair.
"I know but he needs to be more careful!" Arthur replied rudely, well knowing I was there at the table. Francis snorted dramatically and tossed his long, literally you would think he was a woman from behind, blonde hair and turned to me.
"Well you must be hungry from after doing all those chores, do you know where my Mathieu is?" he asked me, I shook my head and tapped my fingers against the old wooden table impatiently. My stomach was going to digest itself if I didn't eat anything.
"I'm right here" I jumped, turning to see Mattie sitting in his normal seat. He really needed to stop doing that; sometimes it is like he isn't even there. He had his bear with him, Kumajirou, like he always does and was blushing lightly, fingering at his too curly stray strand of hair. Arthur screeched, very unmanly, and nearly jumped into Francis's arms at the Matthew's sudden appearance.
"Goodness lad! You scared the daylights out of me!" he exclaimed wiping at his brow "I thought I told you to stop doing that!"
"B-but I've been here the whole ti-" Matthew began quietly but Francis interrupted him before he could finish.
"Well now the stew is done let's all eat, no?"
Mattie grew quiet once more as Francis carried the large pot over to the table and set it down. I licked my lips as Arthur brought us our bowls and spoons, we may not be rich but we have a fine ass chef. Francis can make anything taste amazing; he could turn my used one week worn underwear into something edible and savory.
Dinner went by rather smoothly than usual, of course Arthur still nagged about random un-proper matters; such as my "sloppy un-gentleman like eating" and my inability to hold silverware properly, yet Mattie went by sipping at his bowl unbeknownst by our stick in the mud English father.
"Me and Arthur have the dishes, why don't you two go on and head off to bed?" Francis smiled warmly at us as we slid odd from our stools. If my frown could falter any more in disbelief than it already has today than it would be in the bottom of hell right now.
"The sun is just now setting, can't we stay up a bit longer!" I pleaded, latching onto his loose brown slacks and tugging lightly "We're big boys it's not like we're going to fall out a closed window and die from falling two or three feet!" My hopes rose at the uncertain and 'maybe just this one time' look appearing on his face, but they crashed not soon after.
"Absolutely, positively, and completely not!" Arthur barged in slamming his palms against the small dining table to emphasize his disapproval of what I had suggested "If there is one thing I don't trust, it is definitely YOU staying up after dark and sneaking around; who on earth knows what could happen to you! A pedophile, a murderer,… a demon!"
I rolled my eyes and glared heatedly at him "Are you trying to say you don't trust me?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying Alfred, don't be an idiot and quit arguing take yourself to bed" he responded, despite my tough hero macho shebang I was putting up I couldn't control the flash of hurt that etched across my face at that. His stern expression loosened some and he reached out for me "Alfred I didn't mean-"
I quickly slapped his hand away and disgust and jerked away from Francis "No you meant every word, take your demon witchcraft bullshit and shove straight up your ass faggot" the words left my mouth faster than the quick slap that came afterwards, only it wasn't Arthur who had slapped me, it was Francis.
"I-I" I stuttered rubbing my reddening cheek, as the hot burn of the slap settled in, hot tears filling my eyes. I didn't bother turning back to look at them, too dumbfounded at both what I had said and the fact the Francis was the one who slapped me.
" ." He ordered, his face tinted with red hot rage. I obeyed, slugging off to my room, Matthew ghosting behind me and placing a comforting hand on my shoulder, I shook it off and slumped down onto our haystack of a bed.
Matthew slid out of his clothing and laid beside me, not uttering a word of what had occurred, instead, cuddling up to his large bear and within minutes snoring. I covered my ears to attempt to drown out the bickering and angry French man, the equally as angry and in tears English man yelling back, and my twin's soft snores.
Wind blew heavily against our window; snow, rain, and ice mixed with it. I gazed up at the white blur and smiled slightly to myself, chuckling and breaking into a small fit of giggles for no apparent reason to me at all. I tossed my glasses carelessly to the floor and rubbed my eyes clean of the tears that had brimmed but not fallen over. Men don't cry. Hero's don't feel guilty. And Alfred Bonnefoy did NOT believe in stupid fairytales. I repeated these things to myself and soon enough, my eyes fluttered closed and sleep took over.
~XoX~
Dark slatted violet eyes narrowed down on the bloody mess left he had left behind, the silver haired monster licked his crimson coated fang like teeth and groaned lowly, savoring the delicious virgin's essence. But it wasn't enough, it was never enough. He wanted, no, he needed something greater, some sweeter.
He growled in distaste and kicked at the corpse before him, standing up and slinging the young woman's body over his shoulder, he had to dispose of her body in a much cleaner way, the last time the villagers had found it, and that didn't go by smoothly, though the fear that they had emitted was quite delicious.
The man and his victim disappeared in the darkness, blood staining the white snow in splatters on red.
~XoX~
"I'm going to ask you once more Alfred Kirkland, before I literally spank you rear end; where did you learn that word" I fiddled with my fingers and glanced down at the floor "Look at me and answer me, you have ten seconds". I slowly looked up into the usually warm but now strained and bagged blue eyes.
"I-In town, one of the kids I hang around with, t-they said that I had f-f-faggot brother" I stuttered very unmanly like, but every hero has a fear, and I was terrified of the paddle.
"Which kids? The ones Arthur distinctively told you not to hang out with?" I nodded in confirmation "Alfred… if I ever, ever, see you around those boys again, I will pull your trousers down and spank your bottom, right in front of them. Am I clear?"
"Y-yes F-Francis" I agreed, rubbing at my tear stained face. He sighed melodramatically and pinched his nose in stress.
"Now I want you to take the buckets and wagon and head to the stream, we are in need of water" I opened my mouth to protest but was quickly cut off "No back talking, I think that mouth of yours has gotten you into enough trouble. Besides what is there to fear, you said that the demons and witchcraft were 'bull feces', now shut your mouth unless you seriously want me to douse it with soap. I suggest you get moving"
"Yes sir" I said, walking past him to gather the bucket, there were ten of them, each half the size of my body. While I had no qualms in carrying the buckets back and forth and pulling the heavy wagon all the way back home; I did have one with going alone. Usually dad or Mattie went with me but seeing as Dad is sulking in his room and Mattie is cleaning the kitchen I had no one. And I didn't want to protest, soap tastes like shit.
"And Alfred" I glanced back at Francis's somewhat worried face "Be careful". I nodded and headed out the door glaring at the empty buckets lined against the house. I loaded them all up onto the small wagon we had, and grabbing the handles at the front, tugging them down the hill, avoiding any of Arthur's plants.
I had just been angry, that was it, I didn't believe in the witches and ghosts and what not; because that was totally un-hero like. I could easily take one down if need be. I skidded and stopped at the edge of the forest.
"Stay on the trail and I'll be fine…from the bears and stuff" I told myself pulling onwards and keeping on the manmade trail that led to the stream then I'd hurry and return home. I pulled along the twisting trail, cursing and squeaking at the slightest noise. The trees were old and twisted in random directions, naked due to the cold extreme winter. It felt like it was always winter here, the only time you ever saw flowers were if it were the beginning of summer or if you grew plants very carefully and tending to them, giving them extra care and a heated dry place. I still hadn't figured out how Arthur could grow so much in his little garden, it was rather odd.
Another thing that terrified most about the forest were the screams, it was an old legend of course I don't believe in it, but supposedly a monster lives in the woods and eats small children. I think Arthur just told me that to scare me, a noise from my right made me jump and shake the subject from my mind.
The stream was ahead, paradise. I hated traveling through the forest to reach it, not cause of the rumors I just don't like wasting my energy walking is all! But the stream was hot, many kids played in it at times, very unhygienic, but it was warm and different unlike the generally frozen over ones.
I dropped the handles to the wagon and exhaled heavily, my breath showing up as white mist from the cold air, walking over to the stream and enjoying the hot steam that emitted from it. I bent down and dipped my finger in the sun reflecting hot water, twirling it around a bit. A leaned a bit closer, examining my face, it was still somewhat red and puffing from my manly tears which had been from Mattie's cooking, it just stung my eyes and I couldn't help it.
I grinned at my reflection and winked at it "Looking good sexy", I paused and rubbed at my slightly swollen cheek when something looked off beside my reflection, I squinted at the blurred image, was that a face? I squinted harder and leaned a smidge bit closer.
Just then a fish jumped out of the water and slapped into my beautiful face, I screeched and jolted forward, landing face first into the steamy water, blinking rapidly under the water I coughed and water filled my throat. I sting and I thrust my head upwards, re-emerging from under the water and sputtered about, gasping in heavy takes of oxygen.
"Fuck!" I yelled "Goddamn fish!" I swam back to the edge of the stream and struggled to grab back onto the ledge, pulling me back onto the snow covered cold ground. My scarf, coat, trousers, shirt, socks, and shoes soaked in water. I shivered as the cold winter air seemed to grow heavier, wind beginning to catch up.
"Crap, I'll turn into a popsicle" I frowned but then smiled "Well, I'll just do the right thing and let my clothes dry by the hot river and I can't stand out here naked, I might as well take a dip" I giggled to myself and stripped down, jumping into the hot water and sighing in relief.
I didn't expect to be in as long as I did; I had gotten caught up in swimming and splashing the water around and then had somehow dozed off in the bliss of it all. I could easily blame it on their being other people at the stream, hell I was lucky no one came while I was snoozing. After re-dressing in still damp clothing; I grabbed the buckets easily and began to fill them one after another, unlike Arthur or Mattie; I could easily lift heavy things. Just goes to show how much of a hero I am.
I loaded the wagon full of the barrels of water and began to tug away from the solitude paradise. I heard a low growl come from within the trees surrounding my and shivered, speeding up,
~XoX~
The man growled lowly as he saw the boy begin to leave from his forest, he was enjoying watching the smaller one's reactions and fooling around. And it had been well worth the chance of getting caught when he caused the fish to flop forward and scare the blonde headed beauty to fall face first into the stream. The raising of the winds, just to see more of the boy's delicious body. He was by far the most delectable smelling virgin yet, and his sun kissed skin was screaming out to him, and those golden curly locks matching perfectly with the sky blue eyes. The boy was like a wild sunflower, clearly growing on its own and astray from the rest, judging by the vulgar language the boy had used.
He edged back into the forest letting the boys scent linger around him and haze his mind. He purred in delight and promised that this would not be the last time they encountered, the next more physical. He would lure the boy into the forest he oh so feared, whether he liked it or not.
~XoX~
Gimmie Yer thoughts~ How is it so far m dearie's~?