My grandfather has always told me to be careful when playing in the forests.

As a boy, I grew up in a quiet yet prosperous little village. The vast lands that goes over hills and into forests has always been my grandfather's family's and before his. In our little village, the people worked hard and lived happy lives. Everyone was fed enough, and celebrations are celebrated together.

My mother died giving birth to my little brother, and my father disappeared. The old fortune telling lady said my father was taken by the ancient beings who resided deep in the forests- she said that he gave his own life to the deities in exchange that mother could give birth to my little brother- but they never told him that mother wouldn't make it and that my little brother's birth won't be natural.

Once every year, the second night of the full moon is high up in the bright night sky, the village will hold the Festival of Dancing Lights. It is said that in the first night, the deities will roam outside of the forests to bless the lands and our crops as our reward for taking good care of their lands in which we live in. Some say that you could see glowing silhouettes or orbs of light flying about in the dead of the night, in a dance-like manner.

So, we hold this tradition as our thanks to the deities. The whole village will be lit up with bright lanterns, and the people will gather in the Centre as music is played and wore their best clothes. We will feast on our best dishes, the elders will tell their endless stories of heroes and gods to the children. My favorite part of the festive is when the dancing starts.

My grandfather told me that the dance we danced were the dance of the gods. Long time ago, when the first men came to these lands, they came upon the deities dancing and playing music in the forests. Their dance was so beautiful and flawless, that the men asked the deities to teach them, not even realizing they were ancient beings- but beings with kind hearts. The gods taught them and in exchange, the men took good care of the land and their hills, and they will live prosperously and peacefully much to the deities' happiness.

And here we are, dancing and enjoying our festival into the night. I was sitting at the tables, eating a piece of meat pie with my little brother beside me, enjoying his apple cider. I was a strapping young man of 20 years old, growing and expected to inherit my grandfather's business in sheep herding. Grandfather has taught me the ways of a great sheep herder, I even followed him to the larger towns far by to make business. I was more than happy to accept the inheritance, and I imagined day after day to sail across the seas to expand the family business to other lands, with my little brother by my side, of course.

As the people danced and ate, I took a swig of my cider, enjoying the chill running down into my throat. My little brother, a lad of 13 years old, tugged onto my sleeve. "Bruder, I'm getting tired. May I return and rest for the night?" he asked, gently rubbing his already red eyes.

"Of course, Ludwig!" I laughed, stood and excused ourselves from the table to the elders. As we walked through the festival grounds, the area became quieter from the music and the laughter and our path was guided by the lanterns and the glowing moon.

As we reached to our house made of stone and old oak wood, Ludwig quickly made his way up the stairs to his room. Making sure he washed his face and feet and bidding him good night, I went back down the stairs and added more wood to the fire in the fireplace. I couldn't just leave my little brother here alone while everyone is at the festival, so I relaxed in the large fur chair.

Feeling devious, I went outside the house and stood in front of the door, taking out a pipe hidden underneath the lapels of my coat. I lit it and smoked, enjoying the gentle herbal scent filling my lungs.

And that was when I saw it.

It came out from a corner behind a house, not far from mine. At first, I thought it was just a fellow villager, but when I saw those unnaturally bright yellow locks and strange dress, I knew it wasn't from our village. I couldn't see its face as it was dark from where it was standing. It seemed to be looking around like a spectator. As it took a few steps to the front, closer to the lantern and into the moonlight, I gave a quiet gasp as I saw it's face.

He, was beautiful. A young man with such feminine qualities! He wore a blue robe with golden decorations sewed in that went all the way to his ankles. His golden hair was long and curled just barely touching his shoulders. He had a strange strand of curl sticking out of his bangs, and he wore a flower crown on his head. Pushing my back off the door, he suddenly turned towards me, and we locked our sights on each other's eyes.

My dark brown-red met his cerulean-violet irises that shone with royalty and confidence. His delicate features remained stoic, and then he smiled. Out of habit, I smiled back, and he brought up a hand to his mouth in a manner of a giggle. I took a step forward and opened my mouth to greet him, but he suddenly turned around and skipped away into the lantern-lit road.

I quickly went after him, and he started to run. I heard small piles of giggles and gentle laughs, ringing into my ears. It sounded like music. "Wait!" I called, but he payed no attention and continued to run so gracefully. In a moment, I realized that he was running towards where the festival was being held!

Dropping my pipe, I broke into a run faster to catch up to him. He turned around and gave me a cheeky smile as if beckoning me to follow him into the crowd. As I did, we fell into the dancing crowd. The villagers, drunk in happiness and ale locked arms with mine and pulled me into a spinning frenzy as the ladies danced in circles in the opposite direction, flowers and ribbons in their hands and hair. I saw him among the ladies, dancing along, and all the while he smiled at me.

I had to break into dance steps just so that I won't be fall and get trampled over. As the music played and the clapping did not stop, my eyes kept going through the heads and faces, trying to find him. Now, the dance has gone into a line-up stance, the men on one side and the women on the other- and there he was. He stood arm-in-arm with the ladies, smiling right in front of me. The dancers joins with their couple, and my arms caught the petite young man.

The dancing never stopped, the music and the clapping went into a faster rhythm. As I held his hands and he held mine, he smiled and laughed, his voice ringing in my ears like sweet music. I was baffled with his beauty and flow, my mind was completely blank. I forgot about the music. I forgot about the festival. I forgot about my little brother asleep alone in the house. In my mind and reality, it was only him and myself, dancing, twirling, laughing.

It was so sudden that the fun ended.

The music suddenly stopped and the dancers stopped in their tracks in confusion, and screams were heard in the air. Mothers called for the children, hurriedly picking them up and men ran around, checking for whoever's missing. I stood with him in the middle of the Centre, still hand-in-hand. My eyes darted here and there, catching glimpses of worried shouts and yells of "Wolves!" or "Get inside the houses!"

Turning to face him again, the young man too had a look of worry in his features. His brows were knitted in a frown, and his lip quivered small. He turned to me, and smiled. He picked up the flower crown in his head, and placed it on mine. "What?" I asked, but he only continued to smile, and dashed fast towards his left.

"Hey, don't go in there!" I quickly called but he easily jumped over the bushes and rain straight into the dark forest, vanishing from my sight. I stood there stupidly, until I heard my grandfather's voice.

"Gilbert!" he called, and I turned to him. Grandfather was holding his sword in his hands. "Vati? What's happening?" I asked. "Wolves. They got into our village. We need to check the roads now. Where's your brother?" he asked, and with that I gasped.

"Ludwig's sleeping the house..!"

Grandfather and I ran as fast as we could towards our house as a few men followed, and the rest went around the village to check for safety. As the house came into our view, the doors were open and there were claw marks. "Ludwig!" I shouted and blindly ran into the house as Grandfather called for me.

Without a weapon or some sort of defense item, I ran up the stairs and into the dim hallway, towards Ludwig's room.

"Ludwig!" I shouted in worry, opening his door, but to find him fast asleep under the covers. Then, he stirred and lazily opened his eyes. "Bruder..? What's wrong? Why did you wake me up?" he groaned, displeased.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I made my way to the bed and pulled my little brother into a hug much to his dismay. I hear grandfather and the men who followed us search the house, and thankfully it was empty. "Bruder, why are you wearing a flower crown? Isn't that a lady thing?" Ludwig managed to giggle, poking his little fingers on my head. I merely sighed as sudden exhaustion came into myself and I fell into the bed.


Hi readers! So here's a little PruCan fic I typed. I was reading folklore related things, and I just loved it and I had to make this. I hope you enjoyed this little snippet. I feel like making a part 2, in which Gilbert meets this 'mysterious boy' again, but I'd like some review from you guys first! And I appreciate it if you listened to Ardan's Dancing With Celts (any song!) while reading this to set the mood in.

Thank you!

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