Hey Guys!

Alright, guys! You voted for it! And now it's here!

If you're new to my fanfictions, welcome! My username is MythicDragonRider, but just call me Mythic. I'll just let you know this is a side project, and therefore won't be updated as frequently as my other Hetalia story, Shattered Reflections. Check that one out if you want, it involves 1ps and 2ps and a whole lot of feels.

(I didn't notice at first the initials are 'BTT', so now I guess I HAVE to add them in.)

This is written in present tense, by the way. It's pretty irritating to write in it when I usually only use past tense, but I think present would suit this kind of story well...

But, wow. I've done some of the planning, and this story will be... Just, once you read the entire thing, you'll understand.
The genres are Fantasy and Horror, but if I could add another one in, it would be Friendship. Still no romance, guys. Keep waiting guys, I'm sure it will happen in the future (sarcasm over the internet is really difficult, okay?).

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

The forest is still as the fae awakes.
He sits up in a dreary haze, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and looking around the woods he finds himself in. There was barely anything to see, it was so dark, but he could just make out the shadowy trees and the stars shining above the canopy. He also finds himself freezing, bare-chested and wearing rough cloth pants. He tries to remember how he got there, and pauses.

His mind is blank. The information he would usually know is just not there, like it disappeared- or, more worryingly, was stolen. He only remembers 3 things.
His name is Arthur Kirkland. He is 12 years old, at least in human terms. And there is a human settlement nearby. He has an odd feeling that the last one is the most important information that he knows. Arthur's translucent wings flap and his tail twitches in irritation as he tries to remember something, anything from his past life other than a few random sentences. There is nothing.

The fae squints, looking up at the lush trees, knowing that there would probably be nymphs sleeping in the branches. He could wake them and ask if they had seen what had happened, but nymphs weren't so friendly to fae, and would be annoyed if awoken even by a human. Maybe... ...he could just fall asleep. He crawls over to a tree and wraps his arms around himself, attempting to preserve body heat.

So he dozes among the bushes and brambles and the quiet evergreens.

The dawn brings mist, curling around the trees and giving the entire forest a mystical look. If the night was difficult to see in, this is worse, since it is so thick he basically could only see the white around him, the trees barely visible.

The air is chilly, and Arthur shivers in his attire, hugging his legs closer to his chest and trying to wrap his tail and wings around himself. He pushes himself closer against the tree, bark piercing his exposed skin and wings, blood trickling down from his wounds on his back. The fae starts to sob. He is so cold, and his back and wings hurt, and he had no idea where he is. Wait... There was a human settlement nearby. That was one of the only things he knew. He could go there, but as a fae, would he be accepted?

It was better than crying in the middle of the woods, anyway, so he shakily stands up and starts to walk towards where he guesses the human settlement is. His back and wings throb in his movements, and the small wounds he had acquired were bleeding and trickling lazily. Some fae could use magic... But he didn't even know if he could, let alone if it was for healing. He'd just have to find the village and hope they accepted the injured, half-frozen boy.
As he walks, the trees get younger and younger, until the two white horns protruding from his head brush the lower branches. That must mean he was getting close... His stride turns into a half-run, stumbling over the roots and branches beneath his bare feet, which have been wounded from the travelling through the forest.

He isn't sure if it had been minutes, hours or even days, but eventually he collapses from exhaustion. Hunger claws at his belly, and his throat his parched from thirst. He is still bleeding, but not heavily. The mist has mostly cleared, and he can see the bright forest around him. He glares up at the trees, where the nymphs who weren't doing anything to help were most probably lounging. Again, tears fill his eyes, but he wipes them away, knowing they won't do anything to help. Leaning on the side of a tree, he stands up on weak legs. He tries to walk a few steps, but they collapse under him, and he is left to ponder his fate.

After a while, he loses consciousness, and all is quiet.

Arthur's eyes open lazily, and it takes him a few seconds to realise he is no longer in the forest.
...Where is he?

He is lying in a bed with thick sheets, and the bandages pressing against his back and his feet. He sees a wooden roof above him, and the smell of firewood and stew hangs in the air. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he sits up, and takes a better look at his surroundings. He is in a small room, crafted from wooden planks, and the bed he is lying in is across from the tightly shut door. A cup filled with water is placed on a side table next to him, and thick curtains cover a window to his left. A kid, about the same age as him, sits in a chair by the door. The kid perks up when he sees Arthur propping himself up.

"You're awake!" he exclaims. He has blonde hair with a cowlick sticking up, bright blue eyes and a cocky grin.
The fae blinks, "W-Where am I?"
"No need to worry! You're in my house, or rather, my family's. Ah, I better tell them you woke up!" he is certainly very loud, "Mum! Dad! The fae's awake!"

"Who are you?" he blurts out.
"My name's Alfred! Pleasure to meet ya, Mr. Fae. Your wings and tail and horns are so cool! I wish I had them," Alfred babbles.
Just as Arthur is about to say something else, the door creaks open. Two more humans, an adult male and an adult female enter. They seem to do their best to look friendly, but there is a hint of suspicion in their expression.

Arthur's eyes widen and he pushes himself back against the wall, wincing as his wounds are provoked. He pulls the covers up so he only just peaks over them, and his wings and tail wrap around his body instinctively.
The adult female reassures him in a low voice, "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you."
"B-But you're humans," he stammers.

"Not all humans are bad. Now, can you tell me your name?" the adult male asks.
The fae lowers his covers slowly and eyes them warily, "...I'm Arthur Kirkland."
Alfred speaks in an obnoxious voice, "My full name is Alfred F. Jones, and these are my parents!"
He sticks out his hand. Arthur doesn't take it, giving Alfred a hurt expression. He would regret his actions, but he is much too afraid at the moment.

The man talks in a soft, cautious voice, "How old are you, Arthur?"
"...12 years old," he hesitates, then adds on, "In human terms. Though I'm not sure what fae terms are..."

The woman tilts her head, "How much do you remember?"
"...Nothing, except my name and age and... This is the human settlement, right...?" Arthur begins to become more comfortable around these people, since they haven't attempted to hurt him yet.
"Yes, it is. Don't worry. Not remembering anything isn't a bad sign. I just means... You're an outcast," the man carefully explains.
Arthur frowns, "...What's an outcast? In fae terms..." In reality, he isn't so certain he wishes to find out.

The woman hesitates, "Well, that means you've done something bad. It probably wasn't anything huge, maybe just stealing a loaf of bread or something. Anyway, you're not allowed back to the villages of the fae, but you still can live with humans."

His wings droop, and tears start to fill his eyes, "...I'm not allowed back home?"
"Don't worry! You'll be fine with us!" Alfred exclaims, attempting to reassure him. This only causes the fae to get more upset, and he starts to weep.

Matthew, though Alfred's twin brother, hadn't necessarily been all that fascinated with the fae. He had gone off to play with the others while Alfred waited for the fae to wake up. But now... He hadn't actually seen the boy yet, and the 12-year-old had never glimpsed a non-human in his sheltered life. So, now the fae was sleeping... Matthew pushes the door open quietly, just to get a peek at the asleep creature.

Instead of a dozing fae, he is greeted by a very awake and aware fae. He stops himself from squeaking and swiftly closes the door, but he had been seen anyway,

"...Hello? Is that you, Alfred. It's okay, I'm awake, and I've stopped crying now," though he is clearly trying to have a strong voice, there was a slight shake in it.
Matthew peeks around the door again, "...No, actually. My name is Matthew. I'm Alfred's twin brother."
The fae raised an eyebrow, "He never mentioned any brother. My name's Arthur, by the way."
Matthew sighed, "He never mentions me... Nevermind. It's nice to meet you, Arthur."
"And I you."

He quietly sneaks into the room and closes the door behind him, then sits on the old wooden chair facing the bed.
"This might be invasive, but what was that about crying earlier...?" Matthew asks.
Arthur replies, "No, it's fine. Well, since I'm apparently an outcast, I can't really go home. I'm not sure if them wiping my memory is kind or not. I guess it's kind, you can't really yearn for something you've never known."
Matthew looks away, "...I'm sorry for asking. But, you kinda can want something you've never really known. I mean, some kids want to be royalty, and they've never been the prince or princess or king or queen. I don't really wanna be royal, though. There's just too much responsibility with it. I'd be afraid of destroying the entire kingdom because I have no idea about how one works."

Arthur looks at him curiously, "I'm sure you'd make a great ruler."
"Really?" Matthew asks, hopeful.
"Really," the fae affirms.

Matthew seems to be content for a few moments of silence. Then sadness crosses his face, "Well, that'd pretty much be the only way to get Alfie to pay attention to me. I know it's vain, but... He hardly ever speaks to me. We're twins, aren't we supposed to be closer? Sometimes, I just don't believe he cares about me."
Arthur seems to think for a second, "Well, I do believe he cares, he just isn't expressing it. In the future, something will surely come up to test how close you are as brothers, and you'll discover how much you matter as family to him."

Matthew looks surprised, "...You're not just saying that to comfort me, are you?"
"Absolutely not."

Just as he is about to say something else, Alfred and Matthew's mother calls out, "The stew is ready~!"

Matthew grins, "You're totally going to love mum's stew."
Arthur smiles, "I hope so."

Though when some authors make Mattie and Alfie twins, I get annoyed, I thought it would be appropriate because of things later in the plot! Sorry if it irritates you. Oh, and if somehow you didn't notice it, ~foreshadowing~ about the two caring for each other in the conversation between Arthur and Matthew...

Tell me if I randomly switched to past tense at some point! As I said, I'm not used to present.

Okay, Arthur is so precious right now because he was just rejected by his entire race but is already fitting in with the humans~! I̶c̶a̶n̶'̶t̶w̶a̶i̶t̶t̶o̶t̶o̶r̶t̶u̶r̶e̶h̶i̶m̶ ...What? I didn't say anything...

Hope you enjoyed!