When he first asked for her name, she was at the tender age of seven.

Old enough to talk and walk, but young enough to stand fearless with a childlike wonder in her eyes. She had wandered off from her tea party with her eldest sister, Lorina, with her dress held up in two hands in order to properly carry the biscuits to the small duck pond nestled within the tall willows.

As she walked, her eyes caught on a patch of sprouting mushrooms, all aligned into a perfect circle. And as the sun bled through the soft limbs of the willows and cast light upon them, they seemed to show a flurry of colors that could barely be seen in the shadows. Distracted by this, her foot caught onto a thick root, sending her tumbling to the ground right before the mushroom circle. The soft biscuits which she had brought for the ducks scattering across the earth into the grasses and mushrooms. For a moment, she laid there, sniffling as a dull sting radiated small waves of pain from her knee.

A skinned knee wasn't uncommon for the young lady, but she often hid her tears around Lorina. But now, alone in the trees with her treats for the ducks lying in pieces, she couldn't hold back tears. As she forced herself up, through her bleary gaze she noticed an odd pair of shoes just on the other side of the patch of mushrooms. Her sniffling came to a stop, wide eyes following up the legs of the stranger to find a face. The tears which had pooled in her eyes seeped from the corners and down the side of her heart shaped face as blue met red. She recognized him in an instant.

This was what her eldest sister called the 'Fae', a being who could curse children, torment towns, and lead beautiful women into the forest and spirit them away to their world, where they would subsequently wander forever, eternally lost to a world they don't belong to. Tricksters. It was of the utmost importance, Lorina had said, that you remain polite towards the Fae. For they would curse you if you dared insult them. He looked exactly as those in town described him to be. Although, their insults could not tarnish his handsome visage. Women in her town going missing, children being lead away, and even some men being charmed away from their work. All seen with a mysterious red headed stranger. The town whispered about the Fae who seemed to dwell in the shadows, but never confronted him about it. He didn't do harm... Not unprovoked, at least.

"You took quite the tumble" his voice oozed like honey - he had the voice that could easily seduce a young women into taking his hand and walking back with him to the trees. "Are you alright, dear?"

Alice didn't think to move or speak, but her eyes didn't leave his once, the sting in her knee forgotten. He had hair as dark and red as wine, and a single eye to match. Compared to her, he stood tall and cast a shadow as the sun began to swirl into the beautiful colors of a sunset. If she hadn't known that he was an otherworldly being at first, his clothes would have given it away. They seemed unnatural for the town she lived in. She tried to think back to what her sister had told her in those stories, and didn't realize that she was staring. It felt as if the weight of every story and warning had crashed down around her like heavy rain. If she made one wrong move or misspoke, she might never see her family again. She was only seven...

The Fae before her seemed to chuckle at her lost look. A long slender finger gestures down towards his foot, her eyes hesitantly following to see a biscuit which fell into the circle. Alice knew better than to step into a faerie ring... How bad luck might follow her, or how she might wind up torn away from her family and this world. Instead, she shook her head and gestured towards the other.

"An offering?" the redhead knelt down to take the biscuit from the mushrooms, plucking it from the grass with two well manicured fingers. The brunette nodded curtly, and a hint of a smile crept along his expression. Normally, it was unheard of to offer the Fae a gift, but since he was the first to ask of its nature, it must have meant he was asking for it.

He introduced himself, a hand pressed over the golden baubles that adorned his otherworldly appearance, as Joker. Certainly, that wasn't his real name. It couldn't be. It definitely wasn't his full name. But it didn't stop Alice from taking note of it, nickname or not. Granting a Fae your name was the same thing as giving them your very being. You fell to their control, and there was no telling what may come of you should that happen. That same slender hand which folded against his broad chest then extended outwards towards her invitingly, smile ever present and warm.

"And your name, please~?"

Alice looked at his hand, then back at him, still refusing to move a muscle. He would want a name- his seemingly soft gaze said as much- and she could either lie, give only her first name or use some form of flattery to get herself out of this mess. Her hands gripped the hem of her dress, watching him with wide eyes as he smile on his face only seemed to grow thin, suggesting that his patience was thinning as well.

"Dear," he chuckled after beckoning her attention in a sing song tone, "Your name, please?"

"I'm sorry, Lord Fae, but I didn't hear you speak before," she started, remaining as postured and polite as she had been raised to be, "You can call me... Ainsel"

He stared down at her, the corner of his mouth twitching as a laugh soft as the breeze filled the air about him. His hand fell from her, the other mounting his hip as he cocked his head to the side. The bells which decorated the cap atop his head jingling with the movement, and flashing soft gold light around the trees. Alice couldn't help but smile too.

"Clever girl," he cooed, eyeing Alice from her little brown shoes to the blue ribbon that adorned her hair. The term Ainsel meant 'my own self', and was the title of a story her mother told her and Lorina before bed each night. Afterwards, she became scared of fireplaces, for the character of the Fae had been taken by a hand reaching down the chimney and dragging her up. And for two years, Alice would constantly walk in a large arc around them at night. As she looked on, still smiling in success of her own trickery, the same slender hand which he held out for her produced a bright white handkerchief with a simple flick of the wrist.

"For your injury~ Take it~"

Another trick. Alice shook her head, smile fading into a more stern expression. As stern as a seven year old could produce.

"I cannot accept your gift, Lord Fae- for it is too beautiful to be used on me,"

The bemused smile only softened, as he retracted his gift and tucked it away into his sleeve.

"Such pretty words," he chimed, his attention falling to the color changing sky above them, and the birds which stopped their songs. There was something sad in his smile when he looked back towards her.

"I will allow you to go this once, dear, as it seems to be getting dark~"

As soon as the permission came, she gave a scrambled curtsy and ran back towards the house, biscuits and ducks all but forgotten. She didn't dare to look back, her legs taking her through the grasses and flowers all the way to their house, where Lorina stood with a tray in her hands. The eldest was startled at the arrival of her young sister, as she had been missing from their tea time for some time. But before she could call to her, Alice had already thrown her arms around her and buried her face in her dress. Loud sobs were muffled by her dresses and petticoats as the maid came out to see what the cause of the commotion was.

Said maid took her inside and bandaged her up. The two women assumed it was the skinned knee that caused Alice's crying. Alice didn't speak about the Fae. Or about the growing realization she'd had that one mistake would have ripped her away from her family forever. That was the first time she'd ever truly felt fear in her young life. But as scared as she had felt that night, lying in bed with her eldest sister at her side, the more she wondered if they would meet again. But that wouldn't be for many years.

-x-

I wrote this all in one brain spill, and there are no edits. I'm no English major, so I apologize if things don't make proper sense...

So we're trying something new here... This is chapter 1/5 for a Four Times & The One Time type of story.

I had been doing research of the Fair Folk for an page in my art journal, and I randomly thought that it would fit this pair.

I'm still doing a lot of research to better understand the nature of the Fair Folk and the etiquette that comes with it, so please bear with me if things are a bit slow!

I hope you will enjoy this short series!