. . 1 . .
He was born on April 23, in some unknown year in the 9th century. His mother had given birth alone, no one near her to help. During the delivery he had barely made a sound and he was below the ideal healthy weight for a baby. His mother held him in her arms for a few hours after he was born, just quietly staring at her now youngest child, wondering how he would survive with such a weak body. For those few hours of his life he had no name, no identity, nothing that made him uniquely him. For those few hours of his life, he was no one, just a sleeping body in his mother's arms. It wasn't until later that his mother had finally decided to name him. Tidying herself up and cradling her son in her arms, she headed back to her 'family'. On April 23, in some unknown year in the 9th century, Arthur Kirkland was born.
Not much later, Arthur was introduced to his family. Not that he remembered this, of course. He was far too young to keep any memories.
His oldest sibling was a boy who was three years older than him. He had red hair, a few freckles around his face and body, and deep green eyes- and a surprisingly bad temper for his age. He looked like a copy of their father. This boy was called Allistor Kirkland, but was often called 'Scottie' by the rest of his family. Not that he really welcomed the nickname himself, but he didn't protest against it either.
One clear thing that Allistor inherited from his father seemed to be his short temper. He got angry often, and would use colourful language or destructive behaviour to express how he felt. When Allistor was only five years old, their father, Ruanaidh, had insisted on teaching Allistor how to shoot a bow and arrow; for self defense and hunting.
"It's better to get 'em at a young age," Ruanaidh would always say to Emeria, their mother, who would often protest against it.
"That way they will be able to defend themselves like men, and not starve to death. And if I'm gone, they can protect you too, Emeria."
His second oldest brother was born a year after Allistor, though they shared the same age. He also had red hair, but was slightly lighter, the same dark green eyes, and a lot more freckles than Allistor. He was serious and monotone most days, but often got into playful fights with the other redhead. The two were quite close, and one rarely saw them separated. Where one went, the other followed, which was strange considering that they both had an aura of independence to them. They didn't need each other, but stayed together anyway. This boy was named Patrick Kirkland, often nicknamed 'Pat' or 'Pattie'. He, unlike Allistor who was more physical, used his words to express his feelings. He was very vocal about... well, anything that he had an opinion on. Anything that he understood with his young, naive mind. Patrick and Allistor both prided themselves in being physically strong and quick at such a young age. It was needless to say that they were undeniably their father's favourite.
The last brother Arthur had was a quiet boy who was often forgotten. He was two years older than Arthur and didn't speak much. Though he was a bit shy, he stood his ground and tried to act tough (though everyone could see it was simply an act). Patrick and Allistor teased him when they were younger, saying that he was adopted, but the teasing eventually stopped as they grew older. The teasing stemmed from how he looked, which was considerably different than the rest of his family. He had dark brown hair, like dark chocolate, and his skin was pale and completely clear of freckles. This boys name was Dylan Kirkland. The only thing he had in common with his older brothers, in terms of appearance at least, were the deep green eyes which seemed to be a common trait in the family. Dylan wasn't a fast runner or strong like his brothers, but he was a caring person. Though he tried to act confident and serious, he was a softie who deeply cared about the well-being of his family. Though… there was an exception.
Arthur. There was Arthur. Arthur, who was, basically, a copy of Emeria. If he had longer hair you'd probably think it was the younger version of herself. He had the same light green eyes, the same messy blond hair, the same scowl, the same thin figure, the same personality- the same everything. Compared to his older brothers, Arthur appeared like a twink. A skinny little thing that was scared of most things. He always followed his mother like a puppy, which was, in all honesty, a pitiful sight for his father.
Arthur was the exception. Dylan, without really trying to hide it, resented Arthur. He would often glare at Arthur when he did or said anything, and often went out of his way to ignore him. When ignoring Arthur wasn't an option, he showed attitude that no one previously knew he had.
It wasn't to say that Arthur's other two brothers weren't cruel to him too- they were. Even worse than Dylan, in fact, with tying him to trees, using him as target practice, making fun of his appearance, and so on. It was the norm to see Arthur being pushed around by Allistor and Patrick, but Dylan? The kind hearted boy everyone knew? That was beyond surprising.
The last two members of Arthur's family were, of course, his parents. Emeria, his mother, was a slim, short woman. She had incredibly long light blonde hair that reached down slightly below her hips and bright green eyes. Emeria was a careful and loving woman, though she didn't always show her loving side, and was very serious most of the time. She was delicate in her actions and the way she moved, which was a big contrast to Ruanaidh, Arthur's father. Ruanaidh was a wild man who some might have even called aggressive in terms of mannerisms. He was unpredictable, rowdy, and overall carefree. He loved to hunt and was definitely not delicate in the way he moved. Emeria and Ruanaidh had been in love since they had met as kids, and even though their contrasting personalities crashed and caused conflicts sometimes, they always stood by each other through everything life threw at them. It was clear from when they were kids, when they fell purely and absolutely in love with each other, that nothing but death was going to come between them.
. . . .
When Arthur was close to being one year old he began growing in his baby teeth. Unlike his birth, he began crying loudly every day, for several hours. Their father would leave for longer hours to hunt, not being able to stand the crying, and their mother would be exhausted each and everyday from not getting enough sleep. She would hold Arthur in her arms and let him wail for hours on end, not having the energy to calm him.
Allistor stared at his younger brother one day, annoyed by the crying, but feeling pity for him as his mother slept. He took Arthur from his mother's arms, staring at Arthur's slimy face due to his tears, and walked away to sit under a tree. Ruanaidh and Emeria never took good care of their children, Allistor thought, not up to his standards anyway. Allistor was only four years old, but felt much older, as he felt he had a responsibility to take care of his younger brothers.
As hours passed, Emeria woke up to the sound of… silence. It was completely quiet. There was no crying, no loud screams - not even quiet sobbing. She looked around and saw Patrick and Dylan sleeping peacefully beside each other, while Ruanaidh was presumably still out hunting. She turned around when she heard quiet whispers coming from behind a tree nearby. As she got closer, she saw Allistor holding Arthur, whispering to him as Arthur silently sucked on Allistor's index finger.
"-mom said that sucking on something helps the pressure on your gums. It must really hurt having those teeth come out, huh? Well after you grow them out you can eat some of mom's delicious food instead of sucking on my finger."
Arthur simply stared up at Allistor curiously, still sucking on his finger. After a moment of simply staring at each other, Allistor grabbed a blanket that was neatly sitting beside him and awkwardly wrapped it around his younger sibling.
"I guess I can tell you a story. Would you like that? Mom has told me a lot of them so I know many. This one story is about a dragon who lives in a gigantic cave.."
Allistor began an old story his mother used to tell him, unknowingly warming Emeria's heart behind the tree. She was surprised that Allistor had gotten Arthur to finally quiet down with such a simple gesture. Taking one last glance at the two, she quietly left them to themselves, not wanting to disturb the peace, and went back to sleep.
As time went on, Arthur began becoming aware of his surroundings. He wasn't as naive as kids his age normally were. He understood a lot of things, mostly because his parents- and brothers- never sugar coated things for him, like family usually would do to preserve that child-like innocence. At a young age, Arthur knew his parents didn't always get along and would fight over things frequently.
His parents were fighting particularly bad one day. It wasn't anything new, the four brothers didn't think much of it. Towards the end of the fight their father was in a horrible mood, worse than he normally would be. Ruanaidh threw his quiver over his shoulder and looked back at Emeria."I'm going to go hunting. I'll be back." He said through gritted teeth, then marched off.
That was the last time Arthur saw his father.
Whether Ruanaidh got lost, died, or just flat out lied about coming back, Arthur didn't know. And truthfully, the more he thought about it, the more he didn't want to know.
After a few weeks with no sign of Ruanaidh ever coming back, Emeria had begun spiraling into a depression that no one was able to get her out of. She became inconsolable. She had stopped talking, showed emotion less frequently, and began eating less (which meant the four brothers got a bit more food, at least). In this state, she also began unintentionally neglecting her sons.
Not that she was super attached to them before. If she were being truthful, she actually tried to keep her distance from them even before Ruanaidh left. Now, however, she flat out ignored them, and wasn't the slightest bit concerned about the health of her children. Instead she always seemed to be in a trance or deep thought, as if her mind was in some unknown this was a hard blow on Arthur and his brothers, now having to hunt and care for themselves, it did allow for more freedom.
And that was how Arthur met him.
On a sunny, windy day, Arthur took advantage of his mother's lack of attention and concern and wandered deep into the woods. When he reached a large clearing he turned around, hearing footsteps behind him. He saw a young girl who looked a couple of years older than him. She had light blonde hair, which was cut to sit just above her shoulders, and was wearing a long blue dress that reached down just below her knees and was rimmed with golden fabric. Some of her short wavy hair, that bounced with every step she took, was neatly tied back into a dark blue ribbon that matched her dress. Under her dress, she was wearing white tights that accompanied her shiny brown flats.
She was a gorgeous sight to see.
The girl approached him slowly, a look of curiosity on her face. Once she was close enough to fully see Arthur's face, she smiled and giggled, opening her mouth to speak. Arthur watched her cautiously.
"Salut! Vos sourcils sont grands et bizarres! Et vous êtes vraiment petit et mignon! Êtes-vous un local?" The girl spoke in a strange language Arthur had never heard before. It didn't sound like a Celtic language like Scottish Gaelic, Irish, or even Welsh like the languages his family normally spoke.
"Es-tu perdu? Pourquoi es-tu silencieux? Il n'y a pas besoin d'être timide!"
Arthur took a step backwards, intimidated by the foreign language.
"Où sont tes parents? Avez-vous des parents? Êtes-vous ici tout seul?" Arthur gripped the dark green cape that hung from his shoulders tightly.
"...parlez-vous le français?" The girl had slowly stopped smiling, which worsened Arthur's anxiety. She didn't speak a language Arthur heard in the Isles, so Arthur came to the conclusion that she was a Mainlander. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Arthur spoke through trembling lips.
"A… A-..A-Arthur.."
Looking up at the girls expression, it seemed that she was trying to process what he had said. After a few seconds, she smiled again.
"Ah! Je vois. Bonjour Arthur! ….'Arthur' est un drôle nom, n'est-ce pas?" She giggled again.
"Je m'appelle Francis. Je viens du continent. Je suis venu ici avec mon père! Avez-vous des parents?"
Arthur stared at the young girl in awe, having only understood the name 'Francis' but didn't know anyone by that name. Who was Francis? Was it her dad? Her brother? An evil man coming to get them? A malicious spirit? Arthur hadn't an idea. What he did know was that he was in the middle of nowhere, with an older girl, speaking a strange language, and who was probably from the Mainland.
"I.. I have to go, my mom.. i-is probably looking for me… goodbye.." And with that, he used his tiny, chubby legs to take off in the direction he came from. He ran as if he were being chased by a lion, but slowed down in order to turn his head and get one last glimpse at the beautiful girl who was left confused in the middle of the field.
That night Arthur laid with his brothers all cuddled up for warmth, thinking about the girl he had met in the clearing outside of the woods. He hadn't told anyone in fear that he might get in trouble for wandering so far, but he was completely entranced by the mysterious girl. He decided to name her Earleen until he figured out her real name and kept asking himself questions like who was she? Why was she here? What was she saying? What was her name? Would she let him kiss he-
As everyone else slept soundly, Arthur thought about Earleen.
And he made it his mission to see Earleen again soon.