Prologue

Another one was gone. Albion could feel it the moment he laid eyes on the tiny village, the women all gathered around one of the mothers, children kept close at hand. The men were nowhere to be seen. In the woods, searching. They were all hoping that little footprints would merely lead to a misbehaving child, and not finish in an empty mushroom ring. Again.

That would make six year-old Mary the eighth child to have been spirited away from the neighboring villagers in the past three weeks. And Albion was feeling the loss already. Adults went to war and died all the time, but his children were his future. If they all vanished before they had a chance to grow up, so would he. And what was worse was that he could feel the chilly tingle of unsidhe magic in the air along the path leading to and from the village. The missing children wouldn't be coming back.

"You! Where are our children!?"

The green eyed child looked up at the village headwoman as she came over, wrinkles even harsher on her face than usual due to stress. He could not blame her. If his face were closer to his age in years, he might look like that too, because he felt the same stress in his heart.

"We've all seen you talking to the fairies, unaging one," the woman said, stopping a distance from him. Maybe she was one of those who thought he might be one of them too. "And we knew they're the ones luring our babies away from the beds in the night!"

"It's not the ones who play with me doing this!" Albion protested, his eyes wide under bushy eyebrows. Did they really think mint bunny and the others were responsible? They lived off the carefree joy of children; they wouldn't take them from their families. "They're summer fairies! My friends are the good ones!"

The old woman went down onto her knees to grap the small nation's shoulders. Albion could see the worry in her eyes and he felt for her grief. "Then where are the children? If they didn't take them, then who did? Who has our babies?"

"...the pathway feels like winter fairies came through recently," Albion said softly after debating for a moment. He didn't usually talk about them to humans. Most villagers got nervous enough when they realized that he was living nearby, an unaging child who played about with fairies and other creatures. "They might have the children."

There was no might about it, he knew. But a might could give her hope for a little longer, and that was worth lying to her. Looking at the headwoman and seeing her, knowing that the first one to vanish had been her only granddaughter who had brought her red flowers the last spring and smiled at her with two teeth missing, Albion knew that he would have to seek out the winter fairies, no matter that he usually tried to stay away from them. How could he do anything else but try and help his people. Even if he couldn't bring back the stolen children, he could try and stop more from vanishing.

'Albion... Albion... Come with us!'

He jerked his head back towards the woods, spotting the bright little glows that meant his fairies were there, and took a step back from the headwoman. "I've got to go now. I'll do what I can, I promise."

Albion dashed for the path before the headwoman could protest, her hand still outstretched to pull him back as she spotted the fairies and moved automatically to protect even this strange child. But they were soon out of sight of the village as the path wound into the woods in a somewhat tangled mess, their ancestors knowing better than to chop down the fairies' trees. Passing through them was trying enough as it was.

'We saw where they went,' the little fairies said, flying around him as he hurried down the path, following their lead. 'We'll take you there, but we can't stay.'

"I know, it's alright," Albion said with a nod. He knew the two courts didn't get along, and a child thief would be a dangerous person for the little fairies who kept him company to meet. He didn't want his friends eaten or worse. "You taught me enough to keep them from touching me."

They stopped just short of the crossroads where the path split up into five, one towards each village in the area. But there were no farmers or traders crossing through there tonight. No, there was something much worse, and it took effort not to call the fairies back to him as they fled into the safety of the trees.

"What's this, another little child who wants to come play with us?" the tall, brightly dressed man said, a pipe held in one hand a lips smiling despite the utter coldness in his eyes. He spoke with a parody of the Frankish language. Human looking, but one could not fool someone like Albion into thinking he was really mortal. "Are you looking for your friends, little one? I'll take you to them. We're throwing a grand party with cakes and music and joy."

"I know you, child thief," Albion said, standing firm and not letting himself be tempted. "Fae are not allowed to take children from their beds! You know the laws!"

The man's laugh was mocking, pipe twirled in his fingers. "Aw, you're the spirit of this land then? I was wondering if I'd meet you. I don't take the little ones from their beds, they walk right out to me. Sweet little morsels that they are."

The young nation kept himself from showing his fear out of sheer force of will. Somehow, he knew that the fae in front of him wasn't speaking figuratively. Those children really wouldn't be coming back. He'd heard that the unsidhe fed off of the darker feelings of children, but he'd hoped that the rumors of their occasionally taking flesh had been exaggerated. Clenching his jaw, he only had time to shout one spell before the fae lunged for him, a glowing wall forming around the tall man.

Scowling at it, the fae tapped on the wall, long nails leaving deep gashes in it before they healed up before his eyes. "Clever, little spirit. But you can't leave this spot and keep me trapped, can you?"

"I'll stay here as long as I have to!" he said, glaring at him through the wall. Already it felt like it was draining him. He couldn't keep it up forever. Albion just had to make the child thief think he could.

"Hm." The thief leaned casually against the inside of the wall, examining his nails and frowning as one cracked from being exposed to Albion's magic. Runt might be able to do more damage than he thought. "What if I made you a deal, little spirit?"

The offer surprised Albion, and he had to quickly re-tighten the spell as it threatened to dissipate in his shock. He knew faerie deals could be dangerous. Very dangerous. But was it worse than letting this creature escape? And he didn't have enough power to kill him, not without a lot of help and time that he didn't have. "...what kind of deal?"

"We both need your little children," the child thief said casually. "Obviously, you're rather protective of the ones in your precious villagers, but what about the ones that wander off and get lost? They're going to die in the woods anyway. We could live off that many, if we have to."

Albion narrowed his eyes, knowing better than to just trust the deal at face value. There was always a catch when dealing with fairies, even with his friends. "In exchange for what?"

"Clever child," the thief all but purred, cruel eyes looking over the young nation. Oh, what he could do if he could claim one of those. "I get to take something of yours. Not now, in the future. Something you will love dearly, hold close to your heart, and then lose. When it's lost to you, then I can claim it whenever it suits me. Do we have a deal?"

Something he'd lose? The part about loving it first made him worry, but to trade something he would lose first in exchange for what he desperately needed? Albion didn't see how he could refuse the deal. "Fine. It's a deal." Against his better judgement, he released the wall. As the child thief vanished with a laugh, he couldn't help but worry that he'd made a terrible mistake. But at least the children would be safe.

His little ones would be safe.