Matthias forced his weary legs to move as he wandered throughout the forest. He found himself doing that a lot lately. Just walking as far as his legs could take him, thinking about that one person.

Lukas.

After that humiliating day with Berwald and Tino, Matthias chose to never speak of it again, but it didn't keep the thought of Lukas out of his mind. He would appear in his dreams every night, the image of his luminescent body and his blue eyes as dark as the deepest ocean lingered in his mind. The tone of his low and soothing voice echoed in his head during the silence of the night. Numerous times while Matthias would be hunting or walking he would catch the tune of Lukas's violin, and he would begin to chase it desperately until he realized it was only his mind playing tricks on him. Sometimes as he was roaming the village he would see a mop of sandy blonde hair and he thought it would be Lukas. His mind became his worst enemy, taunting him through chilly nights and luring him into traps when he was alone. It was as if his own brain was forcing him to realize he was all alone.

It tore him apart.

It didn't take Matthias long to realize he was completely and madly in love with Lukas. He didn't deny it as soon as the thought came to his mind, knowing that he was in love as soon as he saw Lukas standing right in front of him.

Tino and Berwald quickly noticed Matthias's odd behavior. He started to become distant, spending time taking frequent walks alone. He rarely even got drunk anymore, and when he did he was a sobbing mess. Tino and Berwald spent many times trying to get him to talk, but Matthias would cover it all up with a grin, assuring them they had nothing to be worried about. That never stopped his mates concern, and they decided to keep more of an eye on him.

Matthias lifted his head at the noise of a bustling crowd. He walked into the village square, busy and alive with villagers. His heart lifted a bit at the sight of activity and people. The roads were lined up full of fruit stands and merchandise. He stopped every now and then to observe something that would catch his eye. Matthias hadn't found anything of interest, until he came across a small stand in the corner of the street. Aligned in small wooden boxes were tiny pieces of jewelry in all kinds of colors. He found something mixed in one of the boxes. Matthias picked it up and observed a petite white hairpin, shaped like a cross. He was oddly attracted to the barrette.

This would really suit Lukas... The image of Lukas placing the white cross in his hair and his bangs clearing his face showing his beautiful blue eyes appeared in Matthias's mind, and he couldn't help but let out a foolish smile.

"Are you interested in buying that, sir?"

Matthias looked up from his stupor, noticing a dainty old woman smiling gently at him. He grinned at her, digging in his pocket for coins.

"Why, yes I am! How much is it, ma'am?"

The lady giggled. "That will be 5 jewels, sir."

Matthias nodded and handed the coins into her hand. His eyes brightened when he received the barrette, his cheeks flushed with happiness. Wait, what am I getting happy about?

"Is that for a special girl?" the old lady asked, her eyes glimmering with curiosity and delight.

Matthias covered his sadness with a grin, feeling slightly discouraged at his previous thought.

"Something like that."

.

.

.

Winter

The early fog of dawn surrounded Matthias as he sat patiently in the thick snow with his bow and arrow, watching his breath rise and fade into the scattered clouds of the pale blue sky. He doubted he would find anything in the dead of winter, but he wasn't there only to hunt, he also liked to watch the sunrise. He loved the breathtaking sight of the sun breaking through the winter clouds and gracing the snow with it's majestic beauty, causing the snow to glimmer in its presence. Although Matthias had to admit he was definitely not feeling his best today. His body felt sluggish, his limbs were sore, and his head pounded.

Achoo!

His sneeze disturbed the peaceful silence of the forest, and he cursed in frustration when he heard the retreating footsteps of a deer. Today was not the best day. I should've accepted Tino's request to take my place...

Months had passed since Matthias's encounter with the fossegrim and he had almost entirely returned to his normal self. He decided to try to get over Lukas completely, but he knew that the mysterious beauty would never truly leave his heart. There would still be times such as when he was completely alone at night he would clutch the cross, trying to bring himself back to that day when he first met Lukas. As time passed he himself would wonder if Lukas was real, if it was all just some dream. It certainly began to feel that way.

As the world began to spin, Matthias decided to close his eyes. Just a little nap... He shivered under his thick black cloak and his red scarf and drifted off to sleep, the quiet tranquility of the forest quickly bringing him to his dreams.

The distant melody of a violin tickled his ears, and he frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. His mind had played that trick on him one too many times, and he wasn't going to let it deceive him again, knowing that if he let it control him it would bring back the same feelings of disappointment and despair. Every time he thought of anything that related to Lukas his heart would ache in longing and sadness. Matthias thought that any pain contributed to Lukas was gone, but the melody playing in his head left him reconsidering. I thought I had taught myself to not think about Lukas anymore! He tried to go back to sleep, begging his mind to stop torturing him and bring him back to unconsciousness, but his effort was pointless. He groaned and opened his eyes, wanting to crack his head open in order to get that damn tune out of his head. Matthias tried to block out the song by singing some Danish folksongs out loud, but the melody sustained. His head continued to ache and the snowy scene in front of him began to blur. He gave up and stood still, listening to the sound of the violin, letting it envelop him in a blanket of sadness and nostalgia.

It feels different... The tune seemed to come from every part of the woods, as if the forest was singing directly to him. It possessed his entire body as if the song was purifying his soul and getting rid of all the darkness that remained. It feels just like that day...

He opened his eyes and stood, his fists clenched by his sides. This can't be a joke...it sounds so real! He began to slowly walk, going the same path he had traveled numerous times. He clutched the white cross buried in his pocket with his gloved hand. He took deep breaths, trying not to pass out and get his hopes up. He had no strength and continued to walk slowly, his heart pounding in his ears. The music became clearer with each step, and Matthias prayed to the Nordic gods that this wasn't a cruel dream. When he finally stepped between the two branchless trees his heart stuttered in his chest.

It was the same place he had carved in his memory.

The first thing Matthias felt was the watery mist hit his face as his eyes landed on the cascade of water. It was the same exact waterfall he found so long ago. It felt like an eternity had passed since that day. He wanted to cry out in happiness when he found the silhoutte of a man settled on a large rock in the middle of the clear water slightly blocked by the mist, a violin in his hands. Matthias couldn't hold in the bubbling joy inside of him any longer.

"LUKAS!"

The bow on the violin strings stopped with a nasty sounding squeak. And then deep blue eyes looked up. When those eyes met his, Matthias felt his heart burst with such happiness that his sick and frail body couldn't take it and legs gave out and his body met the ground, filling his vision with black.

Sorry for the short and boring chapter... I'll try to update soon!