A/N: I don't own the Chronicles of Prydain, I just borrowed a name for Wynn's last name.
o.V.o
"Arthur, this is the Ellidyr family. I expect you to treat them with respect since they just recently moved here from Wales." I pouted at my mum as she introduced me to the new family next door. Why did she treat me like such a child?
Mrs. Ellidyr turned to me and bent to my height to ask my age with a strange accent. "Six…" I muttered.
She smiled sweetly at me. "You're practically a big man already!" she said in the same demeaning tone adults take with me. I bit back my retort and silently nodded. "I have a daughter about your age in the backyard. How about you go meet her?"
"Yes, that would be a good idea." My mother agreed as she nudged me to the back door. "Be nice to the young lady, okay?"
"Yes ma'am." I replied, sulking as I reluctantly made my way to the back of the house. I saw a few trees but couldn't find the girl that they mentioned. "Hello?" I finally called out.
"I'm here." A voice with the same weird accent as Mrs. Ellidyr said quickly before I could find its source.
"Where?" I said, looking everywhere around me.
"Find me." The voice said from somewhere behind me. I turned and saw no one again.
I pouted. "I can't."
A small giggle came from above me. "Look up, silly."
I obeyed and saw a small girl with short, tangled brunette hair and light blue eyes looking down at me in amusement. "How did you get up there?" I asked in amazement.
She giggled again and swung to a lower branch with amazing agility. "I grew wings and flew up here."
"Liar!"
"Nu-uh!"
"Uh-huh!"
"Nu-uh!"
"Prove it then!"
"I can't."
"Then you didn't." I said smugly, thinking I had won.
"Yes I did, it's just my faery friends aren't here to show you." She pouted before jumping off her branch and landing on her feet and hands.
"Careful! You're going to hurt yourself!" I protested as she wiped her hands off on her torn shorts.
She stuck her tongue out at me. "Nu-uh, I do it all the time."
"Then where did you get all those?" I pointed at the rainbow of band aids covering her legs and arms.
"This one was when I fell off my tricycle, and this one was when I tried to pet a stray cat, and these are from when I went playing in the forest, and that one…" She pointed at each one proudly like they were badges of honor.
I stood there looking at this accident prone fool in disbelieve. "Why don't you just read a good picture book?"
"I do when it's too dark to play. I like playing outside more though."
"What about when it rains?"
"I jump in the puddles and dance in the rain!" She said excitedly.
"…You're weird…." I finally concluded.
She pouted at me. "Then what do you do for fun?" She countered.
"I read books and play puzzle games with mummy. We're working on a unicorn right now before we came over."
She looked at me in confusion. "I thought boys didn't like unicorns?" She questioned.
I returned her gaze of confusion. "Why wouldn't they? Unicorns are full of magic!"
"You're the weird one." She said with a soft giggle.
"No I'm not!" I yelled.
"Wynn! Are you already teasing the poor boy?" Mrs. Ellidyr chided as her and my mum came outside to check on us.
"No… Not yet…" She said innocently as she ignored my glare.
"She said boys shouldn't like unicorns!" I accused.
"Nu-uh, I just said that they don't!"
"Same thing!" I argued back.
Her mum and mine chuckled as they exchanged words I didn't quite hear. "Did you introduce yourself yet?" My mum asked me.
"…No…" I quietly admitted.
"Well…?" She urged.
I pouted and silently grumbled "My name is Arthur Kirkland… Nice to meet you."
Wynn smiled brightly at me. "My name is Wynn, and we're going to be great friends, Kirkland." She prophesized.
"My name is Arthur, not Kirkland!" I protested.
"Kirkland sounds better though so that's what I'll call you." She smiled.
I glared at her and was about to retort when a weird sound came from our mums, something like the "ahhhh" mums say a lot. "I think this calls for a picture!" Mrs. Ellidyr exclaimed.
My mum readily agreed with her and ordered me to stand next to Wynn, who smiled while she poked at my face. I glared to the side when her mum took the picture. "I think this is a beginning of a beautiful friendship!" My mum said.
…
I woke with a start as I heard a soft knock at my door. My eyes adjusted to the darkness as I remembered that I was in the quest bedroom of Alfred's house and not meeting her for the first time. "What is it? Didn't I tell you to not come crying to me before we watched the movie?" I muttered in a grumpy, tired voice.
The door slowly opened as Alfred looked at me from the crack and light flooded into the room from the hallway. "Just making sure you're okay…" He whispered back.
I glared at him. "Just admit it, you're scared."
He pouted at me. "No, I'm just worried that you are since your room is so dark!" he protested as he crept into my room.
I glared as he stood halfway in the room. "Well I'm not so go back to bed." He stood there and I almost threw a pillow at him until I noticed his eyes silently pleading. Those blue eyes pleaded with me with a look of slight terror. I sighed as I realized he was terrified after the stupid movie. "I guess you can hang out in here for a while." I relented.
He gave me a wide smile as he closed the door and jumped into my bed without turning on the light and hugged me. "I knew you were scared." He cried triumphantly.
I squirmed in his hold. "Let go of me!"
"Oh, sorry!" He apologized as he let go. After a few moments, we were both lying down in the bed on our respective sides. We lay in silence for a few moments. He then rolled over to face me. "So… Why did you move to America?" He finally asked.
I tensed as I searched for an answer. "It's… complicated…" I finally replied.
"Was it divorce?" He guessed, clearly not going to let go of the issue yet.
"No…"
"Poverty?"
"Do I look poor to you?" I snapped at him.
"Did your parents have to get new jobs?"
"No, although I never met my father so I wouldn't know what he was doing." I admitted.
I could sense him looking at me with pity. "I'm sorry…" He whispered.
"It's not your fault, you git."
He shrugged. "Doesn't mean I can't wish it didn't happen. Is that why you came to America?"
"No… It's very personal… Now I'm exhausted so shut up." I rolled over so my back was facing him.
It was silent for a few minutes. "Artie?" I ignored him. "Artie? You awake?" I continued to ignore him, breathing slowly and softly to make it seem like I was asleep. I heard him sigh softly.
Suddenly I felt his arm going under my neck and wrap around my shoulders. The other arm wrapped itself around my waist. I felt him pull me closer to him and firmly hold me in place.
I tensed but continued to fake sleep as his face nuzzled into the back of my neck. His hold eventually loosened as he drifted off to sleep but every time I tried to pry myself free, it would tighten immediately. I gave a sigh of defeat after the fourth attempt at freedom and tried my best to fall asleep, trying not to imagine the warmth was someone smaller and softer…
o.V.o