The Pied Piper was always a perfect ruse. No matter how many times I went between worlds, traveling in different times and cities. No matter how many times I showed up, there were always lost boys, escaping their homes at the sound of my pipe.

Boys who felt as though their parents didn't care or didn't love them. They came running down the street, finding my campfire and dancing until the dawn peaked the horizon.

The pipe only ever brought boy children. All of these centuries, only boys. I often wondered if it was the price I paid for my eternal youth. That I would always be presented with reminders of the choice I made so many years ago.

Tonight began no different than any time since I could remember. As I watched the lights dim in homes across the city, I settled into the city courtyard, lighting a small fire that would undoubtedly grow once children gathered around it.

Once the last of the lights facing courtyard dimmed, I picked up my pipe and began to play.

Within a few moments, boys began to run up to my fire, most of them in their sleep clothing. Some had grabbed overcoats and other masks and scarves from their rooms, each of them dancing around and partying around the fire as though they had no reason to waken in the morning. Laughter and shouting and yelling going unnoticed by sleeping adults in the surrounding homes.

The moon reached its peak in the sky and I was sure that any boys that would escape their homes, had already joined the celebration.

Reaching into the magic that remained within my grasp, I fed the fire, willing it to reach higher above the boys, commanding it to shine so bright the moon had no effect on our celebration.

As the fire grew a sound rang out above the yelling and animal sounds emitting from the boys. A sound so similar to song that it nearly escaped me that it was laughter. A sound of such elegant amusement that I was obliged to lower my pan pipe simply to hear the melody as it blessed the night air.

Looking across the fire, I sought the sound. Picking through the boys with their barking laughs and roars, my gaze settled on a girl.

A girl with hair so blonde that as the firelight glinted off of it, she seemed to be alight as well. A girl had never been called to me by the pan pipe, but here she was, twirling and dancing among the lost boys. Her nightgown covered nearly all of her, but her fingers extended gracefully as she danced on her tiptoes.

The longer I held my instrument silent in my hands, the slower she seemed to twirl. Her laughter died down ever so slightly, causing my own delightful mood to waiver.

Her eyes flitted across the other boys, before finally settling on the flute in my hands. Her dancing had brought her closer to me, and she focused on what little features were visible underneath my mask. Nervously ruffling her sleeves, she slowly approached my perch.

"Have you finished playing?" She mumbled out, barely louder than those around her. Her voice reached my ears, seeming as perfect as her laughter was.

"The hour is getting rather late." I answered, obscuring my voice to that which I had developed along with my Pied Piper persona.

"You play so beautifully," She complimented, "why would you ever take that sound away?"

A smile tugged at my lips, and I resisted as best I could. "You are far more wonderful than my playing. I would rather listen to that melody than my pipe."

She considered that for a moment. "If you promise to keep playing, I promise to stay."

"But how will I hear you over the sounds of the fire?" I allowed the edges of my mouth to turn upwards in amusement.

"I suppose I could dance closely." She mumbled, unsure of her offer.

"I would very much like that." I let the Piper voice flicker to my younger, boyish voice. Hoping she felt less intimidated by one her own age.

She blushed, tugging at her sleeves.

I shifted my mask, allowing her a glimpse of my eyes as I brought the pipe back to my lips and once again played the song I had believed only lost boys could hear.

She smiled and a laugh of happiness escaped her as she returned to dancing among the others. Keeping to her promise, she stayed near me, dancing to a song she shouldn't have been able to hear.