Candlelight (1/?)

Author: Osco

Pairings: 3x4, 1x2, 5xS

Rating: R

Warnings: Lemony goodness, violence, language, magical happenings, and ugly Trolls attempting to ruin the story!

Summary: Retelling of the fairy tale, "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" GW style. What if you made a mistake? What if the person you loved had to pay the price? How far would you go to save him? How about a place that can't exist?

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu Agency. I am but a poor college student who has no hold over the characters whatsoever and is doing this as a pastime.

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Chapter One: Bump in the Night

Once upon a time, there was a poor crofter who lived on the outskirts of civilization with his family. He had not always been a poor man, in fact, he had once been a very rich man, with bountiful fields of exotic spices and many servants at his beckon call. However, after the death of his second and most beloved wife, followed by his marriage to another to help with his family, a terrible drought came upon the lands of his forefathers, and he was reduced to almost nothing. This man did not despair though, even though his new wife surely did, because he still retained his many children and their love.

He had many daughters, twenty nine in fact, and all were fair of form and face. Many of his daughters came from his first marriage, a woman who had left the comfort of a merchant's wife's life for a circus performer, but he had four children with his second wife. Each was golden, as their mother was, but it was his youngest child, and only son, whom reminded the crofter of his most beloved wife, Katrina, most of all. Katrina may have died giving birth to this child, but she left him with her golden hair, swirling blue eyes, and gentle manner. The poor crofter took comfort that he had such a visceral reminder of his past love in his precocious son. He even named the boy after his late wife, and swore that no harm would ever come to him. The young boy grew into maturity and the child-like beauty that had accompanied him all through life melted into a handsome face and form that had many Lords and Ladies take notice…even though he was a mere crofter's son. The boy would always play his violin for his father on the edge of the fields while he tried to farm the infertile land, an effort to comfort a man who was doing all he could to help his family.

True, it was not perfect, but it was their life. The poor crofter had the love of his family, and that would make his misfortunes seem mild in comparison with the joy they brought him each day.

However, things did not become more favorable towards the crofter and his large family as time went on, and even though his daughters were all very beautiful and of an age to marry, he could not offer a dowry to any suitors who would come calling. The despair he had fought against for so many years began to break through his defenses…that and the biting comments from his new wife. And so, the crofter prepared for a bitter winter, knowing that it would be especially difficult to support his family with such meager supplies and poor housing against the chill winds, with a silent fear that not all would make it through this year. Until one cold and bleak winter's night when a visitor would come and change it all…

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It was cold outside and probably to early to be watching the stars come out, but Quatre didn't care about that, ambling through the rows of dying crops on his father's land. He was able to escape his dull work at the village market early after pleading with the owner's wife, and was going to enjoy the little free time he had until he heard the shrill voice of his step-mother calling from the house. He hardly ever came out to the fields anymore, not since his sixteenth birthday, a year ago; the Lady Une had said he needed to help his father provide for the family and couldn't indulge in his childish daydreams and games any longer. However, it was just too nice a feeling, wandering through the lands of his family, to give up no matter what his step-mother might think.

He didn't mind giving up his free time to help his father, as he loved being able to help out his family any way he could, but to say he hadn't missed the free time would have been a lie. He missed playing his beaten and rusty violin to his father has he worked and he missed playing with Iria and the twins in the fields. He had imagined himself having grand adventures when he was a boy…not toiling away as an apprentice scribe for the rest of his young life.

Quatre stopped in front of a large boulder, one he and his older sister Iria had named Mount Winner after their surname when they were younger, and climbed up, careful to not ruin his already grubby clothes further. He held back a shiver the brisk night air invoked and reclined against the flat surface of the boulder. True, it did not get all that cold in the desert nation in which his family lived, but it would get quite frigid during the fall as it turned into winter. Content in just watching the twinkling lights peek out of the fading orange sky, Quatre let out a contented sigh and closed his dark blue eyes, willing all the worry, fear, and frustration his family inspired within him flow off until there was nothing left. He didn't like to talk to her when he was so upset…she didn't deserve it.

"Hello, Mother," Quatre said softly up to the heavens. He opened his eyes and smiled softly. "I'm sorry for not coming sooner, but I'm sure you understand. Father's worrying himself sick again…I'm sure you've seen it. Can't say I blame him. The fields just keep doing worse and worse each passing year…I think he's worried there won't be enough food for the whole family to last until the spring. He tries to pretend like everything's fine, but I know it's not.

"All the girls are fine…except Iria. She's taken ill again and we don't have enough money to take her to see a healer. Lady Une, you remember her don't you? Father's new wife…don't worry though, he still loves you more than he could ever love her. Anyway, she says it's because of the wind coming through the planks of the cottage and that we should move into a better house. I don't know why she keeps on making Father feel terrible about the house, it's not like he isn't trying his hardest to please her and provide for his family…he's worried about Iria too. Her cough sounds horrible and she can barely make it to the village without having to rest…I'm scared for her, Mother.

"I've been considering it…and before you lecture me about it let me tell you that Iria and the twins have already done it thoroughly! But, I don't see any other way I can help. It's not as if I am a Mage of old who can heal Father's lands, or a healer who can make Iria better…Lady Une might be right about this. If I…if I accept Lord Kushrenada's proposal, I can help our family Mother…then maybe my sisters can finally be wed and Iria can get better…"

Quatre trailed off as he sat up, mind and heart conflicting too much to talk properly for a moment. He stared off into the dreaded forests of the Fey, not really focusing his now dull blue eyes on anything in particular. He didn't want to be married to Lord Kushrenada, but the Lord was a rich man who could help provide for his family a little. But…he didn't love him. The blond-haired boy tried to tell himself that he could learn to love this man, but deep in his heart he sensed that wasn't going to happen. If he married the Lord, he was going to lose everything he loved in life and be placed in a cage that would bar him from the adventure he still wanted so desperately.

But his family mattered more than his own freedom. He had just turned seventeen, maybe it was time to grow up out of those silly notions of grandeur and accept this responsibility. Quatre shook his head as he brought himself back to reality, looking up one last time with a sad smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Mother. I'm afraid you've heard nothing but horrible things from me tonight…I wish I had happier news. I won't decide yet what I will do, but I just hope you'll still want to listen to me once the choice is made…"

Quatre placed a kiss on the tips of his fingers and blew it up into the night sky as a farewell and began to slide down off the boulder…until a movement to his left caught his eye. He stopped and curiously looked to the West, towards the Fey woods. His breath caught in his throat as he saw a flash of white disappear into the dense forest and Quatre felt a strange sensation wash over him, calming his nerves. Whatever it was that he saw, Quatre knew that there was nothing to fear from it…it was something that had been watching over him as he talked with his mother.

Still, the fact that it had originated from the awful Fey forest made the blond a bit wary, so he silently slid off the rock and made his way back to his father's cottage. Ever since childhood, Quatre had been told horrible stories about the Fey woods and about the creatures that lived therein. As a child he recognized the tales of the Fey monsters snatching up naughty children as nothing more than a way to get them to behave, but that didn't mean that dangerous creatures didn't live there. It would probably be best to just leave whatever he saw in the woods be and forget he ever saw it; the last thing he needed was for Lady Une to say he had been coerced by the beasts of Fey and needed to be sent away to a convent. Laughing at his step-mother's slightly exaggerated reaction, Quatre made his way back to his home for the past seventeen summers.

The cottage he and his large family lived in may have appeared to be a hovel to any passerby and in all practicality was, but that had never mattered to Quatre because it was his home. Everything from the rusty doornails to the slits between the wood panels meant a great deal to his father so it meant a great deal to Quatre. He could already hear the noise coming from inside, most likely his sisters battling to take a bath, and smiled at the simplicity of it all. If his mind would not change by the next dawn, he would enjoy some of the last moments of love with his family in whatever shape it took.

Quatre fended off at least five sisters at the door, all cooing over where he had been and how worried they were about him, before he made his way further in and placed a kiss on his sister Iria's forehead. She looked pale and had dark circles under her eyes, but she wasn't coughing…Quatre took heart in that. He managed a smile for his glaring step-mother and quickly went to wash his hands for dinner, no matter how meager it may be. The cottage was rather large considering, it had five rooms plus a kitchen and bath, but with over thirty people living there it was rather crowded. As it was, Quatre shared a room with five of his youngest sisters, including Iria whom was only two summers older, and it was similar arrangements for the other rooms.

He returned and helped serve dinner, all the while humming a soft tune under his breath to help relax the atmosphere. He didn't know why his gift for music was able to calm people so, just as he did not know how he always seemed to know what others were feeling, but his father said his mother could do the same so he didn't think anything bad of it. Of course Lady Une did not approve of his 'gifts,' but she hardly approved of anything he did so he didn't take much stock in her words. Dinner went by smoothly, with only one sister being hit by another's elbow and only three derogatory comments spoken aloud by his step-mother, and after it became a fight to see who would sit closest to the fire. Quatre had tried to convince Iria to move closer, but she was as kind (and as stubborn) as he and refused to take away heat from her sisters.

So, Quatre settled into a game of chess with his youngest sister as they both enjoyed watching the others and Lady Une squabble like hens over a rooster for room before the fire; their father had long ago given up trying to scold them to share and had settled down beside his two youngest children. The game went by smoothly and slowly, each enjoying the strategy the game presented. Quatre grinned after a time and said, "Iria, I will win in five turns."

"How can you be so sure?" Iria bantered back with a laugh. She knew full well her brother was probably telling the truth…it had been years since anyone had beaten him at chess. She shot her father a knowing look before looking back at her brother, who was still grinning in an almost feral way.

"Well," Quatre began as he moved his bishop to capture one of Iria's black knights. "First, I will take your knight, leaving you with only one viable move…"

"I take your bishop with my Queen," Iria finished for him, beginning to see the trap her clever brother had set for her. "And then you…"

"Take your bishop with my castle," Quatre finished. "Check. Now, you only can…"

"Capture your castle with my pawn," Iria answered with a giggle. "Leaving my King defenseless…"

"And, finally, I take your pawn with my Queen," Quatre said as he moved his final play into action. "And…checkmate."

"Well Cat," Iria said as she tipped over her King, using her nickname for her little brother as she laughed in joy at the fun time she had. "Looks like you, unsurprisingly, win again. I have to admit, that was a good play, I didn't even see it until it was too late!"

"That is the point of a good trap," Quatre answered as he set up the pieces again. "How about you, Abu? Wish to play a little bit while we let Iria recover her pride?"

"Ah, no my son," Rabban Winner answered with a laugh. He ruffled his son's blonde hair, so different from his own brown, in an affectionate gesture. "I am afraid that a father's pride does not as easily recover when his son thoroughly beats him at chess, I am still recovering from our last encounter!"

All three shared a laugh, until Iria was seized with a coughing fit. Quatre hurried up to help her towards the fire, despite the murderous looks his other sisters and step-mother were giving him and rubbed comforting circles on her back. Leaving his ill sister with Shaara and Maya, the twins and his other two fully related sisters, Quatre hurried off to grab a threadbare blanket from his own bed, accompanied with her own, to try and provide the ailing girl some warmth. Gripping both pieces of cloth, he caught snatches of an argument between his father and step-mother.

"…only getting worse! You must marry off that…"

"I won't force…another way…in due time…"

"Foolish man! We'll freeze…she'll die within a moon…"

"Leave it be, Une…" his father trailed off. He walked over to where Iria was still coughing something terrible. His grip on the blankets became death-like as Lady Une turned and caught his blue eyes with her hard brown ones. She didn't say anything out loud to him, but he knew what she was thinking…he could feel it in the way she stared at him. He was her ticket out of poverty, a poverty she believed she did not deserve seeing as she married Rabban Winner when he was still quite wealthy and respected, and it was time he, Quatre, start seeing that. The blond held her gaze until she turned away to mutter amidst the older children once more, something he was quite proud of, but the hopelessness filled his eyes when those awful brown eyes were gone.

It was a lose-lose situation right now for him…he might as well pick the option that at least enabled his family some comfort.

He was about to voice this aloud, already apologizing to his mother because he had not waited, had not waited for love as promised, but stopped when the wind outside began to howl furiously. The wind was followed by a thunderous pounding on the cottage door, a sound that made nearly every Winner daughter scream, and hysteria followed quickly. Quatre heard one of his older sisters, Nedena, scream that there was a giant, white beast outside in the storm, and that only inspired more screaming to ensue, this time about how they were all about to become a meal. Quatre seriously doubted that a beast, no matter what its size, was going to be able to eat ALL twenty-nine of his sisters in one sitting, but wisely kept this opinion to himself.

Quatre let everyone get their fear out before asking his father in a calm voice, "Abu, has the beast tried to break down the door?"

"No, he is only pounding on it," Rabban answered his son with a curious inflection in his tone.

"And, is this beast large enough to break down the door if it wanted to?"

"Yes, it is quite large," Rabban answered with a frown forming on his face, now lost in his thoughts and not noticing his youngest child make his way over to the door until the blonde boy was there. "Quatre, what are you--?"

"If the beast is big enough to knock down the door," Quatre explained as a collective gasp was given by his family when he placed his hand on the door knob. "And it hasn't yet I do not think it means any harm. I think it just wants to get out of the storm."

Without waiting for anyone to voice an opposite opinion, Quatre flung the door wide open and stepped aside for the mystery beast to enter. Which it did, a large, white paw coming in first before the rest of the snowy-white body appeared; it lifted its black nose up into the air and gave a big sniff before closing the door behind itself with an equally large hind paw. The beast swiveled its head back around to a face an astonished looking Quatre, nodding as if in thanks before sitting down as a dog would. It was Quatre who recovered first, sensing with that special way of his that this being (for Quatre did not believe beast accurately described this animal anymore) was here for a purpose and not a danger.

"Hello, Sir Bear," Quatre addressed the animal politely with a small smile on his face. "We welcome you into our home…please make yourself comfortable."

The bear answered with a whuff as he ambled over to the fire, sending twenty eight girls and a woman scattering back. Quatre could swear he saw the bear smile with its eyes when his sisters ran away from it, but he shrugged it off and followed the bear, who had elected to sit beside Iria and the fire. After a few minutes of tense silence, the rest of his sisters deemed the bear was not threatening and slowly made their way over to him, which then quickly morphed into them petting the bear and commenting on how pretty it was. Quatre backed away and listened to his father ask politely, albeit a bit nervously, "Sir Bear, might I enquire as to the reason of your visit?"

The bear nodded and gave another whuff as it turned its head around to a pack of supplies on its back and pulled out a piece of parchment. It was a letter, very ornate and sealed in wax with an emblem that looked like a man carrying many sparking firearms about his torso, and the bear held it clutched between its jaws, obviously waiting for someone to grab it. Quatre gave a sigh and took it from the bear, smiling apologetically at the annoyed looking animal, and took it to his father. Rabban opened it and the entire, crowded room of people seemed to get eerily quiet as the patriarch of the poor family began reading the contents.

"'To the heir of the Winner family…'" Rabban began. He took no note of how every female head turned towards a red looking Quatre before swiveling back on him. "'…I am writing to ask for your hand, as you have who has bewitched me mind, body and soul…'"

Now Quatre was definitely red in the face and trying, discreetly, to sink into the far wall of the cottage. He heard his sisters start muttering amongst themselves and he could practically hear Lady Une asking the letter how much this mystery writer was going to give her for her blessing. He heard Iria give a startled gasp and then start giggling at how embarrassed her little brother looked, and his father looked like his dark eyes were about to bulge out of his head any second. Quatre gave the bear a reproachful look, finding the one bearing the letter the only scapegoat at the time, but turned his face away when the bear just leveled him with look.

"Uh, '…I am prepared to pay a monthly stipend for the welfare of your family should you accept my proposal, one that will assure that they live out the rest of their days in modest luxury, and understand that it may take time for the you to give a reply. I present you with this Bear, a trusted friend of mine who knows me better than most, and he will wait until a decision has been made. If I am declined, then he will give you a payment for your troubles of housing him, but if I am accepted, he will you deep into the Fey woods and beyond where my Kingdom dwells…'"

"The Fey forest?!" Iria blurted out, unable to keep her disapproval from her stormy blue eyes. "Father, you cannot possibly be considering this?! Those forests are haunted and--"

"Quiet Iria!" Lady Une snapped. Her brown eyes were full of greed as she rested her eyes on an ever cringing Quatre before focusing on the ill girl again. "Let your father finish!"

"Where was I…'…where my Kingdom dwells. I await your response and hope that I may hear from you soon. Sincerely, Prince Trowa of the Tria Colonies.'" Rabban dropped the letter from his view and stared at his mortified looking son, at a lost for words until nearly every sister began arguing that it wasn't fair that the youngest be married first. To a prince no doubt! Shaara and Maya, who were closest to their younger brother after Iria, tried to calm the others, but to no avail; then, Lady Une spoke aloud.

"Quiet, all of you!" She snapped, drawing even the bear's somewhat detached expression to attention. "You are all arguing as if any of you have any choice in the matter! The choice is up to your father and I, and I say if this union lets all of us live a better life than what we have now, then we agree to this prince's proposal!" Many sisters began agreeing with their step-mother, finding logic in her solution…with the money this prince was offering, they would no be able to afford dowries and marry off themselves!

"What are you talking about?" Iria yelled hoarsely. She rose to her feet, shaking with rage instead of sickness for once. "It's not anyone's decision but Quatre's! Father, tell them! They can't force Quatre into this!" She was forced to stop her tirade very early due to a coughing fit that had overtaken her again. Lady Une narrowed her dark eyes in a calculating manner before speaking aloud again.

"If you do this Quatre, we can provide for your sister's health once more!" Her voice was smooth and confident, as if she knew no matter how stubborn her step-son was this would convince him. "We'll be able to provide for her in a way never thought possible, and your sisters can finally be married! Don't you want to see them happy? Will you doom us to a life of poverty?"

Lady Une was cut off by a low and angry growl as the Bear narrowed his dark eyes on the woman threateningly, getting to his feet and causing the sisters to cry out in fear once more. With one last growl at the offending family, the Bear turned his head to look over at the still motionless boy, seeming to ask for his own answer and not that of his family's. Quatre lifted his blue eyes to that of the Bear and asked quietly, "May I have a week to decide, Sir Bear, before I give you an answer? Please?"

The Bear nodded his head with another whuff and glared at the family, as if daring any to contradict the boy's request. None said a word, and none were spoken when Quatre carried Iria out of the front room and back into the bedrooms, eyes curiously focused on the air before him. The Bear gave a content grunt as he curled down on the rug before the extinguished fire to sleep, paying no mind to arguing whispers that filled the room until late in the night.

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A week passed with no other event, and it seemed as if Quatre had still not decided on what his answer would be, much to his step-mother's dismay. She continued to hiss that he would ruin any chance of saving his sisters from a life of destitution and that he owed it to her to go and marry this prince. He wouldn't answer her.

So, it was on the seventh day's dusk that Quatre made his way out to his boulder and tried to clear his head of everything that could influence his decision. It didn't work though, he realized it after about two minutes, but it wasn't until after nearly an hour that he just let out a strangled yell to the darkening skies in frustration. The frustration quickly melted into despair and the boy slumped down the side of the rock and just sat there, dead to the world. It was only when he heard the familiar sound of paw steps that he looked up and was met with the Bear's face. The animal was regarding the blond boy with what appeared to be concern, curiosity, and…sadness?

"Bear," Quatre said softly as he looked into the bear's dark eyes. "I'm sorry, but I still don't know what I should do. I want to help my family, I really do…I was going to accept another proposal from a Lord in the village that very night you came in order to help them! But…if I go with you, even though I'll help them for longer and Iria will be able to see an actual Healer, I'll never see them again, will I? And, I don't even know this prince of yours! How can he feel all what he wrote in the letter without ever meeting me?"

The Bear looked at him softly, his eyes saying, I know him, and believe me, it truth all what he feel for you. Quatre shrugged half-heartedly, but and he looked away from the Bear and towards the sky. "I promised my mother when I was a boy that I would marry someone I truly love, not for money or for power as so many people do nowadays. She loved my father very much, and I…I wanted that feeling. I knew if I accepted Lord Kushrenada's proposal, I would give that up, but I would still have the love of my family nearby…if I accept your prince's, will I even be left with that?"

The Bear let out a whuff of agreement and sat down beside the despairing boy to try and comfort him it seemed. Quatre rested his head against the Bear's soft, fluffy fur and asked quietly, "You really think your prince spoke truly in his letter, Bear?"

The Bear let out a vehement whuff.

"And…and do you think I can feel the same way after time, even though I have never met him?"

Quatre saw the conflict within the Bear as he attempted to answer the question, and wondered if all animals from within the Fey were this intelligent and loyal to their masters, before getting a good look at the Bear's face. He had dark eyes, Quatre knew this, but as close as he was he could see their pigment; an amazing forest green that put emeralds to shame. Quatre, without really knowing why he was doing it, reached out with his 'gift' and felt what the Bear felt…it was a true belief that Quatre would feel what this Prince Trowa felt after time…almost like a determination. Quatre smiled at the Bear, his mind made up, though a part of him still loathed the decision.

"Come, Bear," Quatre said. He pushed himself to his feet and rested his left hand on the Bear's back. "I have made my choice and must tell my family…I just hope that Iria doesn't hate me for this." The Bear shot Quatre a look that seemed to reassure the thought that his sister would understand, but remained silent the entire way back to the cottage. Quatre amusedly thought that this is what a prisoner sentenced to death might feel like…this horrible sensation that you had missed out on so much in life and now were never going to experience it.

He walked into his home with his head held high, even though inside he felt like screaming, and kept his expression calm while every head, including that of Lady Une, pivoted around to look at him. He gave Iria a small, defeated smile and ignored her shaking head as he opened his mouth and voiced his decision. "I've decided to accept the proposal from Prince Trowa…it's the best way I can help Iria and all the rest of you. Sir Bear, of you would be so kind as to give me a few moments to say my farewells and then I will be ready to go."

He heard protests from about half of his sisters and 'thank yous' from the other half, but tried to tune them out. The Bear nodded and reached back, pulling down a bundle off his back with his teeth, dropping it to the floor in front of Quatre…obviously indicating that whatever was in the pack was for him. The blond boy curiously peeked inside as he felt the Bear's massive paw push him into one of the bedrooms, finding what looked like traveling clothes inside, along with other various tools for a long journey. Sighing, he quickly pulled off his current clothing and changed into the garments given to him by the Bear, only briefly wondering how someone from the prince's palace had been able to get his measurements.

The pants were soft and flexible leather, dark brown with the same color stitching, and Quatre tucked the ends into the durable riding boots he had received. He slipped on the tunic and jerkin next, both a dark blue that were darker than the teal color of his eyes, and next the dark brown riding gloves. There was a cape in the pack as well, a marvelously crafted piece that was the color of the sky with white stitching all across that depicted a journey across a desert, but Quatre opted to fasten that once outside and away from the cottage. He looked up at himself in the dingy mirror and tried to shove down the feeling of dread that he was met with…he looked like some little lordling in all these clothes.

When he walked back out, he was met with many compliments from his sisters at how handsome and grown up he looked…maybe getting away from the baby treatment was a positive sign in all of this. He said goodbye to each and every sister, paying extra attention to Shaara and Maya before leaving off with Iria. She was seated by their father, looking like everything was her fault…the expression didn't look good on her face.

"It's my own choice, Iria," Quatre said softly. She took his hands in her own shaking ones. A lone tear had escaped one of her blue eyes and she looked like she wanted to either throttle her little brother or hug him senseless. She opted for the latter and squeezed the blond to her with all the strength her weak body had.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Cat," Iria murmured into his hair and let him pull out of the hug after a few minutes. "I don't want you to feel as if you have to do this…I don't need a Healer, baby brother, don't do this just because Une…"

"I'm not, Iria," Quatre said, only halfway feeling it inside…he hated lying but a little white lie wasn't going to hurt anyone. "Besides, we both know something like this would have happened eventually…it was just a matter of whom and when. I want you to be happy Iria…be happy, get healthy, and find someone you love…one of us as to keep our promise to Mother, right?" He said the last part as a joke, but that didn't mean it didn't sting inside. He pressed a kiss to her temple, one which she returned on his forehead and murmured, "I love you, big sister," before turning away to meet his father and step-mother.

Quatre spared no words for Lady Une, to which her only response was a cruel and triumphant smirk before sweeping back towards the rest for the family. Rabban stared at his son for a moment before embracing the blonde and whispering, "I'm sorry, my child." He turned away before he lost the composure Quatre felt was slipping. He didn't look back as he walked out of the cottage, it would have been harder that way, and kept the calm face in place until he heard the door close behind him.

He looked down to the gently snow-covered ground, the first of the year and a bit early, clutching the satchel in his hand tighter as he felt something warm drip down his cheek. He turned back for a brief moment and whispered, "Wadaarhan," to the house and family he had known all his life before wiping away the tear and turning his back on the cottage once more.

It was useless to get upset about it now; he repeated that mantra to himself as he steeled his gaze and looked back up, finding the Bear looking at him intently. "Well, Sir Bear," Quatre said with a sad smile as he placed a hand on the Bear's back. "I suppose we should be off…thank you for waiting."

The Bear let out a soft whuff as he helped the blond boy climb on top his back; it seemed he didn't mind waiting. Quatre took a moment to get adjusted properly on the Bear; he had ridden horses when he was little, but the Bear had slippery fur and it was hard to keep balance. Once situated, the Bear took off at a steady pace, getting farther and farther away from the house and closer to the Fey Woods, where inside somewhere a prince was waiting for them both. Quatre spared one last glance at his childhood home before the Bear entered the woods, praying to Allah that the feeling of dread he had would dissipate soon.

One chapter of his life had ended, and it seemed another was beginning…Quatre just hoped that the next chapter wouldn't end sooner than the first…

TBC…

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Edited chapter for structure, clarity, and grammar. Enjoy!