I own nothing. This story uses the Japanese names for characters and may be changed at a later point. I am aware that Kamui spent most of her time imprisoned in the Northern Fortress (Source Marx and Kamui's support dialogue), but I find it difficult to believe that Kamui wouldn't at least have tried to escape a few times for fun when young.

Thank you for the wonderful reviews and follows/favorites, they are greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoy this semi-sequel.

His sister is a liar.

It is not entirely odd for Camilla to frequently tell elaborate, fib-filled tales, but she has gone too far this time, Leon muses as he picks stray leaves from his hair.

The bottom of Leon's trousers are soiled from the mud; he had discarded his coat soon after leaving the Northern Fortress, so his white under-shirt has a large tear in the sleeve from his travels through the forest. He does not know how long he has been lost, but when the prince left the castle walls it was just after his morning meal; he was separated from his retainers no more than an hour later. Judging by how high the sun is in the sky and the sticky sweat layered under his clothes and on his brow, Leon knows it's well past midday.

Leon clenches his fists as he walks over the crackling leaves and twigs; Camilla again proves to be untrustworthy. The Northern Fortress was nowhere near as frightening as she had whispered during story time. There are no ghosts, bogeys, monsters, or even shadows to pursue him through the halls at night, Leon knows with absolute certainty. He had even checked by sneaking out of his room on the first night, hoping to encounter the beasts.

After such a disappointment, Leon knows he should not have believed the last of Camilla's tales, he truly does, but even the tomes he had studied told the same stories. Certainly, both the tomes and his sister's tales cannot both lie.

They speak of a forest of permanent pale green, even under the deepest snows, of a sparkling, bubbling pond that never freezes and faeries that dance over its waters, and caves filled with icicles taller than him – in the winter, at least. Leon was unable to find any tales of the forest and faeries in the summer, though he doubted that they would just run off or disappear. It is up to him to discern the truth for everyone.

Leon is not one to give up, but even he begins to ponder if learning the truth of the summer forest is worth the trouble. He long ago lost track of the fortress and is unsure of which direction to go in order to return to his family for supper; at the very thought of a meal his empty stomach complains and demands fulfillment. The young prince presses his lips together and frowns, wanting nothing more than to sit on a stump and rub his sore, damp feet and then turn around and go home. Instead of giving into the desire, strong as it is, Leon thinks of his older brother and his perseverance. Marx wouldn't give up; his older sibling would persevere, like a hero who journeys to slay a dragon and save a princess. Just like Leon must.

"Who are you?" A highly pitched, strangely-accented voice snaps Leon from his fantasies of epic journeys and fair maidens.

Leon stops as quickly as he can, heart racing, as he searches for the source of the voice, his head rapidly turning to the left and right, but there's no one to be found, even behind him. Swallowing and pressing his back to the closest tree, Leon grasps his fists together, digging his nails into his palms, breathing rapidly. It takes all of his strength to speak and he is satisfied when the words come out loudly enough for an entire room to hear, as his mother had taught. "I'm Prince Leon, second son of Emperor Garon of Nohr!"

There is none of the usual pride at the declaration and Leon continues to look around for the source of the voice, senses heightened to the point where it feels as if each breath is a roar. The prince is unsure if he is excited, terrified, or both.

"Up here, silly!" The voice continues and Leon immediately looks up into the tree his back is pressed against, where a small girl is rocking on a low, thick branch not far above him. "Hmm. . ." She looks down on the young prince and seems to examine him, with her odd repeated 'hmmms' and 'aaaahs' before continuing. "…Don't wanna go back yet." The girl sighs as she climbs down off of the branch and hops to the ground beside him.

Leon has no idea what she means by "not wanting to go back," but he knows that there are far more important matters for them to discuss. "Are you a faerie?" He demands, once he has a good look at the girl. The creature appears to not be much older than him and wears a simple white dress with no shoes; her hair and skin are pale, much lighter than even his, but what stands out to Leon is her ears and eyes. The red of her eyes is inhuman and no normal person has ears that long. The prince knows immediately that this creature is one of the faeries his sister and the tales describe.

The child offers no answer and instead gives the prince a quizzical look as she examines him silently.

"Only faeries live in the forest." Leon stubbornly continues, requiring an admission. The girl's refusal to answer only makes Leon more certain that he is right. It seems Camilla had not lied to him, after all.

For a moment, the child stops her curious examination of the prince and appears to think, tilting her head to the side. "I haven't seen any faeries." The girl looks somewhere to her left as she continues to think, her tussled hair falling in front of her face. "But if you're not here to take me back, I think I know where we can find them. Come on!"

With alarming boldness, the faerie pulls at Leon's arm and drags him rapidly through the woods. The girl clearly knows where she's going as she darts between trees, jumps over fallen logs, and presses through the understory. Leon is barely able to keep up without tripping and stumbling, but he refuses to admit the weakness and embarrass himself in front of the foreign creature.

The Prince is completely winded by the time the girl finally stops at what appears to be a small meadow. Leon falls to his knees, water soaking through his trousers as he gasps for breath, the smell of wet soil and grasses overwhelming his senses. The girl doesn't seem very tired at all, and dances forward, grasping her hands behind her back as she looks down on the prince with a smile on her face.

"What are you waiting for? The faeries have to be here and you'll never find them if you just sit there!"

The faerie laughs and runs off as Leon pushes himself to his feet. The meadow is larger than he first thought, with tall grass surrounded by even taller trees on all sides, much like a forest oasis. The bubbling, unfreezing pool the stories speak of is in the center of the area, with a small creek running out into the forest on each side of the meadow, the soft trickle of moving water the only natural source of sound in the area.

The sun is still high in the sky, making the meadow warm and humid, but Leon finds his earlier pain has dissipated and that he doesn't quite want to return to the Fortress so soon, no matter how angry his mother may get. The faerie continues her twisting dance through the grasses and shallow waters, her skin and dress seemingly never dirtying, always pale and glistening. The sunlight dances through her hair and her red eyes emote more life in this short moment than he has ever seen directed towards him from anyone in the castle.

The summer faerie twirls back to him with a smile and laughter as warm as the sun and offers Leon her hand. The young prince grasps the girl without fear, knowing he no longer needs to search; he's already found the faerie he's dreamed of.

Camilla is going to be terribly envious.