In a lush and vast woodland somewhere in the east, right behind the big mountain pass a lone boy was wandering though the forest path. His hair and eyes were deep black, as was normal for his people, and his skin tan from working outside.

The dark haired boy had been wandering the woods for hours on end, but what he was searching for was nowhere to be found. The boy, whose name was Jinyoung, let out a frustrated groan and plopped down under the shade of a huge tree trunk. His feet were aching and his throat was dry. The water skin he carried with him had been empty for hours and try as he might the dark haired boy simply couldn’t find a river, or even the slightest bit of water.

“Am I really going to fail and just die of thirst in this bloody forest?” Jinyoung muttered to himself. Even though almost no sunlight reached the grounds of the woods the air was humid and warm, making it hard to breath. The dark haired boy thought about the danger his mother was in. The elderly woman had fallen terribly sick and Jinyoung was supposed to search out someone who could cure her. It was a dangerous mission, his father warned him about the enchanting powers druids had on the common folk and told him to be careful not to be pulled in by the druid.

The dark haired boy let a pained sigh escape his chapped lips as he tried to stand up again. His feet felt like lead and he felt faint. The dizziness only increased with each step he took yet before he could get very far he fainted.

====

As Jinyoung slowly opened his eyes he saw only one colour. Vibrant red filled his vision and for a moment the boy thought he had died or that he was bleeding, but the colour looked gentler somehow. More like red flower petals then blood. The dark haired boy closed his eyes tightly and when he opened them after a moment he looked at curious, wide eyes that seemed like a bottomless pit. The person whom the eyes belonged to moved their head back and Jinyoung could finally see where the red colour came from.

The boy in front of him, he seemed about his age, had messy red hair, the pale skin of someone who does not know even a day of hard labour and luscious pink lips. Jinyoung slowly sat up as the stranger handed him a water skin, of which he first took a sip, but then proceeded to gulp down the whole thing. Only after he was finished drinking did the dark haired boy realise that the other boy was wearing a dark green cloak and his eyes widened in realisation.

“You’re a druid.” His voice came out breathy and his eyes widened in awe. He had never imagined they would look like this. Jinyoung always imagined druids to be old and overgrown with plants and warts, not a young boy who looks like a flower come to life. “Thank you for saving me.” He Jinyoung added, not forgetting his manners. The boy looked at him for a long second, the expression in his eyes like that of a young roe, trusting and pure. After a heartbeat a smile appeared on the druid’s lips and Jinyoung could see sharp canine teeth and wondered for a second if the rumour about druids eating people was true.

“My name is Mark.” The druid suddenly said. His voice surprised Jinyoung and sent shivers down his spine; he spoke with an accent and his voice sounded like butterflies were drowning in honey. Jinyoung had to gulp audibly, his throat once again dry because of nervousness. He could already feel the druids enchanting powers work on him; it was making him feel slightly dazed and as if he swallowed some flying insects that were now deranging his stomach.

“I’m Jinyoung.” The dark haired boy managed to choke out. The other’s brows furrowed as he softly repeated Jinyoung’s name to himself.

“Your name is weird.” Mark said childishly and Jinyoung gaped at him.

“My name is weird?” He said, flabbergasted. Fighting with a druid probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, so he stopped himself from pointing out how weird the other’s name was. He had to get into the druid’s good graces if he wanted his help. “Maybe it’s a little weird.” Jinyoung mumbled and could see the red head nod his head in agreement. “I’ve been searching for you.” The dark haired boy continued with a soft voice, hoping that would reassure the other of his sincerity. Mark looked at him with surprise but didn’t say anything. “My mother, she is very sick and I need your help. I don’t have any gold or money but I offer you my service in return for you healing her.” Jinyoung sat up completely and knelt in front of the druid, bowing his head low. His father told him it was better to be humble in front of the magic folk then pretentious.

Jinyoung stayed in that kneeling position for a few moments, he was getting more and more anxious by the second that Mark might refuse him. Than he felt gentle fingers touch his head and he slowly sat up again to lock eyes with the druid. Mark’s expression was open and gentle and Jinyoung caught himself thinking that the magic folk weren’t so bad after all.

“I’ll help you.” Jinyoung’s eyes widened and he smiled brightly at the druid’s words. “But in compensation for the help I want your heart.” Immediately the dark haired boy paled and his expression faltered.

“You want to eat my heart?” His voice sounded small and scared. How could he choose between his own life and that of his mother? Of course he loved her dearly, she was his mother, but he was only nineteen years old, he had all his life in front of him and so may things he still wanted to do and see.

The druid smiled, all canine teeth and gentle eyes and Jinyoung wondered how much he must have been enjoying this.

“Why would I want to eat your heart? I only feast on what the earth gives me. Druids don’t eat meat.” Mark explained calmly and Jinyoung released a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. Maybe he should forget the predisposition of druids that he has. “I don’t want to eat your heart I want to have it. It is incredibly lonely in the forest and from the moment I saw you laying on the ground I knew that it was fate.” Jinyoung could feel a blush spread across his cheeks and he swallowed nervously. Does that mean the druid was in love with him?

Mark’s hand softly took hold of his and he handed him a leather pouch.

“You will find your mother’s medicine in here.” The red head’s eyes shone and Jinyoung couldn’t look away anymore. “Go to her as quickly as possible. She will be healed and if you find you want to settle your debt come and find me here.” Mark’s warm and pale finger’s slid out of his and Jinyoung quickly grabbed his wrist to hold him there.

“You’re not coming with me?” He sounded sad and he didn’t even know exactly why. Mark shook his pretty red head and Jinyoung’s grip tightened.

“I’m a druid, I belong in the forest. And if you want to give your heart away it has to be your own choice, I only asked for it, I will not force you to stay with me.” Mark smiled at him but his smile seemed lonely.

Jinyoung expected him to say something else, instead the red head leant forward and his lips gently touched his own. The taste of honey filled Jinyoung’s mouth and the scent of morning dew and pines imprinted itself into his mind. The dark haired boy closed his eyes and pressed a little closer. From one moment to the next the feathery touch of Mark’s pink lips was gone and when he opened his eyes he was alone again.

====

It took Jinyoung three days to get to his village. Mark left him a rather large bag with enough provision, which made his journey home reasonably easier.

Just as promised his mother got better the next day after taking the medicine. Jinyoung told his father about what had happened in the forest and as expected the old man told him not to go and that he was lucky enough that he escaped the sly druid’s clutches. He didn’t think that Mark was sly, but he listened to his father.

Life continued on as if nothing happened, yet Jinyoung would find himself dreaming about hair as red as flower petals and lips as soft as velvet, he could feel his yearning for the druid and knew that whether he wanted or not Mark had already taken his heart.

A year passed by and Jinyoung’s heart became heavy and tired. He no longer had the energy to force smiles for his family or go to the tavern to drink with his friends. He yearned for the forest, for the taste of honey and the smell of morning dew and pines.

One warm summer night when his family was in deep slumber he wrote a letter to tell them goodbye and that they shouldn’t worry about him or search for him.

After a year his memory was fuzzy and it took him almost a week to reach the path in the forest he had walked before. Everything looked just the same, but he worried if he would be able to find the druid again, after all the woods were vast and Mark may have already given up on him.

As he reached the place where he fainted last year he stopped to take a sip from his water skin only to find it empty. His brows furrowed in confusion, as he clearly remembered it being half full the last time he drank from it. A soft laugh made him turn around and he came face to face with Mark, who looked exactly as Jinyoung remembered him. His skin glowing and lips pink like ripe raspberries.

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t take my heart by force?” Jinyoung said in a stern voice. The druid only cocked his vibrant red head and smiled sweetly.

“I didn’t take it, you gave it to me when you accepted my kiss.” The dark haired boy’s gaze softened and he smiled, stepping closer.

Finally he got to smell the scent of morning dew and pine and taste the sweet honey again.