Hero emerged from the bushes, dragging a dead pig behind him. He caught sight of Melanie playing with the pages of his notebook, which was left on the rock with a quill for Arache.

He sat down and the pig sprawled out on the rock beside him. "Interested?" He asked Melanie.

Melanie's eyebrows furrowed as she muttered, "I can't read." Hero sat there, fidgeting after that awkward moment. He then remembered that the mysterious Arache might have left a note.

He slowly took the notebook from Melanie and flipped to the first almost empty page, with his neat handwriting in the top left hand corner. He grinned to himself as it was accompanied with a messy one underneath.

Who are you? What are you? I won't tell my name, yet. Why don't you show yourself? -P.

Assuming 'P' stands for Princess. That's your name now. My last name is Arache, and since you're secretive with yours, I will be as well with mine. For your second question, I'm... No one. -Arache

That fucker.

Hero found himself smirking to himself as he scribbled his response.

Oh hush. I'm sure you're something, at least. P actually stands for Persson, and that's my last name as well but... Princess sounds better.

I like it.

So, what's your gender? Arache can be for anyone, really. Oh, and how old are you?

-Princess

He chuckled as he left the quill alone and told Melanie, "I'll be back in a bit. I'll give drop this by the cabin and get back with more chores to do."

Melanie pouted and whined, "Why can't you stay and swim?"

Hero winked and replied softly, "Because I won't get a reply from Arache that way." Melanie shook her head in mock disappointment.

"He wrote a note just yesterday and he left you infatuated already, hah!"

"Indeed he has. Or she."

•••••••Arache's Perspective••••••••

Watching Princess leave, I tightened my hold on the branch eagerly. I watched him swing the pig on his shoulder with a grunt and sighed blissfully as he walked back to the trees.

And him, infatuated, with me?

That's something that'll make my night.

I chuckled to myself, laughing at my own sexual innuendo. I really need more spider friends.

I leaped down from the branch, the mermaid staring at me with a raised eyebrow. She scoffed and spat, "You're the Arache guy? Disappointing."

My hand flew to my chest in mock offense as I muttered, "Ouch."

She jumped from the water and pulled herself to the rock, watching me write. She asked after a while, "What does it say?"

I cocked my head at her. I gestured to the page and flipped it around so it was facing her. She groaned and yelled, "I can't read!"

I rolled my eyes and read my note aloud.

Yes, Princess sounds much better. I am a male, unless you would like to meet up and check whether I'm lying?

I'm 19. What about you? You look very young, actually. Also, random question, but what's your favorite flower and the color of said flower?

-Arache

Melanie stared at the notebook before laughing like a horse. She fell backwards on the water and came back to the surface, still chuckling.

"Honey, you're doing it wrong! If you want to get in the boy's pants-whatever they're called- you gotta use your words. Give him an idea of you, strong and handsome, even when you're not."

Okay. Ouch. That really hurt.

She leaned over and whispered advice to me, while I jotted good ideas down. I hope he likes it though.

○

When Hero got back, Melanie was surprisingly gone. His notebook was open though, with his quill sitting beside it.

He leaned down to pick his satchel up, and read the note. There was one that was crossed out horrendously, but another followed.

You want to see me, huh? Such an eager one. I'm also much older than you, but don't worry about the age difference, unless its your thing, which I wholeheartedly support, of course.

If you want to visualize what I look like, here's a few tips.

I'm pretty tall, have ebony hair and a slightly dark skin. I have unique eyes as well as a good tongue. And if you want me to explain my appearance further, I have quite the large-

Hero stopped reading.

He laughed bitterly to himself and ran a shivering hand through his hair. He did visualize everything written down, and boy did he dream. This Arache person has been messing with his head, and his sexuality.

He muttered under his breath, "I'm too young for this shit, honestly..."

Meanwhile Arache watched from his tree, silently thanking Melanie for all the help he received. The reaction from the Swedish boy was quite enticing for Arache.

He chuckled heartily before sliding down the branch and fleeing the forest.

○

As Hero barged into his brother's room with a red face, Markus stopped his studying and turned to face his older brother. "What's got your panties in a twist, ¹storebror?"

Hero shook his head before collapsing onto his brother's bed, groaning. He raised his head, "I feel weird."

Markus smirked and explained in a sarcastic tone, "Ah, you see, dear brother,
at your age, is called 'puberty'. When you see a pretty lady like Dianne, you tend to get a-"

"Shut up. I know. But Dianne doesn't... Ew ," he muttered.

Markus just laughed, mocking his flustered brother. He cleared his throat, "Okay. Okay, I'm all ears, what?"

Hero kept quiet, his eyes scanning the messy handwriting in his research book again, his cheeks growing more and more pink. His younger brother just watched, his smile growing wider as Hero grew more bashful.

"Never mind."

Hero left.

○

"Your son was destined to be my representative, my child. He has to go through this."

"I know, I know... It just hurts to know that my son will go through so much without me doing anything about it."

"I know how you feel, Mrs. Persson. My sisters have taken away something important from their own representatives. But I need your approval, what should I take away from him?"

"Why would you have to do that?!"

"The power I'll give him is very powerful and his rather small frame simply can not hold all of it. Something must be taken away to be replaced with the core I'll give him."

Silence.

"I know this is difficult, my child. But my sisters' representatives have had the same treatment."

"What were taken away from them, then?"

"Both had their human eyes taken away."

"Take away my son's eyes, then."

"Are you sure about that? He might go blind, Mrs. Persson."

"He's strong, trust me, my Lady."

○

Hero woke up the next day, and he walked down the stairs with a yawn and sat himself on the dining table instead of a chair, lazily grabbing a strawberry and eating it in one bite.

Dianne and Markus were staring at him strangely. Ivan was busy cleaning the bowls and knives.

Dianne muttered under her breath, "Is it just me or are your eyes different today?"

Ivan turned, leaning towards his adoptive son. "I don't know... They seem brighter."

Markus didn't say anything, and just narrowed his eyes. Hero shrugged.

▓

Translations:

Swedish:
1- Big brother.