The small hut seemed to hover on the edge of the branches and made Alex nervous. Nevertheless, the two princes stepped into the space at the insistence of the white and grey feathered bird man that hopped about to give them blankets made of fine spun cloth and cups of warm, steaming soup that tasted beyond heavenly after the herbs they had been eating for days.

"Is that carrots? I think I taste onions too." Alex hummed with pleasure as he sipped the broth. The little bird grinned at them and offered Vincent a large hunk of what seemed to be bread. He thanked the man and took a big bite.

"Oh my gods, this is heavenly. So light and sweet...." He closed his eyes and savoured the taste upon his lips. It was very different from the bread they had at home, but still delicious.

"Is that... do I taste honey?" Alex licked his lips and the bird man nodded to them.

"Yash, it is honey lettle lords." He fumbled with the speech, but the two boys smiled at him.

"Thank you so much! It is delicious." Alex bowed a little to the small man and he nodded back, handing them further cups of water.

"Eat, eat. So tiny for lords. No wings, tsk. Not chosen by the moon goddess for her revels. How strange, how very strange." The bird man shook his head.

"Have you seen men before then?" Vincent asked the man. The man nodded his head with a grin.

"Yash, yash. Men come before to revel under the moon. Stumble through the gate. Lost and hungry. You are not lost though, eh eh?" He tilted his head curiously.

"No, not lost. Just hungry." Alex admitted with a grin.

"Interesting that you found the gate. Yash, verily most do not find if they search thousand years." The man narrowed his eyes as he looked at the two boys eating heartily.

"A little bird helped us." Alex mumbled around a piece of bread.

"And a Great Stag showed us the way." Vincent mused at the memory of the great beast with its enormous antlers.

"Interesting... interesting. Get some rest lettle men lords. See what brings with our sister the sun." The bird man exited through the wooden door and left the two boys to curl up on the round, carved wooden bed twisted with green vines to hang from the ceiling.

"Do you think the Fae king will help us?" Alex asked Vincent with a big yawn. Vincent pulled his love close and nuzzled his nose into the soft hair.

"I truly hope so." He murmured before falling into a deep sleep.

When the boys woke, it was with the feeling that they had entered into a dream. They looked to see their bed was made, not of wood but of an oversized shell. The stuffing was in fact large feathers and woodland fluff covered in the same cloth of their blankets. A small female came bustling in with a bowl of fruit pieces. On her back was a glittering set of wings.

Alex gaped at the girl for a moment before tumbling out of the bed. Vincent tried to catch him but missed. The girl made a small 'oh' sound and came to help him up with a smile. She saw his gaze turned to look at her wings and giggled. She turned and fluttered them lightly for him. He clapped his hands gleefully.

"Oh they are so pretty!" He exclaimed to Vincent. His love was hopping with excitement at the discovery that the past night had not been a dream, but reality.

"Yes, they are indeed. Come and eat what the kind Fae girl has brought us." He shooed the boy to the seats made of small stumps and took the bowl of fruits the girl handed him gratefully. He did not recognize some of the pieces, and nibbled on them tentatively to see if he liked them. One was rather sour, but Alex seemed to like it anyways so he gave the pieces to him to eat instead.

The cups were filled with a warm milky substance that tasted a little sweet and had bits of petals floating in it. Vincent was looking at it all wondering what it could be. The girl watched them and offered cups of water to drink also. When she offered more food and drink, he pointed at the pieces and asked her what it was.

"This, what fruit is this?" He asked. She looked at him uncertainly. Alex watched them for a second, then waved her attention to him. He began pointing to the ones they knew.

"Orange, apple, grapefruit, grapes, strawberry, blueberry..." He said each one's names and then pointed to the ones they did not know with a questioning gaze. She made that 'oh' sound again and smiled.

"Citron, physalis, persimmon, rambutan, carambola, pomegranate, loquat, sapodilla." The strange names rolled off her tongue as she pointed to the different things in the bowl. The boys smiled and thanked her. She just shook her head at them and pushed more drinks for them to have.

"What is this?" Vincent asked of the milky drink. The girl giggled, recognizing the way he pointed to it this time.

"Co-conut, ah, wit violet blossoms." She pronounced carefully. He nodded thoughtfully. It was not bad tasting.

"I think the flowers makes it a little sweet." Alex commented to his love. Vincent nodded as they finished as much of the fruit as they dared. The winged girl took away anything they did not consume and they waited for a bit in the small hut. They decided they would wait for someone to come and get them.

There was plenty inside the place to look at in the meantime. What they thought were candles in small glass jars were actually small bugs sitting on birch sticks, that seemed to be sleeping now that it was day time. Alex felt the fine fabrics of the blankets and curtains, peering out over the forest below them. It was with a sense of awe that they saw the Fae people awakening.

There were all kinds of Fae flitting about in the morning air. Vincent saw a few of the bird wings like the night before, in all different colours and sizes. Alex pointed to a small group of inset winged Fae as they passed, one with dragonfly wings and another with bee wings. The two boys were so immersed in watching the everyday morning of the Fae, they did not hear the door open.