On a quiet morning, in the middle of the woods, a young man with a fair complexion lies down on the grass, face down, butt up. His awkward position tells anybody who sees it that he is unconscious. The morning dew on his shoulder-length dark brown hair makes it clear that he's been there before the sun comes out.
Suddenly, his hand starts twitching, and his breath becomes unstable. The man props himself up with gasps, and his eyes open wide. Realizing where he was, he released a long sigh. "Sigh... It's happening again." the man said to himself.
His name is Ethan Barnes 22-year-old young man from a small village in the Bircorn Kingdom. He lives as a farmer with his widowed mother and little sister. His late father was a kingdom soldier who was killed in a skirmish against some mountain bandits 10 years ago. After the death of his father, his mom takes Ethan and his 4 years old sister to Carna Village to avoid Ethan getting conscripted to the kingdom army and facing the same fate as his father.
Ethan starts to get up from the ground and looks his way to his village. Since 15 years old, Ethan has frequently found himself sleepwalking and ended up waking up in this forest. In the beginning, his family tried many things to stop him from sleepwalking, but even in his sleep, he always found a way to escape the rope that binds him or opens all the barred doors and windows. In the end, they just give up and take it as Ethan's weird quirks; after all, he always comes back to the house unharmed every morning.
He walks at a steady pace while humming some tunes. After all the experience in this forest, he grows fond of this forest's beautiful landscape and peacefulness. The sunray that shines through the tree foliage, the chirping bird, the morning breeze, and even the 2 rabbits that mate furiously that he can see from the corner of his eye. 'Ah... The beauty of nature' He thinks.
After around half an hour of walking, he found himself on the banks of a small river that led to his village. He washes his face that was full of dirt after hours of sleeping, while making out with the dirt. He continues to walk for another 20 minutes until he reaches farmland with some villagers working on some crops.
"Ah... Ethan! Good morning! Coming home from another nightly adventure, are you?" An old farmer said to him.
"Good morning, ol' Berg... It seems you will keep telling me that joke for another thousand years." Ethan replied while smiling.
"Of course, he will, he already sold all of his sense of humor to the devil for immortality so he can keep having another child" Said some middle-aged man holding a pitchfork jokingly.
"My family is declining, of course, I have to make plenty of children!" Berg said sternly to the man.
"That's the same word you said to me 18 children ago." Another man chimes in on ol'Berg's words.
Ethan is just smiling. Even with his weird condition, he loves his life. A loving family, check. Peaceful village, check. Friendly villagers, check. Gorgeous nature, check. Just need the girl of his life, and life would be perfect.
After exchanging small greetings with the farmers, he continues to walk to the village. After reaching the western part of the village, he stands in front of a medium-sized house made of dark wood; smoke could be seen coming out of the grey stone chimney on the side of the house.
He pushes the door open and enters the house. What greets him is the sight of his 40-year-old mom and 14-year-old sister cooking in the kitchen. Both busily prepare their breakfast in their slightly crumpled grey dress, their brown hair flowing graciously behind them as they move around in the kitchen.
"Good morning everyone." Ethan greets both.
"Good morning, forest prince." the little girl replied to him.
"Good morning, Ethan. How's your night?" Nora Barnes, Ethan's mother, asked him.
"Quiet as usual, and I keep getting deeper into the forest." Ethan replied.
"Have you met with the fairies yet?" His sister asks curiously.
"Fairies aren't real Eli." He told his little sister, Elizabeth Barnes.
"Humph! Yes, they are, Granny Jena always told us when she met them when she was young!" She replied while squinting her eyes at her brother.
"Yeah... Yeah... Just like how she tells everyone about the black dragon that attacks her old village, the unicorn that shines like a rainbow, and the hundreds-year-old wizard who expels the dragon with magic." Ethan said to her while smiling.
Granny Jena is one of the elders of the village. She came from another village when she was young. Most of the children in the village love to hear her story about her younger days, while the adults think her story is just a fairy tale. She always said that she came from a faraway land, a land full of magical creatures and ferocious beasts.
She always said that when she was young, her village was suddenly attacked by a giant black dragon, and she was the sole survivor of the attack because her parents, the village chief, hid her in their cellar. She hides there until suddenly she hears a thundering shout telling the dragon to scram. After curiosity takes over her mind, she comes out and sees an old man with long white hair and a white beard that reaches his waist, holding a staff with a dark blue shining crystal on the edge. She saw bluish thunder come out from the crystal, attacking the dragon, and made the dragon flee to the sky. When she saw the rest of her village, she only saw dead bodies and the destruction of her village.
After the accident, the kingdom soldier who came with the bearded old man took her as the sole survivor to the orphanage in a nearby town. But the terror that she witnessed that day made her decide to move as far as possible from that area and move to a faraway land. That's how she ended up in Ethan's village and lived there until now.
"Stop arguing... Eli, let's finish the food so we can take our breakfast. Ethan, change your clothes, and let's eat some food. After that, please chop some firewood and bring it to Grandma Emma; she's asking for your help this morning." Their mom said to stop their bickering.
"Yes, your majesty! Your words are my order!" Ethan said to his mom while bowing.
"Don't forget to bring carrot cake for this princess then!" Eli chimed in.
"I'm sorry, princess, but the Great Wizard of the Bakery has put the cake in the Forbidden Dungeon of the Rat King to make sure you didn't get his treasure!" Ethan said to his sister with a very exaggerated disappointed face.
"Hmph! You just don't want to get it for me!" Eli harumphs to her brother.
"Haah... I told you two to stop already..." Nora said while putting her right hand on her forehead.
"Yes, Mom." Ethan said while he was going to change his clothes in his room.
This is a daily occurrence for them. Even though the siblings love to argue a lot, they know that they love each other. They joke at each other and make fun of each other just to make their mom smile and ease her burden after her husband passed away.
After cleaning up and having breakfast with his family, Ethan goes to the yard and prepares some logs to chop. He picked up his father's axe and started chopping the firewood. He filled 1 wheelbarrow and brought it to Granny Emma's place. As usual, all the villagers that he met greeted him with a warm smile.
Reaching Granny Emma's house, he can see her talking with another woman in the yard. He greeted them both with a smile.
"Good morning, Granny Emma, Granny Jane." Ethan said.
"Ah, Ethan, good morning. Back from another adventure, I suppose?" Emma said.
"Morning, young man. Did you meet with the fairy yet?" Jena chimed in.
"Nope. Still a devout believer in their non-existence." Ethan said with a smile.
"Sure, sure. Just wait till you see a troll with your own eyes." Jena replied while sighing.
"Let him be Jena, he's still in his rebellious phase." Emma said calmly.
"Granny, this is the firewood that you asked for. I prepare more than the usual in case I'm sleeping in the forest again." Evan said while showing the wheelbarrow.
"Thank you, Mr. Prince. Please help put it down if you will." Emma replied.
Just like Eli, many villagers like to call Ethan the Forest Prince. Not just because of his habit, but also because of his knowledge and special condition. Even though he always sleepwalks to the forest, he never encounters any kind of danger. Be it from the terrain, poisonous plants, or dangerous animals, he never faces any kind of trouble in the forest.
There was even a time when he encountered an enormous brown bear, while he gonna went back to the village. The bear only looks at him and walks away with disinterest.
The three chat away, and suddenly they hear the sound of the village bell.
Ding... Ding... Ding... Ding... Ding...
"An army! An army of knights is coming!" A scream can be heard from the village watchtower.