Emile
Emile's expression grew somber at this. He never really liked telling people about this, but...he'd gotten past it. That was entirely how he coped, by moving on from the...incident and living his life the way he chose.
"Well, if you're sure..." Emile said, taking a deep breath to try to steal himself, "Well, to be honest, I don't really remember much of my childhood or anything like that. Just some fleeting memories, my name, and what I'd declared I'd be when I grew up. A doctor, if you're curious."
"My story really starts the day I met him. Well, to call it him would be improper. That would imply it was human, rather than a pale imitation of humanity, but let's call it by male pronouns for simplicity's sake. The Dandy Man, with his toys and his twine and his hat so dapper and his demeanor so grand. He was the one who took me. Brought me to a place of colorful plants and curious sights. Showed me all sorts of games, including this one where I'd bend and twist myself however he wanted me to until either he decided he'd had enough or I simply couldn't hold it anymore. If I won, he'd show me all sorts of wonderful things, sights and sounds and sensations that I'd never known. Eventually, however, I ended up wanting to go home."
"'No no, little one', he'd said, 'You're here now, so you can't go back. Besides, you're much safer here than you are out there.' And right he was, in a way," the Changeling remarked without humor, "The Menagerie Dome, as it was called, was right in the heart of Arcadia, which was itself in the center of the Hedge, and the Hedge would not be a kind place to a child. After all, a place made of dreams, thoughts, and the Wyrd itself, shaped in part by the minds that traverse it...But I digress."
