four.

“Would you hurry up Luna! We do not have all day to be standing around waiting for you to finish cooking this bloody meal!”

“I am sorry mistress.” Luna sighed, hurrying between the yellow cart and the small makeshift camp fire she had built to cook lunch to the side of the road, a small ways away from one of the busy towns they normally set up shop in.

“It is cooked well enough by now!” the old woman growled, rounding the side of the cart to sit beside the flames. “Just get back in your quarters – I have had just about enough of this nonsense you dare to call help for today.” she clicked her fingers, wave of purple magic throwing the woman into the open cart, doors locking tightly behind her.

As the old woman leant forward to carve up her lunch movement just to the side caught her attention, quiet voice calling out to her.

“Excuse me my dear, but I was wondering if you would be so kind as to allow me to share a apart of your meal? I am quite weary from travel and have not had a good sit down in a long while.”

This mistress smirked, looking the young woman over before turning to her food, dividing it roughly. “You are one of my own, it would be wrong of me to just turn you away. Please, come have a seat.”

Smiling the young woman settled across the fire from her, mistress handing a portion of the meal over before digging into her own share. “So where exactly are you headed?”

“I am in search of a fallen star.” The woman replied, grinning widely. “The babylon candle I had only got me a short distance, so I have to continue the rest by foot.”

At the mention of a star the mistress perked up, looking at the woman excitedly. “A fallen star? It has been centuries since I last saw one for myself. Where did you say the star was exactly? I happen to have part of a babylon candle myself...”

“Well its--” Sikyung opened , ready to spill the details of the star before she cut herself off sharply, looking down at her plate in horror before she threw it against the cart, standing in anger.

“Truth serum... you poisoned me? How dare you poison the likes of me!”

Thick green mist swirled around the furious witch, her eyes now pitch black as she stared down the panicked woman across from her. The mistress fell to her knees, clasping her hands tightly in front of her as she shook, barely managing to form a coherent sentence.

“Th-Th-The great witch Sikyung... p-p-please forgive me, for I did not realise it was you! I was mistaken and did not mean you any harm I promise! The star is yours – I would never think of taking it away from you.”

Sikyung's eyes slowly faded back to normal, chuckling maliciously as she looked over the whimpering witch now at her feet. 

“Well, it would seem you are at least right about that.” she growled, grabbing the witches collar as she lifted the cowering woman to her feet, green smoke swirling around her, almost suffocating the terrified woman. “From this moment on you will not have anything to do with the star. You shall never see, hear or touch him – you will not remember the fallen star or this conversation as long as you shall live. Now, I suggest you hand over your babylon candle so you do not cross me again Minjung, for the next time I may not be so merciful.”

She dropped the woman to the ground, looking around in distaste as the mistress scrambled to bring her the purple candle. Snatching it from her grasp Sikyung gave her one last glare, the other woman flinching under the crushing gaze.

“It seems you have managed to waste enough of my time, I pray for your sake I never have to deal with your pathetic existence again.”

In a flash of green fire Sikyung was stood on the edge of the crater, irritation clear on her face as she stared at the area, charred earth now cold with no sign of the star in sight.

She huffed, rubbing the large emerald ring on her index finer, looking across the valley to the tree line just beyond.

“Sister, the star is no longer here.” she growled, Saerom gasping at the apparition of her sister in the mirror.

“He has already moved? Surely he could not have made it very far on his own?”

“That is why I contacted you.” Sikyung sighed, rolling her eyes at the foolishness of her sister. “Do the fates have any idea which direction he could have gone?”

Grinning to herself Saerom set to work, quickly sacrificing another animal on the altar, searching through its carcass.

“It seems that he has not gone to far sister, he is tired and weak... if you lay the right trap along his path he will fall right into the palm of your hand, and he will be ours. Just part the forest south of you is a long dirt road that the star is travelling along. If you loop around to the east instead of going through the forest you should arrive in time to properly cut him off – there you will find the things you need.”

“Be weary though!” Saerom shouted, twisting the bloody remains in her hands,. “It will take a lot of your magic to make him content enough to harvest him at his full potential. Be careful that your plan is perfect dear sister.”

“Very well, thank you sister.” Sikyung nodded, disappearing from Saerom's view. Turning towards a nearby rock with a small field mouse hiding behind it she smirked, clicking her fingers and conjuring a small cart and horse from them, setting of to find the road the fates mentioned.

Making quick work of rounding the edge of the forest Sikyung came across a long dirt road, weaving its way from deep into the tree line down through the rolling valleys. Seeing a small structure in the distance she made her way towards it, smirking when she came across a small rundown shack, young thin boy sitting outside it distracted by his work.

Clearing the boy looked up, mouth ungracefully falling open as he scrambled to stand upright.

“C-C-Can I help y-y-you m'am?”

“Why yes you could – I need to borrow your house.” Sikyung replied, smiling as she clicked her fingers once more. The boy let out a strangled cry as black smoke started to surround the shack, green glow rising from the ground as he stumbled away from it on panic. As the smoke faded the boy stood there, gobsmacked. In place of his small home now stood a cosy inn, much larger and exquisite than his shack had ever been.

“You... y-y-y-yoou...”

Sikyung rolled her eyes, grimacing as the upper part of her left arm turned old again, amount of magic used taking its toll on her body.

“Oh just be quiet.” she snapped, irritated with the constant babbling, the boys voice cutting off into a garbled squeak.

“Now you will listen to me very carefully. A young boy will be arriving here soon and if you value your life, you are to accommodate him for anything he desires. Whatever he wishes, so long as he is taken care of.”

The boy nodded, scrambling to get inside the inn. As everything finally settled Sikyung growled as the rest of her left arm reverted back to its old age.

This cursed star better arrive soon. The sooner she could take his heart and be done with it, the better.

*´¨`*

The rain was steadily coming down in a light shower by the time Kyuhyun managed to stumble his way back to the area of the forest he had left Ryeowook in, struggling to balance the precarious pile of fruit stacked in his arms.

“I am sorry it took me so long to get back, I could not figure out what was edible at first and then I got lost trying to find my way back to the tre-- Ryeowook?”

He looked up, releasing that no one was in his immediate vicinity, Ryeowook missing from the tree trunk he had left him against. Kyuhyun dropped the fruit he was carrying, racing forward to the base of the tree where he knew he had left Ryeowook, finding nothing by the broken remnants of the chain he had used to tie the star to the tree.

He collapsed against the tree looking around the area, the dark and the rain making it next to impossible for him to see anything that might tell him which way Ryeowook had gone. Kyuhyun sighed, watching the rain come down as he sat, defeated. Thing had gone from bad to worse – in twenty four hours he had not only screwed up the chance he had to meet his mother, but he'd lost the one person in the world he needed to win Sulli's heart.

Brushing his rain soaked fringe out his eyes Kyuhyun attempted to look around once more, trying desperately to spot any sort of sign in the darkness that could tell him where to go. Although Ryeowook had disappeared he was sure the star couldn't have made it very far on his own. He was both injured and as unfamiliar with the land as he was, the thought sending a surge of worry through him, concerned for the missing star.

A sudden flash of lightning illuminated the ground around him, the few precious seconds of light letting him see just far enough in front of him to identify a number of indents in the ground, heading deeper into the forest away from the tree. Kyuhyun crawled over to them, desperate to get a closer look at the marks.

Upon closer inspection Kyuhyun realised they weren't the footprints he expected – horse tracks similar to the marks left on the dirt roads at home. Looking around at the ground and finding no other signs of tracks with the lighting lighting up the area once more. Kyuhyun leapt to his feet and with nothing more to lose, started to follow the tracks further into the forest.

He wandered quickly through the trees, flashes of lightning through the thick canopy helping to guide him further as the tracks grew fainter and fainter, washing away in the continuous rainstorm. The rain grew heavier, light shower turning into a heavy downpour as a disoriented Kyuhyun stumbled through the forest, barely making his way through the brush.

He broke through into a small clearing that sat just beyond what looked like to be a long dirt road. Eyes still on the ground Kyuhyun watched as the last of the faint tracks disappeared, rain ridding the forest of all evidence of Ryeowook.

Lost and stuck with no clear idea of which way Ryeowook could've gone next, Kyuhyun had no choice but to give up his search for the moment, heading back in towards the denser part of the forest to desperately search for some sort of shelter to wait out the storm in.

Pulling together rocks and leaves to create some sort of makeshift cover a low rumble broke through Kyuhyun's thoughts. At first he thought it was the lightning, but as the rumble continued to grow in steady volume it finally caught his attention through the rain.

Turning on his heel Kyuhyun broke into a sprint, heading back to where he had just seen the dirt path moments ago. Spotting a carriage barrelling in his direction he picked up his pace, desperate to get the attention of whoever was driving the carriage, realising that it may have been his only opportunity for miles to find the star.

As he reached the road, carriage just about to pass by him, Kyuhyun felt himself start to slip in the wet mud, sliding forward across the ground before slamming into the side of the moving car, flying backwards into the mud.

“What in the gods name was that?”

Hyukjae looked out the window of the slowing carriage, spotting through the rain what looked to be a body lying on the side of the path.

“I think... we just accidentally killed a man.”

“Of course we did.” Heechul dead-panned, Zhoumi and Donghae jumping from their seats to try and get a glimpse out of the window, Donghae in particular climbing on top if an unamused Hyukjae.

“It would not be the first time.” Heechul continued. “We are practically death magnets at this point.”

Donghae pouted, looking back at his disinterested brother. “We are not really that bad Chul... are we?”

The carriage came to a short stop just past Kyuhyun, the tall driver jumping off his seat and running back to help him, looking over Kyuhyun worriedly.

“By the gods are you okay? I did not see you through the rain until it was too late.”

“Yeah just... hurts. A lot.” Kyuhyun gasped, closing his eyes as the man pulled him to his feet, steadying himself with a loud groan as he stretched his aching back. A sudden pressure against the base of his throat sent Kyuhyun on high alert, eyes snapping open to find the stranger holding a small blade to him, concerned eyes now cold.

“So tell me, what exactly is a mere boy such as yourself doing alone in the forest at night, with such a bad storm overhead? Perhaps you are a spy sent by my brother to hinder me?”

Kyuhyun slowly raised his hands up in surrender, staring at the man fearfully as he felt more pressure be applied to the blade.

“N-no I am not any sort of spy! My name is Kyuhyun, I was with a-a friend when I went to get us some food. I lost him in the rain and was attempting to find him when you came upon me.” Kyuhyun managed to stutter out, the man looking him over with a thoughtful gaze.

Eventually he sighed, removing the blade from against his throat, placing it back under his cloak. “I shall trust you for now Kyuhyun... although your story seems fantastical you do seem truthful enough. If you need a ride I would be happy to provide it to you in exchange for your assistance until you manage to find your friend.”

“That is fine by me.” Kyuhyun nodded, grateful for the man's offer as he trailed after him, climbing onto the front of the carriage beside the man.

“Nevermind, turns out we did not kill him. Although it seems like he's proven himself useful enough to tag along.” Zhoumi relayed to the others.

“Oh, what a shame.”

“CHUL!” Donghae cried. “Stop being so cold hearted! Just because we are dead does not mean we have to think so negatively.”

“Besides” Hyukjae added, rolling his eyes at the death glare Heechul sent a fearful Donghae across the seat. “You never know, maybe this boy is the help brother needs to find the stone...”

“My name is Siwon by the way.” the man stated, waiting for Kyuhyun to settle himself on the bench beside him. “And I suggest you hold on tightly.” he chuckled, cracking the reigns, carriage once again taking off into the rain.