I woke up from a sudden rustling. Out of instincts, I sat up, alert and awake. What is this? Where am I? I was no longer in Hoon's neighborhood, but a forest. Grass surrounded me and strange trees stood above me.

  I heard the rustle again and whipped my head to that direction. Oh, it's just a bunny. I took a deep sigh of relief. Wait, am I dead or what? Or am I dreaming? I felt myself and had all my body parts, uninjured. I even pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

  Everything was real, but how? How did a hole lead me into a new location? Where is everybody?

  I started walking in a random direction where I thought was the right way. I wandered around and examined my surroundings. The grass was the only normal thing I saw, but the trees and flowers had strange colors and shapes. Some flowers had a dull grey color to them and yet they lived. The trees had various shapes, but that should be normal. The color is what's different. It wasn't fall, but some trees were red, orange, yellow, and other various colors. I was so caught up in my surroundings, when I heard another rustle, I jumped.

  "It's just a bunny." I reassured myself.

  The movement came again, followed by a low growl.

  Bunnies don't growl. My eyes widened. Don't tell me I'm going to die a second time! I took slow steps, trying not to be game for this creature, but it didn't work.

  It leaped in front of me. I screamed at this hideous creature. It's shape was of a dog with fire red fur. It had claws sharper than an eagle and teeth as sharp as a shark's. What freaked me out the most was patches of raw skin could be shown as if it had been in a battle. 

  I froze, telling myself to move, but it doesn't work. I was glued to the ground. I'm going to die! I just know it! I'm going to die by being eaten by an evil, rabid dog! It's a strange way to die, but this is how it seems.

  The dog pounced and I close my eyes, wincing as I waited for it's jaws to sink into me. It never came, so I opened my eyes, seeing something impossible.

  That creature was frozen in the air, mouth ready to take a chunk out of me and claws out. It was as if time had stop. I wanted to touch it, but a voice rang in my head, "Run! This won't last long!"

  I listened to the voice and ran the opposite direction of the creature.

  "Stop! Stop right here! Hey! Where are you going?" The voice called again.

  There's no way I'm stopping! I wanted to get away from that thing as far as I could. Before I knew it, I, too was frozen and floating in the air. My body wouldn't move as I was picked up and tossed into a tree trunk, which I literally went through like a ghost.

  When I was released, I fell to the dirt ground. No one was in here, but I heard a tiny voice speaking to me, "Aren't you a stubborn one! I've seen worse, but man you like to run!" She nagged, "You're like the hundredth person I had to save in my lifetime. That's not a lot, considering I have lived over a thousand years. It's rare to see an Earthling come here nowadays."

  "Thousand years?" That was the only thing that I heard.

  She sighed. "Yes. I know it's strange for you Earthlings, but I'm over  thousand years old."

  "Where are you?" I wanted to see my savior.

  There was no reply, so I had thought she left. Then a tiny light came down. I ignore it, thinking it was a firefly.

  "I don't see you!" I shouted, slightly irritated.

  "I'm right here, you dumb human!" She exclaimed, standing in front of me. No, she wasn't standing, but floating and she wasn't human size at all, but a praying mantis size. She was slightly annoyed, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot in the air. "You Earthlings are so oblivious to us fairies. It's a good thing for trickery, but when we help you, we don't receive a thank you!"

  "I'm sorry and thank you."

  She snorted. "It's too late now."

  Such a grumpy fairy, but I need to be friendly with her because she saved me and she knows what's going on. "What's you're name? I'm Kim Hyori."

  "Hyuna. Well, Kim Hyori, I should send you back home before people notice you're gone in your world." She wiggled her fingers, but nothing happens. "Huh." She tried again, using her concentration, but I don't move. "Strange. I do this to everyone else. Why aren't you working?"

  I continued to stare at her. She was so pretty, but then again, fairies are usually pretty. Hyuna had light brown, almost red hair and these foggy grey eyes. It was hard to believe she was a thousand years old.

  "Come with me. We need to take you to the Kingdom." She flew out.

  "Wait! What about that creature?"

  Hyuna came back. "Don't worry. It's gone now. Hurry up before the sun sets. It gets extremely dangerous here at night even with me here."

  I followed behind, pausing before leaving the trunk. Is this enchanted? I reluctantly went through and found the sun setting.

  ". Let's hurry." Hyuna glided through the air, managing to go through all the small spaces while I had trouble.

  I had to go through branches and bushes, scratching my arms, legs, and face. I could feel myself bleeding and itching from the cuts. Why does she have to pick such a difficult route? It was difficult to catch up with her, but her glowing body kept me from loosing her.

  "Are we there yet?" I asked, panting and sweating. This is why I'm never going to athletics. I can't even catch up to a fairy!

  "Almost. Hurry up" She shouted.

  I groaned and kept going, muttering nonsense. I need to get my mind off of running that way I won't feel so tired. "Where... am I?" I asked through gulps or air. "Am I... in... Wonderland?"

  Hyuna stopped and spun around, an irritated expression on. "Wonderland?! Are you stupid? This is not Wonderland! This is Neverland! Pft! Wonderland my ." She continued to fly mumbling, "Stupid human. Wonderland... There's a difference you know." This time she was speaking to me, "Wonderland is in your dreams with that Queen of Hearts and Mad Hatter business, while here you stay young forever. I'm quite tired of it, but I can't leave this place. No one can unless you're an Earthling at least." She snorted," Even our princes are Earthlings, but they don't want to leave."

  "Princes?"

  "Yes, princes, but they're not like the ones you hear in stories. They are handsome, but not exactly the perfect prince charmings. There's three of them that's in line for the throne. They're related, but more like half brothers. It's quite obvious who's going to get the crown. It's going to be the eldest, Eli." 

  "Eli?" Just keep the conversation going, so I won't think about how tired I am. How much longer anyways?

  Hyuna sighed, shaking her head. "Since you can't return home, I guess I'll tell you what there is to know. It'll be dangerous if you don't." She cleared as if preparing for a long speech. Good. I need a distraction for a while. "Right now, we only have the Queen ruling the kingdom, bearing one son while the others were born from other women. Considering the King was a selfish Earthling, I would've expected him to cheat many times. He's dead now, so there's no need to talk about him, but his three sons. There's Eli, Kevin, and Dongho. Eli is the first and true heir to the throne. I think he is the handsomest, especially with his amazingly built body, but others say differently. He's the strongest out of the three and knows combat pretty well. Then there's Kevin, the second eldest. He's one of those pretty boys that you shouldn't get too close with. He's very sly and can have a short temper if you get on his bad side, but he can be very kind at times. And finally, the third and youngest sibling is Dongho. Women fonder all over him, but he's the most dangerous guy you can ever meet. It's not because he's rude or anything, but he's very devious. I usually go for those guys, but he scares me. He somehow knows ways to get into your mind." Her voice trailed. 

  Dongho. He does sound dangerous. He's the youngest, but knows how to handle situations. I was afraid to meet these guys. What will they think of me, especially wearing these clothes. Then a thought hit me. "If people stay young, how were they able to grow?" 

  Hyuna giggled. "Now you're being smart. Neverland didn't have humans in the past until that family came. They created the Kingdom, recruiting more humans. The princes were already that age, but their strength and power came from training and other creatures. You know what that means. They've been ruling for hundreds of years, but their father was killed ten years ago by a Shadow. Those damn creature don't belong here. They should be in their own realm, but they settled here just like you humans."

  "Shadows?" There's even more dangers?

  "Uh-huh. I don't have much information about them because they attack secretly most of the time, but lately they've been getting more active. All I know is they take the shape of a human that has died and sometimes cover themselves with cloaks. Their true form is a cloud of mist with a bodice and others. It seems like they could disappear any moment, but they don't. They're the only creatures I don't know much about. Hey! We're here."

  I hadn't realize we were no longer in the forest, but running in a path. Here, in front of me, stood a massive wall, guarded by a single entrance. There were men walking on the premises, watching above. As we stood from the entrance, a guard called out, "State your purpose."

  I opened my mouth to say something, but Hyuna interrupted, using her whiny tone, "What do you mean, state your purpose? Kiseop! You know it's me! And you know I'm not dangerous! There's no need for you to ask that!"

  From above, I saw Kiseop blinking his dark eyes. "I know it's you, but why bring someone here? She's not from here. You can tell by her clothes! Why didn't you take her back?" 

"I can't. That's why I brought her here. I need to speak to the Queen. This is urgent."

  He sighed and shouted, "Open the gate!"

  From the other side, I could hear clanking of chains as the massive door was being pulled back. I looked up to see Kiseop no longer there. Then I looked behind me, seeing the trees caving in over the path, giving it an eerie look. I go inside, seeing myself standing at the entrance of a village. It was empty and quiet as people went in their house to sleep the night. Torches were lit to light the way. This place truly felt like the medieval times; there was no electricity and it was as dirty as one.

  "I'll guide you ladies to the castle," I heard Kiseop's voice from behind me.

  I turned around and found him much more attractive up close, but his hair covered the right side of his face, so I couldn't see everything. Are you sure this place makes people stay younger or more beautiful? His deep black eyes were the color of onyx and his brown tousled hair made it stand out. He had these perfect pink lips and well toned arms that could be seen under his tunic.

  "Lead the way." Hyuna said, as is he was a regular boy. How can she not be mesmerized by him?

  Kiseop bowed and led us through the streets. 

  It was awfully quiet as we headed to the castle. I didn't know what to say because I was extremely nervous. I never knew I would actually meet a guy that's cuter than Hoon.

  When we arrived at the castle, it was dead quiet from the outside. It seemed like it was abandoned, but it was too clean and tidy to be. The stones were the color of pearls. From far away, it appeared to be a snow castle and as you came closer, it was beautiful.

  "Thank you, Kiseop. Now go back to your post. I can handle this myself," Hyuna ordered, gliding to the entrance.

  I watched as Kiseop rolled his eyes and left without a word.

  "Are you coming or what?" Hyuna's voice echoed from the inside. Apparently, she got in without me.  I followed behind.

  We walked down many hallways that appeared the same to me. Unlike Hyuna, she knew exactly where we were. We stopped in front of a massive door, guarded by two guards. Obviously, someone in royalty is in here. 

   "Open up! I need to speak to the Queen!"

  The guards stared at her, then to me before opening the door with slight struggle.

  Hyuna entered first and stopped in the middle of the room. 

  It was very hollow with pillars on the edge of the straight path. In front, there were steps leading to two thrones. One was occupied while the other was empty. There were four people; one woman and three young men. One seemed my age while the other two were near.

  They didn't notice us coming in because they were having their own conversation; laughing and chuckling. When Hyuna cleared , they end their conversation and had their attention to us.  The woman was the Queen, judging by the crown, and the boys around her were the princes. Each were giving me strange looks.

  "What is this outcast doing here?" The Queen retorted, pointing and wrinkling her nose at me. "She doesn't belong." 

  "I can't send her back," Hyuna explained, "My magic isn't working for her and you know what that means."

  The Queen looked straight in my eyes. They were intimidating and her dark eyes made it even worse. "It can't be her. She's too weak! Look at her! She seems fit to be a princess, but not a warrior."

  Wait. What? A warrior? What does she mean by that? Why can't I be sent back and what's the big deal?

  "We need to check." Hyuna turned to me. "Stay here and wait for someone to send you to your room. I'll need to talk to her alone." 

  I nodded, trying so hard not to disagree. I didn't want to hear her nagging voice again, but it felt strange hearing her so calm.

   "Come with me, my Queen."

  Unlike me, Hyuna waited for the Queen to walk down the steps in her stiff dress. She brushed pass me without a single glance and left with Hyuna.

  I turned to the boys in front of me and got a good look at them. They all had dark eyes, but their appearance is what explained how they're step brothers. The first I recognized as Eli because of his resemblance between the Queen and his intimidating eyes along with scars from combats. The other had blonde hair which I recognized as Kevin with his pretty boy features. Finally came Dongho with his big, innocent eyes that could deceive anyone. He was giving me a look of amusement. He seemed perfectly harmless. Now I see why he's the most dangerous of the siblings and he's the one that's my age. Scary.

  They all stepped down and stood a few feet in front of me.

  Eli took a long look at me and left.

  Kevin watched him go and sighed, "Eli..." He turned to me with a sweet smile. "What's your name?"

  "K- Hyori." No need to tell them my last name.

  "I'm Kevin Woo. I like to take my mother's last name. It sounds better than Kim, Eli's last name. By the way, the one that left was Eli and this boy is Dongho Shin. He also took his mother's last name." He tried ruffling his hair, but Dongho gave him a glare before he could touch him.

  "Please don't touch me," he said simply and gave me an amuse look again. "So, Hyori," he said, my name slowly as if tasting every syllable. "How did you get here?" 

  "I fell." Why am I so nervous? I could even see Kevin stiffen, but remained having a bland expression.

  He smirked and circled me, looking up and down, feeling my jacket. "So this is what the style is now. I've never expected clothing to be so tight." His finger trail down, but I slap it away before he could reach my hips. 

  ert. 

  I glared at him while he continued to smirk.

  "I won't hurt you. I just wanted to see if you're an independent woman. Only those kinds actually live as long as they want in Neverland."

 Kevin gave a nod, agreeing to him, "It's true and don't take it personally. Dongho is always like this when he sees something strange."

  So they considered me as strange just because of my clothes? "Do I need to have different clothing just for you two to treat me as one of you?" I was annoyed by that idea, but I didn't want them to treat me differently.

  "No," Kevin explained.

  "Yes," Dongho adds in. "Yes. If you remain in those clothes, people will question you and try to make new inventions. I'm not exactly sure if I like those clothes either."

  Kevin shrugged. "Let her do whatever she wants."

  He gave his hyung a don't-interrupt-me look. "If I do, then who knows what she'll do in the future. She might take advantage of us."

  I burst. He doesn't know me! What made him think I'll betray them? Is it because of my clothes? "What do you mean by that? I'm not going to do anything to hurt this kingdom. I want to go home! That's all." I can feel my cheeks burning and eyes watering. I'm starting to miss my friends and my mom even though she doesn't exactly love me.

  They just stared at me. Kevin gave me a worried look while Dongho had no emotion what so ever.

  I was hoping not to break down. I hate showing my emotions in front of people, especially guys.

  Luckily the door opens and the two boys' gaze turned there. I took that chance to wipe my watery eyes and looked at whoever was there.

  It was a man, around twenty, bowing to us. "I'm here to take this young lady to her room."

  Dongho passed by me, Kevin following right behind him. "Go take her. It seems she is tired for the night." He goes pass the servant.

  The servant gave a head bow to both of them and waited until the door closes behind them. "Before we go, is there anything you'd like to wear?"

  I reconsidered Dongho's remark as I thought about my clothes. He did make a good point. I didn't want people to question me about my clothes over and over. It's going to get pretty annoying. I nodded and wait for him to take me away.

  He doesn't, but snapped his fingers. At that moment, a flash came, making me feel for a split second. The next thing I knew, I was wearing a dull blue, linen dress. Good. I'm not in one of those stiff dresses the Queen was wearing. I promise, I would trip and fall if I were...

  "I'll lead you to your room. Come with me." The door opened as if the guards knew we were leaving. It amused me how they know when to open and close the door. 

  Again, we walked through the hallways and again, someone knew where to go.

  I tried making a conversation with him. "What's your name?"

  "AJ."

  "I'm Hyori." Now what can I say? "How'd you do that magic thing?"

  He chuckled. "I'm a mage. I've been practicing that for a while. You're lucky you didn't end up like Dongho one time. It was hilarious, but he wasn't so happy about it."

 I laughed. I could imagine him getting mad especially since he told Kevin not to touch his hair. "What's Dongho really like?"

  AJ shrugged. "He changes from time to time, but he isn't bad."

  Same as Kevin's remark. Might as well go with what they say for now. 

  "Here's your room." He opened a door and steps aside. "I hope you find your stay comfortable. If you need me, just call my name. Remember, I'm a mage, so I know when you truly mean it. Good night." AJ bowed and went down the hallway.  I entered my room, finding the bed and covered myself with the blankets. I started to cry. I cried because I knew I wouldn't be able to leave and see everyone I loved. I cried until I fell into a deep sleep.