What were Shianne and I talking about? I was leaning against her shoulder talking about magic and then… I bolted upright, the blanket that had been covering me fell and pooled around my stomach. I looked all around. Where is Shianne???

“She and Max went for a walk.” I whipped around and saw Yunho placing a pot of water in the middle of the red hot coals from our fire last night. The sun was just barely peaking over the mountains and Lee and Jonghyun were still sleeping soundly.

“When did they do that?” I asked, feeling a little hurt that Shianne had chosen Max over waking me up to go with her. Yunho held up a piece of paper and then extended it towards me. I took it.

Sapphire, if we’re still gone when you wake up I went on a walk with Max. I didn’t want to wake you up because you’ve been through so much already you need your rest more than anyone. I’ll be back before the sun finishes rising. I need to talk to you. Love, Shianne.

I sighed and then chuckled slightly. So Shianne knew that I would feel hurt if she left without me. She’s so sweet. Then I frowned and wondered what Shianne needed to talk to me about. I glanced up at Yunho to find him watching me. I slowly looked back down at the paper in my hands, hoping he had thought I was staring into space and not looking at him. I thought back to last night. I had fallen asleep leaning against his back which had been sturdy and strong and had radiated a gentle warmth. I remembered waking up for just a second, disoriented because Yunho had moved. But he had gone back to his normal position and just before I had fallen back into the depths of sleep I had realized that Yunho was holding my hand and then I… I felt my face go hot and red. I could have blamed it on being half asleep but it had annoyed me that he was holding my hand like a brother would, so I had laced my fingers through his to show him how a boy was supposed to hold a girls hand and then had promptly fallen back asleep.

When I woke up to Yunho calling after Max and Lee who had gone into the forest to find Shianne and Jonghyun we had still been holding hands but I was so worried about Shianne I had tried to fly into the forest after her. Yunho had caught me just before I had taken off though and forced me to think rationally. I had agreed to stay with him since it wasn’t for sure if I would be able to find her in the forest alone but I knew she would come out eventually and I wanted to be waiting for her when she did.

I raised my head a couple inches so that I could just see Yunho. He was pouring something into the pot, no longer looking at me. An odd mixture of relief and disappointment went through me and I turned away from him, stretching lazily to give myself something to do. As I was stretching, something in the distance caught my eye. I stared up into the sky trying to figure out what it was that I was seeing. It looked like a very large bird, but it didn’t fly like a bird. I squinted my eyes and stood up slowly.

“Sapphire?” I looked down at Yunho who was looking at me with a questioning gaze. The feel of our hands joined flashed through my mind as I looked at him and I felt my cheeks go hot. Dang it! Why does he make me blush like a child?!?!

But then to my surprise Yunho stood up and faced me. The sun had made an appearance from the mountains and my breath caught as I looked at Yunho surrounded by the pale pinks and yellows that the sun was turning the clouds. His hair was slightly mussed, I noticed and I felt an overwhelming longing to run my hands through his hair to straighten it for him. I clasped my hands together, quelling that feeling firmly. We stayed there, looking at each other, neither of us saying anything. Yunho opened his mouth and then closed it and cleared his throat. He blinked slowly and exhaled loudly. I was tempted to giggle, but it looked like he had gotten over whatever was making him so tongue tied because he said,

“Sapphire. About last night. Ummm. You know, I… uh…” Yunho trailed off and looked away from me, over at the forest.

“What about last night?” I asked, genuinely confused about what he was trying to say.

“Oh, well, you probably don’t even remember since you were mostly asleep but… When you were sleeping and leaning against my back your arm went kind of slack and almost dropped to your side and I didn’t want you to fall off because you weren’t holding on tight, so I took your hand to keep it around me and then in your sleep you, umm, you held my hand back.”  Yunho wasn’t looking at me which I was grateful for because there was no WAY I would have been able to keep my blush from showing. I felt my entire face heating up. Why is he bringing this up? I thought desperately. Was he about to tell me I shouldn’t have been so familiar with him? Or that he knew how I felt but didn’t feel the same? Or… or…!

Yunho flicked his gaze over to me and then looked away again. He put both his hands in his pockets and said, “I know you didn’t realize what you were doing but… I… I li…”

“Princess!!!!” I jumped a foot into the air and looked up. The large bird from before was streaking toward me at full speed and now it was obvious that it wasn’t a bird at all but a fairy and this fairy was…

…

“L.Joe!?” I yelled back in utter astonishment. Without slowing down in the slightest he streaked past Yunho, right to me, executed an almost 180 turn in midair and scooped me up into his arms, flying high into the air again.

“I found you. I found you! Oh Princess, I found you!”

I laughed so hard I started tearing up and I returned his hug. “L. Joe, what are you doing here? Why were you looking for me?”

L. Joe pulled back slightly so that we were looking at each other and he smiled that crooked smile I remembered from childhood days. “I’m a part of the Fairy Army, remember? Having the Fairy Princess go missing is of national importance. The Queen herself requested I lead a squadron of soldiers to start the search. My men and I all split up a day or two ago.” L.Joe then looked at me with concern. “I don’t want to offend you or anything, Princess, but you know being too thin is unhealthy right? It is ridiculously easy to hold you.”

I chuckled. “That’s what happens when an evil sorcerer holds you in a cell made of dark magic and only sees fit to feed you once in three days. But I am doing much better. Energy is at full.” I said, playfully flexing my magic so that L.Joe could feel that I was telling the truth. His concerned look stayed for a while but then he grinned.

“I can’t wait to tell everyone you’re okay!”

“Well this has been very interesting and all but you should probably bring me back to the ground. Yun…” I cleared my throat a bit, realizing I had almost addressed Yunho like I normally did, “Prince Yunho seems slightly concerned.” I said as I saw that Yunho had his sword out and was shouting at me and L. Joe. Probably threatening L.Joe and challenging him to a duel all at the same time.

“Oh that’s right. I heard the princes and your sister went looking for you. Where are they? Are they the ones sleeping around the fire?”

“I’ll explain it all later. Either take me down or I’ll fly on my own.” I said, pushing his shoulders slightly to show him I would do it. He chuckled and glided down to Yunho.  He touched down lightly and set me on my feet. Yunho was shaking with rage and he pointed his sword at L.Joe menacingly.

“Who are you?” He demanded with his teeth clenched and I noticed that there was a vein on his neck that was bulging slightly. How cute. I thought in surprise and then quickly stamped down the thought. Where in the world did that come from?

“Y… Prince Yunho.” I said, stepping in between L.Joe and Yunho. He looked at me in surprise and I thought I saw a flash of hurt cross his face. I blinked, wishing I could explain that if I addressed him as formally as I had been L. Joe would report it to my mother and who knew what she would think about that. Instead I said, “Do you remember the boy I told you about? That got trampled by the horses?” L. Joe grunted in surprise and indignation. He didn’t like remembering that experience, he thought it made him sound weak. Even though HE wasn’t the one terrified of horses after it happened.  “This is him. His name is L. Joe. We were friends when we were kids and my Mother asked him to lead some of the fairy soldiers in a search and rescue party for me.”

Yunho slowly lowered his sword. He stepped back from his menacing fighting stance and regarded me and L. Joe. He then looked past us and I turned to follow his gaze, wanting any excuse to not look at his shielded face that showed no emotion whatsoever. My eyes widened and I took off at a sprint as Shianne and Max came into view. Shianne waved at me enthusiastically but I could see that Max was supporting her. She must be at the last bit of the energy spell. When I reached her I was breathless but without even asking I placed a hand on her eyes and let raw energy flow into her. I felt her forehead relax underneath my fingers and she sighed in contentment.

I stepped back and took her hands in mine. Max took his arm from her waist and walked past us, giving us some privacy. I waited until I was sure that he and Yunho were keeping L. Joe busy before asking,

“So what did you need to talk to me about?”

Her hands grasped mine even tighter and she stared at the ground for a while. When she raised her eyes they were filled with suppressed fear. “It took over. Last night. For a little while I couldn’t fight it and I could only see darkness no matter what I did.” I took in a sharp breath of surprise and worry.

“Max helped me. He held me and reminded me about who I was and the people that I love. I pushed my way to his voice and broke free of the dark magic. But I can feel it Sapphire. I can’t hold it off much longer.”

“How long?” I asked breathlessly.

“I can’t know for sure. But… I won’t make it two more days Sapphire. I don’t think I’ll even make it through the day.”

I closed my eyes tightly, trying to think. There had to be a way to get Shianne out of here faster. Then my eyes flew open and I met Shianne’s eyes. “I have an idea. We’re going to have to leave the boys, L. Joe and I will fly you to the healers. We can fly over the forest instead of going through it. It’ll cut out a day of travel at least. And besides, the fairy healers live in the edges of the forest, not in the actual city. We can make it, Shianne.”

“Who’s L. Joe?” Shianne asked in confusion. I turned around and saw the boys watching us. I pulled Shianne over to them and introduced her to L. Joe. He was the epitome of polite formalness, as he had always been, as he conversed with Shianne. No matter how close I had gotten to him and how much we teased each other, he had never called me anything but ‘Princess’. 

I smirked at his ridiculous hair. It was one of his vanities. He used magic to change the color and texture of his hair at least once a month. Sometimes he would change it every day of the week. At the moment it was bleached almost to a white. He had returned to his stoic and serious side which had earned him respect among his fellow soldiers. Not many people knew that he had a playful and mischievous side. That was something that he only showed to a select few people.

My gaze slid from L. Joe over to Yunho who was standing behind L. Joe with Max beside him. Even though nothing was said between them I saw what looked like surprise and worry flash across Yunho’s face and he turned to Max for a brief second before he turned again to watch L. Joe with a complete lack of emotion. I forced myself to stop watching Yunho when introduction between L. Joe and Shianne were done and he had been caught up on what had happened.

“So L. Joe, will you help me get Shianne to a healer?” He smiled at me and gave me a thumb up.

“Even if it wasn’t my duty to, I would do anything for you, Princess.”

I rolled my eyes at him but felt myself smile. I had missed L. Joe. When he enlisted in the fairy army I was so upset. He had been my only friend growing up and I didn’t want to lose him. But when a fairy turns fifteen they start exploring future career options. They will wander through all the jobs available, soldier, healer, seamstress, musician, or spell binder, whatever it may be they wander until they find where they belong. Then depending on the job they will have to find a way to convince the master to take them on as an apprentice or just start working in the very lowest form of the job and work their way up.

L. Joe hadn’t even tried anything else. The day he turned 15 he left to enlist in the fairy army. We had written each other a couple times, but my lessons had become more intense as I had gotten older and he was always so busy with army stuff that it was normal for months to pass by without hearing from each other.

Now I stood back and observed him. He had grown taller. There was a time when I had been taller than him but now he was a good three inches taller than me. His posture had been fixed which was obviously due to army training but it made me happy to see that his mischievous look hadn’t been trained out of him yet, even if most people didn’t know to look for it.

Shianne walked over to Max and gave him a quick hug. They exchanged a short, whispered conversation before she turned to wake up Jonghyun and Lee and say goodbye. L. Joe walked over and started talking to Max who seemed happy to talk to him but he kept glancing over at Shianne who was talking to Jonghyun. I watched Max with raised eyebrows. I wondered what had happened to change Shianne’s behavior towards him. I would have to ask her on our way to the healers.

I felt something touch my elbow and I flinched away, turning to see who it was, to find myself staring into Yunho’s expressionless eyes. I felt myself gulp and faced him, wondering if he would continue with what he was saying earlier.

“So L. Joe is pretty special to you.” I blinked in surprise, not understanding what he wanted me to say.

“Well… aren’t all childhood friend special?” I asked hesitantly. I thought I saw a glimmer of something cross Yunho’s face before he masked it once more.

“Yes they are. But he seemed exceptionally pleased to see you.”

Before I could stop myself I snorted with amusement. I clapped my hands over my mouth quickly, wishing I could take it back. Then I saw Yunho’s look of astonishment and I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing. His dumbfounded look just added fuel to the fire. In between fits of laughter I managed to say,

“Except… exceptionally ple… pleased?” It felt so good to laugh, and pretend that everything in the world wasn’t falling apart. “Who… who says ‘exceptionally pleased’ in… a normal conversation?” I couldn’t seem to stop laughing and I didn’t particularly want to either. I looked up at Yunho and allowed myself to grin at him, letting go of my uncertainties and insecurities,

“L. Joe and I haven’t seen each other in two years and we were practically family for five years. Isn’t seeing a family member after two years a good reason to go a little overboard in greeting them?” Yunho blinked and then his face softened into a smile and he chuckled at me.

“Yah, I guess you’re right.” Then his expression turned a little serious.  He put his hands back into his pockets and I found myself wondering if that was a nervous habit for him. Instead of looking away from me though he looked me straight on this time and I found myself frozen in place by his intense gaze.

“Sapphire. You’re the fairy princess.” I stood still, waiting for him to continue. When he didn’t I raised an eyebrow.

“You just figured that one out, huh, Mr. Observant?” I asked sarcastically.

He opened his mouth and then groaned slightly, rubbing his neck with one hand before stuffing it back in his pockets. “What I meant to say is that I’m the Prince of Miralasia and you’re the Fairy Princess.” Again I waited and he didn’t elaborate.

“Yeeeeessss…” I said moving my hand in a “continue” motion.

“We’re in unique situations. We both have responsibilities to our own people. Responsibilities we’ve grown up learning how to handle. Ummm. You know what I mean?”

“Um. Sure. I mean, yah, I understand that even though we are future rulers of our separate kingdoms we probably have had a lot of the same experiences in life.” I said uncertainly, wondering where he was going with this.

“Right, but not only do we have past experiences in common our futures are very similar too. They’ve been mapped out for us. Eventually we’ll take over our parents throne’s and be responsible for governing our own people. So we have to keep that in mind whenever we make decisions, because they’re not just our decisions, they could be decisions that affect our future subjects.”

I looked at Yunho in surprise. This was a pretty deep conversation that I had actually thought about a lot as I daydreamed about becoming the next Fairy Queen. But why was he bringing this up? I nodded.

“Yah, I’ve definitely felt that way before. But, why are you telling me this?”

He opened his mouth and nothing came out. I leaned forward a little, pretending I hadn’t heard him. He opened his mouth again and still nothing. I smirked at him, leaned back and folded my arms, giving him my haughty look.

“I understand that you’re obviously tongue tied coming face to face with, as you so brilliantly pointed out, the Princess of the Fairies. It can be a bit intimidating to talk to me, I know, but being the Prince of Miralasia you should show a bit more pride in yourself, right?” I asked.

Yunho’s mouth dropped open in disbelief and then he laughed; really laughed. I smiled at him showing him that it had all been in fun. Then I dropped my arms back to my side and waited for him to calm down. It didn’t take long at all and he met my gaze.

“Seriously though, Yunho. What are you trying to tell me?”

Yunho looked at me for a long moment. This time when he opened his mouth words began to come out, “Sapphire. I don’t want to do anything that will cause problems for my future subjects. But I think that I can make myself happy and my people happy at the same time. So… I’m just going to say it, alright?”

I nodded slowly, trying to quell the illogical fear that I was feeling. He slowly took out one of his hands from his pockets. I watched as it slowly clenched and unclenched a couple times. Then he cleared his throat and I looked up at him.

“Sapphire, I… I”

“Princess!” L. Joe slung his arm around my shoulder and looked at Yunho with an expectant face. “Sorry to interrupt but if we’re going to get Shianne to the healer’s in time then we need to leave now.”

“N-now?”  I heard myself say and the disappointment in my voice was embarrassingly obvious.

“Of course, right Shianne?” L. Joe and I turned to look at her just in time to see her glaring daggers at L. Joe. Our eyes met and I realized that she wanted to strangle L. Joe for interrupting me and Yunho. I spluttered, trying to keep my laugh from coming out. I looked over at Yunho who looked completely bare, as if it had taken everything in him to say what he was about to say and it had been ripped right out of him. Without understanding why, I started to reach out my hand and I brushed my fingers along his. He looked at me and I smiled at him sadly.

“We’ll continue this when I get back, kay?” I whispered. Yunho glanced at L. Joe who hadn’t removed his arm from my shoulder. Then he nodded. L. Joe turned me around and we walked over to Shianne. I put my hands out with my arms crossed and L. Joe crossed his arms and took my hands. We then knelt down and gestured for Shianne to get on.

“You know I can fly too, right?” She said uneasily.

“Not as fast as we can, plus I heard your wings are burned too. It’s better to keep them hidden. They’ll heal faster.” L. Joe said patiently.

Shianne sighed, turned around, and sat on our arms. We then unfurled our wings. I looked over to see L. Joe’s familiar dragonfly-like wings. They were bright green with dark blue lines going all the way along the edges and one streak right through the middle. We instructed Shianne to wrap her arms around our necks and then looked at each other. He nodded slightly and as one we took a step and lifted off the ground. Within two second we were at our top speed, flying through the sky, finding the hidden airways that helped us work as little as possible and occasionally slipping into a current big enough that it added to our speed. With the wind in my face, my hands in L. Joe’s, and Shianne holding onto me, I honestly believed that we would make it.