Jang-mii exhaled deeply as she stood in the grass clearing, her eyes closed as she held the sword out in front of her. She could feel its weight in her hands, perfectly balanced, light as a feather yet still heavy with the weight of pure folded steel. The wind gently kissed her skin as it rolled over the forest, and she could hear that familiar melody of the leaves rustling in the trees, a million tiny voices merging into one wordless song. Her eyes twitched slightly as she heard a bumblebee buzz by in its search for pollen and nectar, likely far from its hive in the deep woods. She listened to everything, and heard; the song of the wilds that she had come to love, that she had come to want to protect.

Eyes still closed, she twirled the sword in her hand and began slowly drawing it through the air, imagining foes in slow-motion whirling around her. Her feet slid across the grass in a slow dance as her blade cut the wind, and she turned her body as the phantom soldiers slashed at her with their ghostly blades. She parried this one, countered that one, cut them down one by one and left them dying in the dust. The song of the wilds was replaced with the loud symphony of battle- ringing steel, rushing air, the screams of the dying. It was something that Jang-mii had never experienced, but she knew it nonetheless as she whirled about the clearing battling her phantom enemies. This is my reality. This is the road that I have taken, and I must follow it through to the end…

Where Baekhyun will be waiting.

She jerked out of her fantasy as the clearing rang with loud clapping, and she looked over her shoulder to find Lay sitting on a rock with a grin on his face banging his hands together. Breathless, she smiled weakly and sheathed the sword before turning around to face him.

“You’ve gotten quite skilled with that,” he remarked with a smile, rising from his rocky perch to place his hands on his hips and gesture to the sheathed sword. Since the willful princess had taken affinity for the art of swordplay, and was quite decent at it, the boys had stopped in a small town and purchased her a smallsword. It was much more suited for the young princess than the long, bulky blades the knights carried; it was well-balanced, and she could swing it about with ease. “The first princess knight in your country's history. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?” he laughed.

“Somehow I don’t think my mother would take kindly to that,” she chuckled and secured the belt about her waist. Unfortunately, they had only been able to purchase gear built for men, and so her tiny figure was not well-suited for the length of leather. Still, she made do. She glanced around the clearing looking for the very conspicuous form of her draconic companion, who was strangely absent. “Where is Kris?”

“Out hunting. Dragons gotta eat,” he mused, glancing out into the forest. Who knew how many leagues away her prince was, trawling the wilds for a hearty meal or two- or ten. They had traveled nearly across the vast expanse of Jang-mii's country in an effort to throw Baekhyun off their scent for a little while, but knowing that the bloodthirsty prince was out there, intent on killing her beloved and doing Lord-knows-what to her and her people, put her on edge. They could not run forever. Soon enough Baekhyun would catch them, or he would go tired of the chase and simply ravage her country until she lost taste for the suffering and surrendered. Neither option was very desirable, but what could Jang-mii do? Waltz back to her castle escorted by a unicorn and a dragon spinning a tale of deception that rivals myths of old? She would be hospitalized with some sort of fever or hysteria, discredited and mocked, and who knew what they would do to poor Kris.

Lay must have noticed her melancholy, because he smiled weakly and walked over to place a hand on her shoulder. “Worrying again?” he mused. “Rest assured, princess. We are safe here, at least long enough for us to formulate a plan,” he reassured her, but it did little to ease her troubled mind. She sighed deeply and looked away from him, gazing out into the green expanse of the trees.

“It is my duty to worry,” she sighed deeply before turning her back to him and proceeding toward the leafy green. “I’m going for a walk,” she announced bluntly, leaving the unicorn spluttering about dangers in the forest as she strode out of the clearing down a natural path into the deep of the forest. Her sword bumped against her leg with every step, the metal buckles on the strap jangling as she purposefully meandered down the worn path through the woods. As she traveled beneath the shifting leaves and the dappled sunlight, almost immediately her mind felt more at ease.

It was quite remarkable, really, how her attitude had adjusted so drastically in such a short period of time. When she had first landed in the wilds, they had seemed dark, foreboding, unnatural; it had been a place that she needed to escape immediately lest she fall prey to its many dangers. Now, however, the endless woods were almost like a comfort. She enjoyed the smell of decaying leaf litter in the air, the hum of birdsong echoing in the treetops, the whistle of the wind shaking the thousands of leaves around her. It reminded her of the garden at home, or so she had thought; perhaps the garden was only a glimmer of the life she had desired after all. Perhaps this is where she belonged, among nature, among her people, among the lawless wilderness that held so much beauty.

No. I could never stay here, she thought with a small sigh as she looked forlornly at the greenery. My people need me to rule, and I can only rule from the capital… she thought glumly as she continued to stride on, without purpose or reason, hoping that somehow she would stumble upon the solution to her incurable plague upon her beloved country, Baekhyun. I cannot marry him, and I cannot allow him to continue ravaging my country… But how can I go to war? I haven't an army, nor any way to contact my father, the only one who would believe me… And even if I could, it is such a tale that he would hardly be inclined to believe it. Still, it was the only conceivable option, and as such she would have to discover a way to return to the capital without arousing suspicion and alerting their avid pursuer- an endeavor that was much easier said than done. “Oh, what an adventure this has turned out to be,” she muttered under her breath as she stomped along the path.

She screamed as her foot slid across a damp patch of dirt and leaves and abruptly went out from under her. Her bottom collided with the ground, but she continued to slide in the dank undergrowth, screeching as she rolled down the slight incline head-over-heels. Leaves and small twigs tangled into her jet-black hair as her head thunked against the spongey ground, but the impact still jarred every bone in her body and made her mind swim. With a wail, she crashed through the underbrush and landed on her belly in the grass. Groaning, she lifted her head and spat out blades of grass and dirt, looking around miserably. She had landed at the bottom of the small ravine, right off the edge of the natural path. She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, picking the debris out of her stiff, unwashed locks as she blinked repeatedly in an attempt to regain her composure. After a minute of sitting in the grass, she was able to comprehend what she was looking at.

The path had opened up considerably, and it was obvious that it was somewhat maintained; the ferns and brambles were cut back to make the path, consisting of dead leaves and dirt, even and neat. On either side, the grass was tangled, thick, and lush. She ran her fingers over the green blades that were absorbing the sun's warmth, and she enjoyed the smoothness of them over the soft skin of her fingers. The trees curved over the small walkway with their leafy branches stretched in all directions in fierce competition to have access to every ray of sunlight beaming down from the heavens. Her gaze swept over the scenery, then stopped short.

“I know that tree,” she murmured as she tilted her head slightly, staring intently at a twisted oak lying just off the path. It was quite the specimen, quite unlike the rest of the surrounding trees; it was old and gnarled, its branches twisted in knots and invading the space of its neighbors as its gigantic leaves as big as her face were bathed in the life-giving sunlight. Its trunk was massive, so large that if she wrapped her arms around its girth her fingers would never even touch. She had seen it once, just once, but she could never forget its majesty, especially after what happened after.

With a gasp, she scrambled to her feet and walked over to the path, her heart pounding in her chest as she gazed down the long natural walkway, where the forest grew darker and hazy with mist. A breeze shot down the path originating from the dank passageway, but it was chilly and unnerving, and rather than carrying the warmth and scent of wildflowers and fresh grass of the wilds, to Jang-mii, it smelled like death and decay. She ran her hands over her arms and shuddered; her skin had turned to gooseflesh in response to the ill wind. How did I not feel this the first time? She wondered. She glanced over her shoulder as ghostly laughter drifted through the forest, and she watched in slight wonder as memory dances before her eyes. She wasn’t sure if it was an illusion or in her own mind.

“Come on, Jang-mii!” Like a blue of the wind, she could see the form of Kris, ten years old with a shock of russet brown hair and a goofy smile on his chubby face, wearing a gilded tunic emblazoned with the roaring dragon that was the symbol of his household, standing at the edge of the path with his hands on his hips. In front of him was herself ten years prior, in a green silk dress curled up in a ball sobbing miserably.

“I don't want to go!” she wailed. As Jang-mii watched, the phantasms of the children seemed to shift and fade in and out of focus, like a mirage of the forest. “I'm scared, Kris! I want to go back to the castle! Mummy will beat me something terrible when we get back if she finds out I was gone! She would say that this is not the proper way for a princess to act!”

“So, what?” the young prince snorted as he crossed his arms and regarded her with a pout. “All that prince and princess stuff is boring. I’m gonna marry you, not her, and I don't want some stuck-up, snooty princess! I want you to be yourself!” he insisted with a smile and crouched down in front of her. He put his hand on her head, gently her soft hair, just like the present Kris did so often. “You really do have such beautiful hair,” he commented as she looked up at him with teary, sea-blue eyes. “Are you scared of the woods, Jang-mii? I’ll take you home,” he sighed.

“No!” she cried indignantly, catching the young prince by surprised. She puffed out her cheeks, her face red from crying. “I wanna keep going. I don’t care if Mummy beats me. I want to have fun with you, Kris. Mummy never lets us play. She says it's improper,” she huffed bitterly and then wiped her eyes stiffly, and then gave him a bright smile. “I’m okay now. You’ll protect me, won't you?”

“Uh-huh! I’m gonna be a knight, after all!” he grinned haughtily and stood up to puff out his chest proudly. “I’m gonna be the best knight that will ever serve you, Jang-mii! I’ll always protect you, no matter what!” With that declaration, he held out his hand and pulled the princess to her feet, holding her hand tightly as he led her down the worn path. Jang-mii watched with a complicated expression as the phantasms melted into the mist.

Even after he was cursed, he continued to keep his promise, she thought wryly and looked down at herself. She wasn’t much of a princess anymore, really; she had not bathed properly in days on end, and her milky skin had turned tan from a thin layer of dirt combined with her constant exposure to the sun. The blue dress that had been constructed by the playful fairies was frayed and ripped and covered in grime. Her black hair, normally luscious and soft, hung about her in hopeless unkempt tangles that looked more like unwoven rope than hair. Yet he still loves me, she thought with a slight chuckle and glanced back to the mist-covered pathway. It is high time that I kept my promise to him, she decided. Though she was terribly afraid, and unsure of what she might find, she steeled her nerve and set off down the trail, vanishing into the mist like the vision of her childhood only moments ago.

She swallowed nervously as she walked hesitantly through the mist. Its tendrils s around her, gently grasping at her skin with begging fingers, attempting to lead her astray. She could barely see the path in front of her as she dived deeper into the spectral fog, and all she could do is put one foot in front of the other. The air grew sheer white around her, writhing with the dense fog as she walked on. She didn't need to see to get where she was going; though it had been a decade, she remembered this pathway quite well, even though then it had not been shrouded in the ephemeral mist. It was as if her feet carried her of her own accord.

Suddenly, the forest fell away and the air cleared, the fog burned off by the harsh sunlight streaming down from the open blue sky above her head. The forest circled a vast open space, and in the middle sat a dilapidated cabin that Jang-mii had not seen in ten long, miserable years. Her fingers tightened into the flower fabric of her dress as she gazed at it, all the fear and hurt rushing back at her at once.

“Jang-mii! Run away!” The screams of terror and agony her beloved had released as he was undergoing the first terrible transformation echoed in her mind, and the emotion that came with them was so strong that a tear slipped from her eye and rolled silently down her cheek.

“Come on, Jang-mii. The witch is dead. There is nothing to fear,” she whispered to herself in an attempt to raise her nerve. Surely, if there was any way to cure the curse afflicting her beloved Kris, it would be in the old haunt of that gnarly hag. Come on, Jang-mii, she insisted once more before in a deep breath and stomping over to the building. She teased the door open and raised her eyebrows as it abruptly fell off its hinges and crashed to the floor, flakes of rust scattering to the floor and floating in the air. Jang-mii coughed and waved a hand in front of her face as she stepped into the small cabin. The air was dank with mold and decay, and the sunlight streaming in through the broken windows and the gaps in the wood illuminated the countless dust particles floating in the air. As she walked across the uneven planks, the fine dust flew in clouds about her feet. Though it had grown dustier and more ramshackle, it was certainly the same witch's cabin she and Kris had stumbled upon all those years ago.

Jang-mii strode over to one of the tables and began rifling through the contents, grabbing one of the old tomes to begin flipping through the contents. Runes were inked into the pages, as well as incantations and instructions written in the Common Tongue. There were a menagerie of spells contained within the volume- healing potions for various maladies, spells to repair damaged items, spells to summon beasts of all natures, and, most importantly, spells of transformation. She read each one carefully, and when she finally landed upon that which she desired, her breath caught in . The page was inked with the drawing of a magnificent crimson dragon not unlike the form which Kris took now. Hastily, she read over the words, describing the awful spell in magnificent detail.

“Here it is!” she whispered as her eyes landed on a particular passage. Let's see… As her blue eyes read the moth-bitten page, her blood slowly began to run cold. This curse is one of transformation that gives the afflicted the form of a dragon, in which he or she is human once at noon and once again at midnight… The curse is indefinite and can be lifted by no magic known to any other beast or man. Over time the curse will worsen and the time between transformations will shorten, until the time comes that the afflicted will be inseparable from the beast in both form and consciousness. Two exit clauses exist for this curse. First, the original caster can choose to lift the curse. Second, the curse may be lifted without the power of the original caster only by an act of the purest love.

“’An act of the purest love'?” she murmured as her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. What could such an act entail? She loved Kris, for certain, and she had acted upon that in a variety of ways. She could not fathom what kind of act would have to be performed, but at the very least, there was hope for Kris. It was the other part that concerned her. “The curse will worsen,” she read once more. She could feel the bile rising in the back of . “Kris is running out of time,” she realized in horror. Jang-mii had to find a way to lift the curse, and soon, or else someday Kris would transform into the dragon and never turn back.