The four girls landed in the middle of a grass field, the sun was still high signalling it was a little after noon the birds continued to fly high in the sky unaware of the chaos that had just ensued. Seulgi stood up and helped up a slightly disoriented Irene the older girl thanked her and looked over to her sister who was still holding Wendy’s hand.

“Are you okay?” Irene asked Yeri as she walked over to her sister who was looking up at the sky with a small smile.

“Yes it’s just nice to be outside again.” Yeri replied causing Irene to smile as well.

“Where are we?” Yeri questioned as she looked around her surroundings, she could spot trees a few kilometres away from them in the distance other than that there was nothing surrounding them in their current vicinity apart from a peaceful flowing river.

“We are 5 acres deep in the forest of Fikers.” Seulgi replied nonchalantly.

“That’s nearly what a 2 week journey from our home.” Yeri exclaimed in astonishment remembering when her father had spoken of great adventures he had in this very forest. “How did we even get here so fast?” Yeri asked in wonder and awe.

“Magic, isn’t it great.” Seulgi replied lightly teasing the younger girl as she saw Yeri scowl at her, Yeri’s dislike of magic clearly showing in her eyes.

“Not great.” Yeri simply said however before Seulgi say anything Irene decided to in before Seulgi decided to tease the youngest and leave her in a foul mood.

“So what do we do now?” Irene asked looking at Seulgi who seemed to have made up a plan.

“Follow me we’ll get some supplies and start the journey.” Seulgi replied.

“What about Wendy?” Yeri asked standing up to stretch her legs.

“Magic.” Seulgi replied directing her hand towards Wendy’s body with a flick of her wrist upwards Wendy’s body had begun to float. “Pretty cool right?” Seulgi asked Yeri who simply ignored the older girl and looked across at the calm river. The trio and a floating Wendy that followed them closely behind walked for a few meters before stopping in front of a large boulder which didn’t seem out of place as it was surrounded by smaller boulders, and a large tree a few feet away shielding the boulders with a shadow concealing them even in broad daylight.

“How come we’re stopping?” Irene asked Seulgi who waved a hand in front of her self.

“There’s a glamour and protection spell placed here, meaning the cottage has been protected.” Seulgi replied and with that single wave the spells were removed gone were the boulders instead a small, proud cottage stood in front of the girls, it looked in great condition as it stood in the grass fields for it did not look the slightest bit out of place with the breath of fresh that it was surrounded by. “We need to pick up a few supplies and then we’ll make our way.” The girls followed Seulgi through the oak door and in to the cottage, the inside was a complete contrast to the freshness outside as it suddenly became stuffy and messy when the girls entered.

“Seulgi what the hell type of potion is this?” A voice exclaimed loudly, thunderous steps were heard however Seulgi did not react instead she walked towards the left and picked up a rucksack. “Seugi I said.. Oh we have guests?” Eyes turned to the newest member that entered the room, she was tall and had jet black hair a complete contrast to her milky white skin and pearly white teeth, she could be mistaken for a princess with her great visuals however her red eyes did not allow that to occur but just like Seulgi she did not have a Vesalis symbol on her head.

“This is Joy but living with her is nothing but pain...” Seulgi introduced but abruptly stopped as she saw Joy glaring in her direction.  “Just joking it was a bad joke I know but, anyways, this is Irene and Yeri from the Bae dynasty and that floating person is Wendy a friend of theirs. Now can you help me pack some things and I’ll explain what’s happening, please make yourself at home but don’t touch anything this girl has some pretty mean pranks lying around.” Seulgi said Joy seemed to look at the princesses in surprise quickly bowing to them before following Seulgi and scolding the older girl for bring royalty in to their home without warning.

“How do you even know her? Why do you even trust her so much?” Yeri asked Irene as the younger girl went to look out of the window instead of roaming the house, she didn’t trust the two and if they said there were pranks Yeri was going to stay away from them if they involved magic.

“She…” Irene didn’t know how to respond as she watched Yeri from behind. “She helped me to see light after the darkness of fathers’ death, if she wanted to harm me or the family then she could have done so a thousand times already but she didn’t.” Irene approached Yeri and gave her a hug conveying that she would protect her if her trust was misplaced even if Irene did doubt that. “Seulgi is here instead helping us to save Wendy, she didn’t have to but she did, she didn’t have to save us but she did, so let’s trust Seulgi and save Wendy.” Yeri wrapped her arms around Irene as she listened to what her older sibling was saying, it was true Seulgi had no obligation to do either of those things but she did that makes her different from the people who killed her father.

Seulgi was stuck against the wall as she heard what the sisters had been talking about, she wasn’t one for eavesdropping but she didn’t want to walk in on the moment. So she decided listening in to the conversation would be the better thing to do instead of seeing what was taking Joy so long, because that sounds more logical right? Seulgi wasn’t sure if she stayed and listened because her heart swelled in happiness as she heard of the trust Irene held within her.  Seulgi saw Joy emerging from the potions rooms they had so she quickly made her way in to the room so Joy didn’t question why she was stood outside for so long. Irene ad Yeri looked at Seugi enter with a rucksack placed on her shoulders and a new set of clothes.

“How come you don’t wear dresses?” Yeri curiously asked Seulgi it was uncommon in Yeri’s land for women to not be wearing dresses, it had become a norm for any woman to wear a dress in public, even female hunters would wear dresses.

“It’s easier to fight in now we need to change your outfits to, your majesties.” Joy replied as she entered the room with another rucksack placed over her shoulders and a sheath with a sword identical to the one Seulgi was carrying. “Now we can’t have you travelling in those clothes we’ll have to change them.”

“But only if you’re sure if you want to come with us this is your last chance to back out.” Seulgi questioned before Joy had the opportunity to click her fingers.

“We’re coming.” Yeri replied with conviction that made Irene proud, Seulgi gave a nod to Joy who clicked her fingers and with a poof the princesses’ royal dresses had disappeared instead they were clad with hunters outfits just like Seulgi and Joy. Their sandals had been replaced by knee length boots that would give them the required support they would need to walk in the forest, their dresses had gone to make room for pants and a shirt that was held by a corset making sure no unnecessary fabric would get in their way.

 “Our ultimate destination is the mountains above Fickers, now we can’t teleport further than this and neither can we travel by horse so our journey will be made on foot.” Seulgi said her eyes looking Irene from head to toe without realising Seulgi had been checking the older girl out.

“How come we can’t travel by horse?” Irene asked meeting Seulgi’s eyes who just happened to be blushing at that moment hoping that nobody saw her previous actions.

“Have you heard of stories that horses in Fickers misbehave?” Joy asked to which Irene deeply pondered whilst Seulgi gave a sigh of relief as nobody seemed to realise what was going through her head at that moment in time.

“Father would tell us, he had once come here but his horse had thrown him off and disappeared.” Yeri replied reminding Irene of the story her father had told her when he took Yeri’s favourite horse for it to never to be seen again.

“Not only in the forest but even in the kingdom of Fickers horses are not well behaved due to the horse fearing the power that emanates from the mountains, even birds don’t flock towards the mountain.” Seulgi explained as she walked to a hanger and took two cloaks and passed them to Irene and Yeri. “It can get cold so it’s better to be prepared, it also helps you to disguise with the shadows.” Irene thanked Seulgi as she helped Yeri wear her cloak before putting it on herself.

“We should go now we have a lot of distance to cover.” Joy commented to which everybody agreed, Seulgi opened the door and led the way outside with Joy at the back. Once they exited the cottage with a wave of Seulgi’s hand the cottage disappeared with boulders sitting there instead, they followed the river south towards the mountains which could barely be seen due to the mist that is constantly surrounding them. Majority of the day had gone by as they continued to walk, the grass fields gone and now they were surrounded by lots’ and lots’ of trees, Yeri looked at Wendy’s floating form wondering how the girl was doing, what was she dreaming of? And how were her mother and Suho? It had been many hours since the attack did they get news? Were they attacked? All these thoughts and many more were clouding her mind so much so that she wondered if her sister had any of these thoughts, she seemed calm and collected as they walked side by side.

“Seulgi, do you know why the castle was attacked?” Irene asked the question which had been bothering the whole time.

“It seems Vesalis wants to claim dominance in your kingdom so when the Queen and Prince left they could take control.” Seulgi replied taking a compass out of her pocket to check they were heading the right way.

“Why would they do it when mother and Suho aren’t there?” Yeri asked reaching out for Irene’s hand which was already by her side ready to entwine their fingers together.

“They could make a deal that the Queen and prince would have to obey as they already took control of the castle, but if they kill the Queen and the Prince first that would be too easy like taking candy from a baby, they want to give a little torture to easier kills.” Joy replied casually causing Yeri’s blood to suddenly boil.

“What do you mean easily? Do you think this is all a game? Let’s go and kill so people never get to see their loved ones again is that what your kind is like?” Yeri exclaimed stopping everybody in their tracks, all faces turned to Yeri who had tears pouring out of her eyes as she looked at Joy with a wrath in her eyes which was to be feared. “Do you enjoy killing because it’s easy? You talk of it as it’s as easy as breathing.”  

“That’s not wha….” However before Joy could explain herself Yeri latched herself off of Irene’s grip and quickly ran away as Irene was left calling her name, Yeri ran and ran the only things she could see were trees and more trees all blurry due to the tears clouding her vision. One step, two step, three step, trip and Yeri tripped over a tree branch, she landed on the cold damp floor where leaves were littered allowing herself the opportunity to cry in to them whilst the sun stood proud up in the sky giving her false hope that everything would be fine. She was completely unaware of her surroundings till a whooshing sound brought her back to reality. Looking up she saw it was Seulgi with a bow and arrow looking in the direction of Seulgi’s eyes Yeri saw she had shot a big black bird with an arrow sticking out of it.

“Vulture’s here are about two times bigger than normal vultures you would normally see, the magic affected them which means we’re getting closer to the mountain.” Seulgi said drawing her arrow back but not putting it back in her bag just in case anything else pops out. “Joy and Irene are going to make camp so we should get back before it gets dark, this forest is dangerous at night.” Yeri said nothing as she looked at Seulgi’s outstretched hand for a while before disregarding it and sitting up by her-self, Seulgi decided to sit next to Yeri and look at the sky.

“Thank you.” Yeri said after a few moments of silence.

“For what?” Seulgi questioned looking at the younger girl who was still looking up at the sky.

“For saving me now, for saving us at the castle, for helping us save Wendy.” Yeri replied, even if she didn’t like people with magic she couldn’t help but think of all the times magic has now come to save her or someone with magic has saved her.

“It’s alright believe it or not this person with magic actually likes seeing people live.” Seulgi said in a light tone causing Yeri to chuckle as she finally looked over at the older girl.

“Am I being a burden to the group?” Yeri asked suddenly.

“No you’re just emotional right now and you do have a right to be, but I just want you to know Yeri me and Joy we will never bring harm to you or Irene or Wendy, Joy isn’t so good with words after all it is hard to steal candy from a baby, but she means no harm in what she said she would come back to the castle with me and kill all those people who hurt your family if you wanted. Right now Irene’s really shouting at Joy, she’s like a small angry violent bunny.”  Seulgi explained causing Yeri to laugh as she looked back up at the sky it seemed the sun had begun to set. Seulgi stood up and put out a hand to which Yeri did take this time and was pulled up, with a click of Seulgi’s fingers the dirt from Yeri had vanished leaving no trace that she tripped.

“You’re actually a nice person I see why Irene likes you.” Yeri said as they made their way to where the others were.

“She likes me?” Seulgi asked eyes wide heart hammering as she thought back to Irene.

“Well yeah that’s why she’s friends with you.” Yeri replied causing Seulgi’s heart rate to come hammering down, Yeri seemed unaware of what her answer had done to the older girl as she continued to talk. “She doesn’t just befriend everyone I was surprised she became friends with you but she became lonely so I’m glad she was able to make a friend.” It seemed Yeri was unintentionally adamant of keeping Seulgi in Irene’s list of friend zone.

“Yep happy to be a friend.” Seulgi said in a cheerfully bitter tone one that Yeri didn’t seem to pick up on. “Right we’re here now but please don’t run off again little one.” Yeri agreed as they walked towards two tents and a fire. Joy and Irene both seemed deeply worried as they stared at the fire with harsh concentration.

“I’m sorry for running away.” Yeri apologised as soon as she entered camp, Irene jumped up and ran towards her younger sibling and putting her in to an embrace so tight Yeri had difficulty breathing.

“I was so worried about you, you just yelled and then ran I was wondering if anything happened nothing happened though did it….” Before Irene could continue with her babbling Seulgi grabbed Irene by her shoulders and led her away explaining that Yeri was fine and she just needed time to breathe giving Joy some time to apologise to the youngest.

“I’m sorry for what I said I didn’t mean to sound insensitive.” Joy apologised standing in front of Yeri her voice full of regret at the choice of words he chose to spew.

“It’s alright Seulgi told me you didn’t mean it I should be sorry for yelling at you and saying some very insulting things and then running away like that.” Yeri said apologising for her earlier actions.

“Yeah if we think about it you did do the most wrong things.” Joy teased earning a jab in the stomach from Yeri who had eased up by now. “Well it is true that many of my kind do like to kill but I’m not them nor do I ever want to be like them, Irene gave me a stern lecture to and the punishments she described were too graphic for me to ever think of insulting you gain.” Yeri smiled as she listened to Joy laughing a she thought of Irene being intimidating.

“I’m sorry for saying that I don’t even know you and I just said it in the spur of the moment.” Yeri said apologising once again.

“How about we both put the apologising behind us and start fresh.” Joy said to which Yeri happily agreed to. “Well then Princess Yeri let us walk to get some food that the oldies are making.” Yeri laughed as she walked with Joy to the fire where Seulgi and Irene were roasting some meat over the fire.

“Where did you get the meat from?” Yeri questioned as she was handed a piece.

“Take a bite first.” Seulgi instructed Yeri followed the instructions and took a bite it was tough to bite in to but it tasted great.

“What is it?” Yeri asked eagerly taking another bite.

“Vulture.” Seulgi replied causing Yeri to choke, Joy patted the girls back whilst Irene gave her some water. “You expected me to let such a big kill escape? We’re hunters now who need food.” Seulgi exclaimed digging deeper in to her food just like a hungry huntress.

“How did you bring the Vulture here? When did you skin it? How did you cut it?” Yeri questioned baffled at how this happened before her very eyes but she had no idea when or how.

“Magic.” Seulgi replied causing Yeri to roll her eyes as she took another bite of the meat.

“How does it even taste good?” Yeri asked.

“Magic.” Was Seulgi’s reply once again, Yeri decided not to ask any more questions the answers seemed to be repetitive when it comes to Seulgi.

“How much farther is the mountain?” Irene asked looking at the direction they were to head tomorrow morning, nothing could be seen the darkness of the forest made sure anybody who ventured this far and late would get lost within.

“We should reach the foot of the mountain after noon, from then climbing up the mountain will be the most difficult part.” Seulgi replied.

“Try to get a good rest the journey up the mountain will be tiresome.” Joy said to which Irene and Yeri agreed,  the night seemed much more terrifying as howls of animals were heard and the rustling of the bushes were eerie to the princesses who would usually sleep in the comforting safety of their castle.

“We put a protection spell around the camp so nothing should get through.” Seulgi said to Irene who was standing outside of the tent looking around.

“How come you have two tents doesn’t it take up more room in your bags? Or what if something happens and we need you and Joy?” Irene questioned her eyes still wandering around the forest.

“You’re princesses we guessed you’d like to have a big roomy tent.” Seulgi replied causing Irene to chuckle. “Our bags are enchanted so that we could put in as much as we want and don’t worry about anything getting through the protection spell.” Irene eased up and looked over at Seulgi who was now standing right by her side causing Irene to slightly jump up in surprise.

“Do you not make any noise when you move?” Irene questioned to which Seulgi chuckled. “Good night Seulgi please don’t scare me when I’m in the tent.” Seulgi laughed as she watched Irene make her way inside. The tent was large within, much larger than the tent that Irene had once stayed in when she went hunting with her father when she was younger. This tent housed a table with benches to sit on as well as a bunk bed where Yeri was peacefully sleeping and a single bed where Wendy was laying. Irene allowed her thoughts to wonder to her family, she had thought of them the whole day but she couldn’t let them dig too deep in to her brain her main priorities at this moment were to make sure Wendy would be fine and Yeri would not be harmed. However now laying in the bed the exhaustion of the days’ events began to cripple in to Irene’s body, her mental state became polluted from having to stay strong but she couldn’t let herself be weak now. She knew her mother and Suho would be fine they were strong; she just hoped they could fight off whatever threat was going to come their way. With those thoughts Irene’s eyes drooped off to a land of sleep where she was sure her thoughts would return in the form of either a nightmare or dream she wasn’t sure which though.

“They couldn’t have possibly disappeared in to thin air!” Suho exclaimed throwing his arms in to the air, he was beyond frustrated, beyond angry, beyond any emotion that could be described by a single word. The prince was pacing in the queen’s study room the room where his father the king would sit and make the important decisions.  He and the Queen had been informed by a message on one of their trusted black ravens that there had been an attack and the princesses had been kidnapped, so they made their way back to the kingdom as quick as their horses could manage and sent a few men to apologise to Luxor that they could not make it.

“Some of these fighters did disappear in to thin air.” Changmin stated as he recalled his encounter with a few of the fighters. Suho looked at Changmin with an unreadable expression making the soldier slightly worried as Suho was quite easy to read.

“Did our soldiers take care of each of these intruders?” The Queen asked from her position on the late Kings seat at the table, he was calm collected man in these testing times after decades of experience and now it was her time to be patient.

“Yes but it was strange for a moment everything felt like it stopped when a grey mist appeared but then once it went all the intruders dropped.” Yunho replied he remembered going in for a swing and then this mysterious fog came and just as he blinked it all went away with the intruder in front of him dropping down.

“And you said that Irene, Wendy and Yeri were all in the same room then somebody entered he was killed and they just disappeared.” Suho spoke his voice low as he attempted to think of what could have happened to the girls.

“Thank you for telling us all the details gentleman please see to it that nobody slacks off we are on high alert now, we must search for the princesses in every corner.” The Queen announced.

“Yes Ma’am.” With that the soldiers exited the room and left the Queen and Prince in silence.

“Maybe if I let Yeri go out nothing would have happened to her after all they only attacked the castle not the rest of the kingdom.” Suho said bitterly. “Yeri was right this place was just a prison for her I shoul….”

“Don’t blame yourself now Suho you couldn’t have possibly have known what was going to happen.” The Queen said attempting to soothe Suho but she couldn’t help the blame that surged through her as she thought back to that mornings’ breakfast. “For now we should think rationally on how to help the girls and that starts by knowing more on Vesalis.”

“How do we find out anything? We don’t have a single lead?” Suho exclaimed.

“Luxor.” The Queen simply stated, this time the Queen decided to leave on her own much to the protest of Suho however the people in the kingdom would feel much safer if at least one person of royalty was left behind. Yunho and Changmin would both accompany the Queen, she never felt safe in Luxor but she knew they were a key to knowing more on this mysterious race.