Genre(s): Romance, Fluff, Fantasy, Comedy

Since the beginning of time, tooth fairies would carry out orders and leave their realm.

However, recently, pixies are going missing and only a handful manage to return.

Many of the tiny creatures believe the human race is responsible.

So what will happen when a human wanders into their world?

Traveling through or over unfathomable marshlands has always been a simple task for those who could fly. And you would think the Princess of fairies, with her pristine complexion, elevated, voluptuous structure that she, too, would possess the most enchanting, glamorous, and evenly wings of all. But you’re slightly wrong. See, and I promise you she will get them soon, but only after she finds true love.

Until a later time, I’ll just say this: if she was presumably a butterfly then she’s at a caterpillar stage. Fair enough? I think so. Now before we lose her, let’s see where she has gone off to.

Mud squelched under her fabric silver slippers as she prowls the depressing area; questing for her favorite human food. "Potato!” She shrieked before scurrying over to the vegetable that was pillared up and against a leafless tree. With a look of ecstasy on her face, she hollers at her loyal subordinates, who were a few steps short—or rather a few steps high and off the ground, “Sooyoung Park! Yerim Kim! Here’s one!”

“Princess!” They shouted in unison as they floated down to secure her sides. With haste, the taller one, Sooyoung, tugs her by the forearm before shushing her. “That was too loud Princess. If the mites hear you they’ll bring reinforcement and we might lose it again!”

The other, Yerim, snuggled herself close to the Princess as she hummed in agreement, “Sooyoung is right, Princess. If we want to avoid running into creepy crawlers we have to be quiet,” she nags.

Quizzically the royal member furrows her thin, jet black brows as she asks, “Why? I’m the Princess of this marshland. Why can’t I collect what is rightfully mine?”

The duo refused to take her seriously as Sooyoung moved on to state, “Princess, the mites follow their own system as so do we. This is why the Queen always scolds you for cutting Teacher Bae’s lessons. Her teachings consists of ours and the mites code of conduct, you would know this if you attended them,”

She detects no lies in Sooyoung’s lecture but chose to bicker, “Sooyoung Park, I didn’t skip her class so I can hear it from you. You know she and I don’t get along. I can’t stand her stringencies. In addition, my mother has been in my ear all day about her. Give me a break,” she sighs before glancing at the food nearly their size. “Forget it. Help me bring this in. I’m hungry. Aren’t you?”

“Yes!” Yerim answer as she shoots her closed hand into the air. Her eye-smile faded when she was left alone to face a serious crossed-arms Sooyoung. “Oh. Where did Princess Maerin go?” The tall one sighs before shaking her head. Her body language itself tells slow-witted Yerim not to ask any more questions and to just follow her. As the girls work to lift the potato off the ground, their transparent, sparkling wings began to flutter; together they took off from the mushy ground.

With heavy steps, Maerin stopped behind a viney curtain; the only entity keeping her from being home already. For a moment, any troubled thoughts she had perished as she picks one of the purple flowers flourishing on the drape. She brought it down to her nose then gently, she inhales its scent. She smiled from Elvish ear to another before making her way in.

Inside, a sudden high scream startled her. And almost immediately her effort to maintain the flower’s original shape and form was a loss, as the flower was smashed into pieces between her hands. Peeping up, she watches as a figure hurry down the stone steps. “Human! Stop it!” One of the royal maids cried as heavy footsteps trickled down from around the corner.

Maerin’s eyes doubled in size as the creature came closer, only to stop inches from her.

“The Princess! He’s taking her hostage!” The guard, clad in gold armor, in the front, declared, “Stop him from kidnapping her!” Maerin wasn’t certain which Princess they were referring to since she was fine. And last time she checked she was the only one too.

“Princess?” She saw the earthling mouth before he snatched her by the wrist and tried to take her. But Maerin wasn’t sure if it was because of his scrawniness or the power of potato that he fell onto his bottom the moment he touched her.

“Princess! Move away from him, he’s dangerous!”

Dangerous? At the thought of her flower, Maerin did what no one would have expected from the Princess.

“What?!” The Queen, a snowy white Elvish in red, shot up from her seat, “The Princess got into a scuffle with a small human?!” Her red lips trembled with shock, fear, and anger as her servants shiver at her tone. “Where is she? Where is the Princess?!”

The royal guard didn’t dare lift his head as he pointed to his right, “At her headquarter. B-but your highness, what should we do with the h-human?”

“What do you mean? Lock down all entries and switch off all portals. Arrange an urgent assembly and rally up every pixie. I have an announcement to make after I speak to the Princess,”

“Y-yes your highness,”

The Queen flapped out her large, twinkling red butterfly wings as she swoops out of the room made and protected by layers of crystal glass. In seconds, she landed in front of a mauve wooden door as she turned the doorknob and became staggered.

Except for the walls, everything was a shade of purple. Though the color contributes, it was hardly blameworthy for the Queen being shocked.

Maerin’s back was turned to her as the lass could be seen slurping down potato soup and chomping down something else. Sooyoung and Yerim who noticed her entry gasped a little as she gestured for them to remain still. Judging by their facials, the Queen knew her daughter has requested just more than potato soup for lunch.

“Guys, I said come join me. Hurry before my mother—” Maerin gasped, wanting to swallow up her words when she caught sight of her parent. “Mother!” She sprang up before hiding the piece of beef behind her back. “What’s the occasion? You usually don’t pay me personal visits…,”

The Queen’s stern expression melted into a disappointed one when she heaves a sigh, “Princess, remember what I said about consuming meat?”

As if her timbre was contagious, Maerin’s voice held no color when she recited the answer, “It poisons and cripple our wings...,”

“Then why do you continue to eat it?”

“Your Highness, my wings have hardly come in yet and—”

“And because you do not bear them at the moment, you refuse to be careful?”

Maerin frown. Growing up, she knew it was her duty to care. Particularly her responsibility as the Princess. But to govern her to the maximum was too much:

“Careful? Mother, I’ve been nothing but careful all these years. I’ve been a prisoner in my own room ever since five. No villagers out there know my face! They laugh at me when I say I’m the Princess! All I wanted was a moment of joy but now I can’t even have that because it’ll destroy my future. Why can’t I live a little mother? I just want a normal life!” She screamed with wet eyes.

However, the Queen was like a statue as she stated, “And I have told you. Only a quietus will deliver you of your position,” the room was dead silent before the larger fairy spoke again. “You say you have been a prisoner but have you once thanked me? Whilst our fairies have been absent, I trusted you enough to grant your passing through the portal, without following you,” Maerin could not argue as she knew her mother has spoken nothing but the truth.

The young was also aware that every princess has gone through something similar.

Fairies are ruled by females so every Princess’s life is the first priority. Even with the progression of vanishing pixies, the number of Maerin’s personal guards remain the same—all one-hundred-and-twenty-three of them out of an army of two hundred.

So she knew. That like her, the Queen has endured nearly twenty years of imprisonment. It may sound like a little but consider that the average fairy only live up to be fifty and no more than sixty; that’s nearly half their lifespan.

“I’ve called for a town assembly. Today is the day I have decided to introduce you to the villagers,”

An announcement so sudden and of the sort normally means bad news. Maerin has seen it. When her grandmother fell ill and decided to come down and hand over her crown to the current queen. Disturbed by it, Maerin’s jaw dropped a little as she voiced, “Mother…,”

The Queen placed her hands on Maerin’s shoulders as she squeezed them a little, “Be brave. Be strong. Never forget what Teacher Bae and I have taught you, my dear,” and for the first time, in a long time, the royalty smiled sweetly at her own offspring. From the side, Yerim and Sooyoung locked hands as they were delighted by the warm sight.

Then quickly the elder was reminded of why she visited her old room, before it became Maerin’s, “I heard you came across a human. Seeing that you were eating meat and drinking potato soup just fine I suppose you’re alright. But next time you should avoid them, they are dangerous and—”

Remembering how pure the so-called tiny human was, Maerin suddenly became excited, “Oh mother!” Unknowingly she grabbed her mother’s hands and cupped them in hers, “How’s his being? He doesn’t look like us but his stature is of ours! I thought humans were giants?”

Confused by her comment and questions, the Queen stuttered, “B-but they are. The human you met...was not?”

Maerin shook her head as she looked into her mother’s eyes with her big and innocent ones.

The Queen, Maerin, and the human trapped in an oil lamp—except it was missing the burner—all blinked at the same time.

Oddly enough, his gazes were solely on Maerin even when the Queen did all the interrogating. “You were following your flying potato after you dropped it near a puddle of mud. Then close by you drank from a river to quench your thirst when suddenly you began to shrink in size as you approach a colorful whirlpool-like hole in the tree?”

He nodded. His jet black, fringes fell out of place a little when he had to keep his head up in order to keep eye contact with them.

Maerin pulled her head back. Was it strange that the human understood fairy, or have fairies been speaking the human language all this time?

“I mean no harm, really. I don’t know how or why I shrank or how I even got in. I swear. And am also still having a hard time believing that you guys are real. Are you really tooth fairies? Where do you keep people’s teeth? Wow... I can’t believe this is real life,” his endless rambling gave the Queen a headache, although Maerin found it sort of...well...cute. A smile was plastered on her face as the Queen dismiss her.

“Maerin, go get ready. Let us not further waste time here,” then she turned to one of the guards, “make sure no one else hears about this. Keep him fed, I will have a word with him later,”

The male in armor nodded. Then gently the Queen pressed her fingers into Maerin’s back and led her away, meanwhile the guards secured the entrance by covering it up with the branches used as its doors.

When her mother said it was a town gathering, she wasn’t lying; every pixie was present. From the poorest, Seungwan Son the rover, to the richest, Maerin’s father.

On the stump of an apple tree, Maerin and her parents settled in their peacock timbered chairs; as the rest of their kind sat on the grassy ground or got themselves comfortable on bushes and branches nearby. Maerin’s eyes were on her future but her mind was in the past.

In her race’s eyes, humans were these gigantic, destructive creatures that have taken her kind for granted. Thus, she couldn’t understand why the human under their care was so...different? He has yet to prove his monstrous size and hardly proven to be any signs of bad news.

Maerin thought it would be better to judge him after getting another closer look.

“Meet your new Queen, my daughter Maerin the fifth!” Upon hearing her name, Maerin glanced up just to see her mother’s hand, palm up, in front of her. The older was offering to pull her onto her feet as she lacked her own set of wings. “Say hello to your fays, Maerin,”

Suddenly nervous and shy, Maerin stole a glimpse of her father. Seeing his grand smile and reassuring nod; and though fathers are hardly in their children’s lives, Maerin was lucky to have shared one or two memories with him that boosted her courage. Gently she slipped her hand into her mother’s before standing up. “Hello everyone,” she gulped, “after fifteen years here I am. I may not be the Queen my mother is,” with a brief eye contact with her disagreeing mother, Maerin quickly corrects herself, “or was...but I will protect and cherish each one of you. T-thank you fays,”

Although every fairy expressed their support through cheering, clapping, and flying about. Maerin felt empty on the inside. Becoming queen. She wasn’t ready.

“Now, all that is left to do is to find you a good partner,” the Queen whispered to her. Maerin let out an awkward chuckle as she pulled her shoulders inward.

Finally, she tosses herself onto the bed; a lavender-ish cotton bag with white, silky cloths spread over. Lying on her stomach, the female pulled her head up as she heaves a frosty sigh, “Partner…,” she whispers on her own. After leading a solitary life, who will be the perfect fairy for her? She has always heard of how fays who grew up or went to school, work together ends up being together. But what about her? The only males she has known are her bodyguards and there’s no way the Queen will let her marry a lookout.

In seconds, the face of the human popped into her head and it forced Maerin up immediately. “Oh. I should go—” a knock at her door stopped her. Motionless, she wondered who it could be. “Yes? Sooyoung, Yerim, is it you two?”

When she received no answer, the elvish creature headed toward the door. Her long, black hair that fell to her knees flow softly behind her. “Sooyoung? The door isn’t lock,” she said as she turns the marble knob. To her surprise, the one standing in front of her was none other than Seungwan.

The fay was dirty and wrapped up in a rag from head to toe. If it wasn’t for the color of her skin or size, no one would have guessed she’s of Maerin’s kind.

“Your Highness,” Seungwan greeted. Her voice was husky and low. A sound that makes just about any fairy uncomfortable.

Maerin’s eyes were wide when she frowns quizzically, “W-who are you?” Peeking outside, she noticed her guards were all unresponsive. Certainly under Seungwan’s sleeping spell. “W-what do you want?” Her voice trembled as she took a step back.

With her face masked by the cloth, Seungwan’s visual was dark and she gave off bad vibes.

“Your Highness, I want to speak with you regarding the missing pixies,”

She blinked. Pixies are her mother’s responsibility. Her duty was only to stay alive, be well, and learn her parents work. “Sorry, I’m afraid I cannot help you—”

“Please your highness!” Her guest threw her smaller body against the wooden door and instantly her hood came off, revealing an average looking fairy. Maerin gasped a little at the other’s jump but stood her ground.

The girl was playing with her hands when Maerin took the seat across from her. “You said your brother and father are with those who haven’t returned?” Maerin asked and Seungwan bobbed her head, “How long has it been?”

The fay swallowed, “It was just this year. I wanted to ask the Queen for help but...it’s hard meeting her because of my...status,”

It was known that the Queen has days where fairies are more than welcome to visit her and ask for help; however, whether they would be allowed to enter or not depend on their ranks. Being the poorest, Seungwan fell into rank 0. “So, what can I do for you? Should I ask the Queen for you?”

Seungwan shook her head and straightaway the look in her hazel eyes changed. There was horror yet confidence. “I know where the humans take and keep them. I can get them back if I have the Queen’s army support. You can acquire her permission, right?”

Without thinking it through Maerin hummed, “I will give it a try, but first tell me everything that you’ve seen,”

The man studied the Queen with his almond eyes while series of questions jogged through his mind. Unclear about which to ask first, he simply pushed them aside and instead prove to the royalty how good of a listener he was.

“You come from the world opposite of ours and knew us as tooth fairies. In it of itself, you must have an idea where the missing fairies has been taken to,”

Her assertion bemused him to no end. “Sorry...missing fairies?”

“Heretofore, couriers’ posts have been forsaken. And as it was unusual for fairies to behave so, I sent out a scavenger party. But they, too, diminished with very little findings. I refuse to risk another body of creations. Therefore,” before the Queen could finish speaking, an exhausted Maerin showed up at the entrance—with two guards by her side ready to support her if she so happens to fall.

“You won’t have to, mother,”

Worried washed over the elder before rising to her feet—slippers, “Maerin. What are you doing here?”

“Mother, please nullify the title you have bestowed upon me. I am not yet ready to be queen,”

“Princess!”

“Hear me out first, mother!” She took a deep breath and stopped only a few steps in front of the Queen before continuing. “Mother, it’s a merit to become Queen without any effort on my part, so it left me feeling incomplete. I want to be Queen, but not yet. Not until every fay are present,” the look on the older’s face showed that she wasn’t understanding Maerin. So with another sharp inhalation, she stated, “The missing fairies. I want to bring them back myself,”

The Queen’s eyes gaped in terror, “Dear, how can you—?” coming to an abrupt halt, she eyeballs the human carefully. Then proceeded after clearing , “Let us carry this discussion later—”

“That won’t be necessary, mother. I mean to interrupt your meeting with him because I need him,”

“Me?” The man asked with extensive eyes.

For nearly an hour Maerin spilled out hers and Seungwan’s plan to the Queen. In the beginning, Seungwan wanted an army of pixies. But too many would only prove to increase the danger of the mission.

Though the Queen was bold and hesitant, Maerin won her over in the end; only on accounts that she goes with Sooyoung, Yerim, and two of her strongest and fastest guards, Jun and Kun.

The male, with a black yarn tied around his wrists, eye the dove pecking at the bird feeder. Meanwhile, the Princess watch him with fascination. Unlike her pale or fairies silver-ish skin tone, his was slightly pink. And the texture of his outfit seemed to be itching for her touch. It’s evident that pixies have a thing for color and texture—especially for man-made materials; she wondered if his shirt was as silky and soft as the white and green dress she was wearing.

“This is a joke, right?” The man snorted, “We’re not going to ride on the backs of doves right?” Though he asked, he gave her no space to answer, “I’m positive I saw that your kind could fly,” he whispered to himself.

Slightly annoyed by his complaints, Sooyoung who had just landed alongside Yerim, voiced, “If not the mount, did you expect one of us to carry you?”

Surprised by her defensive mode, Yerim waved the taller off as she smiled the human’s direction, “We’re taking the doves for the Princess and your sake, see, our Princess’s wings haven’t come in yet,”

Upon spinning around, he took note of the fact that she was indeed wingless. “Oh,” his brows perked up in puzzlement, “but don’t Princesses and Queens have the largest wings? At least that’s what written in our books back at home,”

Maerin was as blank as paper when his gaze landed on hers.

Sooyoung rested her palms on her waist as she sighed, “Welp, maybe once this is over, you can return to your world and correct your people,”

“Not like this I can’t,”

His comeback plastered a frown on Sooyoung’s naturally pretty face. “Enough,” this time a manlier, deeper voice intercepted them, “Princess the mounts are prepared; however, I believe we’re still missing someone,”

Maerin nodded, “Yes we are. Seungwan had to go back because she forgot an item of hers,”

The name sent chills up Yerim’s spine as she whined, “Why does she have to come along? She stinks unlike everybody,”

“She’s still one of my fay, Yerim. Also, she’s going to be leading us so I hope you won’t say stuff like that in front of her,” Maerin stated. Once Yerim fell silent, the guards have their eyes on the human.

“Then, we’ll load him up first,” without a warning the two large fairies picked the human up by his pits and lowered his screaming self down onto the saddle.

“Careful! I’m ticklish!” He warned as they secured and fastened him down with more yarns, in case he harbors the idea that he was free to leave whenever.

Maerin observed them for a moment until she moved closer to the male dove. Gently she ran a hand through its familiarly soft, snowy white feathers. She beamed, recalling their earlier days together. She has raised Taetae from when he was only an egg. After Taetae’s parents were killed and their nest wrecked by a woodpecker, Maerin discovered and brought him in. She had wrapped the egg, one-third her size with quilts and blankets; and sat him under a heating unit.

For two long weeks Taetae was hatched; then, it felt like Maerin has gained a child and lifetime friend. They did everything together. Until Taetae was getting too big for Maerin’s room and the Queen had ordered he is kept with the rest of his species.

And as time set them apart, Taetae seemed to have lost memories of Maerin. He hardly snuggled or embraced her anymore. As her smile began to appear more sad than happy, the man who has been watching closely pondered why. Only to learn the reason why much later on.

“Farewell Princess. We’re counting on you to bring everyone home,” the Chief of portal guardians, her father, said while patting Maerin’s hand. Similar to every fay, he was of the gray pigmentation. His sleek black hair was as long as Maerin’s pulled up into a ponytail. Unlike the Queen who wears a gold crown (made from human’s teeth), in the King’s hair, an owl feather was inserted vertically. Then peeking over Maerin’s head, he locked eyes with the human. “As we’ve already spoken. Please guide and assist my daughter to the best of your ability, Taemin,” everyone blinked when the human’s name came out naturally.

The man, Taemin, whose hands were still tied bobbed his head, “Don’t worry Mister Ha. I’ll see that every fairy returns home safely, including the Princess,”

Maerin looks to her father for an explanation. Since when did they become so close? Luckily, her father read her like an open book, “Ah, we just happen to chat about outside matters at his cell and during passing periods. Don’t worry about it. I’ve surveyed him and he’s of good nature,”

That wasn’t something Maerin thought she needed to know but hummed nevertheless, “Then we will be back soon. Farewell, father,”

“Farewell,” he smiled.

The launching of their adventure was made painless and simple when Seungwan suggested they ride with the wind. However, as time passed by, Maerin found it awkward between her and the non-fairy. Due to the birth of a myth—fate that has been told to every royal generation.

It was when Maerin had just turned sixteen, the age Princesses will most likely get engaged. Although she had never shown interests in Teacher Bae’s teachings, she recalled the female’s words precisely. “It is fate that you will marry the man your father first speaks well of to you,” Maerin remembered scoffing at her statement.

“What a silly thing to say. Is that also the Queen and King’s story?”

“Indeed it was. The late King spoke well of your father among five hundred other. Then as if it was fate, the current King began serving the Queen, only a Princess at the time, before they fell in love and got married,”

Her eyes gaped at the realization. Father was a guard!

“Are you okay?” Maerin turned to her side and saw that it was Taemin. Unlike his annoyed expression earlier, he seemed more relaxed and worried. “Your friends have been calling your name for a while,”

“Who?”

It was Seungwan’s voice, “Princess! Soon the rain will plunge from the crestfallen sky! Ahead of us is a good place I know, we’ll stop the night there!” Though she would have understood the girl in a normal voice, she presumed her screaming was due to the howling wind.

“We’ll do that,” Maerin said.

When someone like Seungwan said she knew the place, they should have expected an empty cereal box tucked under a heavy bush. Jun and Kun had the three birds tied to the branches, by their saddles, as they fed them quickly.

Before making the stop, Seungwan had insisted she find berries for them to snack on in case those with wings, such as Sooyoung and Yerim, gets caught in the incoming rainstorm.

Yerim who couldn’t stand being bored went out to join Jun and Kun, while Sooyoung secured the entrance; if it could be called that at all.

Taemin sat across from Maerin as he tilted his head back a little. “The smell of cardboard,” he sighed, “reminds me of work. I wonder if they have reported me missing yet,” For someone who has never worked a day in her life, Maerin couldn’t fathom what nonsense he was uttering so she remained quiet. “I’m a delivery boy. Particularly potatoes in stores that supply them. I suppose when one of them fell out of my trunk and rolled into a mud puddle, you fairies came across it. I’m still shocked,” he breathed a silly smile, “Ah, my potato was floating. It was going into a tree hole. I should reach in there and feel around but why was there nothing? Then in a thin line, water flowed out from the hole. I got a taste of it and before I knew it, I was the size of the very vegetable I deliver,”

Maerin wasn’t sure if he was grumbling or venting, or if he was annoyed by other things. “Are you mad that I took your potato? It fell onto my land so—”

“No, it’s honestly riveting,” Taemin chewed the inside of his cheek a little before adding, “First I shrunk, learned that tooth fairies are real and that some of them like potatoes, then was told humans are responsible for them being MIA. Next, I got to ride the dove that pecked my leg. And now I’m sitting in a cereal box. It’s just fascinating how different of a world it is down here,”

The gentle, yet, blue tone he used gave Maerin the idea that he wasn’t angry. However, she couldn’t get past the fact that something was off about him. “We’re in your world, even if you’re not your normal self, wouldn’t that much make you happy? How come you sound so...hopeless?”

Taemin sighed. “To be honest, I know the person responsible,” His confession caught her off guard and merely froze her in place. “He’s a friend of mine. Or he was,” before Taemin knew it, Sooyoung had his collar locked in her grip. And with a surprising amount of strength, she pulled him to his feet and slammed him against the board.

“Sooyoung!” Maerin cried out as she reached over and encircled the fay’s elbows. But she was a step late. Sooyoung kept a firm grip on Taemin’s shirt as she spat.

“Say that again. You knew?!” If Sooyoung’s besiege didn’t force the others to enter, the volume of her voice definitely did. “Who is the one responsible?! Spit it out!”

Yerim joined in instantly as she clung to the taller’s arm, “Have you gone berserk Sooyoung?! Stop it!”

Although Maerin was dying to know too, she ordered Jun and Kun to break them apart. Without any delay, they easily detached the two. While Taemin was left to cough it out, Yerim hurried over to calm her friend down.

The Princess gave him a moment before cautiously asking, “Are you okay?”

Surprisingly, Taemin straightened his back while rubbing his neck then chuckle a little. “Man, you fairies are strong,”

“What’s going on?” Instantly their attentions were on Seungwan as she was spotted dragging in bunches of green grapes. “What are they doing outside? Soon clouds will carry rain this direction. Even with my powers, I won’t be of help if they get trenched, Princess,”

Maerin heaved an impotent sigh.

By the time the party indulged themselves in berries, it was pouring outside. And to kill time, Taemin practice mastering the pixies grape-eating technique.

“First you remove the pedicel then you drink the juice from the hole,” Yerim had instructed as she raised the berry and took a sip, “finally, you remove the outer layer than eat it,” she took a big bite before peeping over to the human. Taemin, who was holding his own—the size of a basketball—popped the stem off. Then carefully he raised the berry, only to be splashed in the face by its sweet, yet, sticky fluid.

Jun and Kun laughed at his attempt, while Sooyoung scowled at their playfulness.

Closer to the other end of the box, Maerin and Seungwan were occupied with future plans. “The entrance to where the cages are located is wired by what the humans call security cameras. Not long ago I went on a fact-finding mission and took notes on each camera’s visibility limitation. However, the cameras have become less of an obstacle. Among my findings, the humans have installed a component that only reads some sort of code,” Seungwan whisked out a folded up paper with a symbol-like drawing on it. As Maerin studied it, Seungwan went on to explain, “I believe the human, him, will be able to read it,”

Maerin gazed at the paper for a while before she looked over to Taemin, who was one-shotting grapes. “Will he be able to read it?” She whispered.

During the feast, Taemin’s hands were somehow bind-free, with the yarn long lost. In his hand was Seungwan’s note, which he had recognized as part of a gum wrapper. Its scent of strawberry attacked his nostrils as he stared at it.

The rest huddled around him, examining his expression carefully.

“So? Have you figured it out yet?” Jun asked.

“Don’t they look like owl’s eyes to anyone else?” Kun questioned.

Yerim hummed, “Sort of,”

Feeling uncomfortable Taemin folded the paper by its crease instantly, “These dirty bas—” he trailed off when his gaze suddenly locked Maerin’s. Hastily, clearing his throat, he gave them the answer they wanted to hear, “I can...read it,”

The moment the rain stopped, the fairies got up, packed, and darted out of there. Taemin was trying to keep his fringe from flying off his head as he pressed his hands over them. “Wh-what’s the hurry? I thought we were leaving to-tomorrow instead?”

“The night is our resistance. As the humans sleep, it is when we thrive!” Seungwan cried. Taemin, who could barely see what was in front of him, let out a scream.

“S-still, we have about six hours before the sun rises, c-can’t we go slower?”

“Quit complaining human!” Sooyoung demanded somewhere in front of him.

Then before Taemin knew it, the wind has stopped slapping him across the face. Carefully he opened his eyes and gandered before him; the sight left him breathless.

Sitting backward in her saddle; a lengthy purple fabric was sprung out and playing the role of her wings, as they flowed adjacent to Taemin. With them blocking the wind’s strikes, Taemin kept a keen vision on her.

She was already an exotic creature, but Taemin swore the corona she was radiating made her surreal and unreal. Captivated by her elvish visual, Taemin wasn’t aware that he was staring until he heard someone called his name.

Shaking his head profusely he watched as the taller, Jun, aided Maerin in dismounting. Meanwhile, Kun smiled at him, “The Princess, she’s a real beauty isn’t she?” The muscular fay’s grin widen when Taemin’s cheeks were flushed. “Enough daydreaming. Come down, we’re here,”

Taemin scanned the familiar sight.

They have alighted on the ledge of his former friend’s bedroom. He noticed the window was slightly cracked open, enough for them to duck through.

As Jun secured the doves by tieing them near the nearest tree, Maerin did a quick headcount before allowing Seungwan to take over again. “No matter what happens, everyone must stay behind me at all times until I say otherwise, understand?”

Yerim sighed, “You promise everyone is here?”

For the first time in a long time, a smile made its way onto Seungwan’s dirty face, “Promise. Ah, but before we go. Human,” all eyes went directly to Taemin, “being sneaky is what us tooth fairies does best. I ask that you do your best to keep up with us, okay?”

“O-oh sure,” Taemin answered, flustered by the tone she treated him with. She has got to be much younger than him, at the least five years younger, he thought.

As they followed Seungwan, Sooyoung and Yerim looked after the front and back of the Princess. While Jun and Kun were in charge of the back and making sure Taemin was in their line of vision in every moment. After all, he’s needed to input the mysterious password.

Climbing or going down the homeowner’s desk was easy-peasy stuff for the fairies. Taemin poked his head over the edge and could see that the safest place to fell onto was the desk chair. He had his eyes on the cushion. “Need a hand—?” Kun was cut off mid-sentence when Taemin suddenly made the jump.

Yerim gasped a little as the rest widened their eyes.

“Oh no,” Kun breathed before taking off to check on the man. He sighed in relief when Taemin was seen pressing down on the cushion.

“Man, this is harder than I remember it,”

Kun rolled his eyes. “Stay still,” he warned before picking Taemin up by his pits. The surprised one held his breath a little until he was set down in front of Maerin. Her big, round eyes held no sentiment though they followed him wherever he looks.

“As priorly asked. Please keep up,” Seungwan said, breaking the ice. It was when they spun around that they heard the homeowner’s loud snores. Seungwan shushed the crowd before leading them toward the door, which was also cracked a little.

Like everyone else, Taemin was enjoying the free ride. However, he was fairly disappointed in his former friend lack of care for his own safety.

... Well, he can’t be too surprised. Kim Timoteo was dubbed the worst roommate when they attended college together; due to his abnormal hobbies obsession. Especially after claiming tooth fairies were real and was selling them online.

While they snuck over to the door, Taemin got the feeling that something was off. Back in school, Timoteo was huge on owning cats. In their circle of friends, they’ve joked that if said one was a woman, he’d be a cat lady. And just as the thought came to him randomly, it left in a similar fashion when he heard a purr.

Looking skyward, he saw the bright, green orbs of a feline. It has been watching them, though who knew for how long. Carefully, Taemin tried to grab the ladies up front’s attention. But was interrupted by a Jun and Kun who walked into him. “What’s the holdup? Get going,” Jun growled.

Kun, who was on friendlier terms with Taemin, tapped him on the shoulder, “Psst. What are you doing? Let’s hurry before we lose—” he was cut off when Jun ram an elbow into him.

“Silence,” the other shushed. It was then that Kun noticed the cat. The trio watched as its hind legs rose, and it was more than enough for Taemin to know it was ready to launch itself at them.

“Guys up!” Taemin shouted. Thankfully the fays were quicker, Jun snatched Taemin up by the back of his shirt, while Kun grabbed him by the arm. The moment they left the ground, the cat took their place. With a sense of urgency, the group hurried out the door.

“Up, up, up!” Taemin called out to the females that were still on foot. Again they impressed him with their agility. Sooyoung had wrapped her arm around Maerin’s waist while Yerim hauled Seungwan up by her cloak. Together they found safety on a ledge sealed at the top of the wall.

Cautiously the non-fay turned his head around, scanning for any signs of the cat. He let out a scream when the animal was plunged toward them. “Ah, higher guys—!” But his warning came a little too late. The animal caught a nibble out of Kun’s wing, pulling him to the floor instantly before tackling him.

“Kun!” Jun was trying to support Taemin though the man could hear the concern in his voice. Quickly, Taemin noticed the ‘sword’ Jun had been carrying. Immediately he drew it and was surprised.

“A needle?” He whispered to himself, then shook out of it when he heard Kun’s grunts. “Alright, charged!” Taemin commanded as he held the gold slender piece out before him. Without any hesitation, Jun flew Taemin right onto the pet’s back before releasing him. And as Taemin was ready to poke the cat, it thrashing about rocked him off his feet. Taemin clung to its fur as the needle dwindled off.

Meanwhile, Jun searched for his fellow guard.

Watching how chaotic the scene under them has unfolded, Sooyoung and Yerim bite their nails. “Princess, we must do something before we lose them!” Yerim cried as if it wasn’t clear enough.

“Sooyoung and Yerim, lower me down,” Maerin ordered. The girls' eyes widened in unison.

Powerless, Seungwan could only voice, “Princess,”

“No it’s too dangerous,” Sooyoung tried to argue but Maerin silenced her.

“I can’t lose one of my best fays. Lower me, I’ll distract the beast,” they observed as Maerin unwrapped the purple fabric tied around her waist; the same cloth she used to shield Taemin.

When the Princess’s plan worked and they were rescued. The kitty was playing with the ribbon like a baby, while everyone returned to the ledge quietly.

They were drained but worried about Kun’s well-being. One of his wings has been ripped off his back completely, while the other was folded beyond repair. There were cuts and abrasions to his nose and cheeks after the rug-burn.

Jun supported Kun as the rest circled around them. “S-sorry Princess,” Kun apologized through broken breaths, “I’m afraid I cannot carry on. Please leave me behind,”

When Maerin said every fairy, she meant every single one. “No, Jun take Kun outside. After we free the others, we will meet up with you two,”

“Your words are my command,” Jun answered, “I will assure our safety. Please look after yourself, Princess,”

Though they tried not to stray from their path, ahead of them the ledge was cut off by a barred entrance. “Princess, Yerim and I will fly Seungwan around first. Then we’ll come back for you and him,” Sooyoung explained. When Maerin agreed, the girls took hold of Seungwan’s arms and together the trio left the ledge.

Maerin heaved a sigh as Taemin studied her in the dark. “We’re almost there. Don’t worry. Before the night is over, you and your kind will be home,”

Comforted by his words Maerin bobbed her head. “I’m grateful. After this, if you ever visit us again I will be sure to repay you. For your help and for your potato,” she whispered. Taemin chuckled a little.

“I think it’s too early to be saying these kinds of words. I plan to meet up with your father once again,”

The royalty blinked. “What for?”

Taemin slipped his hands into his jeans pocket before nervously answering, “It’s a guy thing,”

The way he put it plastered a smile on her face. “What a silly thing to say,” she mumbled. Moments later, Sooyoung and Yerim came back around.

“Princess,” Yerim began then Sooyoung finished her thoughts for her.

“Let us go,” Maerin held her hands out as the two females take them. “Human, don’t go anywhere,” Sooyoung warned. “If you’re gone when we get back, you’ll feel our wrath,”

“Got it. I won’t go anywhere,”

When they left the edge, Taemin watched as they reached the bars. Right as they were about to pass through, a loud clanking sound from below echoed through the hall and startled them. Yerim and Sooyoung weren’t prepared and couldn’t take the sound piercing through their eardrums, so by accident, they let go of Maerin’s hands to cover their ears. Taemin was stunned to see the Princess being dropped so as he reached out to her, he nearly fell off himself.

“Princess—” he yelped. Taemin’s heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Then before he got a heart attack, a movement of whiteness swooped in and caught Maerin.

“Taetae!” Maerin blurted as her hands rest on his soft feathers.

Taemin sighed in relief, then a single meow robbed his attention when he saw that the cat had started to climb the bars.

“Hang on!” Jun shouted as he and Seungwan’s dove dived toward Sooyoung and Yerim’s direction. Taemin watched as the male grabbed onto the girls and pulled them after him. As they successfully made it through, Taemin breathed out a sigh.

“Time to go!” This time it was Kun’s voice. A smile was drawn on Taemin’s face when he recognized the other riding on the back of his dove. As the fay stretched out his hand to Taemin, the man did the same. Once their hands were locked, Kun helped him into the seat behind him. “Hold on tight!” Without a warning on the dove part, it flew sideways to get past the bars.

Taemin swears, the dove initially his was so uniquely different. The lad gagged a little from the dizziness before they joined the rest. Seungwan was in shocked, “I heard a loud noise out there! Are you all alright?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“We’re fine,” Maerin answered as she was still on the back of Taetae. “But what are these red lights? I have no reconciled of you mentioning them,” she pointed out.

“The human should know,” Seungwan said.

She was right. Glancing down, Taemin knew what they were. “Motion sensor,” he replied in a low voice, “a little touch and they’ll trigger an alarm. If we really want to avoid waking Timoteo up, we have to avoid them,”

“...Timoteo?” Yerim asked.

“Yeah, the human we passed earlier,” Taemin answered before holding eye contact with Maerin, “The problem is, even if I unlock the door with the pass code. The lights are positioned in a dangerous place. If you look, one of the light beams is just millimeters away from the door. The door, if opened, has to be pulled out our way. I’m afraid it will touch the beams,”

“Then, there must be a way to shut off the lights, right?” Jun questioned.

However, Taemin only shook his head. “There is, but I have no way of knowing. From my observations, the door we passed showed no signs or buttons neither,”

“So, are you saying we should give up and turn back around? After we’ve made it this far?” Sooyoung threatened.

The human sighed, “No. It would be a bad idea to go back because of the cat. But if we pushed forward, we must be extra careful when opening and entering,”

Like the night, silence befalls onto them briefly. Then with a sense of bravery, Maerin smiled, “And be careful we shall. Please go ahead and put in the code, Taemin,”

He nodded then tapped on Kun on the shoulder, “Set me down on that flashy platform,”

Carefully, Kun dropped Taemin onto the keypad. The male breathed in and out heavily before giving Kun any directions. “When I say so, I need you to press the button that reads ‘shift’, okay?”

The rest viewed them in utter quietness. Kun, who was still wounded, limped toward the key he was in charge of.

“Now,” Taemin said, once Kun pressed down ‘shift’ Taemin jumped onto the number ‘9’ over the alphabet letters. “Release,” he moved over and input ‘.’ Then space, then “shift,” he tapped ‘0’ then ‘9’ then, space and “release,” Taemin set his hand over ‘.’ again. “At last, down!” The moment Kun lay his hand on the shift key once more, Taemin entered ‘0’. A click could be heard when Taemin jumped onto the handle, “Someone, help me turn the handle, the rest of you crack the door open without touching the light,” he ordered.

Stronger Kun assisted Taemin as the rest avoided the beams and landed near the door’s bottom rail. Together they leaned against the door to keep it from flying open.

“It’s turned!” Kun hollered, before dropping down onto the carpet and pinning himself alongside them. Taemin, who caught sight of the light in Timoteo’s room come on, gasped a little.

“Everyone,” he hissed, “hurry go in. He’s awake!” The fays froze a little when they thought Taemin was addressing the sensors. Then momentarily they heard a loud yawn.

“Tim, what’s wrong with you? Were you banging up against the bars again?” It was Timoteo’s bed voice and he was scolding the cat. “Why? Did you hear something down in the basement?” The animal meowed. Timoteo, who was in his silky gray pajamas, switched the hallway lights on. Then with battering steps, he walked over to the first entrance. Peeking past the iron rods, he scanned every corner of the tiny room. “There’s nothing there. It looks normal,” he mumbled before drawing out his cellphone. “Oh, I got a missed call from Jongin. What does he want?” As Timoteo leave to make a late-night phone call, the cat spat with its keen eyes on the wooden door.

Taemin sighed as he was still pillared against the door, listening and making sure that his former friend was gone. Then as Timoteo’s footsteps faded, Taemin looked over to the cart the fairies were climbing onto. Just as expected from Timoteo. On the cart, five wooden crates were stacked together to form a triangle. Through the puny cracks, Taemin noticed multiple bodies of light.

Were tooth fairies able to light up like fireflies?

Maerin and her team worked quickly to free the fays quietly. Taemin watched as the dove kept close to her highness. Soundlessly, Taemin was sending Taetae his thanks; thank you for saving the Princess. Thank you for remembering her.

When they, all seventy-nine one of them, made it back home. The Queen threw a celebration and crowned Maerin immediately. “Now, all there is is for you to find true love,” she has said to the new Queen. Maerin had smiled beautifully as she gazed over to Taemin, who was resting near the main portal.

“I think I’ve found it during my trip, mother,” Maerin had said.

The late Queen turns around and looks over to Taemin, where she, too, smiled proudly, “They say only compassion and evidence can break the Present. I dare say it has been broken,” she said as she brushed a lock of Maerin’s hair behind her ear.

Six months later...

It was bright out and the window to Taemin’s apartment was left open as if he was expecting company.

“There, there,” Maerin cooed as Taetae perched on the wooden sill. The dove picked at the freshly-filled bird feeder as he waits for Maerin.

Clad in a long, maroon dress, ripped at her knees, Maerin walked over to the glassware. “Taemin,” she called, stretching out the second part of his name. She placed a hand up against the wall as she peeked inside. Aside from his empty and made-bed, and empty desk he was nowhere in sight. “Mmm, he said he will be home today. Did he go out?”

“You know I can hear you from a mile away right?” Taemin asked as he opened the door to his room. Delighted to see his face, Maerin smiled as she clasped her hands behind her back and bounced up a little.

“There you are, I found you! Did you bring it?”

Taemin wiped the forming frown on his face as he walked in with a plate of transparent potato slices. “How could I not when my bride-to-be requested them on her way here?”

Maerin clapped her hands excitedly as Taemin set the dish in front of her. “Yippee!” Maerin picked up a slice before sitting down, with her legs hanging off the ledge and taking a big bite of her lunch, “You know, if my mother has told me about the Present, I would have gotten married already,”

The human snorted as he took a seat in his chair before rolling his legs under his desk, “Why? Because the Present allows your partner to hear your voice and thought process?”

The fairy bobbed her head, “Now I know why couples ever hardly fight. It’s nice to have a partner,”

“Isn’t it unfair though? Only us guys can hear you girls,”

Maerin waved a finger at him as she swallowed her food, “Not true. We hear you all loud and clear alright. We just choose to be aloof about it,”

Suddenly conflicted Taemin stuttered, “Wh-what?”

The Queen giggled, “You didn’t mean it when you said you wanted ten children right?”

He blinked numerous times as his face flushed red, “Ma-Maerin, I-I-I,”

The fay picked up another slice as she hopped off the ledge, “I also think it’s cute that you’re jealous of Taetae,” she chuckled before readily herself to take another bite. But Taemin easily reached over and snatched it out of her hold.

“Me? Jealous of a bird? Never!”

Maerin positioned her hands onto her waist as she frowned a little, “I couldn’t have made it up since it was you who said it. Now, Lee Taemin, I told you never to play with my food. Give it back or I’m going home,”

Her empty threat meant nothing to him as he scooped his hand around her tiny body to pick her up. Then without any heads up, he brought her close and kissed her. The female fought the air and wiped her face when he pulled back. “Ah! I told you not to do that when you’re in your normal size. I’m all wet now,”

Taemin was pleased with her reaction, once again. “I love you,” he whispered. The Queen scoffed. She can’t stay mad at him. His words, voice, always make her heart melt.

“I love you too,” she said. Then slowly, with his eyes closed, he brought her close to him. Gently Maerin pressed her forehead against his, and together they beamed.

A/N: Errr where to begin. Sorry, this one shot took forever! After Jonghyun’s news...I went back and rewrote the whole story since every SHINee member were included. And well, it’s heartbreaking to write and read about Jonghyun. So here’s the final version, I’ve used Red Velvet instead. I hope you were okay with that. Also, you asked for more of a ‘war’ story but sorry I couldn’t give you that either. It just wouldn’t make sense for tooth fairies and humans to be at war haha. Anywho, thank you for requesting and giving me something to do for the New Year! This was my first time featuring Taemin (and Maerin) but I ended up having a lot of fun! I hope 2018 will treat you and everyone better <3 Fighting!

Word Count: 8732