((a/n If anyone is looking for the Dream Oath pt 2, it is embedded in Chapter 7: The Rose Knight))

Seulgi quietly opened the door for Wendy, letting the smaller girl into her shared bedroom with the Fetch. She even slept the same way Irene did, covered in blankets and surrounded by pillows to the point where they could barely even find the girl.

Seulgi had been doing such a great job at ignoring her this past week that every time she was forced to really interact with the Fetch it rubbed her just as raw as when they had first met. Seulgi still wasn’t sure what the mature way to process her emotions in this situation would be, and the irony wasn’t missed on her that the one person she could hope to seek advice from was the one person she couldn’t talk to.

But hopefully Wendy was right. Hopefully this Fetch could be some kind of conduit for seeing the real Irene again.

Wendy could see Seulgi was still struggling with the theory of Dreamriding. She sat up straight on the couch and folded her hands in her lap. “Okay, so one of our powers as Changelings is that we can enter the dreams of mortals. Non-fae.” She paused to see if Seulgi was following at least that much.

“All of us can do it?” Seulgi asked.

Wendy nodded in the darkness. “At least I think so. Some of us are better at it than others… like, for instance I don’t think Joy’s ever even tried it, but then someone like Amber’s freakishly good at it.”

There was something disconcerting in the way Wendy talked about Amber’s uncanny talent, but Seulgi wanted to hear more about this ability she apparently also possessed. “So we’d be going into Irene’s dream? … Or the… the Fetch’s?” It took great mental effort to say it out loud; she had done so well up until this point.

Wendy looked at Seulgi sympathetically. If this didn’t work, then she would just be needlessly exposing Seulgi to whatever it was this Fetch might be dreaming about. “I think they’re connected somehow. Do you remember what Joy was saying? The Fetch is a part of Irene. And she’s mortal, which will hopefully make it easier for me to get inside her head.”

Seulgi thought about it quietly. She still wasn’t quite sure what happened to her that night in the forest - everyone kept going back and forth saying it was a dream or something called the Hedge - but then she remembered that moment in the clearing where she had carelessly taken Irene’s hand. It was too tempting to resist.

“It might not work,” Wendy cautioned. “But-”

“Let’s do it,” Seulgi stated, standing up from the couch and waiting for Wendy.

Wendy steeled herself with a breath. “... Alright. Just relax and do what I tell you, okay?” She gave Seulgi a small smile that didn’t quite show in the darkened living room.

Wendy carefully sat on the edge of the bed, gently adjusting the pillows and blankets so they could see the Fetch’s sleeping face. She motioned for Seulgi to sit beside her on the small bed, but Seulgi knew how light of a sleeper the real Irene was, and suspected the additional weight might disturb the Fetch. She knelt on the floor and waited for more instructions.

But to her surprise, Wendy reached over and took Seulgi’s hands. Wendy manipulated her fingers so that Seulgi was pointing with her middle and index fingers, then she carefully guided Seulgi until she placed them against the Fetch’s temples.

There was a brief moment where Seulgi saw Wendy’s form collapse onto the bed, before she felt this tugging sensation and a pressure, like she was being pulled by her fingers underwater.

And after another beat, she realized someone was tugging her along by the hand. There was Wendy in front of her, holding onto her tightly as they walked.

Walked?

Seulgi whipped her head around this way and that taking in their new surroundings: it looked like some sort of empty hall. Everything was white marble and glass, with low pools of mist swirling about their feet as they moved. Pillars flanked the hall on either side but it was too dark for Seulgi to see very far into the wings. Moonlight shone through the high windows, casting everything in an ethereal glow and gave the central feature of the room a cold, silvery gleam: a wide opal diaz with a gilt throne at its summit.

Wendy was hurriedly tugging her behind one of the large pillars at the side of the room.

Once they paused, Seulgi ventured a question. “... Where are we?”

Wendy put a finger to Seulgi’s lips as she looked around the edges of the pillar to take in the room. She pulled Seulgi down so she could whisper in her ear. “Either we’re in the Fetch’s dream… or the King’s throneroom.”

Seulgi took Wendy’s hand away from . “The who?”

“... The CEO,” Wendy hissed.

Seulgi looked at her, stunned. Even their CEO was a…?

“Now ladies, there’s no need to hide,” came an amiable voice from deeper into the room. “Come join us, if you would be so kind.”

They both peeked their heads out from around the pillar and saw the Mirror King himself walking up to the diaz.

And behind him was Irene. No, her fetch.

The two girls shyly approached and the King stuck out his silvery hand to Seulgi.

“Perhaps you do not recognize me like this, but here you will know me as the Mirror King of the SM Court,” he greeted. “A pleasure to meet you, Kang Seulgi. Again. I am glad to see I was right about you.”

Seulgi took his hand absently, staring up at her reflection in his featureless face. Wendy was about to elbow her for staring instead of giving the King a proper response, but then she became distracted as well.

She saw her own features reflected in the King’s cheek, but… she was just Wendy. She was still wearing her Masque.

He turned to face her, noticing her confusion. “This is a dream, my dear. We are not in the Court Haven.”

The King dropped Seulgi’s hand and stepped back, letting the Fetch join the group. “This is her dream,” he indicated with a nod at the girl. “But as she has no memories of her own, I gave her this,” he expressed with a grand gesture about the room.

Wendy turned her curious gaze about the room, following his hand. He Dreamshaped… his own throneroom in her Dreamscape?

But instead of ascending to his throne, he brushed out his coattails and sat himself right on the steps of the diaz.

Seulgi was still watching him in stunned silence, having not yet recovered from his countenance, nor his greeting. Didn’t this kind of throw a wrench in their plans? She finally tore her gaze away from him and glanced at Wendy for guidance.

But Wendy seemed pensive as well. The smaller girl looked to the Fetch, who seemed uncomfortable. Wendy felt she could understand - there were three people invading her Dreamscape at present.

“What are you doing here?” the Fetch asked quietly, finally looking at Wendy with her Seemingless gaze.

Wendy glanced at Seulgi, and then down at the King.

“Please, do not mind me,” he said with a wave of his silver hand. He crossed one ankle over his knee and leaned back against the steps, putting his hands behind his head as he turned his face up towards the ceiling.

“W-well... “ Wendy began, turning back to the Fetch. “I know this is going to sound strange, but… do you think you could take us to Irene?”

The Fetch blinked at her, and a slow, lop-sided grin formed on her lips. On the steps, the King sat up on his elbows.

“Of course,” she breathed, her eyes flitting about on the mist-covered floor. How could she have been so stupid. Of course it was Irene they wanted. She wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for Irene, she knew, but how could fate really be this cruel? She knew had no real place in this world, in Red Velvet, and now not even in her own dreams could she escape this truth.

Wendy hadn’t thought this all the way through, and it was only now, seeing the pain in the Fetch’s features and posture, that she realized what it was she was asking. It was too late to reconsider her plan, however, and so she forged ahead.

“Please? Henry was able to lead Seulgi into the Hedge through her Dreamscape, and I’m hoping we can do the same to Irene. The Hedge sounds like it could be a lot easier to rescue her from than going into Arcadia…”

The King let out a low whistle that had the three girls doubled over in sudden pain from the tinny pitch, with their arms wrapped around their heads. He cleared his throat and stood. “Forgive me,” he apologized, watching them squint and rub at their ears. “But that is awfully clever of you, my dear.” He made a motion as if he were about to rub his chin, but refrained suddenly, not wanting to cause anymore harm.

He turned to Seulgi. “The Rose Knight led you into the Hedge from your Dreamscape?” he asked. Seulgi looked at Wendy who nodded, and Seulgi then nodded back at the King. “It is certainly worth a try. You Beasts have good instincts,” he mused.

“Can you do it?” Seulgi asked the Fetch. Her voice echoed dully in the otherwise empty Hall.

The Fetch gave Seulgi a strange smile. “I’m not sure,” she sighed. “But I’ll try to at least bring her here.” She sat herself on the steps and closed her eyes, and the rest of them fell silent, watching.

Waiting.

+++

“So… say all of that again, but slower,” Heechul said, rubbing his temples.

“Well first, Leeteuk just left me in the middle of the Goblin Market with a bounty on my head-” Henry began.

“And then he called Seulgi’s phone and told him Henry was there,” Amber continued.

“And then we decided to do a little shopping~” Luna added.

“And wandered around the Market playing Fantastic on our cellphones until he found us,” Krystal finished.

“I still can’t believe you guys went without me. What if there was a sale?” Victoria pouted.

“He was practically in tears when he found us,” Luna said cheerfully.

“I was not-!” Henry protested.

Heechul put both of his hands up, silencing everyone. “Okay, that’s not the part I care about!” He started pacing back and forth in front of the fountain in the now-empty square near the company building. He had been sitting there on the edge of the water contemplating how he had been left alone to worry about the fate of his friends, s, his company, when suddenly his thoughts had been intruded upon by the F(x) girls and Henry.

“Let me see if I’ve got this right: Jessica called you from Irene’s phone - which somehow has a signal in Arcadia - to tell you guys that Leeteuk says the Horned One is organizing a Great Hunt in the mortal world on behalf of the True Fae?”

Luna nodded enthusiastically, while Krystal crossed her arms. Amber glared across at Henry, whose shoulders drooped guiltily. Only Victoria bothered to acknowledge his assessment of the situation.

“That’s mostly right, but… I thought you already knew about the Horned One’s plans?” she asked.

“We guessed what he was planning. We weren’t sure, but now…” Heechul watched Henry for a moment. “You’re supposed to be cursed for ‘a year and a day’, but if you aren’t the luckiest son of a gun to make your way back from Arcadia with a bounty from the Horned One on your head…”

But Henry wasn’t listening.

“... Isn’t that Yeri?”

The young girl was striding right up to their group like she was already a part of the conversation. “Heechul,” she began, but then paused for a shy nod at the others. She turned back to the Cobalt Knight without any such politeness. “If you’re going to do something about all of this, you have to do it right now.”

“Where did you even come from?” Heechul asked. Her serious expression was making him fairly uncomfortable and he reverted to his favored standby: deflecting with straight-man humor.

But Yeri wasn’t having it. She poked him in the chest. “Leeteuk. Your Captain. Your friend needs your help.” Her eyes took in the group once again and settled on Henry. “And I want to come with you.”

Everyone looked at Yeri, then one by one their eyes turned to Heechul. She had gotten straight to the point and now they were waiting on his word.

“Go with me?” he laughed. “You guys. Come with me. To Arcadia?!” They were all dead serious as he regarded them in bemusement. “You’re cursed,” he said, pointing at Henry, “so there’s no way I’m bring you. And you four… how am I supposed to trust that you won’t do something really, really stupid the minute you see Sulli?” he asked, eyeing the F(x) members.

Victoria glanced at the rest of the girls briefly. “We’re not going to wait for you to tell us we can go,” she stated. “But you and I both know we’ll stand a better chance if we go together.” She had done very admirably up until this point, putting on a strong front in her zeal to find and save Sulli, but Heechul expressing serious doubts, and Yeri’s unnerving presence were starting to make her wonder about their chances.

How could they think to stand up against a group of True Fae in their own kingdom?

Heechul held Victoria’s gaze for a long moment. The stakes were high, and while they could alert the King to these developments, it seemed like they were out of time. And knowing the King as well as Heechul did, he wasn’t so sure the King would actually be of any help. He stepped between the girls to the edge of the fountain, unable to see even his own reflection in the darkness.

“Alright,” he finally muttered, and Victoria let out a quiet breath. He turned and pointed a finger at Yeri. “But you’re not coming. It’s just not going to happen,” he raised his voice, speaking over her protestations. “Bringing the SM Court’s Oracle to Arcadia, I’m sure,” he scoffed. “And you’re staying too, Henry. Make sure she doesn’t follow us.”

Heechul smirked. “As for the rest of you? Bottom’s up, I guess,” he shrugged as he spread his hands wide and let himself fall backwards into the fountain. Luna vaulted over the edge after him and Victoria carefully let herself into the water.

“It’s not fair!” Yeri complained up to Henry, but he wasn’t listening.

Krystal crossed her arms and stared at Amber. “So?”

“So what?” Amber asked sourly, already anticipating what Krystal was going to say.

Krystal narrowed her eyes and smirked. “You did promise her.”

“Stop,” Amber groaned. Why couldn’t she have just walked away? “I guess I have no choice. Are you going to come with me?”

Krystal’s humor dissipated. She’d be damned if she wasn’t ready to dive through that water straight into the depths of Arcadia itself to rescue Jessica and Sulli, but the thought of doing so without Amber by her side? It was startling to realize the source of her hesitation and she wasn’t sure how much she wanted to dwell on it.

She wasn’t afraid of what kind of trouble Amber might get into without her, but what may happen to her if Amber wasn’t there to protect her.

It was a thought she was going to bury so deep, not even a master Dreamrider like Amber would be able to pull it out of the recesses of her subconscious.

“As if,” Krystal sneered as she dove into the fountain.   

+++

Leeteuk barely heard the clattering keys in the lock of the large, iron-barred door, and didn’t raise his head when it swung open.

“Oh, dear me, doesn’t the Captain look tired?”

“Why yes, it seems he’s quite… strung out.”

The two hooded figures laughed to themselves, coming up to Leeteuk’s slumped form. He had been shackled to a stone wall, in a basement beneath one of the Horned One’s hunting lodges. His arms hung uncomfortably above his head, manacles forcing them crossed at the wrist as he knelt on the dirt floor. It had been quite a while since he could feel the muscles in his shoulders, but there was no way to tell exactly how long they had kept him down here in this windowless cellar.

One of the figures tsk’d as they reached out and tilted Leeteuk’s head up with a gnarled finger beneath his chin. “You probably thought you were being very clever,” they cooed.

“But you made one too many mistakes, Gold Knight.”

“Indeed, your cockiness has cost you quite dearly.”

“You should have known better than to challenge one of the oldest Fae in Arcadia.”

“Did you really think you could outsmart the Horned One?”

Leeteuk didn’t have the strength you shake off their touch. He barely had the strength to even open his eyes, drained completely of his Seeming as he was. He had spent every last bit of his strength in order to get that message to Irene, but he hadn’t bargained on being caught while doing it.

And now, after who knew how long, being kept chained to this wall without food or rest, he was beginning to feel like maybe he had truly messed up. Maybe he had been cocky, trying to shoulder the entire burden of taking down the Horned One alone. He thought he had been protecting Super Junior by keeping everyone in the dark about his activities, but would it be entirely honest for him to say there hadn’t been a bit of pride mixed in there as well? After all, the notoriety of bringing down one of the Gentry single-handedly would have earned him a title a little more impressive than the Captain Leeteuk, Gold Knight of the Mirror King’s Court.

He gave the hooded figures the weakest smile as he breathed out in a voiceless laugh. Maybe he would have been able to begin a Court of his own after accomplishing such a feat. But those thoughts were useless now. There was no one left to come for him. He had burned every bridge, and forbidden any attempts at a rescue. All of the people he had betrayed, all of the sacrifices he had made had been in vain, and now he would have to live with his sins.

The hooded figure retrieved its hand, letting Leeteuk’s head droop again, and was silent for a moment. Here knelt a broken man; there was no spirit left to tease, no ego left to rile.

That didn’t stop the figure’s companion, however. “Cheer up, Captain. You have one more role left to play before you are cast into the stocks of the Horned One’s captured game.” The figure reached up and fiddled with the locks of Leeteuk’s manacles. “Oh yes, you’re going to figure out just what happened to all of those children you sent here ahead of the Changelings.”

With a click, the manacles came undone, and Leeteuk’s numb arms fell heavily to his sides. He collapsed onto the floor in pure exhaustion as the muscles in his back throbbed.

“Steady, Captain. You’ll be no good to the Horned One if you can’t even walk, let alone run.”

+++

Irene was grateful when her dream shifted all on its own. Normally Changelings had some small natural ability to control their own dreams, but her fears and anxieties in Arcadia were too numerous to keep at bay for long and had continuously plagued her throughout these restless nights.

But to suddenly find herself in the moonlit Hall of the SM Court’s Haven? That was unexpected.

“Ah, it seems our Guest of Honor has arrived,” came a familiar, metallic voice, and as Irene walked through the mist into the hall, she saw the strangest gathering she could expect to see in her own subconscious. For there at the foot of the opal diaz were the King, Wendy, Seulgi, and…

Herself.

Seulgi was stunned. She hadn’t actually expected the Fetch to be able to call Irene here. She didn’t know how Fetches, Dreamscapes, or Changelings really worked, but seeing Irene standing there, she was finally becoming convinced that magic was real.

“Is this a dream?” Irene asked the present company.

“Yes, actually,” the King replied as he beckoned her closer. “But that does not mean it isn’t real.”

But Irene didn’t move. “Th… then,” She asked a little fearfully as she raised a finger to point at her Fetch. “Then who is she?”

A shadow was such a small thing to miss. It simply followed you everywhere, never much for conversation, never terribly sympathetic to your daily concerns or struggles. Sometimes it even got in the way, if you were trying to take a photo, or get a clear look at something - never very useful or helpful in general. And indeed, Irene hadn’t missed it at all; she hadn’t even been aware that it was gone, but there was still something oddly disconcerting about that fact as she stared across the room at her own likeness. To know a steadfast, constant piece of herself had now been removed from her left her feeling a little hollow. A little less whole, a little less real.

The Fetch smiled sorrowfully. “Don’t mind me,” she said as she reached out and pushed Seulgi forward.

Seulgi needed little more bidding, and kept walking until she was standing in front of Irene, drawing her attention away from the Fetch.

The King turned his head sharply to look down at the Fetch, then stood on his toes to see what Seulgi and Irene may be up to, clearly not following.

“Hey,” Seulgi began, but paused suddenly when Irene reached up and touched her face. She cupped Irene’s hand to her cheek. Oh, how she had missed her touch.

“It’s really you,” Irene murmured, as if she still didn’t quite believe it. She very slowly walked into Seulgi, burying her face in her neck.

“I missed you.”

Seulgi hugged Irene to herself, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl tightly. “Irene, I…

“... I love you, too.”

The King was momentarily distracted, seeing Wendy silently cheer in his peripheral vision.

Irene lightly hit her fist against Seulgi’s back before wrapping her arms around the taller girl. It had only been hours since she had told Seulgi she loved her, but hearing her finally say it back, it felt like she had been waiting for years.

And maybe she had been, if she stopped to think about it.

“We’re here to save you,” Seulgi murmured turning her face into Irene’s hair. “Wendy says we can pull you into a hedge.”

Irene made a derisive noise against Seulgi’s shoulder. “Not a hedge. The Hedge,” she corrected, pulling back so she could place a kiss on Seulgi’s cheek. Seulgi may be a bit of an idiot, but at least she was her idiot.

The King cleared his throat, suddenly. “Do forgive the interruption, ladies, but while this is a dream, it is neither of yours…”

The Fetch startled, the insinuation pulling her out of a reverie. Seulgi and Irene shyly separated, rejoining the group, but the Fetch couldn’t face them. She looked instead to the King.

“Our brilliant little songbird here thought we may be able to guide you into the Hedge and rescue you from there,” he stated, turning his gaze to Wendy.

Wendy looked bashful, but she looked up at the King expectantly. “I mean, if Henry could do it to Seulgi, can’t we do it to her?”

Irene shook her head, taking a step back. “I can’t,” she said suddenly. “I can’t just leave Sulli and Jessica there.”

The King slowly folded his hands behind his back and lifted his chin.

“Be reasonable, Irene.”

What a horrible way for someone to suggest that they cut their losses. Wendy was once again confronted with the fact that her plan had only been half-formed and belatedly realized that Irene was right. How could they ask her to just leave the other girls?

Irene slowly looked between her likeness and the King, a thought suddenly occurring to her. “She’s my Fetch, isn’t she? … And you made one for Sulli, too.”

The King was silent.

“Were you ever actually planning on rescuing us from the Horned One?” she asked.

All eyes were on the King as he turned away from them. His gaze suggested he was looking up at his gilt throne, though who could be sure?

“This is a business, Irene, an entertainment business.” He waved his silvery hand and the throne disappeared. “If you’ll allow me:” he said, suspecting she was about to interrupt. “You were not the first to disappear from our Court. Nor do I suspect that you will be the last.” Another flick of his wrist and the diaz vanished, leaving the Hall feeling rather vacant. He stepped into the empty space and spread his arms.

“Who do I send to go find them? Other Lost who have made their home in the safety of the Court?” He snapped his fingers with a sharp ring and the walls of the Hall fell away, revealing a moon-washed clearing in the woods. “Do you know what my empire is built upon, Irene? The hopes and dreams of children.” With a grandiose gesture, the Hall folded back into existence, and the King was raised up on the summit of his diaz. He took his seat on the golden throne.

“What can children do against an evil older than the hills themselves? I know it’s not something you want to hear, but I cannot risk the safety of more of my children when a few stray from the flock. You are probably thinking to yourselves that I am a monster, but this is the reality of all Courts. Do you think JYP chases after every disappearance in their Court?”

The three Red Velvet girls were horrified. “You’re scared,” Seulgi heard herself quietly say. “You’re scared of those True Fae,” she continued, a bit more audibly.

The King sighed. “Do you know what it is I’m scared of?” he asked.

“How old were you when we found you, Irene? How old were you, Seulgi when you first auditioned? Do I send the 12 year olds to rescue lost Changelings? Do I wait until they are 16? Ah, what if I send my debuted artists? Some of them are in their 30s now!” The King was amused by his own sarcasm, and it was making the girls grow increasingly frustrated. “Brilliant! I’ll send my very best, so that when they inevitably fail and are captured by the Gentry, we will be left defenseless! And not only that! But we will have all of these fractured teams with which we’ll try to attract more Lost. An inspired idea!”

He stood up and came down the steps, and all humor suddenly dropped from his tone. “So yes, Seulgi, I am scared of the True Fae - I am scared of losing more of my children.”

And in the silence that fell between them, there came the faint call of a clarion horn, echoing sourcelessly about the Hall.

The King turned his face to Irene. “You chose incorrectly, Irene,” he said somberly.

“He- he’s here,” Irene breathed, staring past the group. The horn sounded again, with increased volume. “They’re taking us…!” she muttered drowsily as she reached out, trying desperately to cling to sleep, to stay rooted in the dream. She suddenly collapsed and Seulgi stooped to catch her.

But she was gone.

Wendy glared up at the King and he shook his head at her.

“Don’t do this.”

But Wendy wasn’t about to leave Irene to the whims of the True Fae, no matter what kind of explanation the King tried to give. She took Seulgi’s hand and walked up to the Fetch.

“We’re not going to leave her there,” Wendy said resolutely as she searched the Fetch’s face. The Fetch looked back at her in distress.

“Even if I forbid it?” the King asked lightly. The threat was so thinly veiled, Wendy could see her future career as a musician drying up before her very eyes. She smiled back at him sadly, but there was no time to argue.

“I’m sorry,” Wendy muttered to no one in particular as she suddenly slapped the Fetch across the face with all of her strength.

That ought to wake her up.