((a/n Chapter-ception in this update. I didn't feel like italicizing Amber's entire flashback, so I called it the Dream Oath pt 2, and in case it isn't clear, it's her perspective of what happened in the Hedge that night))

“It’s Henry,” Amber said simply. 

She could have laughed at the way Yeri’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head. It was nice to be able to surprise The Oracle, even if the truth meant revealing that someone on the inside was working against the Court.

“Don’t joke,” Yeri warned. “Tell me honestly: one of the King’s own Knights is betraying him?”

Amber smiled over at her sadly. “Why would I joke about it?” she said in a quiet voice. “Henry and I were friends.” Once again the reality of his betrayal made her seethe and grind her teeth.

“WE WERE FRIENDS!” she repeated, shouting hoarsely and startling Yeri. If she hadn’t been completely drained of her energy, she would have ignited the entire room, just as she had erupted in the forest that night when she confronted him.

Yeri was stunned to silence. For once she didn’t have any snide remark or sassy observation. Amber’s expression was twisted in raw emotion. “He sold us out,” she growled, slamming her fist on the table. Who knew how many of them were in danger now? Amber was so well-liked, so connected, and she had trusted him. So many of her friends were now in jeopardy because of her.

“Sold us out to whom?” Yeri asked in a wary voice. Hunters? Another Court? The True Fae? Goblins? The possibilities were staggering. Why hadn’t she been able to See something so profound coming?

But Amber shook her head. She didn’t know. It had all happened so fast. “I couldn’t see who he was talking to,” she muttered reluctantly.

But she had definitely interrupted some kind of deal.

+++ The Dream Oath pt 2 +++

Krystal had cloaked herself. Amber would have had no idea where she was if the younger girl hadn’t been keeping a hand on Amber’s shoulder. She was using her Seeming to help hide them both in the shadows, as they attempted once again to find the source of the music. Hopefully they could do something to buy Irene enough time to lead Seulgi safely back out of the Hedge.

Krystal’s grip on her shoulder suddenly tightened and Amber stopped and looked around. The music was so close to them now that they could hear the tap of the musician’s fingers against the violin’s fingerboard as he pinched the strings. But more importantly, she could hear the low hum of conversing voices.

“... There’s two of them now. How kind of you to add on a little gift to our arrangement,” a greasy voice cooed.

And there the girls could finally see, behind the trunk of a large tree the dark form of the violinist, and in front of him, two smaller figures in cloaks.

The violinist barely missed a beat as he responded, still playing. “Wait-! Wait, the other one’s not part of the deal. You can’t have them both.” The voice sounded familiar. So familiar Amber could already feel her heart sinking into the pit of her stomach. Who could it be?

“Oho, you think this will end without us having them all. That’s cute.”

“Adorable, really.”

“So naive.”

“So honorable.”

“Almost tragic.”

“Almost.”

The two figures seemed to be conversing between themselves, though their words were clearly meant as taunts to the musician.

“We’ll take the Fairest, then. You can keep your Beast, for now. I think an upgrade will make up for your weeks of stalling,” sneered one.

“That makes three for the Horned One from your ‘Court’,” the other sneered. “We’ll let him decide if your debt has been paid after that.”

“Wait!” The violinist demanded again, and he turned back towards the clearing to look for Irene and Seulgi, giving Krystal and Amber their first good look at him.

“Henry.”

Amber hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but the shock of seeing that familiar face was too much for her to bear.  

“Who’s there?!” one of the small figures croaked. “You!” they said, pointing a crooked finger up at Henry. “You led us into a trap?!”

“You broke your promise, Henry, tsk tsk tsk~” The other figure didn’t seem nearly as distraught as their companion. “Forget your payment; next time we’ll come for you ourselves.”

“No… no!” Henry cried, finally dropping his violin from his shoulder. “It’s not what you think, I didn’t-!”

“GoodBYE, Henry~!” They said as the pair faded into a spore-like cloud and drifted away into the night.

“HENRY!” Amber said, charging out from the underbrush.

“Amber?” Henry cried out in surprise, shivering as if anticipating a blow.

“Who were you talking to?!” she roared. “Did you lead Seulgi here?” She struck him on the side of the head and he crumpled to his knees pitifully. “DID YOU?”

“Amber… Amber please, I can explain,” he pleaded in a broken voice.

“Amber…” Krystal called from the shadows.

“NO!” she shouted. “‘Three for the Horned One?’ What does that mean?” She stooped to pick Henry up by his lapels. “Is that where they were going to take Seulgi? Who are the others they mentioned? If I find out you were behind Sulli’s abduction…” she growled in a low, dangerous voice.

“Amber!” Krystal called again, revealing herself this time. “The fire…” she pointed at Amber’s feet.

She had unconsciously created a high ring of fire around herself and Henry, the flames already beginning to creep along the dead foliage on the forest floor. She let Henry go and he stumbled back a pace, almost falling into the flames.

“You’re coming back with us, Henry, and you’re going to explain. Everything.” Amber’s dark tone brooked no room for argument.

But even despite the fear and helplessness in Henry’s eyes, he just shook his head. “N- ... no, Amber, I can’t.” He gave her one last look - was that regret she saw, beneath the red-orange flickering light reflected in his eyes? - and quickly brought his violin back up to his chin. “I’m sorry, Amber.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Henry, NO!” the two girls shouted as he raked his bow across the strings. A sharp trill whined through the trees and the flames around them burst in a spray of dirt and pine needles. Amber lept back and fell against Krystal who grabbed her and was already starting to run. “Let me go!” Amber cried, twisting in her grip. “He’s going to pay!”

“It’s not just Henry anymore, Amber!” Krystal struggled to maintain her grip on the firebrand while also gesturing around them.

“What?”

“The trees, Amber!” Krystal indicated, still pulling her along.

As expected of one of the King’s Knights, Henry possessed abilities more horrifying and awesome than she had ever been a victim to. She watched transfixed as Henry furiously fiddled, surrounded by flames like the devil himself. And the trees.

The trees were alive.

They groaned and twisted, swayed and bucked to his rising and falling melodies, until one by one they pulled themselves out of the ground and began reaching for the girls with their long, gnarled limbs.

“Forget him,” Krystal implored. “We’ve got to get out of here!”   

Amber sprinted after her, letting her hands drag against the underbrush as the passed, igniting everything in her wake. Hopefully that would be enough to slow their pursuit.

+++ The Rose Knight +++

“And now I’m stuck in here,” Amber finished, looking over at Yeri. Explaining everything that had happened that night had a strange calming effect, and her temper had relaxed into a more manageable simmer.

Yeri was very quiet. There was no denying that it was Henry. He was the only person she knew of in the company with a Seeming tied to instruments. But just what had he gotten himself mixed up in?

“At least Irene and Seulgi are safe,” she said finally, letting out a breath she only just realized she had been holding.

Amber quirked an eyebrow. “For now. Those two creeps said they’d be back.”

Yeri wore a dark expression. “I’m going to see if I can get you out of here. I know you were teaching Wendy how to Dreamshape.”

“How did you know that?” Amber asked, squinting in surprise.

Yeri gave her a look. “Come on. Oracle, remember?”

“Some Oracle you are,” Amber grumbled. “You really didn't know about Henry? Or this ‘Horned One’? That sounds like some True Fae bullsh*t if I’ve ever heard it.”

Yeri was frustrated. It wasn’t like she got to choose what she saw and what remained hidden to her. “Wendy has you to teach her things. I have no one,” she snapped. “I’m trying to figure this all out as fast as I can.”

Amber didn’t feel like apologizing, not in light of the unfolding events. She had requested a private hearing with the King to explain her case back when they seized her, but he had denied it. She told them as much of the truth as she could without revealing any of the actors, in case there were more Courtiers involved than just Henry. She didn’t want to let on how much she knew, not if they were going to keep her locked up where she couldn’t protect her team from retaliation.

“You really have no idea?” she asked, though there was little hope in her voice.

Yeri shook her head, though she seemed like she was deep in thought. “Though, there may be someone I can ask about the ‘Horned One’,” she mused after a moment.

Amber’s brows furrowed. “Careful who you talk to,” she muttered. “They wanted Irene because she’s a Fairest. Just think what they’d do if they knew about you.”

Yeri tried not to let her worry show. She had already drawn the same conclusion, although hers was a case more unique than even Amber could possibly imagine.

+++

“... What are you doing?” Seulgi asked, shuffling into the kitchen.

“Seulgi!” Irene gasped as she flung a spatula across the counter in fright.

Seulgi paused for a moment and blinked at her before slowly going over to the spatula to retrieve it.

“It’s almost four in the morning.”

Irene took the utensil back from her in a huff. “I was hungry.” She turned her back on Seulgi and continued tending to the pan on the stove. Seulgi glanced over her shoulder. It looked like she was making a kimchi pancake.

“Are you nervous?” Seulgi asked quietly. It wasn’t like Irene to stay up so late by herself, though she knew the older girl sometimes had trouble sleeping.

Irene paused, but quickly busied herself again. “No, we’ve done everything we could to prepare. There’s nothing left but to just go up on that stage try our best.”

Seulgi was silent, and Irene turned slightly to look up at her. “Why? Are you nervous?”

Seulgi nodded.

Irene smirked. “The Legendary Trainee is nervous about her debut~?” she teased, elbowing Seulgi in the ribs.

Seulgi rubbed her side and gave Irene a faint smile. “I mean, when you put it like that…”

“How do you think the rest of us are supposed to feel if you’re nervous?” Irene continued. Perhaps it wasn’t fair to put that kind of pressure on Seulgi, but she truly believed the girl had nothing to worry about.

“Come on,” Seulgi said half-heartedly. “You trained for almost as long as I did.” She felt herself being nudged out of the way by Irene’s hip as their leader made room to flip her pancake.

“And that’s why I’m not worried,” Irene lied. She was getting disturbingly good at keeping things from Seulgi. It wasn’t exactly a skill that she wanted to cultivate.

Seulgi stepped back into Irene’s personal space and watched over her shoulder. Irene smirked to herself. “Are you hungry?” She could see Seulgi nod in her peripheral vision. With scant hours to go before their debut, snacks in the middle of the night probably weren’t advisable, but she wasn’t going to order the girl back to bed if she was anxious. And she especially wasn’t in a hurry for Seulgi to leave her side. It was so typical of the younger girl: she was always hovering, never quite leaning on Irene, never quite resting her chin on her shoulder, but still close.

After today, all eyes would be on them. Their attention would be divided, their time would be split, their schedules taking them away from each other for hours on end. Irene suddenly realize that their trainee days really were coming to an end. They’d eat, they’d go back to sleep, wake up, debut, and that would be it.

She eyed Seulgi who also seemed to be thinking. Irene wasn’t sure she was ready to share her with the world. How selfishly she had been enjoying their long years together, never knowing when - or even if - they were going to catch their break. She knew how badly Seulgi wanted it, and how unfortunate it was that the girl wasn’t aware of all of the politics and subtleties that kept her in purgatory. Wendy was now a little more familiar with the reasoning behind SM Court decision-making, but Seulgi must have simply thought the timing had never been quite right.

“Go get a plate,” Irene told her.

They moved to the dark living room to eat together on the couch, the only light coming from the kitchen and Irene’s Seeming. Seulgi held the plate in her lap and broke pieces off of the pancake so Irene could take what she pleased. The two of them were no strangers to comfortable silences, but Irene could tell Seulgi was still quietly worrying to herself. She held a piece of the pancake up for the pensive girl to eat.

Seulgi blinked, coming out of her reverie at Irene’s offer of food. She readily accepted. “It’s good,” she praised with full.

Irene snickered. “Don’t talk with your mouth full,” she berated in a hushed voice.

Seulgi did so enjoy seeing that small smirk on Irene’s face. Even while she was anxious about her own part of their upcoming performance, she couldn’t wait for everyone to see how charming their leader was. What wasn’t to like? As Irene leaned over and grabbed the last bite for herself, Seulgi couldn’t help but catalogue a list of her qualities.

“I’m proud of you,” she said suddenly, staring down at the empty plate.

Irene was glad the darkness hid her blush. “It’s just a kimchi pancake, Seul…” Why was she always like this, saying such things unexpectedly?

Seulgi smirked wanly. She knew Irene was deflecting and let it go.

But suddenly Irene scooted a little closer and leaned her head on Seulgi’s shoulder. “Thanks,” she murmured, letting her eyes close.

Seulgi sat very still, unsure of how to respond, but after another moment she heard Irene’s steady breathing, and felt the older girl’s weight relax against her. Did she… did she fall asleep? Seulgi let her cheek softly rest against the top of Irene’s head. She should take her to bed. They can’t sleep out here like this on the day of their debut. What would they do if they woke up with neck cramps or stiffness?

But she didn’t dare move.      

When Seulgi woke up a couple hours later, the dirty plate had been removed and the two of them were covered in a blanket. She was holding Irene’s hand.