((a/n After much debate, I decided to split this into two chapters, so the next one is already almost ready to go. I'll put it up in another day or so!))

They didn't see Amber again for a month. The girls were caught up in a whirlwind of activity from their debut promotions, so busy they had almost forgotten about the F(x) girls. Almost.

“You look terrible,” Joy muttered from her reclined position on the couch as Wendy came out into the living room.

“Charming, as usual,” Irene remarked at her, in Wendy's defense.

To be truthful, Wendy did look exhausted, far moreso than the any of the other members. Her haggard appearance was something only their makeup artists would be able to fix. She sat heavily at the dining table and gave them a weary smile.

“Where's Seulgi?” she asked, ignoring Joy’s provocation.

“In the shower,” Irene answered, suddenly serious. Joy put her phone down and sat up on the couch.

Wendy thought for a moment, then ventured hesitantly, “How has she been sleeping?”

Irene tried to feign disinterest. “Soundly, from what I can tell.” She could guess Wendy’s intentions with such a question: she was probably worried if Seulgi was still being led to the Hedge or not, and if she was still in some sort of danger. Irene herself would often watch Seulgi sleep wondering the same thing, though she hadn’t yet been brave enough to try Dreamriding again to be sure.

But perhaps tonight it might be worth checking in on her. Just for a moment.

Irene didn’t need the energy top-off lately, so she had been refraining from slipping into Seulgi’s Dreamscape. Their near-daily stages kept her in front of adoring audiences, and she was able to harvest their excitement. Their manager had pulled her aside as they were in the waiting room for their debut performance and had reminded her of the trade off.

“Go up there and don’t be afraid to drop your Masque a little. Just a little. If there’s anyone out there who is looking for a sign that your kind exists, you’ll shine out like a beacon to them. You’ll show them that they aren’t alone,” he explained. “Don’t worry about using too much of your energy. You’ll get it all back in spades from the audience’s fervor. You guys are going to rock.”

Irene had known about this exchange before. It had been explained to her fairly early on: SM employed and signed many Fairest artists, who tended to have Seemings that enchanted and enthralled others. Who could resist their allure up on the stage? It attracted stray Fae to their ranks helping their numbers - and thus their influence - grow.

And it didn’t hurt that Fairest tended to be naturally more beautiful than the average mortal, and even those who could not detect Seemings were just as enamored and eager to express their adoration, usually in the form of energy and money for the Court and its idols. Any overly-animated fan was easy to draw from. A hand-touch at a fanmeet, a high five from the stage, if their fingers brushed as they handed off a gift in passing, there were plenty of opportunities for the harvest, and Irene had already been taking advantage.

But in the back of her mind were always the shadows of the past. Dropping her Masque ‘a little bit’ as her manager had instructed took almost more concentration than it was worth. As the only Fairest with her particular Seeming, however, it fell to her to make sure they were seen. It had been mentally and emotionally taxing, and there wasn’t any way to replenish that kind of energy.

Irene realized Wendy had fallen deep into thought and that Joy was watching them both with acute attention.

“Wendy, have you been trying to Dreamride at night?” the youngest asked. Irene’s eyes snapped to Joy. She recognized that tone, but Wendy was still too new to be able to figure out what it meant.

Joy was using her Seeming on Wendy and, compelled to answer truthfully, Wendy responded.

“Yes.”

Irene tore her gaze away from Joy and regarded Wendy. “On Seulgi?” she asked. It would make sense, but did that mean Wendy had been sneaking into their room at night?

Joy pursed her lips, knowing Irene was interrupting her questions on purpose. Joy didn’t suspect that Wendy was somehow involved in the mysterious happenings in the Hedge, but she knew Wendy was the kind of person who always tried to spare others concern where she could. She didn’t want Wendy to suffer alone, so she wanted the truth.

Wendy tiredly shook her head. “No, I’ve been trying to reach Amber,” she confessed.

The two other girls were shocked. “From here? Or have you been sneaking out?” Irene asked incredulously.

“Both,” Wendy said with a hapless smile. “Amber was trying to teach me how to do it without touching someone, and we made a pact so I could practice on her, but... I never had a chance to.”

“Sneaking out where?” Joy asked quickly, shooting a warning look at Irene. Irene gave her an exasperated expression. They both knew Wendy wasn’t the kind of person who would lie, so what was Joy doing?

“Just to the company building,” Wendy said tonelessly.

“In the middle of the night?” Joy asked, and now Irene was drawn in as well. She came and sat at the table with Wendy.

Wendy shrugged. “It’s the only time we have free. I don’t have any other leads.”

Joy sighed and sat back into the couch cushions. “And you think she might still be following Seulgi around?”

“It’s a start, isn’t it?”

“You need to rest,” Irene warned. She was worried about Amber, too, but Wendy’s attempts to track her down seemed fruitless. “You’re just wearing yourself out. We’re coming to the end of promotions, and once they’re over we can try and figure this out.”

Wendy looked at Irene with a mix of hurt and surprise on her face. She knew Irene wasn’t a callous person, but being told to stand down felt cold. “Figure this out? Has anyone even seen Amber since that night in the forest? Irene, what if she’s-”

“Stop. She’s not gone,” Irene said firmly. Not Amber. Irene refused to believe they hadn't made it out of the Hedge. She fixed her resolve to renew her efforts to look for the firebrand herself.

Seulgi let her head hang back, feeling the weight of her wet hair. She had been very surprised to hear herself being talked about through the bathroom vent when she turned the water off, and the more she listened, the more confused she became.

She was chilled, despite the steam still wafting around her. Tiny rivulets of water ran down her arms and legs as she stood there in a daze. She was afraid to listen for more, but she was rooted to the spot out of morbid curiosity. Why were they still going on about this, after weeks and weeks? Why were they talking about Amber like that? Gone where? From the company? It sounded like such a serious conversation, but...  

...hadn’t it all been just a dream?

+++

Taeyeon screamed. “Could you not do that?!” she exclaimed when she was able to catch her breath.

Yeri hopped out of the stool she had been sitting in, looking sheepish. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I knew you’d be coming but-”

“-but you didn’t know when,” Taeyeon finished for her. She sighed in exasperation and shut the door to the recording studio’s control room behind herself. Sheesh, these child Oracles...

Yeri had been waiting for Taeyeon to come to the studio for nearly an hour, and as she had been sitting at the mixer board, staring at all the sliders and dials, she had fallen into a reverie and the motion sensitive lights had turned off. She was so caught up in her thoughts about Amber and the Horned One, however, she hadn’t noticed the darkness. That is, until Taeyeon had finally walked in and everything switched back on again.

Taeyeon composed herself. “So, I’m assuming you wanted me for something?”

“I wanted to ask you some questions, if… if you’re not busy,” she said shyly. Yeri was still embarrassed for startling her. Taeyeon was her senior by a fair number of years in the Court, and the conversation she had carefully planned out in her head was evaporating quickly.

Taeyeon, however, saw things a little differently. Yeri was being groomed as the Court Oracle, and as such, Taeyeon felt fairly outranked. Taeyeon may be an important figure on the front lines for the company, but Yeri was a Courtier to the King.

“The Oracle has questions for little old me?” she teased, though her tone wasn’t unkind.

Yeri inhaled and tried not to roll her eyes. Hardly a conversation went by these days without someone saying something of the sort. This wasn't going well so far. She decided to just cut to the chase. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I was wondering if you knew anything about The Horned One.”

Yeri watched the color drain from Taeyeon’s face, and the petite girl turned and walked straight out of the room. Stunned, Yeri waited several minutes, but she didn’t come back.

“... Wish I could have predicted that,” Yeri sighed to herself, just as the motion lights clicked off again.           

+++

Seulgi seemed out of sorts all day. Irene trailed behind the group, watching her as they went about their schedule. She was slow and distracted, dragging behind until she was nearly abreast with Irene herself.

Irene stepped up and took her arm. “Are you okay?” she asked discretely. She didn’t want to attract the attention of their manager.

Seulgi smiled at her insincerely and tried to shrug her off. Irene gripped onto her tighter. “Seulgi?”

But Seulgi couldn’t look at her. She couldn’t face any of them. What was all that mystical nonsense they had been spouting this morning? She tried to keep playing off what she had heard as some strange fantasy the others had wrapped themselves up in, but despite her skepticism, some of it was starting to make sense. Those ‘lessons’ Wendy had with Amber almost every evening before their debut, and how they had stopped just as suddenly… the timing was too convenient. It all seemed to hinge on that weird dream she had had about the forest fire. The way Irene had asked her about it, knowing all of those details, it was like she had been there, and to Seulgi it had certainly felt like she had been there. It was almost like it hadn’t been a dream at all…

Everyone seemed to know something she didn’t, and she felt isolated. She felt that dull loneliness sharpen with the way Irene was trying to reach out to her now. Seulgi felt herself building a wall between them, something she had never done in all of their years together. But then again, Irene had never given her a reason to distrust her before.

She didn’t know how to deal with all of this new information, or these unfamiliar feelings, so she decided not to deal with it at all. She walked ahead quickly, breaking free of Irene’s grasp, and reached the van before the others. She climbed into the front seat and immediately put her headphones in, planning on drowning out any possibility for conversation.

Now Irene was even more concerned. That was so unlike Seulgi that she had to remind herself to keep walking after the girl essentially ran from her. She feared Wendy’s suspicions were correct. Maybe Seulgi had been led back to the Hedge and experienced something that was troubling her.

Joy dropped back and walked apace with Irene. “Trouble in paradise?”

Irene was so concerned about Seulgi, she didn’t have the place of mind to blush at Joy’s insinuation. “What? No. She’s acting oddly. I think I’m going to have to Dreamride tonight,” Irene said lowly.

Joy nodded and held the van door open for her. She could feel the tension building between her two senior members, so she decided to do what she did best: diffuse the situation with her indelicacy. 

She whispered up to Irene as their leader stepped inside, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do~”