“So... Nella was your sister” - King Liu felt his head spinning. He have had a long night and it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to sleep - “My wife and Sungmin’s mom... was your sister” 

“That makes him my nephew” - Niell rubbed Sungmin’s cheeks - “He is so cute and small! Oh my oh my! He is the cutest boy I have ever seen!”

“Niell” - King Liu gathered all his courage to say it out loud - “Does that mean my son is half fairy?”

“Of course he is!” - Niell chirped proudly - “And a very strong one for sure! He is strong enough to be- no, it can’t be right. No no. This ain’t happening to me... Please don’t be...” 

Niell stared at the silly boy that tilted his head. The kid giggled when the fairy placed one hand on his head. 

“We need to talk” - Niell’s attitude changed dramatically- “If this kid is who I think it is... then, something just doesn’t feel right” 

After all young boys went to bed, the King fairy reunited with King Liu once again. His face showed concern but his eyes resolution. 

“I will protect that kid even if it costs my life” - Niell stated - “But I am afraid that it won’t probably be enough” 

“I travelled back on time to change our future” - King Liu sighed - “I only have one more chance. I can’t fail this time. I need to protect my boy but I get the feeling that there is more involved. I feel like the Merry boys situation is related and I can’t stop thinking that you also have something to do with this” 

“Indeed, my friend” - Niell lowered down his head - “Its never too late for a fairy tale, right? Please listen to my side of the story so we can figure out our next step...” 

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

The King fairy has a lot of responsibilities. Some include difficult tasks to do. Some, are just way too hard to do. 

“That is just stupid!” - Niell folded his arms - “I refuse. I don’t care what the stupid council says, it must be a mistake!” 

“Niell, listen” - An old fairy shook him - “This is your duty. You just can’t refuse—“

“I can refuse it as many times I want” - Niell got away from the old fairy - “I never asked for this!”

“The tree is never wrong” - The old fairy insisted - “and even if the council’s measures seem extreme, they barely fail when judging someone” 

“Nonsense” - Niell cried - “They are just KIDS. I can’t do it. Just search for someone else who can do this dirty job” 

“Niell...” - The old fairy tried to reach him before he went away flying - “Dark times are coming...” 

Niell got away from the forest as much as he could. He sat on a round stone in front of a waterfall. He found the sound of water calming. He was starting to relax when he heard the screaming. 

“I swear for all gods that humans only know how to cause troubles” - Niell yawned 

It was around the time of the Great War. Not having enough with the atrocities committed in battlefield, some bad people took advantage of the precarious situation and started doing things that weren’t allowed before. 

“Leave me alone!” - the girl cried - “You don’t understand!” 

“Of course we do” - the soldiers replied cheerfully as they kept chasing the poor girl around 

“Help me... somebody... help me...” - The girl sobbed when she saw herself surrounded by the bad men - “I don’t want... I can’t...” 

“Hey” - Niell threw a little Rock to one of the aggressors - “Having fun? I come here to think and you are sure noisy” 

“Go back to your mom, kid” - One of the soldiers grinned - “Its still too early for you to have this kind of fun”

“If you place a hand on her, it will be over for you” - Niell grunted - “All of you” 

The bad men laughed hard. One of them said something about his clothing but the fairy king had his attention fixed on the girl.

“You and I will enjoy our time together!” - One of the men grabbed the girl’s arm and pulled hard making her uncomfortable

“Why you never listen?” - Niell sighed as he used his magic to take advantage - “I told you it was a bad idea, didn’t I? Didn’t you listen to me the first time? How many times should I repeat it?”

The soldiers wailed on the ground thanks to the pain. The girl ran scared and hid behind some bushes while the strange lad took care of the situation. In a few minutes, the bad men were gone and everything returned to normal. She awaited a few minutes more fearing she could run into the boy that helped her. At the moment, she didn’t have clear his intentions and it seemed like someone dangerous. 

“You better hurry up” - Niell grunted - “It’s going to get dark anytime and once the sun is gone, more of those stupid men will try something similar” 

The girl stared at the strange boy. She had never seen something similar to him. He looked young and was way shorter than the average men, but spoke and behaved like a grown up. 

“W-who are you?” -  the girl held her chest - “What are you?”

Niell only stared at her with his usual non friendly expression. He then turned his face to the other side and spoke again. 

“I asked you to leave” - The fairy’s way of Speaking was sterner than usual - “I don’t plan on helping you all time” 

Before he could ever expect it, the girl had managed to get closer. She was pulling his clothes while the fairy floated confused. 

“Thanks” 

The girl ran away short after that. Niell went back to the fairy forest and forgot about the encounter until next day when he found a basket with several fruits and flowers near to the waterfall.

“What on...?” 

It wasn’t usual. War brought many problems with it and some of them included scarcity and hunger. Why would someone leave a basket with food in the middle of nowhere?

“What a waste” - Niell shook his head - “I wonder if someone forg— Hey” 

As soon as he noticed her presence the girl ran away. The scene repeated for over a month until the fairy grew tired of it and decided he would put an end to the story. 

That day, the fairy followed the girl to her place. She lived in an small house separated from the rest of the town. The fairy could tell the owners didn’t have enough money to pay for reparations. 

“Hey” - Niell looked around - “Where is everybody?”

“Y-you!” - the girl tried to hide - “H-how...?”

“I followed you, sorry” - Niell scratched his head - “Do you live here? Where are your parents?” 

“Mom got sick and died... and dad... dad probably died too” - The girl said sadly 

“Probably?” - Niell raised an eyebrow 

“I’m not sure. All men were called to fight and some may never return” - The girl looked down - “My brothers are gone as well”

“It’s too dangerous for a little girl to live alone” - Niell inspected the house - “Specially taking into account the times we are living now”

“You are a fairy” - The girl blurted out of nowhere- “D-dont you? I did some research and and and I think you could be one. That’s why your magic is so strong and you look like that”

“You better explain what it means ‘looking like that’ before I get mad” - Niell grunted and folded his arms - “Yes, I’m a fairy. Do you have a problem with that?”

“N-no” - The girl blushed embarrassed- “I just... thanks for what you did the other day”

“Yeah yeah” - Niell swayed his head - “You better don’t get in any troubles again. I can’t save you all time” 

“I know it’s not much but... you will always be welcomed here” - The girl smiled sweetly- “I’m good at baking” 

“Guess I could come sometime” - Niell smiled back - “I like sweets” 

And that’s how the weird friendship started. Over the course of time, Niell would visit his human friend to have a happy time away from his responsibilities. During the time the war turned worse, Niell decided to stay there to protect her. The time that felt like just a couple years to the fairy, were actually lots of years for the human being. 

“I can’t to meet her, can you?” - The now middle aged woman smiled softly as his friend ate a good piece of pie - “I hope you are friends with her too” 

“How you know is a her?” - Niell spoke with his mouth full of pie - “What If you have a boy?”

“It’s going to be a daughter” - The man said across the living room of the house that now was bigger - “She is sure of that”

“What kind of magic is that?” - Niell tilted his head - “How can you know?”

“I cant” - The woman giggled - “We are just teasing you” 

“Very funny” - Niell stuck out his tongue - “I just hope he or she, doesn’t like pie. I don’t want to fight over it” 

Time seemed to slow down those last days they spent together. Niell could feel it: his time was running out. He couldn’t explain how, but he could feel something was wrong. It had been a long time since he last visited the forest. It had been a long time since he thought of himself as the King fairy. 

“Niell, are you coming back?” - The woman with a big belly asked 

“I don’t know” - Niell was honest - “I get the feeling that they need me. I don’t know how much time I will take but I promise I will come back”

“We will wait for you” - the man smiled to him 

Niell nodded and took one last glance to the couple that waved to him. He would solve whatever was happening and return on time to meet his friends again. Just that it didn’t happen. As soon as he approached the forest, he realized it would take time. 

“What happened?” - Niell asked terrified as he observed the place. The beautiful forest had been reduced to just a couple of damaged trees. The fairies’s houses had been taken down from the high tree. Only a few fairies remained. 

“Old man!” - Niell ran to meet the old fairy - “Whats wrong? What is happening? Why? Who?”

“N-Niell... the humans... the humans did it...” - the old fairy sulked - “They took them. They learned the truth and want to take advantage of it. Niell, you have to stop them now. The kids you didn’t kill that day... those kids are not longer kids anymore...” 

“Who is them? Why? What is the truth?” - Niell was already crying - “Where is everybody?”

“The ones that could, ran away and hid” - The old fairy was weak - “The other ones... they know that mixed blood are stronger” 

“W-what? Gramps? Gramps?!” 

And so, Niell’s real quest started. Gathering information about the fairies’s whereabouts plus taking care of his duties as a king. He could feel that their population decreased a lot thanks to the kidnapping. Still, he didnt understand why would human only took females. 

“My king... another girl is missing” - One fairy informed- “Everyone is fearing for the worst and—“

“Not this time” - Niell clenched his fists- “I won’t allow it anymore” 

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

“I didnt stop them on time” - Niell admitted to the kind king - “It was already too late. The kids I was asked to kill were the first ones of a long line that was created later. They were half fairies just like the Merry boys. During the Great War, many kingdoms didn’t care about methods but results. Somehow, a bunch of idiots discovered that mixing their blood with fairies would end in stronger soldiers... soldiers whose magic was unusual and powerful” 

“The Merry kids... they...”

“It’s not their fault, but they are dangerous” - Niell bit his lips - “I’m afraid they were probably created for the same motive than the other ones. Someone was planning to use them” 

“For what? The Great War is over” - King Liu shook his head - “Also, in the future, Merry boys weren’t working for anyone. They were a bunch of outcasted boys that tried to survive—“

“Not all magics are equally strong” - Niell interrupted - “and not all are easy to spot. I can tell that fodder haired boy didn’t have a clue of his own magic”

“So, you are telling me that they could be dangerous depending of the type of magic they inherited?” - King Liu would probably need a drink - “What about Sungmin? He is my son but he is also...”

“Nella’s” - Niell shrank his shoulders - “I have no clue of what type of magic he has. I don’t even know how is that passed on. It could be totally random or follow a rule. I don’t know” 

“Alright... maybe we could find some information about it” - King Liu tried to focus - “You said someone was creating these children during the Great War. Maybe they kept record of their experiments... if they were trying to create perfect soldiers, it makes sense they would try to improve by experimenting” 

“Humans are scary” - Niell got the chills - “But you must be right. Even I have to recognize that some of you are smarter than most fairies. Someone must have kept a record about the experiments and their results. Hopefully, they figured out how is magic passed down” 

“I get the feeling I won’t like the answer” - King Liu sulked as he remembered that his precious boy was also like the Merry boys - “I just hope is nothing too serious” 

*********************************************************************

“Is he going to be alright?” - the light haired boy asked - “He doesn’t look fine” 

“He has a fever but nothing serious” - Leeteuk replied as he checked Heechul’s temperature using his hand - “He needs to rest” 

“That thing... is still alive” - Yesung gulped down as he pointed at the doll that was sleeping next to the red haired toddler - “I can see it breaths”

“How did you do it?” - Leeteuk whispered - “Who taught you that?”

“No one” - Yesung sulked - “I’m pretty much sure I didn’t try anything else when I was sewing that doll. I just wanted to fix it for Ryeowook, nothing else”

“So curious... I have done a lot of sewing but that never happened to me” - Leeteuk smiled softly- “Maybe you have powers”

“I hope I don’t” - Yesung shook his head - “You saw it yourself: that thing turned into a monster. It’s dangerous” 

“But the strange man said it wasn’t your fault” - Leeteuk recalled - “He said he could sense someone’s else magic” 

“I wonder if we are really cursed” - Yesung pouted - “That would explain a lot of things” 

@_@_@_@_@_@_@_@_@_@_@_@_@_@_@_@_@_@

King Liu woke up thanks to the noisy in his room. He spotted right away the source and did his best to remain calm. 

“Hi theffe ~ G’foo’ mowninff” - Niell was having a good time stuffing something pink in his mouth - “Thiff thingff iff taffty!”

“Niell, what are you eating?” - King Liu couldn’t believe the King fairy could behave like a kid 

“I found theff in youff w’roomff” - Niell had a hard time chewing all the cake he had put inside - “Zomeoneff w’fanted to pweafee you” 

“The Merry boy” - King Liu recalled one of them was good at baking - “This is Leeteuk’s doing” 

“If all Merry boys can bake like him, I want to keep them all” - Niell finally swallowed- “I’m sorry. I ate it all” 

“It’s ok” - King Liu smiled - “How are you feeling? I know you were feeling weak but you look better today” 

“Now that you mention it” - Niell stretched - “I woke up feeling weak but I’m just fine now” 

“Those are good news” 

“I will go take a look of that freaking doll before I run out of magic again” - Niell yawned - “the people in the castle are terrified and keep saying stuff about a curse. Rumours spread quickly so, you better prepare for today. People in town will probably demand answers” 

“Another long day, I guess” - King Liu sighed 

“You should ask that Merry boy to bake something for you” - Niell smiled playfully - “You will feel better after eating one of those!”

“You just want more cake, don’t you?” - King Liu twisted his lips - “You should find out what magic the boy has before you eat it” 

“Mmm maybe I already did” - Niell’s eyes sparkled - “That’s it! The boy’s magic is related to baking!” 

“Niell” 

“No, it does make sense! You said they ran a bakery when older, didn’t you?” - Niell smirked - “What if the secret ingredient is magic? You would never find out unless you knew about magic yourself. Also, is more likely the kid doesn’t even know he adds magic to it” 

“But... what’s the point of adding magic to a cupcake?” - King Liu worried - “I mean, what consequences...?” 

“I don’t care what it does” - Niell scoffed - “It tasted well”

(Are all fairies like you?) King Liu thought as he spotted his son trying to get cookies from the kitchen 

———————————————————————-

Next chapter: let’s find out some of the Merry boys’s magic and learn the truth behind their birth 

Trivia: 

I named both kings after Sungmin’s nicknames. Liu from his YouTube channel and Niell from his naver account. He liked to call himself Niell long ago since he played a character called ‘Daniel’ on Jack’s the ripper musical. 

Hope you enjoy! Have a great week!