The smell of fire greeted Hyuna when she woke up. In panic, she sat up immediately, but found out that it was only the pixies gathering. She let out a breath that she was holding in relief and got up. 

She and Jiyong had talked throughout the night. Eventually, Hyuna was so tired that she couldn't keep her eyes open. All she remembered was Jiyong's firm grip on her as he carried her to the ground. He had laid her down on the flower bed that was made for her. Hyua remembered his intense, but addicting gaze on her as she slipped out of conscience-ness. 

Now, the smoke was making her eyes water. She said her good mornings to the pixies and moved to the barriers. She tried to look further the castle and world outside, but ended up flying without noticing it.

"Hyuna."

She looked down to see Jiyong looking up at her. He was smiling. Hyuna was startled to see herself so high, but she calmly came back down to be in front of him. 

"Good morning." She told him.

He embraced her,"Did you have a good night's sleep?" He asked her, letting her go.

She nodded,"Yes, what were you doing?" She asked in return.

"Some of the pixies found soldiers camping over near our land. I wanted to make sure they hadn't found a way in. The barriers are sealed, unless they have magic, they can't pierce it." He told her proudly.

She smiled despite knowing that Dongwoon might be one of the soldiers,"Great. What's Taeyang and Dara doing?" 

"Making something. They won't let me see it, so I'm pretty bummed. Avenge me Hyuna!" He cutely added.

She smiled and made her way to the heart of the forest. Sure enough,Dara and Taeyang were huddled together with a bunch of other Kinies and pixies.

"Um...good morning?" She said coming nearer.

"Jiyong, you better not come near here. Hyuna, that counts for you too." Taeyang said without looking up.

"Good morning! Hold on for a second, we are almost done with this!" Dara said, giving them a quick glance.

Hyuna froze in her spot and grabbed Jiyong's hand from going further too. Jiyong pouted, wanting to join them also.

"Done!" Dara shouted.

Dara ran over to them, grabbed Hyuna and turned her around while Taeyang did the same to Jiyong.

"Whoa! What's going on guys?" She asked them. 

Dara nodded at Taeyang, who nodded at a pixie, who nodded at a Kinie, and finally revealed the surprise they had been hiding. Behind the mass of fairies, pixies, and Kinies, there were two gem rings. The gems were the same, each aqua blue with a shine that could brighten the world.

Hyuna moved forward in fascination,"W..what is all this?" She asked them.

"It's a aqua water necklace. Few of us got together to make these for you guys. It's going to chain you two together that you guys will always know if one's in danger. It's a simple way of making sure you two are safe if we have a full blown out war." Dara explained.

Jiyong smiled gently as he put the necklace on Hyuna and on himself,"I guess we're connected now."

She nodded,"It's amazing and all, but shouldn't we be preparing to fight? Don't get me wrong, I love it, and I'm glad he and I have a way to connecting but-"

Taeyang laughed,"It's fine Hyuna. I called some friends that can help us." He said with a mysterious grin.

Jiyong looked at him,"You called them?" He asked.

"Yeah. They should be here soon. We can't win without them, well, we can, but I feel better with them here." He told him.

Jiyong nodded while Hyuna was trapped in curiousity,"Uhm... May I ask a question?" She asked.

"Oh! Sorry about that. Well, what I was saying was I called some friends that we know. They are nature spirits who we've known for a long time. Let's see, one of them's friendly and goofy, the other is scary, and the last one is weird. You'll see when they come." Taeyang explained to her.

They were all talking when another pixie came up to Dara. It whispered something in her ear, making her widen her eyes. She nodded at the pixie and moved over to Taeyang.

Without a word, Taeyang dragged Jiyong away, mumbling something about chocolate. Meanwhile, Dara led Hyuna over to the barriers.

"Hyuna. The human boy you know? He wants to talk to you just for awhile." Dara explained, looking over on the other side.

Sure enough, Dongwoon was standing there, only blocked by the barrier. Hyuna sighed, she knew that Dara didn't want her to talk to him, and she was grateful enough that she even told her that Dongwoon was here. However, she had to settle some matters with him.

"Can I? I really have to Dara." She told the kinie.

Dara nodded slightly,"Be careful."

Hyuna nodded and moved over nearer to Dongwoon. He spotted her almost immediately after she came out.

Hyuna hesitantly walked towards him, wondering if she should just run. Soon, they were face to face.

"Hyuna..."

Dongwoon spread his hands in the barrier, making it break it's formation of a clear surface, but came back when he took his hand off.

"Why?" She asked finally,"Why did you do it? I thought I told you I was fine." She told him.

He sighed,"I didn't believe you. I still don't. Don't worry, after the war, I'll save you from this mess." He told her.

"Dongwoon ah. I don't need any rescuing. I'm perfectly fine here, and I'm starting to think it's better this way. I never want to see you again." She said coldly before walking away.

She left him behind and took off running, pass Dara who had been waiting for her, and to a greater distance. 

To tell the truth, it hurt her a lot. Dongwoon was her best friend. She didn't want to say it, but she did anyway, and it took a lot on her. She was really safe here, and she wished that he had never told the whole kingdom about it. One secret had destroyed their long years of friendship. Wonderful...

She didn't notice she was flying again. Hyuna just sighed and sat on a branch. She wondered what Jiyong and Taeyang were doing. 

"Hey."

She whipped her head around to see Taeyang next to her.

"How did you get up here?" She asked, still surprised from his sudden appearance. 

He chuckled,"Sorry if I scared you. Dara told me what happened, and it's her turn to take Jiyong away from you anyway. Are you okay?" He asked carefully.

She sighed again,"Truthfully no. He was the only one who understood me before all of you guys came along. I'm just really going to miss him." She told him.

Taeyang put his arm around her,"It's okay. I had that kind of dilemma. I had a friend named Seunghyun before. Even if he was cold on the outside, he was a dork.  He and I were best friends before Jiyong and I got close. We understood our weird and awkward personalities when no one did. One day, he told me that he wanted to an explorer. He never told anyone this because his parents always believed that he should be a growth expert or whatever, and his parents were super strict."

"Of course I was happy for him. A little too happy actually. I told my parents out of excitement, and they, of course, told his parents. They were not happy at all. They decided to move to another forest where other things couldn't 'influence' him. He told me he never wanted to see me again. I didn't see him for 195 years after that."

"Fate couldn't have been more exact. I saw him again few years ago. It's been so long that I barely recognized him. We avoided each other as much as possible, but there was a problem with something and we had to work together. At first, we were both silent. Then, I asked him if he remembered the time we threw water balloons at the pixies when we were young. I was so nervous that he would still hate me, but he smiled and nodded. We ended up talking and messing around again. When he had to go I apologized."

"He smiled and said it was nothing. He said he should be the one sorry for reacting like that and acting like a jerk. We are best friends again now. Don't worry Hyuna. Everything will get better and you and Dongwoon will become friends again. Just like Seunghyun and I." Taeyang concluded.

"You really think so?" She asked him.

He grinned,"I know so." He told her firmly.

She finally smiled,"Thank you so much. Oh, can I ask a question?" She asked.

He nodded,"Sure. Why not?"

"Did your friend ever become what he wanted to be?" She asked, eyes full of curiousity.

"He did and accomplished more than anyone ever can." He answered with a proud smile.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Where's the chocolate? DARA~~~~~~~~ Chocolate pleaseeeeee!!" Jiyong begged.

Dara looked to the side,"Your majesty, please. Chocolate won't kill you if you don't have it for a little more. Also, please try to act a little older on chocolate. Ah...uh,,....TAEYANG!"

She let a breath of relief when she saw Taeyang and Hyuna come in. Taeyang having chocolate in his hands. He threw them at Jiyong who caught them in one hand.

"CHOCOLATE!" He shouted.

Taeyang laughed,"Sorry you have to see that Hyuna. He can get a little crazy about chocolate. He gets hyper whenever he eats it, but he loves it so much that we can't keep it away from him for long."

Hyuna giggled to see Jiyong cutely eating the sweet candy,"He doesn't look like a king at all. I can't believe he was a silent, cold tyrant before I came."

Dara came over to them,"Neither can we." She said smiling softly.

"That idiot." 

All four of them turned to see three boys appearing behind them. Taeyang laughed out loud, and Dara rolled her eyes, but her smile was still there. Jiyong threw a chocolate chunk at one of them, which he caught.

He popped it into his mouth,"Mm! Tasty!" He exclaimed.

Hyuna stared wide eyes at the new comers, not noticing that she was hiding behind Jiyong. 

"Long time no see man." Taeyang said as he hugged the taller of them. 

Dara smacked a boy's head, but she as smiling. They all moved forward to them,"Is she the missing piece?" One of them asked.

Jiyong smiled,"Yeah. Hyuna, these are my friends. Daesung,Seunghyun, and Seungri. They are all nature spirits and a little bit of goof balls. You met them once before, but I guess it was way too long ago." He explained gently, trying to coax her.

The name Seunghyun caught her attention. She shyly came out of hiding and met them all. She could see they know the truth about her.

"Hello! My name's Daesung! Nice to meet you again!" He shouted. 

Hyuna smiled at him,"Hello." She said softly.

Seunghyun locked his gaze with hers,"Hey." 

Hyuna nodded, not knowing what to do.

"HI!!!!! My name's Seungri! You might remember me!" He exclaimed, while rushing foreword to hug her.

She squealed when he did, making Jiyong throw a tree at him. Thankfully, he dropped her and caught the tree.

"Hey! Don't use trees for weapons!" He said replanting it.

Hyuna steadied herself as he let her go to plant the tree. Jiyong made her go behind him again.

"Anyway! Back to the point! We are here to help you Yong!! So, count on us, and we'll have those pesky humans gone away in a flash!" Daesung exclaimed.

Jiyong, Taeyang, and Seungri went to the borders of the forest and the kingdom. Dara and Seunghyun were discussing the pixie spy network, leaving Hyuna to stand there. They were all forming plans way too fast for her to catch up or actually know. 

"Hyuna! Go with Seunghyun and show him the pixie trees. I need to go and get the rest of the boulders for later." Dara exclaimed before leaving.

Hyuna was dumbfounded for a moment, but then she looked at Seunghyun and moved right away. He quietly followed her to the pixie trees. 

"So, um... This is where most of the pixies are if you ever need them. Some of them are out doing errands or other things from time to time." She explained to him without meeting his eyes.

He seemed to be chuckling,"Are you scared of me? Why want you meet my eyes Hyuna? I'm not that weird looking." He told her.

"Oh! It's not that. Um... Sorry if you thought that way though." She told him.

"Then why won't you look at me in the eyes? You stared at the ground the whole time you know? Did Taeyang make you feel scared of me?" He asked her.

"No! It's not like that at all. I just heard that you at good friends with him that's all. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."

"Oh, good then. I know I look fierce sometimes,but Taeyang can tell you. I'm a dork." He said with a grin.

Hyuna finally looked up to see his face. She smiled,"I guess so." 

She gave him the rest of the tour of the pixie trees. When they got back to the main square, all the others were there. However, they didn't look too happy.

"What's going on?" Seunghyun asked, immediately feeling the tense atmosphere.

"It seems that the kingdom is a little more ahead of schedule than we thought. The attack can come any day. The pixies report that they have a few magicians in hand to help them. Plus, they have a few pixies which they caught some while ago. The pixies never told us, but they seem to know about it. If they have magic, we're in trouble." Daesung told the two of them.

"They have a lot more men than we thought too. If the barriers are broken, they can destroy almost everything. We have to make the barrier stronger in the little time that we might have. Also, we need to train the trees with the others." Jiyong told them all.

Each of them nodded and moved out to their separate ways. Hyuna moved next to Jiyong,"Is there anything I can do?" She asked him. After all, everything seemed to have started because of her.

He shook his head gently,"I'm going to protect you this time no matter what. Just stay with me, and never go astray. Okay?" He said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Hyuna sighed, but she nodded. The rest of the day was a little hectic after that. Since they had less time than imagined, everything had to speed up. Taeyang and Seunghyun went around strengthening the barriers. Dara and Seungri went around re-rooting the trees to where they can fight if the barriers are broken. 

 Daesung was going around counting and training the pixies. Jiyong stuck around Hyuna the whole day. By the time the sun was setting, they had done most of the work that they needed to. They all went to sleep, except for Jiyong and Hyuna, who were in their flower bed by the lake.

"Jiyong ah. What do we do if the barriers break?" Hyuna carefully asked.

Jiyong looked at her,"Do you think it's going to?" He asked her.

"No...I'm not sure. I'm just curious for now I guess." She replied him.

"Well, if they do manage to break it, you'll be hiding in the spirit tree. We'll fight and show them never to cross into our territory again." He explained to her.

"Why can't I fight? Taeyang can teach me. I don't want to hide by myself while you guys are fighting for your lives." She complained.

"Arina."

She froze and looked at up him. He didn't seem to be in another world or lost in his mind. He looked right back at her,"Ari, I'm not making the same mistake again." He breath out.

Hyuna nodded, not wanting to continue the conversation. She eventually fell asleep in his arms and dreamed of green forests alive with energy.

-/-/-/-/-/-

"ɧყųŋą,"

ɧყųŋą ɬųŗŋɛɖ ąŗơųŋɖ ɬơ ʂɛɛ ʂơɱɛơŋɛ ῳɧơ Ɩơơƙɛɖ ʂơ ʄąɱıƖıąŗ, ყɛɬ ɖıʂŋɬąŋɬ ıŋ ɧɛŗ ɱɛɱơŗყ.

ɧყųŋą.

"ąŗıŋą?" ʂɧɛ ąʂƙɛɖ.

ɬɧɛ ʄıɠųŗɛ ŋơɖɖɛɖ,"ı ცɛƖıɛ7ɛ ıŋ ყơų..."

ɧყųŋą ῳąʂ çơŋʄųʂɛɖ ŋơῳ,"ῳąıɬ? ῳɧąɬ ɖơ ყơų ɱɛąŋ ყơų ცɛƖıɛ7ɛ ıŋ ɱɛ?" ʂɧɛ ąʂƙɛɖ ɧɛŗ.

ɬɧɛ ʄıɠųŗɛ ʂɛɛɱɛɖ ɬơ ცɛ ʄąɖıŋɠ,"ı ცɛƖıɛ7ɛ ıŋ ყơų....."

-/-/-/-/-

Hyuna woke up with a start again, but she soon relaxed to see Jiyong still with her. She was sure that it was Arina who talked to her in the dream, but what did she mean?

"Good morning."

Hyuna looked down to see Jiyong rubbing his eyes cutely. She couldn't help but smile and laid down next to him again,"Did you sleep well?" She asked him.

"Yes. Did you?"

She decided not to tell him or anyone else for now,"Yes." She answered back.

Dara and the others were up already. Daesung and Jiyong continued to tease each other, and Seungri started to remind her a lot of a panda. Taeyang and Seunghyun were working together to get some of the trees to move around. 

 Jiyong took Hyuna to the spirit tree later on. As much as she wanted to decline it, he insisted. The tree would be hidden from view when she was there. 

 The only good news of the day was that there was a delay in the kingdom, and they didn't have to worry about the incoming attack for at least a few days. The pixies had reported that the cannons were in maintenance because some ting had pushed it in the lake near the castle.

She was going to help the pixies move the trees when Dara called for her.

"What's wrong?" She asked her.

"The human boy is back again. He's bothering the pixies a lot, so they are begging me to tell you to shoo him away." She explained.

Hyuna sighed,"I'll be right there. Take care of Jiyong for me will you?" She asked, walking towards the border.

 Sure enough, Dongwoon was there again,"Hyuna." He breath out as soon as he saw her.

She tried really hard not to cry. Hyuna didn't know why, but the sight of his face made her want to let the tears flow free. She kept a straight face,"What are you doing here?" She asked blankly.

He looked miserable,"I'm sorry. I really didn't everything I did because I wanted to make you unhappy. You know I never do those kinds of things unless I rally any to protect someone I care about." He explained in hurried words.

"Is this how you protect me then?" She asked him.

"I thought I was.... I really did until I was you laughing and talking with him. I was here more than you can guess. Look, the point is that I'm sorry that I caused all this mess. Even if we can't stop it from happening any longer." He told her.

Now she really felt like hitting him and crying,"It's too late Dongwoon. I can't be friends with you still." She said as she turned away from him.

She was about to walk away when a hand pulled her back and trapped her. To her great surprise and horror, she saw Dongwoon wrapping his arms around her. Her wings disappeared, and she was out of the forest. Next to them, a figure stood.

"I'm never letting you go." He whispered in her ear.

There were distant booms heard in the distance and yelling. She struggled, but it was no use, he was too strong. She saw in horror as the barriers slowly diminished. The figure was chanting spells, so she guess that he must be one of the wizards. This wasn't how it was suppose to go, they had a few more days.

 Dongwoon dragged her to a carriage that was waiting for them. He forced her in it and got in himself. The other door was locked, making all possible ways of escape impossible.

"Dongwoon please!" She begged him, a look of panic and misery clear as day in her face.

He shook his head,"I won't let you loose yourself to that forest." 

Her tears finally came down. Out from the window, she could see smoke coming from the forest. Trees falling, the barrier gone, most importantly, she was gone.

-/-/-/-/-

"DARA!!!! Where's Hyuna?" Jiyong yelled over the mess.

His necklace had been glowing ever since the fighting broke out. As much as he wanted to deny it, Hyuna had to be in danger.

All around him, fighting was going on. Trees were fighting, their roots tripping the soldiers, and their branches knocking them off their feet. Taeyang was focusing his energy for the trees, Daesung was with Seungri fighting with their magic. Dara and Seunghyun were also using their powers, but here were too many soldiers in the way. 

 Jiyong had looked for Hyuna from the beginning, fighting his way through. The barriers that they had worked so hard on was gone in an instant, bring terror with it.

 "She was at the border the last time I looked sire! You must get her and protect yourself!" Dara yelled over.

Jiyong saw all of them fighting, fighting for their lives,"As soon as I find her, I'll come back! Don't give up!" He yelled as he ran to the border.

When he arrived, there was nothing but footprints of horses leading their way to the palace. They told him everything he needed to know. His breath hitched as he realized everything that and happened to his lovely fairy. He had let it happen again.

 The rustling nearby snapped him from his misery, but by the time he realized everything again, it was too late.