“Niell dont!” 

The fairy king woke up abruptly. He was soaked in cold sweat. The chilly morning breeze hit his forehead. 

“Good morning, sleepy head” - King Liu greeted him - “We traveled all night searching for the place you told us but I am afraid we could not find anything” 

“Uh... sure” - The fairy stretched - “Its been a long time since I saw them. I actually can’t remember when was the last time I saw them”

“Being 102 years old must be really hard” - the cheerful knight teased 

“Being stupid sure it is” - Niell held his head - “It’s been a long time since I went out of the woods” 

“Maybe your memory is already failing, old fairy” - The knight teased 

“Not at all” - The fairy king sighed - “Actually... my memories... I wish I could forget them” 

“Well, I do not know about your past” - King Liu sat on the ground - “But I am almost sure that whatever you have done, you had a reason to do it” 

“You mean the reason why I got punished” - Niell placed his hand over his head - “Fairies have strict rules. We are not supposed to break them not matter what. We rely on the wisdom of the sacred tree to choose our leader... but it failed. It chose me. I still do not know why but it chose me” 

“I’m sure there must a be reason” - King Liu smiled - “You seem like a good fairy” 

“That’s because I am the only one you have seen” - Niell smiled shyly - “I’m afraid I’m also the one to blame for that. It’s my fault our numbers decreased so badly” 

“You mentioned something curious about the Merry boys yesterday” - King Liu offered the fairy a piece of bread - “You said they had fairy blood running in their veins” 

“Yes, they are very special indeed. It’s not easy to conceive mixed children... sadly, mothers always die when birthing. I have heard that a male fairy can not produce any mixed descendants but females Can in exchange of their lives” 

“What a horrible thing” - The cheerful knight seemed sad - “Does that mean they still go ahead with it even if they know they are going to die?” 

“If they want the child, yes” - The King fairy nodded - “In all the years I have been alive, I only have seen that twice. Both kids were born with colourful hair and special powers but... sadly, their life ended during that awful war” 

“Oh” - King Liu felt sorry for them - “I hope their souls Rest In Peace” 

“Peace” - The King fairy repeated - “There was a time I only could wish for it. I was young and stupid when it happened... I did not understand at all how the world worked nor my role in it” 

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“Niell wake up!” 

“Nella... stop...” 

“But the sun came up long ago! It’s time to wake up!” 

“Whats the matter? Just let me sleep a bit more” 

“You are so lazy, brother” - The small fairy sighed - “I guess I will go play by myself” 

“Don’t go too far away” - the lazy fairy yawned - “And make sure humans don’t see you” 

“I think humans are cute” 

“You dont know them” - Niell stretched - “We were told to keep distance. We are just a myth to them. We must not disrespect our ancestors will” 

“I know, I know” - The little girl shook her head - “It’s just that those rules are already obsolete. Times have changed. Now humans are smarter” 

“I hope you are right” - The boy yawned - “I wouldn’t like to have to work that much” 

“I still can’t believe the tree chose you as a king” - the little fairy teased - “Maybe it got confused because you were too lazy” 

“Be careful when playing outside, Nella” - Niell yawned - “I’m going to take a nap” 

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I wrote my own sentence when I went back to sleep that morning. The fact that you never came back home still hunts me every day. The fact that you probably lost your life that day, tortures me all the time. 

Nella, is not just because you were a fairy. You were my little sister. My beloved little sister. I was supposed to protect you. I searched for you during years with the hope of meeting you again but all my efforts were in vain and now I am afraid I will never see you. At least I want you to know I never forgot you. You will live in my memory forever. 

At least, I am happy you didn’t have to see the war. The humans you admired... they were capable of doing terrible things. I don’t know why I had started to like them... I don’t know why I ended committing that mistake. Maybe I blamed myself for what happened to you and I was ready to die. Maybe I just wanted to die. 

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 

“You are hurt” - the sweet human lady told me - “You shouldn’t move” 

She was beautiful. She had those weird things in her face that I have only seen in humans. What was the word...? Freckles. I think it was freckles. Her long curly hair tickled my nose. I could not avoid sneezing. 

“Maybe you are cold” - the lady seemed concerned. She was too nice considering I was an stranger to her and humans were busy killing each other all the time- “I will bring you something to—“ 

“Who are you?” - I interrupted her. 

She only stared at me with big curious eyes. 

“My apologizes; perhaps it was because I am feeling weak, but my manners lacked. I’m afraid I sounded rude rather than just curious” 

“I’m no one” - the lady’s answer only made me more curious about her identity 

“Everyone has a name” 

“Shan” - The young lady sighed softly- “My name is Shan. It’s not as pretty as ‘Nella’ but I am sure—“ 

“Nella? Where did you hear that name?” - I got goosebumps when I heard your name again after so many years. Just that mention made my heart jump from joy. I always kept hope of finding you. 

“You called me like that when I first found you” - The lady explained - “You were in a pretty bad shape”

“Ah” - My hopes vanished just like ice melted in summer - “Sorry” 

“You don’t have to apologize. I brought you here without asking” - Shan’s smile was sincere - “I’m pretty much sure tomorrow you will be just fine” 

“Thanks” - I was sure she was going to miss me but I could not stay there. The fairy king had more responsibilities than you think. 

“Will I ever see you again?” - the young lady caught me unlocking the door with magic - “Are you fairy?” 

“Those are just stories for children” - I tried. I had to. 

“Are they?” - Shan wasn’t a normal human. I should have realized it earlier... her beauty wasn’t her best quality. She was smart compared to the other ones. She was observant. 

“Nothing would change even if I told you the truth” - I smiled to her - “Thanks for the help. I will never forget it” 

“Whats your name?” - the girl urged - “I gave you mine. Can’t you just—“ 

“Niell” - I smiled to her one last time before going out. I would always remember her... and after what happened later, I’m afraid I wouldn’t do it just because of her kindness. 

For a fairy, years are like a few months for humans. It’s not that long. Considering that fairies age differently, I never thought human lives were so short. The next time I met Shan, she was already a middle age woman with children. She was married to an important man that owned lands. I would have liked to not meet her again. I would have liked to not commit that mistake. If only I... 

“He is not going to make it” - I heard the human that just examined one of the children - “He is too weak” 

“Please” - Shan seemed desperate - “He is my son. My little boy. My Niall” 

Niall. It wasn’t a common name back then. I was sure that human’s memory isn’t as good as mine but still, it was a surprise to discover she remembered most of my name. She even went as far as naming one of her babies after me. If only I understood the risks of magic... I wouldn’t have done what I did. 

“NIELL DONT!” - I heard the old fairy calling me - “You can’t do that! You can’t interfere!” 

“He is a boy” - I defended myself while using my magic - “And he is not going to survive unless we do something” 

“You shouldn’t play with nature’s flow” - The old fairy scolded me - “You are the king fairy! You can’t go against nature’s will! Humans are supposed to live and die just like anyone else” 

“She doesn’t deserve it” - I cried. I pitied the family. - “I can’t just let him die...” 

Problem was, that even if your intentions are good, sometimes results aren’t. That boy lived. He grew up. He turned into an adult before I could think twice about consequences. He was later known as Niall the terrible. Yeah, that Niall. The one that caused the Great War. 

Shan was a great woman but... her son... he was a wicked human being. I should have known all humans were different. 

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Maybe it was because his face resembled his mother’s. Niall inherited his mother’s brilliant mind but not her kindness. His heart was filled with greed and ambitions that were enough to cause a war. I felt responsible for it. I was the one that cursed our fate... the day I saved your life, Niall, that day my life ended. 

I never expected you could do that to me. To us. When I first saw you in the woods, I thought you had come to visit us or just to prove we were real. When I learned what you have done... I could not forgive you. Never. Those fairies died because of me and my lax attitude towards you. Those kids were born because I could not stop you on time... and they died, because I was not going to commit the same mistake twice. 

The legend says Niall the terrible took his own life after losing what he loved the most: his children. Two wonderful kids whose hairs were as colourful as a rainbow. The Great War ended and peace returned to Merryland. The remaining fairies hid themselves from humans... and I... I paid the price of my own magic. 

=============================================

“Again” - Heechul chuckled - “I think we missed something” 

“How Can you be so happy?! We just—“ - Leeteuk’s voice cracked - “They are going to kill us! Look at this mess!” 

The castle walls were full of flowers. Magic lessons brought joy and laughter to the Merry boys, but there were things to worry about. As the lessons went on, it became clear the kids could not control their powers. The older ones had it worse. As they grew, their magic did as well. Somehow, Heechul’s magic showed the most. 

The grand master tried to keep track of each kid’s magic but it was a hard thing to do. All of them seemed to exhibit different kinds of it. Some were more troubling than others. Eunhyuk’s magic seemed to be related with plants and flowers. Donghae’s with animals. But Yesung’s one was confusing. The grand master wouldn’t understand how risky it could be until that night. 

“WAAAAA!” - Ryeowook was crying non stop - “SCAWY!” 

“TEUK DO SOMETHING!” - Heechul covered his ears using a pillow - “He is going to wake up the whole castle if you don’t do something!” 

“It’s not my fault the doll got ruined!” - Leeteuk sulked - “I— I cant fix it right now! I need to concentrate for knitting and he won’t just stop crying!” 

“UWAAAAA!” 

“Just hug him or something!” - Heechul shouted - “He is not going to stop unless we do something!” 

“I already tried that!” - Leeteuk felt his ears would start bleeding - “But he won’t s—- He stopped” 

“Did he die?” - Kangin asked from his bed - “He never stops” 

The red haired boy was now staring at Sungmin. The little prince was just placing his hand on the boy’s forehead. 

“It won’t huwt anymore” - Sungmin Ryeowook’s hair - “Go to sleep~” 

Ryeowook yawned. The boy fell asleep really quick. Heechul blinked a few times before speaking again. 

“I think Sungmin has The best magic” - Heechul teased - “He can make the baby sleep and he can make Ryeowook stops crying” 

“Is that magic as well?” - Leeteuk asked surprised- “I never thought of it like magic...” 

Everyone went back to sleep. Everyone excepting one boy. The boy with hair like fodder was now holding the so precious doll Ryeowook loved. 

(I will fix it for you. I know I am not as good as Leeteuk when it comes to knitting but... I know you will love it) 

The grand master woke up with the sound of something crashing. He thought it was one of the kids who woke up before time but he found something strange in the shape of the shadow he could see. 

“What...” 

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“I suppose we are going back to your place” - Niell commented while he fought his dizziness- “You wanted me to meet the Merry boys” 

“You don’t look that well, my friend” - King Liu worried - “I didn’t know fairies could turn green” 

“I’m just nauseous” - Niell admitted - “I have what you humans call ‘motion sickness’. I don’t like riding horses” 

“Oh, I See” - King Liu pitied his friend - “In that case, I will ask the grand master for something you can take to ease the nausea. You just have to endure it for a little longer” 

“If I wasn’t that weak now, I would fly to the castle” - Niell tried to smile

“Your skin’s color is just like one of the Merry boy’s hair” - King Liu sighed - “They are good kids... they truly are. You wouldn’t hurt a child, would you?” 

“Now I really want to throw up” - Niell gestured the king to stop the horse. 

ØøØ ØøØ ØøØ ØøØ ØøØ ØøØ ØøØ ØøØ ØøØ ØøØ ØøØ

“ITS ALIVEEEEE!” 

Everyone in the castle was freaking out. The fear of having a living doll between them only increased their superstition. The grand master couldn’t believe it: someone had managed to give life to a doll. 

“I’m so sorry! I just wanted to help!” - Yesung apologized - “I- I tried knitting clothes for it and and and...” 

“How come this doll is now alive?” - Heechul protected his head as the angry doll threw another cup towards them - “I mean, what kind of sorcery is this?” 

“I guess we will find out” - Leeteuk avoided another cup that crashed into the wall - “But how did you do this?” 

“I don’t know!” - Yesung was at the verge of tears - “It just happened! I was sewing the doll when I pinched my finger with the needle! Then it started to move and—“ 

“UWAAA!” - Now The doll was chasing after the red haired Merry - “HEEWWWWP!” 

“Uh oh” - Donghae pointed at the running doll - “It wants Wookie!” 

“I wonder if it’s going to take revenge” - Heechul hurried to chase after them - “Ryeowook has been drooling over that doll for ages!” 

“I thought they were friends!” - Leeteuk ran behind them - “There must be something we can do!” 

Kyuhyun kept crying non stop thanks to all the fuss. Heechul started getting a headache thanks to the exhaustion. The boy not only had his sleep disturbed but also had to endure all the stress that Yesung’s magic caused. A few minutes later, the grand master found himself in the middle of a chaos: the doll started to grow bigger and bigger. 

“W-Whats going on?” - Leeteuk was scared - “Why is growing ? Heechul?” 

“Make it stop!” - Heechul was covering his ears - “MAKE IT STOP!” 

“Heechul?” - Leeteuk gulped down anxiously when he noticed the doll was now looking at him and the baby in his arms - “I-I think it’s mad at us...?” 

“RUN!” - the grand master shouted to the kid just in time to avoid the attack. Leeteuk was frightened now that he understood the doll wanted to attack him and Kyuhyun. The pink haired boy ran at full speed outside the castle in a try to get rid of the doll. It didnt work. 

“Stop stop stop!” - Heechul was almost crushing his head. The boy walked slowly as he was tired - “STOP!” 

“Uh oh” - Kibum pointed at the dark haired boy  - “Bad” 

“What do you mean?” - Kangin was also scared - “That’s Heechul. He is our friend” 

“Bad” - Kibum repeated 

“Is something bad going to happen?” - Kangin worried. Kibum was always right. 

“Kyuhyun, you need to calm down” - Leeteuk was hiding behind some bushes - “If you keep crying, the scary doll will find us” 

The purple haired baby seemed unable to calm down. He was getting fussy again and Leeteuk feared he would scream at any moment. 

“Please dont, please dont” - Leeteuk was begging - “I’m scared. That thing will hunt us down” 

“Hey, Heechul is not looking well” - Kangin told the grand master - “He looks sick” 

Heechul was breathing in a odd way. The grand master had a lot to worry about taking into account a giant doll with doubtful intentions was chasing after some of the kids. He decided he would go after the doll and then come back to help the other boys. 

“Wait here” - he instructed - “Don’t move. Yesung, you need to come with me” 

“M-me?!” - Yesung was scared - “W-why?” 

“You started this” - The grand master pitied the kid - “If this is your magic... then you must stop it yourself” 

King Liu was piggybacking a light boy. Niell was still too weak to walk by himself and the nice king had offered to carry him as he thought he wouldn’t survive riding a horse again. 

“You don’t have to do this” - The fairy felt sorry - “I can walk”

“No, you can’t” - King Liu giggled - “Its fine. You are not heavy~ My son is way more heavy than you” 

“I am so sorry” - Niell apologized - “I’m supposed to help but it seems like I only give you more work to do...” 

“I’m still surprised for the fact you still have some energy left” - King Liu teased - “I have never seen someone to vomit that much” 

“Whats that?” - The fairy noticed it first - “You didn’t tell me you had a giant doll living in the castle” 

“I don’t have—“ - King Liu worried when he spotted the pink haired boy running away from the doll - “For all the gods” 

“HELP!” - Leeteuk ran away from the doll while holding a baby - “THIS THING HATES US!” 

“Liu” - Niell said quietly as he pointed at the doll - “That’s fairy magic. Two different types of it” 

“I can’t make it stop” - The grand master told the king - “This kind of magic—“ 

“Won’t disappear unless the user wants it to stop” - Niell interrupted as he stood by himself  - “Who started it?” 

“It was an accident!” - Yesung cried - “I was just knitting!” I swear I didn’t want to hurt anyone!” 

The king fairy inspected the boy carefully. He took a deep breath and placed his hands on the boy’s head. 

“I’m afraid this is the wrong one” - Niell twisted his lips - “The magic that is causing troubles does not come from this kid. He was the one that gave life to the doll but... someone else is controlling it” 

“You mentioned earlier you could feel two types of magic” - King Liu recalled - “Can’t you make it stop? Please, my friend. Merry kids are still young and I am sure they don’t have any clue of how to control their magic” 

“I cant...” - Niell lamented - “I’m still too weak. Usually, this would be no problem but right now...” 

The giant doll was chasing after the pink haired boy again. Leeteuk was doing his best to keep himself and the baby alive. 

“Hey” - Niell called - “You. The pink haired one! Put down that baby and run far away” 

“W-what?” 

“Why Kids never listen?” - Niell sulked as he used a little bit of magic to do the trick - “I said: FAR AWAY” 

Leeteuk couldn’t explain how he got separated from Kyuhyun. He just landed meters away from the baby.

“What are you doing?” - the grand master complained to the fairy - “Why would you do that?” 

(You would never hurt a child, would you?)

Niell’s head hurt. He didn’t have time to lose. 

“Listen to me” - The king fairy spoke with difficulty- “I cant make that giant doll go back to its original size nor remove its life. You need to find the user of the second type of magic and make it stop. I will protect the baby while you do so... but Please do hurry. I’m afraid I am running out of magic” 

King Liu was about to say something when the doll started shrinking back to its original size. The knitted friend was now a normal doll again. It was still alive, but unlike a giant monster it behaved more like a naughty toddler. 

“Is this... your magic?” - The grand master asked confused 

“N-No” - Niell fell on the ground exhausted- “The Merry boys... was there any kid that looked ill?” 

The grand master felt his heart stop. Usually, strong magics disappeared only when the user stopped it... or the user died. It was obvious the fairy king was insinuating the second option. 

“Heechul” - The grand master ran back to the castle followed by King Liu who carried the tired fairy. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The adults stormed inside the Boys’s room only to find Heechul sleeping in his bed. He seemed exhausted but peaceful. Next to him, Sungmin sat on the edge humming a weird song. 

“Papa! You back!” - the kid jumped on his dad as soon as he recognized him- “Fwiend fell azleep!” 

“He fell... asleep?” - The grand master was as confused as before - “He looks so tired” 

“He was kinda irritated until Sungmin came” - the goldenrod haired boy explained from behind - “He would only repeat ‘stop’ over and over again. Now he looks better” 

“Sungmin, you probably saved our lives” - King Liu smiled to his sweet son - “You are still too young to understand it but... I think you have a gift” 

“WHEWE?” - Sungmin got excited after listening to the word ‘Gift’ - “Uh? Who you? More fwiends!” 

The tired fairy was now a victim of Sungmin’s violent love. The small boy was hugging the fairy while King Liu apologized and tried to separate them. 

“I’m sorry! I swear he is usually shy but—“ 

“Nella” - Niell’s eyes filled with tears - “Nella!” 

The fairy king was now the one hugging the small blue haired boy. Sungmin seemed to be just fine with it. 

“He does look like Nella” - The grand master shuddered - “Sungmin resembles his mother after all” 

“Niell? Are you alright?” - King Liu worried as big fat tears rolled down the fairy’s cheeks 

“I’m just... so happy” - Niell smiled sweetly

as he curled the boy’s hair using one finger - “He has her eyes” 

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Author comment: 

Everything will be easier to understand in next chapter. Hope you have fun!