There was a moment of awkward silence, before panic settled in.

“I’m sorry.” Baekhyun’s voice rose clearly in pitch as he freaked. “You don’t recognise this place?” He shrieked, nearly losing his support and grip on Taeyeon, who was leaning on his shoulder.

“I haven’t been here for months like you have!” Taeyeon instinctively snapped back at him, her eyes dropping to the chains on Baekhyun’s feet. “I’ve only been here for a few weeks! I’m still trying to adjust to the fact my life turned upside down, thank you very much!” She huffed, grimacing as she turned slightly on her broken foot to stare around her surroundings. “If only I had a map of some kind. Or a higher vantage point.” She grumbled. “Maybe I could figure out where we are.”

“Fairies fly.” Judy, who had been silently watching them from Baekhyun’s back suddenly interrupted their conversation. “Tae-tae, fairies fly.” She insisted, tugging on Taeyeon’s light coloured hair slightly.

“Yes, I know!” Taeyeon let a frustrated breath whoosh out of her chest. “But we don’t have fairies here, Judy.” She paused for a moment as a thought struck her, closing her eyes as she bemoaned her own stupidity. “Right. I’m a fairy now, aren’t I?” She twisted slightly, peering at Judy on Baekhyun’s back, her breath catching in her chest as the familiar sight of the slave girl and her stitched mouth, attached like a familiar to Judy’s back, peered up blankly at her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she struggled to rein in her momentary fear, offering the child a kind, gentle smile.

“I’ve no idea how fairies fly though.” Her shoulders sagged comically. “Do any of you know how to fly?”

“What the hell?! No!” Baekhyun shrieked back at her. “I’m human! Human! Maybe you should ask Judy!”

“Ummm.” The little girl bit her lip, deep in thought. “I think I can move us to the place where Tae-tae was last time? But it can’t be too far..” Her frightened face flashed back to the loud rumbling roars of an angered lycanthrope that they had left in the cave. “I’m scared!”The rocks around the tiny hovel burst into splinters as a full grown lycanthrope barrelled towards them, saliva dripping, fangs bared and all.

“It’s okay.” Taeyeon reached over her left hand to let the child grip onto it reassuringly. “I’m right here beside you.” She smiled through her pain at the frightened child. “I believe in you.” Judy squeezed her eyes shut, clutching onto the material on Baekhyun’s back and tightening her grip on Taeyeon’s hand. The world distorted for a moment, fizzing as the child built her magic, and Taeyeon watched as the world violently wrenched itself into blinding darkness, spiralling endlessly.

They landed moments later with a loud crack on the solid pavement of familiar but charred streets. Taeyeon lifted her eyes tentatively as crowds begin to gather around the unfamiliar and dirty trio, a relieved sigh escaping her lips as she saw a trio of familiar figures just in her periphery.

Judy had transported them back to Triskelion, the second main city of Silver Hollow, where she had previously been before the event of her capturing.

~~~~

“Where is she?” The loud voice of Jiyong reached Taeyeon’s ears even before his figure came through the doorway, the underlying tones of stress and anger perforating his tone and speech as the sound of well made pairs of boots clattered down the hallway. Judy shrank back into her arms as the door burst open, and Taeyeon smiled down reassuringly at the young girl in her embrace.

“Unnie!” Taeyeon’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as Hayeon came barrelling in through the doors, her hair flying back away from her face as she aimed for Taeyeon’s arms, skidding to a sudden stop as she noticed another young child already plastered in Taeyeon’s own arms. “Who’s that?”

Taeyeon stood slowly, Judy still clinging to her front like a mini koala bear as Jiyong strode through the door, Jessica and Yuri flanking his sides with their counterparts in his private army.