“He’ll arrive right here, I think,” Jongdae told his familiar, pointing up with the broom handle to mime a hole in the thatched roof.

Jongin’s laughter was fondly disbelieving. “Through the ceiling? Really, Dae, there’s no way you could know that.”

Jongdae’s lip twitched in amusement. “I’ll bet you for it. Loser feeds the pets for a week.”

“I do that anyway,” Jongin replied drily. When Jongdae opened his mouth to suggest an alternative, Jongin interrupted, “And I wash the dishes and make the bed. You’d be a mess without me, Dae, admit it.”

“Yes, well, it’s not like you enjoy doing chores either,” Jongdae sniffed indignantly. “Winner gets his first kiss then, how about that?”

“Again, there’s no way you could know…” Jongin trailed off as he considered the implications of Jongdae’s words. “You really think he’s the one?”

“I can feel it,” Jongdae told his familiar. He walked to the couch to grab Jongin’s hand and hold it against his chest. “Here,” he added, “in my heart.”

Jongin was half through a truly epic eye roll when a deafening crack and sudden crash brought both their attentions to the roof. Or, rather, to the hole in the roof and the young man who’d fallen through it.

“Told you,” Jongdae smugly muttered to Jongin as they rushed to the young man’s side.

“You put the cushion in the wrong place, Mr. Magical,” Jongin retorted. “It doesn’t count.”

And Jongdae had indeed miscalculated, though only a little. He’d placed a cushion on the spot where he thought their guest would land, but it was a just a little too far to the left to be of any use, and the young man was now sitting cross-legged on the floor, coughing through the haze of thatch and dust and cradling his wrist to his chest.

“Oh dear,” said Jongdae, “I’m terribly sorry. I’m usually much better at this.”

“He’s not,” Jongin told Minseok conspiratorially. “But he guesstimated your arrival method pretty accurately, so that’s got to count for something, right? I’m Jongin, by the way.”

“Guesstimated, my ,” Jongdae pouted. “I’m the Witch of the Wood; premonitions are a piece of cake.”

Jongin patted Jongdae’s shoulder consolingly while Minseok perked up instantly. These two were certainly odd, and he’d been expecting a woman witch, but if this man could help his sister, Minseok would take it.

“You’re the Witch of the Wood?” Minseok asked in wonder. “Can you break a cursed sleep? My sister pricked her finger on a spindle.”

Jongdae looked affronted. “Of course! Curses were my specialty once, back when I worked for the King.” He glanced at Jongin. “That was, what, 50 years ago or so?”

Jongin ignored the witch and kneeled at Minseok’s side. “Yes,” he agreed as he reached for Minseok’s wrist, “Dae can help your sister. But first we must help you, alright?”

Minseok didn’t think it was right to waste magic on something as minor as a broken bone when his sister was stuck in a deathless sleep, and he said as much. “I’m not worth such magic,” he told Jongin and Jongdae, who’d joined his familiar in kneeling by Minseok’s side. “My sister--”

“Your sister is not going anywhere,” Jongdae reminded Minseok gently. “What’s your name?”

Minseok answered quietly and Jongdae continued. “Everyone’s worth a little magic, Minseok. Don’t sell yourself short.”

Jongin pressed a kiss to the side of Jongdae’s head and Jongdae caught his familiar’s proud smile. Jongdae returned the smile and the kiss, then said to Minseok, “Now let’s get this taken care of, shall we?”

They were, Jongin informed Minseok some time later, going to see the Lord of Light. He and his familiar specialized in healing magic and would not only be able to fix Minseok’s broken wrist, but would also have in their possession any number of ingredients to help Kyunghee.

“She’ll be needing a potion, I think,” Jongdae mused as they picked their way through the woods. “Something to simulate True Love’s Kiss.”

“You can’t simulate something that powerful,” argued Jongin from his spot at the rear. Minseok remained silent and hoped he’d done the right thing in seeking these two out.

Jongin continued. “Your best bet is to create some sort of magical beacon to draw her true love in. That way he or she can do the dirty work.”

Quiet fell as the two considered Jongin’s suggestion and Minseok concentrated on keeping his footing among the tree roots and branches clogging the narrow path. His wrist throbbed. He wanted to ask what it would cost--this solution to Kyunghee’s problem, whatever that might be--and considered how much he’d be willing to give to save his sister.

There was a story he’d heard of a woman in a far off kingdom; she’d had to work as a maid for her step family before her true love had swept her off her glass-slippered feet. Minseok was predisposed toward cleanliness so he figured that wouldn’t be too bad a fate. From what he’d seen of the Witch’s cabin so far, it could probably use the tidying up anyway.

He thought of another story he’d heard which featured a young man who’d had to move in with a fearsome beast in order to save his father’s life. As far as Minseok could tell, neither of the two men flanking him was particularly fearsome or beastly and he didn’t exactly enjoy living at home under Kyunghee’s constant shadow. Living with Jongdae and Jongin, Minseok decided, would be okay too.

“I will trade you one year of your life for each ingredient,” Jongdae said then and Minseok had to be careful not to flinch. Was this witch also a mind reader? Minseok didn’t think so, but Jongdae’s smile was sly and Jongin’s knowing as they rounded the next bend and came upon a brightly painted cottage.

“To be continued,” Jongdae murmured over his shoulder before he stepped forward to knock three times on the cottage door.

“Who dare disturbs my slumber?” a voice bellowed from within.

Jongin rolled his eyes and huffed. “Witches,” he muttered to Minseok as Jongdae again knocked three times. “Such a bunch of drama queens.”

“We resent that,” the tone of the voice changed instantly from threatening to annoyed. “But come on in, if you must.”

“We must,” Jongdae called through the now open door. “Our baby bird’s broken his wing.”

Minseok wasn’t a bird or an infant, but he could only assume Jongdae was referring to him. He took a deep breath, reminded himself that Kyunghee was worth this, and followed Jongdae inside.