“Yuqi…?”

Shuhua pulled out of the hug to look at the girl. Yes, it really was her best friend!

“What are you- how did you- why-”

“Miyeon put me down here to help you. Oh, so much has happened, but I'll tell you later. We need to get out, now, or Soyeon and Soojin will catch us. Miyeon told me that there’s a door somewhere down here, and gave me the key for it. Someone will be caged within that little section. We'll let her out, convince her to join us, escape through the narrow stairway, and wait for Miyeon in the forest.” Yuqi babbled quickly, frantically unlocking the chains, before stopping suddenly and staring in shock at Shuhua.

She reached towards the confused girl. “What… What has she been doing to you…?”

Ah.

She'd forgotten about the scar across her face.

Shuhua giggled and smiled a smile that didn't reach her eyes. “The scar? Don't worry, Yuqi, I'm used to it. You said we needed to get out, right?”

The girl frowned a little at the change of topic. “Yeah… let’s go.”

So, for the next hour, the two searched for the door, but the dungeons didn't seem to have an end. It could have been anywhere.

As she was about to give up, Shuhua banged her fist against the wall in frustration, only to hear a strange sound. A hollow sound.

“Quick!” She called to Yuqi, who put a finger on her lips as she ran over, telling her to be quiet. “I've found it! Give me the key!”

She did, and the younger girl quickly blew as much dust and grime off of the door as possible, before unlocking it, shoving her friend in, and closing the door behind them.

“What was that for? I could have come in myself! Seriously-”

“Who are you?” A cold voice interrupted them. “For what reason are you here?” The young girls peered into the darkness, but couldn't see anything more than a foot away, so the youngest lit a torch with the equipment provided, and revealed a strange sight.

A girl, most likely older than them, sat with her legs to the side on a display. The cage around her was small, and small arrows pointed at her from all directions. Despite the horrible rags she was forced to wear, she still looked as beautiful and elegant as an angel. Yet her expression and tone of voice said otherwise.

“Are you…” The Chinese girl started nervously, holding Shuhua tightly. “Are you Minnie Nicha Yontararak?” She stumbled over her name, unused to so many syllables.

When the older woman nodded, Yuqi continued. “I’m Song Yu Qi, and this is Yeh Shuhua. She is the Lion, and you announced that you'd fight for the throne at the same time as us. In other words, we all need to fight together to get Shuhua on the throne, or we'll all die, Soyeon will take the throne and the kingdom will fall into despair. What do you say?”

By this point, Shuhua had already unlocked the cage with the key and has pulled enough arrows away so that she could get out comfortably.

When she stood up, it showed that she was taller than both of them.

She looked Yuqi in the eyes, her own filled with a playful glint due to the fear in the younger’s. “No.”

“W-What?”

“I said no. I've been through too much to not claim the throne for myself. I will get my revenge. The throne will be mine. So you can go along, believing that stupid little fairytale, but such weak and short people like yourselves will never, and I mean never, become queens. Do yourselves a favor and turn yourselves back in.”

With that, she started climbing the stairs.

“Rude.” Shuhua muttered, shaking her head. “I mean, yeah, sure, we're kind of short, but still!”

“Let's just go.” Yuqi huffed, obviously not wanting to talk about it. Everything about her demeanor screamed that she was annoyed, and Shuhua knew never to mess with an annoyed Yuqi, so she just followed her up the stairs.

At the top, there was a door, opened by Minnie, revealing the forest. “Miyeon said she would meet us at the huge oak tree ahead. Apparently, it's hard to miss. Come on!”

However, they were never told how far it was. They had been walking for hours, their feet were sore, and the sun had long since set in the sky. Shuhua was constantly on the alert, terrified that Soyeon or Soojin would find them. She didn't ever want to see the extent of Soojin’s power. After all, she had to be powerful enough to control a strong person like Minnie.

A clearing.

A tree.

A figure in a black cloak waiting for them.

“Miyeon!” Yuqi called, grabbing Shuhua’s hand and running towards the figure. They giggled, and pulled their hood down.

Yuqi stopped.

Because the person standing there wasn't Miyeon at all.

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I'm sorry! I've had writer's block, and haven't been able to update in weeks. I hope you can forgive me!