Seulgi thinks this is a stupid idea.

 

Granted, it’s her idea. There’s nothing forcing her to follow it down the path that turns ideas into plans; exempting her pride, which is a very large something.

It’s her pride forcing her to carry this out, arrogance pushing her forward. Through the shadows of night, she slips through the palace gates (thanks to Seungwan’s strong concealment charm,) and into the bedroom of the crown princess.

 

Stupid, ridiculous, idiotic plan.

 

It’s unlike anything Seulgi’s attempted before– really, her expertise is petty crime. Apples, loaves of bread, anything to feed the two waiting mouths at home.

 

At least, that’s how it started.

 

Then, Seulgi tested what she could get away with. Earrings for her mom. Toys for Yeri. Smaller things with more worth.

 

Books. Shoes. Perfume. Dresses.

 

Anything she could get her hands on.

 

Word got around.

 

“Girl.” An old woman had beckoned her closer, “I heard you can nab things.”

Seulgi had hesitated, then nodded.

 

“You won’t mind gettin’ me something, then?”

 

She backed away. All she wanted to do was provide for her family. The woman spoke again. “I’ll pay.”

 

Seulgi smiled, flashing her teeth at the woman. “Well, I am the greatest thief in the world, absolutely!”

 

By the next week, she had a steady stream of customers, people who could afford her meager fee, but not the goods they wanted.

 

It became consuming, and it became a career.

 

Theft after theft after theft. Bolder and bolder still.

 

And now?

 

Well. Bedroom of the crown princess.

 

She’s facing away from Seulgi, asleep in her tall, canopied bed. The moonlight reflects prettily off of her long, raven hair. Seulgi feels a blush rise to her cheeks as the girl turns over and reveals her face. The rumors of the princess’s beauty were definitely not unfounded.

 

Despite herself, Seulgi steps a few feet closer, right up to the side of the bed. Gingerly, she runs her fingers over the princess’s exposed arm.

 

Oh, curses. This is creepy, isn’t it?

 

She just needs to go through with it. Stepping even closer, Seulgi awkwardly tries to pick the shorter girl up, holding her in a bridal-carry. It doesn’t take a lot of effort (thank you, Seungwan), and Seulgi’s just about ready to take the princess and go.

 

Of course, she’s managed to do something wrong– set off some magical sensor or another, and before she knows it, there’s an alarm ringing and red lights blaring. Already, she can hear the royal guard approaching.

 

With the princess in arm, Seulgi steps outside the bedroom to assess the situation.

They’re closing in from both sides. “Curses.” She’s going to have to drop the princess where she is and make a run for it. But where can she go? Through the princess’s window? Through the guards? She isn’t sure how strong the concealment charm is, and at this point, anything is risky.

Her time is almost up, and Seulgi can’t make a choice. Her grip tightens on the princess, seeking out her hand and giving it a tight squeeze. It’s an impulse decision, almost like a “goodbye,” before she deposits the other girl back where she came from.

 

That is, until the princess squeezes back.

 

Everything after the tight squeeze blurs together, but in the end, Seulgi still remembers the grip of the princess’ hand in hers, tightly tethering them together as the world folds into itself.

 

Blurrily, she sees the palace around her crumpling inwards, reality unfolding and refolding, the nothingness rising until she gracefully passes out.

 

***

An ant is crawling on her nose.

 

“Disgusting,” Seulgi mumbles, angrily brushing it off. The quality of the palace dungeons has really gone down, she thinks. Although, the floor she’s laying on is softer than the cold stone she expected, and it’s a lot brighter as well.

 

When she finally looks away from her own nose (making sure no more bugs were present), Seulgi realizes two very obvious things.

1. She is not in a dungeon. She is outside, in some unknow, looking-to-be uninhabited wilderness.

 

2. The princess is lying near her, still asleep.

 

The princess looks nowhere near as ethereal as she did in her chambers. In the light of day, she’s still pretty, but more… normal. Real. Like ants are allowed to crawl on her nose, too.

 

The thought of the princess being someone real makes something in Seulgi feel warm.

 

However, warm feelings have no place in this seemingly desolate landscape. Seulgi brushes it aside as she sits up, planting her palms in the grass. She’s almost certain that she’s not allowed to touch the princess without special permission, but, seeing as they’re well outside the palace walls, she isn’t too concerned about breaking rules.

 

The other girl doesn’t wake when Seulgi pokes her cheek or shakes her shoulder. She doesn’t startle at loud stomping or clapping. Even Seulgi’s shouts of, “Hey, princess!” directly into her ear do nothing to make her stir. She just lays there, prettily. Seulgi would think she was dead, but her chest keeps gently rising and falling.

 

The point is, there’s no other option. At least, that’s what Seulgi rationalizes as she scoops up the princess in a bridal-carry for the second time that day. At least, she means to scoop the princess up, but find it harder than it was hours before. Damn Seungwan and her short-lived charms. (It probably isn’t Seungwan’s fault. From the look of the sun in the sky, Seulgi has probably been out for an expanse of time. But it’s more convenient to blame Seungwan.)

 

Maybe she can drag the other girl around? Or steal a horse? Or, possibly, if she focuses really really really hard, the magical powers that Seungwan has been trying so hard to evoke in her will finally manifest. The last option seems promising, so she closes her eyes tightly and furrows her brow so much she gets a headache.

 

When she opens her eyes again, the princess is floating.

 

Wow! Seulgi really is amazing! She praises herself as she pats herself in the back.

 

A levitating princess makes things much easier, and while Seulgi chooses to not focus on her newfound magical promise, she has another problem. Seulgi has absolutely no clue where she is. Just about everything around her is non-descript, and she can’t see anything beyond the dense woods. This isn’t a path she’s traveled before. Worse, she can’t remember any of the wilderness training Sooyoung made her listen to, thinking there was no way she would ever need it. Vaguely, she thinks maybe she should follow the sun? Or walk away from the sun? At random, she picks a direction and starts walking, gently pulling the princess by her foot.

 

It’s wickedly hot (Seulgi really regrets the all-black attire, now) and she has no idea where she is, but Seulgi has nothing better to do, so she walks.

It’s much later, when the sun is just beginning to dip below the horizon, that a loud gasp rings out behind her, followed by a thump. Seulgi whips her head around to find the lovely princess on the forest floor.

 

The other girl blinks once, twice, and then pushes herself up into a sitting position. “Need a hand?” Seulgi asks, extending her arm. She must be in serious pain from hitting the ground so quickly.

 

“Was I floating?” The princess asks instead, looking up at Seulgi. Seulgi nods. The girl doesn’t seem surprised by that. She takes Seulgi’s hand gently. As Seulgi pulls her up, the girl introduces herself. “Princess Bae Joohyun of House Bae. And can I just say–“ She runs her fingers through Seulgi’s terf bangs, smirking, seemingly unaffected by her unknown surroundings. “What’s your name, cutie?” she asks.

 

Seulgi coughs. “Seulgi.” She says, before realizing she probably shouldn’t have said that to the girl she kidnapped.

 

“Seulgi…”  Joohyun mutters, letting the girl’s name roll off her tongue, “Beautiful name for a pulchritudinous brunette.”

 

“Wait, wait, wait.” Seulgi backs away from Joohyun. “Are you serious? You’re a princess who’s never left the palace, and you aren’t one bit concerned about the fact that you’re now in the middle of the woods? And that you were just passed out for, say, 16 hours?” Seulgi grimaces. She doesn’t know what she expected, but the princess seems like a bit bizarre.

 

“You’re kidding, right?” Joohyun giggles “I wanted to leave more than anything!”

 

Seulgi looks at the other girl. “And about the passing–out thing, well…” Joohyun trails off, dropping her smile. “There’s no reason to talk about that for now. But, Seulgi, where are you taking me?”

Seulgi pauses. “To a hideout with a friend. Come on, let’s keep going.” She walks forward with an air of self-assurance, not willing to let on that she has no idea where she’s going.

 

Joohyun bounds up next to her, gently taking her hand. “Lead the way, Seulgi-ya.” She beams. Seulgi tries to ignore the flush on her cheeks at the endearment, passes off as side effect of the sun. The princess doesn’t mention it, just squeezes the thief’s hand once, twice. The blush grows.

There’s no reason to make conversation; honestly, Seulgi would rather avoid it. But Joohyun is as bold as she is eager, and refuses to let Seulgi sulk.

 

“So, where are you from?” She asks, “Do you have any siblings? What’s your favorite food?”

 

Seulgi thinks she might have a bit of headache. Honestly, no one tells you what to do after you have the princess in your arms, and she’s at a loss. The other girl seems content to walk and chat, and Seulgi dutifully answers her questions.

 

“Princess,” Seulgi starts, a few hours into their walk, interrupting the other girl’s story, “What’s it like– y’know, being a princess?”

 

Joohyun pauses. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

 

“Why not? I mean, you had everything.”

 

For the first time in hours, Seulgi’s hand dangles by itself. Joohyun presses her fingernails, hard, into the tips of her hand. “Let’s not, Seulgi.”

 

Seulgi opens to respond, but shuts it when she turns back to look at Joohyun. Around her, the ground is rising, clumps of dirt and grass slowly levitating.

 

“You have powerful magic,” Seulgi says, dryly. It’s not a question.

 

Joohyun looks at her hands. “I can’t control it very well.” She admits, trudging along, past the floating earth. As soon as she’s out of range, it falls. “A friend of mine tried to help, but I think it was too late by then. It only comes out in short bursts, like before.”

 

A scoff escapes from Seulgi’s mouth before she can stop it. She doesn’t apologize. “So, you’re telling me that up in that palace they didn’t bowl you over with tutors, from France or England or wherever? Nice try, princess but I’m not buying it.” The girl scoffs, her chin held high. “Come on, your highness.”

 

“Joohyun,” The other girl nearly whispers. “Call me, Joohyun.” She repeats, louder, firmly. She’s stopped walking. “It’s Joohyun, and I wouldn’t lie to you.” Seulgi stops, turns.

 

“You had everything, Joohyun. I can’t imagine your life. I mean, it seems perfect.” She grits her teeth, trying not to be distracted by the tears welling up in Joohyun’s eyes. “Silver spoons. Always having food on the table. Not having to worry about stuff like that. And then I meet you, and you’re this unpolished magical powerhouse, who’s dying to get out of there. I hate you for it. Hate that you would let it all go.”

 

Seulgi stomps her foot, and the rest of the dirt falls. “You don’t know how good you had it. Still have it– why don’t you just go back? This whole thing was a half-baked plan.” She spits out.

“If I use my magic too much, it’ll kill me.” Joohyun whispers, tears falling down her face. “And they don’t care. They’ll just let it burn me right up.

 

Seulgi gasps, deflating. “What?”

 

Joohyun doesn’t reply. Seulgi steps forward, shakes the other girl’s shoulders. “Joohyun, what?”

 

“That’s it.” She sighs, reaching up to touch Seulgi’s hand. “That’s why I had to get out.”

 

“You–” Seulgi starts, but she can’t find the words. “Joohyun, it’s going to kill you?”

Joohyun shakes her head, trying to force the tears out of her eyes. “My magic only works in bursts, as I told you. After I use it like that, my body just… shuts down. I fall asleep. You saw it, before. It was half a day this time, but it’ll only get longer the more I use it.”

 

“And the levitation?”

 

“A self–defense mechanism, I think. But it doesn’t matter if I never wake up.” She looks Seulgi in the eyes, and despite the horror that Joohyun’s telling her about, Seulgi can’t help the blush that spreads, once again.

 

A moment passes, and Seulgi reaches forward to wrap Joohyun in a hug. “I won’t let that happen, Joohyun. They can’t take you away from me, and I will never let that happen.” Her words are slightly muffled by Joohyun’s shoulder, but she knows the other girl felt them.

 

As she pulls away, Joohyun takes hold of her hand once again. “Come on, Seulgi.” She squeezes Seulgi’s hand. As Seulgi looks into her eyes, she sees glistening tears, but ones of joy, not anger or sadness. “Let’s go home.”