"Any idea why Jongho's so mean to his mother?" Mingi asked Ara. 

Jongho had somehow detached himself from them all, walking alone with watchful eyes on Lady Auraline, who made no move to turn to look at them throughout their journey down another set of twisting corridors that Ara had given up on trying to navigate the place. The Rose Court was so far, a series of archways the deeper they ventured underground, where the honeysuckle air had turned into a more earthly smell of soil. 

"His dad met his mom in Faerie for a week, turns out it had been five years in the human realm," Ara told Mingi, careful that only he heard her say it. "His grandparents thought he had died during his job since he was a naval officer instead he came back, not knowing everyone mourned for him. And to make it more complicated, well...let's just say no one expected a little baby Jongho to show up on their doorstep not long after." 

"What?!" Ara punched Mingi hard before anyone could hear him, he clasped his hand on his mouth. "T-then where's his dad now? He came back right?"

Ara spared a look at Jongho, he didn't seem to be listening. She hesitated, "Jongho didn't tell me about that, just that he had passed a few years later - for reasons unknown."

By the way Mingi looked, even he could tell there were more secrets to this. "And so they all think Auraline had something to do with it?" he guessed.

Ara shrugged, "It's not a wild guess, faeries...nothing is certain about them. Plus, no one really knows what happened." She had heard Jongho rant and give lectures about this to her: the folk were cunning, the folk liked to play cruel jokes, the folk delighted in the suffering of others, the folk couldn't stand iron, majority of what she thought were mantras instilled in him by his grandparents. She understood that, how people could be prejudiced and hostile for things they weren't familiar with; but the way Jongho looked at Lady Auraline, Ara now understood it ran far deeper than misunderstandings.

The group, led by Auraline, arrived at a sort of chamber flanked  by a pair of guards who gave way for their lady. When they entered, they were greeted by the scribes on duty, wings fluttering inside the manuscriptorium from shelf to shelf, a team of them huddled at the study corner, taking notes as sparks flew from their fingers - all somehow not paying much attention to the High Lady of the Rose Court's presence which Ara found the most peculiar. 

They headed towards the heart of the manuscriptorium chamber, where Prince Septimus was found, nodding along to a white-haired woman with curled horns was explaining, whatever it was; a little bit to his right, was Yunho who seemed to be examined by another group of scribes who dwarfed in his presence. Judging by how uncomfortable he looked, Ara grinned cheekily. 

"Lady Auraline!" Septimus greeted chirpily when he spotted them. He was no longer wearing the teal frock coat from the night before, now it laid back trousers and shirtsleeves, hair swept back, perfectly unruly and a charming smile plastered on his face as he acknowledged Ara and Mingi tagging along, then his eyes fell on Jongho for a brief moment, and then that intent look disappeared before anyone else noticed it. "I was just wondering when you'd arrive, a very good morning.I hope you all had breakfast."

"Yes, yes, thank you for being here this early, Septimus," Auraline waved the comment away. "Now shall we get down to business?"

Septimus raised his eyebrows curiously but chose not to question. "Oh right. Ephaniah, would you do the honor of explaining - like how you did for me?" and he ended with a wink. If it were any other person, it would look pretentious but this was Septimus, and Ara reckoned anything he did would never look pretentious anyway. 

Ephaniah was unfazed, "My lady, it is to our understanding that Ealdhun held the position of hermetic scribe years ago, he has since retired. But we have dispatched a message to summon him back to the court regarding the matter. As for the matter itself that Prince Joyeuse brought up for investigation," she regarded Jongho with set grey eyes, calling him by the name Lady Auraline had called him. "It is an interesting case since this is regarding Serafia,"

"Wait, they know Serafia?" Ara asked. 

"She is - was part of the Unseelie Court," Lady Auraline said with disdain. "I was there when the exile was announced, everyone felt bad for naive Jocelyn - believing someone from the Unseelie lands would reciprocate her feelings. She was a favoured member of the royal court, it's a shame you see, what people would throw away in the name of love,"

"I heard my mother talk about this story, that instead of execution Jocelyn was banished as well as Serafia, but the decision from Unseelie was unclear," Septimus added.

"What do you mean?" Mingi asked.

"Serafia is a halfling, I heard rumours that one of the Unseelie princes mated with a human witch," Auraline said. "As much as exile goes, the Seelie Court has been keeping an eye on Jocelyn up until her recent death," she sighed. "We mourn for her."

"So you're sad she's gone?" it was Yunho who spoke, his tone doubtful. 

"Of course," Auraline responded, offended somewhat. "The fey, as you can tell, are long-living beings. Jocelyn died because she chose her death, thinking it was for the greater good. Humans cannot kill faeries, only faeries are capable of killing each other. She must have cared greatly for you to make such a sacrifice, Jeong Yunho." 

Yunho fell silent, unsure of what to say. 

"As for the boy's physical body, Serafia has kept it in an aperture," Ephaniah continued before she could get cut-off again. 

Ara stared, "What's that?"

"They can exist when we tamper with the ley lines of the world," Septimus said. "There are many openings to Faerie, and it is no exception in the human realm as we all walk on the same earth, just differently. Apparently Serafia is capable of doing so despite her lineage. Apertures can either be newly created in infinite numbers on ley lines, or one simply can occupy a previously formed space." 

"As for the spell, we cannot be certain of its origins - given she may have combined fey and non-fey magic," Ephaniah concluded. "The items she used were from Faerie but it's the motive behind it that we don't know."

Ara looked at the ring still on her index finger, the gem stone glowed even brighter now that they were in Faerie. Her hands went to the locket resting on the hollow of , still in place even after the events from last night. Then it dawned on her, "How long has time passed?" she asked, panicked.

"We've been here for around a day," Mingi answered. "According to the watch, that is."

Her thoughts went to Hongjoong, who must have been waiting for her to return, worried sick. But before she could say anything about it, the doors to the manuscriptorium flung open. She spun around, and in walked an old man, flanked by two guards who still appeared shorter than him. Ealdhun, she figured. Ealdhun shuffled towards them, his purple robes touching the ground and his long greying hair was tied back into a ponytail; in his hands was a red box, whatever contained inside it was hidden. 

"Lady Auraline, greetings," Ealdhun bowed, his voice low and thick, something Ara had exactly predicted - it reminded her of the deep thrum of a cello. "It is an honour to return to the Rose Court."

"I believe you know the reason behind your resummoning here, Ealdhun," Auraline said. "Something you and Jocelyn had conspired together."

Ealdhun cleared his throat, his eyes reading the room cautiously. "Forgive me, your grace. Lady Jocelyn had treated me well before her exile, I...I could not refuse her pleads for help. I was stepping down from hermetic scribe, I aided her knowing that it would not bring harm to the Court,"

Septimus cut in, "I am very sure you had the best interests at heart, Ealdhun," Ara could see what he trying to do, ease the tension. "But you must know about Jocelyn's recent...passing, and the very people she was trying to help are here now,"

Ealdhun's eyes fell on Yunho, "You," he walked towards him, eyes fascinated. "You are Jocelyn's boy, aren't you?"

Yunho couldn't find the words and stood there shell-shocked, quikly Ara intercepted. "Yes, he's the ghost," she replied for him, showing Ealdhun the ring and the locket. "How are we supposed to break the curse with these?"

Ealdhun sputtered, "Well yes but how did you-"

"'Seek thou to forget the past, kept by the ring thou once hast; Trapped and captured by one's last breath, sealed by a kiss from the angel of death'," she recited. "It doesn't tell us how to undo whatever is trapping Yunho,"

"-that is because the incantation you heard was not complete," Ealdhun said, somehow deciding not to question why she even knew that. He opened the box he had holding, inside was clear vile containing something cloudy - he held it up as his eyes glinted. "Years ago, Jocelyn had sent this to me, stating that it was very important. It did not dawn on me sooner that this was someone's last breath, a way to stop a person from moving on to the afterlife - trapped between life and death. I was curious and spent a long time searching, studying the origins to no avail - until very recently,"

"Yes?" Jongho and Yunho said at the same time. 

"'First the kiss and then the tears, thy soul and bones again shalt be whole; To cheat one's death at angel's will, innocent blood again shalt be spilled.'" Ealdhun spoke the words, and Ara felt chills run down her spine. Her hand that had been touching Yunho's was cold as well. She did not like the sound of it. 

It was Septimus who recovered first. "Ealdhun, you don't mean..."

For the first time, the faerie man seemed disturbed by the notion. "Yes, in order to break the curse - innocent blood must be spilled."