"YUNHO!" 

Ara had almost said out loud, but she held back before the words slipped and she bit her tongue. She was already standing up, so there was possibility of acting indifferent now. So Ara improvised, she relaxed and acted intrigued. "So you come barging into my coven and present me with...a boy?" she beckoned incredulously at Yunho, who was sprawled on the ground, she hoped he didn't stir and recognise her just yet. She cleared , "I mean he is handsome, but I'd like for my romantic subjugate to not be tied up and knocked out cold as payment-"

"I need you to take his life," Serafia said swiftly.

Ara paused abruptly, even though that request sent chills down her spine. "I'm sorry, what?" she raised a brow. "I don't think you need my help with that, considering how you almost murdered me-"

"-in exchange for another,"

Ara crossed her arms nonchalantly, despite the pounding in her heart. "I'm listening. What exactly do you want me to do, Serafia?"

If Serafia was taken aback by Ara knowing her real name, the expression of shock was brief enough that no one else noticed it except for Ara. She stood from her seat and approached the people below the steps, cobbling every will in her to not look like she cared, that this was all child's play to her, that this mattered more to Serafia than it did to herself. She couldn't know how Ara knew Yunho, or how much he mattered to her.

Then from her own neck, Serafia took off the necklace she had been wearing. At first glance it looked like any normal-looking accessory, but when Ara looked closer she started to notice little details: an intricate silver chain with a moonstone pendant the shape of a little bird. If Serafia was expecting Ara to understand from there, she didn't and thankfully much to her surprise, Edith had appeared next to her silently depsite her towering height. 

"Ahh, a fairie heirloom," Edith remarked conspicuously. "Curious indeed...now what would that entail with you?"

Serafia clenched her jaw, "This is between me and her-"

"What concerns the Corpsewitch concerns me," 

Ara glanced at Edith, she actually seemed serious about that statement. So she played along, "If you're entrusting me with this request, then you entrust the coven. Those are my terms, so speak yours,"

All the while, Ara couldn't help but glance at Yunho; unsure if she was relieved that he was alive, or dreading what would come next.

Septimus brought them through the Rose Court's winding corridors until they reached a secluded chamber with a locked door. With a brief nod from Septimus to the scribe escorting them, they allowed the group to enter. 

Mingi expected more darkness in the abandoned room, but instead it lit up, warm and honey and oakwood-scented, like a bonfire during autumn. He could feel Elise's body close, following from behind and she clearly didn't know about this part of Faerie either. Ahead of them a few steps were Hongjoong and Septimus, the latter saying something quietly to Hongjoong and Mingi didn't recall them being this close minutes before. Possibly because it was Hongjoong who had requested his help in the first place.

"This is a scrying glass," Septimus said when they were nearing what looked like a giant ornamental mirror, in a room where oddly enough, had plants sprouting up from the ground, moss covered the floors and swirling rose vines grew on the walls. The room looked alive, with the scrying mirror in the middle of the room, surrounded by a ring of red toadstool mushrooms. "It will allow us to see what you want,"

Mingi raised an eyebrow, "Anything at all?"

"Well it'd have to be specific,"

"My sister," Hongjoong answered. "I want to know where's Ara,"

Septimus nodded, "And I will fulfill that," he said, before facing the mirror. "Show us Araminta Kim,"

At first nothing happened, but then the mirror went black and swirls of smoke were displayed on the surface like a screen. It took a few seconds for it it clear away, and eventually Mingi could see the familiar silhouette of Ara, and he noticed she had shorter hair this time and only he realised it had been a while since he had last seen her. She stood in a dark room, wearing an odd cloak; Beside her was an awful looking hag that reminded Mingi of the evil witch in Snow White, saying something he didn't quite catch because he heard Hongjoong say "What the hell did you get into now, Ara?" loud enough for the whole room to hear. 

Then his stared in shock when he saw Serafia in the room as well.

"Until the next full moon?" he heard Serafia say. "I can't wait that long-"

"The Corpsewitch's abilities are strongest during a full moon, and with your request requires more energy than usually needed—you don't want whoever it is you wish to bring back to be in limbo, right? Stuck between life and death, like Orpheus' Eurydice-"

"No!" Serafia cried aloud, slipping that bit of emotion, the first time Mingi heard her sound like she cared. "Fine, have it your way,"

And then Ara stuck out her chin, "And what would you give in return? I mean, an exchange between life and death isn't simple-"

"Money," she answered in a heartbeat. "All the money you want, the company, anything you ask,"

Mingi gaped his mouth open, and Elise seemed to register the news the same way. "Does she mean Adamas? Surely she doesn't mean the whole company, she can't do that-"

"The fortune does sound tempting..." Ara answered slowly and she crossed her arms. "And I hope you have a plan for the boy on the ground," she gestured.

"Wait that's Yunho!" Elise cried out as soon as the image panned to the floor. It really was Yunho, unconsiously sprawled on the cold ground, but mostly unharmed. Why wasn't Ara even reacting like she knew him? A dozen questions went through his mind. 

"Is this what you're going to do? Just dump him on my doorstep unprompted, no other words?"

"I planned for this to be done today," Serafia snapped. 

"Well, you're a very bad planner in that case," Ara sighed. "I suppose we can arrange to keep him captive in some dungeon of ours, is he going to wake up?"

"I-"

"Right, you're a very bad planner. Got it,"

Ara, just what game are you playing now?

"We can arrange that," the hag responded. "Perhaps a spell to permanently send him to sleep-"

"No," Ara replied, just as Mingi responded to that statement at the same time. For fleeting moment, Ara sounded panicked and Mingi studied her more carefully - he realised she was putting on a show. She relaxed back into her nonchalant state. "I don't think that's necessary, we'll decide on what to do with him. As for you..." she turned to Serafia and waved her away. "You may go."

From the mirror, he could see Serafia ball her fists in anger. Ara raised an eyebrow, "Well what are you waiting for? Go on then,"

Serafia clenched her jaw, "The next full moon, then I will return."

And the image faded away. 

Hongjoong was the first one to react, and he looked frantic. Septimus was trying to stop him. "Well how am I supposed to act calm? When my sister is literally in danger-"

"-and Yunho is there too, we don't know why," Mingi said in dismay. "We have to go help him,"

Elise caught his hand, "Mingi, you can't just barge in there without a plan. None of us can do anything without figuring out what is going on, especially when your other friend is still unconscious, whoever did this to him is capable of hurting you too,"

"Then what are we supposed to do? Sit and wait?" 

"I'm just saying we'll need a plan before we do anything. We need to know where the hell that is, who that evil witch lady is-"

"She's part of the Witch Elm," Hongjoong finally spoke after staying quiet for so long. "That's the Witch Mother, Edith if I remember correctly," 

Everyone turned to him in surprise, even Septimus. "You knew all along? Why didn't you tell her?" he asked Hongjoong, but it was more a question of genuine curiosity. "When she was here, she was trying to piece the puzzle together and was corrrect, but she needn't go through all this if she was aware of you knowing,"

Mingi's eyes darted back and forth, "I seriously am so confused right now,"

Hongjoong sighed, "I knew whatever I did from our mom, there were little clues I could follow and I had to be careful about it. Eventually it led me to the Witch Elm at the Grimm Market, I know the Witch Mother was called Mother Edith and our mom used to be part of the coven. She kept telling me to take Ara away, to run because if they ever found out about her, they'd take her away. I never found out what exactly did she mean, I just assumed it was Ara's ability to communicate with ghosts," 

"She can definitely do more than that, the limit to her power over the dead is unknown, at least by us," Septimus concluded. 

"I remember something else happened back in the warehouse," he said quietly and he locked eyes with the prince. "I couldn't really open my eyes, but I remember this...coldness in the air, like-"

"-death," Septimus answered propmtly before nodding. "Your sister had summoned the drowned from the sea and they shielded you and her from further harm, as told. She commanded the dead, like a puppeteer. I saw it with my own eyes, she's more powerful than she seems. There's an ardour to her that's unstable, like a ticking clock before the bell sounds,"

Hongjoong paled, "What do you mean?"

"She hasn't her full potential yet, and when someone has power that strong, you can lose control," 

"What else has she been doing with her powers?" Hongjoong demanded.

Mingi bit his lip, "She might have used it to summon a ghost before and I think Ara just started tapping into it more,"

"Well what are we still doing here for? We have to stop her before it gets out of control!"

"And we need to come up with a plan before doing that, because I'm not leaving Yunho again,"

It was Elise who stopped them midway. "Please guys, just listen to me!" she cried out. And everyone did in fact, quiet down. "Serafia said she'd give all the money she has if your sister could bring back the person she wanted from the dead, all the money she has is from Adamas. We should start there,"

Mingi felt somewhat relieved Elise was there to deescalate the situation, he followed suit. "Hongjoong, I know you want to save Ara. I do too, just as much as I want to save Yunho. But Jongho literally was injured after going in to the Witch Elm with Ara, that means whoever we're dealing with is dangerous too,"

"If Ara knew this would be dangerous, why did she do it?" Elise asked. But Mingi knew the answer to that before Hongjoong even said it.

"Because she thinks it's the right thing to do, even if it's putting herself in danger. She'll do it."