"Have you figured out why our daughter hasn't been speaking to us?" Mr. Song asked as the healer returned with Victoria.

As she returned to her seat, Victoria bowed her head, tears forming in her eyes. She really wanted to speak to her parents, to be the obedient daughter they had raised with pride. But since a few days ago, she couldn't respond anything orally. Even when she strained, her voice would not obey her. 

Mrs. Song leaned forward and brushed her daughter's tears away. "It's okay, sweetie," she said. "We know it's not your fault."

Victoria smiled back at her mother.

The healer, who had been silent, finally looked up from her notes. "I have some questions before I can make a final diagnosis."

Mr. Song nodded. "Continue."

"Are you considering an arranged marriage for your daughter?"

"Yes."

The healer leaned forward on her desk. "Have you put anything in your daughter's food recently besides the usual spices and such?"

"W-what?" Mr. Song sputtered out.

"Please answer the question, sir."

"No! I would never do such thing."

The healer turned. "Ma'am? Have you?"

Mrs. Song bowed her head. "Yes, I have," she admitted quietly.

Victoria silently gasped while Mr. Song's mouth dropped.

"What was it, ma'am?"

"Tian Xin." Mrs. Song looked up.

The healer nodded slowly and started writing in her notes.

"Can you do anything?" Mr. Song asked.

The healer stood up and frowned. "Tian Xin is a mysterious herb. It brings good qualities that didn't exist before in a person. A hot-tempered man becomes patient. A talentless girl gains useful skills. But taking away someone's voice is very uncharacteristic." The healer rummaged through some papers and sighed. "I have not seen such a case before in my twenty years as a healer. I must consult the historical records to see if there was a prior case like this. Otherwise, I must consult with others. I will get back to you once I have the right treatment ready."

Laterback home, Mrs. Song found Victoria in her room, staring blankly at the wall. "Sweetie?" She sat next to her on the bed and patted her back. "Are you feeling better?"

Victoria handed her mother a note. Why did you do this?

Her mother read it and sighed. "I did it so you would find happiness in life. Your father is a good man, but I didn't want you to go through the same pain I went through as a newlywed. All that anxiety, distrust..."

Victoria closed her eyes and shook her head. 

Her mother brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "You are young, and you have time, but I rather have you learn your own lessons than have your father put in chains that you may never learn to get used to. I only hope this Tian Xin business will go down smoothly." She shook her head. "If I had known this risk, I would have never given it to you." She sighed and kissed Victoria's head. "You should get some rest, okay?"

Victoria nodded, then lay down on her bed and draped the covers over her. But even when her mother left the room, her eyes didn't close for a long time.

A few days later, the healer finally called them.

"I think I have the right concotion for Victoria. Please bring her over."

By that time, Victoria had worsened. She was looking pale with dark circles underneath her eyes. She was constantly feverish, giving her parents another reason not to let her go to school. She was led to her seat as her parents brought her to see the healer.

The healer looked at Victoria sadly. "It's just what I thought."

Victoria blinked, looking at her with questioning eyes.

"Your problem is that you don't know who cares for you," the healer continued. "You only know who you should care for. You may have noticed your body is detoriating these past few days. Tian Xin is creating the illusion of you dying."

Victoria's eyes widened. Her mother gasped. Her father shook his head. "This is not possible!"

"Sadly, it is." The healer shook her head. "In this case, Victoria must find the person who is willing to take care of her as long as she lives. Therefore Tian Xin will create the illusion she is dying so this person will step forward and realize his loss."

"Is there anything you can do?" Mrs. Song asked.

"I can only make a concotion that will help ease the pain. However, it will speed up the process. It's very likely that after you take it, you will automatically fall into a deep sleep, which is the last stage of the dying process." The healer placed a small jar on the table and handed it to Victoria. "However, if you want to fully recover, this person must be found." She turned to Victoria's parents. "She might be able to hear even while asleep, so feel free to talk to her as you try to find that person. Please notify all of Victoria's friends and her fiance that she is deathly ill, and perhaps they would like to see her before it might be too late, in case one of them is the cure."

That night, Victoria put down all she knew about the people she cared for on to paper for her parents. Her father took it, examined it, and nodded. "I will make sure they are notified." And he left the room.

Mrs. Song placed the jar on her bedside table. "Whenever you're ready." She kissed Victoria's forehead, and left too.

Victoria looked at the jar for a long time. Then she grimaced and clutched her head. The raging headache was back. She unscrewed the jar with shaking hands, swallowed the herbs, then slowly laid down on her bed.

"Victoria honey? It's been a day. I have some bad news...your father has called your fiance. He has...called off the marriage. His excuse is that since you are already dying, there is no use. I'm sorry, sweetheart."

Victoria took in the news quietly, as she had no choice but remain in the darkness she condemned herself to be in. Bastard.

"Victoria, it's now the second day. You will have some friends coming over."

"Oh my god! Jie jie, you look so pale! I hope you come back soon, Luna is annoying me with questions on how to say things in Chinese. Sorry, sorry, you keep teling me to keep my cool, but it's hard... I'm sorry to hear that marriage thing didn't work out. Anyway, please get better!"

Amber, for you, I would try if i could.

"Un-I mean Jie jie! Omo, Amber was right, you don't look well at all. Please, please get better! I can tell Amber is getting impatient with me, and honestly, who else will be the mother of our group? Victoria, fighting!"

Luna, you could always make me smile.

"Unnie! Ohmygosh, you seriously aren't okay! Well, your parents says you'll not doing any worse, I guess that's good. Please unnie, reassure us! Not to mention, now I have to do the aegyo now. Sulli will be here tomorrow."

Krystal, you were better off acting strong anyway. 

"Darling, it's the third day."

"Omo unnie! You really don't look well. I was hoping I could cheer you up, but you're sleeping. You should see my short hair! Well I have to go back now, you know the drama. I'm so sorry I couldn't stay longer. Please get better!"

Sulli, I wish I could see.

"Victoria noona! Aigoo, why did you have to get sick? Well, everyone is hoping you'll get better soon. Nickhun can't come since he's in Thailand and all for his sabbatical, but I'm sure you know that. Anyway, get better! Everyone here is missing your extreme flexibility tricks and your aegyo."

Ryeowook oppa! I'll try not to let you down!

"Honey, it's been a week. I know the blur of classmates must be hard. Well, looks like no one is coming today."

Victoria internally sighed. A week and she still hadn't woken up. Would she stay asleep forever?

"Victoria darling, there's a guy to see you! He's very handsome and tall, with a sharp nose but gentle eyes. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I miss you, my daughter."

Victoria listened, a little more alert. Could it be...

"Hi Victoria." 

Victoria's heart started beating faster.

"I heard you were ill from your friends. I hope you don't mind. I mean, we're not that close. Yet."

Yet.

"I know you're dying, but your mother tells me you can hear me. I'm so sorry Victoria. I should have told you that I cared about you, a long time ago. But I never got the courage together. You were always hanging out with Amber, Luna, Krystal, Sulli, Ryeowook and Nickhun. I never got the chance to get to know you since you were always surrounded by people. So, if it ever crosses your mind...I'll be there."

YES! Victoria thought in frustration. Why did she have to be tied down by this curse of a simple herb? Now she was never going to have a chance.

All of the sudden she felt the soft touch of lips on her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and saw the face she was expecting. Her heart kept beating excitedly.

Zhou Mi. The light-hearted sincere guy who was a natural-born leader, an attribute related to his father, the president of Tushan Corporation. The one Victoria had been eyeing on for years, wishing she had the courage to speak to him.

And now the one that would be her love.

*

[A/N] Hi guys! It's been a long time...

So this is based on a sleeping beauty story that has been plaguing me a long time...so what if there was this girl, who was supposedly undesirable? What if she only found out who actually liked her by being put underneath a spell that made her go into this endless sleep and would only wake up when someone who sincerely loved her kissed her?

I've written some oneshots like this, but they never turned out right. Well, this isn't a legit story, I know, but I hoped you liked it anyway.

And yeah, this was written in a style that I've never written before, but I couldn't write casually for some reason. I always had to keep myself two steps away from it, narrator style. I don't know why. Thumbs up or down? :)

And if you thought this was something extreme to find love, you guys heard about the Russian billionare who proposed by faking his death in a supposed car accident, right? Yeah I'm not that bad :P

Anyway I've been really busy with the EXO story I told you guys about, sorry >.< But if I do get some good ideas, I'll be sure to post them up here, k? ^_^

See you next time! (Hopefully the hiatuses won't be that long >.<)

P.S. If you want updates more often, you should answer the questions I post in chapters! -pouts-