Kyung Mi stared at the Fairy Queen, unable to believe she was her mother. It was too outrageous. Too unforeseen. Too mind-blowing.

The Fairy Queen wore a very form-fitting indigo dress that complemented her slender figure. The dress neckline was edged with black velvet to match the circular ribbon she wore around her pale, thin neck. The bottom edge of the dress and the edges of the long thing sleeves were cut into V’s. She wore long lavender and black striped socks under her sleek leather boots. Her ebony black locks framed her pale face, which was accentuated with ruby red lips and blood red pupils. Her wings resembled those of a bat. The lavender skeletal structure framed the crimson red webbing. A curved black spike poked out of the top of each wing to finish off the devilish look.

The queen sneered before saying, “It’s not polite to stare. I thought Dong Woon had taught you proper etiquette. It seems like he hasn’t done a good job, now has he?”

Kyung Mi tore her gaze away from her mother. It seemed so surreal that her mother was healthy again and fairy royalty to top it off. Yet, her mother radiated none of the warmth that she had in the past. Instead, a chilling aura surrounded the queen, who sat atop her throne as she watched the human girl.

“Curtsy!” Sooyoung hissed from the left side of the room, where she sat on her own personalized throne. She sat to the left of Jessica, who sat to the left of Soon Kyu. The other three fairy leaders sat at the right side of the throne room.

Kyung Mi was startled out of her reverie and immediately curtsied before the Fairy Queen. “H-how are you here? As the queen?” she asked in a bewildered tone. “Mother, when were you a fairy?!”

“First of all, none of that ‘Mother’ nonsense. You will address me as Queen Hye Jin,” the queen instructed sternly, completely ignoring the girl’s questions. “I assume she’s made the oath? Oh, silly me, of course she has. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be here,” she rambled on before Sooyoung could answer. “Everything is going accordingly. Now—”

“Um, Queen Hye Jin, since I made the oath, may I please get what I desire and go back home?” Kyung Mi asked tentatively. Right now, she wanted to go back home as soon as possible. She’d be able to check on her REAL mother, who was most definitely human. She was done fraternizing with fairies and magic. It was time to get a grip on reality.

The Fairy Queen arched an eyebrow before saying, “What gave you that idea? Sooyoung, care to explain?”

“Queen Hye Jin, I never told the human anything about leaving Cruoria,” Sooyoung answered solemnly, her expressionless face masking the inner turmoil that bubbled inside of her. “I only informed her of the terms to get what she desires.”

“Ah, yes. I almost forgot.” Queen Hye Jin clapped her well-manicured hands together and a tall indigo staff materialized in front of her. It was thin yet durable and carried a large, lavender orb that flowed with a soft light. “Go and enjoy yourself for awhile, my dear. We’ve got some issues to discuss right now.”

“Wai—” Kyung Mi was cut off when Queen Hye Jin closed her eyes and began murmuring in an indistinct language. The staff’s orb started glowing brightly and soon, Kyung Mi was bathed in its lavender light. Her surroundings blurred and she closed her eyes tightly while trying to fight off a wave of dizziness. After a few moments, the nausea disappeared and she found herself in a room swathed in green.

“Kyung Mi, is that you?”

She whirled around and she couldn’t believe her eyes. “Doo Joon? You’re…alive?” There he was, standing a few feet away from her with a shocked expression on his face that matched hers. Without warning, tears began dripping from her eyes. The realization that he wasn’t dead was just too overwhelming and she sank to the floor, still crying with joy.

“Kyung Mi!” Doo Joon immediately sprinted over and used his arms to prop her up against his body. He leaned over and kissed away all of her tears while murmuring, “Everything’s OK. Please don’t cry.”

“H-how did you survive?” Kyung Mi asked after she finished weeping. She felt this overwhelming calm wash over her that left her mind clear and functional. Now that she’d been able to get rid of all of her extraneous emotions after her good cry, she wanted answers. The logic just didn’t add up. Not that anything that had happened this past week made any sense anyway.

Doo Joon stared at her quizzically as he responded, “Survive? Survive what?”

Now Kyung Mi was confused as well. “You were crushed by a pine tree at the park. Don’t you remember? It happened a week ago. I thought you died…” Her voice wavered as she said the last word.

“Kyung Mi, I haven’t been in any near-death situations ever. Nothing happened at the park except for me taking the blood oath and being transported to Cruoria.”

“Huh?” Kyung Mi was taken aback by Doo Joon’s response. “B-but I saw the tree fall on you. I dug you out from underneath the tree. I felt your pulse stop with my own bare hands!” She threw her hands up in exasperation as she tried to make sense of this.

“OK, I believe you,” Doo Joon interjected quickly to pacify the riled girl. “But I think you need to hear what I have to say, all right?” Kyung Mi nodded and he smiled before lightly kissing her forehead. “Let’s move to the bed, where it’s more comfortable.” They stood up together and he led her to the large king-sized canopy bed that was at the north side of the room. The pastel green satin curtains were draped elegantly over the matching emerald green pillows and blankets. Doo Joon grabbed the pillows and propped them up against the mahogany headboard that was edged with glittery grass green paint. “Comfortable?”

Kyung Mi nodded as she settled against the soft pillow. She the velvet covering before turning to her right to face Doo Joon. “So what really happened?”

“It started two weeks ago. I was visited by the Earth Fairy leader, Lee Soon Kyu. You’ve met her, right?” Kyung Mi nodded and motioned for him to continue. “Well, she and the other leaders had to convince me to make an oath in the name of Queen Hye Jin. They promised to give me what I desired the most, so I agreed. On the seventh day, Soon Kyu told me to bring you to the park and make the oath there. After I signed the contract, I was transported to Terrasia and Soon Kyu brought me to the queen’s palace. I was told to stay in one of Soon Kyu’s guest rooms temporarily. I’ve been stuck here for the past week. Sometimes, Soon Kyu takes me to Terrasia and lets me help her design the stone statues that are part of the Stone Legion. Otherwise, it’s been pretty dull. There’s really no one for me to talk to here. I promise that I’ve been alive and healthy this whole time. Nothing’s happened to me.”

“Then who died at the park?” Kyung Mi argued back. She tried to fit the pieces together, but nothing was adding up. “And how come I didn’t see or hear you making the oath?”

"I really don't know. When Soon Kyu comes back from the throne meeting, we'll ask her," Doo Joon answered solemnly as he Kyung Mi's ebony locks.

She grudgingly dropped the topic and snuggled up closer to Doo Joon. It was silent as she continued pondering the situatino. Something else nagged her mind and she asked, "Why did I have to be there for your oath?"

The suddenly stopped and a bright pink flush spread onto Doo Joon’s cheeks. “W-well, to be honest, I was jealous of how close you were with Ki Kwang and I was afraid that you’d start loving him instead. After my mother had an affair and divorced my father so she could be with that despicable home wrecker, I became really insecure about our relationship. So my greatest desire is to spend the rest of my life with you. Soon Kyu said it wouldn’t work unless you were there, because you are my greatest desire.” He looked down awkwardly after revealing his confession.

Kyung Mi’s breath caught in and her eyes began tearing up from the overwhelming emotions she was feeling. “Doo Joon, you don’t need to make an oath to ensure my feelings for you. I love you from the bottom of my heart and I always will. You know that.”

Doo Joon looked up and he grew alarmed when he saw the fresh tears on Kyung Mi’s face. “Oh, I didn’t mean to make you cry!”

Kyung Mi shook her head and wiped away her tears with the sleeves of her sweatshirt. “Don’t worry about it.”

Doo Joon leaned over and softly pressed his lips against Kyung Mi’s. He pulled away a few moments later and caressed the side of her face. “Let’s get out of here.”

“How? Sooyoung never mentioned how to leave. Did Soon Kyu tell you anything?”

Doo Joon shook his head and replied, “No, but we’ve done what they’ve asked of us. They HAVE to let us go.”

“I’m afraid to ask,” Kyung Mi murmured. She remembered Queen Hye Jin’s frosty facial expression and domineering aura. Just the thought of the Fairy Queen made the human girl shiver in fear.

Doo Joon looked deep into Kyung Mi’s eyes and told her, “You’ve got me beside you every step of the way. We can do this.” He was determined to do everything that he could to get out of this mess. He was going to miss Soon Kyu, who had been his only friend in Cruoria, but Kyung Mi meant the world to him. Doo Joon felt the adrenaline pumping through his body as he began formulating a means of escape.

Kyung Mi took this time to explore the bedroom. Several exotic plants adorned the corners of the room and vines of ivy wrapped around the mahogany furniture. She hadn’t noticed it before, but the green floor was actually soft, well-tended grass. Just as she bent down to pick a red rose from one of the many rose bushes that lined the walls, Kyung Mi felt the same sensation of nausea from when she was transported to Doo Joon’s bedroom wash over her. She looked to Doo Joon, who was still on the bed, and their eyes met. His panicked facial expression mirrored hers and right before her eyes, Doo Joon melted away into nothingness. Kyung Mi shut her eyes tightly, praying for the process to finish quickly.

“You can open your eyes now, dearie,” a familiar voice said lazily. Kyung Mi slowly obeyed the command and found herself back in the throne room. Doo Joon was next to her with his eyes locked on Queen Hye Jin, whose lips were curled up ever so slightly as she looked down at them. “Now that you two have taken the oath and received what you desire most, you’ll each be helping your respective primary guide and running little errands for me for the next three weeks. Kyung Mi, Sooyoung will take you to your room in a minute and—”

“Um, Queen Hye Jin, I’d—” Kyung Mi stopped midsentence once her voice left her. She tried to continue her sentence, but produced no sound.

Queen Hye Jin seemed amused by the situation and said, “Sooyoung, unjinx her. Let’s hear what she has to say. I’m sure it’s important.”

Kyung Mi turned to her left to glare at the Fire Fairy. Sooyoung looked uncomfortable as everyone watched her rapidly murmur a counter-jinx. Kyung Mi hummed a single note to test her voice and hearing that it was back, she turned back to face the Fairy Queen. “As I was saying, I’d like to know who died when Doo Joon took the oath and arrived here.”

“I thought we were done with this topic,” Doo Joon hissed. His eyes momentarily flicked to Kyung Mi, but quickly refocused back on the Fairy Queen.

Kyung Mi ignored him and plowed on. “Who died at the park that day? Doo Joon says it wasn’t him and I believe him, but someone died that day. I know it.” She needed to know who died in her arms. She needed to know who she lamented over for days. She needed to know why this person had to die for this oath.

“Why don’t we ask Soon Kyu?” Queen Hye Jin suggested, directing everyone’s attention to the Earth Fairy.

The petite fairy paled at the queen’s words and shakily took a deep breath. “Well, what happened was that when Doo Joon took the oath, his soul separated from his body. The moment he left the human world, I had to destroy his body, now that it was an empty shell. So I used my elemental magic to uproot the pine tree and crush his body.” Seeing Kyung Mi’s horrified expression, Soon Kyu panicked and quickly added, “It wasn’t my choice! It’s part of the procedure!”

Kyung Mi looked at Sooyoung and choked out, “Did you do that to me? Destroy my body once I got here?” Sooyoung held her head up high and nodded slowly. Kyung Mi’s heart twisted with pain and betrayal. Her legs wobbled and she sank down.

“Why don’t we all see what happened to Doo Joon?” Queen Hye Jin was thoroughly entertained by this conversation. Doo Joon had been such a naïve bore during his first meeting with her last week. Although his obedience was commendable, the queen rather liked how Kyung Mi questioned everything. It was so gratifying to see the looks of stupor on the humans’ faces. The Fairy Queen summoned her staff and delicately pressed her index finger on the glass orb. A large screen appeared in the middle of room.

The projection depicted Doo Joon and Kyung Mi walking through the park with Soon Kyu’s mini holographic image following them. They stopped walking when they reached a fallen stone statue of what looked like a fairy. Long, thin tendrils of vine and large, soft patches of moss engulfed the statue so that it blended with the green environment. Soon Kyu flitted up to Doo Joon and whispered in his ear, “It’s time to take the oath.”

He nodded and turned to Kyung Mi, who was observing their surroundings with mild interest. “Kyung Mi, will you wait over by that statue for a few minutes? I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“Really?” Kyung Mi’s eyes twinkled brightly as she smiled widely. “All right. Don’t be too long! You’ve got me all excited!” She quickly hugged him before skipping to the broken mess and crouching behind it.

Soon Kyu gave Doo Joon the oath parchment and a long, feathery quill. He quickly recited it and signed his name at the bottom. The moment he signed the parchment, a green glow surrounded him. When he moved, a shimmery and faint outline of himself detached from his body. Doo Joon didn’t notice that his soul had separated from his body and he waited for Soon Kyu to create the portal to Cruoria.

“Wait.” He was about to step through the portal when he looked back at the statue. “Don’t I need to bring Kyung Mi with me?”

Soon Kyu nervously hovered over the portal and answered, “Don’t worry. Just go. I’ll be waiting.”

“I’ll be back!” Doo Joon called over his shoulder as he entered the portal and vanished. However, because his soul and his body were separated, Kyung Mi wasn’t able to hear his parting words. Soon Kyu pointed at a large pine tree that was next to Doo Joon’s empty body. It shook and swayed before uprooting with a loud crack.

Hearing the noice, Kyung Mi bolted up from behind the statue and saw the tree toppling in Doo Joon’s body’s direction. “Doo Joon, get out of the way!” she screeched as she tried to reach him. Soon Kyu realized that the human girl was going to be killed if she reached the body and quickly created a giant stone in the middle of Kyung Mi’s path. The distraught girl didn’t see the rock and tripped over it just as the pine tree crashed onto Doo Joon’s body.

“NO!”

The ear-splitting shriek filled the room as the projection ended.

After a few seconds of silence, Queen Hye Jin commented brightly, "Well, that was fun!"

“You call that fun? You call that FUN?!” Kyung Mi’s head shot up as her anger simmered and boiled. “I thought I was going insane because of your crazy tricks!” she yelled at the queen.

Soon Kyu burst into tears and Jessica leaned over to soothe the Earth Fairy. Doo Joon knelt down next to Kyung Mi. He rubbed her shoulders and murmured, “Kyung Mi, it won’t do any good to yell at her. She’s too powerful.”

“But—”

“You’d best listen to him, dearie,” Queen Hye Jin hissed, her voice laced with venom. “I don’t like listening to meaningless accusations.” Kyung Mi glared at the queen, but kept shut. “Now that you’ve irritated me, I think we’ll watch your oath ceremony. For FUN,” she decided, emphasizing the last word with a sneer. She tapped the orb again and another projection appeared. This time, Kyung Mi’s house was the main focus.

Kyung Mi watched in terror as the images flashed by. Yo Seob screaming her name when the house started burning. Ki Kwang speeding to her house and jumping out of his car to join the distraught blonde boy in front of the flaming structure. The two classmates pacing in front of the house, waiting for the firefighters, and shouting for her to escape the blazing building. The firefighters finally arriving and hosing down the conflagration. Dong Woon driving up to the charred mess. The three boys kneeling on the sidewalk in front of the house and crying their hearts out for the girl they believed to be dead.

Queen Hye Jin ended the projection while smirking at the shocked human girl. Tears dripped from Kyung Mi’s eyes and splashed onto the floor, forming a small pool under the girl’s bowed head. “That was quite entertaining, now wasn’t it? I can’t wait to see another ceremony next week.”

Kyung Mi looked up and asked hoarsely, “Someone else is joining us?” She couldn’t believe this monster enjoyed watching others suffer. This sadistic behavior was too repulsive to be her mother’s. No, she wasn’t related to this fiend. Not at all.

“But of course! It won’t be fun without a few more people. Your friend, Yo Seob, will be joining us soon. After him will be Ki Kwang and then precious little Dong Woon,” Queen Hye Jin listed, holding up a finger for each name. “In fact, Yo Seob’s initiation begins tonight. Wouldn’t want to delay anything, now would we?”

Kyung Mi’s eyes filled with tears and she cried, “Why are you doing this?”

“Why? You dare to ask me why?” Queen Hye Jin stood up and glared down at the human girl. Kyung Mi shrank back in fear and clung to Doo Joon, who wrapped his arm around her protectively. “Fairies ruled the Earth for thousands of years until the arrival of the human race. You humans usurped our power and drove away the other magical beings. We kept magic in this world from disappearing when all of the other magical races deserted the planet. With your dumb luck and showy technology, you think you’re so high and mighty. But thanks to your actions, this planet is DYING.” The queen’s eyes blazed with unsuppressed anger and her voice was edged with spite.

“You can’t blame that on us! A lot of us are trying to save the environment too!” Kyung Mi argued back.

“Don’t you dare try to defend your despicable race,” Queen Hye Jin answered venomously. “You’ve oppressed magic and fairies for centuries by mocking us or forgetting us. We’ve had to suffer in silence because of ancient blood oaths that the earliest humans made to chain us to Cruoria. However, the oath magic is fading now that the majority of your face has ceased to believe in us. Ever since we were condemned to our world, we’ve been bringing humans here by having them swear oaths in the name of the Fairy Queen. Once we’ve collected one million souls, we’ll be able to take over the humans and regain our rightful status as the Guardians of Earth.”

“You collect…souls?” Kyung Mi waited in fear for the queen’s next words.

"Once you take the oath, you’ve surrendered your soul to our cause.” Queen Hye Jin smiled as looks of pain crossed the two humans’ faces. “I think that’s enough chit-chat. Sooyoung, Soon Kyu, take them to their rooms. Yoona, I need to speak to you about your next task. The rest of you, go.”

Jessica, Joo Hyun, and Taeyeon flew from their floating thrones to the entrance of the throne room, and disappeared from sight. Yoona fluttered to Queen Hye Jin’s throne while casting nervous glances at the two humans. Sooyoung and Soon Kyu flew down to Kyung Mi and Doo Joon, and beckoned them to follow the two fairies out of the room.

Clutching each other’s hands, Kyung Mi and Doo Joon quickly followed their guides out of the throne room. The walk to Doo Joon’s bedroom was a silent one. When they arrived at the door, Kyung Mi tried to follow Doo Joon and Soon Kyu into the room, but Sooyoung blocked her from entering. “Why can’t I go in?” Kyung Mi demanded hotly, not bothering to hide her anger from the Fire Fairy.

“We need to talk,” the fairy answered shortly.

“What is there to talk about?! You crazy fairies have basically been bringing humans here and killing off their bodies back in the human world for centuries. Why? Because of some stupid sense of vengeance. And now we’re supposed to slave away for you while you go capture even more souls?” Kyung Mi rattled on in rage. She felt so hurt and betrayed. Sure, it was great to get Doo Joon back, but if these meddling fairies hadn’t taken him away in the