Chapter One.

In the stillness of the night, a cloaked woman ran through the empty streets. Her face was obscured by the cloak that she wore, she had a bundle tucked in her arms. Her steps were quick, she ran as if she was being chased but there was no one there other than herself.

She clutched the bundle tightly to her, sparring a glance she smiled at the sight of the angelic features of her precious bundle. Her baby, whose fate relied solely on her actions on this night.

She couldn’t bear the thought of what would happen to her child lest she decide to stay in this kingdom. Her child would end up becoming the bride to twelve princes. Her half human child. The bride of the twelve full blooded Fae princes.

She would not stand for it.

She’d had been a normal human once.

A normal human girl who led a normal human life that was until she’d unwittingly caught the interest of a Fae prince.

She was a curious girl. Against the warnings of her grandmother about staying in the forest, she would often spend hours traipsing through the forests near her home. It was there the Fae prince encountered her.

He pretended to be a normal human, and slowly they became friends, but as time passed he became enamoured with her.

 Besotted with her beauty, he stole her away into his kingdom.

At first he seemed like a perfect and charming prince, he catered to her every whim without fail but then she began to miss her home. She asked him to return her to her world but he refused. He could not for the life of him understand why she would wish to leave the kingdom. He could not fathom the thought of her leaving him so he tricked her.

He promised her he would return her to her home if she ate the fruit that he’d offered her and in her naivety she accepted the fruit.

He watched with bated breath as she took a bite of it, the smile that appeared on his face was beatific.

He succeeded.

Now she would never be able to leave him and the kingdom, for the fruit she’d eaten came from the tree of life.

Whoever eats of it becomes a Fae, forever bound to the Fae world.

When she learned of his deceit, it was already too late.

Years passed and she slowly came to accept her fate but then when she became pregnant she could not bear the thought that her child would also become trapped in this world.

When she heard of the prophecy that foretold the fate of her child becoming the bride of the twelve princes, she became desperate.

Her days were spent researching for ways to ensure that the prophecy would not come true.

After months of research she finally came across a book that entailed a way for her to smuggle out her child.

There was a secret portal on the outskirts of the whitewoods found in the hollowed remains of the Mana tree.

This was where she was headed. The portal would allow her to escape into the human world where she would be able to hide her child away. But there was a price to pay. The portal could only lead her out out of Fae world, she would not be able to return and with her being a bound Fae would mean that her actions would cause her, her death.

It was something that she was willing to do.

For the sake of her child, she would willingly die.

Her heart beat wildly against her chest, she was close now. Around her, the trees glowed in its luminescent white, this was certainly one of the most beautiful forests in all of the Fae Kingdoms but it has long been abandoned.

Finally she came across the clearing. On its center was the hallowed Mana tree. Tears gathered in her eyes as she approached it, hope rose in her chest. As she approached it, a wraith manifested before her. She felt her heart drop into the pits of her stomach, she clutched her baby protectively against her chest.

“Why have you come to this place Fae?” The wraith said, its voice echoing through the clearing.

“Please! You must let me pass. I beg of you!” She cried out desperately to the entity.

“Give me one good reason.” It said, circling her curiously. She felt the cold aura of the wraith surround her.

“My child. I have to protect my child.” She answered, pressing her sleeping child to her chest to shield her from the cold presence of the wraith.

“From what?” it said pressing her for more information.

“From the prophecy. Please!” She begged of it, her tears falling from her eyes.

“Hmm… It has been so long since I’ve encountered a Fae. Especially one of your circumstance.”

Her eyes widened at what the wraith was implying.

“You are not the first Bound to seek the use of this portal, but you are the first one to seek it for the sake of another.”

She nodded, not knowing what to say. She knew that there have been others like her. Others who had apparently suffered being bound but they all sought the portal to selfishly escape this world.

“You know what will become of you?” It asked, hovering before her.

“Yes.” She whispered breathlessly.

“Then you may proceed.” The wraith moved aside. It knew what would happen, all was falling into place.

The Fae’s have always been arrogant in its rule, their magic and power had always commanded superiority from the other creatures of this world. But now that the child of the prophecy was slipping through their fingers, the balance would finally shift.

 It would be a good lesson against the Fae, the wraith thought quite giddily.

It watched as the Bound one activated the portal.

The runes around it coming to life, magic dispersed through the air around them. The wraith had no doubt that the Kingdom was now aware of what was happening. It had been quite so long since the last time the portal was used.

It could feel the disturbance it caused.

They were coming.

“Hurry now.” Said the wraith, urging the girl to use the portal now.

She took one last look at the wraith before she stepped through, forever vanishing from the Fae world.

The wraith laughed giddily as the runes slowly died out.

“You’re too late.” It said sadistically to the other Fae folk who’d just gotten there, amongst them was the Bound one’s husband.

The angered Fae prince struck the wraith down. Its dying laughter rang through the clearing. There was nothing they could do now but grieve.

*-*-*Human World*-*-*

She appeared amidst a clearing of what appeared to be a park, she was already beginning to feel the effects of being away from the Fae world.

She felt fatigued but she soldiered on.

She left the park and roamed around the streets, she didn’t know exactly where she was but she knew that she was in Korea, her home country.

She felt almost nostalgic upon seeing signs and language she missed. The chilly air felt almost nice against her skin.

Her baby shifted quite uncomfortably against her chest. She shushed her child comfortingly, casting a slight warming charm for her baby.

She didn’t know where to go. From the looks of her surroundings, it appeared as though she was in the city.  She’d only been to Seoul once before she was taken. She didn’t know where to go.

Wandering around aimlessly in her weakened state, she prayed that she could find a good place for her child.

When she found herself on a street going uphill to a bunch of houses, she came across a kind man who noticed her weak state.

“Hey, miss? Are you alright?” He said looking worriedly at her. His name was Park Jungsu (yes, it’s Leetuek), a normal white-collar job worker who was coming home from a get together with his officemates.

He came across her wondering what a woman like her could be doing this late at night. Taking a closer look he found that she was very pale and weak looking, as if she could pass out at any moment now.

She stared at him for a few minutes before she passed the bundle she was carrying to him. He was surprised by her actions.

“What is thi- a baby!?” His eyes widened at the sight of the baby.

“Please! Take my child!” She said, her voice was quite hoarse already, she was weakening by the minute

“Wha- I-I can’t ju-“ He said, completely flustered.

“I don’t have much time left, please take care of my child.” She could feel that her end was so near now and barely had the strength to speak.

“Please…” She said desperately as tears fell from her eyes.

He tried to refuse her but then she collapsed, he caught her with the use of his free arm. Her skin felt cold to touch.

He knelt down, cradling the baby on one arm and awkwardly trying to support her on the other.

“Miss! Miss!” He said as he tried to get her to respond to him. He watched as her eyes fluttered open, he could see that she was barely struggling to stay conscious.

She raised a pale hand to caress her child one last time.

‘I leave her to your care, Park Jungsu.’

He heard her whisper in his mind and it left him bewildered. He watched as her eyes finally fluttered close. He didn’t know what to do, when he tried to find her pulse and found none. He was alone in the middle of the street with a baby and a dead lady. He was panicking he didn’t know what was going to happen, he was sure that he might end up in jail but god! He didn’t want to go to jail!!

But then something much more mind boggling began to happen, the dead woman was disintegrating into specks of light right before his very eyes.

It didn’t take long for her to fully vanish into the air, the only sign of her presence was the small specks of light that was floating around him.

He didn’t know what exactly happened but he had a feeling that this encounter was not something that he could take lightly. Staring at the child in his arms, he knew that he would have no other choice but to take care of it.

What on earth had he gotten himself into?