A/N This chaper may seem to not follow the Disney story line but I felt it was needed to introduce and set up the roles of Minseok, Luhan and Baekhyun, since the story is one in a series with a continuous connection in characters. This is the prequel to 'The Sleeping Prince'. Please be patient we shall return to the normally scheduled plot in the next chapter. 😁

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"Sooooooo....... You guys are all friends?" Kyungsoo felt a little strange talking to forest creatures, he had his bunny friend at the castle who listened to him whenever he was able to sneak some free time, so maybe this could be like that.

Not really expecting a response, he was surprised when the fox nodded. He was still staring in stunned disbelief when there was a snap of a branch behind him followed by a flash of light.

"Ouch! Baek! Is it too much trouble to warn a guy?" A vaguely familiar voice spoke directly behind Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo jumped and spun around in shock, only to see a young man rubbing a red welt on his cheek. The boy had golden hair, a varsity style jacket with a striped button down shirt over a blue tee coupled with a pair of sinfully snug jeans. Kyungsoo was still staring at the stranger when there was a second and third flash behind him.

"Sorry, Lu! It's not my fault if your deer legs put you in the way of branches!" An equally almost familiar voice said with barely concealed laughter.

Kyungsoo yelped and turned back towards where the newest voice was heard. Instead of seeing a fox and a chipmunk, he found two more strange young men. The one had chubby cheeks and spiky dark blonde hair, faded denim jacket with equally broken in jeans paired with a dark grey tee that failed to hide the toned torso it was supposed to cover the other guy had dark hair, an unrepentant smile plastered on his face,was wearing a leather bomber jacket, loose fitting print tee and dark skinny jeans.

“Ummmmmmm…… Hello? Please don’t take this the wrong way but have we met before?” Was the last thing the three strangers expected Kyungsoo to ask. They stared at him in wide eyed silence before the almost feminine looking, wide eyed deer/boy  opened his mouth to reply only to be interrupted as the former fox spoke up.

“Well, technically we have met before. We helped you yesterday by guiding you to the cottage and then we finished cleaning the place up but you’ve never met us in our human forms before. I’m Baekhyun, by the way, and the this is Minseok,” he said gesturing behind him, “and the clumsy deer is Luhan.”

“Hey! I am not clumsy! You let the branch go without a proper warning!” Luhan protested.

“Hello, Kyungsoo. I hope we didn’t frighten you too much. We were sent here to help and protect you.” Minseok finally spoke up putting a halt to the other two boys’ bickering.

"Riiiiiggght........ Why?" Kyungsoo asked more puzzled than frightened. He blushed as he realized how rude his question must sound. "I'm sorry, but I'm not anyone special, why would I need three..... guardians?" He gestured vaguely in the direction of the boys. "Sent by who? And why are you dressed so strangely? Is it because you're magical or something?"

Minseok sighed and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly but didn't respond immediately while Luhan glared at Baekhyun who giggled before answering. "We were sent by the fairy council to watch over you, because you are destined for greatness and as for the clothes..... Minseok and Luhan don't have the legs to make the whole tunic look work and these jeans highlight my assets, if you catch my meaning."

"You saw ONE book from the future and now you think you're the all knowing fashion guru!" Luhan grumbled.

"You can travel through time?" Kyungsoo asked in wide eyed wonder.

"Not us, it was just something we came across." Minseok spoke finally while he shot his two friends a warning look. "Our powers are somewhat limited, but we make the most of what we can do."

"So, what am I going to do in the future that is so important that I need fairy guardians? Is the bunny that comes to the castle one of you, too?" Kyungsoo asked as he tried to put all of the random facts together.

"No, that's a rabbit. While we are more common than most people are aware of, not all animals are fairies." Minseok patiently explained. "We can't tell you your future because it may change how you make critical choices that could throw things out of balance."

"How can I be going to have this important future, when I'm living in a cottage, in the forest, with the members of a boy band?" Kyungsoo mumbled to himself.

"Don't worry, Kyungsoo. The future has a way of working itself out without any help from us. Just have faith and be strong." Luhan reassured, giving Kyungsoo a hearty pat on his back.

To Kyungsoo's mind, that sounds like they know more than they were telling him and he will be facing more trouble before things got better. Yay! He tried to keep the uncertainty from showing on his face but from the concerned looks he was receiving from his companions, he doubted his success.

"Come on, Kyungsoo, we have some berries to gather. We'll explain as much as we can as we walk." Minseok offered.

"Does this mean I can go back home?" Asked Kyungsoo hopefully, as they continued down the path they had been following earlier. "Since I have you guys to protect me?"

"I'm really sorry, but our magic isn't strong enough to battle the evil Queen's power," Minseok said. "He draws on dark magic and wouldn't hesitate to hurt others in his quest for what he wants."

"Whereas our magic is used only for good." Luhan picked up the explanation. "We can only help, not harm anyone."

"Each of us has a power that is unique, too." Baekhyun said. "Minseok has the power to freeze things, make it snow, etc., Luhan can use his mind to move objects and I have the best gift....... I can capture light!” He finished with a broad smile and a sweeping hand gesture.

"Oh....... that's cool" Kyungsoo replied in what he hoped was an impressed voice. It clearly wasn't good enough for Baekhyun who pouted while Luhan and Minseok tried to hide their laughter.

"So you were you sent to protect me, but how could I be possible be doing anything noteworthy in the future when I was chased out of my home?" Kyungsoo wondered to himself as he tripped on an exposed root and crashed into Baekhyun who grabbed Minseok to keep himself from falling.

"The fairie high council sent us. When a group of fairies join their powers together almost impossible things can happen. While we can't travel through time, we can sometimes get glimpses of the future." Luhan explained.

The group chatted as they continued to the berry patch. The fairies answered all of Kyungsoo's many questions and his new friends helped ease some of the anxiety about the future.

The return trip to the cottage was filled with lighthearted laughter. As they walked a tiny bird flew up to Minseok and landed on his shoulder. The bird chirped away after a brief nod from Minseok it flew away again. The fairies spoke quietly amongst themselves while Kyungsoo walked ahead of them lost in his own thoughts. When they reached their destination the fairies informed Kyungsoo that they had to leave and return to the fairy kingdom but would come back later that day if possible. While they where away he should stay inside and not speak to any strangers.

Even though Kyungsoo was sure that his new friends were being over cautious he promised to heed their warning and to not set foot outside the cottage.