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Meanwhile back at the castle.

Queen Heechul couldn't have been happier! He had a spring to his step and found himself humming a peppy tune as he walked through the halls earning him curious looks from passing servants. He made his way down to his “secret room”, eager to hear what his mirror was going to tell him today. With Kyungsoo 'out of the way', he was sure the title of 'hottie of the kingdom' would be his.

"Mirror, mirror, blah, dee, blah.... Yo! Steve, what's the word on the fairest one now?" Heechul didn't bother with the usual summoning thing in anticipation of the news he was going to receive.

The surface of the mirror rippled before Heechul's reflection was replaced by another's.

Steve sighed, partly because of the utter lack of respect he received from Heechul but also because he was dreading being the one to tell the Queen that Kyungsoo still lived.

"So Steve, how's it hanging?" Heechul was the only one laughing at his joke. "Get it? Hanging.... You're hanging on the wall." While Heechul thought his humor was first rate, Steve couldn't even muster up a half-hearted smile.

"Yes, haha! Stop. You don't want to crack me up, do you? You'd have seven years of bad luck." Steve replied dryly.

"Hmmm. Very funny Steve, but I'd be careful not to be funnier than me unless you want to find yourself at Bob's Bargain Corral in the discount section. Haha! I kid! I'm sure a jokester!" Steve understood the threat behind the 'playful' attitude. "So let's hear it! Who's the hottest in the land?" Heechul finally asked.

"There yet lives one fairer than thee. The true heir to the throne is he." Steve said waiting for what he had said to sink in.

"WHAT! That's impossible! I got rid of him! I mean there was an accident in the forest. Siwon was able to only bring back the poor lambs heart which I have lovingly placed in this box." Heechul tried to look sad but he wasn't having a great deal of success.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Dude, that is a pig's heart. Kyungsoo is still alive, well and happier than he's been in years. So deal with it."

"Oh, I will “deal with it” and then you are going to spend some time in the old hag's cottage. You remember, the one who likes to kiss her own reflection and reportedly spends many of her days . Now, tell me where the nuisance is or I may forget to bring you back to the castle after your 'vacation'."

"My apologies, your highness! Please forgive your humble servant this one tiny mistake?" Steve wasn't above grovelling if it got him out of the promised away time. "He's staying in the cottage of the BtoB dudes. He's also receiving help from three fairies, so you will need to get them a safe distance from Kyungsoo before you try anything,” Steve warned. “I mean go to bring him safely back home."

"Fairies, pfff.... More like pesky gnats! I'll personally crush them out of existence." Heechul scoffed. "No one will stand between me and what I want and live to tell about it."

The snarl would send a chill down Steve's spine, if he had one. "So if we're done here, I'll just be going....." Steve hinted.

"Sure, fine, go but don't forget about your vacation plans." Heechul dismissed, already plotting his next options on pest removal. Needless to say his mood was the complete opposite of what it had been when he first walked into the room. Heechul was muttering to himself about how no one knew their place anymore and the complete lack of good help as he entered his workshop.

"First, I need someone stupid enough to not ask questions but bright enough to actually get rid of the fairies, so I can have no trouble dealing with that bothersome child." Heechul muttered to himself as he flipped through his book of spells. "Ah here it is. Hmmmmm...... I'm out of fresh 'Old Hag Cackle' I'll have to get some while I'm out enlisting Hongbin's help for the fairy problem. At this time of the day, he'll probably be hanging out at the market. Perfect."

Having a secret area in the castle came in very handy when one wanted to slip out without being seen and Heechul was in no mood to stop to exchange idol chit chat with anyone. He made his way to the village without being stopped and slipped into the tiny market where he quickly scanned the room, looking for Hongbin. He located the young man sneaking away from the clerk who was the unfortunate victim of his latest prank. The clerk tried to take a step away from the counter only to discover that his boots were tied together with twine. He fell forward and was just barely able to catch himself before he landed on his face.

"Hongbin! I know it was you! Why don't you go torment someone else for a change?" The young clerk yelled.

The barely contained giggles were proof enough who the prankster was.

Heechul pulled his cloak up to obscure his face as he casually strolled over to where Hongbin was hiding. "Ravi, I was hearing stories of how difficult it is to cause any real mischief in the fairy kingdom. Don't you think, even someone as good at pulling pranks as Hongbin, would find the task of playing any real jokes on the fairy king impossible?" Heechul asked the clerk while making his voice sound as different as possible.

"I agree! The task would be too much even for him!" Ravi agreed, seeing his chance to get rid of his tormentor, at least for a short while.

Knowing Hongbin wouldn't be able to resist the challenge, Heechul was then able to scratch 'Get rid of fairy guardians' off his to-do list.

The bell over the shop door jangled softly as Hongbin slipped out to cause some chaos for the unsuspecting fairies.

Heechul shuffled up to the counter and asked to speak to the store owner while still hiding his identity. He knew the young boy would ask too many questions if he was to place his order for the needed supplies with him.

The young clerk gave him a curious look but decided it was probably for the best not to be too inquisitive. He hurried off to get the owner who took one look at the cloaked figure and then sent Ravi to go get him some lunch.

"How may I serve you today, your Majesty?" The man asked after Ravi was safely out of the shop.

Finally Heechul could remove his hood and speak in his normal voice. "I need some 'old hag's cackle' and my 'dark of night' is nearing it's expiration date so give me some of that, too."

Knowing nothing good could come from the need for such powerful ingredients the poor shop owner rushed to fill the Queen's request rather than anger the man.

"Right away your Highness." The man's hands trembled slightly he prepared the requested items. "Should I put these on the castle's bill?" The shop owner asked as he handed Heechul the order.

"You can forget I was ever here today and that being so, I couldn't have purchased anything" Heechul snarled. "Unless you'd like your family to find out about your side business."

"That won't be necessary your Majesty! I haven't seen you in several days! Please don't involve my family!" The shop owner pleaded.

"As long as no one hears of this," Heechul said indicating his ingredients. "There won't be any reason for me to share my knowledge, now will there, Owner Huang? If my activities were to become public the precious little boy I see in you future might just never be."

The Queen's smile sent shivers down the owner's spine.

With a twirl of his cape Heechul was gone from the shop and the trembling shop owner struggled to catch his breath.

"You're doing this for a baby. You're doing this for a baby boy. You're doing this for your family and an heir." The shopkeeper chanted to himself.

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Heechul was able to slip back to his secret workroom without being stopped by anyone.

"Foolish man. His wife is already with child and I didn't have to do a thing. It may be a girl but everyone has off days."

"Let's get down to business....... to defeat....... Kyungsoo!" Heechul hummed to himself as he assembled his needed ingredients for the spell. "Should I send a daughter.... when he asked for a son..." Hmmmm.... Catchy, I'll have to write that down when I get back upstairs.

"Let's see..... First I need some mummy crust...... That's not right! Oh! Mummy DUST! That makes so much more sense. I really shouldn't eat my lunch over my spell book."

Heechul scratched the stain off the page. "Mmmmm, clam sauce. I'm going to miss Kyungsoo's cooking but oh well still going to kill him. La da do. Hope this potion is low cal I don't want to pack on any extra pounds. How long till I'm beautiful again? 'Spell will expire in 6 hours to three days.' Okay..... Mummy dust to make me look old, to shroud my clothes black of night, old hag's cackle to disguise my awesome voice, scream of fright to whiten my fab hair, blast of wind to fan my hate and a thunderbolt to mix it well. Now begin thy magic spell."

"Now what to use to kill Kyungsoo? Cookies? No, I might eat one by accident. Cappuccino? No that's not something that brat would find irresistible. Watermelon? Everybody loves watermelons. No, I have to carry it to the cottage! An apple? Apples are portable and healthy! Woot!"

"Now for a sure fire curse. Change him into a flea, put the flea in a box, mail the box to myself and when the box arrives...... SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER! No. You can't trust the postal service for something like this. Change him into a toad? Nah, toads are just too gross to deal with! Ohhhhhh here's a good one! 'Sleeping death'. Bingo!" Heechul rejoices. "'One taste of the poison apple and the victim's eyes close in the sleeping death. Their breath will still and blood congeal.' Then I will be the fairest in the land. Oh yeah! 'The only way for the victim to be revived is by love's first kiss'. The dwarves will think he's dead. Buried alive! Six feet under and outta my hair. Sounds perfectly fantastic baby.Wah ha ha!"