We stood at the entrance to the enchanted forest staring in. Just me and my men…along with a couple unwanted guests.  We were geared up for anything and everything that could possibly come at us in this forest. I was well prepared and well versed in the changing of the woods, and I would lead my men safely.
    “Maybe you should remain behind princess…we wouldn’t want to risk the sole heir to wonderland.” Canten the logres weasel commented coming to stand beside me. His father had insisted he come to protect his future bride and prove his worth. I’d tried to convince them otherwise by my father was happy with the entire idea.  
    “Who’s going to lead them then…you?” I asked a tone of disdain seeping into my voice. He cleared his throat embarrassed and stepped back away from me. There was a cloud of smoke and hongki appeared beside me.
    “Hurting your husbands feelings already…what a wonderful wedding prospect.” He said laughing. I cut him a glare.
    “This isn’t the time for jokes wizard…what are you doing here?” I asked showing I wasn’t in the mood.
    “I came to give you a few things for your…journey.” he said glancing over his shoulder to the others. I gestured for him to follow me as I lead us away from the group.  “there are a couple things I think you should be prepared for…you haven’t faced everything in the woods…there are still creatures even you aren’t aware of.” he said seriously. It was one of the few times I’d seen hongki the wizard serious. “Here…this will protect you from the oracle’s sight.” he said handing me a pendant. It was glass and it was melded into the shape of an eyeball.
    “Is this all?” I asked when he didn’t hand me anything else.
    “For now…just one last piece of advice…go to the caterpillar…I believe he’s got something for you in his…home.” He said a smirk on his lips. I cocked a brow looking at him confused. He and the ‘caterpillar’ as he called youngjae, didn’t really see eye to eye on lots of things. They were the best wizards in the lands…even though youngjae didn’t consider himself a wizard. They were constantly battling in who’s better or not. “well…that’s all…be careful falehyn.”  he said and billowed into smoke disappearing.
    “man…I really hate that.” I grumbled moving back to my group. The chain metal of my armor weighed down on me but it was a comfortable weight I’d become used to. I was better equipped to carry it than most with the large bells I had to wear for my gowns. Those things where atrociously heavy.      
    “What did he give you?” canten asked. I looked at him blankly.
    “Nothing. Just some advice. Alright!” I called turning to my men. “Let’s head in I want to get to the caterpillar…youngjae!” I said correcting myself. “Before night fall…we can seek shelter there.” I didn’t tell them why I wanted to head to the caterpillar, he was out of the way to the oracles cave but I needed to see what the strayed light was. No one questioned my decision though and we headed into the forests.   
    We kept a steady pace through the woods, with me in the front, leading the pack. Canten continued to speak as I tried to track the caterpillar without getting us lost in the changing woods and I almost knocked him unconscious a couple times just for some silence. I stopped walking suddenly holding up my hand to stop the group.
    “What is it.” Canten hissed beside me. He was whipping around frightened. Prove his worth my but…he wa such a useless weasel.
    “Namjoon…here.” I called gesturing for me men’s captain.
    “Yes ma’am.” he said coming beside me.
    “Do you hear that?” I asked cocking my head to get a better listen.
    “No ma’am…nothing.” he said after a moment of silence. I reached to the holster on my hip and brandished my sword the metal making a satisfying shing against the sheath. She’d just been sharpened.
    “Exactly…where…are all the animals.” I hissed getting in the read position. My men reacted to me instantly. As if on cue ropes fell from trees as greenish creatures that looked unsettlingly human aside from their skin slid down the ropes with their weapons in hand.
    “GOBLINS!” I bellowed. “ATTACK!” I barreled forward as the sound of metal on metal filled the woods.

    
    Metal? Is someone sharpening knives? Daehyun began coming back to his sense as his eye’s fluttered open. He looked around to see youngjae had disappeared…or had he ever really been there to begin with? The sun had moved in the sky and it would be dark soon. He needed to find somewhere to sleep for the night. Getting to his feet he looked around hearing the metal sounds better now. The clanking of metal on metal was accompanied by grunts and battle cries. There was a fight somewhere near by. Daehyun was unable to contain his curiosity and walked in the direciton of the sounds. The woods didn’t seem to tricky as youngjae had made it sound as he moved through it steadily. He reached a cliff and looked over seeing a reservoir below. Beyond his cover of trees there was a group of people fighting….he didn’t know what. They looked human, human faces, with slightly larger noses, human bodies…the only thing that made them different were the deep set eye sockets and the sickening green color of their skin.
    “Canten! Down!” daehyun heard a female call out. Looking closer at the battle he saw a dark pony tail swish like a streak across the ground as a man in armor was shoved to the ground just as a green man swung with an axe at the mans head. The pony tail whipped around cutting the green man’s arm off sending it to the ground and the green man screaming in pain.  The battled continued as more of the green men emerged from the trees attacking the group. They fought valiantly but daehyun could see some of them tiring and they were also carrying dead weight with that one man lying on the ground cowering from the fight. Daehyun had the overwhelming urge to help the group.
    “PRINCESS!” a loud voice called out. Daehyun looked to the girl with the pony tail to see her in face to face battle with one of the green men completely oblivious to the one sneaking up on her back. Everyone was occupied except the coward on the ground. No one could help her. Daehyun could help her. He jumped from the cliff using a branch to swing down the side before landing into a slide down the remaining space of the hill. He came to a halt beside a downed green man with an axe in his back. Seeing no other option daehyun yanked the axe out and ran towards the girl and the encroaching green man.
    “YAH!” daehyun yelled catching the green man’s attention. He used the back of another green man who was fighting near by and jumped throwing himself in the air in the direction of his target. Using all his body wait daehyun grabbed the axe with both hands and swung down as hard as he could manage. The axe lodged itself deep into the green man’s head and he toppled to the ground like a brick. Daehyun landed on his feet beside the bleeding green man breathing heavily. The girl whipped around and their eyes locked.  Something electric filled the air between the two as she stared at him in shock and confusion. He could only stare back in awe. She was a beauty to behold, the only thing marring her perfect porcelain skin was the bluish liquid smeared across her face and neck. seeing the bleeding green men he knew it was their blood.
    “PRINCESS!” someone called again pulling her back into action. She whipped around effectively slicing into the green man attacking her without any effort at all. He fell to the ground and the battle quieted down. The only thing to be heard was everyone’s breathing and a thumping in daehyun ears…his heart.  Suddenly the girl whipped around narrowing her sword at daehyun’s neck.
    “Who’re you.” she said and her voice was cold and severe. She was going to kill daehyun.

    I stared at the man in front of me, fear in his eyes, his breathing heavy, his chest heaving in and out. I couldn’t help but notice the strange attire he was wearing. He must have been who fell out of the sky near youngjae.
    “d-daehyun.” he stuttered showing his fear even more.
    “What’re you doing here in Gothao…where did you come from?” I asked not removing my sword from his neck. If I didn’t like his answers a quick twitch of my wrist would end his lift instantly.
    “I’m searching for the other’s that came through before me…I came from seoul…I was pushed into that purple cloud…” he said unmoving. He didn’t seem to be lying to me.
    “It was people who came through before? Why…what do they want? How many?” Daehyun seemed to become frustrated with my many questions as he stood up straighter straightening out his shoulders.
    “Look here, I don’t know anything more than you! I was shoved in that thing, I don’t even know where this place is!” He said angrily. “all I know is when I woke up after falling I was in this forest surrounded some creepy echoing things and then I ran into a weirdo named youngjae who stole my hat!” he bellowed frantically. He seemed shaken up…he couldn’t be much of a threat. Wait…youngjae?
    “You saw the caterpillar?” I mumbled shocked. He met youngjae…and was still alive? So…he wasn’t dangerous?  He just looked at me confused. “You know…blonde…loves to sit on mushrooms like their freaking chairs?” I said trying to describe youngjae.
    “yea…I saw him…he lightning bolted me with something and I passed out! The next thing I know I’m here saving you from getting your head chopped off and now you’re trying to chop mine off!” he snapped angrily. Clearing my throat I flipped my sword away from his neck and put it back in it’s sheath in a swift movement.
    “Sorry…” was my only reply to that.
    “Princess…we’ve got to get moving…the sun will set shortly…and we don’t want to be out in the open when it does.” Jungkook said respectfully. He was right. No matter how much I knew the woods, it was dangerous at night.
    “if you don’t want to end up like these goblins…come with us and don’t give me a reason to kill you.” I said sternly and reached down yanking the axe from the goblins head. The one he’d killed. “You seem to be good with this…you might need it later.” I said holding it out to him. He looked at it skeptically a moment before accepting the axe. “And will someone get canten off the ground! Check his diaper while you’re at it!” I yelled disgusted. I knew I was being mean but I was seriously irritated. If he was to afraid to fight he shouldn’t have come. He’d almost gotten me and himself killed today.  Everyone gathered supplies off the goblins that could be of use and then we moved, and we moved quick. The sun was setting faster than we could walk and we could already hear the deadly night creatures coming out behind us. We reached youngjae mushroom and I rushed over shoving it over. It fell backwards exposing a long staircase in the ground.
    “get in.” I said grabbing canten by the shoulder and shoving him towards the stairs. He hurriedly entered as everyone else followed. Daehyun went before me and I entered last. I stopped at the top looking back out into the woods. I saw things slinking around in the dark. I could sense the darkness encroaching and quickly pulled the mushroom closed locking it safely sealing us in the staircase.  
    “a-are we safe?” Canten whispered. I sighed reaching into my pocket and brandished a crystal in my hand that with a thought shone bright illuminating has in the stair case. Everyone stared up at me waiting for my words.
    “We’re safe.” I mumbled and the tension drained from everyone. Daehyun was standing beside me staring at my hand. A look of awe on his face.
    “What…you don’t have light crystals in your world?” I asked holding it closer to him. He shied away from it as if afraid to touch it.
    “Not…like that.” He mumbled. Shrugging I moved past everyone illuminating the way down the stairs as we walked farther into youngjae’s home. He lived underground for safety since he was determined to live in the forest. When we reached the room where he lived he wasn’t there.
    “When you saw youngjae earlier…was he going somewhere?” I asked looking back at daehyun. He looked pale and disoriented but all he did was shake his head no. strange…youngjae rarely strayed from his home…and never after dark. I could only hope nothing had happened to him.  
    “Alright…let’s eat dinner then bunk in. we’ve got a long trek tomorrow.” I said snapping everyone into action.  

    Daehyun watched the group in front of him and he couldn’t believe they all seemed just like him. Aside from the fierce warrior princess who continued to give him skeptical, unarming looks, everyone seemed relatively normal…like normal guys. He watched form his corner as they joked around and ate with each other. The way he’d done with his friends back home.
    “You.” daehyun whipped his eyes to the boy sitting across from him about six feet away. “since you saved the princess you get to eat…we can’t forsake someone who helped out kingdom.” he said offering daehyun a plate. It seemed like normal chicken mashed potatoes and corn. Slowly daehyun stood and walked over accepting the plate.
    “can I ask…” he said before he left.
    “What?”
    “Princess…of what?”
    “Of the kingdom of wonderland?” daehyun stumbled to a stop as he’d been moving back to his seat. Wonderland? Like…no couldn’t be. That was ludicrous.
    “Oh…ok.” he said letting it go.  He sat down and tucked in to his food. He was right it was just chicken and mashed potatoes.  After he’d finished eating everyone began lying out to go to bed. Daehyun wasn’t sure how he was going to get any sleep even though he knew he needed to . He was going to have to figure out what was going on around here, where he was, how he got here…most of all how he was supposed to get back. After lying in dark for a while listening to the strange noises outside he finally dozed off into a fitful sleep.