Pacing up and down the village streets, Jimin kept looking ahead of him, anxiously waiting for Aera to return.

Jungkook, who sat on a nearby bench, shook his head as he noticed the boy's worried expression.

"Jimin, do you think Aera is ok? It has been three hours since she left and there has been no sign of her anywhere. Don't you think we should try to look for her once again?"

On hearing his words, Jimin came to halt and looked at him. "But where can she be? She could be anywhere! We have searched the whole village twice and she is no where to be seen." He exclaimed in exasperation and ran a hand through his hair.

"Think of where Evie would go." Jungkook said. "Afterall, wasn't Aera thinking of following her?"

In a thoughtful manner, Jimin muttered to himself. "Well, before leaving, Evie asked us about the Prince so maybe..."

"...she went to castle." Jungkook completed. "Let's begin our search from there."

The two boys went on their way to the castle, but on doing so, they first had to pass by a field where a large variety of flowers grew.

This field was not only known for it's beautiful flowers but also for the fact that a small village of fairies lived here too.

And so while passing by, Jimin and Jungkook saw a lot of fairies and could not help but admire the beauty of those fantasy beings.

Right when they were about to exit the field they passed by a small fairy who was struggling to carry some pebbles she held in her tiny hands.

"These pebbles are so heavy!" They heard her say as they saw her keep the pebbles down and sit on the ground in defeat. 

A soft smile made its way on Jimin's face as he crowched down and said in a low voice, "Dear fairy, would you like some help?"

The little creature looked up and removed the brown strands of hair that had come on her face. "Yes please!" She said as she pushed those pebbles towards Jimin.

He found her quite cute yet amusing at the same time. This little fairy was not even the size of his hand!

Picking up the pebbles with no problem at all, Jimin, under the fairy's instructions, kept them near a small cottage house.

"There you go!" He said to which the fairy smiled.

Flapping her wings, she rose in the air, now flying at his level. "You have been really helpful." She said with her cute high pitched voice. "I would love to return the favour. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Jimin explained the situation he and Jungkook were in. About Evie's meetup at the bun shop and Aera's disappearance. "Did you see someone pass by here?" He finally asked to which the fairy nodded.

"Hmm...I am not sure. I saw a girl with red eyes pass by and then there was another, following that girl." She replied. "What was the name of your friend again?"

"Aera" Jimin answered to which the fiary tilted her head, stayed silent for sometime and then gave a bright smile. 

"I know her! Aera unnie and I met in the Forbidden Forest. I am Ginger, nice to meet you. And about Aera unnie, I saw her head towards the castle. Come to think about it, how come I did not recognise her!" Giggling to herself, Ginger muttered,  "Silly me!"

Jungkook, who till now had stayed silent, gave an annoyed look to Jimin. Pulling the boy to one side, he harshly whispered, "We are wasting our time! Seriously, fairy's are known to be quite forgetful and silly. Let's go and search for Aera now, shall we?"

"Forgetful and silly!?" Came an angry voice from the other side as Jungkook's eyes fell on an offended Ginger. "That's rubbish, we fairy's are not forgetful, that is just some stupid myth made about us. And about being silly, I can prove to be quite useful you know. Infact, why don't I come with you and help search for Aera unnie?"

"Abosolutely no- ouch!" 

"Sure, what a great idea!" Jimin replied as he jabbed Jungkook with his elbow and gave him a look that immediately made the boy fall silent.

And that is how Ginger joined them in their search for Aera.

///

With her red eyes glowing, Evie with Prince Taehyung behind her, headed towards the Forbidden Forest. 

"So...how will I get to know where the sapphire is? Will a map suddenly pop out of no where once I drink the portion?" Taehyung asked, trying to create a conversation because seeing Evie being so silent was starting to creep him out.

"You'll see." Came an empty reply and the two continued walking in silence.

Ever since they started on their journey, Evie had been extremely silent and jumpy. For example, when a few villagers passed by them, she immediately hid herself and him behind a wall. Everything just seemed so weird.

And on top of that, his mind still felt extremely clouded and he felt exhausted too. It was as if his own body was fighting with something within him. Not only that, but sometimes, he would unintentionally say something or agree to what Evie was saying and this made him feel as if he was being controlled.

"Nah, that's not possible." He thought, when for the umpteenth time the idea that Evie might be messing with his brain came to him.

Soon they entered the Forbidden Forest and kept walking deeper and deeper inside. The sun's light became extremely faint and it was tought to even see properly.

"Are you sure the you have kept the portion somewhere here?" Taehyung asked once again.

"Yes." Came back a reply as on seeing Evie's strange glowing red eyes, Taehyung gulped in scepticism.

Finally, they came to a clearing, deep within the forest.

Old trees surrounded the entire place while darkness covered the area because by now, the evening sun was starting to set and night was making its way.

Taehyung saw Evie take a small bottle of black sand out of the pocket of her dress. He saw her pour it around him in a circular shape, enclosing him within it.

"Why does this seem like some ritual. Are you going to sacrifice me to the devil?" Taehyung asked jokingly to which Evie stopped, looked at him for a second or two and then softly whispered, "Maybe."

A chill ran down his spine on hearing this reply, and it was then when he decided to end all this drama and just head back to the castle. And so he stepped forward, to walk out of the strange circular figure that Evie had made, but to his horror, an invisible force prevented him from doing so.

"Evie, what is this?" He asked with panic rising within him. A smirk slowly unravelled on the girl's face as she looked at him with her dark red eyes.

"Like you said, a ritual, to sacrifice you."

///

Rooms had been searched, all corridors had been walked in, each and every nook and corner of the castle had been looked into yet, there was no sign of Aera.

"I don't understand, where has Aera gone!" Jungkook exclaimed in frustration as they headed towards the last place they had not searched, the veranda.

Ginger was the first to enter and when she did, she immeidately froze in shock.

The two followed and on seeing the surprised look on Ginger's face they gave each other a confused look. 

"Ginger, is everything fine?" Jimin asked to which the fairy shook her head.

"There is someone in that corner..." She whispered with a horrified voice. 

The two boys looked at the place Ginger was pointing at but there was no one to be seen. 

"Are you sure Ginger? I don't see anyone." Jungkook said as he walked towards that corner and on doing so, bumped against something invisible.

"I swear on the King's name, there really is someone here!" He shouted and immediately backed away. A chuckle escaped Jimin's lips on seeing Jungkook's reaction. "With all that strength and big body, it's a surprise how you get so scared easily." He said and walked towards Jungkook but a shriek escaped his lips when he too bumped against something he could not see.

"Oh my holy grandmother's cheese, there really is someone here!"

Jungkook raised an eyebrow and folded his arms as he tapped his foot on the floor. "That is exactly what I said doofus. Someone, who we can't see but Ginger can, is standing in this corner."

"Doofus! Excuse me?" Jimin exclaimed.

"You are excused." Jungkook replied with a smile. A scoff escaped Jimin's lips as he prepared himself for a sassy comeback but before he could do so, Ginger got in the middle of them.

"Can you guys please stop arguing. We have some invisible person standing here and you two are fighting? Instead, why don't one of you help me lift this invisibilty curse put on this person?"

"You can do that?" Jungkook asked, impressed. 

"Yes, a silly fairy like me can. Invisibility works only on you humans, we fairy's can see even invisible beings. Not only that but we also have the power to lift such magic. So come on, help me now."

Pointing towards himself, Jungkook gave a questioning look to which Ginger nodded. "Yes, you. I want you to hold that person and make her face me."

Jungkook gulped as with hesitancy he approached the invisible figure. Holding what seemed like its hand, he turned it around and  immediately, Ginger gasped.

"Aera unnie!"

"Aera unnie?" Jimin and Jungkook repeated as Ginger nodded. Quickly closing her eyes, she chanted a few words under her breath and then, when she opened her eyes again, there stood a visible and dazed Aera.

"W-w-what happened?" The girl mumbled as she rubbed her eyes and looked at the three people infront of her.

"Evie...Prince...no..." She whispered. Getting up, she stumbled to gain balance as she headed outside. "I need to help him!"

"Aera, wait!" Jimin said as he held Aera's arm and helped her sit on a chair. "What's going on? What did Evie do? Where is Taehyung?"

"We don't have time, Jimin. Taehyung is in danger. Evie is going to take his powers from him, she is possessed and is not herself. Both are in grave danger and both may end up loosing their lives if we do not find them and stop whatever is going on. I'll explain on the way, but for now, help me find Falkor. We will take to the skies, that way, we will be able to find them faster."

I am finally back with an update! I know, this took a lot of time but the problem is that these days my finals are going and there is a lot to study. In fact, tomorrow is my Hindi exam so I better get back to studying again.

By the way, I have noticed that many of you are not following me. I honestly don't mind, it's just that I post messages regarding my books and their updates on my message board so if you follow me, you will get that message too.

Hope you liked this chapter!