WINGS - The Dark Escape... (Part 2)

 Making her way towards her destiny, Jihyun was happy but at the same time sad as she was remembering all those moments she spent in the human world. The path of the secret door was pink with glitters, shimmering like the stars. Suddenly, black strands of darkness started to take the brightness of the path away. Jihyun was scared as she was not aware of her surroundings. But…little did she knew that something was waiting for her in the world of fairies. As soon as she traveled further, she suddenly fell onto something. PLOP! It was a cushion-like thing, but it wasn't a cushion. It was someone's wings. She immediately stood up from there and saw whom she was sitting on. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to - " She stopped. She was astonished by the view of the city. It wasn't as she was expecting – beautiful waterfalls, a big castle which will be known as the school of the fairies. Beautiful gardens and people flying with the help of their wings in the blue sky. Nothing. Instead, bats were flying in the darkness of the sky. The flowers in the garden were dying as if they haven't been watered for ages. The waterfalls were covered with dirt and not even a single fish was to be seen. She was also quite startled by the attire of the person in front of her. The person was a boy; he was wearing a black dress which covered his whole body and a devilish crown, with spikes around his head. And above all, he had black wings which were quite huge than hers. She wasn't expecting this. Not at all. "Who are you?" asked the boy. No response. How could she even reply when she herself doesn't know where she is right now? "Who. Are. You." The boy repeated, who looked irritated. "I... I-I am Jihyun. I came from the h-human world." The expression on the boy's face changed. It became as if he was waiting for her to arrive. Now, she regretted saying this. Just because of her, maybe, they will do something to her family in the human world. "I was waiting for you. Come, follow me." Was all said by that boy when she asked him "Why should I come with you? You're a total stranger to me. And, what's going on here? Where is everyone?" "Did anyone ever told you that you ask too many questions?" He asked. She scoffed. "I'll tell you everything but first you need to come with me." The boy took her hand and started walking towards a large building that looked more like a demon's home than a castle. Jihyun was scared and startled by the activities around her. Everything was abnormal for her at the start and when everything started to become normal, this happened.

                   

Finally, he stopped. Jihyun looked in front and saw a cloud of bats, hanging upside down. But as soon as the door opened, the bats swept from above their heads at a tremendous speed which caused her to scream. "Shut up now. They're gone." He said with a cold face and went inside. The atmosphere of the castle was really tensed. The soldiers were standing still as if they were statues. A few moments later, both arrived at a big door. "From here, I'll handle everything. No need to speak anything in front of him." The boy said. "At least, tell me your name. How would I be able to call you then?" She asked, leveling the awkwardness down.

"Mark"

"The chief commander of the king's army."

With that, he went inside. Jihyun had no option but just to follow him. Mark and Jihyun were standing in the middle of the court, giving her a quite good view of the people there. There were thrones on either side of the court on which the ministers were sitting and behind them were pillars that supported the castle. Then, her eyes landed in front of her. Mark was standing in front as if he was protecting her from the man, sitting on the large throne. He was the king. King Warsaw. He looked much like a demon than a fairy; he was wearing a black-colored dress with red stripes on its borders. He had a long stick with a blue emerald on it. It was pin-drop silence. No one dared to speak up until Mark decided to break it. "Your Majesty, I have found the girl we all are looking for, for ages!" Jihyun was shocked. The fact that they all were looking for her for ages, is something impossible to believe. King Warsaw looked pleased by the words of Mark and said, "Well done, my child! Till the time we don't decide what to do with her, I order you to keep her in the prison! And Mark, you will be in charge of her needs." "As you wish, Your Majesty." With that, he turned around and looked at her. He was staring at her as if he wanted to tell her something. Suddenly, he handcuffed Jihyun's hands and took her to the prison. "What is happening here?" she shouted, walking towards the prison. "Why am I handcuffed? Let me go!" She tried to release herself from the soldier's grip but failed. She was thrown into jail. Mark came and freed her hands and said, "You wanted to know about what's going on here, right? So, listen.", he continued, "Long ago, the kingdom of the fairies was one of the happiest places in the world. We were celebrating the season of spring when suddenly, darkness took over and we all were terrified by the view. Kingdom of devils. They came and killed our king. I was there at that time but I was helpless. The army was brainwashed by the king of the devils and I was left all alone. King Warsaw, he is the king of the devils." He spoke. Pain could be heard through his voice as he continued, "I was threatened by the king that he will kill my family if I ever tried to betray him. But one day, I eavesdropped on the ministers talking in the room with the king and they said that the king had a daughter but she was taken to the human world because of the connection which we had with them. The king ordered us to find her and then we got to know that she will come here at the age of 20. And I was ordered to bring her to the palace. People knew about this and the king was sure of his idea of killing you because if you will be able to defeat him, then you shall be the next emperor." Jihyun was shaken. Everything Mark said made sense and that she was exactly 20 today. No wonder why she felt creepy. But then why did Mark tell that to the king if he knew all this? "I went there and waited and then you fell on me and when I saw you, you really looked like our king. That's how I found you. But don't worry, I promise to help you escape this kingdom and help you get the throne. Sorry, if I act as if I don't care, but I really do. After all, you are our princess. I will take care of you." Those words helped Jihyun to calm down. Now, she knew that she has to escape this place and defeat the king no matter what. But the security around the palace is very strong, she thought. She was tired and couldn't think of anything else, so, she decided to sleep. Laying down, her eyes felt heavy and soon, sleep took over her.

                      

The next morning, Jihyun woke up with the bright light of the sun on her face. "Good morning world…" was all she said. The next thing she knew was that she was given food. The moment the food arrived, she jumped with joy and happiness and said, "Oh My God! Finally! My Food!" but this was momentary. The moment she saw the food, she was disgusted by the view. She immediately threw the plate and said, "I am not going to eat this." And started throwing tantrums at the soldier. The soldier opened the jail and was about to go inside when he heard some prisoners fighting at the far end of the building. 'This is the time.', she thought and jumped on the down shelf of the trolley. As soon as she did so, she covered herself with the red blanket and started searching for food outside as the soldier pushed the trolley. Suddenly, the trolley came to a stop. Jihyun heard two soldiers and saw the other trolley full of fruits and fresh breakfast! 'This would surely be the king's meal', thought Jihyun. She took this chance and slipped into the trolley beside her. After a while, the trolley started to move and all Jihyun could see was big rooms, neatly-set beds, and delicious food. But suddenly, something else caught her ears. The conversation between the king and a soldier. The soldier told how Jihyun was denying the food and that she didn't eat anything. The king didn't say anything and ordered the soldier to move out with the trolley. After a moment, he stopped the trolley at a corner where no one was there. As soon as he did so, Jihyun came out and beat the soldier with all her force and killed him. She wore his knight armor and started to roam around the palace. Walking and walking, she reached the place where other prisoners were kept. She opened her face shield and looked at the others. They all were pretty, angelic fairies. No wonder, why they were kept here. Jihyun tries to talk to the prisoners, but they spoke just one thing, "They Will Kill Us Soon..." except for a boy. A small boy didn't speak a single word until she looked at a door in front of her which was very distant. Lights were surrounding the place which seemed okay to her. She got curious and started walking towards it. The boy finally spoke, "Don't go there!" She turned around to see the boy, nodding his head telling her to trust him. Jihyun, despite the warning, got more curious to know and started walking towards it. Little did she knew; those rays of light were nothing but the rays which could burn anything into ashes. Just as she was about to keep a step on the light, some soldiers stood behind her and said, "What are you doing here, huh? Didn't you know that this place is restricted by the king?"

No response. This was all for the soldiers to know that it is not a soldier but an intruder. Jihyun started to fight with the soldiers but unfortunately, more soldiers came and she couldn't do anything. She was taken back to the prison and was beaten due to the king's order. When they asked the reason for her escape, she just said that she was searching for food. This time the punishment wasn't that tough. In the court, the king ordered to bring Mark. He asked Mark to go and check on the prisoner who tried to escape. Mark hurriedly went and saw Jihyun with bruises on her skin. Mark sat beside her and said, "Are you serious? Where did you have the guts to do this?" "What do you mean? From all the things you told me yesterday, just meant one thing –to escape and find the way to kill the king." "I know." He said, "But this is not that easy. He is the king of devils and he can't be easily defeated." Jihyun looked at him and said, "What are we going to do then?" "The door where you were trying to go is the answer to our problem." He spoke.

"How?" she asked.

"The priest of the kingdom of fairies has been locked in that room. He knows how the king will be defeated. The king knows about this but he can't kill him because he is the only one who can save him from getting killed. What you did today needed courage and bravery but we need to use our brains too." She looked down and said, "We need to make a plan." The chief commander looked at her and said, "Don't worry about that. I have some ways but first, we need to get you out of here. Believe me, I'll plan something."

She nodded and said, "You should go now or they'll surely suspect you."

Mark nodded and went outside while locking her prison.

The time is less but there is no lead.

Will she be able to defeat the king?