-Narrator's P.O.V.-

Kris monitored the entire kingdom from the wall boarding the kingdom. The citizens have been staying hidden in their homes due to the fear of the brink of war as lately as threats have been being sent to Eastern Seoul. A couple days ago since June and Hongbin has journeyed off to Questria, a lynch mob formed by outsiders invaded the inner city and the markets, violently ruining everything and even killing innocent pedestrians. A total of 20 people were killed and 5 were injured severely. Luckily, the army made it there on time and arrested them all.

Kris wasn't much of a talker when it came to asking who sent them and why were they here so Taekwoon handled it. Even if he was a man of a few words, they were intimidated by his death glare and silent aroma that made them wanted to scream and panic. His presence manipulated them into confessing their crime and everything. Taekwoon didn't even have to speak. He sat there across from them, hands folded on the steel cold table, feet planted on the floor, and eyes staring at the culprit.

"I give up! I'll tell you everything! Just please, stop!"

A sky smirk appeared on his face and he spilled out everything.

Kris shook his head, never sensing this amount of fear from the entire kingdom. Eastern Seoul was large and with everyone in their houses, it was silent. Nothing has happened so far but Kris has been getting anonymous threats that seem to be tracked down from the database of the Southern Commonwealth. They couldn't identify who sent them but it was most definitely coming from them. Kris bawled his hands in his fist and did not understand why an ally of Eastern Seoul would want to start war. Hongbin's friends knew the answer right away.

"They just want Hongbin to themselves without anyone claiming him or trying to kill him - as in, they want to get rid of June who's the potential candidate to sweep him away or even change his mind about marrying Hana. This then causes the whole kingdom alliance thing to corrupt and the Southern Commonwealth will stay the way there are as Eastern Seoul continues to grow and Hongbin will eventually find another bride to rule with him," explained Ravi.

"But they don't have to initiate war. It just doesn't make sense," implied Kris.

"It's just fear. In order for them to get what they want, they threaten the weak and fill them with fear, causing them to tell their soon-to-be-King to marry Hana and not anyone else. It's like history is repeating itself," said Hyuk as he tried to hack into their system to see their plans of further attack on the kingdom.

"Fear and manipulation. And knowing how the people of Eastern Seoul are easily persuaded and put down because of a higher force, it makes them prime targets in their antics," said Kris.

"Exactly. But what the people of this kingdom need is protection and we have that. It's just the whole idea of peace and a stronger force than ours scares them. It ruins their hopes of living in the walls of tranquility and peace," added Ravi. Taekwoon agreed and Kris watched Hyuk type away.

"I got something!" he said. Everyone gathered around the computer and it showed a blueprint.

"Isn't that...our Head Quarters?" asked N.

"What the hell?!" cursed Ken.

"It's really happening. Everyone, we need to move to our top secret head quarters in downtown. It's underground so no one knows about it. As of now, Hyuk, try to wipe out their systems if possible or even hack into it - release a virus or something." Hyuk nodded and typed away, playing around with their system and then typed a few more things.

"I created a virus that they can't control. But here the catch - as it eats everything, it collects their data and gives it to us. I like to call it the Terminator. Lame name but it works," he said as he sent the virus to them. He the. Shut his laptop and grinned happily.

"Let's go."

They reach the top secret Head Quarters and it was much more luxurious than the other. It gave a whole dark spy theme with black walls, a black carpet, and red curtains. The furniture was eye-blinding white and the tables were glass. As they walked into the main room, it was filled with computers, gadgets, a huge flat screen monitoring the entire kingdom, and even files of everyone. Hyuk picked a random computer and turned it on, placing his special flash drive and his empty folder soon filled with plans from the Southern Commonwealth.

"This is too easy," he said as he opened the folder. Number one of files were labeled by letter; A-Z. Hyuk clicked on A and it was a copy of the flyer that has been passed around every kingdom. Next, B contained blueprints of Eastern Seoul and their headquarters. But nothing was seen about the secret one.

Hyun went so on, Kris stopping him to take quickly photographic memories of them and told him to continue. N kept in mind about the invasion supposedly happening on the day Hongbin was supposed to get married and Taekwoon dwindled on the thought of Sehun. Ken was amazed by the invention of a black bomb. Ravi was fascinated by new and quick counterattacks. All these information they received helped greatly. It also meant the war was to be played easy.

"There's a lab here, right?" asked Ken. Kris nodded.

"Just go straight and make a right. Why?"

"That black bomb sounds really interesting. I'm going to try to attempt to make it." Everyone nodded and Ken went on his way. As everyone shared a piece of information from the Southern Commonwewlth, N couldn't help but feel a vibe as if they were being watched...


* * *

Finally, the two arrived at Questria at the brink of sunrise. They found a place to rest at and kept their horses in a stable and paid the owner to keep it there as they walked around. Soon, Hongbin took out the tracker and saw the Masked Runner still here; particularly near the castle of the Oh Family.

"Listen, we stay on the low and don't draw attention. Last thing we want is to be held prisoners or even bring war with us when we get back home," said June. Hongbin nodded and the two walked around the inner market and then the main square, seeing wanted flyer of June and Hongbin. The disguises they had on seem to work because they looked like ordinary travelers.

June's hair was now longer and her blue-gray eyes were hidden behind a pair of navy contacts. As for Hongbin, June made sure he had a bandage around one eyes and a few cuts and bruises around his face to show he was in a fight; to show he came from one of them. Obviously, it was a fake but the bruise near his jaw was done accidentally.

"...I heard that the prince is getting married soon!"

"Really? Who?"

"I don't know but I heard she's really pretty."

"Do you have a clue what her family name is?"

"I think it begins with a K or and H. Either one."

As they passed through the main center of the kingdom, the crowd began to cheer and clap as Hongbin and June were caught in the midst of everything. Soon, the Oh Family came out and greeted their fellow citizens as their son came out too. Broad shoulders, long torso, handsome face, strong eyes - he was the exact image of a prince. June's eyes dilated a bit by how handsome this Oh Sehun was but quickly disappeared when he made brief eye contact with her.

"Who's this beauty?" he thought. Hongbin noticed the slight stare he held with June and quickly grabbed her hand, taking her away from the crowd. Sehun followed to see a guy taking her away. Sehun let a small scoff between his teeth and paid attention to the crowd.

"Tonight, is a special night," began the King. Hongbin and June stopped, averting their attention to the King who's face was upon the jumbo electron boards. His voice echoed through out the kingdom, signaling this broadcast was made everywhere.

"As always, we are hosting our annual Summer Eve's Ball in hopes of finding our son a beautiful bride," he grinned. The electron board then showed Sehun's face who gave the crowd a small smile that swoon every girl in the kingdom. Even June was falling into this mess. Hongbin clicked his tongue out of jealous and still held onto June's hand.

"Everyone is invited but as always, our guards will accept who enters and who leaves. That is all. Thank you and I will hope to see your faces tonight. The ball begins at seven sharp so don't be late."

Soon, the royal family left and everyone dispersed, talking about what to wear and what they should do. June looked at Hongbin and gave a smile.

"This is our chance! To find the Masked Runner! We know she has crystal blue eyes. Not much people have those eye colors! She has to show her face at that ball. She has to," said June. Hongbin had a bad vibe about this ball. He bit his lip and wanted to say no, but with June excited about this fancy ball and the chance to find the Masked Runner, he knew he couldn't refuse.

"Fine. But we leave at midnight. I have a bad feeling about this ball," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"I just do. Anyway, how are we going to go if we don't have anything to wear?" he asked. An elder heard their conversation and walked up to the two.

"There's an antique dress shop up ahead that sells nice suits and gorgeous dresses. Everything is affordable and not much knows about it. It's called Wanderlust." June thanked her and the two began to head up straight to the dress shop.

As they entered, the place was full of antiques and in the back were suits and dresses placed into a plats I covering to protect them from dirt, dust, and to keep their design.

"Is there a theme for this ball?" asked June. The owner appeared from behind the counter and smiled to finally see customers.

"The theme is Masquerade. Overly played in almost every ball, but there's something about it that makes it romantic. There really is no color scheme so you can pick whatever you like," she said. The two nodded and went to find what they wanted. As Hongbin looked for a particular suit, June went to the gowns and looked through each and everyone, judging its color and style. She then found a black strapless gown that flowed to the ground. She took it out of the racks and stared at it, eyes flowing.

The dress was black and simple. Strapless with black lacing and details along the bodice to the waistline. Soon, the dress flowed outward a bit like a princess gown but it wasn't over-the-top. The fabric was smooth underneath but the outer was smooth like silk. Little lace details were added into the fabric. Overall, the dress was beautiful and suited June very well.

"Good choice. That's personally my favorite," said the owner.

"It's beautiful. Do you have any masks?" she asked. The owner nodded and pointed to the glass case at the counter. June looked and pointed to the simple black mask that covered her eyes. There were crystals placed on the side of the mask's temples to give it an elegant look. Soon, Hongbin found a suit and a mask as well. He picked out a black tux with a blood red tie. His mask was black as well, covering his eyes. After paying for their things, they went off to their inn and began to get ready for the night.

Oh Sehun sat in his room, staring out the window as he heard dishes clattering, musicians practicing their music, and the outside citizens bussing around with their suits and gowns. Typical of Questria to hear for an annual ball. Sehun sighed and couldn't shake off the thought of that girl her saw. Just a mere blimps of her in the crowd and a brief second of eye contact made his heart spark with a new feeling. He smirked a bit, leaning back in his chair and waiting for sundown, a night awaiting with magic and mystery.

 

~Author's Note~

YES. MORE CHARACTERS AND MORE CHAOS.lol. I feel like every Fairytale must have a ball and well, here you go! It's so much fun writing about it because it's just so fun!xD And ooh...little Hongbin is getting jealous, huh? I see you Beannie!!!! Thanks for reading and enjoy!!