by Ellen Oh
She squatted and began to sob loudly.
At her cries, little tree creatures came crawling out of the forest and surrounded Koko, humming an intricate melody. “Namushin,” Jiho whispered in amazement.
Frankie screamed in shock, trying to climb onto Calvin’s back for safety, while the others gaped at the little creatures in awe. But the little namushin ignored them and instead gathered around the lost princess, comforting her.
Koko hiccupped as she wiped her face and calmed down. She then popped back onto her feet, her crying jag completely forgotten.
“I must go,” she said. “There’s much to be done.”
“Wait, what about us?” Jiho asked.
“What about what?”
“Aren’t you going to help us?”
“What do you want?”
“We want to get out of the forest.”
“Oh, I’m not leaving the forest,” Koko said. “This is my home.”
“But you can’t just leave us!”
“Then come with me,” she said. “You’ll be safer with me than on your own.”
Jiho turned to his friends.
They looked at the princess and the namushin and then all nodded.
“We’re going with her,” Calvin said.
Chapter 10
MICAH AND HER team watched closely from their hiding spot as the foreigners followed the lost princess. When the oni had attacked, the Botan clan did what they did best—they camouflaged themselves into the fabric of the forest and then tracked their prey.
“So the princess is alive,” Mari said. “But she took down an oni single-handedly. That’s some powerful magic.”
Micah ignored her and concentrated on the princess. They followed and watched as the princess and the foreigners disappeared into the borders of Nackwon.
“They’ve gone into the Nackwon. How are we supposed to capture her when we can’t go in there?” Mari was exasperated.
“Quit complaining. At least she isn’t dead,” Micah retorted.
“So what’s our next step?”
“We need something to make the princess trust us,” Micah said. “In order to do that, we have to go to the royal palace to find it.”
“And how are we supposed to gain access to the palace?”
“We meet with Prince Roku, tell him what we’ve seen so far. Make sure Kai is okay.”
“And then while we’re in the palace, find something that belonged to the royal family,” Mari concluded. “Nice plan, little chief.”
Micah was startled to hear Mari call her that. “Little chief?” she asked.
Mari smiled. “You’re beginning to impress me.”
Micah and her team traveled to Jinju, the capital of Joson, where they found things had changed drastically since Prince Roku’s arrival. The streets were now heavily patrolled by Orion soldiers, and the royal palace guards were wearing Orion’s colors.
“We have to find out where Kai is,” Micah demanded of her team. “We have to make sure he’s safe first.”
They all fanned out, spying on the palace, seeking out those who might give them information.
Micah soon discovered that the city was in chaos—Prince Roku had staged a coup and imprisoned the king and queen and anyone who was loyal to them. Roku crowned himself king of Joson. The townspeople were outraged. They knew that the true power came from Orion, who’d always wanted to take over Joson. With Roku on the throne, a foreign power was now in control of their kingdom. And everyone feared the wrath of the Orion soldiers.
“Micah, your brother is being imprisoned in the dungeon. Next to the king and queen,” Mari reported back. “They seem okay for now. But the conditions are bad down there.”
Relieved, Micah closed her eyes and prayed that her brother would stay strong until he could be rescued.
“I know what to do,” Micah said.
That night, Micah went to the palace gate, gave her clan insignia stamp—a white peony, to verify her identity—and asked for an audience with Roku. After a long wait, she was escorted inside.
Heavily armed guards checked her for weapons and manacled her hands before taking her to see the prince.
Inside his receiving room, several people sat on cushions on the floor around the prince, who lounged on a throne of satin pillows. Dancers and musicians performed in front of the inattentive audience. They were too busy trying to catch the prince’s favor as he sat staring intently out the window. The room opened up onto a large terrace that overlooked the Kidahara and provided a panoramic view of Mount Jiri in the distance. The volcano was enormous and could be seen clearly from the castle. It had been dormant for over five hundred years. But it still appeared as if it could erupt at any moment.
The guard approached the prince and bowed. Only then did Roku turn his attention to them. Micah was surprised to find Prince Roku to be a very attractive young man. He was more pretty than handsome, but his eyes were as cold as the harshest winter and his thin lips curved into a cruel smile. Micah felt humiliated to be brought in front of his elegant company in chains and manacles. Hate and anger warred inside of her.
“Well, well, well, I hear the Botan clan are the only people who can find anything in the Kidahara,” Prince Roku said. “I hope you have good news for me?”
Micah nodded. “I have found her. But in order to bring her to you, I need something of hers. Something to make her trust me.”
“Excellent! I’ll have my men take you to the princess’s quarters so you can find whatever it is you need. But know this: if you fail, your brother will remain in my dungeon forever, unless I decide to take his head instead.”
Enraged, Micah lunged at the prince, but was savagely restrained by the soldiers.
“If you harm a single hair on his head, I will have my revenge on you!”
Prince Roku laughed. “Such bravado. I don’t know if I should be offended or amused.”
He stared at her for a long moment, a sneer across his face. “But I find it amusing right now. So I’ll let you go with a warning.”
The soldiers took her upstairs to the royal suites. They unlocked the door to Princess Koko’s room and watched as she looked around. The curtains were drawn and the room was slightly dusty, but Micah was struck by how carefully the room had been preserved for five years. Until the queen was imprisoned, she’d kept Koko’s room just as the princess had left it, waiting for her return.
A guard opened up the curtains to let in sunlight. “Don’t even think of stealing anything, girl,” one of the soldiers said. “Everything is inventoried.”
Micah ignored him as she looked for something that the princess would recognize. Something small, something sentimental. Her gaze landed on the vanity. There was a butterfly comb that she remembered seeing in a portrait. It had adorned the princess Koko’s hair. She grabbed it and showed the guard.
“I’ll take this,” Micah said.
The soldier snatched the pin from her hand and examined it contemptuously before finally giving it back.
“Make sure you don’t lose it, girl,” he sneered.
Micah bit back her angry words and let them escort her out of the palace. Mari and her team stood waiting by the palace gates.
“Did you get it?” Mari asked.
Micah showed her the butterfly pin, and Mari nodded approvingly.
“Everyone knows that pin,” she said. “You chose well, little chief.”
Grateful for the acknowledgment, Micah gave the command for them to return once again to the Kidahara. Micah now had a plan. She knew how she would lure the princess out of Nackwon.
Chapter 11
JIHO AND HIS friends ventured deeper into the forest where the trees were the tallest and the biggest. Namushin of various sizes sat on tree branches and fallen logs, staring at them with the greatest of curiosity. Some were long and slender like reeds, and others were smaller and stouter. There were even some sporting flowers on their heads.
Koko gestured to a massive tree, its trun
k nearly the size of a house. “This is the entrance to Nackwon.”
“What is it?” Shane asked.
“It is the realm of magic,” Koko answered. “Humans are not allowed to enter unless invited by a resident of the Nackwon.”
Jiho’s friends stared perplexed at the solid tree trunk.
“Is something supposed to happen?” Frankie asked in confusion.
“It’s hard to see at first,” Koko said, but stopped short when Jiho walked through the solid trunk and disappeared from view.
Jiho stuck his head back out of the tree. “What are you guys waiting for?”
“I can’t believe you can see it,” Koko marveled. “Humans can’t see the entranceway.”
Jiho shrugged and gestured for his friends to enter.
Inside the tree, they followed along a dimly lit tunnel that took them underground. Little namushin popped their heads out from rocks and under roots. At the end of the tunnel, they found themselves in a gigantic cavern that was like a busy village marketplace. Numerous stalls filled the cavern with merchants selling and trading wares and craftsmen working and chefs cooking. Toward the back of the cavern they could see the sparks of firepits and metal workers banging on their anvils. Behind them were several tunnels with gated entrances and soldiers standing guard.
The crowds were a mix of human and magical folk. Jiho gaped at the beautiful proprietress of a fabric store who was a gumiho in her human form. She didn’t even bother to hide her nine red foxtails. Next door to her was a woman with elfish features weaving elaborate rugs with intricate designs that she displayed around her shop. Down another street, a frightening-looking old woman hawked roasted spider crisps, while across the way a lovely fairy displayed jewelry made from tiny imitation moonstones.
Frankie pointed to the shop owners and asked Koko, “Is she a witch, and is she a fairy?”
Koko shook her head. “You got them mixed up,” she said.
“She’s the witch.” Koko pointed to the jewelry shop owner.
“And she’s the fairy.” Koko nodded in the direction of the old woman.
The heavenly smells of roasted chestnuts and sweet pies mixed with the earthiness of the cavern was overwhelming, but in a good way.
Shane tapped Jiho on the shoulder. “I’m real hungry, think we can get some food?”
Koko overheard and waved them over to a small café away from the crowds of the central market. “Granny makes the best noodle soup in Kidasan.”
“Kidasan?”
“This is Kidasan Shijang, the largest underground market in Nackwon.”
“Maybe the only underground market,” Jiho said.
“It’s so cool,” Tess responded. Turning to Jay, she said, “We could explore this place for hours.”
“I’ll take you around first,” Koko responded. “There are parts of the Kidasan that humans aren’t allowed in.”
Jiho glanced back at the tunnels with armed guards and wondered what they were trying to keep out or in. “Do humans who get invited in stay here forever? Are they trapped here?” Jiho asked, thinking about his father.
“Most humans who come don’t leave,” Koko said. “Why would they? It’s so much better here.”
Rapping her knuckles on the counter, she shouted. “Granny, seven house noodles please.”
The kids sat in eager anticipation as Koko poured barley tea into wooden cups and passed everyone a wooden spoon and a pair of chopsticks.
“I never learned how to use your eating sticks,” Frankie said. “Could I have a fork?”
Koko shook her head. “I don’t think Granny has any forks.”
A wizened old woman floated seven bowls of steaming hot noodle soup over to each of them. The aroma of the rich fragrant soup made them all salivate.
“No chopsticks, no food,” Granny said in a husky gruff voice before turning back to the kitchen.
All but Jiho looked dismayed.
Jiho yelled out a “thank you for the meal” and began to slurp up the fat noodles with gusto.
As the others hesitated with their chopsticks, Koko let out a giggle. “Don’t worry, they’re charmed so you can use them.”
Tess was the first to try and found the chopsticks magically helped her pick up a large bite of noodles.
“Mmmmm, wonderful . . . ,” Tess muttered around her noodles.
Jay carefully watched her friend before trying it herself. Her eyes popped wide-open in delight.
“Oh man, this is the best noodle soup I’ve ever had!” Shane said.
“It’s the only noodle soup you ever had,” Calvin countered.
“And that’s why it’s the best!” Shane retorted.
Frankie and Jiho didn’t say a word, as both were too busy slurping noodles down as fast as they could.
Granny appeared with small bowls of pickled vegetables, spicy potatoes, and marinated anchovies that floated down in front of them. Without even questioning what they were, the kids ate everything. The bowls magically refilled themselves as soon as they emptied.
Frankie soon leaned back with a happy sigh and a large belch.
“You are disgusting,” Tess said.
“Pig,” Jay sniffed.
“Pardon me,” Frankie said. “But it was the best dang thing I’ve ever eaten in my entire life! I don’t know what kind of weird meat was in the soup but it was real good.”
“Oh, there’s no meat in it,” Koko said. “Granny’s a vegetarian. Those were roots and mushrooms.”
Frankie looked stunned and peered into his empty bowl in betrayed confusion.
“Not meat?” he whispered to himself.
“I’ve never eaten so many vegetables in my life,” Shane said, wondering. “I guess I wouldn’t mind if it all tasted like this.”
“Must be magic,” Calvin said.
“No magic, just seasonings,” Koko replied.
Granny reappeared with a tray of desserts that included fresh fruits and little colorful rice cake balls filled with sweet red bean cream or honey or even sesame paste.
“I’m in heaven!” Frankie said as he stuffed rice cake balls into his mouth. “Granny, can I live with you?”
“No,” she said as she tromped back into the kitchen.
Everyone laughed as they bickered over the last of the dessert.
After lunch, Koko led them through the Shijang market. They marveled at giants toiling over furnaces of molten lava as they created metalworks and weapons. Nearby, goblins designed elaborate jewelry and elves made intricate glasswork.
“This place is amazing!” Frankie said.
While the others marveled at all before them, Jiho turned to Koko.
“This place is great, but what are you doing here? Why don’t you go home to your parents?”
Koko looked like she was going to weep again, but she controlled herself.
“I have to train,” Koko said.
“Train for what?”
“I don’t know yet. But whatever it is, it will be bad.”
Jiho shook his head in confusion. “That doesn’t make sense to me. What could be so bad?”
“Don’t you know any history?”
“You mean the Great War and Empress Luzee? But she’s dead, right?”
“No, she’s not dead. She was locked in a prison of volcanic ash.”
“Well, as good as dead,” Jiho said.
Koko shook her head. “The namushin are afraid. They sense a war is coming.”
The group all looked at one another in puzzlement.
Frankie burst out laughing. “There’s not gonna be any war,” he said. “The five kingdoms don’t have no beef with each other.”
Koko shook her head. “Not a human war,” she said. “The dark side of the Kidahara that was defeated, along with Luzee, has been waiting to return again. And the namushin can sense that something terrible is going to happen.”
“How can they possibly know? Are they psychic?” Frankie asked.
“The namushin are tree spirits. The
ir roots go deep into the earth and their branches high into the sky. They can sense everything that is happening in the world. They want me to be strong enough to protect the Kidahara.”
“Just you?” Jiho asked.
“No, silly,” she said with a laugh. “Me and my army.”
Koko gestured for them to follow her, and she took them through another tunnel where gentle gusts of air would carry them up the massive tree.
Jiho balked. If the winds were magically enhanced, he would plummet down the tunnel. “Can I take the stairs?” he asked.
Koko pointed to a narrow staircase that wrapped around the inside of the tunnel and then took off with the others. Jiho sighed as he began the long walk up the tree, listening wistfully to the laughter of his friends.
The tunnel exited out of the top of the tree and onto thick billowing clouds.
“Just keep walking,” Koko’s voice called back to him.
Jiho followed Koko’s voice and stepped out into an entire world that spread over a vast canopy of clouds. Mountains, trees, valleys—it was a floating world completely invisible from the outside. It was as if they’d stepped into another dimension.
“What is this?” Jiho asked.
“The kingdom of Mir,” Koko said. “The dragon’s realm.”
“Are there dragons here?”
She shook her head sadly. “They’ve been extinct for centuries.”
The kids all gawked in shock. “Dragons once lived here?”
They looked at the beautiful place and felt the ache of loss for creatures they’d never even seen before.
Koko led them toward a large rock formation and through a curtain of green that opened onto a vast flatland filled with thousands of soldiers, both human and magic folk.
“Mir is the safest place for us to train,” she said. “For it is impenetrable.”
Human soldiers were congregating in large groups under flags representing all the kingdoms. Jiho and his friends were stunned to see a gathering of so many soldiers from all over the world.
“How did they get here? Why are they here?” Jiho asked.
“The namushin have called them,” Koko replied. “They are tree spirits, and they are everywhere. For five years they’ve gathered allies to prepare.”
