I heard the screeches and spun around but was blinded by a flashing light right before my life flashed before my eyes.

I was dead. I knew I had to be dead. The car had been coming at full speed and—

If I was dead then how come I felt so conscious. How come I was breathing. But how come I wasn't in pain. I opened my eyes and waited for them to adjust before sitting up.

I had been hit in the streets at night but it wasn't night anymore and these weren't the streets I was accustomed to. There were carriages instead of cars, and all the passersby were dressed in clothes of a whole other fashion. Slowly, I stood to my feet and revolved, taking in my surroundings. The houses were all bricked and of various colours and forms and on a hill stood what I imagined was a castle of sorts judging by the size.

This wasn't heaven, neither was it hell, so where was I?

"Greetings, Miss Quill," said a sudden voice behind me. I spun around and— "Down here," the voice said and I looked down to see a tiny pale creature with elf ears and translucent wings.

I screamed, stumbling backwards. This wasn't real, this couldn't be real.

"This is real," the creature said as if reading my thoughts.

"Who... who are you?"

"I am Gin, your personal pocket faerie."

"My... what?!"

"I know, I seem too tall to be a pocket faerie," he said smugly.

Tall? He barely reached my calf.

"I'm dead, aren't I?"

"No, but you will be if you fail."

"Fail?"

Gin clicked his fingers and a long sheet of paper immediately appeared in his hands.

"You, Quill Harver, are in what we call a comatose state in the mortal realm, but rather than being unconscious you have been transported to our realm, the realm of Faeries. You have one task while you're here, to make Prince Henry Nam fall in love with you. You have three chances, and if you succeed you get to wake up and live. But if you fail, you'll be doomed to the netherworld."

"The netherworld?!" I gasped.

"The Prince stays in that castle," Gin pointed to the large structure on the hill, "and currently, he's searching for a bride that he must pick before the full Moon. If he dismisses you or picks someone other than you to marry, you'll start from square one until your lives run out. "

Gin clicks again and suddenly three-striped tattoos formed on my wrist.

"Is this some kind of a game?"

"It is," Gin chirped. "But if you lose, you die in real life."

Then he left without further explanation and I suddenly began panicking. This couldn't be real. This—

Horses neighed and I spun around and fell back just as the horses came to a stand-still. I almost got run over by a carriage.

A boy jumped out and rushed toward me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I—"

He stepped past me and went to pet his horses. "Are you okay, my beauties?"

Disbelief caused my mouth to drop open.

Only when he was fully satisfied that his horses were okay did he turn to me, and I was struck by his beauty. He looked my age and had wavy black hair, hazel eyes, a slender nose and quite the jawline. He had peach skin and judging by his almond eyes, he was Korean. I'd met a couple of Asians, but this one was nothing short of beautiful.

I noticed how his gaze flickered to my body for a second which suddenly made me conscious and it was only then that I noticed my outfit. I wore a short plaid skirt, a plain black long-sleeved shirt, long knee-high socks and sneakers.

"What do you think you were doing? My horses could have been hurt."

I snapped out of my trance and scoffed, "I could have been hurt."

"It would have been your fault for standing in the middle of the street," he retorted.

"Excuse me?"

I stood and brushed myself off before meeting his stare, having to raise my chin to look him in the eyes, "you self-centred prick." Then I spun on my heels and stomped my way to the castle, not wanting to waste any more of my time with that heartless person.

I was slim but extremely unfit because I was uncontrollably panting by the time I reached the entrance of the castle at the top of the hill.

"Miss Quill, we were expecting you," said one of the guards before opening the gates for me.

I didn't even bother to question who he was and how he knew me but just walked into the castle where I was met by several attendants who escorted me up several steps before leading me into an expensively lavished bedroom. I plunked onto the bed and shut my eyes when a knock sounded on my door and another maid entered who said it was almost time for the ball and needed to get me ready.

I sat still while she tamed my kinky black hair and chose makeup and a dress that would suit my cocoa brown skin tone.

Within a couple of hours, I was done and escorted to the ballroom which was already flooded with several beautiful ladies and gents. Did they all stay here? And were all these ladies potential wives for the prince?

I wondered which one of these gents was the prince and imagined the prince would be, not only extremely handsome but chivalrous too.

"He's here!" Several girls exclaimed, and I suddenly felt nervous.

Judging by the beauty in the room, I imagined the prince already had his eye on several ladies, which would make my task a lot harder.

There was a handful of guards who entered first creating a barrier of sorts around the prince. Unlike the other girls, I decided to stay back, not wanting to be trampled as they all tried to see the prince and get his attention. The prince stepped up onto the dais where he took a seat on a throne, and as I caught sight of him my heart dropped.

The prince was the arrogant prick.

His eyes roved the room and when they landed on me his brow rose slightly before his lip curved in amusement. I turned around, keeping my back to him and focusing on the food before me.

A tap on my shoulder had me spinning around again and my heart sunk when I saw the prince before me.

"We meet again," he drawled.

I gulped but looked around, wondering why no ladies were swarming him.

"I've glamoured us, so we can't be seen," he said, reading my thoughts.

He was a faerie too. I didn't know how to woo a faerie, let alone a human. I'd already made a bad first impression so if I wanted to make this work, I had to act the same way these ladies would.

I batted my eyelashes, "I'm sorry about our first encounter."

He raised his brows, "are you?"

I nodded and took a step closer to him, "I was only nervous because of how handsome you are."

He nodded in understanding, and relief flooded my bones until he suddenly clicked, "guards!" he called. "Take her away."

Two large guards suddenly grabbed and dragged me out of the ballroom before tossing me outside but I wasn't outside the palace when I landed, I was on the street, in the plaid skirt, starting all over again.

I looked at my wrist and my heart sunk when I saw two stripes. I stood and—

Horses neighed and I fell to the ground and—

Everything was happening as it had.

Prince Henry Nam jumped out of the carriage, stepped right past me and went to his horses. "Are you okay, my beauties?"

This was my second chance, I had to redeem myself.

"Are they okay?" I asked, shooting to my feet and petting the horses. "I'm sorry for standing in the middle of the street."

"I..." He stammered, his hazel eyes studying me. "They're fine. Are you?"

Yes! I was successfully seducing him!

"Yes, I am."

"Good, so you can pay the fine."

"What?"

"It's illegal to stand in the middle of the street."

"But—"

"500 coins, and if you don't pay you'll—"

"But I'm poor," I blurted. "Please, Prince, I'm Quill Harver, your castle is expecting me," I said, remembering the guard from before.

"Not anymore."

My heart suddenly clenched and I fainted before waking up on the street. Panic surged through me and I checked my wrist. One stripe. He rejected me twice! That damn—

Hang on a second. During the first encounter, he hadn't asked me to pay the fine. Why? I got farther in the quest when I was being myself, and only lost when I tried to be someone else.

I knew what I had to do. Be myself.

"Are you okay, my beauties?" he asked his horses after almost running over me for the third time.

"Hello?" I called, "you almost killed me."

"It would have been your fault for standing in the middle of the street," he retorted.

"Excuse me?"

I stood and brushed myself off before meeting his stare, "you self-centred prick." Then I spun on my heels and stomped my way to the castle.

In the ballroom, the Prince saw me and I turned and faced the table, waiting for the tap on my shoulder.

He tapped.

"We meet again," he drawled, and I feigned confusion so that he could say, "I've glamoured us, so we can't be seen."

Now, it was time to say what Quill would have said from the beginning.

"So you're the Prince?"

"Prince Henry Nam, and you are the stuck-up female who almost injured my horses."

"Quill Harver," I gritted out. "And I am not stuck-up."

"That's what all stuck-up females say," he said. "And are you aware that I could have you executed for insulting me?"

Forgetting my reason for being here, I retorted, "are you aware that I didn't ask?"

"I could order for you to have removed from the castle as well."

Panic surged through me, but I managed to remain calm, "ah, so you prefer the company of these drooling females?"

A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips, "I've never met a female like you."

"Is that a compliment?"

"I've never met a female so self-centred." I sneered, but he continued, "neither have I met one who hasn't tried to get me to bed on the first interaction."

"The first interaction?"

"You females are ruthless," he said with a slight grin, and my heart staggered at the sign of dimples.

"Not all of us."

He lowered his eyes as if considering something before meeting my gaze again, "my father got the horses for me, the late king, which was why I'd behaved the way I had."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine," he smiled for my sake. "Are you okay by the way?"

"You're asking me now?"

"Better late than never."

"I'm fine," I told him. "By the way," I continued, remembering what had happened in the second round. "Why didn't you ask me to pay a fine?"

"Because I liked the way you spoke to me."

"But I insulted you."

He grinned fully, and my heart pulsated when I caught sight of his dimples, now prominent with his wide smile, "you did, but I liked that you were being honest with me. Everyone around me is insincere, constantly praising me, but you spoke your true feelings, and I liked that."

"Really?"

"You're a captivating character, Quill Harver. I mean, I've known all these ladies for weeks and they're all head over heels for me and yet I find myself attracted to you, a lady I've just met, isn't that funny?" He turned to leave but added, "And what's even funnier is that now I know which lady I want to choose before the full Moon comes. "

Then he left.