It was quite a pleasant day, sunny with just the right amount of clouds. There was a cool breeze that could be felt wafting throughout the school, as if saying that the day would be a wonderful one to play out with friends on. And true to this, there were plenty of students running around and talking with each others, clearly enjoying themselves.

On such a day, the darker nature of the school could be forgotten by its victims, the tormented and the ravaged could easily put their dreadful memories past them and enjoy themselves. Yes, all seemed right with the world on this beautiful day. For one unlucky student, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, for this student, the day had yet to begin.

On one of the popular paths leading from Shokushu and into the forest, many of the benches could be seen lining the sides of the path. There were no students occupying any of them this day, but it would be most likely that most of them were at the beach or with friends, having fun. Upon one of the benches, there laid an object of interest. A book, in fact.

One that read Fairytales and Fables: A Collection.

What harm could come out of reading a book, after all? Especially that of such adorable stories filled with good morals for any one to learn? Indeed, the book appeared to be difficult to resist, as if it would pique the curiosity of anyone that happened to pass by. And why wouldn't any student decide to not pick the book up, have a seat on the bench, and enjoy a brief read? What harm could it do?

Indeed.

It was a lovely day for a run.

That's what Katie had in mind when she set out upon the path that wound away from the dorms, cutting out around the athletic fields, skirting with the most dangerous wilderness that lay beyond the campus, and returned for a long, leisurely, and curving return to the dorm buildings. Her headphones blared in her ears loudly, mp3 player strapped to her arm as she jogged.

It was ultimately her downfall that she wasn't less attentive. However, she had stumbled blindly into enough encounters with the island's less savory denizens by accidentally stumbling into the woods or being found guilty of some other transgression of ignorance. Now, as it was, her eyes picked up on the book on the bench immediately.

She slowed as she neared, chest heaving with each breath as she looked down to the book.

Picking it up, she ran her hand approvingly over the cover. Curious...

However, she did so love fairy tales.

She slid it under her arm, pledging to go back to her dorm, take a quick shower, and then go find a nice isolated tree to curl up under and read.

Pleased with itself that a student had finally picked it up, the book was content to remain in the student's arms and would wait as long as necessary in order to have its pages opened and the trap sprung. For it was no ordinary book but rather a manifestation of the demon, Fornicarus. The Marquis had taken an otherwise ordinary book, pouring some of its dark power into the book's pages, filling them with a twisted purpose.

Curiosity was just but another form of temptation, after all. And few other than the Marquis could offer greater temptations. The book would surely push her into foreign territory, into places she would not normally go into. It would twist the gentle stories of childhood into nightmarish versions that would only torture her with pleasure and madness. Just a simple book, indeed!

As can be imagined with such a powerful magical object, Katie sensed no dark vibe, no foreboding sense of impending doom when she picked it up. It seemed to embody the perfect expectation of an old and interesting, if a little ragged, book. As such, the trip back to her dorm room with the heavy volume slung under her arm was an uneventful one.

She tossed it lightly on her bed as she went to get a shower, leaving it in her room as she washed the sweat from her run away. Returning in a towel, she dressed quickly and without much concern, pulling on a pair of capris and a black t-shirt.

Leaving her dorm, she found a quiet spot between dorm buildings where an old willow grew. Sitting herself beneath it, she balanced the heavy book on her knees and flipped it open, beginning to read.

The book had waited as the girl had returned to her room. The book had waited as she took a shower. The book had waited as she got changed into new clothes. The book waited and waited and waited until she had found what she felt to be a sufficiently suitable place in which to read it. The heavy book finally felt its cover opened, its pages being perused. And thus, its dark magic had been unleashed, drawing forth a heavy fog.

Soon, almost unnaturally, the fog seem to pervade much of the girl's surrounding environment, making it impossible to see even the buildings themselves. Soon, she could not see much further beyond herself, and then... To make things worse, the sun above soon darkened, as if it had been blot out by something else. Things couldn't get any worse beyond this, could they? Oh, but they can... And they do. The fog soon dissipates somewhat, allowing thick pine trees to be somewhat seen. The unnatural fog soon soften just enough for an enormous forest, an endless sea of pine trees, to become apparent to the girl sitting by the willow. And suddenly, as if from all around, a soft voice echoes throughout...

Once upon a time, there was a young woman who was simply too curious one day and picked up something she shouldn't have... Now, on an adventure through the majestic realm of Fairyland, she must go! Creatures both mundane and majestic, she shall meet!

And a rustling sound came from the pine trees, as a illuminating wisp of light came zipping around, flitting from place to place before stopping in front of Katie. "Hello there! Welcome to Fairyland! It has been a while since someone last visited this world of ours! My name's Wisp, what's yours?"

Katie is the type of girl to get really engrossed in what she's reading. This does not exactly bode well for the girl. As such, she doesn't so much notice the fog settling in around her over the course of her reading as she does tuck it away where she does the rest of the paranoid spasms that hit her throughout her day at Shokushu. However, when the sun begins to fade is when she gets really worried. She couldn't have been out here that long, could she? Sunset, hell, even afternoon was so far off.

She stood, looking around as the smooth, calm narrator boomed out the first part of this new story and her stomach plummeted.

"Oh... you've got to be fucking kidding me..." she snapped her head around, looking at her fogged out surroundings for some kind of idea of what to do. There was none.

Then, that abysmally cheery little ball flew out from seemingly nowhere. Its sudden appearance startled her so that she stumbled, falling onto her backside, looking up at the shimmering fleck of light.

"I... I'm Katie..." she clears her throat, at least trying to get on this thing's good side.

"It is nice to meet you, Katie! Might I ask why you came to Fairyland? It has been a long time since one of your kind came to our realm!" The wisp spoke as it flitted around Katie, seeming unable to stay still at all. "Pardon my asking but you don't seem like you came here on purpose. Would that be the case, then? Because I'd be glad to take you to the border between your world and mine!"

The cheerful wisp continued to flit around, just as the fog continued to dissipate away, allowing the darkness of the day to fade away, the sun shining down on the world once again, yet its rays of light did not penetrate far beyond the surface of the sea of trees, darkness still pervading much of the land save for a few clearings in the distance. In one such clearing, a large house could be seen.

"There's a house nearby, if you want to get comfortable and rest first! I think the old woman inside is waiting for her granddaughter too! She said someone was going to bring wonderful cookies if you'd like some!" The wisp said, again quite cheerfully, as it kept moving around the girl.

Katie looked around now, quite frightened. This was certainly not the isolated tree in the quad where she had decided to take a seat and read. No, now she found herself in the middle of a vast forest, trees stretching from horizon to horizon, it seemed, and leaving her adrift in the middle. She stood, grabbing the book between her fingers and sliding it into her backpack. There was an odd feeling picking at the back of her mind that she would need it.

She turned to the wisp, "Y-yes, yes I'm here by accident. If you would be so kind as to try and help me find a way back, that would be lovely..." she favored the little luminescent creature with her best grateful smile.

"Certainly!" The little wisp spoke with enthusiasm, clearly more than happy to show the young lady the way to leave this world behind. "This way then, it's still quite early in the morning here, so it's best to wait for the sun to rise up some more!" The wisp flitted around before zipping away toward the distant house, zig-zagging just enough to allow the girl to follow it at a steady pace. It wouldn't be long until they reached the house. And true to its words, the sun certainly did seem to be growing stronger, faint rays of light reaching even the darkness of the forest.

"The only way to get out of Fairyland is through the King's permission! His castle isn't that far away but the way there is quite treacherous, young lady! As wonderful as Fairyland is, there's always those that'll lead you astray but worry not, as long as I'm here, I'll take you to the King, straight and true!" The wisp gave a cheerful giggle, seemingly not worried about the darker facets of this wondrous land. "Just don't forget to use your common sense and you'll be just fine here!"

Oh great, common sense, well then I guess I'm fucked right off the bat, she thought ruefully, followed by, And does Fairyland have pharmacies? Do they make Ritalin for Will O'Wisps, because this little dude needs a scrip before he gives me a headache.

She rubbed her temples as she tried to think, stumbling through the undergrowth as she followed the flickering light of the wisp before her, "Christ, if I would've known this morning that I'd end up stumbling through a Decemberists' concept album, I'd probably have worn something a little more forest-friendly..." she gazed down at her clothes, "Hey Wisp, little buddy, you said that it wasn't very far from here, but how far are we talking? And is there a path or something we can take, or are we pretty much just picking through the forest the whole way there?" she batted a low-hanging branch out of her face as she called ahead.

"Silly girl!" The wisp giggled before approaching Katie, poking her on her forehead quickly before zipping to the side, its luminous light brightening up what appeared to be a well worn path not too far away. "No need to be so polite, feel free to ask any questions you got! And it's not that far at all!" The wisp spoke quickly, and indeed the house appeared somehow closer than it should have, as if it too was approaching them.

Flitting off faster, the wisp went toward the door of the house, and rapidly banged on the door, procuring a jumble of noises that passed for the wisp's attempt to garner attention. With no response, the wisp went toward the knob, spinning around the brass object quickly before flitting away as the door opened under some unknown power. "I don't think anyone's home yet so we can rest while we wait!"

Polite? I didn't think I was being overly polite but hey, whatever you say little man. My mom always told me to keep on good terms with the help and you look like the closest thing this place has to a butler so lead on... she thought as they found the path. A little more relieved now that she actually had a pathway to follow, they found themselves at the door with surprising speed.

"Wow, when you said 'not that far' you really weren't kidding around, were you?" she laughed with a smirk as the little wisp flitted down to the doorknob.

"Hey, hey, hey! Didn't you say something about common sense before? I don't know if we should go poking around in strange people's houses when they're not home," she looked around warily, the forest seeming to surround her for miles. She certainly didn't want to lose this Wisp guy because he was definitely her only way of getting out of here. She had long given up on making any actual sense of the situation.

"Have no worry, Katie! They know me pretty well around here so it's cool, really! It's not like the people that lives here got eaten by a wolf anyway! Beside, the old woman that lives here is probably upstair!" The wisp said, still as cheerful as ever, as it continued to flit around the house, looking at items of interest before stopping by a basket of cookies. "See, see, things are fine! She's probably out with her granddaughter instead! You can just sit and relax, Katie, and I'll go see if I can find them!" Clearly, it didn't plan on following its own advice.

And without any chance for the young woman to stop him, the wisp flitted off toward the door, disappearing into the forest already. Despite the darkness of the forest as well as the situation she was in now, the house did not mirror any of them. Instead, it was quite warm and the wonderful aroma of the baked cookies filled the air. Plates had been set on the table, with crumbs remaining on them as if proving that there had indeed been people here only recently, with plenty of empty chairs positioned around. Hopefully the wisp would not be gone for too long.

"Hey! Wait a minute you spastic little bastard, don't leave me!" she called out as the little wisp flitted out the door, leaving her quite alone in the surprisingly warm and welcoming house.

Eaten by a wolf, please for the love of god don't tell me that's some kind of foreshadowing, she thought.

Leaning out the door to look around, she continued, Are homey little cottages in the middle of the pants-shittingly terrifying woods a running theme for this place or something?

"Yeah, probably..." she answered her own question. This was "Fairyland," after all.

She went to take a seat at one of the empty chairs of the kitchen, resting her head on the table with a sigh and hoping that hyper little firefly got back soon.

Seemingly deserted by her only companion, the young woman suddenly found herself alone in the homely cottage, the rich aroma of those cookies wafting through the air, as she waited for the return of her little friend.

A loud burp came from upstairs, effectively shattering the quiet and comfortable atmosphere that had descended upon the cottage. Then footsteps could be heard walking around on the second floor, decidedly to be soft enough to be those belonging to a human.

Or was she alone...?

The narrator, as you might expect, was certainly not being helpful at all. In fact, anyone else would have had the sudden urge to smack the narrator upside the head. Repeatedly, even. The narrator's sole protection was that it was... nowhere to be seen, but unfortunately not nowhere to be heard.

And then came a question from upstair, sounding rather weak yet caring as if it belonged to an elderly person that was feeling the weight of years pressing down on her. "Red? Red, is that you, dear? Have you finally come back, my dear?"

It most assuredly was not the charming granddaughter she so missed, indeed. Just what shall our heroine do now?