Once upon a time there lived a king and a queen who were deeply in love. Together they had 12 daughters. The eldest of the princesses, Ashlyn, is the protagonist of this tale.

When she and her sisters were younger their parents often made time to spend with them despite their status as royalty. Ashlyn remembers being spoiled with gifts and trinkets, and having noisy picnic trips that oft ended with her falling asleep to the setting sun, head pillowed in her mother's lap. The days blended together in a warm mix of love and joy.

And then the queen died.

The kingdom mourned the death of their queen. The 12 princesses weeped for the mother they could no longer see. And the king... his devastation at losing his wife was too great. It began to change him.

The king became paranoid that the losses would not stop with the queen. He feared that it would be one of his daughters next. The thought struck an anxiety in him so great that he declared it forbidden for the princesses to leave the castle. He grew distant with them, not wanting to remain close in case they too would one day disappear from his view; but he did not allow them their freedom. During the day the princesses were to each be accompanied by a guard, their every movement through the palace tracked. The king would only visit them in the evenings to bid them good night one by one, and then personally lock the princesses inside their bedroom to ensure they could not escape.

Although she did her best to reason with their father, the eldest, Ashlyn, was unable to get through to him. From then on it seemed that once joyous and happy life in the castle would never return.

Despite their newly sheltered life the princesses at least had each other, and it wasn't as if the king had forbade anyone from entering the castle. Each princess still received a robust education, and this introduced Ashlyn to her true life passion: dancing.

All the princesses took dance lessons together, and more often than not Ashlyn would continue to practice even when the lessons were over. She found the most simple joy in guiding her body, directing her arms and legs, and getting lost in the movement, all of it coming together to form a seamless dance.

For a time it was enough.

Ashlyn and her sisters had each other, and even though their world had become so small, they were mostly happy. As the eldest Ashlyn would even organize small parties and activities for her and her sisters, just to help break up the monotony of castle life.

The only times they seemed to see their father other than when he came to lock their bedroom door was when it was a princesses' birthday. He would make the time to see them early in the morning for breakfast, but that was usually the only thing he could muster up the effort to do. The rest of the day was most often planned by the older sisters of the group, who ensured that their younger sisters would still have good birthdays.

It was during the youngest princesses' birthday that their lives took yet another turn.

The gift prepared by the older sisters was a copy of their late mother's favorite book. It was a story about a girl who discovered a magical land and danced there for three nights straight before it vanished.

What none of the princesses knew was that this magical land was real, and that the entrance to it had been right under their noses (literally) the entire time.

It was one of Ashlyn's younger sisters who discovered the entrance to the magical land within their bedroom.

In the center of the room was a large circular mosaic with 12 tiles depicating a flower for each princess. When these tiles were stepped on in the correct order they formed a dance that opened a portal to the magical land.

The princesses entered the portal and found themselves in a place that truly felt like a storybook come to life. Trees of bronze, silver and gold with hanging flowers lined the paths. The grass was rich and green, and a flowing river coursed through. Waiting for the princesses was a series of boats to take them across the river to the glowing pavilion on the other side. There the princesses could dance to their hearts' contents.

Unlike the story version this magical land did not vanish after three days, and so the princesses continued to visit nearly every night, to the point where their shoes had started to become worn.

Try as they did to keep their nightly escapades a secret the princesses were not able to hide the state of their shoes from the king. Upon discovering the worn soles on twelve pairs of shoes the king demanded to know how they had come to be; the shoes were too new to look like they were falling apart.

None of the princesses admitted to dancing, and they especially made no indication towards the magical land they had been visiting.

The king, unable to get an answer from his daughters, eventually declared a challenge to the men of the kingdom. "Whoever can discover the truth behind the princesses' worn shoes shall be declared my inheritor, and will marry a princess of his choosing."

For many men in the kingdom this seemed like a golden opportunity.

However, the catch was that, upon arriving to the castle, if they could not find an answer for the king within three days, they would be executed. This did not stop those who were foolhardy or confident enough to try.

Perhaps you may think the princesses selfish to keep their secret. After all, was it really worth the blood that would be shed by those who attempted to figure it out? Some might say yes, others might say no.

For the princesses it was a matter of their freedom. It felt as if the king was intent on snuffing out even the last bit of privacy they had, and they wanted so desperately to protect that.

As the eldest, Ashlyn stepped up for her and her sisters.

First, she pleaded with the king to call off the declaration. He refused. When he would not listen to reason Ashlyn decided she would do her very best to keep challengers from discovering the magical land and how they were getting their every night.

She employed various schemes and tricks to keep the men away. They were often successful, and for many weeks none of the men who arrived at the palace had gotten any closer to finding an answer for the king.

Until one man arrived at the castle and was able to get himself through the eldest princesses' traps.

Ashlyn does not know how he was able to slip through undetected, but he managed to follow the princesses' for three nights to the magical land, collecting evidence along the way, and presented it to the king upon the eve of his deadline.

The king, pleased to finally have an answer, declared that the man would inherit his kingdom. And then he asked him, "Which princess would you take as your bride?"

"The eldest princess, your majesty."

[ to be written ]

- ashlyn does not want to marry this man, but she is at least glad that he did not choose one of her younger sisters.
- the princesses are removed from their bedroom to a new one so they can no longer access the magical land at night or ever again.
- as the months go by the kingdom is preparing for the wedding between ashlyn and her betrothed. she is dreading the day they are officially wed. this man is a stranger to her, he does not even bother to get to know her, and instead enjoys the riches of the palace without a care in the world.
- the night before the wedding ashlyn's sisters wake her from her slumber with urgency. one of them has unlocked the door, and has stolen the key to their original bedroom from their father. all 12 princesses head to the room so they can access the magical land once more. ashlyn is then told that the reason they've arrived to the magical land again is so that she can usethe hanging golden flowers to grant her a wish. her sisters tell her to use the flower to get away from the man she is to marry. (not sure yet but maybe there's a war brewing in the kingdom? or perhaps the man is plotting to kill ashlyn after they are married so he can keep the throne to himself? just something to make the princesses (and ashlyn) more desperate to escape and thus take more desperate measures)
- ashlyn is given three golden flowers by her sisters
- the second oldest sister takes ashlyn's hands and tells her to wish on the first flower to take her someplace far, far away from the kingdom; one of the middle sisters takes ashlyn's hands and tells her to wish on the second flower to make it so that her betrothed will never recognize her should they ever meet again; the three youngest sisters cling to ashlyn's skirt and tell her to save the third flower for when she needs it the most in the future.
- ashlyn follows the advice of her sisters, no realizing the drastic changes that are to come.

After wishing on the first golden flower Ashlyn, now Jeno, was spat out of her fable and dropped into Fabletown on Jeju Island. The wish she made on the second golden flower would be the reason she woke up in a man's body; since she did not specify how to make it so that she would be unrecognizable to her betrothed the magic of her past world seemed to take that as permission to make the most drastic changes possible to prevent the man from ever knowing it's her. And per the wishes of his youngest sisters Jeno held onto the third and final golden flower should he ever need to use it in the future.

This all occurred six and a half months ago, and Jeno has been living in Fabletown ever since.

For awhile he didn't really know what he was doing. As someone who is royalty Jeno hasn't had much experience in doing things on her own. It's honestly a miracle that he even got a job so quickly, just a few weeks after arriving. One day he just happened to be walking past a bakery when the owner spotted him; they thought that Jeno was so good-looking he would surely draw in customers if he worked at the cash register, and hired him on the spot.

He's been employed at the bakery for the past few months, and even though she's come to enjoy the job and the experience it has to offer, Jeno can't help but let his eyes be drawn to a dance studio situated across the street. He hopes to eventually work up the courage to walk inside.

Jeno is still getting used to this new life of independence and it feels almost strange to go from something stifled to essentially having the entire world at your fingertips. She knows there is still much for her to learn and do, and she's doing her best to look forward to each and every day. However, the only thing that would truly make her appreciate these newfound opportunities would be to have his sisters here with him.

Dancing, sachertorte, hot cocoa, sunny days, the smell of freshly baked bread, the noise of the city, fluffy blankets, theater productions, classical music, cotton fabric.

Car horns, the smell of cigarette smoke, the sound of garbage disposals in sinks, traffic, dreary/grey weather, pickles.

Her true name, Ashlyn. The last golden flower that she keeps hidden in a small chest at home. He still sleeps with a stuffed animal.

Has a habit of touching his lips while deep in thought. Is still fascinated by the television and other technology, even though she is not yet very skilled in using them. Without realizing it, in the rare moments when he swears it will come out in German instead of Korean. On nights with full moons his eyes will continuously shine silver-gold for apparently no reason at all.

Wants to work up the courage to go to the dance studio across the street from the bakery where she works; also wants to learn new dance styles, since she really only knows ballet and couples dances (which he learned when preparing for his wedding). Wishes desperately to be reunited with her sisters, but wishes more so that they are safe and happy, wherever they are.

✦ — extra notes

¶ Jeno's fable is a combination of the original fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" that was published in Grimm's Fairy Tales (1815) as well as the animated movie "Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses" (2006).