It hasn’t been a month since Soojung last stepped on commoners’ grounds. The previous time she was out, the tiled roofs were still heavy with ice, and every breath she exhaled was thick with mist. Today, the roads are drier with occasional puddles of water she avoided carefully. The period of time in which she was disconnected from town was not long, but everything around her seemed changed. She couldn’t recall having seen so many coffee shops around before, or that the bricks of buildings a deep, brownish orange. The air was cleaner, with a burst of new resolutions from the citizens.

Unconsciously, a smile was plastered on her lips while she continued to survey on her way to the pharmacy. Wood carpenters and site workers were working hard at constructing strong supporting frames for the use an upcoming event. The tailors are seen displaying flowery, flowing dresses with bright colours on their mannequins, replacing the winter season’s fur linings and coats. Some were repainting doors and walls, covering up old scratches and tarnish with a brand new coating. The florist was so delighted to have a variety of buds and plants at stock to decorate her outlet temporarily that she started humming a fast, merry tune.

Soojung rejoiced a little at the thought that spring was approaching, with everyone busy preparing for the festival taking place five days later. This year, she would like to invite Dongwoo, and she hoped that he would agree to come along.

She walked faster and reached the local pharmacy. Her hood and coat kept her hidden from the public’s view as she pulled the cloth covering her head closer to her face.

She drew a deep breath. The girl had to double confirm that she was indeed in a pharmacy and not a clinic or infirmary when she saw a fair amount of sickly people waiting on the benches. The queue was somewhat long, with people complaining of sore knees and fevers. Of course, they were all humans. Vampires do not fall sick after reaching maturity.

A woman gave Soojung a fountain pen to fill up her personal details on a form- height, weight, date of birth and address – the standard procedure. Her right hand paused at the ‘name’ column. She had only wanted to buy blood pills. Was there need for this much information? Moreover, she did not want to leave any trace of business that could lead back to her name. Yet, it wasn’t in the princess’s nature to falsify identification.

“I don’t want you taking them anymore!” he had shouted at her. The hand she put on his arm was shoved away, and he refused to face her.

“I’m alright. It can’t shorten my life that much, or have you forgotten that we’re vampires?”

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have given it to you before!”

“It’s alright. I can’t burden you always.”

“You can!” He finally turned around, more sorrow than anger in his voice.

As if brought back to reality with those words, she pushed the door open. Detecting a change in wind, the metal chimes tinkled noisily to announce her entrance. The quaint store smelled strongly of lavender that circulated via scented oils and candles. And underneath that, a piercing and musky whiff of several herbs and decaying roots. The odor was raw. There were no vials of substances on display.

“Sungjong, customer!” someone called from the back of the shop.

Startled, Soojung strode towards the counter as a person emerged from below it. She kept her hood on. The man wore an apron over the white shirt that covered his thin body, his large eyes staring down at her from his taller height. He looked to be around his late-teens, transitioning between the boundaries of a boy and a man, with feminine facial features that began to thaw slowly like snow. She couldn’t help but note how beautiful he would be, with a pair of full lips and soft brown hair that framed his small face, if he had been born the opposite gender.

“Welcome,” he greeted coldly. Sungjong did not extend his sentence to offer her any assistance or help.

“Do you…” she started steadily, thanking the dim lightings that obscured her fidgeting hands.

“Do you perhaps sell blood pills?”

She lowered her head so that he couldn’t see her face.

“What do you need them for?”

Soojung wasn’t prepared for her question to be answered by another question.

“Aren’t you a Class One?”

“I am.”

“Then why do you need them?”

“Please, do you have them or not?!” she cried out desperately, humiliation coloring her cheeks. Never did she felt such serious condemnation as a Pureblood, as if she was accused of being what she was.

In one unnoticed second, the boy yanked her close and pulled back her hood, exposing her eyes to his. In only one second, he could understand her unique condition and released her gently.

“I do. How many do you need?”

Awaiting her reply, Sungjong dipped his writing brush into black ink and wrote on rice paper, giving each of calligraphy an accurate precision of curves and lines, the same that granted her some time to compose herself again.

“How long will one dosage last me?”

“Approximately three days.”

She did a quick calculation. If everything goes according to schedule, her brother would be back in time for the Festival of Elea’s Awakening.

“I will have two.”

He returned with her medication in hand, two white capsules wrapped in a piece of linen cloth. He was about to hand it over but retracted automatically at a second thought.

“You do know what will happen if you rely too much on this?”

“Yes.”

“Please, be careful,” he said before she took her leave. She could detect sympathy in his gesture, an emotion that made her feel weak and useless. She didn’t need it.

Soojung completed the exchange by paying with all the money she had and exited the shop hastily with a polite thank you. The money she gave him was more than enough for a dozen pills, but she gave them all anyway. She didn’t want to feel like she owed him.

She clutched her brother’s navy blue coat closer and hurried past walkways and alleys. Dongwoo was waiting for her invitation, and her brother was waiting for her to welcome him home. She had a festival to enjoy.

A strong arm abruptly grabbed her right shoulder and spun her around.

“Soojung?”

The solemn yet curious voice was familiar.

“Myungsoo?”