AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I promised two updates this week, and here they are. This is 1/2 of the two updates.

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The war was difficult on Woohyun.

Granted, it was hard for everyone involved, including the opposing kingdom (honestly, Woohyun had a hard time remembering their name, since it was such a small kingdom), but Woohyun found himself doubting many things regarding the war and his position in the kingdom.

The carnage that was left in the wake of the battles haunted him. Each victory that he and Sungyeol won for the kingdom did not make him feel much, if at all. Each loss had a similar effect on him.

Many nights, he laid awake, unable to sleep because of his thoughts that threatened to consume him alive. He mainly wondered if the battles were worth it all.

That night was no different.

Instead of finding himself drifting off into dreamland, Woohyun found himself worrying incessantly over things that he could not change immediately or in the near future.

Most of the soldiers from the Kingdom of Everlasting suffered from malnutrition prior to becoming a soldier because of the poor conditions in the kingdom. Thus, although they had a large enrolment, Woohyun estimated that the actual manpower available was about half of the enrolment. The soldiers were eating properly now that the kingdom was responsible for their food rations, given that his father really wanted to win this war and obtain the fertile land.

While the other kingdom was much smaller, the people they had were ferociously loyal and talented. Although the Everlasting Kingdom was much larger in size, the people were tired and worn, so it was a war in which the winner was undetermined.

Not that wars ever had a real winner, anyway.

Woohyun shifted again on the bed, his mind numb but his heart still racing in his chest from the adrenaline earlier in the day.

The war they fought was for more fertile land for the kingdom, but Woohyun really doubted that those who were fighting for the precious resource were going to see their efforts come to fruition, mainly because his father was greedy and did not make decisions for the people. He was almost certain that once these soldiers fought this war and if they survived, they would go back to starving.

Much of the food in the kingdom, aside from going to high officials in the kingdom, were sold at an obscenely high price to faraway lands that found their crop luxurious and different from their own. It was unknown to the people of the kingdom, and Woohyun was far too embarrassed of his relation to the king to ever speak of it to anyone. He had been privy to the information, as heir apparent to the throne.

That was also another worry of his.

Did he really want the throne?

It was clear to him that Sungyeol wanted it more badly than him… but… was he right for the role? Was Woohyun himself even right for the role? But he didn’t want to disappoint his dearly departed mother, who clearly also wanted him to hold onto the throne…

He was shaken out of his thoughts when he recalled the feeling of his sword slicing through someone earlier today. Someone who no longer could return home.

His eyes were wide open then.

Woohyun wondered who the man had left behind. He wondered often about the people he’d slain in battle and who they’d left behind. Some nights these nameless people visited him when he reluctantly slumbered.

He had slain more people than he imagined he would’ve. He had been prepared to go to war, but he was never prepared to make use of his skills in archery or swordfight. While he had originally thought the two were an art, they now were what ensured his survival on the battlefield.

He had never realized just how barbaric the whole ordeal of going to war would be, until he had realized it was sometimes necessary for him to be on the direct battlefield in order to figure out relevant strategies with the strategist. He was often protected by his own order of knights, appointed to him by his father before he left for war, but it was also common for soldiers of the opposing kingdom to find an opening to attack him.

He wondered how Sungyeol dealt with similar feelings of dread. Sungyeol was often in the heart of the battle, since he was technically the second prince and therefore “expendable”, although Woohyun disagreed.

He closed his eyes. But all that he could see was the man that he had slain that day, and the anguish in his eyes before he fell onto the battleground painted red, still and unmoving.

Woohyun shuddered, fighting the familiar, clawing feeling that was making its way up his throat. He opened his eyes wide, gasping for air.

When the moment had passed, Woohyun sighed, realizing that perhaps he would not be able to sleep that night. Throwing the covers off of him, he draped a light blanket over himself as he made his way out of his tent. He remembered to throw on his shoes, recalling the last time he had forgotten to and ended up cutting his foot.

He could hear murmuring and fire crackling in the distance, presumably soldiers who also could not sleep like himself, who were keeping vigil by the fire. Woohyun decided that he did not want to join the soldiers that night, given that there was always an awkward air around others when he joined them. They were intimidated and also awed to be in his presence, which he wished wasn’t so.

His mind drifted off to a certain redhead.

How was he doing?

Communication between the two of them was nonexistent. Woohyun knew it had to be, because the vampires were not allowed to interfere this time around with the affairs of the kingdom. To pass communication between the two and for it to be found out by the opposing kingdom could spark the involvement of other supernatural beings. Woohyun did not know who backed the opposing kingdom because he was not privy to the information.

It didn’t matter much to Woohyun, regardless.

Following the path he had memorized like the back of his hand, Woohyun effortlessly weaved through the growth of the forest.

The campsite was situated by the base of a mountain, so it was impossible for an attack from the back, leaving only three directions in which they had to be alert for. However, it was not an optimal place to set up permanent base camp and in a few days’ time, Woohyun and about half of the soldiers will be leaving to find a better base.

This land that they were fighting on and over was definitely lush and plentiful with good soil. It would be a shame, really, to see the trees cleared for farmland.

Woohyun slowly continued along the pathway he had memorized, with only the sound of singing crickets and the moonlight illuminating the path he took.

Then he came to a stop, sitting down.

Sitting along the creek by the campsite, Woohyun felt as though he was back in the kingdom, where he often met with Sunggyu. The sound of rushing water that drowned out the crickets and the accompaniment of rustling tree leaves made him feel at ease. The moonlight glimmered on the surface of the water, catching the ripples made by the wind and fish that swam freely at the surface.

He breathed in.

Then breathed out.

Looking up to the moon that had no answers for him, Woohyun felt lonely.

He was so far from home and what he considered familiar.

Woohyun knew that Sunggyu was doing fine.

He had seen a glimpse of an awfully familiar man on the campsite the other day, just by chance and made eye contact. The man had looked a little bewildered and steered clear of him immediately. He had searched his memories extensively to recall where he had seen the familiar man, and he realized that he was a vampire that was part of the Kim Clan.

If he recalled correctly, he was sure that the man was an assistant of sorts to Sunggyu.

Woohyun sighed a little. He inched a little closer to the river, dipping his feet into it, after taking off his shoes.

He didn’t know much about Sunggyu, now that he thought about it. He thought about him often, now that he was away from him. It was almost understandable that he didn’t know much about him, since the man himself was one with very few words. It didn’t help that he was also a supernatural being that did not exist to many, and only belonged in fables.

There were some topics he felt uncomfortable to broach with the said man, not wanting to anger him. For example, Woohyun still had no idea if the vampire drank blood… it was a little silly to think that it was something he had been dying to know, but he was intrigued, nonetheless. He had a good idea that the answer was no, but he felt compelled to ask. He was sure a blood supply problem would have already happened in the kingdom if the vampire clan really required blood.

Maybe he will ask next time he saw him…

What are we, anyway?

They never really had the chance to talk about it, but Woohyun had recognized a gentle sort of way Sunggyu interacted with him that he did not believe the vampire was capable of, based on the stories he was told of the said man.

He was going to ask the next time they saw each other. He needed to know and confirm for himself what was going on between the two of them. It was only right that Sunggyu answered his questions.

Given how they’d already kissed… Woohyun flushed a little at that.

There was rustling coming from a nearby bush.

Woohyun was alert immediately. He slipped his feet out of the water, getting himself ready to slip on his shoes.

“Who’s there?” he asked. There was more rustling, and a shadow popped out from behind the bushes. He was answered immediately, not vocally, but by a very disgruntled-looking Sungyeol.

There was an awkward silence.

“What are you doing here?” Woohyun finally asked, seeing that Sungyeol was refusing to speak first. He was a little bewildered, given how it was obvious that his younger half-brother had definitely followed him with the intention of seeking him out for conversation.

They had been interacting much more than usual, with Sungyeol always attending the war strategy meetings, now that Woohyun had the power to decide who could regularly attend the meetings and provide their input. In fact, they had a conversation over dinner the other day over strategies.

“I needed to talk to you,” Sungyeol gruffly said, looking every bit awkward. Woohyun almost laughed at that, thinking back to how annoyingly cute Sungyeol was as a kid. He was behaving almost as if he were his twelve-years-younger-self before theincident happened.

Feeling relieved that it wasn’t an ambush or someone he wasn’t familiar with, Woohyun slumped a little in his seat, a far cry from his previously alert sitting position.

“What about?” Woohyun asked, patting the empty spot beside him that wasn’t too damp. He figured that they were kind of close enough these days for him to sit right beside him and talk.

However, Sungyeol was definitely not up to it. He opted to just walk closer and stand close to the spot Woohyun had in