Chapter 2
Mon Drame Et Mon Dilemne
Safaiaunnie here! I told you guys the updates would be faster! :) So this chapter is focused on how the people within the Kim clan are taking this and the next one will be how the people in the Jung clan is taking it. And this is a longer chapter too! This is right off the burner, and I barely spellchecked it too so I hope there's no major mistakes... Enjoy!
CHAPTER 2
“Yuri ah!” JaeJoong called, seeing the tall darker skinned woman walk down the hall. The woman recognized the voice and turned to bow at her prince, slightly surprised. The prince rarely talked to her unless it had something to do with the princess and when he did, he always seemed tense, as if he was controlling himself.
“Prince JaeJoong, how can I help you?” Yuri asked, head still bowed. She sensed the movement before she actually felt the Prince grab her bicep and dragged her to a mostly unused part of the mansion. She did not yelp but the contact did make her widen her eyes. “Prince Jaejoong, where are you taking me?”
“There’s something I must tell you Yuri.” JaeJoong said as he looked out for anyone, most especially his sisters. He felt the muscles in Yuri’s bicep tense when he grabbed her but softened when she realized he meant her no harm. Even if he did, he was sure she would put up quite a fight, she wasn’t TaeYeon’s bodyguard for nothing.
“Of course my prince.” Yuri did not say anything after. She was not scared of him; however, she did respect his prowess on the battlefield, and knew him to be superior in that sense. It also might have been that he was her superior to begin with.
They finally stopped when he was sure no one could hear them. He took a good look at the woman in front of him. She was tall, a figure that most women in their kingdom envied due to her rigorous training, had long wavy black hair usually in a high ponytail and dark brown eyes. Her features were just as aristocratic as his family, knows that somewhere in her line, someone was probably a royal in another kingdom or clan as they were called today, or at the very least, she was a true pureblood. He will admit to having been attracted to her on a number of times and entertained the idea of courting Yuri as well. She was strong, beautiful, intelligent and most of all, not money hungry. Without her knowing, he had not only chased suitors away from his sisters but from her as well. He was a bit possessive of what he wanted.
But this time around, they could not happen. He will have to court the Jung Princess instead.
“First, you must not tell TaeYeon about what I am going to tell you.”
Yuri was shocked again; he was asking her to keep a secret from her charge, which is something she rarely ever does. “I can only promise that if what you are going to tell me will not harm the princess.” She will fight him if what is said is going to harm TaeYeon; she was not a servant so she did not have to obey him as much as she needs to protect TaeYeon.
“It’s going to cancel her betrothal to Jung Yunho but I need your help.”
“My help?”
“Yes, there’s been a breakthrough, so to say. Under the threat of the Elders, the Jung have agreed to give three months for Taeyeon and I, as well as the Jung siblings to socialize, as Father put it. Whoever is most compatible or willing to mate, will mate at the end of the three months and then the treaty will be signed. However, neither Taeyeon or the Jung girl can know. That was the condition.”
“However, neither said anything about the guards and servants knowing…”
“Indeed,” he knew she would understand, “however, I expect Jung Yunho to attempt to seduce TaeYeon so that his sister won’t be taken away. I need you on your guard, and to keep him as far away from her as possible.”
“While you seduce Jung Jessica I suppose.”
“Yes, I… I will do what I have to do to keep TaeYeon away from them and I am thankful that HyoYeon is too young for the arrangement…”
“What is the official reason for the wait then?”
“They’ve drawn up a cease fire for the mean time. It is time for the leaders to consider other alternatives. Please inform Sooyoung about this, I will be taking my leave as soon as possible.”
“Very well my prince, I will do your bidding and keep your secret. Now may I be excused?”
He nodded and watched longingly at her retreating back after she left. Kwon Yuri was the perfect woman for him, yet for once, he will not be getting what he wants.
Yuri walked back to TaeYeon’s room, deep in thought. The latter hadn’t come out of the room ever since the announcement. She had resolved herself to the arrangement and had spent her days reading about the position of crowned princess, the Jung kingdom and anything that would prepare her for her fate. It’s when she goes to sleep that breaks the guard’s heart. She would always end up sobbing herself to sleep, whether she realized it or not. No one was allowed in the room either, only SeoHyun and Yuri. She had not seen her lover since then, and SeoHyun was made her messenger. However, it was to Yuri that Junsu had come to, distressed. Seohyun had not told him the entire story and Junsu though that TaeYeon no longer wanted him.
Junsu was the one that Yuri had come back from seeing when JaeJoong saw her. She finally filled him in with what they knew, and that TaeYeon was going to go through with it. Yuri promised to keep contact, if they can find a way around it. Junsu only nodded quietly as he left, depressed that he wouldn’t be mating with TaeYeon and moreover, depressed that she gave up on their love. She sighed, this was all messed up. This wasn’t supposed to go this way! Now everyone but TaeYeon is trying to find a way around this and nothing is working. ‘Better gather my thoughts before I go to see TaeYeon…’
She thought about what the Prince had just told her. She was glad that TaeYeon had at least three months to settle in. She also really hoped that JaeJoong could seduce the Jung princess, but he would need to get pass the princess’ guardian first. Hwang Miyoung, aka Tiffany, was strong. The woman was able to manipulate any weapons efficiently, and that was without practice. All vampires had their specialty, not all of them physical or magical. Tiffany’s ability was her natural ease with weapons and to make weapons out of nothing. She was one of the few vampires in any kingdoms that had a “run in sight” command. Yuri wasn’t sure how JaeJoong would get around her, even his charm, which was his ability, would probably not work on Hwang.
‘Well then,’ she thought to herself, ‘I’m just going to have to intervene…’ Yes, her ability to compel the others to do what she wanted will help in this case. Of course, TaeYeon’s telekinesis could too, as she would just throw Hwang across the room, but if only she could tell her… ‘Now that I think about it, I need to inform Sooyoung of the recent events.’ She thought, taking a different route. When she neared the library where she had sensed her fellow bodyguard, she had to take a step to the side to evade a storming HyoYeon. One that was mumbling darkly under her breath, threats if her ears served her well. She raised an eyebrow, this is unusual. The younger of the two princesses was not quiet by any means, but she usually was pleasant and cheerful.
“Seohyun ah!” A tall vampire called in the kitchen. Her eyes wandered fleetingly towards the liquid in the glass, eyes flashing red temporarily, but focused on the younger of the two.
“Yoona unnie, how are you?” SeoHyun asked, holding her tray a little tighter. Yoona was known to be a little volatile, not fully in control of her thirst yet. She was the lady in waiting for princess HyoYeon.
“I’m fine, and you? How is princess TaeYeon?”
“Princess isn’t so well… I have to bring this to her now, she hasn’t fed herself properly, so Yuri unnie had me bring her small doses of blood to keep her body strong.”
“Oh my…” Yoona whispered out. The princess HyoYeon had sent her to ask the younger vampire for news about her older sister. The princess could not go in so had to resort to SeoHyun.
“Neh… I have to go; she really needs this replenishment right now.”
“Oh yeah, go ahead.” Yoona watched her walk away and shook her head. Now how to break this to her lady? “HyoYeon unnie won’t be happy, that’s for sure…” She mumbled to herself lightly, before heading to the library. She peeked in before completely entering.
“Princess?” She called out. She only called the princess by HyoYeon unnie when they were alone. Otherwise, like SeoHyun, she called her princess by her title.
“Here Yoona.” Her lady’s strong voice called out. She wandered through the various shelves before stopping at where a table was set out. It looked like a strategic planning table, in fact, it was a geographic strategic planning table, but HyoYeon had it fully covered in different papers. She could distinctly make out titles such as “How to keep my sister here” and “Plan B”. “Um, Princess? I have news of your sister.”
HyoYeon, who had been focused on her papers the whole time, looked up sharply. “You do?”
“Neh, I found SeoHyun in the kitchens. She did not say much but I got the basics.”
“And?”
“Your sister is not feeding herself properly, so her guard Yuri had SeoHyun bring her regular blood servings to keep up her strength. She also mentioned that she wasn’t doing well generally.”
“Hmm knowing unnie, she probably resolved to accept the agreement and was now learning everything she could about it. Thank you Yoona, keep me posted if SeoHyun tells you anything again, and if you see Yuri… Please thank her for taking care of unnie”
“I will do so Princess, anything else?”
“No, not for now. Thank you Yoona.”
“You are welcome, Princess.”
When Yoona left, someone stepped out of the shadows. “What are you planning HyoYeon?” The figure asked, looking at her charge with knowing eyes. She had watched the departure of HyoYeon’s confidante with a curious eyes, the princess was rarely so curt with her lady in waiting.
“I don’t know what you are talking about Sooyoung.”
“Don’t lie to me HyoYeon. Yoona may be your confidante, but I still know you better than anyone in this place. Whatever you are planning, stop it.”
“I am the princess here Choi Sooyoung. What I am doing is none of your business!”
“What you are doing is, in fact, my business Princess” the princess was said with a bite to it, “I am your guard, if anything happens to you, it is my head on the line! So you will stop what you are planning, or I’ll do what I have to, even if it is to have to go to your Father with this.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“I would Princess. If it will keep you safe, and keep the treaty intact, I will.”
“Fine. You are dismissed.” HyoYeon bit back. The taller woman bowed mockingly and receded back into the shadow. The shorter of the two stood up, and stormed off. Yuri walked in, a slight look of confusion. “Sooyoung ah? Come out of the shadows please.”
When her form materialized out of the shadows again, the tall woman walked towards where her friend was. “What is it Yuri?”
“The prince has something he wanted me to tell you. However,” Yuri stopped to expand her senses, making sure that no one unwanted was around, “You must promise to tell no one, not even the princess. And I must assure you that it is to bring no harm.”
“I trust you Yuri, there is no need to reassure me of that. What is it?” Sooyoung asked. She took a good look at her friend, and saw the signs of tiredness in her stance. Her back was slightly slouched, her pupils slightly lighter than they should be, a sign that meant she needed to feed in the coming week, her skin paler than its usual tan and was that dust on the handle of her dagger? Taking care of the self-confined princess might have taken a hold on her.
“The arrangement had been delayed.” Sooyoung’s eyes widened, delayed? “Officially, the two kings are trying to find alternatives to the mating.”
“And in reality?”
“They are letting all four of the heirs interact to see who is more fitting of the others. The princesses are not to know of the matter.”
“Wouldn’t it be more effective if they did know?”
“That was if either party wanted the engagement, however, since both brothers, and I know that neither brother is in agreement with it, will be trying to seduce the princesses to keep them from the others’ grasps. They didn’t want it to cause even more tenseness between the two clans.”
“I see. What I want to know is how does the Prince intend to keep the Hwang away?”
“I don’t know what he has planned exactly, but I know that I will help him with that. We also need to keep the Jung away from TaeYeon.”
“I can help with that.” Yes, her shadow walking was definitely going to help with that.
“Now do you want to tell me why HyoYeon just stormed out?”
“Haha, our little genius princess is planning something as well. I don’t know exactly what quite yet, but knowing her, I better keep my eyes on her.”
“I totally agree with you on that one…”
“Enough about them though, Yuri ah, you don’t look so good. You need to feed.”
“I know, I’ve just been running around for the princess. It’s only been three weeks since I last did but since last week, I’ve been exhausting myself between making sure TaeYeon remains strong, making sure she has her rest, consoling her at night, running between her and Junsu when he will not talk to SeoHyun any longer, the guarding, keeping myself fir through training, running drills with my squad and now this. I can imagine you’ve been having trouble as well.”
“Careful Yuri, an exhausted bodyguard is not very efficient. As for me, I’ve been keeping an eye on HyoYeon more than usual, you know why. Between drills with my own squad and training, I have been pretty busy as well. Nothing like you though.”
“I know, but it’s not like I can delegate. Taeyeon will never listen to Seohyun, so leaving her schedule to her is impossible. My squad needs their captain to run drills with them, that I can’t not do either. I need my training if I want to keep in shape to protect the princess and furthermore, Junsu is absolutely draining me and I’ve only seen the man twice. He’s… completely depressed when I finally told him the truth about how TaeYeon is taking it.”
“Still be careful of yourself Yuri. I have a feeling that you’ll need it to keep Jung away.”
“Hmm… I know, I should go now, Seohyun is supposed to have brought TaeYeon her blood by now, so I should be able to get through to her now. After, I will go feed, don’t worry.”
“If you are sure, Yuri, only if you are sure.”
“I’ll see you later.” Yuri said as she turned to leave.
TaeYeon sat on the couch in her chambers, reading another book. This one was about court etiquettes. She knew it already, but figured she might as well go over them again, no need for her to embarrass her father during the feast or anything of the likes. A knock on her door interrupted her, and upon smelling SeoHyun’s unique scent and that one of blood, she opened the door from where she was sitting. As soon as SeoHyun entered the room, the glass of red liquid flew towards the princess and she caught it gracefully and took small sips. The younger girl set the tray on the repaired vanity, Yuri having had a carpenter come in later that day, when TaeYeon had finally cried herself to sleep.
She set to clean around the suite until the princess was done drinking. She first went into the bedroom, and saw that the sheets and pillow cases had to be changed again, red pools on the pillows meant that the princess had been crying again and the sheets were torn in TaeYeon’s anger. Vampires cried blood tears, as that was the only fluid still circulating in their bodies. And their nails tend to sharpen when angered.
Seohyun quickly changed the sheets with the fresh ones she brought in this morning, and did the same with the pillowcases before throwing them into a bag, to bring them to the cleaners in the house later. She then went to tidy up the other vanity, and picked up all the books and classed them in order of subject, and setting them on the low table. She finally brought the bag out of the room and saw that glass was empty, and that Yuri had just been allowed into the room. She nodded to the tall woman and picked up the glass and the tray before leaving the room, barely hearing Yuri starting to tell TaeYeon about her meeting with Junsu.
She gave a small nod to some of the guards that passed the hallway and made her way to the kitchen to drop her tray again before going to the cleaners and dropping off the pillowcases and the sewers with the sheets, seeing as they could probably be salvaged for something else. When she turned the corner, she almost ran into someone. “I’m sorry.” She bowed quickly before passing them, she was supposed to go and run errands later today. But when she walked past the person, she stopped. She caught a whiff of his scent, and knew he was not someone who lived here. She looked at him and immediately confirmed that this person was unknown to her.
She watched him quickly turn away and walk further into the mansion. Frowning, she made her way to the nearest guard and took hold of his arm. The guard in question turned around, and bowed quickly. As TaeYeon’s official lady in waiting, her rank, as well as Yoona’s, Yuri’s and Sooyoung’s, were immediately higher than any other guards and servants on the grounds.
“Lady Seohyun, how can I help you?”
“KyuHyun-ssi, I saw an unknown man in that hallway and he left before I could stop him.” Kyuhyun’s eyes narrowed, Seohyun had the ability to memorize anything and everything and as such, she was one of the first to be told of any new additions to the staff so she wouldn’t falsely alarm people so if she told him there was an intruder, there was an intruder.
“Very well, we’ll go check it out.” Kyuhyun motioned for the two guards with him and they ran to where SeoHyun bumped into the unknown person.
Safaiaunnie here again! I need feedback guys. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out but I want to see what needs to be improved still. And I know my pairings are still vague, and they will be until the two houses finally meet.
Thanks and I hope you enjoyed!
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