Jaehyun softly closed the door as he left the room.  He figured he would allow the humans some time to rest before proceeding with the plans. 

“You know,” Jaehyun began when he found Taeyong casually leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, not far from the door.  “The next time you’re feeling you should take it someplace other than the hallway.  I think you woke up the whole castle with your antics.  Have you no self-control?” Jaehyun wearily eyed his cousin.

Taeyong glared at Jaehyun and bit back, “He started it.” 

“Oh and you weren’t man enough to stop it then?” Even though Taeyong was two years older, teasing him always amused Jaehyun.  It was always so easy to crawl under his skin and so he continued.  “What?  Does the big bad vampire slayer already own your ?”

Taeyong pushed himself from the wall and started walking in the opposite direction, so Jaehyun pursued. 

Because Taeyong knew Jaehyun was following, he carried on. “You don’t understand.  There’s something wrong with that guy.  I have this feeling.” 

“Aww are you already in love?”  Jaehyun asked in a cutesy voice.

“God damnit, Jaehyun, I’m being serious here.”  The two continued walking with no destination.  “You know how vampires have mates?  Well… It’s that feeling.  Except stronger.  And yet for some reason it feels suppressed.”

“Hyung if you’re thinking that human is your mate then that’s impossible.  Vampires don’t mate with humans.  You know that.  We all know that.”  Taeyong finally stopped at the stairway and turned to look at Jaehyun.

Jaehyun stumbled when he saw the look on his cousin’s face.  “You’re being serious aren’t you?  You really think he could be your mate.” 

Taeyong raked his hands through his shiny silver hair and huffed.  “Look.  I don’t know what this is, but last night… I couldn’t control myself.  He started kissing me and I wanted him just as much.  I can still feel his presence from here.  And it really pisses me off.”

“Ah yes, when you aren’t in control of a situation you freak out.  It’s no wonder you were being a complete to the humans back there.  Especially Yuta.” Jaehyun sassed.

Taeyong rolled his eyes at his cousin for knowing him so well.  “Whatever.” 

“You’re gonna be in deep if he ends up being one of the 10 chosen ones.”

“Actually.”  Taeyong raised his eyebrows at his cousin, “I’m not the only one.  Don’t think I didn’t see you giving that bunny the googly eyes back there.  You don’t pull out those dimples for just anyone.”

Taeyong felt the urge to pat himself on the back after witnessing Jaehyun turn a dark shade of red.  “I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  This time it was Jaehyun’s turn to walk in the opposite direction. 

Taeyong laughed out loud at his defeat over Jaehyun before heading down the stairs.

“Ready?”

It wasn’t just Jaehyun that arrived to pick them up.

Johnny spotted Taeyong behind Jaehyun and pointed, “Yah!  That’s the bastard that knocked us out!”

Taeyong’s expression turned sour as he shouldered past his cousin.  “That bastard is the prince, and I could easily knock you out again if need be.” 

“Johnny, do please calm down.”  Taeil was of course on damage control duty as usual with Johnny’s big mouth.

Taeyong’s eyes slid from Johnny to Yuta.  Yuta refused to be the first one to look away.  No matter how cold the prince’s gaze was, he wasn’t backing down. 

Taeyong tired quickly of their game.  “We’re wasting time.  Let’s go.” 

The two blue-bloods led the way as the four vampire slayers followed suit.  The group was in the middle of climbing the staircase to the fourth floor when a group of kids came rushing at them.

“Taeyongie hyung help me!  I don’t want to be it!” One of the kids shrieked as he jumped at Taeyong.  There were other squeals of ‘Jaehyun hung!’ as more kids appeared.

Taeyong easily caught Donghyuck with a small grin and put him on his shoulders.  Mark was standing off to the side watching as the other three children hid around Jaehyun. 

Jaehyun knelt down and ruffled the youngest child’s hair with a warm smile.  “Jisung, are you guys playing tag again?”

Jisung nodded, “Mark hyung is it!” 

The other two were tightly holding onto Jaehyun’s legs. 

Yuta and the others were in a state of shock.  First of all, Taeyong smiled, albeit a small one.  Second, the three children Yuta had never seen before were human.  Third, Donghyuck and Mark were also human?  He didn’t feel the presence of their powers, and their eyes were a dark brown instead of amber. 

Taeyong must have noticed at the same time as Yuta, “MARK!  I specifically told you and Donghyuck not to take those pills!”  Taeyong was pissed.  Donghyuck attempted to jump off Taeyong’s shoulders but to no avail.

Taeyong continued his lecture, “Those pills last for 36 hours!  What if the castle gets attacked?  What’re you going to do then?  You’re as weak as a human!”

“B-but hyung, it’s only fair when we play with Jisung, Jeno, and Jaemin.  They can’t catch us unless we take the pills.  It’s more fun this way.” Donghyuck tried to reason with his older brother.

“Mark, I’m looking at you.  I expect this from Donghyuck, but not from you.  You know better.”  Tears were b in Mark’s eyes.  “Go to your room.  I don’t want to see you or Donghyuck until you’re both back to normal again.” 

This time Donghyuck was able to slip off Taeyong’s back.  Both Mark and Donghyuck ran past the rest of the group in the direction of their bedrooms.

“How about you guys go back to your parents, okay?”  Jaehyun sent the three human children on their way.

“Uhhh how were they suddenly humans?”  Yuta couldn’t subdue his curiosity any longer.

“You must have met them already.”  Yuta inclined his head in confirmation when Jaehyun answered.  “Let’s continue walking as I explain.”  Jaehyun sided next to Yuta as he told him the mystery of the suddenly human vampires.  The other vampire slayers were listening intently.

“It’s kind of a long story, but there’s this healer from the northern vampire clan.  Yixing often visits when he comes up with new remedies.  The pill Taeyong was talking about is one such remedy he created many years ago.  The ability to turn a vampire into a human for 36 hours.”  Jaehyun shrugged.  “It’s simple, really.”

Doyoung’s eyebrows furrowed as when he does whenever he seriously thinks about anything, “Let me guess.  These pill’s objective is to allow you to move around freely in human territory.” 

Taeyong butted into the conversation.  “Wow, this one is actually smart.”

Before Johnny or Yuta could say anything rash, Doyoung brushed off Taeyong’s comment and continued, “Also, what of the human children?  Why are there humans here?”

Jaehyun put a comforting hand on Doyoung’s shoulder.  “No worries.  We didn’t kidnap them or anything.” 

This time it was Taeyong’s turn to explain.  “They are from families that were attacked by rogue vampires.  We nurse the humans that survive back to health, and we give them a safe place to live here in the castle.  In exchange, they give us their blood.  Vampires need to eat, too.”

“So you don’t take them against their will?”  Johnny grit his teeth.

“Of course not.  We are not the beasts you humans have stereotyped us as for the past hundreds of years.”  Jaehyun calmly tried to clear up the misunderstandings.

Taeil peered up at Jaehyun with a kind smile.  “Thank you for being patient with us.  There is so much we do not know or understand yet.”

Taeyong humphed in response, and Jaehyun, who was watching Doyoung rather intensly, seemed to not have heard Taeil

Yuta didn’t like the way Jaehyun continued to give Doyoung looks but wasn’t worried enough yet to say anything.

“We’re here.” 

The boys entered the room in a daze.  A thick misty fog filled the room, and the faint smell of lavender made its presence.  In the middle of the room was a pedestal that held a fist-sized ruby stone:  the first vampire heart. 

Three figures broke through the fog opposite them. 

“Hyung!  This means we’re all here then?”  The cheerful voice that broke through the fog came from Ten, Taeyong’s bodyguard.  Ten turned towards the humans, and that’s when he spotted Yuta.  Ten ran up to Yuta and gave him a big hug.  Yuta was surprised, not as much by Ten’s hug than Taeyong’s growl. 

All heads turned towards Taeyong.  Jaehyun expression seemed extremely amused, but Ten was a mix of confused and scared.  Ten slowly backed away from Yuta, keeping his eyes on Taeyong’s tense figure.  Jaehyun elbowed Taeyong, and Taeyong snapped out of whatever state he was in.  For the first time since meeting the prince, Yuta could see a light blush cross his handsome face.“Er- Well- Um- I’m Ten.  It’s nice to meet the rest of you.”  Ten’s smile faltered as he greeted the others.

Ten appeared to have recovered a bit as he went to introduce the other male vampire in the room.  “And this is Hansol.” 

To Yuta, Hansol seemed like the least intimidating vampire in the room.  Light, sandy blonde with tufts of hair sticking out messily covered his head.  The vampire had wide eyes that looked a bit nervous at meeting the vampire slayers. 

Hansol’s mouth twitched into a mini smile.  “Nice to meet you.”

“Most importantly, this lovely lady is BoA, our valuable oracle.”  The last figure finally stepped out of the shadows to where they could finally see her.

If Yuta was asked what a goddess looked like, he would describe the female vampire standing right in front of him. 

BoA’s hair was a wavy chestnut brown that came down to the small of her back.  Her perfectly oval face showed off her beautiful youth and lips lifted in what could be a permanent smile.  Her calm and soothing voice raised the hair on the boys’ arms.  “Hello.  My name is BoA, and I have been the oracle for the southern vampire clan for many of thousands of years.  To quench your curiosity, I was granted with immortality at birth, and the heart you see there was my mate’s.  Pleased to meet you.”

Well that one of hell of a way to introduce yourself.  Yuta wondered what could possibly happen next and shook his head in disbelief.

“You four are here today to touch the stone.  These four vampires you see here,” she opened her arms to take in Taeyong, Jaehyun, Ten, and Hansol, “are the four chosen ones from our clan.  We are in hopes you four will also join their ranks.  Dark times are ahead of us, and only the chosen ones can clear away the darkness and bring light to our world.”

Taeyong was a chosen one?  Yuta suddenly wanted nothing to do with becoming a chosen one. 

“Prince, shall we start with you?” BoA beckoned for Taeil to come to the middle of the room.  Yuta didn’t even want to ask how she knew Taeil was a prince.

Taeil took a deep breath and carefully tread towards the stone.  He turned to look at BoA one last time before placing his hand on the stone-turned-heart.  Dazzling red light burst from the stone, lighting up the entire room.   Taeil was surprised by the sudden light and immediately leapt away from the pedestal, ending the light show in less than a second.

“Welcome to the crew!”  Jaehyun clapped Taeil on the back in congratulations.

Doyoung and Johnny followed after Taeil with the same shocking result. 

Yuta was the last to go.  What if he wasn’t a chosen one?  He was technically the only human here that didn’t belong in a castle in the first place.  Was this the end of the road for him?  Or was this the start of his destiny?  Yuta was one touch away from finding out.

Yuta could feel Taeyong’s piercing gaze as he walked up to the pedestal.  Heart beating wildly, Yuta reached out to touch the smooth stone.  An explosion of sapphire light broke out from the heart.  Many gasps were heard around the room.  He retracted his hand, and the room was once again dim. 

“What does this mean?” Taeyong’s voice split the air. 

BoA’s voice wavered.  “I- I do not know.  No human has ever had this reaction with the stone before.”

“So far only Taeyong and I have manifested blue light from the stone.  At first it was thought that it was because we are blue-bloods, but that certainly can not be the case with him.  No human turned vampire can ever turn blue-blood.  Not even royal humans.”  Yuta looked down at his hands after listening to Jaehyun’s reasoning.  There was no way he was a vampire; that was for sure.  So why was his light blue?

“I do not have all the answers, only time does.  We will have to wait for the right moment to understand this phenomenon.” The boys all nodded their heads at BoA’s wisdom. 

BoA turned to Taeyong and recommended, “For now, though, you should discuss with the humans their options.” 

Options?  Yuta cocked his head in confusion.  Options for what?  Whether they wanted to be chosen ones?  Did they even have a choice in the matter?

BoA bid them farewell and disappeared into the thick fog. 

Taeyong sighed.  “Let’s get out of here.  This place gives me the creeps.”

Johnny happened to stand next to Ten as the eight chosen ones quickly filed out of the room.  “Wow you’re so short,” he stated as he rested his arm on the top of Ten’s head.

The little red-blooded vampire looked up at the bold human and blushed.  He removed Johnny’s arm from his head.  “So?” he asked with a pout. 

“Aw, so vampires can look cute, too?”  Johnny winked at Ten. 

The poor vampire was flustered.  “Are you hitting on me?” 

Johnny smirked at this.  “Maybe?”  Ten looked away.

Yuta had been paying close attention to Johnny and Ten’s little squabble.  “Johnny keep your hands to yourself.  You just met the poor guy.  Try not to traumatize him just yet.”

“Bite me.”  Johnny sassed back.

Yuta just simply shugged and nodded his head in Ten’s direction.  “That’s his job.”

Taeyong entered the conversation as they made their way into a spacious room that had a large circular table assembled with chairs.  “Speaking of biting, we have other things to discuss.”

The guys sat at the table and looked at Taeyong as he talked.

“You humans have a choice that will greatly affect you for the rest of your lives, and it is this.  Are you willing to transform into vampires?”  Gasps were heard around the table from the humans. 

Taeyong eyed the sources of the gasps.  “Now hear me out before coming to a decision.  I’m sure you’ve heard just how powerful the demons are.  You would stand no chance in your current forms.  It is for the sake of your lives and the rest of the world’s that you choose to become a vampire.”

Yuta peaked at Taeil.  He was the one he was most worried about.  Someday in the future Taeil would take his father’s place as the king.  How would the humans react to their king being a vampire?  Taeil currently had a lot on his plate to think about.

Johnny suddenly stood up and fearlessly announced, “I’ll do it.” He made sure to confidently look everyone in the eye to convince them he was being serious.

When he met Jaehyun’s eyes, Jaehyun decided to warn, “It will be painful.  You’ll live in a burning hell for about 24 hours before the transformation is complete.”

“Pffft as if that’s gonna stop me.”  Johnny sat back down and crossed his arms over his chest with a glint in his eye.

“I’ll do it if my cousin also decides to,” Doyoung quietly spoke up.  All eyes were now on the prince.

Taeil was deep in thought, as was Yuta.  Give up their humanity?  Become the very things they grew up training day after day to kill?  It had been less than 24 hours and so much had happened.  Yuta suddenly felt very tired.

Taeil spoke slow and deliberately.  “If- If I choose to transform… Would I be able to borrow a lifetime amount of those pills the kids used to become humans?  I have a kingdom to rule, and the only way I would allow myself to change into a vampire is if my people did not know.” 

“Of course.  That would be no problem.  We can inform Yixing right away to start making another batch.” Jaehyun comforted Taeil with delicate smile.

Taeil nodded his head.  “Then I have decided.  I will give up my humanity for the sake of the world and my future kingdom.”

“Could I have more time to think about it?  This is a lot to wrap my head around.” Yuta directed his question at Jaehyun, but it was Taeyong that responded.

“Decide by tomorrow.  We have no time to waste.”  Jaehyun hit Taeyong in annoyance and responded to Yuta’s question.  “Ignore him.  Take all the time you need.  We understand this is a big decision for all of you.”

“I think the way we’re going to do it is like this.  Because you’ll need someone to look after you in the midst of your transformation, we’ll have each of you pair up with one of us.  You can stay in our rooms over the 24-hour period.  The bite is very, how should I say this, intimate?  Tonight when you are ready, just come to our room and we’ll go from there.”  After Jaehyun’s explanation, the atmosphere in the room turned awkward.  

Taeyong cleared his throat.  “Because you guys will be here for awhile, we’ll provide you with a room and clothing.  If you ever need anything just come find one of us.”

“Ten.  Show them to their rooms and make sure their dinner is delivered to them.  We look forward to seeing you tonight.”  Taeyong met Yuta’s eyes for a brief second before dismissing them to their rooms.

As Ten was leading them to their rooms, it was obvious he was trying to avoid Johnny by sticking to Yuta’s side. 

Before leaving them to dinner, Ten spoke up.  “By the way our names are on our doors, so hopefully you won’t have a hard time finding us.”  Ten gave them his signature cheerful smile and disappeared down the hallway. 

The slayers all gathered into Taeil’s room where their dinner was laid out for them.  Yuta hungrily ripped into a chicken leg as soon as he sat down.  The others were just as desparate for food.  Once their tummies were full and plates empty, they discussed the process for tonight.

“I get shorty.”  Yuta face palmed at Johnny’s announcement.

“I think I would feel most comfortable with Hansol, to be completely honest,” Taeil shyly admit.

“Jaehyun.”  Doyoung hurriedly spoke.

“Sorry, dude.  Guess you got the ice prince.”  Johnny sympathetically patted Yuta on the back.

Great.  Just great.  Yuta banged his head on the table. 

“By the way, does Prince Taeyong have something against you?  He seems to really hate you in particular.”  That was his prince: always the observant one.  However, there was no way in hell Yuta was telling any of them what happened that first night with the bastard.  He’d never hear the end of it from Johnny.  Nor was he going to tell them he wouldn’t mind having another round.  As much as he hated the guy, he was still just as drawn to him now than he was last night.

Yuta just shrugged in reply. 

The boys eventually headed to their own rooms after bidding good night and a ‘see you on the dark side’ from Johnny.

Yuta sat on the edge of his bed with his hands cradling his head.  A vampire.  It’s not like he really had a choice, anyway.  He would be the weakest link.  He didn’t want to bring everyone else down just because he wanted to keep hold of his humanity. 

Yuta’s mind then turned to his mentor and father figure, Sehun.  What would he say in this situation?  Yuta still had so many questions about everything.  The demons, the prophecies, the chosen ones…  Knowing Sehun, he would just tell him to follow his heart.  Well, it was hard for Yuta to follow his heart when his head was screaming Taeyong every two seconds.

He mulled everything over and over in his head before finally coming to a decision.  It was time.

Yuta took his sweet time searching for Taeyong’s room, which, in his opinion, he found all too soon.  Heart pounding, Yuta stood outside staring at his door for a little longer than necessary.  At last, after taking a deep breath, he raised a shakey fist and knocked on the door.