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Jaeil crumpled the royal scroll delivered from the palace with wide eyes, her breathing ragged as she followed the royal decree dropping to the floor through her eyes. 

The trembling of her hands worsen from earlier when she took hold of it after the king's men handed it out to her in absence of her mother— the family head. 

"This can't be," The sensitive rim of her eyes started becoming red as tears brim on it, threatening to fall. 

She glared at the resentful order, her knuckles turning white from too much . 

Tonight sets the eclipse that would determine her brother's fate tomorrow and the king already had a royal decree to it.

"If the existence of a boy who will lead the king to the night walkers that will heal the crown prince will not be proven tonight, then the Royal Astronomer Moon Taeil is to be executed in public by noon tomorrow."

"This can't be," she chanted over and over again, as if doing so would eradicate a royal order. 

"This can't be!" She closed her eyes to prevent he tears from falling but only did the opposite. Ugly sobs broke from her lips the same moment her tears fell one by one, her lashes wetting as it meets the apple of her cheek. 

She felt the strength in her legs decreasing, prompting her to slump down the floor as she weep for the upcoming ruins of her brother.

Jaeil raised both her hands to cover in hopes of muffling her sobs only to have the pain in her cries to amplify, an advance mourning to the upcoming execution tomorrow morning. 

"I need to see Taeyong." she mumbles in disdain, her eyes staring blankly ahead. 

〰〰〰

Everyone in the stable had downed their own share of liquor and almost everybody was becoming tipsy, same goes for the first time drinker birthday boy, Minhyung. 

His so called family organized a small celebration for his twenty- first birthday. Variety of foods they rarely eat and expensive drinks were prepared and the guy could never be more thankful for it. He was also wearing the new clothes old man Yoo made him for his birthday. 

And as a thanks for another year of existence, Minhyung invited all his stable friends to go drink with him and play some mind games he and the others enjoyed playing. 

"It would be much better if there wasn't an eclipse tonight," a drunken Yuta, who had his cheek resting on the table of food in front of him, slurred with a wooden bowl on his hand, pointing to the night sky with his other. 

"What's wrong with that?" Youngho countered, his brows meeting in the center, he was as drunk as his same aged friend. "It's great! our Minhyungie here will go down in history. Who knew he would celebrate his birthday on an eclipse, right?" He exclaimed with an exaggerated waving of his arms.

"So what does it feel like to finally have a dose of liquor?" Youngho provokingly eyed the youngest, wanting to gain answers from him. 

Unlike the other two, Minhyung was more sobber as he didn't find the taste of alcoholic drinks palatable. 

"it's fine," he comments with a scrunch of his nose causing the older to laugh boisterously. Yuta, on the other hand, winces at the sound of Youngho's booming laugh. 

"Be quiet geez," he grumbles but that causes the taller to some more. 

"Why? are you drunk already?" He mocks as he pokes Yuta's forehead to which the shorter whines at, removing the talker's fingers from his forehead. 

Minhyung smiled fondly at his bickering hyungs. The three of them never knew where they came from and was often teased by others by calling them "The lost boys" but he was thankful for having them beside him, as well as Old man Yoo who they looked up to. 

Speak of the devil and he shall arrive. 

Minutes after Minhyung reminiscing his journey with the orphaned boys, Old Man Yoo came out of the stables to tell them to rest.

Patiently, he shepherded the drunken boys back to their chambers although he was complaining how irresponsible the hyungs were for not handling their liquor very well, Youngho defending his self saying he could still take some. 

"How 'bout you, birthday boy? Not gonna follow soon?" Jaehwa mocked the new adult playfully, while he was having very much difficulty trying to balance the two guys on his arms. "Want to clean up the mess?" 

With a small smile etched on his face, Minhyung nodded his head before standing up slowly, feeling the kick from the drinks he had setting in finally. "I'll just go have a walk, I'll follow afterwards." He promised, leaning both his palms on the table. 

"Suit yourself," The old man dismissed finally, feeling Yuta stirring on his hold. 

"Alright, alright. I'm bringing you in," He muses before he started walking. 

Minhyung too, took this as a cue to start clearing the table when Jaehwa called him again. "By the way..."

"Yes?" 

Yoo Jaehwa smiled affectionately at his foster son, "Happy birthday."

That caused a huge smile to bloom on the younger's face. 

〰〰〰

"Greetings, Lady Moon." One of the Lee Household's servants greeted Jaeil with utmost respect despite her sudden visit at the middle of the night. "What is it that you needed? Please come inside first and I'll tell the family you're here."

Jaeil acknowledged the greetings before she spoke of her agenda. "Where's Taeyong?" she asks. "Also, thanks for your consideration but I'd rather stay here, outside."

The servant bowed again. "He was in his room, I'll notify him of your arrival, Lady Moon."

"Please do."

The maid her heels to head for the young master's chamber while Jaeil waited for him at their gates. 

She seriously needs to speak with him. She thought that the last time since their rendezvous, they will finally come into an agreement that he'll help her brother but the delivery of the scroll earlier has proved her otherwise. 

Soon, after a few minutes of waiting, the wanted gentleman came into view. Unlike his usual heavy armor, he was wearing a noble man's clothes tonight that proved the Lee's wealth once more. 

He was wearing an emerald green silk robe with a golden lining. She would have to say that he looked different and elegant from the usual him, if only she wasn't feeling mad at him for not understanding her. 

"What brought you here?" He asked her first thing after seeing her. He didn't bother greeting her anymore the moment he saw the look of resentment on her face. 

If that was directed towards him, the young general wasn't very sure of. 

〰〰〰

After cleaning up the mess on the table, Lee Minhyung went against the idea of sleeping. Instead, he decided he wanted to spend the last minutes of his birthday with a walk, as he tries to shake off the effects of the liquor he drank in the small gathering. 

Also, he was planning of putting Pobu to sleep first, before anything else. 

As the man walked thought the grasslands, he felt the cold night breeze onto his face and that has put a small smile on his lips. Soon, just feeling the breeze on his skin doesn't seem enough that he closed his eyes to indulge his self at the heavenly feeling of the blowing wind. He titled his head upwards before opening his lids again.

The moon was unusually red tonight. Most probably because of the lunar eclipse. He smiled at the scenery above him. 

Often times, he could hear people talking about tales that involves Eclipses and those stories went down in history. He wasn't sure if Lunar Eclipses is anything to go by, but maybe, Youngho-hyung was right. He was the first one to ever celebrate his birthday on an eclipse. 

Just then, an ear splitting screech caught his attention, making him shift his gaze from the night sky to the horizon ahead of him, his eyes wide in shock. 

What was that sound?

Attentively, Minhyung focused all his ears at the sound, hoping to hear it again to no avail but it never came again. 

Just then, an idea made it's way to his mind after he had made up the sound earlier.

"Pobu." He muttered in alarm before dashing towards the direction of the sound, which cane from the woods.

〰〰〰

Ten scanned his eyes at the surroundings, feeling it. Just now, a distinct scent that reigns the cave was missing, and he was sure that he's right. 

Soon, his eyes landed on the far end of the cave, where she was originally chained at. Indeed, Gin was gone and nowhere to be seen. 

Chuckles after chuckles left his lips before his expression turned grim afterwards. He was sure that Jisung's in this again. 

That child.

"You're making my job a whole lot easier, Gin. I guess you're still the same naive little girl after all." 

With that, Ten vanished into thin air. 

〰〰〰

Not long after, Minhyung arrived at the place where most bushes and rainforests collected in the woods. Turning his head from right to his left, he stiffened at what he saw, at the center of the clearing a few meters away from him. 

Someone who had his back turned towards him was holding his Pobu, now lifeless with his eyes rolled at the back of it and gushes of blood streaming down her cloak. 

He felt sick, and the urge to vomit surfaced. He lifted his sleeve to cover his mouth. And just when he unconsciously made a gurgling sound, the 'someone' turned his face to his direction. 

Her face registered a lesser amount of shock compared to the horrified expression coming from the guy. By then, Gin knew he was the guy she's searching for. 

As for Minhyung, seeing the girl who had glowing red eyes and fangs as long as the tigers, her chin bloodied with his pet dog's wound, cold sweat bead his forehead and his brain stopped functioning, causing him to become almost paralyzed. 

Pain, hatred, Anger, Fear. All the mentioned emotions reigned the guy's poor heart all at once that he didn't know what to feel anymore, and as if on cue, his heart short circuited as his brain started buffering until he heard ringing from his ears.

Soon, everything