--

09

--

Whenever you didn’t know where to go, your legs always took you to the castle gardens. You were sitting on the bench, taking deep breaths and breathing out sighs. Even the flowers weren’t helping to calm your nerves like they usually did.

“Deep sighs for someone who shouldn’t have a care in the world,” a voice from behind you said. You turned to look and saw Sunggyu standing at an entrance into the castle with a soft smile on his face.

“I have a lot on my mind,” you said, lifting your head up and staring at the moon. There was going to be another full moon soon. You didn’t know the exact day, but you were sure someone would tell you the night before. Or you’d find out when Joon came to wake you up in the morning.

“You know what the best remedy for too many thoughts is?”

“A nap?” you asked, laughing as Sunggyu sighed and rolled his eyes. His reputation for sleeping was as strong as ever.

“No, a walk. Come on,” he said, extending his hand towards you.

--

You had no idea where you were going with Sunggyu, but the two of you walked and talked leisurely. You asked him questions about his home town, and he asked you about yourself, about Armalis. Though truthfully, you didn’t have much to say about Armalis.

“What about your family?” he asked as you stopped to look at something in the marketplace. You picked up a bow shaped clip and pursed your lips.

“My only blood related family is my twin sister, the Arch Priest of Armalis. She’s all I have, and I love her very much.” Sunggyu paid for the clip before you could protest and took it from your hands, brushing your hair away from your face and pinning it up with the clip.

“It suits you,” he said. You smiled at him and grabbed onto his arm, letting him lead you wherever he wanted to go.

“You know, you’re a bit too trusting for someone who came from a background like yours.” Sunggyu led you out of the marketplace and towards the forest. You’d never been past the marketplace before.

“What’s out here?” you asked, ignoring him and peering down the dark path. The moonlight filtered through the cracks in the canopy of the forest and highlighted small parts of the path covered with leaves.

“The clearing where I’m going to kill you and eat you, because no one can hear you scream from all the way out here,” Sunggyu said lightly, squeezing your arm. You turned toward him in alarm and breathed out a frustrated sigh when you saw him grin at you.

“Sunggyu! Don’t do that,” you said, pouting slightly and shoving at him. He laughed poked you in the face.

“You shouldn’t be so trusting. Not everyone in the land of the dead is a stand up citizen like I am.” You covered up a snicker as his chest swelled with pride, and he gave you another smirk.

“So who is trustworthy in the land of the dead?” The path was quiet. You could hear the wind blowing softly through the trees, rustling the leaves. The air smelled of pine and other things.

“Vampires are. We can’t lie.” You blinked a few times before turning towards Sunggyu with a confused look on your face.

“You can’t lie?”

“Yes. Funny part of vampirism.”

“What happens when you lie?” you asked as Sunggyu led you off of the path and into a clearing. The grass was long, and when the breeze blew, moved like waves in the ocean. At least, as far as you knew. You’d seen pictures of the ocean in books, but you’d never seen it for yourself.

Sunggyu stopped walking and looked at you dead in the eyes. “You’re ugly.” You saw his eyes glow blue until he groaned and closed his eyes, rubbing at his temples.

“Are you okay?” You reached up and massaged his forehead, making him open his eyes slightly and give you a weird look.

“Magical pressure point. What happened? Vampires’ eyes flash blue when they lie?”

“No, they flash the color of whatever element their power is. In my case, it’s blue, since I’m a water user.” He rubbed his temples a few more times before shaking his head.

“Energy headaches are no fun, but are easily fixed...” He held his hands up, and you watched as water appeared between his hands and took the shape of a blooming rose. You stared at it in awe before reaching out for it. Your hand went straight through it, but the water was cooling.

“Wow, that’s so-” You suddenly stopped in mid sentence when you felt two large sources of energy speeding towards the clearing. Sunggyu must have sensed it too, because is eyebrows furrowed and he frowned before wrapping his arm around you and flying towards the trees.

And no sooner did the two of you move, did a large explosion of fire and wind erupt from the clearing, revealing Woohyun and Myungsoo with deadly intents in their eyes.

--

Myungsoo stared at Seungho after Seungho dropped the question. His mind went blank as too many thoughts tried to explode in his brain, but one thought prevailed above the rest.

What?

“Difficult choice, I’m sure. But love is fleeting, and you have been training to be a knight your entire life. You definitely have the potential to become one of the strongest in the land, even stronger than your vampire friends.”

“Love is fleeting?” Myungsoo asked, raising his eyebrows up at Seungho.“You still love her, don’t you? Even though she’s dead and gone.” Myungsoo turned his head and stared at a piece of cloth covering a painting on the wall.

Seungho followed his eyes and sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I suppose I should’ve said love feels fleeting. You shouldn’t bother with it, if you can.”

Myungsoo blinked a few times. What was Seungho trying to accomplish by telling him this? If he really believed this, then he would’ve separated he and you a long time ago.

“Would you have bothered with it, knowing that it would end up like this?” Myungsoo asked quietly. The study was silent as Seungho thought of his answer.

“Yes.”

Myungsoo lowered his eyes and stood up, getting ready to leave.

“You don’t have to choose now. But please do make up your mind before you finish your training here.”

--

As soon as he left the study, Myungsoo turned and punched the wall, ignoring the pain as his knuckles bruised and started bleeding. This wasn’t fair. You’d only been here a few months, and he already let himself get so attached for you.

Before, his choice would’ve been obvious. Of course he would choose his training. It was what he was born to do, his purpose in life. But ever since he met you, got to know you, got attached to the way you smiled at him fondly, the way you laughed, the way you spoke, he wasn’t so sure what he was going to do anymore, especially because his decision would affect your life drastically.

Fate had a cruel sense of humor. Myungsoo sighed and made his way down the hallway quietly, feeling his knuckles start to throb slightly. “Why couldn’t I have been born a vampire? This would’ve been so much easier,” he said quietly to himself.

“Racial envy? That’s a new one for you, Myungsoo.” Myungsoo stopped and let out a frustrated sigh. Of all the people he could’ve possibly run into right now.

“I’m not really in the mood to deal with you right now, Woohyun.” He glanced over his shoulder and saw Woohyun leaning on the wall, smirking at him. Woohyun started to talk again, but Myungsoo started to blank out and think of his options.

Did he want to stay with you for the rest of his life? He didn’t live nearly as long as vampires did, and his life span would definitely be shortened if he had to constantly give you energy. He lived longer than humans did, but...

“... deserves to live longer than what you can offer her. Why don’t you just give up and go back to your training quietly and give her to someone who can really protect her?” Myungsoo turned around and stared at Woohyun.

Give you up and give you to someone who could really protect you... His friends definitely fit the category. And if the past few days have shown anything, they’ve shown that you got along well with them, and that his friends liked you as well.

“You know what, Woohyun? I’m tired of listening to you talk. We haven’t had a match in a while, why not put your money where your mouth is?” Myungsoo asked, popping his neck. Since they were banned from fighting in the castle, the two had a spot out in the forest to fight.

“I thought you’d never ask. Same spot?”

“Same spot,” Myungsoo said before an unspoken race was declared, and they both disappeared in their element.

--

Your eyes widened in horror as they started to fight. You tried to break out of Sunggyu’s arms to stop them, but they were impassible.

“It’s probably best not to interrupt them. At this point, I don’t think they would be able to hear you with all that magic around them.” Your anxiety was starting to overwhelm you as you watched them fight.

They fought without holding back. Fire mixed with wind, and you could feel bolts of energy come flying your way, which Sunggyu protected you from.

“They seem to be a little bit more vicious this time. At least, Myungsoo is,” Sunggyu said. He almost sounded like he was bored. “This happens more often than you would think. They fight, and they both come back looking a little worse for wear, more Myungsoo than Woohyun.”

Another crack rang out through the clearing as they two of them met in the middle, sending swirls of fire and razor sharp wind spiraling out. Sunggyu’s arms tightened around you again, and you felt him wince when a piece of magic hit him.

“That stings,” he mumbled to himself as he glanced at his arm. The sleeve of his shirt was cut and bleeding, but he wiped he blood away, and the cut was gone.

“Another reason why Woohyun looks like he’s still in one piece, and Myungsoo looks like he was dragged through the dirt. Vampire healing.” You could see cuts on Myungsoo’s arms and face. Woohyun still looked whole, even though you know you saw Myungsoo’s hits land and burn at his skin.

Your fingers dug into Sunggyu’s arm as the two of you watched the fight progress. You bit at your lip and felt like crying. “Please, stop!” you yelled out, hoping that they would hear you. Myungsoo heard you and his eyes widened as he turned his head towards the source of your voice.

He yelled when Woohyun hit him with a particularly vicious attack that sent him flying back. You cried out and broke out of Sunggyu’s grip, running for Myungsoo. Woohyun prepared another attack and sent it, only for it to dissolve in a wall of water.

Woohyun growled as the wall of water disappeared, and he was met with the sight of Sunggyu looking particularly bored.

“What’re you doing here? This is between me and Myungsoo.”

“I suppose you didn’t hear then,” Sunggyu said, stepping out of the way. Woohyun’s eyes widened as you kneeled down next to Myungsoo, wanting to make sure he was okay but unable to touch him. Myungsoo took a few deep breaths and wiped away some blood from his face.

“I’ll be fine,” Myungsoo said to you softly. You felt tears forming in your eyes as Sunggyu crouched down next to Myungsoo and grabbed his arm.

“Way to ruin my date, Myungsoo. I think you should give up one of your times with her to me to make up for this,” Sunggyu said, hoisting him up and helping him back to the path towards the castle.

You lingered in the clearing for a bit before turning back slowly to take a glance at Woohyun. He stood there, unmoving in the moonlight as he watched you. His breath hitched when he saw the look you gave him before hurrying after Sunggyu and Myungsoo.

“Is she... afraid of me?”

--

You took Myungsoo to the infirmary and listened as the nurse complained about Myungsoo and his wounds.

“You may as well live in here. You’d think by now, you’d be able to heal all of these by yourself,” she said, bandaging him up. You hovered by his side with a worried expression on your face, making him laugh and poke at you with his unbandaged hand.

“If you keep worrying like that, those lines on your forehead are going to become permanent.”

“Myungsoo, really?” you asked, giving him a sigh of exasperation. Myungsoo’s laughter quieted down a little bit before he sighed.

“I like it better when you smile. So forgive me for trying to make you smile.” It was your turn to sigh heavily. The nurse finished up, and kicked the two of you out of the infirmary at the castle.

“If Woohyun didn’t have healing powers, he’d look like me, too. Maybe worse.” You shook your head and turned to give him a look.

“What? It’s true. It’s not like I’m weak or anything.” But Woohyun is still stronger than you, Myungsoo thought to himself, as much as he hated to admit it. Sunggyu and Dongwoo were strong, but their powers were still weaker than Woohyun’s. If Myungsoo chose to leave you, then he would want you in the best care, even if it was with someone he absolutely hated.

--

You took Myungsoo back to his dorm so he could rest. You could hear Sungyeol making jokes about him from outside and couldn’t help but smile when he heard a crash, and Sungyeol groaning in pain.

You wandered down the hallway, feeling absolutely drained. The fight between Myungsoo and Woohyun replayed in your head as you headed towards your room. You weren’t very hungry, and just wanted to get some rest.

You felt a familiar energy source coming towards you and flinched when a pair of hands grabbed your arms.

“Wait, please don’t avoid me.” You swallowed and looked down at his feet.

“Please let go of me,” you said quietly. Woohyun let go and tilted your face up so he could look at you.

“You... You don’t have to be afraid of me,” he said, giving you a concerned look. “I’d never hurt you.”

“You’d never hurt me?” Your voice was still soft as you brought up your arms and pulled the sleeves up. Purple bruises in the shapes of fingers were welling up. Woohyun’s eyes widened before he frowned.

“Who did this to you?” he growled out.

“You did,” you said, “when you grabbed me to stop me.” Woohyun blinked at you in confusion. There was no way he did this to you.

“I don’t think you really understand how strong you are, physically and magically, and how fragile I can be. You didn’t even hear me when I yelled for you to stop earlier.”

“I would never hurt you,” he re-emphasized. You looked up at his eyes, and they remained the same black. He wasn’t lying to you.

“I’m just... I’m afraid. What happens if you lose control of yourself like that around me? What if I do something, and you get angry?”

“I...” Woohyun was at a loss for words. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what else to do to convince you.

“That’s the difference between you and Myungsoo. He can be gentle.”

--

You were sleeping when you felt someone prod at your face. You groaned and batted their hand away, complaining about it being the middle of the day. At least, you assumed it was the middle of the day, because you couldn’t get your eyes to open.

“Come on. I’ve been working on this for nights,” you heard Joon say, pulling your covers off. You shivered slightly and groaned when he pulled you up into a sitting position.

“Put this on,” he said, throwing something over you. “We’re going to go see your sister.”

--

“My sister? Joon, what are you talking about?” you asked, hurrying after him as he strode down the castle passage. The sun burned brightly outside, and you were a little apprehensive to go out of the castle.

“Just make sure the cloak is covering you, okay? And follow me.”

--

Joon took you out of the castle, past the town, and into a part of Rivedon you’d never seen before. It was eerie, even by Rivedon standards. Joon turned to make sure you were still following him, and led you towards a second of nearly dead trees.

“Joon, what is this place?” you asked, squinting at the sky. It seemed like two different skies were meeting, one dark, and one light.

“The border between the two lands. It’s night time over in Armalis. They should be here any minute now,” Joon said, looking around cautiously.

You stood next to him and looked around anxiously. Your sister was really meeting you here? Suddenly, you heard your name being called and turned to see someone in a cloak running towards you, a knight following behind them.

“You’re alive! You’re okay!” Your sister’s hood fell off as she hugged you over your cloak, careful not to touch your skin or loosen your hood.

“Yes, I’m fine. Oh my lord, how are you? What happened after I left?” Your sister launched off into a long story about how angry the High Priest was that the soldiers let them take you so easily. He was on a rampage for weeks, punishing anyone that got on his bad side severely.

“At first, I thought it was strange that he seemed to care so much, but I overheard him talking about how he didn’t want you used as a weapon against the kingdom, which is when I realized he still didn’t care about you,” she said breathlessly, blush on her cheeks. She took a few deep breaths before asking about you and your life in Rivedon.

“Is it terrible? Are there really monsters down there?” You laughed and shook your head.

“The people at the castle of Armalis are more monsters than the people here. They treat me so kindly, and I finally feel like I belong somewhere,” you said. You told her about the introduction ball and your suitors. You saw your sister jerk her eyebrows over to Joon as he chatted with the knight, and you gave her a horrified look.

“Oh lord no,” you said quietly so he couldn’t hear. “That’s my attendant, Joon.”

“You have a male attendant?” your sister asked, completely confused.

“I know, that’s what I said at first, too. He’s not that bad, just a little bit clumsy. He does hair better than your attendant does.” Joon looked over when the two of you dissolved into giggles. You gave a happy sigh as your sister smiled at you fondly.

Suddenly, your thoughts flashed to Woohyun.

“Hey, do you remember Woohyun?” Your sister’s eyes widened in surprise when you brought him up. You didn’t like to talk about him, so she wondered why exactly you would bring him up now.

“Yes, I do. That boy that died, right?” You nodded. She nodded after you and gave you a curious look. “What about him?”

“What happened after he died? I only remember the rain, and then nothing until I woke up tied to the cross.” Your sister furrowed her eyebrows and tried to remember. It was so long ago.

“They took his body to see if he was really dead or not. They even tried to get me to heal him, but I couldn’t do anything. They had his funeral early in the morning, before you woke up because the High Priest wanted to keep it quiet.” You blinked a few times and nodded.

“You couldn’t heal him?” Your sister sighed and shook her head.

“I don’t think you can heal the dead,” she said, staring down at her hands. You sighed again and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

“It’s nice to know you’re not all powerful,” you said playfully, making her look up and roll her eyes at you. “I don’t even know why I was so worried about him. He didn’t even get my name right.”

Your sister looked up and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“He called me by your name. We don’t even really look the same,” you said, frowning slightly.

“You mean, you never told him your name?”

“No, I didn’t. Why?” Your sister’s eyes immediately went remorseful.

“Oh, lord, I’m so sorry... This is all my fault. You see... he came to me and asked me what your name was because obviously, he could tell we were twins. And as a joke, I told him your name was my name, and my name was your name.” You furrowed your eyebrows. “I thought you would correct him.”

“What? Why did he think that your name was my name? People are always calling you to do things for them,” you said, obviously confused. Your sister was the most well known person in Armalis. She swallowed and opened to say something, but Joon walked over to you and grabbed your arm.

“We’ve gotta go. The sun is about to set, and people can’t see us here.” Your sister bid you goodbye quickly before turning to leave. The knight nodded at Joon.

“I’ll see you later, Joon.”

“It was good to see you, Sanghyun. Let’s work hard to arrange more meetings for them, okay?” You protested as Joon led you away.

“Joon, wait! I’m so confused.”

“Well, you’re going to stay confused, because you won’t be able to meet with your sister for a while.”