The warm atmosphere turned awkward. The silence hung in the air as Stephie stared at Lei, and Lei stared at Stephie. The look plastered on Lei’s face was full of shock. His brows were furrowed, his mouth was pouting. They could see he was trying to figure out what to do.

“I think I need to talk to you in my bedchamber, privately,” Lei took hold of Stephie’s hand and dragged her out of the hall.

All of them stood dumbstruck on Lei’s tiled floor, staring at the unoccupied seat.

“What gives him the right to bring Stephie to his room alone?! What are they going to do there!?” Jung Min yelled to no one in general.

“Not to burst your bubble or anything, but they’re going to get married anyways,” Mi Cha said, always the blunt one.

“Well, that… He’s not welcoming his guests.” Jung Min admitted defeat and curled himself up into a corner.

“Come to think of it, I’m starving,” Hyun Joong rubbed his belly.

“And how did I come to look like this?” Mi Kum yelled as she stared at her reflection on the pearly tiles. Mi Kum waved her hand, just to make sure that was her reflection.

“I don’t think Jung Min will notice your dirty, stained clothes as well, so don’t worry,” Hyung Joon whispered to her assuring.

Mi Kum cried in horror. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier, Hyung Joon!?”

“I think Hyung Joon has finally confessed,” Kyu Jong laughed.

“He liked my sister? Why didn’t you tell me, Kyu?” Mi Cha punched him playfully in the arm.

A sound of footsteps suddenly resonated through the hall. They all turned their bodies to face a girl, about Lei’s age.

“Ha! He already has someone living with him!” Jung Min looked around to see if Stephie was here to witness this girl’s presence.

“I’m Lei’s twin sister, Xiao. I’m here to welcome our unexpected guests.” A sort of radiance seemed to emit from her body, like how moonlight shines on the surface of water. Her hair flowed like silk down her back. Fair hair paired with a fair face. The perfect combination.

Jung Min’s face fell at the fact that she was his sister, not lover. The other boys, however, grinned foolishly at her beauty. There was something about her, though, that made the girls prickle suspiciously. Was it jealousy?

“I’ll lead you to the quarters, where you will be welcomed for what you deserve.” She started walking out the hall. The boys, mesmerized by her beauty, instantly stood up, and followed.

“I suddenly have this bad ominous feeling,” Mi Cha mumbled to Sang Hee.

“I do too, but maybe it’s just jealousy.” Sang Hee replied.

They were reluctant to follow, but soon their footsteps matched those of the eager boys.

Xiao led them through the corridor. There was a flight of stairs that descended into shadows. There was also a flight that led them up through the sea. She led them down the stony stairs.

Their footsteps echoed as they descended down the stairs. This part of the castle barely admitted light. Only the radiance from her body guided them. Mi Cha stumbled on something hard and hollow. It bounced down the steps, clanging along the way. It didn’t reach an end that she could hear. Mi Cha grimaced and looked back, startled at what she stepped on. In the pale light it seemed like a skeleton, but she wasn’t sure.

“I wonder how big their guest rooms are,” Hyung Joon exclaimed, excited. All the boys seemed to be a trance now, even Jung Min, who was slow to take on the enchantment.

“Guys..” Sang Hee started to say. She, too, had made contact with something like a skull.

They came to an abrupt stop. None of them were prepared for what was in store. None of the decorations that hung in the corridors were here. Only bare, stone walls.

“Why did you lead us here?” Mi Cha asked. Though she already had a basic idea of why.

“You guys are planning something that could endanger the lives of everybody who helps you. Us included.” Xiao’s face lost its smile as an invisible force immobilized them, and pushed them into the dungeon. The sound of the hollow door slamming shut smashed all their hopes of escape.

Everybody just lay flat on the cold floor. Their minds were racing, but their bodies were unresponsive. Their bodies were limp as a stick.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why are you doing this, Lei?” Stephie tried to loosen her bonds, “I thought you were going to help us!”

“I am trying to help you. I don’t want you guys to go on a suicide mission just because those old geezers Di and Fei sent you.” Lei replied, “Would you rather be in a cold dungeon with them? Or be my wife and bound to me?”

“I can’t be bound to you if I’m bound to this chair! Lei, you know the dark one is just going to destroy all of us in the end. Might as well try stopping it!”

“But we’ll all be tortured if we stand up against him.”

“I didn’t know you were a coward, Lei. Where was the carefree five year old I decided to marry?”

Lei looked like he received a slap in the face, “You know what happened.”

“Yeah, and you don’t want that same fate! If he has the weapon we are all doomed!”

“My father died because of that weapon. How am I supposed to go up against it?”

Their argument was heated. They didn’t notice that Xiao had slipped in his room. Her presence was only acknowledged when she cleared .

The two heads in the midst of an argument swiveled in her direction.

“And why didn’t you just confine them in rooms? Why the dungeons? You know what’s down there!” Stephie yelled at Xiao as well.

“What is down there?” Xiao asked, feigning innocence. She took a seat behind Lei, getting ready for a show.

Stephie let out a grunt of frustration, “Let me go now or I’ll fight my way out of here. Yes, I’ll even fight my betrothed, because he is no longer my betrothed!” Sparks flew out of Stephie’s body, crackling.

“You don’t mean that,” Hurt flashed on Lei’s face, “If you can’t expect them to find a way out of my dungeons, how do you expect to face the dark one?”

Stephie’s anger toned down a notch, “Then why am I not down there with them? I’m facing him too.”

“Are you still in that mindset that I would let you go?” Lei’s shout tapered down into a whisper. He put a hand on her cheek, caressing it, “If I let you go, you’ll die.”

Stephie’s face softened and it seemed like she would succumb to his will.

“If I marry you, will you fight with me, then? You won’t have to let me go.”

Xiao chuckled at how Stephie manipulated his words. She clapped her hands. Lei finally got what he wanted.

Stephie’s bonds untied instantly. “Well, let’s get started, shall we?” Lei cried out in joy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The spell wore off on Mi Cha first. Mi Cha was in the middle of struggling, but when the spell wore off, she fell face first onto the floor.

It was sticky and wet, and smelled rotten. She flinched and scrambled back to her feet. She wiped her face with her sleeve, but then noticed her sleeve was also wet. She cried out in disgust.

The others gawked at her. Their eyes filled with mirth. Laughter couldn't erupt from their mouths right now, but she could tell they wanted to laugh. Kyu Jong’s mouth was threatening to twitch upward…

And then the room was full of laughter. The spell came off simultaneously.

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Hey guys, sorry for not updating. I'm going on a vacation in two days, for two weeks, and I won't have the computer with me. So this is my last update for two weeks I guess.

Anyways, sorry for the lame chapter, just wanted to update before I left. Please comment on how bad/good it was, and I'll update in two weeks!