The boys and I didn’t even bother sleeping that night. Okay, they don’t have to sleep, well I didn’t even bother. My nerves really got the best of me and I was way too excited to do anything about it. That’s a lie. I wasn’t excited, more nervous. I was afraid of just who my real parents were. Quite honestly, if King Tablo found out about it at the vampire hunter headquarters, then they had to be a part of the supernatural world, right? But I’m perfectly normal. Were they hunters? Or maybe a pair of officials? Too many questions like this ran through my mind all night long.

Even before the crack of dawn, we were already hustling to get the carriages ready. The Queen was invited to come along, but she insisted that she’d rather keep the fort safe with Mrs. Moon. And so, the nine of us—the Princes, the King, and I—embarked while it was still dark out. But we took different carriages. The Princes were stuck in their own as I was with the King.

As soon as I comfortably found a place to sit on the carriages, I actually passed out from the exhaustion. When I woke up about two to three hours later, I was sprawled on my side of the carriage, holding onto one of the pillows. The King was sitting across from me with a book in his hand. His eyes darted from the book to me. I immediately sat up and brushed my hair with my fingers.

“Nervous, I see,” the King tried to lighten the mood up. He noticed how I continued to fidget in my seat. I just couldn’t stay still for that entire ride.

“And terrified,” I sighed, trying to release all of the fear.

“Of what, dear?”

“Of what you know that I don’t.”

“It’s… quite a lot to take in,” his hand traced the curtains. He pushed them aside, just enough to see outside. The darkness of the carriage was penetrated by the beams of sunlight from the outside.

“Sunny already?” I asked.

“It is half an hour after sunup, at least,” he smiled. “And we are actually a moment away from headquarters. Come take a look.”

The King pushed aside all of the curtains fully. My side of the carriage was facing a heavily stoned wall. The headquarters itself was carved into the side of a cliff. The entire area was so vintage looking, yet upgraded at the same time. The front walls were cemented, and looked so strong and impenetrable. Beyond that were the stone buildings. Everything was incredibly guarded, with vampire hunters already holding their weapons even as we were still about three miles away. It just looked so magnificent and grand in my eyes.

As we got closer, I noticed just how familiar most of the vampire hunters looked. I didn’t know them personally, well, I believed I didn’t. They just looked so… normal, like the kids back in the village. You wouldn’t have ever thought that they were hunters. Our carriages were stopped at the front. At least thirty hunters emerged from behind the gate because it was opened just a bit. They held their weapons up to us from all sides. King Tablo gave them a nod before they lowered their weapons.

“The carriage behind us is with me,” he announced. “My sons and a friend have joined me on this trip.”

“Yes sir!” the hunters saluted with the right hands, while their weapons were on their left. King Tablo held a lot of respect and power in here.

I never quite realized how unique all of their weapons were. They had their own little twist to such normal weapons, like a sword, a gun, a knife, a bow. It was made specifically for their use, because every single one of them had their own weaknesses and strengths. Completely fascinating to me. The gate was forced open through a contraption made of chains and wheels. The actual door for the gate had to be about a thousand pounds. Impossible for a normal person to move without any trouble.

The carriages rolled into the headquarters walls. Inside was a whole different story from the stone, dark feeling from outside. I heard the boom of the gate as it closed behind us. The door to our carriage opened, revealing an old man. He held onto a pile of papers and books. His entire appearance seemed to be just as frail and fragile as Mrs. Moon herself. An assortment of brown robes covered him.

“King Tablo! We didn’t expect for you to come back so soon,” he motioned for us to exit the carriage.

Tablo got up first and exited the carriage with ease, lifting his hand for me the next second. I took a deep breath, trying to contemplate if it was a good idea or not, before taking a hold of his gesture. He pulled me out carefully.

All eyes were on us. I am not joking. We stood in the sort of main quad of the entire area. It had a fountain in the middle, gushing out fountains of water in all directions. About twenty feet from the fountain, in a semi circle fashion, were doors that led to other areas of the headquarters. Some led to rooms. Some led to some sleeping areas. Some led to eating facilities. Some led to the prison cells and jails. There were three floors of this, from where I stood. But I knew beyond here, there had to be acres more of space for a variety of services.

“Well, Paul, my old friend,” King Tablo patted his clothes down, “a different matter came up as I returned yesterday.”

“Understandable,” Paul nodded. “It’s always a pleasure to have you around.” That’s when he started to look at me. I guess he was examining me, trying to figure out what the heck I was and how I was connected to the royal Woo family. “And this is…?”

“Sophia,” I told him my name.

“And you are…?” he tilted his head.

“She’s a friend, Uncle Paul,” Sunggyu came up from behind me and wrapped his left arm over my shoulders.

“What kind of friend are we talking about here?” the old man laughed.

“A close and dear friend,” Myungsoo spoke.

“Now now Paul,” the King patted him on the head. “Don’t think my sons are like that.”

“I’m just saying,” Paul swayed his arms side to side, “one day they have to stop being so close, you know.”

“Go tell that to Isaiah and Anthony,” the King replied.

“Bro-mance~” Dongwoo haughtily chuckled in the background.

The carriages were rolled away to the stables, where the horses could rest properly. I finally became comfortable in there. All of the people were just intimidating. There were girls and guys alike, from all ages, roaming around the grounds. They all didn’t hold weapons, only the older ones did. But all of them stopped to stare at me, not the King and the Princes—just me. Was something wrong with me or what?

“Boys, why don’t you go watch some training sessions,” the King ordered. “I’m going to give Sophia a tour.”

I knew what kind of lie that was. It was used to cloud the truth. I braced myself. In a few minutes, in a few moments, I was going to find out the truth. The boys nodded their heads and took a few steps away from us. They dare not defy their own father.

“Someone’s coming!” a guard yelled from his tower. All eyes, who were trailing back and fourth at the top of the walls, turned to look outside.

Panic overtook everyone’s minds. Children were being led back to the sleeping quarters, so they could not see what was being brought into the walls. The other hunters prepared their weapons.

“Who is that?!”

“Who are they bringing?”

“Why does that person have a bag on their head?”

“It’s Team Alpha! Look at them!”

“I thought they never come to headquarters!”

“What are they doing here?”

All sorts of questions were being asked and shouted. The Princes reappeared again, surrounding me in a circle. The King stood right in front of me, with a stern face. Something was bothering all of them, I could tell. The look in their eyes was of pure disgust.

“Team Beta, raise your weapons!” the old man yelled.

Six boys ran up to us, holding all of their weapons, in their own stances. Each raised them, prepared for what was to emerge from the other side of the walls. Slowly, the gates opened, allowing the people outside to come in.

Damien walked elegantly. I heard all of the boys growl under their breaths. His team, consisting of Ulrich, William, and three other boys, were following him. Two of them were holding onto chains, which were attached to a man’s arms and legs. This man wore incredibly shaggy clothing that was also dirty and had a ton of holes in it. He also had a brown bag over his head. The Ulrich and William were leading a trail of wagons. I couldn’t see what was on the wagons, for all of the people in front of me were much taller than me. The boom of the closing gates echoed in the silence.

“Here,” Damien scoffed. “My team and I captured him.”

“Captured who?” I asked the boys around me.

“Professor Victor,” the King snarled while he exhaled.

“Team Gamma took care of handling the evidence,” Damien announced. “We did as we were instructed.”

“And where is Team Gamma now?” the King asked him.

“They went to finish their second mission. Wrapped up all the evidence and placed them on the wagons. Only they have seen the experiments under the covers,” Damien answered. “The entire team should be returning by now.”

“And where was he found?” the King’s voice was no longer as lively as I was used to.

“Outskirts of the Valley of Death,” Damien replied.

“Show him to me.”

Damien lifted his hand and motioned for the prisoner to be thrown in front of him. His team members followed his gesture and pushed the man to his knees, right in front of the king. Team Beta still had their weapons out, ready for anything bad to happen. The King took a step forward, inching closer to the new prisoner. Old man Paul tottered to intercept the King, pulling off the bag from the unknown assailant’s head.

That was when the King stopped in his tracks. This man had a couple wrinkles on his face, but what surprised me the most was his overall appearance. He just looked completely and utterly insane. His hair had spots of white all over, clearly from stress and lack of sleep. His eye bags had eye bags of their own, times twenty. His lips were incredibly chapped. His ears were incredibly large and overpowered his face, like a monkey’s. He was so pale, it was as if he never stepped foot outside. And I do mean, never.

“I told you I’d find you,” the King grumbled.

“Tablo?” the man called out while squinting. Then he sneered while looking away. “You haven’t aged a day I see.”

“Shut up,” Damien poked him with the blunt side of his weapon.

“Watch it, kid,” the man growled.

“You don’t have the authority to boss me around, old man,” Damien fought back.

The crazy guy started to mumble under his breath repeatedly. His eyes wouldn’t focus on one thing for too long. It was as if he had multiple personalities. He just kept talking to himself.

“I said shut up,” Damien barked at him.

“Calm down Damien,” Ulrich put his hand on Damien’s shoulder.

Damien turned slightly, to look at him from the sides of his eyes. He then continued to look forward. I was surprised that he hadn’t recognized me yet. But I was hiding behind a pretty tall King.

“Bring him to the Grand Court Room,” Tablo ordered. “Now.”

Damien nodded his head and his team trailed right behind him. All of the wagons were dragged quickly with Team Beta’s help. A lot of people began to shuffle and run around. The King and the Princes were the only ones who stayed motionless, their hands shaking in hate.

“I’ll meet you inside, Tablo,” Old man Paul bowed slightly before rushing off into the direction that Team Alpha walked off to.

“Father?” asked Woohyun.

“Yes?” the King blankly answered.

“Are you alright?” Sungyeol questioned his father’s sanity at this point.

“I’m fine,” the King sighed. “I’m sorry for having such a harsh personality. But let’s head this way. We have a trial to hold.”

The King led the way. First we took a turn under one of the main floor rooms. That was a corridor to other areas. I didn’t keep track. It was just like the dungeons back in Kingdom Seoul, it wasn’t meant to be memorized by someone like me. When we did reach the Grand Court Room, it was nearly packed. All they waited for was us actually. There were no children in the entire room. Everyone looked over sixteen years old. It was an elevated room. In the very middle was the prisoner, still heavily chained to the floor. Team Alpha stood right behind him but also in front of these black curtains. I assumed there were important items behind those curtains. All of the audiences sat on seats, that cascaded against the walls by height. There were about ten rows of seats. And about three hundred people were in the room itself. This was an extremely significant trial, in all of their eyes.

The King strolled to the other side of the prisoner, staring him down. He sat on this grand seat, behind a big oak desk. There were three piles of papers to the right of him and to the left sat Old man Paul. The boys and I scooted our way to the first row of seating, right behind him. I barely saw above his head.

“Let the trial begin,” he announced. The room was already so quiet, it didn’t matter. A pin could have dropped and echoed. The King fiddled with his papers, looking through the very first piece. You could feel the tension rise in the air. “Do you understand why you are under trial, Victor?”

“Why don’t you tell me the charges, Tablo?” the crazy man scoffed.

“Two hundred counts of kidnapping,” Tablo read aloud.

“Prisoners,” the other rolled his eyes.

“Improper experiments.”

“If you don’t explore, then you won’t discover anything new.”

“Murder.”

“Again, prisoners. They were going to die in jail anyways.”

“Failing to appear in court.”

“I’m in court now.”

The King pushed aside all of the papers on his desk. They flew in all directions. He was incredibly angry and stressed. He had to keep his composure, yet he couldn’t.

“Calm down, your highness,” the crazy man taunted.

“Do you not understand the hell I went through to capture you?” the King asked.

“Well, you should have tried harder. Now shouldn’t you.”

“A decade. An entire damn decade searching for one man.”

“I must be so special.”

“What have you been doing, Victor?”

“Oh you know, stuff.”

The King’s anger was increasing. I knew he was just about to kill the man at any second. “More people have disappeared, Victor. What did you do to them?”

“Oh you know, stuff.”

“This is a serious question. Innocent lives were taken. Do you not realize the extent of the evil you did to them?”

“They were people who didn’t have anyone else. None were missed.”

“Innocent lives nonetheless,” the King nodded to Damien in the background.

Damien took a step to the side. His entire team pulled back the curtains. What I saw was something I could have never imagined. Damien’s eyes enlarged also. It was true that he had never seen the evidence, the experiments. He wouldn’t have reacted the way he did if he had seen them previously. I immediately stood up. Dongwoo and Sunggyu grabbed a hold of both of my hands to hold me back. They weren’t sure of what I was going to do, and I wasn’t either. Damien and I let out a gasp simultaneously. Victor, the crazy professor, got up from his knees. The sound of his chains echoed in the stone room. His eyes were focused on me. He extended his right arm, reaching out to my direction.

“My precious…” he sighed.

“What the hell are those?” asked Dongwoo right beside me.

“Behold…” the professor began to laugh maniacally. He really didn’t have any sanity left. “my BEASTs!”

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

HEEEEY GUYS. i actually finished this chapter yesterday, and wanted to post it. but but but, my internet died so i'm sorry for making you guys wait! this was my introductory chapter to the rest of it. 

suspenseful right? one of my favorites actually :D i haven't said that in a while adsfjakd; i hope i made Damien seem still as cool and work based as he is. And the professor, Professor Victor, just as insane and creepy looking as I wanted. 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE. due to populat vote! BEAST was chosen. :D hheheheheh~ like how i introduced them?

FEEEEDBACK PLEASE <3 thank you so much~

@xadrimusicx~I'm sure it is lolololol XD 

@chillaay~ aweee i'm considering it :3 hehe~

@BeautyDarkAngel~:D their argument was fun to write hadskjfha; lol i wonder too :3

@oknamstar~i had to make it so simple but adhfjkasd; i love putting 'dong dong' in i couldn't help but squeal kajshdfkjha

@saranghaeKVAD~kfashdfjka; i've updated~ I will a couple times tonight actually :D heheeheheh

@applepearles~it was, wasn't it? one of my faves everhakjfhas; awe thanks~

@MinYul009~annyeonghaseyo~ awee thanks for stopping by to read :3

@hawaiigurl~i haven't heard from you before~ hi! thank you~ lol i'm not sure how to end it actually XD she's such a hoar though i can't.