The smell of ocean and apricot washed over him and whatever Sehun wanted to say disappeared out of his mind. He turned his head to the approximate direction but he couldn’t see the trace of red hair. He had to had been staring for while since Kai bumped him slightly while they walked towards the edge of Tír na nóg following the way back they originally came from. The elves on the way watched them curiously but stayed far away. The 3 younger vampires followed them like scolded puppies since Sehun had made it very clear that there would be severe punishment if they tried to run away.

Kai’s falcon returned from somewhere, sitting down on his shoulder, nudging his head against the cheek of the Sanguera leader who the chest of the bird of prey carefully. There was relief on his face. Relief that he could keep his precious falcon. It would have been devastating for Kai to give Ty up, considering how long he already was in possession of the bird. It wouldn’t have been surprising if he would have gone a murder spree after losing his special bird.

Kyo and Ben waited for them inside the ring of mushrooms, one of the portals that would lead back to earth. Victoria was with them and it looked like she already had explained everything to them. “Will you be alright?” Ben asked with his wide, fearful eyes. He was clinging onto Kyo like usual and the bigger guy had his arm wrapped around the shorter guy protectively. Kyo on the other hand was looking at the 3 strangers, who just stared back as well. “Then I don’t need to explain anything anymore, right? Go, and be quick. I don’t think that the queen likes to wait.” Sehun was quite sure that the person who had tried to invade his mind had been Niamh herself. He was also sure that she could have cracked his mind open, if she really had wanted to. Shudders ran down his spine just thinking about it. There wasn’t much he was afraid of but his instinct told him to be definitely afraid of her. Or at least cautious.

“Take care guys. Call for help if you need it,” Kai said quietly before he turned his attention to the 3 younger guys. “If you guys are causing problems I will find you, and hunt you down.” This time he spoke with the voice of someone who lead the most elite vampire forces, and the 3 youngsters paled but nodded. “Good.” The scary aura disappeared and he gripped their shoulders lightly. “Look out for each other, understand?” Surprised, Jeno, Jaemin and Lucas stared at Kai but he had turned his back to them already. “Okay, I am ready.”

“Wait, before you go, take this.” Victoria gave Kai two slightly bigger looking hand mirrors and then Sehun and Taemin each one. “They function pretty much like queen Niamh’s magic. You will be able to talk to each other any time. I couldn’t be of any help at court, so the least I can do for you is letting you guys communicate between each other. Don’t worry, it’s imbued with magic and won’t break easily.” They each took their mirrors before suddenly disappeared into thin air. Just moment later an appearance took form in front of them. It looked like a TV glitch for a moment but then Chanyeol stood in front of them, carrying a crate on his right hand. The faint smell of blood wafted over from the crate, and Sehun was thankful for it, considering he had to feed 3 younger Vampires as well.

Chanyeol took a quick glance before his eyes settled on Sehun newbies. “I heard there is trouble?” Chanyeol was just slightly taller than Lucas who tried his best to not look afraid. “Stop with that growling, you scare the pups.” Taemin reprimanded him while stepping on his feet as he walked by. Chanyeol made a face and Sehun could see that he was thinking about throwing the crate at Taemin’s head. “Remember that I am now basically your higher up?” It was clear that Chanyeol was a bit miffed by the blatant disrespect. Taemin just flipped him the middle finger and walked towards the guards who already waited for them.

Their expressions were neutral, or as neutral as possible in the face of creatures they disliked. “We are here to bring you to your quarters.” There was no use to try to speak to them so Sehun just waved a ‘see you later’ at Victoria. The quarters that had been assigned to them were deep into the forest to the east but clearly separated from any other housings. The thick trunk of the tree spiraled up high towards the sky, the bark overgrown with moss. The leaves were dark green and seemed a lot bigger than it actually should be. There was a door right in front of them and a stair following the turn of the tree, which led to another door. “The quarters for the prisoners and for your companions,” one of the guards said. “Smart, so you can keep an eye on us as well,” Chanyeol muttered.
“Our queen thought it wouldn’t speak of our hospitality if we wouldn’t give your royalty a separate room. Your suit is over there.” 

Sehun’s stay way a 4 room suite inside the trunk of a smaller tree with brighter green leaves at the branches,which hung down wards a bit. It was generously furnished, with a big bed in the smaller bed room, a dressing room which was already supplied with clothes, a bath room with a shower, and something akin to a living room. The scent of magnolias came from an unknown resource since he couldn’t see any flowers in any of the rooms. “Our queen would like you to attend breakfast with her tomorrow morning. This evening dinner will be brought to you.”

The guard disappeared and Sehun immediately set over to the other tree. He passed the guards at the door without any problems and entered what was a single room with 3 thin looking beds. Chanyeol was already there and had thrown each of them a blood package which they devoured because despite all the attitude they must have been starving. The moment Sehun entered they stopped, looking at him unsure and gulping down what they had in their mouths. “Continue feeding while I ask you questions,” he said in a softer tone while he sat down next to Chanyeol, who was leaning against the wall, watching the young ones carefully. “”So, East Asia. How is the situation over there?” Since their contact has not replied to any of their messages, Sehun needed to know what was going on over there. “The lords are fighting with each other, just the usual.” The one who listened to the name Jeno had spoken. His voice was calm but his eyes nervously darted between Sehun and Chanyeol.

“There have been conflicts regarding the throne since the last king died, but it’s just a matter of time until a new king will be crowned.” This time Jaemin spoke. Ah, Sehun remembered him well, especially after he had spit him in the face, and this time as well, he looked at Sehun defiantly. “So, you are the the American king’s adviser?” Lucas asked. He was busy with feeding but curious nevertheless. Strangely enough, he reminded Sehun of Chanyeol. They seemed to have the same child like spirit and the same cheerful aura. “He’s the king’s cousin. I am one of the generals of our Sanguera and they guy with the chicken before is our current Sanguera leader. The one guy upstairs is his brother, and also one of our generals.”

The young ones paled at the word Sanguera, something Sehun noticed immediately. “You fear them.” It wasn’t really a question but rather ascertainment. “Were we are from, they are cruel. When our last king died they separated from the royal. Now they are independent.”

Those weren’t good news. The Sanguera should serve the crown and serve the vampire race. The well being of their people was of utmost importance but that thought had been lost on many Vampires now. “You don’t have to fear us. You are our fledglings now,” said Chanyeol with a scowl on his face. “Right… but don’t expect us to bow down in front of you or something.” That earned Jaemin a kick from Jeno who growled at him. “We are thankful that you are vouching for us. We swear, we didn’t trespass here knowingly!”

Silently, Sehun and Chanyeol listened to their story. They had been on the way to one of the now apparently rare blood banks when they suddenly had found themselves among green meadows and green forests. They hadn’t noticed that they had been teleported at all. They speculated