Hae Ri was tired, very very tired. Physically, the training plan that Lay had came up with was a torture for her. The training plan was basically having Lu Han, Baekhyun and Chanyeol destroying parts of the forest and Hae Ri fixing it back. The three men had very good control over their abilities, the only thing that they lack was the stamina to sustain it. Lu Han is very good in using his telekinesis to tear things apart or move things but big and heavy objects were difficult for him. For the past few days, Lay had made him practice on the biggest and oldest trees in the forest. Baekhyun was used to using light to make sharp weapons that can penetrate through anything but he could not concentrate for long and the weapons would dissipate after awhile. Hence, his training included times of meditation. Chanyeol could use fire in any way but the trouble is he lacks the intent to destroy. Without strong determination, the magic user can never improve. Lay has been talking to him to get to know him better. During training, Lay would try to agitate Chanyeol through his knowledge of Chanyeol’s character but there has not been much of a success. Chanyeol has always been a very easygoing guy and it was not easy to get him riled up. On the other hand, Hae Ri’s Block has not been completely removed and she does not have access to all of her power. Lay had told her that before one learns to destroy, one has to learn to create but reviving and constructing life is one of the most difficult tasks. As a result, Hae Ri has been completely exhausted after each training. If not for Lay’s daily healing sessions, she would not have been able to last this long. However, Lay can only help to heal her physically, mentally, she is a wreck.

She has not willingly accepted the fact that she is half-vampire. She felt that she was forced to accept it. There is no way out. The only thing she can do, like always, is to focus on the mission in front of her. They have to stop the war and personally, she felt that she has to find out what on earth is happening in NSA. Even so, there has to be an outlet for her vent up frustrations but she refused to go near Chanyeol. She was afraid that she might hurt him again. Even though she was now completely able to control her bloodlust, it gets difficult when she is tired and when the smell of his blood is overwhelming. A living human definitely smells a lot more tantalising than a preserved packet of blood. More importantly, she felt ashamed. It is one thing to be curious about supernatural beings and another to actually be one. Deep down inside, Hae Ri felt that vampires are inferior to human beings and she felt that it was difficult to face Chanyeol. For the past few days she had isolated herself from the group. Baekhyun would always come and accompany her. She is grateful for his companionship. He would always try and say things to make her laugh despite their bleak situation. There was something about his smile that would make her feel like everything would be alright. He was patient and at times he would simply sit beside her without saying anything so that he would not disturb her. He is sharp and she knew that he is aware that she was bleeding inside. That is why he would always stay by her side, giving her the warmth that she craves but would not accept. Even so, Hae Ri felt that he was slowly peeling away the walls that she had built up. Hae Ri was not oblivious. She knew that Baekhyun was being more than just friendly. She just could not figure out why. Her guess was that it has something to do with her mother.

The night was dark and Hae Ri and Baekhyun were sitting under a massive tree. Lay and Chanyeol were sitting under a tree a couple of metres away. Lu Han was off somewhere by himself. Hae Ri turned to Baekhyun and she realised that he was staring at her the whole time. She started to feel uncomfortable again.

“You haven’t answered my question,” she said frostily, looking away from his eyes.

Baekhyun thought for a moment. She was referring to his knowing her mother.

“Ahh…that is my secret,” he replied wittily, a cheeky smile on his face.

Hae Ri raised an eyebrow. She was not in the mood for games.

Baekhyun could sense her seriousness.

“All right, how about we trade secrets? I’ll tell you mine and you’ll answer a question that I’ll ask you, deal?” Baekhyun challenged.

Hae Ri hesitated. She was not ready to share secrets with him yet but she was really curious about his relationship with her mother and…how her mother was like. She nodded tentatively. Baekhyun started to talk,

“The answer is…yes,”

The answer was obvious. It would have been weird if the descendants of the royal family do not know each other but what Hae Ri wanted to find out was more than this and Baekhyun understood.

“She was my first love,” he said softly, turning his head around to lock his eyes with Hae Ri.

His eyes reflected everything, his tenderness, his pain and most importantly, his heart-break.

“That’s why when she came of age to marry, I asked the elder council for her hand of marriage. I didn’t know that she was already in love with someone else and when I did, it was too late,” he explained. His eyebrows knitted together and he became more agitated as he continued,

“When it was decided that she would be executed, I was out of my mind. I did all that I could to stop the elder council. I tried to protect her till the end but I couldn’t. I was locked up by the elder council and when I was released, it was all over. She and her lover were dead…”

Hae Ri felt her heart lurch. Baekhyun’s voice was full of guilt and regret. He looked broken as he recounted the past.

“You look exactly like her,” Baekhyun cracked a small smile.

“It’s amazing how the both of you look so alike. She was always so cheerful, without a care in the world. Nature is her haven and she would always spend her time making various sorts of beautiful flowers bloom everywhere. She said that it was to make everyone happy,” Baekhyun continued, a full-fledged smile wide on his face as he thought of some happy memories.

So this was how her mother was like. Hae Ri could feel the love Baekhyun has for her mother. That was probably why he was treating her so well now. She had initially not wanted to fulfil her side of the bargain and answer whatever question he would have asked but since he had been so honest with her, she could not bear to do so.

“Is it my turn now?” Hae Ri asked softly.

Baekhyun turned to look at Hae Ri, slightly taken aback. He had expected her to not be willing to share her secrets but it turned out that he was wrong.

Lay and Chanyeol sat beside each other with their backs against the trunk of the tree. They looked up at the sparkling night sky, each in their own worlds. It had been a long and tiring day but Chanyeol was still wide awake. He was thinking about Hae Ri. Lay turned towards Chanyeol and poked him in the shoulder. They had gotten close over the past few days. Chanyeol did not respond and Lay poked him again, harder this time. Chanyeol’s body jumped because he was deep in thought.

“What?” Chanyeol asked his companion, slightly irritated.

“What are you thinking about?” Lay asked in his usual frank manner.

“Nothing,” Chanyeol lied.

There was a moment of silence.

“Hae Ri?” Lay suggested. Bingo.

Chanyeol remained silent.

“Anyone can tell that there is something weird going on between the both of you,” Lay simply said.

Chanyeol sighed.

“Hyung, girls are weird.”

Lay gave him a confused look.

“Hae Ri...she asked me to stay away from her…why is she pushing me away? She may be half vampire now but…she’ll always be Hae Ri to me. I just wanted to comfort her and tell her that everything will be alright…” Chanyeol explained.

He looked at Lay with an expectant look, hoping that this hyung would be able to help him but Lay simply looked back at him with the same confused look from before and replied,

“Mmm…Girls are indeed weird.”

Lu Han sat in a dark corner all by himself. After the intense training from the past few days, he could feel that he had become stronger. It was time to do this. He concentrated on the words in his head and the receiver of his message.

“Yoon Hwan…We are in the forest and we need your help…”

Telepathy is the manifestation of the bond between the members of the royal vampire family and the Keepers, the bond between the most powerful vampires and the ones responsible for the harmony of the humans and the vampires. It is an inevitable bond. Lu Han hoped that his message had gone through. It was their only hope.

After a few moments, he heard a fuzzy voice in his mind.

“We’re on our way…”

Lu Han sighed in relief.

Thank you to the 2 new subbies babywolf93 and Waffle_Berry :D

ok I just realised that Lay tends to have his head in the clouds, maybe cause' he's tired or something but he always says quite funny/weird stuff HAHA.

On this week's episode of EXO Showtime, when all of them (except lu han) was playing scissors paper stone, it took forever for the winners and losers to be determined and Lay actually suggested that they restrict the game to using 'scissors' and 'paper' HAHAHA.

Ohmigosh Layyyyyy ><