Rustling sounds were coming from somewhere to Lianna’s left. She blinked her eyes and reached up with a fist to rub away the sleep. Where was she? The ceiling above her was red, unlike her white one back home. She couldn’t remember exactly what had happened; everything in her memory was coated with a sheen of fog. She rolled over, and came face to face with a pair of glistening eyes that she recognized all too well.

“Yah, what are you doing!?” She yelped, flinching away. Then she realized she was , and all that was covering her was a plain white sheet and red blanket that happened to also be wrapped around Jaejoong.  “You ert! What did you do to me!?” Lianna wanted to get off the bed, but with the sheet buried under him she had no choice but to stay still.

“Shhhh, please be quiet.” Jaejoong smirked, “You’ll wake everyone else.”

Lianna grabbed the sheets closest to her and bunched them up against her bare body. “You get off this bed right now.” She hissed.

“That’s no way to talk to your king, Lianna.” Jaejoong laughed and yanked at the sheets, pulling her to him. “You wouldn’t want to make me angry.”

“I don’t care if I make you angry, you get your erted hands off of me this instant. I swear, I will hurt you.” Lianna threatened.

“With what, some holy water? You’re too cute.”

Lianna glared at him and lifted one hand to try and shove him away. She stopped abruptly when she got a glimpse of her body.

“My arm! It –”

“Oh, I know, it looks much better now, don’t you think?” Jaejoong whispered, reaching out to a slender finger along the glistening skin.  

 Lianna lay speechless, her jaw agape as she examined her fingertips. They looked more slender and in entirety were esthetically appealing. There was a mirror placed on the wall behind Jaejoong, and from it she could see just how big of a change had occurred. Her face had evened out, each side now perfectly proportioned. Her teeth were jarringly straight and her hair lay gracefully against her white cheeks. Then she remembered where she was and who was beside her. She jabbed a finger at Jaejoong.

“I don’t give a if you’re the king of the vampire world or not, you get out of this bed right now and put some clothes on. Or kill me, I’d rather be dead than like this.”

Surprisingly, Jaejoong slid off the mattress and walked, half , to the dresser at the head of the bed. Lianna sighed and sat up, wrapping the sheets tighter around herself. Seconds later Jaejoong was fully clothed, and he turned to face her. Lianna looked away, still angry. Jaejoong suddenly walked over and lifted her, along with the sheets, into his arms.

“HEY!”

“Hush, baby.” Jaejoong cooed like a mother at her child. He kissed her forehead gently.

Lianna squinted at him fiercely and crossed her arms inside the bundle of cloth. She’d just have to deal with the situation. Jaejoong somehow held her in one hand like a princess and opened the door with his other hand. Lianna marveled at his strength, but glared at him when he glanced down at her.

The commotion outside was immediate. Lianna saw that the bedroom they had been in was at the end of a long hallway, and doors to the left and right were opening as curious faces peered out. Each face was more beautiful than the next. Lianna knew that they were all vampires. She tugged the sheet over her head, trying to hide. Realizing that there weren’t enough sheets, she resorted to stuffing her face into Jaejoong’s broad chest.

“That’s one weirdly-shaped baby, Jae.” A male voice said to their immediate right. Jaejoong laughed grandly and Lianna’s head bobbed against him. She hissed ever so quietly. The same male voice chuckled, “A feisty one too.”

“Sooyoung, can you help Lianna get dressed?” Jaejoong called out to someone farther down the hallway.

“That’s Lianna? Jae, you can’t treat the poor girl like that!” Lianna heard soft footsteps racing toward them, and she soon found herself standing upright before the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen. Lianna wondered how Sooyoung knew her name already, but then again if Jaejoong did then it wasn’t a surprise.

Sooyoung had large almond-colored eyes framed by a mass of gorgeous brown waves. She’d just woken up, but already she was the image of perfection. Her smile stretched brightly across the lower part of her face, emitting a warmth that seemed contrary to the coldness of a vampire.

“Aww, you’re gorgeous!” Sooyoung squealed sweetly.

“Thank you.” Lianna whispered, speechless at Sooyoung’s own beauty.

“How dare you wrap her up in such a way? Have you no sense!?” Sooyoung scolded Jaejoong.

“He’s an idiot, just forget it Soo.” The owner of the male voice from before laughed again. He was attractive too, with a rounder face than Jaejoong but a similarly muscular body. “I’m Yoochun.” He introduced himself to Lianna.

“Hello.” She bowed quickly, clutching the blankets.

“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s doll you up.” Sooyoung said and wrapped a protective arm around her.  

The two girls glided down the hallway together as the rest of the faces continued to stare eagerly at Lianna. Most of them were smiling, all except two. The two faces at the end of the long stretch of doors belonged to another pair of vampires whose beauty rivaled that of Sooyoung. However, the kindness that radiated from Sooyoung was replaced by a cold anger in their case, distorting their pretty features. The hate they clearly felt for Lianna chilled her down to the bone.

---

The sun was rising steadily over the boundless hills outside the window. Lianna stared at it. She knew in her old form she would have gone outdoors to feel its warmth, but now she had no need to. Grumpily, she reached for the bottle of sunscreen on her bedside table. This lotion was not of the normal sort. It acted as a shield and encompassed vampires in a way that completely prevented anything from penetrating their skin. Sunlight, wind, heat; she couldn’t feel any of those.

Sometimes Lianna couldn’t help but wonder if it blocked feelings as well. The pangs of unrequited love, of a need for safety, they never seemed to bother her anymore. She was independent and so far she liked her existence that way.

“Lian-ah?” A sweet voice mumbled from the bed across the room.        

“Yeah?” Lianna sat up with the bottle of sunscreen clutched in her hands.

“I like this dress better, don’t you?” Soooyoung mumbled again, this time lifting her hands to gesture wildly in the air.

“What dress?”

“Hyeoyeon brought her stupid mate to dinner last night, did you see him?”

“Of course I did, I was sitting next to him because you refused to.” Lianna said nonchalantly as she flipped the top off her bottle.

“I like Yoona’s mate much better.” Sooyoung whispered, “If only he were mine.”

“I thought you liked being single.”

“Lee Donghae brought me a dog the other day. I hate the taste of dog blood, it’s too musky.”

“You said you liked Donghae though. Who do you like, Soo?”

“Psy.”

“What!?” Lianna looked over at Sooyoung’s face to see if she was joking. Then she realized Sooyoung was sleep talking.

Lianna sighed with a small grin upon her face and resumed slathering the lotion onto her glistening arms. There was a wet spot underneath her arm, and moving she saw that she’d dripped a large white blemish on the blood red blanket. Groaning, she got up and pulled the soft fabric off the bed in one clean sweep. Lianna shoved the mass to the edge of the mattress and proceeded to go to the closet in search of a decent wardrobe to wear. Finally deciding on a dark green dress ensemble, she changed and gazed at herself for a while in front of the mirror. After a few tugs with a fine-toothed comb she was ready to leave. Lianna grabbed the dirtied blankets and stepped out of the bedroom quietly.

“You’re up early.”

Jaejoong was lounging on a sofa decoratively placed a few feet away from Lianna and Sooyoung’s bedroom door. He wore a black dress shirt and black pants. They made his skin look even paler in the morning light.

“I should say the same to you.” Lianna said, sitting down beside him.

“Oh, I’m only here to wish you a happy birthday.” Jaejoong said. He pulled his feet off the cushion and slid closer to her.

“It’s my birthday?”

“I do believe I met you on June 16 two years ago, isn’t that right?” Lianna coughed shyly and their eyes met. Jaejoong cupped her chin in his hands with a grin. “Last year your birthday was ruined by Han, but I’ll make it up to you this year, alright?”

Lianna squinted, remembering how Hyeoyeon’s mate barged in halfway through the celebration. He’d been in a fit of hysterics, having consumed far too much blood in one night. What started off as playful banter with his beautiful blonde mate had turned into a domestic struggle and ended with him throwing a bucket of blood in her face. Hyeoyeon had run away in tears and Lianna spent the rest of her night attempting to console her.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             “You don’t need to, Jae.” Lianna placed a small hand on top of his against her cheek.

“I’ve invited some special guests.” Jaejoong said at Lianna’s lifted eyebrows, “I think you’ll enjoy their company.”

“Who might these special guests be, exactly?” Lianna asked.

“Oh, they’re a bright bunch. Very jolly.”

“You invited Santa and his elves?”

“You silly princess, of course not.” Jaejoong chuckled and pecked her on the nose. “I invited Snow White and the seven dwarves.”

It was Lianna’s turn to laugh. “Now really, who are they?” She insisted.

“You’ll see.” And with that Jaejoong stood up and walked away, whistling as he left.