"Are you sure you learnt archery before?"

Hana puffed her cheeks in embarrassment. They were practicing. Sehun was teaching her how to shoot, but all he'd done so far was to insult her more. Hana missed her shot by a few meters, which was a fatal mistake.

"I did. I just forget okay?" Hana lifted her bow and tried to shoot a branch in the tree. Sehun shook his head in disagreement. He came over her, and simply put his hands and wrapped it around hers, and guided her hands and lowered it a little. "Why are you doing the same mistake over and over again?! If you lower your angle a little, and shoot!" He pulled the string and shot, "There, you got it."

Hana almost kicked him, but instead, she stuttered, her face turning into shades of red. When she said she wasn't used to a man's touch, she really wasn't. His touch was cold yet warm. It sent a burning fire to the pit of her stomach. His heart was cold, and his words were harsh, so he definitely wasn't the type of guy Hana would fall for. Definitely.

Sehun immediately let go when he felt her struggle underneath him. He turned to see her face beet red. He chuckled in a amusement. There was something so lovable about this girl. Hana, in return, stared at Sehun with agape.

The chuckle didn't last long.

Hana wondered if she just heard it right, if he really was chuckling, low tone, seductive and tempting. It was beautiful when his eyes were pulled into two crescents. Even more beautiful when the corner of his lips tugged upwards. She loved the sound of his laughter. She loved his smile. And as soon as it was gone, Hana knew she would miss it.

"Why are you staring at me?" His question snapped her back to reality. Sehun suspiciously eyed her and she blushed. Goodness gracious, why must the weather be so hot? Hana fanned herself and awkwardly replied, "No reason. Why don't we just continue walking."

They were walking along the river from Sungjae's house. The water was dark. It was almost pitch black in color. Sometimes Hana swore she saw something moving on the surface, almost too fast for her eyes to follow, but if her guess was right, it was a tail. She shivered a little at the thought.

"Hey, Sehun, what's inside this river?" She mumbled in low voice. Sehun turned back and looked at her worried expression, "There are a lot, what do you want to know?"

"About..." Hana opened , but Sehun suddenly put his hand over and signaled her to shut up. Her eyes widened in fear. The air was still. What seemed to be a second turned torturing and frightening.

Sehun sniffed the air. A storm was coming fast, and this wasn't just any storm. , Sehun realized. This kind of sweet scent belonged to one person only. His brother is coming. For the first time, there was fear in Sehun's eyes. He turned to look at Hana, and grabbed her by the waist, throwing her like a rack doll to his shoulder and started running.

, , . Sehun cursed in his head. Calling a Dragonnian would expose their whereabouts now. The only option was to run forward. They should escape. They must escape. They... He stopped to a halt.

"... Kris?"

It was Hana's soft voice that spoke. Sehun was too stunned to even reply. Nevertheless. The girl struggled and hoped down Sehun's shoulder easily. "Kris? You are Kris right? Are you here to help Sehun?"

Kris stood there, his eyes flashing dangerously. "No. I am here to punish him."

Sehun grew alarmed and pushed Hana behind his back, "I swear I could smell his scent just now. What the hell are you doing here?! I thought you promised to stay away from my business!"

Kris shook his head sadly. Jaejoong appeared behind Sehun with a grin he knew so well.

"My little brother... Always so impulsive and foolish..."

Both Sehun and Hana turned around in a split second. Their eyes locked. Hana's world suddenly blurred out in front of her. There was a very familiar sensation that rushed through her vein when he looked at her the way no one else could. This was just like meeting Sehun all over again.

"It's you," his grin melted into a soft smile. Hana could feel the confusion in her. Turning to meet Sehun's terrified eyes, she slowly stepped back. Jaejoong's smile broke when he saw that his mate preferred to be with his younger brother.

His mate. Jaejoong hissed possessively.

"Sehun, what is happening here?" Hana watched with careful eyes. She was well aware that the stranger who just appeared was Sehun's older brother whom he hated with much passion.

In all honesty, Sehun didn't know what happened either. Jaejoong and Kris suddenly showed up out of nowhere. Kris, out of all the Fallen ones, was the strictest about rules. Seeing that he came together with Jaejoong, the enemy, was beyond shocking.

"What are you doing here?!" From the way Sehun was talking, Hana could tell that he tried his best to control his temper. He might look calm and cold, but he was ready to kill. If it wasn't for Hana's hands, tightly gripping onto his, he would have pounced right away.

"I am taking back what's mine," Jaejoong simple replied and took a step forward, but both Sehun and Hana stepped back at the same time. Sehun immediately grabbed Hana by her arms and turned around, only to be stopped by Kris.

The tall male folded his hands in front of his chest. He was watching the three of them interacted with boredom. Sehun and Hana looked like deeds caught in light. This position was no good for them. Kris heaved a sigh and reached out to take Hana away from Sehun, but the male growled possessively and stepped in front of Hana.

"What is this, Kris? Are you siding with him?"

Hana's eyes widened. She looked back and forth between Sehun and Kris. What was she supposed to do now?

"I am siding with no one," Kris' hands bawled into fists. He was stuck between helping Sehun and doing his job. Sehun's eyes turned cold. "Leave the girl out of this Kris. It is not fair. For her and for me."

"The last time I checked..." Jaejoong interupted their glaring competitions. Hana gasped when he suddenly grabbed her by the other arm and forcefully pulled her back. It wasn't painful, but she hated it. She didn't want to be dragged anywhere by some stranger she didn't know. She looked up and met his brown eyes. She didn't know him, but he felt strangely familiar to her, as if she'd seen him before. "You're the one being unfair, Sehun. This girl is mine."

"What the hell?!" Hana suddenly yelled and struggled under his touch. "I am not yours!"

"By birth right, you are. Isn't that right, Sehun? Or are you too embarrassed to fight me for this girl?" Jaejoong continued his verbal torment. Sehun's expression slowly broke down. There was fear, and there was doubt. He looked so confused and sad, and there was nothing Hana wanted more than to hug him right at the moment. "Imagine what Soojung would say about this. I hope you remember her because I certainly do. The way her blood poured out her neck was such a pretty sight to watch."

"No, Sehun, don't listen," Hana pulled her hands out of Jaejoong's grasp, but he held her back by the waist. She was simply no match to his strength. "Sehun, help me."

"If you continue being such a stubborn , your friend there, Kris, will deal with you. It's your punishment for breaking the rule of the Fallen," Jaejoong sinisterly chuckled, "Isn't that what you do, Sehun? Punishing us for breaking the law?"

Sehun made no move. Something grew cold inside him. His heart bled, painfully, bitterly, but no tears came out of those pretty eyes. Jaejoong smirked at Kris, "Very well, then, I will take her with me while you deal with my brother. It is a pleasure working with you. Until next time, then..."

"No!!!" Hana screamed. Tears threatened to fall but she harshly wiped them away. She didn't want to be separated from Sehun. "Sehun... Sehun, please..." But her pleas were useless. Not once did he look back to see her.

Sehun clenched his fist tightly and let the nails dug into his skin. The bitter pain of blood would prevent him from doing anything stupid. But as he felt their presences gone, so was the warmth he felt only when he was with Hana. She was gone. And so was his heart. Forever undone. Forever broken...

***

Kai waited anxiously.

Jaejoong would soon be back.

In this castle, not a lot of vampires remained. Now there were only Jaejoong, Kai and a few maids to serve them. It was lonely, really, compared to the human world. The Shadow world was constant without change, except when there was festivals or wars of course.

"Lord Jaejoong has come back," One of the slaves informed Kai. They, too, were anxious that The Lord of vampires was back after a long time of absence. "He brings a girl home. He brings a Marked being home...!"

Fears spread through the castle faster than the wind. A Marked being was always a curse to the Shadow world. They were beings helpless for their fate. If one turned Forsaken after the change, it wasn't always a pretty sight to see how it was killed.

"Oh, Kai, what a surprise," A simple, genuine smile graced Jaejoong's beautiful face. Kai knew the smile wasn't meant for him, so he curiously reached out to see the girl in his arm. She was asleep, assuming that she was drugged by The Lord to silent her. He brushed out the hair in her neck and breathed in the scent.

Kai knew this smell so well. The smell that had left his mouth watered in thirst. The scent could only belong to one person. Hana. Oh,Dear...

"This is my mate. After thousands of years... I finally find her."