"My lady..."

Hana groaned in her sleep and flipped back.

"My lady, you have to wake up!"

Hana's only reply was a soft murmur. She was still deep in her sleep, and nothing would be able to wake her up. The satin silk that wrapped around her body was slightly exposed, and the head maid who came fussed around about how a lady should behave.

"My lady!" The head maid persisted. The door was opened, and a figure came in. "My Lord! You're not supposed to be here!" She yelled in her high pitch voice and tried to cover for Hana. Jaejoong chuckled and shook his head. "Hana, wake up, please?"

Upon hearing his voice, Hana cursed inside her mind and slowly got up. Jaejoong smiled at how harmless she was being right now. She rubbed her eyes groggily and stared at him with half-lidded eyes. "Why are you here?"

"You lost sleep?" He diverted the question and sat down on the bed. Reaching out his hand to caress her cheek, Jaejoong leaned in closer and Hana suddenly became self conscious about how messy and ugly she must have looked right now.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep somehow," Because she spent the night blushing and recalling the dance with Sehun. Stupid, stupid heart...

"I see," The Lord nodded. Slowly he pulled away and looked back at the head maid and signaled her to leave the two of them alone. When she finally did, he closed the door and turned back to Hana, focusing his attention only on her, "Hana, I wish you'd help me with a favor today."

"I've heard this kind of stuff before," Hana murmured and stood up, grabbing whatever's near and wrapped it around her body so that she wouldn't feel cold and bare. "Shoot away, Jaejoong, I will see what I can do. But I am not sure if I can help you with everything."

"It's the Elders," Jaejoong breathed wearily. His eyes shifted to the ground, and Hana wondered if he was feeling nervous or just scared. "The Elders are here and they want to see you." When Hana raised her eyebrow to question him, Jaejoong interrupted, "They have been waiting for you..."

"Why?" Was the only word that came out of Hana's mouth. Sometimes it scared Jaejoong a little how Hana could turn from a flustered little girl to someone fierce and scary. She had those sharp look on her face that made him think twice of what he was going to say.

"Let's just say that we don't like each other, and they were hoping to use you against me," Jaejoong replied.

Hana eyed him carefully. Maybe there was another reason the Elders wanted to see her today. They couldn't be here to simply greet her and have a little chat. There must be something else behind that. She should keep an eye for both parties today. Maybe she would gain something out of it.

"I understand," Hana smiled and got out of bed. "I will wash up and meet you in the hallway."

Jaejoong nodded and wordlessly left the room. He, too, had his own worry about the meeting. It hadn't exactly been a secret that the Elders despised Jaejoong as a new leader of the vampire clan. They were hoping for Sehun before, but after he became the Fallen, all hope vanished and they were forced to accept Jaejoong as The Lord.

Every time the Elders visited-which happened to be twice a decade or so- things happened, and they weren't the most pleasant things to deal with. He had hoped to dissolve them from the clan, but doing so would then, be seen as unfit, and the other clans would start questioning his decision as the leader. All in all, his decision was watched and even the simplest thing could lead to a war.

In the Shadow world, fight happened much more often than the human world. They felt that negotiation was, by no mean, unnecessary. There was so much negativity revolving around the court. Jealousy and greed were no new thing. Jaejoong grew weary every time he thought of it.

"You don't look well," Kai commented, following Jaejoong silently from behind. The later didn't look like he cared much and simply grunted in response. He was too deep in thought to talk back. "I heard the Elders are looking for Hana."

"Yes, they are," Jaejoong dismissed the uneasiness in his heart and replied.

"How many of them are here?" Kai carefully asked. Jaejoong stopped and sighed, "All of them are here, Kai, all twelve of them."

Kai knew instantly what it meant. The numbers of the Elders in a mission signified how important the duty was. If there were one or two Elders in the mission, it was probably nothing important. If the twelve of them were here, then something must be going on that Jaejoong didn't know about. Lists of possibilities appeared in his head and they warned him of what was to come.

"So you have any idea why?"

Jaejoong shook his head. The light in his eyes darkened and the mood instantly turned gloomy. He walked faster, afraid that Kai would see his weakness, afraid that he would mock him for being vulnerable. Jaejoong gritted his teeth.

"I trust you to take care of Hana?" Kai his lips wet and stared at Jaejoong's back.

"I would even if you don't remind me. She is my mate, after all," Jaejoong talked back. There was a certain possessiveness in his voice that made Kai stopped and flinched.

"Alright then," Kai replied with a low voice, and walked faster to catch up with Jaejoong. They were passing the dining room now, and only stopped once they reached the hall. Silence was a common thing between both, and strangely, it wasn't uncomfortable at the moment. They were both worried for Hana, but for different reasons.

Kai was worried that the Elders would use Hana against the royalty, while Jaejoong feared for her safety. He couldn't bear the thought of her getting harmed by them. Kai shook his head and stared ahead. After all, he could do nothing to interrupt the Elders' little chat with both Hana and Jaejoong. As powerful as he was, Kai was also powerless against the higher ranked.

"Be careful, Cousin. They might not be here for good," Kai warned.

Jaejoong stopped in his track, his back still facing Kai, but if only his cousin could see that he was trembling inside, that he wasn't as strong and brave and fearless as everyone made him to be... Instead of rejecting Kai's words, Jaejoong softly spoke, in what seemed to be forever, after a very long pause, "I know, Kai, thank you..."

***

"Where are you going?"

Hana whipped her head to the left and stared at Sehun eye-to-eye. Her cheeks flushed red from all the anxiety and running around. She should have arrived by now, but she got lost along way. The castle was so big, and ancient. Hana furrowed her eyebrows and kept on walking.

"Uh... Just some meeting with Jaejoong. I have no idea what's happening," Hana lied.

"You mean the Elders?" Sehun sharply asked. "The maids told me they are here. To see you."

Hana gulped and nodded. She couldn't lie to Sehun, indeed. He knew things about herself that even she didn't. "Yeah, do you know where the hallway to the library is? I'm lost and I'm late."

"I will take you there," Sehun quickly muttered and walked by her side.

"Thanks," Hana nodded and followed his lead. Unknowingly, red colors spread around her cheeks and her eyes immediately shifted to those hands. Those strong hands that guided her around and made her feel warm and safe. Curses started to spew inside her head. Something must be wrong with her head, because she wasn't supposed to feel this way towards anybody, especially Sehun.

"You're nervous," Sehun remarked, feeling the unsteady heartbeat from her, and the tensed muscles. "Are you scared of meeting the Elders?"

Hana nodded and hummed in response. "Who are these... Elders you are talking about, anyway? Are they scary and intimidating?"

"They are sort of the advisors of this clan," Sehun explained, "Consisted of the ex-leaders of this clan that are still alive. My father was supposed to be one of the Elders after he retired, but since he was murdered by my so-called-brother, my grandfather replaced and continued his reign as the Elder Kim in the group."

Sehun glanced at Hana before continuing, "They are strict and arrogant. Not to mention, extremely unforgiving and petty. They are ancient people. You won't want to mess with them unless you're my brother. Apparently he's seen as an abomination for defying the Elders. You, in the position of his fiancé, might face the same difficulty and cold treatment from them. But worry not, they won't dare to touch you without your consent."

Hana's face darkened, and she quickly replied, but it wasn't the answer Sehun was hoping for, "I am not his fiancé. People need to get that fact straight."

Sehun didn't say anything and glanced at her. Hana looked back and almost rolled her eyes if it weren't for the seriousness in his look. "I am not, Sehun, I really am not. I thought you knew..."

"I know," Sehun pressed his lips into a thin line and walked faster. Hearing the confirmation from Hana made him happy. At least he knew that she hadn't fallen for his flirt of a brother. "I was just testing you."

"So you have the answer that you want?" Hana nervously asked, aware that Sehun knew exactly what she felt while she knew nothing about how he felt. She fidgeted a little because of the unspeakable tension between them, and waiting for that one word answer for him was like waiting for an eternity to come.

Sehun shrugged, and didn't reply. He simply pointed at the front and said, "There you go. If you walk straight without turning left or right, it should guide you to the correct place. That is, if my brother hasn't changed the interior of this castle."

Hana stared at him for a few seconds before nodding and walking off. She still hadn't gotten an answer from Sehun. Feeling a tad bit disappointed to have hoped too much, she shook her head and mentally slapped herself.

"Hana?"

She turned back. Almost too fast that everything was a blur line.

"Chin up. Make them fear you, not the other way around."

It was magical how such simple words could have a huge impact on her. Hana slowly smiled brightly, and chuckled, "I will, Sehun. Thank you."