“Oh look how pretty she is! I told you the dress would look good on her.” The lady in a cream dress smiled, and she knew instinctively that this was the Queen. Her every movement was elegant, even the way she held the King’s arm and the way she laughed.

“Thank you, your highness.” Ji Hyun bent slightly, offering a small curtsey before standing straight, her hands placed before her.

“We’ll have to find a nicer green next time. It’s nothing compared to your eyes, child.” The King’s voice was deep and Ji Hyun froze. He sounded older than he could possibly be, and hearing him speak was like listening to nails scratch against the floorboard. It was frightening and disorienting, but Ji Hyun forced herself to smile.

“Thank you, again, for the dress.” Dipping her head, the girl wondered what she was supposed to do now. Her gown was pastel green, accentuating her curves and hiding her neck and shoulders with thin lace. It wasn’t long enough to sweep behind her, but extended past mid-calf and she quietly compared it to the red dress from earlier on.

How would Chanyeol react if he saw me in this?

“Mother, let us not bore her with the pleasantries.” Kris stood up then, putting his hand out and the girl took it with a polite smile. Her hand was surprisingly small, but it was also more rough than soft. It made him wonder what she’d done to make it that way.

“Oh, yes. Please,” The lady smiled again and he pulled the chair out for the girl. From the corner of his eye, he caught a Guard lingering by the doors and looked up a little.

It was Chanyeol.

The two of them had grown up together, and apart from calling him ‘Sir’, Chanyeol was never too formal with Kris. The boy had a valuable gift—fire bearers were incredibly rare. For that very reason, he was sent to the Vampire Court.

Chanyeol hated it. He grew up full of contempt for his ability because it set him apart from others, while Kris tried to convince him it was actually a good thing. “You never know, Chanyeol, it could be the best thing that’s ever happened to you,” he would always say.

“Shall we begin?” The Queen smiled, especially sweetly to their guest and Kris sat at his seat, picking his utensils up too.

Conversation was, at first, awkward. They engaged in plain old small talk, until the King turned his attention to Kris.

“How is the situation down at Tierre?” Her attention was caught at that, but the Crown Prince only answered vaguely.

“As you wished, father.” They continued on, mostly asking about different lands under the Vampire Court and Ji Hyun tried to pay attention to the conversation. But she couldn’t focus, not when a certain Guard was patrolling outside the dining room. She could see him every time he made a round right outside the door, or when he spoke with the other Guards stationed outside the doors.

His burning touch lingered. Her forearms could still feel the heat that had spread across her skin.

She nearly dropped her fork when she remembered the kiss at her jaw.

No, she was stronger than this.

Forget what he did, and forget what you did too. Focus entirely on the royal family. That is what you’re supposed to be doing, Ji Hyun.

She hadn’t come to the Vampire Court to be the Queen. No way. She came, because of the amount of information she would have access to here. Having been on the run from two royal families for nearly a year, she’d learnt a lot.

Two families and not three, because her father’s side—the Witches—were brutally murdered. He was not of royal blood. It was said to be an accident, just the wrong people being at the wrong place at the wrong time but she knew it wasn’t, because Ji Hyun was supposed to visit her grandparents that day. But she was greeted by blood on the floor and a blazing fire. Lifeless, drained bodies hung from the ceiling.

Had she known Chanyeol was a Vampire, she wouldn’t have run from him. She would have walked over herself. During that year she spent running, she heard rumors from all sources. Horrible stories of conquest, conspiracy and murder—none that she believed until she witnessed then avenged a fellow Witch’s death.

She was hanged and burned.

So she replied in kind, by driving a wooden stake through the Vampire’s heart. She wasn’t stupid either. The marriage with the Crown Prince was merely the Vampire Court’s attempt at gaining more power, though she could not fathom why she was chosen for the role. There were many other eligible girls.

“Your highness,” a raspy voice interrupted their conversation and she turned. A man of average height stood by the door, his muscles bulging like they would tear his uniform apart. Ji Hyun turned her attention back to the King, who merely gestured for the man to come in.

The man spoke quietly, only allowing the rest at the table to hear snippets. Even then, it made no sense and the King rose.

“Excuse us. The Queen and I must leave for a month or two.” He walked away without waiting for a response, but Ji Hyun bowed anyway. The Queen rolled her eyes then smiled, before quickly following after her husband.

That left her and Kris at the table, both staring intently at the empty chairs.

“How has your stay been, my lady?” It was an expected question, and she replied the way she had rehearsed as a child… or, at least, somewhat the way she was supposed to.

“It has been splendid, Crown Prince.” She was suddenly aware of his eyes on her, but Ji Hyun showed no indication of knowing. She merely picked her glass up and took a sip of wine.

Wine for her, blood for them.

“Excellent choice of words, my lady. Mine, unfortunately, hasn’t been that great.” He spoke as though his guard was down but she knew better than to believe that.

“Haven’t you been staying here your entire life though?” She tilted her head to the side, a soft frown on her face before placing her utensils at the side of her plate. She had no appetite.

“Yes.” He replied with a straight face, before shaking his head. “When your Guards have supernatural hearing, running from home isn’t exactly an option.” Kris pursed his lips at that, and she found herself smirking. Had he already attempted it? Or was he merely contemplating?

“I suppose being a Halfling in a family of humans has its perks,” she shrugged before dragging her gaze from her glass to his brown eyes. They were darker than average, and always looked cloudy.

Like there was something waiting to escape.

“How was your year of freedom?” He meant that as an innocent question, but Ji Hyun snorted.

“Freedom? I was hunted down. Thankfully, though, I survived.” She survived, but that was only because there were no Witches after her. They were the strongest bounty hunters and had mostly disappeared—vanished from the surface of this world.

No one knows what happened to these Witches, but she had inkling.

“Did anything… happen to make you want to run?” He was cautious this time, perhaps afraid that she would react in a negative way. Of course something happened.

But she had been expecting the question, and she already had an appropriate answer.

“Not much.” 

Finished in two days, hopefully there aren't many grammatical errors.