Shinhye dropped her sword, which magically returned to the necklace but Shinhye wasn't bothered about it. She hurried over to Eunna, who was barely breathing. "Eunna, you foolish girl, why did you do that? I was a better sacrifice."

"You...are...much...more important...You can...protect the...girls..." Eunna gasped. "You...must..leave. Now." Her voice grew weaker.

"No...Eunna..." Shinhye begged.

"Go." Eunna said firmly, sternly but so soft, that should Seolgi or Hyeri have been here, they would not have heard it.

Something jabbed at Shinhye's mind which set off a warning signal in her head. She spun around to face the four princes. "Shinhye, you have to leave this place. You have to go and look after the girls. Please." Sungmin begged. "Ryeowook alone is not enough. Eunhyuk, Yoseob and I will bring you to them. Kyuhyun will look after Eunna, okay?"

Shinhye took one last glance at her friend before she was ushered away by the three princes. Kyuhyun knelt down, next to Eunna and gently lifted her up into his arms. "I'm sorry." Kyuhyun whispered. "I came too late."

Eunna closed her eyes, knowing that she was in safe arms. Her grip on the dagger loosened and the dagger returned to the necklace. Kyuhyun walked in the opposite direction of where the others went.

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Shinhye sat there, eyes closed, still and silent. The other girls sat around her, as the other four guys stood around in the room. Heechul sat opposite Shinhye, Taemin and Hyunseung by his side as they waited for someone to say something. 

"Why are you all here?" Hyunseung asked. "Doojoon came back with the other girls and Ryeowook. Why did you come back with the three princes?"

Shinhye made no move to answer. She merely stayed there, not even moving and her eyes were still closed. "As much as we would like to tell you, it is not our tale to tell." Yoseob said calmly. "Hyunseung, you must not fret."

"How can I not fret, when..." He argued back but trailed off when Kyuhyun entered the dining room of the manor. "The fourth prince is late."

Kyuhyun bowed slightly but did not explain. Shinhye, for the first time since they arrived, opened her eyes to look at Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun merely evaded her eyes. "How..." She began but trailed off, her voice soft. "Where is..." She tried again.

Kyuhyun touched Sungmin's elbow and then Sungmin's eyes snapped wide. He turned to glare at Kyuhyun. "You shouldn't have done that." Sungmin hissed softly, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.

"I had no choice." Kyuhyun replied, softer than Sungmin. "I had no choice in the matter at all."

"But leaving her there? You could have brought her back!" Sungmin snarled.

"I HAD NO CHOICE!" Kyuhyun shouted, tears pouring out of his eyes. "DO YOU KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS? I HAD TO WALK AWAY FROM HER!"

"Where is Eunna?" Heechul asked, his eyes closed. His voice was low and strained. He was trying to keep his anger in.

Kyuhyun and Sungmin stiffened. They turned to find all eyes on them. Kyuhyun turned away abruptly and strolled towards the door, moving swiftly. Hyunseung and Yoseob were there in an instant. "You won't be leaving until you explain to us your choice." Yoseob said. "Where is she at?"

Sungmin let out an irritated sigh. "Just, just let him go." He said. "Now." He ordered. Hyunseung and Yoseob moved aside slowly. Kyuhyun gave one last glance into the room, straight at Shinhye.

"You better tell them what happened." Kyuhyun said. He turned back to look at Haemi. "You shouldn't be hiding anymore secrets from your friends either." Then, he left.

"You should tell them." Sungmin urged. 

Shinhye let out a soft sigh and tears streamed down her cheeks. "The vampire died." She said. The girls slowly moved closer to her. "But he was stronger than most others. He had some powers that I had never come across before. He threw a ball of it at me. I was temporarily distracted by the weird odor and the weird vibes it gave out." She paused, closing her eyes. "Eunna managed to deflect that one but the next strike came to quick."

"What happened?" Hyeri urged softly when Shinhye fell silent.

Shinhye opened her eyes, sweating slightly, as if she had just relived it. "The vampire threw his sword at me. Eunna...Pushed me aside and the sword...pierced her..." She trailed off, burying her face in her hands. "It's my fault!" She sobbed. "I'm sorry..."

The three girls glanced at each other before crossing the room and embracing their friend. "Don't ever blame yourself for something that was made to think that it was your fault." Hyeri chided. "It is not your fault."

Haemi turned to look at the occupants in the room. "Perhaps, it ought to be the time that I tell you this." She said. "The girls themselves don't know. It was a secret that was entrusted to Eunna. Eunna shared it with me, for fear that something would happen to her, which truly happened."

Ryeowook, ignoring the looks of the vampires, approached Shinhye and pulled her into his arms. He soothed her just by being there with her. Shinhye slowly calmed down and stopped crying. 

"There was a sixth house joining our circle in this place." Haemi said as she gestured towards the window, which showed the whole four other manors. She pointed to one black area, just at the mouth of the driveway area, "That's where the sixth manor resided at. In each house, there were six mothers and six daughters. Six mothers died in the same incident. But five daughters were rescued."

"What incident?" Seolgi asked. 

Heechul glanced at Seolgi. "The incident which made you all mother-less. That incident; was the one, where you entered the magic realm for the first time." He sighed. "Jonghyun would be able to tell you more but he's busy now."

"It is better that the incident remains unknown until its time to surface has come." Sungmin said softly.

"That house was burned down." Haemi continued. "The reason being, the sixth daughter had betrayed us. Her name was Song Jandi. She burned the manor down herself and left, proud as a peacock. She hated her mother's virtues. She hated her mother but she also envied her mother. Her mother was kind, accepted everywhere but she, she was detested. She was too proud, many say. But, she was a witch. A talented and gifted witch who everyone neglected."

"A witch?" Hyeri asked. "Like you?" 

Haemi smiled softly. "Not quite like me. Her witch blood was from another clan. Very different from my blood. We have different powers. But, she was supposed to be our friend. Our sixth friend."

"What has this got to do with Eunna?" Hyunseung asked.

"Patience is a virtue." Haemi said. "Eunna loved to say that. If I am not wrong, Song Jandi would be the ones behind what is happening right now. She would be the one behind the attacks on our magical realm, as no one else would have the knowledge of it."

"Then she would also be the one that the king mentioned." Hyunseung said. "In one of our interrogation sessions with him, he proclaimed to have an accomplice."

"That's enough for tonight, hyung." Taemin said softly, speaking for the first time. "Leave." Hyunseung eyed his younger step-brother before he swept out of the room. "I will be retiring as well. Excuse me." Taemin stood up and walked slowly towards the corridor and disappeared into the darkness.

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