Junhong watched the strangely new pendant swing from from his beloved Esther's neck.

He never seen that necklace before, he wasn't sure if it was just a new trinket she picked up in the city or if it belonged to Maddox.

It's not like he could openly ask her where she got it, Esther hated when people asked too many questions about her shopping habits. 

He sighed in frustration once again, stirring Esther from her novel. Her fake reading glasses slipping off her round nose, giving Junhong a irritated look.

"Keep it down" She haughtly snipped but her lips threatened to crack a smile.

 He joined her on the couch, knocking the book she was reading out of her hands, so he could have her full attention.

A smirk graced her lips , as she pulled him in. She knew she was acting unusual and slightly pushing him away. She just couldn't seen to understand why but when she woke up, the mere slight of him repulsed her.

She pulled him closer to make her ill thoughts go away. She kissed him neck, smelling his blood through his veins. Deciding feeding on her lover would make things better.

 Yet instead of just taking enough to make her hunger aside, she flipped him , so he sat up and straddled him. 

Digging her teeth hard , she greedily gulped his blood and filthy essence.

' So ruddy contaminated, how could such a being exist', Wicked thoughts filled her head as she drank and drank.

She could hear the hum of his soul fade, growing quieter as she continued to feed.

Junhong panicked as his heart slowed, he wanted to push her off but was too weak. The pleasure of death was flowing through him.

He began to moan, encouraging her to bleed him dry. "Esther' he pants.

When Junhong pushed her head weakly to his neck, she flew herself back. Feet barely touching the floor.

 She was floating.

Her teeth bared and her violet eyes vivid , but harsh. Hissing at Jonghong before sobbing.

"I can't do this!" She shouted

 Jonghong was regaining his strength,  and could not do much, he just watched her. 

Especially the locket around her neck. It glowed erriely as her behavior grew more and more out of character.

 She sobbed hard and harder as the locket burned her skin, like early morning sun rays.

Her brown skin scaring from the heat, but she wasn't going to take it off. It made her feel safe and loved, even though it was beginning to hurt her.

Jonghong finally regenerated, snatched the blasted locket off her neck. Breaking it's fragile chain.

Esther screamed, clutching her head in pain. Jonghong didn't understand why she was carrying on this way.

Had the locket somehow bonded to Esther? What kind of curse was casted on the necklace.

 Soran takes the necklace from him and inspects it cautiously, not wanting to harm the Priestess in anyway. He wasn't sure what would happen if he happened to touch it the wrong way.

Esther sat the floor, panting as she began to recover, Jonghong wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Holding her ever so tightly.

"It's a good thing she didn't drain you" Soran suddenly said.

"What are you talking about?" Jonghong asked

"If she drained you dry, whomever cursed this locket would gain access to her heart." Soran opened the locket and revealed what was inside.

 A small pinkish brown realistic heart laid connected to blue and red veins. Black tar looking blood pooling around the heart and on parts of it.

Jonghong cursed loudly as he looked at the horribly morbid locket.

"I seriously hope it's isn't real-what the hells"

Just as Jonghong spoke the heart moved, pumping the blood around it.  As if answering him, showing it was very real.

"Who's heart is the it?"

Soran said nothing for a while , as he watched the tiny heart pump the blood surrounding it.

"Maddox" was all he eventually said.

"Why would he put his own heart in a necklace?"

"It's a old Miori tradition. Usually a marriage proposal but this is being used to bond t7uhyyhggtj6rrrryheir essence. He's a Master ..a priest and he has claimed Esther to be his priestess."

"He can't, she and I are bonded."

"This is a blood claim, your mere imprint means nothing."

"Well excuse me for not being occult educated"

"It's not occult, you nimrod" Soran's eyes flashed red, warning him to back off.

Taking the hint Jonghong sighed, nothing was going right today, and to make matters worse, the trial was in four more hours. Esther didn't seem to be able to function normally without the locket now. She needs to be semi of sound body to get through the trial.

Against all rational, Jonghong allowed Soran to place the necklace around his beloved's neck.

He vowed to destroy that thing as soon as they found a way to break the blood bond.

As a servant bred to protect his mistress, he had failed for the second time.

 He let her out of his sight and this was now their lives.

~*~

The Sun had just set, when they headed out to the carriage that waited for them at the end of the driveway.

The carriage glemed with intimidation, it was just like the magistrate to provide a luxury ride to their accused. It was their way of saying 'We're not so bad', but Jonghong was sure they wrote this off as a human tax write off. Anything to show their importance.

Soran, Jonghong and Esther sat in silence as the spirit barrier opened up and swallowed them into the ethereal world.

 It didn't look much different from the human world, except for the air.

The air was thick and at times sweet smelling. The scent could make anyone not used to magic sick. 

Jonghong looked over to Esther to see how she was breathing. She, unlike him was born in the human world. She only visited this side of the their world once but she was a priestess then.

Her breathing was normal, but at times she would forget to inhale. Which would be peculiarp if he forgot that their lungs differ from humans, they didn't need to breathe as often as they did.

Though it was normal, something was wrong but he could not properly place it.

The locket glowed blue when she took a breath.

Not really sure what to do, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard. Everything would eventually fall into it's proper order, he just wished it could now.

      The jury was not of their peers and the audience was a gathering of society's finest. They all had shown up for the latest piece of gossip and to see the offspring of a nobleman be disgraced.

They dressed in finery and looked ever so pleased with themselves. It was basically a public lynching.

 The head judge dressed in his red silk robe, didn't even look at Esther, he just nodded to bailiff and Esther was handcuffed.

 When Jonghong took a step forward towards her , he too was handcuffed. Soran was no longer standing by his side.

Things were getting a bit too surreal.

~*~

    He could only took on from the table he was chained to as the council began grilling Esther. Asking her questions that they knew she wouldn't know, probing her thoughts when theyweren't satisfied with them.

 They dug deep inside her head, Jonghong could personally feel their nails etching for hints, clues, anything that would make her look guilty.

 When they found something worth looking at, they became ruthless in their attempts to unearth it and analyze it. It was draining her faster than anything.

They were not going to show her mercy, not with so many witnesses about.

"What say ye?" The first councilman turns to his peers.

"Blood test" said another

"Purity test say I"

The first councilman bangs his gavel on the podium and a guard pulls Esther to her feel.

A small white spindle was wheeled in, causing the audience to whisper and exclaim in wonderment. They were fully interested now.

The guard roughly grabbed her hand, bringing her body closer to the sharp spindle.

"Prick your finger and show us the blood"

"Agree says I"

"Begin"

Esther tried to look at Jonghong for answers but he couldn't help her, not with his hands chained and a guard hovering over him.

Without much choice, Esther breathed in slowly and gently began to poke her index finger. 

 Apparently she was going to slow, the guard that held her wrist brought her finger down on the spinners hard, spilling more blood then necessary.

 Her blood was red but something was off and it began to run down and cover the spindle hilt and the base. It soon engulfed the white wood and painted it shimmery black.

Everyone in the room gasped but grew silent as a laughter so intense grew louder.

Her head thrown back Esther cackled with delight. Her body light as air levitated off the grown.

"She's gone mad" a voice cried out.

The sound of lightning crashed in the room and smoke swirled in the court. 

The audience ran the door and grew frightened when they discovered the doors were locked.

"No one leaves till I get my turn" Esther speaks in a voice that didn't Belong to her.

Suddenly Jonghong's wrist are free but he doesn't move, instead he watches Esther banish the councilmen and turn one of them into a mouse,

"You silly fools. You honestly thought a bind and blood prick would give you answers. I am much more than that, I deserve move. I am your Priestess, you shall respect me."

With the flick of her wrist, the crowd bowed rather stiffly.

"You ingrates, dirty caste peons came for my humiliation as your entertainment. "

Another clash of lightning and smoke filled the room again, shadowy figures rose from the ground.

 She had summoned Nephiliem.

"Hello my children. I heard your hungry"

'Esther NO!" Junhong stood on top of the table

 Cocking her head to side she smiled lazily at him "Beloved, this is not your fight, stand down my love."

Twirling her red fingers, Junhong was banished some where safe. She transported him to Lillian's small cottage in the forest of the dead.

In his head, Esther whispered I love you, like it was good bye...