Yoon Sena was not the most beautiful girl, nor was she drop-dead gorgeous, or stunningly attractive. In fact, I was just an average girl-next-door with a sweet look and a pair of lively eyes. I was easy on the eyes, at the very best. I had long realised that not every girl could be that beautiful model-like girl who became a story’s main character. No. I was Yoon Sena, the fearsome Dragon heiress. And that was honestly more than enough.

                  I did not have doe-eyes who could charm men into desire. My eyes were oriental, sharp and almond-shaped, almost like a phoenix’s eyes. My nose was not too big, but it wasn’t small, either. My lips were probably the best feature of my face, for it was always soft pink and small but thick. My hair fell all the way to my back, and now it was rounded up in braided chignon with a little bit of curls on the sides.

                  Like most girls, I liked dressing up and putting on makeup. I like getting my hair and nails done. Simply put, I, too, wanted to feel pretty sometimes. And tonight was one of the rare nights that I felt so comfortably beautiful in a dark blue dress that complimented my brown eyes. I stood up in front of a big mirror, admiring my reflection a few steps away.

                  “Are you satisfied with the result, Lady Sena?” My reliable butler, Mr. Kim smiled at me as the workers put on the final touch on my skin. My face was already oval enough as it was, and I had very visible cheekbones and a bit of jawlines, so I did not understand why they had to put the bronzer on my skin. It was itchy, and I was afraid that new acnes would come out again.

                  “Enough!” I scolded lightly, and all of them froze. With half a frown, I shook my head and said, “Thank you, but no more bronzer. It’s enough. I am supposed to look like a faery, not Cleopatra!” referring to the winged cat liner and shimmery eye shadow. My lips were only a shade lighter than blood, so it was freaky, but fascinating at the same time. I had never looked so mature before.

                  “Mr. Kim!” I singled him out, and he gave me a salute like soldier. “Do I look like I’m eighteen? It’s absolutely beautiful but I’m not supposed to look older than the Elites and my protectors!”

                  “M’Lady!” He exclaimed a bit dramatically. His wide eyes hushed the other workers as they lined up on the side obediently, waiting for the next instruction. This felt like prom, which would come next year. I wished to graduate without any trouble by the fall, then took a year off before resuming college. Mr. Kim went up behind me and inspected my look from head-to-toe, “I think they will like it.”

                  “Who cares what they think,” I scoffed at his words. I was expecting some reaction from them, but the way I looked would not be based solely on their judgement. Still feeling a bit age-conscious, I twirled around once again and pointed at the workers, “Well, what’s done has been done. You’ve done a good job. Mr. Kim, you should give them bonuses.”       

                  Mr. Kim bowed down and he hurried to open the door for me. Usually, the main character would make an entrance halfway along the party, but that was not actually the case here. I had to wait for all eight of my guards to show up in the dining hall before we rode a car to Elder Jaehyun’s house in the suburban area. These men took way too long to get ready, and they didn’t even need to put on makeup, unlike me.

                  “I’m hungry,” I mumbled sadly and rubbed my stomach. Because I had been unable to eat these past few days, I could only feel pointy ribcages and bones all over. I hated looking so sickly skinny because my bones were protruding out, including my facial bones. It was ugly. So I became determined to eat a lot tonight. “Hungry, hungry, hungry.”

                  When the door opened, I felt so sinful once again. This scene was a harem, with so many beautiful men by my side. I should have felt blissful, until I remembered that I could not cross the line with any of them. So this was as good as having nothing. Still! What a view! I was a very lucky . I got to live with eight men. And all of them were strikingly good looking.  

                  Only Chanyeol dared to whistle. The others looked too embarrassed to even look at me. Yixing’s eyes were so bright that night. Luhan was already staring at me with expectancy. My gege looked positively radiant, illuminating even, in that white suit with black stripes. He had always been good looking, but today even more so. I was proud.

                  “You look very handsome, ge,” I smiled and pat his arms affectionately.

                  Then I turned to examine Jongin and Sehun, both wore black in contrast to others. And boy, did they look stunning. By stunning, I meant, jaw dropping, heart aching-kind of handsome. They just looked unrealistic. The black suit should have been illegal on them. I sniffed.

                  “You’re drooling, Princess,” Jongin was clearly mocking me.

                  Surprisingly, Sehun just rolled his eyes and came up to me. Usually, Luhan was the one who was very fond of skinship. But then Sehun grazed the tip of his fingers on my earrings, pretending to be fixing it as he sweetly smiled and said, “Beautiful.”

                  It was just one word. And yet my heart reacted so tenaciously. “Well… You don’t look too bad yourself, Oh Sehun.”

                  “Hey, hey, don’t steal her away from me,” Ever the possessive friend, Luhan broke the trance and put his arms around my neck. I could not help but chuckled despite of the nervousness. He pinched my cheeks and I flinched. “There, you look better smiling. You’ve been in a bad mood since morning.”

                  Yes, let’s go,” I circled my arms around his and we departed.

***

                  Elder Jaehyun went on to greet us and ushered all of my guards away. They had not looked entirely happy, especially Sehun and Luhan, but rules were rules. They had to go no matter what. With so many people around, I understood the danger it possessed, and was very careful with everything. I grew up living with the paranoia Grandfather had left on me, like a scar I could not scratch off.      

                  There were servants who came to guide me along the way. It was very unnerving to see so many of them surrounding me. Sometimes, I truly did not know whether I was a prisoner in a cage or a leader of a magnificent clan.

                  Tonight, everyone came from all over the world. Some of the branch families’ leaders were present, and I was expected to accompany and please them. All five Elders were standing over in different corners, entertaining important people such as politicians and even celebrities. Everyone was beautiful and dashing, for of course, this was the event of the year.

                  “Lady Sena.” A girl not many years older walked up to me. She was dressed in the latest couture dress from some luxury brands in Paris. But it was not her dress that stole most attention but her face. Even as a girl, and especially as a girl, I felt that my look was inferior next to her, like she was so radiant and I was just too plain and average.

                  “Oh, who are you?” I didn’t mean to come on so strong and rude, but the aloofness of my exterior could not justify anything. My eyes scanned her and the crowd around us. Somehow, I did not get a good feeling about her. And my instinct was very rarely wrong.

                  “I am your older cousin, Yoon Sohee, daughter of Yoon Shiyoon and Hwang Mirae. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” She smiled innocently. I had heard of her parents because they were high-ranked officials in the clan. Had I not been born, she would have been the youngest daughter, and hence, the leader of the clan.

                  “It’s my first time seeing you, Lady Sohee,” I said coldly. More and more people were looking and I suddenly felt so antagonistic. An instinct could not be the base of disliking someone, but I just could not bring myself to like her. Of course this was not uncommon, either. 

                  “Ah yes, I just… came back,” She kept her composure and still smiled so prettily. I did not know whether to envy her or just let this go. I then realised how stiff my face had been. I wasn’t usually so unsociable. “Welcome back. Now excuse me, I need to find Uncle Jaehyun.”

                  With that said, I picked up my dress and walked away, but not before taking one last glance at her. She was sneering. Guess she wasn’t that good of an actress after all. The thought itself cheered me up as I went to find my Uncle on the other side of the room.

                  “Okay, Uncle, I’m ready. You can start the ritual.”                    

                  This ritual had been the talk of the clan because first, it was the most important event and the start of my career, and second, because this was the second time in history that a leader personally picked and reduced the size of the Elites. So far, they had only ever added on more Elites or kept it at twenty. Six were too few for an important figure. But I knew that one Jongin was enough to take down two former protectors Jisoo and Jiwu, and I rested well at the thought.    

                  The ritual wasn’t as complicated as it sounded. The Elites walked into the room, forming a straight line as they headed towards me. All of them were draped in grey coats. Behind them were Jongin and Sehun with their black coats. Black was the symbol of the highest achievement in our clan, because the darker the color was, the stronger the wearer would be.     

                  In short, what they did was to repeat the vow after me, promising life and death and beyond as the warriors of the Seiryuu. I thought eight would make a perfect circle of ba zi. Each with their own characteristic and skill. I had never been more proud of anyone in my entire life. Even Jongin, whom I admitted, looked unfairly good-looking tonight.

                  By midnight, the party was still going. Some of the guests had gone home, but more than half of them stayed. I went to the balcony to pick up a call as my phone rang non-stop. Luhan stared at me with his doe-eyes and I waved him away, silently assuring that I was just going out for a breath of fresh air. The room was too loud and crowded anyway.

                  “Hello?”

                  When he spoke, he had a tint of foreign accent and my heart fluttered at that.

                  “Congratulations, Yoon Sena.”

                  Kim Joonmyun had called me at the strike of twelve. Whether it was coincidental or not, I did not care. My heart had been heavy and I felt unsettled, but as soon as I heard his voice, everything cleared out and I was able to focus again. It was amazing the kind of effect he had on me, similar to Luhan’s, just in a not-so-brotherly way.

                  “Do you call just to tell me this? Your diplomatic skill is still as good as ever,” I replied and bit back a chuckle down my throat. He, too, was laughing so beautifully on the other side. Kim Joonmyun was never a morning person, so I felt a bit touched with the call he made early in the morning, when the sun had not gone up yet.

                  “Of course I have to,” His voice was sweet. “Now that you are official to the world, can I formally propose to you?”

                  My heart skipped a beat but I quickly composed myself. This was the arrangement, the deal I had to make in exchange of Genbu’s protection. I had known Kim Joonmyun for a while and I honestly thought he would make a great fiancée. This deal was done without feelings, not that I had that much choices anyway. Even if it weren’t Joonmyun, there would be many other guys who would come after my position, so it was better this way.

                  “Depends. Are you proposing now?”

                  “If it were, what would you say?” He whispered softly with the warmth that could melt even the coldest heart. I kept on telling myself that I did not like this guy, but there were times when his actions were utterly and completely impulsive and unpredictable – not that I’d complain anyway.

                  “It isn’t so you don’t get to hear it,” I cheekily replied and held the phone tighter. I was scared yet excited. The little thumping of my heart was the proof. “I am waiting for your proposal, Kim Joonmyun, and by then I will say ‘yes’ and tell you all the sweet nothings. So you better prepare well.”

                  “Of course,” He burst out in another series of laughter. Knowing that he was so calm about everything comforted me greatly. “Anything for my Queen…”