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Chapter 17

Dara paced back and forth in her room after the meeting at the big house. ‘Unnie’ she heard Yeri’s voice in her head. ‘We have to talk.’ Dara gasped as she heard her sister’s voice in her head once again.

It has been so long since she last heard her sister inside her head. The last time was a day before they found her dead body lying by the meadow. “Where..?” Dara shouted out loud as she whipped her head left and right looking around her room.

“Your room’s protective spell…” Dara can tell that Yeri was snickering. “As expected from the legendary White Witch, it’s tight. Close it as soon as I break in.” Dara bit her lip, “How can I trust you? For all I know, you’re not really my sister.”

It was a trick question.

A question only the real Yeri can answer.

“You’ve never lost your trust in me unnie. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever.” Yeri sighed.

-Flashback-

“Unnie, my crow speaks!” “Yeri, you should never tell lies.” Their mother said as she was brushing the young princess’ hair.”

“I’m not lying, mother. The crow unnie gave me did really speak to me last night when you were all gone.” The little princess retorted as she pouted her lips. Their mother just shook her head amused by her daughter’s imagination as she stood to personally draw her daughter’s bath. As their mother walked away, Dara smiled to her little sister, “Don’t worry Yeri-yah. Unnie will never lose her trust in you. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever…” with that, the little princess smiled brightly.

-End of Flashback-

Dara clenched her fist when Yeri showed up right before her from the shadows after breaking the spell that was once over her room. She whispered a spell under her breath right away to close the gap that made Yeri to enter her place.

“I believe you have questions for me?” Yeri said as she pranced around the room with her feline like litheness before flying to sit in the air on an invisible chair.

“H-how..?-”

“Am I alive?” Yeri smiled at her dear sister. “I really died that day, unnie.” Dara flew next to her dear sister, stretching her marble pale hands to caress Yeri’s face.

“Then how?” A fleeting silence passed. Yeri smiled softly, yet sadly; recalling that hurtful moment when she lost her life.

“I called on to a demon…” Yeri leaned into her sister’s touch and whispered, “Rerum…”

Dara’s breath hitched as the room changed itself into the forest where her sister was said to be found dead.

She saw Yeri lying inside a make-shift tent set up by their royal guards and saw Vernon sleeping in sitting position with his sword in hand at the entrance of the tent. Yeri stirred in her sleep. Being a clone, her vampire senses were intentionally made to be sharper than an average vampire; she heard the other golden cloaks whispering among themselves.

“We have to kill her before she reaches the capitol. Those are the orders.” One said.

“Vernon is always close to the princess, how?!” The other complained.

A voice from the far end said, “Then we kill him first.”

The moon shined on the owner of the voice.

It was Jeonghan.

Vernon’s half brother. “Are you crazy?! No one has ever fought Vernon and lived!” another golden cloak say.

“Then, do you have better plans?” Jeonghan snarled, to which nobody dared to reply.

Jeonghan waited while looking at them one by one in their eyes. “Then it’s done. We move now when he’s exhausted and vulnerable.” Jeonghan continued.

The memory right before Dara played a very heated sword fight between three royal guards, Jeonghan and Vernon. The clashing of swords woke Yeri up from her shallow sleep. Her eyes searched for Vernon and her crow. She reached for the cage and hugged it tight. “Your grace, run!” Yeri with her stubborn attitude went out of the make shift tent and said, “Not without you!”

She saw Vernon already slew three guards and was now fighting with Jeonghan. “Why are you doing this?!!” Vernon yelled as he struck his sword against his half brother.

“Because you tried to steal everything away from me!” Jeonghan shouted back at him as he reflected Vernon’s attack and slashed his sword against his shoulder which was defenseless. Vernon fell down face first on the dirt.

“Vernon!!!” Yeri shouted alarmed.

Jeonghan struck him again, giving his back a big slash. Yeri ran to his side holding her caged crow as Jeonghan stared down at him with a grin plastered on his face. “Father, the glory, and even that position; Lord Commander should’ve be mine if you didn’t come along, you bastard!” Jeonghan stood in front of him and Yeri ing down his sword at Vernon’s body, finally ending his life.

“NO!!!” Yeri yelled in agony, swatting the bird cage which freed the crow inside it. Yeri began crying over Vernon’s lifeless body. “Sorry, your grace.” His voice was full of sarcasm. “I have strict orders from the High King to dispose of you and leave no witnesses.” He said as his sword grazed on Yeri’s chin.

“Don’t worry. I won’t make it fast. You can die as slow as you want, your grace. Take your time to savor your death while you watch my brother bleed his gut out beside you.“

After striking Yeri’s throat deep enough to bleed, Jeonghan turned his back on them and walked deep in the woods towards the capitol. Dara could hardly breathe as she watched her sister cough blood, her hand reaching up at the flying crow over her head. The crow landed on her fingers as she lay there with her other hand on . “I… want… to… live…” Yeri croaked, making blood leak from the cut on .

The crow’s eyes glinted red, and a distorted voice was heard. “What would you give to live?” It asked. Wide eyed, Dara stared at the crow. “Anything…” The crow’s eyes glinted once again. “Will you devote your soul to me?” The distorted voice asked.

“A-anything…” The fading Yeri croaked again.

“Then…” The crow flapped it wings and flew high over her head, changing into a devilishly dashing lady. Dara recognized the lady that was with Yeri when she took Tyler from the dungeon earlier today. She held Yeri’s hand and dark mystic letters flew around them. As the lady flew, Yeri’s soul followed her hand in hand. “From now on, you are my mate. I will take your soul and raise it from scratch, make you body out of thin air and make you live again when the time is right.” The demon whispered then murmured a spell under her breath producing a glass like heart entrapping the soul within.

Dara flinched as the memory began to fade before her.

Yeri broke the law of nature again.

She cheated on death!

As if her life being a clone wasn’t enough of a sin of nature she even cheated on life and death situations. "What have you done?!!” Yeri smiled at her sister sadly knowing well what was running on her dear sister’s mind. “It was the only way to see you again, unnie.” Yeri’s face turned serious in an instant, remembering why she was here in her sister’s turf in the first place. “But that’s not the main problem here right now unnie. We don’t have much time left… I have to tell you something…”