Chapter eight: The angel, the puppy and the ray of sunshine

Seungkwan guided them through the town and with every new corner they turned Soonyoung was more amazed at the way the place looked. The place seemed prosperous and wealthy all around, the houses were finished nicely with wood carvings around the edges. Every house had glass windows, some windows were even decorated with stained glass in various colours and patterns. Inside the houses people were starting to light up candles, outside people lighting fireplaces, and a warm orange colour reflected throughout the town. In Soonyoungs mind this was how he pictured Vanghgard after he rebuild it. The people that were still walking around all seemed to greet Seungkwan happily and he replied back mentioning all of their names.

After walking around for what seemed almost half an hour they reached their destination. A small bridge lead them over a canal towards a stone building. The building seemed to be easily guardable, a high stone wall with towers all around, but he spotted no actual guards.  After crossing the bridge the gate was opened for them by someone that Soonyoung couldn’t see, maybe there were guards after all. Seungkwan gestured them to follow him and so the group went through the immense doors which led them too a courtyard decorated with high oak trees. Behind him he could hear Wonwoo gasp at the display in front of him, a stone keep stood tall in the middle of the courtyard, partly hidden from their view by the large oak trees. The first floors had no windows at all, but the upper floors seemed to have huge windows made with stained glass that gave a majestic feeling to the whole building. Soonyoung was suddenly not so sure about their trip into the Grenhil pack territory and he started to understand why no one has left the forest with information about the existence of the pack.

“I will inform them of our arrival, please wait here for a bit.” Seungkwan ran off towards the side of the building where Soonyoung spotted a second staircase that went up to the stone keep. Guessing that it would take a considerable amount of time before Seungkwan would return Soonyoung chose to sit down on the ground, the  others followed his lead. His eyes roamed around the courtyard trying to scout out the defences of the castle. This was quite different from the wooden hill forts that most packs inhibited. The one downside that Soonyoung could think of was that the keep wouldn’t be able to protect all the villagers that he saw outside. From stories about Vanghgard he had learned that it used to have a wooden motte-and-bailey construction. Maybe if it had been a stone creation in stead of wood it would have survived the storm. He spotted a movement from the corner of his eyes on the walls, that was when he finally noticed the rope bridge hanging from the wall going into the forest and on that bridge he saw a person before he disappeared into the darkness that was the forest. Remembering the many treehouses in the village he suddenly got the feeling that this castle was not the real defence of this town… He continued watching the rope bridge in hopes of seeing more people walking on it, but there would be no further movement on the bridge.

The main door of the keep swung wide open with a loud bang and Seungkwan stood in the door opening. “You can come in.” He said while gracefully bowing down, which Soonyoung just found utterly weird but next to him he saw Hansol smile in adoration of the man.

Wait what? His head went from Seungkwan to Hansol and back again and he found the both of them staring at each other their eyes practically glistering. From all the moments that Seungcheol right hand man could fall in love he just had to choose the one that really was not beneficial at all. He had to choose the man that was keeping them captive right now. Soonyoung shook his head astonished at the youngsters. Only now he noticed the obvious omega scent lingering around Seungkwan. Well that explained part of that at least…

“Are you guys going to come in or what?” Seungkwan sounded a bit irritated. Wonwoo took the initiative and walked towards the door looking around with a face that told Soonyoung to hurry up. To which he gladly obliged.

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Inside the building Seungkwan led them to a staircase that took them towards a dimly lit room. Around the sides torches where burning with a kind orange light in their holders. Even in the relative darkness Soonyoung could see multiple brightly coloured tapestries hanging down on the wall. A slight elevation in the floor split the room into two areas. The area that Soonyoung was currently in was filled with three long rows of tables and benches. The floor was littered with thatch and some herbs that made it impossible for his nose to function normally. In one corner he could see something that he assumed were music instruments that were currently unused. The other area was smaller and lined with carpets. In the back of the room was a big curtain, in front of the curtain stood a table with some chairs. On the head of the table a tall man sat, looking down at them. Normally you would expect tall and strong looking people to be intimidating, but this man almost looked like a happy little puppy to Soonyoung. His features, very handsome, were soft, a childish smile looking like he wanted to do something mischievous. His hair was a bit curly and if straight Soonyoung was sure it would cover his eyes. The eyes were really dark in colour, puppy like with a slight sparkle to them.   

In front of a window on his left stood another man  a bit shorter, looking at the scenery outside. His face peaceful with a soft smile that gave him an almost angelic appearance. His hair was cut quite short and had a brownish colour that matched his eyes. Soonyoung let his eyes travel over the people in the room trying to imprint their faces in his memory. There was no reaction from them entering the room, the men both stayed where they were.

He was starting to debate whether or not he should speak up when a next to him Seungkwan started talking. “Can I leave now?” Seungkwan asked, breaking the silence. A man that Soonyoung hadn’t noticed before in furthest corner from him answered.

“Sure go ahead, but please stay nearby so that you can guide them back towards Chan’s home.” The voice was light and seemingly kind, matching his sunlight bright smile. Seungkwan made a slight bow towards the man, turned around and took his leave. Hansol kept staring at the door after Seungkwan had left, Soonyoung could only sigh at the display.

“Please do step forward. Welcome to Grenhil castle.” The man continued talking gesturing them to move forward. Hansol finally directed his attention to the man only to suddenly stop moving with his mouth gapingly wide open.

“Seokmin?!” He asked after being silent for a while.

“It is good to see you again Hansol, although I must say that I did not expect to meet in these circumstances.” The man called Seokmin answered. “Normally we only meet in Strenyard, it is not our custom to welcome strangers in Grenhil.” The blinding smile seemed to get even brighter.

“Wait, you guys are from Grenhil?” Hansol asked surprised. The man was quite slow witted if you asked Soonyoung. Hansol had known the merchants for a few months now. The Strenyard pack had tr