Arc 1 - Chapter 2 - 1727 - When Fire Collides

Tiana, who was now 70 in vampire years, was the opposite of what Hara had expected. Following the pattern of different personalities, Tiana was the sweetest of her sisters. Still, Hara liked that her little sister entertained every crazy idea she had even though she didn’t join her in implementing them. Since Skylar had reached the “adulthood” of her vampire life, which was 180 years, she was less interested in her sisters, or at least that was how Hara felt. Though she adored the company of her younger sisters, Hara wished that she had someone else to fill the Skylar void; now that she was always with her new boyfriend, Sehun. Like Skylar, he was an air vampire and the most skilled manipulator of wind that the kingdom had ever seen. Sehun was from one of the wealthiest and elite families in the kingdom and the only guy who Skylar felt was worthy of being with her and a future king.

Now that Hara was 130 years old, Tiana and Litha felt much too young for her. For every 10 years, a vampire only aged 1 year old, that meant Hara was basically a 13 year old human girl in apperance now. All the other vampires her age spent their time practicing their magic., so she rarely had company. Being a direct descendent of Mina, the most powerful vampire in existence, Hara was already way ahead of everyone else in terms of skills and techniques. The sisters' gifts had come only too naturally to them. She didn’t want to spend her days learning about her magic. Instead she wanted to spend her days using her magic. While others were manipulating a simple flame, Hara was already manipulating lightning. No other fire vampire could do what she did, not even the elder ones. 

It had been a normal day, just like any other, but Hara was feeling more despondent than usual. She needed to get out of the palace and go on a trip and she knew exactly which destination was going to improve her mood. Since she was considered old enough to do whatever she wanted; she was able to go around the entire vampire kingdom more freely. Off course there were always vampires from the queen's guard that trailed her, but they kept their distance. Still, it meant she could travel further away from the castle and return before her parents even realized just how long she had been gone for. A few months ago, she and Skylar had gotten into a fight. Hara knew if she stayed inside the palace, she would turn her sister to ash; so she ran as far as she could to get away from everything. After a long journey, she had stumbled upon a volcano in the middle of the mountains. Growing up, she had heard stories and was always fascinated by a “castle of lava”. Ever since that day, she had gone back as often as she could, sometimes spending the entirety of her days there. 

Even though lava seemed like something that fell under the earth element, the temperature made Hara feel like it belonged to her fire element instead. She had become adamant on claiming it as her own. So far, she had succeeded in levitating the lava, but it had taken her all those months. The texture and consistency was unlike anything she had ever experienced, which is why it took an unusually long time to get the hang of it. But she had been proud of her progress, knowing that no other fire vampire had mastered this phenomenon. It felt as if the volcano was something that belonged to just her. She liked the fact that it was an escape from her family and the rest of the vampires. She found that recently, she needed it more than ever; since the arguments between her and Skylar seemed to be occurring more frequently. Even though she was completely isolated, she didn’t feel alone whenever she was there; she liked the solitude. But, much to her surprise, when she arrived this time, she was not alone…

“Hi”, Hara said to the boy who was sitting next to the lava, his hands hovering above it. It was obvious by the colour of his eyes that he was just like her. “Hello Princess”, he said back. Hara had seen the boy around the kingdom now and then, but they had never spoken before. “You know me?”, she asked. “Off course I do and off course you don’t know me”, he chuckled. She was not sure how to read his tone. “A bit far from the palace… aren’t you?”, a slight smirk grew on his face. Hara ignored this, “What are you doing here?”. She knew the volcano didn't actually belong to her, but it felt like he was intruding her special place. “Nothing you would be interested in”, he retorted. “Try me”, she folded her arms and waited. The boy raised an eyebrow, “Well if you must know, I’m curious to see what flying lava looks like”.

Hara smirked now. This boy was clearly underestimating her own curiosity. She quietly observed him try and fail countless time, until she couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. “What’s so funny girl?”, the boy asked, anger marking his every word. “You are”, she responded. Hara wasn’t quite sure if she liked or disliked this boy’s personality. He reminded her of herself in some ways, but she had never met anyone who was that rude to her. Since she was a princess, people treated her exactly like one. They walked on eggshells around her, much to her annoyance. Unlike Skylar, she never cared if people treated her like royalty or not. Actually Skylar had been the only princess who lived up to the title, while the other sisters did not pay much attention to it. 

“What are you even doing here?”, he asked harshly. His arrogance had faded into frustration and she loved that she had gotten under his skin. “What’s your problem?”, she blurted out. “Well since I have to spell it out for you… Y…O…U… are my problem”, he pointed a finger at her. “Wow… spelling out simple words like a child”, she teased, “No wonder you can’t perform a simple task. “Simple task!”, he was flabbergasted, “Let’s see you try it then… if you think you are", his words broke off and turned to awe, "Woooooooooow”. He was done arguing. Instead his mouth hung wide open in astonishment. Hara had levitated a ball of lava over to him. “How did you? How? You have to show me how!”, he insisted, running up to her. 

“Why should I?”, she asked. “Well because… uhm”, the boy scratched his head, unsure of how to respond, “Because you’re amazing… okay”. Hara smiled, victoriously, “What’s your name?”. “Dohwan”, he answered. “I’m Hara”, she said. “I know who you are prin-“, he paused, “Sorry”. “We need to work on that. How about you don’t treat me like a princess and I don’t treat you like the jerk you are pretending to be. Deal?”, she held out a hand. “You have no idea who I am, do you? The queen wouldn’t approve of her daughter being friends with a guy like me... I'm not exactly one of the elites”, he said with a slight sneer, “I could be a bad influence on you”.

“Oh Dohwan, you have an even lesser idea of just how much of a bad influence I could be on you”. Seemingly pleased with that response, Dohwan shook hands with Hara. “This friendship thing might just work princess”, he smiled. Hara gave him a look of exasperation. “What?”, he grinned innocently, “I agreed not to treat you like a princess, I didn’t say I wasn’t going to call you princess”. “Are all boys this frustrating?”, she narrowed her eyes at him. “Maybe, but none can reach my level”, he winked. And just like that, her frustration fell away. She was certain of one thing now; she did like his personality after all. But more importantly, she had finally met her partner in crime…

~~~~~~~

Oh Sehun as Sehun

Element - Air

Vampire age in 1727 - 180

Human appearance in 1727 - 18

Woo Dohwan as Dohwan

Element - Fire

Vampire age in 1727 - 130

Human appearance in 1727 - 13