Morning rose in the mountains like an old man from his sleep, stretching its branches into the sky, and opening its yawning mouth to the sun. Night fog disappated into morning dew, and birds began to shake themselves awake and drop from their nests, opening their wings for the first flight of the day. There was nothing more delicious than the morning air, thick with the taste of pine and fallen leaves. Animals emerged from their homes slowly and sleepily, blinking in the harsh morning light and stretching their tired limbs. 

It was the sound of a door shutting that first woke Eun, but it was the empty cot beside her that forced her into awareness.

"Huh?" she rubs at her eyes and looks again, but the cot is still empty. It shouldn't be. Last night after the mysterious wounded stranger had showed up in the temple courtyard, she dragged him into her chamber and laid him to bed on her brother's cot--who was sleeping with Kyungsoo in the other room. It was no easy feat dragging a man double her size inside in the wee hours of the morning, but determination drove her. She had never been one to leave behind a person in need of help.

Now the cot lay empty, as if no one had ever been there. Did she imagine it?

"You."

Eun's heart nearly stops at the sudden deep voice and she whips around. But there is no one. The door to her room is firmly shut. She is alone.

A coarse laugh sounds and Eun swivels her head around, searching.

"Why are you in my temple?"

Eun looks up, and jumps back. Atop the wooden shelf in the corner of the room, designed to hold the temple's ritual candles, sits the man from last night, leaning forward with elbows propped on his knees and legs dangling over the edge. In the light, she can see his face more clearly. Yet none of the cuts from before remain. Not even a bruise, or a scar.

"Y-your what?" Eun croaks, taking deep breaths to steady her heartbeat. Her forhead creases with confusion, "How..how did you get up there?"

The temple ceiling is several meters off the ground, and a long stick must be used in order to retrieve candles from that shelf. There was no way a man as injured as he had been last night could have climbed up there. It would have been a diffiucult task even for a perfectly healthy, athletic one.

"I asked why you're in my temple."

The man's voice is steely and impatient. Borderline disinterested, as if he has much better things to do than sit here and deal with Eun's confusion.

"Your temple?" Eun retorts, looking the man up and down, "this is Yeosansa, the temple of mountain gods. It's been abandoned for centuries, what do you mean your temple?"

The man scoffs a laugh, "You impudent wench, who do you think you are?"

"Impudent wench!?" Eun stands up, and points a finger at him, "that's no way to talk to someone who saved your life!"

He stares cooly.

She bites her lip and stands her ground, "W-who are you anyway? A thief? A fugitive?" she nods her head as if agreeing with herself and continues, "surely you don't look like more than some traveler, which is why I chose to help you. For all I knew you were lost in the woods and encountered a bear--"

"I would not say myself a traveler, but I did encounter a bear."

His eyes grow dark and a snarl grows on his lips,

"though my quarrel was that with a snake."

Eun blinks, "were you bitten?"

"Not this time. But I surely will be the next," he shakes his head, clenching his fist, "If I don't kill him first, and finish what was started long ago."

"Him?"

He drops down from the shelf, landing on all fours like a cat before standing straight. Taller than her by at least a head, his stature is, to say the least, intimidating. Up close the brown of his eyes sparkle a mysterious yellow.

His voice is a low hiss, "I've never been one to favor questions."

Eun takes a nervous step back, and clears , "I-I think I have a right to know. I saved you, after all."

He smirks and takes a step forward. Before Eun can blink her eyes, his face is inches from hers, and his arm wraps around her waist.  He must have crossed the entire room in a millisecond. As she in a gasp, the stench of blood reaches her nostrils.

She is yanked closer by his cold hand around her, until she is pressed against him. Unnatural amber eyes burn into hers.

A sleepy voice calls from outside, "Eun? Eun are you awake?"

Eun desperately looks from the eyes of her captor to the door. The man's eyes begin to almost glow, growing brighter and brighter gold each moment.

A knock resounds on her door, making her jump.

"Eun, we're going to go fetch some water from the stream, want to come with us?"

"I can feel your heart," his voice makes the hair on the back of Eun's neck rise. It crackles in the air like electricity. The burning of his eyes seems to pressurize the air until Eun can barely breathe, her head and chest feel as if some heavy force is pushing them inwards, as if it might crush her. A shiver runs down Eun's spine as he trails his fingers down her cheek to her neck, then her chest.

"It's strong," he says, looking down at it, "young."

Eun can only in a sharp breath as the man suddenly grips the fabric of her hanbok and tears it back, revealing her undergarment and bare collarbone. She opens the scream for help, but the electricity in the air stops the words from coming. They catch in and stay there.

"Did you know," he continues, tracing a finger alone the line of her collar bone, "the heart's of young women are the most delicious?"

Something compells her to answer, "n-no."

"I didn't think so," he nods, and looks up at her slowly. The fear in her eyes does nothing to waver him. "I will enjoy killing you."

Rising fear takes hold of Eun. Her body shakes ceaselessly, but she is frozen in fear, locked in his gaze.

The yellow of his eyes begins to change, burning hotter until the warm yellow has become a firey red. Around her waist his grip grows tighter, and something sharp digs into her skin. Black veins begin to trail down from his eyes and along his cheeks. Eun can hardly breathe as the man of moments before is transformed into a monster.

Eun gasps at the feel of his lips on her neck, hot like coal. She grips the black cloth of his tunic with fists so tight her knuckles are white, her mind begs her limbs to move, to fight back, but her inobedient hands move not a centimeter. His breath is singing on her skin as he opens his mouth, and she winces at the first pinge of pain where his white canine teeth touch her shoulder. Why can't she run away? Why can't she move?

Tears sting at her eyes. What about Chanyeol? Kyungsoo? Will they be the next victims to this beast if she doesn't warn them?

A desperate whimper escapes , "Leave them."

The beast pauses only for a moment, and lifts his eyes to meet hers.

"What?"

"You can have me," her voice and body quivers, and she takes shallow breaths to keep from sobbing, "but leave my brother and his apprentice alone. Please."

"You foolish humans," he growls, tilting his head at her, "you're so seductively suicidal. Now--"

His eyes flash yellow once, and his voice is as strong and commanding as the mountain itself,  "be quiet."

He opens his mouth once more, and Eun can feel the points of his teeth on her skin.

"I'm begging you," she pleads, and a tear falls from her eye and hits his cheek, "leave them."

This time, her plea does more than stop him. He whips away from her with a hiss, and his hand flies up to his face. Without the grip of his arms holding her up, Eun drops to the ground like a ragdoll.

"What are you?" he snarls, poised like a wild animal ready to defend.

Eun breathes at last, holding a hand to her chest to steady the ragged sobs that plague her body. Her eyes fly up to his, piercing, and angry.

"I," she pants, "what am I?"

He snarls and lowers into a crouch.

"What are you?"

Anger sears through the man's chest, lights his blood on fire, and he pounces. Eun shrieks and raises her arms. A burst of light shoots from her, knocking the predator backwards against the temple wall. The lights stick to his body, shining like a million tiny suns. He writhes in pain, swatting at his arms and chest as though he's covered in a swarm of bees.

"What did you do!" he roars, and turns his face to her. Half is covered by the glistening lights, the other half snarls with canine teeth and yellow eyes. Eun shakes her head frantically. Not even she knows. Like this, will he die? Did she kill him?

Lights spread over his body, seizing his face, until only one eye remains--the rest of his body a mass of white. A desperate eye pierces her, a hand bursting with light reaches out to her, before the figure is engulfed entirely.

Clutching the fabric of her hanbok above her heart to keep it from stopping, Eun turns and runs from the room.

A palace maid scurries through the winding palace corridors, over red bridges and through luxurious gardens. Autumn sun lights the red rooves of the palace up like fire, and glimmers on the gold decals of the palace walls. Bowing to the lords and ladies she passed in the halls, she turned another corner, at last stopping before an oval shaped doorway, covered by a thick red veil. Placing a hand over her chest, she steadied her breathing, then cleared .

"Your royal highness Princess Hyohe," she begins, "Chief Magistrate of Hanyang Oh Sehun has returned to the palace."

A fluterring of papers sounds from inside the room, followed by light footsteps, and the veil is pulled back. A beautiful girl with long hair so black it almost looks blue stares wide eyed at the palace maid. A sheen red veil covers the lower half of her face. 

"He's back?"

Sehun rides one handed through the palace gate, the other arm rests in a sling across his shoulder.  His troop files in behind him, hoard of black whinnying horses and tall spears that glisten in the sun. A young man approaches with a helmet tucked under his arm. Sehun dismounts his horse, and greets the shorter man. 

"General Joonmyeon."

"Welcome back to the palace, Magistrate Oh," the head of the royal guard bows his head, and smiles at his old friend.

"Glad to be back," Sehun nods, placing a firm hand on the older man's armored shoulder.

"You certainly don't look it," Joonmyeon laughs, and places a hand on his hip, "you disappear on a sudden secret mission for two months and all I get is a nod of the head?" He gestures towards Sehun, raising his eyebrows, "What kind of friendship is this?"

"The kind that's one-sided," Sehun answers, taking a step forward, but the pain from his wounds seizes him and he winces, clutching his ribs.

Joonmyeon rushes to his side, steadying his friend, "what happened to you?"

"I was in a fight," Sehun explains, "with a wild dog."

Joonmyeon looks him up and down, "must have been quite the wild dog! You're sure it wasn't a bear?"

Sehun shakes his head and straightens himself, pushing Joonmyeon's hands away, "No, no, it's--"

"Your highness! Your highness, wait!"

A young woman in a long, extravagant hanbok descends the stairs of the palace and hurries down the stone path towards the palace gates. Three palace maids chase after her, huffing and puffing for air, holding up the skirts of their hanboks to run after the princess.

Joonmyeon booms with laughter, and slaps a hand on Sehun's back, "looks like she's already got the news. She got here fast this time, eh?"

The princess dashes over and stops before Joonmyeon, offering a respectful bow.  The palace maids arrive soon after, fanning their faces and gasping for breath.

"Hyo-ah," Joonmyeon smiles, "how are you?"

"Well, thank you, General Kim," she replies, and quickly turns to Sehun.

Her eyes meet his, then drop down to the ground, "You've returned."

He nods, and bows his head, "Yes, I apologize for leaving so suddenly, your highness."

Above the veil, her eyes turn to crescents and she shakes her head, "No, you are a busy man. I knew that when I asked father for us to be wed."

Sehun looks at the ground, and the princess fidgets.

"I pray your journey was succesful?" she asks, forcing her eyes up to his.

"I found the creature I was looking for," he explains, "but I'm afraid I was unable to catch it this time."

"O-oh," the princess inspects her hands, then looks back at him with determined eyes, "I have no doubts you'll catch it the next time."

Her eyes fall on the scratches on his face and sling holding up his bandaged arm.

"What..?" she breathes, "you're injured..."

Sehun clears his throat and crosses his arms, hiding the bandaged one, "I'm fine, my lady."

Princess Hyohe opens to say something, but closes it.

The two fall silent, and Joonmyeon glances between the two.

"Well!" he says, breaking the silence, "How about we head inside? I'm sure the king is waiting for you."

Sehun offers a nod, and proceeds to the palace doors.

The doors to the king's chambers are colossal in size, a vibrant, angry red, contrasting the green of the murals lining the ceiling and paneled rooftops. Sehun has never cowered before them, though he has seen a great many who have. A servant quietly approaches to adjust his furred cape before politely bowing and backing away. He nods his thanks, and turns to the doors. The sound of someone calling his name pulls his face away, towards an entryway to the courtyard on the left, where a young man in a bright yellow extravagant hanbok jogs towards him. As the man reaches sehun the tall black hat he wears falls to the side and he groans and adjusts it, then brushes off his hanbok and smiles.

"Brother-in-law!"

"Baekhyun Oraeboni!" Hyohe hisses through her veil. Baekhyun's round, youthful eyes jump to her for only a minute before landing back on Sehun.

"Did you bring me anything??" he asks, practically jumping up and down.

It was hard for Sehun to believe the man was older than him. Not only was the crown prince small in stature, his baby face and childish personality constantly had all the court ladies and advisors trying to keep him in control. He'd much rather play outside than study politics all day, and he tended to make that very clear. Though when they had first met in battle, fighting beside the king, the prince had been much younger. Then again, so had Sehun. A crease forms in his brow. They had been far too young. But while Baekhyun seemed to have recovered from the horrors of the war, Sehun had grown cold and hard.

"Brother-in-law?"

Sehun blinks the thought away and raises his eyesbrows, "A-ah, yes."

He holds out an arm and a servant brings a cherry wood bow and arrows with hawk feathers to him. Sehun offers the gift to the prince with soft eyes.

"Wow!" Baekhyun smiles, and takes the gifts, "What a beautiful bow!"

"It is made from wood of the blue mountain."

Baekhyun's eyes sparkle even more, "You went to the blue mountain?"

Hyohe reaches out a hand to her brother, "Baekhyun--"

"The king is waiting," Sehun makes a gesture and servants come to take the bow away, "I'll have them bring it to your quarters. For now, let us meet with your father."

Pouting, Baekhyun reluctantly gives up his gifts and follows Sehun to the door. Hyohe follows suit, keeping her head down.

"Your highness!' Sehun calls out in a large and well-polished voice, "Your humble servant Oh Sehun has returned!"

Massive green paper doors open, revealing the glistening clean throne room of the king. With the king in his view, Sehun instantly drops to on knee and bows his head. General Joonmyeon follows suit, while the prince and princess merely bow their heads.

"Enter."

The king sits upon his mighty throne like a true god, poured over a lengthy scroll of a map depicting the territories of Joseon. He rubs the bridge of his nose with old hands and sits up straight to meet his guests.

"Welcome back, Magistrate. How did your journey fair?"

"Your highness," Sehun bows before proceeding, "Upon my arrival in Mondu Village at the base of the blue mountain, there had been an attack. I followed the tracks to the mountains whilst my troops circled around, hoping to cut him off on the other side--"

The king raises a furry eyebrow, "him?"

"As we had feared, the demon of the blue mountain has awakened, your highness."

Baekhyun gasps and looks at his brother-in-law. Even General Joonmyeon is frozen.

"So you were right, Hyo-ah," the king murmurs to his daughter, who nods her head without making a soun aside from the brush of her skirt.

"I truly am lucky to have you," he continues, "a daughter who can see beyond this world, and her husband who can fight the creatures that escape from it."

"You are too kind, your highness," Sehun bows his head even lower.

Hyohe watching him nervously, before turning to her father.

"Father, I have seen only that the spirit is awakened. We do not yet know if it will cause any--"

"Hyohe, do you mean to say that this monster is innocent, and we should not pursue it?"

"N-no," she picks at her nails for a moment, "I only think it is necessary to exercise caution. The gods are unpredictable beings--"

"Sehun," the king's voice is low, "did you see this creature?"

He nods, "Yes. I managed to catch up to it and fought it in the forest. It was certainly not of human strength, with glowing yellows eyes and a wolves teeth. My men later reported finding the body of a dead bear."

"Are you sure it was the monster that killed it? What about wolves?"

Sehun shakes his head, "your highness, only the heart of the bear was missing."

Gasps shudder through the room.

Sehun continues, standing to face the king, "I fear the next victim will be human if we do not act soon."

"Forgive my daughter," the king nods at Hyohe, "she is young and kind. She still believes in the goodness of this world, which is why I must keep her at my side. I left her in your capable hands to protect her, for she is too fragile to withstand the evil of the world alone."

"I know, your majesty."

"I will send you with men and weapons to find the creature and put an end to its killing. Return to my quarters tonight, and we will discuss the plan for battle."

"Yes, your highness."

"I want to go."

Baekhyun moves to the center of the room beside Sehun, clenching his fists.

"I wish to fight beside my brother-in-law."

"You will remain here," the king orders, "and continue your studies. This is not a job for the crown prince."

"Father!" he counters, but the king simply waves his hand and goes back to studying his map.

Baekhyun opens his mouth to argue further, but gives up with an angry sigh and storms out of the throneroom. Hyohe glances at Sehun once more before floating out after her brother.

"Oraeboni!"

Hey Everyone! Sorry this chapter took a long time to get out, but it is overall longer than the past few! I usually stop before or around 3000 words but todays is 3400 words! The next chapter should be out soon so if you're enjoying the story so far upvote, comment, and subscribe for the next chapter!

Anybody watching Scarlet Heart Ryeo?

I may or may not love Baekhyun's character, Eun.

Until next time,

Violet