''WHAT!?'', Taeyang hollered, his scarlet robes highlighting the anger evident on his drawn features. Dongwook whimpered at his voice, his knees about to give away from under him from how hard he was trembling.

He had been reading in the library, practicing his powers on guiltless books, when his squire came inside, his face pale and clammy when he heard the news. Choi Seunghyun, one of the most high-quality assassins and successor to the once-shunned but prestigious Choi household was dead.

By the right hand man of Hyunsuk himself.

''He...he was a pile of dust, my lord. In the far corner of the kitchen.'', Dongwook mumbled nervously, grateful for the fact that Taeyang had chosen to overlook the fact that he was stuttering again.

''I told him that he was as good as dead if he steps in to the castle without her.'', Taeyang said, throwing a intricately-designed vase flying against the wayy, the ceramic pieces making music against the marble floor. ''HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW HE'D TAKE IT LITERALLY?!'', he screamed, pulling at his robes in frustration.

The fabric singed off his skin, the little embers leaving only his skin-tight leather breeches intact. Throwing off the dead garment, his eyes narrowed toward Dongwook. ''That bastard of Hyunsuk's killed Choi? No matter. I'll just get another one.'', he decided, the anger ebbing down with each passing second.

''A-Another, your Grace?'', Dongwook stuttered, not understanding what was being said and done. He had tracked Seunghyun down after significant difficulty; the process almost took him 7 years. And it had made him go past a ula where women wore veils on their faces, a country in which snow fell in the east for most of the year, islands which spewed golden liquid at times until he reached home.

''Yes. Is there a problem, Dongwook? Or shall I find myself another squire too?'', Taeyang bellowed, his onyx eyes narrowed toward the smaller. Dongwook squeaked a hasty apology before he took his leave to exit the chamber.

The latter's footsteps became faint with each step her took. He was just out of earshot when Taeyang bellowed again.

''HYUNSUK!''

Hyunsuk stepped in to the room swiftly, not even a strand of hair out of place. He was arguably very well-dressed; gladiator sandals and a linen shift secured with a golden rose brooch. He had even shaved ad trimmed his hair down.

There was no trace of the haggardly man from the dungeon anywhere.

Hyunsuk looked so respectable that he might have looked like he was Taeyang's high council.

Not that he had one, anyway.

The only thing that had changed from his normal self was that his eyes were mismatched. His right eye was in it's normal brown hue while the left was in a striking electric blue.

''You summoned me?'', he drawled casually, climbing up the small platform and sitting on Taeyang's throne. The demon lord cringed at the sight; molten gold from his purged enemies had shaped his throne and no one but him had sat on it until now.

He could overlook this fact for today.

''Choi Seunghyun is no more.'', Taeyang let out the news, pacing across the length of the throne room. Hyunsuk didn't mind him any bother. So the retard was dead. What does his death signify to him? Nothing.

''What am I supposed to do about it? Light his funeral pyre? Shed a few tears?'', Hyunsuk sarcastically said, feigning sadness while placing with the carved armrests. Taeyang's eye twitched at his care-free tone.

''No, you insolent bastard. You need to go find another.'', he replied impatiently, tapping his foot.

''Why should I? You have squires, don't you?'', Hyunsuk pointed out obviously.

Taeyang snapped.

''BECAUSE I SIRED YOU, YOU LITTLE WRETCH! YOU MAY NOT BE A SQUIRE BUT YOU ARE UNDER MY COMMAND SO YOU WILL HONOUR ME!'', he raged, pulling Hyunsuk off his throne by his hair. The latter was thrown to the ground but no tears welled up in his eyes from pain. His blue eye, which was perfectly normal a few minutes ago, was now alert and seemed to be in control of his whole body.

''Yes, your Grace. As you say.''

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

''I think we're pretty far from the castle.'', Zelo muttered, leaning against the side of a bright red barn. His hand was still entwined with Hayi's and he pulled away hastily when he noticed.

Taking Hayi's face in his hands, he checked if she had been wounded. To his dismay, there were a few scratches on her jaw and she was sporting a bloody lip again.

''Why isn't Daesung following us?'', she asked, her chocolate-brown eyes boring into Zelo's own. He didn't know what to say or do to make her understand the situation.

He might be dying right now as we speak...

''He's protecting you.'', he explained, dabbing lightly at the blood on her lips with his shirt's sleeve. She winced when the warm fabric made contact with her lips, her tongue instinctively running across the slight scar.

''We need to go somewhere until Daesung returns. If not...'', he trailed off, letting out a huge sigh. Hayi urged him on, wanting depserately to know their back-up plan. ''If not...we rush back to the castle, take everything we absolutely need and make for another town. I cannot risk getting you exposed.'', he decided, his eyes filling with worry and determination at the same time.

They stayed inside the barn for the night, snacking on a few stale biscuits left inside. By midnight, Hayi was fast asleep, Zelo keeping a close eye on her.

His transformation began again as soon as he closed his eyes. He muffled out his howls of pain by biting his hand. A sudden metallic taste filled his mouth after a while, his nails digging into the soft earth lining the barn. His back arched and his head was thrown back, his dark eyes turning grey.

Wanting to distance himself from Hayi as much as possible, he went outside in to the chilly autumn night, leaves crunching rhythmically under his feet.

He collapsed a few feet outside the barn, the ground flying up to his face. A moment's respite...until it began all over again.

Zelo's cries woke the barn owner's shepherd dog, making it bark at Zelo possessively. One bare of his elongating teeth sent the mutt running, little whimpers the only thing disrupting the calmness of the night.

He collapsed on to the soft earth again, waking up only to realize that he ahd slept on an anthill. By the time Hayi had woken up, he was smacking at his skin, instantly killing any ants which were running through his clothes.

''Uhm...good morning?'', he said cutely, a small smile on his face. She laughed and walked up to him, flicking a black ant crawling on his cheek. He blushed, chuckling as he ruffled his hair. ''Any sight of Daesung?'', she asked, taking his hand.

''...No. I hoped to see him go by the path we took...but nothing yet.'', he softly said, enveloping Hayi's hand in the warmth of his own. ''Are you hungry? Thirsty? Sick?'', he asked concernedly, searching her face for any signs of fatigue. She shook her head and sat down on the uncut wild grass, her billowy white dress contrasting perfectly with ehr surroundings. The early sunlight brought out the little auburn highlights of her hair that he loved, her unusually calm expression making him worry more.

''I'll go forage for some berries, alright? Stay by the barn. I don't care if someone unusal goes by. Don't call out to anyone. And don't-''

He was cut off by a quick kiss to the corner of his lips.

''Just go already. I'm hungry.''

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AAAAAAAAY. C:

i felt guilty for not updating this for so long, so i stayed up all night writing two chapters just for you guys. C:

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flawless zelo ft. hungry daehyun. ack.