''My Lord! My Lord!'', a servant yelled as he pushed away the wooden doors which led to the Throne Room. His excited footsteps echoed through the magnificent hall, leading to the embellished throne with a robed man sitting down at the end.

He had cold eyes like steel and his hair was slicked up in to elaborate spikes which made him roughly look like as if he had a sea urchin on his head. His eyes were thickly lined with kohl and framed with long lashes. His lips were slightly full, a small scar at the right end of his lips; an obvious battle scar of some sort. His robes, which were as dark as night, contrasted weirdly with the circular crown on his head, which was made of gold.

''What is it, Dongwook? What are you so excited about?'', the robed man spoke, standing up from his throne. Weird ropes of black magic, which tied him to the throne, broke apart at his sudden movement, making him go pale instantly; but not enough for Dongwook to notice since he fell to his knees at the man's presence and bowed his head.

''The Eternal Rose... she's alive,'' Dongwook panted, trying to catch his breath. The man smiled eerily, his white teeth glinting. ''That's good, isn't it? Where is she?'' he asked Dongwook.

''Well, we don't technically know where she is,'' Dongwook fumbled with his fingers, afraid of making eye contact with his master. The man's calmness disappeared in an instant. ''WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T TECHNICALLY KNOW WHERE SHE IS?!'', he fumed. Dongwook whimpered at his voice.

''W-We couldn't make the prisoner speak but he mentioned the town, i believe,'' he stammered out his answer, his head still bowed down in fear of meeting his master's cold gaze.

''What's the name of the town?'', the man bellowed, his patience wearing thin.

''It's in the north of Hampshire, my Lord.'', Dongwook answered with no hesitation. There was a couple of seconds of silence before the man spoke. ''Very well. Send a spy to make sure.'', he boomed again.

Dongwook bowed as low as he could and ran toward the doors he had entered. He was a few feet away from exiting the Throne Room when the robed man spoke once more.

The sound of his heartless voice behind him made Dongwook freeze in his spot.

''Make sure our guest stays here... comfortably~'', he smirked. Dongwook nodded, turned to face him and bowed again.

''Yes, Lord Taeyang.''

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

''That's weird. I can't reach Hyunsuk,'' Zelo huffed, sitting down in his study. Daesung, who had recovered from the kick, was sitting across him, his leg propped in a metal bucket full of ice.

''Eh, it's a hopeless case. I tried to contact him thrice last week. He hasn't replied to any of my telegrams or letters for a month,'' he chimed in.

Frownlines appeared on Zelo's forehead immediately. ''Something's not right'', Zelo declared, brushing his quill against his pink lips. Daesung gave him a you-don't-say look. ''Hyunsuk would usually come over on weekends to see Hayi's progress.'', he continued.

''He doesn't know she has ichor in her, does he?''. Daesung asked, pulling his leg out of from the ice bucket. Zelo remained silent as if avoiding Daesung's question.

He looked down the window from his study, seeing Hayi play by herself and plant rose shrubs everywhere. Her white dress was a stark contrast from the red roses surrounding her. Since the window was open, her melodious laughter filled the room, making Zelo smile automatically.

''-lo! ZELO!''

Zelo turned around and shook his head, confirming Daesung's fears. ''I don't want him to know. He'll take Hayi and find someone more capable of protecting her. This time, he isn't going to get one so easily. I'm sure of it.'', Zelo muttered aloud for the blonde to hear.

''How did he find you, anyway?'', he asked curiously, slipping his leg back in to the bucket with a hiss. Zelo sighed and ran his hand through his now-turning-raven hair.

''It was over 10 years ago in Busan. My family had handed me over to an orphanage because of the weird things that kept happening to me. They couldn't keep me there long and soon I was sent to an asylum for the mentally insane in Britain where Hyunsuk was the head of.'', he began, leaning against his desk. Daesung was listening intently to his every word.

Sighing again, he continued.

''He took notice of my unusual behaviour since my hair kept changing colour. I didn't even know why it was but other people thought I was up to no good. So one day, to stop the rumors about me being a freak, he took me.''

''...as in adopted you?'', Daesung fired questions.

Zelo nodded. ''He started telling em about Hayi and how I could be a potiential guardian for her. I was only 12 when you brought her to me. Of course I thought you people were messing with me. But when I felt that power in to me that night, I knew it was no joke.'', Zelo looked at the blonde, his eyes filled with a half-hearted adrenaline for something.

''You were becoming weak, every single second you waited. So was she. Hyunsuk immediately knew that if he were to save his guardian, I would have to steal the Rose.'', Daesung pointed out.

''You saved my life, you know that?'', Zelo thanked, his bottom lip quivering from his brief insight to his backstory.

''No. Hayi did.''

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MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

see? even she's laughing. oknvm.

how's the third chapter? liek?

updates may be slow, because i'm in my exam week. please be patient. (i have over two more chapters to give you soon, ne?)

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