CHAPTER TEN

Scavenger Hunt

 The next morning, just before the break of dawn, Jaehwa and Soojung stood at the main entrance of the Elvish castle, waiting for the Princes. A huge distance stood between the two and neither said a word until Jaehwa remembered that she hadn’t returned Soojung’s necklance.

“Here.” Jaehwa walked over graciously with a peace offering as she offered her hand to the girl and Soojung turned to take a long, hard look at her opponent. Yes, to Soojung, Jaehwa was competition and in all honestly, Soojung felt so threatened. On top of that, Soojung had to adjust to the image of Jaehwa in normal civilian wear – jeans, t-shirt, jacket and sneakers. There was something so fresh and calming about Jaehwa that irritated Soojung to no end – how was it that Jaehwa’s beauty looked so effortless?

“Thank you.” Soojung accepted the necklace gently but her voice, as she thanked Jaehwa, betrayed her true feelings.  

Jaehwa pressed her lips into a smile before she walked back to her original position, deciding that it was probably not a good idea to force Soojung into liking her. It was understandable that they disliked each other but a part of Jaehwa wished that they could overcome that cliché drama. They were the only two girls in the group and it just didn’t make sense to make enemies out of each other.

She opened to ask Soojung how she had ended up with the Princes but was cut short.

“Do you even like him?” Soojung asked, unfolding herself from leaning against the wall so that she could directly face Jaehwa.

Jaehwa struggled to find the right words to say - did she like Sehun? There was a difference between disliking someone and not wanting to like someone – she knew that but where Sehun was, she couldn’t truly decipher. If she closed her eyes now, she could still feel his lips against her neck – the soft warmth of his skin and the juxtaposing hardness of his kisses. It made her shiver in delight just to think about how close he had been and it confused her because she was sure Sehun had feelings for Soojung.

After all, why would Soojung be so protective of him if they had nothing between them? The thought of it had plagued her from the very beginning but she never really let it get to her until that night. Their interaction had woken something within her and as all the memories flooded to the surface, she couldn’t help but wonder how much of that he had shared with Soojung.

No matter how much she tried to deny it, Sehun was special to her. He was her first love and she had surrendered the purest and most sincere part of her to him. Sometimes, when she thought of him, her heart would still flutter and she didn’t think that she could have that with any other man.

“You didn’t wait long, did you?” D.O. asked, taking long strides towards both girls – a wide smile spread across his face. Soojung shook her head on behalf of Jaehwa who was still thinking of an answer to Soojung’s question.

It wasn’t until Kai walked up to her, that Jaehwa broke away from her thoughts.

“Put this on. Our attire is a little to flashy for a walk in the forest.” He offered her a black, hooded cape, identical to the ones that they had and she accepted it quickly.

After she’d put it on, they set off, travelling the way they came. Jaehwa paced herself so that she was always a few steps behind Luhan and though they were so close, neither said a single thing to each other. At first, Luhan had thought that Jaehwa would strike up a conversation but for the whole journey through Elvish lands, Jaehwa had her brows furrowed, deep in thought. She was awfully quiet and he began to worry that Sehun had said something to set her off the night before.

He remembered distinctly that Sehun had returned from his haircut with Jaehwa in suppressed agitation and from that alone, Luhan knew that the relationship between the two of them wasn’t going as planned. If he had to be really honest, he worried for his brother and sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder how lonely Sehun felt when he closed himself off to so many people. To Luhan, who gave his heart to all those he met, Sehun’s guardedness made no sense – there was simply no justifiable reason to be so afraid of relationships.

Yet before Luhan could delve deeper into the subject, Luhan began to feel the heat of the day begin to take a toll on his body. It had been far too long since any of them had been out in daylight and they still needed time to adjust.

On top of that, the weather that morning was awfully humid and as the sun rose higher and higher into the sky, their steps grew heavy. Sweat matted their skin and despite the fact that they had been travelling at a relatively comfortable speed for a Vampire, the humidity in the air still felt suffocating.

They slowed down considerably as they walked through the last parts of Elvish land and when Chen looked up at the sky, he cringed. The morning sun had been shielded by a thick bed of clouds and he could tell that there was a storm coming soon – unusual, since the night had been rather nice.

“We have to move faster.” Chen announced, “There’s a storm coming.”

“It’s just a storm, man up.” Suho muttered under his breath but all of them heard exactly what he had said.

“It just doesn’t feel right.” Chen answered, “The weather, the time – everything’s becoming messed up.”

“You’re saying that this could be the doings of the Eligorians?” Lay asked, brows furrowed as he adjusted the way his backpack sat on his shoulder.  

“You don’t say. Jaehwa unnie’s been using a lot of magic.” Soojung accused, side-eyeing Jaehwa.

“Elvish lands are charmed – they have protective spells that prevent Eligorians from detecting any magic that is used. You all know that. It’s one of the reasons why the Eligorians are so adamant about wiping out the Elves – it’s why they’ve been under attack.” Jaehwa defended herself eloquently and Soojung’s expression turned bitter.  

“Next time, think before you speak.” Sehun said coldly as he walked past Soojung, adding to the girl’s sense of humiliation. She watched him walk away from her and felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. Why was he so cruel to her? Was it wrong for her to want to protect something she held close to her heart – was it wrong for her to be selfish about Sehun?

“Alright, alright.” Tao cut in, trying to ease the tension, “If we want to beat the storm, we’ll have to find a way to get there in half the time.”

They reached the end of the Elvish lands and as trees opened up to barren lands, they could see the clouds more clearly. Jaehwa had no idea how to read weather so she left that to the twelve Princes who read the sky as though it were a map.

Sehun closed his eyes and let the warm, heavy wind filter through his fingers, “South-easterly winds travelling at about 26 kilometres per hour.”

“That means the wind is carrying the storm to us.” Kai analysed, “How long will it take until the meet up point?” He turned to Tao naturally.

“2 hours maximum.” He answered flatly.

Jaehwa watched in a mixture of amusement and awe. She knew she shouldn’t be s