***

Taeyeon ran out into the freezing castle grounds making her way towards the garden where she and Sooyeon used to play. When she had hidden herself in their secret spot, Taeyeon sat down and stared into space. Discontented with her current position, she laid herself down on the cold white ground. She watched as snowflakes began to land on her face. She then thought about the decision she needed to make. 

For a moment, Taeyeon felt alone. She felt lonely and cold yet she didn’t mind the feeling of solitude because she needed it for a short period of time. She weighed the consequences of her decision until she closed her eyes to concentrate. 

It wasn’t long when she felt someone lie down by her side. Even with her eyes closed, Taeyeon knew who it was. She didn’t need to open her eyes to see who the person would be because deep inside she could clearly tell that this person had once shared the room with her in their mother’s womb. The very presence of this person lying next to her erased her feeling of loneliness. 

“Sooyeon-ah…are you my guardian angel?” Taeyeon asked without opening her eyes. She felt Sooyeon shift her position, propping her head up with her arm to face her. Taeyeon could see Sooyeon clearly even with her eyes closed. She had thought this was their one of their special bonds as twins. 

The younger twin gave her a smile before touching the tip of Taeyeon’s nose. “I’ll be your guardian angel if you want me to…” Sooyeon replied as she studied her twin’s features. They were both wearing black long coats that were enough to shield them from the cold – not that it bothered Sooyeon much. 

Taeyeon opened her eyes to face Sooyeon. A smile appeared on her face. “I don’t want you to be my guardian angel…”

“Why, Taengoo?” 

There was a short pause.

“Because if you were one, I wouldn’t be able to see you, touch you, smell you, hear you, and tell you the cheesy lines I want to tell you…”

A playful slap landed on Taeyeon’s arm as Sooyeon giggled at her twin’s gag. They both laughed for awhile forgetting about the things that had worried them at the moment. When they had both stopped laughing, their crimson eyes met. They both stared for awhile and just remained lying on their side facing each other. Taeyeon placed an arm over her twin and smiled. Sooyeon smiled back in return. 

“Sooyeon-nie…I have decided to take my rightful place as your twin sister…I never wanted to leave you alone again…You were always there for me in the past, now let me be there for you too…” Taeyeon said as she stared into Sooyeon’s crimson orbs. Her younger twin snuggled closer to her with a smile on her face. 

“Taengoo…Thank you…for being with me…” Sooyeon whispered as she held onto Taeyeon, burying her face in the older girl’s chest. 

The two had remained in that position as snow began falling in different sizes and shapes. Despite the cold ground where they have been lying on, Taeyeon felt warm and comfortable in Sooyeon’s embrace. Once again, Taeyeon closed her eyes and this time she didn’t feel as alone as before. 

---

Soojung was quietly strolling around one of the great halls of the Jung castle. She had been wondering where Sooyeon and Taeyeon were. The Jung maknae thought of bugging the two eldest when someone grabbed her from behind and knocked her unconscious. 

The stranger in a black cloak smiled revealing his protruding fangs before he caught the unconscious Soojung from falling on the floor. “Now is the time for revenge…” the stranger stated before he disappeared behind one of the great pillars of the hall with the youngest Jung in tow. 

A note fell in place of where Soojung had once stood. 

---

Yuri and Yoona were walking in the courtyard when suddenly a few soldiers ran past them towards the stables to get ready. They were followed by General Kwon and General Im, the two girls’ very own fathers. 

“Father, what’s going on?” Yuri asked her father causing him to stop to entertain his daughter’s question.

“Soojung got kidnapped from inside the castle. Your uncle and I have to pursue her captors before they disappear without a trace. The men who captured her wanted something in exchange for Soojung… Take care, girls! We have to go.” General Kwon explained to the two girls before continuing to get his horse. 

“Yoona…Yuri… Stay safe until we come back!” General Im bid goodbye as he got onto his horse. 

The two girls made way for their fathers’ battalion as the generals rode towards the inner gates of the castle before passing through the village surrounding the compound and ultimately exiting the main gates.

“We have to find Sooyeon and Taeyeon!” Yuri said as she turned to her dongsaeng. The younger girl nodded in response. Then, they made their way towards the castle to look for the twins until they met their uncle who was none other than Lord Jung himself. 

The two nieces of the vampire lord bowed in respect. “Yuri, Yoona. You might have heard the news about my daughter. Right now, the castle is not a safe haven for members of the royal family. I want you to join your cousins in the secret hiding place now. Sooyoung, Hyoyeon, Miyoung, Soonkyu, and Seohyun are already inside while your fathers are pursuing Soojung’s captors. Your uncles and I will be sweeping this place to see if anyone linked to the captors are still present.” Lord Jung explained. 

“Uncle…Can we help?” Yuri managed to ask the vampire lord. There was confidence in her voice.

“Yuri… You can help by taking care of your cousins… By the way, do you happen to know about Taeyeon and Sooyeon’s whereabouts?” Lord Jung said. 

The two girls shook their heads which made Lord Jung reveal a worried look. “All right. You better seek out your cousins now, girls. I’ll go look for Taeyeon and Sooyeon myself.” Lord Jung said as he bid the girls to the royal family’s hiding place.

---

Taeyeon and Sooyeon had fallen asleep on the snow-covered ground for quite awhile until they both heard footsteps passing by near their hiding place. Taeyeon sat up with Sooyeon following along. There were soldiers scrambling about. 

“Hurry up! We must find Princess Soojung!” one of the knights yelled out as they passed by. Taeyeon and Sooyeon looked at each other in alarm. They both stood up and ran inside the castle to know more about the situation. 

The Jung twins had just entered the great hall of the castle when they spotted their father coming towards them. “Where have you two been? I’ve been looking all over for you and I was worried that you got kidnapped along with maknae…” Lord Jung said when he was close enough for the twins to hear. 

“So what we heard from outside was true? Soojung got kidnapped?!” the twins chorused. Lord Jung sighed as he nodded in confirmation. 

“I already sent your uncles and reinforcements to track down your sister. For now, your cousins are gathered up in the secret place so that no one from the royal family will go missing just in case some of the perpetrators are still lurking within the castle walls…” Lord Jung said as he wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. He was truly relieved to see that his two eldest daughters were not included in the kidnapping although he was awfully worried that his maknae was taken from him. 

“Father…Sooyeon and I have to go…” Taeyeon said as she gave her twin a knowing look. Sooyeon nodded and they both turned towards the castle doors when their father held them back. 

The twins turned to look at their father having a serious expression on his face all the while holding their hands in his. “I won’t lose you two again. I already had Soojung taken away from me and I don’t want to lose my eldest daughters as well. You two stay here and allow your father to deal with the situation.” Lord Jung said as he pulled the girls back. 

Despite their father’s warning, the stubborn twins tried releasing themselves from their father’s grasp. Fire momentarily erupted from Taeyeon’s hand which caused her father to release his hold on her. At the same time, Sooyeon froze her hand before quickly withdrawing it leaving her father to hold an iced replica of Sooyeon’s hand in his own. The two girls then ran with all their might leaving their father overwhelmed in his spot.

They quickly came to their family’s private training grounds where they took their weapons from their secret hiding place, which only the twins knew. Taeyeon had her twin swords which had been passed down to her when she first came to the Jung castle while Sooyeon, on the other hand, had her bow and quiver full of arrows. The eldest Jung looked discontented by the weapon that her sister had chosen, so she tossed the other half of her twin sword to Sooyeon. 

The younger girl, having gotten used to her sister’s insistence in making her carry the other twin sword, caught it in midair. The twins ran towards the stables where their trusted horses were kept and soon, they were now headed out of the castle gates. They were now a few feet away from the castle when they heard thundering steps of horses’ hooves following them. 

“Get the princesses, they must not be harmed!” they both heard one of the knights bark from behind. 

Taeyeon looked at her sister, who was riding alongside her. “Sooyeon, let’s go save Soojung.” 

“I’m right beside you, Taengoo.” Sooyeon replied as they both urged their horses to run faster. 

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