DIVINITY ♛ LEE JENO

ONE

Blood.

It was a full moon and the stars twinkled over the emerald fields. The satellite shone with full projection. As of late, the villages grew quiet right before dusk. That wasn't too normal for the area, a water populated area. It was never silent during a full moon, let alone when the silver rock was painted with a crimson sheath.

"What are you, scared?"

A knight stood tall at the front of the castle doors, a fire lit nearby to keep them warm. He rolled his eyes behind his helmet. It was a bit old school. The metal of it grew cold in the winter evening, along with the rest of the armory secured around his body. Behind the heavy gear, the knight shook in place, hoping it was disguised by the kiss of a breeze. Still, his posture remained. Tall and daring how any knight should be.

"Not in the slightest." he replied to his fellow guard. Night watch. No one liked guarding at night, but it appeared almost every man had been scheduled for the night. They watched the moon turn warmer in shade, making the royal village appear just a smidge darker. Nevertheless, it was an astronomical phenomenon that held some awe in the guard's stares.

"We have nothing to worry about. The palace is completely secured, the moat is prepared- weapons, armor, all of the nitty gritty is in tippity-top shape." the knight continued. He earned a laugh from the man beside him. He was a bit older, but you wouldn't have been able to guess. As someone who had been serving the royal family as a knight, he never thought he would find himself next to the prince of the Liu dynasty.

"You're oblivious, Yangyang." the older one stifled a bitter laugh. He was never one to uphold formalities with the family, dropping the title of 'prince' before his name. "You think all the other kingdoms weren't saying the same things as you? We'll be lucky if we keep them outside of these doors." the two shared a glance behind their shoulders. Grand double doors stood mighty behind them. Sparkling jade and gold adorned the accents, truly completing the royal look.

"You never fail to kill the mood, Ten." Yangyang rolled his eyes. Although Ten couldn't see that past his helmet, he knew the former prince more than anyone- and knew his big green eyes were obnoxiously rolling. "You're the one who wanted to be a knight. I have to instill some sort of fear into you," Ten began, looking into the distance. "That's all you'll feel for the rest of your life in that armor."

"Like I said, you're such a downer, bro." Yangyang groaned in response.

The Jade Kingdom. It stood mighty for thousands of years, seeing each king and queen come and go like the leaves of the forest. It was surrounded by miles of trees and hills rumored to have enough gold to buy the entire world, ten times over. Along with gold, jade was the main source of currency. Needless to say, the kingdom was still stuck in the relics of the past. It was awfully secluded. Technology wasn't a big thing in the palace and it's surrounding villages. The Jade Kingdom thrived without modern day developments, which made them untouchable to the rest of the world.

The two looked into the forest that expanded for acres. If you looked far enough, it still faded out into pools of greenery being encapsulated by the dead of night. Though, the real star of the night was the moon that had grown completely red. Its luminance bled into the horizon, leaving a scarlet cast onto every building in the distance. Ten was wide awake, his blue eyes staring up at the satellite that gave him energy. The night's watch was usually comprised of water shifters, leaving Yangyang's sage colored orbs droopy.

"I'm bored."

Ten quirked an eyebrow up at the prince. It wasn't hard to tell he wasn't made to be a knight. His stance wasn't exactly strong and intimidating, more poised and respectful if anything. "You shouldn't have taken up on the offer of being a knight then. We all know your attention span has gone to shit ever since you illegally downloaded that click-clock app anyway." Ten half joked.

Yangyang's face contorted in offense. "TikTok, old head. I'm tired of being cooped up in this kingdom. I was made to travel like you, some place far away with actual signal." he mumbled. One thing Ten couldn't deny was that Yangyang was even more unfit to be a prince. "Leave the queen duties up to Meilin, I guess." he hummed thoughtlessly.

Princess Meilin, soon to be queen.

Liu Meilin was only a year younger than her brother- half brother. Unlike her sibling, she was almost completely opposite. She wasn't interested in any material of the outside world, more than comfortable in the borders of the green lands. She was sound asleep in her silk sheets, not a hair out of place even in her slumber. A princess had nothing to worry about. Usually, the older sibling would become heir to the throne, but after Yangyang decided to pursue his knight career, it left Meilin with no other choice but to become the next queen. Not that she minded, though.

In fact, the Jade Kingdom was in a rush for her to take the throne. After the previous queen, their mother, was murdered brutally in the last year, the kingdom has been itching until Meilin became of age to take the crown. Six more months.

Ten and Yangyang grew lazy at their posts, waiting out the last fifteen minutes of the eclipse. The sound of their boots tapping on the cobble stone mixed with the sounds of the night. Crickets chirped and owls hooed. Wind rustled in the bushes next to them. Time was going painfully slow.

Suddenly, a thud was heard from inside of the castle, followed with a high pitched scream. The two knights spared a glance at one another, then ran through the jade doors with no hesitation. They sprinted up spiral staircases, seeing collapsed bodies through each and every hallway they passed by. A nauseous feeling bubbled in Yangyang's stomach, trekking up the painfully long stairs. "Elevators, another reason I wish to leave this place. Why don't we have those?!" he groaned. Ten shook his head, huffing at the naive boy's mind.

They reached the top floor which reeked of smoke, yet water flooded out into the hallway. The two took careful, yet quick steps. The door they were headed to was already flung open, the body of a guard passed out right beside it. Ten swallowed his saliva, though his mouth had grown extremely dry at the sight. Yangyang didn't spare any time, running into the bedroom where he found his sister in a blood stained nightgown.

"Princess Meilin," Ten panicked. Meilin's face was practically white, the most horrified look painted on. The bed she was once asleep on was a mess, everything out of place in her bedroom. She shook uncontrollably, reaching up her blood stained hands for them to see.

"H-He took my shifting."

one— the first night

—

omg hi guys lol

thank you for waiting two years for this. i'm restarting this book and i think this time around, it's gonna be a good one. i hope i didn't lose too many of you either.

if you want a more in depth update on what's been going on, check out my conversation page lol. miss you all <3