The Night Belongs to the Moon | Taeyong

23 | A Promise Kept

'Anyway, all these rules are useless,' Jaehyun said to Dal-ae. 'Doyoung tends to forget about the fun part.'

'And what might that be?' Doyoung asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

'It is called the Vampire Ball. It's a Ball, and in a ball, you dance,' Jaehyun said and swooped Dal-ae away with his arms. Humming a classical tune, he swayed her across the ballroom quite easily, her skirt flying behind her while she shook her head at the unending banter between the two vampires.

'Enough already,' Doyoung snapped after they had waltz around the room thrice. 'Taeyong would not be happy seeing his date dance with someone else.'

'Ah, yes,' Jaehyun stopped and leaned closer to her. 'It has come to my attention that the Vampire Lord is quite fond of this one.'

Dal-ae averted her eyes from him and stepped away, straightening the creases on her blouse.

'Don't tease her,' Doyoung said.

'You! You always have a problem with everything I do. Don't do this. Don't do that,' Jaehyun spat, looking genuinely annoyed. 'I haven't seen you since morning and took time to visit you and all you have been doing is issuing instructions on what to do and what not to do. Can't you see that I am here because I missed you? But no. You just keep saying no to everything.'

Silence fell between the tall walls of the ballroom. Doyoung's eyes softened, sighing. A smile crept up his face and glanced at Dal-ae, who could take the hint. Without making a sound, she picked up the book and the notes on Vampire Ball, bowed and walked out the door but not before she flashed a teasing smile to Doyoung.

Jaehyun was facing the window, his arms crossed over his chest like an annoyed little child and Dal-ae heard Doyoung say, 'There are a lot of things I say yes to when it's just the two of us,' before she shut the door to the ballroom behind her.

𓆩 𓆪

In her chamber, Dal-ae stood in front of the open window. The wind was in her long hair but she felt nothing; her eyes were fixed dazedly on the horizon but she was not in a dream. The mist had cleared and the sun had turned orange. Her thoughts were racing and her heart was restless as she waited. 'I will be back before the sun touches the horizon this evening,' she repeated his words in her head over and over again. Her eyes were gleaming with the fiery glow as she watched the sun sink further. And finally, when it was mere inches above the horizon she heard his voice, in her ears, 'Dal-ae,' and a smile found its way to her golden face.

'I am home, where are you' Taeyong asked through the Silver Medium.

'In my chamber, Master,' she replied into the T on her neck.

'Wait for me there, I will come to you,' she heard him say.

The sun shot the last of its rays through the clouds but night was already here and Dal-ae's heart had settled. Getting rid of her cloak, she unbuttoned her blouse and unfastened the bindings of her skirt, stripping the dirty clothes off her body. From her bed she picked up the pair of fresh stockings and slowly slid them on, one leg at a time, clipping them to her underwear. The new shirt was soft silk which gently caressed her shoulders as she put it on. Her skirt was the same shimmering grey, only the fabric was heavier, meant for winter. She pulled it onto her waist and set the corset in place before proceeding to fasten its ends on the back.

'It is rude to watch, Master,' she whispered and looked in the direction of her open door where Taeyong stood with his hand on the door handle, with his eyes glazed over.

'Was this show not for me?' he said, quite at ease, walking towards her, shutting the door behind him.

'I don't know what you mean,' Dal-ae said, letting the fastenings of her skirt fall from her fingers.

Taeyong picked up the first set of fastenings on her waist and pulled tightly, pulling her to him with it. 'You knew I was coming' -he picked up the second set- 'yet you chose to change your clothes now,' he whispered and pulled sharply again, closing some more distance between them. 'And to do so with the door wide open' -he pulled the final set and Dal-ae's back thumped into his hard chest- 'Was this not a show for me?' he whispered in her ear and inhaled her sharply before kissing the spot on her neck.

'You kept your promise,' she said.

'I kept my promise,' he replied but moved away with a sigh.

'What's the matter?' she asked, turning around to face him.

'I did keep my promise but the work is not done so I am afraid I have to go,' Taeyong said and saw the disappointment on her face.

'No, don't,' she said.

'What?'

'Don't go,' she repeated, meeting his eyes.

'Dal-ae...'

'Taeyong...' she mimicked.

'Is this a tantrum?'

'Hardly,' she said, smiling. 'But I do not wish you go. Let me come with you at least.'

'You want to come with me?'

'Mhm. Where are you going?'

Taeyong paused for a moment, considering. 'It's not a safe place.'

'Who would dare to do anything to the Lord and his Familiar in this realm?'

'That's the thing, I am not going as the Vampire Lord,' Taeyong said and Dal-ae noticed now that he was in fact dressed too casually, in a simple shirt and pants underneath a plain coat.

'Undercover?' she asked, more curious than ever. 'Oh, let me come with you, please. I can take care of myself. I can even be useful.'

'Do you really want to go? It's not a pretty place and it's not going to be a pretty evening,' Taeyong said.

'I do. I want to go with you,' she said in the same breath.

'Fine. But you are not to act rashly,' he said and Dal-ae almost jumped in glee. 'You need to change. Wear something plain. Where are the dresses you were given before you became my Familiar? Wear one of those. Actually, no. Wear one of the pants and dress warmly,' Taeyong said and turned to window to give her privacy.

After she was done, he called her forward to appraise her look. She was in a faded white shirt and grey pants with boots of the same colour and her usual black jacket on top. Taeyong added a black cloak over her shoulders and pulled the hood over her head, hiding the silver collar on her neck completely.

'This seems fine,' he said, stepping back. 'But we still need to do something about the smell of your blood.'

'What about it?'

'We need to mask it. It's too strong.'

'Can we do that?' Dal-ae asked, genuinely curious.

Taeyong smiled. 'Anything is possible with me,' he said and leaned down to meet her lips with his. Dal-ae felt a jolt of cold enter her body through him. It spread inside her like water, filling her up with a rush. It coursed through her veins, her lungs, her heart and all the other space inside her, stirring up everything it touched. Her eyes shut themselves on their own and she leaned into it wanting more. Taeyong deepened the kiss, parting her lips wide with his tongue, sending more of that cold into her till he was sure that it had imprinted itself onto all the heat inside her body.

When they parted, Taeyong saw the colour of her skin turn paler and when she looked up at him, her eyes were a dark blue. He could no longer smell her blood nor hear her heart beat. She was as lifeless as him.

'How do you feel?' he asked.

Despite the cold masking the life inside her, Dal-ae felt energized. 'This feels amazing,' she exclaimed.

Taeyong smiled. 'Then, we are ready to go.'

_

You have reached the end of this week's update. -sad noises-

So... do we have any guesses on where Taeyong is taking her?

Of course, we don't. It's such a wide world. It could be anywhere. Maybe they are going to Venice, who knows... └(・。・)┘