Under a Dark Moon [Oneus AU]

Rival Knight

Luella had begin to adjust to this new life of hers. Being trapped at the Shaw manor with six strange but beautiful Bahleen men was something Luella never imagined she would have to adjust to. However, she found that she quite enjoyed their company.

Her dull, uneventful life had ended, and the naive girl she was before had been killed. Luella now knew of the dark and scary things that prowled the forest at night, and it was impossible for her to see the world the way she used to. It was no longer simple or predictable.

Even though she was adjusting, Luella still missed her father and Nellie terribly. Luella would have never expected Nellie to be missing her just the same. She figured Nellie would be happy to be with her family, to be able to see her children every day that she used to praise so highly whenever Luella asked about them.

In fact, Nellie missed her so much, and was so worried, that she sent someone to check on her.

Nellie talked about her son occasionally. His name was William. He was about six years older than Luella, and, according to Nellie, he was a soldier for the Royal Guard for a period of time. After sailing for nearly five years, he returned home to be with his ailing sister. After she recovered, he simply decided to remain at home with his family.

From what Luella heard, he made his money as a tradesman. He raised and butchered cattle, pigs, and sheep, then sold the meat to the noble families at decent prices. It allowed him to provide for his sister and mother, so it was worth it to get a little blood on his hands. Family seemed to matter the most to him.

Because of his experience with war and weapons, Nellie decided to send William out to Shaw manor to check on the family. She had to be sure that Luella was alright.

Unfortunately for William, he was riding right into a rather troublesome situation for himself and Luella.

He rode quickly on his horse for a day and a half before reaching Shaw manor. Nellie told him to tie his horse up in the stables and feed it fresh hay from the bales stored in the loft, so that was exactly what he did.

As he approached the house, William began to notice the strange emptiness of the manor. There were no staff members bustling about, nor were their any police roaming the property to investigate Mr. Shaw's disappearance. All was quiet outside the house, except for the soft howling of the wind through the trees.

Summoning his wits and courage, William walked reluctantly up the front steps and stopped at the door. He reached up to bang the bronze, lion-shaped knocker against the door a few times, then stepped back to wait for an answer.

It wasn't Luella that answered the door. As a matter of fact, she hadn't heard the knocks at all. Keonhee was teaching her how to play a simple song on the piano in another room, so the sound of the knocks never reached her preoccupied ears.

Instead, it was Gunhak that answered the front door, who was a rather intimidating presence. He was taller and leaner than William, and he was foreign, which made it even more difficult to simply approach him.

"Excuse me," William cleared his throat, putting on a friendly smile. "I'm looking for Luella Shaw. My mother, Nellie, sent me to check on her welfare."

"Nellie?" Gunhak blinked at him in confusion for a moment before the name registered in his mind. "Ah. Luella is fine. Goodbye."

William was appalled when the door was slammed in his face suddenly, causing him to step back. He let out an annoyed scoff before stomping back up to the door and knocking again, louder this time.

This time an entirely different man answered the door, making William wonder who all these men were in Mr. Shaw's house.

Youngjo raised a brow at the man standing on the porch, then glanced back at Gunhak who was walking away from the situation altogether.