A SILVER-HAIRED VAMPIRE walked with his chin held up high as the corridors passed by him—all of the arched windows were shut closed—the only source of light was from the hanging candles attacked on the walls. As he spotted a familiar door, he extended his hand to open it and a faint energy suddenly pounded onto his body. A force.
His brow quirked as his head tilted slightly. To verify his speculation, he stepped back from the area where he felt the energy and stepped back in. Then the same force tensed his muscles before he felt his body easing. It was very subtle. If an ordinary vampire experienced it, they wouldn't have sensed a single thing.
Standing still, he observed his surroundings more and searched for the origin of the mysterious energy. He found himself sensing a stronger aura behind the familiar oak wood door.
Why would anyone be in there? This place was rather secluded if compared with the rest of the castle. So, who would step foot in the East tower?
The East Tower is generally a place where the castle's staff avoids since it's a historical place. Specifically, it was the tower the late King had given to his beloved wife, the late queen, for her first gift. As years passed after the late queen's passing, no one dared to enter the tower except for the seven princes and a few castle staffs: the steward, butler, and housekeeper.
Opening the door, the prince braced himself for the person behind the door, his guards was completely up, prepared to launch himself on the 'intruder'.
When he saw a friendly vampire standing in the middle of the room with her wand in her hands, his face dropped as surprise filled his face. "Hello...?" Seulhyun waved her free hand at the prince.
Prince Sunghoon closed the door behind him and slowly approached the girl, confused on why she was here. Or how did she get here. "Who told you about about this place?" He asked.
"Oh, Sunoo told me to go here to practice my enchantments."
"Is there a problem I'm unaware of?" Seulhyun asked as her hand which held the wand wavered. Her pressed expression didn't go unnoticed by the prince as he spoke, "Did Sunoo told you anything about this tower?"
"Yes. He did!" Seulhyun answered, glancing at her hand. She had been in this room for hours practicing her stamina and endurance on doing a few spells. So far, she was an hour in, and it would be a lie if she said her hand didn't ache. With every minute passing, she could feel her strength extracting from her body. However, she didn't want to give in so easily. Not when she is already breaking her previous record.
"He told me that this tower, The East Tower, is where the late queen spent most of her time in, resulting it to become a very respected place in the castles. Don't worry, he has warned me of what to do and what not to do."
Sunghoon pursed his lips, nodding at words, agreeing to what she just said. None of it was false. "That's right." He said, "I'm guessing you're here to...train?" His statement came off more as a question as confusion lingered in his voice.
Seulhyun nodded. "You're correct."
"What about you, Your Majesty? What caused you to visit this tower?" She inquired. This time, rather than giving her attention towards her wand, she faced the prince as he made himself comfortable on a nearby couch.
Seulhyun saw how his eyes seemed to get lost somewhere else for a moment before he opened his mouth, "I...wanted space to think." He completed with a curt smile.
She didn't press on the topic much further as she got the gist of his state of mind just by hearing his answer. Something must have happened. A lull settled into the conversation as each individuals were occupied in their own activity—the brunette was struggling to maintain her strength while the prince stared into blank space, his mind traveling elsewhere.
The silence began to feel dry and noticeable to the cinnamon-haired girl as she took quick glances at the prince, hoping he would strike a conversation, but he didn't, unfortunately.
Deciding to take the initiative, Seulhyun spoke, "Um, do you- do you want to talk about it? Maybe?" Her question gained his attention immediately, "I mean- if Your Majesty don't want to them that's alright-"
"Don't you think you need to be casual with me first in order for me to talk about my problems?" He interrupted her.
It took a second for Seulhyun to properly digest his words as she blinked repetitively before nodding. Right. If she wants him to open up to her, she needs to drop the formalities.
"Sure. So, what's bothering you?" She casually asked causing the prince to arch his brow.
He didn't expect her to drop the formalities between the two of them so easily. Nevertheless, he cleared his throat as he prepared the topics in his head. "Don't act surprised but I'm in a relationship with Evelyn."
At that moment, Seulhyun jaw dropped. Her jaw fell open while Sunghoon groaned at her reaction, "I told you to not be surprised."
"But- how could I not be?!"
"You're having an affair with Eve?!" Seulhyun repeated.
The prince sighed, knowing that he should've expected. "Yes, and the reason why nobody knows is because we decided to keep it a secret. We didn't want rumors and unnecessary problems to occur with publicity, so we decided to keep it hidden. But,"
He paused as if the thought in his mind disrupted his peace, "But?" Seulhyun asked.
"But these past few days, we haven't been getting along so well. Problems constantly arise and, in all honesty, I feel frustrated thinking about it. I want us to work out. I really do." At this point, the desperation in his voice became more avid.
"But...I don't know.." He trailed off.
Seulhyun hummed, "Do you know the root of the problems?" She asked, "By knowing that it will be easier to resolve it."
"Well," He hesitantly said, scratching the nape of his neck. "I don't know what's the cause of the problem. She won't tell me." He admitted.
The brunette eyes widened by a fraction by his response. That was certainly unexpected. Seeing his already bothered expression, she didn't want to accidentally say anything wrong to worsen his mood. So, she shut her mouth, suppressing her opinions and curiosity and yelped when she felt a stinging pain struck her left wrist.
Her wand tumbled on the floor with a sound as it rolled to the couch where Prince Sunghoon was sitting on. The prince stood up, alarmed as Seulhyun held her wrist, soothing it by rubbing her thumb over it. "Are you well?"
"Quite. I think I've reached my limit."
"Well then, do you need anything?"
"Not really." The girl smiled, her happy demeanor took the prince by surprise. Wasn't she in pain? Why was she smiling?
"I can do it for almost two hours!"
"Pardon?" Sunghoon stepped back while the brunette jumped on her feet, celebrating her achievement.
"I finally did it! If I can endure it for two hours, then I'll be able to cast a protective enchantment around the castle!!"
"Congratulations?" Sunghoon slowly clapped, "Do you want to celebrate it?"
Seulhyun looked at the tall vampire, "That would be nice! How about celebrating with snacks?" She proposed.
Sunghoon's eyes brightened, "I heard Haeyul made a new batch of pies earlier. We could eat that." He told.
"Alright then. Let's get going."
The two left the room after gathering their things and climbed down multiple flights of stairs, arriving at the floor where the bridge to the main kingdom was and crossed the bridge while conversing with one another. It was nothing like the conversation Seulhyun had with Haeyul. It was rather casual yet formal.
Little did they know, a vampire had saw them walking through the halls together side by side. The latter's body halted as disappointment flooded her body.
Look who's back 😐 I hope you enjoyed this chapter
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