In the violet light of dawn, Dal-ae knelt next to Sunghyun's body, blood oozing out of the gash in his chest. In her hand was a bloodied silver stake, its sheen gleaming in her eyes.
'Dal-ae...' Doyoung said quietly, catching her attention.
Slowly, she turned her head to look up at him, expression unchanged. But it was when her eyes landed on Taeil, who was gaping at her with a terrible frown on his face, she realized what the scene must look like to them.
'Traitor!' Taeil yelled, without waiting for another thought. 'I knew it! You mortal. How dare you kill a vampire?!'
Dal-ae pressed her eyes closed and with a sigh, she rose from the marble floor, her skirt drenched in the same blood, the stake still in her hand.
'I didn't do it,' she said, her tone even and calm. 'I didn't,' she added, this time specifically looking at Doyoung and that was enough for him to believe her.
'Nonsense!' Taeil shouted. 'You were caught at the scene of the crime.'
'So?' she said, crossing her arms over her chest. 'You are the scene too.'
'The audacity of this mortal. How dare you argue back?' Taeil shrieked and looked at Doyoung for help.
'Senior Taeil... calm down, please,' Doyoung said.
'Calm down? Look at this brazen brat. Her hands are covered in blood but there is no guilt in her eyes. I told you, I warned everyone that she is a murderer and now you can see for yourself.'
'Oh yeah?' Dal-ae said, taking a step forward. She twirled the stake between her fingers, grimacing as she did. 'Am I a murderer, then?'
At the sight of the silver, Taeil gulped and involuntarily took a step back.
'Dal-ae...' Doyoung warned, sighing.
Blood was dripping from her hand onto to the floor, one drop at a time as she kept walking towards Taeil. 'If I have already killed one vampire then I should get rid of the witnesses too, don't you think so?'
'Dal-ae... enough.' Doyoung cast himself between her and Taeil. 'At least from you, I expect rationality.'
Dal-ae raised her hands and threw the stake away. It clanked against the marble floor before stopping next to Sunghyun's body.
'You just wait and see!' Taeil hissed from behind Doyoung. 'I will have you tortured and hanged by your hair in the dungeon for the rest of your rotten life, mortal.'
'Senior Taeil!' Doyoung cried out.
'Well, you can't very well do either of those things, can you?' Dal-ae reminded him. 'That power lies only with the Lord.'
Realizing that she was right, Taeil scowled but backed off nonetheless.
'Fine, let's call the Lord then so that he can see your crime with his own eyes,' Taeil said, his fangs baring themselves as he spoke.
'Sure,' she agreed. 'Let me call him for you.'
'No!' Taeil blurted. 'Don't you dare move. We can't have you leave the crime scene. Who knows what tricks you have up your sleeves.'
Dal-ae scoffed. 'I am not going anywhere,' she said, looking at Taeil with a smile too broad. 'Watch.'
Silently, she whispered Taeyong's name into the T on her neck and waited.
Despite the fact that Taeyong had just gone to sleep after a whole night of working, he answered the moment he heard Dal-ae's call.
'He's coming,' she told Taeil and saw the displeasure rise within his eyes.
The light of the dawn faded into the sky to allow the sun to take its first peek at the day, and it was when the first ray of the misty winter sunlight met the corridor, Taeyong arrived at the scene. His hair was dishevelled, his blue velvet robe was untied and he had not even bothered to wear slippers.
Dal-ae smiled when she saw him but he looked worried and the moment he saw her hands and skirt covered in blood, he rushed to her side.
'Are you alright?' Taeyong asked, holding her by the shoulders and brushing her hair away from her face.
'I'm fine, don't worry,' she replied, giving his shoulder a pat.
Taeil was just about to open his mouth to speak when Taeyong hissed at him, 'What is the meaning of this?'
'My Lord,' Taeil said, the disbelief apparent in his eyes. 'This mortal–'
'Her name is Dal-ae,' Taeyong corrected him, balefully. 'It will do you good to not disrespect her in my presence, Senior Taeil.'
Gritting his teeth together, Taeil bowed his head but did not back down. 'My Lord,' he began, this time calmer than before, 'your Familiar has killed a vampire in your house.'
Taeyong sighed, glancing at Sunghyun's body and the silver stake next to it on the floor.
'Show me the proof,' Taeyong turned to Taeil.
'What?'
'The proof. Where is it?' Taeyong asked. 'You are accusing my Familiar of a crime so I would like to see the proof.'
'My Lord, she was found at the scene of the crime with a silver stake in her hands. And look at her, she is covered in his blood.'
'So?'
Taeil went silent at this.
'All you have is circumstantial evidence,' Taeyong said. 'Did you see her stake Sunghyun's heart?'
Taeil was lost of words. He glanced over at Doyoung for help again. But Doyoung was standing a step away from the scene with his hands clasped behind his back and a stoic expression on his face, clearly having no intention to participate.
Taeyong tilted his head to the side, running his fingers through his hair in exasperation. 'I will assume that you didn't. Without proof, all it seems to me is that Dal-ae stumbled upon the body just like you did.'
There was a finality to Taeyong's words and it should have been enough to close the matter had it been someone else in Taeil's place but the Senior had not earned his title for his age alone.
'My Lord,' he began, the glint in his eyes visible in the morning light. 'Even if the evidence is circumstantial, it does not imply her innocence. Circumstantial evidence has been used to prove guilt in the past, many times, and by you, my Lord. So, unless there is proof of her innocence or someone else is proven to be the murderer, I believe, she cannot walk free, not without an investigation at least.'
Taeil was right and he knew it. He pushed further, 'Of course, we wouldn't want rumours to circulate in the realm that the Vampire Lord was partial and decided to bend the law for someone. The law cannot be not be partial to anyone and I am sure you know it better than I do, my Lord.'
Taeyong had his eyes narrowed at Taeil all this time, but when he spoke, his tone was casual, almost playful to the point of condescension. 'You are right, Senior Taeil, the law cannot be partial to anyone. But sadly, I am,' he shrugged.
'What? My Lord...'
'You heard me. I am partial,' Taeyong repeated.
Taeil gaped at him, his eyes losing their shine. 'My Lord, you can't possibly...'
'Oh, but I can, can't I?' Taeyong's lips twisted themselves into a chilling smile. 'Dal-ae did not kill Sunghyun and that's final. The case is closed.'
'My Lord,' Taeil screeched. 'There will be murmur and talk. There can be an uprising against you if the word gets out that you bent the law for someone. The Neutral Force can get involved.'
At this, the amusement dropped from Taeyong's eyes replaced with a dangerous malevolence.
'And who would dare to spread such rumours about me, Senior Taeil? Taeyong said, fixing Taeil with a gaze intense enough to shut him up. 'I doubt anybody would want to cross the most powerful vampire in the realm, am I right?'
Taeil went completely silent. Whatever argument was left inside him, died down altogether.
'Yes, my Lord,' he said. And despite having a hard time accepting his defeat, he nonetheless bowed to the Lord in apology but Taeyong did not want one.
'I would like you to apologise to Dal-ae, Senior Taeil,' he said.
Taeil stopped halfway through his bow, looking up at Taeyong before fixing his gaze on Dal-ae. Something sinister and ominous rose inside him and his face turned red with it.
'Go on,' Taeyong said and Taeil knew what he had to do.
'I apologise for wrongly accusing you, Familiar. Please accept my apology,' he said.
And the moment Dal-ae nodded, Taeil stalked away from the scene with his cloak flying behind him.
Author's Notes:
This chapter went through so many last-minute revisions before I finalized on this draft. I hated the original version of this scene and found it so incredibly boring while editing that I decided to rewrite the whole chapter yesterday.
And I think I like how it is now. It's so much better than the previous draft. Our characters seem to be at the exact level of emotional distress I want them to be at so I am not complaining :p