The night the princess lost her first life, a night that would haunt the princes for the rest of eternity, started off uncharacteristically humid and gloomy. It was like the universe knew of the unescapable fate the evening held and was already mourning the loss of Her Highness. Fittingly, not a single teardrop was shed from the sky until after the atrocious deed had been executed.
As the moon shone brightly in the night sky and as the forest around crept with esoteric nightlife, the castle itself was sound asleep. The princes and the princess had retired to their personal chambers for the evening long ago, all blissfully unaware of the group of villagers treading closer and closer to the fortress's premises from the next town over. That night, like most nights, the eight royal residents had chosen to sleep in their own respective rooms in favor of allowing each other personal time to unwind after spending decades together. They had discovered that to be one method that helped them maintain a healthy relationship with minimal disputes. But that didn't mean they wouldn't indulge in cuddling up with each other every now and then to enjoy each other's company through the night.
As the villagers inched closer to the castle, one particular prince began to grow restless in his sleep. The second youngest had always been keen to sensing trouble even in an unconscious state. The closer the men walked, the more unsettled he grew in his sleep. Yet, their quiet footsteps weren't enough to fully wake Jungwon so the prince slept on, mildly unaware of their lurking shadows.
In retrospect, the princes should have foreseen this deceptively sudden attack. Their vampire identities had never been a secret and the townspeople of the village they lived nearest to, the town in which the princess would be later reborn in for her second life, didn't seem to mind. The local villagers and the princes had naturally formed an unspoken agreement - no harm would be bestowed upon one another for the protection of each other. Yet, it would be a lie to say this amicable agreement was widely accepted throughout the land. It's been long since vampires were collectively seen as evil. In fact, it has been common knowledge for the past couple of centuries that most vampires have good intentions and wish to live amicably among humans. However, this does not mean all vampires hold the same beliefs. There are still vampires that truly wish to harm humans and use them for their blood. These vampires, specifically, ignite a deep hatred within some people that causes them to falsely project the stereotype onto all vampires. The villagers of the next town over are no exception. They had always execrated vampires and were never afraid to directly express their bigoted opinions. In fact, their hatred seemed to burn brighter after they learned the seven vampires were royal princes. From thereon after, the villagers tried a multitude of times to drive the princes completely out of the country, which ultimately resulted in the last attack that targeted the princes' light in their eternal life, costing them their beloved princess.
By the time the first villager broke into the castle's main entrance and stepped foot into the grand foyer, Jungwon had shot up from his bed in alarm. "Someone broke into the foyer!" he had warned everyone telepathically in a mild panic, eyebrows pinched together as he sprung into action. In spite of the adrenaline that pumped through his veins, Jungwon had been careful to leave the sleeping princess undisturbed in fear of scaring her. He couldn't have lived with himself if he had startled the princess for nothing as it wouldn't have been the first time the prince sensed something lurking amongst the shadows of the castle and woken up the other princes with unease. But prior to this nefarious night, the second youngest prince had always mistakenly sensed small rodents skittering across the ground floor, which always resulted in Riki snickering and teasing the older prince while gently guiding the animal back out of the castle.
That night, however, Heeseung, Sunghoon, and Riki had also sensed the impending danger, but regardless of the gut-wrenching feeling that weighed deep within their chests, it was too late. While the princes' powers were strong, they came with limitations in their slumbering states. The mass of the villagers had broken into the castle by climbing up the easter and western staircase towers. Their heavy steps had naturally been dulled by the thick cold stone material holding the structure in place, and with the towers located on opposite sides of the long stretch of hallway, it was nearly impossible for anyone to pick up on their advance. By the time the first prince reached his bedroom door to charge against the scene, a swarm of villagers had managed to fill into each prince's room, all having entered from a small window atop the stairwells, and created an ocean of bodies deep enough to drown the seven vampires before anyone could make it to the princess's room.
It only took a few quick seconds to realize how thoroughly prepared the villagers were. While most of them lacked physical training, the sheer number of bodies outnumbered the princes significantly and created a great enough hindrance that allowed the villagers to complete their mission. It was evident that there was meaning and intention placed into each thought and tactic of that night.
"Heeseung, there are too many men blocking my exit! Even if I'm able to get out, I'm not sure I can get to the princess in time." The eldest had picked up the thought telepathically from Jay. The townsmen had strategically assigned certain people to counterattack each prince's strength and the prince with super-strength was swarmed with the village's strongest men. Heeseung's determination had cracked a bit at the news as he too faced his own obstacle. The eldest's room was flooded with the village's most agile swordsmen.
"Jungwon, can you get to the princess quickly? Jay and I are blocked in our rooms and it might be a minute before we can get to the princess," he pleaded, counting on the younger prince's agile speed. But much to his chagrin, the young prince had responded with troubling news of his own. As the two eldest princes resided in rooms nearest to the princess, the villagers concentrated most of their intrusion there, respectively. However, there were still enough men to delay the other five princes from even stepping foot into the suddenly never-ending corridor that kept them from the princess.
"We're all trapped. It's like they brought the entire village with them." Even through his telepathic state, Jungwon had already sounded defeated.
"Riki? Can you get to the princess through the shadows?" Heeseung tried again just as the villagers began closing in around him. The eldest glanced nervously around the room, wielding his own sword, but never daring to make the first move. He had vowed to never intentionally hurt a human unless he was provoked for protection purposes and intended to live by his morals for as long as possible.
"The villagers in my room brought so many lanterns with them. I can't find a single shadow source in my room," the youngest panicked. It was then when the princes finally realized what they would have to do. The last of the floodgates had burst open and there was nothing but determination pulsing through their veins. No amount of bloodshed would be too much if it meant saving their princess.
"Then we fight," Heeseung confirmed to the other six before he unleashed his powers and trained skills at full capacity.
The actual battle of that night remained a blur for four of the seven princes, even to this day. None of them were truly aware of the sheer amount of damage that was committed nor were they aware of the ways their eyes had glimmered with an almost animalistic glint. The red hot liquid that splattered against Heeseung's skin as his sword pierced through skin buttery smooth were paltry feathery touches that failed to make him flinch. Jay had never felt so much power coursing through his veins from the feeling of bones crushing and shattering at the mercy of his two bare hands. The villagers in Jake's room swore they had met the devil that night as the prince laughed manically while setting the room around him ablaze, ignoring the screams of agony as flesh bubbled and burned. And Jungwon, while the second youngest had always been deceptively innocent and exuberant, the villagers quickly learned of the prince's delusive nature as he dashed around the room, too fast for their eyes to follow, and took down each man that stood in his way one by one.
As one would expect, the agile prince had been the first to escape his room, easily bypassing each man who stood in his way. However, as he resided in the room farthest from the princess, the second youngest vampire escaped, only to be met with another wave of bodies in the corridor. As he continued to push forward, Jungwon was met with the sight of three struggling princes - or rather, the lack thereof.
"Jungwon!" Sunghoon had managed to call out to be heard over the mass of chaos when he heard the tell-tale sounds of their second youngest bolting by.
"Sunghoon! Are you alright? Where's Sunoo and Riki. I can't see them," the agile prince responded, half-distracted as he continued to zip down the corridor, albeit a little slower due to the human barricade that stood in his way.
"Jungwon, there's so many of them," Riki had called back. Something in the older prince's heart broke. He had never heard their youngest sound so broken.
"Are you hurt, Riki?" he asked telepathically. Little did he know, none of the three missing princes were injured by physical inflictions. Rather, each prince was struggling in a battle against their own abilities. Furthermore, what none of them knew was that this night would come back to haunt the three princes tenfold for the next few centuries as they searched for their lost princess. They would spend the next millennia blaming themselves for her death.
Sunghoon, as a half-blooded prince had always struggled with his hybrid existence. He never understood why he was the only one of the princes to be half of something, feeling as if his existence was only half as important as everyone else. And at the time, the half-blood prince had only recently come to terms with his wolf through the princess's gentle guidance. Consequentially, he had never experienced changing into his wolf form at will. And at that moment when he needed his powers the most, he found himself frozen and tense, unable to focus on anything else other than the crowd closing in around him. Beads of sweat collected on his temples and his breaths came out in heavy puffs, yet nothing he tried got him to shift.
In the next room over, Sunoo was drowning in a debilitating wave of overwhelmedness. That night marked the first night each prince took down multiple opponents by themselves. Despite being thousands of years old, the seven princes were always together during each fight. Even then, they seldom ever got into fights as they vowed to maintain an untroubled lifestyle. But when they did, their teamwork always gave Sunoo the perfect opportunity to focus on one victim at a time, easily willing them to self-inflict some of the most heinous casualties imaginable. But as Sunoo found himself alone in a room full of at least 30 villagers, his own mind turned into mush as he frantically tried to devise a plan. Yet, the moment he pinpointed one victim to manipulate, the others would quickly interrupt his attempt.
Comparable to the normally bright and animated prince, Riki found himself in a similar situation as Sunoo. The youngest prince couldn't help but feel helpless as he stood in a room of blinding lights and countless villagers, with no shadow source in sight. The room around him was seemingly caving in and he swore the lights were almost blinding his vision. What made matters worse was the villagers had blocked off all entryways to the prince's room, including his window. At that moment, the prince was truly alone. No amount of desperate calls for help directed at the nocturnal animals outside the castle could save him from the inevitable.
When the silence from Riki became too overbearing, Jungwon warily changed his path. While the princess didn't possess any powers, he couldn't just run by ignoring the calls of help coming from the other princes. They were also soul-bound by fate after all. Plus, the broad-shouldered prince was certain the older princes would've gotten to the princess with due time. But what he failed to account for was that 'soon' wasn't good enough.
"Heeseung!" the princess's petrified scream rang down the long corridor loud and clear and shook all the princes to their cores. Their souls lept in a panic, determined to save Her Highness. The eldest prince himself had felt a surge of power rush through him at her terrified call and fought his way through the crowd with a newfound strength that left a trail of crimson behind him. And just as he made it out into the hallway to meet Jay who also just stumbled out of his room, she screamed again. "Heeseung!" That scream had sent a chilling prick down their spines. In this never-ending nightmare, something truly felt amiss as the princess's voice tapered off toward the end of her call.
Just as the night had started with a dark foreboding mood, with heavy clouds that loomed over the castle, the princess's final scream had broken the unbearable tension which caused the sky to weep. The rain poured down hard as the two eldest princes pushed their way into her room. At the beckon of a loud clap of thunder and a faint whistle, the remaining villagers, all of whom were wounded and barely alive, quickly retreated from the castle and back out into the night, which finally gave way for the rest of the princes to reach the princess. Their breaths caught in their throats when they were met with the sight of a seemingly empty room. The window was broken and it allowed the sky's tears to flow into the room freely. In the distance out of the broken glass, two shaded figures that had seen the princess last disappeared into the forestline, and for a split second, Jay assumed the villagers had kidnapped the princess. But then they heard it - a fragile wheeze that came from the mound of comfortable blankets on the princess's bed.
"Love," Heeseung had cried out brokenly when he finally made out her terribly pale and motionless body atop the soft fabrics. A piece of cloth had been haphazardly tied around her mouth and Sunoo had quickly undone the sloppy knot. There was a rapidly deepening river of red flowing from her chest. And when all seven princes rushed over, they felt the ghost of their own hearts stop as they realized there was nothing they could do. The villagers had targeted her human heart and the slowly halting organ had been damaged beyond compare to a point where any effort to save her would've been a futile attempt. All they could do, and all they did, was hold her in their arms as she took her last breath. They continued to hold her lifeless body while they wept with the sky into the early hours of the next torturous morning, and all they could hear were her last words on repeat like a broken record.
"I'll love you forever, my beloved princes."
♡ ♡ ♡
Welcome back, Dalgis! So we finally found out how the princess died in her first life! What'd y'all think? For those of you who might still be confused, I'd like to clarify how the princess died even though Heeseung gave her eternal life through his bite. I imagine the princes' ability to give the princess eternal life to be similar to venom or a potion coursing through her veins. So when Heeseung bit her, that ability to live forever was coursing through her veins, pumping in her blood to keep her alive. However, since she's still living in a human body, and is still technically human, if any of her vital organs were to be severely damaged as it was during this raid, it would still lead to a fatality.
Question of the Week: What is the first item on your bucket list?
For me, the first item on my bucket list, especially after attending the Fate Tour concert in LA this weekend, is getting VIP 1 tickets for an Enha concert so I can experience send-off lmao. I was fortunate enough to get some pretty good seats so my overall concert experience was great as always (Enha never disappoints!). But my Twitter & TikTok feeds are full of lucky Engenes who got to experience send off and I want it so bad! I also heard Enha's VIP1 perks for this tour were really good.
Speaking of the Fate Tour, I'll be posting some pics I took during the concert on my Instagram so if y'all are interested, go check it out! My profile is linked in my bio. I'm so proud of the boys for completing their first stadium concert. It was such a special experience for me and I'm certain it was an even more special experience for them.
As always, I hope you're all staying safe, happy, and healthy! I can't thank you guys enough for the tremendous amount of support y'all have shown me despite only having published this book a week ago. I love you all so much 💗
Until next week,
Strawberheecake 🍓