Beth locked herself in the bathroom with the staff, assuring Bernard that she was fine in there alone.
The screams of the battlefield were more muffled from behind the bathroom door anyways.
She ran her fingers over the smooth, shining wood again and again, memorizing the twists of it and trying to block out the sounds and the fears they brought.
Whatever happened, they were all safe as long as her parents didn't try to get in. They weren't vampires after all.
She paled at the thought, shuddered, and re-focused on the staff.
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When the screams finally died away, Beth emerged from the bathroom.
Someone had cleaned up after the body and the broken glass doors.
However she could not see Bernard or Taehyung in the red morning sunlight that was streaming through the remaining scraps of her balcony doors.
Clutching the staff close to her she walked to the doorway, careful not to cross it, and looked out over the field.
There was blood and ash, but no bodies remained.
As she backed away, telling herself it was to soon to panic, sharp creak sounded behind her.
The instant she spun around she was caught in strong, familiar arms, and Taehyung buried his face against her shoulder.
"I'm back Jagi." he murmured.
Beth pushed him back...
Only to drop the staff on the bed next to her so she could hug him properly.
A shuddering sigh escaped her as he hugged her tightly.
He was safe.
The relief lasted for a few moments more before Taehyung pulled back, hands resting on her shoulders.
"You're alright?" His gaze scanned her from head to toe, taking in every inch, trying to assure himself that she was unharmed.
"Just... shaken. What were those things last night?"
Taehyung's face was grim.
"They were vampires. Somehow Gwen released them from the staff's binding. They died in front of us before the sun could rise, but they killed eight of Jimin's elite clan heads last night."
"Twelve survived? Including Jimin? But... if they were the elite after Jimin, then..." Beth trailed off.
"Yes?" Taehyung frowned slightly, obviously concerned.
"The body thrown through the window last night didn't disintegrate..." she whispered. "It just aged. If he was elite... then what happened to the older, stronger vampires?"
Taehyung sighed.
"Gwen's been killing them off. She herself is centuries older than any other vampire left. Jimin's father was the only one who would have stood a chance in a fair fight, and like I said, he was killed years ago."
Beth found herself trembling, and tried to force it down, but Taehyung pulled her close again.
"Please don't try to hide from me Beth. We're mates. Remember what we talked about yesterday? While we made dinner together?"
Beth remembered. She also remembered how simple and relaxing it had been. Despite the odd topics they'd come to, it had felt normal. Just two people getting to know each other.
She nodded and voiced the memory aloud. "We can read each other like books right? So you know how I'm feeling now, just like I know you didn't want to tell me everything about Gwen and the battle last night, but you did because I would know you were hiding it from me."
Taehyung nodded. "Exactly."
Gently he kissed her forehead. "It's a good thing neither of us is crazy isn't it?"
Beth chuckled, surprising even herself. "Yeah, then we'd really have a lot on our hands wouldn't we?"
They laughed together, the tension dispersing as though by magic. It wasn't that funny of a comment, but it got through to both of them and that was all it took to shatter the strain they were both feeling.
Even Bernard cracked a slight smile at the pair of them.
Maybe it was twisted to be laughing with blood staining the field just outside her shattered balcony doors. With many dead from Gwen's devices, eight and all she had cast the staff's binding off of having died that very night.
But it relieved the strain, and the three of them knew they would need to be able to think as clearly as possible.
Even though they might feel guilty for their laughter later, for now, it was just a step in trying to end Gwen's reign of terror.
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Eight hours later, Beth would never have suspected that she had been headache-free earlier if she hadn't remembered it clearly.
How could Gwen have released certain vampires from the staff's safety?
Jimin had called in after leaving to investigate early that morning. The ritual field was the only place that had been attacked that they knew of, and Jimin's reach equaled Gwen's for the same reason Gwen had such a hold over the others.
She used fear to control them.
Jimin's Father had not, and his legacy as well as his uncle's now belonged to him, including their separately developed networks.
As Gwen had only attacked them, it was extremely likely that she had simply been attempting to stop the ritual. But then why would she do that when she to would die?
Unless the method that she used to release the staff's hold on the other vampires could be twisted to maintain it's hold over only one.
But that still left the question of how?
Why, in the end, was obvious. Gwen would be the only vampire left. She would have her own planet to harvest from as she chose.
And if she could do it to vampires, who said she couldn't do it to werewolves as well?
There were to many possibilities.
To much time for things to happen in...
They had to wait until the next moon to renew the staff's hold over the werewolves.
They were running out of time.
But they didn't know if they had enough time to figure things out before Gwen struck again.
Now Bernard and Taehyung were searching the castle's vast library for a clue.
Taehyung and Jimin had been through every other available library or organized trusted people to search them for any clue about the staff and it's powers, and nothing had been turned up in all the years spent in all those libraries.
Younger vampires and werewolves had even scanned the internet.
Nothing.
Yet in all that time there had been no way to access the library of this castle.
Why?
It too was behind the hidden door.
Beth felt somewhat useless. Unlike Bernard and Taehyung, she didn't know any other languages of the modern times, let alone the languages of the ancient past.
To keep herself busy she spent her time writing ideas, theorizing, analyzing every bit of information they had.
How?
Why?
When?
How?
She didn't know, and she had to.
The writing kept her thoughts vaguely organized, although she doubted if anyone besides she or Taehyung would be able to decipher it and keep their sanity.
More often than not she found herself frustrated, going back over rabbit trails of thought.
By the end of the day, she'd used a copious amount of paper, and was only restless.
She went to the kitchen after sunset and made BLT sandwiches for dinner, making sure the bacon was extra crisp so it would make minimal mess in the ancient library.
Who knew how long it would be until they were able to find something? Who knew if they would find anything at all?
Jimin would be coming over every day beginning tomorrow to help sort through the library, but she wouldn't have to feed him. Obviously. She wished there was a way to get more people in to help, but neither Jimin nor Taehyung had anyone they could move without making Gwen suspicious. They could not, at any cost, have her suspicious of what they were actually doing.
Within the castle, the staff guaranteed their protection. The only reason the doors had been shattered the night before was because it had been the staff returning so hastily to Beth when the ceremony was complete and danger was near. After all, it had no hands to open the doors with, and she herself had not been trying to come in, so it would not even have unlocked.
The body of the vampire had come through because it was just that. A body. had any life been left in him at all, he would of bounced off of the invisible boundary that kept all living vampires out.
They were safe.
Her siblings were safe.
But how long would the rest of the world be safe before they could find their answers?
She wondered what her once parents were doing. Would they try to get in?
Maybe they weren't safe after all...
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Hello readers!
Obviously this chapter took FAR longer than anticipated. I hope you enjoyed it, and that it wasn't to boring waiting for it to come out!
Who am I kidding? You guys likely have lives, unlike me lol.
Things are pretty rough for me right now, but this story is nigh therapeutic for me, so I will not be going on hiatus. Lucky for all of us! Please be patient with me and stay tuned for the next chapter!
Love you all! <3
Random question of the chapter, what's your favorite food? Mine's pizza!