(I'm gonna try speeding through Hongjoong finding them because I don't want this book to get too long. Lol we're already on chapter 44 and I feel like I still have so much to cover. Plus, I wanna go back to woosan, no offense Joong. Love ya 😹)

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Thump.

Hongjoong lands on the grass after having successfully escaped through a window on the first floor of the castle.

It's nighttime and the sounds of crickets in the trees and shrubs tickles his ears. He quickly ducks at the sight of two guards making their way down that path with a lantern. They chat quietly and Hongjoong stays hidden behind some topiary.

Once they were gone and the light from the lantern fades down the path he stands up and quietly made his way towards the gate. He knew he wouldn't be able to get through without help. Hence why Nari would cause a diversion and he'd be able to escape.

He pulls the hood to his coat over his head and picked off in a run through the woods between the palace, the rest of the town homes and the front gates.

He arrives and just as planned Nari successfully diverts their attention which was more than enough time for Hongjoong to vamp speed past the gate before any of them could catch on.

Before he knew it he was out of the capital of Naex, the big city as well as where the palace was located. He takes a deep breath and starts towards where his brother was last spotted. The Great Lake.

He knew he had to be quick if he was going to find Jongho before any one else. Nari's words kept repeating in his head and though he knew she wouldn't lie about something like that to him he also couldn't help but want to believe his father more. He was conflicted. But he stuffed away this mental turmoil for now and focused on finding his brother for now.

Eventually he arrives at the lake and as expected there wasn't any sign of anyone present. He leans forward on his knees, trying to catch his breath after having sprinted there. "Jongho, where the hell are you?" He mutters to himself in annoyance as he looks around the clearing, at the tall trees, at the steady flowing lake, at the other side of said lake.

He looks down and that's when he momentarily catches the sigh of locks of black hair strands right by the lake side. It was covered in mud but he squats and uses a stick to dig it up then he observed that it was cut off using some sort of knife. One thing's for sure though, it was definitely done very recently.

"You must be looking for your brothers" A voice calls out behind Hongjoong and he nearly slips on the mud. He flinches and quickly stands up, getting in a defensive position. He saw the voice belonged to a man with brown hair tied back in a bun.

Junho smiles softly at Hongjoong but the prince only eyes him suspiciously. "Did you see him pass by here?" Hongjoong questions but immediately after the words left his mouth he registered what the stranger had said. "Wait a minute, did you say 'brothers'?" His eyes widen and his heart jumps in his chest. So Wooyoung really is alive?

"You do have two of them, yes?" Junho asks with amusement. But Hongjoong wasn't amused. He needed answers and clearly this strange man knew more than he was letting on.

"What do you know?" Hongjoong asks, his voice dark.

"Oh for fucks sake! I told you both, you're not doing anything while I'm also in the room" Jongho whines out with annoyance when he turns around on his lended bed and spotted San and Wooyoung making out on one of the two other beds.

Wooyoung straddling San's torso and very slowly grinding their hips while San gripped Wooyoung tightly on his hip and his other hand squeezing Wooyoung's thigh.

Wooyoung had both arms on either side of San's head, sucking on the male's tongue, reveling in his delicious lips and trying hard to control his very very explicit thoughts as the heat caused from the friction between their trapped members made his insides churn and flutter.

"Yah!! Wooyoung!" Jongho calls out again from across the room, sitting up in bed this time when the two of them ignore him.

Wooyoung begrudgingly pulls back with an annoyed grunt. "Can you just leave?" Wooyoung whines after sitting up on San's torso. He shoots daggers at the young prince who was just as displeased.

"Does it look I want to be within a 10 mile radius of the both of you when you can't even keep your hands to yourselves for a couple hours. I can't leave so until we're out of here, knock it off" He ends with a frown and a pout that San couldn't help but find adorable. He chuckles underneath Wooyoung's weight and gently gives him a squeeze on his thigh before pulling him off.

"Ok fine. No more kissy kissy" San announces and jumps to his feet. Wooyoung stares at him from the bed, eyes wide and completely dumbfounded. His black hair disheveled and messy, San's handiwork from when they were in an intense lip lock.

"What do you mean no more kissy kissy?" He sounded horrified. "What about touchy touchy?" 

"No" Jongho butts in. "No kissy kissy, touchy touchy, grab-y grab-y or anything adjacent"

Wooyoung looks from Jongho and back to San, grey eyes soft and sparkling. He pouts as he waited for San to refuse Jongho's conditions. San simply shrugs and grins at him. "What he says goes" He chuckles at Wooyoung's cute puppy dog eyes and places a small peck on the tip of his nose before going to settle down on the third untouched bed.

Wooyoung releases a bitter sigh and lays back down on the bed. A short silence settles before he sits up again. "What about one kiss every 30 minutes?"

"No" Jongho mutters.

"What about feel-y feel-y?"

"I have no idea what that means"

"...Is that a yes?"

"No!"

Later that night just as San was growing impatient and on the verge of bursting out of there, a dark elf soldier comes knocking on the thin wooden door then draws the drapes back as he enters. "The assembly is ready for you all. Follow me" The man says with a gruff.

San was the first to jump to his feet. The other two vampires follow suit and soon they're making their way down the path way behind the soldier in complete silence.

There was one drow behind them aswell, joining I'm escorting them to the assembly meeting. The night air was brisk and cool on San's skin and he became more tense the closer they got.

The streets had a moderate amount of people and as they walked past more and more people stood to the side, stared and whispered amongst themselves with wide eyes at the newcomers.

He could catch the word 'monsters' as well as his own name 'San' but he didn't want to focus his vamp hearing to understand better what they were saying only because he knew he'd only make himself upset. So he took a deep breath in, silently searched for Wooyoung's hand and grasps the prince's cold hand in his.

Knowing Wooyoung was next to him was more than enough strength.

They make it to the large building they'd been in earlier that day except now there were about 5 rows of chairs all occupied with drows. Up ahead was a large half circle table with their village's elders, leaders and officials.

And upon their entry from the back all eyes slowly turned towards them like dominoes. San grew nervous. He dipped his head down and kept walking down the middle aisle behind the soldier. Murmurs pick up around them.

That's when he notices Seonghwa and Junkyu already seated a small cluster of 5 chairs prepared to the side. Upon seeing San, the worry lines on Seonghwa's expression melts away almost immediately. He smiles shortly at the drow-vampire and he returns it.

Once Wooyoung, San and Jongho were seated, Hadrak, one of the elders taps his hand a couple times on the wooden table to quiet the crowd. Slowly everyone stop murmuring and they turned their attention to the half table.

The meeting started as San had always remembered. Everyone in the room recited the centuries passed down oath to mother Lloth (first drow), they sang a hymn, each person at the table gave their word of thanks.

Of course it was all done in drowic so Wooyoung had no idea what was going on or being said most if not all of the time. But he silently observed. He had no idea drows were so... religious.

Maybe religious wasn't the right word but they seemed to devote their whole being to this woman. He thought to himself as he stared at the ridiculously massive statue of a long haired woman at the very front, behind the half circle assembly table.

Her face stoic and features strong. Lips thick but in relaxed line. Long loose dress that pools at her feet and it's left sleeve hangs off her shoulder. Her hair was collected in a loose braid that fell over her shoulder like a waterfall, down to her feet. Stray hairs tucked behind her pointed tapered ears. Her hands cradled to her chest, as though she was protecting her heart.

Though, unlike the other much smaller statues lined around the room that were made with wood, she was carved from stone and it seemed whoever the artist is behind this particular statue took their time. The details were impressive and almost lifelike.

Since he had basically tuned out most of what was happening his attention is immediately brought back when San stands up beside him. He blinks repeatedly and in question, watching as San made his way towards the center of the half circle table.

"We have reason to believe Jaejoong is planning a silent raid on Lloth" San starts, speaking in drowic. Wooyoung mentally curses at the fact that he had no idea what was even being talked about.

"And how would you have acquired this information?" A woman at the table speaks. The candles and lanterns burning all around the room, efficiently lighting up the space creates intimidating shadows on the assembly member's faces. But San inhales deeply and continues.

"We ran into a druid in Naex. Somewhere close to The Great Lake. He didn't even ask much but already knew so much about us-"

"A druid?" One of the elders cuts, bursting into a dry laughter and he sits back in his chair. "Druids have been dead for centuries. What you're saying is complete nonsense" The crowd behind them begin murmuring, some even chuckling as well.

"He said his was name was Junho" San says loudly, his voice cutting through all the muttering like a hot knife.

Everyone was quiet. "Junho?" A different elder speaks. Then he glances back at the other assembly members who all seemed just as stunned.

"You've been alive this whole time and didn't come back. Why?" A young female asks, driving the meeting forward. San recognized her. Hoyeon, she's the head of security and oversees everything that dealt with the general safety of the town. Her along with everyone in the assembly had watched him grow up here in this very town. So the fact that they were all acting so hostile to him. It hurt.

"Why do you think?" San snaps back. He'd had enough. He wasn't going to quiver and show any more signs of weakness. Or he knew they'd eat him alive. Figuratively of course. "Listen, I know as much as the next person that we were raises to hate and despise vampires. 'Vampires are the enemies' 'they are cruel and wicked' am I wrong?" He begins strutting down the table, staring each and everyone of them in the eyes.

"And for a while I felt the same. How could I not when that's all that has been ingrained in me since birth. But things have changed. I changed. I fell in love with a vampire and I became one myself.." He pauses, glancing at Wooyoung with soft loving eyes. The prince only looks back, completely puzzled.

"Now I'm not here to 'convert' everyone" He puts air quotes around convert. "I'm not here to try and convince you to discard all your beliefs because let's be real, vampires fucking suck" This elicited some chuckles from the crowd. Hoyeon hid her laugh with a cough.

"You can hate me all you want. Hell, for a while after I woke up and found out I had turned, I hated myself too. But I need you all to trust me" He looks to the crowd, eyes flitting and scanning all the faces. He spots Sehyoon at the doors with hands behind his back along with  a few other soldiers.

"And I know the vampire part of me has given you no reason to give your trust but the drow part of me..." He places his hand on his chest, over his heart. "...The drow part of me that was born and raised right here in this very town, that part pleads for your cooperation. I want to protect my home. And whether you shun me as an outcast or banish me once this is over, it doesn't matter. Let me help" He finishes with glossy eyes.

It was quiet for a while as everyone pondered his words and for a minute San thought maybe he'd gotten to them. Maybe his plan would work.

"You've come here with two of Jaejoong's flesh and blood, both princes of Naex, and you're asking for trust? You can't possibly be serious" The elder that spoke says with a gruff voice, his lips dipped into a frown. "And what if this all a trap concocted by Jaejoong himself? Huh?" The elder turns to address the crowd, placing doubts in their heads once again. "He sends his two sons to infiltrate Lloth and act as spies only to destroy us all from the inside. Whether you've fallen in love with a vampire or with the devil himself is not our concern. As far as we know you've allied yourself with them and we have no reason to trust whatever you're saying" He ends grimly while staring daggers at San. The room falls quiet.

San felt his resolve crumble and the silence felt like blows to his head. The tears built up quickly and threatened to fall. The fact that no one would stand up for him, all these people whom he thought he knew and they were all so quick to shun him. It hurt so much. Before coming to Lloth he knew it was an inevitable fact he'd have to face but he never anticipated how... abrasive it would be.

Wooyoung didn't have a clue what was being said. But he watched San's body language through out the time he spoke and when he saw how San's shoulders dropped and his eyes grew wet he immediately shot up to his feet. He was done sitting there, completely oblivious, while they chewed out his lover in a language he couldn't speak a lick of.

But they could speak and understand Korean so it was his turn to talk. And they were going to listen.

"Right ok, I think I've heard enough" Wooyoung calls out and all eyes immediately shift to him. The prince slowly made his way next to San, the half drow male looks at him with panicked confusion. With that oh so familiar expression on his face Wooyoung knew he wanted to ask 'what are you doing?'. Wooyoung simply smirks at him.

"What is the meaning of this disruptive behaviour? Guards, get this.. demon spawn out of my sight" An elder scowls. Wooyoung didn't understand what he said but when he sees the soldiers making their way towards him he raises a hand, his eyes flashing dangerously. The soldiers immediately pull out their weapons causing the crowd to get shaken up.

"I'm not attacking anyone. I just want to speak" Wooyoung puts both hands up in surrender. "You've requested us all here which means you obviously intended to hear what we all have to say. No?" He looks at each face at the assembly table.

Hoyeon looks to the other members briefly before flicking her hand at the soldiers telling them to stand down. "Very well. What exactly do you have to say?" She mutters in Korean, her red painted lips in a strained smile and she met Wooyoung's frosty grey eyes.

"You can and must win against Jaejoong" Wooyoung announces, short and curt. "I don't know exactly what has been discussed thus far because of the language barrier but I assure everything San has told you is true. You all saw what happened with druids in Fladow all those years ago. Killed off and wiped from existence in just one night. And I may not be you guy's biggest fan but I'd really hate for history to repeat itself. We're giving you a chance to save yourselves" Wooyoung say as he walks down the aisle looking at everyone seated in the pews.

"Sure you have no reason to trust me, I'm Jaejoong's son afterall. In fact it's probably wise not to trust me but do you really have a choice? What exactly is at stake here? It's all a wager really. You can kill me right here and now and wait until Jaejoong comes marching into Lloth but by then it'll be too late. Or.. you can let us help. Yes, he's my father but the only connecting me to that monster is blood. And everytime I remember that fact I can't help but hate myself. I want him gone just as much every single one of you" He turns back to the table, walking slowly until he stops in the middle, beside San.

"We may be adversaries but for now we have a common enemy. You don't have to trust me, I honestly couldn't give less of a shit if you didn't, just maybe don't despise me as much until Jaejoong is dealt with" He finishes, looking at San who had his eyes silently trained to the ground.

"And... I know how you may all feel about San now" Wooyoung starts again, his voice much more calm. "But he really does love and cherish his home. His people. His family. Do you think I was thrilled at the idea of coming here? But I did it for him. Even though he knew how you all felt about vampires he came here because he wanted to do everything he could to protect the people he loves," San looks at him with wide glossy eyes and Wooyoung smiles warmly at him then gently takes his hand. "That's the kind of person he is.

And whether he's half vampire or not, that fact will never change" San felt his heart flutter at Wooyoung's words. At the way he stood up for him.

A short silence settles in the room.

"I don't think they have a reason to lie" Sehyoon speaks up from the back for the first time that night. San snaps his head in his direction. "I trust them" Sehyoon says with the tiniest of smiles and he looked directly at San and the drow-vampire felt tears well up in his eyes again.

"I trust them too" A different voice says from the crowd.

"Me too"

"Me as well"

"I trust them"

"I trust them"

Soon the whole pew is echoing similar phrases expressing their trust in San. Slowly tears slide down San's cheeks and he quickly wiped them. But they weren't sad tears. They were very very happy tears. He fought back a smile and swallowed his tears, stopping anymore from falling.

"Silence, silence" One of the elders taps the table repeatedly until the crowd quiets up again. "Hoyeon, what's your verdict?" The old man turns to Hoyeon, her snow white hair pulled back in a tight pony tail. She brushes a stray piece  behind her pointed ear then sits up straighter.

She stares at San, then Wooyoung and back to San again contemplating. "Ok... We will make preparations for a counter strike for if Jaejoong arrives" The room breaks out in murmurs once again.

San releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. He felt Wooyoung give his hand a squeeze and he squeezed Wooyoung's hand back, shooting him a wide dimpled smile. Wooyoung wanted so badly to kiss his beautiful happy face right then and there.

"But-!" She calls out bringing everyone back. "They must be supervised by a soldier 24/7. Any slight suspicious behaviour and we won't hesitate to put you down" She stared straight at Wooyoung and the vampire just smirks coyly at her.

"I wouldn't have it any other way" He responds.

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Bit of a long chapter 😩 but hope y'all liked it. Looking forward to the next update heheheh... 👀