Hi hi

XLIII: Jungkook

Taehyung's grandfather looks just like I remembered him: powerful body, thick mane of white hair, and of course, his unforgettable cold eyes. He wears a midnight black robe, with red patterns winding across his shoulders. He holds a gold tipped cane in his hand, the head shaped like a falcon.

"Sir Alastair," Yoongi steps forward. "If you hear us out, I think you'll see that our request is quite reasonable."

"Hmph." He looks at us one by one, his gaze resting on Lisa and I for the longest. Especially on the mark on my shoulder. "I should hope so. You have brought... quite a crowd. It has been a while since I saw so many vampires at once." Lisa glares daggers at him, but he seems not to notice. "Well? What is it you want to talk about?"

"Sir Alastair," I force myself not to flinch when his eyes land on me. "Perhaps we could go to a more private place for this conversation. The reading room―"

"Ah. My grandson's soulmate." His gaze rakes across my body, but I keep my chin high, staring right into his ice cold blue eyes. After a moment, he snorts. "At least he chose someone with a little bit of backbone. And I see he's turned you into a vampire. That's a start. Well, don't just stand there like lumps. Come along."

We follow him through the maze of torch-lit hallways, the lush velvet carpet muffling our footsteps. I see Lisa staring at everything with sickening awe, and fall back to talk to her. It couldn't be easy, going into a home of a relative you barely ever met and liked even less.

"Are you okay?" I ask. "You can talk to me if you want."

"Everything's fine. I'm just surprised, that's all. I've never been here before." She says, but the way she avoids my eyes makes me think different.

"Never?"

She shakes her head. "He likes being alone. We never visited him and he rarely ever came to us. It suited both sides just fine." We stop at a pair of black doors, and she looks up. There's something like relief in her voice. "Oh look. We're here."

Alastair waves us into a reading room, which is only lit by a flickering fire in the hearth. Shelves of books line the walls, but it is a pitiful collection compared to what Armad had. The frost on the windowpanes and the barely sat in chairs makes me think that Alastair rarely ever set foot in this room. Before we can even sit, Alastair gets straight into the topic.

"Now, you are all here because the monster started to take control of Taehyung, is that right?" At the shocked expression on our faces, he snorts. "Oh please. You think I didn't know? I'm a powerful man. I have spies everywhere." He leans forward in his chair, putting his hand beneath his chin. "When did it first take control?"

"We think that it was about one week ago," Jin says. "But how could you know? We never saw any spies out in the forest, and definitely none came inside the castle."

"I have my ways," Alastair says, clutching the head of his cane. "And you want my help to try and defeat it, correct? It is only a matter of time before it starts to create havoc in bordering clans."

"Well yes, but―" Jimin starts to say, but Alastair cuts him off. "Well, I refuse! I have no time to be caught up in other people's problems. Blackcliff is far enough from Armad that it does not concern me. Figure out how to defeat it yourselves."

"He's your grandson!" I say, unable to contain my anger. "Don't you want to help your family?" Alastair only stares at me, blue eyes as sharp as scythes.

Hoseok puts a hand on my arm, a warning not to get too angry. "Sir, you must cooperate. It's already burned down Armad Castle. There's no telling what it will do next, or who it will attack. Even you are not completely safe. We need to find a way to remove it from Taehyung's mind, and fast." As soon as the words leave his lips, Alastair turns around, eyes bulging.

"Did you just say it burned Armad Castle? As in... the castle is gone?" Hoseok nods hesitantly. The old man looks stunned, staring at Hoseok. "And you saw it?" Another nod. Alastair looks aghast, shaking his head.

"I can't believe it," He murmurs. "I was born in that castle. So was every ruler of the Sirius Clan for centuries. It was our home. Even I... have fond memories of that place. And now that it's gone... burned..." He stops talking, staring at the flickering fire in the hearth, as if mourning the loss. Finally he looks up again.

"Well, then I suppose we can make an exception. It is clearly stronger than the last time it took control, and I cannot have it wreaking havoc in the Sirius clan. You are right. Even I am not safe this time. That makes the situation completely different." He motions for us all to sit, and we seat ourselves on the various chairs in the room. Alastair remains standing.

"To defeat the monster, first you have to understand it," His grandfather says, pacing around the room. "It was born from the primeval darkness of my grandson's mind. He created it. In a sense, it was a sort of friend to him; someone he could resort to when his emotions got too out of hand. You could even think of it as an alternate personality. And yet even I do not understand the full scope of it. Darkness that can think for itself... well now, that is something I've never encountered."

"Do you have any idea how we can stop it?" Namjoon asks. "With all your years of experience at Bloodcrest, have you learned any tricks to subdue the darkness? Make it dormant again?"

Alastair gives Namjoon a withering look. "Is your whole purpose to make the monster dormant again, or to eradicate it completely? Those two are very different concepts."

"Eradicate it," I say. "Without a doubt. We need Taehyung back in his usual state, without needing to worry about the monster ever again."

Alastair lets out a long sigh, staring at the window behind us. "Now that is much harder than simply silencing it for a period of time. The mask helps it, I suppose. They're very much the same thing, made out of deep shadows. If you want to defeat it, first remove the mask from my grandson's face. That should at least weaken the monster's hold on Taehyung's soul."

"And then?" Baekhyun presses, "How should we defeat the monster itself without hurting Taehyung?"

The old man whirls on him. "I don't have all the answers, boy! I'm simply trying to lead you in the right direction." He shakes his head, muttering something under his breath. Finally, he looks up. There's a sort of gleam in his eye which makes me uncomfortable.

"I have a question for you all." He allows his eyes to rake around the room. "What makes a person living?"

We all exchange confused glances. Whatever we expected, it wasn't this. Finally, Namjoon speaks. "That we breathe?"

"What else?" Alastair circles us, his hands in his robes, watching us like a hawk.

"We need a food source," Jimin offers, but Alastair shakes his head. "You are all thinking too literally. Think. What does every person have? Humans, vampires, we all have this."

"Is it that we all die?" Lisa ventures, but Alastair merely frowns. My annoyance sparks, and I yank it back. This was some sort of riddle. A puzzle that we needed to solve. But even though I rack my brain for an answer, all that comes up are the basic human necessities.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we understand what you want," I say. "Is the answer that we all need some sort of shelter?"

Alistair sighs, as if aggravated at our slowness. "No. Emotions. Us vampires are not like the specters, who live and breathe darkness. They have no emotions, because they are shadow spirits. They are not living. But we can feel emotions. Whether that is an advantage or disadvantage depends, but that is one of our defining characteristics."

He stops his pacing, just long enough to adjust his cane. "Right now, the monster is more like the specters than a vampire. It has no conception of feeling anything other than the swirling darkness inside of it. That makes it, in a manner, not living. It is one of the reasons why it's so hard to defeat. Does anyone here know the three primal emotions?"

Baekhyun tentatively raises his hand. "Anger... er, sadness... and joy?"

"Anger. Sadness. Love, not joy in this case." Alastair counts them on his fingers. "Those three emotions are the foundation of everything. Those three are what makes a person living. Perhaps you can remind the monster that, in the end, it's a living creature. Bring back its humanity."

"Weren't there five emotions?" Namjoon asks cautiously. "Like disgust and fear? I think that Pixar made a movie about it―"

"Bah!" The old man waves his hand. "I don't care about those. The monster cannot feel disgust if it tried. Certainly not fear. You must remember, even though the monster is living, it shed its humanity long ago. You cannot expect it to feel all the emotions that we do. Besides, this is a fanfic. Deal with it." Namjoon had the sense to keep his mouth shut.

"But I thought the monster didn't have a heart," Jimin says. "How can we make it feel anything if it has no heart to feel with?"

"Oh no." Alastair pauses mid-movement. "It has a heart. It can feel pain. Love. Loneliness. It has just learned to conceal it so well that we forget it exists."

"So, all we have to do is remind the monster that it's one of us?" Hoseok asks. "By making it feel anger, sadness, and love? That's... it?"

"Don't take it so lightly," Alastair says, finally taking a seat on a large overstuffed chair. "It may sound simple and easy, but I promise you, it will be harder than you think. Especially when your opponent is Taehyung. You wouldn't want to hurt him in the process, do you?"

Before I can turn to Hoseok to discuss plans, Alastair waves dismissively at us. "Do all of your planning outside. I've helped you enough now. Go, make your silly little tactics and mull over how to help my wayward grandson. It's one of the few things you are good at."

"Sir, if I may, why are you helping us? I thought you hated Taehyung." Jin says. "Armad Castle burning down must have been a powerful motive, but well, I just think..." He looks down at his hands. "Is there more?"

Alastair looks at him for a moment, annoyance snapping through his features. Then he sighs, as if the fight had been drained out of him. Suddenly, he looks much older than before.

"I owe it to Calista. And to Jaehwan too, I suppose. I... neglected my family very much, because I did not like that his father was a fallen angel. Not one of our own. They tried many times to please me, but I just wouldn't accept it. Perhaps if I had been a bit more careful, the fire wouldn't have destroyed them. In a sense, I am to blame for the monster's birth. If I had protected his family, made sure his parents stayed safe, Taehyung would have had no reason to fall into despair. And you too, Lisa." he looks up, meeting Lisa's eyes for the first time. "I'm sorry."

I hear Jimin draw a sharp breath as I watch Lisa's face. She looks shocked for a moment, before her face morphs into controlled anger, then... sadness. As if she's remembering all the times that Alastair was never there for her family. All the times he left them alone.

"I can't forgive you so quickly," Lisa's voice shakes, and she clears her throat. "Just one sorry won't undo all of the years of neglect you put us through. You totally ignored us, like... like we were not part of your family. Not your kin. But... I'm glad to see you're changing. Maybe there's some hope for you yet." She smiles, a true smile, and I see it in Alastair's eyes that he is relieved. He nods in Lisa's direction, and then his eyes latch onto mine. He looks at me, and for a moment, I see something other than disapproval flash in his eyes.

"Jungkook, is that right?" When I nod, a hint of a smile graces his face. He doesn't look nearly as horrible when he smiles.

"I can see why Taehyung likes you. Interesting, that a human can be so devoted." His face goes hard. "Though what you are planning to do is entirely foolish, boy. Is it not so much easier to forget Taehyung? Find a new partner and settle down. A pretty vampire like you will find a match quite easily. Is Taehyung worth all the pain you'll have to face? All the heartbreak?"

I don't even have to think when I answer. The words are something I have chanted in my head for so long, they have become a part of me. "He's worth everything to me. I could never love someone else the way I love him. He never gave up on me, so I won't give up on him. And underneath that darkness, he's still there." With a painful ache, I remember his crimson eyes. The way he hugged me. "I just need to find him again."

"I married for status," Alastair sighs. "Taehyung married for love. I often wonder if that is what changed him. Made him different from me. He didn't care that you were a human, otherwise known as the lowest rank in the vampire world. He still loved you. He still made you his queen. I wonder, if I had married for love―"

But I don't get to hear the end of his sentence, because just then, a messenger bursts into the room. He's panting, and it's clear he has an important message because his eyes are frantic. Alastair stands up.

"Well? Report."

"News report from Shadow Valley, sir. King Xian has sent a request for your aid. The Mask―the one they call a monster―he's killing them all."

Did that all make sense...?