Long update!

VIII: Jungkook 

I couldn't sleep.

That was probably normal, considering that I was in the house of my kidnapper. I guess I wasn't developing Stockholm syndrome anytime soon.

I spent most of the early night tossing and turning in my bed, unable to sleep even though the bed itself was seriously comfortable.

So, when are we going to break out of here? My brain asked. You're not seriously thinking of staying, are you?

If I had been asked that same question 24 hours ago, I would have said no without any hesitation.

Now, the situation wasn't so easy.

First of all, whether I wanted it or not, I was somehow the soulmate of a powerful vampire king. I couldn't imagine Taehyung giving up and letting me go free. Second, they knew where I lived. Even if I managed to get through the forest and find my way back home, Jimin or Baekhyun could easily track me down. Living on the streets until this whole fiasco blew over didn't appeal to me. And thirdly... everyone I had encountered seemed like genuinely nice people. A little bloodthirsty, yes, but still nice. They didn't seem like the type of vampires who would hurt or kill me.

But if what Baekhyun said was true, there were others, other vampires who wouldn't mind sucking me dry. I wasn't sure how safe I would be beyond these castle walls. The only reason I had survived all those years in the human world was because Fuzzy Wuzzy (a.k.a. Baekhyun) had killed anybody who posed a threat to my existence. Suddenly, the room seemed to get colder, and the shadows became more menacing. I pulled the covers over my eyes so I couldn't see the shadows dancing on my walls.

After another hour passed by, I was done trying to sleep. I turned on my bedside lamp, and stared at the domed ceiling. Water, I thought. I need water.

I checked my watch: 2:00 am. If I went down right now, nobody would see me going. Jin and Jimin were fast asleep in their own bedrooms, and Baekhyun probably was too. If luck was on my side, I could possibly check out a few escape routes before returning to bed. A light bulb suddenly went off in my head. That door in the kitchen...

Flinging off the covers, I swung my feet off the bed, shivering as my feet touched the cold marble tile. Ignoring the chilly air around me, I opened my door a crack, and looked to see if anyone was in the hallway.

Nobody.

Luck seemed to be on my side.

Careful not to wake anybody up, I tiptoed down the corridor. At the end, I was met with two flights of stairs, both going in opposite directions. I stifled a sigh. I knew I should have paid more attention when Jimin was leading the way back from the kitchen!

I decided to try my luck with the right staircase.

Walking down the black marble stairs, my footsteps seemed to echo through the building. They were so loud that it would be a miracle if no one came to investigate. I couldn't have been happier when the stairs finally ended, and I was faced with a large glass door. Even though it was made of glass, I couldn't see the inside. The polished panes simply reflected my image back, so that I was staring at many different versions of myself. There was a keyhole next to the brass door handle, which already had a small gold key inserted into it.

This isn't the kitchen, my brain said, we should go back.

Just a peek, I told myself, going closer to inspect the key. Touching it with my fingertips, I took a deep breath, then twisted the small key.

Click.

The lock unlocked, and the door swung open to reveal...

A garden.

A garden full of beautiful red roses. In fact, the large room had only roses, and all of them were red. It was like staring into a field of blood, and the ruby-colored petals were darker than I ever imagined roses could be.

Walking in, I followed the cobblestone walkway in the middle, looking in awe at my surroundings. In all my life, I had never been in a garden like this before. It was like a humongous greenhouse, except that the roses were well trimmed and pruned. There were no electrical lights on the ceiling, yet the whole place shone brightly, almost as if burning with energy. The ceiling itself was overrun with vines and leaves, almost masking the iron frame underneath. The rose field seemed to go on forever, and I could barely see the far wall of the room.

To my right, I noticed two slabs of stone sticking out from over the rosebed, each engraved with some kind of writing. They had vines and thorns curling around the edges, but I could still make out the shape of tombstones.

This is creepy, my brain told me. We should definitely go.

Just one more minute I said, kneeling down to see if I could read the writing. One of the tombstones was written in a language I couldn't decode, but the other was written in English. The words had almost blended into the rock, so I guessed that whoever the people were, they had been dead for a very long time.

-In memory of-

Calista and Jaehwan

Survived by two children and parents

You shall be sorely missed.

Full Moon, Season 3, 1705

1705.

They had been dead for more than 300 years.

Suddenly, I had the unmistakable urge to bolt out of the room. It wasn't right, I thought, to be reading the tombstone of a person long dead and whom I didn't know. Standing up slowly, I bowed once before the stones as a sign of respect, and walked out of the room. My hands were shaking as I locked the door again.

I made my way back to the landing where the staircases separated into two, and walked down the left one. Sure enough, the familiar iron doors of the kitchen came into view, and I snapped my fingers once to open them. To my delight, they complied without a sound.

Looking in, I saw that everything was where they had been before. Even though it was dark inside, faint moonlight filtered in from the nearby window, enough for me to see through the dark.

Making my way towards the sink, I grabbed a cup from one of the drawers, and turned the sink faucet so that water poured into the cup. But before I could put it to my mouth a sound distracted me.

Ping!

I looked around, my heart ready to burst from my chest. Nothing had moved in the kitchen. But one thing was different. The pinwheel, which was connected to the oak door, was now on the black instead of red. I didn't know what this meant, but it was obvious that it was the source of the sound.

Suddenly, the door started to creak open, and I froze. Frantically looked around for a good hiding place, I dove inside the nook underneath the sink, making myself as small as possible. I tried to calm my erratic heartbeat as two pairs of feet entered the kitchen. I heard the sound of rain falling and a man giving a loud oomph as he shut the door.

"It's really starting to rain out there. We're lucky to have escaped the worst of it," the unknown man muttered. There came a sound like the shaking of feathers, and boots clicked on the tile. "Get some rest, Yoongi. We're going again tomorrow," another man said, and even though I couldn't see his face, I knew exactly who it was.

Taehyung.

Hearing his voice, I didn't know whether to feel relieved or terrified. I settled for pulling my knees into my chest for comfort.

The unknown man grumbled. "At least we didn't meet any Specters this time. Tomorrow, we may not be so lucky."

Specters?

"It doesn't matter," Taehyung said tiredly. "We have to go." I heard him walk towards the kitchen door, and could see a sliver of his figure from underneath the sink. "I'll be in the throne room if you need me Yoongi. Cassius should let you in."

"Alright," the man said, and a second later, everything was silent. I stayed in my position for a few more minutes to make sure the coast was clear. Then I slowly eased my way out from underneath the sink, scanning my surrounding with every step.

Nothing.

They were gone.

I let out a huge sigh of relief which I didn't know I had been holding. Now, I only had the problem of going back up to my room without anyone noticing. I could check the door later. But just as I was walking towards the table, someone yanked my wrist so I skidded backwards. I yelped.

"What are you doing here," A voice hissed against my ear, and I quickly turned around. Right behind me was a black haired vampire with shining silver eyes, his fangs on full display. He snarled at me, curling his lip.

I screamed.

The black haired man yanked me up, his grip painfully tight on my wrist. "Who are you?" He growled. "Are you a spy from Shadow Valley?" I shook in his hold, too afraid to form complete sentences. The man's silver eyes glinted harshly in the moonlight, the same silver as Jimin's, but without the warmth and kindness. "Answer me!" He shouted, and I cowered underneath his gaze. "N-no sir." I whimpered. "I-I'm n-not a spy."

His eyes narrowed, clearly not believing me. "Then who are you?" He asked, voice as cold as stone. Suddenly, he looked up and sniffed the air, wrinkling his nose at my scent. Turning back to me, he bared his sharp fangs.

"You're a human aren't you?" He snarled. "I can tell by your repulsive scent. How did you get inside? Who let you in?"

"I did."

We both turned to see Taehyung at the kitchen entrance, hands crossed over his chest, and looking at both of us with his crimson eyes. His fangs were sharper than the black haired man's and he was dressed in an immaculate black tunic with a silk sash. His eyes flashed gold. But that wasn't what made me almost want to run away in terror.

He had wings.

Great big wings, as black as coal protruded from his back, barely fitting in the doorway of the kitchen. Even from here, I could see the intricate detail of the feathers, each carefully sculpted to be different yet the same from the rest. The largest feathers at the tip of his wings, were more or less the length of my whole arm. They looked as if they had been dipped in the essence of darkness itself, and was darker than I thought black could be.

That wasn't all. His cheekbones had small ink-colored feathers lining them, making them look even sharper than before. They stuck out like small scales, and were beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

He looked like I had always imagined the devil himself, except that he didn't have the curled horns.

My knees almost gave out from shock. Between him and the black haired man, I would take my chances with the latter anyday. But luck seemed to have abandoned me.

"Jungkook, come here," Taehyung said, spreading his arms. His commanding voice made me move against my will, my bare feet freezing on the marble tiles. The silver eyed man released his grip on my hand immediately, and stepped aside. His eyes were wide as he glanced at Taehyung, then me, then back to Taehyung.

I walked slowly over to my soulmate, conscious that both males in the room were watching me: one with keen interest, and the other with an unreadable expression. The cold night wind seemed to pierce my skin with its sharp needles, and I shivered through my thin robe. I finally got to Taehyung, and he wrapped his arms around me with surprising gentleness. I found myself submitting to his touch, and all the stiffness left my body. I didn't know if it had something to do with the bond, or whether I was going insane, but I didn't try and fight the feeling.

He sighed, caressing my hair. "Why are you up so late at night, hmm?" He asked. I didn't answer, only hiding my face in the crook of his neck and shaking my head. Only now could I admit how terrified I was when the black haired man had gripped my wrist. If Taehyung hadn't come back, I didn't know what would have happened to me. I honestly thought I was going to be killed.

Taehyung didn't force me to speak, and instead looked at the black haired man. "Thank you Yoongi. You did the right thing if he had been an invader, but he isn't. He's my soulmate."

He's my soulmate. To hear Taehyung say it with such confidence actually scared me. He seemed to really believe that we were destined by the stars. I shivered, and Taehyung tightened his arms around me.

The man, Yoongi, bowed. "I understand." He turned to stare at me, and I met his gaze. His eyes softened by just a fraction of a degree. "I'm sorry, Jungkook, for mistaking your identity. I hope you can forgive me."

I nodded, accepting his apology. Yoongi gave a curt nod in my direction, and then strided out of the kitchen. "Is Jimin still in the same room?" He asked Taehyung. Taehyung smiled. "Yes. He'll be glad to see you." Yoongi's eyes brightened for a moment, and he walked through the kitchen door. Taehyung folded his large wings behind his back to let him through.

Once Yoongi's shadow disappeared from the hallway, Taehyung turned to look at me. There was no clear approval or disapproval in his eyes, just fiery emptiness. I squirmed underneath his gaze, and he gave a deep chuckle, the life returning to his eyes again like someone had lit a match.

"So, Jungkook, care to tell me what you were doing here all alone in the middle of the night?" His tone wasn't accusing, but more like he actually wanted to discuss the topic. I gulped.

"W-well, I was thirsty, so I wanted to see if I could get a drink of water," I explained. "It was the middle of the night, so I didn't see any point in waking Jin or Jimin up just because I wanted a drink." While I was talking, I was painfully aware of the sheathed dagger at his side, the scabbard decorated with red and gold colors. I also didn't want to tell him about possibly finding escape routes. Somehow, I didn't think that that knowledge would please him.

"And did you get your drink?" Taehyung asked. I shook my head. "No. I dove underneath the sink as soon as I heard you guys coming."

Taehyng nodded. "Well in that case, why settle for just water?" His eyes gleamed playfully, the fire in them forgotten. He almost seemed like a different person. "What do you humans call it... that brown liquid with some white stuff bobbing on top?"

"Er, you mean hot chocolate?"

"Yes!" He smiled. "Let's make that!"

"Um, okay." I wasn't sure how a vampire king with huge wings was going to make hot chocolate, but Taehyung seemed pretty excited. He removed his arms from around my waist so I could look around the kitchen. I didn't know why I felt a bit disappointed at this loss of contact.

"So, first we usually use hot cocoa mix... but I'm guessing you guys don't have that?" I checked the numerous cupboards lining the walls. Just like I thought, no mix. Taehyung frowned, ruffling his black wings. "I think Jin had a secret stash of human ingredients somewhere. Hold on..."

He knelt down and opened a door which I hadn't seen before. I could hear him rummaging around, and a minute later, he emerged with two packs of something brown. "Is this it?"

"Yes," I said, taking a careful look at the packages. "Now can you put some water on the boil? The stove should be on about medium or low heat."

He nodded, but instead of putting it on the stove, Taehyung put the pan full of water on the kitchen counter and snapped his fingers. Immediately, the surface of the water began to bubble, and steam rose up in waves. I stared as he snapped his fingers again to complete the task.

"How did you do that?" I asked, staring at the water as if it had come from space. "Simple chemistry," he replied, picking up the pan. "I just sped up the molecules in the water, and voila! Hot water ready for use."

"Huh." I thought there was something more he wasn't telling me, but decided not to push the subject. "Okay, so now pour that water into these cups, not too much... yes, that's right..."

☆☆☆

By the time we were finished, the clock was already ticking to four in the morning, but neither of us noticed. We had two mugs full of steaming hot cocoa with marshmallows (which Taehyung had snitched from Jin's secret stash), and had managed not to blow up the kitchen in the process. All in all, it was a success.

"Let's go to the reading room," Taehyung suggested. "It's less drafty there." I nodded. The cold was really starting to seep in through my feet and my thin robes weren't any better. As if he knew what I was thinking, Taehyung removed the thick black cloak from his shoulders and gently draped it around mine, fastening the silver pin underneath my chin.

"It will keep you warm." He said simply, running his hand across the cotton. The cloak was a bit too long, pooling at my feet, but it was a small price to pay for keeping out the drafts. "Thank you," I murmured, rubbing the soft fabric between my fingers. He smiled before walking out of the kitchen.

I stopped to take one last look around the room, my eyes stopping on the pinwheel and door. I still didn't understand what it was for, but I could tell that it was something important. I'll be back, I promised. And I'll find out what you are. The door simply stared back, its iron hinges glowing silver in the moonlight. I then turned and walked towards Taehyung, who was waiting for me at the end of the hall.