𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔

☘︎ Mischief Deal ☘︎

aubade
(n.)
a love song sung at dawn.

☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎

A few days after the incident with the empress, Taemin got a letter from the leader of the search team. He expressed in the letter that they had found the prince but not the grand princess.

He went silent for a while but he managed to pull himself together for the sake of his reputation.He continued to read the letter to find out what happened to the grand princess.

The letter explained further that Si-ah had died a long time ago and that it was at her grave that they found a disoriented Yedam.The last thing in the letter was an advice to Taemin on how to approach Yedam and a warning not to use violence.

Reading that made Taemin scoff. He brushed off the advice giving to him saying that Yedam was his son and the crown prince of the kingdom. He had no choice to come back whether his wanted it or not.

The next day, Taemin set out with his most trusted advisor, Soojin. After a very bumpy ride, they finally reached the place the man described. It was on the outskirts of Heraum.

When they stepped out of the carriage their mouths dropped to the ground. The place was a mansion. Luxury carriages were parked around the mansion and there were well trimmed bushes, beautiful gardens, a lake with beautiful Lily pads scattered over the surface.

They had chosen to go at night since it would be easier to catch him. After entering the house, they were led to the room for meeting with visitors. Upon entering the room, they were even more awestruck than they were before.

Jewels littered the whole ceiling of the room they were in. It looked like the room was made of mostly gold and jewels. The room looked magical to say the least.

" Who are you and why are you here? "
" Do I need an invitation to come to my son's house? "
" I'm not your son! You may leave now!! "
" Why so mad? I just want to have a drink with you and have a friendly chat. "
" I don't want to talk to you so you may leave. "
" Why not have a seat? Let's talk. Just father and son. I promise to leave after. "

Yedam reluctantly sat beside him. He wanted him out of his house but a small part of him wanted o hear him out. He wanted an explanation as to why they left him.

" Drink? "
" Sure. Anything to make you leave sooner. "

They talked for a while but Yedam knew that Taemin was just beating around the bush and that he was probably planning something dangerous so he stopped drinking the wine he gave him but it was already to late.

His vision became blurry and his mind was in a daze. He tried to stand up and get help but he could barely see a thing.

" What... what did you put in my drink? "
" A sedative. "
" Why? "
" Because I didn't want to harm you . Your mother would be devastated if I did and I don't want to deal with that problem. "
" Stay...stay away from me!" Yedam demands, gripping the table closest to him as his knees buckle.

The sedative pumps through his system sapping his strength and his vision spins as he struggles to stay upright.

" Get...away... "

Taemin looks on with an amused smirk as he collapses hitting the marble floor with a heavy thud. Cocking his head, he smiles down at Yedam.

"Get some rest, darling," Taemin grins revealing rows of bright and shiny teeth. " You're going to need it. "
"Guards!! Put him in the other carriage, we leave now."
"Don't you think you are being to harsh? The boy probably just wanted an explanation as to why you left him."
" I'm not! So mind your god-damned business!! "
" No need to get all defensive. I was only asking a question but it seems I overstepped a boundary. "
" I don't care if you are my advisor or not. Know your place. "
" I'm sorry your majesty. It will never happen ever again. "
" Glad to hear that. Prepare letters to every kingdom, except Dalerin, asking for their strongest men and women to serve as a personal bodyguard for the prince. Make sure they are not spies. "
" I will make sure that no spies enter the palace. "
" One more thing. Tell the guard to make a detour. I want to go to the grand princess's grave. "

Meanwhile in the kingdom of Vadronia, the queen paced back and forth anxiously. She was waiting for the arrival of her husband and hopefully her son. She didn't really care about what happened to the grand princess to be honest.

She just wanted her son to be alive and healthy, nothing else. She always hated the grand princess for taking her son away from her and not letting her experience the joys of motherhood.

She also felt that the king showed her more love than he showed her. The king was always cold when interacting with her while when he was with the grand princess he was all sunshine and rainbows.

The fact that she was a dhampir doesn't make her special or better than her.

What pained her the most was that the grand princess wasn't even the child of the empress and she was most definitely not the actual sister of Taemin. She was just his half sister.

Her mother was a maid who was fortunate to have the king's favor long enough for her to bear him a child. She was a child that came of an unholy union.

She lived in the rural areas of the kingdom of Heraum until she started exhibiting characteristics of a vampire and her mother brought her to the king to seek help. The king killed her mother in other to cover up and pretend she was a child of the queen but the damage had already been done.

The queen took pity on her and adopted her since she was innocent and from then on both the queen and her son loved her to bits. They comforted her when she was bullied by the other royal kids. They gave her anything she wanted that the kingdom had to offer.

Regardless of the fact that she was adopted by the imperial family, Da-eun only thought of her as the child of a maid. And nothing was ever going to change that.

☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎☁︎

V.III.MMXXIII