Away ⥃ Nishimura Riki

.Twenty-Eight.

THE VAMPIRE AND DRAGON entered the castle's perimeter. The dragon announced their sudden arrival with a loud roar, fretting everyone beneath them. They circled the castle a few rounds before settling down on the ground, landing on the vast field. Terrified whispers and screams travelled amongst the vampires as their eyes stuck on the dragon.

Behind the intimidating creature was Seulhyun who seemed to have lost all of her strength as her head rested on Buddy, unbothered by the commotion. "Give way!" The castle's steward yelled.

All of the royalties rushed towards the dragon. The first to reach it was Jay as he speculated it for any signs of harm while Sunoo and Haeyul caught sight of Seulhyun.

Haeyul put her hands on her friend's leg, "Seul, what happened?" She inquired, unsettled by the silent girl. "Do you want to get down or?"
The queen halt in her sentence when her brown eyes met with Seulhyun's bloodshot ones. Sunoo winced, instantly telling Mrs. Kim to prepare her room.

Seulhyun's hands trembled as she attempted to explain the attack in the woods. "Slowly, Seul. Take it easy." Sunoo coaxed, doing calming down motions with his hands. "No one is rushing you."

Her inhale grew sharper with every breath she took. The pictures of Niki possibly lying down lifelessly on the ground without any help around him punched her. She gasped, alerting everyone. What if he passed? What if he passed with fear being the last emotion he felt? That would be her fault. All her fault.

Haeyul's concerned face slipped in between the disturbing images as she felt her body being held by a pair of comforting arms.

"Seulhyun, I need you to breathe for me." Haeyul's voice ringed in her ears.

The latter shook her head; her knees dared to fall but someone was holding her in place. "An ambush." She revealed with little energy before everything faded. The murmurs. The growling. The images.

It felt similar to the lake incident when she was drowning.

Meanwhile, Sunoo, who had been holding her immediately carried her unconscious body inside the castle. Jake ordered the maids in charge of Seulhyun to follow Sunoo while Jay stared intently at the outsider in Sunoo's arms. "Heeseung."

Haeyul turned towards him, "Hae, reach Heeseung with your link and tell him to come here now. I need him before sunset." Jay told, earning a nod from the brunette.

As the prince walked away from her, he remembered something. "Also, while Jungwon is dealing with the matters in Ryu Village. You're the leader here. Anything you decide, everyone will comply."
"Okay."

With that, he left to see Seulhyun.

The halls were packed as everyone scurried to their stations—some to proceed with their previous chore while others were hectically dashing to nurse Seulhyun.

Jay met with Jake in front Seulhyun's chamber and asked, "Is she alright?"
"Sunoo is still reading her heart rate but from the looks of it, she most likely hyperventilated whilst thinking of the scene back in Ryu Village."

"You heard what she said right?" Jake asked, taking in his twin's expression. "She said it was an ambush." A heavy sigh surpassed his lips. "If it was an ordinary ambush, I doubt King Aspian has anything against us but..."

"We don't know whether they played dirty or not." Jay finished. He crossed his arms together, dizzy by the unexpected event.

"Not to add fuel to the fire, but they have a witch on their side." Jake said, referring to Seulhyun's mentor, Kang Heejin. Jay glared at his brother. "What? You have to know of the bitter truth, eventually."

The older triplet shook his head. "Don't bother me."

Just then Sunoo joined their conversation, heaving a long exhale. "How is she?" Jake asked.

"She's mostly fine. Her heart rate is faster than normal which was probably caused by the panic. But she didn't have any scars or wounds on her at all." Sunoo answered the question, gaining curious looks from his brothers.

That's odd. "If she was involved in the ambush, she would've have at least one scar on her." Jay voiced out; his simple claim raised many conspiracies from Jake and Sunoo. "Ah, that's right!" Sunoo clapped his hands.

"Earlier today, me and Sunghoon had talked with each other before the meeting had started, and he told me Niki and Seulhyun weren't with them." He recalled the brief conversation he shared with his fellow brother. "So, when the ambush took place, Niki and Seulhyun must have not been there."

Jake frowned. "That's weird."
"What is?"
"If the two of them weren't there then how did Seulhyun found out?"
"Maybe they had found out later and she was ordered to return to the castle and inform us?"

"I don't think so." A feminine voice joined their discussion as Haeyul made her place in between the boys. Crossing her arms, she continued: "That won't explain why Seulhyun was bawling her eyes out just now."

She faced Jay, "I informed Heeseung about our situation already. He's heading here now." She told and he nodded.

Jake sighed, scratching his collarbone. "Then what do you think had happened?" He put his arms out, eyeing everyone. "I think if they had found out about the ambush late then Jungwon would have told the both of them to leave and inform us. He wouldn't want to risk another life."

Haeyul's heart plummeted once she could finally process the situation. Lives might be taken if they don't take action quick enough. Sunoo noticed her sudden change of demeanor and tried to cheer her up by sending her a bright smile.

"Sunoo, did you talk with Sunghoon the day before?" Jay's question stopped Sunoo from his interaction with Haeyul.
"Yes."

"He..." The prince trailed off as he remembered how Sunghoon had talked about his suspicion over Niki's and Seulhyun's 'friendship'. Deciding to be a great friend, he filtered out his words, "Sunghoon told me that he had heard a dragon, and then Seulhyun's laughter. I'm going to guess that Seulhyun had found her companion at that time. After that when night came, he felt a surge of panic, but it soon faded away afterwards."

Jay pushed his hair back; the frustration began to build as Sunoo's update only stirred more confusion. They were getting nowhere!

Sensing the tension forming in the air, Haeyul closed the discussion. "Let's talk about this once Heeseung comes back or when Seulhyun wakes up."
Jake nodded his head enthusiastically, agreeing with every word the queen had just said. "Let's just meet again later and go along with our schedule."
"Alright."  

We'll finally see Heeseung again 😍

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