Crimson Crown

⌠8⌡

For another hour or so, the prince and the coachman rode through the woods, the path they were on growing thinner and the surrounding thicket of trees growing thicker the deeper they went. They found nothing more than a few abandoned wells and random remnants of those who camped within the dark wilderness.

Jinyoung knew that this may be a search that could span multiple days, but the hope that he would be able to find at least the smallest bit of evidence that anything other than wild animals lived out on the edges of the kingdom burned in his chest. He was grasping at straws, and he felt bad for dragging BamBam along with him, but his curiosity and desire to know more of the creatures he's never even had second thoughts about until now pushed him forward to keep searching. 

The horses were growing tired though, and so was his coachman who kept falling into sleep and waking back up as soon as he felt himself tipping over. Jinyoung also felt fatigue hit him, but the adrenaline in his blood kept him going. It seemed that they wouldn't be finding much that night though; he regrettably started to think they should turn back.

He leaned forward and tapped BamBam on the shoulder, the coachman jolting out of the half slumber he was falling into.

"Shall we head back now?"

BamBam glanced back at the prince, his brows knitting together. "I'm sorry, I'm just awfully tired and we've been at this search for a while--"

"I have no problem with you, I must thank you for helping me thus far. I agree, we've been searching for much too long, this mission was too abrupt." Jinyoung smiled warmly, letting out a soft sigh as he lifted his eyes to the fruitless woods. "We may turn back now, and continue tomorrow."

BamBam hesitated to turn the horses around despite his eyes glimmering with appreciation for Jinyoung's consideration. "Are you sure? You were very adamant about this, I don't want to disappoint you."

"It's fine, BamBam. We'll just--"  Jinyoung paused as his eyes caught on something dark looming in the distance. Behind some trees, he wasn't sure, but he thought he could see the outline of a structure. He squinted, his finger frantically pointing toward the silhouette. "That! What is that!?"

BamBam followed Jinyoung's fingers, also squinting in its direction. He glanced back at Jinyoung whose wide eyes held the excitement and anticipation they started off with. There was obviously no way they could head back now after spotting something. "Let's check it out."

BamBam whips the reins, ushering the horses forward. The path was rough and narrow, obviously not traveled on much, if at all. They inched closer, as far as the carriage could take them, and to Jinyoung's delight, the silhouette that he hoped he wasn't imagining was actually a house, sitting right in the middle of a small clearing.

The prince anxiously shook; he wasn't sure if he was excited or nervous, but finding a dwelling in the middle of a forest where a vampire is rumored to live was something quite extraordinary.

BamBam stopped the carriage a distance away from the structure. They both sat for a minute just staring at the house that stood tall before them. It looked old, the style not matching the houses that stand in the towns. Despite its old wooden exterior, it looked strong, its stone foundations helping it withstand being in the middle of the woods for however many years it stood there. The glass of the windows was opaque and patterned with eccentric swirls, and the dark brown roof that was difficult to make out in the black of night was missing a few shingles here and there from weathering.

The old rustic home seemed vacant; no lights were on, nothing moved, and it just seemed altogether abandoned. Despite its appearance though, Jinyoung was more intrigued about who could've lived there, regardless of whether or not anyone still remained. Even if a vampire once existed here long ago, he was curious about the type of life they lived secluded in the forest, with so many questions plaguing his mind.