The Night Belongs to the Moon | Taeyong

39 | Scarlet Heart

Four days had passed since the members followed Taeyong out of the Court Palace that day. Branded as traitors, it seemed that they had nowhere to go, but even as a criminal, the Vampire Lord held immense power in his realm. The very first night, Taeyong had found them a humble chalet outside the capital and tucked deep into the heart of the snowy mountains. Lake on one side and valley on the other, this was the perfect refuge after they had blocked all the communication channels which could be traced to them.

But protected as it was, the increasing presence of the Neutral Force was alarming; the city was flooded with officers dressed in white robes and this made it nearly impossible for them to step out, let alone prove their innocence. So, when on the night of the fourth day Taeyong proposed that they should sneak into Yuta's mansion the next night to find evidence, the members agreed unanimously.

The following morning, Taeyong woke up before everyone else. The sky was still dark outside when he crept out of the chalet to venture into the city. There was a public network of ravens near the townhouse which opened early and Taeyong was hoping to get information on the movement of the Neutral Force before they struck Yuta's place. He was careful and quick, leaving no trace of his power behind as he walked the darkened alleys of the town that was sleeping away silently. But when he reached the townhouse, he found the place completely empty except for a life-size notice – the pictures of Taeyong, Johnny, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Mark and Haechan were hung from top of the clock tower under the heading –

TRAITORS TO THE REALM

Whoever gives information on these runaways will be rewarded with gold equal to their weight

And, in the end, written in red ink was – The Vampire Realm has been placed under the law of the Neutral Force temporarily. All matters of dispute will be handled by the appointed committee.

Taeyong stared at the notice for a long time, his arms crossed and his tongue poking the inside of his cheek. Sighing, he turned around, too casually, but when he walked away, the base of the clock tower collapsed on itself as the notice caught on fire, erupting in flames of bright orange against the dark sky behind him. By the time, the city took notice, Taeyong was already out of its boundary and well into the deep mountains again.

When he reached the chalet, the sun was already up in the sky but upon entering, he found the halls as silent as he had left them. The curtains were still drawn and last night's snow was still frozen against the windows.

'Doyoung,' he called out but received no answer. Everything was calm and still, a silence, too perfect, was settled within the walls.

'Doyoung,' he repeated, and this time rushed down the hall to his chamber. The door was ajar and the room was empty. He dashed through the corridor, checking all the rooms as he did, and discovered them empty too.

'Doyoung! Jaehyun!' he called out but it was futile for there was nobody except him in that house. Just then, he heard a flap of wings and immediately drew the curtains open to find a solitary raven perched on the window sill; it had just landed on the frozen railing and was waiting for Taeyong to open the window, impatiently knocking on the glass with its beak.

Taeyong did not need to hear the message to know who had taken his friends. Scoffing at the cowardice, he pulled the window open and let the raven sing its cacophonous song for him.

When it was done, the raven flew away, leaving behind a note with an address on it.

𓆩 𓆪

The location led Taeyong further out of the city and towards the north. The snow was untouched here and damp clouds hung low over his head enveloping everything they embraced in their cold bleakness. He walked and walked for hours before he reached what looked like an abandoned manor, ramshackle with greying walls made up of sodden bricks which were once white. Curiously, the snow around it was undisturbed too and for a moment, Taeyong suspected something sinister lurking within the mist but just as he was about to summon light, he saw a hunched man crookedly walking towards him, the snow crunching below his steps.