The Night Belongs to the Moon | Taeyong

45 | A Moonflower for the Way

In the moonlight that streamed through the small window in her cell, Dal-ae slept that night, peacefully amidst the thrash of the violent ocean outside only to rise before the sun and wait for its arrival. When it did peek its head above the horizon, Dal-ae watched its rise, the fiery glow soaring in her own eyes.

A moment later, two guards, dressed in the colour of white, came to escort her. One had a burning torch in his hand and the other had manacles which were secured on her before leading her to her trial. There was a silence among the walls of the prison, an unending dread that lived inside its foundations. She could feel it but it could not seep into her. There was a smile on her face, a weak one, as she walked, the chains dragging behind her on the dark-stoned floor.

Upon reaching the end of the long corridor, the guards halted. There was nothing ahead of them except the impenetrable wall with a sconce made of black jade at the top. But the moment, the guard placed the torch into the holder, the bricks trembled till they broke into pieces and crumbled onto themselves revealing behind them a door made of the same jade with intricate engravings lining its frame.

The guards stepped aside allowing Dal-ae to pass. She paused, only for a moment, to feel the soft rhythmic thump of her steady heart, and when she took a step forward the door opened for her.

Waiting for her, on the other side was the Court of the Neutral Force Prison, humble and worn out from its centuries of use. The chamber was devoid of colour, with its walls grey and ceiling low, and the only light was from the large window on the right through which sunlight poured in, casting long rays of light and shadows on the stone-cold marble floor. Lined on either side of the aisle were officials of the Neutral Force, dressed in their usual white, looking straight ahead at the centre where, on top of a throne-like chair sat the Governor of the Force, dressed in an ornate robe of white and a top hat to match it. Just below him, seated on a table cut of the same grey, were Doyoung, Jaehyun, Taeil and Mark, who stood up to greet her when she entered.

With a smile, she returned their greeting and when she came up from her bow, she stood taller than before.

'The proceeding shall begin,' the Governor announced and a mediator, dressed in robes of white with a pattern of black laced on the shoulder, stepped forward.

'The accused today shall be referred to as Dal-ae,' the mediator spoke without a hint of emotion. 'The name was given to her by our honourable Vampire Lord and since no record of another name exists, she will henceforth take Dal-ae as her legal name in the vampire realm. Does the accused have any objection to it?'

'No,' she said, looking straight ahead at the Governor.

'Dal-ae, you have been accused of two crimes,' the mediator said. 'First, conspiracy to kill the honourable Vampire Lord with Nakamoto Yuta's aid. Second, the murder of at least one thousand seven hundred and ninety five vampires in the realm and the massacre of the Water City which resulted in the death of thirteen thousand and eight hundred vampires including the Patriarch. Do you concur?'

'Yes,' she said, eyes unblinking.

'However, as per the case presented by Kim Doyoung, the council has decided to absolve you of your crime of conspiracy against the honourable Vampire Lord considering your help in bringing to light evidence for Nakamoto Yuta's years of criminal activity. Furthermore, as per the case presented by Moon Taeil yesterday in a meeting with the Governor, the decision has been made to absolve you of the murder of the Patriarch and the vampires in the Water City given the service it did to the vampire realm.'

Dal-ae stared ahead, her eyes watering in the suffocating light of monochrome of the chamber.

'Thus, the charge against the accused now remains – murder of at least one thousand seven hundred and ninety five vampires and this is simply the number which could be traced to the accused,' the mediator said, boring his gaze into her. 'We have no idea how much more she has killed.'