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atskiruma · 2 years ago

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his attempts at courting you

expl: he finds himself thinking about you more often, wanting to seek you out consistently, and giving you numerous gifts every day to see you smile

a/n: it has come to my attention that the last ff i wrote, (snow day) was not very well depicted for all readers to enjoy, i want to apologize for that and promise that i will get better at trying to make sure everyone is able to read it and enjoy it, my writings are targeted for all | unfortunately, i can not edit it right now seeing as there's a poll going on, but once that poll is finished i will change my wording in the ff

ask me anything masterlist

second person writing no pronouns used

Zhongli often felt himself thinking about you more often while he was working around the parlor. Even seeking out your name in conversations and listening more attentively when someone was speaking about you. It didn't confuse him though, he was aware of his interest in you.

You opened up the warmth in his heart and welcomed him kindly every time you two saw each other. It made him happy to see you happy, and this was evident when flowers were delivered directly to your door one sunny afternoon.

"These are for you," The mail lady said before turning around and walking away to do more deliveries. You didn't even get to ask who they were from before she was gone. Staring down at the bouquet of tiger lilies in front of you, you could only assume that the bright orange and black colors could depict a certain someone's hair color.

It was a nice piece on your kitchen counter and went well with the other decorations spiraling around your house. That was, until the next morning, you were greeted again with another gift. A bright orange vase to compliment the tiger lilies you received the other day. It was funny, why was he going out of his way to send you such nice gifts?

You finally managed to confront him when you saw Childe and Zhongli sitting together on the seats of an outside cafe. Walking over and waving to the both of them. They greeted you back, and small talk was given for only a couple minutes.

"I actually came over here to thank Zhongli," This caught his attention, and he turned to look up at you, "I really loved the flowers you sent and the vase goes really well with them too!" You said while smiling.

He nodded back at you, seemingly collecting himself extremely quickly at the fact you figured out so quick who it was. "I'm glad you liked them," He said.

"I came to give you this in return," You said," "I know it's probably not as extravagant as the ones you gave me, but I like it." Handing over the small gift box, he opened it and smiled softly at the item. It was a small keychain, nothing special, and it was decorated with a lovely orange seem.

That same keychain would be hung up right next to his bedframe, along with variant letters you sent him on the table accompanying it.

Diluc was someone who took courting another person seriously. He found it tradition since his father had spoken so much of it when Diluc was younger. He always wanted to treat the one he loved with respect and be as much of a gentleman as possible.

This was why you were taking a stroll with him through his grapevines on a sunny afternoon. He offered for you to come down to the Winery a couple days ago and you had just gotten around to accepting his offer. His hand rested on your back as he took you through multiple different paths and explained everything. As you strolled, he talked about things concerning the vine, his profits, the seasons they needed to be planted, etc.

You smiled at him, knowing it was something he took dear to his heart, and listened very attentively to what he was saying. In reality, Diluc was really hoping that all he was talking about didn't bore you in any way.

Then, the next couple of hours were spent sitting in his large dining room, eating food made by the cooks in his home. It was nice, and you were very happy that he wanted to spend this much time with you. Diluc even found himself watching you eat here and there, asking you if the food was good or if you needed anything else in the time being.

After everything was over, and the night sky shined over the two of you as you stood outside his doors, he leaned down and pressed a small kiss to your hand. Telling you how much of a pleasure it was to have you here, and how he wished you could stay longer.

Diluc even offered to walk you home, tediously not taking no for an answer, he reached down to take your hand and hold it the whole walk home.

Alhaitham was very closed off when he first met you, he was closed off with anyone in general. He found it strange that you always seemed to be there when he was thinking about you, and when his eyes would try and search a room in the akademiya for you.

He realized that something had to be done about this, so, he did what any other raging nerd would do, and researched about it.

You also found it odd when you'd see him looking at you from across the library, or holding the door open for you whenever you'd walking behind him. Alhaitham always seemed like the guy who only cared about his own, yet he was so evident in helping you out here and there.

Helping you when you'd be confused about a book, rewording your essays to make them better. Alhaitham seemed to want to assist you with almost everything. This was no different than today.

You found yourself back at the library looking down at a long-written parchment on the forest rangers' activities. Trying to figure out how you could make this work in the essay you were conducting on Sumeru's forest.

This was when you heard the chair scrap right next to you, and looked up from where you had originally been focused. Alhaitham took his seat next to you, slightly taking up more space than necessary with his manspreading.

"Do you need help with that? It looks like a longer report than usual for you."

"Longer than usual?" You shot back, "Are you saying that I'm not capable of reading this?" His eyes widened a bit and he instantly tried to retort his original statement. "No, no, I thought- Well- You know you usually read shorter reports in order to get more details. I didn't think you'd take something this large to account."

His confession made you smile, and you leaned in closer, "How'd you know how I like my reports?" At the response with your cheeky grin, a blush formed on his cheeks before he looked away.

"Scholars are supposed to be attentive, it's natural to know a few things you prefer in order to work best with you."

The response he sent back your way caused you to roll your eyes and turn back to what you were originally doing. "To answer your question, no, I do not need help, but thank you for offering."

That didn't seem to make him budge, because he kept sitting there watching you copy down and write words from the book.

"You misspelled climate."

The sound of a book colliding with his head echoed throughout the library.

Ayato enjoyed your company, a lot, so much that he seeks you out anytime he and his sister go down to festivals or strolls through the city. He always wanted to start up a conversation with you, and if anyone else walked by anytime he'd be down there, Ayato would be right next to you listening with a smile at whatever you said.

Ayaka loved you too and found it amusing that her brother was so interested in you. She often found herself trying to spark up conversations with you, asking if her older brother proposed yet in a joking manner.

You laughed it off, Ayato was nice but you were sure he had other rich and important people to concern his love life with. He was just a very nice man to talk with here and there, and you didn't seem to notice that you were one of the few he'd actually seek out.

That was, until, every time he saw you, he came with some form of jewelry or expensive item to give you. Asking you how your day was, what you were doing, and if you wanted to come to spend some time up at the estate with him.

"What about Ayaka?" You said with a tilt of your head in confusion. He smiled back and said, "I'm sure she'd rather stay down here and explore more of the shops.

Ayaka would have loved to come along, but before she could even turn around, the two of you were already heading back up to the estate.

He catered to you, made sure you were comfortable, and even asked if you'd like anything from his personal chefs. It was a bit much to handle, seeing as you weren't used to living so luxurious, but he was very nice about it all and understood.

The catering didn't stop after that day either, more and more people began to wonder why the Kamisato siblings were spending so much more time outside their palace. Ayaka once mentioned that you loved a certain color, and the next day Ayato was handing you a box with that color, and a necklace with the pearl containing that color too.

He even found himself marching over to you when he saw someone speaking to you in a more flirtatious matter. Moving next to you and asking if everything was alright while his hand wrapped around your own.

#ayato imagines #diluc imagines #alhaitham imagines #zhongli imagines #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #zhongli x reader #ayato x reader #alhaitham x reader #diluc x reader

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marshmallowprotection · 5 years ago

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Honeysuckle

(READ ON AO3)

Description: Fate seemed to have other plans in store for Saeran and Saeyoung Choi then what they ever expected. One path that is bathed in the light and the other is drowned in the darkness. They are taking different roads and what will happen when those roads diverge? One time will tell their fates and if they're destined to be happy or wrought with sorrow.

Vampire AU.

Pairing(s): Choi Saeran/Original Female Character(s), Choi Saeran/Original Female Character(s), Choi Luciel/Main Character/Original Male Character(s)

Past Chapters: Chapter Two | [TBA]

Act III

Saeran hated what he had become with every fiber of his being that no words could be used to describe the indisputable pain that he was experiencing.

He was changed into something against his will and even though he had escaped that wretched woman and run away from Rika, he still wasn't free from the wounds they inflicted on him. Even in freedom, shackles still dug into the flesh on his ankles and held him down.

He was doomed to living like a monster for the rest of his unnatural life and he hated himself. He who sucked the life from others like a leech to survive. He truly was a bug, and they had been right. Perhaps that thinking was why he found himself sitting on the ledge of a bridge in the middle of the night.

His feet kicked over the edge and eyes staring down at the water below. It was raging and rushing along jagged rocks that would likely kill or mane a human at the very least if they took a stumble or hopped over the edge.

Would it be enough to destroy him? He wondered.

Nothing had worked thus far and he doubted this would do it. All he could think about was freeing himself from the chains thrust upon him. He thought he would be free in death, but as a Vampire, he was no more free then he had been as a breathing human.

He dug his nails into the palm of his hand as firmly as he could. It would bring no blood and even if he hurt himself out would heal in a matter of seconds. He would never again feel the pain that many mortals did and while that may have felt like a dream after years of feeling the worst pain one could ever feel; It was turning into a miserable reality.

He knew no pain but he knew what it felt like to be denied the very things he always wanted. This was the curse of eternal life.

What he longed for and loved was taken from him.

The ability to choose what he wanted to do with his life and have nobody stopping him from what he wanted to do. That’s what he had longed for and now he had to live this damned life without a choice. Never again would he see the sun or feel its rays against his skin… at least, not in the way that he wanted.

The Savior… no, Rika, had forced him to feel the sunshine in this damned body and it hurt more than anything he had ever experienced. Even the memory of the pain he had suffered for a year at her hand brought shivers down his spine as well as the memory of the pain on his flesh. He would be damned if he allowed himself to think about it.

Whips… chains… locks… ropes… they were nothing compared to the burn of the sun.

Saeran felt ill just trying to ward those thoughts away.

He had spent the last few months trying to fight his urges and get rid of himself when the weight of his actions took over his body; And, he felt the guilt of taking lives and drinking the blood from innocent people who didn't deserve a leech such as him draining from their life.

Nothing that he ever did to himself worked, unfortunately, and no matter how much he clawed at himself or prayed this undead suffering would go and come to an end, it never did. His body always healed itself when wounds appeared.

It was just like the universe was playing a cruel and sick joke on him. That was all Saeran Choi was. A big fat joke for the cosmos to laugh at and play with.

Nothing more and nothing less.

He felt like a monster and he was a real monster, just as people had always told him that he would turn out to be. As Saeran stared down at the water below his feet, he really prayed that this suffering would come to an end.

He stood up and took a breath that his lungs did not need.

Then, he started to count down from ten in the back of his head and just as he reached the number seven, a voice rang out in his ears-

“I guess somebody beat me here.”

“...?”

He turned his head and the breeze picked up, giving him a view of a girl in a white dress and a barely thick enough jean jacket over her shoulders. The wind blew her hair from her face and revealed somber brown eyes that he suddenly felt the weight off as soon as he saw them. The faint rings of red around her eyes were from crying.

He knew that all too well.

His hand rested against the rail, “You too, then?” Saeran inquired, quietly.

She didn't move but her eyes never lost that sad sheen to them. This was strange and new to him. She saw him but she wasn't running away from him like every other person that had seen him thus far had done. Had she not seen the reds of his eyes? The thirst he was fighting?

“I suppose so,” she admitted.

Her blood was likely very sweet. He could sense that much. The energy that surrounded her felt like it might have been as warm as the sun but he didn’t know for certain. This tiny girl in front of him couldn't have been any taller than just tall enough to meet his shoulder at the tip of her head, and yet, he was more fearful of her then she was of him at that moment.

It wasn't her he feared, it was his bloodlust.

He had taken to surviving on animals when he could do so, and while that blood did help him feel like he could go on, it was never anything compared to the energy that he gained from humans. He could control himself from the short supply but the thirst in the back of his throat left him begging for more no matter how hard he protested.

He wouldn’t go into a frenzy now.

It grew quiet.

The sounds of her footsteps rang in his eyes when he looked back down at the water below them.

She sat down on the other side of the poll next to him and looked to where he was looking. It was just the two of them, seemingly contemplating the same act. He knew why he felt everything was hopeless but now he was struck with the question of why somebody like this girl would think this way.

She kept her gaze trained on the ground and water, “I've been coming here a lot lately at night. I haven't seen you before.”

“...I'm not from here,” Saeran replied.

“Well, you picked a beautiful spot for what it's worth, stranger,” she continued. “You can't see it right now but the riverbed is covered in Tiger Lily. They're in bloom right now, and they've never been more lovely. As often as I come here I felt like there should have been something worth looking at while I think about everything.”

Saeran looked more closely at the grass. His vision was made for the night and nothing could escape that. This was the day time for beings such as himself and likewise, he had the power to see more than she could ever see.

He could see the flowers she spoke of below them and she was right. They were beautiful.

They were living next to this raging body of water with sharp rocks and rough seas. It was strange how flowers could bloom in spots where they didn't seem likely. They weren’t very common to this very particular spot but their orange tint breathed life into the area of green grass and grey rocks.

“I planted them,” the girl said as if answering his thoughts for him. “They’re said to bring positivity when used in the right circumstances, you know. I figured if I felt horrible enough to come here, I may stop myself from doing something if I saw life instead of death. I don’t always feel like I can keep going but if the flowers can thrive in areas like that… I don’t know. Maybe all this suffering can exist alongside something beautiful. There’s no reason for pain to exist but it does… but there are so many good things that are alive at the same time. If a flower can persist through the onslot of what appears to be a bad area then why couldn’t those who feel the same way not go on?”

This woman was clearly miserable.

Yet, she was trying to find some good reason to push off her intent to see if there was any happiness to be had. Saeran found himself looking at her now instead of the forty-foot drop. She felt his gaze on her form so she turned her head to "over at him with a weak smile.

“I realize that sounds kind of silly,” she mumbled. “It’s like when you tell people that your only friends are the flowers in your garden.”

He shook his head, “I don’t think it’s silly… to be honest with you, I used to do something similar when I was a child.”

There was suddenly a spark of life in those brown eyes as she gazed upon him. That false smile changed ever so slightly into a little genuine one. “Would it be odd of me to ask if you would rather talk tonight instead of jumping?”

Saeran found himself telling her that, “Not at all.”

They would continue to meet nightly for several days after that night. Saeran would find himself listen to everything that she had to say about her life and about her struggles.

She was the youngest child of two and everybody expected her to live up to the height that her older sibling had met. She fought to be better than anyone else in the world but she always failed in the eyes of her parents.

She never felt like she was good enough.

Yet, he couldn’t see the failure that she continued to say she saw when she looked into the mirror. This girl went beyond what was expected for her by others. Meaning she did everything and more then what her family did.

She worked most of the shifts at her family’s shop and she would always make a point of slipping stickers and a flower or two to a child when they came into the room. She even went as far as to always do the needed chores and never let anyone else take care of them.

Her days were busy and her nights were busy. She seemingly never had any rest but she was always trying to outdo the day before the last.

Saeran saw himself in her struggles. The long days that never had an end in sight and the time that went into trying to be a better person for somebody would never be fully satisfied with anything you did. That was the life that he had been leading for such a long time. He knew what it felt like to be suffocating.

Perhaps that was why it was so easy for him to speak with her about his own fears.

Of course, he would never admit the full story, and he omitted a lot of information to protect himself from the truth. But, it was the first time in years that he had been able to speak to anyone about what was bothering him. How much trepidation he felt about his caretakers, how he missed his brother and also felt like he hated him, and how he felt like he was a waste of space.

How he had no choice but to listen to the woman that was supposed to protect him from danger and neglect… how she warped his memory until he felt like he was going to go numb… how he ran away the first chance he got and the instance he realized that he needed to get out if he wanted to feel like he was in control of his actions and choices.

It went a little something like that.

She never spoke over him and she always heard him out until the very last word came out.

It felt like he was letting go of a weight that he didn’t even realize he had been holding in as he spoke about his pain and turmoil. He had thought that he had no choice but to end himself to make the pain stop, but it turned out that the pain could also be released just by talking about it.

Don’t get him wrong, it still hurt him. It just felt like he wasn’t balling it up to deal with on his own anymore. It was just that when he was with Lila… he felt like he was human again. He felt like what had been taken from him didn’t matter. She breathed life back into him and he desperately wanted her to believe that her life had meaning.

If he could do anything, he would want to stay close to her until her life played out. If the universe was giving him a chance to do something good, he would take it. If his undead life meant anything at all he would use it to ensure that her smile would exist as long as it possibly could ever grace the Earth with its presence.

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

Weeks would pass by without either of them noticing it. Day in and day out… Saeran would spend every evening that he could with Lila. She gave him something to do, and he provided her with the company that she had always wished to have at her side in the lonely garden of her life.

Much of the time he simply offered to help complete her work, and she graciously accepted. He may not have been able to lighten her stress but he could do something to make her feel like she wasn’t alone.

At first, that meant that helped her piece together flowers for bouquets. Other times, she’d be nice enough to relent and let him help her take care of thorns and bramble. He didn’t want her to get cut, partially because he wasn’t sure if he could handle her blood, but partly because she had very delicate hands.

He often let his mind wander to the chance if he would have met her before what happened to him had taken away his power to exist as a mortal.

Would he have been able to enjoy days in the sun with her? Would she have smiled at him from afar underneath a shady tree as his hands rested in a bit of dirt, tending to flowers? Would she have been content if he made her tea to enjoy? Would she have wanted to hold his hand and disappear into the ever expansion flora and fauna?

Most of all, would she want to be around him?

Sometimes he feared that he was using the allure and charm that vampires had to make her like him so much but he wasn’t consciously trying to do that. He always avoided her eyes and tried to keep his distance even though he desperately wanted to hold her hand. So, it couldn’t have been that that was making her want to be around him.

Lila genuinely seemed to like him.

He really couldn’t wrap his head around that one. What was that feeling and how did he ever begin to understand what that felt like? Everyone else on this planet seemed to know what they were doing and how to handle these feelings and Saeran didn't have a clue. Nobody had ever liked him. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to handle that feeling. It was buzzing and made his head feel faint. His knees felt wobbly and he felt tonguetied. Saeran didn’t have a word for the feeling that he had but he was greedy for it, and he wished to feel more of it.

Of her eyes on him… of her smile towards him… that kindness that she shared with him. He wanted to feel all of it and more. Perhaps that was after being around her for such a long time, he felt like he really needed to be honest with her about what he was feeling. He had never been a selfish man but God, her smile made him feel so at peace. Was this what they meant when they said that there was somebody in the world that existed just for you? He wanted to know if she felt the same way.

Now, Saeran didn't really think that she would care for him in the same way that he had come to care for her in the last couple of weeks but that didn't mean that he couldn't tell her how he felt and how much she mattered to him.

“Lila,” he found himself saying very late one night as the moon began to set. “I want to meet you in at the garden’s center tomorrow evening.”

She looked up from the book that she was reading at the time, the two of them had just been enjoying each other’s company. Neither of them had really said anything. Saeran had been laid back against the grass and she was catching up on something she hadn’t been able to finish for weeks. They were both holding onto the other’s hand.

She gave him a squeeze.

“Do you know the way on your own?” she teased, playfully. “I don’t think I’ve taken you there before, Saeran. What if I’m waiting all evening and you don’t show up because you got lost in the patch of the forest of icy patches?”

“I promise I won’t fall into a pit of ivy,” his tone was deadpan. “I’m not as clumsy as you are. I had to pull you out of a briar brush the other day, you know? That’s much more dangerous than a bit of poison ivy.”

“Well, as long as you promise not to make trouble or bring up that story again to anyone if they ask you for a story about my great escapades. I guess it’s a date,” Lila smiled. “I hope to see you by the fountain before dawn.”

Saeran didn’t look in her direction because he didn’t think he could handle seeing what her face looked like underneath the moon’s glow.

“A date, huh?”

Little did Saeran know that this may be the last time that he sees Lila.

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

It was late into the evening when Lila found herself lost deep in the winding path of the expansion gardens.

It wasn’t that she was lost, per se, it was that she waded so deep into the brush and bramble and didn’t look over her shoulder with the intention of going back early. She knew this area by heart and no map was required to carry her to the heart of the area.

Her heart was in a flurry.

Beating in a hurried tap, tap, tap as she thought of him.

She might have even said that she was excited at the prospect of the night ahead.

Even since she had started spending all of her evenings out speaking to Saeran, it felt like she was simply rejuvenated and ready to keep on living. Where the world had once felt dull and lifeless, it now felt as though there were a reason and a purpose for it.

The pain and struggle had an end in sight. At least, that’s what she would say if somebody inquired of her opinion.

Every moment that she spent with Saeran, she felt the weight of the world fall from her body. In a lifetime that had been nothing but frustration and a fight to feel deserving of the love that should have been given from the start, she felt as though she had finally found a source of compassion.

That wasn’t required to be given to her the kind that was rarely given by family. Someone who cared for her of their own free will and didn’t make her feel guilty for it. No, when she saw his smile, it felt like fireworks set off in her quaking heart.

When her hand brushed against his…

Nothing mattered except the two of them.

Lila almost couldn’t stop the gentle laugh from escaping her lips as she thought of how he spoke when he said that he wanted to see her tonight. How important it was that they speak about something. He had never been so prudent or so focused. He was always quiet and thoughtful when they were together that the spark in his eyes made her feel strange.

When he looked into her eyes… he spoke with intention. There was something that he wanted to say but he wanted to do it in the right place and at the right time. His voice still left tingles down her spine; If it hadn’t been the hour coming close to sunrise, he might have said what he wanted to say without warning.

He just always seemed to be busy during the day time doing all kinds of things.

Lila couldn’t help but wonder what he did during the day. She would sleep for a bit and then catch up on all of her work that needed to be done. But what did he do? Why was he always working so hard and then seemingly not tired for a moment when she was with him during the night?

Saeran only said that it was something where he could be holed up inside all day. That just sounded a lot like offices, she assumed often. That could be a place where you felt like there was nothing but the stark white walls around you. A sea of nothing but endless work and no fun to be had in the long run when work was crucial.

That’s why she was more than happy to spend the night with him underneath the moonlight where there were no walls, no ceilings, just space overhead alongside the moon, stars, and the ever expansive universe.

Whatever he was dealing with seemed to go away when he was outside. There had to be countless worries on his mind yet a flower could bring a smile to his face. His eyes would light up when she showed him flowers that he had not seen in person.

For somebody who had been unable to go outside a lot as a kid… he filled his imagination with as much information as he could gather about the world. She thought that she knew a lot about the world but he had answers before she could even rake her brain to remember if she knew the answer to a question, and she would always wind up pouting.

Saeran was a brillant person.

It was such a shame and horrible to think that nobody saw the worth in him when he had so much to offer to others. Lila saw in his eyes the spark of compassion. He may have looked a little rough around the edges but one should never judge a book by their cover. After all, what kind of person would she be if she thought differently of somebody for favoring leather over ribbons?

He may have looked dark and gloomy but he was every much as bright as she appeared to be to others on a good day. He may have instinctively assumed the opposite when he saw her in the light. With her petticoats and childish bows, nobody might have ever thought that somebody like her was as depressed as she was.

Perhaps that’s why they blended so well together.

They weren’t what people thought of them and the empathy that existed over mistranslations was stronger in numbers.

“...”

Lila found herself at the center of the garden after fifteen minutes of the endless path. She took a long way around instead of the shortcut. She wanted to give Saeran time to show up if he wanted to be the first to arrive, but if he wasn’t there before she was, she would still be happy nonetheless.

She stepped out from the maze and felt her feet brush against the cobblestone and took a look around to see if anyone was around.

Darn.

There was no one that she could see, which meant that she had beaten Saeran to here tonight. That wasn’t such a bad thing. It gave her time to think over what he may want to speak about and if it may have been what she thought it was.

She walked forward until she was out of the cover the brush and out in the open. This area had been paved over just a smidge to cover enough area for a fountain to be dead center as the rest of the garden was far more natural with man-made pathways that didn’t intrude too much into the natural order of things.

This was the last place that she had yet to show him so it was possible that may have lost his way even with the directions that she had told him with a smile. Well, he would figure it out sooner or later if she waited long enough. After all, she had no place to be tonight but here. She could wait until the sun rose if it meant that she could see him again.

Lila smiled. Her day just didn’t feel right she couldn’t at least speak to him once. These past few weeks had been the happiest in her life. She decided that she would settle into waiting for him. She took a seat on the edge of the fountain and looked up at the stars and waited for the time to pass.

She didn’t know how long she had been waiting after some time had passed but what she did know was that it was far later then it had ever been for him to arrive. He would always show up before this hour, she thought with a worried grimace.

What was the hold-up?

Where could he be?

Was he making her wait this long on purpose? No, that didn’t seem like something that Saeran would do. He wasn’t that kind of a jokester, at least, she was pretty sure that he wasn’t. She pursed her lips and glanced around once more to see if he was coming.

This time, her gaze rested on a shadowed figure that stood in the darkness. The moon was covered by the clouds and it was too dark to make out any features that showed their identity.

Lila stood up and narrowed her eyes to see if she could make out the form but nope, she couldn’t tell who it was from her vantage point. It didn’t seem like it was Saeran. He would always say that it was him when he arrived and whoever this was just standing and watching her from far.

Something in the air didn’t feel right, and her body was screaming at her to run. “Saeran?” she asked, hesitantly.

The lone figure did not budge, “Is there anything more like a fairytale than a maiden waiting for her prince to arrive for a chance encounter late at night? I would say there’s nothing more lovely than that to a girl with nothing but daydreams in her heart. The longing gaze in your eyes tells me you know the pleasure of what it feels like to be sought out by another person with love in their hearts. Isn’t that just lovely?”

That voice was feminine. She didn’t know that voice, either. People weren’t supposed to be on the grounds this late at night. That meant that this person had intentions that could have been anything from bad to good. Lila took a step back without even thinking about it, “Excuse me, miss? You aren’t supposed to be here.”

“Oh? But, you aren’t supposed to be here, either, dear,” the figure stepped out of the darkness at just the right moment for the moon to come out from the clouds. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you should never be alone this late at night without someone to accompany you? Don’t you know what kind of monsters are waiting for pretty girls like you?”

What was this woman getting at? Monsters? That was something that you would tell a child to scare them for fun.

Well, she wasn’t a child and she had spent more time out in the woods than anyone else to be scared of a few wild animals. This was her family’s land and she had every right to be on it whereas this stranger didn’t have the blessing to be there.

Nobody was going to tell her that she couldn’t be where she had the right to do as she pleased. This woman, on the other hand, did not belong here. Lila’s gut was telling her that this woman was no good.

“I’m not alone,” Lila said, quickly. “My… my friend isn’t far away. He was coming to meet me tonight, not that it’s any of your business.”

Her hair was a golden yellow. She looked like she had been kissed by the sun with those perfect locks that curled around her face. She was wearing a simple black dress and heels that gave her the aura of power.

Her lips were curled into what you could call a smile, “Hahaha… oh, you must be mistaken about that one. Any business that involves my dear Saeran will always involve me, little one. I know you’re the one that has been filling his head with nonsense lately.”

This woman knew Saeran?

Saeran had said that he didn’t know anyone in this area and the people that he walked away from were miles and miles away from this place. How could somebody know him? He didn’t want to be known by a lot of people.

Unless… unless they had been following him to see where he went. That was the only explanation that made sense.

Her stomach twisted in knots at that realization as soon as it struck her head. He had said that he had run away to get far from his caretaker as she had done a lot of ill things to him in the past few years. It hadn’t been something he went into detail of, but it was bad enough that he couldn’t say more than just that.

Footsteps rang in her ears as the woman began to approach Lila. Her pace was slow but that look in her eyes spoke of danger that dare never be spoken into life lest it actually occurs. Lila began to step back until she could no longer put any more space between the two of them. Her back brushed against the tall hedge and her heart rate began to take flight.

“I thought he was just throwing a tantrum. You know, as children will tend to do after some time, they throw fits and get angry with their parents because they don’t understand what’s good for them. I let him get away for a little while to cool off and sort of those silly little thoughts in his head, and it would have been alright if he hadn’t taken spending all of his time with a human,” her tone was so bubbly and yet so icy at the same time.

“That wouldn’t have been so bad if he had decided to play with you. I thought if he got close to one of you, he would realize just how breakable and stupid you are all. He would realize humans are nothing but obsolete beings with false love in their hearts. You could have brought out the devil in him for me, and for that, I may have rewarded you if he didn’t break his plaything to pieces.”

She was so close to Lila now that she could see it.

Lila saw the truth in this woman’s eyes and the truth was painted red. It was as red as a rose or as red as her blood pouring through her veins. It was unnatural, unfeeling, and wrought with pure animosity. This woman… she was a monster, and this monster wanted nothing more than kill her and leave her to rot.

A hand reached out and brushed against Lila’s cheek. It was as cold as Saeran’s had been but strangely… colder. Lila shivered and trembled. Her body wanted her to run but her brain seemingly understood that if she ran, things would be much worse. She might not even get away if she tried to make a break for it.

This person wasn’t human.

No, she was a devil in human form.

“If he won’t break you… if he refuses to stop acting like a petulant child… if he refuses to see the truth, then I’ll have to fix everything for him. Even if he acts up, or says he hates me, I know the truth and I know what’s best for him. I’ll protect my sweet Saeran from the pain that I have suffered, and I’ll start by killing you. Then he’ll know that the only love that matters in this world is the devotion he has for me.”

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

The staunch smell of blood was thick.

It was so strong that Saeran was nearly taken back by it. He first thought that perhaps an animal had been hit by a car or something in that regard. It happened time from time and it would make an area smell like it was caked in blood. Yet, there was something about the scent in the air that seemed far too sweet to belong to a mere animal.

It made him uneasy and concerned. Saeran decided that he needed to get a move on, and he had been already set back by his own thirst. He had to take care of that before he knew he would be safe enough to be in Lila’s company. Even being able to sense life all around you didn’t make it any easier to get the blood you needed.

Saeran made his way through the familiar paths that Lila had pointed him down before, his body tight with dread. It had been such a long time since he had felt this. The last moment that he felt fear such as this had been after he came out of his animalistic instincts and realized what he had done to so many innocent people.

He dug his nails into his palms. It wouldn’t cause pain but it was enough to bring him out of those concerns.

He couldn’t focus on that feeling if he couldn’t seek out the source. It could very well be an animal but it could very well be something else. He didn’t know what it is but all he knew was that he needed to find Lila.

As far as he knew, she should have been waiting for him on her own in the middle of those flowers just minding her own business. Knowing her, she might have been waiting since the sunset. She would be toying with her phone or counting the stars in the sky.

Yet, the closer that he found himself getting to where she was supposed to be, the strongest the smell of blood grew to be. He didn’t want to believe it but the scent was sweet. That made him fearful. Had she gotten hurt again? Had she been clumsy and fallen down? Even if it was something silly, there should not have been this much blood in the air.

Whatever was going on…

It was not good.

That was all it took for Saeran to run the rest of the way to where she told him she would be waiting for him.

Saeran found himself stopping dead in his tracks when he finally found the doorway that opened out the hidden center of the garden of Lila’s life. He found himself unable to move once his eyes settled on the ground in front of him. It was electricity that went through his entire body and he had to press a hand to his mouth to stomach the stench of fresh blood.

There, in the center of the world, in the center of her world, the center of what had become his world too, was Lila laying on the ground, motionless and a gaping wound in her neck that looked like her throat had been ripped apart by a monster.

Her blood dripped from her body and covered the stone below it.

Just like that, the fears that he had for the past few months had come flaring back to life. He had been so afraid of hurting Lila that he never even thought that she could get hurt because of him. This was surely his fault. She was laying here, likely dead, because of how close he had allowed himself to become to her. Was this his punishment for letting himself believe that he could be happy for even a moment? Was this the universe reminding him that no matter what he did he would always have to go back to the people that hurt him? Was he not allowed to be happy? Even in this endless state of damnation?

He appeared at her side in an instant, the first thing he did was check to see if she was breathing. There was a very weak and shallow puff of air that escaped from her lips. She was barely breathing and if he didn't do something then she was going to die. She was going to die and leave him behind while he had to continue living in this world with nobody with him. He would go on knowing what it felt like to be cared for but he would never know what it felt like to have love at his side at all times.

Saeran pulled away and looked down at her once again.

This time, he was greeted by the sight of brown eyes that were ever-dulling by the passing second. There was a hint of clarity in them but it wasn't enough to say that she was totally aware of what was happening at that moment. He wanted to know what had happened, who had hurt her, who he needed to hurt... to kill... who he needed to get rid of to make up for this. But, he couldn't bring himself to ask her those grim questions. Rather, he found himself wanting to say all those things that he wanted to say to her this evening. How he wanted her to know that he cared about her so much and how he cherished what they had.

"Sae... ran...?" her voice croaked.

"I'm sorry," was the most that he could muster up as tears came to his eyes. "This is all my fault. I should have never let you be alone... I shouldn't have let you near me in the first place. I know this is my fault. I know it. I just know it. If I hadn't met you... if I would have been here sooner... If I just... if I wasn't such a coward... if I had just... I shouldn't have let you go yesterday. I never meant for this to happen to you. I wanted to protect you from pain and I'm the reason you're... you're..."

Saeran couldn't even say those words.

A trembling hand reached up from the corner of his eye. It shook and it twitched. Lila's hand pressed against his own after she struggled to find the use in her hand. Her skin was so white and pale that he feared she didn't have any blood left to stimulate the flow across her body. The vampire that had used her like a drink to empty and throw away carelessly had barely left anything behind to prove that she was a thriving human being.

Lila didn't look away from his eyes, and even though he wasn't sure if she could see him or not anymore, she smiled at him. She smiled at him with that very same smile that had stolen his heart from him the first time they had met.

"...ove... you..." her voice had grown even quieter and he couldn't barely pick up the sound. "...ran..."

Saeran jolted and looked down at her with the anguish in his body burning ever brighter. She was struggling with herself, and he could see it. Lila was fighting the sleep that would come over her body forever as hard as she could. As they both stared at one another underneath the pale moonlight, her lips mouthed the words that she so desperately wanted for him to hear one final time, "What? What is it, Lila?"

Her eyes couldn't even fight to stay open anymore. Her lungs drew in and she managed to muster every ounce of strength that she had left in her body at that moment, and Saeran's unbeating heart felt every single word of it as that delicate voice hummed to him like an angel. Her hand went limp in his own, and he could hear it ringing in his ears over and over again as if like the beat of a drum that had no end, "I love you."

She stopped moving.

Saeran tried to shake her shoulders and he tried to get her to wake back up but no matter how hard he cried or how much he screamed, she wouldn't wake back up. Her body was no longer as warm as the sun. It was as cold as his own flesh. Be it out of his own fear at the prospect of losing Lila, or the fact that she never got to hear him say those very back to her, Saeran would ever know, but at that moment where his love lay unmoving, he acted out of nothing but the desire to save her life from ending. He knew nothing of what he was doing except for feeling that what he was doing was the right thing for him to do.

The venom that had once dug into his skin when he was transformed now existed in his own veins, and it instilled into him the power to do the same very thing.

Against all other thoughts and judgments, his fangs sunk into her flesh at every spot he had within his reach. He didn't know how many times he would have to do it. She didn't have a lot of blood in her body and he could barely feel her pulse. From her arms to anywhere he could dig his teeth into, it may have been overkill, but he wasn't going to let her die on him without having done everything that he could do to ensure that she could keep on living in this world.

Even if she would have to live in the darkness of the night...

the world would be a better place having her in it than without.

He wouldn't know it worked for sure until days had passed by and her wounds would slowly begin to heal themselves. It wasn't all at once. It happened day by day. He watched her minute by minute and hour by hour as if transfixed by her being. Saeran had taken her back with him to the house where he was staying to keep her away from the sunlight and to protect her from human interaction. He had cleaned up most of the blood but the smell of it was still locked into his memory no matter how hard he scrubbed at his hands and arms. He didn't know what it looked like on the outside when this happened, as he had only been changed himself a few years ago.

He was never allowed to see when it happened to others.

She looked like a sleeping beauty in her death-like state but he knew, he knew that she had to be suffering the same miserable heat of this damnation. He just prayed that the moment that she woke up that she wouldn't hate him for what he had done to save her life. Her cheeks weren't as rosy as they once were but he cared not for that, all he cared for was the hope that she would be alright when she awoke to him.

And she eventually did, a week and a half later, with eyes as red as an apple and a thirst to go with them that would be sated. Yet, in those red eyes of his at that moment, he could see the same very woman that he had come to love after all this time. Saeran was on his knees at her side, with his hands pressed against her knees as he begged and pleaded for her forgiveness for what he had done to her in that dead of night.

Lila's hand pressed to the top of his hand and offered an all too familiar gesture.

She wasn't angry with him.

"I love you too," he whispered.

"I know," she said.

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