A Vampire's Wrath 2/?
Title: A Vampire's Wrath 2/?
Pairing: Kyusung. (Some Hanchul, Yunjae and others on the side.)
Rating: PG-13 (A tiny bit of cussing and action/death.)
Disclaimer: I'm from Ohio...not too many hot korean idols to own or make money of off. So do you think I'm doing that with these boys?...didn't think so
Summary: Tensions have always been high between Kyuhyun and Jongwoon's clans, but have things gone too far? Enough to start a war? Or is it a set-up?
~
Jea stayed up through the entire day to exam the evidence from Jongjin so they could give him a proper send off as soon as the sun set. Heechul and Yunho set everything up in the early evening before Jongwoon even woke up. They followed all of the traditions once the sunset arrived and it seemed like the entire town showed up to send off Jongjin, including Kangin and Jungsu. Jongwoon was given the majority of the day of, only being called to Kangin's manor in the early morning. When he arrived, Hangeng, Heechul, K.Will, and Yunho were all there waiting.
"Kangin call you guys as well then?"
"Yeah, though he hasn't said what he wants yet." Yunho answered.
"So everyone is here then?" Kangin asked as he walked into his office with Jungsu following right behind.
"If by everyone, you mean the five of us, then yes." Yunho stated. "If not, then I don't know who we are missing."
"No, no, it's just the five of you. Though I can't say I was pleased to find out that Heechul was your fifth member."
"Just so we're clear, I was the fourth member, K.Will was the fifth." Heechul interrupted, not liking being considered last.
"Lord Kangin, he asked, well more like insisted, and with the rush of the situation, I didn't feel like saying no and getting into an argument."
"I can understand that, Yunho. No need to defend yourself. It's too late to change it as well, so I'll just deal with it this once." Kangin took a pause to search for some files on his desk until Jungsu cleared his throat and passed the files over.
"Are you alright, Youngwoon?" Heechul asked.
"I'm just stressed, between the hunting issue, then Jongjin's death, and then just the regular stuff and it's all just draining. Now since you all investigated the site yesterday, you have the best knowledge of the situation so far. I am putting you five in charge of tracking down the culprit."
"But there wasn't anything clear at the site to really confirm any culprit." K.Will announced.
"I know, but that doesn't mean we stop there. Jea's medical report on Jongjin wasn't much clearing, in fact it's almost as confusing as the information from the site. Many things point to a vampire and yet there are things that don't add up."
"So, what are you proposing we do?" Yunho asked, completely confused.
"I'm sending you to the Pyeonhwa clan." The five all tried to say something but Kangin stopped them. "I know what you're going to say, but I did think this through. Approach the town from the main road that connects them to the human town. Explain to them the situation and ask to speak with their lord. By the traditional vampire laws, they will have no choice but to agree. If they persist on not allowing you through, just insist that you would rather finish your investigation and give them a chance to prove innocence before we get ourselves caught in another war."
"Will they really abide by that?"
"If they have any honor left as vampires, they will. And if they wish to avoid a war. I am not blind to the idea of war but we all went through the ends of the war with the Pyeonhwa clan when we were children. The treaty between our clans has kept us at peace and I have no intentions of being the one to break it on a hunch that the other already did."
"Yunho, take these." Jungsu handed Yunho a small stack of papers. "I made extra copies of the reports so far, including Jea's."
"Does this mean you want us to leave immediately?
"At sunset, yes. The sooner you go the less likely evidence can disappear. Whoever has attacked our clan needs to be found and if that means a war, so be it, as long as it is confirmed."
"Anything else?"
"No, I think that's all. You're all free to go." The five excused themselves from the manor and walked over to Heechul's shop to talk since it was closest. Heechul was one of the main tailors in the town but looking at his shop, you wouldn't really know. The entrance was clean and organized but you didn't have to go far for it to become a total mess. How Heechul kept anything straight in his shop is beyond them, even to Yunho, Hangeng, and Jongwoon who have known Heechul since they were born. Heechul cleared a space for them in his "meeting room" for them to just talk and let everything sink in. Hangeng went into the small kitchen area and made some tea for everyone. They spent the next twenty minutes just drinking their tea and not speaking until Heechul finally said something.
"Are we really about to go to Pyeonhwa? We've been raised to see them as the enemy. The vampires who would rather be friends and protect our natural prey then actually hunt them. Is it even safe?"
"Heechul, if you're worried, we can probably just let you stay here. You're not a soldier, this isn't your sort of thing." Yunho tried reasoning with Heechul a bit, he didn't want to take someone who usually stays in town and sews for a living instead of fighting and training along on a mission that they were uneasy about.
"No, I wanted to go along so I'm already involved and not backing out now. Besides, it's better then just sitting here and worrying about you all." Hangeng grabbed his boyfriend's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, knowing that this was out of his comfort zone. "And why is no one worrying about K.Will? He's not exactly a solider either."
"That's because I'm trained in combat, hunting, tracking, and really everything else to make it in the forest without a problem." Heechul just huffed at K.Will's answer, and noticing the tension Hangeng switched the topic back to details on their mission.
"Well how do you suppose we travel to Pyeonhwa? We have to make it to the main road without being detected and looking suspicious."
"It might be easier if we travel down to the southern entrance to the human town there. If we can make it around there, then we wait until nightfall and slip through the town and continue onto the Pyeonhwa clan."
"Is it possible that they will have guards on the road and the entrances to the town?"
"I can't tell you that. I just know the area, I'm not a spy who tracks their habits." K.Will said, reminding everyone where his expertise was.
"We'll just have to play it by ear so to speak. If we can, we should map out of couple of different options before we leave so we know if plan a doesn't work then we move to the next area and try to make it work. Then I want everyone home and going to sleep. It's going to be tiring tonight." Yunho order which no one was going to argue with, and K.Will excused himself from the group to run to his home and grab some extra maps. It was already mid afternoon by the time they finished, and half of the group was already asleep sprawled out around Heechul's shop. The sun was just begging to set when they woke up to prepare and agreed to meet at the gate at sunset.
"Where is Jongwoon?" Yunho asked as soon as he arrived at the gate seeing the other three already there.
"I don't know, we didn't see him as we left our house, though I didn't really look that hard." Heechul answered, thinking back to when he left his house.
"I'm right here. Kangin and Jungsu stopped me on the way." Jongwoon walked up behind them with Jungsu and Kangin with him from the same direction that Yunho just came from.
"Please be safe while you are out there. And keep us updated as you can." Jungsu said as they all did final checks before they left.
"Yeah, we need to know whether we should be preparing for a war in the near future or not." Kangin added, which earned him an elbow in the rib by his mate.
"Don't walk into Pyeonhwa assuming that they are at fault, it will only serve to get you further into trouble if something happens. Remember it's innocent until proven guilty."
"We will Jungsu. We don't want to start a war either, just figure out who killed our Jongjin."
"Good, you better head out now so it's still the middle of the night when you reach the road." The Vampire lord and Jungsu said their final good-byes to the five and watched as they disappeared out the main gates and into the forest.
"If we walk there it will take us about two hours, though if we sprint it'll be more like a half hour." K.Will explained once they were out of town.
"Let's just walk. Sprinting will take too much energy and we need to keep our energy up. We don't know what'll happen once we get there." Yunho explained.
"Alright, since you guys are all soldiers and what not, and we all know I didn't pay much attention in school when we were little, what is this treaty Jungsu mentioned?"
"Really Heechul? I'd say if we had to pick something that we were tested over most in school, it would be the treaty." Jongwoon said, shocked at his friend's question.
"I told you, I didn't pay attention. All I know is that it's a treaty that was signed between the Lord of the Pyeonhwa clan and our previous clan leader that ended the war."
"Well at least you know the basic explanation."
"Yeah, but obviously there is some more detail to it that I should be aware of, especially if we are to use it in our favor when we reach their town."
"If we're going to explain it, you better pay attention this time." Yunho warned.
"I will, I promise."
"Okay, well I guess we should start with the war itself." Yunho began. "Centuries ago, our clans were just friendly rivals, but never really had a real problem with each other. Each clan had a set of human towns that they would prey on and they never really crossed each other much."
"Wait, I thought the Pyeonhwa clan has always be about protecting humans. They used to prey on them too?"
"Yes Heechul, they used to be normal vampires like the rest of us. Now shut up and just listen." Jongwoon answered and allowed Yunho to continue.
"At the time, yes they hunted human the same as we used to, however, our records say that one of the members of the Pyeonhwa clan fell in love with a human girl. And to make it worse, it was a human from one of the towns that were in Cantong control."
"That vampire had personally taken it upon himself to protect the human girl's town thus disrupting our clan's hunting." K.Will continued. "Our lord had taken the complaint to the Pyeonhwa clan's lord, however their lord had sided with his clan member due to personal reasons that were never explained. Right after that the Pyeonhwa clan banned the hunting of humans."
"So why didn't they just ban hunting for their towns? Why did they end up fighting with our clan?"
"Chulie, they said that the women the vampire feel in love with was from on of the towns under our rule." Hangeng reminded him.
"Oh, right. Continue then."
"Well the Pyeonhwa clan started with the town where the woman was from along with declaring their towns free, and our clan just put up their guards on the other towns knowing they wouldn't be able to stop them from taking the first town." Yunho began again. "However, the Pyeonhwa clan did not stop and thus began a full scale war to remove the Cantong control over our remaining towns."
"The war went on for an entire century until both clans feared for the safety of their own towns. So the lords called for a halt for discussions of a solution and end the war." Jongwoon said, continuing where Yunho left off. "The Pyeonhwa clan refused to give back any control for the towns, but agreed that they would leave our clan alone as long as we did not hunt humans in this region. The treaty was made, stating that the Pyeonhwa would never kill a Cantong outside of self-defense as well as if we request anything from them that might prevent fighting and doesn't include the towns, they must abide."
"So that's what Jungsu meant when he said they had to allow us to speak to their lord."
"Yes, because we have the hunch to attack them for our member's death unless they can meet with us and prove their innocence."
"And what if they're not innocent?"
"Then we figure out whether it was the act of just a couple members or the whole group. If it's just a couple members then they will have to be handed over to us. If they refuse or it was the clan as a whole, then it is a declaration of war." K.Will answered, his stern voice emphasizing how serious the laws of the treaty were. Heechul became really quiet after that, not wanting to focus on the talk of war anymore.
The majority of the trip was spent in silence after that with only a couple of quick conversations about the direction or how much further they had to travel. They were almost to the road just south of the human town when Yunho stopped them.
"K.Will and I will scope out the town and figure out the best way to get through. You guys just stay here and keep a look out for any other guards. We'll be back soon, stay hidden." The other three all agreed and found a spot to lay low until Yunho and K.Will returned. No one talked, whether they just didn't have anything to say or were worried of the possibility if someone else in the area overhearing and investigating. It was only a few minutes before the two returned and informed them that they needed to head further south.
"Why do we need to go south?" Heechul asked, obviously tired of walking.
"The town is completely guarded on all sides, so the only way to even have a chance of making it in is to be as if we have been travelling and coming up from the south and hope they let us in at the gate."
"And if they don't?" Jongwoon questioned.
"We'll have to see if there is another way to get into the Pyeonhwa town itself without using the human town."
"Well let's see how hard it will be to get in the town, it won't hurt to try." Hangeng said, as their was no time to waste by discussing the issue. Everyone agreed and traveled a short ways south to where they would not be seen leaving the forest and entering the road by any of the town's guards. Once on the road, they did their best to look like normal travelers with their bags and making their clothes a little more tattered looking. Once done they walked towards the town but were stopped the moment they got close to the gate.
"Stop! Who are you? And what is your business here?" One of the guards said, stepping forward. The group looked amongst themselves, not prepared for the question and were a little worried. Jongwoon decided to step forwards and answer for everyone.
"We're travelers, heading north into the mountains. We knew there was a town here in order for us to rest at for the night, however the one in charge of the maps misjudged the distance to the town and so we did not make it here before nightfall. Though there is also a chance that our maps are outdated. We just ask for a place to sleep tonight and we shall be gone at sunrise."
"And where are you all from exactly that you are traveling to the mountains?"
"We have a tradition in our families that we take a trip through the mountains and around back to our home in order to prove ourselves you could say.
"And what town is your home?"
"Our home is a few days trip west of here called...."
"Chaksi." K.Will answered when he realized that Jongwoon was stalling and trying to come up with a name.
"Chaksi? Your town is really called Chaksi? Now what makes you think I will believe that?"
"Well sir, it is our home, I would hope you would believe us on the name of our home. We didn't choose the name either, we usually just call it home, no need for a name."
"Then how did you get the name Chaksi?"
"Well that's simple. Our town is hidden within the landscape making it almost impossible to find if you have never been there before. And so those who say they have found the town get told by others who have failed, that they must have seen an illusion and didn't actually find it. So they started calling our town Chaksi." K.Will explained and the others all tried to hide how impressed they were with both Jongwoon and K.Will's skills to come up with a complete story like that with absolutely no time to plan it out.
"You said you only needed some place to sleep, correct?"
"Yes sir, if you have an inn that will take us for the night, we have money in which to purchase a room. And if it is possible, would we be able to look at some recent maps to compare ours to? We would like to be as updated as possible for our trip."
"We can permit you for the night, these woods are not the safest to be camping in. I will take you straight to the inn, please do not wonder around while it is dark."
"Thank you for all your help. We are tired from our trip today, so we will not go anywhere until the first rays of the sun begin to appear then we wish to start out again." K.Will said and everyone agreed, mostly so they don't lose their chance of getting into the town. Once they had agreed, the guard led them into the town and straight to the inn.
"Here you are. Remember, do not leave the inn until the morning. and talk to one of the guards at the northern entrance and they will tell you how to safely continue on your journey. The road right outside can be difficult to navigate if you do not know it." The guard finally left them and they all gave a sigh of relief before turning and entering the small inn behind them.
"Hello, welcome to our inn."
"Hi, sorry for disturbing you so late." Yunho greeted back with an apology to the young boy sitting behind the make shift front desk, reading a book.
"You're fine, I'm usually up anyway, at least for a little longer." The boy shoved a bookmark into the book and set it aside, finally looking up at the five. "So how many rooms do you need?"
"Just one will be fine."
"Really? Just one?" He looked at each member of the group and then back towards the rooms. "I only have two beds to a room."
"Yes, well we have to use our money sparingly so we don't wish to overspend just for one night's rest."
"Yeah as long as we're not sleeping in dirt, I don't care." Heechul added, hoping he was helping.
"Alright, one room it is. You are leaving in the morning then?" They nodded. "Then just give me a couple minutes to prepare the room for you. Make yourselves comfortable on the couches while you wait." The boy pointed over to the sitting area over to the side of the room as he disappeared towards the back.
While they were waiting, Yunho shot down anyone's attempt to bring up the next part of the plan. After a handful of tries, the others all gave up, deciding to wait until they were in the room to try again.
"Your room is ready now. I can take you to it if you would just follow me." Immediately everyone stood up and followed the boy to the back of the inn and upstairs to the second floor. "I'm sorry if it's cramped but this is our largest room. You can always buy a second room. My name is Ryeowook, just shout if you need something." And with that the boy was gone before they could even thank him. Yunho immediately shut and locked the door while Jongwoon scanned the area outside the window before shutting that as well.
"Okay, so how are we going in the morning?"
"Heechul, not so loud. We don't need to make ourselves seem anymore suspicious then they already feel we are." Yunho scolded in a hushed voice, gathering everyone in close. "We are leaving at the first rays of the sun in the morning. I don't want us to risk leaving later then that. When K.Will and I were out scouting the town earlier, we noticed that the road on the northern side had walls, and so preventing anyone from entering from the forest between the towns. We are assuming that the walls will lead us all the way to the Pyeonhwa town. There was a small chance that the road was open as it lead to the mountains but we didn't want to risk the possibility of more guards that way."
"We will get the directions from the guard at the northern gate in the morning and when the road splits, we'll quickly change directions and head for the Pyeonhwa town." K.Will continued.
"With any luck, the road will still be hidden from this town at the split and no one will notice. Or if luck is not on our side we will get ourselves into some trouble." Everyone was a little grim after that, just hoping that everything went smoothly once the sun began to rise. They spent the next couple of hours watching the skyline to see when it was time to leave. Heechul had managed to pack a deck of cards and so was playing a quiet card game with Hangeng while they waited. Yunho didn't care much since it kept Heechul busy and quiet.
Jongwoon was the first to notice as a little light began to fill the eastern sky. He nudged everyone to pack up their stuff so they could leave immediately. Ryeowook greeted them downstairs and Yunho paid for the room before they left. There weren't that many people out on the streets as the sun was just barely beginning to shed light on the small town, and the forest surrounding it allowed even less light to make it through. The other four all stayed back a slight bit as Yunho talked to the guard at the northern gate before they were allowed to pass.
"Well at least some luck is in our favor, the split is just up and around the bend, take the left path for the Pyeonhwa town and right to head towards the mountains." Yunho informed the rest of them as the headed down the walled in path. Just as the group went around the bend, their luck vanished, as there was a guard posted right at the split in the road. From the looks of it, he was only a human guard and not a vampire.
"You must be the travelers heading to the mountains. I was informed on my way to my post here that I might see you. You need to take the path to the right to head towards the mountains."
"Do you mind answering a question for us?" K.Will asked.
"Sure, I can see if I can answer it."
"Where does the path to the left lead?"
"The left? Oh well that leads up to the town's mine. It's not a very interesting place, but we guard it so no one wanders in there and risks getting themselves injured."
"A mine? I didn't know there was mining here."
"I haven't seen a mine before, can we go take a peek at it?" Heechul chipped in.
"I'm sorry but I can't let anyone aside from the workers up there, especially before the sun has risen completely."
"Hangeng, the man won't let us go see the mine." Heechul pouted over to his boyfriend. Hangeng, immediately picking up on what his boyfriend was planning looked over to Yunho for confirmation who just gave a nod. He sighed as it was not his preferred way to handle things but had no choice, so walked up next to the guard and placed a well aimed hit to the man's shoulder successfully knocking the man unconscious.
"Good job, let's go before someone realizes what happened." Yunho said keeping an eye down the other paths for other guards and rushed the four down the path to the Pyeonhwa clan. They were stopped at yet another gate, however this one was guarded by vampires.
"Who are you guys and what are you doing here?" The one asked.
"You don't look like anyone who should be permitted here. I think you should leave." The other stated. Jongwoon just walked up to them and grabbed both by the collar of their shirts.
"We're members of the Cantong clan here to investigate the death of my brother. We have reason to believe it may have been a member of your clan, so let us through to talk to your lord or else we will assume you are hiding things." He said in his most menacing voice. If the others didn't know him so well, they might not have recognized him right there.
"And what makes you think you have any right to do that?"
"Yeah, we don't need to let you in."
"Actually you do." Yunho said stepping forward. "According to the treaty between our clans, if we are suspicious of your clan breaking the treaty we have full rights to enter your town and speak to whomever in order to prove whether you are innocent or guilty of the accusations."
"Damn, that treaty rule. I guess we better let them in, Eunhyuk."
"Yeah, Lord Yoochun would be seething if we don't." Hearing the guards agreeing to let them in, Jongwoon let go of them in order to open the gates. "I'll go inform Lord Yoochun, Donghae." The one named Eunhyuk ran towards the back of the town as soon as the gates were opened.
"You will find Lord Yoochun's manor straight at the other end of the town. It's a little hard to miss. I don't know what you are accusing us of, but I am certain we didn't do it." With that he allowed the five members of the Cantong clan into the town. Not wasting any time, they headed straight towards the manor, ignoring the looks they were getting from the Pyeonhwa clan members.
At one point Jongwoon completely stopped and started looking around. Yunho noticed and stopped everyone else.
"What's wrong Jongwoon?"
"That smell. It was the same one I picked up on my brother." Without any warning, he took off down one of the side streets, the other four quickly following behind, until he talked a guy about their age to the ground. "You! Your scent is the one that is on my brother's body! You better start talking before I kill you now!"
A/N: I feel like I should start this note with DUN DUN DUN! so there it is.....Well first this ended up being longer then I thought. not sure how that happened. oh well. 2. Yay for a cliffhanger. But you probably know who go tackled, huh? I won't tell you but I have a feeling you'll guess it. nd Yay for adding even more people for you to keep up with. (tell meif something is confusing, I;ll try and fix it if I can...or just explain it.)
This is unbetad. I'll possibly beta it later, I don;t know. And yes I know this is a couple days late. I got sick...still sick....so it slowed the writting process.
I'm not exactly sure when part three will get written since I am taking a short pause to finish a Hanchul for Hannie's borthday coming up.
You know the drill I hope. I love comments...they might even cure my being sick. (probably not...but one can hope)
^^♥