The grand hall was lit as bright as midday. Every surface was polished to perfection, reflecting the candlelight at a greater force. Brilliant brass and gold surrounded Clara as she made her way through the dancing couples, their movements in perfect sync. Wrapped in each other's arms, they spin around without a care for her wandering presence. 

While all who surrounded her were decorated in blacks and whites, her own dress was the color of freshly spilled blood. The heavy skirts that hug from her waist made it difficult to navigate the ballroom. Their fullness was of an older fashion, one that maybe her grandmother would have worn in her youth. The dropped shoulders left her exposed, her skin chilled despite the amount of bodies in here. 

Clara continued to navigate the dance floor, on the look out for something, though she wasn't sure as to what. Then, in the midst of the waltz, she felt the familiar burn of eyes boring into her back, sending a shiver down her spine. She whirled around to find the source, the dress brushing at her feet with the sudden motion. Through the crowd, Baekhyun could be discovered leaning against the wall. With a single finger, he beckoned her over. And she obeyed. 

Breaking through the sea of dancers, she took in his elegant suit, the hems lined with gold thread that shimmered against black velvet. 

"You shouldn't dance alone," he purred. Arms crossed over his chest, he smirked with a grin even the devil wouldn't wear.

"I have no partner," Clara retorted. He held out a lazy hard. Hardly the romantic gesture. "No, thank you." 

"How about me?" asked a sweet voice in your ear. 

She turned her head to find Junmyeon at her back. He laid a soft hand on her hip to keep her from escaping, if only out of propriety. When she didn’t shove him away, the hand slyly moved to her stomach, pulling her bare shoulder blades into his chest. With the fingers of his left hand, he tilted her chin towards him. 

"Am I a suitable partner?" 

No answer passed her lips. She could think of nothing to say. The thought of him twirling her around the dance floor was not… unpleasant. 

Junmyeon neither needed nor cared for a reply. He dipped his head to her shoulder and pressed a kiss to the skin. A small gasp passed her lips. And then he pressed another. More and more as he climbed up the curve of her neck. Heat rose from every inch of her as she sighed into the affectionate touches. She relaxed into his touch, welcoming each new contact of his lips. 

"It's rude not to share, Junmyeon.”

Clara attention snapped back to Baekhyun, who she had forgotten was there, lingering within touch. He pushed himself off the wall and stepped closer so he stood in front of the minor. 

No, not a mirror. There was no reflection. 

Except… there was. The mirror reflected the floor, the ceiling, the candlelight. Her. 

But not Baekhyun. Not Junmyeon. And not the dancers still spinning behind. 

Fingers s through Clara's hair and pulled her head back, her vulnerable neck exposed. From the gallery above, Kyungsoo watched as elongated fangs flashed behind Junmyeon’s lips and plunged into . 

*****

Clara woke with a start, the blanket flying off of her as she sat up in a fury. Sweet drenched every pore of her skin. Her day old dress clung to her skin in a way that felt suffocating. Each breath was a struggle for her lungs. 

Vampires. The nightmarish tale that had kept her up as a child until she was fully convinced they weren't real turned out to be true.

But how could they be real? 

Creatures of the night. Blood drinkers. Horror stories meant to keep children from wandering about after dark. 

Curling her legs to her chest and encasing them in her arms, she tried to think of a way out. To escape. With what strength she possessed, she slid off the bed and walked over to the window. The sun, so bright and full of life, was just beginning its descent towards the horizon. Night–their domain–was hours away. If the legends were true, then they would all be asleep at this moment. Any risk that was to be taken had to be taken now. 

After changing into a sturdier dress, she retrieved her still mud-covered boots and, keeping them in one hand, she carefully pushed away the pathetic barrier and snuck out of the room. 

Each step was taken with unmatched caution. She tested every board with her foot before fully committing. Any squeak of a floor or stumble down a stair could alert them to the escape. But by the grace of a miracle, she made it to the front door. Fingers trembling, she pulled on the boots and tied up the laces before opening the door only wide enough for her to slink through. 

The next breath taken outside was like the first breath of life. But there was no time to take it in. 

Gathering her skirts in her grip, Clara took off into the trees. The dirt was dry and sturdy under her feet. Branches and leaves crunched with the weight of her boots. A lady’s delicacy was out of the question as she ran without abandon. She didn't know what direction she was running. But vampires needed blood to survive and they weren’t going to succeed in drinking a drop of yours. And Jongdae had brought those buns from a bakery, not their own kitchen. She doubted any of them knew how to cook. That meant a village or town had to be nearby. Junmyeon had lied about the isolation of the manor. If she just kept going, she could find freedom. 

But her stamina was running out. This was never her preferred activity. Her lungs and throat burned in an unfamiliar way. The sun still shined above. A short respite could be spared. 

She leaned against a tree trunk for support. In her boots her feet pulsed. Only now did she realize that she had run away without food or water. Not knowing where the kitchen was located, she didn't have time to waste on it. She could survive, she told herself. Just a little farther. The town couldn’t be too far. Unless she was headed in the wrong direction. 

A rustling rippled through the silent forest. Clara snapped to attention, trying to find the source. 

“The wind,” she gasped between ragged breaths. “It had to be the wind.” 

A low, rumbling growl said it wasn't wind. 

In the distance, large silhouettes emerged. Wolves. Nearly a dozen of them. 

She ran as fast as her crying legs could take her. It was a pathetic attempt. With their superior nature built for the hunt, the wolves caught up to her within seconds. Their growls and howls grew louder and more threatening behind her. Running from the manor had been easy. Running from the wolves was to be her end. 

Powerful paws slammed into her back. Clara was thrown to the ground, rolling across the ground as a scream ripped at . The momentum stopped her on her stomach. Hair covered her face, but she could still see her death through the strands. 

Wolves of gray and black gathered in a half moon circle. They had their prey in perfect position. The middle wolf pounced. All she had time to do was throw up her arms to protect her face. Claws raked across her forearm. Another scream echoed through the merciless trees. The wolf landed on the other side of her with pride. Now she was surrounded. A second wolf leapt. 

A blur appeared in front of her and collided with the wolf midair. The two bodies tumbled across the forest floor. A human and the wolf. 

Not a human. 

Chanyeol. The wolf trapped within his grasp, Chanyeol tightened his grip–

Crack. 

The wolf fell limply to the ground, its tongue hanging from its jaw. 

The others appeared seconds later. Not understanding what they were up against, the wolves let you go to attack the newest threat. 

"Are you alright?" Junmyeon knelt down in front of Clara. His hands were outstretched as if she was the wild animal on the verge of attack. Behind him, snarls and whimpers told of the fight–and who was winning. Despite not answering him, he caught sight of her bleeding arm. "We need to get back to the manor." 

He didn't ask permission before picking her up into his arms and sprinting through the forest. Everything blurred past her, her loose hair whipping at her face. He burst through the manor doors and didn't stop until he was able to set her down in the largest chair. Once she was safe, he fell to his knees, only his palms keeping him upright. The others soon stumbled in behind him, heaving and collapsing onto the floor. Only then did Clara notice the smoke floating up from each of their backs. Patches of burnt, red skin sizzled on their knuckles and faces. Anything that had been exposed to the sun. 

"Baekhyun," Junmyeon gasped. 

"I already have it." Kyungsoo came into the parlor with bottles stacked in his arms. He quickly passed them around, waiting until the others were quenching their thirst before pulling the cork out of his own bottle and chugging the contents. 

With his bottle empty, Junmyeon tossed it to the side and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Red smears stained the ivory fabric. Clara shrank back in the chair as he turned towards her. 

"What hell were you thinking!" He growled. "I warned you about the wolves!" 

"Junmyeon, she's shaken up enough," Jongdae defended. Before Clara's wide eyes, his burnt skin healed to be like new.

"She could have been killed!" 

Her head was pounding. He was… concerned about her life? The legends said that the sun was a vampire's deadliest enemy. It was why they thrived in the darkness. But they had all risked a final death to come after her stupid, stupid self. 

"Did you hear me scream?" she whispered. She could barely feel her own lips move. All heads turned to stare at her. 

Yixing was the one to answer. "Yes. We all heard you." 

"Why were you out there?" Sehun asked aggressively.

Clara in a sharp breath. There was no escaping the truth now. She stared at Jongdae. "I figured it out.” 

Baekhyun laughed. "At least we don't have to walk around delicately anymore." 

"When exactly did you do so?" Minseok mocked.

"Then you should remember what I said to you before was true," Junmyeon said before Clara could answer. "Harm would not come to you within these walls." He crouched down next to the chair. His eyes... there was something behind the darkness that tugged at her still wildly beating heart. "I know you were running away. And if you're desperate to get away enough to get yourself killed, then the choice can be yours. We can send you on your way with every provision. Or," he cleared his throat, "you stay here. With us." 

A choice? He was giving her a choice?

Clara's gaze drifted over the faces that waited without moving. Even Kyungsoo refused to look away while she contemplated. There was almost a plea in his expression, a subtle beg. But was it to stay? Or for her to run as far away as possible? 

Junmeyon took her attention away when he picked up her wounded arm with delicate fingers. His pleading was much more clear. 

To leave would be the better choice. The more sane choice. But what would happen afterwards? Clara could claim being lost in the woods. With evidence of the carriage and the missing driver, what else could they believe? After a few days on bed rest, she would be back by her aunt's side, obeying her every whim. Including indulging her on a "perfectly adequate" suitor because she had no other option, no other path. That suitor who would then become her future. But she didn't want it. She refused to give in to it. And this was, insane as it was, the escape.

Already within these few days, Clara was… changed in a way. They might not be human, but these men would forever be burned into her memory. Who could move her with music the way Chanyeol had? What silent strength could match the aura of Junmyeon? And there was the promise that none of them would harm her. The chance for something extraordinary was right in front of her. The kind of chance she had only read about. It only had to be taken.

"I think… I think I want to stay."

*****

The moon became an ever changing friend. Clara hardly saw the sun anymore. Like the men she had given herself over to, she lived under the stars. It was oddly beautiful. This time was often forgotten about by herself and many others. The night was only a background to her time within your dreams. But now it was her entire world. 

Every evening, she awoke to the dying orange light of the day. Breakfast always waited patiently outside the door. It was the rule that no one broke; none could enter her room without explicit permission from her and her alone. Those walls remained her safe haven when things grew too overwhelming. 

Despite the decision to stay, discovering that other creatures walked the earth required a step away once in a while. Especially now, with her aware of their true nature, the men were refusing to hold back. 

Dropping from the roof, running around with spectacular speed, and lifting objects that ten men couldn't hold. It was remarkable. Except for the diet and inability to walk in the sun, the… condition seemed more like a blessing.

"You're rather thoughtful this evening,” Jongdae commented. He walked beside Clara like he did every twilight. 

After she finished her breakfast, she met Jongae at the front doors to go on a walk around the manor grounds. Often others would join them as well. Junmyeon was the most frequent, though Yixing, Chanyeol, and Jongin made many appearances over the past week and a half. Boundaries were constantly tested, but one word from Clara and they retreated.

"I guess you could say I am thoughtful tonight," she finally sighed. She hadn’t realized that she was being so obviously quiet. Funny, since she would have thought Jongdae would enjoy the silence. She typically had many questions or comments of her own to make. 

"Should I go steal a penny from Sehun?" 

Clara laughed. "I'd like to think my thoughts are worth more than a single penny.”

"They must be if you've become so skilled in deflecting from them." He crossed over to block the path. Gaze narrowed, he studied her carefully guarded expression. "What are you thinking about so hard? Regretting your decision to stay already?" 

"No," Clara insisted. "Not at all."

He raised an eyebrow that simply asked, "Then what?" 

"Do you always stay here?" she countered. "At the manor, I mean." 

"We travel," Jongdae answered with a nod. "Not too often. It’s a bit difficult, you see."

"But we like traveling north.” Minseok dropped from who-knew-where, landing with barely bent knees and hands folded behind his back. "In the winter, the night lasts longer. Junmyeon has a small hunting lodge up there. 

A hunting lodge? "Then why do you stay here?" 

Minsoek shrugged. "This manor is bigger." 

"Having nine of us in one household can be a bit volatile,” Jongdae added. He stepped aside to continue the stroll. "We need the room to separate so we don't level a building." 

Clara's foot caught on an invisible lump in the grass. "You could destroy a building while fighting?" 

Minseok snickered as he caught her stumble and helped steady her stance. His hand lingered at her waist until her sharpened glare made him remove it. "We haven’t crumbled a wall in a few years."

Clara scoffed at the casual tone. "What sort of fight caused that?" 

"I can't remember." Minseok leaned forward slightly to look at Jongdae for help. But he didn't seem to recall either. 

"Who knows what started it between Chanyeol and Kyungsoo.”

Clara's mouth dropped open in shock. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol had fought over something to the point of destroying a wall to crumble? It didn't feel plausible. Neither seemed like the hot-headed sort. She wanted to know the igniting incident so desperately. 

Both Jongdae and Minseok suddenly whipped their heads towards the front of the manor. 

"What is it?" she asked when neither offered an explanation. 

"Junmyeon's calling for us." Jongdae scooped her up into his arms without warning. At her confused expression, he explained, "We're not leaving you alone out here." Remember your last adventure in the woods lingered in the silence.

The short lived wind whipped at her hair that she still wore loose to cover her neck. As soon as he stopped running, she wiggled out of his arms to be back on her feet. Everyone else was already gathered just outside the door. Several eyed Clara and Jongdae with suspicious and annoyed glares. She took a step away from him for some separation. 

Clearing his throat, Junmyeon called everyone to attention. "We have to go hunting–real hunting. Now, normally, we all go together, but now that we have our guest," he nodded towards Clara, "some will have to stay behind with her until the first party… comes back." 

"If you all need to go,” she couldn't quite speak the word feed, "then I'll be alright. For a few hours, at least." She wasn't sure how long this excursion would take.

Junmyeon's features softened. "No. We'll go in groups. Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Minseok and I will go first. We shouldn't be gone long." He reached out and patted the top of her head before disappearing into the trees. Kyungsoo gave no goodbye as he followed suit. The last two playfully shoved each other while taking off. 

"Come." Yixing took hold of her hand and started pulling her inside. "I want to show you something."

"But–" She had wanted to ask Jongdae a question, but the traitor was already gone, off somewhere to do something he would never tell her about. So, she let Yixing take her into the manor and up the main staircase at the end of the hallway. At least he let her stay on her own feet instead of insisting on going at his speed. 

Going down an unfamiliar hallway, Clara was reminded how big this place was and how much she still had to explore. The men occupied most of her time, vying for her attention and pulling her this way and that so she didn’t have much time on her own. It was odd and overwhelming at times. 

During her seasons in town, Clara was hardly a well-sought after prize. There were prettier girls with grander dowries. She had accepted that fact. Now, somehow, she was the center of a courting dance to which she knew none of the steps and possessed endless partners. 

Yixing paused in front of a door that looked identical to all the others. He kept his fingers tight around hers as he slowly turned the knob with his free hand. The door swung open. 

The gasp inhaled through her parted lips wasn't enough to convey her awe. 

Maps of all the places she'd heard of and dozens more she hadn't covered the walls like homemade wallpaper. Slipping out of Yixing's grip, she walked further into the study, spinning slowly around to take it all in. The maps were varying degrees of tan, some as light as his skin, others as dark as animal leather. 

Instead of bookshelves, doorless cabinets waist high lined three of the walls. Their squared shelves were stuffed full of parchment and ink and quills. A lone sketcher's desk sat in the middle, an unfinished drawing laying against the tilted surface. 

"What is this place?"

"It's my personal study," Yixing answered as he laid a hand on the edge of the desk. "Kyungsoo gave it to me after I had accidentally taken over one of the parlors." 

Her awe increased ten-fold. The initial assumption was that he was a collector, not the original artist. "You drew all of these?" 

He nodded almost... shyly. "I did. I was a cartographer. Before." 

"Before?" Clara understood what he meant, but she didn't know how to ask for the story. 

Turning his eyes to the parchment, he pinched it between his fingers. "I didn't just love traveling. I loved capturing it on paper. I wanted to make these places into art, but not like every other painting. I wanted them to be perfect. Exact replicas as if you were staying at them from God’s point of view. And I wanted to be the best. I couldn't be, though. I wasn’t good enough." 

She moved closer to him, entranced in the story. "What happened?"

A rueful smile tightened at his lips. "I was given a chance to become perfect. What I didn't know was that I traded everyone knowing my maps for the talent to make it happen." Sorrow rolled from him like the tide warning of an oncoming storm. 

Feeling the pull to comfort him, she reached out and covered his fidgeting hand with her own steady fingers.

"People will be able to know your work some day," she whispered. "I’m sure of it." 

Perhaps she had been a bit too forward, a bit too open. 

Yixing moved gracefully forward to eliminate most of the space between them. A smooth thumb that once must have been calloused when it was human caressed the edge of her jaw. His flickering eyes made intentions obvious. 

Clearing , Clara stepped out of the touch. "Why isn't this one finished?" She pointed to the drawing on the desk. It was an aerial view of the manor, with the top half of the parchment containing the beginning edges of the garden hedges. Disappointed, Yixing sighed and went along with your distraction. 

"I'm still working out the maze. It is intricate. Much more than I was prepared for." 

"Goodness." Clara was thankful that she hadn't wandered in there yet, especially on her own.

"Yixing.” 

Both of them turned towards the door to find Sehun standing under the frame. 

"Yes, Sehun?" Yixing said through somewhat gritted teeth. The young vampire wasn't phased. 

"I need to speak with you." 

"Fine." None moved. 

Sehun looked at Clara with a pointed glare.

She received the hint loud and clear. "I'll leave you, then.” 

With more relief than she cared to admit, she scurried out of the room and down the hallway. 

Around the corner, she pressed hard against the wall and forced herself to take deep breaths that filled her lungs to capacity. Panic had been the response at Yixing's closeness. She didn't mean for that to be the response. She didn't want to be closed off to any of them. But she couldn't help it. Maybe it was merely the closeness of the situation. 

Giving herself a small amount of grace, she pushed off the wall and made your way downstairs. So used to her time being absorbed by the men that she wasn't sure what to do with herself. Two of the ones that remained behind were currently occupied. As for the three others, they could have been anywhere. 

Clara wandered around the main floor with a fleeting hope that one would come to find her. Then she saw them. A row of grand doors evenly spaced along the north wall called her forward.

The grand ballroom took her breath away. Not so dissimilar to the one in her dream, though this one’s lack of warmth and light left her heartbroken. Memories of dancing figures and lively music haunted these walls. In the corner, she could imagine a small orchestra strumming their instruments in delight. 

She walked to the center where dozens of pairs used to twirl and bow and embrace each other in time with the melody. Ghostly laughter echoed in her ears. What had once been  bright and golden and full of life was dull, dark, and covered in cobwebs that swayed in the breeze of unknown origin. 

Glancing around, she confirmed that she was truly alone before closing her eyes, lifting her arms, and began a soft hum. 

Clara danced with an invisible partner in the fashion that her grandfather had taught her as a small child. It was more intimate than the choreographed dances currently popularized. She had always imagined her first ball like this, instead of the disappointment she really experienced. She had pictured a boy she didn’t know catching her eye. As the music was struck up, he laid a hand on her waist.

Just like now. 

Hm. Her imagination was running wild, even pretending the weight of a palm was there on her lower back. And now in her lifted left hand. 

No. That wasn’t her imagination. 

Her eyes snapped open. 

Jongin had taken the place of her imagined partner. He smiled down at her with a feline smirk as his hands tightened around her, refusing to let her slip away. There was no choice in leaving this musicless dance. Clara had stopped humming but he continued to whirl her around the marble floor. He controlled the dance, in charge of every step. He led with an expertise he shouldn’t have possessed–if he were a man of this age. 

In one final move, he slipped his arm fully around her waist, pulling her so close that no room remained between them. Without breaking the spin, he lifted her from the floor as if she were no more than a kitten and whirled her around like the heroine from her favorite novel.

When the spin came to a close, he set her back on her feet, but didn’t let go. Clara's lungs heaved from the exercise–and from the way their bodies pressed together. Each rise of her chest brought her even closer to Jongin. He kept her gaze like a stablehand trying to calm a wild horse. His right hand slipped from her fingers, softly tracing the delicate inside of her arm. The touch left behind a fire she couldn’t explain. A cold, simmering fire.

He cupped her jaw as his eyes drifted down to her lips. This was a different reaction to Yixing’s wandering gaze. Not panic, but something similar. 

Jongin held her in place as he leaned down, his lips pressing gently into the corner of her own. The thin breath in her lungs hitched. He lifted his lips only to find a new patch of skin. The delicate skin covering her pulse. Every muscle in her body froze. He kissed the skin softly. Surely, he could feel the race of her blood. 

“Whenever you need a partner,” he said in a hush against her neck, “just whisper my name.”

And then, he was gone. 

Clara stared off at the empty path left behind Jongin. The sheer hubris.

His name lingered on her lips, wondering if he would really come back like he said. But she kept the whisper inside and left the ballroom just the same.