CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
It's been days—a week perhaps. A week since Taehyung has left Elisse to starve. He punished her for something that she doesn't even know. It was immature for him to do that.
She's weak. Physically weak. Too weak to even move an inch. No one has been in contact with her ever since Taehyung approached her and now, what worries her the most is how Ha Na is living her life in this massive palace. She's worried that something might happen to Ha Na in the hands of that cruel man, the ruler itself.
Hearing a cracked coming from the door, her eyes immediately went open but squinted when she couldn't even see. It was all blurry from too much weakness. She could hear footsteps getting closer and felt someone sitting on her bed.
Elisse shrieked in agony and winced as soon as that person touched her sending vibrations and excruciating pain radiating all over her body, especially to her neck. She sensed the familiar scent but her smelling sensory was too broken to even function. Even with that, she could sense that it's a vampire by the smell of his scent and by his touch that gave her a massive pain.
"W-Who are you?" Elisse whimpered, scooting away from his touch using her little energy that is left. She blinked but was unable to see anymore. She was too dizzy and in pain to even see.
The person sighed. "It's me, Namjoon."
"N-Namjoon?" Her voice cracked from the dryness of her throat and lips.
There was a long paused. She waited for him to talk. Hence, she opened her mouth but then he started the conversation.
"How could he starve you like this?" Elisse could hear him hissed. "He knows how much a vampire suffers when one cannot drink a drop of blood for a day. How much more for more than 2 days?"
"You knew I was a vampire?"
He nodded. "I sensed it the moment I met you."
Elisse didn't even reply back. It's not that she doesn't want to, it's that she couldn't. Everything in her body is too weak. She tried her best to collect her enegy to talk to him but someone opened the door, loudly making her flinch.
"Namjoonie." Elisse heard another man's voice called. She looked to see a blurry figure on the door.
"Hobi?" Namjoon's voice answered, turning his back to face him that was on the door.
"Is she alright?" His footsteps could be heard getting near and Elisse could sense him approaching. "You do know that Taehyung didn't allow anyone to enter this room, rigt?"
"Yes and I know." Namjoon replied to both of his question before sighing heavily then looked at her again with a smile plastered on his face. "His name is Jung Hoseok and he's a Duke as well."
Namjoon didn't take his eyes off the fragile girl. He was surely worried and concerned. "Can you adjust her eyesight? I think Taehyung did something to them. He blurred them on purpose."
Namjoon's words earned a chuckle from Hoseok and slowly by slowly, Elisse's eyes started to get clear again. She blinked twice again and looked at the two men in front of her. She moved but winced when she did, making Namjoon frightened.
"Don't move! You're too weak!" He yelped, pushing the frail lady gently back to he bed. Her body reacted to Namjoon's touch again, pain radiated to her neck.
"I-I'm sorry. I just wanted to thank you." Elisse stuttered. She looked at Hoseok and a smile appeared on his lips.
"It's no worry, dear. I'm glad I could be some help." Hoseok walked a step closer to her and scanned the lady making her anxious all of a sudden.
"Taehyung is really a cruel man to do this to you." He huffed in disbelief. Probably disgusted by his sight.
Elisse can't blame him. She looked like a malnourished person. She's way too skinny before and now everything that happened made her skinny even more. Perhaps, she looked like a living corpse.
"He shouldn't have abused his power to fight off a fragile and weak girl like you." Hoseok added, shaking his head in disagreement.
"I know. He may be powerful among us but he's fighting a fragile woman here!" Namjoon exclaimed. He looked at Elisse and noticed his eyes has changed.
A color where a vampire truly cares for someone. The fact that his eyes changed into color pinkish made Elisse smile. Namjoon truly cared for her.
Namjoon sighed and opened his left sleeve's button on his wrist. Elisse looked at it and then him, in confusion.
Namjoon rolled the sleeve up revealing his muscled forearms and a little veins. He helped Elisse sit up using his right arms and supported her by leaning on the side of his shoulders.
I couldn't even control my body. I felt sorry towards Namjoon. She frowned.
He pulled his sleeves up more and suddenly raised his wrist near her lips. Elisse was confused by his sudden movements and just stared at it.
"Here. Drink some of my blood." Namjoon said, nonchalantly. "If you drink a Duke's blood, whether you're a vampire or not, you could be save from any situation. Unless you're helpless or close to death. But in your situation, you are just weak as fuck."
His eyes lowered down. "That's why I will offer you my blood since you can't eat any animal meat as of the moment. Meat is bad for a vampire who hasn't eaten in more than 2 days."
"What—" But he pushed it more towards her and now, it touched her lips.
Elisse was happy to accept his offer and about to reveal her sharp fangs until someone interrupted.
"I think that would be a bad idea, Namjoonie." Hoseok interrupted and crossed his arms over his chest with his eyes furrowed, watching the two being lovelg dovey.
Hoseok looked at Elisse and his nose flares a bit making her cringe. She guess he was smelling something in her. Then Hoseok's eyes pierce a hole to Elisse's eyes and frowned in a matter of seconds, letting out a heavy sighed.
"Is something wrong?" Namjoon asked in worry before putting his hands down, still supporting Elisse by his side.
"You can't offer your blood to someone who has been marked already by another." Hoseok scoffed before asking. "Are you perhaps marked by someone?"
Elisse looked at him in confusion. He walked closer to her and tucked a hair behind, revealing her shoulders and collarbone.
Hoseok stared at her shoulders for a moment, making it awkward and all. He didn't say anything and just stayed there, observing something. "You quite have unique mark on there."
Namjoon looked at him before looking at where Hoseok was glancing. "What are you talking about?"
Hoseok didn't reply and just kept on touching Elisse's shoulders and when his thumb pressed near her collarbone, she screamed in pain.
"—oh...I'm guess I'm right." Namjoon panicked for a moment when he heard Elisse's screams.
"What mark? What are talking about? What's happened? Who dared marked her?"
"It's no doubt that unique mark belonged to Jimin."
RISEN
Written by Hannah (daddiehoseok)