THE PRICE PAID IN BLOOD. JUNG HYERIM,
WE ENTREAT THEE. RISE. RISE. RISE!
being in the lone presence of the high priest is an extraordinary honor and right now, you are in the thick of it. the ever so watchful eyes of ho sangchul rarely glance over to you, he does not even need a proper look to read you like an open book. busy hands with sharp fingernails skim through your file, placing an ominous scribble here and there before he finally raises his voice.
“thank you for meeting me, sister. do tell me something about yourself.”
you sit with unique haughtiness, chin raised and curled eyelashes fanning at every blink of your eyes. they wonder how have you gotten so… beautiful, ethereal, untouched? you simply laugh – you feel them wavering, you feel them hesitating and asking themselves, questioning what has she done to our dark lord to be blessed like this? you let the worms of jealousy consume them for a couple more minutes, tossing long locks of black hair over your shoulder, long legs stretching as you cross them.
“ they say i was already this beautiful before signing my name in the book of the beast. it was a gift, you know? ” you pride yourself in it, so much that you’ve gotten arrogant about it; but it suits you well, everyone makes an excuse, you are his chosen doll. “ and because of that, it was only fitting to serve him, wholeheartedly. my grades have always been an example, what’s beauty without brains? i wouldn’t know how to tell. ” you laugh, lightly, nonchalant – ever so charming.
do you ever get tired of having to be the center of the world?
( don’t you know that even the sun will extinguish itself? )
not you, though. not you.
“ so, knowing my family’s background and own affinity with the herbs, i’ve decided to learn more about them. of course, i won’t stop there – not everyone has the attention of our lord like i do, so, i’ve been studying manners to… beautify those who haven’t been graced with, you know… ” and apologetic smile, another toss of her hair. “ unfortunately, i can only be admitted to one focus as of now but i’ve been in touch with our superiors to consider my case in particular, knowing it would be a complete waste of my talent and personal potential. ”
you give them no time, no pauses. you know you will captivate them, no matter what, but you have to keep them entranced, entangled in your web.
“ besides that, since my first year here in the academy, i’ve shown my interest in the dramatics. i could feel that the thespian club needed, and who else could better represent his story other than myself? i’m the club’s spine, no one could take it from my hands, as much as, you know, they try. ”
“i see. now, your file contains the bare necessities about your family. i would like to hear more.”
“ you’re probably familiar with my family, i found no necessity in writing further about them. ” you are a rare specimen – only six of you exist in your coven, and have been lived just the same for centuries. unchanged, preserved. “ my father has always been a close counselor to any of our high priests, unofficially giving pieces of advice to any of those willing to follow the dark path. my mother, owner of her own beauty, has passed to me her passion for alchemy – did you know she was top of her class in potions ever since her first year? well, seems i inherited that from her. ”
you smile sweetly, looking as they leaf through your file with corners of their mouth upturned. the jeung family’s story has been written in stone with their own blood – their devotion the very source of their power.
“ we all know how old they are, though. just like my grandparents. they don’t like to comment on it but it’s getting out of hand ever since my mom turned forty-two again, after fifty-five years. our secret is that, a secret, and that’s why we do what we do. you’ve probably been to the wicca pharmacy once or twice… wait– ” with a wicked smile, you make their eyes diverge, knowing that being the owners of the store that supplied all of the witches and warlocks in yeongcheong gave them the knowledge of things most liked to hide.
yet, another asset for her.
“ anyway, ” you look at your nails in feigned boredom, and they know pretty well you’re making a list of the ingredients they’ve bought in the past months and correlating to the possible rituals and potions you’ve been attempting to. you are that good, and they know it.
you are praised for it, constantly. how could they forget?
“ my sister also attends to the academy, as expected. she’s not me, of course, but she is… devoted just the same, talented in her own manner. ”
you know your sister excels in areas that you do not, but your confidence doesn’t let it show. if you are good at keeping track of people, she is even better – she is one master of secrets, a bloodhound ready to kill. ready to hunt, ready to drag to their own purposes.
she doesn’t know, but you know she envies you in a form – but it’s something you can’t help it. maybe it her own burden to carry, given by the dark lord himself, one she must learn to handle. one that your nature can’t help but taunt at it, at times.
“ we are together, for the most part. it’s smart of everyone to keep her close, but she is an essential part of our group. there isn’t someone i could trust more. ”
“how very interesting. here it says you specialize in herbalism, potions & alchemy. what evoked your interest?”
you sigh, starting to get worn out by the questions revolving you but not directly being about you.
all of the factors in your life lead you to that path, but most importantly, you’ve watched your mother sit by her vanity and emplastre her ivory skin with the mixture of herbs and dubious elements, and, in the next day, she would wake up ten years younger.
you’ve seen your father poison an entire river at will, only by sprinkling a few drops of the green liquid that disposed a scent of freshly cut grass and minced mint, the one he had brewed for an entire week and demanded him to be awake for twenty-four hours every two days.
you sit before them, and lets your mind wander free – every single element that has been engraved in your memory, every combination, from lethal to saving, from damaging to healing – all gifts given by the dark lord that could only be mastered like that by a few of you.
and you knew, always knew, that you were as beautiful as lethal, and that was why he had made you like that. you hands were not to be stained with blood, your mouth was not to evoke profane demons, your were the seeping cough after a glass of wine. you were the copper taste on one’s tongue after smelling your perfume.
you are poison that looked like a chalice of crystal water in the desert. you are never aging, you are the undying beauty, you are and you love the power that comes with it.
“ you can call this a natural inclination that comes with the environment i’ve been raised in. i’ve aided my parents in brewing potions and selecting herbs ever since i’ve learned how to walk. when you started to learn about our lord, i’ve already memorized all of his profane elements and how to better use them. when you started considering join the academy, i was already sending an application for the advanced course. ” you shrugged, as if the question that had been made was too obvious to dive more into the subject.
“ it only seemed right. ”
“i am sure you will excel at it with the help of the academy. one last question, perhaps more in my own humble interest. say, the devil himself would honor you with a task only you could fulfill. how far would you go to satisfy his excellency?”
what is off limits to you? what would he ask, that you would absolutely not do?
what would he take from you in retaliation?
the fear grips your heart tighter than you could imagine, the answer is simple and clear to you. no questioning.
“ i’m devoted to our lord, i would do anything if he asked me to. ”
“that is all i needed to hear. thank you.”
