Mythical

52. Time

It had been a month since Seokjin shared his history. The night he did, we all slept in what they called 'the nest room'. It was actually really comforting. I didn't know why, but I felt so safe there. I knew it wasn't because I was with my mates, it was the room. It had a soothing effect.

The relationship between the vampires and I had actually improved... much to my surprise. They were much more gentle and were more considerate of my feelings. It was a refreshing change, to be honest. But the fact that I was always on alert was not a good sign.

My therapy sessions with Hyungsik actually stopped since I viewed him more as a parental figure in my life. They assigned me to someone new.

I looked down at my notebook, finishing the last room of the sketch I was drawing. I sighed, regret tugging at my chest as I stared at the layout sketch of the palace.

"How should I do it?" I mumbled, trying to trace the path out of the palace. Yes, I was escaping. I couldn't stay with them any longer, I was going crazy every minute I spent around them. Not to mention the feelings I was growing for each of them, the bond played a role of course, but there was a part of me that knew that it wasn't just the bond.

Stockholm syndrome. That's what I was worried I had, but at the same time, I felt glad that it was not me who was falling for them. But when Hyungsik told me that I didn't show any symptoms of Stockholm syndrome, it made me feel angry. Angry at myself for giving in. Angry at myself for falling for my abusers.

I looked up at the clock in my room. 23:30. Thirty minutes. That was when the guards changed patrol. 00:00 was the only time I could escape these vampires, once and for all.

A knock on the door surprised me. I quickly hid my sketchbook under my pillow just as the door opened to reveal Namjoon.

"Time for bed, bun," he said.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" I asked. He looked at me confused. "I want to be alone just for tonight."

"You okay?" He asked. I suppressed the urge to scoff and roll my eyes. As if they cared. They were probably just faking it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just want some time alone," I responded, sending a sweet fake smile in his direction.

-

23:46

I put on my cloak and grabbed the dagger. I had a small sling bag in which I kept the scent suppressant, the dagger, a flashlight that I stole from Namjoon's office and my sketchbook. I wore the watch that I stole from Taehyung's office when I visited him to call him for dinner. On my bed, I placed the letter of apology and gratefulness I wrote for Gina and Hyungsik and a goodbye note for the six vampires who ruined my life. All I wrote on that note was 'goodbye'.

23:50

I climbed down the water pipe that ran along the length of the palace. I jumped the last few meters, landing on my feet with a huff. I pulled my sling bag closer to me, rushing my way around the palace walls, my cloak helping me blend with the darkness of the new moon night.

23:57

I hid in the tight dark gap between the walls on the left side of the palace, under Hoseok's bedroom balcony, facing the garden. I calmed my breathing to calm my heartbeat. If I had isolated my variables and calculated my strategies correctly, I had about two minutes before they switch patrol and then one minute to enter the tunnels that were under a trapdoor in the corner of the garden. It was well hidden, and I had found it one week ago when I was helping Gina in the garden.

"How long do you think that human is going to be human?" One of the guards asked. Two of the guards were standing in front of me but at a distance. They could easily know I was near if they trained their ears to hear my breathing or my heartbeat, but fortunately, they didn't. I could hear them because they were quite loud, which could be a reason why they couldn't hear me.

"I don't know. Hopefully not for long. The smell of his blood is driving me crazy. It's so fucking strong, I can smell it right now!" The other responded in frustration.

"You know, I heard one of the masters talking about waiting for the boy to turn eighteen. Do you know how old he is now?" Vampire 1 asked. Eighteen? That was two months away!

"I don't know. I know he's got a perky ass," Vampire 2 said. I cringed at that. Fucking horny assholes.

23:59:50

They walked off to switch. I waited for them to be at a distance before swiftly running through the garden, avoiding the spots from where Hoseok could overlook the garden from his and Jin from his office.

00:01:12

I hid in the bushes just as the new patrol came into the clearing. I waited for them to walk past, trying my best to stay as silent as possible. Once they did, I walked further into the cloud of bushes and trees, all the way to the corner of the palace borders, where two walls met. I moved the dead leaves, that were covering the trapdoor, out of the way and opened it. I quickly walked down the steep stairs, cautious with every step.

00:03:56

Before I could go down the last step, I was pinned to the wall. I yelled in surprise. It was too dark for me. Whoever was pinning me to the wall, chuckled at my struggle to escape. I froze as I recognized the breathy husky voice that was laced in anger and amusement. I whimpered as he leaned down closer to me.

"Did you really think you could escape?" Namjoon whispered his hand resting on my small waist, tightly gripping it. His lips were extremely close to mine. I was starting to make out his figure in the dark.

"P-please N-Namjoon," I whimpered in fear, clawing at his hand that was gripping my neck. He leaned in, his lips lightly hovering over my ear and his cheek leaning against mine. He sucked lightly on the skin under my ear, earning another whimper from me. He pressed his body against mine, letting go of my neck and roughly grabbing my hips. I squirmed in his hold, only adding to his anger. As subtly as possible, I reached over to grab my dagger, ready to use it on him. I wasn't going to stab him, just hurt him to give me time to escape.

He grabbed the dagger and threw it in the direction. I placed my hands on his shoulders, trying to push him away, but it was all in vain.

00:10:00

"Little bunny, you're not going anywhere," he whispered into my ear.

A sharp pain in my head followed by blurry vision symptomized my consciousness slipping, my head harshly hitting his shoulder once the lights were out.