A graceful queen and mighty king sat in their thrones, gazing down upon a tall blonde male with one bandage over his right eye, smooth tanned skin, and blood red wings that one would dream of seeing on a demon's back. The male bowed politely with one hand in front of him and the other behind his back. The king felt this was a bad idea but the kingdom's last hope was this mysterious male in front of him.

          "So, you're the powerful dhampir, Jongin, right?" The beautiful blonde queen asked the bowing male, "Please, don't be so careful, stand up straight." Jongin simply did as he was told, moving to straighten his back and look up at the royal couple, giving the queen a soft nod of the head.

          “Yes,” The male replied, "I am Jongin. What have you called me here for?" The queen gulped softly as she gazed into the dhampir's dark red eye before glancing to her husband, wanting him to do the explaining.

          "Our son," The king began, "He needs someone to protect him while I and his mother are busy taking care of preventing war in our kingdom. The queen and I were hoping that you could watch over him while we are away."

          "Will I need to take him away from here?" Jongin asked with a raised brow. The dhampir was a rather quiet character. He only spoke when something absolutely had to be said, and only moved when he absolutely needed to. The king and queen had heard a lot about this warrior and knew he would be the most powerful person they could count on. The only problem was the trust. They had never met Jongin before and were not sure they could fully trust him with their little prince who was only twelve at the time, and with Jongin being a dhampir it only made things harder. Dhampir are people who are half human half vampire, but they usually do work as vampire hunters, hating their vampire half. They are naturally stronger than full vampires, being able to go out in sunlight and go longer without drinking blood. This is why they were asking Jongin the favor so early on before there was even a sure chance of war, the dhampir would have to prove he was worthy of the family’s trust.

          "Well, you see," The queen began, finding the tension grow smaller, "The king and I will not be leaving for a few months. We were hoping that we could see how you two get along." The queen bit her lip for a moment before continuing, "But that is only if you accept the job. . ."

          "I will decide after a week of staying here with you," Jongin answered, "I understand. We only just met today, and as parents, it must be hard to trust a newcomer to watch over your heir." Jongin wasn't slow, he knew the royal couple would need to be able to trust anyone before they could let someone watch their son. Jongin had never had any children, but he knew people who did. A parent would do anything for their children if they were good parents, and Jongin could tell these two really loved their son.

          "Very well then," The king nodded, a small smile beginning to form on his lips, "We will have your room ready soon and you will be able to meet our son at dinner tonight. Please excuse him for any rude behavior. He is young and doesn't have his manners straightened out just yet." Jongin just gave the couple a small nod before bowing once again and turning around to leave the throne room.

          "I will be in the garden if you need me," Jongin said on his way out with a slight and careless wave of his hand, "Call me in when my room is ready.”

~ Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ ~

          As Jongin walked into the large garden in the middle courtyard of the castle, a light humming noise filled his ears. The dhampir looked around and blinked as he saw nothing. The tall male shrugged lightly before walking further into the garden and finding a small stone bench to sit on. The bench had been placed under an arch with beautiful red roses growing on it. But, before Jongin could sit down, a small, childish voice called out to him.

          "Hey!" The voice shouted from a patch of bushes, "Don't sit there!" Jongin blinked once again before looking over to see a little boy with brown hair and green eyes stumble out of the bushes with a hand outstretched. "You just can't sit there!"

          "And why not?" Jongin asked, folding his arms and looking down at the cute little boy. The small crown on his head told Jongin that this little boy had to be the prince, but what surprised the dhampir was that the little boy had wings of an angel on his back as well as two small wings on the sides of his head with soft blonde colored feathers that faded down into a blood red. No wonder his parents needed protection for him, Jongin thought, he's the angel's child from the prophecy. . .

          "Because my friend is already sitting there," The boy pouted, folding his arms just as the dhampir did the same, "That's why." Jongin listened carefully to the boy before glancing at the spot then back to the prince. A small sigh escaped the tall blonde’s lips before he nodded gently.

          "Alright, alright," Jongin agreed, "I won't sit there." The prince smiled before beginning to laugh out loud. Jongin felt a bit unsure of what was going on. "What's so funny?"

          "No one's sitting there!" The prince laughed, "What did you think? Did you really think I had some imaginary friend?!" Jongin raised a brow and glared slightly down at the little boy.

          "Of course not," The dhampir mumbled stubbornly, looking away slightly, "I just didn't want to ruin your little child fantasies if you really did have some imaginary friend. . ."

          "You're a funny one," The boy giggled softly, "I'm Do Kyungsoo, the prince of the kingdom you're in right now. Who are you? I don't ever remember meeting you before."

          "I'm Jongin," the dhampir replied, "I'll be staying here with you and your family for a while."

          "Do you want me to show you around?" Kyungsoo smiled brightly, moving to reach out for one of Jongin's hands, "I don't see many new faces around here. . . Umma and Appa usually keep me in the castle and away from others. . ." Jongin couldn't help but feel a little bad for the prince, being cooped up all the time as a child couldn't have been fun.

          "I guess it would be alright," Jongin nodded softly, letting the small child with the bug eyes take his hand, "Can you show me around the garden first?"

          "Of course I can!" Kyungsoo smiled brightly, lightly tugging on Jongin's hand, "We'll start with the fountain. It's got an angel on it, it kinda reminds me of me!"

          "Lead the way, my prince," Jongin nodded his head slightly and followed the boy through the different paths in the garden. "Do you always play alone out here?"

          "Only when it's warm out," Kyungsoo replied, "Other than the garden, I'm inside exploring the castle or just in my room. I like watching the kingdom from my window. I'll have to show you later; the kingdom is so pretty at night with all the lights on!"

          "So... You've never been out in the kingdom? Or even the castle?"

          "No, Umma and Appa say that not everyone outside the castle is as nice as the people inside the castle. But, I can understand that, and I love umma and appa for looking after me. I just wish we could all spend more time together. . ."

          "I see. . ."

          "Here we are!" Kyungsoo called to his new friend and they reached the large fountain in the middle of the garden, "Isn't it pretty?" The fountain had a tall angel in the middle that was standing on a rose, wings out, arms in, hugging a small dove.

          "It's beautiful," Jongin whispered softly under his breath.

          "Yeah," Kyungsoo sighed in content as he looked up at the stone angel, "She's so pretty."

          "Does she have a name?"

          "I call her Cecily," Kyungsoo replied, looking up at Jongin, "I hope my wings will be as pretty as hers are someday."

          "I'm sure they will be, don't worry my prince," Jongin couldn't help but smile. He hadn't seen a child in a long time and interacting with something so innocent and blind to the world outside was a bit refreshing.

          "Do you know how long you're going to stay with us, Jongin?" Kyungsoo questioned with a cute blink.

          "I don't know," Jongin smiled softly, "But I hope I can stay for a while."

~ Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ ~

          As the days flew by, Jongin had shown the royal family that he was fit to watch over Kyungsoo. The dhampir did his best to stay serious, but he let his walls tumble down when he was around the small prince, he thought that Kyungsoo had gone long enough without a friend. This didn’t affect how he would protect the young boy, though. Even with his walls down, he still kept special attention to the environment around them, always ready to do his duty as a protector.

          Several weeks had passed and the king and queen decided it was time for them to start their journey to other kingdoms, hoping to gain allies and keep the war from their home. With all their things packed and Jongin ready to keep their son safe, they said goodbye and left. Kyungsoo was upset that he wouldn’t be seeing his parents for a while, but he was happy to be able to spend more time with Jongin. He watched through his window as his parents’ horses pulled their carriage further and further away into the horizon.

          Jongin did his best to keep the prince occupied while his parents were away. They played house with Kyungsoo’s dolls, tended to the garden, and even watched the sky for shooting stars on the balcony outside. Every night Kyungsoo would wish for his parents to return safely, but as more weeks passed and no word from the king and queen were heard, Jongin became less confident that the royal couple would be coming back.

          On a cold, mid-winter night, Jongin heard a loud shout come from outside, then the sounds of swords colliding. He quickly jumped from the chair in his room and went to look out his window, what he saw made his body tense up. Soldiers from another kingdom were trying to get inside the castle walls, battling the guards that surrounded the entrances of the castle. The dhampir rushed to the nearest guards and warned them of the threat before going to Kyungsoo’s room to check and see if he was alright.

          “Prince,” Jongin called, opening the door and walking inside the room, “We have to go to the safe room. Right now.” Kyungsoo was asleep and when he heard Jongin come in he woke up, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

          “What’s going on?” The boy frowned, looking up at the dhampir as he was picked up out of his bed.

          “Don’t worry, I have it under control,” Jongin hushed quietly, walking out of the room and heading for the stairs. The two got just past the garden when enemy soldiers blocked the exits.

          “But, there were guards at every entrance,” The dhampir blinked, not sure how the enemies could have gotten in, “How did you all get in here?”

                “We are much stronger than your undertrained army,” One of the knights in dark armor spoke as he stepped forward, “Now, hand over the prince.”

                “You’ll never get Kyungsoo,” Jongin growled, his eyes glowing a bright red and fangs growing in his mouth, “Now leave or you’ll see why I was the one hired to protect him.”

                “What a threat,” The knight laughed tauntingly, pulling the longsword from his side, “Now hand him over before blood is spilled.”

                “The only blood spilled will be yours,” Jongin replied fiercely, his small red wings growing to double in size.

                “Jongin, stop!” Kyungsoo shouted, not wanting to see anyone fight.

                “Don’t worry, my prince,” Jongin mumbled before setting the boy down beside him and holding out a hand, “You won’t see anything you don’t want to of you keep your eyes closed.” Kyungsoo blinked as he looked up at Jongin and watched as a red hilted sword with a wide white blade and eye between the hilt and the blade appeared in the dhampir’s palm. The prince quickly shut his eyes and covered them with his hands.

                Kyungsoo could feel a harsh whip of wind and there was a single slicing sound before he felt something splatter across his face and clothes. It could only be blood, but he hoped that if it was, it wasn’t Jongin’s. A few seconds of silence passed before Kyungsoo heard another splattering sound, but it sounded as if blood had hit the ground instead.

                “Keep your eyes closed, Kyungsoo,” Jongin instructed before picking the boy back up and continuing to head for one of the castle’s exits

                “What happened?” Kyungsoo asked, feeling tears fill his closed eyes, “Where are we going now?”

                “We can’t stay here,” Jongin frowned, not wanting to take the young prince away from his home, but there was no other choice. Enemies would be coming for Kyungsoo if the word had gotten out that the king and queen were gone. “We must go to where I live, you’ll be safe there.”

                “But, what about umma and appa, can’t they come, too?” Kyungsoo felt his heart sink, he couldn’t leave without them.

                “I’m sorry, Kyungsoo,” The dhampir frowned, “We haven’t heard from them in weeks, we can’t wait around. If they return they’ll surely call for me again, then we can come back, but for now, this place isn’t safe.”

                “Alright,” Kyungsoo replied, hoping that one day they could come back to his kingdom. All he wanted was peace. Little did he know that he was the one to bring it someday, but without his parents to teach him about his destiny, peace may come later than originally expected.