Wonshik sighed and tugged on the hem of his silken black cloak as it blew up slightly in the wind. He watched with a bleary gaze as Hongbin knelt down, his purple velvet cape splayed out on the grass behind him as he lay the wreath down on the floor in front of the grave stone. Wonshik thought it was stupid, having a grave stone with no body bunder it but it was symbolic, apparently. Jaehwan and Sanghyuk either side of him, their silent tears reflected in the heavy raindrops that fell from the sky. His eyes darted around the memorial ground as he tried to blink back tears of his own. It seemed to rain more these past five years, the sky seemed duller, the palace not as lively... It was like whatever life there was in the kingdom, Taekwoon had taken it with him.

Hongbin drew back and retreated under his elder brother's waiting arms, keeping his head bowed as Hakyeon attempted to whisper comforting words into his ear. Even after all this time, it still amazed Wonshik just how accepting the princes had been when they had found out what had happened. They had both broken down, sobbing into each other's arms and dropping to their knees. But they had never blamed him, the man who had allowed that footsman to push the carriage off the ledge.

Wonshik hadn't cried then. He was far too angry to shed a tear. No, the tears had come much later, around the time he had been appointed Captain of the Guard. It was a position everybody had always expected Taekwoon to take on; but Hakyeon had insisted the prince would have wanted him to have it. 

Things had only gotten worse when the King had died- succumbed to a broken heart after the death of his wife, his son and the betrayal he had suffered at the hands of Lord Woobin. When the old man's will had been read out, and Hongbin announced as King, the young man had fled the room, suddenly overwhelmed as the whole room got to their knees around him. Hakyeon had immediately charged after him but it had taken literally hours to convince his little brother to come back and accept his title. 

A bolt of lightning suddenly hit the headstone and the rain got heavier, forcing them back into the group of lords, ladies, guards and servants stood a few metres behind them. A canon sounded off and and Wonshik watched it's projectile fly off into the distance before he was nudged gently back in the direction of the palace. 

Everybody kept their heads bowed as they entered the building. Their shoes squeaked on the floor as Wonshik and his friends headed straight for the stairs, wrapping their cloaks tight around them. "Hey, where are you going?" Hakyeon called as Wonshik placed his foot on the first step "We were going to make a toast." He had gladly taken the position of chief advisor when offered by Hongbin. They knew they could trust each other, and were bound by an even fiercer sense of brotherly loyalty now that Taekwoon was gone.

Wonshik shook his head but Jaehwan took his arm before he could answer "We'll be in there in a second, my lord!" Hakyeon and the young King nodded reluctantly and wandered in the general direction of the banquet hall, deliberately taking their time. When they were finally out of earshot, Wonshik turned to his friends "You go. I'm going up to get some rest." Sanghyuk looked at him disbleieavingly before shaking his head "No way. It's one drink okay? I'm sure you can manage to be in our company for that long," he began to step backwards, gesturing for his friend to follow with a sad shake of the head "I don't want to mourn like this anymore." 

"Then don't. I need time to to think."

"Not this again," Jaehwan sighed "Wonshik, please, you need to accept that-"

"No!" The younger man shouted, causing both his friends to jump back. His paused and swallowed thickly, trying to quickly regain his composure. "H- He's not... He can't be..." He could feel his tears threatening to overflow again and bit his lip . He didn't know why but he just couldn't think that Taekwoon was dead. By all intents and purposes, he should have been dead. Nobody had been heard of surviving a fall down the ravine, let alone when they were already unconscious. But something inside of him... there was still a spark, somewhere. 

"Just come for a drink, yes?" Sanghyuk tried again "If not for us, do it for Hongbin and Hakyeon. You may have lost a lover but they lost a brother, a brother they have cared very deeply for since they were children." Wonshik would have protested but he knew better. Sanghyuk had grown up so much in the last few years, it was hard not to feel a sense of strong pride.  

The elder looked down at his hands for a few moments before nodding reluctantly. He never really liked being around people these days. He preferred just going out, training the troops, going and fighting the odd battle or two, then spending his time scouring through the maps in the library for possible riverside towns Taekwoon may have washed up in. No one in the kingdom had come forward with a body of any sorts which only strengthened Wonshik's conviction of him still being alive. At the same time, Hongbin had ordered the manhunt for Lord Woobin, offering immense amounts of gold for anybody that brought him back to the palace- he did not care if he was dead or alive, he just wanted him found. 

Part of him had thought that maybe he had somehow gotten to the prince and had him somewhere with him. But that just wasn't logical- they hadn't recieved any sort of ransom note and, if Woobin did have him, Taekwoon would surely be dead. It didn't make any sense, they had left the lord in the forest, bound, lost and alone, but he wasn't there when they went back. 

Wonshik didn't know where he had gone but he did know one thing: the bastard better just hope he didn't find him.

Okay, first of all..... SHANGRI LA HAS ME SHOOK

It is art, it is pure art and I will not have anything less said about it. Our boys slayed, angels, I'm so proud of them \(>.<)/

Back to the matter in hand, here's the prologue! Sorry if it seems a bit slow, I just needed to set the scene after such a timeskip. God, five years without Taekwoon in the palace T_T

Also, all hail King Hongbin! I always wanted to make him King since he struggled the most out of the princes when it came to studies but, in my opinion, he always seemed to try the hardest and feel the most burden. Sorry about the King, but the heart can only take so much, I guess and at least he and the Queen are together now. 

Thank you to all have subscribed already, you guys are the real MVPs <3