Taekwoon. That was Taekwoon, right? He'd just seen Taekwoon! He wasn't crazy! Wonshik gasped, leaning heavily against the wall. He seemed different though; he did not like it. He'd had so many questions to ask him, he wanted to hold him and kiss him and take him home. Why was Taekwoon acting so frightened? 

He was different, older, pale, he had long hair as well, but that was definitely Taekwoon, his eyes were the same innocent pure loving eyes as before, his voice was sweet and heavenly just as before. He could never mistake Taekwoon, ever! 

The more he thought, the more it dawned on him, the lost prince had said that he didn't know who he was... and he hadn't responded to Hakyeon's name. The Taekwoon he knew would have been almost jumping for joy after not seeing either of his brothers for so long. 

Leo- he had introduced himself as Leo. The old man, the priest, had called him Leo, and then taken him 'home'. Taekwoon was living in a church? But the Royal family wasn't religious, if memory served. He had never heard Hongbin or Hakyeon talk about it and there was no chapel in the palace. Did Taekwoon really not remember who he was at all? 

Wonshik swallowed the lump forming in his throat and shook his head, he needed Hakyeon. He needed to speak to him now. He pushed himself off the wall and attempted to walk calmly out of the alleyway. However, his feet betrayed him and soon he was sprinting back onto the main street. 
When he found Hakyeon and the others all waiting for him, the elder frowned and swatted the soldier's shoulder "Where were you? We've been waiting for ages." 

"Are you alright?" Sanghyuk asked, "You look like you've seen a ghost." 
"I think I just have," Wonshik mumbled before turning back to Hakyeon and shaking his head. "T- Taekwoon..." he whispered. 

The prince's eyes narrowed "What?" 

Wonshik drew a breath "I just met Taekwoon.”

“Taekwoon? What are you talking about? My brother is dead,” Hakyeon snapped, scowling darkly. 

"This is a cruel prank, Wonshik," Jaehwan added, moving to pit an arm round his friend.

But the younger man dodged his embrace “No! No, he’s not! I just saw him! Come with me and I can prove it,” Wonshik yelled. Tears began to form in his eyes as he spoke and Sanghyuk sighed "Please, you and me both saw him going over the edge of the cliff." 

"You need to just accept that he's gone," Jaehwan told him, stepping between Hakyeon and his friend to stop the prince lunging at him; Hakyeon's face was hard and pale with clear anger. 

"I refuse to accept that! He’s alive! I just met him! I just talked to him! I touched him! I know it was Taekwoon,” Wonshik shouted trying to make his friends believe him.

Hakyeon let out a growl and shoved Jaehwan out the way, seizing the young captain by the collar of his uniform and yanking him closer. "Shut up!" He screamed "Just shut up! I am sick of your delusions! You loved my brother, I know, we all did, but you need to move on! If me and Hongbin have to carry on with life, you do too!" His hot breath and spittle grazed Wonshik's face slightly and the younger man flinched back. Nobody dared move to stop him- the price very rarely flew into a rage such as this. It was best to leave him until it got out of hand. 

Hakyeon stared at him fiercely for a few moments before setting him down with an exasperated sigh. "Wonshik …he’s gone …I’m sorry. I know your feelings for him, but please just accept it-" 

"Just come with me and give me chance to prove what I saw!" Wonshik begged, cutting him off "I am not crazy!" Jaehwan, despite the seriousness of the situation, couldn't help but scoff at that "Well, you sure are acting like a crazy person." The younger man scowled at him and he backed off into Sanghyuk, holding his hands in the air. "Please," Wonshik begged, looking slightly defeated now. His eyes were wide and pleading but his posture seemed slouched and tired. Everybody stared at him.

Hakyeon sighed and shook his head "Fine, we have half an hour before I want us back on the road."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Wonshik held tightly onto the edge of his cloak as they approached the cathedral. It seemed quite imposing from the outside, and didn't really fit in with the rest of the town. It was a massive, stone structure, elevated on about twenty steps leading up to the large wooden door. 

"A church?" Jaehwan arched an eyebrow skeptically "Our lost prince has been living in a church?"

"What is he, a monk?" Sanghyuk frowned. 

But Wonshik didn't answer as he turned to the other soldiers in the party, instructing them to stay outside with the horses. He and Hakyeon led the way up the stairs and he could feel the prince glaring at him from behind, flanked by Sanghyuk and Jaehwan. 

He knocked on the door once before taking the heavy iron handle and pushing it open himself. "Hello?" He called softly, his voice bouncing off the stone walls and echoing high into the rafters. "Hello? Is anybody here?"

"What do you want?" A gruff voice grunted behind him. He spun round to see the Father lighting some candles a the bottom of some stairs. "Soldiers are not welcome here." The old man scowled and stepped out of the shadows, raising his chin as he glared at the group. Wonshik raised his hands to show he meant no harm and offered a small smile. "Hello, sir," he greeted politely "We seek-"

"I know what you seek," the Father snarled "My son has made it quite clear he wants nothing to do with you after you molested him." The younger man gulped and took a step back. He wasn't sure how to explain himself. Meanwhile, Hakyeon had dropped back completely, mind racing. His... son? "I think we all should sit down for this," Sanghyuk suggested, ever the voice of reason in the situation. Jaehwan nodded in agreement. 

But the priest was not having any of it. "Tell me here," he demanded "Or leave."

Wonshik sighed and was about to argue further when Hakyeon sprung past him, not able to hold it in any more. Wonshik tried to grab him and pull him back but missed the prince's arm by a centimetre. "Your son is the crowned prince of Nydlica!" He yelled, his volume causing the old man to wince before he frowned, folding his arms. "What are you talking about, boy?"

"It's true!" Jaehwan cried, also coming forward in support of his prince "Look, his highness, Hakyeon is his eldest brother, the Nydlican king is his younger brother, we all thought him dead for five years! But Wonshik found him here!"

The priest looked at them with wide eyes for a moment before shaking his head "How absurd," he scoffed "We found Leo washed up on the riverbank." His face softened slightly "The townspeople wanted to throw him back in before I came, you know. I adopted him and he's lived here ever since. He is still very much a young boy to me." 

Jaehwan shared a worried glance with Wonshik; Taekwoon was way past his teenaged years by now. "Did he not share his age?" The elder soldier piped up despite then realising if he was going by 'Leo' he probably hadn't shared much of himself. The Father shook his head and his lips, blinking rapidly. "He has no memory of his life before he... washed..." He paused as a thought seemed to hit him "Up here." He gazed at Wonshik with large, watering eyes "Do you really think...?"

The younger man simply nodded slowly. He felt bad for the priest, honestly. It seemed he did genuinely care for Taekwoon but- "We have to take him home," Hakyeon told him, laying a hand on the old man's shoulder. "My brothers and I were nearly murdered by a man we have come to this country to hunt down. One of his men pushed our carriage off a cliff and Taekwoon- Leo- was still inside." He reached into his coat and pulled out a small, gold frame. He bit his lip and opened it with a small click, revealing a tiny portrait of three, handsome young men. It was something he never travelled without. He'd had one made for him, an identical one for Hongbin and their father when he was still alive, and one of just Taekwoon for Wonshik. "Here; me, Hongbin and-"

"Leo," The Father choked, covering his mouth with his hand.  Tears were visible in his eyes as he stared at the picture.

"I..." He sighed heavily and stumbled away, posture slouched. He didn't seem as in denial as they all thought he would have been. "This explains so much," he gasped, clutching his chest as Sanghyuk took his arm and helped him over to one of the benches and helped him lower his old bones down onto it. He sat trapped  in a sort of stupor for a few long moments before clearing his throat and shaking his head. "But Leo wil not come with you," he told them all firmly.

Wonshik opened his mouth to protest but was quickly cut off as the man raised his hand "I have no qualms about letting him go, as much as it hurts, although I do not trust you" he glared at Wonshik "I feel I can trust you with his brother here."

"Then what is the problem?" Jaehwan asked.

"Your friend here," again he addressed Wonshik, face and voice dripping with distain "He scared him in an alleyway not so far from here. He has been agitated all afternoon- he thinks I can't hear him."

Hakyeon scowled and folded his arms "What did you do, Wonshik?" He demanded, his overprotective brotherly nature coming back to him. The younger man gaped and shook his head. How was he suddenly in the wrong? He was the hero a second ago for finding Taekwoon. "What?" He argued "I was shocked, okay? And I didn't know he wouldn't remember me!" He knew he probably should have been more tactful but caught up in the heat of the moment, he had forgotten himself completely.

"He will take some convincing," the Father continued, appearing to be lost in deep thought. "And he won't see Wonshik."

"How about me?" Hakyeon suggested "I'm sure once I show him the-"

"No."

They all turned as a new voice drifted from the other side of the chamber.

"Leo," the Father frowned softly, struggling to his feet and moving over to the young man. Wonshik heard the others gasp loudly. Taekwoon looked so... different. His hair was long and he was barefoot, trousers too short and patched and blouse a dirty white. He didn't hesitate to embrace the priest as he hobbled towards him. "What are you doing down here?" The old man asked as he pulled back "I told you to stay in your room."

"I could hear all the commotion," Taekwoon shrugged before his gaze shifted upwards to the small group near the door "I heard everything you said." His expression was flat, not giving away any hints. "And?" Jaehwan pressed hopefully. 

Taekwoon looked down and sighed "Am- Am I really the lost prince you talked about?"

"Yes!" Hakyeon cried, waving his picture "I can show you, if you-"

"Please, don't, your highness," Taekwoon bowed slightly, causing the elder to stop in his tracks. "Excuse me but I want nothing to do with my old life." He didn't want to leave. He liked his attic and his adopted father; he's had a taste of the outside world and didn't want to see it ever again. He didn't fit in out there- he was a freak, a monster. The cathedral was safe. 

"B- But, your highness..." Sanghyuk mumbled "Your home..."

"Is here now," Taekwoon cut in "And do not call me that. I remember nothing of my old life."

Jaehwan shook his head "We'll help you to remember!" Wonshik nodded desperately. He didn't say anything for fear of scaring Taekwoon but, really, he just wanted to throw the prince over his shoulder and take him back to the palace. Forget about his memory, forget about Woobin; he wouldn't care. He was surprised when the Father turned to Taekwoon. "Maybe you should go, son," he whispered, running his hand through the young man's thick hair. 

Taekwoon's gaze snapped to the elder and he shook his head "No! I'm not leaving you!" He hissed.

The old man smiled sadly "Listen to them, you have a family. Isn't that what you've always wanted since you arrived?"

"I have you," he denied.

"But I am old- I do not have long. You should go... Prince Taekwoon."

I LIVE!!!!

Sorry it's been... 11 days but a lot of has happened between my NEW STORY, therapy, panic episodes, depressive episodes, college, and exams; I've had a load to do. 

But, I'm back at it again with another update :D

How are you all? It's been a while... I'm coping, in my own way like always... I had some good news though: I got an A+ in my English Literature, a B in history and a B in psychology!!!!! Whoop whoop ^^