THE BEGINNING (part 2)

                    It's not easy to grow up without a father. At age sixteen, Prince Jonghyun had never really been given the chance to just be a kid. Instead of playing tag, he had to learn seventeen languages. Instead of reading bedtime stories, he had to memories the laws of the kingdom. He loved his mother, but it seems to Jonghyun that no matter who he was, he would never be the person she wanted him to be. Sometimes he would hear her in her chambers, talking to someone, and when he entered there would be nobody with her. When she looked at his brown hair and brown puppy like eyes, and remarked on how tall he was getting and how much he resembled his father, she always seemed to be on the verge of tears. As far as he could see, there was one critical difference between himself and his heroic late father: courage. Jonghyun was smart and loyal, but he was complete disappointment when it came to bravery. In an effort to make his mother happy, Jonghyun overcompensated, spending his teenage years trying to do everything else right. On Mondays, he held court so that the peasants could bring him their disputes. He conceived of a way to rotate crops in the kingdom so that the storerooms were always full, even the harshest of winters. He worked with Taemin, the kingdom wizard, to create heat-resistant armor just in case there was ever another dragon attack(athough he nearly passed out with anxiety when he had to test the armor by walking through a bondfire).He was sixteen, fully old enough to take over the throne, yet neither his mother nor his subjects were in any hurry to make that happen. And how could he blame them? Kings protected their contries. And Jonghyun was in absolutely no rush to go into battle.

                   He knew why, of course. His own father had died weilding a sword; Jonghyun preferred to stay alive, and swords didn't figure into that plan. It would have all been different if his dad had been there to teach him how to fight. But his mother wouldn't even let him pick up a kitchen knife. Jonghyun's only recollection of mock violence was at age ten with a friend named Jinki, the son of the royal baker, who would pretend to fight dragons and pirates with him in the courtyard, but one day Jinki vanished.(Jonghyun. in fatc, had always wondered if his mother might have been behind this disappearance, in an effort to keep him from even playing at battle.) The only friend Jonghyun had ever had after that, really,was a stray dog that appeared that very afternoon Jinki disappeared. Ans although Onew the hound was a fine pal, he couldn't help Jonghyun practice his fencing skills. Thus Jonghyun grew up nursing a colossal secret: he was thrilled that he hadn't ridden off into battle or jousted in a tournament.... because deep down,

he was terrified.

                    One day, as dispute court was winding to a close, Onew started barking. Jonghyun peered down the length of the Great Hall to see a lone figure, wrapped in a black cloak from head to toe. The man feel to his knees in front of Jonghyun's throne. "Your Highness," he begged, "save her."

           "Save who?" Jonghyun asked.Onew, who had always been a good judge of character, bared his teeth and growled."Down,boy," Jonghyun muttered, and he held out his hand to the man to help him to his feet.For a moment, the man hesitated, and then he grabbed on as if he were drowning."Your grievance, good sir?" Jonghyun asked. "My daughter and I live in a kingdom far from here. She was kidnapped," he whispered. "I need someone who can recue her." This was very different from what Jonghyun normally heard- that a neighbor had stolen another's chicken. or that the vegetables in the south corner of the kingdom weren't growing as fasr as the ones in the north. "Surely there's another prince who's better suited to this," Jonghyun said nervously."After all. I'm sort of a novice."

                          "All of the of the princes that i have asked before you is all in war or has something else to do." He said in a sad tone. Jonghyun's mind was racing. It was bad enough that he knew he was he was timid, but what if news of his cowardice spread beyond the kingdom? What if this man went back to his village and told everyone that Prince Jonghyun could barely fight a cold... much less an enemy?

                      The man mistook Jonghyun's silence for hesitation and pulled a small oval portrait out of his cloak."This is Jessica," he said. Jonghyun had never seen a girl so lovely. Her hair was so pale it shimmered like silver; her eyes were the violet of royal robes. Her skin glowed like moonlight, coloured only by the faintest blush on her cheeks and lips. Jonghyun and Jessica. Jessica and Jonghyun. It sort of had a nice ring to it. "I'll find her," Jonghyun promised.

                      Onew looked up at him and whined. " I'll worry about it later," Jonghyun murmured to him. The man thanked him as much as possible, his cloak opened enough for Jonghyun to see a twisted, scarred face, and for Onew to start barking again. As the girl's father backed out out of the hall, Jonghyun sank back down in his throne, his head in his hands, wondering what on earth he'd just agreed to do.

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                   "Absolutely not," said Queen Victoria. "Jjong, it's a dangerous world out there." "There's a dangerous world in here too," Jonghyun pointed out. " I could fall down the castle stairs. I could get food poisoning from tonight's dinner." The queen's eyes filled with tears. "This isn't funny, Jjong. You could die." "Im not Father."

                The minute Jonghyun said it, he regretted it. His mother bent her head and wiped her eyes. " Your willing to throw everything you have for a girl you don't even know?" "What if I'm supposed to know her?" Jonghyun said. "What if I fall in love with her that way you fell in love with my father? Isn't it worth taking a risk in love?" The queen lifted her face and gazed at her son. "There's something I need to tell you," she said.

                      For the next hour. Jonghyun sat tranfixed as his mother told him about a boy named Minho and the evil man he'd become; about a dragon and three fairies; about the gifts that had been besowed upon him at his birth, and the one gift that wasn't. "For years I've worried that Minho would return one day." She confessed.Jonghyun shooked his head. "This has nothing to do with Minho. Just a girl named Jessica." "Even if i wanted to, I probebly woundn't know how." He shook his head, smiling."I haven't exactly worked out a plan for sucess."

                   "Jonghyun, you were blessed with many other talents. If anyone can succeed, it's going to be you." His mother stood up, reaching for a leather cord tied around her neck. " but just in case, you should have this with you." From the bodice of her dress, she pulled out a tiny circular disk that hung on the end of her necklace and handed it to Jonghyun. "It's a compass," he said. Queen Victoria nodded. " It was your father's," she said. " And I was the one who gave it to him.It's been passed down in my family for many generations." She looked at her son. "Instead of pointing north, it points you home.: She smiled, lost in her memories. "Your father used to call it his good-luck charm."

                  Jonghyun thought of his bold and daring father, riding off to fight a dragon with this looped around his neck. Yes, it had brought him home, but not alive. He swallowed, wondering how on earth he could rescue this girl without even a sword by his side. "I guess Father never got scared," he muttered.

                     Jonghyun kissed his mother's cheek and slipped the compass around his neck. As he walked out of the Great Hall, he resigned himself to the fact that his life was about to get very, very complicated.

DOOOONEEE xDD Haha ^^ I know this part is kinda boring but, im trying to lay out the fairy tale part. So, if your wondering "Where the hell is JONGKEYYY?!?!?!?" Then you might have to wait a while. BUT! I can promise you it gets a hundred times better. Like you wont even expect it to even happen. And since i have like 100+ views(BTW i cried a little when i saw that so thanks :'3) Im gonna give you guys a sneak peek of what coming up next. Oh! Before that, on more thing, this story has THREE POV's kay.. just incase you get confuse or some ... 1. The fairy tale(the one you've been reading so far) 2. Jjong's POV (later on :) ) 3. Key's POV(Also later on :3) So like.. yeah xD

Sneak Peek ~

"when they say 'once apon a time'..they're lying. Its not even twice apon a time"

"That this role I performed over and over was just that- role" "Im the real Prince Jonghyun, but im not Prince Jonghyun when the book is closed"

Ohhhhh..... So, can you guess what's happening? Me neither xDD So updates might be on tomorrow :)

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xoxo,

Githa ;D (my real name Lol x3)