Sunlight streamed into Luhan's bedroom through the little gap in the curtains, illuminating the peaceful face of the young prince who was still in his deep slumber. 

But not for long.

Baekhyun came bumbling into the room a second later, shaking Luhan by the shoulders.

"Wake up! Wake up!" Baekhyun shouted, and Luhan stirred, opening one lazy eye.

"What is it, Baek?" he asked, a tad annoyed. "I came back really late yesterday so I need my beauty sleep."

"Exactly! Why did you stay out so late? I thought you were just going to the town? Where else did you go? You have to tell me!" Baekhyun screeched excitedly into Luhan's ear. Luhan groaned and rolled over. His best friend could be somewhat too easily excited.

"I just went to the town, nowhere else."

"And...?"

"And what?"

"Did you meet the prince of your dreams? Did you get into a street fight? Did you realise that you were adopted?"

"No!" Luhan couldn't help but chuckle at the imagination of his friend. "But I did see somebody very interesting though."

"Who? Who who who?" Baekhyun pressed on.

"Stop it! You sound like an owl." Under the eager eyes of the younger male, Luhan relented. "I met my doppelganger."

"Whoa..." Baekhyun gasped. "You mean, he looks exactly like you?"

"Yep. Well, not exactly alike, but alike enough to not be able to tell the difference. Unless you examined us closely, that is."

"Really?" Baekhyun exclaimed, almost causing permanent damage to Luhan's ear. "You have to bring me to see him! I want to see how he looks like."

Luhan laughed. "Baekhyun, he looks exactly like me. And you've known me for your entire life." Sometimes, Luhan wondered if Baekhyun was even capable of thought processes.

"That's so cool! I wish I had my own doppelganger. Hey but," Baekhyun's eyes widened, "aren't doppelgangers supposed to be bad luck?"

"Rubbish!" Luhan pooh-poohed the notion. He did not think Baekhyun was a really reliable source of information.

After about half an hour of contemplating the benefits of having a clone ("When you die, he can like rise from behind the coffin and pretend to be your ghost and scare everyone off! That would be a treat!") while Baekhyun styled him up, Luhan was ready for his tutoring session.

Three knocks on the door and Kyungsoo appeared, a thick stack of books in hand. He sat down beside Luhan as usual, and proceeded to give him the first lesson of the day―Literature.

Luhan was apprehensive throughout his whole tutoring session. He knew that his parents wouldn't let him off easily for returning late yesterday, but why didn't they come to look for him yet? His entire mind was focused on thinking about that one question, and also about the conversations he had with Sehun yesterday. 

Kyungsoo noticed how off Luhan was. He couldn't even write a coherent paragraph, while usually the answer flowed from his pen like a neverending river. The sentences on paper was crossed out, rewritten, and then crossed out again. After half an hour, Luhan hadn't even filled up a page.

"What's wrong, Luhan?" asked Kyungsoo. He could be strict at times, but he did care very much for his student. 

"I―It's nothing much," answered Luhan quietly. He didn't want too many people to know that he had a doppelganger, that would mean too much attention and noise and unwanted complications. Not even Kyungsoo, who was pretty close to him, should know.

"I guess you're just tired, then," said Kyungsoo and Luhan nodded emphatically. His tutor paused and thought for a moment. 

"Well, why don't you take a break from studying for now?" he suggested. "We can do these tomorrow after you're better rested."

"Thank you Kyungsoo!" Luhan beamed, wrapping his arms around the shorter male. 

With the rest of the day off, Luhan started organising his study desk. He hadn't organised it in a month and various pieces of paperwork and oddities (Luhan didn't want to know what that suspicious-looking brown object was) had gathered onto his desk, making it an eyesore. He frowned as he crumpled up some waste sheets of paper into a ball and aimed for the dustbin beside the door, but froze as the paper ball flew in a perfect trajectory and landed on top of the queen's high-heeled foot.

"How many times must I tell you, mum? Knock before you come in!" yelled Luhan in exasperation, as the queen picked up the wad of paper and threw it into the dustbin. 

"Luhan, this is my palace. I am free to come and go as I please."

Luhan just pouted as he lay on his bed. The covers were white―he liked white, it was clean and neat and pure. Like him. The queen's high heels clicked sharply on the ground as she walked and sat down on an armchair.

She did not speak for a long while, and Luhan fidgeted uncomfortably in the silence. Finally, the queen opened to say something.

"Luhan, tell me honestly, what time did you return last night?"

"Err... like, after midnight?" Luhan mumbled. He knew he was going to get into big trouble this time round―his curfew was 11 pm.

"And why was that?" the queen asked calmly, no hint of emotion was betrayed in her collected manner. Luhan averted his eyes and instead chose to play with his fingers, clasping and unclasping them together. 

"Do you know how worried your father and I were?" the queen asked, turning to Luhan. "We stayed up all night waiting for you. We only relaxed after we saw the door of your bedroom open. Luhan, you are a prince, you know, and you can't go around breaking rules everyday! It isn't right for a prince to stay out in the town so late, alone. You―"

"I'm an adult already, I have the freedom to do what I want!" said Luhan defensively. He hated it when his mother brought up the entire 'princely behaviour' thing. It was a leash that was used to control Luhan. Anything he wanted to do, he could never break free of that. He longed for one day, just one day, where he could just let go of his identity and be a normal person for once. But that wasn't possible. 

"On top of that, you are a prince, first and foremost. Your duty is to the kingdom and the people. Not to yourself. You can't keep doing things your own way without considering the consequences!" 

"Mum, I know how to make my own rational decisions, okay. It's just sometimes I feel so constricted by my identity. I didn't choose to be born a prince! It was given to me!"

"It's a privilege that nobody else has, Luhan. Of all people, I thought you'd at least be grateful for that."

"I am. But not all the time. I have my own personal needs as well."

"Personal needs? What personal needs? Oh, you mean talking to that cute boy dressed in rags?"

"Wait, what? Mum, you were spying on me? cried Luhan in disbelief. He never expected his mother to stoop so low. 

"I prefer to call that observing," said the queen sharply. "We have to keep an eye on you since you refuse to let anybody follow you when you go to town."

"And I thought I was finally alone all that while! Wait, so how long have you been doing this?" Luhan felt a sense of betrayal. All those times that he thought he was truly free from the confines of the palace, he actually wasn't. There were still eyes and shadowy figures, tracking his every move.

"You don't have to know that. Tell me, who's that guy that you were talking with?" 

"Mum, that's besides the point. And anyway, we're just friends. I barely even know him." 

"That's even worse!" exclaimed the queen, scandalised. "How will prince Jongin react to this, I wonder?"

"Prince Jongin?" Luhan frowned at the unfamiliar name. "Who's that?"

"Oh," the queen smiled. "That was what your father and I had meant to tell you yesterday, but you were out talking to Cute-Boy-Dressed-In-Rags so we couldn't. We have good news for you, Luhan."

"Good news?" Luhan raised an eyebrow. Somehow, he highly doubted the accuracy of that statement.

"Great news, even. You know, we've been talking about this for a while, your father and I. You're of marriageable age, Luhan, and the neighbouring kingdom also has a rather handsome prince, named Kim Jongin. Both our kingdoms have expressed a mutual desire to see our kingdoms united in matrimony. And so," the queen's grin grew even wider, "you are engaged to prince Jongin."

"WHAT?!" shrieked Luhan, shooting up from his bed. "ENGAGED? SINCE WHEN?!"

"Stop yelling, Luhan, I'm not deaf." The queen winced and rubbed her ears. "Since three hours and forty-two minutes ago."

Luhan's eyes grew even wider. 

"Wait, so you're just marrying me to a random guy I haven't even met before in my life? But this concerns my future! Why didn't you even consult me when you were thinking of it? I deserve to know what's going on in my life!"

"I didn't bother to. I knew you wouldn't have agreed and you'd have kicked up a ruckus. Like what you're doing now. Besides, you should feel thankful that we got you someone good-looking. There are thousands of young women and men alike who are swooning over Jongin, you know."

"Thankful? Thankful?!" Luhan scoffed. "Thanks but no thanks. I refuse to get married to somebody I don't even know! So what if he's good-looking? He might be a really horrible person that... that abuses cats or something!"

"Luhan, I believe that Jongin and you will get along very well. I've met him already. He really is quite charming," the queen said. Luhan gagged. 

"I'd rather eat my shoe."

The queen pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm losing patience with you, young man. You, as a prince and future heir to the throne, have the duty to serve your country and people. Not everything is about yourself. This marriage will strengthen the alliance between the two kingdoms, and our kingdom will be safe from attacks."

Luhan, seeing that arguing the hard way didn't work, changed tactics quickly. 

"Mum," he begged, "please don't marry me. You love me, don't you? I will do everything else you want, just don't marry me off. Pleaseeee." The queen sighed and shook her head.

"You've been pampered all your life, Luhan. No, this is one time when your pleading will not work. And," she added as she turned to leave, "no more going out of the palace to hang around in the town. You, as a prince and future heir to the throne, should uphold your princely image, and gallivanting unchaperoned out there isn't the best way to do it. Starting from now, you are officially banned from stepping out of the palace unless we have granted you permission."

Luhan gasped, horrified. The only little bit of freedom that he enjoyed, the only part of the day that he really looked forward to, was being taken away from him.

"But, mooom," he whined. "You can't do that."

"Yes, I can." And with that, the queen walked out of the room, clicking the door shut behind her. Luhan flopped on his bed dejectedly. He wanted to cry. Before him was a long, dark road full of misery. He could practically see himself withering away, shut in the palace, like a pet.

The bedroom door creaked and Baekhyun entered the room. Luhan started, trying to say something, but nothing would come out of his mouth. His throat was dry and parched, and words were swallowed.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Baekhyun. "I heard everything."

"I―" Luhan started, lips trembling, but Baekhyun cut him off.

"Shh, don't say a word." Luhan allowed him to his back comfortingly, as he bit his lip and tears rolled down his cheeks. He felt so hopeless, so depressed. How would he even survive without breathing the fresh outside air? Luhan couldn't fathom what life inside the palace (with Jongin) would be like. Maybe after a few years he'd turn into a skeleton.

"If only there were somebody to take your place..." Baekhyun mumbled, scrunching his nose.

"Take my place..." Luhan frowned. An idea sparked in his mind and Luhan's eyes lit up with hope. "That's it! I know somebody who can help me."

"Who?" Baekhyun asked, leaning forward.

"Oh Sehun."

A/N:

Meh. Sorry for the long wait! >< I had tons of stuff to do. Like revise for my French test next week. 

I hope you liked this update! Hohoho I bet none of you expected this to happen, right? The story's getting interesting now! XD I'll try to update once every week from now on :)

Comment if you have any suggestions/what you think about the story/if you want to talk! I'm very friendly okay but no one realises that D: Haha or you can visit my tumblr here! :3