Lips red as blood hair dark as night, skin white like snow. Eyes shining brighter than stars, beauty envied by everyone. A gentle heart that would always care for others and never for herself. These were small, simpler ways to describe the young princess. She was at the young age of 20, unmarried and with the urge to travel the world; to discover the unknown.

A princess that always wondered what was beyond the walls of her palace, beyond the walks that were allowed for to touch. The princess who never saw beyond the cherry trees of her gardens. The princess who never felt freedom. A princess who lived locked inside her own world and wasn’t allowed to see beyond.

A childhood spent being protected from everyone, locked away not knowing what could harm her, not knowing what could make her cry. She didn’t know anything besides what her books taught her, what her kings told her. She knew about her king’s victories, she knew about the hundreds of soldiers that were willing to give their lives for her chance to live and grow in a world where she didn’t have to fear her own shadow.

 But what mattered if her soldiers died for her when she didn’t know any of them, when she couldn’t mourn their deaths with their families? Why were they defending her palace, her life when they didn’t even know the face they were fighting for? Would they even fight for her after knowing how sheltered, unconscious of reality she really was?

Every time there was a fight, a war, she would pray for her men to be safe, for them to comeback safe to their families and hope for the day she would be able to thank them personally for the sacrifices they made for her. 

Her father always told her it was an honor for their men to fight for her, that it was the ultimate reward for them, to die for her, but she never understood it. She never understood how it could be an honor to die for her, to die for a cause that even she didn’t understand completely. She wanted to tell them to stop, she wanted to tell them to stay inside their homes and stay safe. Their wives and children needed someone; they needed someone to take care of them, a role model. They shouldn’t leave the house to die. Never.

She looked around. The walls around her were white, cold and forbidden her to see what was in the other side. They were so tall that they could reach the sky itself. She wanted to break them apart, she wanted to see her own country, she wanted to see all the surprises the world had for her, but instead she had to continue on dreaming, wishing that they would just fall and allow her to finally live.

“Princess…” Waking up from her own dreams and wishes she looked up to see a man with black hair, shark cheek bones and gentle eyes. “The princess has called you.” She knew the man was talking about her sister, the future queen, the future hope for the country and for everyone that depended on her. She smiled to the man in front of her and got up from the floor. The man helped her getting up and she smiled at him again. She was so familiar with him, just like family. Him and another 11 men around her. The only 11 men she knew since she was a child, the 11 men she grown up with, the 11 men that always took care of her no matter what.

The men that were around her were the ones assigned to be her protectors since the day she was born, since they were all children, still learning how to be proper soldiers, how to be proper knights. Her knights. They knew her better than anyone in the world could. They knew where she would hide when she was sad; they knew what her favorite garden was from all of the hundreds of gardens around the palace. They knew when she was truly happy and they knew when she was crushed just by looking to her eyes. That was all it took for the 12 men to know how she felt.

They even studied with her. she was always locked up in a room with her teachers and her guards. Her mother always told her that they were the ones that would protect her, the ones that would always stand next to her and make her happy no matter what happened. But she also told her that they would die for her, and just imagining that one day they would die because of her, that one day they could die in a war just to protect her…Imagining that made her heart hurt so much, it made her want to cry and beg that they would never go through something like that. Never.

They were the ones that were always with her, they were her family, the only family she knew and she couldn’t even think about losing them. To no war, to no master. She had to have them next to her no matter what happened otherwise she was sure she would die of a broken heart. “Princess, are you alright?” She looked to the knight next to her and saw the worried expression in her face. She could see how worried he was and she saw how the other men around her were. She was happy to know they were always paying attention to her, but at the same time she felt she was a burden to him.

“I’m perfect Wu Yifan…Thank you.”The knight nodded and turned his back to her leading the way. Wu Yifan was one of the oldest of her soldiers, the leader. He was precise with everything, he was careful and cold. He didn’t like to be in dangerous situations where he didn’t have absolute control about everything. He was also the one who always treated her like she was a precious porcelain doll. He was always afraid she would break if anyone touched a single hair of hers.

Many princes tried their luck with her, many tried to marry her, not only for the power they would have in the future but because of her beauty. Every young prince wanted the beautiful princess next to them, but not only was the king unwilling to give up his daughter no prince could escape the protection from her 12knights. They would always find a way to scare the poor princes and make them leave the kingdom faster than they could cry for help.

She on the other hand could never imagine that this was what happened. She was always told that the princes were just too young to marry her and she would believe them. And besides, she wasn’t being pressured to marry since she was the youngest daughter. Her older sister would be the future queen, the one everyone would listen to while she had to stay next to her and smile. That was her job.

“Princess, you’re dreaming again.” She heard a deep voice say. She looked to her left and saw one of her youngest knights. A small blush appeared in her cheeks but she just nodded and continued looking to the floor, not wanting to look at her knights at that moment. They were always so focused on everything around her that she wondered how in the world how could they pay attention to her, even if it was just for two minutes. “I’m sorry Jongin…I was just…” She knew that she didn’t have to speak; she knew she didn’t have to justify a single thing, but she was doing it before she knew it.

Her knights were all so different; they didn’t match at all, not in any sense. Except the sense of protection they had on her. She had no idea why they were so protective of her, not even her father knights protected him in such a way, but  her knights were always there for her, she didn’t even need to call them, she didn’t had to say a single thing to them and they would do everything for her. All she had to do was look at them and they would do it in a blink of an eye. She never understood it and she knew she never would but she always thought it was they were meant to do. And because of it she never questioned and decided she wouldn’t.

Her knights were dear to her heart, every one of them in all their different ways, but she loved them nonetheless. She loved them so much it hurt sometimes. It hurt more than she was willing to admit. She was sure that they knew it, she was sure they felt it, but sometimes she felt she had to do something to prove her feelings, that she had to show her soldiers that they were indeed important to her and without them she couldn’t go on. Without them she wouldn’t be able to go on with the smile she always wakes up with.

“Princess Sooyeon is waiting.” One of her knights, the second tallest of them, said with his charismatic deep voice. She looked at him and gave him a small smile. Her knights bowed and waited for her to enter the room. She looked at one and each of them and couldn’t help but give a small, shy smile. The butterflies she felt in her stomach made her so happy, made her feel something that she couldn’t describe. It made him feel so happy that she almost lost control of her own emotions. She could feel something warm in her cheeks and she was sure one day she would beyond transparent and everyone would see it, they would see it.

Yes, without her twelve knights, Princes Soojung would never be happy.

A/N: hope you enjoy this fic from now on!
This was just an introduction, but the first couple might be Laystal!
Byeeeee