Tao (Age 18)

"Sir Tao, the King requests your presence." A man in a leather tunic, brown slacks and leather shoes addressed the young prince. His brown hair was slicked back and his face glowed with youth. The prince was adorned a golden tunic, white slacks, leather shoes and a red cape. The young prince was fixing his hair in front of his boudoir.

"I will leave when I am good and ready, Suho." The prince casually addressed his butler.

"Very well, Sir Tao." The butler left the room and the prince sighed in front of his mirror. He placed his elbow down on the table and muttered to himself.

"What could he possibly want with me now? I've done nothing wrong." The prince sighed and left his quarters. He headed down to the throne room.

As he walked down an endless hallway, the light of the setting sun illuminated the stone hallway from the stained glass panes.

"If only the townsmen could invent something to transport me to the throne room faster." The prince complained to himself and reached the throne room after passing the foyer.

As soon as the young prince opened the large door to the throne room, he was greeted by a King and a Queen who sat in their thrones.

The throne room was just like any other. Colorful stained glass windows would reflect the light of the setting sun, a large chandelier comprised of diamonds would hang from the ceiling, the floors and wall were made of hard wood, and the ceiling was made entirely of fine glass. Before the prince was a long red carpet leading to the thrones, and beside the carpet were an array of knights in their silver plated armor.

The King was wearing the same clothes as the prince, with the exception of the golden crown adorned in jewels and a golden scepter with a ruby placed on the top. The queen adorned a red dress, red heels and a silver tiara. The queen's blonde hair flowed beautifully from her head, all the way down to her bosom. 

"Come hither, my son." The King's voice echoed from the end of the large room.

Tao complied with the King's order and walked over to him, passing by soldiers every step.

The young prince stood before his father after a long moment of walking.

"Son, I wish to inform you that at sunrise, suitors will be coming to our kingdom. They will not only wish to inherit the Queen's throne once our reign has come to an end, but they wish to capture your heart. This is what you have wished for ever since you were a child, is that not right?" The King said to his son, who stood still.

"Father, this is not what I wanted. I wanted to seek love for myself. I did not want your assistance." The prince asserted.

"The deed is done, Tao. You are going to find your true love this way, and no force on this god forsaken Earth will make me change my mind. Do I make myself clear?" The King said in a solemn tone.

"What if the suitor is poor, Father? Would you trust someone of no wealth to rule the kingdom of Othropos?"

"The suitors were carefully selected by the council of our land. Each of them are of the noble class. You know as well as I do that our kingdom has had a troubled past, and with this, our Kingdom can once again seek peace."

Tao hung his head in defeat and surrendered. 

"Do as you will, Father. I will go back to my quarters to rest."

Tao walked out of the throne room and slammed the large doors shut.

"You are forcing love upon our young son, your majesty?" Suho said, standing erect beside the queen.

"This is for the best, Suho. Do not question the judgement of your King." The queen asserted.

"Very well. I will head to the kitchen to prepare supper." Suho bowed and walked out of the throne room.

The King sat in his throne, cross legged and one hand on his right temple. He sighed and had a worried look on his face.

"What worries you, Sir Jongin?" The queen asked.

"Our son. He wishes to find love ever since he encountered that swine. Was it wrong for me to arrange a marriage for him, Victoria?" King Jongin massaged his temple and exhaled.

"I am certain our son will be fine." Queen Victoria closed her eyes and placed her hands on her thighs.

"I hope so." King Jongin sighed one last time and closed his eyes. The two would wait for their butler to come back and announce that supper was ready.

Tao was laying on his bed, letting his thoughts flow through his mind.

Before Tao could drift off to sleep, a knock on the door was heard.

"Who is it?" Tao asserted.

"May I come in, Sir Tao?" A familiar voice penetrated the wooden walls of Tao's quarters.

"Please do, Suho." The prince said half-heartedly and the butler walked in. He immediately closed the door and sat on the bed side.

"Are you concerned about tomorrow, Sir Tao?" Suho said in a soft voice.

"It is certain. My father is arranging a marriage for me, with a person I have not met in my lifetime." Tao said, head in his hands.

"He only wishes the best for you."

"He only wishes to end hostilities between kingdoms. I appreciate what my father is doing, but love is something that I need to find on my own. It will not be special if I am forced to love a stranger."

"But your suitor will not be a stranger. He will be of a noble class, Sir Tao."

"That is another predicament I face, Suho. What if he will only want to marry me for the kingdom?"

"You never know, Sir Tao." Suho said with an optimistic tone.

Tao stayed silent for a moment.

"I just don't want to get hurt, Suho." The prince said once more.

"I know you do not wish to get hurt. Rest assured Sir Tao, if you do get hurt, I will be there to comfort you." Suho reassured the young prince.

"Thank you, Suho." The prince got up from his bed and hugged his butler.

"You are quite welcome, Sir Tao. If you will excuse me, I must go and prepare supper. I will deliver your food if you wish to eat here instead of in the dining hall."

"Thank you, Suho." 

The butler bowed and took his leave.

Tao laid back on his bed, with a slight smile.

"I trust you, Suho." The prince said to himself and picked up a book by his night stand. 

"Now, where was I?" Tao said to himself as he flipped through the pages of Beowulf.

The next day came around, and a line of suitors awaited to approach the royal family. Each of the suitors had an item in their hands. King Jongin, Queen Victoria and Prince Tao were sitting on their respective thrones and Suho was standing before the first suitor. Tao sighed as he leaned against his chair.

"Mind your posture, boy." The King snapped at his son. Tao let out another sigh and sat up straight.

"May I present to you, sir Daehyun." Suho announced. A young blonde man in commoner's attire stepped forward. 

"Sir Tao. I am the heir to the Schtauffen Kingdom. Our kingdom is experiencing troubles at the moment. With your help, and your love, I am sure both of our kingdoms can reside in peace." Daehyun said formally, ending his statement with a bow.

I'm guessing I'm going to be hearing this for the next 500 suitors.

Tao grumbled to himself.

"What do you have to offer me, Sir Daehyun?" Tao asked bluntly.

Daehyun reached in his sleeve and pulled out a emerald colored ocarina.

"Our village people have crafted this beautiful ocarina, for you. Sir Tao." Daehyun reached forward, offering the ocarina.

"Daehyun, I thank you for the gift...Sadly, I do not know how to play such an instrument." Tao turned down the young man. The soldiers in the court room proceeded to Sir Daehyun to the entrance. The doors shut behind Daehyun as he walked out of the castle. 

"Perhaps I should have asked for one made of gold..." Daehyun shrugged and headed back to his kingdom.

"Father, this is pointless. I do not want all of these sui..." Tao was cut off when Suho announced the next suitor.

"May I present, the heir to the Sorel Kingdom, Mark." Suho gestured to a young man in glistening silver amor.

"Sir Tao, I..."

"I don't want your gifts. I don't want you to be my suitor. I DON'T WANT THIS!!! THIS IS NOT HOW I WANT TO FIND TRUE LOVE!" Tao stormed out of the throne room and ran down the east hall. As he continued to run, he dropped his crown on the red carpet. Upon impact, a sapphire jewel fell off from the crown. After giving himself time to calm down, Tao ended up in the courtyard. The young prince wiped away his tears, and sat down in one of the ivory colored chairs. The sound of water running from a large fountain came into harmony with the melody of hummingbirds. The warm sunlight shined brightly on the dancing waters. Tao rested his head on the white oak table in front of him. 

"Sir Tao, are you alright?" Suho stepped outside and patted the young prince's back.

"Suho...I don't know...What got into...Me..." Tao said in between heavy breaths.

"It's going to be alright, Master Tao." Suho embraced the young prince. Tao rested his head on Suho's chest. "Come young master, let us walk through this courtyard." Suho grasped the young prince's hand. Tao blushed at the feeling, but proceeded to walk with his butler along a nearby stone pathway.

"Suho, where are you taking me?" Tao asked lightly.

"To the Othropos Woodlands. The path we are taking leads to the woodlands. Young master, you have been trapped in the kingdom for too long. I wish for you to experience the beauties of nature." Suho spoke softly.

Tao could not respond, so he continued to follow his butler into the woodlands.