“I now call the meeting to order!” The short man at the head of the table bellowed, causing all those sitting at the table to cease conversation. He cleared his throat and nervously snatched the papers that rested on the wooden surface ahead of him. “As you are all aware, the country of Florez has unofficially declared war on ours. That being said, the king has demanded to put forces around the city, with a personal army around the palace.”

Among the small crowd gathered in the room sat Princess ______ and her prince, Kim Jongin. She sighed and Jongin glanced at her and grabbed her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. _______ would be lying to herself if she were to say she was not nervous. Never would she have imagined that her city would be under attack; that her life would be in danger.

“When will our guards arrive?” Prince Jongin asked the man, _______ bit her lip in anticipation.

The man scanned his papers for a second, “they should be arriving tonight.”

Prince Jongin nodded and slowly blew out a breath. He too was slightly scared at the possibility of losing his life, but he knew that this came with the title—unlike Princess ______, his wife.

“That is all for today, the meeting is now adjourned.” All of the people in the room slowly dispersed, most in shock, others worrying, praying, some even crying, all of them were frightened of tomorrow.

Jongin slowly lead _____ to their chambers, her arm wrapped securely around his. The two had built a small bond in the three years of their marriage. They still were slightly awkward towards one another, and have not been romantic in any way. Holding hands and a protective arm around the waist was how far they have ever gotten. Prince Jongin was a tad put off by it all, but he understood the Princess and did not want to push her into doing something she was not comfortable with. She, on the other hand, worried that she would never feel a thing for her husband, and so—mostly due to guilt—she had been making an effort to talk to him more, and touch him more, as well as allow him to touch her. It was still strange to the both of them, but slowly they were becoming closer.

“Are you scared?” She asked Jongin as they strolled to their room.

He took a breath and sighed, eyes on the marble floor, “it is nothing more than to be expected. A life of royalty is not always silver and gold.”

She chuckled softly and tightened her grip on him, “indeed it is not.”

Jongin suddenly stopped and spun them around so that they were staring at each other. His eyes searched hers fervently and he leaned his head down a few centimeters and whispered, “You have nothing to worry about, my princess. The guards will be here soon, and I will always be there to protect you. I promise.”

______ gulped loudly at his words and whimpered. She could practically feel his emotions like the heat radiating off his skin as their eyes remained locked, his trying to convey something she was not completely comfortable enough to accept.

“Th—thank you. I shall keep that in mind,” she finally whispered. Satisfied with her reply, Jongin grinned lopsidedly and pulled away from her, kissing her knuckles gently as they returned to walking. _______ tried very hard to regain the breath he had taken away.

Later that night, after she had bathed and eaten supper, Princess ______ was brought down to the ballroom. Once down there, she noticed that the rest of her family was present, all wearing wary expressions. She searched the faces of the familiar until she spotted her husband’s. She raced over to him and he held out a hand, which she grabbed and as soon as they shared contact, she felt abundantly greater. She hugged his side, and he wrapped his arms around her and they both awaited the arrival of their new protectors.

Finally, Sergeant General Choi Minho marched into view, a row of men and women lining up behind him. He saluted and bowed to the royals in front of him and they bowed in return.

“As you are aware,” he began. “Your lives are in danger at the moment. The country of Florez has been plotting a strike against both you and your country and it is our duty to make sure you all are safe.”

Princess ______ tightened her arms around Jongin and tried not to cry out of fear. It was becoming all too real.

“Behind me are our top soldiers. They have given their lives so that yours may remain. There are not soldiers in any other part of the world as qualified as these men and women behind me.” Sergeant Choi spun so that he was facing the line behind him and saluted them. All in sync, they returned his salute, eyes blankly staring ahead.

One by one, the soldiers were given to the royal who they had sworn to protect. Princess ______ wondered who had given their life for her, and she felt a twang of guilt as the line dwindled. “Prince Jongin and Princess ______, you shall be guarded by Kim Xiumin.”

A rugged man approached the couple with deliberate steps. Once he was directly in front of them, he bowed ninety degrees and straightened. “My name is Kim Xiumin, I will be watching over you for the time being.”

The princess blinked up at him and her grip on Jongin loosened. The prince noticed and gazed down at his wife, who was staring at the soldier with wonder.

He chuckled, “have you never seen a soldier from this close, dear?”

“I…” her eyebrows scrunched. “Do I know you?”

Xiumin started and they locked eyes briefly. He opened his mouth to answer, but Jongin beat him to the chase by laughing. “How could you have met him before? He is a soldier. You have only met royals.”

Princess _______ glared up at her husband, “some royals become soldiers, Jongin.”

She glanced back up at the soldier, his lips were in a hard line and his eyes were back to staring blankly ahead. She knew she knew him from somewhere, but she could not place her finger on where.

“It’s time for bed,” Jongin murmured, bringing ______ back to reality. She nodded back at him and they went to their chambers, Xiumin’s presence being felt a few feet behind them.

A few weeks had passed since Xiumin had been assigned to the prince and princess, and in that time, the palace was filled with tension.

Everyone was nervous, anxious, scared. They all feared the unknown, and the presence of the soldiers only enhanced those fears.

_______ tried her hardest to ignore that ever growing bubble in . The despair and agony that seemed to run through her every vein. She couldn’t help but notice that Jongin’s presence calmed her. His warm reassuring smiles and caresses as well as his lame jokes that only brought out an eye roll from the princess.

He was trying, and she was thankful.

Late one night, when the princess was all dressed for bed, Jongin walked into their sleeping chambers with a grim expression.

“What is it?” She asked, trying to swallow down that bubble crawling up her esophagus.

Jongin glanced up at her, as if just realizing that he was not alone in the room. His eyes seemed defeated and he sighed as he approached her.

He sat beside her on their giant bed and wrapped his hands around one of hers.

“They are asking for all the royal men to head to Florez for a meeting.”

_______ just stared at the sheets over her legs.

“They believe we can come to a compromise… by talking it out.”

“And all of you must attend?”

Jongin nodded, “even the King will be in attendance.”

“Jongin…” ______ sighed and wrapped her arms around him, pressing him close to herself. After the shock wore off, Jongin embraced his wife tightly, resting his face in the crook of her neck.

“I shall return safely, my queen. While I am gone, Soldier Xiumin will watch over you. You will still be protected.”

“I am more worried about your protection, Jongin.”

He pulled away from her and grinned softly as he studied her tear stained face, “I must return now, I have no choice.”

Three days after Jongin and the rest of the male royals left for Florez, _______ peaked her head out of her chambers and whispered, “Xiumin?”

Like lightening, Xiumin appeared before the princess, worry evident on his face, “what is it, Princess? Is there an intruder?”

She shook her head viciously, “no. I am safe. I was wondering…”

The soldier lifted his eyebrows as _______ let her sentence carry. “Wondering what, Royal Highness?”

She bit her bottom lip before meeting his gaze, “I was wondering if I could take a walk?”

“I….” After a moment of thought, Xiumin shook his head and chuckled, “why not? But not for long, Princess.”

_______ took a deep breath once the fresh air surrounded her. She laughed with relief and practically skipped down the trail, savoring the feel of the sun on her skin and the wind blowing her hair back. Xiumin strolled a few feet behind her, his hands in his pockets as he watched the silly girl in front of him.

They cut through the forest and broke into a meadow. It was in the middle of spring, so the vast green was overrun by brightly colored flowers.

_______ sprinted to the center of the field, spinning around before plopping into the long grass.

“Xiumin! Join me!”

With the shake of his head and a sigh, he carefully trotted over to where the princess was now lying down, staring at the cloudless blue sky.

“I’m scared,” she whispered. Xiumin bit his lip and hovered awkwardly over the young princess. “Everything is falling apart. My life is in danger. My husband has gone off to the very place that wants his head on a stick…. I have never been so frightened in my life.”

Xiumin watched the hot tears fall down the princess’ face. She sat up and wiped the water away. She lifted her head to look at her sworn protector, “you do not say much do you?”

He just smiled in reply. ________ patted the dirt beside her, “sit down. Talk to me for a bit.”

He did as he was ordered and glanced at the girl expectantly, “What do you want me to say?”

“Tell me how you became a soldier.”

He took a deep breath and tilted his head, “Well… I was born poor, and I happened to make a friend who was higher up then me…. He told me about becoming a soldier, how I could become something and live well off. So I decided to join. I never imagined I would be good enough to get in the higher ranks, to be protecting a princess, but here I am.”

Princess _______ blinked at the strong man before her. His voice was so familiar… and she began to feel a sense a déjà vu, a memory long since forgotten scratching at the surface of her mind.

“Kim Xiumin…” she whispered, running her fingers along the wildlife. “The name does not sound familiar. Xiumin is not a common name amongst our people…”

The man shook his head, but did not voice his thoughts.

“All the same, I feel as though I know you from somewhere.”

Xiumin stared at her blankly before suddenly breaking into a low chuckle, “I can assure you, Princess ______, that we were mere strangers when I was assigned to protect you.”

“You are sure?”

He avoided her eyes, “I am. Mere strangers.”

“Xiumin!” The princess urgently called late one evening. Xiumin ran into her bedroom, startled, quickly scanning the area for trouble. Once he spotted her, grinning knowingly on the middle of her bed, he sighed with frustration.

“You must stop calling for me in such a manner!” He chastised, clutching his chest to try to calm his heart.

The princess giggled, “But it is quite entertaining watching you panic like that.”

He glared at the girl, “you know what they say about the boy who cried wolf.”

She merely shrugged.

“Well,” he sighed, heading over and plopping himself down on a chair nearby her bed. “What is it that you wanted to ask?”

She jumped excitedly onto her knees and grinned, “Why is your hair blond?”

Since that day in the meadow, Princess _______ had been distracting herself from her troubles through her protector. Asking him questions about his past—though he always seemed to give her vague answers—and showing him around the castle. They had bonded quite a bit in their short time together, and she was now considering him a friend.

He ran his long fingers through his short blond hair with a grin and _______ gulped at the action, “it is my ranking.”

The princess tilted her head, “ranking?”

Xiumin shrugged, leaning back in his chair, “most militaries use plaques or medals to show their rankings, and we use hair color. The blonder the hair, the higher up the soldier is.”

_______ took in Xiumin’s nearly white hair with arched eyebrows and mumbled, “You must be very high up then.”

He shrugged again nonchalantly, “hence why I am sworn to protect you, Princess.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes at the title, “I have told you repeatedly now, Xiumin, call me ________.”

He smiled down at his shiny shoes, “my mistake… _______.”

The princess tried to ignore the hard thud in her chest once her name left his red lips.

“It is so stuffy in here,” she said suddenly. Jerkily, she got off the bed, yanking her hair into a ponytail and putting on some shoes.

Xiumin stood up at her actions, “where are we going to visit today, _______? Back to the meadow?”

She shook her head, grinning knowingly, “that is a bit too far, and it is a bit too late for that.”

Xiumin took in the sharp upward curve of her lips and became worried.

“The rooftop?” Xiumin asked as the two of them made their way to the ledge of the tall building.

“Of course. Look how beautiful my country is!” _______ beamed, gazing over the land with a dreamy glaze to her eyes.

Xiumin couldn’t help but to gaze at the young woman, impressed by her optimism in such a stressful time.

_______ took in all the shimmering lights coming from the homes dotted around the darkness, it seemed like the ocean’s reflection of the sky, which was also flecked with glimmering orbs of light.

“It is beautiful, is it not?” She asked the man beside her, he hummed in agreement and she glanced at him, but quickly averted her gaze once they locked eyes.

She leaned against the railing and cleared awkwardly, “It has been two weeks since the royal men have left… Do you think they will come to a compromise?”

She felt Xiumin’s presence, his body heat causing her side to sizzle, and again was hit with that bizarre sense of déjà vu.

“Hard to say,” he shrugged—something she noticed he always did—and his lips as his eyes scanned the horizon. “But, no matter the result, I promise to protect you at any cost.”

“Thank you,” _______ said vehemently, finally turning around to face her soldier. “I have no idea what my mental state would be if not for you.”

Xiumin shook his head, “it is my duty—”

“No it is not,” the princess interrupted quietly. She took a step towards him and he stiffened. “It is your job to keep me safe…not to keep me company. That, I am sure, goes against protocol.”

Xiumin gulped, squinting at the landscape, hoping the woman beside him would remain silent.

She did not.

“You like me,” she suddenly said, her lips curving wickedly. Xiumin began to choke on his saliva. “It is alright, Xiumin. I am glad that you do.”

She whispered the last sentence, shyly turning back to the land. Xiumin collected himself and stared at her, at the pink in her cheeks, the strain in her long neck, her hair gently blowing back from the soft cold breeze.

Without thinking, he opened his mouth, “I lied to you…before.”

She looked up at him expectantly.

“We have in fact met before, a few years ago, very briefly.”

She searched his dark eyes, trying to uncover his identity.

Then came a noise—a swoosh—as something flew between them. Xiumin followed the item, watching the arrow land, sticking into the wall behind him, and the princess then felt a body collide with hers.

She roughly hit the ground, hands scraping against the walkway in a way that made her wince. She couldn’t move because of the body on top of hers. Once that person lifted their head, they locked eyes and she gasped.

“Min… Min….”

“We have to get into the castle!” He yelled, picking her up and dragging her in a half crouch to the door. “We are under attack!”

The castle was in chaos.

Men dressed in all black flew through the windows, weapons at the ready. Princess _______ stayed close to Xiumin, searching her home, looking for her family. She could hear screams and thumps coming from all around, seeming to come from right beside her, yet very far away, as if she were dreaming. Men ran towards Xiumin and he pulled out his sword, counterattacking and killing them on the spot. Once they were down, he stole another sword as well as a small dagger of which he handed to the princess. She frantically looked up at him and he smiled grimly, “just in case.”

They took off soon after that, down the stairs, trying to get to the secret passageway everyone agreed was the safe spot, for there was a trail that lead to the ocean, where boats had been for the past few months in preparation for this day.

On the way, Xiumin got into an altercation with someone from Florez, but luckily, someone threw a dagger and it sunk into the man’s skull, killing him instantly.

Xiumin turned and grinned when he spotted a man with hair as white as his approach them, a wailing woman beside him.

“Tao!” Xiumin breathed, receiving a nod from the younger man.

“Soojung!” Princess ______ called, wrapping her younger cousin into a tight embrace, comforting her.

“We have to head out!” Tao informed. _______ glanced at the two soldiers and nodded, grabbing Soojung’s hand firmly and pulling her along.

They were about ten meters away from the door that lead to the entrance to the secret passageway when they were once again surrounded.

Xiumin and Tao wasted no time fighting the soldiers, quickly evening out the playing field.

All the same, they were still fighting and more soldiers from the other side were approaching.

“Go!” _______ heard Xiumin yell at her. “We can hold them off and follow once we are done! Now is your chance!”

“I…” The princess hesitated, watching in horror as Xiumin and Tao maneuvered around each other, the clanking sound of metal on metal ringing in her ears.

“Hurry!” Xiumin growled, piercing someone in the chest. He kicked the man off his sword and quickly turned to _______. “I will follow you, I promise, but you must leave now, _______!”

Him saying her name seemed to jolt her awake, and she nodded, tightening her grip on her cousin’s hand, “promise me, Minseok?”

His eyes widened with shock, but he quickly nodded his head, “I promise.”

With that he spun around with barely enough time to slice a man’s head off.

He wasn’t fast enough to get the guy next to him.

Princess _______ screamed as a dagger sunk into Xiumin’s right shoulder, causing him to fall on one knee, gripping the knife poking out of his shoulder. She wanted to help, but was well aware that his job was to protect her, and she had to get out of there right then.

She turned back towards the door, blinking back tears, just to see a big man standing in front her way.

Her sight turned red, this was not what she wanted. She was furious, they could not have picked the worst time to decide to invade the castle. Out of pure desperation and anguish, _______ yanked out the dagger Xiumin had given her earlier and with a warrior’s yell, jabbed it deep into the man’s chest. He stumbled back and hit the wall, slowly sinking to the ground where he stayed.

She yanked the knife out and muttered, “That is for my country.” She hurriedly yanked open the door and pushed Soojung inside of it, turning around briefly to check on Xiumin. He was back on his feet, but was now using his left arm, which was not as good as his right. Still, a pile of bodies laid around him of the men he killed. With a sigh and a quick prayer, the princess closed the door and quickly led the way out to the dock.

“You’re shivering,” the princess noticed, wrapping her arms around her cousin.

“It is cold,” Soojung sniffed, sinking closer to the princess. “Thank you.”

“It is not I whom you need thank. You know that.”

“You killed that man… You saved us both.”

The princess sighed and glanced around. Inside the boat along with her and her cousin was her uncle Kibum, his wife, and their three year old son. There was enough room for three more people, and she was hoping Xiumin would be one of them. They had been sitting and waiting for about ten minutes, and when they had first arrived, were relieved to see that only two more boats were there, meaning most of her family had escaped.

“What is taking them so long?” Kibum muttered, pulling his wife closer to himself. “It is too cold, we can only wait for a few more minutes and then we will just have to assume the worst.”

The princess bit her lip, her heart going into overdrive. She had no idea who had made it out and who had not, but she knew that there were at least two people still inside.

“Give them ten more minutes,” she begged.

Kibum shook his head sadly, “that is ten more minutes we cannot spare.”

“Then five,” she rose her voice a bit, and it ringed with authority and power, something only a royal of her status could possess. Kibum stared at her a bit, his expression a mix of shock and annoyance.

“Fine. Five more minutes. But remember that every minute we waste sitting here, the closer our enemies come.”

“They have no idea where we are, and there is only one way to get here. The passageways are like a labyrinth, the only way they could get out at this spot is by pure luck.”

“Or a map,” Kibum said sharply under his breath, but they waited. Soojung fell asleep in ______’s arms, her shivering never stopped.

“Alright,” Kibum started suddenly. “It’s been five minutes, it is time for us to go.”

“But—”

He gave the princess a sharp look, “it is too late. No one else is coming out, and if they do, there is still one more boat.”

Princess ______ did nothing while her uncle untied the boat from the dock. There was a weird noise and she looked up to see three bodies running towards the boat.

“Uncle!” she called, pointing at the figures coming towards them.

“Stop the boat!” The voice was familiar and Princess ______’s eyes widened.

“Uncle!” she called again, but Kibum did not do anything, only pulled his family closer to himself. With a growl, the princess leaned over the boat, “hurry! You have to jump!”

The three figures do as they are ordered and one by one, land onto the boat, causing it to shake violently and Soojung to jump awake with a yelp.

She started to cry and Tao quickly sat beside her, pulling her away from her cousin and wrapping her in his arms, caressing her and trying to calm her down.

______ lifted an eyebrow at the exchange.

A body was soon pressed close beside hers and she turned to see Xiumin—Minseok—staring at her expectantly.

She sighed with relief and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder, “you are alive.”

“Bloody and battered, but in one piece,” she could hear his smile, and just the thought made her heart race.

“I cannot believe it is you,” she murmured, only to be hushed by the man.

“We will talk about that once we are settled. Until then, sleep.”

She did not fight his order.

A/N: hi, hello, sorry for the delay, ive been having trouble. You see, i have like three different ending for this story, and i do not know which direction i want to go, so the last chapter might be coming a bit later.... eheh... anticipate?? anyway, how did this chapter turn out?? I hope you liked it :)