Word count: 8520

Exclusively Written for Chanyeol Fic Exchange

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Up in the west tower of the castle, a lone boy sat in the windowsill inside an empty room. He rubs away the tears falling down his cheek as he recalls the taunts of his older step brother. No one has ever raised their hand against him yet everyday he felt as though he’s always being wounded by their words.

“Ahhh here you are.”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

The boy falls down from his seat sprawled out on the floor and looks up to the one man he solely trust in the entire castle smirking down at him.

“I’ve been looking for you young Prince.”

“Well you don’t have to scare me like that old man.” He huffs out.

“I beg your forgiveness then my Prince.” The royal knight bows with a mock scared face that morphs into smile.

“Tsk. You must be punished for scaring me! I decree that you will sneak me some apple tarts from the kitchen that cook Luna made this morning!”

“Oh no! Please not her! She has a huge frying pan!” The knight says comically.

The young prince laughs at the weird face his knight is making but after awhile he becomes sad again.

“May I ask what worries have my dear prince entertain in his mind?”

“You see my step brothers were at it again and called me names and stuff.”

“And?”

“Well, I’ve learned to ignore that already but today they said that with what I look like being like a walking stick and all, no one will ever love me.” He says sadly as he look up at the older man.

“Heavens child. Why do you even believe your step brothers? They practically live to make you feel bad. If they weren’t your step brothers I would’ve punched them all in the face already.”

“I wasn’t gonna believe them too ya’ know. But I don’t have any friends except for you of course. No one wants to play with me. They’re all scared to come and talk to me thinking that they might offend me when they say something.”

“Hmmm. Then those children have no right to be your friend. I do believe that each of us has a person that will be the one to hold hearts and you’ll find yours too.”

“How?”

“Well, they used to say that the wind is a messenger, if you ask for that person, one day that person will find you.”

“Give that person a message?”

“Yes. Let the wind carry out your prayers and your heart will reach that person.”

With that the little prince decided to try it out literally. He wrote a simple letter and went up to cloud tower, the highest part of the castle and whispered to the wind to carry his letter to that person. The prince watched as the letter was carried off by the wind into the vast sky and felt his heart soar. He went looking for his knight telling him of his deed to which the man became quite worried of because he knew no reply would come.

A week after that event, the little prince has, to his delight and to his knight’s astonishment, received a letter from a farm boy in the eastern part of the kingdom.

 

Dear Yeolie,
                My name is Fan, I’m 10 years old this year which would make me older than you. I live with my mum here in the countryside. I was surprised one day to see Pyre, he’s one of the owls I treated when he broke his wing, came to my window with your letter caught on one of its talons. I don’t have much friends either, well human friends I mean because there’s no other child here but me, but I do have loads of animal friends. I don’t mind being your friend though and yeah I guess we can call each other “special friends”. By the way, I think it’s cool to live in a castle! Do your parents work there? If you have any problems with bullies you can always punch them in the nose, though I haven’t tried that yet but I think it would be worth it. I hope my reply will reach you.

Your special friend,
Fan

 

 

Through the succeeding weeks the two newfound friends wrote to each other without fail. After gaining a new friend the prince grew more open and happy. Shedding off his shy and introverted personality he replaced it with a cheerful and happy demeanor to which influenced a lot of the castle occupants. His step brothers however were quite put-off with their youngest brother’s attitude and now tried on doing pranks instead of verbal assaults.

Chanyeol’s happiness soon faded away when his step brothers told the king that he was sending off letters to a commoner. The king was displeased and prohibited the prince from sending any letters. The prince’s loyal knight however has decided to make one last effort for the prince.

The prince was sulking in his room when a beautiful white falcon flew in through the window and perched itself on the windowsill flapping its wings for a moment and proceeded to arranged its ruffled feathers. Chanyeol just kept staring at it until it finish and looked at him.

“Umm..Hello?”

The bird gave out a little chirp in reply.

“Are you..uhh..lost?”

The bird looked the prince and then elegantly pointed a rolled up letter attached on one of its legs with its beak and looked up at the prince again.

“Is that for me?”

The falcon flapped its wings to which the young prince considered as a yes. Slowly he walked up to the bird and after a few moments of hesitation reached out his hand to pet it. The falcon responded by nuzzling its beak on his hand that made the prince smile. Chanyeol took the letter, opened it and found a red string necklace with a pendant that used to be a circle broken in half.

 

Dear Yeolie,

                I was wondering why you haven’t been responding to any of my mails lately, have I done something wrong? I hope it’s not me. By the way, I hope you liked meeting my newest friend Glacier, he’s a Gyr Falcon, father says they’re very smart and good trackers and I prayed so hard that he will be able to find you. I’m writing you this letter because this might be the last one. My father returned home today and told us we will move to the Northern Kingdom up in the mountains. Mum says that I won’t be able to send you anymore letters because it’s cold there and the snow makes it hard for people to come and go. I don’t wanna leave without saying goodbye, so I had to send you this. Inside the envelope, you will see a necklace. I made that you know! I had a bit of help from father. I tried making a star but it ended up looking like splattered bird poop, besides a circle is hard too you know! I cut off the circle in half so that way I’ll keep the other one while you have the other half. Don’t you ever lose it! One day I promise, I will find you and I’ll grow stronger so that no one will be able to harm you. Until then, please stay happy and safe. I promise we will see each other. I promise.

 

Your Most Special Person,
                                                Fan

 

 

The prince watches as Glacier flew off into the night sky as he holds on to the letter his friend wrote. He wore the necklace, keeping it safe and secure around his neck always. The next day he found out that his most trusted knight was banished from the castle for being the one that helped the prince with the letter. Chanyeol felt depressed knowing that he must be the one that caused trouble for the knight and now he feels like he lost two of the most trusted person in his life.

As time passed, the prince grew tall and handsome. He was arranged to be married to a noble daughter of the grand duke. She was kind and understanding but somewhat frail due to having a weak heart. As she grew weaker the royal family opposed of the marriage and opted for their crowned prince to be married off to another noble lady but Chanyeol refused saying that he is ok with his future queen. He sees himself in the girl and has a huge attachment to her, eventually falling in love.

He was crowned as King and married off his Queen. Not long in his reign the Queen fell extremely ill and died. Chanyeol then spent his first month as King without his Queen. His confidence dropped and gave most of the decision making to his step brothers not realizing the consequences. Soon after, a lot of attacks were being done to the kingdom from terrorist sending all the blame to him.

“You have to do something and not just mope around and hole up in the library for God’s sake!” Luhan, his knight commander told him exasperatedly. “You’re a freaking King and yet people don’t even know what you look like anymore!”

“But I don’t know what to do Luhan.” He says sadly.

Despite being irked at his King, the knight couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. “I know you’re mourning but come on, there are people who need you, a kingdom needs you right now and you’re doing a ty job at it.” Only Luhan can be brutally honest with him, which is why he made the angelic looking blonde as head of his personal guards.

“Okay. I’ll do something. Can you send an envoy to negotiate with the terrorist?”

“An envoy?” The knight asked his eyebrows raised.

“Yes, if we need to settle I think we need to talk to them what they want and why are they attacking the kingdom.”

“You know, for a King, you’re very soft. Try to be manly sometimes.”

“Manly, like you?” He smiles.

“Of course! I’m the manliest Knight you have!” The King smiled thankful that he has someone like Luhan that sees him a human being first before a king.

 

 

The envoy returned with the letter from the terrorist, they wanted to talk to the King face to face in a secluded house in the forest. Chanyeol wanted to go and meet them, his brothers told him it’s too dangerous and so did Luhan but he went anyways. The King together with his most trusted guards journeyed to the meeting point, they arrived and got ambushed but they easily defeated their enemies.

“This is odd.” The King turns his attention to his Knight beside him as they trek back to the kingdom. “How could a small group six can cause so much damage to the kingdom.”

“You think there were more of them?”

“That’s a huge possibility. I feel like we just walked into a trap or something.” Chanyeol waves off Luhan’s concern thinking that they can solve things when the problem will present itself. For now, things are back. That’s what he hoped so anyways.

The royal convoy arrives safely at the main capital and escorts the king back to the palace while Luhan takes the two prisoners they were able to capture into prison. The other four were quick on their feet but the two they got were sloppy and untrained to be labeled as dangerous terrorist.

He orders the guards to lock the two prisoners up and will question them later. He exits the prison but almost bumps into a tall man with piercing eyes and washed out blonde hair falling into his eyes. They made eye contact as the man was led off to lower cells with a chain on his wrist.

“What’s up with him?” The knight questions the guards.

“He committed theft sir. Lord Kyung has sent him here after he was caught stealing livestock and causing injury to the Lord’s servants. He also stole some of the prized jewels from the Lord.” The guard replied his back straight and palms sweating. No matter how angelic the knight was, Luhan is known as a notorious fighter using double swords.

“What’s his name?”

“I think its Yifan sir.”

Something flashed in the knight’s eyes as the name rang out. He watches intently as the guards the man down the prison cell a small smile ghosting on his lips. The guard who stood beside the knight wonders what he said that made the latter smile brightly at him as he follows the direction of where the prisoner will be held.

 

 

 

“Hey you think the plan will work?” The short man with a beard asked his cell companion.

“Of course it will.” The bigger of the two silenced the other one with a glare noticing the man beside their cell looking at them. “What are you looking at punk?” He spits out. The blonde man beside them simply closed his eyes and ignores them.

“It’s almost time right?” The shorter one said.

“Yeah, it’s time” As the bigger of the two said it, a chime of frantic bells rang out indicating that there’s a fire. The guards guarding the prison went frantic as they try to put out the fire and the inmates inside the prison started making a riot, screaming to be let out. Amidst the confusion and frantic running, a guard stepped close and made eye contact to the two prisoners that were caught that day. The guard slipped a key into the keyhole and walked away. The two quickly unlocked their cell and ran off, avoiding being caught by any of the guards. They slipped out of the prison building and into the busy streets. Unaware of the tall man walking out of the prison building like they’ve done seconds ago. The lone man who was held in the cell beside the two watches as the terrorist heads to the direction of the castle. With a deep sigh, the blonde man takes a step forward and stalks the two.

 

 

The King lay in his bed, holding his most prized pendant that his friend gave him. He always wore it everyday and even when the string of the necklace broke he replaced it with a better thin chain so he could wear it again.

“When will you come and find me Fan?” He whispers out.

Chanyeol basks in the silence and solitude, it’s always like this anyways, only Luhan would barge in and tell him to get moving and do his duties. He closes his eyes and wonders what it would be like to go out of the castle and interact with people. He has never met any of his people, he only appears during balls and events, most of the time he just faces the other high ranking noblemen and their families. He sighs deeply and decides to sleep only to be awaken when a rough hand yanks him off the bed and shove a wet cloth covering his mouth and nose. He tries to scream upon seeing a bearded man pointing a dagger in front of his face.

“It would be easier your majesty if you just fall asleep.” The man holding him from behind said, this man is bulkier compared to the bearded one.

“Mok, we better hurry along, just knock him out, the damn drug isn’t working that fast.”

“Patience Yan, we already have the horses ready down there and everything is cleared.” Says Mok.

Chanyeol tries to struggle from their grasps, kicking and flailing his arms trying to knock off even just one of his capturers. He suddenly felt drowsy and his body goes numb, hi eyes feeling heavy but he tries to fight it off. The door busts open catching the occupants in the room off guard, the King sees a tall blonde man tackle the other one, Yan, into the ground. His capturer hoisted him up on his shoulder and runs off leaving the other two battling in his room. He was dumped roughly on a horse and the last thing he saw was the blonde man running after them.

 

 

 

 

“Tell me exactly what happened.” The royal Knight of the King watches him with an unwavering gaze.

“There was a fire in the prison, they had some contact with some of the guards so you better choose your personnel there carefully. The guard gave them the key and they escaped with the fire as a distraction.” He supplies.

“So how’d you get out?” This Luhan person can look like an angel but he looks terrifying when he’s all serious. Like an avenging angel of sorts.

“The key they used was dropped on the floor, I reached out and let myself free.” He answered. He gazed around one of the seating room in the castle where they were, feeling uncomfortable in the luxurious room. “Look I did what you asked me to do, I watched over those two and supplied you with information. Now keep your end of the bargain and let me free.” He frowns at the other man.

“Sure. You’re already free of all the charges and is set to go.” He paused his blank face showing nothing until a small smile broke. “But I’d like to know why did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“You could’ve just run along and leave yet you followed them and even tried to help the King.”

“If I run off then that godawful Lord will put a bounty of my head. I simply followed them since they were going in the direction of the castle and I was hoping I would meet you to tell you what happened.” He said in a flat voice.

“You still haven’t answered my question of why you, a criminal, put your life on the line and tried to help the King.”

The taller man stared at him coldly refusing to answer the question. The man however was surprised when the knight gave him a reaction he never had encountered before. The knight laughed jovially at him which confuses him. “Ahhhh, really I like you.” The knight said with mirth evident on his eyes. “Actually Mr. Wu, I had a look into your case and I find it quite amusing. Rest assured you fit the role of a villain but in the end you just can’t hide the fact that you’re just wearing a mask of big bad wolf.”

He was about to answer when Luhan cut him off. “I know the truth so don’t act all bad to me. Anyways, I have one more proposition to you.”

The other man raised his eyebrows in question which earned him a smile from the angelic faced knight. “What is it?”

“I need you to become a king’s knight, in exchange I will grant you any wish you so desire.” The knight offered while flashing a devious smirk at him. “What do you say, Yifan?”

 

 

 

When Chanyeol came to, his legs and arms were bound and he was lying in the cold ground, face planted in the dirt. He opened his eyes groggily and saw that he was in the forest, a few paces away held horses and some weaponry all laid out under the sun. He must’ve slept for hours now that the sun is up.

“Oi! The Kin’s up.” Chanyeol turned his head and sees group of menacingly scary individuals now making their way to him.

“Such a pwetty Kin’ ain’t he?” Says a huge man with a shiny bald head.

“Can we play with him now that he’s awake?” The man with an eye patch holding a dagger glinting in the sunlight said leering at him. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on ends. The man kneeled down, his hand reaching out to touch him when a loud crash resonated in the air. The group went in a flurry to grab their swords and stood in high alert for any signs of entry.

On the corner of his eyes, Chanyeol saw a white wolf, its head peaking out on a tree trunk on the left side of the group. The other men didn’t seem to see the wolf as it quietly made its way closer to the King. One of his captures then fell on the ground with an arrow on its chest. Then hell broke loose, the group of men that captured him went and battled it out against men wearing the insignia of his kingdom. His heart soared knowing that they’re here to rescue him. His eyes scanned the ongoing battle and found a tuff of curly blonde hair and pearly white skin of his head Knight clashing with the black armor that he wore. Luhan looked like an angel from hell as he swung his double swords about, slicing his enemies and blood splattered on his cheek while he smiles devilishly. Chanyeol made a mental note not to anger his friend.

He tore his eyes away when he felt a tug on the ropes binding his hands. He turned his head and was surprised to see the white wolf biting off the rope, its blue orbs staring in concentration at the task it’s trying to perform. The wolf promptly lets go and attacks one of the enemy when it tried to swing a sword down to the king. The man kicked the wolf that howled in pain and tried to harm it when another person tackled him to the ground. Chanyeol then saw the same man that tried to chase after him when he was abducted. The tall man warded off any attackers that came close to touching the King and somehow it made the latter feel safe with the man’s presence close.  The wolf came back and chewed off the remaining ropes and freed Chanyeol. As he stood up though, one of the fallen enemies threw a dagger at him creating a wound on his ankle and making him stumble to the ground.

The enemy seems to be growing and his rescue team is close to exhaustion. A feeling of dread crept up as he wonders if they’ll ever get out of this alive. Just then, the blonde man grabbed and swung him on his shoulders running to the other direction leaving the fray with the white wolf in tow.

“Wait! We can’t leave the others!” He protested.

“They’ll be fine. You need to be safe first.” The other man huffs out in a deep silky voice.

An arrow wheezed by making the King yelp when he sees three men are on their tail. “They’re following us!”

“I know that genius.” The taller man grunts. Chanyeol thinks’ the man has superb strength for running while carrying his weight. They entered a clearing with a river filled with rushing water.

“What now?” Chanyeol asked as enemy closes in.

“We take a leap of faith.”

“What?” He didn’t get any explanation as the other man jumped into the water carrying the King with him. With the pain in his leg Chanyeol tried to swim and keep his head afloat but the current is strong and he’s too weak to swim, as soon as he thinks that he won’t make it, a hand grabs him by the collar and drags him up to take a lungful of air. He couldn’t help but grab and hold on to the strong arms of the other man as the river whisk them away further down south.

What felt like a few minutes drifting in the river, the current became manageable enough to swim. His savior half drags half carries him to dry land where he sputters and gulps in air. Before even thanking the other man for saving him, he already fainted from exhaustion.

It was night time when he came to, a fire was stoked keeping him warm while he was stripped off of some layers of clothing he wore. His hand immediately went up to chest and felt relieved when he could feel the thin necklace under the material of his shirt. He scanned the area and saw his clothes were drying in a branch and his ankle was wrapped up in a tight bandage of cloth. He must really need to thank the other man for helping him. A sound of broken branches permitted the air and he looked at his right to see the white wolf carrying a dead hare in his mouth. The animal promptly deposited the carcass near the fire and went up closer to him.

“Hello. Thank you for saving me.” He smiled at the creature.

The wolf emitted a small bark as a reply as it moved closer to the King. It nestled softly beside him making him feel warmer as the cold night air starts to freeze the tip of his ears.

“His name is Snow.” Chanyeol looked up startled. His savior appeared before him wearing only his pants and a thin sleeves white shirt, his muscles glinting in the fire light.

“And yours? May I know your name?” He asked eagerly.

“No need to know mine.” The taller one dismissed which caused the King to frown.

“But I need to know, you saved me so I can’t just dismiss you without thanking you.” He reasoned out.

The man stared at him, his features making him look like glaring but something tells the King that he isn’t. “Wu Yifan.”

“Ahh.. Yifan.” The King smiled. “Thank you for saving me.”

Instead of replying though, Yifan bent down and petted Snow. “Good job.” He said and he proceeded to clean and gut off the hare and a couple of fish that he was able to catch in the river. The King watched with apt attention as the other prepared their meal. He didn’t realized how time went by as he just stared at the other man in a trance.

“May I ask?” The king asked the following morning to Yifan who brought in a handful of berries for breakfast. “Why are you helping me? Are you part of my guards?”

“I had a deal with Luhan to help find you. He made me a temporary knight.”

Chanyeol was a bit surprised at the answer. “And what is your deal?”

His knight stared at him coldly before replying. “Is that an order your majesty?”

“Um…Nevermind.” The royal said taken aback by the other one’s slight outburst.

“If you wish to know the deal it is something between your knight commander and me.”

“Oh, is that also the reason why you’re only a temporary knight?”

“I don’t think having someone with a criminal record fits to be a knight to the King.” Yifan said coldly. He stares at the king who is looking quite surprised which turned into confused.

“You’re a criminal?”

“Yes. I won’t harm you and you’ll only be stuck with me till I get you back to the castle so you have to endure for awhile.” Yifan then stood up and left a very confused Chanyeol boring holes into his back.

When Chanyeol was feeling alright to walk they started on their journey back to the kingdom in silence. Yifan seems not to like to talk or might not like the King at all, Chanyeol thinks which saddens him. Snow always leads the way, scouting first before they move into open spaces, while Yifan takes up the rear. Sometimes, whenever Chanyeol stumbles, Yifan would catch him. The knight might not show it but the king can see it in the other’s eyes a flash of concern when he would somehow injure himself but masks everything back into his ice cold attitude.

For the first time ever since the death of his wife, Chanyeol is intrigued and wants to get to know another person. Yifan is like a mystery that’s just screaming to be solved, he’s not really into that sort of stuff but he feels like he’s discovering another side of him because of the other man. They walked through the forest, avoiding any of the main roads in case of bandits and robbers come their way. It took them half a day until finally they reached a clearing into a small town.

“If I remember correctly there’s a house of a Baron not far from this town. Maybe we could ask for help there?” Chanyeol asked his companion who’s watching the white wolf retreat into the forest. He said Snow can’t come with them into town because people might capture the animal and sell it.

“We can go there after taking a rest in town. Its best if you don’t reveal yourself, we don’t know if any of the terrorists are here. Stay close to me.”

“Okay.” The king agrees. He expected the town to be bustling with energy and with people busy with daily activities but what greeted him wasn’t what he expected. The town had a cold aura, a lot of children loitered sleeping on the streets, some of the adults are wandering about, and some are looking for scraps of food in garbage bins. People watched the two of them walk and Chanyeol could feel goosebumps on his arms seeing the blank stares they’re giving him. Yifan walked closer beside him which eased the tension in his body. “What’s wrong with this town?” He asked the other one who raised an eyebrow at the question.

“Your kingdom imposes a high tax rate. You might not see it because you only see the flourishing part of the capital city but a lot of areas in the kingdom are suffering. The ones in the lower caste no matter how hard they strive they can’t overcome the burden of taxes. You should know because you implied these laws.”

“What?” Chanyeol said dumbfounded.

The taller one stopped and stared at him frowning. “You don’t know about the tax law?”

Before the king could reply a commotion caught their attention. Three men were standing over an old lady who seems to have tripped on her feet spilling the vegetables she was carrying. The three men seem to be enjoying her downfall as they continue to jeer at her.

“See, old women shouldn’t be around walking where people bump into them.” Says one of the men.

“Yeah, such eye sores. Go back to your dusty old cabin.” Another one said.

“Sheesh, go and leave already!” The third one said as he kicked the cabbage on the ground hurling it into Chanyeol and Yifan’s direction.

The king was seething in anger but before bursting out, he picked up the cabbage and the other fallen vegetables from the old lady’s basket and helped her, the three men scowled as Chanyeol helped the lady on her feet.

“Hey brat, you should be minding your own business.” One of them grabbed Chanyeol’s shoulder harshly making the latter wince. Before they could even blink, Yifan shoved the guy off the king with force that made him stumble to the ground.

“Why you –” before the man could finish his sentence he was silenced with the death glare Yifan was sending him. “You’ll pay for this!” He scrambled standing up and leaving with the other two guys in tow.

“Oh dear, thank you but I don’t have anything to pay for you.” The old woman explains that made the young king shake his head.

“It’s alright, we don’t need payment.” He smiled at the old woman that made her relax a bit.

“Come with me then, I can make you some tea.” He grabs Chanyeol’s hand and led her off to the direction of her house. The king looked back at his knight who stood there with a blank expression on his face.

“Yifan? Let’s go.” He said to which the knight did finally followed them.

They entered a small cabin where the old lady led them, which is far smaller than the king’s bath, and had them seated. She poured them tea and thanked them profusely.

“What are you two dear boys doing in this town? You’re not from here are you?”

“No ma’am. We’re on our way to the capital city.” Yifan supplied.

“Ahhh, the capital that flourishes in wealth while we small towns folk suffer.” She sighs, looking quite sad that makes the king feel hard to breathe.

“If I may ask Ma’am? Is this town different before?”

The woman looked at him intently scrutinizing his face before answering. “It wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows but at least before we were able to get by. However, ever since the new King has ascended to the throne, life has become harder to go by. From taxes to increase prices for food, the labor work becomes more tiring yet we don’t get much in return. All we see that gains from all these laws are the noblemen. They throw on lavish parties every week, Baron Jomok is having one tonight.” The woman looks at them sadly. “I wish we had a better King in the future.” And with that Chanyeol could feel his heart break.

 

 

“Yifan?” The taller man stopped walking, they were on their way to the Baron’s mansion and the king was silent, confined in his thoughts until now. “Can I ask you something?”

The other one merely nods and faces him. He never seem to talk much but for some reason Chanyeol feels like he could read the other one better just after a day of being around him. “Am I a bad king?” He asked nervously.

“Yes.” The young was taken aback by the bluntness of his knight, he was about to speak when the other cut him off. “You’ve seen the state of the kingdom. You’re not a good King, you don’t seem to know what’s going on actually. Wouldn’t it be better if you step down from the throne and let someone else handle the kingdom?”

Chanyeol looked into Yifan’s eyes that spoke volumes. The other man was completely honest with him and as refreshing it is for the king to be said something negatively, he can’t help but feel ashamed. “I..I’m sorry.” Is all he could say to the other one which after a moment nodded and proceeded to walk again until he stopped and turned around. For a second, Chanyeol thought he was about to say something important but in the end he just said “Hurry the sun is setting.”

 

 

They arrived at the mansion of Baron Jomok, Chanyeol was glad they’re a step closer to getting home but he’s also sad that once they arrive at the castle Yifan will be leaving him. Before he could think about it more, they were ushered into back of the house which confused both of them.

“Um excuse me, but we’re here to speak with the Baron.”

“He’s busy and has no time for servants.” He hands them some clothes and shoes. “Here, change into these and get to work. I expect you to be serving the guest in half an hour.”

“Wait. Um but – ” The butler ignores him and tells him to be quick and leaves them be.  Are they confusing us with servants for the ball? Clearly the question must be seen in his face as Yifan nods at him.

“Let’s go and face the Baron directly then.” His knight said.

“Wait! Let’s pretend for awhile and see these lavish parties that the old lady was talking about.” He said.

They fixed themselves to get ready, a blushing Chanyeol had to help fix an agitated Yifan with his clothes as the other one never seem to have worn these things. They entered the ballroom and had to freeze at the extravangant clothes and food at the party. People of noble birth seem to be enjoying themselves immersed in chit chats and showing off their new gowns. A complete opposite of the poor people they say on the streets earlier. They were given trays of glasses filled with wine to serve people and none of them pays any attention to the two.

Yifan with his good looks seem to have attracted a huge amount of females in the room earning glares from the gents. Chanyeol chuckles as seeing his knight try to dodge advances from ladies in the room. His attention was caught when a burly man in expensive clothing clearly bumped into a maid prompting her to drop the tray she was carrying filled with food.

“Aish! Stupid girl! Look what you’ve done to my shoes! They’re ruined!” A tiny smudge of sauce was splashed onto the left shoe of the man.

“I’m sorry my Lord!” the maid quickly took out her cleaning cloth and tried to wipe the smudge off the shoe when the man kicked her gut.

“Do not dare touch me with your filthy hands you wrench! You must pay twice the amount of the price I paid for these shoes!”

“But Baron! I do not have money to pay you.” She sobbed out.

“Then you will work for me to pay your debt.” The man who turned out to be the Baron said. “Trash like you – Ahhhhhh!” As the Baron was talking Yifan suddenly came behind him and tripped, on purpose Chanyeol thinks, and accidentally, maybe not, poured red wine on the Baron’s expensive golden suit.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean too.” The knight said with a blank not so sorry face.

“Why you!” Jomok punched Yifan in the face with his pudgy fingers. The baron was going to launch another punch when Chanyeol stepped in between them.

“You stop right now Baron.”

“Step aside boy or you want to be punished like him too.”

“Really? I dare you to punch me then.” Chanyeol said defiantly. The fuming Baron did as he was told only to be blocked by Yifan who’s launching a thousand death glares at the older man.

“Try it and I’ll break your arm.” The knight said in a steel ice voice which made the King smile smugly and the older man shrink away from the taller man.

“You – you two will pay for this! Do you know who I am?” The baron sputtered.

“Yes I do.” Chanyeol said. “You’re a pigheaded Baron not worthy of your position of nobility.” He dared to look at Yifan beside him who gave him a slight smirk in encouragement which made the king feel more powerful than he ever was. He looked at the Baron dead straight in the eyes and proudly said “As your King, I have the power to strip you off of your title and fortune for misuse of power and unfair treatment of your servants.” By now, the whole room has grown quiet and the Baron looking quite bewildered until he burst out laughing.

“King? Hahahahaha! Oh please! The King is missing and he’s probably dead.” Jomok continued to laugh and so does everyone else. It’s then that Chanyeol realized that even though he’s the King it seems that no one knows what he looks like. “Hahaha! You brat, you made me laugh so I’ll decrease the amount of punishment I’ll give you. So be useful and fetch me some wine.” He said while wiping tears from his eyes. When Chanyeol made no move whatsoever though, the other man felt annoyed. “Didn’t you hear me boy?”

Instead of moving, the younger one put his hands into his pocket and pulls out a ring. He put it on and extended it to the older man with a defiant face. “Maybe, you, dear Baron should be the one to fetch me and my Knight some wine.”

The Baron stared at the glinting ring under chandeliers and felt his jaw drop. The ring in Chanyeol’s possession is the King’s ring with the royal family crest. Jomok turned paper white as he looked up to unamused King. “My…my liege.” He bowed stiffly.” My apologies, you see – ”

“Yes, I do see. It seems I reevaluate the members of the Royal court. For now, please prepare two horses for my travel. I will send you a letter once I have fully settled back in castle.”

 

 

 

The two stayed in the Baron’s home for the night. They both decided it’s safer to stay in the same room in case someone would pose an attack on the King now that they have revealed themselves to room full of people. They were both sitting on the bed as Chanyeol tried to clean the dried up blood on Yifan’s busted lip.

“Stay still! Seriously Yifan or I’ll have to pin you down!” This earned him a glare but finally the knight relents and lets the king clean off the blood, wincing a bit as he put in the medicine. Yifan stares at the younger one’s face contorted into concentration with a little pout forming. “What?” The king asked as he noticed the change in the other one’s expression.

“You were different today.”

“Different?”

“You acted like a King.”

“Oh…” After carefully thinking of what to say he looked up at Yifan and said. “I can’t step down as King. I know, I did a ty job at it for awhile but after witnessing what’s happening, I realized I should do something. I’m the only one with the power to put a stop to all these bad things and I have the power to change them into something better. I want to be a King that people will know and love. So, I’ll do my best.” He smiled up at Yifan and after a short pause the latter smiled back at him. For the first time being together the knight showed his smile that took the king’s breath away. It was beautiful and it made Chanyeol smile widely back at him. They started at each other like idiots when Yifan suddenly stood up.

“Where you going?”

“To sleep on the floor.”

“We can sleep together.” As soon as Chanyeol said it, he could feel his face heat up. “I meant, it would be better if we sleep together in bed.” He then felt like dying again. “I mean like, it’s comfier and warmer, and you can watch over me better when we’re together right?” He blurts out.

There was a long pregnant pause until Yifan nods and slips in beside Chanyeol. They laid there side by side no moving an inch. There was a suffocating silence in the air until Yifan broke it.

“You should smile more.”

“What?”

“It’s infectious.”

“Oh.” He then turned to face the other man lying on his side. “You should do the same.” The king said cheekily which the knight just glared at him. The tension then subsided that was replaced by a comfortable one. The closeness they had together made Chanyeol comfortable enough to feel sleepy.  “You know Yifan, I think you’re lying.”

“Lying about what?” The other one faced him too frowning.

“About being a criminal. I don’t think a heartless criminal would take his time to check if my wound is hurting, throwing me worried glances every time I trip or making sure that I don’t feel threatened. I feel like you’re someone that’s made to be beside me.”

Yifan looked at him and patted his head. “Go to sleep, we’ll have a long journey tomorrow.”

Chanyeol pouted at the older one’s reaction to what he said yet feels like things are definitely better. He just wishes that Yifan will stay with him. “Good night Yifan.”

“Good night my King.” He whispered.

 

 

The next day, they both traveled in the early morn back to the capital. They were both silent yet quite comfortable with each other. Snow was running off ahead of them eager to stretch its legs.

“So,” the king said breaking the silence. “When we get back you’ll be getting your wish then.”

“Hopefully.” The knight said.

“What you mean?”

“Things change.” He said.

Chanyeol didn’t ask anymore. They arrived at the palace with everyone coming out to greet their King back. Luhan was up front when they arrived and smiled proudly at both of them. “I knew I’ve chosen the right man to protect you!”

They were informed that the terrorist were all the king’s half brothers’ doing.  Luhan had them arrested as they wait for trial for attempting murder to the king. Chanyeol has asked Luhan to bring all the laws that his brothers has implemented on his behalf to revise all the wrong they did. The king started to open up to people more and started smiling, injecting anyone who comes his way with a bit of happiness. Everything seems to be falling into place Chanyeol thinks except one.

 

 

 

“Stay.”

Yifan looks at the doorway to his room where his King stands. “Hello to you too, your majesty.”

“I mean it Yifan.” He scowls at his knight. “Stay.”

“I can’t.” He said while avoiding the other one’s eyes.

“Why?” Chanyeol asked, eyes b with tears threatening to spill. The two ever since they came back became inseparable. Yifan used his time in making sure that the security for Chanyeol was sufficient, while the King would often ask the knight for opinions about the kingdom’s problems and laws.

“I made a promise to find someone.”

The king was silent and understood. “Will you come back?”

“Yes.”

“When you come back will you stay then?”

 

 

 

 

Yifan was walking out of the capital gates when he heard someone yell his name. There, riding on horseback is a very pissed of Luhan, its actually pretty scary to see the angel like knight commander looking like he’s off to chop someone’s head off.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?!” He half screams, half grunts at Yifan.

“I’m done with the job, now I have to look for my friend.”

“Yeah, you’re done with the job but you still haven’t told me your wish.”

“Are you a genie now commander?”

“Ha Ha. Very funny.” Luhan sarcasitically said. “Come on, spit it out.”

“My wish?” The taller one said solemly while closing his eyes. “My wish is for Chanyeol to be happy.” He opens his eyes and stares at the other man unblinkingly.

Luhan sighed rubbing his head, “If that is your wish then why are you leaving?”

“Because, I need to find my friend. I made a promise to find him.”

“You want to find your friend?”

“Yes.”

Luhan looked at him for a long time before pulling Yifan to the side and sat down under a tree. “Let me tell you a story about a kid growing up to become a knight.” He smiled and continued. “There was a knight to the royal family, he loved watching over the prince who had no friends and treated him as his own son. One day, the prince told him about wanting to find a friend who will accept him without his status as a prince. The knight told him about letting the wind carry off the message to that special friend. The knight didn’t think that the prince would literally write a message and let the wind carry it. He knew that if the prince receives no reply he will be sad, so he prepared his own son to befriend the prince. To his surprise though, someone had replied to the prince’s letter and the knight thought that this must be a work of fate. Though, the knight was asked to resign his post due to helping the prince in finding a friend outside of the castle, he never stopped watching over him and came to find the young boy who befriended the prince.” Luhan looked at the other man that’s frowning deep in thought. “The knight found the boy and told him about the situation of the prince. He knew that the boy was clever enough and with fate by their side, will be able to talk with the prince without his help. The knight died not long after but wished for happiness of the prince. He asked his son to take his place and make sure to protect the prince while his friend hasn’t found him yet. And so, the son did his duty and now that both of the two found each other, do you think I’m stupid enough to let you go just like that?” He smiled as he asked Yifan who was looking quite surprised.

“You’re father was the knight?”

“Yep.”

“Wait…then you became a knight to replace your father who was a knight of…” He stared at Luhan for long time before suddenly standing up. “Thank you!” He bowed to the knight commander and started sprinting back to the castle.

Luhan smiled as he stared at the eager man’s back. “Seriously, you made me wait for a long time to become matchmaker.”

 

 

 

Chanyeol was looking out the window of his study room, he watched how Yifan has walked away earlier and now he’s wishing the other one would come back soon. A gentle to his hand broke his daze, he smiled as he focused on the white wolf eagerly looking at him.

“You miss him too right?”

Yifan has asked the wolf to stay and watch over Chanyeol in his place. Snow stood up and walked to the door, the wolf looked back at him and barked. The king frowned and asked “Do you want me to follow you?”

The wolf confirmed it with a wag of its tail and somehow the King felt he had been through this before only in a different kind of scenario, if that makes sense at all. He followed the wolf though the long hallways and ended up standing outside of Yifan’s room. “You want me to come inside here?” he asked the wolf who barked in response.

He shrugged and pushed the door open, looking around the room as he walked inside. There on the middle of the bed is a small piece of paper with a necklace on top of it. He stood there gaping at the familiar handwriting and the even more familiar half of his own necklace.

 

Chanyeol,

                I’m sorry I have to leave but I promised to find my friend. He is someone important to me and I want to atleast meet him. I’m leaving this to you, it’s very special and I’ll take it back one day. When I return I’ll tell you if I decide to stay.

 

Your Knight,
                Yifan

 

He reread the letter over and over again until he stopped and looked at Snow. “Oh my god. He doesn’t need to leave!” He then ran off with an excited wolf in tow. As the king went out of the castle there stood, just outside of the castle gates the one special friend he was waiting for all his life.

Yifan looking quite disheveled from all the running walked up to him and he couldn’t help but meet him halfway. They stood face to face in the middle staring at each other until Chanyeol couldn’t help but smile at his long lost friend. “Fanfan.”

“Hello Yeollie.” The other one replied smiling back at him.

“So, will you stay?” The King asked expectantly.

“Yeah, I’m here to stay.”

 

---

 

*Still on hiatus. Just forgot to post this*