Written by: "jera"

Pairing: Woogyu

Prompt: "sunggyu is the fair prince of a kingdom who needs help and woohyun is his knight in shining armor."

(Words: 2,668)

Kim Sunggyu was fourteen years old when he met Nam Woohyun for the first time. The former was severely lacking in his fighting skill, and who was better to help the son of the king than the son of the king's most trusted commander?

Woohyun ran his fingers along the hilt of his sword while he waited for Sunggyu to arrive at the field. He had spent the last week drilling with his father to prepare for this lesson. He wasn't quite sure why the king didn't have his father instruct Sunggyu, why having a boy around the same age as him would be better. But the king was not one to elaborate, and, while they were best friends, his father was not one to pry.

As he went over some footwork again and killed imaginary foes, Woohyun gradually discerned from the sound of wind rustling in the grass another sound - hoofbeats. He looked up just in time to see a white horse, rider crouched low on its back, break free of the woods and charge straight towards him. As it approached he stepped to the side to avoid being run over, but the rider tugged on the reins and stopped the horse beside him, so close that Woohyun could feel its breath ruffle his hair.

The rider, Sunggyu, dismounted the horse, wearing a loose white shirt and trousers. A sword with a jeweled hilt hung from his left hip.

"Hello, Your Majesty." Woohyun bowed ninety degrees. "I am Nam Woohyun. I am to train you in your swordfighting skills, among other things." Just as he had practiiced with his father.

Sunggyu smiled. "Hello Woohyun. You can call me Sunggyu-hyung." He reached out and shook Woohyun's hand.

Woohyun hesitantly returned the handshake. The prince's hand was soft, unlike his own calloused palm.

"Well," Sunggyu said, "Shall we get started?"

Woohyun nodded. "Yes, of course." He drew his sword in one fluid motion.

Sunggyu, on the other hand, fumbled with the hilt before his sword was even out of its sheath.

"Alright," Woohyun said. "Let's try this. I'll swing at you, slowly, and you should have enough time to react and block the ."

Sunggyu nodded. "But do you have another sword for me to spar with? This one is more of a ceremonial sword... and it's not light."

Woohyun took the jeweled sword and scabbard. "It is a bit heavy, but it's the balance that matters the most. This one isn't balanced well at all; it's not meant to be used for fighting." He handed Sunggyu a wooden sword and took one for himself. "As you can see, this one is well balanced. It doesn't appear to have much weight when you hold it, does it?"

Sunggyu nodded and stepped back. "Well let's start then!"

Needless to say, the prince was terrible at this. His stance was off, his footwork was incorrect, his grip on the hilt was wrong, and he wielded the sword as if he was trying to stab a slice of meat with a fork.

---

As the leaves turned orange and fell to the ground, Woohyun became the only friend Sunggyu had at his same age. His father had told him that he couldn't afford to get close with anyone who might have political ambitions. As the kingdom was covered in a blanket of white that melted away over the many weeks, Woohyun realized that he was spending the majority of his time with Sunggyu. He didn't think more on the topic as they were both happiest in the company of the other and Woohyun didn't mind giving up time with his old battleschool classmates to teach Sunggyu how to fight.

One day, Woohyun was relaxing in the shade of a large tree, waiting for Sunggyu to arrive for their lesson, almost to the point of dozing off. He quickly woke to full awareness with a start when he heard the prince's shrill scream in the distance. When he squinted in the direction of the vast forest in the edge of the plain, he made out the shape of a horse galloping wildly towards him with a thin figure, Sunggyu, bent over its neck.

As horse and rider galloped closer, Woohyun could make out Sunggyu's mouth moving, but whatever he was trying to say was lost in the wind of his passage. The prince's horse was eating up ground swiftly, though, and when it came to just halfway between Woohyun and the forest, he saw what Sunggyu must have been trying to tell him.

A group of five masked assassins, Woohyun assumed, burst from the forest on horseback in obvious pursuit of Sunggyu.

Immediately, Woohyun leapt to his feet and reached for his sword. He motioned for the prince to ride away; he would fend them off. But Sunggyu slowed his horse and dismounted in a rush before him.

"What are you doing?" Woohyun shouted. "They're going to kill you! Run!"

"I can't leave you here!" Sunggyu protested.

"You don't stand a chance against them," Woohyun told him. "I can at least hold them off until you've gone!" He wasted precious seconds trying to force the prince to ride away until Sunggyu released its reins and the horse galloped away. Woohyun's jaw dropped. "That was the worst thing you could have done!"

By then, the assassins were nearly upon them. Sunggyu's mouth opened in an 'o' and he scrambled at his belt for his sword. He had barely grasped the hilt in his hands and started the swing when the blade of the lead assassin swung in a long arc directly at the prince's neck. Woohyun dove forward and parried the blow, shoving Sunggyu out of the way. He followed the movement of his blade and sliced at the ribs of the assassin, who swiftly retreated on his horse.

The apparent leader of the assassins studied Woohyun through the holes in his mask. "Our fight is not with you. We want only to kill this prince and end the war."

"I want only to protect my prince," Woohyun stated firmly. "And besides, killing him would not end the war."

In response, the leader gave a signal, but before they could surround him, Woohyun pushed Sunggyu back, took the prince's sword, and threw it. It landed, true to its aim, in the heart of an assassin who tumbled off his horse. Woohyun made relatively short work of the others, even mounted. He would dance among them, duck through the horses' legs, and strike from any direction.

Sunggyu watched, almost entranced. He didn't notice the leader of the assassins move until he felt a prick at his neck.

"Don't move," a low voice growled in his ear.

Sunggyu's mouth went dry and his stomach heaved. His heartbeat accelerated and he nodded, wincing at the slight pain in his neck.

"Hey!" the leader yelled.

Woohyun tugged his sword free of the last assassin, then turned. He swore and reprimanded himself. He should have payed more attention to Sunggyu.

"Drop the sword."

Woohyun complied, but looked eyes with Sunggyu, looking towards his belt and back again.

The prince understood instantly. He grabbed his hunting dagger, thankfully on the first try, twisted it around, and stabbed it as hard as he could behind him. Suddenly instead of a sharp edge to his neck there was a limp weight on his back, and Sunggyu shoved the body off him, running to Woohyun who caught him.

As Woohyun held the prince, he could feel Sunggyu's heartbeat against his chest, matching his own. As he comforted the prince and rubbed circles on his back, despite the near-death situation, Woohyun couldn't be in a better place.

---

Two years had passed since the two first met, and despite events that called for the prince to be at least competent in swordsmanship, the king devoted more time than ever on training his son in diplomacy, including the prince in every meeting with ambassadors. The war with a neighboring province was dangerously inching closer and closer to the capital, and Woohyun was called to the border as lieutenant commander to fight alongside his father.

On the last day before Woohyun left, Sunggyu came to the training arena himself to see him. Woohyun was practically dripping with sweat, slicing and parting the air gracefully with his sword in a mesmerizing dance. He stopped to take a short breather.

"Woohyunnie!" Sunggyu called.

Woohyun glanced over his shoulder and saw the prince, giving a slight bow in his direction. "Hyung!" He quickly sheathed his sword and ran over to Sunggyu. He didn't mention that this might be the last time they saw each other and how happy he was that Sunggyu had come to meet with him before he left.

Sunggyu smiled, although it was tinged with sadness. The two had grown close in the many months they had sparred, and yet Sunggyu was not good enough a fighter and too important to be sent off to war. "Come. I would like to show you something."

Woohyun nodded and followed Sunggyu from the arena into the castle, and then back outside through the prince's chamber into a small garden. Small bushes and trees lined the border and there was a short circular path that led to from the prince's door to a bench on the opposite side of the enclosure. The garden itself was filled with a variety of flowers, colors combining to create a paradise. The air was rich and calm. Woohyun saw a butterfly perched on the bud of a blooming pink flower.

Sunggyu's lips were slightly curled upwards, almost unconsciously. Woohyun could feel the hours Sunggyu must have spent just relaxing here.

"This is an amazing place," he said to Sunggyu.

Sunggyu nodded. "It is. I planted some of these myself."

Woohyun could see the huge pride displayed on the prince's face and grinned. "I love it."

Sunggyu sighed in content. "It's quite the place isn't it?" Woohyun nodded. "I actually started this a few years ago, when I found this was the one thing I could actually do. Politics made no sense to me. I'm only just beginning to understand it now. Cooking? Not a chance. My father was bedridden for a week after I brought him a lunch. I tried sewing and failed, thankfully. I couldn't dance. And you've seen my fighting. Dare I say, my skills with a sword, even with you as my teacher, have improved only marginally." Woohyun disagreed, he would say Sunggyu had improved quite a bit from their first meeting. "Imagine my surprise when I showed potential in gardening, of all things!"

Woohyun nodded. "That must've come as a surprise."

"It certainly did. I had a pot of roses at the foot of my bed when my father found out. It was too large to pass for a simple decoration. Since then, I've moved them outside and added so much more." Sunggyu paused and let out a chuckle. "Look at me, a prince able only to grow flowers."

"Hyung, don't say that," Woohyun protested. "Your swordsmanship has advanced greatly, and I hear you have an amazing singing voice."

Sunggyu scoffed. "And I could say the same about you. Woohyunnie, the man who sings at the front line of the battlefield is a thousand times better than the man who sings in a private garden while avoiding his responsibilities."

"But hyung-"

"Don't dwell on it," Sunggyu interrupted. "I brought you here to show you how beautiful my flowers are, not to discuss how pathetic I am."

"But you're not, hyung," Woohyun persisted. The prince sent him a look and Woohyun promptly closed his mouth.

Sunggyu took Woohyun by the hand and led him through the garden, pointing out all the different types of plants and flowers. They reached the end of the path and sat down beside one another on the bench. Gradually as the sun set and the oranges and pinks dimmed into blues and blacks, Woohyun watched some flowers slowly close their petals. Sunggyu plucked a white flower from a vine near them and handed it to Woohyun.

"What is this?" Woohyun asked, cupping the flower in the palms of his hands.

"It's a moonflower. It only blooms at night." Sunggyu said. "It's one of my favorites."

"It's beautiful."

"Naturally," Sunggyu agreed.

"And yet, even with all it's beauty," Woohyun murmured, "it does not compare to you."

Sunggyu wasn't sure if he'd heard him right. "Woohyunie?"

Woohyun looked down shyly at the moonflower. But then he gained his courage and lokoed up into Sunggyu's eyes. "I said, my prince, that the beauty of this moonflower, considerable as it is, does not compare to you."

The flush in Sunggyu's cheeks was obvious in the light of the full moon. "Hyunnie... What are you trying to say?"

"I'm sorry, hyung." Woohyun reached up and cupped Sunggyu's cheek. "This is no time to confess. But... I love you."

Sunggyu leaned into the touch and covered Woohyun's hand with his own. But his actions betrayed his words. "Woohyun-ah, you must know, I have to think about this, but the chances, and our circumstances-"

"I understand. I should not have made this harder for you." Looking genuinely apologetic, Woohyun eased his hand from Sunggyu's grip and stood. "I should get some rest." He offered Sunggyu a half-smile and walked back down the path.

As he left, Woohyun thought he heard the prince whisper a soft three-word goodbye. Then he went through the door to a future where he would hear only the clanking of armor and the screams of dying men.