Quite frankly, Minho thought the crown prince was a selfish brat.

Of course, he would never voice his opinion out loud unless he wished to lose his job as a royal guard. The pay was too good to risk it, his mother needed the money, and he had also never actually met the crown prince since he began his job three months ago, which should render his opinion quite unfounded.

Now, Minho would normally not have any sort of opinion of the crown prince – since it was not in his job description to do anything other than protect the palace – but as he stood before the king and queen with the head of the royal guard, Siwon, he cursed him to the deepest pits of hell.

“I assure you, Your Grace, that Minho is more than qualified for this task,” Siwon said. “He has shown excellent swordsmanship and combat skills, and he is also very perceptive and observing. He is one of our best.”

The king regarded Minho intently, hand rubbing his chin, while the queen dabbed a handkerchief to the corners of her puffy eyes and stifled a sniffle.

The reason Minho found the crown prince to be a hellish brat was because the idiot had apparently decided to up and leave four days ago without any sort of note or word to his parents. He was to be married in three months as well and the kingdom whose prince he was betrothed to was now threatening to break a two hundred-year-old alliance in lieu of the crown prince’s disappearing act. Which meant he needed to be found, and fast.

And that was where Minho came into the picture.

He suddenly wished he hadn’t done his absolute best in everything he was assigned to as a royal guard, because he would much rather have stayed on the palace grounds than travel the world to find the elusive prince. There was no guarantee he hadn’t already made it to the other side of the earth and Minho was not looking forward to chasing him down.

He wouldn’t even be able to punch the guy for his efforts.

Minho was brought out of his thoughts when he caught Siwon bowing in the corner of his eye and quickly did the same, both retreating to the royal guard’s quarters, situated by the entrance to the palace grounds, in silence.

It was a nice sunny spring day; cherry blossoms fluttering like snowflakes in the air, birds chirping cheerfully and the smell of sweet nectar permeating the air. Minho would have been in high spirits with a light bounce to his steps if it hadn’t been for the mission looming over his head like a rain cloud.

“You are to leave at dawn,” Siwon informed him as they crossed the lush, emerald lawn.

“Why must it be me?” he grumbled. “There are many other guards more eager to go on adventures.”

Siwon threw him a warning look and pushed the door to their quarters open, waiting for Minho to enter first before following him and cuffing the back of his head. Minho grimaced and rubbed the spot.

“Quit your whining,” he muttered as he passed him, but patted his shoulder.

Minho scowled at his back and followed him to the dining room the guards shared. There were a few people in there eating a late lunch and they nodded at them as they took a seat at the end of the long dining table. Siwon snatched two glasses and a pitch of mead from the center of the table, pouring them both a generous amount.

“Were you not listening when I spoke to the king?” Siwon asked as he handed Minho one of the glasses. “You’re our best and we need to find the crown prince as soon as possible. If there were anyone more competent than you, believe me, I would choose them.”

Minho grumbled and took a small sip as Siwon continued lecturing him about what his mission was. He tuned him out after a moment, looking around the joined kitchen and dining room.

He had always liked it. It reminded him of his family’s tavern with its dark wooden floor, stone walls and mismatched wooden furniture. The benches at the dining table were uneven and worn by all the guards they had supported over the years, the table had cracks and burn marks form hot pots, and the dried spices hanging above the windows like curtains had been around longer than anyone could remember. Their scents were gone, but no one had the heart to take them down.

He sighed deeply and took another small sip of the mead before pushing it away.

“Minho, have you been listening?” Siwon demanded.

Minho frowned at him.

“I’ll start in this city and work my way out,” he grumbled. “But expect this to last for a few months, as I am very sure the prince has left the kingdom.”

Siwon narrowed his eyes at him but agreed.

“There is no travel sized painting of him, but you know how to describe him, correct?”

Minho shook his head.

“I haven’t met him,” he muttered. “Today was the first day I ever saw the king and queen.”

Siwon dragged a hand over his face with a tired groan.

“This is going to be a pain,” he grumbled, emptied his glass and refilled it again before launching into a lecture about everything Minho should know about the prince after making him promise to go look at a painting of him before he left the next morning.

A/N: Yep! So, here's the prologue! I hope you liked it! I'm sorry it's not very exciting but yeah...

Don't have much else to say :)

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