Chanyeol’s eyes were closed tight as he tried to pretend like he didn’t do what he had just done. As he slowly opened one eye he saw the completely destroyed chicken coop and he winced. Yup, he’d done it alright. Oh how he wished he could go back ten minutes in time and prevent himself from doing something as stupid as this. Then again, he’d probably just end up doing something even worse by some means.

What had he been doing? Well, being the ‘charming’ knight that he was, he saw a woman’s earnings being taken by, to his surprise, a weasel. As it turned out the weasel was some robber’s pet/accomplice… thing, and Chanyeol had been determined to bring the money back to the woman, so he chased the weasel down to the chicken coops at the biggest poultry farms only to, by sheer luck slip before he could catch the little rat. What happened? Well he had coincidentally crashed into one of the small stables and broken the door. The horse, being caught by surprise, charged at him and thus the destruction of several chicken coops proceeded. In Chanyeol’s defense it was the horse and not him who had destroyed the place.

The lanky knight dusted off whatever chicken feathers were left on him and rubbed his rear from the horse’s attack. To top things off he didn’t know where the hell the damn weasel had gone. A slight frown formed on his lips as he looked around. He was halted shortly after by the owner of the farm who gave him a mouthful and the taller could only look like the kicked puppy that he literally was.

Well, this was normal for Chanyeol. He wasn’t considered the disgrace of the castle for nothing. He’d laughed bitterly about it before but the raven haired male was actually bothered by the term, mostly because he knew no one actually meant it as a joke. He was a bigger joke than the jester that the King had to entertain him (because in all honesty he’d heard the king yelling at the guy for being so lousy). The tall and fierce looking knight was nothing but a clumsy dork in all honesty. He’d been put on so many different assignments that he lost track of how many things he’d done wrong.

“Well it’s the end of another great day!” the giant said with a very much sarcastic tone. His smile was wiped off by a pout. The expenses to fix that farm would be on his back, he knew that much.

“Chanyeol!” came a loud shout as Chanyeol had begun to walk back to his small cottage that he shared with his parents. The giant raised an eyebrow as he turned to see who it was. Oh, it was that one stable boy.

“Luhan? What’s up?” he asked as he crossed his arms, curious as he never really spoke to this kid, why was he looking for him? The giddy prospect of friendship was immediately thrown away by one sentence.

“The King wants to see you.” And that’s how the knight knew he was as good as dead. The brunette stable boy must have noticed and quickly laughed as he patted the other’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, he wants to see every knight in the kingdom. Come on, can’t keep him waiting.” The peppy Chinese male chirped as he grabbed Chanyeol’s hand and began to drag him away.

Whether the other had said that just to make Chanyeol feel better or if it was actually true was beyond the taller, but he’d pretend like Luhan was telling the truth just so he didn’t die of a heart attack then and there.

Once at the castle, Luhan ushered the other inside but remained outside to go back to tending to the horses. Chanyeol had gone pale as he walked to the King’s court and opened the door. Everyone was already inside and it seemed like the kind had already been talking. Great. He was late.

He smiled sheepishly as he trotted inside and then took a stand at his post, everyone staring at him intensely. Suddenly it had become hot and Chanyeol was sure he was sweating buckets. The place was filled with all the knights of the kingdom and as he looked up toward the throne, he spotted the King. A figure much shorter than him, but with much more authority, with lighter skin, and with black hair similar to Chanyeol’s own, only that the King’s hair was actually well kept. Beside the King was a male of about the same height, he held a smile on his lips as he stood beside the figure of authority, his black hair covered his eyes but he quickly brushed it out of the way to look down at the knights. Chanyeol noted this man as the court jester.

“Chanyeol, it’s nice of you to join us. You realize how late you are, right?” came the condescending tone of the King as he addressed the other. He was evidently annoyed but he was trying to remain calm.

“King Junmyeon if you please let me explain, I was-”

“Destroying chicken coops. I know. I was told.” Chanyeol frowned as he listened and he quickly bowed as an apology.

“You have to hand it to him, sir, the meager coins he was chasing after were definitely worth the destruction” came the loud laugh of the jester before the King glared at him to quiet him down. Chanyeol winced at the realization that he’d been chasing more or less a few worthless coins.

“That’s not important right now, I was just discussing with these men an important matter that I need everyone to participate in.”

Chanyeol perked up at this. A new chance to prove that he was definitely the amazing knight he knew he was.

“My younger brother is currently missing. Prince Kyungsoo disappeared last night and the maids who had brought my brother his lunch noted that he wasn’t in his room since earlier in the morning, I’ve already had a search party check every last inch of the castle and he’s not around. I’m going insane just thinking about what sort of monster may have taken my precious little brother. And so I have called everyone here because I plead that you’ll search for him far and near. There’s no saying where he is. I’m worried sick and I’d like to find him as soon as possible.” The king explained, his eyes seemed saddened and full of fear. The King’s lips were twisted into a frown as he balled his hands into a fist, hopeful still that the Prince was out there somewhere, that he was okay, that he was still breathing.

There was an evident stir in the crowd of knights as several began to murmur amongst themselves. “I am well aware of the dangers and the difficulty of this trepidation and so as a reward I offer Prince Kyungsoo’s hand in marriage to whoever finds my precious brother.” Junmyeon said firmly, looking at everyone with a stern gaze. The offer that was given to the knights immediately roused a look of determination. Who wouldn’t be more energized after being offered a step up the ladder and into royalty? Well almost everyone seemed excited.

“Theoretically, are we allowed another reward if we’re not really interested in the Prince’s hand in marriage?” came a curt question. Chanyeol turned to see who it was, ah, him. Kim Minseok. He was one of the trustier knights in the kingdom, while the lanky male wasn’t friends with the shorter knight, he’d seen the other sticking around the horse stables for some reason. Minseok’s cheeks puffed up a bit as he waited for a reply from the King who seemed to be hesitating to respond.

“Ah well… We’ll talk about that later.” The brown haired knight didn’t seem satisfied with the answer as he squinted but nodded anyway. Chanyeol seemed amused and he quickly raised his hand to ask a question himself.

‘What resources are we being offered, my lord?” the query seemed to put Junmyeon off as he looked at the tall male. There was an awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity and suddenly Chanyeol wished he hadn’t asked the question.

“Chanyeol, you were called in here because it’s courtesy that all the knights come to discuss the situation, but… I don’t want you to participate in this search.” The words stung more than any bee sting ever had (And boy did Chanyeol have stories about bees). The giant puppy looked at the King, feeling his body tense as he was spoken to. “I can’t trust you with this, even if by some miracle you found my brother… You can’t even protect yourself.” The king seemed to hesitate to speak, knowing that he was being perhaps a little too cruel, but it was inevitable, he cared about the Prince too much to just let any screw up find his brother.

“But Sir… I’m sure I could find him. I’m just as skilled as anyone else in this court.” To those words, a snort was heard and everyone turned to look at the court jester again who seemed eager to ridicule Chanyeol. Junmyeon gave a threatening look at the male beside him and then returned his gaze to Chanyeol.

“Let’s be realistic here, Park. You screw up even the easiest of delivery jobs, how can I trust that you’ll get my brother back in one piece?” Came the now irritated response of their King. Everyone else seemed awkward and tensed up except for Minseok who stopped paying attention because no one has time to listen to the court clown and the king argue with one another.

“Even if you don’t provide me with any resources I assure you that I can find the Prince.” Chanyeol said loudly, now he wasn’t sure if he was even telling the truth since he did tend to screw things up pretty badly, but there was no way he was going to give up so easily. But shortly after saying that, Chanyeol wished someone would have shut him up.

“Fine. Find the Prince. But, Park Chanyeol, you will not be given any resources to help you, no horses, no helpers, no dogs, and if you fail to find my brother then you are to leave this kingdom because I have had it with your failures.” Junmyeon may have not actually meant that he wanted the other out but in the spur of the moment he’d said it and he couldn’t go back on it now, though he felt guilty as he watched the giant look down at the floor.

“My lord, that’s a little harsh, don’t you think?” Came the soft and soothing sound of help, but when Chanyeol turned to see who it was, he froze. Kim Jongin. Well this made things a million times more awkward.

It wasn’t that Chanyeol hated him or anything, in fact Jongin was probably the only person who treated Chanyeol like anything close to a friend. The problem was that mister tan and handsome was the star of the kingdom. He was idolized by every knight and every time the lanky klutz messed something up, the one who cleaned things up was Jongin. As nice as he was, Chanyeol had an inferiority complex when it came to this guy. Getting help from him only made him feel so much worse.

“Yeah, it’s not his fault he’s bad at everything.” Oh Sehun. That boy, Chanyeol could never tell if the other liked him or not since he could be a little too blunt at times. But from the expression he was making, Chanyeol knew the other hadn’t meant it with malice.

“No, I’ll find him. I don’t need any help or any resources. I can find him faster than anyone else can.” Chanyeol said loudly, determined to prove everyone wrong. He didn’t want to be useless anymore. Why was he so useless?

King Junmyeon nodded at the taller male and sighed softly, “This is your last chance, Park. Don’t let me down.” He murmured, softer and almost apologetic.

“Don’t be so hard on him, my lord! After all, I’m sure Prince Kyungsoo can defend himself with just that horrifying gaze of his!” came a howling laughter. Junmyeon was quiet for a moment before he slowly turned to look at his court jester, it was clear that he was beyond irritated with the male at his side. Not that anyone could blame him, the jokester had just played with wildfire by saying that about the Prince. Suddenly the King smiled at the other, which seemed to terrify the knights more than their king scowling.

“Jongdae you’re so lively today. I think you would be good company to Chanyeol. Why don’t you go with him, and if he doesn’t come back, neither do you.” The last three words were said with a darker tone as he threatened the man beside him. Jongdae gulped loudly as he took a step away from the throne.

“Aha… I was just kidding.” He tried to take back his words because Jongdae could only imagine what horrible fate awaited him if he had to be dragged around by the worst knight in the kingdom.

“That’s nice. I wasn’t” the King laughed as he then turned back to the knights “I’d like it if you all set out immediately. The sooner Kyungsoo is found, the better.”

And that was that, Chanyeol sighed as he made his way out first, not wanting to look at anyone as he made his way out of the castle. Well he really shouldn’t have bet his life on this assignment. For all he knew the Prince was dead…. Not that he wanted that, but if he was gone for so long someone must have kidnapped him.

Before he could get too far, he was stopped by none other than Jongin. “Chanyeol! I wanted to talk to you about earlier.” The tan male spoke, a sheepish expression on his face.

“It’s okay, really, thanks for trying to defend me, but it’ll be okay, I’m sure I can find the Prince and everything will be back to how it should be.” The giant smiled reassuringly but as he looked at the usually lively brunette, he noticed the other frown, his plump lips curved downwards as he began to fidget a bit.

“About that… See, Chanyeol, I really consider you a friend. I really do. But… Just because I consider you a friend, it doesn’t mean I’m going to throw this assignment away on you. I fully intend to be the one to find the Prince. I intend to marry him even if that means it’s on your watch and your life. That’s why I tried to get the king to change his mind. There’s no way I’m letting you find the Prince. I hope there’s no hard feelings regardless of what happens.”

It was then that Chanyeol questioned everything that had happened up until now. The giant had always believed in the goodness of mankind, and that if you tried hard enough, everything would work out. But all his life, Chanyeol was a failure. He tried day and night to be someone else, to be great… to not be himself. But no matter what, a failure was a failure. And as he watched the younger, tanner, more skilled knight stick his hand out, and as Chanyeol took his hand and shook it, Chanyeol wondered if he’d ever really had a friend at all throughout his life. Why was he so useless?

“So we’re good? No hard feelings no matter what?” Jongin asked as he tilted his head to the side cutely, in question of his earlier declaration.

“Yeah, no hard feelings.” Came the emotionless response of the other. Jongin grinned at him and patted his back before he rushed off to the stables to grab his horse.

Chanyeol stood there for what seemed like an eternity. He felt his lips quiver a bit but he bit back his tears, he was Park Chanyeol. He was the happy and excitable knight that should be eager over any and all challenges life threw at him. How long had he held up that façade? Even if the Park Chanyeol he’d created was fake, Chanyeol had his pride and refused to give up so easily, at last he began to walk once more, headed in the direction of the woods. He highly doubted that the Prince would have been kidnapped and kept in the kingdom.

“Wait up!” the dark haired male figured the call wasn’t for him so he kept walking. It wasn’t until he felt a tug at his shoulder that he turned around to see the Jokester, Kim Jongdae. “I said wait! Don’t abandon me before we even start this search.” He laughed as he then walked beside the other. The giant’s lips were pursed together in a straight line as if he wanted to question why Jongdae was there at all, but he seemed hesitant to ask.

“If you must know, the King really wasn’t kidding. He said that I can only come back to the kingdom if you find the Prince.” He said as he crossed his arms and looked away from the other.

“Well that’s unfortunate.” Chanyeol blurted out as he looked at his new found companion.

“Don’t I know it? But on the bright side I can sharpen my jokes with you.” The knight knew enough about this guy to know that, no, he didn’t want to hear his jokes. All the king did was complain about how horrible Jongdae’s jokes were.

“I’m fine.” He said with a sheepish smile as he tried to politely reject.

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They spent several hours walking around pointlessly in a circle as Chanyeol and Jongdae were quiet. The silence was a little strange for the both of them as Chanyeol was a pretty social creature and from what everyone could tell, Jongdae never shut his mouth, thus why he managed to get in trouble so much with the King. And so for the next half hour the court Jester smiled brightly at the other, trying to convince him to listen to his jokes in order to lighten their heavy hearts and awkward companionship.

“Come on, this one’s really good! Watch. Here’s a good joke: Your life.” The Jester said with a bright grin as he looked expectantly at the taller. Jongdae had a knack for making rude jokes. His grin faltered as he saw Chanyeol stop and look at the floor.

Well, he did it this time, the skinny male was about to apologize when he saw the other shaking. Before long the loud laughter of the taller male was heard and Jongdae watched with amusement as Chanyeol couldn’t seem to control his laughter, tears beginning to brim at his eyes as he slapped the other’s shoulder playfully. It took several moments for the other to calm his laughter down as he still had trouble breathing from his fit of giggles.

“Wow, I didn’t think that one was much of a knee slapper myself but hey, whatever makes you laugh is fine, right?” Jongdae snorted a bit as his companion nodded and tried to stop another fit of laughter.

“How did the King not laugh at you? I mean sure your humor is pretty mean but it’s not like you actually mean it. Your words are gold!” Chanyeol covered his face as he chuckled a little more. Jongdae’s smile was swiped off by those words, his lips opened just slightly. It was the first time anyone had ever thought he was genuinely funny. The way this tall klutz laughed, the way he smiled and spoke about his humor... It was actually genuine. The mood maker couldn’t help but think that maybe getting kicked out of the kingdom, with no resources, and potentially being lost in this forest, wasn’t such a bad idea. And for the first time, the smile that spread on Jongdae’s lips wasn’t one of mischief, it was genuine. 

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Author's note: So I hope this first chapter is okay. It's late at night but I'm not feeling the sleep so here's what I hope is a decent update.